Quote of the Day

The intuitive mind will tell the thinking mind where to look next. 

- Dr. Jonas Salk

First Paragraph

I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate I suspect I must have been born somewhere and at some time. As nearly as I have been able to learn, I was born near a cross-roads post-office called Hale's Ford, and the year was 1858 or 1859. I do not know the month or the day. The earliest impressions I can now recall are of the plantation and the slave quarters - the latter being the part of the plantation where the slaves had their cabins. 

- From Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington

Music Break

Otis Redding: "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay."

A Taste of the Wild West

I'm embarrassed to say that I have not yet made it to the Slaughter Ranch. Although I've read quite a bit about John Slaughter, this is a gap in my education.

Modern Times: The Microaggression Concept

Writing in City Journal, Heather Mac Donald explores "microaggression" training at the University of California. An excerpt:

Other alleged microaggressions include uttering such hurtful words as “I believe the most qualified person should get the job” or “America is the land of opportunity” on a UC campus. Someone who has been through the “Fostering Inclusive Excellence” seminar may call you out for giving voice to such ideas. Why exactly saying that the most qualified person should get the job is a microaggression is a puzzle. Either such a statement is regarded simply as code for alleged antiblack sentiment, or the diversocrats are secretly aware that meritocracy is incompatible with “diversity.”

Going Down the List

I have the list. It does not require genius. It demands diligence. 

If I walk through the column and complete one task at a time, by the end of the day I will be happy. That will be because more time was devoted to "should" than to "want" - those old rivals - and items which need to be done will be completed.

This means working with deliberation and not by impulse. I must elude a multitude of distractions.

Unfortunately, not every day can be productive. Let's see if this day is one.

The Point of Handwriting

Perhaps this is why handwriting, even today, still has benefits. More than one study has suggested that writing by hand helps both retention and understanding. It is a question of pace and focus—of the fact that the mind simply cannot consciously recognize individual letters typed out at normal speed, but can when one writes. Maybe the limitations of the body carry some hidden benefit: that in marking out ideas at a pace slower than typing, there is some link between neural and muscle memory.

Read all of the essay by Navneet Alang.

[HT: Arts & Letters Daily]

People Take Time

They want to be heard and consulted and respected and acknowledged and involved and if we slide past them with the belief or even the rock-solid assurance that they can be ignored then we risk discovering how wrong that belief can be. 

We should not be surprised by that. We also require the time of others and sometimes for no good reason other than the fact that we want to feel important.

Being important is nice. Feeling important is essential.

Quote of the Day

If we know the right answer, let's not have the meeting. If we're going to have the meeting, let's talk to each other the way people talk when they have difficult problems to deal with. That means talking openly and honestly and not withholding and not stage-managing. 

- Bob Shapiro

The Power of Language

"The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Who is this? and what is here?

And in the lighted palace near

Died the sound of royal cheer;

And they cross'd themselves for fear,

       All the knights at Camelot:

But Lancelot mused a little space;

He said, "She has a lovely face;

God in his mercy lend her grace,

       The Lady of Shalott."