Banter Bites

Does Nominated = Deserving?

Imagine if the Academy Award for Best Picture had over 300 different movies nominated …there were 318 nominees for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Every year when nominees are announced for the Nobel Peace Prize there's inevitably uproar over some questionable nominations. And every year there are a host of articles that appear both in defense and opposition to the nominees. So why should this year be any different? Except that maybe the reaction to the nominees is as polarizing as everything else seems to be these days.

This week Red, for probably the first time, actually paid attention to the press surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize, mostly because it seemed like she couldn't avoid it. And when she asked Black what she thought about the nominations, Black basically referred Red to the Nobel Peace Prize website explaining how there's a fairly long list of people who submit nominations (deadline was February 1) and then commenting,

Being nominated may give you bragging rights … but prestige and honor come from winning.

Red thought that was it, until Black added that she found the 50-year secrecy rule very interesting.

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

Keep Reading ...Show less

Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

Keep Reading ...Show less

A man better known for his death than his life, although Red, the straight-A student and history lover, immediately thinks of the costly and controversial movie of his life. (Well, technically, it was the life of Cleopatra.) Black, of course, focuses on business – leadership lessons, including the power of words, although she surprises Red with some food trivia. But the fact July’s named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

Keep Reading ...Show less