freckles make me strong.
Month
Seriously, I am very sorry.
thebronzemedal:
Here’s Mos Def’s reworking of Leavin’ On A Jet Plane. You looked like you needed this today.
Very nicely done.
President Barack Obama on the birther movement. See the long form birth certificate relaeased by the White House here.
Well said, Mr. President.
notemily:
Teaching relatively class privileged students about why poor people can’t just pull themselves up by their bootstraps can be extremely challenging. One of the things that they harp on is their impression that the poor spend money on frivolous things; somehow they believe that, if the poor just eschewed cable television and Nikes, they would pop up into the middle class.
I try to explain to them that being poor is like living a life of self-denial. To be poor is to be forced to deny oneself constantly. The poor must deny themselves most trappings of an adult life (your own apartment, framed pictures on the walls, matching dishes), a comfortable life (a newish mattress, a comfy couch, good shoes that aren’t worn out), a convenient life (your own car, eating out), a self-directed life (a job you care for, leisure time, hobbies, money for babysitters), a life full of small pleasures (lattes, dessert, fresh cut flowers, hot baths, wine), a healthy life (fresh fruits and vegetables, health care, time for exercise), not to mention all of the must-have consumer goods that are constantly marketed to us (mp3 players, organic food, travel, expensive clothes and accessories). And, since most poor people remain poor their whole lives, they must be prepared to deny themselves (and members of their families) these things, perhaps, for the rest of their lives.
So when my students see someone (they think is) poor walking down the street with a brand new pair of Nikes, perhaps what they are seeing is someone who decided (whether out of a moment of weakness or not) to NOT deny themselves at least one thing; perhaps they are seeing someone who is trying to hold on to some feeling of normalcy; perhaps what they are seeing is a perfectly normal person who just wants what they want for once.
Lisa at Sociological Images: Poverty, Self-Denial, and New Nikes
Very well said.
Of all the free-time activities teenagers do, such as playing computer games, cooking, playing sports, going to the cinema or theatre, visiting a museum, hanging out with their girlfriend or boyfriend, reading is the only activity that appears to help them secure a good job.
This is one of the conclusions of an Oxford University study into 17,000 people all born in the same week in May 1970. They are now grown up and in their early 40s and the sociological study has tracked their progress through time.
At the age of 16, in 1986, they were asked which activities they did in their spare time for pleasure. These answers were then checked against the jobs they were doing at the age of 33, in 2003.
Mark Taylor, the researcher at Nuffield College, Oxford found that there was a 39 per cent probability that girls would be in professional or managerial posts at 33 if they had read books at 16, but only a 25 per cent chance if they had not. For boys the figures rose from 48 per cent to 58 per cent if they read books.
Hmmm. I wonder how many other components factor into this. What makes a reader a future professional? How important is the content versus the simple act of picking up the book? This stirs up all sorts of questions.
25 years old: Starting out
Forty years is a long time. So long, in fact, that it’s easy to put off saving for the future. There are bills to deal with, college debt to pay, stuff to buy, vacations to take, a career to build.
Savings — sure, but who has money for that? Indeed, one of every three Americans between the ages of 18 and 33 have no personal savings, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. What’s more, 53% of this age group has zero in the way of retirement savings.
They’re missing out, big time. If a 25-year old with $10,000 invested $320 a month at a 7% annual compound rate of return until they turned 65, they would wind up with $1 million.
“There’s a reason why Albert Einstein called compounding the most powerful force in the universe,” said Jonathan Guyton, a principal at investment manager Cornerstone Wealth Advisors in Minneapolis.
Whether or not Einstein really said this, the math speaks for itself. At 7%, your money doubles every 10 years.
Buy low people, you’ll be really glad when you’re ancient. There are some really great calculators so you can run the numbers, here.
Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
One of the roommates was playing this yesterday and now it is delightfully dancing about my head.
Bill Maher (via thebronzemedal)
Right again, Mr. Maher.
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF
Art of Racing in the Rain
Over a year on the NY Times Best-Seller List
WEDNESDAY APRIL 20 - 7:30 PM
RAINIER VALLEY CULTURAL CENTER
3515 S Alaska at Rainier in Columbia City
See Garth Stein and Support the Cinema
$12 Suggested Donation at the Door
Garth has become a local legend. He has generously donated his time. Please come. Get to know him and show him a good turnout. It will be an evening to remember, and still faced with the sprinkler issue, the cinema needs your support. Garth’s truly wonderful book will be available. Tickets can be purchased online, at the cinema and at the door. Thanks.
See you there!
Too often, what couples do not see is that most fights are really protests over emotional disconnection. Underneath all the distress, partners are desperate to know: Are you there for me? Do you need me? Do you rely on me?
This is an very intriguing article about attachment needs in relationships. Homework: go give someone a hug, a good one.
When home furnishing giant Ikea selected this fraying blue-collar city to build its first U.S. factory, residents couldn’t believe their good fortune.
Beloved by consumers worldwide for its stylish and affordable furniture, the Swedish firm had also constructed a reputation as a good employer and solid corporate citizen. State and local officials offered $12 million in incentives. Residents thrilled at the prospect of a respected foreign company bringing jobs to this former textile region after watching so many flee overseas.
But three years after the massive facility opened here, excitement has waned. Ikea is the target of racial discrimination complaints, a heated union-organizing battle and turnover from disgruntled employees.
Workers complain of eliminated raises, a frenzied pace and mandatory overtime. Several said it’s common to find out on Friday evening that they’ll have to pull a weekend shift, with disciplinary action for those who can’t or don’t show up.
[…]It’s ironic that Ikea looks on the U.S. and Danville the way that most people in the U.S. look at Mexico,“ Street said.
Seriously, IKEA, get your act together and don’t give into so completely to the super store cliche.
It began in 1999 after Stephanie Odle was fired when she complained of sex discrimination. As Ms. Odle recounted in sworn testimony, as an assistant manager she discovered that a male employee with the same title and less experience was making $10,000 a year more than her.
She complained to her boss, who defended the disparity by saying the male had a family to support. When she replied that she was having a baby that she needed to support, the supervisor made her provide a personal budget and then gave her a raise closing just one-fifth the gap.
The plaintiffs who have brought a class action on behalf of 1.5 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees allege that they, too, faced discrimination in pay and promotion. If Wal-Mart loses, it could owe more than $1 billion in back pay.
Yet another reason to boycott Wal-Mart.
heyitseva:
Zach Miller for McSweeney’s.
So goddamn funny.
Agreed. Terribly funny.