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Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Black Geniuses

From The Huffington Post - 

10 Things You Never Knew Were Invented By Black People

We have black pioneers to thank for these useful inventions.



Three-Signal Traffic Light

After he saw a carriage crash in a Cleveland intersection, Garrett Morgan created a version of the modern three-way traffic signal in 1923. He was also the first black man to own a car in his city.


Closed Circuit TV

Marie Van Brittan Brown created a device in 1966 that would be the precursor to home surveillance as we know it. She connected a motorized security camera to a monitor, where one could view images from the camera.


Mailbox

In 1891, Philip Downing invented the "street letter box," which became the predecessor to the metal letter-drop mailboxes we use today.


Potato Chip

George Crum is widely credited for coming up with the potato chip as we know it. While he was working as a chef at a resort, a disgruntled patron sent his french fry order back to the kitchen and complained that they were cut too thick. So Crum made a new batch, cut them as thin as possible and added a bit of salt. Thus, potato chips were born.


Laser Cataract Surgery

Howard University alum Patricia Bath is responsible for creating the laserphaco probe, a device used for laser cataract surgery. With the help of the instrument, she was able to recover the sight of several individuals who had been blind for over 30 years.


Touch-Tone Phone

Shirley Ann Jackson made several telecommunications breakthroughs while employed with Bell Laboratories. Her scientific discoveries led to the touch-tone phone, caller I.D. and call waiting. Jackson was also the first black woman to graduate with a Ph.D. from M.I.T.


Super Soaker

'90s kids have Lonnie Johnson to thank for their super soaked summer water gun battles. The former NASA engineer created the toy in his spare time and after several rebranding attempts, his Super Soaker, known for its high-powered water blasting function, hit $200 million in sales in 1991.


3-D Special Effects

Computer graphics designer Marc Hannah co-founded Silicon Graphics, Inc. His computer programs were instrumental in the creation of special effects for films like "Jurassic Park," "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast" and more.


The Blood Bank

African American physician Charles Drew developed a way to process and preserve blood plasm, which lasts much longer than actual blood. His discovery was crucial to creating blood banks and assisting in the war effort during World War II. He was working on a blood bank for U.S. military personnel when he grew unhappy with the military's request to segregate the blood and left his position.


Refrigerated Trucks

Before Frederick McKinley Jones invented his portable cooling unit, perishable items were transported in trucks filled with ice.  He revolutionized the industry by creating a cooling system that could be mounted on the roof of the vehicle and would keep food fresh during long journeys.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-inventors_us_56d0d33ee4b0bf0dab3236d5

Living in Peace

These critters could teach us a thing or two about living in harmony.

From The Huffington Post -

Three Brothers Haven’t Left Each Other’s Side For 15 Years





https://www.thedodo.com/lion-tiger-bear-15-years-1627302473.html?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange

There Goes the Neighborhood

An excerpt From Atlas Obscura - 

THE FORMER WIÑAY WAYNA PUB

This is why we can't have nice things on the Incan Trail 


Despite its extremely remote location, the pub's downfall will sound familiar to anyone who's visited bars catering to masses of tourists. The fault didn't lay with the staff or locals as some have suggested (although Caruso was ultimately apprehended for tax evasion), but rather the irresponsible tourists themselves. Drunken backpackers were picking fights with each other, fighting over issues of national pride and using broken bottles as weapons, sometimes assaulting their own porters. As backpackers elected to party all night, they often slept through wake-up calls, thereby missing the entire reason they had, theoretically, visited the region. In the end, the government shut down the bar because, in the words of Edwar Pacheco, a guide who has led groups along the Inca Trail for seven years, "tourists were selling cocaine to each other.” Everyone agreed the "scene" had simply gotten out of hand, so it was time to put an end to Wiñay Wayna Pub.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-former-winay-wayna-pub?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=cb74bf7359-Newsletter_29_2_20162_26_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-cb74bf7359-59905913&ct=t(Newsletter_29_2_20162_26_2016)&mc_cid=cb74bf7359&mc_eid=866176a63f

Monday, February 29, 2016

I Call Bullsh*t

True confession.

I have funky feet.

Really FUNKY FEET.

I can't imagine wearing socks for days.

Of course, I shouldn't talk about these before giving them a try, but . . .

I don't buy it.

So, to be fair, somebody try them out and let me know.

Chris Rock Targets Race and Hollywood in Oscars Opening Monologue

Apologies.  I heard the previous clip was removed, so here it is again.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Chris Rock's Opening Monologue at the 2016 Oscars

Contrary to Popular Belief

From The Root -

Black Skiers and Snowboarders Hit the Slopes in Japan at the 2016 Japow! Powder Party

Beautiful scenery and a chance to experience a different culture are the highlights of this annual event. BY: 

Japow! Powder Party members at the Rusutsu Resort atop Mount Isola in Hokkaido, Japan LACRECIA WILLIAMS



Eric Rhea goes waist-deep while snowboarding in the back country of
Asahidake, Hokkaido, Japan, with Hokkaido Outdoor Adventures. 




Fanon Wilkins and Leon Henderson at the
Niseko ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan 

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/02/japow_powder_party_black_skiers_and_snowboarders_hit_the_slopes_in_japan.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26

Friday, February 26, 2016

Every Bucket from Steph Curry's 51-Point Night

This kid is good.

Meet President Obama's Nominee for Librarian of Congress

Perfect Timing

From Wired - 


SERGIO TAPIRO HAS a love affair with volcanoes. Well, one volcano. He’s spent 14 years making thousands of photos of the Colima Volcano in the southwest corner of Mexico. His perseverance paid off in December with the shot of a lifetime.
His photo captures a remarkable moment—the volcano erupting in a plume of ash and lava as lightning strikes, illuminating the scene against a sky filled with stars. For Tapiro, it underscores everything that makes Colima beautiful. “Every time you take a picture of a volcano, it reminds you of the beginning of this world,” he says.
http://www.wired.com/2016/02/sergio-tapiro-lava-ash-lightning-perfect-volcano-photo/?mbid=nl_22616

Door Design

The narrator of this clip is an annoying kid who looks like he's 12.  Ignore him and enjoy the very interesting clip.

A Love Letter to Michael

Spike Lee's documentary entitled "Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall" is wonderful.  It truly is a snapshot into the genius of Michael.

There are several trailers for the film, but I don't think any other them do the film justice.  If I'd seen the trailers, I probably would not have watched the film, and believe me when I say, I would have missed a treat.

So, if time permits and you so desire, check out this masterpiece.

It's currently playing on Showtime.

Do the Right Thing

We all know we should do the right thing, but knowing it and doing it are two very different things.

Do we stand up for what is right, or go along to get along?

Do we turn a blind eye to injustices, or do we take a stand?

Do we give in to the pressures to agree, when we know that we know that in doing that we compromise what is right?  Or do we take a stand and say, "Enough?"

Do we have more courage to stand up when we've reached a certain age, now better able to understand that being able to face ourselves in the mirror is more important than trying to please others?

Every day we have a choice.

Do the right thing . . .

Or not.

Here's hoping that you and I both have the courage to do choose the former.







Quote

By Jeffrey Toobin on Antonin Scalia in The New Yorker - (Bold is mine)

Antonin Scalia, who died this month, after nearly three decades on the Supreme Court, devoted his professional life to making the United States a less fair, less tolerant, and less admirable democracy. Fortunately, he mostly failed. Belligerent with his colleagues, dismissive of his critics, nostalgic for a world where outsiders knew their place and stayed there, Scalia represents a perfect model for everything that President Obama should avoid in a successor. The great Justices of the Supreme Court have always looked forward; their words both anticipated and helped shape the nation that the United States was becoming. Chief Justice John Marshall read the new Constitution to allow for a vibrant and progressive federal government. Louis Brandeis understood the need for that government to regulate an industrializing economy. Earl Warren saw that segregation was poison in the modern world. Scalia, in contrast, looked backward.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/29/antonin-scalia-looking-backward?sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d&wpsrc=newsletter_slateplusweekly

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Amazing Pictures

http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/02/smithsonian-magazines-2015-photo-contest/470982/?utm_source=atl-daily-newsletter

Why Teams Matter

From The New York Times Magazine

In Silicon Valley, software engineers are encouraged to work together, in part because studies show that groups tend to innovate faster, see mistakes more quickly and find better solutions to problems. Studies also show that people working in teams tend to achieve better results and report higher job satisfaction. In a 2015 study, executives said that profitability increases when workers are persuaded to collaborate more. Within companies and conglomerates, as well as in government agencies and schools, teams are now the fundamental unit of organization. If a company wants to outstrip its competitors, it needs to influence not only how people work but also how they work together.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html

Black-ish 2x16 Promo "Hope" (HD)

The Long, Winding Road

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/24/arts/hollywood-diversity-inclusion.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0