Amazing Talent

This kid sat down at a piano in the mall and started playing.  He doesn't read music and has never had lessons.  He plays by ear.

I'm not on Facebook, so I couldn't access the video only, but you can see it embedded in the article linked below.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/25/michigan-mall-piano-viral-monntel-west/79289368/

Maasai Men

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/01/21/463709275/the-real-goal-for-these-cricket-crazy-maasai-men-ending-the-cut?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

Mapparium | 100 Wonders | Atlas Obscura

Obama 2.0?

From The Upworthy - 

He used to be homeless. Now he's a mayor. And he's only 28.

Myrick was elected mayor of Ithaca in 2011, making him the youngest mayor in the city’s history and the first African-American to hold the office.

http://www.upworthy.com/he-used-to-be-homeless-now-hes-a-mayor-and-hes-only-28?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f

The school-to-prison pipeline, explained

Why They Fight

So Few

Ben shared an article about the dismal number of Black and Latino kids in gifted and talented programs.

I was reminded of the struggle we went through as I fought to have both he and Frankie identified as gifted almost thirty years ago.

I knew as black boys, the first thought when they walked in the schoolhouse door was that they would be behavior issues and be behind academically.  I was going to make it my business that they were neither.

Of course, they did not have behavior issues.  They knew they would have to answer to me if there were any problems, and I was a lot tougher than an school administer would be.

I also made it my mission in life to supplement their learning at home, so that when they walked into class, they had already been introduced to the concepts at home. This simple act of having them do the next year's work in the summer preceding their next grade, made a huge impact in keeping them ahead of the pack.

As much as I could, I wanted to control the labels assigned to them.

We were living in Tulsa, Oklahoma when Ben started school.  I inquired about the gifted program and kept getting the run around.  The next year we move to the suburbs of Tulsa, to the small town of Broken Arrow, and again, my request to have Ben tested were ignored.  It was a small district, with the central office located on the main drag in town.  One day I stopped and asked to see the superintendent.  I was ushered in and told him I was new to the area, and wondered what the procedure was for getting a student tested for the gifted and talented program.  He explained that I had indeed followed the correct process, and he would look into why it hadn't happened yet for Ben.

Low and behold, the next day I was called in to the principal's office, letting me know that Ben would indeed be tested, and it was scheduled immediately.

He comfortably passed the prescribed benchmark, and from that day forward was identified as gifted.

Again, I knew these classes and programs would not be a panacea, but I wanted to be sure that this label - gifted student - would be permanently assigned to him.  I knew it would open doors and set him on track for a more rigorous and challenging school experience.

With Frankie, getting him identified was an easier process.  One because I knew what to do, and two because we were in California by then.  On the surface things were easier, but I also knew that narrow-minded attitudes were not just relegated to the Southern states, and that racism in California had the potential to raise it's ugly head at any time.

First goal was accomplished though, when both boys were identified as gifted.

Then the "fun" began when I had to deal with their teachers, who felt they knew my children and what they needed better than me.

The condescension exuded from many of them was an ever present fog hanging over every interaction.

I will never forget a popular grogram at Ben's school in Oklahoma that made this huge deal of kids who were able to complete 300 math problems (100 addition, 100 subtraction, & 100 multiplication) in 10 minutes of less.  Successful students were presented with an award at a special assembly and their picture was hung in the foyer for all to see.  This program was for third thru sixth graders.  Ben was in second grade at the time.

He repeatedly asked his teacher if he could compete, and she told him no.  I went to see her and made the same request, and she asked me why I was pushing him.  I asked her if she would have asked that same question to an Asian parent, and of course, she had no reply.  What she didn't seem to grasp was that I wasn't pushing Ben.  He had an internal drive to compete and be the best.  I was simply advocating for him to have the chance.

Long story short, Ben was finally allowed to compete and became the youngest student to not only complete the task in 10 minutes, but he also completed all the problems correctly in less than 8 minutes, moving to an even higher level, that very few mastered.

He was given a certificate in the assembly for this achievement, but for some reason, his picture never made it up in the foyer, or any other place else in school.

Not to worry though, I stopped by the local paper and shared Ben's achievement as the youngest student to achieve this mark, and he was featured on the front page of the next edition.

I share these experiences not to pat myself on the back, but to illustrate the ongoing fight in advocating for my boys.

I wish I could say that these were outliers, but instead, they were just the beginning of years of fighting and advocating.

I also wish I could say things have changed, but this article that I referenced at the top of this post, suggest otherwise.

You decide.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/why-are-there-so-few-black-children-in-gifted-and-talented-programs/424707/

The Science Behind First Impressions

From Lifehack - An excerpt:

Experts Call It “Thin Slicing”

The human brain’s ability to reach conclusions based on just a momentary exposure to someone is known by experts as “thin slicing.”

“Thin-slicing is not an exotic gift. It is a central part of what it means to be human,” writes Malcolm Gladwell, author and journalist. “We thin-slice whenever we meet a new person or have to make sense of something quickly or encounter a novel situation.”

Thin slicing is not something that we consciously think about or choose to do. It’s something that’s built into the very fabric of being human.

“We thin-slice because we have to,” Gladwell continues, “and we come to rely on that ability because there are lots of situations where careful attention to the details of a very thin slice, even for no more than a second or two, can tell us an awful lot.”

Trustworthiness Is Determined In One-Tenth Of A Second

According to research, people judge your trustworthiness within a tenth of a second. This conclusion was reached by a group of Princeton researchers who gave a group of students 100 milliseconds to rate different factors – such as competence, attractiveness, and trustworthiness – based on images of actors’ faces.

After rating these factors, another group was given as much time as they needed to determine these traits. While other traits differed significantly, the time it took to determine trustworthiness essentially remained the same. In other words, at the very moment you meet someone – before you even open your mouth to speak or extend a hand to shake – people are making judgments about your trustworthiness.

The Handshake Says A Lot

A handshake goes a long way in establishing a positive first impression, especially in business settings. The reason is that a handshake makes you seem more approachable. There’s something about this safe display of human affection that allows you to connect with the other person.

“Many of our social interactions may go wrong for [one] reason or another, and a simple handshake preceding them can give us a boost and attenuate the negative impact of possible misunderstandings,” says Sanda Dolcos, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois’ psychology department.

http://www.lifehack.org/357577/science-explains-how-first-impressions-work-and-ways-improve-you-failed?mid=20160118&ref=mail&uid=789627&feq=daily

Prison Art

From Atlas Obscura -

Art on display at Louisiana State Penitantary's hobbycraft sale. (Photo: Courtesy The Angolite)

Chances are, you've heard of Angola, The Louisiana State Penitentiary. It's the largest maximum security prison in the United States, and an Angola reference is a fixture in any film or television series based in the south, from True Detective to No Country for Old Men. Sprawling across 8,000 acres of farmland–once a plantation–it's named after the country in southern Africa where the former slaves that worked on its land came from. And, on one weekend in April and on every Sunday in October, it hosts the Angola Prison Rodeo, the longest continually-running prison rodeo in the country.

Thousands of visitors enter the prison complex to see the show and, last year, I was among them. However, bucking broncos don't interest me; I was there for the "Inmate Hobbycraft Sale," which runs alongside the rodeo. After a bag search more thorough than any I’ve ever experienced at the hands of the TSA, and a solemn promise to a security officer that I would not take photos, I entered the prison complex to peruse the wares. They were proudly arranged atop rows of tables; the shopping experience was complemented by a soundtrack of thrashing hooves and the roar of the rodeo crowd.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/inside-the-angola-prison-hobbycraft-sale-where-inmates-can-sell-their-creations?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=73e39fc821-Newsletter_1_18_20161_15_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-73e39fc821-59905913&ct=t(Newsletter_1_18_20161_15_2016)&mc_cid=73e39fc821&mc_eid=866176a63f

Happy Slaves? Bullsh*t!

From The Root - 

Amidst growing criticism of a children's book depicting happy slaves baking a cake for George Washington, publisher Scholastic has announced it is pulling the book from retailers. In a statement to the Associated Press, Scholastic said this:

“While we have great respect for the integrity and scholarship of the author, illustrator and editor, we believe that, without more historical background on the evils of slavery than this book for younger children can provide, the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn.”

Earlier today The Root published this critique from Demetria Lucas-D'Oyley.

I learned about Scholastic’s new children’s book, A Birthday Cake for George Washington, when a friend emailed me on Friday to ask, “Uh … have you seen this [expletive]?” Her note was accompanied by the book’s back cover, which depicted an illustration of a smiling enslaved man and child, accompanied by their beaming master—America’s first president, George Washington. Washington had his arm around the enslaved man’s shoulder like they were bros instead of oppressor and oppressed. 

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/01/children_s_book_showing_slaves_happily_baking_a_cake_is_just_another_attempt.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26

Oh Hell NO!!!

An article on modern parenting.

From Salon - An excerpt:

Tammy took Kimberly to visit four different schools. Tammy and Jim both liked school X: the atmosphere was warm and nurturing, the teachers were enthusiastic, and the long-term outcomes of the students were well documented. But Kimberly liked school Y. On her visit to school Y, Kimberly had clicked with the student escort, a 9-year-old named Madison. Madison and Kimberly discovered that they both liked the Ramona and Beezus books by Beverly Cleary, and they both liked American Girl dolls. But the parents were concerned about the dilapidated condition of the school, the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the teachers and administrators, and the school’s refusal to disclose where graduates of the school (a K–8 school) went to high school. Tammy and Jim advised their daughter to attend school X. But Kimberly insisted on school Y. And that’s the school where she is now enrolled.

When I asked Tammy why she and her husband allowed their 8-year-old daughter to have the final say, Tammy answered, “I think good parenting means letting kids decide. That’s how kids learn, right? If I make all the decisions for her, how will she ever learn to decide on her own? And if I force her to go to a school that wasn’t her first choice, what can I say if she complains about the school later?”

Forty years ago, most parents who sent their kids to private schools didn’t ask their child which school the child preferred. Forty years ago, the parents made that decision, often overruling their child’s preference. Even 30 years ago, when I graduated from medical school, it would have been unusual for parents to let an 8-year-old have the final say in the choice of school. Today it is common.

I’m not suggesting that the 1970s or the 1980s were better than our own era. Every era has its shortcomings. But I don’t think we are facing up to ours.

My friend Janet Phillips and her late husband, Bill Phillips, (their true names) raised four sons. When the boys were in high school, Janet and Bill became concerned about stories they were hearing about kids drinking. Then they saw it for themselves: high school kids who were clearly drunk but who were nevertheless getting behind the wheel of a car. What to do?

Bill bought a Breathalyzer. The next time there was a party at their house, Bill saw a boy who appeared to be drunk. Bill told the boy, “Come with me.” He handed the boy the Breathalyzer and told him to blow into the device. Sure enough, the boy was drunk. Janet called the boy’s parents and asked them to take their intoxicated son home. To the surprise of both Bill and Janet, the boy’s parents were offended by the phone call. The boy’s mother did take her son home, without a word of thanks to either Janet or Bill.

Other parents did not receive Janet and Bill’s Breathalyzer strategy enthusiastically either. One parent, Ms. Stoltz, gave Janet a piece of her mind. “Kids these days are going to drink, whether you like it or not,” Ms. Stoltz said. “I think our job is to teach them to drink responsibly.”

“At 15 years of age?” Janet asked.

“At whatever age. I’d rather have them drink in my own home than hide their drinking from me.”

Several days later, Janet happened to be standing just a few feet away when Ms. Stoltz picked up her youngest son, about 12 years old, from school. The boy climbed into the back seat of the car. Ms. Stoltz turned around and asked him, “How was your day?”

Her son said to her, “Turn around. Shut up. Drive.”

~~~~~~~~~~

There is no way in hell I would let any kid, let alone my kid, talk to me that way.  This parenting notion of letting kids run the show has/is produced/producing some of the most disrespectful, entitled brats on the planet.

Call me old fashioned, but this would not fly in my world . . . EVER!

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/17/your_parenting_is_the_problem_we_spend_more_time_and_money_on_parenting_than_ever_but_we_are_getting_worse/?source=newsletter

Fascinating Stuff

From The New York Times - An excerpt:

NORMALLY, I would have finished this column weeks ago. But I kept putting it off because my New Year’s resolution is to procrastinate more.

I guess I owe you an explanation. Sooner or later.

We think of procrastination as a curse. Over 80 percent of college students are plagued by procrastination, requiring epic all-nighters to finish papers and prepare for tests. Roughly 20 percent of adults report being chronic procrastinators. We can only guess how much higher the estimate would be if more of them got around to filling out the survey.

But while procrastination is a vice for productivity, I’ve learned — against my natural inclinations — that it’s a virtue for creativity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/why-i-taught-myself-to-procrastinate.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed

Help Bill

I like Bill Maher and enjoy his show "Real Time" on HBO.  God knows, I don't always agree with him, but there usually is great dialogue and interesting guests going back and forth discussing current events.

He made a request of his audience on his most recent show, asking for help in getting President Obama to go on his program before he leaves office.  A petition has been created, and if it generates at least 100,000 votes, the White House will respond.

So, consider helping a brother out.

His pitch is below.

Good Article. Great Athlete.

From Slate - An excerpt:

“Black athletes could succeed in the white-dominated athletic world,” wrote John M. Carroll in his book about Pollard, “but only if they abided by an unwritten code of conduct both on and off the playing field.”

The code applies to all sports, to varying degrees. You can be black and prideful, but only to the extent that you’re willing to play the heel (Barry Bonds). You can be black and demonstrative, but only to the extent that you’re willing to play the clown (Chad Ochocinco). Your flaws as an athlete are racial traits, and your physical “gifts” are, too, and your success is a matter of how effectively you transcend your brute atavisms and embrace the prevailing “white” idioms of play (Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, even Michael Jordan). You will be loved if you win often and win quietly and if all the while you hold yourself in such a way that you stand in exquisite contrast to the black athletes who lose too often or win too loudly (Kevin Durant, Joe Louis).

The code asserts itself like this: “Very disingenuous—has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup.” Nolan Nawrocki’s infamous 2011 scouting report on Newton was no dog whistle. Subtler prose has been written on notes wrapped around bricks. “Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law—does not command respect from teammates and always will struggle to win a locker room. … Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness—is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.”

And it works like this: In a November game in Nashville, Tennessee, Newton salted away the Titans with a late touchdown on one of those trademark quarterback keepers wherein he seems not so much to run but to roll downhill, waving the football in one big hand the way Walter Payton used to. He celebrated by dancing in the end zone, prompting one “Tennessee mom” who’d attended with her 9-year-old daughter to write an oh-my-stars-and-garters letter to the Charlotte Observer. “Because of where we sat, we had a close up view of your conduct in the fourth quarter. The chest puffs. The pelvic thrusts. The arrogant struts and the ‘in your face’ taunting of both the Titans’ players and fans. We saw it all.” The letter continues:

My daughter … started asking questions. Won’t he get in trouble for doing that? Is he trying to make people mad? Do you think he knows he looks like a spoiled brat?

I didn’t have great answers for her, and honestly, in an effort to minimize your negative impact and what was otherwise a really fun day, I redirected her attention to the cheerleaders and mascot.

It would be hard to argue that the Tennessee mom captured the national mood. She came off more like a holdout in a culture war long since ended, an old soldier bustling out of a cave with fixed bayonet, blinking in a new day’s sun. So many people rushed to Newton’s defense that it became clear the whole second-act-of-Footloose argument over ecstatic celebration in sports had already been won, and that the scowling tight-asses had assumed the minority position. (Newton’s backup, a white guy named Derek Anderson, called the letter “flat-out racist.”)

After Newton’s gentle response to the note—he has a singular talent for retail politics—the Tennessee mom rowed back her initial sentiment. In an email to the Charlotte Observer’s Jonathan Jones, she wrote: “I am sorry I didn’t understand him better until this week. It is clear from his remarks that he recognizes his leadership role, both on and off the field, and that he truly cares about the kids watching him. I respect his comments just as much as he did mine, and I wish him nothing but continued success on the field and in life.” (Here we note that the Tennessee mom, a woman named Rosemary Plorin, is employed in the field of crisis communications.) 

Nothing seems to stick—not for long, anyway. The code is typically never more austere than when applied to black quarterbacks, a signal-caller being the emissary of his coach’s will. But Newton keeps moving the chains.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2016/01/cam_newton_of_the_carolina_panthers_has_stretched_the_sports_world_s_racial.html

Got a Traffic Ticket? This App Can Help

From 2 Paragraphs - 

Fixed App Founder, The Traffic Ticket Fixer, Goes On Shark Tank

Dave Hegarty of San Francisco is the entrepreneur behind the app Fixed. A user submits a photo of her parking or speeding ticket, answers just two questions about her driving history and then hits send. A Fixed agent will review the submission and then connect the user to a lawyer in the Fixed network. In California, a user can hire a Fixed network attorney for as little as $150. No court appearance is required. Fixed claims a 90% success rate for point removal. And Fixed is expanding, despite facing some resistance from municipalities that don't see it as helpful. It handles parking tickets (where still permitted) and all other types of traffic violations.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fixed-get-your-speeding-red/id817194671?mt=8

http://2paragraphs.com/2016/01/fixed-app-founder-the-traffic-ticket-fixer-goes-on-shark-tank/

When Whites Adopt Black Kids

From The Huffington Post - 

Adoption, regardless of racial dynamics, requires a level of patience, love and empathy, but a white person choosing to adopt a black child must first be willing to confront the passive racist views all white people hold, subconsciously or not. Going in with the mindset that this black child is no different from any other child is a naiveté the adoptive parent cannot afford, and for which the adopted child will pay. The desire to love a black child must be matched by the willingness to learn and accept the unique needs of blackness and black childhood.

"Going in with the mindset that this black child is no different from any other child is a naiveté the adoptive parent cannot afford..."

A white parent adopting a black child must first understand that no matter how much they'd like to believe that race is not real or pretend they don't see color, that black child is dealing with the very real social ramifications of his race and color. That parent needs to recognize that the needs of that black child are different emotionally, socially, mentally and physically. That parent needs to be committed to the Herculean task of making their home, with all the subconscious subtle hostilities learned through decades of an inevitable socialization of suspicion, a space where that black child feels free from the ever-looming burden of racism.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/la-sha/what-white-parents-adopting-black-children_b_8951402.html

Great Escapes

http://media.salon.com/2016/01/jailbreaks.patricewaite.1.12.20161.mp4

Worth Reading

From The New Yorker - An excerpt:

My Last Day as a Surgeon

BY PAUL KALANITHI

In May of 2013, the Stanford University neurosurgical resident Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer. He was thirty-six years old. In his two remaining years—he died in March of 2015—he continued his medical training, became the father to a baby girl, and wrote beautifully about his experience facing mortality as a doctor and a patient. In this excerpt from his posthumously published memoir, “When Breath Becomes Air,” which is out on January 12th, from Random House, Kalanithi writes about his last day practicing medicine.

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/my-last-day-as-a-surgeon?mbid=nl_160112_Daily&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=8425770&spUserID=MTE0Mjg5NDEzNjM4S0&spJobID=841344950&spReportId=ODQxMzQ0OTUwS0

Lying For a Living

From The Atlantic - An Excerpt:

Can You Spot a Liar?

Probably not. But here are some techniques grifters use, courtesy of Maria Konnikova and her new book about con artists.

In November, I came across a story that made absolutely no sense to me. A 33-year-old consultant named Niall Rice gave $718,000, little by little, to two Manhattan psychics who promised to reunite him with an old flame. How could someone be so gullible? Rice himself didn’t even seem to know: “I just got sucked in,” he told The New York Times later.

As it turns out, it’s much easier to fall for these types of cons than many people think. As Maria Konnikova, a psychologist and New Yorker contributor, explains in her new book, The Confidence Game, grifters manipulate human emotions in genius (and evil) ways, striking right when we feel lovelorn or otherwise emotionally vulnerable. I recently spoke with Konnikova about cons, why they happen, and if there’s any way to avoid becoming a fraudster’s next target. A lightly edited version of our conversation follows.

---

Khazan: You have so many great examples of cons in your book. Which one was the most remarkable to you?

Konnikova: I have too many favorites to choose. The one that really, I think, piqued my interest the most, which is why I explore it throughout the book, is the case I open the book with, of Ferdinand Waldo Demara. The fact that not only was he able to take on so many different guises, including as a surgeon—I mean that’s crazy, that he was able to fool the Navy into giving him an entire ship full of people. But, the fact that he was successful, that he actually performed surgery, so he was able to bluster his way through it, which is kind of remarkable if you think about it. That someone who didn't even graduate from high school was able to do this. And I also thought it was really interesting that so much of his life isn't known or at least, wasn't known to the public, because he has a really dark side and he's actually kind of a nasty person, but all of that got lost because his biographer was also conned by him, which is kind of incredible.

http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/01/can-you-spot-a-liar/423588/?utm_source=atl-daily-newsletter

He's a Hero