Miscellanea (an interesting word.. sounds like the name of the wife of a President. Perhaps I should use "pot pourri.")
The New York Post reports that a Japanese man was found dead in his apartment. He was crushed to death when his massive collection of pornography fell over on him.
You Sweet Thing!
Beginning in 2018, the amount of added sugar is supposed to be listed for all package foods and beverages, in addition to total sugar. (I don't know if I understand what that means. Shouldn't added sugar be added into total sugar? I guess I'm missing something.)
Stock Market Rise
President Trump is taking credit for the stock market rise that began under President Obama. We knew he would. The key to finances is to "buy low and sell high." So, I need to sell some stock before the world gets wise to Trump and the market starts to fall. One must not be greedy like everyone who got involved in the Old Court Savings and Loan fiasco. Even when I was leaving the office with our money (to pay for college expenses) people were lined up waiting to deposit money into the already failed bank. They just could not help controlling themselves when the bank offered 11% interest on deposits, when all other banks were offering no more than 5%.
Another Puzzler "Bit the Dust"
The New York Times had a long obituary on Professor Raymond Smullyan, puzzle creating magician, musician, logician, and mathematician who died this week at the age of 97.. He's the guy who developed those damnable logic puzzles that attacked our brains when we were younger. Just think about his 1982 book: :"The Lady or the Tiger? And Other Logic Puzzles." How I hated those puzzles! But my genius brother Joe (Ishmael to the cognoscenti) found such puzzles to be easy.
Professor Smullyan wrote a book in 1982 in tribute to Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). "Alice in Puzzle-Land: A Carrollian Tale for Children Under Eighty." Of course, now that I am over eighty I probably should not read it. Eh.. what the heck.. I think I will download it to my Kindle anyway. It sounds intriguing.
Political Thoughts from a Noted Author
Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Refugees, was interviewed recently by the New York Times Book Review. I was interested in what he said about social media: "I've been reading news and ... opinion pieces on Facebook and Twitter. They're utterly terrifying and depressing, since my social circle basically thinks that a Trump presidency spells the end of the world. To get out of the echo chamber, I read Donald trump's Twitter feed. It's utterly terrifying and depressing, and I run back into the echo chamber."
Amen, brother!
More on the Oxford Dictionary New Words
The New York Post mentions that the Oxford Dictionary will be adding 300 words this year (in addition to the ten I mentioned earlier) for instance:
"yas" = expressing great pleasure or excitement
"clicktivism" = Internet activism
"jelly" = millenial-speak for "jealous"
also: "cat lady" "untag" and "drunk text"
Among the 10 words being considered by Oxford for the Word of the Year, hygge made a good showing. this is a Danish word pronounced HOO-gah, and it translates roughly to "coziness" and "well-being." The New York Times Book Review says that there is even a new best seller called: "The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living."
This is "big-time" stuff, and other books are available now:
Scandikitchen Fika and Hygge: Comforting Cakes and Bakes from Scandinavia With Love
Hygge Knits: Nordic and Fair Isle Sweaters, Scarves and Hats, and More to Keep You Cozy
Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Contentment, Comfort and Connection
More Exploded Myths
Another book that was reviewed recently in the New York Times Book Review is called: "Testosterone Rex; Myths of Sex, Science, and Society by Cordelia Fine.
This is a book about gender roles and stereotypes. Perhaps women are not from Venus and men are not from Mars! I think I understand one of Ms Fine's insights: "For every man on the prowl, there simply aren't a hundred women available to bear his child. For all men not named Genghis Khan, monogamy must have started to look like a pretty smart bet."
I also noted a scary statistic, which I think the reviewer got from the book: "In the United States, being pregnant is about 20 times more likely to result in death than is a sky dive."
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