Of braggarts and Mona’s smile

Short shots from here and there . . .

Legendary St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Dizzy Dean was never shy about telling you how good he was. He explained that, “It ain’t bragging if you can do it.” Diz proved it time and again.

Fast-forward to Baker Mayfield who just may be the greatest QB he’s ever known. Speaking of the Cleveland Browns and their top draft pick, Baker said, “If anyone’s going to turn them around, it’s me. I am the most accurate quarterback in this draft by far.”

■ Timely quotes for the occasion:

 Bragging is not an attractive trait, but let’s be honest. A man who catches a large fish doesn’t enter home through the back door.” –Ann Landers

“The only way to cure an egotist is by surgery: Amputation from the neck up.” –Anonymous.

■ To stand or not for the National Anthem:

Many believe Colin Kaepernick has a right to kneel during the NFL pre-game anthem in symbolic protest, and they reprimand team owners for declining to add him to their rosters. If Colin has a right to protest, and he does, do not owners have a right to hire whomever they want?

What about cake decorators and screen T-shirt printers?

Should man’s law force a cake artist to build a wedding monument in batter and icing to something that goes against his faith? Does a custom screen print business have the right to refuse putting wording on a T-shirt if it insults his principles?

There was a time when we didn’t have these kinds of discussions. The question here is have we progressed or regressed?

■ When you’re smiling:

Although Mona Lisa is now 600 years old, art lovers still wonder about her smile. Experts now say Mona Lisa’s so-called “uncatchable smile” was a deliberate effect created by Leonardo da Vinci.

Mona Lisa appears to be smiling, but at closer look art gurus agree that her mouth seems a tad down-turned. The question today is whether or not this effect—created through a combination of colours and shades—was intended by da Vinci.

Dr. Alessandro Soranzo, an expert in visual perception, concluded, “Given da Vinci’s mastery of the technique, and its subsequent use in the Mona Lisa, it is conceivable that the ambiguity of the effect was intentional.”

■ Let it be said:

“I’m a great housekeeper,” Zsa Zsa Gabor once told a reporter. “Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.”

Actress Carrie Fisher got it right when she stated, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

Finally: Best wishes to friend and fellow newsman Ted Dyrda.

Ted Buss is a former business and sports editor at the Times Record News. He can be reached by emailing tedbuss@hotmail.com.