Personal Blogs

Whenever I have an early start the next day, I climb the stairs to bed going backwards. That way it's a lot easier running back down in the morning.

When I was very young we had to do a lot of rote learning. Here's a couple of examples, but updated for the present day of course.

Definition

Promise: Possibility. As in "A series of possibilities".

Proverb

Divorce in haste, repent at leisure.

I have escaped the nest

To see the rose, the gold, the dusky velvet.

And fly for evermore.

Los Elvos offer this from their holiday hideout. Feedback would be welcome they say (Ed. No arguing with that).

Question: What do you call an indecisive contest between sea-bird artists, in which both competitors fail to complete a single sketch?

Answer: A no-gull draw.

No Remains here!

Commencing with the Swiss philosopher Rousseau, we have have heard much of Political Economy, but little of Political Geometry. This need immediate remedy.

The term 'right', 'left', and 'centre', were originally the seating arrangements (members of the respective parties being grouped together on the benches) in the French Assembly established following the French Revolution.

In our complex world I don't think this simplistic plan will survive.

We need at least 'up' and 'down', and at minimum another dimension: for example 'in' and 'out'.

The meeting chamber will be hard to architect but a new challenge is always welcome, and I would be willing to put my prodigious talents at the project's disposal for a very modest fee, as usual.

Is Aleksandr the only one saying, "Don't leave the single Meerkat?"

All you know, our Merry Mottoes for Yuletide are written by Elves.

From the falling-in of the shoe trade our Elvish with-workers have turned their hands to other things of craft, and riddles are one of their most lofty skills. Though highly poetic our elves still keep hints of their Anglo-Saxon beginnings. The new-writer will better these kennings ere Yuletide is nigh.

Their latest work (only in feoh testing at this point ) is seen here-under.

I asked only once.

"He used to keep pigeons", she said.

When fir away

I pine for yew.

Power now.

Data later.

One day Big Lemming called an assembly.

"It is time", said Big Lemming, "For us to cast ourselves into the Ocean. Such is the destiny of Lemmings."

But one young lemming, called Lemuel (Lemmy for short) asked "Why?"

A gasp of horror ran round the burrow. The hair of all the mature lemmings stood on end.

"Well... well because!", spluttered Big Lemming. "It's what lemmings do."

"Why?" said Lemmy. "Silly old tradition if you ask me."

His mum, his dad, his gran and every one in his kinship circle said: "If you don't don't know why, we aren't going to tell you!" They were weak on argumentation.

But Lemmy simply said: "Phooey! Chuck yourself into the silly old sea. I'm staying right here on the clifftop."

And so he did. All the others flung themselves into the sea and perished, but Lemmy survived.

Unfortunately he soon began to miss his fellow lemmings and wondered if he had failed to reach out them. Broken by remorse, he threw himself off the cliff.

MORAL

Traditions are only a social construct, but they get most of us in the end.