Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

18 Aug 2009 10:17

tags

World: Kim Dae-jung: Yes, you can go from dissident to president

The former South Korean leader, who became an icon of the country’s democratic strength, died today. He was 83. source

14 Aug 2009 00:11

tags

Music: Five key moments in guitar innovator Les Paul’s life (R.I.P., bro)

  • Paul, a jazz musician, decided to get more sound out of his guitar by putting a log in the middle. In the process, he invented the solid-body guitar. source
  • Paul experiments with a tape recorder in his garage. He layers his guitar’s tone on one song, “Lover,” and invents multi-track recording. source
  • Paul divorces his first wife and marries Mary Ford, his music partner. The two spend much of the early 1950s as major musical stars, notching hits until 1955. source
  • Gibson asks Paul to promote its new solid-body guitar; Paul influenced the guitar’s design only a little, but the guitar’s name helped build Paul’s legend. source
  • Paul never gave up his craft and continued to be a musical icon late in life, playing NYC clubs well into his 90s. Paul died Thursday at 94. His legacy is insane. source

11 Aug 2009 10:16

tags

U.S.: Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a tireless campaigner for the mentally disabled

Smithsonian portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver
  • She died early Tuesday at 88. Beyond being known as a member of the Kennedy family, Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968 just weeks after her brother Robert’s assassination. It was a profound idea – during an era where physical activity was unheard of for the mentally disabled, she started an event to encourage it. She learned about it from her sister Rosemary, who grew up in Kennedy household during an era where many with mental disabilities were institutionalized. Her victories may not have been as loud as those of her famous brothers, but in their own way they were just as profound. source

01 Aug 2009 20:55

tags

World: Corazon Aquino’s son: She respected the rights of everyone equally

  • She really put into practice defending not only the rights of her friends but even those who would oppose you, relinquishing her power as fast as possible with adoption of the 1987 constitution. And, then, I can go on and on.
  • Filipino Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III • On his mother, former president Corazon Aquino, who died Saturday after a long bout with colon cancer. Aquino’s role in a quiet revolution that overtook the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos was considered one of the most impressive political feats of the 20th century. • source

01 Aug 2009 11:21

tags

World: Corazon Aquino: A Filipino leader for the people, dead at 76

After her husband was assassinated, Aquino started a march to become president of the Philippines, successfully leading the country through turmoil. source

18 Jul 2009 12:18

tags

World: Walter Cronkite wasn’t the only really old guy to die recently

  • 113 age of the world’s oldest man, Harry Allingham, a WWI vet source

18 Jul 2009 11:24

tags

Culture: There’s a reason Walter Cronkite was so easy to listen to

  • 124 words per minute – the speed at which Cronkite spoke source
 

07 Jul 2009 12:33

tags

07 Jul 2009 12:30

tags

Politics: Hopefully the MJ story dies after this memorial, but here’s a live stream

  • Most. Annoying. News. Story. Ever. Nothing against Michael Jackson or his fans or his memory, but this thing needs to go away. Hopefully, after this memorial, we can all get on with our lives.source

06 Jul 2009 09:34

tags

U.S.: R.I.P. Robert McNamara: He was the Vietnam War’s architect

McNamara0706
  • McNamara, the secretary of defense in an era defined by one of the nation’s deadliest wars, is dead at 93. Beyond his most noted accomplishment (which stretched during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson), he also spent tenures leading the World Bank (before Vietnam) and Ford Motor Co. (after Vietnam). But really, his pushing of the often-unpopular Vietnam War is what he’ll be remembered for.source