Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Monday, May 28, 2012

American Bible Challenge

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Anyone want to be on a game show?

Jeff Foxworthy will be hosting a new game show titled The American Bible Challenge. The game show will feature teams of three people who have competitive spirits, great personal testimonies, a general knowledge of pop culture -- and, of course, you have to know your Bible.

Could an Atheist Team Win The American Bible Challenge?

Imagine a team of well-versed atheists taking first place! And all winnings go to charities.

This should be a funny show. After all, it's Jeff Foxworthy.

Jeff Foxworthy on YouTube speaks about the show here

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Check out this video. It's less than one minute long but it says a lot.

Jesus Christ declares, I Will Survive!

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WORD FOR TODAY

vicissitude [vi-sis-i-tood]
noun
1.
a change or variation occurring in the course of something.
2.
interchange or alternation, as of states or things.
3.
vicissitudes, successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions, as of life or fortune; ups and downs.
4.
regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.
5.
change; mutation; mutability.


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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Jim Thorpe
Born May 28, 1888
Died Mar. 28, 1953

James Francis "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to "Bright Path") was an American athlete of mixed ancestry (Caucasian and Native American). Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football (collegiate and professional), and also played professional baseball and basketball.

 Born May 28, 1944

Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001.


ALSO


Ian Fleming
 Born May 28, 1908
Died Aug. 12, 1964

Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer. Fleming is best known for creating the fictional spy James Bond and the series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character.
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Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully
as when they do it from religious conviction.

--Pascal

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Just Some Bits And Pieces


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Fun Factoid:

In July 1902 Theodore Roosevelt named Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. as his first appointee to the Supreme Court. Twenty months later Holmes voted against his president in the biggest railroad trust-busting case of the time, United States v. Northern Securities.

"I could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone than that," Roosevelt declared.

LINK

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Is This A Sexist Image?


The above picture was taken from an entry in Taslima's blog titled Sexism Still Exists and I found the sexism claim to be trivial and silly (and said so in a below the blog 'comment'.) It's advertising, is all. It works. And for all I know it might even have been conceived by a female advertising agent.

Sexism? Good Grief!
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Things Dr. Oz Will Probably Not Tell You

What's so great about the pomegranate?

Pom Wonderful company says it's a miraculous health food.

What's so wonderful about Pom Wonderful?

What the bible says about the pomegranate:

"I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate."
--Song of Solomon 8:2

(Hey! Is that some kind of poetic sex metaphor?)

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WORD OF THE DAY

semiotics or semiology
noun
The science that deals with signs or sign language.
The use of signs in signaling, as with a semaphore.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Wild Bill Hickok
 Born May 27, 1837
Died Aug, 02, 1876

James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.

ALSO

Harlan Ellison

 
Born May 27, 1934

Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.

ALSO

Vincent Price

 
Born May 27, 1911
Died Oct. 25, 1993

Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic performances in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.
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When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.
--Ernest Hemingway

Saturday, May 26, 2012

What Will Be Will Be (?)



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Okay, I have just begun to work on the first of a series of recollections from my younger days. If all goes as planned, each will be presented here in the blog in the form of a fictional story, even though most of the incidents will (for the most part) be true happenings, or at least based on true happenings. Don't know how long it will take before I am satisfied with it. Could be a day or two, or three or four, or quite a bit longer.

Sometimes while revising the first rough draft of a story I have been known to dwell upon the best choice of a  particular word or phrase for way too much longer than would seem necessary to a normal person.

Yeah, I do.
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Last Sunday, out on the pool deck at my son's house, a big black widow spider made itself known. I snapped a shot of it just before it seems to have somehow mysteriously disappeared forever.


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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Robert William Chambers
 
Born May 26, 1865
Died Dec. 16, 1933

 Robert William Chambers was an American artist and writer. His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow, an 1895 collection of weird short stories, connected by the theme of the fictitious drama The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it insane. E. F. Bleiler described The King in Yellow as one of the most important works of American supernatural fiction.

 The King In Yellow is available for download FREE in Kindle edition from Amazon.com.

Here is the link

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Things To Come


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One of the earliest tips I received from the professionals when I decided to become a writer was, "Write what you know." The trouble was, being quite young at that time I was convinced that I knew a great deal about everything.

When I finally realized how little I did know, I set out to learn about life.

I learned (the hard way, as always) about:

- How different people in different locations acted and reacted to a sudden stranger in their midst while on the road in the 1950s.

- Las Vegas in the 1960s as seen by a penniless drifter temporarily lodged within a dingy room in a cheap hotel.

- What it was like to be broke and hungry in a small town in Nebraska and then be hired to rake hay in the meadows of a huge ranch.

- Walt Disney World in the 1990s through the eyes of a Houseman slinking around among the chambermaids and the janitors soaking up the truths of the underground beneath the glitter of The Magic Kingdom.

And more . . .


If I can do that to my own satisfaction I might in upcoming days fill this blog with (mostly) true recollections of the various incidents that befell me in those early times.

I might . . .

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

What To Do . . .


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I am still considering a complete change of content for this blog. It's either that or abandon it altogether.

Also, I am thinking about buying a Kindle.

Decisions, decisions, decisions . . .

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WORD FOR TODAY

vernacular
[ver-NACK-yew-luhr]
Noun   
The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.

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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY


Gary Burghoff 
 Born May 24, 1943

Gary Richard Burghoff is an American actor, known for playing the character Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly in the M*A*S*H movie and TV series.


ALSO


Priscilla Presley
Born May 24, 1945

Priscilla Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the ex-wife of singer Elvis Presley, and the mother of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley.

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All our final decisions are made in a state of mind that is not going to last.
--Marcel Proust

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

To Live Is To Change

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I am finding it more difficult each day to write anything worthwhile. This may be because of a weakening of my mental abilities due to advancing age. Or it might be because I have reached a loftier plateau in my lifelong climb toward the higher peaks of laziness. Or it could be that I never actually possessed any special mental abilities in the first place.

Anyway, I have been thinking of abandoning the present infrastructure of this blog and redesigning it completely... as to content that is.

We shall see what we shall see.

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WORD FOR TODAY

paean [pee-uhn]
noun
Any loud and joyous song; a song of triumph.
An enthusiastic expression of praise.

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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY

Drew Carey
Born May 23, 1958

Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, comedian, sports executive, and game show host.


ALSO


Michael William Chambers

My Eldest Son

Born May 23, 1960


ALSO


Ken Jennings

 
Born May 23, 1974

Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows.

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Forgive, son; men are men; they needs must err.
--Euripides

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

73rd Birthday


Last Saturday, May 19, 2012 marked the 73rd anniversary of my birth. Now I am not only a cantankerous curmudgeon, I'm a really, really old cantankerous curmudgeon.

My eldest son and his wife took me out to dinner on my birthday. Also along to 'celebrate' was my daughter and two grandsons. We dined at a restaurant with an Old West theme. For the most part the menu was different cuts of beef, mostly huge steaks. But there was also mashed potatoes with thick and hearty deep brown gravy. And smoke grilled sweet corn -- and western style beans. The waiters were all dressed as early American cowboys, faded denim jacket-shirts and jeans, boots, and ten gallon stetsons. Our waiter said his name was Doc Holliday.

Midway through the meal a tall, lean lawman strolled through the room, pausing at each table to make fun of the most tender-footed among us.


The next day, Sunday, we all went shopping, at Trader Joe's and several other retail stores, mostly featuring organic foods and fruits, such as Sunflower Foods. In the late afternoon my son grilled a variety of things, including a beer can chicken using a can of cream soda instead of beer. Delicious. Oh, and a big bowls of fresh shrimp, too.

One of my grandsons soaking up poolside rays
The water temperature in the pool was just right for those who like to swim, including the three dogs.


Which reminds me --
Eva was on her best behavior.
(In my opinion.)


That evening we all watched the solar eclipse, through proper dark glasses, of course.

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WORD FOR TODAY


panacea  [pan-un-see-uh]
noun
1.  A remedy claimed to be curative of all problems or disorders; a cure-all.
2.  An answer or solution for all problems or difficulties:

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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY


 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Born May 22, 1859
Died July 07, 1930

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes,


ALSO
Born May 22, 1907
Died July 11, 1989

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, was an English actor, director, and producer. One of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, he was the youngest actor to be knighted and the first to be elevated to the peerage. Actor Spencer Tracy said that Olivier was 'the greatest actor in the English-speaking world.'
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There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition.
--Rod Serling

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Monday, May 14, 2012

Blue Monday . . .


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This is the location reserved for words of wisdom. Too bad I have none to offer on this specific day.

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WORD FOR TODAY

venerable
adj.
Commanding respect by virtue of age, dignity, character, or position.

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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY


Bobby Darin

Born May 14, 1936
Died Dec. 20, 1973

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto) was an American singer who performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country. He started as a songwriter for Connie Francis, and then recorded his own first million-seller "Splish Splash" in 1958. This was followed by "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea", which brought him world fame. In 1962, he won a Golden Globe for his first film Come September, co-starring his wife Sandra Dee.

 Bobby Daring and Sandra Dee

 
ALSO


Born May 14, 1944

George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones.

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Cleverness is not wisdom.
--Euripides

Sunday, May 13, 2012

What Is A Rainbow?

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When a child asks, "What's a rainbow?" the responsible adult should provide an answer based upon that adult's knowledge or belief. Below are two possible sources for answers --

From The Christian Bible:

According to Genesis, after Noah's flood God put the rainbow in the sky as the sign of His promise that He would never again destroy the earth with flood (Genesis 9:13–17):



I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.


A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multi-colored arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.

In a "primary rainbow", the arc shows red on the outer part, and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted while entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it.

Rainbows also form in mist such as that of a waterfall


If a child asks you, "What's a rainbow," what would 'you' say?
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WORD FOR TODAY
assize [uh-sahyz]
noun
1.  A session of a court.
2.  A decree or edict rendered at such a session.
Synonyms: assembly, court, decree, enactment, hearing, inquest, measure, ordinance, rule, session, trial, tribunal

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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY

Beatrice (Bea) Arthur
Born May 13, 1922
Died Apr. 25, 2009

American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both roles.

ALSO

Born May 13, 1914
Died Apr. 12, 1981

Joseph Louis Barrow, better known as Joe Louis, was an American professional boxer and the World Heavyweight Champion from 1937 to 1949. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber he is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

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Superstition is the religion of feeble minds.
--Edmund Burke

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Aw . . . Go Eat A Worm!


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Monica Martinez is starting up a new business in San Francisco. It is a food stand where she sells edible insects to the public. She hopes beetle larvae (meal worms?)  in taco shells will one day become a staple for the restaurant crowd.


Edible Insects article at the Huffington Post.
Edible Insects video
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WORD FOR TODAY

exegesis [ex-uh-JEE-sis]
noun
critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible.

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 BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

George Carlin

Born May 12, 1937
Died June 22, 2008

 George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, actor and writer/author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums


ALSO


Emilio Estevez


Born May 12, 1962

Son of Martin Sheen and brother of Charlie Sheen, Estevez was a member of the Brat Pack

He is well known for his role in the movie, The Breakfast Club

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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
--George Carlin

Friday, May 11, 2012

No Charge

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Someday all essays, opinions, comments, and stories, all works of fact or fiction will be posted for viewing by all people of the planet, completely free of charge. Won't happen in my lifetime, of course... but I can still imagine such a world.

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WORD FOR TODAY

eponymous [uh-PON-uh-muhs]

One who is referred to as eponymous is someone who gives his or her name to something,

North American examples include the Nixon Era, Trudeaumania, Jeffersonian economics, Jacksonian democracy, McCarthyism, Thatcherism, Kennedy's Camelot, or Reaganomics.

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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY


Phil Silvers
 Born May 11, 1911
Died Nov 01, 1985

Phil Silvers is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Sergeant Bilko.


ALSO


 Born May 11,1912
Died Dec. 20, 2001

Foster Brooks was an American actor and comedian most famous for his portrayal of a lovable drunken man in many nightclub performances and television programs. He regularly appeared on The Dean Martin Show in the 1970s (for which he garnered an Emmy nomination in 1974.)

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For other nations, utopia is a blessed past never to be recovered; for Americans it is just beyond the horizon.
--Henry A. Kissinger

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Not Always What It Seems To Be

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Believe it or not, the latest picture of Hillary Clinton has actually made me soften up a bit about my ongoing, often overly harsh criticisms of her. The surprising lady has now won my approval and my respect. Not that she would care or even know about that. But at last she seems to be casting off some of her old phony persona along with the extreme makeup. Good for her. Good for the real Hillary.



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Taslima Nasreen is an award-winning writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist, known for her powerful writing on women's oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death.

But sometimes Taslima goes a bit overboard in her blogging enthusiasm.

For example,when she wrote:

"Atheists need more enlightenment to become humanists  -- I dream of a day when all atheists would be free from racism, misogyny, homophobia, megalomania, and other silly problems."

Taslima and others who write with passion for an ideal seem to believe that those {deluded idiots?} with other convictions need to become more enlightened, -- and enlightenment is what I believe, no matter what it is that I believe.

I Am Woman . . . Hear Me Roar!


That is not a criticism . . . well, yes it is; it's criticism.

Taslima's words above appeared HERE

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Because I am an atheist . . . is an open invitation to readers to tell their personal reasons for not bowing down to the pressures of conforming to traditional religious beliefs. One of these, from Jennifer, I found to be simple, clearly-written, and sensible. Below is Jennifer's first paragraph:

Because I am an atheist I am able to truly appreciate my marriage. It’s not foreordained that I love my husband, which means that every minute I spend with him is a conscious choice to invest time and love and energy in this relationship. I don’t feel like I’m failing God when I fail to do my part to maintain the relationship; instead, I just recognize that it’s a failure on my part to put in the work necessary to sustain this choice that makes me so happy, and I fix it. I don’t get complacent about it because, again, it’s a choice, and it takes work. We’ve only been together a few years, and we are a good enough fit that it hasn’t felt like work yet, but in the more difficult moments we’ve had I have reveled in the fact that no, I am staying *here* because it is what *I* want, and that he is doing the same, because we love and value one another, not because we feel like we have to. It’s glorious.

Read the rest of it HERE

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WORD FOR TODAY

apocryphal [uh-pock-ruh-fuhl]
adj
1.  of questionable authenticity
2.  of or like the Apocrypha
3.  untrue; counterfeit

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Fred Astaire



Born May 10, 1899
Died June 22, 1987

Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz) was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years,


ALSO


Born May 10, 1936

Gary Owens was the deep voiced announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Remember?

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Man is certainly crazy. He could not make a mite, and he makes gods by the dozen.
--Michel De Montaigne

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Time Wasted Is Time Unused. Or Is It?


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In a previous entry I mentioned the birthday of Teresa Brewer, a singer many of us played on the jukebox back in the 1950s and 60s. I failed to link to some of her songs. There are some at Youtube.

A Tear Fell

Ricochet Romance

Music, Music, Music

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National Rankings for Best High Schools are posted at the USNews website.

USNews states: "We evaluated nearly 22,000 public high schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals based on state proficiency standards, how well they prepare students for college, and other factors."

Basis Schools in Tucson, AZ was ranked number 6 (of nearly 22,000) And in the Charter School category, Basis Tucson is #1 nationally

Yes, you guessed it . . . two close family member of mine teach at Basis Charter Schools in Tucson.

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Is it erotica, pornography, or just plain stupidity?

Mythical swan photo taken down after 'bestiality' fears


A photograph of a naked woman and a swan was taken down after a police officer complained that it appeared to "condone bestiality" an art gallery has claimed.

What next?

Story HERE

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WORDS FOR TODAY

In the first paragraph of a Chronicle Review story by Terry Castle titled Don't Pick Up, I read the following: "The piece, by Craig Lambert, one of the magazine's editors, is entitled "Nonstop: Today's Superhero Undergraduates Do '3000 Things at 150 Percent."

Since Terry Castle is a professor of English at Stanford University, I was startled by her use of 'entitled' instead of 'titled.' I had learned many years ago that 'titled' means having the tile while 'entitled' means 'having been granted.'

But now I find that the precise definitions for those two words have changed since the dark ages when I was in school. Online dictionaries now declare:

title
noun
The name of a book, composition, or other artistic work

entitle
verb
Give (someone) a legal right or a just claim to receive or do something.
Give (something, esp. a text or work of art) a particular title.

Yep . . . "times they are a'changin."

One paragraph in Ms Castle's article caught my attention. It is this:

"This is the play-date generation . . . There was a time when children came home from school and just played randomly with their friends. Or hung around and got bored, and eventually that would lead you on to something. Kids don't get to do that now. Busy parents book them into things constantly—violin lessons, ballet lessons, swimming teams. The kids get the idea that someone will always be structuring their time for them."

Even her own Stanford students' lives, writes the professor, are likewise "chockablock." (Squeezed together; jammed; full; overcrowded)

It seems to me that she is perhaps a bit out of touch with reality, that this scenario she describes is only true for a minimal number of today's children, those living in the storybook world of the financially privileged Harvardites and the clueless wannabes, the white collar wage-slaves that imitate the upper class. The masses of 'plain folk' still allow their children the freedom to seek out and enjoy the fruits (both the bitter and the sweet) of their own discoveries. They have no choice, as has always been the case.

The Terry Castle article
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BORN ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY

 John Brown
  Born May 9 1800
Died Dec 2, 1859

John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States.

ALSO
 Born May 9, 1918
Died Apr 7, 2012

Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace was an American journalist, game show host, actor and media personality. Most know for being one of the original correspondents for CBS' 60 Minutes.

ALSO
  
Candice Bergen
 
Born May 9, 1946

Candice Patricia Bergen is a famous American actress. She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown (1988–1998), for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal (2004–2008), for which she was nominated for two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Her father was Edgar Bergen
 
He was a ventriloquist, comedian, and actor.

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I love life because what more is there.
--Anthony Hopkins


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The New And The Old


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Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James draws a devoted crowd to book signing. That's the (paraphrased) title of a Washington Post article I just read. Strangely enough I had never heard of that author which probably gives a hint about how uncool I am.

One of the reader comments printed below the article was:

I just wasted several hours trying to read this amateur drivel, which after the halfway mark I set aside as a lost cause. The dialogue is childish as to be utterly boring. It makes me wonder, who in the world is reading this slop and how in the world did it get to be a N.Y.T. 1 best seller? After checking it out on Goodreads, I find that it's the kind of book you love or hate. More readers disliked the book than liked it. It must be the erotica that has attracted so many readers, but it does not hold a candle to "The Story of O" as literary erotica.

My advice; don't waste your time or money.


Now I am wondering if I should buy and read the book (or books) --

I'll think about it.

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Press Office  SSA
For Immediate Release

Statement of Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, on the Initial Success of the New Online Social Security Statement: I am pleased with the public’s initial response to our new online Social Security Statement. Since our May 1 launch, more than 130,000 people have successfully created an online account to access their Statement information, with the first 100,000 coming online in less than three days.


ALSO, People should get in the habit of checking their online Statement each year -- around their birthday, for example.  To learn more about it, or to try it yourself, please go here.

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WORD FOR TODAY

erotica
noun
Literature or art intended to arouse sexual desire.

Wikipedia describes erotica as being works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions. Wiki also says that distinction is often made between erotica and pornography, but I have yet to understand the precise difference between the two. To me it seems that they are the same except for a disparity of opinion of those doing the judging.

The Naked Maja by Francisco de Goya

I would say that the above image is neither erotic nor pornographic. It's merely an illustration of a woman who is not wearing clothes. It is no more sexually provocative than is the image below.

The Clothed Maja by Francisco de Goya

Earlier I wrote that the above image is neither erotic nor pornographic. But if I speak that sentence aloud I am conflicted, as they say these days. Should the word neither be pronounced 'nee-thur' or 'nye-thur?' It seems strange to me, but I pronounce it both ways at different times. When speaking aloud I usually pronounce it nee-thur since that was the way I was taught to pronounce it. But when I encounter the word when I am reading, I (mentally) hear myself pronouncing it nye-thur.

Go figure!
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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Ricky Nelson
 Born May 8, 1940
Died Dec 31, 1985
(in a plane crash)

Ricky Nelson (along with his brother David) was both the fictionalized and the real life son of Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard.

When Red Skelton was drafted in March 1944, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy on radio. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS on October 8, 1944, moving to NBC in October 1948, and making a late-season switch back to CBS in April 1949. Our whole family gathered around the radio each weekly evening to listen to the Nelson family's adventures.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet premiered on ABC Television on October 10, 1952, staying until September 3, 1966.





Nostalgia tugs at the heart in a bittersweet manner.


ALSO

Born May 8, 1926


ALSO


Harry S. Truman
Born May 8, 1884
Died Dec 26, 1972

 Truman was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953) and the one who authorized the use of atomic weapons against Japan. The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945,
 
                     __________

       --Harry S. Truman