The Futile Utility of the Cell Phone

Thursday morning I woke up and found that various family members had been texting and calling all night (my cell phone is set to stop ringing at 9:30). My mom had been on the couch watching the aftermath of the Capitol riot like the rest of the country, gotten up for a glass of water, and tripped on a throw rug. Bottom line:

Buttercream Dream

A few years back, a regional wrestling league called Southern States Wrestling had a heel called "The Progressive Liberal."

This guy seems a little more dynamic.

https://twitter.com/CoreyRForrester/status/1275828895145758720?s=20

Thug: An Introduction to the History of a Nasty Word

Has anyone else noticed the gleeful way certain people use the word "thug"? Like it tastes good in their mouth when they say it? Like they have found a socially acceptable substitute for the N word? That anagram of "ginger," which was "taken away" from "us" by "political correctness?" 

It turns out that "thug" was brought into the English language in the 19th century to help justify the British Empire's conquest of India. So it's been doing the work of dehumanizing the racial "other" to justify violence against them all along.

https://sshankar.net/2020/06/04/s-shankar-thug-the-rhetorical-work-of-a-contemporary-american-word-originating-in-colonial-19th-century-india/?fbclid=IwAR2ud0eiL1aFU4x02wcWDYPENvh9vwjiX0zXX8wrcctKJFQOa0h6phhAY34

I knew Shankar in grad school, where he was a real standout. Proud to point at him and say "I know this guy!"

In the Time of Coronavirus

Today I'm completing my third week at home, semi-sheltering from the corona virus. Twice a week I go to work to care for the animals in our teaching collection. Other days I work on Fernbank's social media and website, here at home. I am also my household's self-appointed hammer when it comes to running errands like grocery shopping.

I have known all through this that

Jamming Google Maps with a Little Red Wagon

This fella's name is Simon Weckert. I like the way his mind works. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5eL_al_m7Q

Saturday Night Fish Fry: What I'm Listening To

From WREK yesterday morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1QfXQakX2w

Maybe Tobacco Wasn't First

So perhaps industry efforts to influence science and perception of science started back in the 1950's . . . . . .
https://www.npr.org/2016/09/13/493801090/sugar-industry-manipulated-research-about-health-effects-study-finds

https://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/sugar-papers-reveal-industry-role-in1970s-dental-program.html

https://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/suppressed-evidence-of-health-risks-of-sucrose.html