Funny Subject Lines Are Really Hard Before Coffee, And Other Quixotic Personal Endeavors.
Sweethearts! I hope you’re having an excellent morning, that a warm beverage of choice is brewed and that the inanities of our current age haven’t fully descended upon your morning yet. Because there’s content to consume, y’all!
Today, in 2019 heroes we absolutely need: An 18-Year-Old High School Student Explained Why He Got Vaccinated Against His Mother's Wishes In Testimony Before Congress.When asked why he made the choice to get vaccinated despite vehement opposition from his mother, Ethan Lindenberger stated that his experience in debate club made him realize the “importance of researching credible information.” So while his says his mother got the majority of her anti-vaccination information from social media like Facebook, Lindenberger looked to the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and various scientific journals” to inform his decision. Bravo, critically-thinking young man, bravo!
Meanwhile, some of his high school brethren aren’t exactly walking the enlightened path: Teens involved in swastika party apologize as outrage grows. ‘My actions were disgusting’. SWASTIKA. PARTY. Yes, you read that right. And before you come back to me about how it’s just kids having fun, a wee story from the Bay Area, marinating liberal cesspool (I KID) that I love. This past weekend, I was walking around a half-full Alameda Point Antiques Faire, playing chicken with the rain, when I walked by a military memorabilia stall. Lying on a blanket on the ground were military field jackets, with insignia from US and British forces in that camo green/gray. But perched lovingly on top was a bright khaki outlier, with a swastika on the shoulder and “Afrika” stitched on the cuff. That’s right, there was a Nazi field jacket purporting to be from the Nazi Desert Campaign of North Africa. And why do I say purport, do you ask? Because it didn’t seem to be a vintage jacket, instead a newly-made replica (it was far too bright and clean, especially on the stitching, to be the real deal casually thrown on a pile at a flea market.) Which means there’s a market for replica jacket of Nazi army field jackets. In 2019. So yea, radical idea: KIDS SHOULDN’T BE GOING TO SWASTIKA PARTIES AND YES, WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED IF THEY DO.
Probably related to both stories above: Amazon’s algorithm is basically promoting quackery and propaganda in science and health. We’re in the informational Wild West, friends, and dare I say we’re screwed.
So a question one must always ask: What Happens if You Read ALL the Self Help Books? And this pull quote hits me in the feels: “I read self-help for comfort. These books acknowledged the insecurities and anxieties I felt but was always too ashamed to talk about. They made my personal angst seem like a normal part of being human. Reading them made me feel less alone.”
My goodness, I like you all. Be kind to each other.
Xoxo Amy