FAO Quotables

"But being right, even morally right, isn't everything. It is also important to be competent, to be consistent, and to be knowledgeable. It's important for your soldiers and diplomats to speak the language of the people you want to influence. It's important to understand the ethnic and tribal divisions of the place you hope to assist."
-Anne Applebaum

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

What I Read Last Week: A Rwandan survivor finds her voice, RSVPs, Grammar, Tragedy at Sea and Salter Sets Sail

Now that my WIRLW is kind of a thing--I want to further delineate the trove of links and articles with the Best Thing I Read All Week (BTIRAW).  The WIRL column is useful for me because I read so many articles every week but previously had no repository (aside from the Evernote notebook I created online).  Finally, for me it's a good analytical exercise to condense what I read into a short sentence or two.

BTIRAW:
Everything is Yours, Everything is Not Yours
Powerful autobiographical #longread about Rwandan genocide flee-er turned wandering refugee turned Yale student turned young woman who found her voice.   Her story casts aside any easy categorizations of her struggle and journey.  I found myself checking the cursor on the right side of my IPAD screen to see how much of the article I had left--I didn't want it to end.  For someone who admits struggling with her English writing--she is superb.  Incidentally, this story is published on medium.com which in Comoros (where I am right now) you can't access without using a VPN.

Les Autres:

The Aspirational R.S.V.P.: Saying Yes When You Mean No
I've found this to be especially true in Madagascar--especially when you invite a counterpart and his/her spouse to an event--they will almost always reply yes for both people but then only one shows up.  Personally, I think the idea of an aspirational RSVP is juvenile and rubbish.

Michael Gove is instructing his civil servants on grammar
Hilarious.  All English majors dream of having a position from which we can dictate our very own 'elements of style'

This is Sometimes More Important Than Praying
A good reality check and warning against religion (versus love for God).

Why Books by Soldiers Matter So Much Right Now
A nice plug from Men's Journal.  I previously wrote about two of the books he mentions (Redeployment and Preparation for the Next Life) here, here, and here.

Incoming: Floating Bases Are an Old Idea Whose Time May Have Come Again
Stavridis--the writing machine plugs ideas for Afloat Staging Base and highlights opportunities for public-private partnership.

Unheeded Warnings THE NAVY IGNORED YEARS OF ALARMING REPORTS — AND TWO PILOTS PAID THE PRICE
A lengthy Navy Times investigation into the tragic mishap that occurred at my old squadron HS-6.  It highlights that facts that aviation squadrons can write HAZREPs till they are blue in the face but if SWOs aren't required to read them it is often all for nought.

James Salter, a ‘Writer’s Writer’ Short on Sales but Long on Acclaim, Dies at 90
One of my favorite writers that I only discovered this past year.  I've written about this author several times--despite some philosophical/moral differences I am sad that his reign within the realm of the written word has passed.
What we read in 2014
A Sport and a Pastime Kindle Notes and Highlights
All That Is Kindle Notes and Highlights
Light Years: Kindle Highlights and Notes
Last Night by James Salter: My Notes and Kindle Highlights
Burning the Days: My Notes and Kindle Highlights










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