How Israel Was Created
15 minute history lesson.
You Were Born Original – Don’t Die A Copy
Ten Lessons
Shopping For Gardeners
‘He’s not going to survive this’: Netanyahu in hot water after NYT report on Hamas attack
Katy Tur spoke to Alon Pinkas, Fmr. Israeli Consul General in New York, and Noga Tarnopolsky, independent journalist, about new reporting that Israel knew about Hamas’ October 7th attack before it occurred.
Red Dye #40 Can Make Non-ADD Kids Hyperactive & Alter Brain Function
A child who eats 2 cups of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, a small bag of Skittles, and 8 ounces of Orange Crush soda will consume 102 milligrams of artificial dye, including red dye #40. Behavioral tests found as little as 30 mg can cause adverse reactions.
The Circle of Life
Whitney Fleming writes:
Let me tell you a little story about the circle of life.
Yesterday, my 80-year-old mom told my nearly 50-year-old self to bring my laundry upstairs. Then, she instructed me how to clean a pot I’ve had for two decades. And then, when I was packing a few boxes for returns, she reminded me to make sure I blacked-out the labels or else the post office wouldn’t know what to scan.
And that’s when I responded with, “Mom! This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, you know!”
She just laughed at me and drank her tea and rearranged her magic purse that has everything in it from medicine for every ailment and tissues to nail clippers and candy.
I don’t know why I responded so curtly. I guess I just was tired and didn’t want to be told what to do.
The irony wasn’t lost on me when throughout the day, I said things to my teenagers like, “Hey, did you send in that form yet?” and “Take your coat upstairs” and “OMG! Put that bowl in the dishwasher.”
And each time, they responded with the obligatory, “I know, Mom!”
I would laugh at their exasperation and return to what I was doing.
Last night, my 16-year-old and I went to the wake of a lovely woman who happened to be the grandmother of my daughter’s best friend.
As I hugged my friend, the mom to my daughter’s bestie and the daughter of the deceased, I watched as one of her kids brought a pair of tweezers back to her.
She explained, “As we were coming here, I just started throwing everything in my purse that I thought I would need, just in case. Of course, one of the kids needed them. My mom always did that for us.”
And I couldn’t help thinking about grandmas and their special purses, and how mothers show their love.
Sometimes we show it by nagging–or gently reminding–about looming deadlines and chores that need to be done.
Sometimes it’s by setting rules and boundaries to keep them safe.
Sometimes it’s by doing laundry when your child–no matter what their age–doesn’t have the time or cooking a special meal or changing sheets.
Sometimes it’s laughing off a snarky comment.
And sometimes, it’s simply being there, saying nothing at all.
The universe showed me something pretty special yesterday.
It reminded me of all the love I give and receive throughout the small details of my life, and how lucky I am to have it spread through three generations right now.
A mother’s love is rarely shown in grand gestures, but if we’re lucky, woven into a lifetime of small, meaningful moments of kindness and selflessness and generosity that knows no bounds.
And when the time comes, in the magic purses grandmothers carry–when these grand women start slowing down but still want to be there for their family.
Until it’s time to pass that tradition on to the mothers coming after.
Love your people hard today, in whatever small ways you can show it. Treasure the ways they show their love to you. Don’t take one second for granted.
Octopus vs Underwater Maze
Some fascinating data on our 8 tentacled friends of the deep and a great example of video marketing.
The Wicked Witch Of The West
“I was in a need of money at the time, I had done about six pictures for MGM at the time and my agent called. I said, ‘Yes?’ and he said, ‘Maggie, they want you to play a part on the Wizard.’ I said to myself, ‘Oh boy, ‘The Wizard of Oz’! That has been my favorite book since I was four.’ And I asked him what part, and he said, ‘The Witch’ and I said ‘The Witch?!’ and he said, ‘What else?'”
It is ironic that Margaret Hamilton’s performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) was so scary to children, because her first job was as a kindergarten teacher. She loved and doted upon children all her life.
“Almost always they want me to laugh like the Witch. And sometimes when I go to schools, if we’re in an auditorium, I’ll do it. And there’s always a funny reaction, like Ye gods, they wish they hadn’t asked. They’re scared. They’re really scared for a second. Even adolescents. I guess for a minute they get the feeling they got when they watched the picture. They like to hear it but they don’t like to hear it. And then they go, “Oh…” The picture made a terrible impression of some kind on them, sometimes a ghastly impression, but most of them got over it, I guess… Because when I talk like the Witch and when I laugh, there is a hesitation, and then they clap. They’re clapping at hearing the sound again.”
Until the day Hamilton died, she had children recognizing her and coming up to her to ask why she was so mean to Dorothy. She became very concerned about the role’s effect on children, and finally did a guest spot on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to explain that the Witch was just a character in the film, and not herself.
During filming, Hamilton was accidentally burned during a special effects sequence. The impressive special effect was achieved by her stepping onto a trap door (obscured by rising smoke) that dropped beneath her, and then a burst of real fire came up. On one take, the fire came too early, and her costume caught fire. She was off the film for more than a month. After she recuperated, she said “I won’t sue, because I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition – no more fire work!”
Happy Birthday, Margaret Hamilton!
Patrick English added:
I’ve posted about this before, but it’s worth repeating … Margaret Hamilton, one of the great character actresses at MGM, married Paul Meserve in 1931; their son, Hamilton (“Ham”) Wadsworth, was born in 1936. And while the marriage dissolved two years later, Hamilton’s devotion to her son would last a lifetime; she worked tirelessly in film, stage and later television to make sure he was well-fed, well-clothed, well-educated and (especially) well-loved.
As every WIZARD OF OZ devotee knows, Hamilton received second and third degree burns on her face and right hand after a filming mishap in Munchkinland. A doctor covered her with salve and bandages, leaving slit holes for her eyes, mouth and nostrils; as Hamilton later recalled, “I looked like a mummy.” But before she was taken home from the studio that day, she called her housekeeper. “I didn’t want my son to see me. He was only three years old, and I knew he’d be terribly frightened. So I told her to keep him in his room and to tell him I was working late and would kiss him good night after he was asleep and would see him in the morning.”
Even though she was experiencing a level of pain she’d never known before (or since), at that moment all Margaret Hamilton cared about was her son.