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Category Archives: culture

good links (2015/03/22)

after taking a week off, i’m back 🙂 and, this week features posts made by others that include either me or my wife:

Reflection Lines
by Chris Peppler
[http://inthelongrun2015.blogspot.com/2015/03/reflection-lines.html]
My good friend Chris shares his experience of running his first half-marathon, which I got a chance to witness and cheer him on at the end!

#blacklivesmatter
by Mrs. Ashley June Moore
[http://ashleyjunemoore.thomasjmooreiii.com/wp/blacklivesmatter]
Ashley released a new poem, which has been a work in progress over the last several months as she processes some of the recent (and historical) racial tension in our country.

Sermon on the Mount
by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, featuring Mrs. Ashley June More
[http://saltermcneil.com/sermon-on-the-mount/]
Dr. Brenda features some work done by Ashley and Nate for one of Ashley’s recordings. I think it’s kinda cool 🙂

Improving interoperability with DOM L3 XPath
by Thomas Moore, MSDN
[http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2015/03/19/improving-interoperability-with-dom-l3-xpath.aspx]
My first blog post published through MSFT on some of my work at work 🙂
And, for some other good reads over the last two weeks:

Only The Rich Can Turn Their Phones Off: The Harsh Lesson of Patrick Pichette
by Ben Collins, The Daily Beast
[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/12/only-the-rich-can-turn-their-phones-off-the-harsh-lesson-of-patrick-pichette.html]
This article points out some of the things that I’m becoming wary of with technology, but with an edge toward power and privilege that I haven’t considered.

An Open Letter to Franklin Graham
by Lisa Sharon Harper, Sojourners
[http://sojo.net/blogs/2015/03/19/open-letter-franklin-graham]
I’m not actively on Facebook anymore, but Graham’s post still made its way to me by other means. Harper (along with a host of others) penned this open, public response that I hope will be the start of (yet, another) conversation on race, power, privilege, bias, and perspective that can be constructive and productive. A conversation where people of color carry some legit weight in the conversation.

good links (2015/03/08)

i’ve read a lot of good stuff this week:

The Gangsters of Ferguson
Ta-Nehisi Coates
[http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/The-Gangsters-Of-Ferguson/386893/]
Coates, as usual, reads between all of the lines of the DOJ’s investigation into the shooting of Mike Brown. For those who couldn’t connect the dots to why so many were speaking out, protesting, and marching before any of the investigations–the things exposed by the DOJ beyond Darren Wilson should be noted. Many people, many black people, have known this and have been vying for improvement in government from municipal to federal. Maybe you’ll listen the next time someone proclaims “Black Lives Matter”?

Ferguson and Abortion as the “Solution” to Black Crime?
Alan Noble
[http://christandpopculture.com/ferguson-abortion-solution-black-crime/]
Another response to the DOJ investigation–this one zooms in on the municipal email threads exposed by the report. Again, none of this stuff happens in a vaccuum, and Noble gives a great history of where eugenics intersects with black lives *not* mattering.

Outsider Art Can Refashion How We Think About Mental Illness
Victoria Tischler
[http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/outsider-art-can-refashion-how-we-think-about-mental-illness-kt/]
I was drawn to this post because (to steal Erna’s language from IV’s Fall Conference), it brings the value of those with serious mental illness from the margins to the center, and it does so in a creative way.

We Need Each Other: Thoughts From MESC 15
Sean Watkins
[http://smwatkins.com/2015/03/09/we-need-each-other-thoughts-from-mesc-15/]
My friend Sean shares his reflections from InterVarsity’s Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference, which occurred this past week in Florida. While most of my posts focus on black-white racial issues, Sean widens the lens and makes the case for more voices to both be spoken and heard. MESC was a venue for that to happen, and I hope it bears fruit within IV and beyond.

Read The Full Transcript Of Obama’s Powerful Speech In Selma
President Barack Obama
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/07/obama-selma-bloody-sunday-transcript_n_6823642.html]
This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement that broadcasted the narrative across the nation. Here’s the transcript of President Obama’s speech for reading. And, I encourage you to check out the movie Selma if you haven’t yet seen it.

Apple becomes part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, AT&T gets the boot
Andrew Cunningham
[http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/03/apple-becomes-part-of-the-dow-jones-industrial-average-att-gets-the-boot/]
Times are a’ changin’.

 

good links (2015/03/01)

here’s some of what i read over the week (yep, a few of them are old, but they’re still good!)

9 Little Character Tests That Tell You Way Too Much About Yourself
Carey Nieuwhof
[http://careynieuwhof.com/2015/02/9-little-character-tests-tell-way-much/]
like some pastors say, ‘if you can’t say amen, say ouch!’
ouch!

Vivek Wadhwa, Voice for Women in Silicon Valley, Is Foiled by His Tone
Farhad Manjoo
[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/technology/personaltech/an-outspoken-voice-for-women-in-tech-foiled-by-his-tone.html]
what does it look like for someone to advocate a demographic that he/she doesn’t fit in? this, at the least, might be a case study in what not to do, even with good intentions.

The Rise in State Tax Refund Fraud
Brian Krebs
[http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/02/the-rise-in-state-tax-refund-fraud/]
makes me glad to live in a state with no income tax… internet security is hard. period 🙁

good links (2015/02/22)

so, i’m taking another indefinite pause from facebook again. and, i need to replace some of the things that it provides, like
– birthdays reminders — happy birthday adam! i’m sorry i missed it 🙁
– access to upcoming events
– sharing articles
it would be nice if i could interact with facebook in these ways without the constant, impulsive feeling that i need to check it. i’m still chewing on whether or not that’s facebook’s fault or mine, but, regardless, i’m deactivating again.

in the meantime, i’ll followup on the third point above and resume my ‘good links’ blog posts, similarly to dr. brenda’s #Friday5. i’ll post articles/books that i’ve read recently that i would be inclined to post on facebook. and, feel free to share any with me in the comment section!

 

The End of Black Respectability Politics, by Aurin Squire
[http://talkingpointsmemo.com/theslice/the-end-of-black-respectability-politics, via angela]
this one made me squirm a bit, but it’s a well written piece that i can’t argue with. i don’t think we’re reaching the ‘end’ per se, but i do think we’ve hit a convergence within our culture that BRP will never be the same.

Lenovo honestly thought you’d enjoy that Superfish HTTPS spyware, by Nate Anderson
[http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/02/lenovo-honestly-thought-youd-enjoy-that-superfish-https-spyware/]
not cool lenovo, not cool. and, i’m sure this doesn’t help msft either.

#BlackLivesMatter — A Challenge to the Medical and Public Health Communities, by Dr. Mary Bassett
[http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1500529, via zoe]
i think it’s cool when science, race, and justice meet.

I Am Not Your Teachable Moment
[http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/02/i-am-not-your-teachable-moment/, via wandalyn]
some hard, awkward truths are better in a comic.

good links (2013/03/23)

What I’ve read the past week:

Ten Ways Ordinary People Became Good Leaders, part one (and part two) (from Thom Rainer): This is just a really really cool article. Being a leader, a good leader, is much more than the glitz and charisma that meets the public eye (if even that). As I read this article, I can think of quite a few ‘ordinary’ good leaders, too. And, this article encourages me as I do a good job with #5, #7, #9 while I continue to invest in the other ways.

Imagining a More Engaging Web: 3rd Anniversary of IE Test Drive (from IEBlog): This is a cool milestone for IE. And I’ve got a few features from over the years making some of these demos work 🙂

Man offers to sell house for bitcoins (from Ars Technica): This is kinda ridiculous. Whether it goes through or not, it’ll be interesting to see what bit coins can do to the world economy if it gets this kind of traction

Why we shouldn’t be so quick to set sail with Rob Bell (from Think Christian): The author does a good job of identifying the how the thoughts were formed rather than the thoughts themselves. Nuanced, but critical.

The Bible: It’s Just Not That Into You (from Rachel Held Evans via Ashley): Things that make you go “hmm…” She hit that mug right on the head.

ashley’s first seattle performance!

Ashley is performing at the “One Love” Spoken Word event on Saturday, March 30, 7:30pm. Get you a ticket and come find me there!

onelove

http://onelove.brownpapertickets.com/