Talk with you later...........................

Visually weird..................but really good

Tom Jones with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.....Long Time

Opening paragraphs...............

He no longer called her by his dead wife's name, even though the resemblance was strong enough to make his heart ache.  Sometimes, when he woke and found her sitting next to his hospital bed, he thought he was hallucinating.
-David Morrell,  Scavenger

Fun with the language......................

A brief exposition on How To Write by Frank L. Visco:

"My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

1.   Always avoid alliteration.

2.   Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3.   Avoid cliches like the plague.  (They're old hat.)

4.   Employ the vernacular.

5.   Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

6.   Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

7.   It is wrong to ever split and infinitive.

8.   Contractions aren't necessary.

9.   Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

10. One should never generalize.

11. Eliminate quotations.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:  "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

13. Don't be redundant;  don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

14. Profanity sucks.

15. Be more or less specific.

16. Understatement is always best.

17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

18. One-word sentences?  Eliminate.

19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20. The passive voice is to be avoided.

21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

23. Who needs rhetorical questions?"

For the curious amongst you, the Oracle Google is not full of easy information about Frank L. Visco.  It is pretty sure, however, that these rules first appeared in the June 1986 issue of Writer's Digest.

Fifty years ago.........................

Burt Lancaster, et. al.................................The Leopard

The kids will be just fine....................

"By the Spring of 1998, Jonathan was 13, and his ambitions were growing. He had glimpsed the essential truth of the market: that even people who called themselves professionals are often incapable of independent thought and that most people, though obsessed with money, have little ability to make decisions about it."
-Michael Lewis, as excerpted from this wonderful, if somewhat dated, tale.   Lewis offers a peek behind the curtain to find out what the S.E.C. and Wall Street are really like.  Our country is in the best of hands.

thanks ryan

Cultural Offering........................

.........................................on pursuing your passion.

non-chicken cartoons via

Community building....................

Doing one's civic duty includes casting your ballot.  God bless Ohio and their system of absentee voting.  Today, I had the honor of being the 2,413th absentee voter in Licking County for the upcoming November elections.  There were very few (2) contested races to decide, but one VERY important issue.  The Newark City School District is back in front of the voters, asking for the renewal of an existing levy.  School levies in Ohio are often tough to pass.  They are the one tax people get to vote on.  Frustration with all taxation gets vented on the schools.    We don't have kids in the system (for some reason that made sense at the time, they went through the Newark Catholic system), so my information is not first hand, but the Newark schools seem like a well run, fiscally prudent, kids-first operation.  A healthy community (and healthy property values) begin with a healthy school district.  I hope (all of you who are so eligible) you will join me in voting FOR the levy renewal.  Thank thee kindly.

Wrap your body round my soul..................

Mountain.........................Taunta/Nantucket Sleighride

Darn.................................

From the Heartland.......................

John asks one the most important questions.................

Why are we so reluctant to ask questions?

Utopias....................................

"For the past century, we have endured one variation of “planned utopia” after another, and it has been a grotesque carnival of incompetence, corruption, repression, violence, and shattered dreams."

-as excerpted from this Samizdata blog post.

Fifty years ago....................

The Great Escape.............Steve McQueen borrows a motorcycle

Opening paragraphs................

Steve McQueen's life was predestined.  "My life was screwed up before I was born" was how he summarized it.
-Marshall Terrill,  Steve McQueen:  Portrait of an American Rebel

Predestined...................................

Do you think................?

"Our estimates imply that most of the persistent increase in unemployment during the Great Recession can be accounted for by the unprecedented extensions of unemployment benefit eligibility." 
-as excerpted from this Marginal Revolution post.

via

Forward looking..............................

From The Aleph Blog:  Five important lessons for anyone seriously interested in investing.

First lesson: don’t be envious.  Aside from being a sin, it almost always induces bad investment and consumption decisions.

It is not too late...........................

.........to rate your boss.   I gave myself a B-.  I also just Kindleized (sorry Jeff) You, Only Better. Expecting a better grade soon.

Frank plays some guitar.............................

Frank Zappa...........................Watermelon In Easter Hay

Opening paragraphs.........................

Zappa means "hoe" in Italian, symbol of the back-breaking toil of the Sicilian peasants who had to scratch a living from the dry stony ground.  Frank Zappa's father, Francis Vincent Zappa, was born on 7 May 1905 in Partinico, western Sicily, a small town of about 20,000 people.  Partinico is twelve miles west of Palermo along a twisting mountain road.  As area of astonishing beauty, with Greek temples, Roman bridges, Saracen mosques, Romanesque churches and cloistered monasteries set among olive groves and vineyards, it is also the Mafia heartland.
-Barry Miles,  Zappa:  A Biography

Deviation............................

thanks rob

Zappa................................

Frank Zappa (1940-1993) was a talented and prolific musician, composer, and all-around artist.  He had this fierce independence, so categorize him at your own risk.  About the only thing you can say for sure was that Zappa was not a Reagan Republican. More about him here and here.  He was highly quotable.  To wit:

"Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our mediocre educational system.Forget about the Senior Prom and go to the library and educate yourself if you've got any guts. Some of you like Pep rallies and plastic robots who tell you what to read. Forget I mentioned it. This song has no message. Rise for the flag salute."

'It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice — there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."

"The things that were happening in 1955 were cosmic ... in terms of music history."

"If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library."

"A wise man once said, 'never discuss philosophy or politics in a disco environment.'"

"The most important thing to do in your life is to not interfere with somebody else's life."

"Let's not be too rough on our own ignorance; it's what makes America great!"

"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds."
"Take the Kama Sutra. How many people died from the Kama Sutra, as opposed to the Bible? Who wins?"

"We live in a very special time right now. At no other time in history has there been such mass disillusionment in terms of reliance on governing functions. Most people don’t want to come to terms with that. It’s been proven over and over again that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes, but most people don’t like to look at naked emperors. In the process of turning around to avert their eyes, they saw the discotheques and a few other things and latched onto them."

"Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff."

"The cool-person syndrome is peculiarly American. Part of that has to do with the way the educational business is run in the U.S. It’s not based on how much you can teach your child: it’s based on how much money the suppliers of basic materials can make off your child."

"The lifestyle that I have is probably neither desirable nor useful to most people."

Temptations................................

The pecan braids from Panera Bread.....................OMG!

Temptations.................................

Your faithful blogger has always had a difficult time believing in the "inerrancy" of the Bible.  Spoken in Aramaic, not written down for years, translated a bunch of times.  The opportunities for mischief are endless.  The Lord's Prayer is the perfect example. The text in my version says "Lead us not into temptation."  How are we doing with that?  Don't you think it's possible the hearers misheard.  Wouldn't it be a lot more useful if the prayer said instead, "Leave us not in temptation?"  Just asking.  Here are a few more quotes on the subject of temptation:

“I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.” 
“Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.” 
-Mae West

“I can resist anything except temptation.” 
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.” 
-Oscar Wilde

Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.
-Ambrose Bierce 

“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” 
-Will Rogers

The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.
-Thomas Merton 
Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden maybe get so boring that eating the apple was justified?” 
-Chuck Palahniuk

"We gain the strength of the temptation we resist."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The problem with temptation is that you may not get another chance.” 
-Laurence J. Peter

“... the devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you've ever wished for ...” 
-Tucker Max

“Lead me not into temptation. I can find the way myself.” 
-Jane Seabrook

“Saintliness is also a temptation.” 
-Jean Anouilh

Fifty years ago.......................

The Great Escape........................................the trailer

Happiness versus meaning............

You’d think that picking apples was the fun part of the day, interrupted by a farm emergency. But in fact, the best part of the day was saving the calf. We look for moments of happiness, but there is not much lasting happiness from a few bucolic moments in a field of apple trees.

What lasts is having meaning. The kids felt important bringing the calf to safety. 

-Penelope Trunk, as excerpted from this blog post

Can I get an "Amen"..................

thanks hugh

You mean it's not the school's fault...?

"But experience shows that nothing - not money, decentralization, or mayoral oversight - can fully compensate for the downward pressure of parents who don't care enough to show up at PTA meetings."
-Clark Whelton, as excerpted from this blog post

Have not, will travel..................

R.E.M..................................................I've Been High

Fun with the language..................

Let me know if this pronunciation guide helped you:

Joie de vivre (French pronunciation: ​[ʒwa də vivʁ], joy of living) is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life; an exultation of spirit.

If I had a boss, I'd rate her.........................

Don't forget to visit eBossRate.com and rate your Boss!

Everything you need to know about................

.........................the debt ceiling crisis.  Seriously.

A collection of......................

...........random thoughts from Thomas Sowell.  One sample:

"The more I study the history of intellectuals, the more they seem like a wrecking crew, dismantling civilization bit by bit — replacing what works with what sounds good."

thanks mark

Fifty years ago..................

Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs......The Ballad of Jed Clampett

Adding and subtracting........................

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Us and Them.....................

"Much has been written and spoken about the deep divide between “red” and “blue” America, but the real chasm increasingly is between Washington and the rest of the country. This disconnect may increase as both conservatives and liberals outside the Beltway look with growing disdain upon their “leaders” inside the imperial capital."
-Joel Kotkin, as excepted from this blog post

You probably won't read about this in big journalism, but.........

"Washington Redskins drop 'Washington' from their name as offensive to most Americans"
-as taken from here

thanks Kurt

Stories................................

"Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories. And they will figure out how those stories apply to them."

-Randy Pausch

Aesop tells a tale.....................

         The Lark and Her Young Ones

A Lark had made her nest in the early spring on the young green wheat.  The brood had almost grown to their full strength and attained the use of their wings and the full plumage of their feathers, when the owner of the field, looking over his ripe crop, said, "The time has come when I must ask all my neighbors to help me with my harvest."  One of the young Larks heard his speech and related it to his mother, inquiring of her to what place they should move for safety.  "There is no occasion to move yet, my son," she replied; "the man who only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest."  The owner of the field cam again a few days later and saw the wheat shedding the grain from excess of ripeness.  He said, "I will come myself tomorrow with my laborers, and with as many reapers as I can hire, and will get in the harvest."  The Lark on hearing these words said to her brood, "It is time now to be off, my little ones, for the man is in earnest this time; he no longer trusts his friends, but will reap the field himself."

     Self-help is the best help.

Peter Sellers: On asking the wrong question.....

Never made it as a wise man...........

Nickelback..................................How You Remind Me
  (as always, please click through to YouTube Central)

Feels like we're close to taking a day off........

Can we buy a few rounds for Capitol Hill?

"Alcohol is a very necessary article...It makes life bearable to millions of people who could not endure their existence if they were quite sober.  It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning."
-George Bernard Shaw

image via

Simple.....................................

thanks rob

Fifty years ago...........................

Willie Nelson....................................Half A Man

Addictions......................

"The addiction that we should be worrying about is the addiction of regulators to harmful regulation."
-Matt Ridley, as excerpted from this blog post

Fun with the language..................

Let me know if this pronunciation advice helped you:

Waylon Arnold Jennings (pronounced /ˈweɪlən ˈdʒɪnɪnz/; June 15, 1937–February 13, 2002) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician.

courtesy of wikipedia

Hey, wait a minute..............

............I like Nickelback.

A post-romantic haze.....................

Band of Heathens......................You're Gonna Miss Me




Thanks Jetboy

Emergency................................

thanks nan