Huh? What's Up With That?

pressing matters...    She was known as Rachel Gardner in high school.  She was smart, driven, loyal, reliable, liberal-minded,  aggressive, and frequently spoke her mind.     Rachel was a leader on Franklin Central High School's (Indianapolis, Indiana) speech team and served as program director on the high school radio station.  Her knowhow behind the camera while on the school's television school-news team was legendary and as a testament to her skillset, she would later work professionally in that field.     Rachel was involved in other school-related activities too numerous to mention, but you get the idea.     And, she was class salutatorian, barely missing the title, Class Valedictorian, by a numerical curiosity.     HUH ?   What's up with that ?            That was in 2007.  Today, Rachel Gardner is Rachel Hoffmeyer and she is Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb's press secretary. ...

we've only just begun...                                 Roger Nichols and Paul Williams, 1971                                               Last September H ? WUWT ? featured four pickleball enthusiasts in a series called AAS (Activities After Sixty).  They discussed their love of pickleball and how much the game has grown in recent years, especially with POS (people over 60).  It was the first glimpse of a continuing series into activities POS find entertaining as they endeavor to be healthy and proactive and live a creative life post-retirement.     This post of AAS stories highlights four people, all of whom are POS.  Two of the four were chosen randomly in a supermarket (after a discussion about the relative merits of Boar's Head Meats versus store brands ...

out the back door...       There seems to be a prevailing thought in today's advertising world that when the nostalgia angle is used to promote certain products, increased sales for those products are inevitable.  Put another way, $ucce$$  for that advertising campaign is all but guaranteed.     According to fabrikbrands.com, a strategically-focused  branding agency based in London, Research shows that nostalgia gives our lives a sense of continuity and meaning as we get older.   The findings went on to say, Studies suggest that nostalgia inspires consumers to spend their money because it promises an immediate return in the form of happy memories and comfort.    Nostalgic  advertising works because there are a huge number of people who can relate to its appeal, so the target audience is tremendous in size and assets.      A perfect example of nostalgic advertising and throw back product is an advertisement...

two different paths...   This is the concluding post celebrating women making history during this  Women in History Month .    You will meet two outstanding women who have carved paths quite different from each other.  But, each has set her sights on reaching personal and/or career goals and thereby writing her own history.     Kayla Kaps is a secondary education teacher at Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis.  Kayla succeeded me as general manager of WRFT-FM upon my retirement.     Susan Martin is a retired stay-at-home mom of three grown sons.  She and her family reside in Louisville, Kentucky.   July 16, 1840 is a date worthy of note.  According to usnews.com , that's when Catherine Brewer became the first woman from any college in the United States to earn a bachelor's degree.   She graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.        Harvard was the first American university and...

4 women making history...   March is Women in History   M onth .        According to its website , Women in History Month ...... had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress asked the president to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as Women's History Week .     Since  1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month .    So, in this the first post during women's contributions awareness month, we salute four outstanding women who have set their own paths and traveled the road to success in their chosen fields.  Instead of recapping the accomplishments of historical figures or past known leaders,  H ? WUWT ? brings to your attention four contemporary women who are writing their own history.         Our role models include an Air Force pilot, two barbers who own their own business, and a foot surgeon. ...

covid speak and other yakety yak...     It seems every decade or so brings us new expressions or slang that become part of our every day language.  Events within our society can trigger this deluge of linguistic freedom at a moment's notice.  Wars, depressions, cultural revolutions, and even diseases and viruses can alter our go-to words of the moment.    HUH ? What's up with that ?    Prior to the hippie counter-culture evolution of the 60s was an era that began after WWII and went through the 50s known as the Beat Generation .  It was started by a group of authors and soon became a literary movement.  Three writers, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs supported the exercise through their writing.  Much of their work embraced alcohol, drugs and greater freedom.    It was from the Beat Generation words like, daddy-o , dig , chick , cool , and many others became popular. Some of them have even carried...

  cupid, draw back your bow ...               Sam Cooke, 1961                                              So, just who is this Cupid fellow, anyway, and where did he come from?   In Roman mythology, Cupid is the son of Venus, the goddess of Love.  But, in Greek mythology, he was known as Eros and was the son of Aphrodite.      Following Roman lore, Cupid fell madly in love with Psyche despite his mother's jealousy over Psyche's beauty and Cupid married her, but he made Psyche promise to never look at his face.  When she eventually peaked, Cupid ran away.         In classical mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection.  That pretty well covers that whole deal.   The first sign of the linking of Cupid with Valentine's Day was Caravaggi...