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| Enes Kanter Freedom (Photo by Erik Drost) |
Kanter has money and fame, but knows firsthand that freedom is what counts the most. He has spent years fighting for the rights of those who are oppressed by dictatorial governments.
Kanter’s been “an outspoken critic of both his native Turkey and China.” These governments have retaliated against him with accusations that don’t align with what Freedom’s about.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/enes-kanter-freedom-nba-star-164118922.html
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| This BIG? (Photo by IFCAR) |
We're not talking any old dinosaur. This lucky ducky ruled the roost because of its enormous size. Experts estimate that Parrosaurus missouriensis was about as big as a Volkswagen, while weighing more than two tons.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/show-saurus-skeleton-type-dinosaur-134110757.html
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| Have at 'em! (Photo by Jasper Greek Golangco) |
Having realized this, the American Heart Association just issued ten of their best guesses concerning heart health. Let’s just say that red wine is no longer on the menu.
What has remained are age-old suggestions such as keeping a balanced body weight, limiting sugar and salt intake, using unprocessed foods, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables.
Why no red wine? Because alcohol has been shown, time and again, to not only increase the risk of heart disease, but also of dementia and some cancers.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/put-down-coconut-oil-red-130043453.html
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| Heed the Warnings (Photo by BDXX) |
It should therefore come as no surprise that varieties of this namesake deodorant have been recalled because of possible benzene exposure. As a known carcinogen, benzene is not something you’d want to roll with.
Resources
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/26/business/old-spice-secret-deodorant-recall-benzene/index.html
Copyright November 27, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (Image by L. Leslie Brooke) |
The Lightcliffe Golf Club in Yorkshire, England then temporarily closed, due to safety concerns. No self-respecting golfer wants to be scammed or spammed by a bunch of vindictive hogs.
Resources
Copyright November 26, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| Expulsion of the Jews from Frankfort in 1614 (Public Domain) |
Because these still exist, efforts are being made to educate groups that know little to nothing about actual Jews. “Meet a Jew” was therefore launched in Germany, where anti-Semitism is still alarmingly alive.
This program pairs Jewish volunteers with German citizens for discussions about everything from religious customs to modern lifestyles. The idea is “to give Jewish people a face and a voice” rather than just a characterization that is based upon historical hatred.
Resources
https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/central-council-of-jews-in-germany-launches-meet-a-jew-project
Copyright November 25, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (1970s photo by Nancy Wong) |
It ain't Shakespeare, but it's all too relevant. According to David Grabowski of Harvard Medical School, the nursing-home industry was “already in crisis” before the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a dangerous “lack of resources and regulation” right along.
The pandemic exacerbated and exposed this sorry state of affairs. A New Jersey facility where “83 residents died of Covid” then changed its name and kept on going. Its ownership remains the same. Medicare and Medicaid keep paying the bills.
As of last week, 23 of its residents have been diagnosed with Covid. Worse yet, other facilities share this ownership. Grabowski asserted, “We need to ensure… that nursing homes aren’t able to simply put a new name on the building and continue to operate as is.”
Resources
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| (Photo by yvonne n) |
Fox News contributors Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg recently quit because of the network’s “Patriot Purge” showing. This documentary is replete with “conspiracy theories” about the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Nevertheless, the times they may be changing. Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch recently expressed that the conservative agenda was “being hindered” by Trump’s relentless focus upon “the past.” Murdoch declared that it’s far more important “to define the future.” Hopefully that definition will coincide with the dictionary’s definition of democracy.
Resources
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/2-longtime-fox-news-contributors-042924655.html
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| 'King' and President (White House Photo) |
Celebrities can go from hero to zero in literally one second flat. This recently happened to LeBron James, who was ejected from an NBA game for hitting Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. James claims that this was accidental. He has only been ejected from games twice in 19 seasons.
Nevertheless, “King James” lost his crown in the minds of many. Social media was quick to load up with diatribes about what a “dirty player” James is. Never mind his stellar accomplishments on and off the court. That was then, and this is the ever relentless now.
Resources
Copyright November 22, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved |
| Beware the wrathful grapes! (Photo by fir0002) |
And your dog, too. Rover’s system can be just as sensitive. When dishing up potatoes, ‘tis best to serve them plain. Ditto for sweet potatoes, green beans, pumpkin and peas. All of these can nourish if not tainted with seasonings and sauces. Apples are also great, but must be carefully cored in order to eliminate toxic seeds.
As for turkey - skip the skin, bones, fat and gravy. While you're at it, skip onions, garlic, grapes, leeks, scallions, raisins, chocolate, ham, yeast dough and alcohol. Dogs just can’t handle these. (Many a human can’t, either.) Dispose of them carefully because Rover views garbage as just another bowlful of goodies.
Resources
Copyright November 21, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (Image from John Milton's Paradise Lost) |
Those who seek Paradise often end up in Hawaii instead. This can be a sorry case of looking for love in all the wrong places. But all is not lost. Although the streets aren’t paved with gold, the streams can be laced with beer.
A hiker in Hawaii recently sniffed something familiar. His nose led him right to the source: a bubbling brook. Turns out that this waterway “contained nearly 1.2% alcohol and 0.4% sugar.” Come and get it!
Sure enough, the source of this elixir was traced to a nearby company called – you got it – "Paradise Beverages, one of the largest brewers in Hawaii.”
Resources
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| (1927 Cover Art by Frank R. Paul) |
Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, recently asked, “Is there something else that we simply do not understand, which might come extraterrestrially?” This seems right up there with inquiring whether little green men are invading earth’s air space.
And perhaps they are. New York Senator Kirsten Gillabrand has reported numerous UFO sightings by Air Force and Navy pilots, many during the past few years. She calls for increased surveillance of such phenomena and considers the present lack of accountability to be a national security threat.
Resources
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| Night View (Photo by Steve Jurvetson) |
That won’t be so merry for the likes of NBA players who grew up with Staples. Paul George recently complained, “It’s kind of like stripping the history here…” Reggie Jackson concurred, “It’s gonna be hard to not call it Staples.”
Russell Westbrook, always the philosopher, had some wise advice, “Regardless of the name, the building is still the building…”
Kind of like, “A rose by any other name…”
Remember: The menu is not the food. Call it what you will, this stadium bristles with the energy of great passion plus steadfast discipline.
Resources
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| 2007 World AIDS Day (Photo by Eric Draper) |
A 30-year-old Argentinian female was recently completely cured of HIV by her own immune system. This shows that the HIV virus is not invincible, and that immunity can be achieved by either natural or medicinal methods.
It also gives hope for future “AIDS-free” generations. And if that can occur with HIV, why not with other lethal viruses?
Resources
Copyright November 17, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved |
| Whatever you say! (Photo by USDA Forest Service) |
As the Dakotas were just about to go at one another, a young moose galloped onto their fighting field. It not only caused a ruckus, but also showed players a thing or two about running “a crossing pattern.”
Unlike humans, the moose soon tired of the spotlight. It exited without further ado, leaving the crowd with more agita than originally hoped for.
Resources
Copyright November 16, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved |
| Don't fence me in! (Photo by Sanjay Acharya) |
The first time around, two-legged officers spent days trying to capture the four-legged escapee. The llama was finally outwitted by its own appetite while munching on apples in a North Carolina yard.
But not for long… Within a few short hours, it had broken out of an animal rescue farm. This llama apparently prefers freedom to security, an example that many a human could learn from.
Resources
Copyright November 15, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (by Pieter Brueghel the Younger) |
What then if someone were secretly listening in on
your conversation? You might say things
that were only meant for a particular set of ears. Which might be a risky practice to begin with,
given that God could always be tuning in.
It turns out that iPhones are now capable of stealth eavesdropping. The Live Listen feature can pick up everyday speech “up to 50 feet away.” Wireless headphones are all that’s needed to hear
what’s being said across a crowded room.
James 3:1-12 compares the human tongue to a ship’s
rudder. Steer it in a positive direction,
and all is well. Steer it toward an
iPhone, and you might hit an iBerg.
Resources
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| Who me? (Photo by Norbert Nagel) |
If you want to put a simple addition onto your home, there’s a rule for that. If you simply want to cross the street, there’s a rule for that too. And if an alligator grabs your golf ball with his teeth, there’s even a rule for that.
The United States Golf Association covers this “dangerous animal condition” with Rule 16, which considers that grab to warrant a free drop. It’s the alligator’s fault, not yours, and so you’re entitled to play “a ball from a different place.”
Resources
Copyright November 13, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| A Tuvalu Beach (Photo by Stefan Lins) |
That fantasy doesn’t usually include massive storms. Nor does it include submerged beaches. Yet that is just what the Pacific islands are headed for if climate change remains unabated.
In order to drive that point home, Tuvalu’s foreign minister delivered an address for the COP26 summit while standing knee-deep in ocean water. During that same speech, Simon Kofe emphasized, "[These islands] were the home of our ancestors… and we want them to remain the home of our people into the future.”
Tuvalu’s 11,000 inhabitants will have to relocate if flooding continues to worsen. Even before then, agricultural capability will diminish as available lands end up in the deep.
Resources
Copyright November 12, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| Rudd in 2015 (Photo by Red |
Rather than going with lips and hips, PEOPLE went with kind and modest when choosing Paul Rudd as 2021’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” Known to be self-deprecating, Rudd took it all in stride with more than one grain of salt. He explained, “I think of myself as a husband and a father, like I’m that.”
Rudd is counting on good buddies to keep his head on straight during all this hoopla. He affirms, “And that’s why they’re my friends.”
Resources
https://people.com/movies/paul-rudd-people-sexiest-man-alive-2021/
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| (Portrait of Louis XIV) |
In fact, they can’t even claim an unlimited amount of anything while in power. That’s because, as the judge succinctly stated, “Presidents are not kings.” And, as history often shows, kings can also be stopped in their telltale tracks.
Questions regarding presidential power are further complicated when a former president disagrees with a current one. Judge Chutkan pointed out that the sitting one would then have precedence over the lying one.
Resources
Copyright November 10, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved |
| (2001 US Public Service Advertisement) |
If you feel yourself slipping into that dark night of the soul, there are some physical remedies which can help. First thing in the morning, open those blinds. As the McGuire Sisters harmoniously sang, “Let the sun shine in!”
But don’t just look through the window; get out and experience daylight directly. And don’t just stand around gazing at the horizon; walk, skip or jog, while looking out for slippery patches. Make like a Scandinavian and embrace the briskness of wintry air.
Still feeling kind of droopy? Perhaps you suffer from a vitamin D deficiency. This can be easily helped with a trip to the health food store. When you get back home, do a bit of yoga in order to stretch those weary limbs. Ahh… Feels better already.
Resources
Copyright November 2021 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved |
| Far from easy! (Photo by DavidWBrooks) |
As he morphed into “Nimblewill Nomad,” Eberhart began a quest to become “the oldest hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail.” More than 25 years later, he reached his goal at age 83.
Was it easy? No way! Was it worth it? Absolutely! That smile upon completion lit up his eyes as no amount of optometry ever would.
Resources
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| Smyrna's Rebuilt Agora (Photo by Carole Raddato) |
In what was once the Greek city of Smyrna, now Izmir in Turkey, a theater thrived. But even esteemed actors have to heed Nature’s call. So what did they do when that happened?
A recent archaeological find indicates that they sat around a U-shaped latrine that was capable of serving many at once. This was a time for socializing as well as for doing one’s business.
Today we’ve "evolved" from that model. Smart phones have made it possible to ignore those around us, even while off the throne.
Resources
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10126-211104-turkey-smyrna-toilet
