When it seems like there are lots of things to “fix” at work or at home, it helps to heed Pope John’s words. Continue to see everything (and by everything, we mean to also see what is working well); overlook many of the little details that, while they may drive you crazy, are probably not that important; and focus on correcting or addressing only the most important issues – the critical points.
If you’re an adult who has trouble making friends, your problem may start with your own flakiness
↩︎ Vox
What Michael Cohen’s Plea and Paul Manafort’s Conviction Mean for Trump and the Mueller Investigation Lawfare via BC shared with others at the House Barangaroo ...
The Australian Tax Office's Chief Tax Counsel shares her top tips for emerging tax professionals.
Kirsten Fish, a real lawyer, on how to make a successful career in tax
Controversial: Where Our Speech Patterns Come From
Tracing the linguistic path of mmhmm, and many other words commonly used today, from West Africa to the U.S. South is difficult, is riddled with controversy — and experts say it has lingering effects on how the speech of African-Americans is perceived. … Read More
HUMAN SPEECH IS SPECIAL
HUMAN SPEECH IS SPECIAL
Some Reflections on Bob Dylan's 'North Country Blues' - Mail Online - Peter Hitchens blog
‘North Country Blues … contains in a few short verses a complete tragedy, fully understood by its heroine, who is surrounded by thousands of bleak square miles of freezing forest and lakes, with nowhere else to go and winter coming on, and so must stay where she is and face what is to come
The Editor's Note in New Orleans Review Issue 43 (Themed: "This Hustle Is Not Your Grandpa’s African Lit") contained the following announcement:
"Since its founding in 1968, New Orleans Review has had the pleasure of including in its pages the work of hundreds of writers, poets, essayists, critics, celebrities, and artists from around the world. We take particular delight in having published numerous 'first-time-in-print' authors as well as offering eclectic volumes on a range of topics and forms – from Alexander Pope’s 'The Rape of the Lock' to Post-Structuralism, from Spanish-language film to Czech writing in translation, and from Science Fiction to a set of seven chapbooks enclosed in a slipcase. As the journal enters its 50th year, this special issue on contemporary writing from Africa celebrates our final printed volume. Both honoring its past and embracing its future, New Orleans Review will continue to publish new work in an expanded digital venue, which will also include free access to all 50 years of print issues."
In keeping with Memoir Magazine's mission, "to be a witness to both factual and emotional truths that resonate with the human heart by supporting writers and artists in sharing their stories—whether personal, social or political– through publication, education, and advocacy," the publication offers Memoir Magazine University, "a safe space dedicated entirely to the development of writers and stories that need to be heard."
Two summer classes coming up are Anonymous Memoir Writing Workshop for Sexual Assault Survivors with Memoir Magazine Founder and Editor-in-Chief Mary McBeth (July 9 - August 20; open times) and Writing To Heal with Jerry Waxler [pictured] (July 10 – August 21, Tuesdays 7:30-9pm EST; July 12 – August 23, Thursdays 12 noon-1:30 EST).
Future classes will include Intro to Memoir and Memoir 101. For more information, visit Memoir Magazine's website.
On Twitter this morning, Craig Mod asked:
What’s the best conference talk/public speech you’ve seen? Topic can be anything. Just the most engaging talk you’ve been present for?And bonus points: Is there any one particular speaker who’s so good you make an effort to see?
I’ve been to a lot of conferences and seen some very engaging speakers, but the one that sticks out most in my mind is Eloma Simpson Barnes’ performance of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech at PopTech in 2004 (audio-only here).
Her oration is actually a combination of excerpts from two King speeches: his address at the Great Walk to Freedom in Detroit in June 1963 and his Drum Major Instinct sermon given at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in February 1968. King’s Detroit address is notable for being a test run of sorts for his I Have a Dream speech in Washington D.C. two months later. If you look at the Detroit transcript, you’ll notice some familiar words:
And so this afternoon, I have a dream. (Go ahead) It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.I have a dream that one day, right down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers.I have a dream this afternoon (I have a dream) that one day, [Applause] one day little white children and little Negro children will be able to join hands as brothers and sisters.
In the Drum Major Instinct sermon given two months to the day before his assassination, King told the congregation what he wanted to be said about him at his funeral:
I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
Some of the power of Barnes’ performance is lost in the video, particularly when audio from King’s actual speeches are available online, but sitting in the audience listening to her thundering away in that familiar cadence was thrilling. I can’t imagine how it must have felt to experience the real thing.
