Dorothea and Gladys Cromwell

 A case study of the affects of shell shock:

[http://www.thebigroundtable.com/stories/shell-shock/]

A Knowledgeable Man

"If I knew how I knew what I know, I'd only be able to know half as much..."

Vincent Chin

Vincent Chin was bludgeoned to death in 1982 Detroit. A second generation Chinese American, Chin was singled out and blamed for Japan's successful auto industry: “It’s because of you we’re out of work,” two ex-Chrysler employees shouted as they cracked his head open with a baseball bat.

Admittedly, my study of Asian history/culture is shamefully lacking. My attention was primarily captured by this story because it was referenced as a having a impact on Americans similar to Emmett Till's murder (14 year old Till was killed in 1955 for speaking to a white woman and the photos of his brutalized body were a motivating factor in beginning the classical African American civil rights movement).

A New York Times article captured the response to Chin's murder:

The killing catalyzed political activity among Asian-Americans — whose numbers had steadily increased since the 1965 overhaul of immigration laws but who then represented only about 1.5 percent of the population — as never before. “Remember Vincent Chin” turned into a rallying cry; for the first time, Asian-Americans of every background angrily protested in cities across the country. For all that Asians had been through — racial exclusion, starting with a ban on Chinese migrant labor in 1882; the unconstitutional detention of Japanese-Americans during World War II; the legacy of America’s wars in the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam — no single episode involving an individual Asian-American had ever had such an effect before. And none has since.

I definitely am interested in watching these two documentaries Who Killed Vincent Chin? and Vincent Who?. I guess I'm particularly interested in how this incident was "used" in ensuing civil rights activism.

"...Jim is fundamentally a responsible citizen..."

The website, Letters of Note, has many fascinating letters (as you would expect with a title like that, right?)

I don't necessarily know much about Jim Morrison (which is probably by choice: I know enough to know I might not want to know more... though I did visit his grave in Paris...) But I found this "...endearing letter of support" letter very sweet. His father obviously loved him, despite his disagreements with his son's lifestyle/music/etc.

[http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/04/jim-is-fundamentally-respectable.html]

Scottish Independence?

2014 referendum! Crazy. I don't know if I'm pro/against. I'm definitely used to a United Kingdom.

Russell Gideon

"Russell Gideon was a Seattle businessman, a pharmacist, and a pioneer in senior housing. From 1977 until his death, he was recognized yearly by Ebony magazine as one of the nation�s 100 most influential black citizens. A community leader and a man of great energy and charm, Russell Gideon used these personal attributes to advantage in pursing his many humanitarian and business interests."

[http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=238]

Taboo Then, Typical Now

This photo gallery was fascinating to me because I often forget that so much has changed in the last fifty years, regarding media/public representation of "taboos".

"The [Star Trek] episode is popularly cited as the first example of a scripted inter-racial kiss on television (between Kirk and Uhura.)"

[http://www.life.com/gallery/61141/image/3160225/taboo-then-typical-now#index/0]

Young Me, Now Me

As the post title says...

[http://www.zefrank.com/youngmenowme/]

If the world were 100 people...

...this is how it would break down. Wow. (And these stats are from 2006, so they're pretty recent. And, if you look at the scholarship it's pretty reliable.)

If the World were 100 PEOPLE:
50 would be female
50 would be male
26 would be children
There would be 74 adults,
8 of whom would be 65 and older
There would be:
60 Asians
15 Africans
14 people from the Americas
11 Europeans
33 Christians
22 Muslims
14 Hindus
7 Buddhists
12 people who practice other religions
12 people who would not be aligned with a religion
12 would speak Chinese
5 would speak Spanish
5 would speak English
3 would speak Arabic
3 would speak Hindi
3 would speak Bengali
3 would speak Portuguese
2 would speak Russian
2 would speak Japanese
62 would speak other languages
83 would be able to read and write; 17 would not
7 would have a college degree
22 would own or share a computer
77 people would have a place to shelter them
from the wind and the rain, but 23 would not
1 would be dying of starvation
15 would be undernourished
21 would be overweight
87 would have access to safe drinking water
13 would have have no clean, safe water to drink