Jean-Léon Gérôme – Pollice Verso (1872)
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Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir at Yosemite, 1903
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt posed with John Muir for pictures on Overhanging Rock at the top of Glacier Point and camped in a hollow there to awake to five inches of snow, which delighted Roosevelt. Roosevelt had sent Muir a letter asking to meet him in Yosemite: “I want to drop politics absolutely for four days and just be out in the open with you.” At their meeting, Muir spoke of environmental degradation, like development, and asked for another layer of protection as a national park to improve management. Muir convinced both Roosevelt and California Governor George Pardee, on that excursion, to recede the state grant and make the Valley and the Mariposa Grove part of Yosemite National Park. This joining together of the 1864 state grant lands with the 1890 national park lands occurred during Roosevelt’s presidency in 1906.
Reading Between the Lines – ‘The Passage of Power’
“But although the cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said … is that power always reveals. When a man is climbing, trying to persuade others to give him power, concealment is necessary. … But as a man obtains more power, camouflage becomes less necessary.”
― Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power
Robert Caro, in his exploration of power dynamics in “The Passage of Power,” a volume of his extensive biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, offers a nuanced perspective on the nature of power and its effects on individuals. The quote encapsulates one of Caro’s central themes: the transformative and revelatory nature of power.
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21 Memes That All Costco Shoppers Can Relate To
Calling all Costco enthusiasts! Do you ever feel like your life revolves around giant tubs of mayonnaise and navigating the ever-changing sample aisle? If so, this post is for you. We’ve got 21 hilarious memes that perfectly capture the unique experience of shopping at Costco.
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Reading Between the Lines – Brené Brown
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
― Brene Brown
This quote by Brené Brown, from her book “Daring Greatly,” explores the concept of vulnerability and its profound impact on our lives.
First, what does it mean to “own our story”? It means accepting and embracing all parts of ourselves – the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s about being honest with ourselves and others about who we are, where we’ve been, and what we’ve experienced.
Photo of the Day
Grigory Rasputin with his followers
In the shadowed annals of history, amidst the swirling mists of myth and rumor, there emerged a figure of enigmatic power and ominous allure. Grigori Rasputin, a specter from the Siberian hinterlands, cast his spell upon the hallowed halls of St. Petersburg, weaving a web of mystique that ensnared the hearts and minds of both the mighty and the meek. With wild eyes ablaze and an unkempt visage that bespoke of otherworldly communion, he stood as a harbinger of upheaval, a prophet shrouded in the mysteries of the East.
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President Johnson taking the Oath of Office on Air Force One, 1963
On November 22, 1963, aboard Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas, Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of office as the 36th President of the United States. The swearing-in ceremony, conducted just hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, marked a pivotal moment in the nation’s history and in the life of the man who had long dreamed of reaching the pinnacle of American political power.
Reading Between the Lines – ‘The Old Man and the Sea’
“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
This quote is from Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Old Man and the Sea,” published in 1952. The story is about an aging Cuban fisherman named Santiago who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.
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Golden Age Hollywood Actors at Warped Tour ’99
Imagine a world where the glitz and glamour of Golden Age Hollywood collides with the grungy, punk rock vibes of Warped Tour ’99. What would it look like if silver screen icons like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland traded in their red carpet couture for ripped jeans and band tees to rock out at the quintessential emo music festival?
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Reading Between the Lines – ‘Ozymandias’
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley
Photo of the Day
Richard Winters and Easy Company at the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s former residence in the Bavarian Alps, 1945
As Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne, made their way up the winding roads of the Bavarian Alps in early May 1945, they were on a mission to secure Hitler’s famed Eagle’s Nest retreat. For Captain Richard Winters, leading his men to this symbolic prize was a fitting cap to their long journey from Normandy to Germany, a journey marked by courage, sacrifice, and unbreakable bonds of brotherhood.
The men of Easy Company were no strangers to tough assignments. They had jumped into Normandy on D-Day, held the line at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and fought their way through the heart of Germany. But as they approached the Eagle’s Nest, perched high atop a mountain peak, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and anticipation. This was the inner sanctum of the Nazi regime, a place where Hitler had planned his conquest of Europe.
Reading Between the Lines – ‘A Clockwork Orange’
“Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?”
― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange
The quote from Anthony Burgess’s novel A Clockwork Orange encapsulates a profound ethical dilemma about free will and morality. This question is central to the themes explored in the book, which delves into the nature of good and evil, and the importance of choice in defining one’s humanity.
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