Posts in: General
- Krista Thompson “Of Shine, Bling, and Bixels” and thoughts on class and aesthetics
- For the record: I now want to be besties with Krista Thompson, the 2009 winner of the David C. Driskell Prize and Associate Professor of Art History at Northwestern University. Her recent High Museum lecture, “Of Shine, Bling and Bixels: Toward a Post-Soul Art History,” blew me away with its analysis of contemporary artist Kehinde [...] [13 Mar 2010]
- On talking about abortion, part 2
- Perhaps it’s something about the nature of abortion itself: it generally does not define a woman’s identity nor engender community formation. … In fact, Cosby’s research has shown women who have abortions specifically try to distance themselves from others who have had the same experience. They don’t want to consider themselves part of the stereotype, [...] [3 Mar 2010]
- Share and share alike: On income inequality
- The differences in the performance of more and less equal countries are very large. Rather than things being just a bit worse in more unequal countries, they are very much worse. More unequal countries have three times the rates of violence, of infant mortality and of mental illness. Their teenage birth rates are six times [...] [1 Mar 2010]
- Things to consider before buying a home
- Photo by Louise Rosskam, from the Library of Congress. Found on Flickr. Ask yourself: Can I afford to buy a house without financing? If I can’t afford to buy a house without financing, would I mind living in a house or my desired neighborhood for 15, 25 or 30 years (the probable length of your mortgage)? If I have [...] [27 Feb 2010]
- On talking about abortion
- I just want women to know they aren’t alone & if they *aren’t* super sad like everyone says you should be, it doesn’t mean you’re inhuman Angela “Anti-Theist Angie” Jackson on why she is live-tweeting her medical — meaning with RU-486 instead of surgery — abortion. That’s some brave sh*t. Also see: Angie’s blog, the interview [...] [25 Feb 2010]
- On abortion: Oklahoma Abortion Law struck down + thoughts
- Score one for the choicers — for now. Oklahoma County District Court struck down an abortion law ruling that the law addressed too many topics, and therefore violated the Oklahoma constitution’s “single-subject” rule. But what galls me? This shit right here: One of the most contentious parts of the law was the creation of a Web site [...] [22 Feb 2010]
- On creativity and business
- Creativity is usually thought of as internally motivated — a response to a deeply felt personal urge to challenge convention, push boundaries and explore. But newly published research suggests that, at least in the business world, the link between inspiration and ingenuity is strengthened by focusing on the needs of others. From Empathy Conducive to Creativity [...] [18 Feb 2010]
- On cultivating luck
- And so it is with luck – unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. … Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for. From Be lucky – it’s an easy skill to learn from the [...] [16 Feb 2010]
- On New Orleans, deux
- But recently New Orleanians have metaphorically turned the tables on this rhetorical trend. Consider, for example, the poignantly enigmatic slogan, “Be a New Orleanian Wherever You Are.” How interesting: here we are ascribing certain positive characteristics to the people and culture of this place, and advocating that they be recognized, appreciated, and adopted in other [...] [2 Feb 2010]
- On writing and relationships
- One common bond linking McCarthy, Jackson, and Stein — three women featured in Elaine Showalter’s history of American women writers, A Jury of Her Peers — is that their spouses allowed them the time and solitude required to imagine, write, and produce. Even if their spouses’ approaches were controlling or their motivations questionable, the [...] [1 Feb 2010]