Author: letstalklibrary4001

Our Minds Aren’t Equipped for This Kind of Reopening

~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ Leave a comment

In summer 2020, communities all around the US were coming out of lockdown and making decisions about how, how much, and when to open up and resume (at least some) normal activities. Months later, the situation hasn’t changed too very much, despite the development and slow rollout of the vaccine, and we expect, sadly, that the pandemic and its conditions will be with us in some ways for a long time to come. Law and psychology professor Tess Wilkinson-Ryan wrote this analysis of risk assessment, shaming, and decision making for the July 2020 The Atlantic. Have things changed much since its publication? (We hope so.)

Continue reading “Our Minds Aren’t Equipped for This Kind of Reopening” →

Emoji Statistics

Three emojis wearing masks.
~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ 167 Comments

We would be exaggerating to say that emojis will soon make typed words obsolete, but 🤨🤔😼. What wouldn’t be an overstatement, though, is to say that emojis are very useful (although sometimes ambiguous, like the three in the previous sentence). Emojipedia is an online resource that helps make sense of emojis,—including what they mean, how they’re used, how they’re trending, and other must-know emoji information. Emojipedia is also a voting member of the Unicode Consortium, the international group that maintains uniform standards for typed characters on keyboards and keypads from all manufacturers in all languages, in all countries. No small job. This page on the Emojipedia site is dedicated to the latest emoji statistics, and it’s updated several times a year. We viewed it in October 2020; you may be seeing an updated version.

Continue reading “Emoji Statistics” →

I’ve Stayed Silent for Way Too Long

A black-and-white portrait of three adults and a child with a background of trees and mountains.
~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ Leave a comment

Lauren Holiday is a retired soccer player, former member of the US Women’s National Team and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Her husband Jrue Holiday is a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, an NBA team. Both were very private people until a recent interaction with police officers led Lauren to question their habit of taking racism in stride. She relates the incident and her change of thinking in this June 2020 essay in The Players’ Tribune.

Continue reading “I’ve Stayed Silent for Way Too Long” →

Metaphors Matter in a Time of Pandemic

A cartoon globe with protrusions emerging from it, meant to look like a virus..
~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ Leave a comment

It’s by far the #1 topic of conversation this year. You knew immediately (even without the image) what we were referring to, right? The COVID pandemic, of course. Public discourse about the pandemic and the virus that causes the disease relies heavily on war metaphors. Words like battle, combat, defeat, fight, and others are everywhere in media of all kinds and in personal conversations—so much so that it seems like there are no other ways to think about the situation. Writer and columnist Virginia Heffernan argues that there are better ways to think and talk about the pandemic, and she explains her position in this May 2020 essay in Wired.

Continue reading “Metaphors Matter in a Time of Pandemic” →

Returning to My Family Farm Is About More Than Succession. It’s About Story.

A farmer wearing a sunhat rakes hay out of a truck.
~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ 14 Comments

We’ve either known it personally or seen it on TV a dozen or more times—young person leaves the farm to go to college and never looks back. Writer and fourth generation California farmer Nikiko Masumoto did leave the farm, and after a successful college career (B.A. and M.A.), she returned with dedication and purpose to her family farm. In this 2018 Civil Eats essay, she explains her ideas about farming and the “ancestral story” she is part of.

Continue reading “Returning to My Family Farm Is About More Than Succession. It’s About Story.” →

Blowing Out Candles Is Basically Spitting on Your Friends’ Cake. Will We Ever Do It Again?

A simple drawing of 12 blue, yellow, and brown birthday candles.
~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ Leave a comment

Have you celebrated a coronavirus-era birthday yet? How did it feel? Some people we know were very saddened and disappointed to not be able to celebrate in a big way. Some were actually relieved to be able to spend their birthday quietly and without fuss. Others just shrugged their shoulders, bought a cupcake at the store, and set their sights on next year. But sad, relieved, or resigned, nobody blew out the candles while loved ones gathered around closely and sang a silly ditty. Welcome to the New Normal. In this July 2020 report, Washington Post feature writer Caitlin Gibson wonders whether that familiar custom may be gone forever.

Continue reading “Blowing Out Candles Is Basically Spitting on Your Friends’ Cake. Will We Ever Do It Again?” →

What Happens as Baseball Players Age?

A baseball player in an Angels jersey waves to the crowd.
~ letstalklibrary4001 ~ Leave a comment

Major league baseball players and other high-level athletes have extraordinary abilities and powers that distinguish them from the rest of us, but there’s one thing that we all have in common: we age. What is that aging process like in such a finely tuned and highly developed being as a major league baseball player? Baseball writer and ESPN columnist Sam Miller explores that question in detail in this June 2018 report in ESPN Magazine.

Continue reading “What Happens as Baseball Players Age?” →