A lot of interesting and amazing things happened this week (including Rep. Jamie Raskin’s moving argument on Day 1 of the impeachment hearings) but this Cat/Zoom debacle totally won the internet for 2021 so far:
We have sooo many questions (the Judge leaked it?? Is that ethical?) but we focused on the question on everyone’s mind - HOW DO I GET THAT FILTER? We immediately got to work. Apparently the actual filter is circa 2010 from the now famous Cat-Man’s old webcam so we aren’t actually sure that it’s possible to replicate (although someone on the interwebs has GOT to be working on fixing that). In the meantime, you can download SnapCamera to have some fun! After you download this free app, close and reopen your Zoom app. Then click the menu next to your video button and a new option, Snap Camera, should appear. Work through the different filter options on Snap Camera. I took the liberty of demoing a few for you - you’re welcome!
Where are they now?
MAA alum Emily Liner, who worked with us from 2008 to 2013, recently relocated to her home state of Mississippi to open Friendly City Books, a new independent bookstore. While at Molly Allen Associates, Emily worked closely with Rep. Sanford Bishop, Rep. Sandy Levin, Rep. Mike Ross, and the Blue Dog PAC.
I decided to open a bookstore when I started to seriously consider moving back to Mississippi. There's been a lot of concern in my home state about the "brain drain" of highly educated Mississippians moving away permanently, and I wanted to reverse the role I played in that trend. I started house hunting in Columbus while I was teaching entrepreneurship and civic engagement at an extracurricular program for high schoolers, and I kept thinking to myself, "There really should be an independent bookstore here." I finally decided that I should follow the advice I was giving to my students and go for it. It's been incredibly rewarding so far!
You can support Emily's new venture by buying books through her Bookshop.org online store. She's curated an exclusive list of reading recommendations for our blog, including a special edition of Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem available for preorder. Emily has also written a children's book, Stretch Like Scarlet. Signed copies are available at stretchlikescarlet.com.
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First Dogs
The best new Twitter account goes to: Champ and Major Biden!