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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Taco Analyst

Here’s a job for which I feel I’m overqualified.  Favor Delivery, a Texas-based food delivery service, has a new position: “Chief Taco Officer”.  Job duties are simple – travel across the Lone Star State to taste and review select tacos.  Favor will pay the chosen individual $10,000 for the duration of the contract (June and July) and provide free accommodations, transportation and free Favor delivery for a year.

Prospective employees must be Texas residents at least 21 years of age with a public profile.  Using this application site, they need to create a short video (one minute or less) explaining why they should be the CTO and why they’re excited about the opportunity, then post the video to TikTok or Instagram Reels, tag @favor and use #FavorDreamJob.

I’d love to see this posted on Indeed, Linked In or Monster.  Their web sites might crash.

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“The Chair” by Bruce Strickland

“The chair is where you crash out when the best seat is already taken, that being the window seat. In this shot, Zoey has already claimed the window, so Kitty Girl is quite content with the more spacious option.  I painted this particular painting in October, or as cat owners know it – Black Cat Awareness Month.  Black cats sometimes get ignored for more colorful cats and they tend to be adopted less than other cats.  Although Kitty Girl is almost total black, the sunlight is enhancing her beauty even more.  She is so gentle and loving.  She was brought her in as a kitten.  She likes the indoor life and being on this side of the window, so this is where she is often found.  Fortunately for her October is just another month. This painting is titled “The Chair”.  If you own cats you might notice the frays in the curtain under the chair that are catching just a glimmer of sunlight.  The detail was challenging in this painting but I really enjoyed the challenge.  I hope you like it as well. And the next time you visit the shelter, please don’t forget the black cats.”

Bruce Strickland

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Retro Quote – Duwamish Community

“There is no death, only a change of worlds.”

Duwamish Proverb

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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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