Veni Vidi Vici - I Came, I Saw, I Conquered

so you will love the world differently for having loved someone else. you will love a certain cereal or pokemon because of your brother. you will hear your favorite band's song playing in a random store and the love of it will make the whole world a little more golden. you will read a poem so many times the words become their own creatures. you will find you cannot listen to certain music without thinking of your favorite show.

like, okay. "hell is other people" is an excellent line from Sartre's play "no exit". it's very short, you could probably read it in an afternoon or two. but the line isn't making a commentary about all people - it's actually specifically about the 3 characters in the play. they're all very bad people who are legitimately being punished in-actual-hell. they are forced into a room together for eternity & have been hand-picked to be as annoying as possible to each other as punishment for the sins they committed while alive.

and that concept is crazy! i don't write fanfiction but imagine what characters would be actual torture for each other! "hell is other people" isn't condemning humanity - it is saying we create hell from other people.

or like - shakespeare's "brevity is the soul of wit"! that is a joke line said by a joke character. polonius constantly talks too much and says fucking nothing of use. while hamlet is having like, the worst year of anyone's life - polonius gives really fucking vague and useless advice, including such popular sayings as: "to thine own self be true" and "neither a borrower or a lender be." when he says brevity is the soul of wit, it is meant ironically for the audience - this is a man who never shuts the fuck up. he himself is not brief, and therefore witless.

1. See each day as a fresh start and a new beginning.

2. Don’t be a copy of anybody else. Enjoy discovering and being your true self.

3. Be proactive, take control and look for opportunities. You’ve only got one life so make sure you stay in control.

4. Don’t focus on the obstacles or things you cannot change. Just ask yourself “What next? or else “What can I do instead?”

5. Appreciate your limits and then set clear boundaries. You need to care for yourself, to be the best ‘you’ you can be.

6. Decide on your values and what matters most to you. Then live in a way that’s consistent with those values.

7. Don’t put life on hold as the months turn into years … and there’s always the chance that some important doors will close.

8. Set goals for yourself – then plan the steps to take you there.

9. Learn from other people who you value as role models – but ignore the negative and the hypercritical.

1. Don’t take criticism personally. Instead, realize that criticism says more about them than it does about you.

2. Distinguish between facts and subjectivity. Most criticisms are just personal opinions. They are not objective and they don’t reflect the truth.

3. Look at the beliefs you hold about yourself. Do you feel defensive and under attack because you don’t believe in yourself?

4. Learn what you can from any comments that are made – and discard the rest as being useless information.

5. Decide not to ruminate on barbs or criticisms - as that will reinforce the message in your brain.

6. Choose to spend more time with people who’re affirming – and minimise the time spent with those who put you down.

This is some cold-ass shit. As President, Biden has to say something. But he can say it in a way that says nothing and everything.

I want to shake the hand of the staffer that wrote this because this is absolutely fucking superb.

Biden (and/or the staffer who composed this) is using a technique called "damning with faint praise," which is the rhetorical equivalent of "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Nothing he says is untrue, he just ... doesn't say much.

"I'll never forget the first time I met Dr. Kissinger..." A statement like this would normally be followed by a personal anecdote of some kind. But here it just stands alone.

"Throughout our careers, we often disagreed....." One would expect a but to follow this part, some way of softening such a statement by complimenting Kissinger. There isn't one.

"...his fierce intellect and profound strategic focus..." These are the nicest things the statement says about Kissinger, and the second one is a bit backhanded - "strategic focus" could be restated as "ruthlessness" or "knack for scheming" if they were willing to be rude.

"...he continued to offer his views..." This could be restated more positively if Biden meant it to be positive - "contribute his insights" or "share his wisdom." By using the very neutral "offer his views," the statement implies that's neutral is the best they could do.

"...and all those who loved him." This final sentence is brief and direct, and again, the absolute minimum Biden could say to be polite. It also delicately implies that the Bidens are not among those who loved him.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/11/21/a-proclamation-on-the-death-of-rosalynn-carter/

Throughout her life as First Lady of Georgia and First Lady of the United States, Rosalynn Carter exemplified hope, warmth, and a steadfast commitment to doing all she could to address many of our society’s greatest needs. She was a champion for equal rights and opportunities for women and girls; an advocate for mental health and wellness for all; and a supporter of the often unseen and uncompensated caregivers of our children, aging loved ones, and people with disabilities. Above all, the deep love shared between Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter is the definition of partnership, and their humble leadership is the definition of patriotism.

As a mark of respect for the memory of Rosalynn Carter, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions from November 25, 2023, until sunset, on the day of interment.  I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.