Banter Bites

Political Popcorn Or Paint?

The Second Impeachment Trial. Will it be about democracy and truth, or a made-for-TV reality show?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: If ever our respective Banter Bite bubbles reflected who we are, it's this one ...

First, there's Red, the warm and fuzzy mom who, although she earned a theater degree from a prestigious school, never put it to use (unless you count being theatrical and critiquing movies). Her favorite part of going to the movies (it was how she escaped life before the pandemic) was to get the largest bucket of popcorn, which she'd refuse to share with anyone, including her own children. Yes, you read that right! She'd be happy to buy them their own, but not share, as Red admits having an obsession with movie theater popcorn. At the same time, she's become a bit of a news junkie since the 2016 presidential election, not because she's enthralled with politics, but due to the theatrics of it.

And then, there's Black. Loaded with an M.B.A. in International Finance (jointly issued by two prestigious schools), she climbed the corporate ladder in the oil and gas industry, becoming a corporate vice president when few women were even in the industry. (Oh, the stories she has!) She's always been "all business" but if it hadn't been for our mom insisting she'd make a great lawyer (Black's always loved to debate, and Red has been known to compare Black's brain to a computer processor), she'd probably be a very successful trial attorney. Instead, she dug in her heels (her shoes are also the basis of many stories) and decided that was the last thing she'd become.

Of course, combine our personal interests and backgrounds with the impeachment trial and we're sure there'll be some "interesting" conversations we'll try to capture in Banter Bites. Meanwhile, Black's preparing herself to have Red, the frustrated theater major, utter the phrase "This should be a podcast" countless times.

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?

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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 …

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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.

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