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Showing posts from April, 2011

Reflections On Great Expectations

“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of shedding tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlaying our hard hearts. I was better after I cried than before—more sorry, more aware of my ingratitude, more gentle altogether. If I had cried before, I should have had Joe with me then.” There is much sadness in me, but I don't cry, not outwardly. I often cry inwardly - and that is the hardest crying of all. For I was taught as a child not to cry. With the passage of time, and with no tears to wash away the pain, my heart had hardened and rusted inside. But the above paragraph of tenderness made my eyes mist--if only a little. "No varnish can hide the true grain of the wood; and the more varnish you put on the more the grain will varnish itself." "So, throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people who we most despise." "I really do not even now see what I could have done sav

Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It

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I saw these guys in concert back in the eighties. America's greatest music was in the eighties. Of course, I am biased because my brain was being formed at that time  as a young chap, and the melodies were weaved in it; and whenever I hear that music, I am stirred by emotions.

Do, dot, dot ... ellipsis? ...

At some point in my sleep last night, ellipses silhouetted against my moonlit bedroom's window and tazed me (as in 'Tazered') on the forehead, “We're being lengthened and shortened and misused.” I woke up, and decided: the ellipsis would be avenged and justice restored. Proper usage of the ellipsis … 1) We use an ellipsis ( … ) to indicate the deletion of one or more words in texts. Be careful, however, not to distort the meaning of the sentence by deleting words. 2) Spacing Requirements: Leave one space on both sides of an ellipsis: I … would be very happy if my friends use the ellipses correctly. ... 3) The ellipsis has 3 dots—not 5, nor 10, nor 20—like so ... 4) If the words that precede an ellipsis form a grammatically complete sentence, then place a period, a space, and then the ellipsis: I wish I could go to Spain. … I am using [The Associated Press Stylebook] conventions. You may, however, use the ellipsis without any spacing like so...Or like this...

Jerry Rig

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I find myself often going to great lengths to jerry rig (do  makeshift repairs)  things in my house. MacGyver was the ultimate jerry rigger. Here is more about "jerry rig":  http://www.dailywritingtips.com/i-said-jerry-rig/