FollowingFaye

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Southern Sayings

An excerpt from the Wealthy Nickel -

15 Phrases Only a True Southerner Would Understand

By Rebecca Holcomb

1. Yonder

There are several versions of this saying. “Right Yonder” or “Over Yonder” are the two most common examples of a word that means “over there.” If a Southerner is trying to tell you the general direction something is in or where something is at, they’ll likely say “Right yonder” or “Over yonder” and point with a finger to help guide you.

3. Y’all

In Michigan, most people will say “you guys” when referring to a group of people. Being a proper Southerner, however, my husband uses “Y’all.” Thankfully, it is an appropriate contraction of the words you and all. We use it most often when talking to our mix of children.

5. Bless Your Heart

This phrase is one of my favorite Southern expressions because it can be a passive insult or a meaningful compliment. As an insult, it means that you’re dim in the mental acuity department. As a compliment, it means that whoever is saying it appreciated that you thought of them.

6. Fixin’ To

When I was a sophomore in college, I met a couple of girls from Texas, and it was the first time I ever heard the phrase “Fixin’ to.” This phrase can mean anything you’re planning to do in the future. However, it usually refers to something you’re hoping to do.

https://wealthynickel.com/15-southern-sayings-that-northerners-need-a-translator-to-understand-0424/

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Who Benefits From Racism?

An excerpt from CNN.com -

A White author calculated just how much racism has benefited her. Here’s what she found

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN

Tracie McMillan, journalist and author of "The White Bonus,"
outside her home in Detroit, Michigan. Sarah Rice

Exactly how much has racism benefited White Americans?

Journalist and author Tracie McMillan did the math: The advantages she’s gotten over her life from being White, she estimates, amount to $371,934.30.

To calculate that number, McMillan tallied those benefits and divided them into two categories: A family bonus, which includes money her parents spent on her college tuition, educational loans she got from her grandfather and an inheritance; and a social bonus, which includes jobs, apartments and access to credit she’s gotten throughout her life.

Those resources and capital, she concludes, wouldn’t have been available to her if it weren’t for her race.

In her new book, “The White Bonus: Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America,” which publishes Tuesday, McMillan traces just how much of her family’s modest wealth can be attributed to policies and practices that have systematically hurt Black Americans.

Through investigative research, interviews and personal recollections, McMillan examines how racism has shaped her life, as well as the lives of four other White, middle class families.

“It was the one story about White people that I didn’t know,” she says.

McMillan, who grew up in rural Michigan and now lives in New York, didn’t have a particularly privileged upbringing by most standards. As she details in the book, she grew up in an abusive household and an unfortunate accident left her mother unable to care for her. In college, McMillan juggled numerous jobs to support herself, and as a working journalist, she’s had her own brushes with poverty.

Despite those hardships, McMillan says the financial advantages she’s experienced because of her race are undeniable. Her grandparents benefited from federal programs that largely excluded Black people, allowing them to build wealth that was then passed on to the next generation. That enabled her parents to help her pay to attend an elite university, which in turn opened doors to employment opportunities.

But, as she writes in the book, those advantages also come with a cost — not just to Black Americans, but White people like her.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/us/the-white-bonus-book-tracie-mcmillan-cec/index.html

Mareena Robinson Snowden, PhD; the first Black woman to earn a PhD in Nu...

https://youtu.be/Bskf6FOkK74?si=pseviGj3ILLAZ_AC

h ttps://shinemycrown.com/mareena-robinson-snowden-celebrating-the-first-black-woman-to-earn-phd-in-nuclear-engineering-from-mit/

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Whitney Houston ‘I Have Nothing’ was begging for sax

https://youtu.be/k-EQmm5Mh4A?si=JSlF64wkS8BnrnbV

NFL Player Warrick Dunn Helped Build Over 145 Homes For Single Moms

An excerpt from the Secret Life of Mom -

Warrick Dunn: The NFL Player Who Helped Build Over 145 Homes For Single Mothers So They Could Have Better Lives

By Sarah Biren

Warrick Dunn is famous for his professional football career, which spanned 12 seasons in the NFL, but he deserves more acclaim for his philanthropy. Ever since his rookie season in 1997, Dunn has supported single-parents and underprivileged families with his Homes for the Holidays program. He started the organization to honor his mother’s memory, since she had always dreamed of homeownership. So Dunn has made this dream a reality for many families in the United States.

Warrick Dunn Helps House Over 200 Families

Dun’s mother, Betty Dunn Smothers, worked as a police officer in Louisiana. She was killed while working her second job as a security guard. Corporal Smothers was in uniform and driving a patrol car when she and the store manager went to make a deposit at a bank. Three men shot them as they sat in the car, killing Corporal Smothers and injuring the manager. This happened a few days before her oldest son’s birthday, Warwick Dunn. [1]

Dunn was already a father figure for his five younger siblings. “I never really had a childhood,” he said in a 1994 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve never been able to go out and just go crazy, like most kids, because I grew up staying in the house a lot, baby-sitting.” [2]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Warrick Dunn (@warrickdunn)

https://secretlifeofmom.com/warrick-dunn/

Monday, March 4, 2024

45 Fascinating Maps

From Bored Panda -

Exploring America: 45 Maps That Might Shift Your View Of The US

By Robertas Lisickis and Mindaugas Balčiauskas

https://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-usa-maps/

Pennsylvania man captures all walks of life crossing log bridge

https://youtu.be/JyrbqiCokdw?si=EwXw4x-YU-sy9cL-

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Still Fighting at 101 Years Old!

An excerpt from Dan Rather's Steady Column -

A 101-Year-Old’s Fight Against Book Banning

Inspiring young 92-year-olds like me

DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Credit: PEN America/Damarcus Adisa

I’m often inspired by those younger than I who work tirelessly to help our country survive and thrive. But at 92, it’s not every day I find someone older who is such an inspiration. Grace Linn is a spry 101-year-old with strong opinions about what’s happening where she lives in Martin County, Florida. The school board there has been at the forefront of book bans in the state, removing more than 80 titles from county classrooms.

I recently came upon a remarkable and inspirational interview with Linn. Her husband died in 1944 fighting the Nazis, who were notorious book burners. Linn was so disgusted by the book bans in her Florida school district that she made a quilt depicting 84 banned books and displayed it while testifying before the school board. “Banning books and burning books are the same. Both are done for the same reason: fear of knowledge,” Linn said. “Fear is not freedom. Fear is not liberty. Fear is control.”

Linn’s dedicated activism got me thinking about the surge in book bans specifically and the culture war being waged more broadly. The idea of a culture war is not something new in America.

https://steady.substack.com/p/a-101-year-olds-fight-against-book?

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

CIA's Former Chief of Disguise Reveals Secrets

An excerpt from People -

CIA's Former Chief of Disguise Reveals Spy Secrets: 'People Who Knew Me Well Will Be Shocked' (Exclusive)

Trailblazer Jonna Mendez revolutionized the CIA’s techniques — and now she’s finally sharing her own story

By Dawn Klavon

“I didn’t join the CIA thinking I’d drive over the Alps in a Jaguar like James Bond,”
says Jonna Mendez (in 2023 and, opposite, disguised as a man in 2005).
PHOTO: NANCY PASTOR/THE WASHINGTON TIMES; TINA LEU

When Jonna Mendez, then the CIA’s chief of disguise, was asked to brief President George H.W. Bush on the agency’s new mask technology in the early 1990s, she wanted to make a powerful impression to secure more funding.

“It’s expensive to make these masks,” says Mendez, 78.

Meeting Bush in the Oval Office disguised as a Latina woman with black curly hair, she described the extraordinary results her team achieved to evade Russia’s KGB. Bush curiously glanced to her side, perhaps looking for a briefcase holding the new disguise. She told him she was wearing it.

“He said, ‘Hold on, don’t take it off yet.’ Then he got up and took a closer look,” she recalls. “He said, ‘Okay, do it.’ ”

Like a Mission: Impossible character, Mendez slowly peeled off a remarkably lifelike mask, revealing her true face: blue eyes, fair skin and short, dark blonde hair. When she held up the disguise that duped everyone in the room, Bush and his advisers seemed dazzled.

“The masks were something that no one else, not even Hollywood, could do,” she says.

That’s just one memory from Mendez’s 27-year tenure as a master of disguise that she’s mined for her CIA-reviewed memoir In True Face: A Woman’s Life in the CIA Unmasked, out March 5.

“This is my career that no one knows about,” she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue from her Reston, Va., home. “You step into that world, and the door closes behind you. I thought it would be interesting to open the door. People who knew me well will be shocked.”

The cover of Jonna Mendez's book, "In True Face," out March 5. Photo: PUBLICAFFAIRS

https://people.com/cias-former-chief-of-disguise-reveals-spy-secrets-people-who-knew-me-well-will-be-shocked-exclusive-8594627

10 Landmark R & B Albums Turning 50 This Year

An excerpt from People -

The Sound of '74: 10 Landmark R&B Albums Turning 50 This Year

Learn more about the making of iconic albums by Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and more.

By Jordan Runtagh

PHOTO: Getty

The year 1974 saw a host of legendary Black performers reach the peak of their powers, with icons like Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Millie Jackson and Aretha Franklin releasing works that defined both their careers and the decade through bold sonic innovations or powerful social commentary. It was a transitional time for the sound of Black America, as the ever-expanding scope of R&B grew to include emerging genres including funk, disco and even early hip-hop. In celebration of Black History Month, learn about — and listen to! — these landmark works by some of the greatest Black artists of all time.

01 'Perfect Angel' by Minnie Riperton

'Perfect Angel' by Minnie Riperton.

Released: Aug. 6, 1974

Standout Tracks: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,” "You're the First, the Last, My Everything"

Far more than just a velvet-voice, White was a writer, producer, arranger and key pioneer of the developing disco sound thanks to his run of early ‘70s solo albums that fused Memphis funk, Philly Soul, lush strings, and infectious four-on-the-floor beats with his unmistakable stage-rattling croon. Can’t Get Enough, his third solo disc, is the maestro at his peak. "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,” the lead single, became his first No. 1 under his own name, and “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” — which began life as an unreleased country song from the 1950s before White reworked it — remains a sultry R&B standard half a century after its release.

The amped-up romance came from a real place for White. While producing the R&B group Love Unlimited, he fell in love with their singer, Glodean James. During one sleepless night, he poured his passionate sweet nothings for James into a song that became the title track. They were married by the time it topped the charts that September.

https://people.com/10-landmark-r-and-b-albums-turning-50-this-year-8557197

2nd HBCU Vet School to Open

An excerpt from Black Enterprise -

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE TO BECOME 2ND HBCU TO HAVE VETERINARIAN SCHOOL

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is making strides in diversity, becoming the second HBCU to host a veterinarian program.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland, is set to become the second HBCU to have a veterinarian school. Classes are set to begin in 2026.

Not only will the school join Tuskegee University as the only HBCU in the nation to have the program, it will soon be part of the just over three dozen schools that grant the degree, as reported by USA Today on Feb. 20, granting more opportunities for aspiring Black veterinarians.

“We are hoping that our new school will open the door and create plenty of opportunities in an underserved field,” said Moses Kairo, the dean of agricultural and natural sciences at the university.

“There are very few vet schools being established, so there’s room for growth. We feel our timing is just right.”

Black veterinarians only make up 1.2% of all professionals in the United States, according to a 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/maryland-college-second-hbcu-veterinarian-school/

First Medical School Staff President

An excerpt from Black Enterprise -

MEDICAL SCHOOL’S FIRST BLACK GRADUATE MAKES HISTORY AGAIN AS FIRST BLACK MEDICAL STAFF PRESIDENT

Dr. James D. Griffin, the first Black graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern’s medical school, was elected as the first Black president of the Medical Staff at Parkland Health.

By Daniel JohnsonDr. James D. Griffin is the first Black graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern’s medical school to join the school’s faculty, as well as the chief of Anesthesiology at Parkland Health, a hospital located in Dallas, Texas. Griffin made even more history, recently he was elected as the first Black president of the medical staff at Parkland Health.

Griffin, as NBC DFW reported, shares a special connection with Parkland; he was born in the hospital’s segregated wing in 1958. In an interview with the outlet, Griffin reflected on that history and his parents, who he says pushed him to believe in himself, beyond the limits that society placed on Black people in the Jim Crow South. “To be born at Parkland in a time when my mother could not receive health care in any other hospital was important. At that time, Parkland’s maternity ward was segregated so the African American babies were born in one part of the hospital and everyone else was born somewhere else,” Griffin said.

Griffin continued, praising the values his parents instilled in him, “We never talked about what we couldn’t do. It was always based in faith on what was possible if we put our minds to it.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/first-black-president-parkland-health/

Helping "Contractor Grandma"

https://youtube.com/shorts/WyPEwD9rI0M?si=3XyyHs0RgSTnmZHj

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Scarf Bombing

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

‘Scarf bombing’ is helping keep people warm in the winter months

The act of leaving handmade garments in public places when it’s cold out has spread across Canada and the U.S.

By Sydney Page

A "scarf bomb" in Pittsburgh in December 2022. (Scarf Bombardiers)

The 14 handmade scarves were a mystery.

Ten years ago, they appeared around the necks of famous statues in Ottawa on a chilly January day. Each scarf was tagged with a note that read: “I am not lost! If you are stuck out in the cold, take this scarf to keep warm.” It was later revealed that a few university students were behind the good deed.

The incident went viral, and is part of a movement now known as “scarf bombing” — leaving handmade scarves in public places to warm people up during the winter months. The scarves are typically tied around fences, benches and railings, and are especially intended to support those experiencing homelessness.

Scarf bomb groups typically tag every item. (Scarf Bomb Jax)

While the Ottawa scarf bombing was the first to go big online, the phenomenon had already arrived in other places, including Winnipeg.

The scarf bombing movement has spread across Canada and the United States — including in Maryland, Virginia, Iowa, New York City, the Twin Cities and Jacksonville, Fla.

“Most of us are doing it because that one person did,” said Michelle Chance-Sangthong, who saw the Ottawa story online in 2014 and started scarf bombing in Jacksonville. She created a Facebook group called Scarf Bomb Jax and has recruited dozens of volunteers over the past decade. They range in age from their teens to their 80s.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2024/02/02/scarf-bomb-winter-homeless-kindness/

Boyz II Men ‘End Of The Road’ was begging for sax and violin 🎻 @demolav...

https://youtu.be/0YO-JZpa7Uk?si=9ByWrLpqVKii9bq-

Watch: How Marie Van Brittan Brown shaped home security in 'Keeping Black History Alive' - TheGrio

Meet The First Black Woman To Solely Own A Tequila Brand

https://youtu.be/sqvbCNnH8oY?si=qFkkqT56Ksc7DLX9

https://shinemycrown.com/tiffany-capri-hainesworth-woman-who-shocked-the-world-with-her-tequila-empire-is-worth-celebrating-this-black-history-month/

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Why He's "The Boss"

This is a truly wonderful story from Bruce @springsteen and I hope you listen to the end of it.

It's a reminder to all artists...be humble, be grateful.pic.twitter.com/QC380HC1ua
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) July 26, 2023

Driven by Curiosity: The Lanny Smoot Story

An excerpt from AfroTech -

Lanny Smoot Becomes The Second Person From Disney, Since Walt Disney Himself, To Get Inducted Into The National Inventors Hall Of Fame

By Ashley Turner

Smoot is making history as the first Disney Imagineer to receive this honor. He’s also only the second Walt Disney Company employee since Walt Disney to earn the recognition.

During Smoot’s 45-year career, he has been a theatrical technology creator, inventor, electrical engineer, scientist, and researcher. The innovator has amassed a collection of over 100 patents, 74 of them created during his 25-year stint at the Walt Disney Company.

Before working at Disney, Smoot was talented.

After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University, Smoot developed multiple innovations, such as video-on-demand technology, video conferencing, and specialized television for remote locations, to name a few.

Smoot has been integral in creating some of the most technically advanced special effects at Disney theme parks and experiences. Some examples of these special effects include Madame Leota’s floating in the Séance Room at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, Disney Live Entertainment’s extendable lightsaber, the Magic Playfloor interactive game experience on the Disney Cruise Line, and the Fortress Explorations adventure at Tokyo DisneySea.

https://afrotech.com/first-disney-imagineer-inducted-into-national-inventors-hall-of-fame/

https://youtu.be/e_KC90KFbSw?si=xgbTy6zfebaBt5nk

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Angry baby SLAPS dad for snoring too loudly whilst in bed

https://youtu.be/vmZYChLfVqs?si=JQGXR9nsLdzXK_WM

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Niecy Nash-Betts Wins Outstanding Supporting Actress in an Anthology Ser...

https://youtu.be/EGF_GQugb7Y?si=tGOVounAgnu2Ha7F

Sunday, January 14, 2024

A Classy Dude

An excerpt from the Whiskey Riff -

Derrick Henry Thanked The Kitchen Staff, Security And Cleaning Staff By Name After His Last Game With The Tennessee Titans

By Aaron Ryan

It’s been said a million times that you should treat the cleaning staff the same way you treat the CEO. And NFL superstar Derrick Henry lives by that philosophy.

Henry has been one of the best running backs in the league for years now, since being selected by the Tennessee Titans in the 2016 NFL Draft. He’s a four-time Pro Bowl selection, led the NFL in rushing in 2019, and in 2020 was selected as the AP Offensive Player of the Year after becoming just the eighth player in history to rush for over 2,000 yards.

But despite all of the accolades and accomplishments, Henry has managed to stay humble.

It’s likely that yesterday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars is Henry’s last game in Nashville. And after the game, he took a moment to address the fans and thank them for their support over the past 8 years:

Pretty incredible two-plus minutes from #Titans RB Derrick Henry @KingHenry_2 after today’s game — thanked countless members of the organization by name, from equipment staff to cafeteria staff to custodial staff and many, many more.

🎥 pic.twitter.com/aND2GiL0my
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 7, 2024

https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2024/01/08/derrick-henry-thanked-the-kitchen-staff-security-and-cleaning-staff-by-name-after-his-last-game-with-the-tennessee-titans/

Friday, January 12, 2024

Regina Hall's Acceptance Speech

Kevin Costner’s best Golden Globe appearance is still last year when he didn’t show up pic.twitter.com/vlOvSrnZAW
— Ryan Aguirre (@aguirreryan) January 8, 2024

Monday, January 8, 2024

Michigan Coach Represents Biggest Hurdle to Progress

https://youtu.be/g4DK36rrGIo?si=jBu-EqaLI5Hm-yFA

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Stephen A. Smith gives love to sports media legend Bryant Gumbel

https://youtu.be/qk9Xqz_BeA0?si=_SVB3xXXSQlBj4C3

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

James Brown is Alive and Well

@jonathanbynoe James had his own language 😂 #foryou #JamesBrown #fyp ♬ original sound - Jonathan Bynoe

Someday At Christmas - STEVIE WONDER

https://youtu.be/i252Uc6wIww?si=nVZD2WUeb0oUcRym

Saturday, December 16, 2023

FLYING ETIQUETTE - AN ESSENTIAL READ!

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

The 52 Definitive Rules of Flying

The Handbook of Behaving Like a Civilized Person, From Airport Arrival to Landing

By Natalie Compton and Andrea Sachs

Etiquette is more important than ever these days. For most of this year, more than 2 million people have been streaming through security checkpoints each day, according to the Transportation Security Administration. One ill-placed limb on the arm rest or acrid hard-boiled egg can sour the air travel experience for many.

To help you become a model passenger, we compiled 52 rules that cover every step in the flying process, from arriving at the airport to exiting the aircraft. To reinforce these tenets, we inserted several pop quizzes. Ace these tests and adopt these behaviors and you will earn your wings — angel’s, not pilot’s.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/interactive/2023/flying-airport-etiquette/

This is Faye - PLEASE READ AND SHARE FAR AND WIDE.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Innovative wheelchair design unlocks possibilities for kids with disabil...

https://youtu.be/48dPIcbtbIE?si=qLPU6emwPAGhxyOi

Monday, December 4, 2023

How Deep Is Your Love Cover By Bee Gees

https://youtu.be/1U98h__sta4?si=6ElSj1bS7_WSuHdV

That’s What Friends Are For Cover By @DionneWarwickOfficial

https://youtu.be/W1rfNL045ng?si=_PJmHUC9Y3EJOync

Inmates Can Now Make Free Phone Calls in Five States

An excerpt from CNN.com

Making phone calls from prison is now free in Massachusetts

By Zoe Sottile, CNN


	Inmates at Massachusetts correctional facilities can now make an unlimited number of calls cost-free. WichienTep/iStockphoto/Getty Images

Massachusetts has now become the fifth state in the US to allow inmates to make phone calls for free, thanks to a new bill signed into law by Governor Maura Healey.

The new law went into effect on Friday and includes all 14 correctional facilities in the state, according to a news release from the Massachusetts Department of Correction.

The change will “provide equitable access to sustained communication between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones,” says the news release.

There is no limit to the number of calls each inmate can make, according to the release.

“The Massachusetts Department of Correction recognizes the importance of incarcerated individuals maintaining bonds with their loved ones,” said the Department of Correction commissioner Carol Mici in the release. “No cost calls will alleviate the financial burden and remove barriers for an individual in MA DOC custody to stay connected with their outside support system. Strong family support helps to advance the rehabilitative process, reduces recidivism, and contributes to successful reentry upon release.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/03/us/massachusetts-prison-call-free-trnd/index.html

Whoever invented this game should be given a Nobel

https://youtu.be/Jqhl6SksoCU?si=Xi0vQUJsj3Svd8Ua

Sunday, December 3, 2023

TSA Canine Calendar

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

Meet the hard-working dogs of TSA’s 2024 canine calendar

You can get your paws on one this second because it’s free to download

By Natalie B. Compton

Zita, a German shorthaired pointer,
works at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. (TSA photo)

The Transportation Security Administration has just released the perfect antidote to this week’s capitalistic overload of holiday sale mania: a 2024 calendar of very good dogs with airport jobs. And it’s free.

Travel better with news, tips and guides that make you feel like a local wherever you go. In your inbox, Thursdays.

The TSA Canine Calendar is an annual tradition celebrating the work of America’s explosives-detection dogs. More than 1,000 patrol our airports and 300 more are trained every year to sniff out explosive materials.

“We screen passengers, baggage, we do terminal searches, we even screen cargo,” said TSA canine handler Caitlyn Winn, who’s been working with her dog, Puk (featured in this year’s calendar for October), at the Boston Logan International Airport since 2019. Like all the dazzlers in the calendar, Puk lives at home with her handler and leads a pretty normal life. But at the office (or, airport) she goes from pet to professional.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/11/29/tsa-dog-calendar-2024/

The Billionaire Myth

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

Opinion: The billionaire myth takes a beating

By Jennifer Rubin

New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, left, and Elon Musk
at an event in New York on Wednesday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Long before Donald Trump rode down the golden escalator or Elon Musk purchased Twitter (now X) or Sam Bankman-Fried built a crypto empire, Americans lionized billionaires.

“The idea of a self-made American billionaire is the super-sized version of all other self-made myths, and outlandish to the point of being at least mildly insulting,” BSchools.org, a blog about business schools, explained. “Individual achievement still deserves recognition. But these things don’t operate in a vacuum — and massive wealth is never solely attributable to the actions of a single person.”

But, as we have learned again and again this year, sometimes the self-appointed “genius” billionaire is simply a crank, a con man or a beneficiary of familial wealth and luck.

Never has the billionaire myth looked shakier. Trump, the four-times-indicted former president, is facing civil liability for exaggerating his wealth (built on inheritance) and property values. Bankman-Fried is facing a lengthy prison sentence for fraud. And Musk, who lost more than half of Twitter’s value, self-incinerated in a now-viral interview in which he crassly told off advertisers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/03/billionaire-myth-musk-trump/

Looking at 2023 in the Rearview Mirror

From CNN -

2023: The Year in Pictures

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/specials/year-in-pictures/

Saturday, December 2, 2023

Dallas native creates first HBCU doll line, has booming success with big...

https://youtu.be/dkCmVdYJQ70?si=fcSGuIKJwGUcCC-D

Dance Monkey

@emiliopiano I met a SAXOPHONIST at the AIRPORT ?! 😱😱 #piano #publicpiano #publicreaction #dancemonkey #saxophone ♬ original sound - Emilio Piano

https://www.tiktok.com/@emiliopiano/video/7287627955805687072?_r=1&_t=8hoLm4fyzAU

A Holiday to Remember | Chevrolet

https://youtu.be/xnZGEUA4oBk?si=s2L1wYORN14E7BSa

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Outstanding Travel Hacks

An excerpt from Travel Noire -

103 Travel Hacks to Make Jet-Setting a Little Easier

Travel Hacks

By Leah Jones


	Photo Credit: Atikh and Khayriyyah/Unsplash

Hitting the road can be exhilarating, but traveling also comes with its fair share of hassles. Between crowded airports, cramped flights, and language barriers in foreign destinations, getting from point A to point B can involve plenty of headaches. Luckily, there are all sorts of ingenious tips and tricks that can make travel less stressful and more enjoyable. Whether it’s your first time backpacking abroad or you’re a seasoned jet-setter, a few simple travel hacks can go a long way in making your trips simpler and smoother.

We’ve put together 103 of these hacks to help upgrade your next trip. From packing pointers to tech tools, these hacks cover all aspects of travel from start to finish. With these tips at your disposal, you can breeze through annoying logistics and focus on creating memorable experiences.

https://travelnoire.com/travel-hacks

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Trevor Noah on Having Difficult Conversations

@spotifypodcasts Let’s have the conversation @Trevor Noah 🎯 #podcast #trevornoah #whatnow #podcastrecommendations #monologue #dailyshow #trevornoahclips #podcastclips ♬ original sound - Spotify Podcasts

https://youtube.com/shorts/phsbi4ibsck?si=ZYh18lHJFmLsdyad

Sunday, November 26, 2023

10 SHOCKING Things I Learned Driving Around Texas for 4 Months

When I moved back to Texas from California and the small town of China, Texas (population 1100) where I was raised to the big city of Houston, the biggest surprise was the Texas Turnaround (number 2). Every city should have these. They're the best.

https://youtu.be/C-7rdV3iQlE?si=TWZSccG0N50acOrw

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Ten Commandments Bill - Best Rebuttal EVER!

@jamestalarico Texas Republicans are trying to force public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. I told the bill author: “This bill is not only un-constitutional and un-American, it’s deeply in-Christian.” #txlege ♬ original sound - James Talarico

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Aviation High School - An FAA Certified CTE Aircraft Maintenance High Sc...

https://youtu.be/1uOyKnJFlIU?si=R9fwNfNeByR_0gdj

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Jenga Genius - Guinness World Records

An excerpt from Upworthy -

Teen with autism makes record-breaking Jenga block tower, inspiring Hallmark holiday movie

15-year-old Auldin Maxwell, who stacked an astonishing 1,840 Jenga pieces all on one single block, says using them helps tap into his creativity.

By Heather Wake

At the ripe old age of fifteen, Auldin Maxwell is already breaking world records and inspiring Hallmark movies.

Maxwell landed his first spot in the Guinness World Records in November 2020, when he successfully balanced 693 Jenga blocks all on top of one vertical facing Jenga block.

Only four months later, he broke his own record by stacking 1,400 Jenga blocks onto one vertical block, more than doubling the original amount. He then broke the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks (500) stacked on top of a single vertical Jenga GIANT block.

https://www.upworthy.com/teen-breaks-jenga-world-record

Monday, November 20, 2023

Rosalynn Carter: A Testament to Her Character (May She RIP)

An excerpt from Time.com

Rosalynn Carter Hired a Wrongfully Convicted Murderer to Serve as White House Nanny. They Remained Lifelong Friends

BY KATHY EHRICH DOWD

Amy Carter playing on the White House grounds with Mary Prince.
National Archives and Records Administration/Wiki Commons

Mary Prince, a Black woman who had been convicted of murder, was already a controversial figure at Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Presidential Inauguration.

Although she was incarcerated, Prince was given permission to travel to Washington, D.C. for the event and arrived in a dress made of material given to her by her fellow inmates at the Fulton County Jail and the Atlanta Work Release Center. At the end of the celebration, Prince remembers newly minted First Lady Rosalynn Carter pulling her aside. "Before I left, Mrs. Carter said, 'How would you like to work in this big old place?'" Prince told People that year.

Rosalynn Carter and Prince had known each other for years at that point, and had developed a close bond. Prince had been young Amy Carter's nanny when the family lived at the Georgia governor's mansion, not long after Prince was accused of—and subsequently sentenced to life for—murder. When the Carters arrived at the White House, most political operatives would have advised the family to keep their distance from Prince. But the first couple did the opposite.

After the inauguration, Prince told Rosalynn that she would indeed be interested in working at the White House. And Rosalynn pulled out all the stops: She secured a reprieve for Prince, helped make President Carter her parole officer and officially hired her to serve as Amy Carter's nanny at the White House.

https://time.com/5919091/rosalynn-carter-mary-prince-white-house-nanny/

Send Your Name to Space in a Bottle

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

Send your name to space via NASA’s ‘Message in a Bottle’

The space agency is inviting people to submit their names by the end of the year for inclusion on a mission to one of Jupiter’s moons

By Erin Blakemore

In 2024, a new spacecraft will hurtle toward Jupiter in a bid to learn whether its moon Europa is capable of supporting life. The craft will carry more than high-tech sensors: It also will bear a poem and hundreds of thousands of human names.

Yours could be one of them.

NASA is asking people to submit their names ahead of the mission’s October 2024 launch. Those submitted by the end of 2023 will go into space on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which should enter Jupiter’s orbit in 2030.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/11/19/nasa-name-in-space-europa/

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Funny Road Signs

From Bored Panda -

https://www.boredpanda.com/hilarious-puns-public-signs/?utm_source=smartnews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=organic

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Meet Dasia Taylor, Student Scientist

https://youtu.be/ERQjWFTyouw?si=wdfL4VQD6awaShyU

Some Truth From Ray Allen

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A post shared by Ray Allen (@trayfour)

The Servers All Have Dementia at The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo

An excerpt from NPR -

It was founded as a way to raise awareness and celebrate the quirks of living with dementia. Even though 37% of the orders are delivered wrong, 99% of customers are happy, the restaurant says.

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/23/1195387866/the-servers-all-have-dementia-at-the-restaurant-of-mistaken-orders-in-tokyo

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Righting a Wrong From So Long Ago

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

At last, a diploma for Black deaf students who set historic precedent

A court victory in 1952 allowed them to attend school in Washington. On Saturday, Gallaudet University finally gave them a diploma and an apology.

Perspective by Theresa Vargas

Janice Boyd Ruffin tears up after accepting a diploma on Saturday during a ceremony at
Gallaudet University honoring students who attended a segregated school
on the university's campus in the 1950s. (Minh Connors/The Washington Post)

Robbie D. Cheatham knew her worth. She also knew other people didn’t always see it.

“She had a lot of things that happened to her in life, really hard, hard stuff, because of being deaf, because of being Black, because of being a woman,” Cheatham’s daughter Krissi Spence told me. “She was so strong mentally and emotionally because she had to be. She had to fight.”

She had to fight in ways that Spence only fully realized after her mom’s death in December at the age of 86.

It was then that she learned Cheatham was part of a group of Black deaf students who weren’t allowed to attend the only school for deaf children in Washington, the city where they lived, until their families filed a class-action lawsuit in 1952. Then, despite a court victory, they weren’t treated the same as the White students who attended kindergarten through 12th grade at the Kendall School on Gallaudet’s campus. Black students were enrolled in the Kendall School Division II for Negroes. They were placed in a separate classroom with separate teachers, and when it came time for them to graduate, unlike their White peers, they weren’t given diplomas.

On Saturday, Gallaudet University held a poignant ceremony aimed at righting that wrong. Officials handed out diplomas for 24 Black deaf students who should have received them more than six decades earlier. Five of the six students who are still alive made it to the ceremony.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/07/22/deaf-black-gallaudet-diploma/

Etta James, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody Business (live B...

https://youtu.be/MoBlmp9cOL4

Luciano Pavarotti & Barry White

https://youtu.be/SyElW_Oov5I

Soul Corporation - 'You To Me Are Everything'

https://youtu.be/zxE06gtRzm0

Pasquale Grasso - Solitude (Official Video) ft. Samara Joy

https://youtu.be/nPv8yq88X24

Jon Batiste - I NEED YOU

https://youtu.be/AXT00sWwuTQ

When I fall in Love Natalie Cole & Ruben Studdard

https://youtu.be/XO3vO0esPyw

Lalah Hathaway - Both Sides Now (The Kennedy Center 2022)

https://youtu.be/GLJmpxoxgeE

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Southern Green Beans

https://youtu.be/9wFMpNM9sCI

Kinetic Sculpture Twinkle Stars, 3D Wooden Unique Wall Decor Art, Specia...

https://youtu.be/1kBhFmI_gt8

I'm Ready to Head to Chicago Now!

An excerpt from The New York Times -

A Pie Shop on Chicago’s South Side Serves More Than Dessert

With her first brick-and-mortar bakery, Justice of the Pies, the pastry chef Maya-Camille Broussard focuses on creativity — and inclusivity for people with disabilities.

By Kayla Stewart - Reporting From Chicago

The pastry chef Maya-Camille Broussard has opened a new bakery
in Avalon Park on the South Side of Chicago.
Credit...Taylor Glascock for The New York Times

The South Side of Chicago brims with inimitable African American culture and history, and the pastry chef Maya-Camille Broussard is adding her brand of sweetness to the place where she was born and raised. In June, Ms. Broussard opened the first brick-and-mortar store of her longtime delivery and wholesale pie business, Justice of the Pies.

The shop, in a former dentist’s office in Avalon Park, one of the South Side’s many historic, predominantly African American neighborhoods, serves Ms. Broussard’s inventive pies and pastries, such as her calling cards — a blue cheese praline pear pie and a strawberry basil Key lime pie — along with unorthodox items like her salted caramel peach pie and a deep-dish chilaquiles quiche.

One of her signature desserts, strawberry basil Key lime pie,
is available at the bakery. Credit...Taylor Glascock for The New York Times

Ms. Broussard, who lost 75 percent of her hearing in a childhood accident, may be the industry’s most prominent hard-of-hearing Black pastry chef. She has gained a following for her pies through social media, pop-ups and appearances on the Netflix competition show “Bake Squad.” “I realized that being a member of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community actually gave me a superpower,” she said, “and that superpower includes a heightened sense of smell and taste.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/dining/pie-shop-chicago-south-side.html

Wrongly convicted man has message for Trump years after his full-page ad

https://youtu.be/6vxiZXhMEpY

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Denée Benton calls R0n DeS*ntis the "current grand wizard" of Florida at...

LeBron + FAMU = Nice Kicks!

An excerpt from hbcusports -

Nike unveils official images of latest FAMU x LeBron collaboration. See the heat

By Brandon King

Since the inception of the branding partnership between NBA legend LeBron James and Florida A&M, the Rattlers have some of the most visually appealing team-exclusive footwear in recent memory.

The FAMU men’s and women’s hoops teams have taken to the hardwood in team-exclusive iterations of LeBron XVIIIs, XIXs, and XXs.

Photo Lebron-FAMU XX

https://hbcusports.com/2023/06/13/nike-unveils-official-images-of-latest-famu-x-lebron-collabration-see-the-heat/#google_vignette

Florence Price Violin Concerto No. 2 (A Lost Voice, Found At Last)

The following is a sampling of work by Florence Price, a brilliant African-American classical composer who would have been completely lost to history if not for an accidental find of some of her compositions in a rundown home she once owned. Read her fascinating story in STEADY by Dan Rather and then enjoy one of her compositions.

https://steady.substack.com/p/a-rediscovered-american-voice?utm_source=substack&publication_id=247881&post_id=132695889&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=false