Learning

Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.

~ Emma Smith

- - - - -

I am a fan of mistakes and failure. These are steps to doing something better. They are essential to learning and growth. I make mistakes every day. If I learn from even 10% of them, that's pretty huge.

Sometimes I know right away that I've made a mistake. Sometimes it takes longer. Sometimes I know right away something I can learn from the mistake. Sometimes it takes longer.

One time I made a mistake in sending a private message to someone when I meant to send a private message to myself. I send messages to myself a lot when I see things I want to read or think more deeply about. Or things I think are funny or interesting that I might want to use for something later on.

However, when I made this mistake, I realized it was a mistake and had to apologize for it. And I tried to explain that I meant to send it to myself, but I'm not sure if the person believed me or not. 

Anyway, this is what I mistakenly sent to a Michelle who was not me:

Stairing

The gaze that sees is the gaze that dominates.

~ Michel Foucault

- - - - -

 Lily loves routine. One time we went on a trip and when she decided it was bedtime, she started to go upstairs where we had her bed. Then she stood on the stairs and stared at us to try and get us to go upstairs. 

Wow. 

She stood

on

the

STARES!!!

Lily

Did you know that there are over 300 words for "love" in canine?

~ Gabriel Zevin

- - - - -

Every name we have for Lily is a pet name. That's just the way words work.
 

Puppa

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.

~ Orhan Pamuk

- - - - -

We have a lot of names for Lily. They include:

Lily

Gladys

Puppa

Beautiful Girl

Good Dog

Baby

Love of My Life

Good Girl

I like to think her names for Leslie include: "Leslie" and "Friend."

I like to think her names for me are: "Dr. Awesome" and "Most Wonderful One of All." Since that's what Leslie calls me, I figure it's just easy to keep things simple for all of us.

 

Hunting

Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game.

~ Paul Rodriguez

- - - - -

What about Good Will Hunting? We shouldn't be hunting for good will? We shouldn't watch the movie? Or if that kind of hunting is okay, this sign needs to be more specific.

Dogs

 Dogs are wise. They crawl away into a quiet corner and lick their wounds and do not rejoin the world until they are whole once more.

~ Agatha Christie

- - - - -

The difficult thing is that dogs do the same thing when they have a Kleenex they dragged out of the trashcan.

Awesome

Being a little weird is just a natural side effect of being awesome.

~ Sue Fitzmaurice

- - - - -

The greeting card company reviewed my order and after realizing I am indeed NOT awesome, refunded me on the purchase.

(pause)

Just kidding. They know I am awesome. They just realized that I was going to send the card to you and you are not awesome. You should be angry at that card company. I was going to write something really nice in that card.

Clouds

Behind every cloud is another cloud.

~ Judy Garland

- - - - -

People say to me, "The way you think is weird. I don't understand how you come up with the weird things you say. You're weird."

I don't get mad. I just say, "You used the word weird a lot in those sentences. It makes me sad you have such a limited vocabulary."

(pause)

Okay, I do get a little mad.

Don't

Never stop dreaming and making wishes. Never doubt for a second that they won't or can't come true.

~ Kiran Shaikh

- - - - -

This says "Don't Stop Believin'." I like that. I'm a fan of creative non-harmful vandalism. I do wish they had better handwriting, though. I know what it says, but it looks like "Dont Stop besiain." As the saying goes, "If wishes were pennies, we'd all be rich."

I wish wishes were pennies.

Roof

Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.

~ George Carlin

- - - - -

 Timing is everything. If you hear reindeer paws on a rooftop on December 24th, that's cool. If it's March 24th, not so cool.

Obnoxious

Every obnoxious act is a cry for help.

~ Zig Ziglar

- - - - -

I need time to myself sometimes. Or at least time away from lots of people. I like being alone or with one or two other people. That's what I prefer.

There are others who love noise. They love to hobnob - a word we don't use as often as maybe we should. To hobnob is to drink sociably or associate familiarly. And when people do that, it's fine. I just don't like when they do it loudly and in crowds. I find that behavior hobnoxious.

Hobnoxious is another word we don't use as often as maybe we should. Maybe because I just made it up.

Imagery

Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another.

~ Sophocles

- - - - -
When I clicked on this image in my blog drafts all it said was, "Not all TED Talks are good." I am so fascinated by my own thoughts. I just wish I could remember what they are sometimes.

Morning

Not the day only, but all things have their morning.

~ French Proverb

- - - - -

Some people say that each morning is the start of a new day when you can have a do-over. Other people say each morning is a new day filled regret from the night before. My guess is movies about the lives of the latter people would be more interesting.
 

Shadow

 The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.

~ Gregory Maguire

- - - - -

People think the scariest things hide in the shadows, but I don't think that's true. I think the scariest things are right there, in the light, in front of us, wearing a cat head mask and carrying an axe saying, "Come along now... I know a short cut..."

Sure that would be scary in the dark too, but less scary? I don't think so.

Face

I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.

~ Lauren Bacall

- - - - -
 I like the face of my dog. I'm really glad she has one of those.

Weary

The whole drama of the world is such tragedy that I am weary of the spectacle.

~ John Adams

- - - - -

When people thank me for my tireless efforts, I think they are confused. I'm seriously really tired.

Shack

Life is nutty, so it'd good to sing and have a good time.

~ Cynthia Leigh Wilson

- - - - -

Some people made fun of the shack I grew up in. What they didn't know, however, is that shack was filled with love. In fact we used to call it "The Shack Filled with Love." There's even a song about it. That song is "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Taco.

 

Rooster

Charm never made a rooster.

~ Dean Acheson

- - - - -

If a "rooster" is one who roosts, then where does baby oil come from?

(pause)

Wait...

Running

I'll be happy if running and I can grow old together.

~ Haruki Murakami

- - - - -

So when I was little my parents always told me not to run with a sucker in my mouth or I could fall down and choke and die. No one says that to dogs. People are  jerks. One of two things must be true - my parents were fun-killers who didn't want me to enjoy my candy with my full range of motion OR my parents hated dogs.

 

Possum

You can't put this possum in a cage.

~ George Jones

- - - - -

I found out there is a song by The Toadies called "Possum Kingdom." Then I read the lyrics and thought it was a bit disturbing. Then I thought about a kingdom of possums and thought that was a bit disturbing, too. 

Also I was going to look up and see why George Jones was called "The Possum" but then a picture of him popped up, so I didn't need to.

Lent

Never lend books, for no one returns them; the only books I have in my library are books other folks have lent me. 

~ Anatole France

- - - - -

I did NOT know you had to audition. I did this wrong most all of my childhood.

Bird

In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.

~ Robert Lynd

- - - - -

I bet the person who got all those birds for Christmas broke up with their true love after that. I don't think anyone would want to be with someone who was giving them the bird all the time. Unless bird is slang for a creature that can fly and soar and be beautiful against the sky, in which case, that really IS true love.

Chocolate

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.

~ Iris Murdoch

- - - - - -

Leslie gave me these last year. It was a very nice thing for her to do last year. There was one of them that I didn't like. That doesn't mean I am any less grateful for the kindness and Leslie's thoughtfulness. It means I am less grateful to the chocolatier.

Looking

There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.

~ J. R. R. Tolkein

- - - - -

When dogs look out at the world, they see opportunity, fun, and excitement. When people look out at the world they see pouring rain, they are slow moving and feel trapped, they are shaken a bit. They hope to move forward, but have no real control. 

Of course, I'm mainly thinking of when people look out at the world while they're sitting in an automatic car wash.

Games

Life is more fun if you play games.

~ Roald Dahl

- - - - -

I find this image confusing. More than half of almost every game is loitering until it's your turn again.

Birthdays

 You don't stop having fun when you get old. You get old when you stop having fun.

~ Rita Ghatourey

- - - - -

Today is Leslie's birthday. I'm not going to post about her getting older or joke about her age or mention her age is older than it used to be. In fact, if you define old as in "born in the last century," well then, I guess she IS old. But so is someone who is 23. 

Now what do you have to say to that, troublemaker?

Portrait

 The dog is the perfect portrait subject. He doesn't pose. He isn't aware of the camera.

~ Patrick Demarchelier

- - - - -

The dog is the perfect portrait subject because dogs are perfect. Except when they drink out of your glass of beer that you set on the floor like Lily did to Leslie's beer last night.

(pause)

I wish I'd gotten a photo of that.

Ancient

Let others praise ancient times, I am glad I was born in these.

~ Ovid

- - - - -

I got this cereal one time for Leslie. I was going to have her try it and then tell her, "You are what you eat!"

But she was out of town and I got hungry so I tried it. It is really good. I guess this is just an example of that old saying, "Buy a food to trick a friend, then you eat it in the end". 

There are a lot of those old sayings you don't even know, I bet.

Dr. Lewis

Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees.

~ Rumi

- - - - -

I almost bought this for Leslie but then I remembered she forgot to go to optometrist school and instead is a doctor in education. If she were to go back and become an optometrist, I would go get this for her. But they might have already sold it by then, so she probably shouldn't bother.

Anticipation

 If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

- - - - -

Those who begin to be happy before people visit are extroverts. This who begin to be happy 20 minutes after people leave because by then we can be sure they aren't coming back are introverts. 

Leaves

I'm convinced that petting a puppy is good luck.

~ Meg Donohue

- - - - -

I love this puppy.

And this puppy loves the leaves.

So where's that leave us?

 

Garbage

 Beauty is in the strangest places. A piece of garbage floating in the wind.

~ Alan Ball

- - - - -

Maybe. But if that garbage is a broken chair floating in the wind, I don't think I'm going to say it's beautiful. I think I'm going to say, "LOOK OUT FOR THAT CHAIR!!!" so you don't get hit in the head with it.

Sleeping

                    

There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.

~ Mindy Kaling

- - - - -

If a librarian says, "SHHHHH" - a word with no vowels - when she's awake, what does she say when she's asleep?

(Pause.)

Nothing. 

(Pause.)

Unless she engages in somniloquy.

(Pause.)

And if you don't know what that means, go ask a librarian. Preferably one that is awake.

First

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

~ Karl Marx

- - - - -

I find it hard to believe that the very first fire house was in the middle of Tennessee just off the interstate. Plus, it doesn't look like it is very well equipped.

Puzzle

The world's a puzzle. No need to make sense out of it.

~ Dan Millman

- - - - -

Actually, the sole purpose of a puzzle is to make sense out of it. If there wasn't a point in making sense of it, it would be called a certainty and not a puzzle. 

Scissors

I believe more in the scissors than I do the pencil.

~ Truman Capote

- - - - -

So the pen may be mightier than the sword

And the scissors may be mightier than the pencil

But I don't want to be stabbed with any of them.
 

Shadow

Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

- - - - -
 "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...? The SHADOW knows!"

My mom used to say that to us randomly. A lot. 

I don't know if she was trying to indicate she knew what evil lurked in our hearts. Or if she was trying to indicate SOMEONE knows what evil lurked in our hearts. Or if she was trying to indicate her vast knowledge of radio shows that ran from 1937 to 1954.

(pause)

Probably the latter. 

Attention

A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention

~ Herbert A. Simon

- - - - -

Here Lily shows everyone how it feels to be in a Zoom meeting, trying to do the best you can to stay awake and engaged. Then someone asks you a question and you have no idea what the group was talking about...

 

Fog

The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over this world.

~ Van Morrison

- - - - -

I like fog. It makes things look different. Like illusions. Of course it can also make you confused because it can be difficult to see where you're going.

(pause)

Sometimes Van Morrison really knows what he's talking about.

 

Juice

Most fruits, if left alone on the tree, eventually do ripen, especially if they're not being yelled at.

~ Firoozeh Dumas

- - - - -

Two nights ago I dreamt that I was at an event where Vice President-elect (at the time, today just regular "Vice President") Kamala Harris was speaking. At one point, I went up and thanked her for attending. She was very nice and when I asked if I could get her anything, she asked for some apple juice. 

A bit later I was talking with her again. She asked again - very patiently - if I could get her some apple juice. I apologized for forgetting and went to the kitchen. There was a woman standing in front of the open refrigerator just staring at things. I finally got around her, but could only find an apple juice box - not a bottle of juice or glasses. 

I grabbed the juice box and as VP Harris was leaving the building I approached. I was stopped by a very tall secret service person who told me to back away. I said, "But I have some apple juice for the Vice President. May I give it to her?" He said, "No." I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Step aside."

I've been carrying that guilt with me for two days. Even if it had really happened, I doubt that not getting apple juice would be one of the top things on her mind today. 

Bold

Act boldly and unforeseen forces will come to your aid.

~ Dorothea Brande

- - - - -

When I was in kindergarten - I know I've told this story before, but settle in and get ready to hear it again. Anyway, when I was in kindergarten we were coloring. I liked to push down really hard on the crayons because the colors were bolder when you did that.

My teacher, Miss Sassaman, took my picture and held it up. I was sure she was going to tell everyone what a good job I had done. Instead, she said, "This is NOT how you use your crayons!"

I'm not sure what unforeseen forces came to my aid, but that instilled in me something. I think it was not a hatred of educators though. I do that for a job now.

What I do NOT do, is hold up the pictures my graduate students have colored and tell the whole class that someone colored their picture wrong. Seriously, I've never done that once in any of my classes.

Elude

Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

~ Henry David Thoreau

- - - - -

Happiness is like a butterfly in other ways, too. For example the pupa stage when the butterfly is in a protective chrysalis. That is like when happiness isn't here yet, but it's getting ready to be here. For most butterflies we're talking 8-15 days which I don't think is too long to wait for happiness.

For some though it is longer - like two years. If you sit around waiting for happiness for two years then you're not doing your part. You could be happier sooner if you tried. Why you don't try eludes me.

Bark

On pavements and the bark of trees I have found whole new worlds.

~ Mark Tobey

- - - - -

Dogs treat tree bark the same way human beings treat beef jerky. Tree bark and beef jerky look similar and feel kind of the same when you touch them. And, just like when dogs chew on tree bark, we also lie on our stomachs outside and don't actually eat beef jerky, but shred it up and leave it in bitlets on the ground.

Pears

 There are only ten minutes in a pear's life when it is perfect to eat.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

- - - - -

If you are a dog, every minute in a pear's life is when it is perfect to eat. Normally, I would say that we should be more like dogs and enjoy every moment, but I suspect that eating unripe pears would upset my digestive system, so I won't say that this time.

Thus ends today's pearable.

Rest

 Rest and motion, unrelieved and unchecked, are equally destructive.

~ Benjamin Cardozo

- - - - -

If you don't know how to rest, spend time with a puppy. The puppy will teach you. The puppy is an expert on things you have long ago forgotten to be an expert about. Like resting. And chewing on things. And unbounded joy. And pooping outside.

Labels

Definitions belong to the definers not the defined.

~ Toni Morrison

- - - - -

I saw this on a brewery tour at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, ME. I don't know who made this particular label, but they are my favorite person who works for Allagash Brewing Company.

Robots

The Zeroth Law: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

~ Isaac Asimov

- - - - -

Did you think the robots got me because of how I wrote yesterday's blog? They did not. I was just making a joke. 

I wanted to do a follow up today to put your minds at ease (I hope you were able to sleep last night) and this was the only photo of robots I could find. Vending machines are like the wait staff of the robotics world. We should be grateful to them. They do hard and often thankless work. 

Just like the wait staff of the human world.

Tip generously. No. Seriously. You know what a jerk you can be - especially when you eat out. 

Tip generously.

Future

The future is uncertain, but that can be a good thing.

~ Jennifer Niven

- - - - -

As the new year begins, I encourage you to live in the moment and expect good things in the future. I know that things are unclear right now and the future is hazy and foggy, but still... we can hope and imagine good things. I also think if we can imagine good things, we can create them. Hope has to be a catalyst for change. Hope without action is not too effective.

Like I'm hoping that robots don't get in my computer and erase today's blog before I

Friend

One's friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.

~ George Santayana

- - - - -

On New Year's Day 2020, I posted the following on my Facebook page:

"I've been up for 45 minutes and I haven't messd up 2020 yet."

I intentionally included the typo on the word "messed." I got over 50 likes and several comments on the post. No one mentioned the typo.  What I learned:

1. My Facebook friends are not jerks who point out my mistakes. We all need that sometimes.

and / or

2. My Facebook friends don't read my posts very closely before liking them because they like me.

Either is pretty okay with me.