THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better [person].
~~Benjamin Franklin

WINTER MORNING POEM

By Ogden Nash:

"Winter is the king of showmen
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes
Smooth and clean and frosty white
The world looks good enough to bite
That's the season to be young
Catching snowflakes on your tongue
Snow is snowy when it's snowing
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going"

THE IMAGINATION OF TERRY GILLIAM

By Andy Kubis, from The Bob Edwards Show blog:

"I bet that every American middle school has at least one kid who knows the lumberjack song by heart, or the Dead Parrot sketch, or can do John Cleese’s Silly Walks…my nephew could do the silly walk before he could talk. For Monty Python’s entire 40-year history, there has been a new generation of fans waiting in the wings. In fact, there’s an entire Monty Python channel on You Tube.

"Terry Gilliam was the sole non-Brit in the comedy troupe, and was mostly responsible for the cartoons. That giant foot that crushes the show’s title at the end of the opening credits (see above)… it was his idea. It is the foot of Cupid, cut from a reproduction of the Bronzino masterpiece. That foot — and Gilliam’s style in general — are the visual trademarks of Monty Python. One of my favorite of Gilliam’s cartoons is suicidal leaves, worth the :59 seconds of your time.
"Terry Gilliam’s imagination has to be getting better with time. His movies — Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, and now The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus — prove it. This newest is Gilliam’s first original script since Brazil. It is a fantastical morality tale set in the present-day. The film stars Christopher Plummer as the title character, musician Tom Waits as the devil, and Heath Ledger as a mysterious stranger. It was Ledger’s last film; he died while the movie was being made. Gilliam decided to have three other actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law & Colin Farrell) fill in, sharing the role. You can watch a trailer at this link.
"Gilliam has said that he doesn’t care if people leave the theater loving his films or hating them… he just wants a reaction. That he often succeeds in getting one is made clear by the frequently retold story of a woman who saw The Fisher King and walked home afterwards. .. 20 blocks in the wrong direction."

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLAINED

Alexis Ohanian, one of the founders of Reddit, talks not about Reddit per se, but how social media create memes and why the process is important. Thanks to TYWKIWDBE.

MERRY CHISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Whatever your philosophical bent, we wish you and yours a delightful, heartwarming holiday.

Zztopdog and Family


Artwork by Jim Shore

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep, and not to."
~~F. Scott Fitzgerald

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Be gentle with yourself. If you will not be your own unconditional friend, who will be? If you are always playing an opponent and you are also opposing yourself, you are going to be outnumbered."
~~Dan Millman

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me."
~~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

BLIZZARD WARNING

And we're not talking about DQ! Five to eight inches of snow expected overnight, with 40 to 50 mile per hour winds!
A good night to stay home.

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND SAFE TRAVELS

DECORATING FOR DAX

From CNN.com:

"On a crisp Halloween night, icicle lights and Santa Clauses mingled with ghosts and jack-o'-lanterns in a Washington, Illinois, neighborhood.
"The community is helping a family squeeze in a little extra holiday cheer with their young son.
Doctors say 2-year-old Dax Locke is losing his fight with acute myeloid leukemia and may only have weeks to live, so parents Julie and Austin Locke put Christmas lights up outside their home for the little boy, who loves glowing things. Dax opens presents each day under a tree that's already been up for several weeks.
" 'We don't have much time left with Dax, don't know if he will make it to Christmas, so we wanted to have Christmas early,' Julie Locke told local news station WMBD.

"Neighbor and friend Trish Hurtgen says she and her husband were inspired by the family's efforts, so they put up their own lights and encouraged neighbors to do the same. Soon, the entire block was lit up with Christmas lights. They also planned a special surprise for the family.
"While the Lockes traveled to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium for a special trip with Dax, the neighborhood banded together to decorate a huge tree in the family's yard so the Lockes could be delighted when they returned just after Halloween.
"From there, she and other neighbors have helped encourage people to show silent support for the family by putting up Christmas lights at home and around the community. The effort, called Decorate for Dax, has its own Web site with space for people everywhere to send pictures and see others' displays.

"Perhaps, she said, people will see this odd display of early lights and wonder what is going on. Maybe they'll also pause for a moment to think about Dax and about what they can do to help. The family is asking people to make donations to St. Jude.
" 'That's what Christmas is about, giving and not needing to get in return.'
" 'Everyone is holding out hopes Dax will make it to Christmas.'
" 'Christmas would be a miracle. We're praying for a big miracle."

SEXIEST MAN ALIVE

From People.com:

"The 2009 Sexiest Man Alive party is officially under way.
"Say hello, once again, to Johnny Depp.
"Bringing the fun with him wherever he goes -- whether it's onscreen in fizzy roles like Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise or at home with his family on their private Bahamian island -- is just one reason why Depp, who also scored the honor in 2003, has joined an elite club of two-time SMA title holders (only Brad Pitt and George Clooney have matched the feat)."

Zztopdog's mom notes: They'll get no argument from me!

MORE IDIOCY

Zztopdog notes: OK, I admit I can't help myself....

From How Stupid Blog:
Josh Marshall at TPM:
"Public Policy Polling has a new poll out on the national 'birther' movement. And it turns out to be another fascinating look at the mystic overlap between ideological and simple ignorance.
Of the 24% of the population in the 'birther' category, one interesting thing to note is that more Americans seem to think Obama was born in Indonesia (10%) than Kenya (7%), which suggests not only that a frighteningly large number of Americans are birthers but that they have a shockingly low level of basic 'birther' literacy. As you know, according to orthodox 'birther' theory, Obama was born in Kenya.
"Even better, 6% fully concede that Obama was born in Hawaii. They just don't believe Hawaii is part of the United States."

ONLY 45% OF ARKANSANS THINK OBAMA IS A CITIZEN

From the very cool blog, How Stupid Blog:
"A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arkansas shows that only 45% of voters in the state say they believe President Obama was born in this country, while 31% say they think he was not and 24% are unsure.
"Arkansas is the first of four states where we've polled the birther issue (Virginia, North Carolina, and Colorado were the others) and found less than half of respondents confident that the President is a natural born citizen. The numbers are particularly dramatic among Republicans with 49% saying Obama was not born here to just 23% who grant that he was."

Zztopdog notes: This is not a surprise.

TODAY IS MY BIRFDAY!

I am ten years old today, and just as handsome as ever.
My mommas bought me a present (I can't open it until my party later). And we will have Frosty Paws and chicken sticks. Yummy! I can't wait till my other momma comes home so we can start the party! YIPPY!!!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"God, our Creator, help us to love all creatures as our kin, all animals as our partners on Earth, all birds as messengers of praise, all frogs as voices of hope, and all insects and spiders as expressions of your mysterious design."
~~The Reverend Lisa Hadler, Annual Blessing of the Animals, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Ottawa, IL.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Catholic Church Spends $550000 to Repeal Gay Marriage Law in Maine

Don't they have anything better to do with their money???

FREE MARKET SNAKE OIL

Thanks to our friend, Badtux, the Snarky Penguin:
"The right-wingers claim that they actually DO have a plan for health care: Simply remove all government regulation of healthcare altogether, and the Magic Free Market Fairy will wave her magic wand and magically provide health care for all Americans. I have just one question for these folks: Can they point to one nation, any nation, anywhere on this planet, where this in fact actually works?"

i'M A PEOPLE PERSON

"If I hate 99.9% of the population, then that leaves about 6 million people who I like or at least can stand. Which makes me a people person."

Thanks to Chris at Cynical-C!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things...every one! So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor." -- Matt Santos, The West Wing

Thanks to Simply Left Behind for the great quote!