Living together in different worlds

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Friday March 16, 2007 · 12:57 PM PDT

2007/03/16 · 12:57

It was just yesterday that I discovered the 60 Minutes segment on Daniel Tammet. I guess it came to the forefront due to Pi Day, which was on the 14th. Via Yahoo, 60 Minutes segment on Daniel Tammet

Meet Daniel Tammet, a 27 year-old math and memory wizard. He can do things with numbers that will truly amaze you. He is a savant. . . with a difference. Unlike most savants, he shows no obvious mental disability, and most importantly, he can describe his own thought process. Join correspondent Morley Safer as he explores the extraordinary life and mind of Daniel Tammet.

Renee in Ohio

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Wednesday March 14, 2007 · 11:19 AM PDT

2007/03/14 · 11:19

Originally posted at My Left Wing

I haven't been able to keep on top of all the essays written here. Being on a bit of a break from work, I have a little more time than I did, but I still have to balance my blogging with working on things that can generate income. 'Cause my time off is never "paid vacation" time. I say this in order to explain why I miss many essays that I might really appreciate reading, and also to explain why I was so concerned by what I read when I finally did take a look at Why We Don't Write/The Two MLWs. People here actually don't write out of concern that their work will be regarded as "not good enough"? Aw crap! Why would we do this to ourselves and others?

Renee in Ohio

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Tuesday March 13, 2007 · 4:43 PM PDT

2007/03/13 · 16:43

Also posted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance

Albert Einstein was born March 14, 1879. In my time zone, this "Happy Birthday, Einstein" post is coming a few hours too early. But in Germany, where Einstein was born, it's already after midnight. So there you go.

Please use this thread to share your favorite Albert Einstein quote, link, or story.

Renee in Ohio

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Monday March 12, 2007 · 9:51 AM PDT

2007/03/12 · 09:51

Yesterday I wrote a post entitled "I can't believe it's not a meritocracy!". I guess it could be seen as an "angry" post, but I think it was pretty mild as such things go. It was inspired by Atrios, the founder of Blogroll Amnesty Day, writing a post entitled "Why your blog sucks" Nonetheless, I really don't want to focus on the negative here.

I suppose that post by Atrios after he was the one who initiated the blogroll dump movement ticked me off as much as it did because I've had plenty of real life experiences where that same theme is present. It's as if once you reach a certain level of success, the rules of decency no longer apply. I'm certainly not going to mention specifics, but let's just say I've had many opportunities to declare, "If I ever get in a position of power, that is not how I'm going to treat people!"

Renee in Ohio

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Wednesday March 07, 2007 · 3:33 PM PST

2007/03/07 · 15:33

I've transcribed most of the speech--just found it damn inspiring, and wanted to make it accessible to people who couldn't watch the YouTube video for one reason or another.

Bono: ...When people talk about the greatness of America, I just think of the NAACP...
See, I grew up in Ireland, and when I grew up, Ireland was divided along religious lines, sectarian lines. Young people like me were parched for the vision that poured out of pulpits of Black America. And the vision of a Black Reverend from Atlanta--a man who refused to hate because he knew love would do a better job. (Applause). These ideas travel, you know? And they reached me, clear as any tune, lodged in my brain like a song. I couldn't shake that. And this is Ireland in the 70s growing up. People like me looked across the ocean to the NAACP, and I'm here tonight, and that feels good. It feels very, very good! (Applause.)

Renee in Ohio

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Monday March 05, 2007 · 5:46 PM PST

2007/03/05 · 17:46

Originally posted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance

This is related to my post about A Black Theology of Liberation from the other day. In addition to the overview link I posted, I had also looked at a PDF that went into detail about what is meant by a Black Value System. This part stood out to me, and I think I heard it echoed when listening to Barack Obama speaking at an event in Selma commemorating the voting rights march that took place there 42 years ago.

Renee in Ohio

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Saturday February 10, 2007 · 6:15 AM PST

2007/02/10 · 06:15

Crossposting this as an FYI to anyone who cares. Additional discussion of the issue will take place on my own blog, and probably a couple other group blogs.

I'd like to be able to let the blogroll issue go. That would be the more "comfortable" choice. I mean, this is shaping up to be everything I don't like to do in my free time. It's not fun to blog about, and it's not "nice". I open myself up to being trashed by people who will just know that this is about sour grapes or my nose being out of joint or heaven knows what else. It's the end of a long week, and I'd much rather kick back and relax a bit. Maybe play with my Sims, or watch a movie with the hubby. Or, short of that, work on some new designs that can generate some additional income--not "fun" in the traditional sense, but something I have a better shot at actually benefitting from in a "what's in it for me?" sort of way. This, on the other hand, looks like a great big bowl of no fun.

Renee in Ohio

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Saturday February 03, 2007 · 12:11 PM PST

2007/02/03 · 12:11

I just found a diary floridagal linked a while ago, which includes a link to Howard Dean's famous "What I wanna know..." speech. Here's the direct link to download the Quicktime movie.

From the diary...

"Howard Dean speaks at the California Democratic Convention in Sacramento, CA on March 15, 2003. This speech was videotaped and edited by Eric Predoehl with the help of an anonymous camera operator.

March 15, 2003. Just over four years ago. At the time, I hadn't even heard of Howard Dean, and would only gradually learn enough to become excited about his campaign over the next couple months. The Sleepless Summer tour was still months away.

Renee in Ohio

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Tuesday January 30, 2007 · 5:27 AM PST

2007/01/30 · 05:27

From the department of, "Sometimes, they make it too easy...", we have this from Political Wire:

President Bush's critics couldn't have planned it better themselves. According to Washington Wire, the White House has a new executive pastry chef, Bill Yosses, who also happens to be the author of Desserts for Dummies.

Obligatory jab--I imagine a book about preparing desserts for dummies would include some certain cautions, such as, "When making a fruit salad, be sure to cut grapes in quarters so as to avoid a choking hazard."

On Hillary's "call to conversation", and the media

Renee in Ohio

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Sunday January 28, 2007 · 6:16 AM PST

2007/01/28 · 06:16

This is actually about a bigger issue than my feelings about Hillary, but I know that the first response of many people will be "Gawd I'm so bored with people griping about Hillary!" This is about more than that, but I don't know that I have these thoughts and feelings fleshed out enough to really convey that. So I ask that people bear with me as I "think out loud" a bit, and hopefully people who understand what I'm getting at and share some of those feelings can help me develop this further. Because, ultimately, I don't want this to be about ranting, but about action in response to the media's buildup of the "inevitability" of Hillary as the Democratic nominee.

Renee in Ohio

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Wednesday January 24, 2007 · 10:01 AM PST

2007/01/24 · 10:01

The following is an excerpt from the Douglas Adams video I linked to in this post. There's no way I was going to transcribe the entire 87 minute video, but I felt that the conclusion was particularly insightful. After discussing all of the fascinating species he encountered while in his research for the book Last Chance to See, and how humans had made the world uninhabitable for these animals, he went on to address the wrongheaded notion that somehow this was all "meant to happen."

Renee in Ohio

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Tuesday January 23, 2007 · 9:19 AM PST

2007/01/23 · 09:19

This is very cool to me--I hope others will think so as well. I just discovered a blog entitled Another Chance to See, and via that blog, found a link to a streaming video of Douglas Adams giving a lecture on "Parrots, the Universe, and Everything".

An 87 minute streaming video posted by UCTV--University of California Television entitled "Parrots, The Universe and Everything". It's a complete Douglas Adams lecture by the great man himself, all about "Last Chance To See". Enjoy!!!

I'm about 13 minutes into the video. It's just delightful to be able to hear Douglas Adams again.

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Living together in different worlds

Who gets to determine our "value"?

Happy 128th Albert Einstein!

Mutual Linking

Bono's NAACP Chairman's Award Acceptance Speech

The meaning of a "Black Value System"

Reluctant rabble-rousing

"What I wanna know..."

"Desserts for Dummies" author is new WH pastry chef

On Hillary's "call to conversation", and the media

Conclusion of Douglas Adams endangered species lecture

Douglas Adams video lecture on endangered animals