Wake County school board member Chris Malone wants you to know that he does know that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
Malone is taking some ribbing for saying that Albert Einstein invented the light bulb during a speech at Thursday's graduation ceremony for Wake Forest-Rolesville High School. Malone said he had jotted down some quick notes to read from and inadvertently wrote Einstein instead of Edison.
"They can have their fun and get a good chuckle from this," Malone said. "I won't worry about it."
School board members are attending this week's graduation ceremonies. Malone said he wasn't told ahead of time that he'd speak but as a precaution he jotted down some notes to use.
Malone said he was telling the seniors about the famous story in which Edison was asked about having failed 700 times to make the light bulb work. Edison responded back that he had successfully found 700 ways that it wouldn't work and that he'd keep at it until he found one that would work.
"I don't mind the ribbing I'll get," Malone said. "But the story is a good one. It's about perseverance."
Malone said one of the reasons he mixed up Einstein and Edison is that he keeps a list of famous quotations to cite from when making speeches. He said he had been thinking of using the Einstein quote below before deciding to go with the Edison story. He says he just wrote down the wrong name on the notes.
“Only a life lived for others is a life worth while.” Einstein said.
(Yes, I know there's a dispute about whether Edison did invent the light bulb.)
Comments
Names wrong
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 20:35 — mommy59Our daughter graduated last year from WFRHS.Laurie Millburg was not there.Her name was said but there was an empty seat..
On that note saying the wrong name must be Wake Forest thing.The diploma presenters read the names off a list and said our daughter's name as a boy's name.Pretty bad to say the least.A few more names were pronounced wrong or like our daughter was the wrong name from the list.
I only know of Chris Malone from the school so I can't say too much bad about him .
I think this is a cheap shot
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 15:28 — woodstockI think this is a cheap shot and not worthy of Keung, who typically rises above the pettiness.
This situation is like when Obama referred to our "57 states;" regardless of one's opinion of our President, I don't think anyone believed he didn't know there are only 50. (I wonder if that misstatement was covered by the N&O?)
In defense of Keung, I don't
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 18:32 — MarvinSchwartzIn defense of Keung, I don't think this is a cheap shot. I think it was a chance to let Malone respond to a pretty big, very public faux pas.
Hmm, that is an interesting
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 12:47 — woodstockHmm, that is an interesting perspective, I don't see how succumbing to pettiness and raising awareness of a misstatement is doing anyone any favors.
If you characterize Malone's misstatement as a "pretty big, very public faux pas." how would you describe Obama's rather shocking misstatement that he had "been to 57 states and had one more to go." How do you scale up "pretty big?" If Malone made his misstatement in front of a group of graduates and their parents and Obama -- current leader of the free world -- made his in front of world-wide audience (now available for replay on YouTube), would that make Obama's embarrassing misstatement, enormous, gigantic, massive or colossal?
Which one of those choices is larger?
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 13:04 — MarvinSchwartzMy thesaurus is out of commission today. Which ever one is larger (colossal?), go with that one.
Barack Obama was rightfully (though not thoroughly, in my opinion) skewered for such an ill-spoken remark. The difference in this case (and I make no defense for BHO) is that his slip-up was off-the-cuff and was in response to an asked question, without the benefit of his teleprompter. Mr. Malone made his error with prepared remarks that he obviously did not review before giving his speech. In my opinion, this incident is indicative of the slip-shod manner in which Mr. Malone and the ruling junta have conducted their business since assuming power. Being in the ruling junta means blindly moving full-speed ahead, damn the consequences, and never having to say you're sorry.
FWIW, Obama has demonstrated through his (mis)management of the oil spill and the recent Palestinian/Israeli dust-up that, as a back-bencher senator who has never had any real-world experience, he is woefully unprepared for the gravity of the office of POTUS. Hard to believe that if Illinois congressman Jack Ryan had not become embroiled in a sex scandal, he would have built on the double-digit lead he had over Barack Obama in the Senate primary race and the United States would have been deprived of its very own Dear Leader.
Betcha never imagined someone could oppose both Obama and the ruling junta, huh?
"Betcha never imagined
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 15:54 — woodstock"Betcha never imagined someone could oppose both Obama and the ruling junta, huh?"
Actually, that does not surprise me even a little bit. It is pretty clear that the new BOE members enjoy very broad, bipartisan support and the opposition represents a only a small, fringe faction of voters in Wake County ... and they are a pretty quirky bunch.
Huh?
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 19:45 — zandeTo me the most parsimonious interpretation is that the new Board has bipartisan opposition. Am I missing something here? I mean really..., this person opposes Obama and he also opposes the new Board.
So, you have reached an all
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 22:08 — woodstockSo, you have reached an all encompassing conclusion based on the fact that a single individual holds opinions that are seemingly in contrast politically. Yes, you are missing something. LOL
You obviously don't know Woodstock...
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 20:06 — MarvinSchwartzHe's just trying to get my goat. He loves the new board the way a SEIU thug loves Obama.
Disappointed that this was
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 08:09 — CaryCurmudgeonDisappointed that this was put in the print edition. The guy came to a graduation ceremony on his own time and related an inspirational story that was perfect for the occasion. Any one of us could have made the same mistake. Those who pounce on Chris for this show just how petty they are.
Golly Gee. Let's all
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 13:37 — shank56Golly Gee. Let's all listen to the Mudge and follow his leadership. After all, if some one like....Rosa Gill ...had made the same comment as Malone, we would not have heard a peep out of anyone! Right Woody??
Bless his heart, but Chris
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 08:07 — MarvinSchwartzBless his heart, but Chris Malone is an idiot. He gets into trouble every time he opens his mouth where the content is not approved by his handler, Ron Margiotta. There is a reason Wake Forest voters quickly and unceremoniously dumped him from the town council at the first opportunity.
No Marvin, you are the
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 08:14 — CaryCurmudgeonNo Marvin, you are the idiot. You or I could have made the same slip-up. But you and I were off doing other things when Chris was volunteering his time to attend this ceremony. If you don't like the policies, fine.
I may have made a slip-up, but...
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 18:29 — MarvinSchwartzHe actually is an idiot. And I say that with the experience of having seen him up close and personal as a Wake Forest town councilman.
Just like his ignorant remarks about David Forbes (remember "This guy has a right to his opinion, but he's wrong and we're right"?), this is another example of a guy who thinks he knows far more than he does. In that respect, he is a perfect foot soldier for the ruling junta.
A slip-up, by the way, is different from preparing and delivering remarks. Did he not review his remarks before he read them? The way he and Goldman pass notes at board meetings, I figured he would have had time to at least look over his words before he spoke. And as someone else pointed out, this is not volunteer duty. School board members attend graduations for the schools in their districts.
If you're going to be in the public eye, get it right and be prepared to get raked over when you get it wrong.
Although I'm not a fan of Mr. Malone, this is
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 18:57 — Athey01becoming a case of piling on. This is much ado about nothing. Let' focus on what he does or more importantly what he does not do during BOE meetings... that's what I find disturbing... his total disengagement... no questions, few substantive comments... his "let's stop talking, and let's vote" attitude.
Volunteering Time ????
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 10:34 — jgegbgmgCaryCurmudgeon you have sure got your facts wrong - It is part of a board member's duty to attend graduations - They don't volunteer their time - They should do what is expected of them - By the way, is Malone still attending the functions/meetings that includes the parents in his district - I read previously where he didn't show up for meetings to listen to parent's concerns and very seldom returned emails or phone calls - And you think he is wonderful - Get a life !!!!!!!!
What A Joke
Fri, 06/11/2010 - 18:43 — jgegbgmgThis guy Malone is still showing how little he really knows about education - Old Goo Goo Eyes Malone has finally stood up and made an a-- out of himself as we knew he would sooner or later. He does a much better job at the board meetings by just sitting and listening since he and his neighbor Prickett are completely lost. Still waiting until he tries to explain the loses Wake County Schools will take when he made sure the school site in his district was changed. What a poor excuse for a school board member this guy continues to be.