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infoneer-pulse:

An artisanal Bible: A handwritten copy, four years in the making

A man in upstate New York has just about finished a task that was common enough until the invention of the printing press: Over the past four years, he has copied the King James Bible by hand, the Associated Press reports.

Phillip Patterson, a 63-year-old resident of Philmont, N.Y., a town near the Massachusetts border, may be an unlikely scribe for the Bible. He is not especially religious, for one thing, though he does go to church.  A retired interior designer whose battles with anemia and AIDS have often slowed his work, he began the monumental task mostly out of curiosity.

» via The Los Angeles Times

(Source: alma-asesina, via imlackadaisical)

tipsforradicals:

Linguist Suzette Haden Elgin classes hostile language as a bad thing, and that efforts should be made to promote alternatives.

To that end, she analysed what the standard patterns of verbal attack are, and proposed 7 solutions to divert and counter them.

They are:

1. Really listen. Use “Miller’s Law,” namely assume the other person’s statement is true and ask what it could be true of.
2. Be aware of metaphors. A usual metaphor is that “disagreement is combat.”
3. Use “computer” or “leveling” modes of speaking. Computer mode is nonpersonal and neutral. Leveling mode is “telling things straight.” Avoid blaming, placating, or distracting modes.
4. Use appropriate presuppositions. Rather than stating a person’s known bad behavior, assume it while moving towards a solution.
5. Deal with verbal attacks. Ignore the “bait,” and respond to the presupposition. For example, if a person says “If you really cared about the environment, you’d support this petition,” you can respond, “When did you start thinking I don’t care about the environment?”
6. Reduce tension, for example by using “I” messages (“When you yell, I feel upset because real communication is shut down”).

You’ll notice that’s only six. The last of her list was:

“Keep non-attached. (Emotional non-attachment is valuable to avoid being sucked in by the hostile speaker.)”

I don’t think emotional non-attachment is necessarily a good aim if you’re being attacked. People often deride women for being “emotional” as a reason to ignore their arguments, because when you’re coming against attacks on your lived experience, it can be hard to stay calm.

I see it as the responsibility of people around (in this example, men) to support by balancing detached language with an acknowledgement that the anger is entirely justified and not negative. This obviously has to be done carefully, to not overwrite someone else’s feelings.

This is a simple tool to summarise, but a difficult one to learn. It wouldn’t stop all difficult behaviour, but it is a useful first step before escalation.

If your organisation has even one or two people that are really versed in verbal skills that can defuse a potential blow-up, resolve bitter disputes, and lay the foundation for collaboration, it can be a great asset.

from Activists and “difficult people” by Brian Martin

(via hoodbitchwithintelligence)

this was in the Operation Bread Basket days in Chitown.

(Source: thesmithian)

iamladyk:

The following incident took place when Muhammad Ali’s daughters arrived at his home wearing clothes that were quite revealing. Here is the story as told by one of his daughters:

When we finally arrived, the chauffeur escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my father’s suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day.

My father took a good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get to them.”

He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.” 

Source: Taken from the book: More Than A Hero: Muhammad Ali’s Life Lessons Through His Daughter’s Eyes.

(via ausetkmt)

think-progress:

msnbc:

Looks like Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has been working on that signature…

Who else liked the original more?

queen-old-soul:

Wu-Tang Clan

(via hip-hop-lifestyle)

thesmithian:

…the little known story of how Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, the first African American mayor elected in a major U.S. city with an overwhelmingly white population, rose to power, changed Los Angeles through an extraordinary multi-racial coalition, and in the process, transformed American politics.

more.