Five Things I Love (6-1-2020)

1. This article about the Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends – I’m sure most of the rest of you menopausal broads (and even those of you who simply grew up as a Gen Xer) remember Bullwinkle, the good-humored moose and his best buddy Rocky, who happened to be a flying squirrel. My favorite part of the show was ‘Fractured Fairy Tales’ but everything was great including ‘Peabody’s Improbably History,’ ‘Dudley Do-Right,’ and ‘Aesop & Son.’

Bullwinkle J. Moose

This article starts out right away with a very relevant and obvious story. Turns out that Rocky & Bullwinkle were teaching us a lot about politics through satire. Seems like maybe we should all start watching it again.

Mr. Chairman, I am against all foreign aid, especially to places like Hawaii and Alaska,” says Senator Fussmussen from the floor of a cartoon Senate in 1962. In the visitors’ gallery, Russian agents Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale are deciding whether to use their secret “Goof Gas” gun to turn the Congress stupid, as they did to all the rocket scientists and professors in the last episode of “Bullwinkle.”

Another senator wants to raise taxes on everyone under the age of 67. He, of course, is 68. Yet a third stands up to demand, “We’ve got to get the government out of government!” The Pottsylvanian spies decide their weapon is unnecessary: Congress is already ignorant, corrupt and feckless.

Hahahahaha. Oh, Washington.

That joke was a wheeze half a century ago, a cornball classic that demonstrates the essential charm of the “Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends,” the cartoon show that originally aired between 1959 and 1964 about a moose and a squirrel navigating Cold War politics.

“How Bullwinkle Taught Kids Sophisticated Political Satire” by Beth Daniels, Smithsonian Magazine, September 7, 2017

2. This wonderful video about how mimes may be endangered

3. This delicious and nifty recipe for Porridge in Pink With Raspberries & Greek Yogurt From Maria Speck

4. Regency Novel or Pandemic Life? They really are nearly identical. Perhaps that is why I have accommodated better than most?

5. I’m a big game person – love all kinds of games. Recently I’ve been playing a game that kept advertising an app called Happy Color and it looked kind of fun. I downloaded it just to try it out and I’m totally obsessed. It’s really helpful with reducing my stress level. The app is free but you do have to watch an ad when you first start. You can watch more ads while your coloring if you want to earn credits for help on finding a spot that you might have missed coloring. Trust me, you may need it, especially for pictures with loads of detail. There’s also a cool function where you can save both a copy of the picture you color and/or a short video of the coloring process. Here’s an example!

6. Liz Climo

7. All of these extraordinary examples of leadership, grace, dignity, and bravery displayed by Americans faced with adversity:

This video of Mennonites singing in protest of the George Floyd murder (Mennonites are normally apolitical)

This Genesee County Sheriff (Flint, Michigan) named Chris Swanson who went out and asked the protesters – “What do you want us to do?” The response was “Walk with us!!!” And he did.

These protesters who leapt in front of people who were trying to loot an area Target and stood in front of the store to block people from entering.

These white women, who formed a line of protection between the black protesters and the police.

A line of almost all white women formed between police officers and black protesters at Thursday night’s rally in
downtown Louisville calling for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Photo: Tim Druck)

These black protesters who protected this police officer. The officer became separated from his squad during a riot.

The cops in Queens who knelt in solidarity with demonstrators protesting racists police violence

Here’s one last article that includes many other places where police joined protesters marching against the violence and brutality that black and people of color have faced in American for centuries. It’s time for CHANGE! History is happening in front of our eyes.

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