Mars Attacks

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Yesterday in mid-morning I was happily surprised to find that within the hour one of my all-time favorite movies was being shown on television. It was:

MARS ATTACKS

It had been a long time since I had viewed this film, but I remembered that to appreciate the satirical humor one must be careful to pay close attention to all the little details. Example: "He made the International Sign Of The Doughnut."

I watched the movie and I laughed and laughed.

Note: The Mars Delegation first landed in Pahrump, Nevada.

I love to laugh.


And then, immediately following on that same TV channel, on the Sundance Channel, came another of my favorite laugh-filled movies:  Blazing Saddles.

All in all, a fine and pleasant day.

This Is Who I Am

   

Happy New Year, 2012

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In the past I have railed about the use (and overuse) of the word very. And it seems that I am not alone in my dislike for that nearly always unnecessary word that has now become totally meaningless.

"Very" is one of those English words that is overused. There are some editors and teachers, I've been told, who routinely eliminate each "very" they come across in an article or paper they are correcting.

Political speakers seem to be addicted to using the word very. A presidential candidate recently stated, "If that were to happen I would be very, very, very surprised." If you are surprised, how can adding multiple repetitions of the word very make you more surprised?

Think about it.

Not long ago I ran across the phrase, "... is a very contemporary novel." Can a novel be very contemporary? I don't think so.

I could be wrong though.

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Baby-back ribs are essentially pork chop bones.

All glammed up for the feast . . .

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After looking back at my earlier blog entries I was struck by the realization of how many of them were born of negativity and unglified by my most judgmental thoughts. If I can keep this in mind, perhaps this trend can be reversed. After all, I am, and always have been, a lover of laughter. But most of my attempts at creating humor have a sharp and cutting edge, and they more often than not bring dark thoughts to the reader, instead of my intended comradely good will.

In this new year, I will try to reverse that trend.

Wish me luck.

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From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.
--Groucho Marx

Laugh And The World Laughs At You

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

Watch, listen. and love it . . .

And this one too . . .

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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?)

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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.

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I AM THAT I AM

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"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

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