“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit.’ Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
Muhammad Ali
A rainbow in Phoenix during our week of winter rain.
Deferred Gratification
Words Seldom Seen: Vituperation
Vituperation
Noun: Bitter and abusive language.
Example: “Vituperation generally does not improve communication.”
Photo is of the Russian River north of Healdsburg, CA
Bookstores
In a bookstores your mind can go window shopping.
Adapted from Jonah Goldberg co founder of The Dispatch and a brilliant wordsmith.
Photo is from a Powell’s Bookstore Postcard.
Combo Pack
“The people are wiser than their rulers.”
General Douglas McArthur
This is a combination post. President Zelensky meets an Inukshuk with an embedded quote from Douglas McArthur in multiple colors. Two of my old favorites with my new skill set.
The quote is from Judgement at Toyko by Gary Bass
Book club reading.
Price
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
Henry David Thoreau
The Red Rocks of Sedona. Thoreau was wise but unrealistic. He needs qualifiers. Life is not an on/off switch. To get a serendipitous moment may require putting up with multiple ordinary moments. A low price.
Words Seldom Seem: Querulous
Querulous
Adjective: Disagreeable complaining, perhaps petulant or whining.
Example: “It really is hard to complain without sounding querulous.”
Photo shows the Native American section in a very nice small bookstore in Healdsburg, CA. It is between Mythology and Home Improvement. Probably random but could be ironic or offensive.
Energy Vortex
My friend Peter B sent me this word salad advertisement. I am in awe of people, like Christy Whitman, who can with a straight face charge $47.00 a month for access to her web site and its multiple level “Energy Vortex.”
Pete has a YouTube channel called Pete’s Nature, it is free, and he is more likely to teach you how to “live life to the fullest” than anyone who claims to understand the “Laws of the Universe.”
Here is a link to Christy Whitman so you can judge for yourself. It reminds me of how much fun I had at The New Age Superstore in Sedona.
Have great week!
Super Parade Opportunity
Most holidays have parades. People like parades. They like to be in parades. But Superbowl Sunday doesn’t have a parade even though it is close to being our countries biggest holiday. This oversight seems like a big opportunity for a sunbelt city like San Diego, Albuquerque, El Paso or Tucson.
How would it work. Bands, Floats and Sponsors followed by a chance for all the participants to watch the game on the Jumbotron in the local enclosed stadium. I imagine a Rose Parade type event without the flower theme. Floats with fashion, entertainment, commercial and technology based themes. More high tech than Macy’s balloons and definitely more TV friendly than the Rose Parade. Each float and band would have three minutes or so in the limelight. Half of the time the camera would be on the parade entry and half would be on their commercial. Some examples:
- Victoria’s Secret no brainer
- Waffle House Tasting float
- Ace Hardware National band
- Whatever the hot new movie is.
- The State of Colorado Tourism bureau.
- Emirates Air
The main attraction for the sponsors would be a chance to have an affordable ad near the Super Bowl. The TV Network would have a very low cost but potentially high profit product. The bands would be delighted to march and the sponsoring city would sell 100,000 hotel room nights at very little cost after the initial roll-out.
The only question in my mind is why hasn’t someone thought of this before.
This is a repost of a 2012 Superbowl post.
BTW I am picking Kansas City by two touchdowns
Ball Point Pens
Ball point pens are a ubiquitous marvel.
They are everywhere. The price ranges from free to hundreds of dollars. They are an engineering marvel. But are they a collectible like fountain pens or watches?
My friend George F wrote a book about collecting fountain pens. I wonder if such a thing exists for ball points? The results of a quick search using my Knows Everything Machine are ambigious.
How many ball point pens do you own? Is that a collection? If creatively mounted they would look like art.
Perspective
“Sometimes a change in location occasions a change in perspective.“
Sometimes a change of attitude is necessary. Note the improving ability to add words to the photos. It turns out the ability was there all along I just hadn’t discovered it permanently yet. Evolutionary progress is being made.