Sunday, August 4, 2024
This Matters More Than the Game
An excerpt from Metro.co.uk -
Injured Olympic athlete gets carried off court by her opponent to huge ovation from crowd
author image
By Chris Davie
Brazil’s Tamires Morena produced one of the most touching moments of the Olympics in Paris after she carried her injured opponent off the court on Saturday.
Brazil were already up by ten goals in their final Preliminary Round Group B women’s handball match when Angola’s captain Albertina Kassoma fell to the ground after missing a shot.
Kassoma stayed down and received medical attention for her injured knee.
After being examined by Angola’s team doctor, Kassoma got to her feet and was supported by Brazil’s goalkeeper, Gabriela Moreschi.
But before Kassoma moved, Morena stepped in to fully sweep her opponent off the ground and carry her to the side of the court.
Morena’s gesture was greeted by a huge ovation by the crowd inside South Paris Arena 6.
When Your Sister Wins Gold
The moment when you find out your sister won a gold medal at the Olympics!
— Navy Football (@NavyFB) August 3, 2024
Congratulations Thea LaFond!#GoNavy | #RollGoats pic.twitter.com/38p4NGpsXK
I'm Rod Stewart's Newest Fan
An excerpt from Metro.co.uk -
Rod Stewart slammed for mocking ‘orange’ Donald Trump during show as fans ‘walk out’
By Laura Harman and Brooke Ivey Johnson
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| Rod shared the snap from his show on social media (Picture: Rod Stewart/Instagram) |
Rod Stewart has well and truly divided fans as he made his feelings towards Trump known mid-concert, mocking the former US President with a meme.
The 79-year-old singer is currently on tour in the US and has been performing a series of shows at the Colosseum that began on July 24 and is set to conclude on August 7.
But just months after he was ‘booed’ in Germany for showing the Ukraine flag, the singer has ruffled feathers again as he criticised Trump on stage.
While in Vegas performing, he decided to show a meme that mocked the Former President for being ‘orange’.
Great Cooking Charts - Guaranteed to Learn Something
An excerpt from Buzzfeed -
29 Incredibly Cool Charts About Cooking And Food That Will Make You So Much Smarter
Reading this is almost like going to cooking school.
by Mike Spohr, BuzzFeed Staff
1. This chart in the menu of a Japanese restaurant explains the etiquette for eating sushi, and honestly I had no idea (I definitely mix wasabi and soy sauce, sorry):
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4. What's the difference between a rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well done steak? This chart has the answer:
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| u/madairman / Via reddit.com |
5. And this chart explains the cooking differences for burgers:
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| u/erikhenao32 / Via reddit.com |
6. Never wonder, "Wait...do I put the veggies in the water before or after I boil it?" ever again:
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| FarmersAlmanac.com / Via reddit.com |
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/29-charts-about-cooking-and-food
The Mississippi River
From Seth Godin, Seth's Blog -
The Mississippi River paradox
There’s no water in that river that was there ten years ago.
The boundaries have shifted in that time as well, there’s no riverbank that’s exactly where it was. And the silt and the fish have all moved too.
So, what’s “the Mississippi River”?
It’s a label, a placeholder, and a marker–when the Mississippi does something we don’t expect it to do, we comment on it.
People are like this as well. What if you could only be known for the best (or the worst) thing you ever did? You’re not that person now, and it’s likely you’ll never be that person again. But that’s the label we gave you.
When we talk about the organization or the brand or that neighbor down the street, we act as these are immutable objects, basic unchanging elements or static facts.
But like rivers, people change.
When the label stops being useful, we should change it. The problem with holding a grudge is that it makes your hands too full to do anything useful.
https://archive.feedblitz.com/1081591/~17137100/70470101/a91e9d7437b0702ab03785848f880103
An Olympic Water Polo Star Offering Skin and Hair Tips
An excerpt from the Washinton Post -
She’s an Olympic water polo star, but fans just want skin and hair tips
Ashleigh Johnson, one of the world’s top water polo goalies, shares the routine that keeps her skin and hair glowing, despite long hours in the water.
By Gretchen Reynolds and Julia Wall
There’s one question Olympic water polo goalie Ashleigh Johnson hears all the time: “How does she take care of her skin and hair?”
The first Black player for the powerhouse U.S. women’s national water polo team and widely considered to be the best goalie in the world, Johnson, 29, helped the U.S. win gold in 2016 and 2021. The Americans are the prohibitive favorites again at this year’s Games in Paris.
An obvious role model, Johnson regularly gets peppered at events and online with questions about her sport, height (6 feet 1 inch), heritage (Jamaican) and favorite food (Pho, a Vietnamese soup).
But questions about her hair and skin are by far the most common. She doesn’t mind.
“I wish that someone had had some hair and skin care tips for me when I was coming up.”
So here, for the first time, she shows us what years of practice and experimentation have taught her can keep hair and skin healthy, however much time we spend in the pool.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/07/31/ashleigh-johnson-water-polo-skin-hair-tips/
Olympic Medal Bonuses
An excerpt from CNBC -
Here’s how much athletes at the Paris Olympics earn for winning medals
By Lee Ying Shan
Aside from a medal, a stuffed toy of the Olympics mascot and a “mysterious” box containing the official event poster, some medalists receive additional financial rewards for their efforts.
While the IOC does not give out prize money for winning medals, several home countries do reward their athletes with medal bonuses.
Olympic medal bonuses
Here's how much money athletes get for finishing on the podium.
Friday, August 2, 2024
A Quick Lesson on the Venn Diagram & Why Kamala Harris is Smart to Use It
An excerpt from Salon -
Why a love of Venn diagrams is Kamala Harris' not-so-secret weapon for creating smart policy
Logic dictates that multiple variables must be accounted for in politics; interlocking circles help visualize them
By Gwydion Suilebhan - Steven Gimbel
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| Kamala Harris (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) |
This is not the first time Harris has professed affection for this logical mechanism. As a former courtroom lawyer who needed to be able to clearly demonstrate complicated inferences to juries in a way that anyone could follow, Attorney General Harris would have found Venn diagrams to be the perfect tool.
So, too, in politics. At a speech at Bryn Mawr University in 2022, for example, she produced a Venn diagram for the crowd, saying. “So, I asked my team, ‘Tell me from which states are we seeing attacks on women’s reproductive healthcare, attacks on voting rights, and attacks on LGBTQ+ rights.’ And you would not be surprised to know that there was quite an overlap, including, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Arizona.” The overlap in these policy goals became clear to anyone who could see.
Republicans have seized on this intellectual infatuation, calling it cringeworthy. She was mocked by "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade who said “When you peak in third and fourth grade and become Vice President we’re doomed.”
Allowing for the straightforward visualization of logical relations, Venn diagrams were in fact designed as a teaching tool. But contrary to Kilmeade’s characterization, they are a means well beyond grade school level. They were an important step in the development of formalized reasoning that led to digital computers.
If your understanding of them comes from social media and the memeosphere, you could be excused for underestimating their power and importance in the history of ideas. Vice President Harris may proclaim her adoration of them in public more frequently than she does for her husband, but looking at the development of logic, Doug Emhoff has not done anything quite like John Venn.
Here's a history tracing the meticulous development of the Venn diagram to better understand how we got to the useful visual tool we still employ today.
Not just blind luck
With the exception of the Olympics’ insignia, Venn diagrams are our most recognizable overlapping circles. Named after Cambridge University mathematician and logician John Venn, they first appeared in his book "Symbolic Logic" in 1880. In that work, he named them after a different mathematician calling them “Eulerian circles.”
Venn knew there had to be more to math than just cranking through problems. There were deep philosophical questions buried in it.
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician whose 866 published mathematical papers are the most published as a solo author of anyone in history. To make this even more impressive, he did much of this work while blind. One focus of his work was taking complex mathematical reasoning and operations and representing it using symbols so that instead of having to think through long chains of inferences, we could instead manipulate symbols according to simple rules.
As a result, he generated many of the standard representations we still use. Why is the letter x used for an unknown quantity in algebra? Euler. Why do we use the Greek letter π for the ratio between a circle’s circumference and diameter? Euler. Why is the square root of -1 called i? Euler.
In his quest to make complicated (and in the case of i, complex) mathematics simpler, Euler came upon a way to use circles to represent class membership. This allowed for a teaching tool that made certain logical relations clearer because they could be simply seen. Euler’s diagrams were effective, but Venn soon realized that they were limited in their applicability. Euler’s circles could not do something that a modified approach could — allow for a mechanical way of doing logic. Venn, with his new twist, would out-Euler, Euler.
Who, what, where and Venn
John Venn was the son of an Anglican minister whose interest was not in the Divine order of the universe, but rather its underlying mathematical structure. Attending Cambridge, he sat for the Mathematical Tripos, a grueling eight-day exam that largely tested one’s ability to quickly calculate for extended periods of time. Venn described the event as “fearfully hard work, both physical and mental.”
https://www.salon.com/2024/07/29/venn-diagrams-kamala-harris-explainer-history/
A Pivotal Moment in the Race
Rosenberg: I think when you look back at this magical moment that we’re in now, there are three things that really contributed to it: the picking of Vance, Joe Biden’s selfless act, and Kamala Harris coming out of the gate in a very commanding and strong fashion. I think all of… pic.twitter.com/pDJoQy7hYU
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024
Mr. Rogers is Still Teaching Us
An excerpt from ForstForWomen -
Mr. Rogers Quotes: 14 Times He Spread His Wisdom on Love, Kindness and Helping Others in Need
Mr. Rogers left the world a better place than when he came into it — See these 14 quotes we love
By Raquel Lekic
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| Mr. Rogers in the 80s |
Mr Rogers quotes about being kind to yourself
“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”
“You are a very special person. There is only one like you in the whole world. There’s never been anyone exactly like you before, and there will never be again. Only you. And people can like you exactly as you are.
“The toughest thing is to love somebody who has done something mean to you. Especially when that somebody has been yourself.”
Mr Rogers quotes about helping others
“All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors — in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.”
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
“Real strength has to do with helping others.”
“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”
Wow!
Never forget this iconic photo of Shaq and Simone Biles 🐐😂#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/B8dWAKWgKL
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) July 26, 2024
You're Probably Peeing Wrong
An excerpt from Parade -
A Urogynecologist Is Begging You to Stop Doing This One Super-Common Thing When You Pee
It's probably something you haven't thought about.
By Erica Sweeney
You probably don’t think much about how you pee. You just go. While it’s a natural reflex that you’ve been doing your whole life, the way you pee could be taking a toll on your pelvic floor.
This came up recently in a TikTok video, where TikToker @postvirallife said, “I think I’ve been peeing wrong my entire life.”
Before getting a vaginal ultrasound, she said her technician told her to use the restroom but not to push when she peed. Instead, she was instructed to breathe through her nose and release the pee naturally, and that she’d know when the last drop was out once she felt a warm sensation.
Doctors say this is good advice.@postvirallife Anyone else or just me? #bladderproblems #bladder #interstitialcystisis #chronicillness #uti ♬ original sound - Katie
“Peeing is more about relaxing the pelvic floor muscles and allowing the sphincter to relax and at the same time, the brain has the bladder muscles contract to eliminate urine,” says Dr. Lopa Pandya, MD, a urogynecologist, reconstructive surgeon and medical adviser at Aeroflow Urology.
“So peeing is more of a relaxation action and not a pushing action,” she adds.
https://parade.com/health/what-to-stop-doing-when-you-pee-according-to-urogynecologists
Thursday, August 1, 2024
The First Hmong-American Olympian
An excerpt from WeGotThisCovered -
Gold medal-winning gymnast Suni Lee’s ethnicity, confirmed
Lee contributed in helping the United States national artistic gymnastics team win gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
By Kevin Stewart
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| Image via NBC |
Sunisa “Suni” Lee is a 21-year-old artistic gymnast representing the United States on the world stage. She won gold medals at the 2019 World Championships, the 2022 NCAA Championships, and both the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.
~~~~~
Born on March 9, 2003, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Lee is American through and through. However, her parentage gives her an intriguing ethnicity.
Lee’s mother, Yeev Thoj, a healthcare worker, was a refugee who immigrated to the United States from Laos when she was a child. That means Lee’s ethnicity is Hmong. The Hmong people are an ethnic group that lives primarily in China and Southeast Asia.
It also makes her the first Hmong-American Olympian. Lee is also said to be the first woman of Asian descent and the first Asian American woman to win the Olympic all-around title.
First Black Gymnast Earns Statue
Face2FaceAfrica -
The first Black gymnast to win a gold medal finally gets a statue in her hometown
By Dollita Okine
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| Dominique Dawes statue. Photo via YouTube/ montgomerycountymd |
At the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center (SSRAC), Montgomery County erected a statue honoring one of the area’s own Olympians, three-time gold medalist Dominique Dawes. The statue was unveiled on July 23, just days before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The 47-year-old retired gymnast told The Washington Informer, “I grew up minutes down the road so it’s truly an honor. It’s very humbling.”
She went on to say that the statue isn’t just about recognizing her work; it’s also about inspiring young people to pursue their aspirations in the face of challenges. Brian Hanlon spent a year creating the sculpture, which was inspired by a photo from the Atlanta Olympics.
First Black Woman To Earn Individual Fencing Medal at Olympics
An excerpt from AfroTech -
The First Black American Woman To Earn An Individual Medal In Fencing Is Also A Harvard Student With An Interest In Alternative Investing
By Samantha Dorisca
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| Photo Credit: Joe Scarnici |
Lauren Scruggs is a Harvard student and Olympic champion!
Scruggs, 21, was introduced to fencing by her brother, Nolen, Essence reports. The sport has now taken the Queens, NY, native to the grand Olympic stage. She has received her first medal at the 2024 Olympics, earning silver in individual foil, falling just short to U.S. teammate Lee Kiefer.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Scruggs told Today. “Seeing my family in the stands and being able to fence in front of all those people in Paris in that great building was just insane to me. Just to have the medal over me and feel the weight was heavy, was unbelievable.”
Additionally, Scruggs made history in the process, becoming the first Black American woman to earn an individual fencing medal at the Paris Olympics, Essence reports.
“Fencing has largely, historically been a non-Black sport,” Scruggs said, per the NCAA. “So I hope to inspire young Black girls to get into fencing and to think that they can have a place in the sport. I just hope that more people who look like me, little girls like me, feel they have a place in the sport.”
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Don't Come For the Cat Ladies
Childless Cat and Dog Ladies for Harris pic.twitter.com/ywHt1W0ZGb
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) July 28, 2024
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