An Award?! (A la Grinch)

The Spingarn Award is given annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for outstanding achievement by an African American. The first award went to Ernest Everett Just in 1915. He was a scientist known for marine biology, cytology (study of cells), and parthenogenesis (study of aesexual reproduction).

There's Baseball in Belgium

So Belgium has a National Baseball team. There's a baseball league too. It's like Football Leagues in Europe.

A New Internet Era

On October 1, 2016, the United States government handed over the world wide web's "phonebook" to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

ICANN is a non profit composed to stakeholders including government organizations, private companies, and internet users. The organization now has direct control over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, the body that manages the domain name system.

Prior to the hand over, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the U.S Department of Commerce, the very home of my current employer, had ultimate authority to overrule ICANN.

Users can now influence how cyberspace evolves!

Administration in Maryland

The other day I asked someone about the Mayor of Silver Spring. Turns out the "Mayor" was a drunk named Norman Lane who wore a hard hat and was famous for saying "Don't worry about it!" There's a bust of his likeness I'm downtown Silver Spring.

The reality is there is no Mayor because in Maryland, counties are the primary administrative unit. There are 24 of them each with an Administrator.

There are exceptions. Although there is a Baltimore County, Baltimore City is its own unit and it has a Mayor.

I am part of the Complicated History of a Country Where I am a Guest

The National Museum of African American Arts and Culture opened today and I found myself getting very emotional about a history that is not entirely mine. My ancestors are not West African and did not come to America on slave ships (they probably went East to Asia instead). They didn't endure segregation. As far as I know, they weren't a part of the American civil rights movement.

And yet, as I walk down the street, all people see is the color of my skin. It doesn't matter that I am wholly African. There are those who can tell the difference and ask me about it but in the eyes of many, I am just black. My history is irrelevant to them.

Should it matter that I am not American? Probably not but I can't escape the fact that in America, such nuances only matter when there is trouble.

The person who oversees the "Book Palace of the American People" is a political appointee

Today was an auspicious day for library nerds like me. This is the first time in a long time, 28 years to be exact, that a new Librarian of Congress (LibOC) took the Oath of Office. Yes, the LibOC is a political appointee.

I also learned much more about the Library of Congress itself. After much of the original material in the original LOC burned, Thomas Jefferson sold his collection to Congress. Yes, he sold his collection cause dude was apparently broke. That was 200 plus years ago.

Since 1800 when the LOC began, 13 LibOCs added to the collection and the number of items archived in the LOC is staggering to say the least.

Today, Dr. Carla Hayden became the 14th LibOC. She is the first woman and the first African-American to hold the post. She was confirmed by a vote of 74 Yeas and 18 Nays (really, Nays to the LibOC?). Her term is 10 years and is renewable.

Chief Justice Roberts swore her in and her 83 year-old mom, who does not look a day over 50 by the way, held the Bible on which Dr. Hayden placed her hand. That very Bible itself is historic in that it belonged to President Lincoln.

She quoted Ainsworth Rand Spofford, the 6th LibOC who said the LOC is "The Book Palace of the American People." She also talked about how her ancestors were punished for learning to read. Dr Hayden famously kept the library in Baltimore from which she came open during unrest in 2015.

These are the moments that give me hope.

Happy Hour Trivia

Steely Dan are named for a strap-on toy.

Virginia Beach is the largest city in Virginia.

Expat Votes

Expat Americans can vote in the general elections. There are 13 electoral votes for the expat community. Voting must be done by paper ballot and you must be registered as an expat voter. In the 2016 primary election, the expats voted for Bernie Sanders. Who knew?!

Jean-Luc Picard was a real person!

Well, he wasn't captaining a space ship or anything but a famous Swiss explorer. So famous that Gene Roddenberry named the famous Star Trek character after him. His grandson, Bertrand Picard and André Borschberg are flying a solar-powered plane around the world.

We Really Are Losing All Sense of Civilization

Breaking news out of France that a nut job in Nice just plowed through a crowd of people killing at least 70 and injuring many more as people watched Bastille Day fireworks.

I just can't explain what is going on in the world today. I fear that darker times are coming because I don't think we've even reached rock bottom.

A New Low

I learned that all hell is breaking loose. In the past week two black men died during encounters with police. One of those men, Philando Castile, died in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. I used to live there and I am bewildered by how he died because a shot in the arm should not have killed him. Falcon Heights is a tiny suburb of Saint Paul. Nowhere in that town is more than 5 minutes away from emergency help. The incident happened right next to the University of Minnesota which also has a police force and medics less than ten minutes away.

Again, I am confused. I also have all sorts of questions. Why didn't the officer call for help? What would have happened if he had shot the four year-old kid who was in the car? My nephew is five and already has the mind of a steel trap. Will that child ever forget?

More importantly, I want to know when this will end. I am tired of all the killing. I am tired of all the guns. Retaliation, like the cold and calculated murder of five officers in Dallas that followed, is wrong  and is definitely not the answer.

I am at a loss for words and feel helpless. After all, I have lived here for almost 20 years but I am constantly reminded that this is not my country. What we hear is "If you don't like this country, then go back to your own!"

Goooooool! Part Deux

The football world has been turned upside down today. Spain lost to Italy but the more shocking result was England's loss to Iceland!!! Iceland!!! It. Was. Epic. I learned that even the best of rosters doesn't always mean that the team will win. Euro 2016 continues to surprise.

Brexit.

It is frightening to think that people Googled the vote to exit the European AFTER casting their votes. I don't care which side of the vote someone is on. Make educated decisions that don't rely on others to tell you what to think!

Tweet tweet!

The Library of Congress archives tweets. What a research goldmine!

Goooooooool!

Lionel Messi is the all time leading scorer for his native Argentina with 55 goals and the Copa America final is still ahead.

What the frack?!!

Today (or technically yesterday), I learned about the Halliburton Loophole that exempts fracking practices from certain environmental law such as the Safe Drinking Water Act. Going nerd out at some point...

Ugh...

Forty-nine people and the shooter lost their lives in Orlando, Florida yesterday. I am honestly at a loss for words. What I learned yesterday is that we continue to regress as a civilized society.*

This June 14, 2016 post was edited to reflect the number of lives lost more accurately. Before, the post stated that 50 people died.

Sound Therapy

The human body is amazingly sensitive to touch. Recently I read about astronaut Scott Kelly whose skin became sensitive to touch after his long spell in orbit.

I talked to somebody about sound healing and the use of singing bowls. The frequencies and vibrations heal the body. That is pretty cool!

Men and Weather Fatalities

Men make up 80% of the fatalities from lightening and rip currents because they don't perceive the risk - Laura Furgione, Deputy Director of the National Weather Service, Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2016

What I learned today

Wow, it has been a lot of time since I visited this blog. I am happy to say that the dissertation is done. Almost two years ago. Now that I have recovered sufficiently, it's time to rethink this blog.

Here's the thing. Life is basically a long-term learning experience. Learning does not end with that last class or once that final paper is done. I have found myself saying "You learn something new every day!" a lot recently. I also find myself forgetting things more often. Sigh...welcome old age.

What all this means for this blog is that it will now serve as the running log of what I learn. New title, new purpose.

Now, to remember to add the lessons to the list 😝.