You might think you are hallucinating when you drive down Route 128 in Westford, Vermont. There is a seven-foot statue of a raised middle finger mounted on a 16-foot pole. In fact, there are three, complete with spotlights!
A local artisan created the sculptures at Ted Pelkey's request. Ted erected the installation after a lengthy fight with the town’s Development Review Board. The board denied him a permit for an 8,000-square-foot garage on his 11-acre property.
Pelkey said he installed the sculptures to encourage Westford residents to "have a really long look at the people who are running their town." (Quote courtesy of Burlington Free Press.)
You might assume it’s illegal to have these sculptures on his property, but apparently they meet the standards for public artwork. Billboards are outlawed in Vermont, but public artwork is legal.
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I recently came across Brady Rogers’ campaign signs for Kelowna City Council in Kelowna, British Columbia. Instead of touting his qualifications, he leaned into his lack of knowledge. The yard signs were hilarious – and they went viral.
They featured the following messages: “I barely want to do this” and “Fine. I’ll do it.” (Side note: he won!)
Whenever we talk about communicating with an audience, we usually default to online tactics. We target social media platforms or share information via email. But, there are many effective channels that have a much more physical presence.
Now I’m not advocating that you install a giant middle finger to get your audience’s attention, but we need to think beyond online channels. There is a reason political campaigns and contractors rely on yard signs for communication. “Now Hiring” banners are draped across businesses because they work. Well-designed billboards can have an enormous impact and start a buzz.
Next time you need to communicate a program or message, consider physical channels to connect with your audience. You will likely be surprised by their impact!
Deep-seated or deep-seeded?
Is it deep-seated or deep-seeded?
If you guessed deep-seated, you are correct!
Deep-seated means firmly established or situated far below the surface. While "seated" and "seeded" sound similar, they are not interchangeable.
She doesn't want to travel to Hawaii because she has a deep-seated fear of flying.
Another place these two words get mixed up is when discussing sports. For example, if a team or individual is in a tournament, they are likely "seeded."
However, it will always be "seated" if it's preceded by "deep" (and doesn't refer to a sports team or competition).
Have you ever confused deep-seated with deep-seeded?
A MUCH-NEEDED LAUGH!
INSPIRATION
Imagine being the last person on Earth who spoke your language. That was Marie Wilcox's reality. She was the last person who spoke Wukchumni, a Native American language.
To preserve her fading language, she began writing down the words she remembered on scraps of paper and in notebooks. Before long, she was entering the words and their meaning into a document on her computer. She called it the Wukchumni Dictionary.
"I'm just a pecker (on the computer). One word at a time. I was slow. Just peck. Peck. Peck," said Marie.
Her daughter, Jennifer Malone, helped her compile the document, and together, they taught tribe members Wukchumni at a career center. Marie’s grandson, Donovan, also helped her record her dictionary, so there would be an audio record as well.
At one point in time, Marie estimated that the language was spoken by up to 50,000 people. Now, less than 200 tribe members remain. It is one of 130 endangered Native American languages in the US.
Marie passed away in 2021, but her legacy lives on in the Wukchumni language. We are so fortunate that she invested the time into preserving her language. Our world is richer because of her efforts! If you want to learn more about her story, check out the short, nine-minute YouTube documentary below.
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