This line hits different 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/lY1eRsmSMx
— UpSkillYourLife (@UpSkillYourLife) July 26, 2024
https://x.com/upskillyourlife/status/1816730169308028984?s=51&t=oAqSVbyKyZJD4ZXw2lq-W
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Today is a Gift
How History is Recorded
“You don't expect the people who came to invade us to write the truth about us.” ~ Miriam Makeba #WakeUpEverybody✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/fvN7Rfxqj0
— Mzilikazi wa Afrika (@IamMzilikazi) July 27, 2024
https://x.com/iammzilikazi/status/1817105530319421820?s=51&t=oAqSVbyKyZJD4ZXw2lq-WQ
Zooming For Kamala
If White Women coalesce, organize, and vote for VP, KAMALA HARRIS WINS IN A LANDSLIDE and it’s not even close!!! pic.twitter.com/e2ebuzKT9n
— Brian Baez (@MentallyDivine) July 26, 2024
Friday, July 26, 2024
The Last Black Boarding School
An excerpt from Elle -
The Last Black Boarding School
Piney Woods—the oldest of four remaining historically Black boarding schools in the United States—provides something rare for its students: a safe space to learn.
By Danielle Prescod
Protecting the legacy of Black education in America is a time-honored form of resistance. Established in 1909, The Piney Woods School is the oldest of just four remaining historically Black boarding schools in the United States. Twenty-one miles outside of Jackson, Mississippi, on 2,000 acres of land, 15 very distinct buildings with signature red roofs break through the uniformity of the lush green landscape. Mississippi’s only amphitheater is the graduation stage for a small class of 21 students who wait to shake hands with faculty before crossing over the threshold to college. The aged stones set firmly in the ground serve as a reminder that this place is established and firmly rooted. This is why a by-the-numbers overview hardly captures the essence of this sacred institution, a physical representation of the enduring importance of education.
Initially, these Black institutions became a bulwark against systemic injustices like segregation or the outright denial of access to education for many Black Americans. Black schools made thinking, imagining, and creating possible. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like Howard, Spelman, and Morehouse are names that are easily recognized. Their marching bands and sports teams and homecoming celebrations are traditions that span generations. But a Black boarding school? Most people don’t even know they exist. After all, these secondary schools have been significantly less publicized than colleges and universities. But given the crucial development that happens before the age of 18, they are equally as important, if not more so.
The benefits of attending Piney Woods are also why a lot of Black students opt for HBCUs—namely, they are a safe space. Aside from that, rigorous academic and behavioral standards help to mold students into the best versions of themselves. Black institutions can teach the banned material. They are not going to sugarcoat the history of the slave trade or mince words about white supremacy. They are the anti-PragerU, the school learning materials designed to hijack history with rewrites that combat critical race theory. That’s part of the reason that Piney Woods students Taimya and Takira Adams, a graduating senior and rising junior respectively, ended up at the school. Taimya, the class of 2024’s valedictorian, requested that her mother send her to Piney Woods after several incidents at her predominately white school made her question the material she was being taught. “In fifth grade, I had an English teacher insinuate that slaves chose to be slaves—that they would rather be slaves than be free or go out and work on their own,” she says. As the daughter of a political advocate and outreach coordinator, Taimya knew that what she was hearing was wrong, but she did not possess the deft language to express what she wanted to say. Instead, she asked to go to a different kind of school, one that her aunt had attended and always talked about, one where there were Black kids and Black teachers. So she enrolled at Piney Woods. Now, she says, “I feel like I’m going to go out into the world knowing who I am, where I come from, and the history of my people in this country.”
https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a61146049/piney-woods-boarding-school-legacy/
How About Adding a Layover?
An excerpt from Afar.com -
6 Places You Can Visit for (Almost) Free on a Stopover Flight
Airline stopover programs provide a great, affordable way to extend your trip and visit an additional destination. Here’s how to see two countries for the price of one.
By Bailey Berg
 |
| Heading to Europe? Why not stop in Lisbon, Portugal, en route to your final destination when flying with TAP Air Portugal? Photo by Diego Garcia/Unsplash |
Often, when you’re traveling from one country to another on a connecting flight, the time spent in the connecting hub feels a bit like being lost in a no-man’s-land of travel—neither here, nor there. However, a growing number of airlines are working to reshape travelers’ relationships with extra-long layovers.
In recent years, more carriers have started offering airline stopover programs that encourage travelers to explore additional destinations along their journey, spending between 24 hours and 10 days (depending on the program) in a locale without incurring additional airfare charges. It’s a more extended break in the itinerary than a layover, which generally refers to a relatively short stop between connecting flights. Stopovers are typically free to schedule and often include complimentary or heavily discounted hotel stays and on-ground transit. It’s an opportunity for the airline to direct more tourism dollars to a capital city or flagship country and offer travelers the opportunity to visit multiple destinations for (more or less) the price of one.
Here are six of the best airline stopover programs to help extend your vacation.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
 |
| Take a detour to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.Photo by Katerina Kerdi/Unsplash |
Those transiting through Abu Dhabi can opt to stay in the capital of the United Arab Emirates for a spell with Etihad Airways’ stopover program.
Travelers transiting through Etihad’s home base can choose a complimentary one- or two-night stay at various three-, four-, and even five-star hotels across the capital city. Some of the luxury options include the Shangri La Qaryat Al Beri, Bab Al Qasr, and the Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences Emirates Pearl. You can find the full spread of hotel options on Etihad’s stopover page.
Other perks of the program include up to 30 percent off dining at select restaurants (many of which are within the hotels offered through the program) and free tickets to attractions like the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, and Saadiyat Island. There is also a free shuttle service that connects travelers to the various sites.
The program is only available to those who book directly through Etihad’s website. To be eligible, you must book at least three days before you arrive in the Persian Gulf city. Other stipulations include a handful of blackout periods (including November 3 through 8, December 5 through 8, and December 23 through January 2), and the offer is only valid in one direction (so you can’t score a free stay on both your away and return tickets).
Reykjavík, Iceland
Spending some time in the utterly charming city of Reykjavík, Iceland.
Photo by Annie Spratt/Unsplash
Icelandair is credited as the pioneer of the free airline stopover; it has been offering some iteration of the program since the early 1960s, which greatly helped increase tourism to the land of fire and ice.
The current program allows travelers to book a stopover in Reykjavík, Iceland, for one to seven days at no additional cost. All you have to do is select the “Stopover in Iceland” option and input how many days you’d like to stay when booking your ticket. It’s particularly useful for flights between the United States and mainland Europe.
Unlike some other destinations, Icelandair’s program doesn’t offer free or discounted accommodation or transportation, so be sure to factor travel within the country into your costs. However, it is possible to book some tours (like an abbreviated Golden Circle tour, where guests can visit Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir geothermal area, two of Iceland’s most famous natural wonders) directly through the airline.
https://www.afar.com/magazine/a-guide-to-airline-stopover-programs
Classic Bill Withers
An excerpt from AmericanSongwriter.com -
3 Eternal Songs by Bill Withers that Have Stood the Test of Time
by Jacob Uitti
Bill Withers was the essence of simplicity. His songs were tight, compact, and illustrious. Like a little box that opened up into a world of color and poetry, his songs knew how to implore and explode all at the same time. And along the way, the Slab Fork, West Virginia-born songwriter and smooth-voiced performer released several songs that have since stood the test of time.
Withers, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 81, composed songs people still put on today in order to feel something. Whether that’s joy, pain, sorrow, or the concept of community, what he did for music listeners will continue to last well into the future. Here below, we wanted to dive into three songs he wrote that remain iconic. Indeed, here below are a trio of eternal songs by the artist.
Do you agree with these choices? Where's "Grandma's Hands?" Check out the link to the article and see why these were chosen.
CIA's First Black Spymaster
An excerpt from NBC News -
George Hocker broke through barriers as one of the CIA’s first Black spymasters
After witnessing Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Hocker decided he wasn't "going to let discrimination define me, and I was going to be a Black spy for my country.”
By Dan De Luce
 |
| George Hocker, left, with Robert Gates, former director of the CIA and secretary of defense.CIA Archive |
When George Hocker underwent a grueling training course to become a CIA spy, much of America was still segregated. That meant Hocker, as a Black man, could not go to restaurants in Virginia to meet with agency instructors playing the part of foreign informants.
Different exercises had to be developed for Hocker. “I had to have car meetings, whereas my classmates could go and have a nice meal in a restaurant,” he said.
Out of a class of 75, Hocker was the only Black person. He passed the course and went on to blaze a trail as one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s first Black clandestine officers, the first to open a CIA station abroad and the first to lead a branch inside the Directorate of Operations.
Hocker’s pioneering experience at the spy agency — along with a small number of other African Americans who joined in the 1960s — has been largely overlooked until recently, partly due to the secrecy that requires most CIA officers to serve in anonymity.
But the agency recently installed an exhibit dedicated to Hocker at its museum at CIA headquarters, and interviewed him on its official podcast. And he is now writing a memoir, saying he wants to pass on the lessons he learned as a “Black spymaster” about resilience and determination.
n an interview with NBC News, Hocker, 84, described the discrimination he faced throughout his career and his sometimes harrowing missions overseas.
After starting out in the CIA’s records department in 1957 while a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Hocker was later promoted to be an analyst at the CIA. But he was apprehensive about signing up for the spy training course.
Seeing no African American role models at the agency, he planned to leave for the Labor Department to work as economist.
“I had pretty much decided that this was not a place where I wanted to try to make a career,” he said.
Then Hocker attended the historic 1963 March on Washington, where he stood only 100 yards away as Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He was deeply affected by what he saw and heard that day, including seeing Black and white Americans walking together peacefully, in common cause.
Hocker said it was “a defining moment for me, and I decided that I wasn’t going to let bigotry and discrimination define me, and that I was going to be a Black spy for my country.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/george-hocker-cia-first-black-spy-spymasters-rcna160148
Military Trick to Cool Down in Minutes
An excerpt from Upworthy -
Here’s a military trick that can help you cool down in minutes, even in scorching heat
It's cheap, fast and effective.
Tod Perry
With temperatures rising worldwide, it's essential to know how to stay cool by reducing your body heat. It’s important to keep hydrated and wear breathable clothing, but if you want to cool off quickly, the military has a trick to reduce body temperature in minutes.
According to a CBS report, research shows that submerging your forearms and biceps in ice-cold water can help prevent overheating. That’s why the military uses arm immersion tables when training in hot weather or stationed in places where the heat is unbearable and it's impossible to get to an air-conditioned room.
"It's low-tech, it's inexpensive, it's easy to implement," Lt. Col. Dave DeGroot, who runs the Army Heat Center at Fort Moore, told CBS. "It's a bucket of water." Arm immersion tables are long, narrow troughs filled with ice-cold water that stand on four legs.
To cool down, soldiers place their hands, arms, and wrists in the cold water for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, they raise their arms above their heads. This allows cooled blood to circulate throughout the body, lowering its temperature. It also allows the water to drip down their arms, cooling their core from the outside.
Arm immersion! Participating and observing every POI helps effectively plan, resource and implement training. #RockSteady #Brave&Bold #ItWasCold!!!! #GAHeat pic.twitter.com/QrCyQ6i8PL
— Dysha Harrison (@BarcliffDysha) June 17, 2022
One Stop Shopping: Groceries & Ammunition in Vending Machines
An excerpt from Newsweek -
Ammunition Vending Machines Appear in Grocery Stores
By Alia Shoaib
 |
| A vending machine stocked with ammunition produced by company American Rounds. American Rounds |
Vending machines stocked with ammunition have been installed in several grocery stores across the United States.
The machines are made by American Rounds and allow customers over the age of 21 to buy ammunition with the same ease as using an ATM, the company says.
"Our automated ammo dispensers are accessible 24/7, ensuring that you can buy ammunition on your own schedule, free from the constraints of store hours and long lines," American Rounds says on its website.
The company says that their vending machines have "built-in AI technology, card scanning capability and facial recognition software."
The software can verify the buyer's identity and determine whether the machine matches the identification scanned, according to American Rounds.
The CEO of American Rounds, Grant Magers, told Newsweek that there are eight machines installed or in the process of being installed across four states.
https://www.newsweek.com/ammunition-vending-machines-grocery-stores-1921976
Southern Sandwiches
An excerpt from Southern Living -
11 “Weird” Southern Sandwiches We’ll Never Stop Making
We'll put almost anything between two pieces of soft bread and mayonnaise.
By Kaitlyn Yarborough
1. Southern Tomato Sandwich
Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
There are those who get it, and the ones who are just too scared to try. The basic formula of a Southern tomato sandwich is soft white bread, mayonnaise, tomatoes, salt, and pepper sprinkled on generously. Typically, the juicy summer delicacy is eaten over the kitchen sink. Warning: You won't get the same sort of joyful flavor from a grocery store tomato, which typically lacks some of the juiciness and sweetness.
2. Pineapple Sandwich
 |
| Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox |
3. Funeral Sandwiches
 |
| Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf |
https://www.southernliving.com/weird-southern-sandwiches-7556056
The First African-American Woman Neurosurgeon Graduate at Johns Hopkins
An excerpt from Face2FaceAfrica -
Ghanaian becomes first African-American woman to graduate from Johns Hopkins neurosurgery program
BY Dollita Okine,
 |
| Dr. Nancy Abu-Bonsrah makes history. Photo Credit: X, Anna/Dr. Nancy Abu-Bonsrah |
Born in Ghana, Dr. Nancy Abu-Bonsrah is now the first African-American woman to graduate from the seven-year neurosurgery program at Johns Hopkins in the United States.
She made headlines in 2017 when she became the first African-American female resident in the program’s 30-year history. Only two to five residents are accepted into the esteemed program, which is ranked second in the nation. Neurosurgeon and author Dr. Ben Carson is one of its most renowned alumni.
Abu-Bonsrah commemorated her achievements on X on June 21, with the caption, “12 years @HopkinsMedicine came to an end last weekend, surrounded by family. Surreal that I’m done @HopkinsNsurg! #olderandwiser #latenightreflections.”
How "You're Right" Decreases Stress
An excerpt from INC. -
With 2 Words, Keanu Reeves Taught a Powerful Lesson on How to Decrease Stress. The answer is surprisingly simple.
Expert Opinion By Kelly Main, Writer and adviser @thekellymain
 |
| Keanu Reeves. Illustration: Inc; Photo: Getty Images |
Stress is all around us, and for many of us, it is all-consuming.
Slowly, it is sapping our energy, diminishing our productivity, and, of course, eating away not just at our happiness but our very ability to be happy. With 77 percent of people in the U.S. reportedly feeling burnt out, according to Deloitte, and anxiety becoming increasingly commonplace, stress is a devil most of us know.
It's certainly one that I know too well -- despite my best efforts to pretend I don't. Sick of being stressed out, I went to the other side of the world, where I found an unexpected cure to burnout. Yet putting what I learned into practice proved no easy feat. Every which way we look, there is something going on and something to be stressed about.
There are the wars plaguing the world, upcoming elections, mass layoffs, and fears of an impending economic collapse. If that weren't enough, there are crumbling relationships, deteriorating mental health, the bills that need to be paid, and the energy you don't have to deal with it all.
At one point or another, or in one way or another, we've all been there.
While we might be hard-pressed to get everyone to agree when families still can't get along, we can all agree we would benefit from less stress. With one short quote and two powerful key words Keanu Reeves taught a masterclass on how to decrease your stress levels, and with that, increase your happiness:
"I'm at a stage in my life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right -- have fun."
"You're right" is the key word -- even if the person is, in fact, incorrect. While it might be one of the hardest things for us to say -- especially when we know we are right -- it is one of the fastest ways to decrease stress and anxiety. And it's not simply a brush-off that can quickly decrease your own stress -- it could also reduce the stress of those around you.
Effectively using this simple, two-word anxiety reducer comes down to two things that help you uncover the cost-benefit of buying into the discussion.
Water the flowers, not the weeds
In other words, the things to which we give our energy grow. And so it's key to learn how to allocate your energy appropriately so that you focus on the things you want -- not the things you don't.
An Olympic Legend Masters Jazz
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
He’s 77, an Olympic legend and just made a hip-hop jazz album
In Mexico City in 1968, Bob Beamon soared to one of the Games’ most enduring records. Now he has started a new life as a percussionist.
By Les Carpenter
NEW YORK — The B.O.N.E. Squad is the kind of jazz band that makes your knees quiver and feet convulse. Hip-hop jazz they call it, filled with funk and groove and soul. To some in New York, the B.O.N.E. Squad is a local institution, with a standing gig as the opening act for a theater in the Bronx.
But on this January night, the B.O.N.E. Squad is in a packed Manhattan music hall called The Cutting Room to play songs from its latest album with its newest member: a tall, lean 77-year-old Olympic legend who is standing behind a set of bongo and conga drums. Stix Bones, the band’s leader and main drummer, introduces him
“The man himself,” he yells into a microphone. “Bob Beamon!”
And Beamon, who for nearly six decades has held the Olympic long jump record, starts slapping his palms across the congas. Bop-a-bop-a-bop. The beat builds fast, until it feels as though the whole room is filled with the sound of Bob Beamon playing congas. People in the crowd start to shout.
Beamon peers at them through round glasses that appear to change color in the light and look almost like a pair of Olympic rings. A small smile slides across his lips. Watching him, it would be impossible to imagine that less than a year earlier he could barely play, that he had never been trained and had to relearn many of the basics. Getting to this night, with this band, took months of agonizing work.
The B.O.N.E. Squad’s album cover is a black-and-white photograph of a brick apartment building that looks much like the 40 Projects in South Jamaica, Queens, where Beamon grew up. It bears two names: Stix Bones and Bob Beamon.
“I’m big time now,” Beamon said.
The album is called “Olimpik Soul.” The first song — an exaltation of saxophone, bass and drums — is called “Leap.”
Honest Movie Reviews
popcorn-dropping farter brought more of a unique and nuanced experience than this dreadful Costner film. stand strong, king.
— Carmela-by-the-Sea 🇵🇸 (@SocialistSubaru) July 7, 2024
Subtle Signs Folks Are Super Smart
An excerpt from Upworthy -
How do you know someone is very smart? Here are 15 'subtle signs' people notice.
"You can understand both sides of an issue and still think one is wrong."
Tod Perry
Here are 15 “subtle” signs that someone is highly intelligent.
1. They admit their mistakes
"When someone can admit a mistake and they know they don’t know everything."
2. Great problem-solvers
"They're very good at problem-solving. Even if it's something they have no experience with they always approach the problem from the right angle."
3. They appreciate nuance
"'I can hold two opposing ideas in my head at the same time.' Anyone who is willing to do that is intriguing to me. Especially with polarizing issues. They might actually be interesting to talk to."
4. They say 'I don't know'
"I like to call it being smart enough to know how stupid you are."
"100% this. I have a good friend who is a teaching professor at Cambridge. He is acutely aware of how ‘little’ he knows about areas outside his specialization."
5. They have self-doubt
"They struggle with imposter syndrome. Dumb people always think they’re [great]."
"It can happen but I’ve met plenty who don’t really doubt themselves. Instead, they take not knowing or not having any experience as an opportunity, just like people go down interesting internet rabbit holes. Really smart people can view mistakes as opportunities for growth and inexperience as an opportunity to gather new experiences."
The great American poet Charles Bukowski once wrote, “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts and the stupid ones are full of confidence,” and according to science, he’s correct.
“Ignorance is associated with exaggerated confidence in one’s abilities, whereas experts are unduly tentative about their performance,” Stephan Lewandowsky Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol, writes for the World Economic Forum. “This basic finding has been replicated numerous times in many different circumstances. There is very little doubt about its status as a fundamental aspect of human behavior.”
6. They ask questions
"They are ok with being perceived as 'stupid' by asking questions — if we hold back in fear, we'll never truly learn. Plus, it's a good way to show others it's ok to question things if you don't understand — better off if we're on the same page instead of hoping things work out without being informed."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)