Tuesday, March 24, 2015

have you moved yet?



Dear Tony,

Hey! You still there? I keep wondering if they're going to move you. I guess that's partly why I've been postponing writing as I don't want notes to get lost along the way. Still, I don't want you to think you're not loved, either.

I'm volunteering with the Savannah Music Festival this past weekend and up to April 3rd. So far, I've been to five
concerts for free! Yeah! I have two scheduled for today and one for tomorrow before school. Then, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'll be "working" at seven shows! I am so happy!!!

I've been to two bluegrass concerts, a cabaret show, and I've seen two operas twice!! The opera was definitely my favorite! I think it must be because I so enjoy musicals. Yep!

Gotta fly!

with my love!

***** ***** *****

My youngest brother, as I had mentioned in an earlier post, has had his security level changed from "close" to "minimum". The prison he is in does not usually house "minimum" inmates. I still have not heard of him being moved; I know he has a good work where he is and would hope that continues.
I'll just have to keep my ears open for any news!

Saturday, March 21, 2015

southern spring snow


Oh my God!
Is that snow on my car???
Are those big flakes
actually some type of
new ice crystalS?
In March???
At Latitude 32 degrees North???

Don't be a doofus.
Of course that isn't snow on the car or on the ground.
That bout of continuous rain every since the flowering pear tree burst into bloom on Wednesday has caused its fragile blooms to disintegrate into petals.
It's just southern spring "snow"!

Friday, March 20, 2015

punny wombat



"Yoda piggy!"
"No! You're the piggy!"
"No, I ain't! Yo' da piggy!"

hahahaha hahaha!

Or, the conversation could have gone this way.

"Yoda piggy!"
"No! You're the piggy!"
"Like I said, man! Yo estoy da piggy!"

hahahaha hahaha!

I'm going to have to share this with my honorary niece Katie,
in the Great White North.
It should be noted that she is the one who started this punny business by posting the above photo on facebook.
My mind is easily led astray.
(smile)
So, thanks for that!

Thursday, March 19, 2015

liquid dihydrogen oxide


Rain.
Drizzling, dripping, dropping.
Water from the sky.

My first niece contacted me this morning.
The text may have even woken me up.
her: Would you like to go to lunch today?

That was around 10:19 AM.
My response was about an hour later when I saw the text.
me: Am awake now.
her: How does Carey Hilliard's sound?
me: You must be reading my mind. Why would you want to do that? :-)
her: There are some pretty cool ideas in there!
me: :-)
me: Which Carey? Waters? Skidaway? Abercorn? Garden City?
her: Definitely not Garden City.
her: Other than that one. You choose.
me: Waters. Because it's rainy. :-)
her: LOL. OK. When would you like to go?
me: About 1230 or so?
her: Ok.
me: C U there and then!
her: At 12:30? Or so?
me: Exactly.

And so we did, having a sunshiny day, just the two of us.
As always.
(smile)

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

saint o'claus



Oh, the Jumble today was in rare form, I tell ya!
"If Christmas fell on March 17th, then we'd have Saint O'Claus!"
Very nice!

The crossword puzzle on Sunday was feeling a wee bit Irish, too. I don't know how it was in your neck of the woods, but here are the clues and answers for those of us in Savannah.

An irritating swarm is a pack o'flies.

A Halloween party invoice is a bill o'frights.

A map display of a complex airline route is a thousand points o'flight.

A jack o'fall trades is a guy who rakes leaves, cleans gutters, et cetera.

A degree o'frisk tolerance is a measure of one's ability to endure traveling inconvenience.

A blundering physician is a doctor o'flaws.

Fear o'frats is a campus phobia.



Fabulous fun
with punctuation !!!
(I'm a poet,
and don't I know it!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, y'all!!!

Monday, March 16, 2015

free money for me!


Wow!
Teaching only part-time at Armstrong State University has paid off!
After filing the Georgia taxes for my brother's business tonight, I thought I would see about filing my own income tax forms.
I had been working with H&R Block, but they were suddenly changing their tune. Instead of use of their site for my federal taxes costing only $9.99, suddenly the price doubled. And they wanted another $34.95 to file my state taxes?! No way!
I remembered that the Internal Revenue Service offers referral links to sites that allow free filing of the federal tax forms, from a few years ago. I was looking for something less expensive than whatever I was using at the time.
The site I used worked well, with no issues at all. But then I freaked out about having my information "out there", so I went back to the use of tax software on a disc. All the information stayed on my hard drive, right?
Sure... until it was uploaded into the ether to travel to the IRS and the Georgia Department of Revenue.
Well, fine.
So I went to the IRS website.
Then I used their wizard, answering six general, very basic, questions.
In return, it presented me with a list of eleven sites, recommending that I check the stipulations of each site before making a final selection. Some would offer free filing of both federal and state, some would charge for state. I should find the site best for me, they stated.
I checked the link for H&R Block's Free File first.
Nope, I was too old for the free filing.
Next, I selected Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. I was at least familiar with their name, through the Melaness.
Nope. Strike two, again because of my age.
Fine. So I pulled up the link for TurboTax All Free(SM).
No age discrimination! I met the income stipulation and that was all that was needed for the free filing of the federal forms! Even better, my state income tax forms were also free!
Yeah!!!
I liked that it was called the "Freedom Edition".
So, I went ahead and set up my account name and password. Then I started answering a few preliminary questions. You know: name, address, marital status.
The program gave me encouragement all along the way, saying "You're doing great!" and "Good news! 'Single' status is best for you to maximum your refund!"
Really!
I was amazed, and quite pleased, by how user-friendly it was. Whoever wrote the program knew the importance of taking out the "fear factor" and making the subject material more pleasant. In other words, it was written in the same manner in which I teach chemistry.
Nice.
So, I kept going. I still had the necessary tax documents at hand, as I had been working at the H&R Block site, off and on, for the past couple of weeks. I went ahead and entered the information, stepping through the pages with ease and speed.
I kept expecting it would hit me at the end with fees to efile.
Nope.
Totally free, for federal and state, efiling included.
Very nice!
In addition to me regaining every dollar of my federal withholding, I am also receiving $399 extra for being poor.
Wow! That's half a month's pay for me!
The Georgia refund isn't quite so generous. I'll only be repaid 80% of the money withheld. However, I do receive a $14 "low income credit", for being poor.
Nice.
That will get me three movies with popcorn at the Spotlight Cinema. Well, if I use Groupons, that is.
Very nice!

Not that I wouldn't have preferred to have a full-time teaching position, you understand.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

one year mark with javaflix savannah



This month was my first anniversary as a JAVAFLIXian!
The group has grown greatly since then.
The above photo was taken this past July, at the viewing of "Philomena". I wasn't there, but several of my friends are! That's Barbara, lower right, on the loveseat by herself. On the tan couch, in the blue shirt, is Sandy. Between them, on the folding chair, in the green shirt, is Bonnie. Nanci is wearing the ballcap, behind Sandy, and Kimberly is behind Nanci and wearing a blue shirt, too.
As I said, I wasn't there. I was with Willie at the ballgame instead. I had meant to be at this screening, though, and had signed up for it, even though I had already seen the movie.
Many of the movies are ones I've already seen at least once. Last year, it was rare that a selection was not one I had seen.
Last year, I had joined the group in February, seeing my first film with them the next month. That one, the foreign film "Wadjda", was new to me and of great interest. I had liked that there were only three of us there, that wintry night, but looked forward to meeting others at future films.
I missed the next months.
For April, I commented on the film, but did not attend. I had seen "Dallas Buyers Club" at the beginning of 2014 and could not bear to ever see it again.
In May, I did not want to see "12 Years A Slave'. I still have not seen it and truly have no interest in doing so. Apparently, few others chose to go see it, as Patrick screened it for only himself and two others.
But I was there - and with a big crowd! - for June's screening! Apparently, "Her" was attractive to the voyeuristic vein in people. I had already seen it, of course, but on a weekday afternoon in a deserted theatre. It was good to see it with others! Truly, this was the best-attended JAVAFLIX event, with almost twenty people there. Wow!
July has already been covered, so let's move on to August. "The Lunchbox" was an Indian film I'd already seen at my beautiful Cinematique - but it was such a lovely film that I leapt at the opportunity to see it again! Such an excellent story of love and death and regaining one's joie de vivre - or should I say, ज़िंदादिली (the Hindi translation)? As I recall, everyone very much enjoyed this one!
September found the JAVAFLIX group "Finding Vivian Meier". I had already done so while in Daytona Beach. I advised all to see the Helen Leavitt photography exhibit at the Jepson Center before their viewing. I hope they did.
Then "Belle" came to the JAVAFLIX screening room. Ah, yes! Even though I had already seen it with my stepmom and first niece, I was eager to see it again. I was joined by twenty others!!! Great discussion afterward, though it did try to wander off into "back in the day" areas. That's okay; easy enough to regain the focus!
I skipped November's screening of "Chef". Already had that dish! But I did leave the group these words of advice.
"Fun movie, with a side of heart! Wish I could be there, but I have plans in Daytona Beach that weekend. Be forewarned - you'll want Cubans after the movie!"
December, January, and February have all featured movies I'd never seen!!! That's been amazing!
As you know, I see a lot of movies. I used to read books, but I do not have time for that indulgence. Movie-going has been a very satisfactory substitute and takes far less time. So, when this group of mixed viewers managed to select three films, over a course of three months, which I had not seen - well, it's not quite a miracle, but it is miraculous!
The films were "A Most Wanted Man", "Calvary", and "Dear White People". I had never even heard about those last two. The other I knew of, but hadn't seen it because it was being pushed as "Philip Seymour Hoffman's last movie" when it played in the multiplexes. This was definitely the right venue for it, especially as I had been to my friend Arthur's funeral that morning and was in need of distraction. Nothing like a spy film, full of betrayals and lies, to do the trick!
For the January event, I made a cake. Odd, right? But Patrick's birthday was coming the following weekend, so I made a cake. It was an Orange Dreamsicle Cake and I gave him the four pieces that were left. The movie generated a lot of talk about death and religion the stages of grief, whether that grief is for one's own impending death or that of another. I'm glad Sandy and I took off for karaoke afterward!
I've already waxed rhapsodically about "Dear White People", so you can read about here. That truly was a lot of fun!
Tonight's movie was "Birdman", the Oscar winner for Best Film of 2014.
How very appropriate to share my second viewing of the movie with the fine folks at this discussion group. You can read more about it here.
Thanks, Patrick! I look forward to more time shared with you and this diverse group of movie lovers!
(smile)

Friday, March 13, 2015

not ever after


My dear first niece and I went to a movie this afternoon. I had finished grading the test from Thursday and wanted to get out of the house.
Did she still want to go see "Cinderella"?
She did!
So, we did!
It was a nice enough movie, it really was.
Lily James is lovely lass and reminds me of a young Jessica Lange (an actress I admire).
The problem is, she doesn't really have much to do in this movie except look lovely, get dreamy eyes, and speak softly.
(Cinder)Ella's mother had told her to "Have courage and always be kind." Apparently, that meant for her to speak softly and carry no stick.
Sorry, folks, that really doesn't play out for me.
Ever since "Ever After", I want the fairy-tale princess to be a strong character. I look for my female leads to have some serious backbone and to not be afraid to take a stand on the side of what is right.
Then again, perhaps this movie's target was a younger audience.
That's all the more reason for the princess to be strong, to not allow herself to be bamboozled out of her inheritance and her home by greedy interlopers.
For that, assuredly, is what would have happened, had the good prince not, literally, ridden to her rescue.
If the movie had been animated, would I be so hard on it?
Well, no.
If it were animated, it would clearly be fantasy.
But, it is live action, even if it is filmed like a fantasy.
That makes a difference.
I'd rather that my young great-nieces not watch it.
Still, I know their mothers will take them to see this fairy-tale with its real actors.
I'll try to make sure the girls know it's fantasy.

bobWHITE bobWHITE!



Dear Tony,

Tweet tweet! Chirp chirp!
Hooo hooo! Quack quack!
Cooo cooo!
BobWHITE bobWHITE!

A little bird told me I should send you a card to let you know you're in my thoughts.
the sentiment printed in the card

Yeah, I just had to throw on that last one! You probably even hear those birds up there in Summerville. I haven't heard any here. I have doves and owls and mockingbirds. Sometimes there are robins - I've counted as many as twenty in my birdbath! I also get cardinals and sparrows and a huge woodpecker.

Two years ago, I had two tiny woodpeckers. They laid claim to my flowering pear tree, encircling the trunk with tiny rows of tiny holes. as they spiral-hopped around it one day. I took some photos from the front door, but I hadn't wanted to scare them off. The photos aren't that clear, but I know what was going on!

This week is Spring Break. I have no plans to go anywhere, either. I'm having a stay-cation, as they call it. I am going to several of the Savannah Music Festival events, though, and for free! I'm an usher for them this year! I'm signed up to work at twelve concerts. So cool!

with my love!

***** ***** *****
(And on the back of the card, a pun!
I sent him the one about the four-loaf cleaver,
as St. Patrick's Day is Tuesday.
Woohoo!!!!)

Sunday, March 8, 2015

brevity is the soul of w;t


No, that isn't a typo.
The play follows the last few months in the life of a professor of English literature, dying of ovarian cancer. She has given her body to science, while living. That is to say, she has agreed to undergo radical chemotherapy for eight months, knowing the treatment will not cure her, but agreeing to allow the doctors to use her as a test case for their research.
Thank God she had a nurse with both a conscience and a heart.
It's important to note, at this point, that the bedside manner of physicians has undergone a major overhaul since the early 1990's, when this play was written.
It's also of importance to note that the doctors are not the only ones dwelling in ivory towers, with limited exposure to the real world. The author, Margaret Edson, probably modeled the lead character after herself, as far as educational background is concerned. Both women, the real one and the fictional one, went straight from high school to college to graduate school and then into university as a teacher. Pardon me; I meant to say "Professor".
(smile)
Believe me, that distinction matters to many of those who have lived in the halls of academia their entire lives.
That's where the snobbery towards the bard comes into play. After all, Shakespeare wrote in the words of his day, the everyday language of the working man. "Hamlet" is chock full of lines which have lived on into usage still, such as my title quote. The same is also true of many of his other plays, too. I can recall being surprised when reading "Macbeth" at the number of lines I already knew!
I'm also familiar with the works of John Donne, a late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century poet who struggled mightily with his own religious beliefs, raised Catholic but converted to Anglican to avoid death. Hence, his poems reek of suffering and pain and loss - and an interesting use of punctuation to alter perception. Later studiers of his works described him as the founder of "metaphysical poetry".
I would have liked to know his take on that.
His "Holy Sonnets", written after the death of his wife (during the birth of their twelfth child), are at the heart of "W;t". The lead character has studied his works for more than half of her life, teaching them for the last three decades.
I have to wonder about the purposeful use of a semicolon instead of the letter "i" in the play's title.
Did it represent the loss of the individual to the disease?
Does it reflect the impersonal use of the patient as an item to be studied?
Was it meant to remind us of the temporary nature of being an "I"?
Or are we to remember its cousin, the dash, and the usage of that small item to document the length of a life?
I'm going to close with a poem, written by Linda Ellis, in 1996. I've read it several times in emails, but never did it bear more meaning than to me than now.

​The Dash
by Linda Ellis copyright 1996


​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?


​Copyright 1996 Linda Ellis
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

www.Linda-Ellis.com
- See more at: http://lindaellis.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/the-dash.html#sthash.Ir1pAGCU.dpuf

Saturday, March 7, 2015

helping bury bodies


Just moments ago, my BFF sent me the following photographs by phone.


Justthatfast, I texted back,
"omG, girlfriend, which bitch did you kill? :-) "

Her response was immediate.
"I love the fact that you thought that might be an option...
... That's why we are friends..."


Of course,
the real story
is she is doing some
spring cleaning.
That includes
spreading some fresh paint
on the walls.

That's the real story.

wink, wink...

(smile)

Thursday, March 5, 2015

not that kind of movie


Today, I went to see "Kingsman: The Secret Service" for the second time. I had mentioned to Barbara at Tuesday's trivia how much I had liked it and that it definitely warranted a second viewing, so she had suggested this afternoon. She was able to play hookie from school - I forget just why that was - and could take in an early afternoon show.
And so we did!
Again, "Unbreakable" came to mind when Harry Hart and Richmond Valentine are together. They are about to dine on Happy Meals, so to speak, and are talking about the glorious spy films of old. The lisping multi-billionaire Valentine, wearing mismatched styles, says how much he had always wanted to grow up to be the gentleman spy. The ever-impeccably clad Harry replies that he had thought being a colorful megalomaniac was the better option for him.
It's implied, in the subtext of their eyes and their vocal tones, that they each recognize what roles they now play in the game of life. They recognize that they, the villain and the hero, have now met.
That is what reminded me of the horrifying speech between the incredible fragile Elijah Price and the indestructible David Dunn.
I do have to wonder if having Samuel L. Jackson as the villain in both films is what tipped the scales? Would I have seen the similarity if a different actor had been cast as Valentine?
I have no idea. Maybe I should pose that as a topic for discussion at Philo Cafe some time. It would be good to have others' takes on the subject of villains and heroes and the actors who play them.
Just like it would have been good to talk to Barbara about my visit with the ex last night.
I hadn't even known he was in town until I got out of lab and saw that he had texted me.
Strike that.
I hadn't consciously known he was in town.
Perhaps my remembrance on Tuesday about that inside joke between him and my youngest brother didn't just pop out of nowhere. Perhaps there remains a psychic link between us, after sixteen years together, that allowed me to sense his arrival in town that day.
Hey, stranger things happen, right?
His elder daughter had given birth and he texted me a picture of the boy, obviously in a medical setting. He was in town, less than a mile away, at Memorial Hospital. His younger daughter, a troubled teen twice this past year, was there, too, as he had fetched her so she could visit her half-sister and meet her nephew.
At first, I had misunderstood. I thought he had been in town since the birth of his grandson on February 23rd. (That would have been my stepdad's 93rd birthday.)
No.
Only since Tuesday. And he left this morning at 8 AM, transporting the younger one back to her mom before continuing his trip to his home in Saginaw, MI. She barely made it back to the hotel in time for the trip.
You see, she had hooked up with a facebook pal and jetted from the hospital about ten PM last night. She said he was taking her to dinner. After Jeff insisted on meeting the guy, Dani later texted Kaity that they were at the guy's house.
Beauty queen turned drama queen.
Anyway... her running off left Jeff free to come visit me. So, after he walked his other daughter over to the Ronald McDonald House, he came by here to talk.
He talked about his new little grandson, born with the umbilical cord strangling his chest. The doctors said the child would be in NICU for three weeks while they tried to determine if he had suffered any brain damage. I do hope the child makes a full recovery. I told Jeff I was so sorry his daughter was having this burden, and I truly am. Having a baby is stressful enough without medical complications.
He talked about the results of his colonoscopy last month. When I had asked him a week ago, he did not yet have the word back from the doctor. Now, he did. The word was "pre-cancerous", sadly, and not the hoped-for "benign". As I told him, the good news was they didn't feel the need for any surgery at this time. He will have to return to the gastroenterologist in three years to check for more polyps.
He talked about the continuing lack of a job and the "situation wanted" ad he had posted. ("Do your local radio ads suck? Of course they do! All local radio ads suck! Let me make it not suck for you!") I hope that gets him some prospects, especially someone who will appreciate his sense of humor.
I remembered that I had several articles I had meant to mail out. The page-and-a-half on the Polish group in town that was offering free language classes. The article, just last week, about a group that offers grants to cover early-in-the-year medical costs. (That may even help Kaity out.) The cartoon about barbequeing in the snow. (He thought that was funny! He said he would do that, but his grill is iced over.)
There were a couple more cartoons, but I don't recall the details of them right now.
I'm glad I was able to give all of that to him in person. I always feel like I'm following in his mom's footsteps when I mail him stuff from the newspaper. Mother Pat did that often, enclosing little notes with the folded, and carefully clipped, articles.
I guess I try to distinguish my mailings by the ragged, obviously torn-out, borders of any newspaper-derived items of interest. I may even be consciously leaving those edges ragged.
He left before midnight, knowing he had an early - and long - drive ahead of him.
I really would have liked to talk to Barbara about his visit.
Just to air it, you know? Some words need to be spoken aloud for them to find a restful home.
Or maybe that's just me.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

changes for the better!



Dear Tony,

Congratulations on your downgrade to Minimum Security! Wow! That is very good news!

The snow? Not so much. I especially dislike ice, because on the road you cannot see it. I've also slipped on steps before, due to ice I couldn't see. It just looks "wet", it doesn't look "frozen".

Your dorm situation sounds like my barracks when I was in boot camp. We had a company of 72, with 18 double-decker bunks to each side of a wide central aisle. I'm amazed that is such a clear image in my mind. Along the walls were our "lockers", which really were just open shelves.

I don't recall how many showers and stalls there were, but I think it was six. Maybe eight? Certainly no more than that. I was glad I had cut my hair before boot camp! Remember? It used to be below my waist when I was in high school.

It's pretty long now, but not quite that long. maybe I'll cut it come summer, maybe not. I rather enjoy wearing ponytails and pigtails.

Yesterday, the weather turned nice for the first time in what feels like forever. 70's! Yeah! I'll enjoy it one more day before it plunges back down into the 50's and thank God for the respite from the cold. Amen!!

with my love!

ps Glad you got the money from me and Bonnie!

***** ***** *****

Then, on the back, two jokes:

Q: Why do people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day?
A: Because regular rocks are too heavy.

A moth said to another, "Have a bite of this sweater. It's delicious!"
The other moth says, "I can't. I've given them up for lint."

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

egg salad, baby!


That line refers to a bit of miscommunication between my husband and my youngest brother. Have I ever mentioned that my youngest brother is a little hard of hearing? Too many years of wearing headphones with cranked-up music.
This story takes place after my brother's return from Baton Rouge, so it must have been sometime around the summer of 2006.
So, one day, we're all chatting in the kitchen of the apartment Tony had. Jeff and I are sitting at the table and Tony is putting away the groceries he just bought.
Anywho... we were just chatting, right? No heavy conversation, no earth-changing exchange of dialogue, just words being bandied about.
Tony said something and Jeff replied something like, "exactly! That's what I'm talking about!"
To which Tony replies, "Egg salad? Why are you talking about egg salad?"
"What?"
And so was created that inside joke.

That's the thought that crossed my mind when Jimmy Fallon said he and Ryan Reynolds were going to have a game of Egg Russian Roulette.
What?
Egg what???
I heard it right the first time, apparently.
Egg Russian Roulette (but sometimes the "Russian" is omitted).
Here's how it works. The two players sit across a small table from each other. A moderator brings forth a dozen eggs, eight of which are hard-boiled, four of which are raw. Each man takes a turn, selecting an egg and then smashing it against the top of his head. The first man to have smashed two raw eggs on his head is declared the loser.
It certainly does sound like the kind of thing 13-year-old boys deem fun, doesn't it?
That makes it great fun for all others to watch!

So, I did.
Here are a few photos I took along the way.

Ryan has just smashed a raw egg, his first of that ilk.
Jimmy has already gotten raw egg on his own hair, early on in the game.

Ryan doesn't look too happy at this turn of his fortune.
To make the game more interesting, both men take an egg, to smash in tandem.
This will decide the winner and the loser... or they may both be losers, as two raw eggs remain.

Let's see what happens when they simultaneously smash their eggs on their heads...
... and Jimmy's egg was raw!
Ryan's was hard-boiled!

Ryan wins!
And he looks decidedly relieved to not have more raw egg on his hair.
Can't say I blame him!



I must say, this late night show was pretty entertaining. I just may tune in again sometime...

Monday, March 2, 2015

puns with taste and twists

Some are from JUMBLE, some are from crossword puzzles.
You'll figure out which is which, I'm sure!

DNA is evidence with a twist.

After a long day of planting bushes, it was finally dinnertime and he was ready to dig in.

The archaelogist was depressed because his career was in ruins.

The fact that he got into a wreck with his dad's car was evi-dent.

The 'a la' goes before the carte.

He didn't buy the fancy abacus because he wanted one without add-ons.

Sales of sports cars at the dealership were accelerating.

His pizza had arrived, and the computer programmer was enjoying mega-"bytes".

An ironer is one who can decrease.

The arm wrestling match was about to get out of hand.

Dracula's image was on the decline, so he decided to revamp it.

"This is my fishing spot - go find one of your own." is a bank statement.

"That's the worst synopsis I've ever read!" is a summary judgment.

"Do you know how to copy this disc?" is a burning question.

"I survived boot camp!" is a private message.

"I got a 'C' on the test." is a passing comment.

"Edison was born in 1847 and died in 1931." is a life sentence.

"Heart, liver, kidneys, lungs..." is an organ recital.



Fear not, my lovelies, more will be forthcoming.
I promise!

Sunday, March 1, 2015

with a song in my heart and a joke on my lips


Mama would have loved this joke!
She always had a fondness for puns and twisted lines...
... just like me!

This one is in honor of the approaching St. Patrick's Day festivities.

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An inventor came up with a knife that sliced two loaves of bread at a time. He sold it to a large bakery.

Then he developed a knife that could slice three loaves of bread at a time! He sold that to a bakery, too.

Finally, his ultimate invention was achieved: a knife that sliced four loaves at a time!

And so was born the world's first four-loaf cleaver.

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Here are a couple more from my childhood. I've expounded on them a bit, but the tales remain, at their hearts, as I had heard them told.

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Once there were two kingdoms. Each was located at the top of a hill, with a beautiful view of of the neighboring castle and surroundings.

The Red King's domain reflected the many rosy hues of the world in its buildings and flora.

The Blue King's realm held the tones of the ocean and its depths in the structures and plants.

Between the two kingdoms lay a valley, of course, but it was not part of either domain. It was peopled by a fierce tribe of cannibals known as the Yellow Fingers.
No one was permitted to travel there... except in an emergency.

One day, such an emergency arose. The Red King was finally to wed and wanted his brother, the Blue King, to be his best man. But how to deliver the invitation to him?
He called for his bravest knight, Sir Tasty, to carry the message.

The Yellow Fingers found his name to be quite descriptive of his better characteristics.
The Blue King heard the commotion and guessed that a message was on its way. He wisely chose to wait for its arrival.

The Red King asked next for a volunteer among his many knights.
Sir Toasty agreed to venture forth in the king's name.

The Yellow Fingers appreciated that the king had sent them someone who so favored a giant marshmallow in taste and texture.
The Blue King again heard the celebration down in the valley, the celebration which meant the message was not to be delivered this time, either.

The Red King was becoming desperate.
Time was becoming short for the tailor to make the best man's raiments for the wedding.
The word was sent to all of his subjects that he was in urgent need of a messenger.
One of his Pages, the sincere Trusty, came forward to his call.
He would carry the message to the Blue King.

And so he did. Then, Trusty escorted the Blue King back to the Red King's realm, walking through the valley below. And after the wedding festivities were ended, the Page and the Blue King traversed the cannibals' land again before the Page's own return once more to the Red Hill.

The moral of the story:
Let your Pages do the walking through the Yellow Fingers.

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A young man was heartbroken. Not yet twenty-one years old and already one-eyed. A terrible car wreck had necessitated the removal of his left eye to save his life.
What was left of it, he thought.
What girl would ever want anything to do with a one-eyed man?
The doctors had fitted him with the best painted wooden eye that money could buy, but to no avail.
The young man knew which eye was fake and thought everyone else could, too.

His best friend did what best friends do: he tried to cheer the young man up.
"A square dance is coming on Saturday next - let's go to it", the friend said. "You'll see! Plenty of young girls will want to dance with such a charming lad as yuourself!"

Finally, albeit reluctantly, the young man agreed to accompany his pal to the square dance.

The day arrived and the young man was ready. He had a new haircut and he wore his best western wear. His eye was well in place and he had been practicing the moves all week.
He was ready!
The two friends walked in together, with the best friend agreeing to help him find the best girl to ask for a dance. gazing around the room, they both saw her at the same time: the beautiful blonde standing shyly with the other wallflowers.
On closer view, they could see that she was hiding her very large right ear behind her beautiful tresses.
That emboldened the young man. She wasn't perfect, either!
Leaving his best friend's side, the young man approached the beautiful girl.

The words flew from his lips. "Would you like to dance?"

Gazing into his face, the girl gladly replied, "Oh, would I! Would I!"

"Big ear! Big ear!" the young man screeched as he fled the dance.

Moral of the story:
We hear what we want to hear.

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That's it for now.
Color me gone!