We artists are driven towards personal lives nourished in these strange techniques of self-pursuit.
Lawrence Durrell
***************
YEEESH. I see I'm having to address the subject of my last entry. "It can always be better" does not mean that it isn't good. It does NOT mean that you have to sweat and struggle to climb Mount Everest or run a Marathon. And it does NOT mean that you can't settle for good enough. I cite the example of myself in the recording studio. I wouldn't have been there in the first place if I wasn't good enough. I merely took the opportunity to try to make it better by fixing a little thing here and a little thing there. Faulkner said "Try to be better than yourself."
He didn't say you must be better or you ought to be. He merely said "try." If a thing isn't perfect, and it never is, then it can always be better. If you do a thing well then it's good. If you have the chance to make it better, take it. If you don't then so what it's still good. I hope that better explains what I mean to say. Now let me talk about my painting.
************************************
I used to practice what is sometimes called "Mail Art." At first I just took blank index cards. On one side I would address it and write a note and on the other side I drew an original picture, sometimes it was a scene, sometimes just an abstract design, stamp it and mail it.
Then I found a pad of post card size water color paper and with very thin acrylic paint, which is magical stuff, I would paint a picture and mail that.
Another time I took a regular white envelope, opened it up and used it as a pattern to cut out on interesting colored paper on which I would paint designes, then fold it up and glued it back into the shape of an envelope and mail that with a letter inside.
I finally realized that, with a few exceptions where people actually framed things and displayed them on a table or book shelf, most of those items ended up in the trash. Someone might look at it, say "Hmm" and toss it.
It's okay. They were just simple ways of saying "Hello" in a personal manner beyond words.
I've just had a rare experience with one of my paintings. The local artists organization, of which I am a member recently held an exhibit of members' works. We were told that the pieces had to be framed and/or wired so that they could be easily hung. I have a litter of paintings which I love, some better than others, but very few of them are framed. Two of them are hanging in the gallery where no one ever comes. Another one I had planned for a different exhibit. I wasn't particularly fond of the few remaining pieces. I finally chose a small painting I had done years ago. I didn't know if it was even any good. No one had ever seen it before so I had no comments about it to go on. It was the runt of the litter. But I took it over there and entered it in the exhibit. When I went to the opening reception, there it was hanging bravely with many other larger pieces.
The exhibit lasted for about a seek and was open to the public every day. When the exhibit had ended and the day came to pick up the picture I saw it furtively leaning against the wall, tucked between other pictures that hadn't been picked up yet. I picked it up and took it home. As I held it in my hands it slowly began to take on a different character. It had made its debut, it had been seen by total strangers, to whatever degree it had expressed itself, it had projected itself into the world, it had a history. The runt had grown up a little. It has its own life.
Now I cherish it. It is displayed here now and not sitting in a canvas bag in the corner. I have had other paintings on exhibit but they were works I proudly put up. I don't know if this one will ever be shown again, but it sure has had its day and has won my heart.
DB - The Vagabond
*********************
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Give Me Three
Try to be better than yourself.
William Faulkner
*****************
The Easter Bunny hopped in here and helped me fill out my tax form. Shall I send him over there?
*************************
Ahhh!! Self satisfaction. The great temptation. One of the Seven Deadly Sins. Do we file it under Sloth or Pride? Or both. I'm not sure.
The wheel is a great tool and very popular, it always sells. So I'll just go on reinventing it for the rest of my life and everything will be fine.
One of the rules I lived by as a performer was "It can always be better." Some actors I knew hardly ever opened their scripts after opening night. I guess they thought the work was done and there was nothing left but to repeat themselves night after night. I admit to having the same attitude the first few years of my career. But early on, through observing the work of older actors, I realized that the work never stops even up to the last performance. There was no noticeable alteration in how they performed their roles. It was the same dive into the drama and ideas of the play and the characters, but the dive kept getting deeper. It was necessary to respond to that increased artistry, so I had to do my own diving.
I found the rule "It can always be better" very helpful in recording studios. I had worked for many recording directors, Some were very good and some were awful, particularly one blue ribbon bitch in the studios of Mutual Of New York who had no idea what she was doing and so had to bully everyone to cover up and compensate.
One director I worked for many times had a special and very effective way of working. After I finished the recording he would say "Give me three more just like that." He might make a few adjustments and then ask for three more, and then, maybe, three more after that. He was getting as much work out of me as he could so he could take it all into a studio and do the editing to come up with the best possible version of the piece. I appreciated that. After all it was my voice, my work that was going to be heard and wanted it to be the best. Not only that but, unlike some self satisfied directors, he would ask me what I thought. If I said "Well, it can always be better" he would say "Okay, let's do three more." I would go anywhere at any time of day or night to work for a director like that.
I say don't sell yourself short. You may find a formula that works and have success with it. But will there come a time when you will realize you sacrificed the person you might have been for the easy road through life?
The great conductor Leopold Stokowski used to end his orchestra rehearsals by saying "Tomorrow we do it better."
Acting on the stage or in front of a camera, playing music or baseball, taking photographs, building a garage or cooking a pot roast, it can be done better than it was yesterday The effort is what's needed and the knowledge that it can always, ALWAYS be better.
DB - The Vagabond
*****************
pacifica62 I still don't know who you are or where you are but I sure appreciate your excellent comments. Thank you.
**************************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.
Only 3 responses so far.
Answers will be published the first day of Summer.
dbdacoba@aol.com
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
William Faulkner
*****************
The Easter Bunny hopped in here and helped me fill out my tax form. Shall I send him over there?
*************************
Ahhh!! Self satisfaction. The great temptation. One of the Seven Deadly Sins. Do we file it under Sloth or Pride? Or both. I'm not sure.
The wheel is a great tool and very popular, it always sells. So I'll just go on reinventing it for the rest of my life and everything will be fine.
One of the rules I lived by as a performer was "It can always be better." Some actors I knew hardly ever opened their scripts after opening night. I guess they thought the work was done and there was nothing left but to repeat themselves night after night. I admit to having the same attitude the first few years of my career. But early on, through observing the work of older actors, I realized that the work never stops even up to the last performance. There was no noticeable alteration in how they performed their roles. It was the same dive into the drama and ideas of the play and the characters, but the dive kept getting deeper. It was necessary to respond to that increased artistry, so I had to do my own diving.
I found the rule "It can always be better" very helpful in recording studios. I had worked for many recording directors, Some were very good and some were awful, particularly one blue ribbon bitch in the studios of Mutual Of New York who had no idea what she was doing and so had to bully everyone to cover up and compensate.
One director I worked for many times had a special and very effective way of working. After I finished the recording he would say "Give me three more just like that." He might make a few adjustments and then ask for three more, and then, maybe, three more after that. He was getting as much work out of me as he could so he could take it all into a studio and do the editing to come up with the best possible version of the piece. I appreciated that. After all it was my voice, my work that was going to be heard and wanted it to be the best. Not only that but, unlike some self satisfied directors, he would ask me what I thought. If I said "Well, it can always be better" he would say "Okay, let's do three more." I would go anywhere at any time of day or night to work for a director like that.
I say don't sell yourself short. You may find a formula that works and have success with it. But will there come a time when you will realize you sacrificed the person you might have been for the easy road through life?
The great conductor Leopold Stokowski used to end his orchestra rehearsals by saying "Tomorrow we do it better."
Acting on the stage or in front of a camera, playing music or baseball, taking photographs, building a garage or cooking a pot roast, it can be done better than it was yesterday The effort is what's needed and the knowledge that it can always, ALWAYS be better.
DB - The Vagabond
*****************
pacifica62 I still don't know who you are or where you are but I sure appreciate your excellent comments. Thank you.
**************************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.
Only 3 responses so far.
Answers will be published the first day of Summer.
dbdacoba@aol.com
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Birds And Blossoms
If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come.
Chinese proverb.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
One green bough. One song bird. One heart.
---------------------------------------
Today my phone is working again. I'll see what tomorrow brings.
---------------------------------
It's Easter, Passover, Spring. It's the time for resurrection, release and renewal.
I read a lot of journals. I enjoy reading people's news. Some journals take on serious issues and stomp for some righteous cause. A few stomp for some unrighteous cause. I read them anyway.
I've been told that Vagabond Journeys is silly and without substance. Maybe it's because I don't take on serious political and religious issues unless they relate to some historical scenery. It isn't that I don't think about those things, it's that as one solitary individual, alone in this community of writers, it is the hope and plan of my journal to send as many sparks of light as I can into a world of troubles and struggles, and not to light destructive fires.
When I got my phone on this morning there were 8 messages on there, most of them threatening calls from law firms. They will all be handled one way or another But not now.
The only things that impact and influence my journal writings are personal observations, the conditions of my own life, natural curiosity, the thoughts of the wise and the otherwise and a constant yearning to understand and appreciate beauty.
Walking home from an errand yesterday I came upon a small tree growing out of a plot of earth on the sidewalk. The sun was shining joyfully through its array of small pink blossoms with dark red fingers pushing out the ends of its branches. It was breathtaking. It was by itself on the sidewalk, There were no other trees around. I stopped to admire the gleaming light of that small tree and touch its pink blossoms. It was beautiful.
As I approached home I stopped again to listen to a solitary bird in the tree behind the house. It was chirping the sweetest song, all by itself, singing because it wanted to.
What is it that would keep one from noticing these things and enjoying them? Is it the snarling and hissing beasts of trouble and worldliness? If so then it must be fear, and someone, even if all by himself, should offer an antidote to that fear, should extend a green bough for the singing bird.
So call me silly and without substance. It's easy to say don't be afraid. But that's not good enough. I know about fear. I know how it can darken the clearest sky and silence the prettiest music. It can grip the mind and the emotions and even turn into hate, if not faced down. It is fear that says hope is dead and buried, there is no escape and we are destined to life's cold winds and bare branches forever.
But it is Easter, Passover, Spring. He is risen, the Pharoah has been left behind and the tree is blooming. So weep for your troubled life, by all means. Tears are sacred things. But then hold out your heart for the singing bird.
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Chinese proverb.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
One green bough. One song bird. One heart.
---------------------------------------
Today my phone is working again. I'll see what tomorrow brings.
---------------------------------
It's Easter, Passover, Spring. It's the time for resurrection, release and renewal.
I read a lot of journals. I enjoy reading people's news. Some journals take on serious issues and stomp for some righteous cause. A few stomp for some unrighteous cause. I read them anyway.
I've been told that Vagabond Journeys is silly and without substance. Maybe it's because I don't take on serious political and religious issues unless they relate to some historical scenery. It isn't that I don't think about those things, it's that as one solitary individual, alone in this community of writers, it is the hope and plan of my journal to send as many sparks of light as I can into a world of troubles and struggles, and not to light destructive fires.
When I got my phone on this morning there were 8 messages on there, most of them threatening calls from law firms. They will all be handled one way or another But not now.
The only things that impact and influence my journal writings are personal observations, the conditions of my own life, natural curiosity, the thoughts of the wise and the otherwise and a constant yearning to understand and appreciate beauty.
Walking home from an errand yesterday I came upon a small tree growing out of a plot of earth on the sidewalk. The sun was shining joyfully through its array of small pink blossoms with dark red fingers pushing out the ends of its branches. It was breathtaking. It was by itself on the sidewalk, There were no other trees around. I stopped to admire the gleaming light of that small tree and touch its pink blossoms. It was beautiful.
As I approached home I stopped again to listen to a solitary bird in the tree behind the house. It was chirping the sweetest song, all by itself, singing because it wanted to.
What is it that would keep one from noticing these things and enjoying them? Is it the snarling and hissing beasts of trouble and worldliness? If so then it must be fear, and someone, even if all by himself, should offer an antidote to that fear, should extend a green bough for the singing bird.
So call me silly and without substance. It's easy to say don't be afraid. But that's not good enough. I know about fear. I know how it can darken the clearest sky and silence the prettiest music. It can grip the mind and the emotions and even turn into hate, if not faced down. It is fear that says hope is dead and buried, there is no escape and we are destined to life's cold winds and bare branches forever.
But it is Easter, Passover, Spring. He is risen, the Pharoah has been left behind and the tree is blooming. So weep for your troubled life, by all means. Tears are sacred things. But then hold out your heart for the singing bird.
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Saturday, April 3, 2010
APRIL FOOLERY ANSWERS
Though there were only 5 entries to this April Foolery the decision was a very difficult one for this poor judge. The entries were all clever and imaginative, as you will see. But I made up what passes as my mind and thus, for not purely chauvinistic reasons, the first prize of an aluminum pear tree, with partridge, goes to Trees of the Blogspot Tigers for.
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 A Toyota with faulty accelerator pedal
11 A used up paint brush with bristles all awry
10 A rock picked up on the beach they lovingly
spent hours finding
9 The first peach rose blooming in my garden
8 A handmade birthday card that showed all the love for me they have
7 A badly flopped, lopsided cake that toppled over when I tried to cut it,
it was made with much love
6 A stuffed giraffe with very long hanging legs that made me laugh for
hours
5 A sand dollar that had broken, the doves were put on a rock that
was bleached so white, one of the most precious gifts I cherish to this
day
4 A copy of the Trees Poem by Joyce Kilmer
3 A life long membership to Vagabond Journey's blog for which I love them
even more
2 Their gift of humour, honesty, loyalty, trust
1 Their heart
and Their love, a gift from God and their faith in me and loving me and
accepting me unconditionally
and My very favorite my whoopee cushion to kid everyone with
and the best April fools joke ever.
*******************************
*******************************
Second prize of 2 turtles goes to Barry of the Email Lions for:
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 Obamas bombing
11 Bad Amendments
10 Tigers Golfing
9_Supreme Court Judges
8_FOX Reporters
7_Spitzers spitting
6_Edwards laying
5 CPA's
4_Frightened Quail
3_Dead Moose
2 Democrats
and John Boehner hanging from a pear tree.
****************************
Third Prize of 3 French Hens (one of them is pregnant) will go to Beth of the Blogspot Tigers for:
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 jurors judging
11 polling places
10 chads a-hanging
9 justices ruling
8 negative ads
7 morons with signs
6 teabaggin' dolts
5 Palin kids!
4 governors cheating
3 sordid affairs
2 opposing parties
and a brand new health care bill!.
********************************
Neck and neck with Beth came Val, also of the Blogspot Tigers, with 4 birds amocking for:
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 gags and hoaxes
11 flying penguins
10 yards with no feet
9 cats with no lives
an 8 ball with 4 sides
7 lucky horse heads
6 happy tax accountants preparing
5 simple tax returns
4 vanilla bunnies
a 3-eyed cyclops
2 conjoined triplets
and a blue-footed boobie in a rubber tree plant.
**********************
And on honorable mention along with 5 plastic rings goes to Stuart of the Email Lions for:
A chauvinist pig a frying, a wet puppy weeing, and crabbing apple in a pear tree.
*************************
Thank you all. Good work.
---------------------------
Next weekend a new contest. Beware.
DB
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 A Toyota with faulty accelerator pedal
11 A used up paint brush with bristles all awry
10 A rock picked up on the beach they lovingly
spent hours finding
9 The first peach rose blooming in my garden
8 A handmade birthday card that showed all the love for me they have
7 A badly flopped, lopsided cake that toppled over when I tried to cut it,
it was made with much love
6 A stuffed giraffe with very long hanging legs that made me laugh for
hours
5 A sand dollar that had broken, the doves were put on a rock that
was bleached so white, one of the most precious gifts I cherish to this
day
4 A copy of the Trees Poem by Joyce Kilmer
3 A life long membership to Vagabond Journey's blog for which I love them
even more
2 Their gift of humour, honesty, loyalty, trust
1 Their heart
and Their love, a gift from God and their faith in me and loving me and
accepting me unconditionally
and My very favorite my whoopee cushion to kid everyone with
and the best April fools joke ever.
*******************************
*******************************
Second prize of 2 turtles goes to Barry of the Email Lions for:
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 Obamas bombing
11 Bad Amendments
10 Tigers Golfing
9_Supreme Court Judges
8_FOX Reporters
7_Spitzers spitting
6_Edwards laying
5 CPA's
4_Frightened Quail
3_Dead Moose
2 Democrats
and John Boehner hanging from a pear tree.
****************************
Third Prize of 3 French Hens (one of them is pregnant) will go to Beth of the Blogspot Tigers for:
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 jurors judging
11 polling places
10 chads a-hanging
9 justices ruling
8 negative ads
7 morons with signs
6 teabaggin' dolts
5 Palin kids!
4 governors cheating
3 sordid affairs
2 opposing parties
and a brand new health care bill!.
********************************
Neck and neck with Beth came Val, also of the Blogspot Tigers, with 4 birds amocking for:
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12 gags and hoaxes
11 flying penguins
10 yards with no feet
9 cats with no lives
an 8 ball with 4 sides
7 lucky horse heads
6 happy tax accountants preparing
5 simple tax returns
4 vanilla bunnies
a 3-eyed cyclops
2 conjoined triplets
and a blue-footed boobie in a rubber tree plant.
**********************
And on honorable mention along with 5 plastic rings goes to Stuart of the Email Lions for:
A chauvinist pig a frying, a wet puppy weeing, and crabbing apple in a pear tree.
*************************
Thank you all. Good work.
---------------------------
Next weekend a new contest. Beware.
DB
Wing Span
What the caterpillar calls the end, nature calls a butterfly.
Unknown
************
How many of you are still in your cocoons? Ha! I thought so.
35 years ago, in the midst of my career, I never would have believed that a time would come in my life when I would not be an actor, but that I would spend my time writing and painting. I would have kept on being an actor if my body had cooperated with that plan. Forced off the stage by physical circumstances I tried to find solace in a carefully woven web of security and small town simplicity with nothing much to do but sit on the front porch and watch the world go by. I thought I was safely in my cocoon just as you do.
So you've cautiously and painstakingly climbed up and out on a limb where you are hanging, surrounded by a soft blanket of warm and sticky stuff that keeps you firmly attached to the family tree, or some other tree.. Now what?
Life is fairly well settled, the kids are grown, the mortgage is paid, the pensions are coming in regularly, you've found your doctors, you've got your medicines and your memories. It's secure inside that blanket. Life's struggles are over.
But wait. What's happening? Oh no! Something is moving inside that cocoon, something is growing. Feet are growing, and, oh good heavens, wings! It's getting very crowded in there. In fact it's suffocating. It's so claustrophobic that you have to get out. So you push and shove and discover that life's struggles have only just begun.
When you finally emerge, after a fierce effort, you spread out those wings. And after all the life you've lived, all the things you've done and all that you know, you are faced with a brand new lesson in life. You have to learn how to fly.
Bon voyage.
DB
***************
APRIL FOOLERY
Weekend Contest
This contest is open for the next 2 days.
APRIL FOOLERY
Choose as many numbers as you want and fill in the blanks
Winners will be posted on the evening of April 4.
The decisions of the nasty biased judge are final. Prizes will awarded on the basis of originality and whatever makes me laugh.
ONLY 5 ENTRIES SO FAR
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12______
11______
10______
9_______
8_______
7_______
6_______
5_______
4_______
3_______
2_______
and_______
Good luck
DB
****************
Unknown
************
How many of you are still in your cocoons? Ha! I thought so.
35 years ago, in the midst of my career, I never would have believed that a time would come in my life when I would not be an actor, but that I would spend my time writing and painting. I would have kept on being an actor if my body had cooperated with that plan. Forced off the stage by physical circumstances I tried to find solace in a carefully woven web of security and small town simplicity with nothing much to do but sit on the front porch and watch the world go by. I thought I was safely in my cocoon just as you do.
So you've cautiously and painstakingly climbed up and out on a limb where you are hanging, surrounded by a soft blanket of warm and sticky stuff that keeps you firmly attached to the family tree, or some other tree.. Now what?
Life is fairly well settled, the kids are grown, the mortgage is paid, the pensions are coming in regularly, you've found your doctors, you've got your medicines and your memories. It's secure inside that blanket. Life's struggles are over.
But wait. What's happening? Oh no! Something is moving inside that cocoon, something is growing. Feet are growing, and, oh good heavens, wings! It's getting very crowded in there. In fact it's suffocating. It's so claustrophobic that you have to get out. So you push and shove and discover that life's struggles have only just begun.
When you finally emerge, after a fierce effort, you spread out those wings. And after all the life you've lived, all the things you've done and all that you know, you are faced with a brand new lesson in life. You have to learn how to fly.
Bon voyage.
DB
***************
APRIL FOOLERY
Weekend Contest
This contest is open for the next 2 days.
APRIL FOOLERY
Choose as many numbers as you want and fill in the blanks
Winners will be posted on the evening of April 4.
The decisions of the nasty biased judge are final. Prizes will awarded on the basis of originality and whatever makes me laugh.
ONLY 5 ENTRIES SO FAR
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12______
11______
10______
9_______
8_______
7_______
6_______
5_______
4_______
3_______
2_______
and_______
Good luck
DB
****************
Friday, April 2, 2010
Asocial Skills
We dare not trust our wit for making our home pleasant to our friend, so we buy ice cream
Emerson
***************
I learned many things growing up but one thing I never learned was how to be comfortable in the presence of strangers. Even though I always felt comfortable and at home on the stage, I'm always uncomfortable when I am invited to someone's house. I'm a terrible guest. I overcompensate for being uncomfortable by doing things that seem rude and presumptuous or else I sit in a corner and just look, without entering into any conversations.
I always want people to come and visit me, especially now that I live so much alone. They rarely do, but I'm always embarrassed at how my place looks and smells. There will probably still be some dishes in the sink, something around that needs cleaning and a pile of chaos somewhere. People come to see me, if they do, not to look at my apartment. I always forget that.
I guess in some ways it's a mark of vagabondism. Intelligent adults are supposed to have social skills, to know how to say the right thing, do the right think and dress in an appropriate manner. I never learned any of those things. Maybe those graces come from being in a family and learning how to deal with people on a regular basis, I don't know. I didn't have such a family.
Those skills may also come from examples, learning from those around you how to behave. Those around me had the same embarrassing lack of finesse I did, so I didn't learn anything polite and gracious from them. I still leave my spoon in the cup and not on the saucer.
And now, the tail may still be wagging and I can still do roll over and sit, but this old dog is probably not going to gain any new tricks. I'd rather have a nap. If you come to visit me, (please do, someday), you'll have to bring your own ice cream.
DB - The Vagabond
*****************
APRIL FOOLERY
Weekend Contest
This contest is open for the next 3 days.
APRIL FOOLERY
Choose as many numbers as you want and fill in the blanks
Winners will be posted on the evening of April 4.
The decisions of the nasty biased judge are final. Prizes will awarded on the basis of originality and whatever makes me laugh.
3 ENTRIES SO FAR
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12______
11______
10______
9_______
8_______
7_______
6_______
5_______
4_______
3_______
2_______
and_______
Good luck
DB
****************
Emerson
***************
I learned many things growing up but one thing I never learned was how to be comfortable in the presence of strangers. Even though I always felt comfortable and at home on the stage, I'm always uncomfortable when I am invited to someone's house. I'm a terrible guest. I overcompensate for being uncomfortable by doing things that seem rude and presumptuous or else I sit in a corner and just look, without entering into any conversations.
I always want people to come and visit me, especially now that I live so much alone. They rarely do, but I'm always embarrassed at how my place looks and smells. There will probably still be some dishes in the sink, something around that needs cleaning and a pile of chaos somewhere. People come to see me, if they do, not to look at my apartment. I always forget that.
I guess in some ways it's a mark of vagabondism. Intelligent adults are supposed to have social skills, to know how to say the right thing, do the right think and dress in an appropriate manner. I never learned any of those things. Maybe those graces come from being in a family and learning how to deal with people on a regular basis, I don't know. I didn't have such a family.
Those skills may also come from examples, learning from those around you how to behave. Those around me had the same embarrassing lack of finesse I did, so I didn't learn anything polite and gracious from them. I still leave my spoon in the cup and not on the saucer.
And now, the tail may still be wagging and I can still do roll over and sit, but this old dog is probably not going to gain any new tricks. I'd rather have a nap. If you come to visit me, (please do, someday), you'll have to bring your own ice cream.
DB - The Vagabond
*****************
APRIL FOOLERY
Weekend Contest
This contest is open for the next 3 days.
APRIL FOOLERY
Choose as many numbers as you want and fill in the blanks
Winners will be posted on the evening of April 4.
The decisions of the nasty biased judge are final. Prizes will awarded on the basis of originality and whatever makes me laugh.
3 ENTRIES SO FAR
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12______
11______
10______
9_______
8_______
7_______
6_______
5_______
4_______
3_______
2_______
and_______
Good luck
DB
****************
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Foolish Talk
Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.
Euripides
*******************
It doesn't take courage to observe, reason things through, to arrive at a clearer image of the way things are and a new idea about them. But it takes a lot of courage to express that new idea. I sympathize with the poor scientist or artist who can explain things in ways that challenge the status quo of popular thinking. He will inevitably have his flesh hacked away by the ignorant with their pen knives and pierced by their nails and needles.
I have been called eccentric for some reason. I suspect it's because I'm always searching for unorthodox ways of thinking, saying things and doing things. The word "eccentric" means peculiar. But it also means having an unusual set of beliefs.
A long time ago I began to notice in myself and others the habit of holding on to ways of thinking and doing that remained unchallenged and treated as if they were certain and dependable rules for living. Fortunately, with an open mind, I was able to confront men and women who did challenge those habitual ways of thinking. At the same time I noticed that many people who claimed to agree with those men and women were actually paying no attention to them. In defense of what I know to be the truth about the irregular and unsheltered freshness of ideas I began to explain what was said and to give examples. I soon found my own original thinking to be influenced by the need to think deeply into what I was reading and hearing from the enlightened minds. And that's when the trouble started.
It begins with scorn and sarcastic laughter. Resentment and hate set in when people begin to doubt and think that you may be right. It gets to the point where the backward will mount a reaction so severe that it would make you stop what you're thinking and subscribe to what is the generally excepted rule. In other words you've been taken prisoner by ignorance. There are those who would return to systems the world has out grown, to refuse the right to investigate unchartered waters, to stop scientific investigation, put out the light, burn the books or rewrite them, to shoot down the eagle in it's flight. That's when a lot of good people give up. I've given in on occasion, mainly because I needed the job or the relationship. But I was never convinced that the wrong way was the right way if there was a better way.
Things changes, mountains move, and I've grown increasing distressed over the condition of people who refuse to let go of a rope that leads nowhere. What can one man do? I throw light where I can, but I will go to the cross before I will refute and deny or cease to practice what I know to be true.
DB
*******************
APRIL FOOLERY
Weekend Contest
This contest is open for the next 3 days.
APRIL FOOLERY
Choose as many numbers as you want and fill in the blanks
Winners will be posted on the evening of April 4.
The decisions of the nasty biased judge are final. Prizes will awarded on the basis of originality and whatever makes me laugh.
3 ENTRIES SO FAR
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12______
11______
10______
9_______
8_______
7_______
6_______
5_______
4_______
3_______
2_______
and_______
Good luck
DB
****************
Euripides
*******************
It doesn't take courage to observe, reason things through, to arrive at a clearer image of the way things are and a new idea about them. But it takes a lot of courage to express that new idea. I sympathize with the poor scientist or artist who can explain things in ways that challenge the status quo of popular thinking. He will inevitably have his flesh hacked away by the ignorant with their pen knives and pierced by their nails and needles.
I have been called eccentric for some reason. I suspect it's because I'm always searching for unorthodox ways of thinking, saying things and doing things. The word "eccentric" means peculiar. But it also means having an unusual set of beliefs.
A long time ago I began to notice in myself and others the habit of holding on to ways of thinking and doing that remained unchallenged and treated as if they were certain and dependable rules for living. Fortunately, with an open mind, I was able to confront men and women who did challenge those habitual ways of thinking. At the same time I noticed that many people who claimed to agree with those men and women were actually paying no attention to them. In defense of what I know to be the truth about the irregular and unsheltered freshness of ideas I began to explain what was said and to give examples. I soon found my own original thinking to be influenced by the need to think deeply into what I was reading and hearing from the enlightened minds. And that's when the trouble started.
It begins with scorn and sarcastic laughter. Resentment and hate set in when people begin to doubt and think that you may be right. It gets to the point where the backward will mount a reaction so severe that it would make you stop what you're thinking and subscribe to what is the generally excepted rule. In other words you've been taken prisoner by ignorance. There are those who would return to systems the world has out grown, to refuse the right to investigate unchartered waters, to stop scientific investigation, put out the light, burn the books or rewrite them, to shoot down the eagle in it's flight. That's when a lot of good people give up. I've given in on occasion, mainly because I needed the job or the relationship. But I was never convinced that the wrong way was the right way if there was a better way.
Things changes, mountains move, and I've grown increasing distressed over the condition of people who refuse to let go of a rope that leads nowhere. What can one man do? I throw light where I can, but I will go to the cross before I will refute and deny or cease to practice what I know to be true.
DB
*******************
APRIL FOOLERY
Weekend Contest
This contest is open for the next 3 days.
APRIL FOOLERY
Choose as many numbers as you want and fill in the blanks
Winners will be posted on the evening of April 4.
The decisions of the nasty biased judge are final. Prizes will awarded on the basis of originality and whatever makes me laugh.
3 ENTRIES SO FAR
On the first day of April my true love gave to me
12______
11______
10______
9_______
8_______
7_______
6_______
5_______
4_______
3_______
2_______
and_______
Good luck
DB
****************
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