"For nutritional quality, the surprising truth is that most tomatoes are created equal after all."
—Rodale's Organic Gardening (1987)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

Imagine a game of "What's My Line," in which either a cherub or an imp whispers into a blindfolded panelist's ear.

Are the whispered words pictured on the right of an angelic or a diabolical nature?

Answer: Diabolical. "But this demon whispered, 'Trust me,' and her soul longed to obey." —Lucy Blue, The Devil’s Knight, 2006, p. 260. (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)

Turn those e's silent, and Obama has a new slogan if he runs for president of China.*

Hop[e] and Chang[e]

* "Mr. Obama has told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China." —The Washington Examiner

[Thanks, Mike!]

Dana Michelle Burnett suggests that "Home decorating is not rocket science."  So much for those spaceship-themed wall stickers!

 

A lovely review of our dictionary of magic words, from the Silver Star Journal:

A massive and truly amazing tour de force of linguistic dexterity, merging sorcery, etymology, history, and literature into a global cascade of words of power magical and otherwise, drawn from countless ancient and modern civilizations. The art of Grammarye meets literary erudition, with each word examined, explained, and illuminated by wild and witty quotations from countless sources. Spells, mantras and Qabala meet slang, hokum and poetry. Enormous fun, and about thirty pages devoted to aspects of Abracadabra and its variants alone! Big fun! Hours of creative playtime!

"The act of reading impedes looking at words."
—Enrique Enriquez

"This may come as a surprise, but some of the things you do to relax can actually make you more stressed!"
—Trevor Romain, Stress Can Really Get on Your Nerves!

Our 9th cousin, the visionary Dr. John Dee (adviser and tutor to Queen Elizabeth I) is here beautifully celebrated by the artist Sev.

"The answer is simple:  change is happening constantly, with each tick of the clock, with each blink of an eye, with each breeze off the Bay.”

—Marcia Z. Nelson, The God of Second Chances (2001)

Paddling in school is controversial.  Yet how will students row, row, row their boats gently down the stream without a paddle?

"When you do walk away from a flip, keep it short and sweet. This is not rocket science. Either it makes sense or it doesn't." —D. Sidney Potter, The Flip (2010)

We find this advice useful whether the flip in question refers to a tract home or a finger.

"The surprising truth about performance evaluation is that it rarely works and is almost universally disliked by leaders and followers."
—Modern Hospital

"I want more than what I want."
—Salman Rushdie

"Language only works when two or more people agree that it does."
—Geof Huth