Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer (thanks to blueeowyn)

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence that a group of one percenters took over the remnants of Gawker and nearly immediately killed off the media company's most insightful criticism of the Trump administration and conservatism at large." -- Katelyn Burns (transscribe), "Stress eating an entire frozen pizza for Deadspin", 2019-11-02

"The reason means testing is bad, is that it is expensive. It costs way more to make sure you don't give a $2,000 check to someone making $100,000 then it does to send it out and tax it back. By phasing out and making levels of releifyou are actually just wasting money." -- Adam Christensen (AC4Congress2020), 2021-02-05

"here's to the people who's trauma did not give them thick skin. the ones who became more sensitive and insecure, who cry more easily, who get overwhelmed at small things. i'm so tired of the narrative that trauma makes you tough and untouchable. we're survivors, not superheroes." -- jules rylan (radiantbutch), 2021-01-04

"I want to argue against that meme so bad and then I realise I want to argue with a meme the internet has broken me" -- Shiv Ramdas (nameshiv), 2021-02-05

[Yep, the Internet does that sometimes.]

"White people, who had the political educations of potatoes, were suddenly feeling compelled to speak about injustice. This happened once every forty years on average, usually after a period when folk music became popular again. When folk music became popular again, it reminded people that they had ancestors, and then, after a considerable delay, that their ancestors had done bad things." -- Patricia Lockwood, No One Is Talking About This (2021, Riverhead Books)

"I would keep tweeting about how awesome our marching band is, but it's in the 30s, I firgoy my glives and I can't fwel my fungets." -- Cassie is on the naughty list (PrissyCassie), 2020-12-04

[For people who use the other common temperature scale, that would be near zero. For folks using a reasonable temperature scale, that would be the 270s.]

"According to one theory, punk rock all goes back to Ritchie Valens's 'La Bamba.' Just consider Valens's three-chord mariachi squawkup in the light of 'Louie Louie' by the Kingsmen, then consider 'Louie Louie' in the light of 'You Really Got Me' by the Kinks, then 'You Really Got Me' in the light of 'No Fun' by the Stooges, then 'No Fun' in the light of 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by the Ramones, and finally note that 'Blikskrieg Bop' sounds a lot like 'La Bamba.'" -- Lester Bangs, (b. 1948-12-14, d. 1982-04-30), "Protopunk: The Garage Bands", The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, 1980

"There is no such thing as 'normal people' everyone on this planet is weird as fuck" -- Ochaco Uraraka, comment, 2021-01-30 (I don't see a way to link directly to the comment, so if it's no longer the top commenbt on that strip, you'll have to click the "see all" button and scroll to find it.)

[Happy Groundhog Day to everyone, especially folks connected to the University of Dallas! Or good Candlemas to folks celebrating that, and a blessed Imbolc to my friends celebrating that!]

"Today was the first day that I felt that I am truly living in space. I have become a man who lives and works in space." -- astronaut Ilan Ramon (b. 1954-06-20, d. 2003-02-01), 2003-01-22 in his diary aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, 37 pages of which were recovered from the wreckage after Columbia disintegrated during reentry 2003-02-01

From the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's web page, "Mercury Primate Capsule and Ham the Astrochimp", 2015-11-10, about the first hominid (but not the first primate) to go to space (1961-01-31 -- sixty years ago today):

During the flight, Ham's reaction to weightlessness and acceleration was tested by his performing the lever-pulling tasks he had trained for. According to A Brief History of Animals in Space published by the NASA History Office, the flight did not go completely as planned:

The original flight plan called for an altitude of 115 miles and speeds ranging up to 4,400 mph. However, due to technical problems, the spacecraft carrying Ham reached an altitude of 157 miles and a speed of 5,857 mph and landed 422 miles downrange rather than the anticipated 290 miles... He experienced a total of 6.6 minutes of weightlessness during a 16.5-minute flight.

In addition, there was a partial loss of air pressure while in space, but disaster was averted because of the pressurized capsule encasing Ham. After splashdown, water flooded the capsule and if the rescue helicopter had not arrived when it did, Ham might have drowned.

Despite these difficulties, Ham seemed calm and in good spirits upon his return. He shook hands with the commander of the recovery ship and others, and readily accepted an apple. He did become agitated later when faced with the paparazzi, however, according to the post-flight report [...]

"'you have two wolves inside you' factoid actually just statistical error. you have 0 wolves inside you. Wolves Georg, who lives in forest and has over 10,000 wolves inside him, is statistical outlier and should not have been counted" -- Marnanel Thurman Black Lives Matter (marnanel), 2021-01-23

"Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision." -- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (b. 1907-01-11, d. 1972-12-23), "On Prayer", 1969 [thanks to TheRaDR for tweeting this]

"I'm planting a tree to teach me to gather strength from my deepest roots." -- Andrea Koehle Jones, The Wish Trees

[Wishing a good Tu B'Shvat to all my friends celebrating it, though at the same time noting solemnly the anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.]

"Problems look mighty small from 150 miles up." -- Roger Chaffee (b. 1935-02-15, d. 1967-01-27)

"The biggest risk in American politics right now is 'playing it safe.'

"You don't 'play it safe' when you are down by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

"This the reality of American democracy in decline. We need some big plays to make it to the next round."

-- Lee Drutman (leedrutman), 2021-01-25

"It spak right howe: 'My name is Death,
 But be na' fley'd.' Quoth I: 'Guid faith,
 Ye're may be come to stop my breath;
 But tent me, billie:
 I red ye weel, take care o' skaith,
 See, there's a gully!'
 
 [...]
 
 'Ay, ay!' quo' he, an' shook his head,
 'It's e'en a lang, lang time indeed
 Sin' I began to nick the thread
 An' choke the breath:
 Folk maun do something for their bread,
 An' so maun Death.
 
 'Sax thousand years are near-hand fled
 Sin' I was to the butching bred,
 An' monie a scheme in vain's been laid
 To stap or scar me;
 Till ane Hornbook's ta'en up the trade,
 And faith! he'll waur me.
 
 'Ye ken Jock Hornbook i' the clachan?
 Deil mak his king's-hood in a spleuchan! --
 He's grown sae weel acquaint wi' Buchan
 And ither chaps,
 The weans haud out their fingers laughin,
 An' pouk my hips.
 
 'See here's a scythe, an' there's a dart,
 They hae pierc'd monie a gallant heart;
 But Doctor Hornbook wi' his art
 An' cursed skill,
 Has made them baith no worth a fart,
 Damn'd haet they'll kill!
 [...]"
  -- Robert Burns (b. 1759-01-26, d. 1796-07-21), from "Death and Doctor Hornbook. A True Story.", 1785

[May everybody involved in covid-19 vaccinations soon piss off Death as much as Dr. Hornbook did. In the meantime ... it feels strange not to have a Burns Night gig somewhere, two years in a row. Really looking forward to when rehearsals and live performances can safely start up again, here.]

"Those influences which really make and mar human happiness and greatness are beyond the reach of the law. The law can keep neighbors from trespassing, but it cannot put neighborly courtesy and good-will into their relations." -~ Walter Rauschenbusch

"Funny story: The crystal skull prop used in so many movies is the actual skull of Thorfir the Inconsiderate. Most witches have a robust sense of humor. He finally met one that didn't." -- Richard Roberts (MadeOfTeeth), 2021-01-09

"When President Biden slams Nazis, insurrectionists, & white supremacists, and Republican politicians complain 'Biden is attacking us,' they're admitting to more than they think they're admitting to." -- Qasim Rashid, Esq. ( qasimrashid), 2021-01-21