Friday, February 15, 2008

Free Rice and Good Vocab

Try Free Rice, an online initiative to help improve vocab and distribute free rice to poor!

Optimism

A tale of optimism to ring in the good times! This is from Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Goldman. Here Goldman recounts his first trip as a young boy to Broadway where he attended the Gershwin play Porgy and Bess:

"My family went and we sat there and if you don't know the story, it's about this cripple, Porgy, who can't walk, and he gets around on this pathetic goat cart, towed by a scrawny goat, and we're someplace in the Deep South. Porgy is hopelessly in love with Bess, a beauty but weak. Toward the end, Porgy is sent to jail (he saved his friends by murdering the village monster) and while he is there, Bess is wooed by a pusher, Sportin' Life, who, using drugs as a lure, steals her away, takes her to New York City, which is the other end of the universe as far as anyone in this town is concerned.

"Porgy gets out of jail, and I am dreading the moment when he finds out Bess is gone. I mean, cripples don't win beauties in this world, not unless they are very rich indeed, and Porgy is a beggar. So he is out of jail and I am so scared for him, his life is over, how is he going to survive his loss, and he chitchats with the villagers and then he says it--where's Bess?
"No one wants to answer but finally he finds out - Bess is gone, she is gone forever, gone to New York City.
"Silence in the theatre. Then Porgy says these three amazing words:
" 'Bring my goat.' "

Hmm...thought provoking!

  • Exaggeration misleads the credulous and offends the perceptive.
    - Eliza Cook
  • False eloquence is exaggeration; true eloquence is emphasis.
    - William Alger
  • Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
  • We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.
    - Samuel Butler

Monday, February 11, 2008

Religion in Definitions!

  • All religions are the same -- basically guilt, with different holidays.
    - Cathy Ladman
  • People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
    - Dave Barry
  • A religious war is like children fighting over who has the strongest imaginary friend.