Category Archives: News

Best Quotes of the Week – April 30, 2022

“When billionaires talk about freedom, watch your wallets.  Behind Elon Musk’s blather about free markets, free speech, and free choice is his goal to be free from accountability.”

Robert Reich, regarding Elon Musk’s recent takeover of Twitter

Reich went on to say: “The “free market” increasingly reflects the demands of big money. Unfriendly takeovers, such as Musk threatens to mount at Twitter, weren’t part of the “free market” until the late 1970s and early 1980s. Before then, laws and regulations constrained them. Then came corporate raiders like Carl Icahn and Michael Milken. Their MO was to find corporations whose assets were worth more than their stock value, borrow against them, acquire enough shares to force them to cut costs (such as laying off workers, abandoning their communities, busting unions, and taking on crushing debt), and cash in. But the raiders’ antics often imposed huge social costs. They pushed America from stakeholder capitalism (where workers and communities had a say in what corporations did) to shareholder capitalism (where the sole corporate goal is to maximize shareholder value). Inequality skyrocketed, insecurity soared, vast swaths of America were abandoned, and millions of good jobs vanished.”

“In the end, if Jimmy and Susie are curious about any of the above, they can do what everyone else does – get a room at the Motel Six and grab the Gideons.”

Chaz Stevens, a Florida resident who has asked the state to remove the Christian Bible from schools and public libraries because its content is inappropriate for children

He took issue with the many Biblical references to rape, bestiality, cannibalism and infanticide and proceeded to question whether the Bible is age-appropriate, pointing to its “casual” references to murder, adultery, sexual immorality, and fornication.  “Do we really want to teach our youth about drunken orgies?”

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May 2022 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of May for writers and readers

  • May 1 – Loyalty Day
  • May 1 – Save the Rhino Day
  • May 2 – Brothers and Sisters Day
  • May 3 – Garden Meditation Day
  • May 3 – Lumpy Rug Day
  • May 4 – National Candied Orange Peel Day
  • May 6 – Space Day
  • May 7 – National Babysitters Day
  • May 7 – National Train Day
  • May 8 – Mother’s Day (U.S.)
  • May 9 – Lost Sock Memorial Day
  • May 11 – Twilight Zone Day
  • May 13 – Blame Someone Else Day
  • May 13 – Frog Jumping Day
  • May 13 – Leprechaun Day
  • May 14 – National Windmill Day
  • May 15 – National Chocolate Chip Day
  • May 16 – Love a Tree Day
  • May 16 – National Sea Monkey Day
  • May 23 – Lucky Penny Day
  • May 24 – International Tiara Day
  • May 25 – National Towel Day (UK)
  • May 27 – Don’t Fry Friday
  • May 27 – Memorial Day (U.S.)

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Word of the Week – April 23, 2022

Eidetic

[i-DED-ik]

Adjective

Greek, 1920s

Relating to or denoting mental images having unusual vividness and detail, as if actually visible.  Though based on the Ancient Greek “εἰδητικός” (meaning “constituting an appearance”), the word was only coined in the early 1900s by German psychologist Erich Rudolf Jaensch who used the term “eidetisch” to describe the particular precision of mental images that were different from and far clearer than regular memories.

“Eidetic” is often used interchangeably with “photographic” to describe the capacity for incredibly detailed and precise memories, but there is a difference between the two terms.  Photographic memory usually describes the ability to recall detailed information (including texts and numbers), while “eidetic memory” describes an ability to maintain a vivid picture of something after it is gone, even experiencing a feeling of the image still being present.

Example: Memories of my recently-departed friend have been occurring with eidetic clarity.

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Video of the Week – April 23, 2022

Former professional boxer Mike Tyson proving old habits die hard.

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Political Cartoon of the Week – April 23, 2022

Tom Janssen

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Worst Quote of the Week – April 23, 2022

“We don’t want things like math to have, you know, some of these other concepts introduced.  It’s not been proven to be effective, and quite frankly, it takes our eye off the ball.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, explaining why some math text books are being rejected in the state

The Florida Department of Education had announced last week that it had rejected more than 50 math text books from next year’s curriculum because they featured references to critical race theory, Common Core and other reasons.

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Best Quote of the Week – April 23, 2022

“There is a difference between politics and outright hate. I think people are frustrated that elected officials haven’t done enough to call that out, that maybe Democrats are afraid of talking about religion and faith openly and honestly and calling hate what it is. I think we have to.”

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow, defending herself from accusations by a fellow state senator, Republican Lana Theis, that she wants to “groom kids” and “sexualize” them

McMorrow added, “I am a straight, White, Christian, married, suburban mom” who wants “every kid to feel seen, heard and supported – not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, White and Christian.”

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Earth Day 2022

“We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own.”

Wangari Maathai

Earth Day 2022

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Happy Easter ~ Passover 2022

“The Earth laughs in flowers.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Instagram of the Week – April 16, 2022

Writer Steven Pressfield offering more brutally practical advice to aspiring writers and other creative types, as part of his ongoing “Move Your Ass” series.

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