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Perhaps I became so vague, so exhilarated with vagueness, precisely in order to forestall a recognition of the final term of the syllogism that begins: If one man loves another he is a homosexual; I love a man...
--Edmund White
I just discovered that the word brooch is pronounced either as [BROOCH] or [BROACH] - either one.
Imagine that.
A long time ago I signed up with NASA to have my name added to a list to be carried on a space ship destined to arrive at an asteroid sometime in the future. I had forgotten all about it until yesterday when I received an email informing me:
Charles,
Thanks for signing up to send your name to asteroid Bennu. NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission will be the first U.S. mission to return samples from an asteroid to Earth, and you'll be there! Well, not you per se, but your name.
Traveling is better with company, so tell your friends! Tell your family! All they need to do is visit http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/messages/bennu/ and fill in the information..
There seems to be no limit to the powers and abilities of animals other than humans, and to the incredible ignorance of said humans.
What can dolphins and myriad other creatures do that we cannot do?
The journal Naturwissenschaften -- The Science of Nature -- reveals that dolphins are attracted to magnets, behaving differently when in proximity to magnetized objects as opposed to any that are demagnetized.
LINK to original paper.
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Did You Know . . .?
One medium avocado contains about 350 calories, while an entire pineapple only has about 450 calories.
One cup of apple juice contains about 115 calories, while one medium apple contains only about 60 calories.
Nutritional Information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
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WORD FOR TODAY
syllogism
noun
1. an extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument.
2. a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.
3. an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion, and shares a common or middle term not present in the conclusion (e.g., all dogs are animals; all animals have four legs; therefore all dogs have four legs).
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born October 1, 1924)
Jimmy Carter is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.
(born 1 October 1935)
Julie Andrews is an English film and stage actress. Andrews is a former child actress and singer who rose to prominence starring in musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot. In 1957, she appeared on television with the title role in Cinderella, which was seen by over 100 million viewers. Andrews made her feature film debut in Mary Poppins. She received her second Academy Award nomination for The Sound of Music,
(born October 1, 1950)
Randy Quaid is an American actor nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Last Detail. Quaid also won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years. Quaid is well known for his roles in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, Brokeback Mountain, Independence Day, and Kingpin.
(born October 1, 1938)
Stella Stevens is an American film and television actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, and The Poseidon Adventure.
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“All talk of winning the people by appealing to their intelligence, of conquering them by impeccable syllogism, is so much moonshine.”
--H.L. Mencken
NASA TV
Dear Gene,
ReplyDeleteMy ability to write with any sense of creative passion is lost. It's as if when the doctors cut me open, my soul escaped.
My aging body crumbles and charges me an old-man's daily dose of pain as the price I must pay for living a life replete with foolish risks.
Still, my mind, though diminished where recall is concerned, remains an entertaining tool. I read and I think.
Your blog entries make me think. I thank you for that unsolicited gift. Today I'll read more H. L. Mencken, just because you thought to stir what's left of my pot of stew.
Dear Anthony,
DeleteH.L. Mencken, in my opinion, sees, understands, and then speaks the truth clearly, forcibly, and humorously... that's why I enjoy reading his work so much.
Although I cannot know what travail your body endures while suffering its daily dose of physical pain, I do know the mental agony of no longer being able to so easily do those taken-for-granted little nothings such as instantly recalling the exact word I am searching for, those mental activities akin to the physical twistings and turnings of a young, strong, and healthy, instantly responsive body.
My blog entries also make me think, so there is a quantity of selfishness ingrained therein; I would much prefer to watch a well-crafted TV movie, or again read a much-read and well-loved book. But instead, I think, and I write, no matter how difficult it seems at the moment. And afterward, I am so glad I did so. Just as daily walking (no matter how much I may dread it) keeps my body physically better, so do the pitiful dribs and drabs of researching and writing in a blog each day helps keep my mind more in tune.
I would never (I hope) presume to offer advice to you or help in regaining your former skill and ability to write -- but I will inform you as to how I creep along day by day, writing when I can and not writing at those times when I seemingly cannot.
I write by forcing myself to sit down in front of my keyboard... and I write. If the words I write are not as good as I would like them to be, I simply delete them, or I publish them anyway. Often I delete everything I write instead of knowingly and callously inflicting them upon a gentle reader. But I write.
Simple as that. (I said 'simple,' not easy.)
It's a tossup, Anthony, whether or not I will publish this reply. We'll see.
As I earlier wrote, I offer no advice... but, I will reveal to you that it is my suspicion that you will someday begin to write again, perhaps in your blog, or perhaps even for commercial publication. It's just a feeling I have.
So long for now, by friend.