Another painting (original watercolor) by Larry Hood, that is. This one, “Reflections of Medicine,” also came with a handwritten (and signed) note from Larry explaining the story behind the painting:
“This painting shows a medicine man and his reflection behind him and his shield which is an image of a ghostly figure of which is really him or the power suggestive in his realm of reality of maybe unreality. He wears bear claw earrings. His medicine is very strong and is sought [sic] out by many who want his powerful healing qualities.” (Larry Hood)
This post is for all of you “wordsmiths” out there. I’ve probably overdone this a bit, but it was worth a try . . . My goal, to use four ”non-everyday” vocabulary words (that I had run across within the last few days) in the same sentence.
The tenebrous atmosphere inside the conference room was a direct result of the conflation of politicians and diplomats maundering amongst themselves in an attempted irenic spirit of debate over the latest issues of the day.
Kids’ top 10 classical music composers (and the piece)
1 John Williams Harry Potter’s Theme (I had not realized this “pop” movie soundtrack composer had already risen to “classical” status). 2 Howard Blake Walking in the Air (The Snowman) 3 Sergei Prokofiev Peter’s Theme (Peter and the Wolf) 4 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker) 5 Sergei Prokofiev The Duck Scene (Peter and the Wolf) 6 Paul Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Fantasia) 7 Edward Elgar Pomp and Circumstance Op. 39, No. 4 (Fantasia) 8 Johann Pachelbel Canon 9 Sergei Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet 10 Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee
All in all, not a bad list of classical favorites (in my humble opinion).
Happy Friday! This week I found a couple of really useful quotations. So, as we head in to the weekend, let’s try to put our worries aside . . .
“It is not work that kills men, it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. It is not movement that destroys the machinery, but friction.”
– Henry Ward Beecher
And, “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”
– E E. Cummings
Several years ago I was given a book: The Cynic’s Dictionary, by Aubrey Dillon-Malone. It is a wonderful collection of alternative definitions . . . “gems of epigrammatic cynicism from some of our greatest wits” (from the inside from cover). And, considering my previous profession (law enforcement), I can really relate to the jaded negativity (of course, I’ve been retired over two years now and am slowly recovering from my own cynicism).
Here are some cynical definitions of cynic and cynicism. Enjoy!
CYNIC
“Someone who, when he smells a flower, looks for a coffin.” (H.L. Mencken)
“A sentamentalist afraid of himself.” (Lambert Jeffries)
“A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.” (Ambrose Bierce)
“Someone who found out there wasn’t any Santa Claus when he was ten, and is still upset about it.” (James Gould Cozzens)
Today we celebrate the birthday of one of America’s great humorist, Will Rogers. Rogers was born on November 4, 1879, at Oologah, Oklahoma.
Some quick facts: he traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 with sound), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure.
“So let’s be honest with ourselves and not take ourselves too serious, and never condemn the other fellow for doing what we are doing every day, only in a different way.”
The Women’s College Basketball preseason poll has been published and the Michigan State Spartans have also found themselves in the top ten of this list!
At the top of the list, the University of Connecticut followed by Stanford (#2), Ohio State (#3), Baylor (#4), and North Carolina (#5).
Rounding out the top ten are Duke (#6), Notre Dame (#7), Oklahoma (#8), Tennessee (#9), and Michigan State (#10).
Here is another painting from my collection by Alexander Chen. This one depicts a fireworks celebration over Hong Kong. The detail is phenomenal and the colors bright, despite it being a nighttime depiction.
“If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning
for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime,
educate people.”
– Chinese proverb
And, while this proverb is rather sensible, here’s a humorous demotivator on the subject (courtesy of www.despair.com) that rings so true you may be wondering if it was meant to be funny.
The Women’s College Basketball preseason poll has been published and the Michigan State Spartans have also found themselves in the top ten of this list! 
