Thursday, April 28, 2016
A Helping Hand
An excerpt from Upworthy -
 |
| We did this sweet lady's lawn today. She is 93, the neighbors told us that she been out their trying to cut her own lawn . Have no fear, raising men lawn care is going to make sure her lawn is done every two weeks ! Making a difference in our community ! Terrence Stroy |
Smith is the founder of Raising Men Lawn Care Service, a group that's lending a hugely helpful hand to neighbors in need.
Smith, a student at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, launched his organization so elderly folks, single parents, and people with disabilities — those who may not "have the time, resources and/or money to manicure their yards" — could still have well-kept lawns free of charge.
"The typical response is tears of joy," he told Upworthy of his group's impact.
http://www.upworthy.com/why-a-photo-of-this-93-year-old-and-her-lawn-mowers-is-going-viral?c=upw1
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Brothas on Blast
An excerpt from Very Smart Brothas -
WHERE “BECKY” COMES FROM, AND WHY IT’S NOT RACIST, EXPLAINED
What is Lemonade?
Remember when you were a kid, and your grandma left you alone in the kitchen, and said “don’t take any cookies from the cookie jar,” but there were like 17 cookies in the jar, so you took one thinking she wouldn’t notice, but when she came back in the kitchen you started acting all guilty like you know she knows you took a cookie? Well, if you’re a man in a relationship with a woman, both Lemonade the album and the short film are that cookie jar. The only other thing that’s ever made this many men this self-conscious is Lexington Steele.
It’s that bad, huh?
Let’s just say that 60% of the men in America are spending this week vacillating between feeling bad for Jay Z and being mad at Jay Z for doing whatever he did with Becky With The Good Hair and putting the spotlight on all of us. It’s one thing to do some fuckshit when you have 600 million to fall back on. You might be forgiven. You’ll be memed. But forgiven. It’s another thing if your girl is paying your wifi bill. And your Netflix bill. And your electric bill. You have much less of a rope. You’re practically ropeless. And there are A LOT of ropeless niggas out there, and I’d imagine they’re all very mad at Jay Z.
http://verysmartbrothas.com/where-becky-comes-from-and-why-its-not-racist-explained/
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Nature vs. Nuture
An excerpt from The New Yorker -
Why are identical twins alike? In the late nineteen-seventies, a team of scientists in Minnesota set out to determine how much these similarities arose from genes, rather than environments—from “nature,” rather than “nurture.” Scouring thousands of adoption records and news clips, the researchers gleaned a rare cohort of fifty-six identical twins who had been separated at birth. Reared in different families and different cities, often in vastly dissimilar circumstances, these twins shared only their genomes. Yet on tests designed to measure personality, attitudes, temperaments, and anxieties, they converged astonishingly. Social and political attitudes were powerfully correlated: liberals clustered with liberals, and orthodoxy was twinned with orthodoxy. The same went for religiosity (or its absence), even for the ability to be transported by an aesthetic experience. Two brothers, separated by geographic and economic continents, might be brought to tears by the same Chopin nocturne, as if responding to some subtle, common chord struck by their genomes.
One pair of twins both suffered crippling migraines, owned dogs that they had named Toy, married women named Linda, and had sons named James Allan (although one spelled the middle name with a single “l”). Another pair—one brought up Jewish, in Trinidad, and the other Catholic, in Nazi Germany, where he joined the Hitler Youth—wore blue shirts with epaulets and four pockets, and shared peculiar obsessive behaviors, such as flushing the toilet before using it. Both had invented fake sneezes to diffuse tense moments. Two sisters—separated long before the development of language—had invented the same word to describe the way they scrunched up their noses: “squidging.” Another pair confessed that they had been haunted by nightmares of being suffocated by various metallic objects—doorknobs, fishhooks, and the like.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/02/breakthroughs-in-epigenetics?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(33)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=8841059&spUserID=MTE0MzE0NDEyNDUyS0&spJobID=902696804&spReportId=OTAyNjk2ODA0S0
Same but Different
How epigenetics can blur the line between nature and nurture.
BY SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE
Why are identical twins alike? In the late nineteen-seventies, a team of scientists in Minnesota set out to determine how much these similarities arose from genes, rather than environments—from “nature,” rather than “nurture.” Scouring thousands of adoption records and news clips, the researchers gleaned a rare cohort of fifty-six identical twins who had been separated at birth. Reared in different families and different cities, often in vastly dissimilar circumstances, these twins shared only their genomes. Yet on tests designed to measure personality, attitudes, temperaments, and anxieties, they converged astonishingly. Social and political attitudes were powerfully correlated: liberals clustered with liberals, and orthodoxy was twinned with orthodoxy. The same went for religiosity (or its absence), even for the ability to be transported by an aesthetic experience. Two brothers, separated by geographic and economic continents, might be brought to tears by the same Chopin nocturne, as if responding to some subtle, common chord struck by their genomes.
One pair of twins both suffered crippling migraines, owned dogs that they had named Toy, married women named Linda, and had sons named James Allan (although one spelled the middle name with a single “l”). Another pair—one brought up Jewish, in Trinidad, and the other Catholic, in Nazi Germany, where he joined the Hitler Youth—wore blue shirts with epaulets and four pockets, and shared peculiar obsessive behaviors, such as flushing the toilet before using it. Both had invented fake sneezes to diffuse tense moments. Two sisters—separated long before the development of language—had invented the same word to describe the way they scrunched up their noses: “squidging.” Another pair confessed that they had been haunted by nightmares of being suffocated by various metallic objects—doorknobs, fishhooks, and the like.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/02/breakthroughs-in-epigenetics?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(33)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=8841059&spUserID=MTE0MzE0NDEyNDUyS0&spJobID=902696804&spReportId=OTAyNjk2ODA0S0
He Lost His Way
This is the story of how Tiger Woods lost his father, and in turn, lost his way.
It's a sad story.
I often wonder why some people blossom and flourish in the face of adversity like divorce or death, and others flounder, never to recover.
Why is that?
From ESPN -
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15278522/how-tiger-woods-life-unraveled-years-father-earl-woods-death
It's a sad story.
I often wonder why some people blossom and flourish in the face of adversity like divorce or death, and others flounder, never to recover.
Why is that?
From ESPN -
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15278522/how-tiger-woods-life-unraveled-years-father-earl-woods-death
Sh*t Still Hitting the Fan
Excerpts from The New York Times - H/T Ben
A PowerPoint presentation was prepared by a top technology executive at Volkswagen in 2006, laying out in detail how the automaker could cheat on emissions tests in the United States.
The presentation has been discovered as part of the continuing investigations into Volkswagen, according to two people who have seen the document and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the legal action against the company. It provides the most direct link yet to the genesis of the deception at Volkswagen, which admitted late last year that 11 million vehicles worldwide were equipped with software to cheat on tests that measured pollution in emissions.
~~~~~~~~~~
What is now clear is that the current crisis at Volkswagen traces back to the PowerPoint presentation a decade ago.
Volkswagen engineers at the company’s research and development complex in Wolfsburg realized that the emissions equipment in their newest diesel engine would wear out too quickly if it were calibrated to meet American pollution standards. The emissions rules in the United States are more stringent than those in Europe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/business/international/vw-presentation-in-06-showed-how-to-foil-emissions-tests.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone&_r=0
VW Presentation in ’06 Showed How to Foil Emissions Tests
A PowerPoint presentation was prepared by a top technology executive at Volkswagen in 2006, laying out in detail how the automaker could cheat on emissions tests in the United States.
The presentation has been discovered as part of the continuing investigations into Volkswagen, according to two people who have seen the document and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the legal action against the company. It provides the most direct link yet to the genesis of the deception at Volkswagen, which admitted late last year that 11 million vehicles worldwide were equipped with software to cheat on tests that measured pollution in emissions.
~~~~~~~~~~
What is now clear is that the current crisis at Volkswagen traces back to the PowerPoint presentation a decade ago.
Volkswagen engineers at the company’s research and development complex in Wolfsburg realized that the emissions equipment in their newest diesel engine would wear out too quickly if it were calibrated to meet American pollution standards. The emissions rules in the United States are more stringent than those in Europe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/business/international/vw-presentation-in-06-showed-how-to-foil-emissions-tests.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone&_r=0
Monday, April 25, 2016
An Escape Route
From The Daily Good -
“Your safety and happiness is our highest priority,” reads a sign hanging in the women’s bathroom. “If anyone is bothering you or making you feel uncomfortable please tell us. We will discreetly move them away, and if necessary, ask them to leave.”
https://www.good.is/articles/bar-tinder-bad-date?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
UK Bar Has Exit Strategy for Patrons Suffering Through Bad Tinder Dates
“Your safety and happiness is our highest priority,” reads a sign hanging in the women’s bathroom. “If anyone is bothering you or making you feel uncomfortable please tell us. We will discreetly move them away, and if necessary, ask them to leave.”
https://www.good.is/articles/bar-tinder-bad-date?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
Traffic News
An excerpt from Wired -
Widening Highways Never Fixes Traffic. But Darnit, It Did in Texas
Widening Highways Never Fixes Traffic. But Darnit, It Did in Texas
The Texas Department of Transportation repaved the shoulders along both sides of a 6.3-mile stretch of State Highway 161 between Dallas and Fort Worth in September. Then it opened them up to traffic during the daily rush hour, keeping tow trucks on standby in case someone breaks down. Based on figures released this month, with the extra lanes in place, traffic “started sailing,” The Dallas Morning News reported this week.
It isn’t supposed to work that way. The rule of induced demand says widening highways does not ease congestion, and often makes it worse. Transportation officials could see this anomaly as a Texas-sized reason to build more highways—but shouldn’t.
http://www.wired.com/2016/04/widening-highways-never-fixes-traffic-darnit-texas/?mbid=nl_42516
Quote
From Very Smart Brothas -
http://verysmartbrothas.com/how-and-why-i-forgave-the-father-i-never-had/
HOW AND WHY I FORGAVE THE FATHER I NEVER HAD
When I became an adult, no matter how begrudgingly, I started to see everything differently. My father, no matter how flawed, is just a man. He is as imperfect as I am. He has made mistakes, and so have I. He has disappointed people, and so have I. He hasn’t lived up to my expectations, and neither have I. But in order to be happy, whole, and open to life’s goodness, we have to accept and love our situations and ourselves exactly as they are before we set out to change them. In understanding that my father is who he is because of his experiences, I was able to forge a relationship from a different perspective. Talking to him about his interests and the happenings of his life became more natural, because I was no longer trying to force the father out of him. I was simply talking to a man about his day, his favorite song of the moment, and what he was going to eat for dinner. And acceptance does not mean that you won’t still be saddened or disappointed by this person, it just means that by engaging with them, you are accepting the risks that come with it. I accepted that this is the father I have; if this is who God gave me, what am I to learn from him?http://verysmartbrothas.com/how-and-why-i-forgave-the-father-i-never-had/
Omar for President
This will only make sense if you know the fabulous show from HBO, The Wire.
An excerpt from Very Smart Brothas -
An excerpt from Very Smart Brothas -
FIVE GREAT ALTERNATIVES BLACK AMERICA SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER FOR PRESIDENT
5. Omar from The Wire
Not the actor Michael K. Williamson, I’m talking about the character Omar Little from HBO’s hit television series. I’m sure some people will say “but he’s a fictional character”—but so is Donald Trump. I’m convinced I’m going to wake up one day and all White America will be laughing at how they convinced us that the orange-haired Hitler could actually become head of State. I’m holding out hope that his candidacy is all an elaborate prank from the producers of Punk’d.
Omar, however, would make a great President, especially if he selected Brother Mouzone as VP. America needs a chief executive who garners global respect. Omar is that man. You think Putin would act like an asshole if O was sitting in the United Nations General Assembly in his trench coat with a do-rag tied tightly over his cornrows? You think Kim Jong Un would continue testing nuclear missiles off the coast of North Korea after President Little called him up on the red phone and whispered “You come at the king, you best not miss”?
Campaign Slogan: Omar Coming!
http://verysmartbrothas.com/five-great-alternatives-black-america-should-seriously-consider-for-president/
http://verysmartbrothas.com/five-great-alternatives-black-america-should-seriously-consider-for-president/
Sunday, April 24, 2016
You'll Never Look at Laundry the Same Again
Check out this riveting (YES riveting!) look at laundry drying on clotheslines around the world.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2016/04/22/if-you-live-in-romania-your-laundry-may-be-airing-on-instagram/?hpid=hp_no-name_photo-story-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2016/04/22/if-you-live-in-romania-your-laundry-may-be-airing-on-instagram/?hpid=hp_no-name_photo-story-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Quote
From The New York Times -
But she’s daring to think beyond herself. The heavy hangover of the piece involves what lots of men have done to lots of women, black women in particular. Between songs, we hear Malcolm X intone that no one has had it rougher than they have. Think about what it takes to make lemonade. You have to split open a lot of citrus, remove the seeds, strain for pulp and add a lot of sugar. It’s a process. Black women are good at lemonade.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/arts/music/beyonce-unearths-pain-and-lets-it-flow-in-lemonade.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Beyoncé Unearths Pain and Lets It Flow in ‘Lemonade’
But she’s daring to think beyond herself. The heavy hangover of the piece involves what lots of men have done to lots of women, black women in particular. Between songs, we hear Malcolm X intone that no one has had it rougher than they have. Think about what it takes to make lemonade. You have to split open a lot of citrus, remove the seeds, strain for pulp and add a lot of sugar. It’s a process. Black women are good at lemonade.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/arts/music/beyonce-unearths-pain-and-lets-it-flow-in-lemonade.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
An Unlikely Voice
An excerpt from the AP -
'I am here' - Silenced by autism, young man finds his voice
Apr. 24, 2016 12:18 AM EDT
Benjamin Alexander cannot speak, but he is determined to be heard. He cannot type without a hand to support his, and yet he writes and writes, his inner voice shouting out his thoughts. He returns repeatedly to the "fiend" that tried to silence him, the autism he sarcastically calls his "gift."
"Who in the hell gave me this gift?" he once wrote. "Please, take it back."
Ben is a junior at Tulane University, an English major with a 3.7 GPA and a computer full of essays, one of them published in a local journal and another on the university's news site. He wants to help educate people about autism and challenge stereotypes. That's not easy because he still needs some assistance when he types, leading some to doubt him over the years.
On a recent evening, Ben's father settles him at the keyboard and rests his hand under his son's arm. He lightly squeezes Ben's forearm, a subtle move that sets him into action. Ben begins to punch the keys with one finger.
http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:34993946f50443cfbc98e7e2b9f0675b
A Hologram for the King Official Trailer #1 (2016)
OK.
Here's the deal.
He wouldn't have a female doctor.
He wouldn't be allowed to see her hair, at all.
He wouldn't be allowed to be in the car with her. Women are only allowed to be in cars with males that are relatives.
He wouldn't be allowed to be touched by her.
He definitely wouldn't be allowed to be in a relationship with her, at all.
However, if you don't mind putting on your "pretend" cap, only then does this make sense. If you can do that, then you have a chance of enjoying the story.
Empowerment in Houston
An excerpt from The Huffington Post -
How Artists Are Using Row Houses To Empower Citizens In Houston
How Rick Lowe’s “Project Row Houses” brings art and change to ordinary places and ordinary lives.
In 1993, Lowe was part of a group of artists that bought 22 run-down row houses in Houston’s historically black Third Ward. In the years since, the string of houses has blossomed into an arts community, offering everything from artist residencies to after-school programs to temporary shelter for single mothers.
“At its core, it’s really just about thinking [of] the social environment as a sculptural form so that we understand some of the everyday, mundane things that happen,” Lowe explained to Art Practical, “from transitional housing for single mothers or education programs or real-estate development — not only from the standpoint of the practical outcomes from these services but also the poetic elements that can be layered into them.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/project-row-houses-houston_us_5717a1f6e4b0060ccda5090a?ir=Black+Voices§ion=us_black-voices&utm_hp_ref=black-voices
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Bedtime Stories
That speak to the millions of kids who have parents, especially fathers, who are incarcerated.
https://newrepublic.com/article/132808/bedtime-stories-jail?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=TNR%20Daily%20Newsletter
https://newrepublic.com/article/132808/bedtime-stories-jail?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=TNR%20Daily%20Newsletter
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