Our oldest cat, something like 17-18 years old (a very young cat when he showed up and demanded to be let in to become a part of our household) has become more and more finicky about what he eats, lately. I’ve finally found an expensive dry cat food (he’s even been known to turn his nose up at canned cat food he previously ate with relish) that is clamed to have no grains, etc, etc., that he finds irresistible. Each time I dish some out for him, I am tempted to try some. Yes. It does smell delicious.
Autocorrect
Was out and about earlier this AM, and at one point needed to navigate on foot past a guy using a leaf blower, so pulled out my ear plugs, inserted them, and walked on by. I noticed as I passed that the 30-something leaf blower dude was wearing absolutely no hearing protection whatsoever. Damaging his own hearing much? “Well, that problem won’t last long,” I thought to myself.
Staff Meeting!
Ever have one of “those” meetings? You know, one that explores such stupid topics as, “In a perfect world, in light of what your job description is, what would you do?” Answer: I would be doing my job without meaningless meetings like these wasting my time.
Mexican Politics: Always an Entertaining Show
A farce of populism (isn’t it always. . . until it degenerates into a Reign of Terror?) is currently playing out in Mexico. . . again. López Obrador’s “goo-goo” policies are more corrupt populism than actual socialism: pure vote-buying via “benefits” paid for by “handwavium” and backed by the hardline “drug war” policy turn of amnesty for drug lords and jobs for po’ folks created out of thin air, etc., etc., are gonna be fun to watch crash and burn. All the popcorn and beer his policies call for are gonna ruin my keto regimen. . .
Of course, corrupt populism of López Obrador’s type is indistinguishable in the short run from socialism–and frequently even claims high socialist “ideals,” but real socialism is slightly more brutal, and he’s not yet shown a socialist tyrant’s facile use of force, so. . . on with the show!
Expect the ricos to come out of this richer than ever, and López Obrador’s base to–as always–eventually get the shaft, and watch as Mexican politics once again demonstrates that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
I Understand. . .
. . . why some folks use “straightjacket” to refer to a straitjacket, but I wish they’d use a dictionary instead.
“Alright” Is NOT All Right
I know I have already said things like this before, but whether you are all ready to read it again or not, here is is again. All together now, repeat after me: “Alright is altogether all wrong.”
OK, I will make an exception. If a writer seriously wants to indicate that he is faux literate and does not want me to purchase his book or lend him my “eye time,” then he should go ahead and use “alright.”
That is all.
No, it’s not. Completely unrelated sidebar: Brit writers who set a story in the US? Stop referring to the second floor of a building as the first floor. Do that for stories set in “BrE-land.” Give “boot” the boot unless you are referring to footwear or kicking something. And for the sake of all things linguistic, learn how to express the subjunctive mood!
NOW that is all. For now.
*grumble-grumble-gripe-complain*
BTW, it’s not just me.
https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/alright-vs-all-right
And there are more such worthy commentaries. Many, many more. And a few quislings who are perfectly happy to sully the English language with such despicable monstrosities as “alright.” And yeh, James Joyce apparently used “alright.” Once. That only condemns his “suckitudinous” writing even more. (That he used “all right” the rest of the time does not excuse the shitty nature of his books.)
Hmmm, Addicted Much?
The printed page is my chief addiction (well, apart from procrastination, I suppose *heh*). Sample: a “My Books” filter at Baen results in nineteen pages at 20 ebooks per page, plus another page of eleven ebooks. Three hundred and ninety-one ebooks at a site where I purchase books maybe a couple of times a year.
Amazon’s listings of my ebook purchases run to the “many more than a few”. . . thousands.
Gutenberg doesn’t have a way to track all the books I’ve downloaded from its site, but I started there with a set of optical disks that–at the time–had everything Gutenberg offered (haven’t yet gotten all the way through that collection, and probably won’t, since some of the offerings are not necessarily to my taste).
And then there is my print collection, which beggars all the ebooks combined.
Yeh, the printed page is a trap for me. Ah, well. It could be worse. I could be addicted to Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind *cough* “news” *cough*.
Costume Party Idea
I don’t generally like costume parties. The last one I went to, about 42 years ago, was a Halloween costume party. I went as a nearly penniless grad student. *pa-dump-bump*
But, if I were to go to costume parties nowadays, in this age of SJWs berating folks for racism (and all other kinds of pseudo-“isms”and -“phobias”), methinks I might dress up as my favorite characters from books read as a young lad or from even earlier childhood: Little Black Sambo (eschewing the blackface makeup, just cos I don’t wear makeup well, at all, at all ?), Mowgli (now there’s a sight: Mowgli as some Olde Pharte in his seventh decade. Pass the mind bleach, please. *heh*), Uncle Tom (again, no makeup — it’s not you; it’s me 😉 ), etc.
Why? I dunno. Just to provoke some lame brained (or brain-dirtied) idiot into mockable behaviors. Because.
Now you know why I no longer get invited to parties. Works for me. Too many people give me a rash.
Amusing. . . and Possibly Significant?
A snippet of dialog from a book that begins with a female priest of the Church of England giving last rites to a dragon. . . (mind-bending, I know, but I guess ya hadda be there. . . or sumthin’ ):
“An archdeacon vampire with a soul,” I said weakly. “That’s going to be hard to believe.”
“I can believe that.”
“Because lots of people doubt that archdeacons have souls.”
*pa-dump-bump*
Or
Insightful and on target?
Hollyweird’s Penchant for Degrading Classics Continues Apace
Yeh, SJW propaganda in “Mary Poppins Returns,” courtesy of Disney, Marc Shaiman, and Scott Wittman (three elements that disrecommend almost any movie nowadays), seems to be the case. OK, so maybe it won’t as readily gag a maggot as their treatment of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” At least Shaiman and Whitman, from available trailers and synopses, cast, etc., seem to have been more subtle in their destructive efforts in the new M.P. movie.
Still, thanks but no thanks. I’ll stick with the 1964 version that mellowed P.L. Travers’s original, rather freakily scary, Mary Poppins (in her books). I may make myself watch the whole thing at some point, in an effort to bend over backwards in fairness, but currently available information doesn’t militate for any urgency to do so.
Meanwhile, sing along (in the space between your ears, as it were–there’s PLENTY of space between mine to accommodate the piece. . . *heh*):
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Mary Poppins:
When trying to express oneself, it’s frankly quite absurd,
To leaf through lengthy lexicons to find the perfect word.
A little spontaniaty keeps conversation keen,
You need to find a way to say, precisely what you mean…
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious,
Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Mary Poppins:
When Stone Age men were chatting, merely grunting would suffice.
Bert:
Now if they heard this word, they might have used it once or twice!
Mrs. Corry:
I’m sure Egyptian pharoahs would have grasped it in a jiff,
Then every single pyramid would bear this hieroglyph;
Oh!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Say it and wild animals would not seem so ferocious!
Mary Poppins:
Add some further flourishes, it’s so ro-co-co-coscious!
Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Bert:
The Druids could have carved it on their mighty monoliths!
Mrs. Corry:
I’m certain the ancient Greeks would have used it in their midst!
Mary Poppins:
I’m sure the Roman Empire only entered the abyss,
Because those Latin scholars never had a word like this!
Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Mary Poppins:
If you say it softly the effect can be hypnoscious!
Bert:
Check your breath before you speak, in case it’s halitotious!
Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Mary Poppins (spoken):
Of course you can say it backwards, which is Suoicodilaipxecitsiligarfilacrepus!
Michael (spoken):
She may be tricky, but she’s bloody good!
Mary Poppins:
So when the cat has got your tongue, there’s no need for dismay!
Just summon up this word and then you’ve got a lot to say!
Bert:
Pick out those eighteen consonants and sixteen vowels as well,
And put them in an order which is very hard to spell…
Mary Poppins:
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
Jane and Michael:
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s!
Ensemble:
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s!
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s!
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s!
Bert (spoken):
Here we go!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atroscious!
If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious,
Supercalifragilistic-
Jane and Michael:
Supercalifragilistic-
Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!