September 2011
August 2011
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sitdown together at a table of brotherhood.”
—
I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr
Today is the 48th anniversary of this speech. Which means it also is the 148th anniversary of the Emancipation Declaration.
At brunch earlier today, a friend remarked about how I was probably on the first wave of interracial kids. Early on in my academic career, I was the only one I knew of like in earlier generations. Among my brother’s cohort, I knew of lots more while the anger about our existence was quite stronger.
We have accomplished much towards reaching this dream. Yet there is still much further to go.
“We want to believe that the president or the governor must be responsible for a good or bad economy. More generally, we simply assume that good leaders are precisely those who experience success.”
—Can We Judge Economic Success? Perry Versus Obama - NYTimes.com
Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement address (2005) →
news.stanford.edu
Pretty good insight into the character of Steve. A friend of mine randomly met him in an Atlanta Apple Store. She had no idea who he was, but her perception of him matched much of what I read in this.
“
A Georgia jury has acquitted Frank J. Rybicki, assistant professor of mass media at Valdosta State University, of battery charges related to his shutting the laptop of a student in one of his classes in March.
Rybicki denied hurting the student’s finger, as she alleged, but said that professors have every right to shut a laptop when a student violates class rules or is rude by surfing the Web rather than using a laptop to take notes. Valdosta State, which removed Rybicki from teaching duties (but didn’t change his salary) after the incident, has cleared him to return to teaching. However, in July, before his trial, the university informed Rybicki that this academic year would be his last.
” —News: Not Guilty … and Not Long Employed - Inside Higher Ed
Spread of Earthquake-Related Tweets →
miguelrios.tumblr.com
Below is a visual of the Tweets from VA and Washington, DC one minute after the August 23 #earthquake.
Teachers ‘fear Facebook more than Ofsted’ - Telegraph →
telegraph.co.uk
In high school, I used to often answer the phone at home as both parents would either be out working, home working, or home taking care of my much younger brother. One of the things I got to handle was the abuse students or parents intended for my parent who worked as a teacher.
If the speaker offering up the expletives sounded young, then I would say, “No one by that name lives here. You might try one of the other numbers.” The confusion was priceless.
If the speaker offering up the expletives sounded older, then I would say, “You sound upset. You might try calling the school’s principal.” Again, the confusion was priceless.
“If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shabby furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shabby philosophies. It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the wrapped meat inside it.”
—Albert Einstein (via zeitgeistmovement)
Why People Buy Books
Since October I have used both the Kindle app on my phone and physical books. Reading a book for three decades has been a social crutch for me. People, especially young pretty women, initiate conversations about my current book(s). People ignore me reading on my phone unless they know me well enough to ask, “Where is your book?”
People do not see my bookshelves except for a couple photos I posted on Flickr. The pretentiousness would come from seeing that I a week or two later I have moved on to a different book.
I somewhat disagree about ebooks being cheaper. Of the fifteen on my phone, I have only bought one for more than free. It was 10.99. I happened to have bought it because I forgot the $6.27 (including shipping) paper version at home and needed to read it for a book club in four days. In general, the paper books I buy are less than a dollar + $4 shipping. I do check the Kindle price before I buy. Public domain works are often free, which is why I have so many free ebooks.
I was talking with a friend this weekend about my Nook. How much I love it and I read more now than I did before I had the little electronic device. He then tried to convince me why actually holding the book is better. None of it made sense. The smell of a book? Really? That’s what you’re going with? That and turning a page. Bullshit I say. He tried to convince me that sitting in a couch with a cup of tea or something else stupid like that was only capable if one had a physical book. The conversation winded down, we left, got on the subway and I was people watching. I saw many people reading. With their books held at an angle where it was easy to see what they were reading, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I leaned over to him and said, I know why people think a physical book is better than the digital ebook. He asked “why?”, in a sort of condescending tone. I replied: “because people are self centered, pontificating, self-aggrandizing pricks.” He was shocked at this. He scoffed and said, “what the fuck are you talking about?” Here is my reasoning:
“A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. That is why I read books.”
—Tyrion Lannister (via wilwheaton)
