Because I live just outside of Albuquerque, I have access to both my town's library and the libraries in Albuquerque. This is fun because it significantly widens the pool of book possibilities.
The closest Albuquerque branch library is in the Taylor Ranch neighborhood. Sometimes I think the library staff is psychic in a slightly annoying sort of way.
This is because I had requested several books. They left me a voice mail message the other day saying I had a book ready to be picked up. I got busy and waited a couple of days before picking it up today. After I got home, I found another message - another book is ready to be picked up. Grrr! The second book was NOT on the hold shelf when I picked up the first book.
Oh, well. In the grand scheme of things, this is a petty annoyance indeed. It could be worse. And if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year, it'll be a pretty good year.
Another annoyance? The weather. Mother Nature is being a great big tease. For most of the afternoon, there've have been lovely dark clouds all around my house. Have I seen a drop of rain? Why no. To rub salt in the wound, the local news showed that the east side of town had gotten a very lovely shower.
Ah, well.
Keeping my
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Driving Around
I was driving around today and for a while was behind a car that had a sign on its back windown that said "Singing Lessons - All Age." Let's put aside the nitpicking about whether it should have read "All Ages" - perhaps the 'S' had come loose and the lack was not noticed by the vehicle's owner.
I bring this up because it got me thinking about the audition process for the show 'American Idol' and specifically for the 2010 season. I don't watch the bulk of the show, but I do like to watch the auditions. I do this with the same morbid fascination that I usually reserve for train wrecks. There are just so many people who are so very eager to display their complete and utter lack of talent on national TV. They quite often do so with the complete and utter ignorance of what very little talent they have.
In the auditions for the 2010 season, one young woman was turned down by the panel. She did have a modicum of singing ability. She wasn't as horribly bad as William Hung. But she definitely did not have anywhere near enough talent to be considered as a viable contestant.
She took umbrage at the panel's opinions and very irately told them that she DID have talent and that she's got the singing teachers to prove it. Yes, teachers, plural. You could see it on everyone's face - perhaps she needed to go back to her teachers and ask for a partial refund of fees paid. Because if she's had YEARS of lessons from multiple teachers, then she either should have a better singing voice or her teachers should have been more straightforward with her concerning her potential as a singer. I would guess the teachers were more interested in receiving the fees than in telling the young woman the truth.
Oh, the places my thoughts go when I'm behind a car at a stoplight.
Papillon
I bring this up because it got me thinking about the audition process for the show 'American Idol' and specifically for the 2010 season. I don't watch the bulk of the show, but I do like to watch the auditions. I do this with the same morbid fascination that I usually reserve for train wrecks. There are just so many people who are so very eager to display their complete and utter lack of talent on national TV. They quite often do so with the complete and utter ignorance of what very little talent they have.
In the auditions for the 2010 season, one young woman was turned down by the panel. She did have a modicum of singing ability. She wasn't as horribly bad as William Hung. But she definitely did not have anywhere near enough talent to be considered as a viable contestant.
She took umbrage at the panel's opinions and very irately told them that she DID have talent and that she's got the singing teachers to prove it. Yes, teachers, plural. You could see it on everyone's face - perhaps she needed to go back to her teachers and ask for a partial refund of fees paid. Because if she's had YEARS of lessons from multiple teachers, then she either should have a better singing voice or her teachers should have been more straightforward with her concerning her potential as a singer. I would guess the teachers were more interested in receiving the fees than in telling the young woman the truth.
Oh, the places my thoughts go when I'm behind a car at a stoplight.
Papillon
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Random Thoughts
One last entry from Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter:
A few interesting revelations made by David Ewen in his American Popular Songs..."Take Me Out to the Ball Game," the song classic about America's favorite sport, was written by Albert von Tilzer, who didn't see a baseball game until twenty years after he wrote the lyrics; "My Blue Heaven," one of the most successful songs about marital bliss, was written by Walter Donaldson, a bachelor; the most celebrated songs about the Southland were the work of Stephen Foster, who never set foot below the Mason-Dixon line; and Van Alstyne's "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" was inspired by the composer's visit to New York's Central Park, which has no apple trees.
-------------------------------
Otherwise, I don't have much in the way of thoughts, random or otherwise.
We had some fairly ferocious looking clouds earlier in the afternoon and I was really hoping for some rain. But they were all tease and no action, at least not at my house.
I hope you're having a great weekend.
Papillon
A few interesting revelations made by David Ewen in his American Popular Songs..."Take Me Out to the Ball Game," the song classic about America's favorite sport, was written by Albert von Tilzer, who didn't see a baseball game until twenty years after he wrote the lyrics; "My Blue Heaven," one of the most successful songs about marital bliss, was written by Walter Donaldson, a bachelor; the most celebrated songs about the Southland were the work of Stephen Foster, who never set foot below the Mason-Dixon line; and Van Alstyne's "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" was inspired by the composer's visit to New York's Central Park, which has no apple trees.
-------------------------------
Otherwise, I don't have much in the way of thoughts, random or otherwise.
We had some fairly ferocious looking clouds earlier in the afternoon and I was really hoping for some rain. But they were all tease and no action, at least not at my house.
I hope you're having a great weekend.
Papillon
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Oh, My
Another excerpt from the previously mentioned book Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter:
-------------
Well-brought-up young ladies in the 1870's learned their good manners from the pages of a book that is unbelievable by present-day standards. It was called Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms and it has just been republished under the slightly updated title of Never Give a Lady a Restive Horse.
Professor Hill gave strict orders to young ladies just climbing out of bed in the morning. "Take a complete bath at once," he commanded, adding, "A simple washing out of the eyes will not do at all." In the chapter headed "Errors to be avoided," Professor Hill brooked no nonsense from male readers, either. "NEVER," he ordered, "allow butter, soup, or other food to remain on your whiskers." There are forty-one other "nevers" listed by Professor Hill, including things not to be done in hansom cabs and other horse-drawn vehicles.
-------------------------
OK, I'm now kinda grossed out at the thought of what bearded men are allowing to remain in and on their whiskers. Ick! At least he was trying to get people to bathe regularly. It certainly helps to reduce the 'funk' in a room full of mostly unwashed people.
Hmmmm, I may go over to Amazon and see if I can locate a copy of this book. It sounds like it could be a fun read. Perhaps similar to a list I read a while back from perhaps the 1940's or 1950's with rules for wives and how they should maintain their households and keep their husbands happy. It's a good thing I wasn't a housewife back then or my head would have been inside that gas oven hoping for a quick end.
Papillon
-------------
Well-brought-up young ladies in the 1870's learned their good manners from the pages of a book that is unbelievable by present-day standards. It was called Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms and it has just been republished under the slightly updated title of Never Give a Lady a Restive Horse.
Professor Hill gave strict orders to young ladies just climbing out of bed in the morning. "Take a complete bath at once," he commanded, adding, "A simple washing out of the eyes will not do at all." In the chapter headed "Errors to be avoided," Professor Hill brooked no nonsense from male readers, either. "NEVER," he ordered, "allow butter, soup, or other food to remain on your whiskers." There are forty-one other "nevers" listed by Professor Hill, including things not to be done in hansom cabs and other horse-drawn vehicles.
-------------------------
OK, I'm now kinda grossed out at the thought of what bearded men are allowing to remain in and on their whiskers. Ick! At least he was trying to get people to bathe regularly. It certainly helps to reduce the 'funk' in a room full of mostly unwashed people.
Hmmmm, I may go over to Amazon and see if I can locate a copy of this book. It sounds like it could be a fun read. Perhaps similar to a list I read a while back from perhaps the 1940's or 1950's with rules for wives and how they should maintain their households and keep their husbands happy. It's a good thing I wasn't a housewife back then or my head would have been inside that gas oven hoping for a quick end.
Papillon
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A Glitter of Unicorns?
As has already been mentioned, I love going to places like Goodwill & looking through their used books. Most recently (yesterday to be precise), I found a book edited by Bennett Cerf. (For those too young to remember him, he was a publisher, lecturer, columnist, toastmaster, and TV personality.)
The book is Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter. It was published in 1970 and there is a fair amount of humor in it that is rather dated or is what would now be considered politically incorrect.
However, I have run across some items that I like. Here's one:
"Almost everybody knows that lions travel in prides, that pups come in litters, that elephants en masse are referred to as herds, and that fish navigate in schools. But you'll have to dig into James Lipton's unique book An Exaltation of Larks to find that in their time and fashion, good folks have referred to an ostentation of peacocks, an impatience of wives, an unction of undertakers, a sneer of butlers, a twinge of dentists, a tantrum of decorators, an indifference of waiters, a descent of relatives, a no-no of nannies, and a babble of barbers. If the game appeals to you, you might strike out on your own."
I may just have to see if I can find a copy of Lipton's book. It sounds rather a hoot (of owls?).
So what sorts of things can you come up with?
Papillon
The book is Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter. It was published in 1970 and there is a fair amount of humor in it that is rather dated or is what would now be considered politically incorrect.
However, I have run across some items that I like. Here's one:
"Almost everybody knows that lions travel in prides, that pups come in litters, that elephants en masse are referred to as herds, and that fish navigate in schools. But you'll have to dig into James Lipton's unique book An Exaltation of Larks to find that in their time and fashion, good folks have referred to an ostentation of peacocks, an impatience of wives, an unction of undertakers, a sneer of butlers, a twinge of dentists, a tantrum of decorators, an indifference of waiters, a descent of relatives, a no-no of nannies, and a babble of barbers. If the game appeals to you, you might strike out on your own."
I may just have to see if I can find a copy of Lipton's book. It sounds rather a hoot (of owls?).
So what sorts of things can you come up with?
Papillon
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy Independence Day!
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
-------------------------
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- Declaration of Independence of United States of America
---------------------------------------------------------------
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
- John F. Kennedy
-------------------------------
To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.
- Theodore H. White
---------------------------
Several years ago I read an interesting bit of information concerning the phrase 'the pursuit of happiness'. (I don't the title of the book/article where the information was.) In the 1700's the use of the word 'pursuit' was not confined to meaning 'to chase or hunt after'. Instead, it was also used to mean the study of a subject. So Jefferson most likely did not mean that we should chase after happiness as if it were a butterfly flying just out of our reach. Rather, we should study happiness and find out how to make happiness work for our particular situation.
By the way, did you know that in 1777 Mary Katherine Goddard was picked by the Continental Congress to do the first official printing of the Declaration of Independence with the names of all the signers? Mary Katherine was one of a family of printers doing business in and around Rhode Island and Maryland. The family business was headed by her mother, Sarah Updike Goddard, and also included Sarah's son/Mary Katherine's brother, William.
Have a great day!
Papillon
- Benjamin Franklin
-------------------------
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- Declaration of Independence of United States of America
---------------------------------------------------------------
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
- John F. Kennedy
-------------------------------
To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.
- Theodore H. White
---------------------------
Several years ago I read an interesting bit of information concerning the phrase 'the pursuit of happiness'. (I don't the title of the book/article where the information was.) In the 1700's the use of the word 'pursuit' was not confined to meaning 'to chase or hunt after'. Instead, it was also used to mean the study of a subject. So Jefferson most likely did not mean that we should chase after happiness as if it were a butterfly flying just out of our reach. Rather, we should study happiness and find out how to make happiness work for our particular situation.
By the way, did you know that in 1777 Mary Katherine Goddard was picked by the Continental Congress to do the first official printing of the Declaration of Independence with the names of all the signers? Mary Katherine was one of a family of printers doing business in and around Rhode Island and Maryland. The family business was headed by her mother, Sarah Updike Goddard, and also included Sarah's son/Mary Katherine's brother, William.
Have a great day!
Papillon
Thursday, July 1, 2010
July Thoughts
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”
Erma Bombeck
-----------------------------------------------------
One of the things I like about summer is the ability to go out at night and just stand and look at the stars. Let's face it, it's just too cold in the wintertime to be outside for any length of time. But sometimes on a summer's evening I like to walk outside and just look up and wonder who else is out there in the great beyond. I find it to be a very nice way to relax.
I live in a generally quiet neighborhood where most folks don't stay up really late. So when I walk outside it feels peaceful, as if I have the whole place just to myself. Once in a while I can hear traffic on the nearest major street, but generally it's just me and Mother Nature.
I do have to laugh at myself sometimes. I'll be standing outside and the wind will pick up a little bit. Occasionally something will be blown by the wind and consequently will make an odd noise (usually it's just a leaf scraping across the pavement). It'll startle me and I'll then begin wondering if it isn't actually a member of the local coyote population. Or some other kind of critter. I'll then hot foot it back into the house. Silly me.
Thinking of the local critters, there was the cutest little bunny sitting in my driveway earlier. He wasn't a baby but wasn't big enough to be full grown. I guess the bunny equivalent of a tween. I almost OD'ed on the cuteness of that bunny. I would have loved to pick him (her?) up and just snuggle the heck out of him/her. But I didn't just because I knew I couldn't get anywhere close enough. No point in trying. But it did sit there awhile and let me admire.
Otherwise, I'm just sitting here thinking about how the year's already half gone. When I was a chld, the grownups would tell me that time goes by faster as you become an adult. They didn't warn me that sometimes it feels like I'm in a speeding car or a bullet train.
Papillon
Erma Bombeck
-----------------------------------------------------
One of the things I like about summer is the ability to go out at night and just stand and look at the stars. Let's face it, it's just too cold in the wintertime to be outside for any length of time. But sometimes on a summer's evening I like to walk outside and just look up and wonder who else is out there in the great beyond. I find it to be a very nice way to relax.
I live in a generally quiet neighborhood where most folks don't stay up really late. So when I walk outside it feels peaceful, as if I have the whole place just to myself. Once in a while I can hear traffic on the nearest major street, but generally it's just me and Mother Nature.
I do have to laugh at myself sometimes. I'll be standing outside and the wind will pick up a little bit. Occasionally something will be blown by the wind and consequently will make an odd noise (usually it's just a leaf scraping across the pavement). It'll startle me and I'll then begin wondering if it isn't actually a member of the local coyote population. Or some other kind of critter. I'll then hot foot it back into the house. Silly me.
Thinking of the local critters, there was the cutest little bunny sitting in my driveway earlier. He wasn't a baby but wasn't big enough to be full grown. I guess the bunny equivalent of a tween. I almost OD'ed on the cuteness of that bunny. I would have loved to pick him (her?) up and just snuggle the heck out of him/her. But I didn't just because I knew I couldn't get anywhere close enough. No point in trying. But it did sit there awhile and let me admire.
Otherwise, I'm just sitting here thinking about how the year's already half gone. When I was a chld, the grownups would tell me that time goes by faster as you become an adult. They didn't warn me that sometimes it feels like I'm in a speeding car or a bullet train.
Papillon
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