tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22863210248421099602024-03-18T22:24:04.846-04:00rhymeswithplaguerhymeswithplaguerhymeswithplaguerhymeswithplaguerhymeswithplague<br><br><br><br>
<b>Hello, world! This blog began on September 28, 2007, and so far nobody has come looking for me<br> with tar and feathers.
On my honor, I will do my best not to bore you. All comments are welcome<br> as long as your discourse is civil and your language is not blue.
<br><br>Happy reading, and come back often!
<br><br>And whether my cup is half full or half empty, fill my cup, Lord.
<br><br>Copyright 2007 - 2024 by Robert H.Brague</b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.comBlogger2194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-46207502268058006072024-03-16T08:50:00.002-04:002024-03-16T10:57:30.868-04:00My new favorite poem<b> ...is the following one, purportedly by Billy Collins:<br><br>
Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House<br><br>
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.<br>
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark<br>
that he barks every time they leave the house.<br>
They must switch him on on their way out.<br><br>
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.<br>
I close all the windows in the house<br>
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast<br>
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,<br>
barking, barking, barking,<br><br>
and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,<br>
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven<br>
had included a part for barking dog.<br><br>
When the record finally ends he is still barking,<br>
sitting there in the oboe section barking,<br>
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is<br>
entreating him with his baton<br><br>
while the other musicians listen in respectful<br>
silence to the famous barking dog solo,<br>
that endless coda that first established<br>
Beethoven as an innovative genius.<br><br>
(end of poem)<br><br>
I say purportedly because I could not find that title in a list of the complete poems of Billy Collins at Poetry Foundation. To be fair, however, I do not know when the list was compiled and Billy Collins, who is still alive and kcking, may well have written the poem since the list was put together, in which case the list needs to be updated.<br><br>
I laughed when I read the poem and thought about the two big dogs, Rebel and Jasper, who live behind my next-door neighbor's fence. They go ballistic every time I take Abby out our back door. They sound ferocious, like they want to eat her if they could just get to her, and maybe me as well. Abby seems to enjoy setting them off but I do grow weary of the scenario.<br><br>
I said to Mrs. RWP (the lovely Ellie), "Want to hear something crazy?" and read the poem aloud to her. She agreed that it was crazy, and I said, "I know! It's good but it's crazy! I think I'm crazy sometimes but I finally found someone crazier than me!"<br><br>
Billy Collins and I are practically twins as we were both born in March 1941. Both of us turn 83 next week, me (I?) on Monday and him (he?) on Friday. Both of us write poems, some of them crazy. There is one minor difference between us, though. Billy Collins served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003; I have yet to be asked.<br><br></b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-55042257980560588692024-03-14T05:37:00.001-04:002024-03-14T05:42:35.065-04:00 I wonder as I wander<b>
When and why did people start saying 'from here to Timbuktu'? Why don't they say 'from here to Tegucigalpa' or 'from here to Ouagadougou' or 'from here to Ulaanbaatar' or even 'from here to Kealikakua, Hawaii, where the humuhumunukunukuapua'a go swimming by' instead?<br><br>
Although careful readers of the previous paragraph know that Kealikakua is in Hawaii, how many of them can match the other four places with their countries?<br><br>
Why do people in the northern states say "I don't know [person's name] from Adam's off ox" but prople in the southern states say "I don't know [person's name] from Adsm's house cat"? <br><br>
Why do fools fall in love?<br><br>
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone? Oh where, oh where can he be? With his ears cut short and his tail cut long, oh where, oh where can he be?<br><br>
Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?<br><br>
Who is Sylvia?<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-47133648319454314452024-03-11T19:54:00.007-04:002024-03-12T17:56:08.630-04:00The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring, Tra La<b> ...will just have to wait another few days because Spring has not yet sprung and will not for another week or so. My apologies to the Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan and lovers of <i>The Mikado</i> all over the world (you know who you are).<br><br>
What if today were proclaimed International Don't Hold Back, Say What You Really Think Day?<br><br>
One thing I would say is that when U.S.President Joseph Biden said recently that he and Israel's Prime Mnister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Jew, were going to have a 'come-to-Jesus meeting' it revealed an obtuseness, a mental denseness, a complete disregard for what is lnguistically appropriate so great as to be beyond belief. It further indicates, as Anna Russell once remarked about coloratura sopranos, that President Biden has resonance where his brains ought to be. This is just one person's opinion. of course, and you are certainly free to have another, but you would be wrong.<br><br>
Another thing I would say on IDHB,SWYRT Day is that while I am aware that language is an ever-changing, flowing stream, Americans who believe the principal parts of the verb 'sneak' are 'sneak, snuck, snuck' instead of 'sneak, sneaked, sneaked' and that the principal parts of the verb 'drag' are 'drag, drug, drug' instead of 'drag, dragged, dragged' and demonstrate their beliefs daily through their speech patterns are far more numerous than any resident of the UK could possibly imagine.<br><br>
If you are of a mathematical bent, and even if you are not, I recommend for your reading pleasure two fascinating posts by Mr.Tasker Dunham of Yorkshire, England (speaking of residents of the UK). In one of them, he even mentions me. Here are the links:<br><br>
<a href="https://www.taskerdunham.com/2024/02/proof-of-pi.html"> Tasker Dunham's post 'Proof of the Pi'</a> <br><br>
<a href="https://www.taskerdunham.com/2024/01/pythagoras.html"> Tasker Dunham's post 'Pythagoras'</a> <br><br>
I now end today's post by telling you that the Germans have a word for a sense of what is linguistically appropriate and that word is <i>sprachgefühl</i>.<br><br> </b>rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-32303369726916983062024-03-06T18:40:00.003-05:002024-03-06T22:21:46.576-05:00 I’ must be slipping<b> ...because the person I was a few years ago would have told you last Saturday that March 2nd is Alamo Day---all together now, 'Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier!'--and that today, March 6th, is Texas Independence Day. Texas declared itself independent from Mexico in 1836 and was an independent country for nine years. As part of its annexation agreement with the U.S. (it was never a territory), Texas can split into as many as five states any time it decides to. The powers that be will probably come after my Lone Star State Nembership Card if anybody turns me in to the authorities.<br><br>
The days are getting longer; in 15 days the equinox will be here and Spring will have sprung once again. Before that happens, however, it is important to remember to turn your clocks forward one hour this Saturday, March 9th, before you retire for the night, as Daylight Saving Time returns Sunday at 2:00 a.m. after a four-month hiatus.<br><br>
A short post this time.<br><br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-6115747056344362512024-03-03T19:56:00.008-05:002024-03-04T06:14:14.959-05:00Telling it like it is<b> If there were a movement advocating truth in song lyrics, "Home On The Range" might go like this:<br><br>
<i>Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,<br>
Where the deer and the antelope play,<br>
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,<br>
'Cause how much can an antelope say?</i><br><br>
Truer words were never spoken. I mean, think about it. Skies that are not cloudy all day are rarer than <strike> hen's teeth </strike> talking antelopes. I wish I could say I wrote that new last line of "Home On The Range" but alas, I cannot. Actually, I could but it would not be true.<br><br>
In my last post, I shared with you the moment of silence that I found most surprising during several recent <i>Jeopardy!</i> episodes. You may remember that it involved the four words "it might have been" that appear in the last line of a poem by John Grenleaf Whittier, "Maud Muller" to be exact, which I mentioned in the comments section but not in the post itself. Little did I know there would be an even greater shocker of a stumper on Friday evening's program. Read on.<br><br>
In a category called Novel Endings the clue was "This 1922 work ended with the words 'yes I said yes I will Yes'." and there was a deafening silence onstage during which I yelled '<i>Ulysses</i>' at the screen at least three times.<br><br>
According to an article entitled "The 10 best closing lines in books" by Robert McKrum in <i>The Guardian</i> in July 2012, James Joyce's <i>Ulysses</i> is number two on the list, right behind <i>The Great Gatsby</i> by F. Scott Fitzgerald.<br><br>
It seems to be a losing battle and the dumbing down of America side seems to be winning. What can we do? I will tell you what we can do, the only thing we can do. We can beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.<br><br>
I didn't write that line either.
</b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-85574822680970287492024-02-29T10:18:00.005-05:002024-02-29T14:07:12.510-05:00,Look before you leap<b> ...is always good advice (better safe than sorry), but especially so today because today is the Leap Day that occurs once every four yars in the Julian calendar. It is also the birthday of two of my friends in real life, Dick S. and Walter T., the latter of whom is no longer with us.<br><br>
The country in yesterday's Globle game was Oman. The country in English Worldle was Tajkistan. I got both of those. The country in French Worldle was Burundi. I didn't get that one. Call me crazy, but i really enjoy identifying countries by their silhouttes (Worldle) and by their distance from and in what direction from wrong guesses (both Globle and Worldle).<br><br>
The blank stares I found most surprising on <i>Jeopardy!</i> in the last week occurred in a category called 4 Words. The clue was 'Poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote that of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these.'<br><br>
All together now, class, the answer in the form of a question is 'What are "it might have been"?'. Without looking it up, do you know the name of the poem by Whittier from which those lines come? I do, thanks to who else?, my old English teacher Mr. D.P. Morris back in Mansfield, Texas, seven decades ago. <br><br>
A short and hopefully sweet post today, and now that you have looked, you may take a flying leap and hurtle another 1.6 million miles along the path that is the earth's 584,000,000-mile-orbit around the nearest star, a path that takes (as readers of this blog should know) 365.25 days to complete.<br><br>
All together now...3, 2, 1, LEAP!<br><br> </b>rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-76073556236419076382024-02-17T16:00:00.008-05:002024-02-22T08:18:07.902-05:00The world keeps changing before our eyes<b> Things that once were true are now false. For example, I learned in school that there are nine planets orbiting our sun. Kids today are told there are eight. Pluto got the axe (translation: was reclassified as a dwarf planet not in the same league with the others).<br><br>
Things that used to be described one way are now described another way. Take dates, which for the past couple of thousand years in the western world have been referred to as either AD or BC (or, more accurately, A.D. or B.C. before periods/dots/points fell out of fashion). More and more frequently nowadays I see dates referred to as either CE (Common Era) or BCE (Before Common Era). I believe this particular change has occurred in recognition of the fact that adherents of the Jewish and Muslim faiths with calendars of their own prefer not to measure the passing of the years with a Christian reference point. 2024 AD (Latin, <i>Anno Domini</i>, "in the year of the Lord") is 5784 AM (Latin, <i>Anno Mundi</i>, "in the year of the World") to members of the Jewish community, 1445 AH (Latin, <i>Anno Hegirae</i>, "in the year of the Hegira") to members of the Islamic community, and we won't go into either the Mayan calendar or the Chinese calendar because they are complicated. You can read fascinating articles about them in -- where else? -- wikipedia.<br><br>
Allow me a little <i>Jeopardy!</i> stuff before we continue.<br><br>
The Clue: Minnesota is bordered on the north by Manitoba and this other Canadian province.<br><br>
One contestant said Alberta, one said Manitoba, and one didn't buzz in at all.<br><br>
The Answer: What is Ontario? More on geography later in the post.<br><br>
It made me feel especially old when no contesdant buzzed in for these two:<br><br>
Category: Presidential TV<br>
Clue: The Man From Independence<br>
Answer: Who is Harry Truman<br><br>
Category: Notable Names<br>
Clue: This woman was America's first black Congresswoman<br>
Answer: Who is Shirley Chisholm?<br><br>
Well, that's enough of that. Too much, probably.<br><br>
I have been improving my geography and international skills by playing three online games every day -- two versions of Worldle (not Wordle) and Globle (not spelled Global). If you want to try your hand, here are the three addresses:<br><br>
worldlegame.io<br>
worldle.teuteuf.fr<br>
globle.org<br><br>
The second of the Worldle games is played in French and includes identifying the country's neighbors, capital city, flag, unit of
currency, and population range.<br><br>
Today, for the first time since I began playing these games several months ago, the answer to Globle and the English version of Worldle was the same country, Sierra Leone. The French version's answer was Australia (spelled the French way, Australie). I enjoy these games a great deal and can now recognize the silhouettes of such places as Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, United Arab Emirates, Lithuania, Venezuela, Myanmar, and many others that I couldn't have recognized before.<br><br>
Which in the overall scheme of things doesn't matter to a hill of beans, but playing each day has helped me keep my mind active. I used to do that by playing the piano, but between my failing eyesight and my stiffening fingers, those days are pretty much over.<br><br>
I close today's post with a question. Did you know there is a connection between Donald Trump and John F.Kennedy besides the fact that they were both presidents of the United States? Well, there is. Mar-a-Lago, Trump's palatial home in Palm Beach, Florida (126 rooms, 62,500 sq ft on 17 acres), which he purchased in 1985, was built during the 1920s by Post Cereal heiress Marjorie Meriweather Post while she was the second of three wives of financier E.F. Hutton (yes, that E.F. Hutton). Their daughter bcame the actress Dina Merrill, whose second of three husbands (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree), actor Cliff Robertson, starred in a film called <i>PT-109</i> as U.S. Naval Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, who was commander of the vessel when it was rammed and sunk by the Japanese in the Solomon Islands during World War Ii. It is of only passing interest that President Kennedy's parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, lived in Palm Beach, Florida, when they were away from Hyannisport, Massachusetts. That is a coincidence, not the sort of connection I meant.<br><br>
If I have told you any of these things before, I do apologize. My memory is not what it once was either.<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-41206729993265871832024-02-10T13:52:00.010-05:002024-02-11T16:15:57.579-05:00 Here we go again <b> I just can't resist. Here are several recent additions to the ever-increasing list of answers to unanswered clues on <i>Jeopardy!</i>: <br><br>
Who is Clark Gable? (The clue was that this man kept vigil when the plane carrying his wife, actress Carole Lombard, crashed.)<br><br>
Who is C.S. Lewis? (The clue was that this man used the name N.W. Clerk when writing <i>A Grief Observed</i> about his wife's death.)<br><br>
What is yawning? (The clue included the word 'oscitation' and added that if you start doing it, I probably will too.)<br><br>
Who is Irving Berlin? (The clue was that this man did not write "God Bless Cuba" when his wife fell ill during their honeymoon in Havana.)<br><br>
Who is Billy Wilder? (The clue was that this man's gravestone in Californiae reads, "I'm a writer but then nobody's perfect".)<br><br>
What is the Grand Canyon Suite? (The clue mentioned Ferde Grofé and Arizona.) <br><br>
Who is Paul Harvey? (The clue was a photo of him while the vcoice-over said, "This newscaster always gave us 'the rest of the story'.")<br> <br>
Who is Toulouse-Lautrec? (In a category called "Ah, The French" the clue showed a photo of a man with a dark beard and wearing a hat and a long coat. The voice-over included the words 'artist' and 'short'.)<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFF_4MRciab0-nFEH0Uxmrz341U26qUXIOo8qLCk4Egakg9Jlt9asr4w3FaYr-r1Ege_t8zXDOGGTAksbvQvDnvZ1RwEOhBOzFceE6xxVx3QZEIalfkJUdfi8RISAT980idIR2Q0UCZJ2kG0whML_LXfIIywXhbYAPfIgJqrRe4LqNQm-GvBBDKBbfw/s1343/Henri%20Toulouse-Lautrec,%201894.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFF_4MRciab0-nFEH0Uxmrz341U26qUXIOo8qLCk4Egakg9Jlt9asr4w3FaYr-r1Ege_t8zXDOGGTAksbvQvDnvZ1RwEOhBOzFceE6xxVx3QZEIalfkJUdfi8RISAT980idIR2Q0UCZJ2kG0whML_LXfIIywXhbYAPfIgJqrRe4LqNQm-GvBBDKBbfw/s400/Henri%20Toulouse-Lautrec,%201894.jpg"/></a></div>
Who is Jacob? (In the category Quoting The Old Testament, the clue was "This man said 'Joseph, my son, is alive. I will go and see him'.")<br><br>
What are 86 and 99? (The clue said these two numbers identified the agents in <i>Get Smart</i>.)<br><br>
Whar are foxes? (Also in the category Quoting The Old Testament, the clue was "Take up these, the little these, for it is these that spoil the vines",)<br><br>
There are many categories and clues, of course, about which I know absolutely nothing. That goes without saying. I just happened to know these. <br><br>
Helpful-to-know Factoid #1 -- Billy Wilder directed the film <i>Some Like It Hot</i>, the last line of which is Joe E. Brown telling Jack Lemmon, "Nobody's perfect".<br><br>
Helpful-to-know Factoid #2 -- Irving Berlin wrote "God Bless America".<br><br>
Not-so-helpful-to-know-but-interesting-nevertheless Factoid #3 -- Before Ferde Grofé wrote the "Grand Canyon Suite" in 1931, he played the piano in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra for over a decade and wrote many orchestral arrangemens for the group. Perhaps the most notable one (no pun intended) was a new work by George Gershwin written originally for solo piano that Mr. Grofé arranged into a full orchestration. Its debut, with Mr. Gershwin on piano and Mr. Whiteman conducting the orchestra in New York City, occurred exactly one hundred yearss ago this week, on February 12, 1924. You may have heard of it. It is called "Rhapsody In Blue".<br><br>
Speaking of blue, how many songs can you think of that include the word 'blue' (but not 'blues') in the title. If we included 'blues' we'd be here all day. Here's my list:<br><br>
Blue Skies<br>
Blue Moon<br>
Blue Velvet<br>
Am I Blue?<br>
Alice Blue Gown<br>
Lavender Blue, Dilly Dilly<br>
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue<br>
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain<br>
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea<br>
My Blue Heaven<br>
Blue Suede Shoes<br>
Where The Blue Of The Night (Meets The Gold Of The Day<br>
Bluebird Of Happiness<br>
The Blue Tail Fly<br>
Song Sung Blue </i> <br><br>
In my eagerness I seem to have co-opted the task, so please try once again to match as many songs as you can with their artists instead.<br><br>
Finally, from our brand-new "Yeah, Right" Department, if you think Presidents of the United States would never lie on national television, consider the following three examples. Richard Nixon said, "I am not a crook" (November 17, 1973), Bill Clinton said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky" (January 26, 1998), and Joe Biden said, "I know what the hell I'm doing" (February 8, 2024).<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-44825565567118317142024-02-04T18:48:00.004-05:002024-02-04T18:54:46.652-05:00So many questions, so little time<b> An unanswered question on <i>Jeopardy</i> last week was "What is <i>Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?</i>?" and it got me to thinking, as we former colonials say. How many other films that contain a question mark in the title can you come up with?<br><br>
Here's my list:<br><br>
<i>Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?<br>
What's Up, Doc?<br>
O Brother, Where Art Thou?<br>
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?<br>
What About Bob?</i><br><br>
There is the 1966 song "What's It All About, Alfie?" but the film was just <i>Alfie</i>, not a question.<br><br>
One film title that was definitely a question did not include a question mark. <i>Quo Vadis</i> is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" but the 1951 film starring Robert Taylor and Deborah Kerr had no question mark.<br><br>
There must be dozens of songs that are questions. Here are some:<br><br>
How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?<br>
When Will I Be Loved?<br>
Will The Circle Be Unbroken?<br>
What Now, My Love?<br>
What Kind Of Fool Am I?<br>
Is That All There Is?<br>
Where Is Love?<br>
Do You Know The Way To San José?<br>
Are You Lonesome Tonight?<br>
Why Do Fools Fall In Love?<br>
What's New, Pussycat? <br>
What's Love Got To Do With It? <br>
If I Said You Have A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me?<br>
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?<br>
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?<br> <br>
and on and on and on.<br><br>
Extra credit if you can match songs with artists.<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-75607166022708483822024-02-01T01:47:00.005-05:002024-02-01T13:39:16.400-05:00.Their price is far above rubies <b> Within a month, Mrs. RWP (the lovely Ellie) and I will become great-grandparents for a second time, and we just learned that a third great-grandchild is expected to arrive in August. Time and tide, I've heard, wait for no man. I can report for a certainty that time does march on. Tides, on the other hand, come and go.<br><br>
Here's one of my favorite passages from Shakespeare:<br><br>
<i> There is a tide in the affairs of men,<br>
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;<br>
Omitted, all the voyage of their life<br>
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.</i><br> <br>
If anyone cares, that passage is from <i>Julius Caesar</i>, Act IV, scene iii. Brutus is talking to Cassius.<br><br>
From time immemorial, sophomore students at Mansfield High School (my alma mater) read <i>Julius Caesar</i> in Mr. D.P. Morris's English class. Except us. The year we were sophomores, the school district hired a second English teacher, Mrs. Elinor Field, and assigned sophomore English to her. In the spring of 1956 Mrs. Field, being the thoroughly modern sort, scrapped <i>Julius Caesar</i> and decided we should read instead <i>The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit</i>, a 1955 novel by Sloan Wilson that had just been made into a 1956 film starring Gregory Peck, I don't remember a thing about the novel. I finally got around to reading <i>Julius Caesar</i> on my own about 15 years later.<br><br>
Because I do not possess very many of this world's goods, I suppose an argument could be made that I have spent my life bound in shallows and in miseries. I reject that notion out of hand. The fortune to which my own particular flood tide led consists of a wonderful wife who has shared the voyage with me for more than 60 years, three magnificent children, six magnificemt grandchildren, and, so far, as I mentioned earlier, three great-grandcildren with whom I am eager to become better acquainted.<br><br>
It's important to understand what is truly valuable. I am rich in the things that count.<br><br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-29369970907348325222024-01-29T19:52:00.009-05:002024-01-30T16:03:59.242-05:00Three things you may not have known <b> Of my many, many Itish friends, the ones with whom I spend the most time are Carb O'Hydrates and Patti O'Furniture.<br><br>
The words <font color="red"> Sue </font> (as in (1) "A Boy Named Sue", the song made popular by Johnny Cash or (2) the character Betty White played on <i>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</i>, Sue Ann Nevins, host of "The Happy Homemaker" show on fictional television station WJM-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota), <font color="red"> Sioux </font> (as in (1) the Lakota Sioux tribe of native Americans or (2) the towns of Sioux City, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota), <font color="red"> Sault </font> (as in the town of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan), and <font color="red"> sou </font> (an old French coin worth five centimes or 1/20th of a franc) are all pronounced exactly like the first syllable (with yet another spelling) of a two-syllable, hyphenated word for an assistant in a kitchen. Can you tell me the word?<br><br>
One hundred twenty-five years ago today, on January 29, 1899, my favorite aunt, Marion (Silberman) Caracena was born in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. She died in November 1987 (88 years, 9 months later) in the town next to it, Abington. I have missed her ever since (and I'm biting my tongue to keep from saying because Abington makes the heart grow fonder).<br><br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-77171702719945323272024-01-23T19:39:00.000-05:002024-01-23T19:39:29.662-05:00Patchwork quilt<b> This past Sunday morning the low temperature at our house was 8°F (-13°C), the very opposite of toasty.<br><br>
Here is proof, if you need any, that time really does fly: Donny Osmond is 66, Marie Osmond is 64, Madonna Louise Ciccone (the Material Girl) is 65. Wayne Newton and Barbra Streisand are both 81. Elvis Presley, as I mentioned the other day, would have just turned 89.<br><br>
Years ago in Florida I worked with a guy named Otto Hlava. I told him one day that his
name sounded like what comes out of a Hvolcano. He was not amused.<br><br>
Some people are raised by mothers who believe "Feed a cold, starve a fever" and other people are raised by mothers who believe "Starve a cold, feed a fever". By which type of mother were you raised? Do you still follow the method your mother used? If not, why not?<br><br>
Transitions are important in writing because they help achieve continuity in a piece by relating what came before to what follows.
This post has no transitions whatsoever. It's just -- wait for it, wait for it -- a patchwork quilt.<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-59352887833353390902024-01-20T11:46:00.001-05:002024-01-20T11:51:02.584-05:00I say Carmina, you say Burana, let’s Carl the whole thing Orff<b> That isn't original with me. I should be so clever. No, I saw a meme on Facebook that made me smile and I decided to pass it along to you.<br><br>
Someone has said there are two kinds of people in the world, those who say there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don't. <br><br>
I say there are three kinds of people in the world, those who make tbings happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened<br><br>
That's not original with me, either. It probably has been years since I had an original thought in my head. As somebody else (I don't know who) has said, creativity is the art of concealing your sources.<br><br>
I thought that was called plagiarism.<br><br>
Thursday night's lack of answers on <i>Jeopardy!</i> included who is Beethoven?, what is the Ionian Sea, and who is Pol Pot? The clue (<i>British,</i> clew) for the Final Jeopardy Round mentioned Vietnam and all three contestants wrote down Ho Chi Minh.<br><br>
I'd better stop while I'm ahead.<br><br></b>rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-89257503752196556512024-01-17T16:58:00.005-05:002024-01-17T17:48:07.418-05:00 The mulberry bush returns <b> The low temperature around here this morning was 10°F (-12°C), most un-Georgia-like of Mother Nature.<br><br>
Moving right along....<br><br>
I enjoy blogging, the act of mining the vast near-emptiness that is my brain and composing posts to be published on this very 'web log' out of what few nuggets of gold I manage to dredge up (oops, mixed metaphor). It is therapeutic to rid my brain of the thoughts that spring up continually along with the inevitable detritus, flotsam, and jetsam of daily existence that help make an otherwise dull life interesting.<br><br>
To be more accurate, I should say that I <i>currently</i> enjoy blogging because sometimes it seems more like hard work, and I also have a firm enough grasp of reality to know that it may not be enjoyable at some point in the future.<br><br>
So it is abundantly clear that in spite of the words Giuseppe Verdi put into the mouth of the Duke of Mantua at the beginning of Act 3 of the opera <i>Rigoletto</i>, it is not just <i>La donna</i> (woman) who <i> è mobile</i> (is fickle).<br><br>
I don't know very much about opera when it comes right down to it. I have just a superficial, passing acquaintance with it. I know that Georges Bizet wrote <i>Carmen</i> in French although it takes place in Spain, and that Giacomo Puccini wrote <i>Madama Butterfly</i> in Italian although it takes place in Japan. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote <i>The Magic Flute</i> and <i>The Marriage Of Figaro</i>. Puccini also wrote <i>La bohème</i> on which the Broadway musical <i>Rent</i> was loosely based, not to mention that "Don't You Know?", the song that helped launch Della Reese's career several decades ago, used the music from "Musetta's Waltz" from the same opera. <br><br>
I know what let's do, let's toss a few opera singers' names around like Luciano Pavarotti and Maria Callas and Enrico Caruso and Amelia Galli-Curci and Roberta Peters and Lawrence Tibbett and Kirsten Flagstad and Joan Surherland and Placido Domingo and Birgit Nilsson and Renata Tebaldi and Kathleen Battle and Robert Merrill and Beverly Sills and Loritz Melchior and Renée Fleming and Marilyn Horne and Kiri Te Kanawa and Jessye Norman and Leontyne Price, the last of whom was from Laurel, Mississippi, the place where Ben and Erin Napier renovate all those houses on <i>Home Town</i>, their program on the Home & Garden Television network (HGTV), not to change horses in mid-stream or anything.<br><br>
Finally, last night on <i>Jeopardy!</i> three people did not know that the way an egg must be cooked to produce a solid interior is called hard-boiled. A middle-aged man said, "What is soft-boiled?" and two middle-aged women never buzzed in at all. I found it incomprehensible.<br><br>
Until next time, I remain,<br>
yr obdt svt<br><br> </br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-72146940595063414812024-01-14T20:23:00.019-05:002024-01-15T19:51:50.840-05:00 Genericization of trademarks<b> ...is a real thing and probably has happened more often than you might think. For example, do you say facial tissue or Kleenex? gelatin or Jell-o? insulated vacuum-sealed beverage container or Thermos? transparent covering or Cellophane? pressure-sensitive cellulose tape or Scotch tape?<br><br>
What about crayons?<br><br>
Wait a minute. Crayons?<br><br>
I imagine, though I have no proof, that 99 and 44/100ths per cent of people who use crayons and speak English call a crayon a crayon. Where I grew up in North Central Texas, nobody -- and I do mean nobody -- ever said 'crayon' or 'crayons'. No, friends, they engaged in their own unique genericization of trademarks and called them crayolas. Our teachers would say, "Children, get out your crayolas" (except our third-grade teacher, Mrs, Cora Spencer, who called us "Little People") or one child might say to another, "Would you hand me that magenta crayola, please" (we were brought up to be polite). Having moved to Texas from Rhode Island when I was six, I found it bizarre but didn't say anything.<br><br>
Please don't tell me that you know thousands of people who say 'crayola' instead of 'crayon'.<br><br>
This all popped into my mind a couple of days ago when I read an annoucement from the Crayola Company that the third annual Crayola Creativity Week will occur from January 22nd until January 28th, 2024. One way of observing it, they suggested, was to see how many words could be made from the two-word phrase 'Creativity Week'. I suppose they were talking to children, but they didn't have to tell me twice.<br><br>
Here are the words I found, 154 in all:<br><br>
a at are art arty ate acre ace arc ark act activity active aver avert create cart cat crate creak creek crave crew craw caw car cave caver creaky cavity catty cake civet care carve crave cite cay eve every eye ewe eke ever evict ewer ere ice icy icky ire it I kit kite kew key kitty rack race racy rice ray rave raw rate ret reek rake rite react reactive review tart take tack tick trace track trick tricky trice twice try tray teak tea tear teary teat tit tire ticker trait treat tyke tar twit tat trek tacky trite tact tract ticker tweet tweeter teeter very vice vet view viewer veer vitiate vat vary week we wet wetter were wait wreck ware wear wart wick wit witty wire wiry wave waver wavy wacky weary wry wreak wicker wive waiter wary way watt wake weave weaver ye year yew yea yet yaw <br><br>
Perhaps you can find even more.<br><br>
Here is your trivia factoid of the day: Although the word 'crayola' was coined in 1903, since 1984 Crayola has been a wholly ownd subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.<br><br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-40056070105465831882024-01-08T08:42:00.003-05:002024-01-08T08:42:51.013-05:00Happy birthday, Elvis<b> You would have turned 89 today had you not left us when you were 42.<br><br>
it
It is hard to picture Elvis Presley or James Dean as old men.<br><br>
They say only the good die young. Those two were very good at what they did, but that is not the same thing, not the same thing at all.<br><br>
Mama was 47.<br><br>
I will be 83 in a couple of months.<br><br>
Your assignment for today is to read two short poems, "Little Boy Blue" by Eugene Field and "When I Was One-And-Twenty" by A.E.Housman. Only after completing your assignment may you say something snarky in the comments section.<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-757659603388319512024-01-06T13:55:00.002-05:002024-01-06T15:41:14.432-05:00The wheels on the bus go round and round<b> ...or maybe they go 'round and 'round. I suppose it depends on how pedantic you want to be. Back in Poughkeepsie, New York, where I worked for IBM in the 1960s, a fellow named Douglas B. who was on temporary assignment with us from IBM High Wycombe in the UK always (well, not always but whenever the occasion presented itself) wrote 'bus and never simply bus because, he said, the word was a contraction of the word omnibus.<br><br>
Here are some answers no contestant on <i>Jeopardy!</i> knew this week but I knew them:<br><br>
Who is Molly Pitcher?<br>
What is Van Cleef & Arpels?<br>
What is Mumbai?<br><br>
Today is called Epiphany or Three Kings Day or Feast of the Three Kings depending on where you live and what church you happen ti attend. If you don't happen to attend any church, today is called January 6th. Some people also call it Twelfth Night but other people call January 5th Twelfth Night. A day without learning something new is a day withour sunshine, in my opinion. <br><br>
This week I learned that the Methodist Church in Great Britain is recommending that all British Methodists, clergy and laity alike, stop using the words 'husband' and 'wife' because those words can be 'hurtful' and 'offensive'. My first thought was "To whom?" and my next thought was "The snowflakes are moving again". If that makes me something-or-other-phobic I will wear the badge proudly.<br><br>
Well, folks, the wheels on the bus or 'bus have gone round and round or 'round and 'round quite enough for one post.<br><br>
T.T.F.N.<br><br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-5688373521336089482024-01-01T01:54:00.001-05:002024-01-01T10:04:58.371-05:00 Once again, off we go into the wild blue yonder <b>Ho hum, another day, another 1.6 million miles of space hurtled through.<br><br>
Is that how you feel? I definitely don't.<br><br>
It is New Year's Day 2024. In my part of the world (the southern U.S.) many people do strange things on New Year's Day and wouldn't dream of not doing them. They think you (I) are (am) strange when you (I) don't do the things they do. Specifically, I'm referring to eating black-eyed peas to bring good luck in the new year, eating collard greens to bring financial prosperity in the new year (collards and money are both green), not washing clothes (because whatever you do on New Year's Day you will continue to do all year long), not sweeping your floors (because all the good luck will be swept away), and shooting off fireworks, lots and lots of fireworks.<br><br>
It occurs to me, and ought to be self-evident, that each person's experience is unique. Even identical twins raised together have different experiences (one has an older sibling and one has a younger sibling).<br><br>
Consider two people, one standing at the North Pole or the South Pole (I don't care which) and one standing at the equator. In the course of one 24-hour period, each will have made a revolution, but the one at the pole would have essentially piroutted in place and the one at the equator would have travelled 25,000 miles. Another difference is that the one at the equator would have passed from day to night and back to day again, while the one at the pole might have experienced either 24 hours of daylight or 24 hours of darkness.<br><br>
So the next time you are tempted to say to someone, "I know just how you feel," remember this post and bite your tongue.<br><br>
Speaking of this post, it feels very familiar. If I have posted stuff like this before, please send up a flare or something.<br><br>
What do people do on New Year's Day in your part of the world?<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-10380130983801572782023-12-30T05:30:00.003-05:002023-12-30T13:39:08.020-05:00Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus, and tomorrow may never be mine <b> Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Doddering old 2023 is on its last legs and will soon be replaced by a brand new year, 2024. Accordingly, we have just the thing for your listening and viewing pleasure while you attempt to navigate this always-treacherous transitional period. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to:<br><br>
<b>A Festival Of Auld Lang Syne Performances</b><br></br>
Our first number will be on the musical saw with accordion accompaniment, plus there is a bit of the human voice. From 2006, here is someone named Nicki Jaine on both the saw and the vocal, accompanied by Roy Ashley on accordion, with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvGkT_Gi7D8"><i>Auld Lang Syne #1</i> (2:43)</a>.<br />
<br />
Next, we travel through both time and space to Detroit, Michigan, in the year 1987 to hear the young Aretha Franklin and Billy Preston sing a Motown version of our festival theme, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U9zXXRiTVA"><i>Auld Lang Syne #2</i> (2:07)</a>. For some unknown reason there is a brief appearance by comedian David Brenner at the end of the performance. <br />
<br />
As we continue to mellow and chill and let the old year slip away, here with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpvYoY4juLc"><i>Auld Lang Syne #3</i> (4:52)</a> is saxophonist Kenny G -- you may skip this video only if you majored in jazz saxophone in college and feel that Kenny G sold out for commercial success. <br />
<br />
To close our Festival we reach all the way back to 1953 and the old master himself. Here are Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians with what must surely be the schmaltziest version ever recorded -- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik7ktS3PqEs"><i>
Auld Lang Syne #4</i> (2:10)</a>, complete with chromatic runs. <br />
<br />
Our Festival is now at an end. If we have done our work properly, your transition from 2023 to 2024 will be a smooth one. You may now return to your normal life, where you are free to choose any kind of music that helps you get through your day.<br />
<br />
Now go forth and </b> <strike> <b>multiply</strike> </b> <strike> <b>get one for the Gipper</strike> </b> <b> hold your head up high and face tomorrow with confidence.<br><br>
Lord, for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time.<br><br>
[<i>Editor's note.</i> I have published this post several times over the last 16 years of blogging, and it fairly begged to be brought out again from the archives for newer readers. I have edited it slightly so that the dates are current. For all of 2023's disturbing headlines and armed conflicts, it had some special high points for our family -- our oldest grandson and his wife presented us with our first great-grandchild, our two youngest grandsons both got married, and still another of our grandsons became engaged and completed college. Mrs. RWP (the lovely Ellie) and I pray that everyone who comes here will enjoy good health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year. <i>--RWP</i>] <br><br> </b></b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-59965992832690355232023-12-23T06:20:00.005-05:002023-12-24T10:31:28.030-05:00 Backward, turn backward, O Time in thy flight<b> I don't know whether you have noticed (yeah, right) but I am a curious person. I don't mean that other people find my ways curious (I can hear some of you saying, "Oh, yes, we do") but that I was born with enough natural inquisitiveness that I like to know answers to questions that other people aren't even asking. "Curiosity killed the cat" is an old saying, but as Mrs. RWP often says, finding out brought it back.<br><br>
When I wrote the line in the previous post about the earth proceeding in its orbit around the sun at just the right pace, it made me wonder how many miles forward in its orbit around the sun does the earth move in one day? I suppose I could look it up somewhere, but I wanted to try to figure it out by myself using facts we were taught in school.<br><br>
Here are the facts one must know to determine the answer to my question:<br><br>
1. Earth's orbit around the sun is not circular, it is elliptical. However, we will treat it as a circle so as not to confuse ourselves further.<br><br>
2. We need to determine the circumcerence of the circle, that is, the length of Earth's orbit in miles.<br><br>
3. You may have heard the term <i>π</i>r<sup>2</sup> (pronounced "pie are square". My dad always insisted that pie are not square, pie are wedge-shaped, but I digress.) Since <i>π</i>r<sup>2</sup> is the formula for determining the area of a circle and we want to determine the circumference of a circle, <i>π</i>r<sup>2<br></sup> is of no use to us. We need a different formula. The formula we need to use is 2<i>π</i>r where r is the radius of the circle.<br><br>
4. It just so happens that the distance from Earth to the sun, 93 million miles, is also the radius of the circle whose circumference we are trying to determne. This distance is also what astronomers have dubbed an Astronomical Unit (1 AU), but this bit of trivia is irrelevant for our purposes today.<br><br>
5. Pi, as we all should know, is 3.14159<br><br>
We are now ready to do the math/maths, which is/are: <br><br>
2 × 3.14159 × 93,000,000<br><br>
and we find that the distance the Earth travels in its year-long orbit around the sun (that is, the circumference of a circle with a 93,000,000-mile radius) is 584,335,740 miles.<br><br>
It is then a siimple matter of dividing this number by the number of days in a year (use either 365 or 365.25, whatever floats your boat, it doesn't matter to me one iota) to find that our planet is hurtling forward through space about 1.6 million miles every single day. <br><br>
That is an interesting fact, but here's one that is even more interesting: our movement along the path of orbit around the sun is in a counter-clockwise (<i>British,</i> anti-clockwise) direction. <br><br>
I don't know why, but learning this astounded me in the same way earlier peoples must have been astounded to learn that the sun does not rise in the east and set in the west, but that our planet is spinning from west to east.<br><br>
Heretofore I have assumed that clockwise is the natural direction of things. Clocks move forward for a reason, to keep track of the passage of time. And though we can move mechanical timepieces backward, time itself cannot move backward. It keeps moving forward regardless of our actions. We cannot reclaim past moments but nowadays we can record them as they occur using fairly modern inventions the ancients never dreamed of and preserve them for future generations to peruse and, hopefully, enjoy. Maybe that's the lesson of Earth's orbit. Even though its motion runs counter to our feeble understanding, time itself keeps moving forward.<br><br>
That's all I can drum up for today, folks. I hope each one of you has a merry Christmas and, in case I don't post anything in the next few days, a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.<br><br>
Has anything astounded you lately?<br><br>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-45447040460291088312023-12-21T10:05:00.009-05:002023-12-21T12:40:29.620-05:00Today is…<b> ...the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere; that is, the first day of winter and first day of summer, respectively, in those two parts of the world. Here in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where I live, near 34°N latitude, the sun rose at 7:40 a.m. and will set at 5:31 p.m., giving me slightly less than 10 hours of daylight and leaving me with slightly more than 14 hours of darkness (night). It is the shortest day and longest night of the entire year. Everything north of the Arctic Circle has 24 hours of darkness. At the same time, in the suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, where kylie lives, near 34°S latitude, the opposite happened; the sun gave her about 14 hours of daylight, leaving her with about 10 hours of darkness. It is the longest day and shortest night of the entire year. Everything south of the Antarctic Circle has 24 hours of sunlight.<br><br>
There is a word that describes everything I have told you so far.<br><br>
Normal.<br><br>
Fot earthlings, terrans, creatures like us, that is. Any Martians or Venusians or Jupiterians who happen to be visiting among us would find it abnormal. Their normal is a whole different </b> <strike> <b> kettle of fish </strike> </b> <b> set of circumstances.<br><br>
In case you hadn't noticed, today is also the first day of the rest of your life. Cherish it. Be thankful for it. Spend it wisely, as it will never come again.<br><br>
The earth will do its part by continuing to spin at just the right speed, tilt at just the right angle, and proceed in its orbit around the sun at just the right pace so that conditions are right for you to do likewise tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.<br><br>
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22)</b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-46763106942301193822023-12-18T06:30:00.005-05:002023-12-20T13:41:47.410-05:00 Here they are at last, multiple Brunhildas <b> During December in other years I have blogged about St. Nicholas (Dec. 6th), St. Lucy (Dec. 13th), Beethoven's birthday (Dec. 16th), Hanukkah (date varies), and, of course, Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's Eve (dates do not vary). This year those are all out the window, gone with the wind as it were, and I find myself blogging instead about multiple Brunhildas.<br><br>
Yes, Virginia, there are multiple Brunhildas (some with alternate spellings).<br><br>
I was not aware of this phenomenon until I revealed that one of the answers I knew that no other contestant knew on <i>Jeopardy!</i> on November 30th was "Who is Brunhilda?" and reader Emma Springfield commented, "As far as Brunhilda, there are more than one of them, so I would like to know the clue." I replied that the clue mentioned valkyries.<br><br>
I was going to include all the gory details here in one post but that made for a very long post. So I decided instead to include links and ignore the fact that I did the heavy lifting and all you have to do is tap your finger.<br><br>
To read about Brunhilda the bird species, <a href=" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunhilda_(bird)"> CLICK HERE </a>.<br><br>
To read about Brunhilda the valkyrie of Norse mythology and Wagnerian opera fame, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brunhild-Norse-mythology"> CLICK HERE </a>.<br><br>
To read about Brunhilda the ship (SS Brunhilda), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Aghia_Thalassini"> CLICK HERE</a>.<br><br>
To read about Brunhilda the Frankish queen, <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Brunhilda_of_Austrasia/"> CLICK HERE </a>.<br><br>
To read about Brynhild the novel by H. G. Wells, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brynhild_(novel)"> CLICK HERE </a>.<br><br>
To read about Brunhilda the asteroid (<i>123 Brunhilda</i>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/123_Brunhild"> CLICK HERE </a>.<br><br>
There is also a comic-strip witch character named Broom-Hilda, but I'm not going to go there. You can look her up yourself if you are interested.<br><br>
If you are the type of person who never clicks on links, at least check out the bird species and maybe the asteroid. And if there are still more Brunhildas, I ask Emma Springfield to tell us about them in a comment. I'm officially exhausted.<br><br></b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-55225268509766321042023-12-15T21:27:00.001-05:002023-12-15T21:27:13.988-05:00Attention: Graham Edwards<b> I want to assure you, Graham, that I did not check your maths (in the U.S. we say your math) because I was aware instantly that the difference between 2023 and 1907 is 116. No calculations were necessary, either mentally or with benefit of paper and pencil, and if a mental calculation did occur it happened so rapidly and automatically that the result obtained bordered on what some might call intuitively obvious, except perhaps to children in primary school.<br><br>
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I have better things to do than sit around fact-checking everything I read, and if you give me a few minutes I'm sure I will think of some of them.<br><br>
P.S. - A very happy what-would-have-been-his-birthday to your father.</b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-29065358829177142212023-12-13T11:53:00.006-05:002023-12-26T11:02:33.121-05:00I can’t get to multiple Brunhildas just yet<b> ...because something else, or rather someone else, caught my attention. Since I have never been one to leave a rabbit trail unexplored, off we will now go into the wild blue yonder (how's that for a mixed metaphor?) at least for a little while.<br><br>
Although I like to think I am a fairly observant person who is fairly well-read, I have now reached the age (82 years, nine months) where every day makes me more aware of how little I really do know, the occasional <i>Jeopardy!</i> answer notwithstanding. This time the someone else who caught my attention, thanks to a fellow blogger named Rachel, was Umberto Eco. I had never heard of him even though he has been famous in certain circles for 40 years, ever since his book <i>The Name Of The Rose</i> was published.<br><br>
Rachel mentioned that she was reading another of his works, <i>How To Write A Thesis</i>. Here is an excerpt from Rachel's blog: <br><br>
<i>"I wrote the introduction to my essay this morning between Wordle and breakfast or it may have been the other way round. I happened to read Umberto Eco's essay on How to Write a Thesis before breakfast and Wordle and the timing was good where he told me to get all the silly things out of the way in my first draft, read through, and then write the serious version. If I want to throw my chances of a good degree on to the fire, and by all means do so if I want to, then use the silly first version. If I am actually going to give it the respect it deserves then write the serious version now I've got the first out of the way. So that's what I did. And the serious introduction and outline of what I am going to write about looks much more professional and that of a serious MA poetry student. Thanks Umberto. (I wrote the silly version last night. Slept on it and morning came). Umberto Eco is an Italian writer and philosopher."</i><br><br>
I thought Eco's advice to write your silly version first, then write your serious version was good advice indeed, advice that I wish I had encountered before writing <i>Billy Ray Barnwell Here: The Meanderings Of A Twisted Mind</i> that I converted into a blog at www.billyraybarnwellhere.blogspot.com (q.v.). <br><br>
I decided to look Umberto up, found several articles about his <i>How To Write A Thesis</i>, and opened one. The first words actually written by Umberto Eco tbat I ever read besides the ones referred to in Rachel's blog hit me in the face like a wet dishcloth:<br><br>
"You are not Proust. Do not write long sentences."<br><br>
My alter ego Billy Ray Barnwell could have benefited from reading Umberto Eco. It is great advice, right up there with the famous "Omit Needless words" section of Strunk and White's <i>The Elements Of Style</i>. The fact that Eco also wrote "You are not e. e. cummings" will be left to another day to be dealt with.<br><br>
Our foray into this part of the wild blue yonder is now ended. If anybody decides to check out my other blog (it's a Rolls-Royce), it will have been worth it.<br><br> </b>
rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2286321024842109960.post-58664527403864700112023-12-04T13:20:00.004-05:002023-12-04T13:35:21.345-05:00 Multiple Brunhildas will have to wait<b> ...because Mrs. RWP and I watched the 1980 film <i>Somewhere In Time</i> the other night on the freevee (formerly IMDb) movie channel and I need to discuss something with you.<br><br>
It starred Christopher Reeve (fresh from his 1978 success as <i>Superman</i>) and Jane Seymour (born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg and still more than a decade away from being selected for the title role in the television series <i>Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman</i>).<br><br>
<i> Somewhere In Time</i> is the unlikely story (warning; spoiler ahead) of a handsome young playwright who manages to travel back in time from 1980 to 1912 in order to pursue a romance with a beautiful and talented actress. This unlikely scenario requires complete concentration and self-hypnosis on the part of the playwright, who divests himself of all modern inventions, clothing, and accoutrements in order to achieve his not-to-be-denied desire, except, oddly enough, the cassette-tape player that plays his self-hypnosis spiel over and over. Lo and behold, wonder of wonders, he succeeds. The audience is required to suspend disbelief and go with the flow. After an all too brief but highly amorous night spent in each other's arms, the young playwright is snatched from his lover's presence and hurled back to the present (1980} when he finds a 1979 Lincoln-head penny in a pocket of his turn-of-the-century suit.<br><br>
Okay, I get that it is pure fantasy and I understand how the spell was broken by the presence of a coin from the future. What I don't understand, however, and this is what I wanted to discuss with you, is why a music box playing "Eighteenth Variation on 'Rhapsody on a Theme By Paganini', Opus 43" by Sergei Rachmaninoff (and repeated by a full orchestra at several emotionally-charged moments) did not rip Mr. Reeve from Ms.Seymour's presence long before the offending penny showed up. The reason for my suspension of my suspension of disbelief in this particular instance is that Mr. Rachmaninoff did not compose that piece of music until 1934, which, unless I am sadly mistaken, was 22 years after 1912. <br><br>
Do you agree or disagree? Please tell me in a comment and give reasons.<br><br>
Footnote. That music by Rachmaninoff has been included in weddings all over America in the decades since the film because <i>Somewhere In Time</i> has been loved by so many impressionable young and not-so-young brides-to-be.<br><br>
We will get to multiple Brunhildas eventually unless we are distracted by <i>Field Of Dreams</i> or <i>Purple Rose Of Cairo</i> or <i>Big Fish</i> or....<br><br></b>rhymeswithplaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10870439618129001633noreply@blogger.com12