ESPN - Bryant: The race riddle and Michael Vick - NFL
Ostensibly, the letters are about Vick, about what he did and what he did not do. But they are really about us. Go beyond Vick. He doesn't matter anymore. They are about the intractability of race. They reveal the faces behind the American mask, the black and the white at stubborn impasse. Vick has provided us an unwelcome mirror, shown us who we are when we're held up close to the light, what we are really thinking when we walk past each other every day, each wearing the same uniform that says "America" across the chest. The uniform is the same, but clearly, after he exposed the raw nerves of race and class and privilege, Vick has shown us we are not all playing on the same team. We've always known this. But maybe we thought that by living better than our parents, at a greater distance from the bloody collisions that pockmarked their lives, we had made progress. Vick shattered that illusion, telling us that despite undeniable progress in rights and opportunities, we don't understand each other at all.
9/20/07
The highs and lows
I was having a philosophical discussion with Felicity before bed coming out of a book I was using to as a trigger for bedtime stories called Sophie's World. In it a young girl begins to receive mail that turns into a course on philosophy. The first package contains two index cards. Question 1 - Who are you? Question 2 - Where does the world come from?
I asked Felicity Who are you? Answer: I have big feet and long legs. (Our conversations can be somewhat tangential ... much like this sentence.)
Time passes and the plot advances: The second envelope is opened.
Where does the world come from? Felicity looks at me without pausing and says: "From Daddy."
Later in the week I'm trying to get her dressed. She has her green skirt and I'm trying to convince her to wear the orange shirt. She isn't keen about getting dressed to begin with so it is an uphill climb. We're going back and forth on the orange shirt - ... she finally pulls it out of my hand - throws it across the kitchen and says: No, Daddy! It doesn't match! I relate this story to my wife and she says - of course, it doesn't match. Sigh...
I asked Felicity Who are you? Answer: I have big feet and long legs. (Our conversations can be somewhat tangential ... much like this sentence.)
Time passes and the plot advances: The second envelope is opened.
Where does the world come from? Felicity looks at me without pausing and says: "From Daddy."
Later in the week I'm trying to get her dressed. She has her green skirt and I'm trying to convince her to wear the orange shirt. She isn't keen about getting dressed to begin with so it is an uphill climb. We're going back and forth on the orange shirt - ... she finally pulls it out of my hand - throws it across the kitchen and says: No, Daddy! It doesn't match! I relate this story to my wife and she says - of course, it doesn't match. Sigh...
9/16/07
Compelling...
Shortly after Blogger launched photo uploading two years ago, one of our engineers whipped up a web page that would show us the pictures that were being uploaded in real time. The result was fun, often beautiful, but above all, compelling. We couldn’t stop watching.
Over the years we’ve kept this photo scroller as part of the Blogger offices, on a monitor or projector, as an interesting (distracting?) slideshow, and a reminder of the diversity and vivaciousness of Blogger blogs. The fame of the scroller spread within Google, until one day we were asked, “so, when are you launching this?”
“Um...,” we replied. But we knew a good idea when we heard one. We got our UI people to come up with buttons and fadey effects and we got our engineers to make the whole thing fast and robust. A bit of work later, and now we can share it with all of you:
http://play.blogger.com/
Over the years we’ve kept this photo scroller as part of the Blogger offices, on a monitor or projector, as an interesting (distracting?) slideshow, and a reminder of the diversity and vivaciousness of Blogger blogs. The fame of the scroller spread within Google, until one day we were asked, “so, when are you launching this?”
“Um...,” we replied. But we knew a good idea when we heard one. We got our UI people to come up with buttons and fadey effects and we got our engineers to make the whole thing fast and robust. A bit of work later, and now we can share it with all of you:
http://play.blogger.com/
9/11/07
Ballet
Our first ballet class. This is the same studio my wife and sister-and-law danced in years ago. :-)
Sunflowers
I actually grew sunflowers. They're 9 feet tall! So are the dandelions but lets concentrate on our successes here. :-)Univited Guests
How to bounce univited guests from your tea party.
Unfortunately, the tea party was unable to resume since the hostess was sitting in the naughty corner.
Unfortunately, the tea party was unable to resume since the hostess was sitting in the naughty corner.9/8/07
The Great Iraq Swindle: : Rolling Stone
The Great Iraq Swindle: : Rolling Stone: "The Great Iraq Swindle How Bush Allowed an Army of For-Profit Contractors to Invade the U.S. Treasury --From Issue 1034"
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