Sunday, February 22nd

Happy Oscar's Day for those of you who are excited by these things!  I, sadly, only see movies once a year so the Oscars is a little more of a guessing game for me than it used to be-- if you need guidance on predictions for winners, here you are.

And, a reminder of the work still to do in this country...because...#OscarsSoWhite.

Want to know how Neil Patrick Harris gets ready for the big night?  (Question- does anyone else still hear the Doogie theme song whenever you picture him?)

On education for a few minutes....interesting to see New York City private schools spending time exploring privilege and whiteness. I wonder if any homogenous public schools also engage in this?

I have decided that I am stumped in terms of education reform and testing and my own personal opinions...and perhaps I'll write my version of my op ed once I have gathered my opinions a bit more clearly one day.  In the meantime, you can look at Cuomo's approach towards standardized testing as equivalent to curing disease with leaches,  or, you can focus on the gains that have come about in education over the past decade (yes, yes, gains at what cost- I'm sure I could link to opinions within opinions if I was motivated to do so!). 

In the meantime, the first ever same-sex marriage was performed in Texas due to a special order-- "My little one was worried about missing her history class. I said we'll be making history." 

Not enough progress to convince me to shop at Wal-Mart- BUT, they did finally raise wages-- now entry wages are up to $9 an hour--"a small step in the right direction".  Not to name drop, but I believe a weekly update reader is featured in many a story about this-- ahem, Tsedye?  You reading this?  Because I learned about this from reading the news, not from anyone telling me this information!

What do you think about this question:  SHOULD Hillary Clinton be able to dominate the field for 2016?  Is healthy competition important to our election process?  Something to talk about at your next dinner party, maybe?

A federal judge has halted Obama's immigrant protection goals.

Now for some truly good news-- next weekend is March!  Because, really, does anybody like February?

Valentine's Update

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!

Starting off with some newsy news:

In Denmark, an attack on a free speech event left one person killed, though police say that they've now killed two related suspects. 
 
There is currently a ceasefire in the Ukraine, where more than 5000 people have died since fighting began.

The Houthi militiamen who have taken over Yemen are finding themselves more isolated as the US and other Western nations are closing their embassies.

The real blizzards really have struck New England, and Boston is covered in snow.

And in less newsy but more "did you hear about this-y" news....

Do you remember the story of the girl who tweeted a racist and ignorant tweet right before her 11 hour flight to South Africa? She went to sleep with 170 followers and woke up as a sensation- but NOT in a good way.  It is interesting to read her story of how this one tweet devastated her life, and of others in similar situations. What do you think?  Does the punishment fit the crime in these cases?

 

In very bad news for my news, you probably heard Jon Stewart will be leaving the Daily Show.  I'm hoping that someone worth watching will carry on, but I will miss Jon, who has been my trusted source over the years.

This is somewhat long, but worth reading-- a black judge in Mississippi gave this speech (a combination sentencing and history lesson) to three white murderers. 

Uber has launched a form of a political campaign designed to change the image of the company to one less like "the man". 

And for those of us that like a good homage to New York, check out the "New York After Paris" article regarding the hundred year old article....I liked to see what portions haven't changed with time.

And for Valentine's Day....the story of the first doctor to perform heart surgery.

Starting February

Hi there!  Well, the sidewalks of NYC were cleared by Tuesday morning, so apparently the blizzard anticipation was a bit more than enough hype.
(Some pundits refused to acknowledge this, however.  Amazing.)

 

The current superbowl (superbowl beers by state shown above)  is going to make this a quick update!   Do you watch the superbowl?  For the commercials?  The halftime show? The commentary?
 

In education news- charter schools actually retain students with special needs better than their traditional district counterparts in NYC.  This is much different from what has been reported. 

More on how technology can learn all about you-- apparently "anonymous" data may not really be protected-- it is easier than you might want to think to be identified through anonymous data.
 
And have you heard of "that French guy" who VINE made into a celebrity?

Does anyone want to buy a castle in Italy with me?

In case you've been wondering- Mitt Romney is not running for president.

Listen, lots of other stuff happened this week....my fault, I couldn't get to it!

Just since this was a frivolous and lacking in news update, here you go in case it describes you or a friend of yours: