Move Over Mick Jaeger, There's a New Rock Star in Town

Barack Obama's visit to Germany reminds many Germans of a rock concert of mega proportions. "Think of a lineup where The Stones open for The Beatles," observes a friend of mine.
Today's Spiegel magazine features a number of articles on the candidate's visit to Germany but a favorite headline would have to be: "Obama ist doch ein Berliner" a play on Kennedy's famous utterance.
Read more from the German coverage here.

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway

How's this for great language usage!
Hat tip to pops.

"When Insults Had Class.........

There was a time when words were used beautifully. These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language was boiled down to four-letter epithets!

The exchange between Churchill and Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband, I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd take it."

Gladstone, a member of Parliament, to Benjamin Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
"That depends, sir," said Disraeli, "On whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr


"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." -Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second.. . if there is one!" - Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." -Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." - Robert Redford

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." - Thomas Brackett Reed

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."- Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man use s lamp-posts... for support, rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx"
graph per wiki: Ernest Hemingway

Pioneer Day, What Is It?

Happy Pioneer Day, Utah folks!
Some of the emails I received today had 'Pioneer Day' sprinkled on them since some of my associates had a day off work today as a result.
So, for those of you non-Utah-informed readers, Pioneer Day is on the 24th of July. It is a state holiday in Utah and, if my memory from my days living there serves me right, there is also a Pioneer Day Parade.
Learn more about this holiday here.
graphs via google images

Happiness Project

I have a hard time with phrases like 'working on being/getting happy' because, to me, they simply add much pressure and a good measure of anxiety, among other things. Ergo, I agreed with many of Tyler's answers. People are as they are and seeking [solely] a non-ending state of bliss sounds not only bizarre but also problematic. Plus, doesn't it sort of get in the way of our respective productivity?

So, Gretchen Rubin's interview with one of my favorite bloggers, economist Tyler Cowen, is worth a read.

Here's a bit:

"Gretchen: What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?
Tyler: Why don't we start with food, sleep, and sex? There's writing, blogging, and reading too, not to mention consuming artificially created stories. In fact most of life seems to fit under #1.

Gretchen: What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?
Tyler: I wasn't so wise at 18 but I'm still not so wise today. I have the same basic temperament, which is the main thing.

Gretchen: Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?
Tyler: Not that I can think of. Being grudge-free is very important and I've done OK on that score."
Read more here.

Slydial: Straight to Voice Mail

Today I learned about Slydial.
Slydial is a free phone service that allows you to go straight to Voice Mail and leave a message. It's a tad impersonal, granted, but at the same time it looks pretty helpful. So, if you've ever had the following thought when calling someone: "please, don't pick up, please don't pick up. Voice mail, please!" then you might find Slydial useful.
Slydial could prove to be a good exercise in succinctness and economy of speech as well.
Learn more about Slydial here.
graph per Slydial

Carla Bruni Can Sing, Apparently

While we're not likely to see Carla Bruni perform with the remaining members of The Who for VH1's Rock Honors, we are more than likely to read about her in the papers.
Barbara Walters announced today that she will be interviewing Mrs. "Bling Bling" Sarkozy in Paris thus joining the hordes of other journalists who are taken by the French First Lady.
While I won't be rushing to the store to get my hands on her music, I, mot likely, will not stop from reading the mainstream US and European articles on her and Sarko. Well, how could I not?! These guys are everywhere! Take a number, Brangelina. In France, at least, Sarko and Carla call the shots.
Read more here.
graph per blackbookmag
Well, I thought I'd also include her track Quelqu'un m'ha dit.

The Correct Singular Form Is 'Paparazzo'

In these celebrity-obsessed times the word 'paparazzi' is as ubiquitous as Brangelina-related phenomena.
The correct usage of the word is as follows:

One paparazzo - a boatload of paparazzi.

And the word comes to us from none other than the great Italian film director Federico Fellini. The source is actually his La Dolce Vita.

There is more here:

"The word paparazzi was introduced by the 1960 film La Dolce vVita directed by Federico Fellini. One of the characters in the film is a news photographer named Paparazzo (played by Walter Santesso). In his book Word and Phrase Origins, Robert Hendrickson writes that Fellini took the name from an Italian dialect that describes a particularly annoying noise, that of a buzzing mosquito. In his school days, Fellini remembered a boy who was nicknamed "Paparazzo" (Mosquito), because of his fast talking and constant movements, a name Fellini later applied to the fictional character in La dolce vita. This version of the word's origin has been strongly contested[citation needed]. For example, in an interview with Fellini's screenwriter Ennio Flaiano, he said the name came from a southern Italy travel narrative by Victorian writer George Gissing, "By the Ionian Sea." The book, published in 1901, gives the name of a hotel proprietor, Signor Paparazzo. He further states that either Fellini or Flaiano opened the book at random, saw the name, and decided to use it for the photographer. This story is documented by a variety of Gissing scholars and in the book "A Sweet and Glorious Land: Revisiting the Ionian Sea" (St. Martin's Press, 2000) by John Keahey.
per wiki

Pop Culture 'Germany Style'

A most interesting piece on the NY Times observes:

"...it’s true there is a general embarrassment among Germans about being famous for being famous. Unless you are a world-class star, you must be intellectual and appear normal; otherwise you’re considered trash.”

Mr. Poschardt elaborated: “It’s the reverse of America. You can openly be an intellectual elitist here, but materially you must act the same as everyone else. We have a lively pop scene now, but Germany doesn’t have a real pop culture tradition because we killed or expelled everybody who produced pop culture years ago, then we missed out on the next 50 years."
Read more here.
graph per ny times

Brooke Hogan's 'Words of Wisdom' Re: Female Power

Well, folks. That incomparable source of unparalleled wisdom, also known as Reality TV, strikes again.
Here are some words of wisdom from the very gender-conscious Brooke Hogan.

Dark Knight: Absolutely Worth It

The Dark Knight. Well, I'm sure you've heard the hype. And that it made over $151 this weekend. Moreover, it's an incomparably good film. Chris Nolan's capture of Gotham City is beyond good.
And Heath Ledger.
Well, what can I say. As I noted to my friend today, Ledger makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look like, well, a joke.
What a beautiful piece of work to leave behind. Thank you, Heath Ledger!
graph per wiki