— President Barack Obama, on the passing of Steve Jobs
— Warren Buffett
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share
Planking?
If you think “planking” is cool. Think again! Slaves captured in Africa were stowed away on ships during the “Middle Passage” journey during the late 16th century and forced to sleep on wooden planks. “Planking” was the term used when slave owners transported the slaves on these ships. Unclothed, underfed, and forced to lie on hard planking in unhygienic conditions, many slaves failed to survive the transatlantic voyage. Cultural sensitivity is real. Educate yourself.
In the past two years, I’ve been more and more concerned with political correctness. It comes across as something that only uptight/overly righteous people use, but it’s not a matter of social over-analysis. During middle school and most of high school, I was the typical teenager, using gay, retarded, etc completely wrong. I had a gay friend whose sister was autistic and he called me out on it one day. That’s when I realized the words you use really do matter. You might not be hurting anyone 90% of the time, but that other 10% of the time is still significant. Even if it’s one person you’ll encounter your entire life, you will live with the guilt of hurting them for your entire life as well. I admit that I am no where near perfectly politically correct. I don’t even realize a lot of phrases and words we use these days are wrong. But being politically correct is not difficult. When you say “that’s so gay,” you really mean “that’s so stupid” anyway. You can change your speech, but you can’t change how you’ve affected other people’s lives.
(via galaxiesofgrace)
In middle school, A and V proclaimed that I had hard-to-see eyebrows. I don’t really know where I get them from, because the rest of my family has normally-dense eyebrows. I’ve always been slightly lacking in hair in general, so it doesn’t really bother me. I do, however, dislike when people try to give me eyebrows. When I still plowed through dance performances, they would always try to draw in eyebrows for me. It was not pleasant to look into the mirror. I don’t think me + eyebrows is really me anymore. It is also quite unattractive. I understand that when people put on makeup, eyebrows are an automatic factor and a lot of people take them for granted. But my not-having-eyebrows poses a problem and people get confused as to what they should do. There is nothing to do. Please don’t draw random lines on my face, because my eyebrows are what make my face mine.
pages about + ask + random+ f^ + t^ | sponsors You Are a Dog [kindle]
Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to…
It’s such a fine line to draw between an introvert and an anti-social person. Perhaps “introvert” is just the wrong word, but I don’t think being an introvert necessarily refers to a person who cannot socially interact. I identify with a lot of parts of this article, but I wouldn’t say that I’m someone who doesn’t enjoy social interaction. Personally, a lot of it stems from the fact that I care deeply about my motivation and thought process behind my actions. I care more about the sincerity of my words and actions than the results that come out of them. I’m not saying that’s a better way to go about living, but just the way I prefer.
(Source: carlkingcreative.com)
— Outliers
— Republican New York Senator Roy McDonald, on legalizing gay marriage
John Green is one of my favorite authors (Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns, especially) and YouTube vloggers. I remember watching his analysis video of Catcher in the Rye, which I had just finished reading at the time. Admittedly, I did not see much of the genius in the book until after I watched the video. The symbolism and metaphors in books mean so much more when they are applied to real life, rather than some abstract motive; for me, this video captures that idea. It’s not just about identifying specific devices that the author has embedded into his work. Literature is as much of a journey for the whole community of readers as it is a journey for the individual. What impacts you, what the words mean to you as a person living in this labyrinth of life, as Green refers to in Looking for Alaska, make up the experience of reading.
