Lifestyle

A few weeks ago in anticipation of the cold weather, Peckham School students received a “gift of warmth”. A Ponca City group, A ROW AT A TIME through the years have donated knitted and crocheted hats for over 600 students in Ponca City and Kay County.

Occasionally, there are multiple news items that come up around the same time and I have to make a choice on what I want to cover. Timeliness is important in this business, so to get all these topics covered, I’m doing a grab bag special of all the various things in my wheelhouse to come out.

Janet Rush’s second graders studied about Martin Luther King Jr. To end their study they each colored a square that was a piece of him. They all put their puzzle pieces together in the end to create his picture. Kristi Gazaway’s first graders at Lincoln Elementary have been reading and writing about Rosa Parks. Pictured, from left, are Ashlynn Olvera, Josiah Juarez and Renata Espinoza.

The Book of Boba Fett has finished its run. This series had a lot of hype surrounding it coming off the end of The Mandalorian as well as giving the spotlight to the popular character Boba Fett and promising to finally do something with a character whose fame mostly comes from a cool look.

When did sarcasm become a good thing? Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle described sarcasm as “the language of the devil.” And the always quotable Oscar Wilde called it the “lowest form of humor.” But we’re now so awash in snide comments and snarky remarks that it’s become hip to brag about how sarcastic you are. How else to explain online dating profiles where would-be suitors tout their “sarcastic wit” as an asset or describe themselves as being “fluent in sarcasm.” Or the multitude of T-shirts and coffee mugs where you can advertise to the world, “Sarcasm is my love language,” or “I’ll stop being sarcastic when you stop being stupid” or “Sarcasm: It’s how I hug.” Saying you’re sarcastic now translates to mean you’re witty, sharp, cool, above the crowd.

In my efforts to remain concise and informative with this column, I still sometimes throw around words and concepts I imagine everyone to be familiar with. It does occur to me that I talk about things like canon, continuity and retcons a lot; something which is likely to continue as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars shows continue.