The Real Quote Nr. 18: Smoke King and Drink King

Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and you would be, too, if you were a king like Cole!

Living on the Edge of Death

My cat Goya is so old that she's living on the edge of death. Fortunately, she has nine lives, so there's no urgency about this.

The Real Quote Nr. 17: Entering and Exiting

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here, for this be the exit.

The Real Quote Nr. 16: Winsome and Handsome

You win some; you hand some over.

The Real Quote Nr. 15: Seeking and Directing

"Seek and ye shall find that nobody knows how to give good directions."

The Real Quote Nr. 14: Sufficient and Tomorrow

Sufficient to the day is the evil of tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

These Past Few Days . . .

. . . we were spending Chusok in Daegu with my wife's family, and I couldn't get access to my emails, my blog, and my news sources, but I'm back now, ready and raring to go!

The Real Quote Nr. 13: Yam and Sweet Potato

"I yam what I eat: a sweet potato treat, sorta."

The Real Quote Nr. 12: Mind and Waste

"I'm of half a mind to waste the other half."

The Real Quote Nr. 11: Comparative and Superlative

 "Truer words were never spoken includes the superlative."

The Real Quote Nr. 10: Fools and Money

"A fool and his money are soon departed."

Spectator Ad

Here's the ad:

"Get three months for free – this week only" Is this some sort of joke? Yes, but we're the punchline if we go for this classic bait and switch. The Spectator is a weekly, and the ad seems to offer twelve weeks' worth (or thereabouts), but it really offers only one copy, for the ad says "this week only"!

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool me!

Norm Macdonald dies: "What is this, some kind of joke?"

Norm Macdonald died today. Apparently, it was urgent for several years.

The Real Quote Nr. 9: Doctors and Apples

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away from apple-growing regions."

(A well-established, empirically based, scientific fact.)

The Real Quote Nr. 8: Asking and Asking

"Ask not what your country can do for you alone, but also for your friends and relatives!"

The Real Quote Nr. 7: Shepherd and Knowledge

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want to take another step without knowing where we sheep are ultimately headed."

The Real Quote Nr. 6: Wisdom and Slippers

"For wisdom is better than Ruby's red slippers . . ."

The Real Quote Nr. 5: Sin and Grammar

The wages of sin is ungrammatical.

The Real Quote Nr. 4: Just and Unjust

"Make hay while the sun shines down on the just and the unjust."

The Real Quote Nr. 3: Remembering ID and Password

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own sole possession of his ID and Password?"

The Real Quote Nr. 2: China Sleeping

"Let China sleep. For when China wakes, it will probably have a bad hangover."

The Real Quote Nr. 1: Burning Books

"Those who burn books will in the end burn wood because they don't have many books, and wood is cheaper, anyhow."

Auto-Da-Fé

We're ridding ourselves of books we'll never again read nor ever again refer to. This inspired a little poem from me:

Act of Faith

The Bookman came to town today,

and all the books are gone;

each disappeared without delay

from a pile upon the lawn.

The Bookman lit the only way

one over such flame should fawn,

for stakes are high, they ever say,

when arise book-sprites anon.

Auto-da-fé,

auto-da-fé,

burn me a way

with an auto-da-fé.

The Bookman had with great care sawn

thin slips of wood strewn thick through hay

that each might serve as lowly pawn

in games unhallowed players play.

The Bookman smiled when broke the dawn,

for his long night-work might he stay,

which drew from him a unique yawn

that from the truest night divulged the day.

Auto-da-fé,

auto-da-fé,

burn me a way

with an auto-da-fé.

We didn't actually burn any books, despite the poem's lyrics.

The Clearing

Today's blog post title sounds like the title of a short story . . . but it ain't. Rather, it refers to the space opening up as we slough off books we'll never use, anyway, and who knows what might step into that cleared space?

Till Lindemann as a Bulked Up David Bryne!

I've been watching a lot of Rammstein videos lately because I find that I really like their music, their lyrics, and their showmanship. Till Lindemann is fully as creative as David Bryne (Think: Stop Making Sense). Lindemann is what Bryne would be if Bryne had worked out for the Mr. Universe competition. And won.

Not a Poem

I enjoy at times distorting words and arranging them in ways that almost make sense, such as with these under the label "Customize" below:

Customize

Dis-criminize

those other guys.

De-ciderize

those extra ties.

Dis-gustomize

those fleeting eyes.

De-energize

those scattered lies.

Dis-tenderize

those unknown cries.

De-penderize

those longing thighs.

Dis-plaigerize

those ardent sighs.

De-nialize

those ancient whys.

What does it all mean, this strange arrangement of distorted words? Tell me, please. Also, if you can think of ways to improve it, please do so.

Worst Abomination: "Blessed"

A euphemism for a vulgar word that one prefers not to express is worse than the vulgar term itself, for if the euphemism is used, it must be explained to the one deemed too innocent to hear the vulgar term, and the explanation must use the vulgar term otherwise avoided. All the more, then, if one uses the euphemism "cussed" for "cursed," does one implicate oneself in every vulgarism possible (save one), for the word "curse" encompasses all vulgarisms. Therefore is the word "bless" the worst of all abominations, for it can be used as a euphemism for "cuss."

My Spirit Lingers On . . .

One of the GLEO staff at Ewha sent me an email concerning my ghost and its haunting of my old office:

I am writing to you to ask you about the leftover materials in your office (B124).

We found some books and different papers and letters there.

Would you like to come take the stuff or have us discard it safely?

I still have books and things in my office? The staff want the stuff taken away or discarded safely? I'm sure I cleaned out my office when I notified the administration in June. Yet, the office staff say books, papers, and letters are still there? And the staff say that the stuff needs to be discarded 'safely'? 

I must have had a real presence in the intellectual nourishment that I provided . . .

Actually, I know what's going on with the stuff. It 'belongs' to a woman who intended to teach for a year at Ewha, sharing my office. That was her plan, but she wasn't satisfied with the way she was treated at Ewha. Something about teaching only four courses when five were required, and she felt that the university was blaming her. One day, she was gone.

Her ghost is the one haunting my old office. An 'angry' ghost, no less! No wonder the staff want the stuff discarded 'safely'!

Actually, the staff probably mean "securely," i.e., according to legal procedures, if need be. This doesn't concern me.