photo by oskay
During my blogging hiatus it appears I picked up about 10 new subscribers. I don’t know where you came from but welcome aboard! Don’t be shy about leaving comments. No blogger wants to think she’s simply talking to the trees in the forest.
photo by kylemay
In the past few months I’ve been reading A LOT more and playing with my twitter account like a kid with a new toy at Christmas.
I’m very active over on twitter, if you’d like to dialogue there.
Otherwise, I’ve been more in my head, absorbing and processing ideas and information. And I do hope to get back to a more regular blogging schedule eventually.
Please excuse the transition.
Since my list of places that provide new homes for your books was so popular, I thought we’d visit the protocol for book buying in bricks-and-mortar stores.
Passe, I know. But it happens to all of us.
Scoot’s Bookstore Tips
Is it just me, or does the police force in the US seem to be getting increasingly violent everywhere you look?
Last week, 17-year old Virginian was tasered in his own home by police after neighbors phoned in a domestic dispute.
I find it hard to believe that police cadets aren’t taught multiple ways to subdue a possible suspect. Aren’t weapons that can kill you meant to be a last response?
On New Year’s Eve, a twenty-three year old African-American was pulled from his vehicle in his family’s drive way in Texas. After his mother, who came outside to see what was going on, got shoved by an officer, the young man questioned the treatment of his mother. He was promptly shot by the officer.
Family members had difficulty believing a shooting at the home of the only black family on their Bellaire block was completely random. . .
Speculation aside, investigators and the family are trying to figure out why the officer stopped the men in the first place.
‘The vehicle turned out not to be stolen. Why they thought it was stolen and how they got a stolen report is something that is not clear yet. All that will be determined in the investigation,’ said Holloway.
The most heinous though took place on New Year’s Day. The recent shooting of a compliant Oscar Grant in Oakland has caused an uproar and a very public demand for justice.
A BART police officer shot the man at point blank range who was laying on the station platform, restrained by officers. Despite the confiscation of a number of cell phones of witnesses, several managed to make their way into the hands of local reporters covering the story. The officer in question refused to testify before Internal Affairs, resigning so that he could not be compelled to do so. The city’s citizenry await word of what charges, if any, will be filed.
Has police work become more treacherous in recent years that the police are running scared and shooting unarmed civilians? Does law enforcement seem more enticing to certain personalities? Have 8 years of shivving the Constitution left officers thinking they to can act with impunity?
I’m certainly not alone in being concerned.
A new study published this month in the Emergency Medicine Journal reports that roughly 98% of ER docs believe some of the patients delivered by police are victims of police brutality. But since there aren’t any laws requiring this sort of abuse to be reported, unlike parents assaulting their children, doctors look the other way.
That data was collected in 2002, so the nearly 2/3 of physicians that felt they saw at least 2 instance of police brutality a year. . . how many do you think they’re not reporting now?
photo by gep
It’s the end of December, and blogs are brimming with all sorts of end-of-year reviews.
Taking the lead from Elysa over at GenPink, I’m posting links to my favorite posts of 2008.
Professional:
McKinsey’s Model Centered Leadership for women — key traits and behaviors to get ahead professionally
The Personal and Professional Benefits of Philanthropy
When is enough enough? Enhancing mental agility (when is taking brain-enhancing drugs for non-medical reasons OK?)
The marketing machine: non-fiction books (thinks to think about when marketing a NF book)
Personal:
Favorite Reads of 2008 — trying to hit 50 books before the 31st, realistically, it’ll be more like 45.
A Guide to Life Coach Selection
Making grad school more affordable
Defining Gen Y (my response to a query about what events have shaped the Gen Y collective)
Politics:
Little room for “just war” when diplomacy and police work trump bombing (The US seems to be the only developed nations that hasn’t caught on to the fact that exercising soft power and creating open dialogues is more effective than dropping bombs)
What story is mainstream media creating? (why we should be thinking about the motives of the media in their reporting)
Foreign correspondents fading away (are we ready for foreign reporting that reflects indigenous, not American perspectives)
Why I’m Voting Obama, part deux
Video-of-the day shorts from around the web
A Short Love Story in Stop Motion (a sweet animated romance)
Wassup! — covers 8 years of G.W. Bush in minutes
Intentionally disturbing commercial: STD awareness (a PSA that got my attention)
Since I’m constantly adding new bloggers to my Google Reader, as well as meeting them on Twitter, it would be great to hear from some of them (Tim, Sally, Allison, Andy, Jen, Andrew, Monica, Amanda and you too! What are your best posts of 2008?
photo by ajawin
A friend is one to whom one can pour out all the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keeping what is worth keeping, and, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
-Arab proverb
photo by drp
Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find it out.
Frank A. Clark
photo by mdu2boy
I hesitate to write this post at the peak of greeting card season, but it’ll be less relevant come January 1st.
I’m as tech obsessed as the next member of Gen Y, but I’m disappointed in the sharp decline of holiday appropriate stationery greetings.
I sent out about 45 Holiday cards this year. If I get 5 back from non-family members, I’ll be surprised. What I do expect is a massive influx of text messages on Christmas day sending out well wishes to all with a cell phone number, and likely a barrage of festive greetings as FaceBook status messages.
It’s just not the same.
There’s something inherently thoughtful about written holiday greetings. Someone has to take the time to pick out cards that fit his or her own personality before writing out cards and labeling envelopes. It’s personal.
A text message is a perfunctory last minute missive. I hate to get all Martha Stewart on the world, but a text message is not a greeting card.
If the $25-$30 a holiday mailing costs is too much, you’ve got a few options.
A) Plan ahead. The day after Christmas the price of all holiday cards are slashed in half, by mid-January they’re 75% off to get them off the shelves. You can be ready for Christmas 2009 for under $10.
B) Try an e-greeting card. There are lots of free options out there ( I tend to use Hallmark for greetings to people that don’t have a mailing address for.) Though not as personal as an actual paper greeting, it does offer the option of picking a card that reflects your interests. The more ambitious can personalize the card for each recipient, the less so can send a generic greeting out to everyone they know.
Given we spend so much time sending impersonal emails and text messages, leaving voicemails and generally minimizing personal interaction to streamline our work, the holidays are a perfect time to reconnect.
Send a few cards this month. . . and for birthdays; thoughtfulness at birthdays would be nice too.
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