I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought

November 1, 2009

(permalink)

"The sky is the limit"? Perhaps for meteorologists and airline pilots. Why set one's sights so low?

#sky

October 25, 2009

(permalink)

I misunderstood a warning sign that said "Hot cars kill dogs." I thought it was referring to a Corvette (fast cars run over animals), or perhaps a Jaguar (for a play on the food chain).

October 19, 2009

(permalink)

Folklore warns against eating oysters in months without "R's" (namely May through August). Those oyster-free months constitute the "dog days of summer," which is ironic given that "R is the dog's letter" (Ben Jonson, 1636).

#oyster

September 22, 2009

(permalink)

"In the curl of my tongue is the question still sleeping." —Norman Mailer, Ancient Evenings

(Did we mention what an astonishing novel that is?)

Click to view a larger image

Bacchus photo via Vocal Odyssey.

September 2, 2009

(permalink)

Back in c. 1909, a teacher sent my great-great grandmother a note asking why her daughter didn't come to school and reassuring her that the classroom was warm, comfortable, and germ-free!

Many decades later, I (as the hooky-player's 15-year-old grandson) testified before the Louisiana State Legislature on behalf of the state's first homeschooling bill. That legislation became a model for several other states.

Click to view a larger image

July 27, 2009

(permalink)

"Religion decays, the icon remains." —Julian Barnes, A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters

#religion #icon

July 10, 2009

(permalink)

"The naïve question often proves to be the central one." —Julian Barnes, A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters

June 29, 2009

(permalink)

"When a King dies, we, who have to put into words the strange grief and grievous strangeness of the time, then know how ill we have served ourselves." —James Cameron, What a Way to Run the Tribe, 1968

June 22, 2009

(permalink)

From our Magic Words outpost at Blogger:

"I believe that everybody is singing an inner song, and the question isn't whether we are or not — we are! — the question is whether this is a song of power or a song of weakness; whether it is a song of love or a song of hatred. That's the question."

—Eugene Burger, from his interview in The Magic Circular (May 2009)

#eugene burger

May 31, 2009

(permalink)

"There's nothing beautiful and excellent left. You must dream up beauty and goodness and justice. Tell me, do you know how to dream?" —Robert Walser, Jakob von Gunten

#dream

May 27, 2009

(permalink)

"Something great and audacious must happen in secrecy and silence, or it perishes and falls away, and the fire that was awakened dies again." —Robert Walser, Jakob von Gunten

#secrecy

May 25, 2009

(permalink)

"People who get bored are ones who always reckon that something amusing ought to come at them from outside." —Robert Walser, Jakob von Gunten

#boredom

May 21, 2009

(permalink)

"If one thinks, one resists, and that is always so ugly and ruinous to things. Thinkers, if only they knew what harm they do. Anyone who industriously does not think, does something, he certainly does, and that is more necessary." —Robert Walser, Jakob von Gunten

#thinking

May 14, 2009

(permalink)

It's windy today, and we saw a crow valiantly flying against the current, making no headway. From our less-windy vantage on the wooded cliff side, we were tempted to tell the crow to take the forest route, but then we remembered that you can't tell a crow how to fly from point A to point B.

#crow

May 11, 2009

(permalink)

Enriqve Enriqvez turns every U into a V on his blog. Here's why: "Like the stvdent who devovrs covntless books on the tarot and still feels thirsty, the letter U has a blvnt edge. No matter how mvch information it holds, it is never ready to povr that knowledge back into the world."

#letter u #letter v

May 7, 2009

(permalink)

"Go on yearning for a bit longer. You've no idea what bliss, what grandeur there is in yearning, in waiting. So wait." —Robert Walser, Jakob von Gunten

#waiting #limbo

May 1, 2009

(permalink)

"I know it, somewhere here there are marvelous things." —Robert Walser, Jakob von Gunten

#marvelous

April 30, 2009

(permalink)

"Cheesy" movies are not limited to Spaghetti Westerns. Why not specify the type of cheese? If the film simply stinks, it undoubtedly qualifies as a Limburger, Vieux Boulogne, or perhaps Gorgonzola. If there are too many plot holes, call it Swiss Cheese. If the film suffers from stiltedness, why not call it a Stilton? Overly dry humor or wit suggests a Parmesan or Romano, while bland or insipid content might be called Buffalo Mozzarella. A film made quickly and cheaply (even if glossily) recalls American Cheese, while overly mushy emotionality suggests Cottage Cheese. And, of course, so-called "blue movies" would be Bleu Cheese. Cheesy movies are often quite entertaining and good in their own way, in which case we might call them Gouda.

#cheese

April 29, 2009

(permalink)

Impossible questions beg for ingeniously hilarious answers.

Today is the day to teach your brain to play! We're pleased to announce the publication of our new puzzle book, Presumptive Conundrums: Rhetorical Math Questions (+ Answers). It's been called our most surprising, thought-provoking, and laugh-inducing creation to date. Take advantage of the introductory price at Amazon.com, or drop us an e-mail for a signed or review copy (our e-mail address is on this page).

April 26, 2009

(permalink)

This coloring book contains 89 images of white things, printed on white paper. Is one to fill in these images with a white crayon? Or is one to let go of the crayon and practice the Taoist concept of wu-wei (actionless action)?

"Happiness writes white. It does not show up on the page."
—Henry de Montherlant (1895-1972) (via DJMisc)

Happiness also colors white.

#minimalism #coloring book #color white

Page 160 of 173

> Older Entries...