As discussed previously, on Fridays, I present my weekly social media roundups. Note that toots of articles generally include header images from the articles, which I don’t include here unless their creators happen to have released them for use under a free license, and I notice. Most have not, or I don’t notice. But I now add my commentary here, where I don’t feel restricted by message length.

diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week

Also, I don’t generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.

9:03 – Mon 17 April 2023

Image Not Shown: A series of yellow tubular batteries, marked-positive ends up, on a blue background

Findings are a step toward water-based batteries from Futurity

The group’s goal of researching metal-free batteries stems from having better control over the domestic supply chain since cobalt and lithium are outsourced. This safer chemistry would also prevent battery fires.

Hashtags: #Energy #Batteries

I assume that this causes other problems, but I don’t suppose that they could make much worse than we have today


12:07 – Mon 17 April 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

If he mourns, the spirits are in his tears, and if he is distressed, then love is in his tunes. He weeps with the faraway over his homelands.

Elia Abu Madi

Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage

9:05 – Tue 18 April 2023

Image Not Shown: Zoe Sahloul, executive director of the New England Arab American Organization, center, celebrates Eid-al-Fitr in Maine

Arab Americans are a much more diverse group than many of their neighbors mistakenly assume from The Conversation

From TV stations to entertainment media, people of Arab descent are often stereotyped as violent, oppressed or exotic.

Hashtags: #ArabAmericans #Diversity

I unfortunately forget who, but one Arab-American comedian—probably not Maz Jobrani, though nobody else’s voice comes to mind on this—used to talk about how he desperately wanted to audition for an acting gig where he didn’t need to hold his eyes open wide enough to show his entire iris for the entire role


12:01 – Tue 18 April 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

Four months ago, a star returned to the horizons in the space of Arab literature in me. In the diaspora, after the passing of this period of time, she loosened the threads of her radiance from the light of the world of literature.

Nasib Aridah

Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage

9:01 – Wed 19 April 2023

Image Not Shown: Abortion rights activists call for abortion and mifepristone to be legal across America at a protest in New York City in March 2023

Mifepristone ruling shows we need to fight attack on US abortion rights from openDemocracy

While there have been a few incidents of vandalism at deceptive anti-abortion ‘crisis pregnancy centers’, it’s hardly privileged and powerful conservative Christians such as Kacsmaryk who need to be concerned about their safety.

Hashtags: #Abortion

I’ll say what I always say when big issues come up: Write your representatives, at the level that you care about (federally, in this case) and one level down (state). Explain your position in the community, such as a homeowner, entrepreneur, church official, whatever you’ve got. Explain your stake in the matter, even if you only consider yourself a concerned citizen worried about the treatment of half the population, but any expertise on the issue would help at this point. And state your views on the topic.

Do it on paper, to both their local office and their “official” office—for example, the Capitol building or the state capital—and mention especially to the lower offices that you’d like them to put pressure on the others.

If you can manage it, make an appointment to speak with your representatives, as well. I like to say that, if your legislators don’t recognize your name and maybe roll their eyes when they hear it, then you’ll only get your way accidentally.

12:06 – Wed 19 April 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

Think as if your every thought were to be etched in fire upon the sky for all and everything to see. For so, in truth, it is.

Mikha'il Na'ima

Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage

9:04 – Thu 20 April 2023

Image Not Shown: The end of an institutional hallway with a brown tile floor, dingy walls with wood and metal railings, and double doors at the far end

Medicaid Cutoffs: An American Horror Story from OtherWords

The stated purpose of all this surveillance is to prevent “waste, fraud, and abuse” by those on Medicaid. But as anyone who’s dealt with the American health care system can tell you, the real fraud comes from profiteering health care corporations, not patients.

Hashtags: #Medicaid

I suppose that I should make the point that Republicans hate Medicaid because it actually works. They’d much rather an onerous system that fails to help anybody, so that they can go back to telling people about how Big Government always fails everyone


12:02 – Thu 20 April 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

We reflect a sensitive feeling burdened with the secrets of the soul, spirits, and the bonds of life and existence.

ʻAbd al-Masīង កaddād

Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage

9:06 – Fri 21 April 2023

Content Warning: A lot of Ted Cruz

Image Not Shown: Close-up of Ted Cruz

News awareness means not just knowing what’s in the news, but who wanted you to know it from Daily Kos

We now know how the story came to be. One or both of the reporters were invited to a “wide-ranging interview” held in Sen. Ted Cruz’s own Capitol Hill office, and that’s where Cruz told the reporters what he was “seeking.”

Hashtags: #MediaLiteracy #TedCruz

Honestly, even if you don’t care about Ted’s dopey and destructive antics, the headline does a lot, here. I always object when people talk about the “good old days,” when reporters only presented facts and didn’t take sides, because they did take sides. They chose to prioritize one story over another, one source over another, and one framing over another. They might not have done so maliciously—they only had so much time and space to work with—but they definitely made those decisions, and the news only makes any sense when we understand that and apply it in reading.

12:04 – Fri 21 April 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

If you see the wind, beware — snow is the bride of the mountains.

Ameen Rihani

Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, I drop any additional articles that didn’t fit into the one-article-per-day week, but too weird or important to not mention, here.

Egypt: El-Sayeda Zeinab's Ramadan Market, days before the start of the Holy Month in the heart of Cairo, Egypt. 15 March 2023
Egypt: El-Sayeda Zeinab's Ramadan Market, days before the start of the Holy Month in the heart of Cairo, Egypt. 15 March 2023
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/52782084003/ by Zeinab Mohamed. Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0

Snapshots of Ramadan: Capturing a few spiritual and communal moments from Global Voices

There is however, another side to Ramadan. It is a highly anticipated and celebrated occasion in the Islamic world, as it provides a unique opportunity for communities to come together to socialize, share cultural experiences, and give to charity.

A blessed Eid to those who celebrate. May every year find you in good health. (And apologies if I fouled that greeting up in trying to not embarrass myself by making a mess of Arabic.)

Image Not Shown: A person (probably a woman) covering their eyes beneath their glasses, while sitting at a desk

Typing and mouse clicking can show your work stress from Futurity

What’s more, people who feel stressed in the office make more mistakes when typing. They write in fits and starts with many brief pauses. Relaxed people take fewer but longer pauses when typing on a keyboard.

Many years ago, I remember researchers looking to use typing patterns as biometric identification; I guess that we now know why that never became a product.

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Credits: Header image is Circular diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week from a manuscript drafted during the Carolingian Dynasty.