Some humor from another source across the Atlantic. You may want to drop in on this blog from time to time.
Yes!
Here is the leaning tower of Pisa being supported by a giant sausage – Amazing!
As legendary actor Tom Hanks said, “I like towers and I like sausages so this is a win win for me.”
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In case you are thinking about seeing the film, here is a “non-professional” reviewers look at the film.
GRAVITY is every bit as good as you’ve heard. It’s not just a nail-biting thriller, not just far and away the best cinematic depiction of what it’s like to be in space, not just the finest performance ever from Sandra Bullock. Even more important, it introduces new concepts to the language of film: swirling, swooping, gyroscopic curvatures that observe no earthbound rules, that can take you inside a space helmet and out again without cuts or dissolves; the opening shot alone lasts for nearly 13 minutes. They’ll have to invent a new term to describe this constantly malleable point of view. But the story doesn’t stop long enough to let you ponder “how’d they do that?”* For all I know, they built some rockets and shot two game movie stars into Earth orbit. You’ve never seen anything like this. Nobody has.
It’s a howling, crowd-pleasing, eye-popping triumph for director/co-writer Alfonso Cuaron. His resume is…
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What out-of-tune violin do I use to back up the sophomoric whining of these folks?
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LA the land of … well, you decide. Maybe this blog posting will help.
Hate New York City, it’s cold and it’s damp…
Who didn’t enjoy the “cold open” to the 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony? It happened a few weeks ago, but HBO preemed it to the nation late last month. In the midst of La-La Land, where the remaining top-down portion of the music business truly resides (sorry, Clive), Randy Newman tickled the ivories and teased about my town. By the time “Rand” acquired tempo, there were Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and John Fogerty standing up there with him, ready to help blast out the lyrics to a ditty so rockin and ultra-ironic that it almost got voted the official song of Los Angeles, however it is you do that. However…
[LITTLE SANTA MONICA?!]
Muchacho, I hate L.A.!
Now, I have some perfectly rational friends, lovely people all, who live and even thrive in La-La…
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An interesting rumination on some well-known opening sentences.
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
That’s one of the greatest opening lines in literary history, for my money. It has stuck with me for nearly thirty years. In fact, I just quoted it by heart (double-checking only to make sure I got the comma right: I did). As everybody else who has encountered it also doubtless remembers, William Gibson’s brilliant novel NEUROMANCER begins with this sentence. I haven’t read the book since it was first published in 1984, but I still remember this line perfectly, because it smacked me like an open hand.
We know instinctively that a musical melody can get under our skins. Even a tune we had had quite enough of remains inside us, in some primal part of our brains that can whisk us back to the moment when it was contemporary and conjure long-forgotten emotions, both fond…
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Part 16: The noir comes to Eleanor.
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Upon occasion, it seems that there are gaps in the English language: experiences, ideas, emotions, and even eventualities that don’t quite have a word to identify them. Today, we have one such experience in need of a new definition…
They congressed.
v.i. (verb intransitive): To meet for no discernible reason, to then accomplish no discernible goal, and then to adjourn with no discernible conclusion.
Speeches can be made, positions staked out, even bills passed out, but all of little note in addressing the issues at hand.
They congressed despite themselves, and were well paid for it.
As well as a verb intransitive which means a verb that needs no direct object, this is a new classification of verb, known as the verb intransigent: meaning a verb that has no direct object and does no direct work due to the entropy of ideology, intellect, or the simple overwhelming asinine nature of the persons congressing.
A fine example of a place where congressing takes place. A place where good governing goes to die.
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Critic: He wanted to be a novelist. He has achieved his ambition: a bad novelist.
Reminds me of the joke,
Question: “What’s the difference between a writer and a bad writer?”
Answer: “The critic.”
Or…
“A ‘critic’ is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men. There is logic in this; he is unbiased—he hates all creative people equally.”
– Robert A. Heinlein, novelist
Novelist Robert A. Heinlein autographing one of his works.
Mr. Dupree makes some points well worth considering.
The “health care summit” was every bit the useless exercise we all expected. Depending on your position, you saw what you wanted to see. But clearly, there’s no future in seeking compromise with the Pubs, who are too busy salivating over their chances in November to do anything positive. It’s time to pass health care reform the only way possible: through the reconciliation process.
Pubs and their fellow crawlers are already howling, because they know it’s possible – even easy. After all, that’s how they passed Dick Cheney’s two big tax cuts. Oops, I mean George W. Bush’s. Or maybe I don’t. They damn near got the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge okayed for oil drilling the same way: reconciliation, which smooths the way through the Senate and does away with the 60-vote requirement to cut off debate. But now they’re talking about how this process subverts the will of the…
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The Golden Age of Authors: Why Books Are Alive and Well
In an article on the Huffington Post web site, writer and publicist Arielle Ford wrote about this Golden Age and gave six reasons why. They are listed below. To read the entire article go to link listed below.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arielle-ford/the-golden-age-of-authors_b_975119.html#es_share_ended
Here are six reasons why today is the ideal time to pursue your dream of being an author:
It’s all you. Thanks to the Internet, you can now control your destiny to a greater degree than ever before. Between Facebook, Twitter, online book launches, YouTube, and far more online resources than I can list here, you’ve never had as much power to spread your message, grow your audience, and build a rewarding career as an author/speaker/expert.
All the secrets are out. When I first started in publishing, discussing the How To’s of succeeding as an author was like flashing your g-string at the company party. Today, industry insiders like me are happy to share the strategies and tactics successful authors use to get their books in as many hands as possible.
Being you has never been so valuable. Self-expression is in. Personality pays. These are the fundamental truths of today’s wild world online. If ever there was a time to hone your expertise and build your following, it is, most certainly, now.
Everyone’s nobody until they’re Somebody. Tim Ferriss, Deepak Chopra, Suze Orman — they all experienced the ultimate in anonymity until the day they became Somebody. Thankfully, the Internet has placed those reins firmly in your hands. Look at Justin Halpern, who got a major book (and sitcom!) deal, thanks to his outrageously popular Twitter feed.
Your book opens doors. A successful book can be your gateway to bigger, better opportunities. From growing your business to leveraging media attention to launching a new career, a top-selling book gives you far more credibility, and your expertise far more value.
Success is not a magic pill. When you’re not where you want to be in your career or your life, it’s easy to idolize people who have achieved what you aspire to. The truth is, people like you become bestselling authors every week. They didn’t suddenly land on the New York Times bestseller list. They dedicated themselves, usually over a period of years, to achieving their dreams.
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