Abecedarian Archives : March 2009

March 31, 2009

I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought	(permalink)

William Burroughs on the importance of [literally] letting go:

I saw a picture of a balloon suddenly and unexpectedly soaring and some people still holding onto the ropes connected to the balloon were suddenly jerked into the air and most of them didn't have the survival IQ to let go in time. Seconds later they are sixty, a hundred feet off the ground. Those who didn't let go fell off at five hundred or a thousand feet. A basic survival lesson is: Learn to let go. ...

Suppose you were holding one of those ropes? Would you have let go in time. which is, of course, at the first upward yank? I'll tell you something interesting. You would have a much better chance to let go in time now that you have read this paragraph than if you hadn't read it. Writing, if anything, is a word of warning.

LET GO!

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#letting go #burroughs

Forgotten Wisdom	(permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

For Gary Barwin.

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A Fine Line Between...	(permalink)

Jeff writes:

Very true, and I have the fat lip to prove it.

Prof. Oddfellow quotes:

"'Frankly, this is not cojones, this is cowardice,' she exclaimed — a line that outraged straitlaced diplomats."
—Thomas Lippman, Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy

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March 30, 2009

Forgotten Wisdom	(permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

Click to view a larger image

A collaboration with J C-E.

See Omegaword Jeff's whimsical take on the whole thing.

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#stacked animals

I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought	(permalink)

A fine spring day brings out droves of people, so very like a plague of beetles.

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Ampersands	(permalink)

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Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier	(permalink)

Who are funnier: Germans or Russians?

Clue: This is according to an expert on Chinese history

Answer: Russians. The Germans are “less humorous than the Russians, less witty than the French.” (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)

Citation: Edward Harper Parker, China, Past and Present (1903), p. 323.

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Jeff writes:

Hey, anyone can be funny when he's full of wine, or vodka. Not so easy with a mouth full of liverwurst. But less witty? I think not.

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Forgotten Wisdom	(permalink)

From the inimitable Tom Weller, author of the classic Science Made Stupid, comes this "minim" (the perfect answer to the maxim):

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March 29, 2009

Puzzles and Games	(permalink)

Consult the daisy, customize your artwork, and save or print your result.

"He loves me not. He loves me. Ever sacrifice a flower, petal by petal, for love's sake?"
—Sheila Den Lawrence, If I Can Help Somebody, 2005

Here's our virtual version of the age-old flower-petal game. Pluck the daisy petals to see if the object of your affection loves you back.

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Unicorns	(permalink)

Click to view a larger image

Calligraphic unicorns via BibliOdyssey.

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Annotated Ellipses	(permalink)

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Puzzles and Games :: Letter Grids	(permalink)

This puzzle grid asks, "Is there life on marshmallows?" The grid contains several big words. Can you find them?

• 7-letter words: 27
• 8-letter words: 7
• 9-letter words: 1

All letters in the word must touch (in any direction), and no square may be reused.

Click to display solutions

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A Fine Line Between...	(permalink)

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March 28, 2009

Strange Dreams	(permalink)

"Many Moons More," a painting in oil and epoxy resin by Erin Parish, 2005.

Christine shares:

I had a dream recently where I looked out of the window, and saw there were six moons, each at different phases of the moon's cycle. As I gaze up at the night sky, I see the stars stretching across it, and then bursts of colour, like celestial fireworks. I wonder how I've never seen this before, and feel filled with wonder at the world.

Christine's dream reminds us of our strange dream recounted here, and of our semicolon's dream of a double moon.

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Samar shares:

This reminded me of the dream that I had probably last week or so. I saw that I was on the highest building in the world and I didn't know what the time was ... evening or early morning ... it was still dark with tinge of blue ... and I saw the world round ... clouds enveloped the whole world ... and suddenly the moon in the sky fell down ... it was something that scared me a lot.

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I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought	(permalink)

"If there's a problem, fill out complaint form and place it in an envelope addressed to the name of the hospital in which you were born." —Franz Kafka International, Prague's "most alienating airport"

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Puzzles and Games :: D-ictionary	(permalink)

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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up?	(permalink)

Did you hear about the orgy for fops? It ended not with a bang, but a simper.

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March 27, 2009

Colorful Allusions	(permalink)

What is green?
The grass is green.
With small flowers between.

—Christina Rossetti, ‘What Is Pink? A Rose Is Pink,’ 1872; quoted by Bruce R. Smith in The Key of Green, 2009.

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Forgotten Wisdom	(permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

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A Fine Line Between...	(permalink)

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