Friday, 6 April 2012

6th April 2012 Things We Should Know By Now

April 06D
1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.
3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of cheques.
12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a beer in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognise a mistake when you make it again.
22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy fridge.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
25. It's not the jeans that make your bum look fat.
26. If you had to identify, in 1 word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, & never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings".
27. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
28. People who want to share their religious views with you never want you to share yours with them.
29. You should not confuse your career with your life.
30. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
31. Never lick a steak knife.
32. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
33. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we put the clocks back.
34. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
35. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
36. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age,gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers and have a sense of humour
37. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
38. Your friends love you anyway.
39. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
40. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.

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6th April 2012 'Tell Me', 'She Loves You' ...

April 06C
A Spanish friend of mine is a devoted fan of Blues, Rock and also Jezz. He inherited a great collection of very old famous records and disc from his father and invited a few friends to an evening of wine & music and, happily, I am amongst the guests.

I will call my friend XY here. He was like a kid who had just been given a new bike, probably more so, as he immediately put the music on full blast and forgot all about the drinks for quite a while. There were antique singles of the Beatles 'She loves you', 'From me to you' (I never knew about these 2), and Rolling Stones 'Carol' and 'Tell me' (nor these 2, and I felt really ignorant!)
 
I love the Beatles, but I enjoyed the music of the Rolling Stones, Animals probably as much, and this evening was very impressed by the extraordinary interpretation of the Stones' version of 'Little Red Red Rooster', composed by Wille Dixon. 


XY delighted everyone telling us that at one time Blues were termed by the old timers as 'music of the Devil'! XY is a young man, his in depth knowledge of old music no doubt inherited also from his father the music collector.
 
Ahh, now I know why I like it; birds of the same feather ...

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6th April 2012 Oscar Wilde's Biting Wit

April 06B
** Some of Oscar Wilde's many Quips ** - A re-post, as I sometimes do, with things I enjoy reading or remembering.
  • There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written.
  • But what is the difference between literature and journalism? Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. That is all.
  • We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language
  • America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.
  • A pompous speaker who had a great opinion of himself gave a long after-dinner speech. He then made the mistake of turning to his neighbour on the top table, who happened to be Oscar Wilde, and asked, 'How would you have delivered that speech? 'Under an assumed name', came the reply from Oscar Wilde.
  • Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
  • There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.
  • To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
  • We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars
  • An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.
  • Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught
  • The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
  • Genius is born - not paid.
  • If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
  • 'One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing.'
  • The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated.
  • To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.
  • Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made.
  • I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.
  • There is no sin except stupidity.
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6th April 2012 It's Wise To Remember ...

April 06A
  • Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.
  • An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not the invasion of ideas.
  • Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most.
  • Be generous with kindly words, especially about those who are absent.
  • Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
  • Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
  • The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
  • Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
  • The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. - Chinese Proverb
  • The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.
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6th April 2012 I Do, But I Don't

April 06
I was checking the TV programme last night to see what's on and found a 2004 film called 'I do, but I don't'. Never heard of this film before. The brief outline of the story is simple and silly, not the kind of film I would waste my time on. However, the title 'I do, but I don't' stayed on and keep turning round in my head for a long time afterwards.

I suppose it's because I often find myself facing such a challenge or dilemma, a regular battle between my desire and my reasoning; the indecision that lingers on long and hard until, eventually and reluctantly, the reasoning settles it with a definite 'NO'.
 
It's not easy when you want something or, someone, very badly, longingly and urgently, to finally be rational enough to say NO. But life is a constant exercise of making choices. I have made right and sensible ones, some wrong and disastrous ones; on balance, I guess I have not had too many regrets; likely due more to luck than wisdom!


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