At Home
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| Strawberry season is too short! Local strawberries DO NOT taste like everyday berries! |
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| What valley does our food come from? Len has made a number of really good recipes this week! |
Books I reviewed this week
Why am I seeing this word everywhere?
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| Ouroboros |
Is there a fad for using this word: OUROBOROS? It refers to an image of a snake or a dragon that is swallowing its own tail, and it’s an ancient symbol for an eternal cycle of life and death. It had a role in the mythology of ancient Greece and Egypt, in Norse myths, in Medieval alchemy, in the Marvel Universe, as a trendy name for fictional characters and for products and apps; and has been a popular image for tattoo artists. Though I have been coming across this word a lot recently, it’s not really new: searches also find older articles that also use it. In fact, it’s so frequently used that Wikipedia has a “disambiguation page.”
Anyway, the more I search, the more I think there’s nothing new except my noticing this word in use, mostly just meaning something that repeats itself. Consider this description of an AI text generator: “a machine-powered ouroboros that could squeeze out sustainable, trustworthy journalism.” (NYT, June, 2024) Or the use of the word in a movie review: “The latest ouroboros of intellectual property juicing to get under my skin is the new Mean Girls film.” (The Atlantic, January, 2024) Or in a story about tradwives: “She didn’t like how her lifestyle, which she’d pursued out of genuine interest, had slowly become symbolic and politicized. She noted how her content had become an ouroboros…” (Washington Post, April, 2024)
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| For those who love this kind of thing, there are many options for creating an ouroboros wall mural in your home. (Etsy) |
Remembering the past this week
This week saw commemorations of D-Day 80 years ago this Thursday. Many of the veterans who participated in these celebrations are 100 years old, and it’s feared that at the next major anniversary of this very important historic event, there will be almost no veterans left.
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| From the D-Day Celebrations in Normandy. (New York Times) |
“We will not walk away,” says Biden, drawing parallel between D-Day and Ukraine
“Biden says the dark forces the Allies fought 80 years ago have not faded. He says the struggle between dictatorships and freedom is unending. He says Ukraine remains as a stark example and says it has been invaded by a tyrant but the Ukrainians are not backing down. ‘We will not walk away,’ says Biden.” — From the Guardian
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| “President Biden emphasized the importance of global alliances at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6 in Normandy, France” (Washington Post) |
Concern for the Future
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| From the Washington Post. |
Blog post by mae sander, 2024
Shared with Deb at the Sunday Salon
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThe strawberries look yummy, I have been enjoying eating them. I wish they were available year round. It is sad to think the dark forces have not faded,
my father and uncles fought in that war to protect our freedom. They would not want a dictator taking over our country. Have a great weekend.
It's been a busy week for you. And I haven't seen that symbol recently at all. Glad I know know what it is called. Thanks for teaching me something new this morning. Have a great weekend Mae. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteIn-season strawberries are a real treat. My daddy fought in Europe in WW2. I can't imagine what he'd've thought of Trump.
ReplyDeleteStrawberry season is just about here too, yummy. D Day celebrations were moving, so glad your president and our prime minister attended. Both countries played such an important role. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteThe strawberries look absolutely delicious.
ReplyDeleteI don't get local strawberries. I have a friend who used to grow them, but she left town and the new owners got rid of her strawberry patch.
ReplyDeleteI am happy you mentioned D-Day. My local PBS station interviewed a vet who was 15 on D-Day. He lied to get into the service. He got several medals before he was 18. The govt never found out, but one of his buddies in his platoon was caught and stripped of his medals. Took him nearly 30 years to get them back.
Thank you for this very pleasant and interesting post that brings us to very important considerations in this political year. I pray everyday for the future of our country that we remain the city on the hill and keep forming a more perfect union. All the normal sensible people in the middle need to join together in Amity to build a more loving society together and stop all the hate. Aloha friend. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThe farm down the road has just opened their pick you own fields.
ReplyDeleteThe June 6th ceremonies were very moving.
Your strawberries looks very nice! The season is very short here too. Enjoy the berries!
ReplyDeleteI don't recall seeing that word before. Chances are I will see it everywhere now.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about D-Day this week too. After visiting Normandy last year it somehow brings it even more alive
Nice looking strawberries too!
Have a great week.
The summer fruits are wonderful and I am enjoying them. I haven't seen the ourobouros for a long time, and I would not want it on my wall! The world is so full of wars and hate just now, and I think it might get even worse. Happy Sunday!
ReplyDeleteThose strawberries look nice. We managed to get 4 raspberries from our plant yesterday 😂 we have had it for 2 years and that's the total so far 😂
ReplyDeleteI watched some D Day bits. Our village had a beacon in the local field/play area. It's a shame that I didn't get to go and see it being lit as the kids are too young and it was lit past their bedtime!
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2024/06/09/sunday-post-sunday-salon-3/
Ouroboros is a new to me word, and I think I will use it five times this week just to surprise people.
ReplyDeleteMy town has a farm where many from Houston come to pick strawberries. But the season for picking here starts in January and lasts through mid-May. Nothing like fresh produce!
I need to see what you thought about A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages, I think.
That last cartoon that you posted rings so true in Santa Barbara, I don't know if you remember the Isla Vista cliffs, but they are certainly eroding quickly, it seems. More houses have become condemed and, unfortunately, a couple people fell from the eroding cliffs this year.
ReplyDeleteAlas. My strawberry crop, which looked so good when flowering, was either shut out by the migrating Susans blocking out the sun or nabbed by hungry birds. It would be an overestimate to say I got a handful and those I did were about the size of my little fingernail. Oh well. But not good farm market berries to be had. The season is later up north so I'm hoping to nab some in late June when I head up.
ReplyDeleteHow's your hip/leg and PT?
I agree wholeheartedly - local strawberry season is way too short! There is nothing that can compare. Thanks for teaching me a new word today.
ReplyDeleteNothing like a local strawberry or a local peach! I definitely miss the "Elbow Drippin Peaches" in Arkansas. My mom had teeny tiny wild strawberry-looking things in her yard. I think the bunnies enjoyed them. I tried one but it didn't taste like anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how often the snake eating it's tail comes up on tv and in books. Great image (concept) #MuralMondays (The last cartoon is both funny and depressing)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the British radio soap opera The Archers as a podcast. They did a nice little remembrance of D-Day with a village event featuring 40s fashions and a play built around the tender story of an ancestor of one of the villagers.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting blog. I had never heard of ouroboros.
ReplyDeleteI was just eating yoghurt with strawberries for lunch, lol.
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine, the end of the war was 80 years ago, and the wars are still going on!
I must confess I had never come across the word ouroboros, but now I will probably see it everywhere!
Institute for climate denial...I'm sure there's one in most countries.
Sorry you've had to cut short your Paris trip.
Thanks for participating in Monday Murals Mae.
I need to check my strawberries on the balcony!
ReplyDeleteIf we only could stop all wars...
I too had ome strawberries :)
ReplyDelete