Month: July 2016

The New Colossus

~ Old Jewish Lady

Colossuses

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

–Emma Lazarus

 

Colossus of Rhodes image {{PD-old-70}}

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

~ Old Jewish Lady

Below is a century-old photo taken at the English seashore. My husband is the smiling baby front and center. But there is something very wrong here. Can you see what it is? (Scroll down to read the answer.)

(Hastings 1916)
(Hastings 1916)

Answer: There are no men in the photo, only women and children. Their smiling faces belie what is really going on: The men were away serving in World War I.

No News Is True News

~ Old Jewish Lady

Truth Pravda Russian Dictionary

For over a century, Russia had two major newspapers, Pravda and Izvestia. In Russian, “pravda” means “truth” and “izvestia” means “news.” Those sound like good names for newspapers. But they were all propaganda. A famous Russian saying, evoking these pillars of journalism, can be translated to something like this: “There’s no truth in The News, and no news in The Truth.”

Ain’t that the truth?