Michael W. Cook, author

Quote of the day:

“Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

-John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher, writer, and physician, Second Treatise of Government

Bluesky civil war shows free speech is harder than it looks Last week, a joke familiar from X circulated on rival platform Bluesky: “(bluesky user bursts into Waffle House) OH SO YOU HATE PANCAKES??” It was obviously a jab at the moral intensity that now seems...

I didn’t see the

(bluesky user bursts into Waffle House) OH SO YOU HATE PANCAKES??

on my BlueSky feed.🙌

unherd.com/newsroom/blu...

“[Dunbar] estimates people have 350 acquaintances on top of their 150-person network. Beyond that, he thinks that most of us can recognize an additional 1,000 people—like President Trump—by sight. But they might not recognize you.”

“If contact becomes less frequent with the members of any given social tier… they drop out… and become acquaintances. These are folks like the neighborhood barista or most colleagues at the office…”

"Farther out is your ‘weekend backyard barbecue party group’—a total of 50 people, including 15 that you see regularly. Finally, Dunbar describes an outer ring bringing the total to 150 and including an additional 100 people you would invite to your once-in-a-lifetime big events like wedding…”

“Then comes a layer with 10 additional good friends you see at least once a month. About 60% of your social attention goes to these 15 people… “

"The innermost circle is just five people—friends or family members—that you feel emotionally closest to. These are the shoulders you cry on, the people you contact at least once a week...”

Our Brains Evolved to Socialize—but Max Out at About 150 Friends The size of our social networks is limited even in the age of social media.

How many friends do you have?
10, 15, 50, 100, 150, 350, more?

“… according to British psychologist Robin Dunbar… Like the social circles of other primates, human relationships are hierarchical...”

Source: www.wsj.com/science/soci...

Prime Big Deal Days is back October 7–8: Here are 5 shopping tips to save big during the event Kick off your holiday shopping with savings from popular brands like LEGO, KitchenAid, and Beats.

#WritingCommunity authors with books on Amazon, did you plan marketing for Prime Day (7-8 Oct)?

“… in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, US, UK, Colombia, Ireland, and Mexico.”

www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/...

As of today, there are only:
- 26 days until Halloween 🎃
- 53 days until Thanksgiving 🦃
- 81 days until Christmas 🎄
- 88 days until New Year's Day 🥂

Spend time with your family and enjoy the rest of 2025

Quote of the day:

“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing." 

-Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950) pen name George Orwell, English writer

#WritingCommunity #writerslift #HumanRights #gold

My wife streams K-dramas which sparked my curiosity about the Republic of South Korea’s flag. Do you know the symbolism/meaning of it?

#kdrama #ROK #korea

Source: flexiclasses.com/korean/flag-...

Thank you for sharing #writerslift ✍️
repost for a #bookboost 🚀

#writingcommunity 📚 #booksworthreading

Thank you for sharing #writerslift ✍️
repost for a #bookboost 🚀

#writingcommunity 📚 #booksworthreading

Quote of the day:

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

-Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950) pen name George Orwell, English writer

#WritingCommunity #WritersLift #philosophy

Happy Caturday, readers & writers!
#ShamelessSelfpromoSaturday

#ReadingCommunity find new books

#WritersCommunity post your links

Connect with a fellow author.

#writerslift #writingcommunity
#BooksWorthReading

As of today, there are only:
- 35 days until Halloween 🎃
- 62 days until Thanksgiving 🦃
- 90 days until Christmas 🎄
- 97 days until New Year's Day 🥂

Spend time with your family as 2025 comes to a close.

#holidays #FamilyFun #newyearscountdown

Quote of the day:

“What worries you masters you.”

-John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher, writer, and physician

#WritingCommunity #writerslift #Philosophy

Thank you for sharing #writerslift ✍️
repost for a #bookboost 🚀

#writingcommunity 📚 #booksworthreading

Thank you for sharing #writerslift ✍️
repost for a #bookboost 🚀

#writingcommunity 📚 #booksworthreading

You’re welcome. Thank you for sharing #writerslift ✍️
repost for a #bookboost 🚀

#writingcommunity 📚 #booksworthreading

Thank you for sharing #writerslift ✍️
repost for a #bookboost 🚀

#writingcommunity 📚 #booksworthreading

What Halloween movies do you suggest?

For the last decade on Halloween 🎃 I’ve put up an outdoor theater to watch themed movies 🎥 while the kids trick-or-treat. I have a popcorn 🍿 maker going and everyone has a folding chair.

#Halloween2025 #trickortreat #movies

Happy Caturday, readers & writers!
#ShamelessSelfpromoSaturday

#ReadingCommunity find new books

#WritersCommunity post your links

Connect with a fellow author.

#writerslift #writingcommunity
#BooksWorthReading

a cartoon drawing of a calendar with smtwtfs written at the top ALT: a cartoon drawing of a calendar with smtwtfs written at the top

Happy Friday! As of today, there are only:

- 42 days until Halloween 🎃
- 69 days until Thanksgiving 🦃
- 97 days until Christmas 🎄
- 104 days until New Year's Day 🥂

Spend time with your family as 2025 winds down

Founders Online: From George Washington to Officers of the Army, 15 March 1783 From George Washington to Officers of the Army, 15 March 1783

-George Washington (1731-1799), founding father, first US President, General of the Armies; speech on March 15, 1783.

Source: founders.archives.gov/documents/Wa...

“… if Men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences...reason is of no use to us-the freedom of Speech may be taken away-and, dumb & silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.”

Parents do you enforce rules on your children’s electronic screen usage?

“We found that having at least one parental rule… was positively linked with longer sleep duration compared to having no rule whatsoever.“

Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

#unplugged #insomniac #ParentingTip

Parents, talk to your children:

“There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men.”

-John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher, writer, and physician

#WritingCommunity #writerlift

Good luck.