Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words shall never hurt me. — children’s rhyme
______
That old kids’ rhyme may still be an effective retort to verbal bullies but it is not true in a literal sense. Words hurt, of course, and they hurt relentlessly, cruelly and sometimes irreversibly.
On the other hand, words also can bring pleasure as surely as food, drink, stories and sex, among other delights.
Thus for many of us, word games are among our favorite daily habits.
The venerable Scrabble and the addictive Wordle are two of my personal favorites. Two of my sons compete in “Words With Friends.”
And then there are Semantle, Dordle, Quordle, Octordle, Nerdle, and hello wordl, among others.
Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle says "What's fun about Wordle, I think, is what you can tease out, based on what you know about language. What the word should be."
Some of what goes wrong in our national and international dialogues can be traced to words and what they should mean. Political and military opponents often seem to be talking right past each other.
Certainly this is the case between Russia and Ukraine.
But enough of the serious stuff. I’ve got to get back to Wordle, where I’ve won 98 percent of the time (two silly losses came when I rushed), 25 percent by the third guess, 78 percent by the fourth, 92 percent by the fifth, and six percent on the last try.
During my recent trip to Arizona, one revealing moment found my three sisters and I all independently playing variations of Wordle at the same time.
It must be in the genes.
***
It’s baseball season, which around here means you see a lot of fans wearing San Francisco Giants gear on Bart and in the streets of the city. And last night, Alyssa Nakken became the first female coach in a regular season Major League Baseball game in the long history of the sport when she coached at first base for the Giants against the San Diego Padres.
Oh, and the Giants won the game, 13-2.
Today’s News (66):
Putin defends 'noble' war amid allegations of rape, brutality and chemical weapons (Reuters)
Far From Defeated, Putin Intends to Escalate War in Ukraine (NYT)
Putin vows to press invasion until Russia’s goals are met (AP)
U.S. expects ‘brutal tactics’ as Russian troops push to the east (WP)
In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east. (Reuters)
US and UK investigating reports of chemical weapons being used by Russia in Ukraine war (BBC)
Russian military-linked hackers target Ukrainian power company, investigators say (CNN)
A spokesman for Ukraine's defense ministry said Russia has nearly completed its buildup for a renewed assault on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He added that Ukraine's army was ready to face the renewed assault. (Reuters)
Vadym Boychenko, mayor of the port city of Mariupol, said Russian forces have killed over 10,000 civilians there over the past six weeks and are blocking humanitarian convoys. The Kremlin is now reportedly shifting its attention to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-allied separatists have claimed independence, pulling troops out of Belarus to support the operation. [AP]
Donbas: Battle in east Ukraine expected to be bloody and decisive (BBC)
Ukrainians Use Drones, Facial-Recognition Software as They Probe Alleged War Crimes (WSJ)
Japan to send prosecutors to ICC to help Ukraine investigation (NHK)
War impels many Ukrainians to abandon Russian language, culture (WP)
Putin says peace talks at 'dead end' (USA Today)
No More ‘Have a Nice Day’: Lviv Learns to Live With War (NYT)
Bucha mayor: 403 bodies found (NHK)
Zelenskyy says retreating Russian soldiers left thousands of unexploded bombs and mines across the country (Business Insider)
UN: Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have fled homes (AP)
Mariupol mayor: Civilian deaths could surpass 21,000 (NHK)
Hubris and isolation led Vladimir Putin to misjudge Ukraine (WP)
U.S. Weighs Shift to Support Hague Court as It Investigates Russian Atrocities (NYT)
Rocketing Prices Test Europe’s Political Resolve in Confrontation With Russia (WSJ)
VIDEO: Biden Discusses Ukraine War With Indian Prime Minister (AP)
In Taiwan, the military released a handbook on civil defense for the first time, giving citizens survival guidance in a war scenario, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine focuses attention on how the island should respond to China's pressure. The handbook details how to find bomb shelters via smartphone apps, as well as tips for preparing emergency first aid kits. (Reuters)
'Pandemic, Inc.' author says financial predators made more than $1 billion off COVID (NPR)
Fox News star Tucker Carlson revealed he has not received a single COVID-19 vaccine shot. Carlson, a prominent anti-vaccine voice on Fox News, argued at a recent megachurch event in San Diego that he's not a vaccine skeptic, but takes issue with COVID shots. He previously dodged questions around his vaccination status. [HuffPost]
Pressure builds as Shanghai, a city of 25 million, remains locked inside (CNN)
Shanghai eases 2-week shutdown, letting some residents out (AP)
New Drug Slashed Deaths Among Patients With Severe Covid, Maker Claims (NYT)
Florida is accusing the Walgreens pharmacy chain of putting profit over health for improperly handing out millions of powerful painkillers that caused tens of thousands of deaths, in a trial that began Monday. CVS, which was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, already settled the case for an estimated $870 million. [AP]
Representative Ami Bera was among at least eight people bitten by a fox infected with rabies near the U.S. Capitol (Los Angeles Times)
Gasoline drives up U.S. consumer prices; inflation likely peaked (Reuters)
EPA Will Allow More Ethanol in Gas This Summer in Bid to Tame Prices (WSJ)
White House in Damage Control Mode as Crypto Markets Brace for 8%-Plus Inflation (Yahoo)
Stocks Climb After Inflation Data (WSJ)
Recession shock' is coming, Bank of America warns. (CNN)
Paul Krugman on Why the Economy Is Doing Better Than We Think (NYT)
Sri Lanka will temporarily suspend foreign debt payments to avoid a hard default, the central bank governor said today, with its limited foreign reserves required for imports of essential items such as fuel. (Reuters)
Potential far-right victory in France seen as threat to EU (AP)
Biden says 'ghost gun' crackdown should be 'just the start' on gun control: 'None of this absolves Congress' (Fox)
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has a new defense of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot: It happened only once. “The American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” Greene told NBC News. [HuffPost]
An off-duty police officer who breached the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack was found guilty of multiple felonies, a notable victory for prosecutors in one of the first trials relating to the attack. (Reuters)
Amazon’s $2 billion housing push has mostly left out D.C. area’s poorest (WP)
'RINO' versus 'political prostitute': Bitter GOP primary hinges on infrastructure plans (Politico)
'Dead sunspot' launches ball of plasma toward Earth (LiveScience)
Nasa spots record breaking, huge comet headed towards Earth (Independent)
‘Ain't Nobody in It:' San Francisco Police Stop Self-Driving Car (NBC)
Criminal groups are battling for control over territory, forcing people to flee from Michoacán and other Mexican states. Cartels have torched businesses, planted land mines and launched bombs from drones. (WP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of the Asian nation's rights record. (Reuters)
Psilocybin Rewires Brain Connections To Help Alleviate Depression (SciTechDaily)
Patients with allergic disorders have greater risk of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease (NewsMedical)
Children as Young as 8 Should Be Screened for Anxiety, Experts Recommend (WSJ)
COVID-19, overdoses pushed US to highest death total ever (AP)
Teen drug overdose deaths rose sharply in 2020, driven by fentanyl-laced pills (NPR)
Seventy percent of the Southern Plains is already experiencing severe drought. That’s up from just 7% six months ago — and it’s expected to get worse. (WP)
Pouring it on: Climate change made 2020 hurricanes rainier (AP)
Baseball Has a Historic Rookie Class. The Lockout Might Be the Reason Why. (WSJ)
Once a retail giant, Kmart nears extinction after New Jersey closure (NBC)
The Safe Investment That Will Soon Yield Almost 10% — The March surge in the consumer-price index is the latest boon to buyers of U.S. savings bonds that are adjusted for inflation, known as I Bonds. (WSJ)
Wordle creator describes game’s rise, says NYT sale was “a way to walk away” (Ars Technica)
Wordle: The Game Everyone Is Talking About (Hark)
Insane Man Makes It Through Another Day Without Anyone Catching On (The Onion)
Today’s Lyrics:
“If You Ever Have Forever in Mind”
(Songwriters: Troy Harold Seals / Vince Gill)
You're climbing mountains, I'm on a hill
You're always running I'm standing still
You live for the moment, no future no past
I may be a fool to love by the rules and want it to last
If you ever have forever in mind
I'll be here and easy to find
If your heart isn't ready to lay down with mine
If you ever have forever in mind
The music has ended still you want to dance
I know that feeling, I can't take that chance
You live for the moment no future no past
I may be a fool to love by the rules, I want it to last
If you ever have forever in mind
I'll be here and easy to find
If your heart isn't ready to lay down with mine
If you ever have forever in mind
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