Bruins-Sabres National Anthem (by specmotors) Rene Rancourt starts singing, and then the TD Garden crowd takes it home as Boston returns to sports two days after the bombing at the Boston Marathon.
This is a goosebump- and tear-inducing way to start the morning.
(Although sometimes I wish we would see this kind of national unity more often, and not just in the wake of the worst tragedies).
A map of the United States with each state’s name replaced with its etymological root translated into English.
(Source: shaunbwilson, via bryanboova)
Mapping America - distribution of racial and ethnic groups in the US by city block. Interesting.
![theatlantic: Welcome to America, Please Be On Time: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.
The United States is the second greatest tourist draw in the world, with 60-million-plus visitors in 2010 alone (France, number one, attracted almost 80 million). Flipping through a few of the many English-language tourist guides provides a fascinating, if non-scientific and narrow, window into how people from the outside world perceive America, Americans, and the surprises and pitfalls of spending time here.
Of the many pieces of advice proffered, four of the most common are: eat with your fingers (sometimes), arrive on time (always), don’t drink and drive (they take it seriously here!), and be careful about talking politics (unless you’ve got some time to spare). But they say more than that.
Read more. [Image: Flickr/xJason.Rogersx]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m53u45VmFO1qcokc4o1_500.jpg)
theatlantic: Welcome to America, Please Be On Time: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.
The United States is the second greatest tourist draw in the world, with 60-million-plus visitors in 2010 alone (France, number one, attracted almost 80 million). Flipping through a few of the many English-language tourist guides provides a fascinating, if non-scientific and narrow, window into how people from the outside world perceive America, Americans, and the surprises and pitfalls of spending time here.
Of the many pieces of advice proffered, four of the most common are: eat with your fingers (sometimes), arrive on time (always), don’t drink and drive (they take it seriously here!), and be careful about talking politics (unless you’ve got some time to spare). But they say more than that.
Read more. [Image: Flickr/xJason.Rogersx]
Why everyone overestimates American equality of opportunity.
Read an excerpt from Senior Editor Timothy Noah’s upcoming book, The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It, published in the March 1, 2012 issue of the magazine.
“Most of Western Europe today is both more equal in income and more econmically mobile than the United States. And it isn’t just Western Europe. Countries as varied as Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Pakistan all have higher degrees of income mobility than we do. A nation that prides itself on its lack of class rigidity has, in short, become significantly more economically rigid than many other developed countries. How did our perception of ourselves end up so far out of sync with reality?”
—Timothy Noah, “The Mobility Myth: Why everyone overestimates American equality of opportunity.”
sunfoundation: A Visual Guide to US Income Distribution
Ok, so we’ve all heard about the people protesting US wealth distribution. Are the disparities in our country too great? That’s for you to decide. In the meantime, we’ve created a visual guide to how one important aspect of wealth –household income — is distributed state-by-state. Click on “launch infographic” above to take a peek at the data.
President of the United States, Barack Obama, and Sgt. 1st Class Chad Stackpole, Sergeant of the Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., commemorating Veterans Day. (via fordkt:)
(Source: kthope, via diadoumenos)
One can rustle up local, heirloom foods for dinner without too much trouble these days. The same goes for beer, wine, and soda pop. But what if you want more refined consumer products to come from a local, artisanal source? Ten yards of rope, say, or a luxury chef’s knife? Good luck.
Add high-end, handmade products to the list of future demands from savvy consumers. While the entry barriers to product design, manufacture, and distribution are crumbling, the entrepreneurial spirit in America is rallying. Made by Hand, a Brooklyn-based web video series, is documenting the growing movement.
The second and most recent film takes us inside the workshop of Joel Bukiewicz, a former MFA graduate and frustrated writer who set up his own knife making studio. After honing his skills, he now sells his Cut Brooklyn-brand knives to elite chefs in New York City and beyond.
Very small scale, but the resurgence of craftsmanship in America could bode well for the future, especially as rising oil prices will bump up the cost of plastic goods made overseas.
USA DEFEATS FRANCE, ADVANCES TO WORLD CUP FINAL
Well-played, Team USA. (And thanks for making it a nice lunch break, too!)
I’ve hit 29 states (58% of the US), missing my 30-by-30 goal, but hopefully I’ll make it to 30-by-32 this year!
Create your own visited map of The United States
There’s also an option to create a map of countries in the world you’ve visited. So far, I’m at less than ten countries, but on four continents (with Europe still unvisited).
Pretty amazed to open the Washington Post homepage to see an article on Muslim American identity, featuring not one, but two friends in D.C., up-and-coming actress, Zehra Fazal, whose one-woman show, “Headscarf and the Angry Bitch” puts a hilarious and humanizing face on the identity challenges faced by young American Muslims, especially in a post-9/11 world; and Imam Yahya Hendi, Georgetown University’s Muslim chaplain, who has been serving as a resource for students for over a decade.
A great piece by Marc Fisher (The Washington Post)
Happy Memorial Day, and thank you to all those who have given their time and their loves for the USA.
Army Spc. Justin Immerso places flags in front of head stones at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day, in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP via the Globe and Mail
(via abcworldnews)
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