Honesty

    I blew a chance at a job with U-Haul many years ago because I answered the interviewer's questions honestly.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Sandy picked up the snow globe and shook it.  Evan took it before she could watch the snow settle over the sleepy town inside.

    “You shouldn’t invoke its magic unless you’re ready for it,” he advised.

    “What?”

    “If you shake it just right, the snow fairy will appear and grant you your heart’s deepest wish.  If you’re not ready, you could end up with something weird.”

    (from The Holiday Collection by The Eclective)

 

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Motivational Thursday - Astronautical Edition

Issues

Tuesday Astronomy

    That day is coming.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    There are five W’s in journalism: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.  You can screw up any of the last four and keep your job.  But if you get Who wrong – or, in my case, get too close to the wrong Who – you’ll be lucky if they give you a paper route.

    (from The Scavenger’s Daughter by Mike McIntyre)

 

    7½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Sunday Grammar Tip

Chess Pieces

    Really now.  How come?!

Bernie Memes

 There are a slew of Bernie memes out there.  This is the best one I've seen today.

Thursday Music Lesson

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Of course, you know Elvis’s favorite meal,” said Ratso.  Once he got started on something it was almost a clinical recall.

    “The case has taken a dark and unexpected turn, Ratso,” I said.  “The life of Elvis is now quite a peripheral matter.  As are the lives of Jesus, Hitler, and Bob Dylan-“

    “Well, said Ratso, “his favorite meal was peanut butter and banana sandwiches fried in Crisco.”

    “-as are our own lives,” I said despondently.

    “On white bread,” said Ratso.

    “There’s a shocker.”

    “Oh, yeah,” said Ratso, “and with every meal he only drank ice water.”

    “Ever the health nut.”

    (from Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola by Kinky Friedman)

 

    7½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Eviction Notice

    Tomorrow will be a great day.

Limerick Monday

Art Appreciation Sunday

"The Fallen Angel" (1847) by Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889). It showed up (twice) in a book I'm reading.

Portmanteau Saturday

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Some people,” the Lady said, “are scared of me.  Can you beat that?  Scared of an old woman in her one hundred and sixth year!  And me layin’ here can’t even keep no supper down!  You love your husband, Miz Mackenson?”

    “Yes, I do.  Very much.”

    “That’s good.  Love strong and true can get you through a lot of dookey.  And I’m here to tell you, honey, you got to walk through many fields of dookey to get to be my age.”

    (from Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon)

 

    10*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Thursday Punnery

    AD&D Edition.

Francophone Tuesday

Book Excerpt for the Day

"How, I beg you, Miss Speedwell, is a man of no fortune and fewer prospects supposed to fund such an expedition?"

I puffed out my lips with impatience. "Really, Mr. Stoker, your lack of imagination is sorely trying. You might apply to subscribers. Wealthy people are always looking to spend their money in ways they can boast of to their friends. For that matter, your patrons need not be wealthy. You could advertise and take very small subscriptions from prosperous merchants and other up-and-comers. Promise them their name on plaques or to call a species after them. People love to have things they don't understand named for them."

(from A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn)

8*/10. The complete review is here.

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English is a Goofy Language

Me and Mandarin

A Message to Congress

z

a

x

Vocabulary Thursday - Japanese Edition

j

Art Appreciation Tuesday

Book Excerpt for the Day

"That word means something else, you know" his father had told him once, when Mission had spoken of revolution. "It also means to go around and around. To revolve. One revolution, and you get right back to where you started."

(from Shift by Hugh Howey)

8*/10. The complete review is here.

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Science Sunday

Friday Vocabulary

i

Book Excerpt for the Day

O ants crawl my drunken arms

and they let Van Gogh sit in a cornfield

and take Life out of the world with a shotgun,

ants crawl my drunken arms

and they sent Rimbaud

to running guns and looking under rocks for gold,

O ants crawl my drunken arms,

they put Pound in a nuthouse

and made Crane jump into the sea in his pajamas,

ants, ants, crawl my drunken arms

as our schoolboys scream for Willie Mays

instead of Bach.

(from On Drinking by Charles Bukowski)

7½*/10. The complete review is here.

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Art Appreciation Tuesday

Monday Maths

s

u

z

Friday Haiku

Book Excerpt for the Day

Initially the docent had refused to take pity on the man who claimed to have come all the way from America to pray at the Baptistry of San Giovanni in hopes of curing his terrible skin disease. Eventually, though, he had been inspired to become sympathetic, aided no doubt by an offer of five hundred dollars for five minutes alone in the baptistry ... combined with the growing fear that this contagious-looking person would stand there beside him for the next three hours until the building opened.

(from Inferno by Dan Brown)

7½*/10. The complete review is here.

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Playing Guitar

g

l

o

Pronunciation

 

Sunday Sermon

Why I don't go camping

It's the weekend!!

Etymology Thursday

Book Excerpt for the Day

    The drone nodded.  “We were sent out as cannon fodder.  We turned out to be better at staying alive than expected.  When they attached us to a praetorian regiment, we thought they wanted us for our survival skills.”

    “What did they want you for?”

    “Breakfast.”

    “So what happened?”

    SVN/2187 shrugged.  “There was an unfortunate error.  Our commanding officer accidentally got shot by the entire platoon, and then happened to set himself on fire and fell down a hole.  And then a bio-grenade rolled down there after him.  For some reason, high command decided that we were responsible.”

    (from The Pincers of Death by Toby Frost)

 

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Covid Testing

They've changed the sample-taking protocol for Covid-testing where we go. Before, they'd stick a Q-Tip in your nostrils. Now, you have to spit/drool/salivate through a straw into a vial.

My learning curve was rather steep for that new process.