Think about it Published on August 12, 2016 by Marica Aristotle contemplating a bust of Homer, Rembrandt van Rijm (1653) Homer, about 1040 BC Aristotle, 384-322 BC Rembrandt, 1606-1669 AD You and I, 19xx-
Reposted from December 2018. First part of the story of Missy’s Epic Novel here. More to come. “Hey, Missy! How’s your novel coming along?” Marica asked. “Sweepingly, Marica. Just sweepingly!” replied Missy looking up from the pile of notebooks, books, and devises on her desk. “Ruff?” Rocky questioned. “Um, Missy… don’t you mean ‘swimmingly’?” “Swimmingly!?!” Missy
“Marica?” Missy asked as she looked up at Marica who was having breakfast at her desk. “Yes, Missy?” “Why did my Dear Friend not accompany me on my morning constitutional?” “Ruff?” Rocky, too, was perplexed by the change in routine. Rocky does not like routine changes. “Well, Missy,” Marica replied, “You cannot exert yourself for
“Pardon me, Marica,” Missy began, “Do you have a moment?” “Why certainly, girl,” Marica replied, “What’s up?” “Ruff?” Rocky asked. “What are your thoughts on in me-dI-us rez?” “Ruff?!?” Rocky scoffed. “What?” “Me-dI-us rez. Surely you know that term, Marica,” Missy answered. “It’s a literary devise meaning ‘to being in the middle of things’.” “Ruffruffruff,”
From “Lecture II: Traffic” in John Ruskin’s The Crown of Wild Olive: Four Lectures on Work, Traffic, War and the Future of England (ca. 1895). John Ruskin was an interesting chap. A writer, poet, artist, art critic and later social critic. According to that infallible source, his work influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Proust. The final sentence
“ruff?” asked Rocky. “Yes I am, Missy,” I said, “and I’m also very disappointed in you. You are four years old now, Missy. You should know better.” “I’m sorry.” “RUFF!” “Rocky’s right, Missy. Sorry’s not good enough. Being retroactively sorry for your behavior isn’t an excuse to get me to vote for… err I mean… excuse
He that seeketh victory over his nature, let him not set himself too great nor too small tasks… . At first, let him practice with helps, as swimmers do with bladders or rushes; but after a time let him practice with disadvantages, as dancers do with thick shoes; for it breeds great perfection if the
Therefore, since custom is the principle magistrate of man’s life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs. Certainly, custom is most perfect when it beginneth in young years. This we call education; which is, in effect, but an early custom. Francis Bacon, “Of Custom and Education” (1625) As is my custom, I
What we most need to know about any man is surely this: whether he is good or bad. To be sure, we seldom put the question so crudely. Indeed we often affect a scorn for mere goodness, persuading ourselves that we are more concerned with a man’s breeding, his intellectual vigor, his artistic skill or
[Miss M] ruled by royal fiat that I could not use the word “commercial” in this sentence. –Daughter C I just gave Missy & Rocky a fiat to get the heck out of the dining room. –Miss M Rule by whim coupled with fiat is a true mark of tyranny. –Mr. Big Food Constitutional authority,
No. It’s not an obsession. It’s a mission. Michael H. Hart‘s The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History has good ole’ Christopher Columbus as the ninth most influential person in history behind Muhammad, Isaac Newton, Jesus Christ, Budda, Confucius, St. Paul, Ts’ai Lun, and Johann Gutenberg. The 100 was published in 1978
This morning, as I was putting away The Quotable Ronald Regan, I happened upon a[n] crappy old book of quotes. Earlier, I posted a quote that had been bookmarked by someone not me– something said by Marion Mitchell Morrison, a man who truly loved his country. The house is clean, supper’s in the crockpot, The
As the steak was grilling, Mr. Big Food and I chatted about Neil Armstrong and The Space Project. And Americans. It was a spirited discussion. There was some disagreement. Bottom line? Agreement. Was Neil Armstrong a hero? Hell yes. And so were the test pilots, and others who went into space before Armstrong.
or some such gibberish. I am but a lowly country bumpkin vegetable farmer who loves her some guns and even I know this don’t make no sense. Melissa Harris-Perry: I’m deeply irritated by their notion that the ‘pursuit of happiness’ means money for the richest and that we extricate the capacity of ordinary people to
What follows is a short essay I wrote (when we lived in Cincinnati) for the premier gun rights organization in Ohio. In late 2008, the editors of the Ohioans for Concealed Carry (OFCC) hard-copy newsletter wanted someone to write a piece advocating open carry, which is legal in Ohio. The issue also included a piece–
I saw a link to this story as we were waiting in a waiting room in Memphis. (Aside #1: I am so tired of going to Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, but we did find two shortcuts! Aside #2: Family, all is well. Just routine.) A gunman, posing as a FedEx deliveryman, wearing a uniform, rang the
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_modal","currency_code":"USD","currency_symbol":"$","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/www.bigfoodetc.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/www.bigfoodetc.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":1000,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bigfoodetc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Whats-happening-copy-4-1.jpg","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"All current contributions go toward redesigning the cover, and publishing an eBook of Miss Missy's School.","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Tip!","payment_request_label":"Big Food, Big Garden, Big Life","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Big Food, Big Garden, Big Life","form_subtitle":"All contributions go toward cover redesign and eBook publication of Miss Missy's School: Book I A Pack of Farm Dogs Starts a School","currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for your help and encouragement!","payment_confirmation_title":"Big Food, Big Garden, Big Life","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
