Advice to Live By

“Lord loves a working man.”

“Don’t trust Whitey.”

“If you catch somethin’, see a doctor.”

On Generosity

“I am convinced that the majority of people would be generous from selfish motives, if they had the opportunity.”
-Charles Dudley Warner

A good line

Talking last night with a friend about compassion, and the difficulty in getting past native selfishness. She said something I loved:

“We’re not living in Third Person, you know.”

A clever nod to being generous with ourselves, I thought.

I’m thinking of getting it printed on a t-shirt.

On Writing

Two of my fave quotes:

“The reason that there are so few good books written is that so few people who write know anything.”
-Walter Bagehot

“Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”
-Gene Fowler

No News is Good

Warren Zevon’s announcement was the last straw for me. Coming, as it did, on the heels of the big anniversary & Bush’s call to arms at the UN, I could find nothing of relevance to write about (if I ever did before). A day later, little has changed. So I leave you with these …

Desperados Under the Eaves

I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel
I was staring in my empty coffee cup
I was thinking that the gypsy wasn’t lyin’
All the salty margaritas in Los Angeles
I’m gonna drink ‘em up

And if California slides into the ocean
Like the mystics and statistics say it will
I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill

Don’t the sun look angry through the trees
Don’t the trees look like crucified thieves
Don’t you feel like Desperados under the eaves
Heaven help the one who leaves

Still waking up in the mornings with shaking hands
And I’m trying to find a girl who understands me
But except in dreams you’re never really free
Don’t the sun look angry at me

I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel
I was listening to the air conditioner hum
It went mmmmmm..
… Look away…
(Look away down Gower Avenue, Look away…)

Accidentally Like a Martyr

The phone don’t ring
And the sun refused to shine
Never thought I’d have to pay so dearly
For what was already mine
For such a long, long time

We made mad love
Shadow love
Random love
And abandoned love
Accidentally like a martyr
The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder

The days slide by
Should have done, should have done, we all sigh
Never thought I’d ever be so lonely
After such a long, long time
Time out of mind

We made mad love
Shadow love
Random love
And abandoned love
Accidentally like a martyr
The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder

Today’s Word

Irrefragable:
Impossible to refute; incontestable; undeniable – as, an irrefragable argument; irrefragable evidence.

Today’s Word

contumacious
wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient

Amaze your friends, confuse your enemies – work it into a sentence today.

Today’s Word

Precarious:

1. Dangerously lacking in security or stability: a precarious posture; precarious footing on the ladder.
2. Subject to chance or unknown conditions: “His kingdom was still precarious; the Danes far from subdued” (Christopher Brooke).
3. Based on uncertain, unwarranted, or unproved premises: a precarious solution to a difficult problem.

Use it in a sentence today!

My offering: Bill Simon’s precarious path to November lurches forward with questionable business practices, slows with 180 degree turns & backtracks on his previously expressed views, and ends with the status quo.

Sure, it’s weak, but at least it’s timely. Offer up your own examples in the Comments.

Today’s Quote

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
-John Wesley

On Conflict

“Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own.”
-John M. Barrie

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”
-Jonathan Kozol