Category: Art & Culture

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Random winter survival hacks

Winter bench

To get your car unstuck

Get an old carpet remnant – 6 foot long is best but 4 foot is OK too – by 18″ to 24″ wide. Roll it up and place inside a big garbage bag in your car. If your car gets stuck, forget about shoveling! Put the carpet upside down wedged under your tires. The tufts instantly freeze into the ice and stay there till the ice thaws or you rip the carpet off. Store the wet carpet piece in the garbage bag until you can take it out and dry it well. If it gets too dirty or smelly, get a new one. read more

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French woman thinks Richard Gere is homeless & gives him leftover pizza

Richard Gere gets leftover pizza from French tourist
The Guardian reports on this truly funny story:

When a bunch of people emerged from subway tunnels and told this lady’s husband to stop filming his wife and surroundings with his little camera, the couple understood that something strange was going on. Two days later the French tourist learned what, when she spotted her photo in a newspaper! The homeless man to whom she had given her left-over pizza was actually actor Richard Gere, who was preparing for an upcoming movie role by walking around the streets of Manhattan in character as a homeless man, rummaging through garbage cans for scraps of food. read more

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Boston Museum shows never run Life photos of black life in 1950s US

Time's photo from what it is like to be black collectionIn honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is exhibiting a striking collection of Gordon Parks photographs that Life commissioned, but never ran. In its article What It Was Like to Be Black in 1950s America Slate writer Jordan G. Teicher tells us:

Gordon Parks hadn’t been to his hometown, Fort Scott, Kansas, in more than 20 years when he returned there in 1950 as a photojournalist on assignment for Life magazine. Growing up as the youngest of 15 children, Parks attended the Plaza School, an all-black grade school in the heavily segregated town. Now, as the first black man hired full-time by the magazine, Parks wanted to find and photograph all 11 of his classmates from grade school as a way of measuring the impact of school segregation. The photo essay he created, which was never published, is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the exhibition, “Gordon Parks: Back to Fort Scott,” beginning Jan. 17. read more

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Moderate Muslims speak out in #notinmyname video

I’m sometimes challenged for saying that neither violence nor hatred are natural characteristics of the Muslim religion and that Muslim leaders are responsible for the destruction associated with followers of Mohammed today. Recent events have motivated moderates in this community to voice positions against terrorism and take action for peace. I hope this movement grows and grows!

Huffington Post Brazil’s L Baltazar writes

O #JeSuisCharlie, que tomou as redes sociais como manifesto em prol da liberdade de expressão e contra o extremismo, originou um novo movimento que ganha espaço e recebe cada vez mais adesões: a campanha #NotInMyName. read more

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Comedian Jim Jeffries insanely serious on crazy topic of guns

Why have I been padding around my home for 40 minutes enjoying a great laugh? Because a friend shared this video of Aussie comedian Jim Jeffries doing a very special comedy routine on the serious topic of gun violence. Jeffries presents truths so unbelievable, it’s easy to see that they should be jokes. Knowing they are real life scenarios provokes us to laugh over our country’s insane obsession with guns and our tolerance for arms-related violence. Here are some highlights from his routine: read more

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Try UCLA’s free guided meditations

Mindful awareness research ctr - UCLA
The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has free guided meditations you can download from iTunes or play on your computer.

A Business Insider article on how to sleep better and why you should, points out, “Studies show that mindfulness meditation lowers stress and promotes psychological well-being.” As a newly minted practitioner, I’m learning that even a five minute meditation session is a good investment for my attention and energy levels, and my outlook.

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Black maleness in America as told by someone who chose to be a man

transgender man Kingston Faraday
I almost didn’t read this, as I don’t have such a big interest in how women transition into being men and vice-versa but I’m glad I did, because that’s not what this article talks about. It’s about the experience of being a black man in the US on the queer spectrum … the experience of being a black trans-gender man … the family and sociological ramifications of becoming a transgender person and the experience of being a black man in America today amidst all the social unrest, told from the perspective of a person who chose to be a man. read more

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Writing tip: add visualization with just a few extra words

I came across a beautiful snippet of writing this morning. By adding several words about the woman who walks into the village carrying a tote, Shirley Rousseau Murphy transformed an abstract sentence into a visual treat replete with a subject who lays claim to habits, personality and wow – even a history. I’ve never so clearly experienced the power of the power of visualization, until now. From Cat Breaking Free (2005, p 66):

Maybe he’d wait until tomorrow, take the sensible route, lay low until Chichi walked into the village early, as she often did, carrying her big canvas tote. read more

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Michael Jackson’s banned 1995 song about racism “They Don’t Care About Us”

Michael at prison lunchD.B. Anderson tells us about the suppression and history of “They Don’t Care About Us”, the anti-racism song Michael Jackson wrote and recorded two years after being strip-searched by police in 1993.

“They Don’t Care About Us” was denounced by The New York Times even before its release, and did not reach much of its intended audience because the controversy caused by the New York Times article would go on to overshadow the song itself. Radio stations were reluctant to play it and one of the short films Jackson created for the song was banned in the US read more

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Untrained 9 yo Dutch girl sings like an angel

AmiraThe mature, angelic voice and astonishing range of a young Dutch girl has captured hearts and souls, including my own. The purity of 9 year old Amira Willighagen’s untrained operatic voice has brought me to tears, twice now. When asked by one Holland’s Got Talent judge how she had been taught to sing, confusion appeared instantly on the little girl’s face. You can just see Amira asking herself, “How does a person get taught to sing?” – she learned by watching videos with her brother. read more

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Make Thanksgiving 2014 for the Hungry & Homeless!

How about you? This year, will you help make Thanksgiving wonderful for the many who don’t have the wherewithal to do it themselves? We are talking about those without a home … or lacking family to share the holiday cheer.

There are plenty of opportunities to roast turkeys and bake pies in the days leading up to the holiday and to share food and love on Thanksgiving Day with community members in need of TLC and cheerful company. We are also collecting money, gift cards and clothing! If you have an event to share or questions about how and what to donate, reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter. read more