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| Sweeter than this! (Photo by Tracy Hunter) |
The Italian fashion house will be transitioning from animal fur to faux fur during 2022.
Not only is this more ecologically sound, but it is also a whole lot kinder.
Resources
Monday, January 31, 2022
How Dolce it is!
Sunday, January 30, 2022
When fertilizer hits the fan
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| Backyard Composter (Photo by Doc James) |
If the worldwide fertilizer shortage continues on, food supplies will grow scarcer and scarcer. North Korea is already urging citizens to compost their own waste, if you get the drift.
They’re not talking apple cores and banana peels, but we still can. It might be time to develop our own little “victory gardens” in our own back yards or communities.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/two-critical-supply-shortages-could-180000364.html
The 2s have it!
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| (Fair Use) |
Ever since the year 2000, there’s been plenty of 2 energy to go around. Such energy fosters “compromise, acceptance, compassion, cooperation and harmony.”
It will grow particularly intense on these dates: 2/2/2022, 2/20/2022 and 2/22/2022. It will then subside for quite some time until peaking at 2/2/2222.
Because February 2022 seems more within reach than February 2222, the time to act is now. If you wish to approach things from a balanced and harmonious perspective, the upcoming “Angel Numbers" might just help to make that happen.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/date-2-2-22-means-150022749.html
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Minnie's Makeover
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| Pretty in Pink (Fair Use) |
Politics aside, Disney’s Minnie is finally trading in her red ensemble for a blue one. She’s also morphing from short skirts to pants suits.
Nothing but the best for our Minnie, so fashion designer Stella McCartney (aka “Paul’s daughter”) is orchestrating this transformation. McCartney even claims to resonate with Minnie’s “values.”
Which are? According to Stella, inspiring Minnie “embodies happiness, self-expression [and] authenticity.” This seems kind of strange, considering that Minnie’s every quality has been dictated by the cartoon powers on high.
Resources
Copyright January 29, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Silence is Not Always Golden
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| Jews at Auschwitz in 1944 (Bundesarchiv Bild) |
As painful as such memories are, it’s essential to voice them. They serve as continued warnings of what can occur when cover-ups reign. This is not just about past horrors. It is also about those who continue to suffer from ongoing persecution.
As Martin Luther King, Jr. declared: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/lesson-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-030057744.html
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Chips Are Down
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| Chip in a DIP (Photo by Mister rf) |
Computer chips are a whole other ball game. Our society has depended more and more upon that which is now in short supply. Is there hope on the horizon? Perhaps, if you’re willing to wait for months or years.
With supply down and demand up, a quick fix seems unlikely. Early on in the pandemic, companies were hesitant to greatly increase production. After all, who knew how long it would last? And who even knows now? Perhaps an increased emphasis upon simplicity is in order.
Resources
Copyright January 25, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights ReservedTuesday, January 25, 2022
Invite God to the Marriage
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| Royal Wedding (Public Domain) |
As they strolled along a beachfront boardwalk, they came upon a gift shop. Among the fancy trinkets was a simple sign that read: “Loved the wedding, now invite me to the marriage. Signed, God”
A recent study revealed that marital success is often inversely proportional to the amount spent on weddings. No need for a break-the-bank beginning in order to achieve a happily-ever-after.
The research showed that those who spent “more than $20,000 on their wedding” divorced at a 3.5 times higher rate than those who spent “between $5,000 and $10,000.”
Resources
Copyright January 25, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights ReservedJust don't call me late for dinner
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| Pete Doocy (White House photo) |
Pete Doocy of Fox News recalled the conversation that ensued when America’s CEO called to apologize. In true Biden style, the president explained, “It’s nothing personal, pal.”
These newfound “pals” then talked things over and ended up agreeing on the following: It’s a White House correspondent’s job to ask those tough questions.
And it’s hopefully a president’s job to answer them. As Doocy then stated, “He can call me whatever he wants as long as it gets him talking.”
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/fox-news-peter-doocy-says-060340648.html
Copyright January 25, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
Polar Night
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| (Photo by Bob Johnston) |
In Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), the sun recently rose for the first time in months. Known as “polar night,” this darkest time of the year is not as glum as it sounds. In fact, it can be downright inspiring.
The town’s approximately 5,000 residents bond together to make it through. They prep with vitamins, sun lamps, and the knowledge that Light is somehow always with them.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/weeks-darkness-sun-rises-americas-160158694.html
Rampant Disrespect
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| Humility (Designed by Edward Burne-Jones) |
Such slurs are often aimed at his age. Whereas racism, sexism and other “isms” are seen as cause for cancellation, ageism continues to be viewed as humorous.
So why isn’t it equally funny when so-called “Uncle Joe” hits that ball right back over the net? If he so much as fires one angry retort, condemnation reigns.
Although two wrongs don’t make a right, an apology sometimes does. At least President Biden was mature enough to apologize. The same cannot be said for many of his crude detractors.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/biden-calls-fox-reporter-stupid-093504066.html
What Money Can't Buy
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| (Fair Use) |
When offered $250,000 for her baby by a fellow Walmart shopper (can’t make this stuff up), she replied that “no amount of money would do.” When the offer was then doubled (!), the loving parent held firm.
Turns out that an offer like this can be “a third-degree felony.” The wayward shopper was arrested and “charged with sale or purchase of a child.”
Resources
Friday, January 21, 2022
To Tell or Not to Tell
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| Confessional (Photo by SajoR) |
As you zap into everyday reality, things don’t seem quite right. You begin to think about money and how much more of it there’s been lately. You begin to wonder why. And then you suddenly realize…
Uh oh! What’s she trying to say? Where did the money for our recent vacation actually come from? Is she guilty of breaking the “Shalt Not Steal” commandment?
Turns out she was. Now what? Do I pretend not to know, or do I alert the police? A difficult decision, for sure. This husband did the latter, and his wife may get some long-needed help with her drug problem. Still and all, a real tough dilemma.
Resources
Copyright January 21, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights ReservedThursday, January 20, 2022
Layers of Goodness
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| Bags of Bulbs (Photo by Shuhrataxmedov) |
Within those translucent layers lies a wealth of nutrition. There are vitamins C and B6 - as well as potassium, flavonoids, antioxidants, organosulfur and flavonols.
Although red and yellow onions are especially packed with nutrients, these other genus allium choices are also beneficial: chives, garlic, shallots and leeks.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/onions-extremely-good-3-healthy-225439183.html
Earth's Cooling Core
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| (Image by Kelvinsong) |
Think Mars, which is currently a lot more solid than Earth. As Earth’s internal heat dissipates, the overall planet hardens. A recent study indicates that such dissipation is occurring more rapidly than was previously thought.
Before things get unbearably rocky, humanity would need to either relocate or figure out ways to terraform Earth itself.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/earths-core-rapidly-cooling-study-145843834.html
Death of the Sun
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| (Image by Oona Raisanen) |
A billion years from now, Earth’s oceans will likely evaporate from the Sun’s increased brightness. If humanity survives this onslaught, then it might soldier on for a while longer.
At the five-billion year mark, “the Sun’s life cycle” will likely enter a whole new phase, due to the exhaustion of fuel from its hydrogen core. As the core contracts, the outer layers will expand.
The Sun will then “become a red giant” which can “eventually swallow up Mercury and Venus.” Guess what happens next…
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/scientists-think-figured-sun-explode-194700700.html
Monday, January 17, 2022
As the rich grow richer...
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| Life is good! (Photo by Steve Jurvetson) |
Which is exactly what “the world’s 10 richest billionaires” have been doing. During a pandemic which has impoverished so many others.
Largely due to stock-market increases, these tycoons have doubled their wealth at an astonishing “rate of $15,000 per second.” Meanwhile, others are struggling to clear $15,000 per year.
Resources
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billionaires-double-wealth-covid-pandemic/
Saturday, January 15, 2022
Some want crypto, others want crypts
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| Sheeran in 2016 (Photo by Harald Krichel) |
So the well-known singer recently applied for permission to add an underground “burial zone” to the mix. The dimensions of this handy little receptacle would be approximately “nine feet by six feet.” Makes a body feel right at home.
Resources
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ed-sheeran-wants-build-crypt-184706360.html
Friday, January 14, 2022
Cereal Raid
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| Comparative Mice (Photo by Bigplankton) |
Worse yet, their boxes sport images of “child-friendly cartoon characters,” thus encouraging youngsters to partake of the unhealthy contents. This is particularly disturbing because Mexico has more “overweight and obese children” than any other nation.
Few complain about drug raids because it is widely acknowledged that drugs can kill. What’s not so commonly accepted is that the wrong types of food can do the same.
Resources
Thursday, January 13, 2022
Noxious what?
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| Sunny Side Up (Photo by Greg Hume) |
An attitude adjustment seems in order for a judge who recently reprimanded a cancer-striken man for failing to maintain a weeded yard. She even wished aloud that this 72-year-old could get jail time for his so-called “shameful” offense.
The elder was issued “a ticket for noxious weeds and vegetation.” Makes a body wonder: Can there also be tickets for noxious judgments?
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/judge-told-72-old-man-014113290.html
Copyright January 13, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Cannabinoid Allies
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| Male Cannabis sativa (Photo by Thayne Tuason) |
It turns out that these hemp acids (which do not contain psychoactive THC) can “bind to the COVID spike protein,” thus deterring it from infiltrating human cells.
When used as preventives or treatments, these Cannabis ingredients may help to finally keep COVID invaders at bay.
Resources
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Context is Key
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| (Public Domain) |
Such mistakes were sometimes made hundreds of years ago, within far different cultural contexts. Pope Francis recently asserted that “context is key.”
Within each historical era, as well as within each individual and society, there exists a multitude of “differences and sensibilities.” These can either be understood or cancelled.
The pontiff warned that the cancel culture does not defend diversity, but instead works against it by snuffing out a “sense of identity.”
Resources
Monday, January 10, 2022
Downsizing in Style
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| Sir Michael in 2015 (Photo by TonkBerlin) |
Not Michael Caine.
The famous actor is slated to make a fortune from his castoffs. Thinking that age 88 is “the right time to be moving on,” Caine has his price list ready: 12,000 pounds for a Rolex, 1200 pounds for a director’s chair, 50,000 pounds for a Chagall original, 2 to 3000 pounds for a portrait of yours truly, plus more than 500 pounds for an Alfie poster.
Caine does not intend to pocket these proceeds. He will instead donate them to the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).
Resources
Sunday, January 9, 2022
Green Skies
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| Rovaniemi Skies (Photo by Tarja Mitrovic) |
The Aurora Borealis was on full display as green-tinted arches danced across the Arctic sky. Celestial explosions brightened the Finnish city of Rovaniemi just “a few hours later.”
Try topping that with a commercial display of holiday lights and blow-up reindeer!
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/lapland-northern-lights-color-sky-101710687.html
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Closing down the 'Gates of Hell'
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| YIKES! (Photo by Tormod Sandtorv) |
Such is the case with Turkmenistan’s alleged “Gates of Hell,” a toxic inferno that has openly burned for decades. Caused by a gas-drilling venture gone horribly wrong, it’s been the noxious “gift” that keeps right on giving.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has therefore issued orders to “put out the fire.” But when it comes to anything linked with “Hell,” that’s easier said than done.
Resources
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/turkmenistan-gates-of-hell-gas-crater-1.6308566
Copyright January 8, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
Friday, January 7, 2022
Subtracting Insult from Injury
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| 2006 Virginia Snow (Public Domain) |
Andrew Peters decided to challenge an inflated bill after his Uber ride got stalled on I-95 by a “severe winter storm.” After all, he had no control over the weather, nor even of the chosen route from D.C. to Richmond, Virginia.
To Uber’s credit, they not only rescinded Peters’ entire charge, but also paid his driver for that lengthened time. This bolstered the $100 tip that Peters had already given. Sometimes “all’s well that end’s well” truly applies.
Resources
Copyright January 7, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights ReservedThursday, January 6, 2022
Bless animals, but raise children
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| St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio (Carl Weidemeyer, 1911) |
The pontiff recently deplored the fact that many couples are choosing pets over kids. These purposely childless families often favor personal freedom over the heavy-duty responsibilities of parenthood.
Francis views this as a selfish choice, one that “diminishes us” and “takes away our humanity.” He further explained how this growing trend not only disheartens individuals, but also societies at large.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/pope-says-couples-shouldnt-let-202505629.html
Copyright January 6, 2022 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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