loose threads

food52: When it comes to dessert, practice makes perfect. And...

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:30:14 -0400

When it comes to dessert, practice makes perfect. And s’mores chunks make everyone happy. Phyllis from Dash and Bella crafts the perfect Memorial Day treat — with step-by-step instructions.

Read more: S’mores Ice Cream on Food52

…must make this summer

kottke.org: Leadership lessons from the dancing guy

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:02 -0400

kottke.org: Leadership lessons from the dancing guy:

jkottke:

This is possibly the best three-minute demonstration of anything I’ve ever seen. Derek Sivers takes a shaky video of a lone dancing guy at a music festival and turns it into a lesson about leadership.

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he’s doing is so…

…be the first…follower…

"Most Whites find it easy to ignore residential segregation. I experienced a good example of this..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:29:44 -0400

“Most Whites find it easy to ignore residential segregation. I experienced a good example of this inattention when I told a lunch-table’s worth of White colleagues at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences about the linguist John Baugh’s project on “linguistic profiling” (Baugh 2003). Baugh has developed a matched-guise test in which a single speaker uses a “White professional,” a “Latino,” or a “Black” voice in making telephone inquiries about the availability of advertised rentals in the San Francisco Bay area. The “White professional” voice is much more likely to yield an invitation to make an appointment to look at the property, while the other accents are more likely to result in a response that the rental is no longer available. My colleagues, all sophisticated scholars, were genuinely surprised at this result; several mentioned that they had thought that this sort of discrimination had long since disappeared.”

- Jane H. Hill, The Everyday Language of White Racism (via wretchedoftheearth)

*****

This is like when me and my white soon-to-be husband were looking for places. I’d call up and they’d say, “Come on down! Get an application!”. Because I don’t “sound” black.

Then I’d walk in 2 minutes later and they’d be all, “Oh. Sorry, we just rented it.”

Then I’d send him in and he’d get an application.

The best part? Walking back in while he was completing the application. “Oh, they gave you an application? But they told me it was just rented. ODD. THAT. I’m going to report them so let’s just skip this place, m’kay?” The looks on their faces and the pathetic apologies were just too much fun.

Used to deal with the same thing with road trips. Hotels would tell me that there were no vacancies, but my white roommate would go in and get us a room, usually cheaper than advertised.

*****

(via faboomama)

I do similar stuff at restauants and other places of business with my white bf. At least it makes it easier to know where not to go!

(via 23andchildfree)

Reblogging again for the commentary

(via darkjez)

But we’re just supposed to *trust* and think everything is an *isolated* incident.

(via hamburgerjack)

Not so sophisticated scholars, were they? I mean this really, really shouldn’t be all that surprising.

(via stfunithingas)

It shouldn’t be surprising, but I guarantee that most white people find it unbelievable

(via wretchedoftheearth)

I’m going to reblog this every time I see it on my dash. My parents pointed out how this phenomenon worked when we were moving to PA (they’d get steered to crummier neighborhoods and have to insist on being shown others). Housing discrimination is still pretty widespread and the gatekeepers? Tend to either intentionally or due to unchecked bias reinforce the status quo.

(via invisiblelad)

It always floors me the things people are surprised at. Meanwhile, every person of color is sitting here like, “Oh. Must be another day that ends in Y, and in other news, water is wet.” Like, really, people are surprised by this, and whenever they show surprise at learning stuff that we go through, I have to poker face, lest I end up giving them the most disbelieving side eye in history because how do you NOT know this? But then, you know. Some people have the privilege of being able to be unaware it because it’s not a problem they have to deal with. :/ (via lori-jaye)

Reblogged again for commentary

(via covenesque)

Sounds like my friends when they were looking for a place in Midtown memphis(mostly white liberal middle class area)… they said people would invite them to see the places and then would either suddenly become unavailable or they would just ignore their phone calls.. but the Obama’s said “no more excuses.. work harder”…

(via jcoleknowsbest)

Sort of had this issue with an acquaintance of my boss. The application was approved and all systems were go until the potential tenant (a Black person) faxed in a copy of their picture ID. Suddenly, the landlord didn’t want to rent the home out anymore. A real estate agent on behalf of the client threatened to pursue legal action and the acquaintance asked us for advice.

I read the email and was like, “pbbft, your landlord fucked himself over. what do you want us to say? have fun getting sued, you should’ve known better.”

(via sara-huynh)

Officially in love with sara-huynh

(via carrionofcats)

All of this beautiful commentary.

(via cognitivedissonance)

really-shit: Patrick Kramer...

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:20:25 -0400

really-shit:

Patrick Kramer | http://www.patrickkramerart.com/ ..

You might think these are photos, but you’re wrong! These are PAINTINGS done by Patrick Kramer.

This just shows that there are some crazy talented people out there.

If you’ve enjoyed reading, be sure to check out my archive & FB.

explore-blog: The Pace of Productivity - how to master your...

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:22:39 -0400

explore-blog:

The Pace of Productivity - how to master your creative routine.

divalocity: Chic Happens

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:17:30 -0400

divalocity:

Chic Happens

“This is not your dad’s HBO Mandela film…”

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:50:34 -0400

“This is not your dad’s HBO Mandela film…”

bookshelfporn: ‘tsundoku’ - the Japanese word for buying books...

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:40:52 -0400

bookshelfporn:

‘tsundoku’ - the Japanese word for buying books & not reading them, leaving them to pile up.

"Good job, Internet!"

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:46:22 -0400

“Good job, Internet!”

- Teenage chemistry enthusiast won’t be charged with felony, will go to space camp - Boing Boing

Good job, internet!

(via mordicaifeed)

Good stuff

(via perzadook)

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:32:13 -0400

Viola Davis Appreciation: Meeting Viola Davis

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:18:08 -0400

Viola Davis Appreciation: Meeting Viola Davis:

mylavaland:

Have you ever sat in a sermon, speech, lecture, or some other sort of discourse with many people in the room but you KNOW it was only for you? That very thing happened to me. I always thought that the moment would happen in a religious institution but it happened in one of the…

inothernews: David Horsey / The Los Angeles Times

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:18:05 -0400

inothernews:

David Horsey / The Los Angeles Times

explore-blog: When things get tough, this is what you should...

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:45:43 -0400

explore-blog:

When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I’m serious. Husband runs off with a politician — make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by a mutated boa constrictor — make good art. IRS on your trail — make good art. Cat exploded — make good art. Someone on the Internet thinks what you’re doing is stupid or evil or it’s all been done before — make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, eventually time will take the sting away, and that doesn’t even matter. Do what only you can do best: Make good art. Make it on the bad days, make it on the good days, too.

Make Good Art – Neil Gaiman’s timeless advice on the creative life, adapted by design legend Chip Kidd.

Mohandas Gandhi: mohandasgandhi: Good luck to everyone who has finals this week! You...

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:54:09 -0400

Mohandas Gandhi: mohandasgandhi: Good luck to everyone who has finals this week! You...:

mohandasgandhi:

Good luck to everyone who has finals this week! You all have beautiful minds. :)

Go into your exams with a positive, confident attitude. Being anxious or nervous can really destroy your focus and take a toll on your ability to pull things from your memory. Being calm and…

…good luck…

divalocity: Two Looks: Chanel Resort 2014

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:05:25 -0400

divalocity:

Two Looks: Chanel Resort 2014

"It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that..."

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:49:36 -0400

“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.”

- HL (via joyinthecity)

lolobee8288: thepeoplesrecord: The troubling viral trend of...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:37:06 -0400

lolobee8288:

thepeoplesrecord:

The troubling viral trend of the “hilarious” Black poor person
May 7, 2013

Charles Ramsey, the man who helped rescue three Cleveland women presumed dead after going missing a decade ago, has become an instant Internet meme. It’s hardly surprising—the interviews he gave yesterday provide plenty of fodder for a viral video, including memorable soundbites (“I was eatin’ my McDonald’s”) and lots of enthusiastic gestures. But as Miles Klee and Connor Simpson have noted, Ramsey’s heroism is quickly being overshadowed by the public’s desire to laugh at and autotune his story, and that’s a shame. Ramsey has become the latest in a fairly recent trend of “hilarious” black neighbors, unwitting Internet celebrities whose appeal seems rooted in a “colorful” style that is always immediately recognizable as poor or working-class.

Before Ramsey, there was Antoine Dodson, who saved his younger sister from an intruder, only to wind up famous for his flamboyant recounting of the story to a reporter. Since Dodson’s rise to fame, there have been others: Sweet Brown, a woman who barely escaped her apartment complex during a fire last year, and Michelle Clarke, who couldn’t fathom the hailstorm that rained down in her hometown of Houston, and in turn became “the next Sweet Brown.”

Granted, the buzzworthy tactic of reporters interviewing the most loquacious witnesses to a crime or other event is nothing new, and YouTube has countless examples of people of all ethnicities saying ridiculous things. One woman, for instance, saw fit to casually mention her breasts while discussing a local accident, while another man described a car crash with theatrical flair. Earlier this year, a “hatchet-wielding hitchhiker” named Kai matched Dodson’s fame with his astonishing account of rescuing a woman from a racist attacker. But none of those people have been subjected to quite the same level of derisive memeification as Brown, Clark, and now, perhaps, Ramsey—the inescapable echoes of “Hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife!” and “Kabooyaw,” the tens of millions of YouTube hits and cameos in other viral videos, even commercials.

It’s difficult to watch these videos and not sense that their popularity has something to do with a persistent, if unconscious, desire to see black people perform. Even before the genuinely heroic Ramsey came along, some viewers had expressed concern that the laughter directed at people like Sweet Brown plays into the most basic stereotyping of blacks as simple-minded ramblers living in the “ghetto,” socially out of step with the rest of educated America. Black or white, seeing Clark and Dodson merely as funny instances of random poor people talking nonsense is disrespectful at best. And shushing away the question of race seems like wishful thinking.

Ramsey is particularly striking in this regard, since, for a moment at least, he put the issue of race front and center himself. Describing the rescue of Amanda Berry and her fellow captives, he says, “I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway!”

The candid statement seems to catch the reporter off guard; he ends the interview shortly afterward. And it’s notable that among the many memorable things Ramsey said on camera, this one has gotten less meme-attention than most. Those who are simply having fun with the footage of Ramsey might pause for a second to actually listen to the man. He clearly knows a thing or two about the way racism prevents us from seeing each other as people.

Source

Now that you know this is a thing, please stop sharing these memes. Poor Black people speaking candidly about various serious incidents isn’t a hilarious joke.

Yes. Exactly.

tedx: Dr. Timothy Noakes has dedicated his life to uncovering...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:35:10 -0400

tedx:

Dr. Timothy Noakes has dedicated his life to uncovering the truth about health and exercise advice. At TEDxCapeTown, he explained how many of the popular recommendations and guidelines for how to be healthy — from diet advice to instructions for proper hydration — aren’t supported by even basic scientific research.

From his talk:

The [question] that I really got involved with in the 1980s was: Should we drinking more or less during exercise?

…In the 1960s, it was held that if you drank that actually if you drank during exercise, that wasn’t a very good idea. And Abebe Bikila, who was the first African runner to win two Olympic gold medals in the 1960 and the 1964 Olympic marathons, he ran both races without drinking anything.That was what runners did those days.

Then, all of a sudden, in the 1960s and 1970s, things changed and we were told that if you didn’t drink enough, you were going to die during exercise.

…In 1981, on the first of June, 1981, an athlete started the Comrades Marathon in Bourbon and she reached 70 km and her husband withdrew her from the race because she didn’t recognize him…within two hours, she was unconscious having epileptic seizures and she had to be taken to a hospital in Bourbon. And when she was admitted to hospital, she became the first case of this condition: [exercise-associated hyponatremic encephalopathy (EAHE)]… Her chest X-ray [showed] that [she had] fluid in her lungs and it took five days later before the fluid had gone out of her lungs.

…Over the next four or five years, we picked up a couple more cases and worked out that they had probably overdrunk and that — in other words — they’d [drank] too much during exercise … So the more you overdrink, the lower your sodium, and the sicker you were. And we published that in 1991, and thought, “That’s the end of the problem. We cured the problem. We know what causes it: it’s overdrinking.”

And we thought the problem would go away. But, unfortunately, at the same time that we were doing that, industry had come along and said, “No, actually, the more you drink, the better.”

…And we predicted what would happen. We predicted this would happen: The accumulative incidence of this condition, which had never existed before 1981, never existed — there were a total of 1,600 cases in the medical literature…and, tragically, 12 deaths. All completely avoidable.

And so what happened was that the sports drink industry came along and then they influenced the official drinking guidelines drawn up by official bodies. And those promoted overdrinking.

Then a lady died in the Boston Marathon in 2002, and in 2003 I was invited by two organizations to produce alternate drinking guidelines, which promoted drinking to thirst, and that finally has now been accepted that that is the way we should be drinking.

…The “science of hydration” is utterly bogus. There is no science to it. It was dreamed up by marketers to sell a product.

For more of Dr. Noakes’s research into health and exercise claims, watch his entire talk “Challenging the myths of good health” below:

divalocity: One To Watch: Murielle Denise

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:55:56 -0400

divalocity:

One To Watch: Murielle Denise

"[T]he 401(k) is a way for both your government and your employer to disown you, and to leave your..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:32:56 -0400

“[T]he 401(k) is a way for both your government and your employer to disown you, and to leave your life savings to be raided by the financial-services industry and its plethora of hidden and invidious fees. The well-kept secret about old-fashioned pension funds is that, for the most part, they’re actually very good at generating decent returns for their beneficiaries. They tend to have extremely long time horizons, and are run by professionals who know what they’re doing and who have a fair amount of negotiating leverage when they deal with Wall Street. Savers are always strengthened by being united: disaggregating them and forcing them to take matters into their own hands is tantamount to feeding them directly to the Wall Street sharks.”

- from an excellent article by Felix Salmon on Reuters. (via Andrew Sullivan)