Quote
"Govern a family as you would cook a small fish – very gently."
Chinese proverb
Joke
If two vegans get in a fight, is it still considered a beef?
Fun Fact
The longest book title contains 1,809 words.
The title of Srijan Timilsina's 2014 Guinness World Record-setting book is practically a full text in itself. Including 1,809 words (or 11,284 characters) it begins, The historical development of the Brain i.e. from its formation from Annelida: Earthworm, Lugworm, Rag worm, Amphitrite, Freshwater worm, Marine worm, Tubifex, Leech. etc, Arthropoda: Housefly, Butterfly, Honey bee, Fairy shrimp, Horseshoe crab, Tick, Bluebottle, Froghopper, Yellow crazy ant…," and continues to list pretty much every insect, fish, and mammal you can think of, including humans.
It then goes on to ask questions like, "What did they find and what did they eat? How did they defend from their enemies and attack them? Which is the oldest stone ever discovered? Which ancestor of human being first started to walk with the help of two limbs?" It finally ends with, "Solutions of above inquisitiveness are included in this book," which you think would go without saying, but perhaps not if you want your title to set a world record.
History Fact
Turkeys Were Once Worshipped Like Gods
While the turkey is currently America's favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, in 300 B.C., these big birds were heralded by the Mayan people as vessels of the gods and were honored as such, so much so that they were domesticated to have roles in religious rites. They were symbols of power and prestige and can be found everywhere in Maya iconography and archaeology.
Movie/TV Trivia
Those who correctly state that Infernal Affairs is better than its remake, The Departed, often state the need for closure as one reason for its inferiority. It’s a surprise to learn then that one ‘happier’ ending saw the Hong Kong thriller lose its open ending as Andy Lau’s mole gets his comeuppance with arrest, negating the superb trilogy closer in which his guilt sent him over the edge.
Movie/TV Quote
"You had my curiosity. But now you have my attention."
Django Unchained (2012)
In the second of his revisionist history films, Quentin Tarantino is in peak form, dishing out fantasy justice to abominable characters like Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin J. Candie, a smooth-talking slave-owner with a passion for phrenology. Candie's gleeful hatred -- covered with a slimy veneer of Southern manners -- puts the efficiency of Tarantino's character development on full display. The slave-owner is the quintessential talentless, overconfident man who believes himself far superior to a foreigner and a free slave, despite all evidence to the contrary. As he takes a childish slurp out of a coconut filled with booze, DiCaprio delivers the film's best line with the kind of uncomfortable familiarity and condescension that make the final act's revenge fantasy fully earned. It's the kind of line you could imagine a venture capitalist or similar vampire uttering today; we thankfully no longer sell humans as commodities, but the sickening nature of business sharks remains.
Conversation Starter
What do I do that makes you smile?
Writing Prompt