Lev Raphael's Blog, page 27
January 24, 2016
Henry James' Killer Kindness Quote
One of the most popular quotes about kindness on the Internet is attributed to the novelist Henry James:
"Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind."
I hadn't noticed it until recently on Twitter, and then found it everywhere: Goodreads, Pinterest, Brainyquote, you name it. All the reliable sources for fake quotes by Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde and other famous authors.
I was surprised not to remember it, because Ja...
"Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind."
I hadn't noticed it until recently on Twitter, and then found it everywhere: Goodreads, Pinterest, Brainyquote, you name it. All the reliable sources for fake quotes by Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde and other famous authors.
I was surprised not to remember it, because Ja...
January 19, 2016
Donald Trump Needs To Do Homework
English teachers everywhere know when students haven't done the required reading for a class. You'll ask the most basic question and a student will hesitate, equivocate, try not to answer, maybe re-frame the question, or just shift ground entirely.
The question doesn't have to be anything very deep, either, nothing probing or requiring a lot of thought. You could ask about the student's favorite scene in the chapters that the class had to read, and you'll get something like "I don't have a f...
The question doesn't have to be anything very deep, either, nothing probing or requiring a lot of thought. You could ask about the student's favorite scene in the chapters that the class had to read, and you'll get something like "I don't have a f...
Donald Trump: Do Your Homework!
English teachers everywhere know when students haven't done the required reading for a class. You'll ask the most basic question and a student will hesitate, equivocate, try not to answer, maybe re-frame the question, or just shift ground entirely.
The question doesn't have to be anything very deep, either, nothing probing or requiring a lot of thought. You could ask about the student's favorite scene in the chapters that the class had to read, and you'll get something like "I don't have a f...
The question doesn't have to be anything very deep, either, nothing probing or requiring a lot of thought. You could ask about the student's favorite scene in the chapters that the class had to read, and you'll get something like "I don't have a f...
January 18, 2016
The War on Terror Comes to Michigan?
Fellow Michiganders, you might think Michigan's fairly safe when it comes to terrorism.
Fourteen police departments in our state seem to disagree. They've put themselves on a list to get Mine Resistant Ambush Proof (MRAP) vehicles from the Defense Department.
These are designed to withstand ambushes and attacks from IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
Here's the list of agencies eager to defend against this violence:
Saginaw Police Department
Highland Park Police Department
Oakland Cou...
Fourteen police departments in our state seem to disagree. They've put themselves on a list to get Mine Resistant Ambush Proof (MRAP) vehicles from the Defense Department.
These are designed to withstand ambushes and attacks from IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
Here's the list of agencies eager to defend against this violence:
Saginaw Police Department
Highland Park Police Department
Oakland Cou...
The War on Terror Comes to Michigan
Fellow Michigander, you might think Michigan's fairly safe when it comes to terrorism.
Fourteen police departments in our state seem to disagree. They've put themselves on a list to get Mine Resistant Ambush Proof (MRAP) vehicles from the Defense Department.
These are designed to withstand ambushes and attacks from IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
Here's the list of agencies eager to defend against this violence:
Saginaw Police Department
Highland Park Police Department
Oakland Coun...
Fourteen police departments in our state seem to disagree. They've put themselves on a list to get Mine Resistant Ambush Proof (MRAP) vehicles from the Defense Department.
These are designed to withstand ambushes and attacks from IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
Here's the list of agencies eager to defend against this violence:
Saginaw Police Department
Highland Park Police Department
Oakland Coun...
January 17, 2016
Is Sweden Training Migrants To Be Snipers?
Almost every day on Facebook there's some rumor or bizarre "news story" passed on by dozens or hundreds of people and outrage takes over.
This morning I learned that Sweden is training new migrants to be snipers:
SWEDEN is funding a sniper training course for recently-arrived Third World Muslim invaders as part of their "integration program" -- despite the ever-growing Muslim migrant terrorist attacks and mass rapes across Europe.
Though some people challenged the story's veracity (includ...
This morning I learned that Sweden is training new migrants to be snipers:
SWEDEN is funding a sniper training course for recently-arrived Third World Muslim invaders as part of their "integration program" -- despite the ever-growing Muslim migrant terrorist attacks and mass rapes across Europe.
Though some people challenged the story's veracity (includ...
Is Sweden Training Migrants to Be Snipers?
Almost every day on Facebook there's some rumor or bizarre "news story" passed on by dozens or hundreds of people and outrage takes over.
This morning I learned that Sweden is training new migrants to be snipers:
SWEDEN is funding a sniper training course for recently-arrived Third World Muslim invaders as part of their "integration program" -- despite the ever-growing Muslim migrant terrorist attacks and mass rapes across Europe.
Though some people challenged the story's veracity (includ...
This morning I learned that Sweden is training new migrants to be snipers:
SWEDEN is funding a sniper training course for recently-arrived Third World Muslim invaders as part of their "integration program" -- despite the ever-growing Muslim migrant terrorist attacks and mass rapes across Europe.
Though some people challenged the story's veracity (includ...
January 14, 2016
Brian Bedford: In Memoriam
Growing up in New York I got to see lots of great theater, including James Earl Jones in The Cherry Orchard, Julie Harris in The Belle of Amherst, and Brian Bedford, who's just died, in The School for Wives. He won a Tony Award for that performance and rightly so.
Molière was a favorite playwright of mine in college. At the time, I was still feeling the glow of having been my high school's star French student. In recognition of that achievement, I got a pretty certificate and a handshake fro...
Molière was a favorite playwright of mine in college. At the time, I was still feeling the glow of having been my high school's star French student. In recognition of that achievement, I got a pretty certificate and a handshake fro...
January 12, 2016
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Crecí en lo que parecía la capital de los medios, así que todo lo que hacía David Bowie ocupaba al menos unos minutos de la actualidad en Nueva York, aunque los presentadores de las televisiones locales se burlaran de sus trajes de Ziggy o se quedaran simplemente sin palabras. También estaba en todos los periódicos, y en las revistas Rolling Stone y Village Voice, que mi hermano leía.
En cambio, el artista no se instaló en mi imaginación hasta mediados de los 70, cuando empecé a salir con un...
En cambio, el artista no se instaló en mi imaginación hasta mediados de los 70, cuando empecé a salir con un...
January 11, 2016
Can You Hear Me, Major Tom?
I grew up in what seemed like the media capital of the world, so everything David Bowie did got at least a few minutes of New York news time, even if the local TV hosts mocked his Ziggy costumes or just were quietly at a loss for words. He was also in all the newspapers and in Rolling Stone and the Village Voice, both of which my brother read.
But it wasn't until the mid-70s when I started dating a huge Bowie fan that he took root in my imagination. We dated for two years and she introduced...
But it wasn't until the mid-70s when I started dating a huge Bowie fan that he took root in my imagination. We dated for two years and she introduced...
