In his autobiography, ‘‘Black and White: The Way I See It,’’ Richard Williams describes toughening the girls’ ‘‘skin’’ by bringing ‘‘busloads of kids from the local schools into Compton to surround the courts while Venus and Serena practiced. I had the kids call them every curse word in the English language, including ‘Nigger,’ ’’ he writes. ‘‘I paid them to do it and told them to ‘do their worst.’ ’’ His focus on racism meant that the sisters were engaged in two battles on and off the court.

-- Claudia Rankine

The Meaning of Serena Williams

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/magazine/the-meaning-of-serena-williams.html

-- The New York Times

Serena Williams Still Has Tennis History to Make

http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/08/serena-williams-still-has-tennis-history-to-make.html

-- New York

Serena Williams’s Moment, Forever

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/serena-williamss-moment-forever/

-- Grantland

I don’t touch a weight, because I’m already super fit and super cut, and if I even look at weights, I get bigger. For years I’ve only done Thera-Bands and things like that, because that’s kind of how I felt. But then I realized that you really have to learn to accept who you are and love who you are. I’m really happy with my body type, and I’m really proud of it. Obviously it works out for me. I talk about it all the time, how it was uncomfortable for someone like me to be in my body.

-- Serena Williams

The way of transformation, Karl Gras von Durkheim

http://www.katinkahesselink.net/sufi/durkheim-transformation.html

-- Katinka Hesselink.net

Copenhagen’s Torvehallern: the World’s Best Covered Market

http://europeupclose.com/article/copenhagens-torvehallern-the-worlds-best-covered-market/

-- Europe Up Close

Best Reply To A Relationship Complain Ever. This Is Genius.

http://www.geekfill.com/2013/02/12/best-reply-to-a-relationship-complain-ever-this-is-genius/

-- geekfill

If you haven’t found your bliss yet, think back to the thing the other kids teased you about, the thing that made you different. Because often your bliss is not what others are doing or what others tell you to do. It’s individual to you. It’s your path, not anyone else’s.

-- Colleen Newvine Tebeau

The above is the first of ten thoughts scribbled by Colleen Newvine Tebeau after watching "Finding Joe".  I noted it because it indicates that individuality is essential to one's bliss.

I was a giant. I was definitely the tallest and biggest girl all the way through high school. In middle school, I was about 175. Throughout high school, I played around 175, all the way up to 200. When I got to college, I stayed at about 200 pounds. And now I fluctuate between 210 and 215. But I embrace it. I love myself.

-- Amanda Bingson

I'll be honest, I like everything about my body. And I think it's because I moved from Las Vegas to Texas. In Vegas, I was bombarded with all of these "double zeros" and Abercrombie models, these little people coming in for shows. I never wanted to be a part of that, ever. And when I moved to Texas, everyone here is just so open about their bodies. I see these big girls in these tiny little bathing suits and I'm looking at them like, "Man, these girls are so confident!" Now I just think, "I'm just going to throw far because I'm confident with myself and I don't have to worry about what I look like anymore."

-- Amanda Bingson

Hammer thrower Amanda Bingson says athletes come in all shapes and sizes

http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/page/bodyamandabingson/hammer-thrower-amanda-bingson-says-athletes-come-all-shapes-sizes-espn-magazine-body-issue

-- ESPN

Beaucoup de filles, de femmes connaissent le « walk of shame », la marche de la honte : rentrer chez soi en regrettant d’avoir couché avec quelqu’un. C’est quand on n’a plus honte qu’on est libérés ? 

Oui. C’est à passer par pertes et profits. Je n’ai jamais connu ça, la honte liée à la sexualité. Longtemps après, j’ai pu me dire : « Ce type était horrible, il s’est révélé un sale con ». Mais sur le moment, je n’ai jamais ressenti ce sentiment de honte. Je réfléchis mais je n’ai pas le souvenir.

-- Rue89 - L'Obs

This dialogue was copied from an interview with Catherine Millet, author of "La vie sexuelle de Catherine M."

Dix ans après, Catherine Millet vous reparle de sexe (et d'amour)

http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2011/06/24/dix-ans-apres-catherine-millet-vous-reparle-de-sexe-et-damour-210817

-- Rue89 - L'Obs

Capturing the secret lives of squirrels

http://blog.flickr.net/en/2015/08/07/capturing-the-secret-lives-of-squirrels/

-- Flickr

The Confession of Arian Foster

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13369076/houston-texans-arian-foster-goes-public-not-believing-god

-- ESPN

"Arian has always been a rebel at heart," says Humble Lukanga, Adrian Foster's business manager. "He's never been worried about backlash." The inference is clear: Somebody has to be. To Foster, though, the act of getting his story out there -- and the freedom it creates -- is a form of immunity.

-- ESPN

This text was copied from an article on Arian Foster.

Always outspoken -- Foster has admitted to taking impermissible benefits at Tennessee -- his public unburdening seems to have unleashed a newfound freedom.

-- ESPN

This text was copied from an article on Arian Foster.