Jots & Tittles: Failure To Communicate

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There is a common belief that because most of us are literate and fluent, there is no need to serve an apprenticeship if we want to become a successful wordsmith. … That’s what I thought until I tried to write my first novel. I soon learnt that a novel, like a piece of furniture, has its own set of requirements, laws of construction that have to be learnt. Just because I had read plenty of novels didn’t mean I could write one, any more than I could make a chair because I had sat on enough of them.
--Nigel Watts

I am working on my novel so have little time to compose thoughtful commentary for this blog. When I say that I am working I mean that I am putting in some seemingly meaningful time.

Writing is really hard.

Truly communicating is even harder.

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Did You Know . . .?

New York City cabs have an amber light that's hidden in the grille and is used to alert cops if the driver is in trouble by blinking.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1947 Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, the man who brought organized crime to the West Coast, was shot and killed at his mistress Virginia Hill's home in Beverly Hills, California. Siegel had been talking to his associate Allen Smiley when three bullets were fired through the window and into his head, killing him instantly. Around the same time that Siegel was killed in Beverly Hills, crime boss Lucky Luciano's men walked into the Las Vegas Flamingo and announced they were now in charge.

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WORD FOR TODAY

dormant [dawr-muhnt]
adjective
1. lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive; torpid: The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.
2. in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance: The project is dormant for the time being.
3. Biology in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth, either as a reaction to adverse conditions or as part of an organism's normal annual rhythm.
4. undisclosed; unasserted: dormant musical talent.
5. (of a volcano) not erupting.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

John Stephen Goodman

(born June 20, 1952)

John Goodman is an American film and television actor. He's most known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne (1988–1997) and his regular collaborations with the Coen brothers on such films as Raising Arizona (1987), Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Nicole Mary Kidman

(born 20 June 1967)

Nicole Kidman is an American born Australian actress. Kidman's breakthrough film role was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. She came to worldwide recognition for her performances in Days of Thunder (1990), Far and Away (1992), and Batman Forever (1995). Her performance in the musical Moulin Rouge! (2001) earned her a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002) received critical acclaim.Kidman's other notable films include To Die For (1995), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), The Others (2001), Cold Mountain (2003), Dogville (2003), The Interpreter (2005) and Australia (2008).

John Mahoney

(born June 20, 1940)

John Mahoney is an American-British actor. He started his career on the stage in 1977 and moved into film in 1980. He played Martin Crane in the American sitcom Frasier on NBC from 1993 until to 2004. He has also worked as a voice actor, and performed on Broadway and in Chicago theatre.

Candace June "Candy" Clark

(born June 20, 1947)

Candy Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the film American Graffiti (1973). She reprised the role in for the sequel More American Graffiti (1979). Clark was also known for her role as Francine Hewitt in The Blob (1988). Her other films of note are: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Big Sleep (1978), Blue Thunder (1983), Cat's Eye (1985) and At Close Range (1986).

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Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
--Horace

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