So Much To Learn

Tucson Weather Today

__________________

Opening Note:
I get some feedback about various of my blog posts but they most often come to me via other media, personal email, Facebook, and the like. This is fine. It's certainly better than nothing. But I sure would like to get more comments directly from the bottom of each of these postings.

If you read something at any time on this blog about which you agree, or disagree, then give it a try. Post a reply comment.

Thanks.

_____

Announcement:
Greta Christina, a fine, fine writer has just announced she was dignosed with cancer and needs some help.

Read the details HERE

_____

All my life (so far) I have been driven to 'learn' -- to find out why and how things work as they do. So I read, and ask questions, and I view and listen to intelligent people lecturing or debating on Youtube videos.

Like the one described below:

With a sea of information coming at us from all directions, how do we sift out the misinformation and bogus claims, and get to the truth? Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a "Baloney Detection Kit," ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim.

The 10 Questions:
1. How reliable is the source of the claim?
2. Does the source make similar claims?
3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else?
4. Does this fit with the way the world works?
5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?
6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point?
7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?
8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence?
9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory?
10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?

LINK to video

 

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

corona [kohr-OHN-uh]
Noun
The Latin word, according to Lewis & Short’s Latin Dictionary, has these English meanings:
- A garland, chaplet or wreath (the original sense);
- A crown;
- A circle of people, a crowd or multitude;
- A line of besiegers;
- A cornice;
- An elevated ridge of land as a boundary line;
- The hairy crown over a horse’s hoof;
- A circular ridge (of mountains);
- The halo round the sun.

_____

 

 

 

BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

 

Peter Boyle

Born Oct 18, 1935
Died Dec 12, 2006

Peter Lawrence Boyle was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein (1974).

Mike Ditka

Born Oct 18, 1939
Age: 73 years old.

Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka was the only individual to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985.

Pam Dawber

Born Oct 18, 1951
Age: 60 years old.

Pam Dawber is an American actress best known for her lead television sitcom roles as Mindy McConnell in Mork & Mindy (1978 – 1982) and Samantha Russell in My Sister Sam (1986 – 1988).

 

George C. Scott

Born Oct 18, 1927
Died Sep 22, 1999

George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, and as Ebeneezer Scrooge in Clive Donner's adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Scott refused the Oscar nomination for Patton, just as he had done for his 1962 nomination for The Hustler

__________

"One should either be sad or joyful. Contentment is a warm sty for eaters and sleepers."
--Eugene O'Neill

World's Greatest Country . . .

Tucson Weather Today

_____

I took some time from my busy, busy schedule (yeah, right) to view a couple of Youtube videos, and afterward, was glad I did so.


HBO's NEWSROOM -- Opening scene:

Why America's Not the Greatest Country


And then I watched Seth Andrews (The Thinking Atheist) talk about what he wants in a president:

What do you really want in a president?


It does my heart good to discover that I am not alone in my way of thinking.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY


contralto [kuhn-tral-toh]
noun
1.
the lowest female voice or voice part, intermediate between soprano and tenor.
2.
the alto, or highest male voice or voice part.
3.
a singer with a contralto voice.

_____



BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

 Edgar Rice Burroughs


Born Sept. 1, 1875
Died Mar 19, 1950

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.

Lily Tomlin

Born Sept. 1, 1939

Age: 72 years old.

Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960s when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in. Her career has spanned television, comedy recordings, Broadway, and motion pictures, enjoying acclaimed success in each medium. She has won many awards including Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award and has also been nominated for an Academy Award. Tomlin's humor is often sharp and insightful in the traditions of standup comedians, but also frequently endearing, slightly wacky, and generally quite "family friendly" in the tradition of television comediennes such as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and Eve Arden.

 Conway Twitty


Born Sept. 1, 1933
Died June 5, 1993.

Conway Twitty, born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 40 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006. From 1971-76, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was never a member of the Grand Ole Opry, but was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame.

Rocky Marciano


Born Sept. 1, 1923
Died Aug 31, 1969

Rocky Marciano,born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was an American professional boxer and the World Heavyweight Champion from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956. Marciano is the only champion to hold the heavyweight title and go untied and undefeated throughout his career. Marciano defended his title six times.

__________

Always do whatever's next.
--George Carlin

Laugh And The World Laughs At You

_____

The Simple Things In Life . . .
Delightful Youtube videos --

Watch, listen. and love it . . .

And this one too . . .

_____

Today's New Word

diktat
noun:
1. An order or decree imposed without popular consent.
2. A harsh settlement imposed upon a defeated party.

Note:
DIKTAT!

That would make a grand title for a novel, perhaps with a cover illustration of a hobnail boot stomping a victim's head. (1984?)

_____

The opening sentence of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is:
"As Gregor Samsa awoke that morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect"

If Kafka could write, have published, and gain fame from such an outlandish line, then it seems to me that nothing is impossible in the creation of literature if the writer has sufficient courage...

...and is gifted with great talent, of course.


And, William Faulkner wrote about his childhood surroundings.

So why can't I?

I can.

_____

I AM THAT I AM

_____

"Ultimately literature is nothing but carpentry. Both are very hard work. Writing something is almost as hard as making a table. With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood. Both are full of tricks and techniques. Basically very little magic and a lot of hard work involved."
--Gabriel Garcia Marquez

__________

Middle Of The Week Already

I'm still experimenting with various capabilities of this blog. So if you find a section laughable please blame it on my lack of experience and notify me so I can fix the mistake. Send me a comment about whatever you like. All criticisms whether positive or negative are valuable to me.

Yesterday I was viewing some Youtube videos and ran across one that evoked a great deal of emotion. Sights, sounds, and even aromas have a way of stimulating memories of earlier times. Sometimes those events from the past were heart-warming and happy and others not so pleasant. I'm not sure how to characterize this one.

A blog http://baliset.blogspot.com/ that I was reading last night intrigued me and even though some of the more philosophical material was a bit over my head I enjoyed most of it and would highly recommend it to the thinking reader.

As I am typing this I am listening on the radio to President Obama giving a speech describing what is being done by the U.S. government to provide aid to Haiti in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. It's certainly a tragedy for the people of that small country. Hopefully Haiti's government will accept the helping hand in the same vein in which it is being offered.

I tried to add a photo here but the blog software hung up, telling me "Waiting for www dot blogger dot com. I'll go ahead and publish this then try adding a picture later. Okay, I did that. But now I can get it to add a picture but it adds it at the top instead of where I want it.

Oh well. I'm tired of fiddling with it. I'll go to the help files and find out what I'm doing wrong.

The sun is shining brightly outside my window at this time, which is 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time and it will soon be warm enough to go out and walk for a while. I'm looking forward to it. The TV weather folks have promised a continuing warm-up for the rest of this week, but along with that they warn of some rain moving in with the warm temperatures.

Today's blog entry is short, I know, but that will not always be the case. Sometimes I have little to say, and other times I can be a real blow-hard.

As a Canadian friend is wont to say,

"Cheers!"