Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Your only choices are to live in hope, or to live without hope."\\
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
"Quotation" Marks
The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, a very "funny" blog built around the all-too-common "practice" of putting quotation "marks" around words, "seemingly" at random.
It is a "problem" more "widespread" than you might "imagine".
//The Magic Eight Ball says, "Use punctuation marks 'wisely' -- darn, now you've got me doing it!"\\
It is a "problem" more "widespread" than you might "imagine".
//The Magic Eight Ball says, "Use punctuation marks 'wisely' -- darn, now you've got me doing it!"\\
Friday, January 09, 2009
Conversation Over Breakfast
The other day, I happened to be sitting across a table from an old man while he ate his breakfast. He mentioned casually that he can't eat eggs any longer, having cooked too many eggs for the "hundred and eighty men in the battery".
"Oh, you were an artilleryman?"
"Coastal defenses on Oahu."
"Oh."
After a long pause, he said, "We saw the planes coming, but there was nothing we could do. Our guns were for keeping away ships, not planes."
After a longer pause, he added, "I never really got over that."
I had several thoughts after that exchange:
*It's a damn shame that he has to carry that around with him all his life. And he was just the cook, for crying out loud.
*Even his unit commander wasn't at fault. The ones who can fairly be censured weren't even there that day.
*I wonder whether Oregon, being a West coast state, has a disproportionate number of Pearl Harbor survivors?
*I'm glad that I live in a country where it is relatively unlikely that the nice old man sitting across from me is going to reveal in casual conversation that he is a war criminal.
I shared none of these with the old man. I just let him eat his egg-free breakfast in peace.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent."\\
"Oh, you were an artilleryman?"
"Coastal defenses on Oahu."
"Oh."
After a long pause, he said, "We saw the planes coming, but there was nothing we could do. Our guns were for keeping away ships, not planes."
After a longer pause, he added, "I never really got over that."
I had several thoughts after that exchange:
*It's a damn shame that he has to carry that around with him all his life. And he was just the cook, for crying out loud.
*Even his unit commander wasn't at fault. The ones who can fairly be censured weren't even there that day.
*I wonder whether Oregon, being a West coast state, has a disproportionate number of Pearl Harbor survivors?
*I'm glad that I live in a country where it is relatively unlikely that the nice old man sitting across from me is going to reveal in casual conversation that he is a war criminal.
I shared none of these with the old man. I just let him eat his egg-free breakfast in peace.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent."\\
Thursday, January 01, 2009
It is a New Year
It is a new year. All things are made new.
I have to make myself believe this, and live as though it were true.
It is a new year, all things are made new.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Happy New Year."\\
I have to make myself believe this, and live as though it were true.
It is a new year, all things are made new.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Happy New Year."\\
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