In this issue...
• Twitter / X refugees flocking to Bluesky
• Mattel horrified after error in doll packaging sends kids to adults-only website
• By the numbers X 10 + 1
• Tesla owners distancing themselves from Elon Musk with bumper stickers
• Give the gift of delicious recipes this Christmas! Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
• The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, November 25!
• Christmas will be here on Wednesday, December 25!
• Before you go: 7 things you may have missed last week
• Enjoy nature with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
... and trivia, quotes and more!
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Twitter / X refugees flocking to Bluesky
As Elon Musk seems to descend into complete social media madness, the time has come for the once-essential (at least for breaking news and journalism) Twitter / X to be put on life support. With the re-election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Musk is set to play a major role in the new administration, and his loyalty will be to Trump. For months now, Twitter has been devolving even more deeply into complete and utter chaos with the spreading of conspiracy theories, foreign bots and propaganda at lightning speed.
Many held out hope for the platform, but it's clear that with Trump's re-election and Musk's blind loyalty to him (and vice-versa), it won't happen. Twitter users have been flocking to alternative social media network Bluesky for some time now, but the exodus has accelerated since the U.S. election in early November.
Article excerpt: "Elon Musk has certainly emerged victorious this past week, post-election.
However, Musk and his social media platform X are not exactly winning on the mobile app charts. X competitors Bluesky and Threads are surging in popularity on Apple's App Store in the week following the election.
Bluesky appears to be the big winner, as many users have evidently decided to flee Musk's X — often pointing to his campaigning for Trump and using X as a campaign tool as the reason. Bluesky is now the number 1 free app in the App Store in the U.S. The X-alternative social media platform has also just surpassed 15 million users as approximately 100,000 people have signed up per day since the election.
Threads, which is tightly integrated with Instagram and owned by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, is currently in second place on the App Store. Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, is in a distant 27th place on the charts. A significant number of X users are clearly looking for an alternative to the Musk-owned platform."
Professionally, many can no longer stomach contributing to Twitter. Personally, I'm no longer posting to Twitter / X and will be - in most likelihood - deleting my profile soon. If you'd like to follow me on Bluesky, my profile is here: bsky.app/profile/briancormier.bsky.social.
If you want to follow legitimate journalism online, Bluesky is probably for you.
Read: Bluesky hits #1 on the App Store as users continue to flee Elon Musk's X. Related: Emergency services in U.K. seek social media alternatives as X exodus gathers pace.
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Mattel horrified after error in doll packaging sends kids to adults-only website
It pays to proofread and test every online link you're putting out there. I double-check every link in this newsletter before sending it out. I'll often find errors: links that no longer work, links being redirected to wrong sites, etc. It happens.
But when you print millions of packages of dolls aimed at children, it really pays to pay a proofreader to check what made it through to the final design, otherwise you're caught in a horribly embarrassing situation like legendary toy maker Mattel, which sent children to an adults-only website instead of the website featuring the movie on which their toys are based.
Article excerpt: "Toy maker Mattel is apologizing after sending out a run of Wicked branded toys with a link to a porn website on the box. When Mattel learned about the problem, it pulled the dolls from retail shelves and issued an apology.
Mattel printed the URL for the wrong website on the boxes of singing dolls meant for enraptured children and adult collectors. You see the movie’s website is wickedmovie.com. But Mattel printed wicked.com. The first site lets you buy tickets and watch trailers. The second links to girl-on-girl action. And though Wicked is a story about the surprising relationship between two women at university, it’s not that kind of story.
Mattel assured consumers that Glinda and Elphaba are not that girl.
'Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,' it said in a statement. 'We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children.'"
I visited wicked.com. I can assure you that it's not for children.
Always check the links!! Always!
Read: Mattel apologizes after it ships "Wicked" Barbie dolls with a porn link. Related: Mattel unveils Wicked dolls in run up to movie release.
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Tesla owners distancing themselves from Elon Musk with bumper stickers
Not only is the Elon Musk-owned Twitter pooping the bed these days, but his antics also seem to be embarrassing those who have purchased his Tesla electric vehicles. Who can blame them? I, for one, do tend to judge anyone I see driving a Tesla. "Oh, you agree with everything Elon Musk does."
Article except: "Scattered across Amazon’s best-selling bumper stickers list are bumper stickers for a narrow but growing slice of drivers: regretful Tesla owners.
As Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes on an increasingly partisan and public role in Donald Trump’s forthcoming administration, some Tesla owners are having second thoughts about their choice of EV. Among the 'Please be patient, student driver' magnets, 'thin blue line' flags, and '45/47' decals on Amazon’s list, the $6.99 'I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy' bumper sticker has become its third bestseller. Another variation sits at No. 7 on Amazon’s bestseller list as of this writing.
The Hawaii-based seller of the 'I bought this before Elon was crazy' sticker offers additional designs through his MadPufferStickers Etsy shop, including 'Anti Elon Tesla Club' and 'Elon ate my cat' stickers. He says sales have gone up since the election.
'It took a while for the first sale, but after it got rolling, some people started posting pictures,' Matthew Hiller told Heatmap. 'And now, at this point, it’s gone insane.'"
While I don't own a Tesla, I did have a paid Twitter account (which gave me a blue verified checkmark). Like Tesla owners, it's become embarrassing to be publicly shown to be supporting Musk financially, which is why I've cancelled my paid Twitter subcription. (It runs out on December 14 since it just renewed.)
Of all the people in the world, Elon Musk doesn't need my money - and he certainly doesn't provide a product good enough to deserve it.
Want to buy one of these bumper stickers? Just click on the appropriate link: Amazon Canada / Amazon USA.
Read: "I bought this before Elon went crazy": These anti-Musk bumper stickers are Amazon bestsellers.
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Give the gift of delicious recipes this Christmas! Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
My three volumes of Acadian recipe books (English and French) and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1 are out now and make a great Christmas gift. They are available on Amazon Canada, Amazon USA and in some local retail outlets. (Click on the photo for a larger version.)
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The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, November 25!
The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club Trivia Night of the 2024-2025 season will be held at St. Louis Bar & Grill, 1405 Mountain Road, Moncton, on Monday, November 25, beginning at 6:30 p.m. $10 per person (cash only). (Facebook event listing: bit.ly/3UxdHZj)
Participants may play as teams or individuals. The winning team gets 50% of the door receipts as their prize.
It is strongly suggested that participants arrive by 5:15-5:30 p.m. for a seat. Trivia begins at 6:30 p.m. sharp and is usually over by 8 p.m. Everyone welcome!
Please note that restaurant reservations are NOT available for this event. First come, first served. Limited seating of approximately 50 guests.
Participants may bring an optional non-perishable food item (box of granola bars, Kraft Dinner, cereal, etc.) for distribution at Krista Richard's Community Sports Program events, of which the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club is a sponsor. Any donations will be gratefully received and provided to Krista for distribution to her program participants (school-aged children from Moncton-area schools).
Since Rotary Trivia Nights began in 2016, the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club has donated more than $20,000 to Atlantic Wellness, Karing Kitchen, Ray of Hope Kitchen, Salvus Clinic, The Humanity Project, BGC Moncton (Moncton Boys & Girls Club), Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Project Linus - Moncton Chapter, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Children's Wish Canada and Krista Richard's Community Sports Program, among others.
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club gratefully acknowledges the kind and generous sponsorship of our restaurant partner, St. Louis Bar & Grill.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a no telephone rule at these events. The answers cannot be researched except among discussion with your team members.
The remaining Trivia Night schedule for 2024-2025 is as follows:
• Monday, November. 25, 2024
• Monday, January 27, 2025
• Monday, February 24, 2025
• Monday, March 24, 2025
• Monday, April 28, 2025
• Monday, May 26, 2025
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Trivia: Did you know?
We all know that Disney's Huey, Louie and Dewey are Donald Duck's nephews. But how exactly are they related to their temperamental uncle? In fact, they're the ducklings of Donald's sister Della Duck.
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Quotes of note
• 1. "How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours."
- Wayne Dyer (1940-2015), self-help author (see photo)
• 2. "Fascism says what you and I experience as facts or what reporters experience as facts are irrelevant. All that matters are impressions and emotions and myths."
- Timothy D. Snyder
• 3. "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
- Paul Coehlo
• 4. "You cannot create experience. You must undergo it."
- Albert Camus
• 5. "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
- Desiderius Erasmus
• 6. "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."
- H.L. Mencken
• 7. "Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences."
- Robert Louis Stevenson
• 8. "Dear Karma, I really hate you right now, you made your point."
- Ottilie Weber
• 9. "I’ve been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet."
- Erma Bombeck
• 10. "If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself."
- Mickey Mantle
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Enjoy nature with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
In November, the group is walking in Irishtown Nature Park on Elmwood Drive. Meet-up is in the parking lot beginning on Tuesday, November 5, until Thursday, November 28.
In December, the group will be walking on the Humphrey Brook Trail in the Lewisville area of Moncton from Tuesday, December 3, until Tuesday, December 31. Meet-up is at the bottom of Martin Street. (Participants may park on the street.)
The group meets for walks every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. New participants are always welcome! For more information, please contact Wayne Harrigan at 506-386-2187 or via email.
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About this newsletter
Brian Cormier's Weekly Update is distributed weekly from September to June. If you're reading this newsletter online and want to subscribe, please email me, fill out the subscription form on my website, or subscribe via the "Join Our Email List" button at the top of the newsletter (if you're viewing this in a browser.) This newsletter is not published in July and August and on holidays.
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