Well, guess we will have to air our dirty laundry in public from now on, Jabber!! LMAO!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by Jabbergah:
Always did like this one -- sounded naughty, but was perfectly innocent!
Guess that depended on who you were conversing with Jabber
Dang, Lexie....now you did it! General will be shut off too! LMAO!!
...Just a footnote to the above mention of 9 or 10 posts...Rick was not active on the forum for this period of time and I believe his post count alone rose a few thousand! (not complaining..only comparing the megar numbers to this 
)
)quote:"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde
Originally posted by Mrs.M:
...Just a footnote to the above mention of 9 or 10 posts...Rick was not active on the forum for this period of time and I believe his post count alone rose a few thousand! (not complaining..only comparing the megar numbers to this
So nice to see a Wilder quote! ...was only using your numbers as an example in the case Rick.
...was only using your numbers as an example in the case Rick.
The Genesis and 246 replies later:
>> here <<
Lexie - like your new sig quote. Going ... Going ... Gone.
>> here <<
Lexie - like your new sig quote. Going ... Going ... Gone.
Hi Rick!!! 
You must still be reading Oscar Wilde.
"Repartee--something we think of twenty-four hours too late."
--Mark Twain
You must still be reading Oscar Wilde.
"Repartee--something we think of twenty-four hours too late."
--Mark Twain
Lexie posted:
Do you think the accordian panties thread is what doomed private topics?!?
quote:Omigosh, Lexie!
Guess that depended on who you were conversing with Jabber
Do you think the accordian panties thread is what doomed private topics?!? quote:Hi Christine,
You must still be reading Oscar Wilde.
Read his short stories a couple of months ago.
You still have some good Twain quotes left.
I see you’re still involved in The Thousand Hobbies and a Hobby (by Richard Burton, not the actor). Makes me tired just reading about all of them. About my biggest excitement of the day is when the mail arrives so I can pay bills – that’s not a solicitation.
Hi Rick,
Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol is really good. I just sniped an old book of his essays and letters (things that supposedly aren't in print any more) so maybe there'll be more good stuff in there.
Somebody had a listing for something signed by Oscar Wilde in 1822. That's pretty amazing, considering he died in 1900 at the age of 46. I thought about reporting the auction, but chances are good that eBay would not have known what was wrong with it.
I like Mark Twain more for the quotes than the stories even though those are good, too. He said quite a few things that are worth repeating.
Right now I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov in between the thousand and one other things going on. Did that Richard Burton guy who is not an actor write anything worth reading?
Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol is really good. I just sniped an old book of his essays and letters (things that supposedly aren't in print any more) so maybe there'll be more good stuff in there.
Somebody had a listing for something signed by Oscar Wilde in 1822. That's pretty amazing, considering he died in 1900 at the age of 46.
I thought about reporting the auction, but chances are good that eBay would not have known what was wrong with it.I like Mark Twain more for the quotes than the stories even though those are good, too. He said quite a few things that are worth repeating.
Right now I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov in between the thousand and one other things going on. Did that Richard Burton guy who is not an actor write anything worth reading?
Christine,
Strange someone would try to sell something that was such an obvious fake. Even stranger, would be someone bidding on it.
I didn’t know that Twain wrote The Brothers Karamazov. Live and learn – hopefully.
The Brothers is some serious reading. Not something to be picked up casually. Reading a book like that is the equivalent of marriage, or at least a serious commitment, in bibliophile terms. Most book reads are quickies, or weekend flings. It’s not just that Russian books are big, but the characters’ names are big – and the names all look alike. Most everyone has three names (each having 20+ letters with an “vitch” at the end) and all three names are used in various combinations. But, anything worthwhile is worth the involvement.
Very rarely do I find someone reading that kind of a book, or other classics, over 25. Typically when I mention titles to people I get the, “Oh, I read that in high school/college”. Such a pity. 10 to 50 years have gone by, and they haven’t re-exposed, or initially exposed, them self to something that would have more meaning.
I think you’re right - Sir Burton did write something worth reading. I believe he was able to obtain copies of several stories that Elizabeth Taylor told Malcolm Forbes during their evenings together.
quote:Change my previous comment to “... and Two Hobbies.” Sounds like an interesting read. Since the audience for a letter is one, or few, letters don’t need to have mass appeal, so they might be more honest or revealing. I like Wilde’s writing, but like you feel about Twain, I’m more into his quotes. I wonder how Twain and Wilde would have felt had they known that there would be a time when people would quote them on a sniping forum? Of course, ebay was in its formative stages when they were alive.
I just sniped an old book of his essays and letters (things that supposedly aren't in print any more) so maybe there'll be more good stuff in there.
Strange someone would try to sell something that was such an obvious fake. Even stranger, would be someone bidding on it.
I didn’t know that Twain wrote The Brothers Karamazov. Live and learn – hopefully.
The Brothers is some serious reading. Not something to be picked up casually. Reading a book like that is the equivalent of marriage, or at least a serious commitment, in bibliophile terms. Most book reads are quickies, or weekend flings. It’s not just that Russian books are big, but the characters’ names are big – and the names all look alike. Most everyone has three names (each having 20+ letters with an “vitch” at the end) and all three names are used in various combinations. But, anything worthwhile is worth the involvement.
Very rarely do I find someone reading that kind of a book, or other classics, over 25. Typically when I mention titles to people I get the, “Oh, I read that in high school/college”. Such a pity. 10 to 50 years have gone by, and they haven’t re-exposed, or initially exposed, them self to something that would have more meaning.
I think you’re right - Sir Burton did write something worth reading. I believe he was able to obtain copies of several stories that Elizabeth Taylor told Malcolm Forbes during their evenings together.
You're right, generally people don't read classic books unless someone makes them do it. I'm still trying to figure out the logic of this. If a book is truly good and of lasting value it gets labeled a classic. Once it's labeled as a classic people will avoid reading it because it is one. 
Do you think that Russian novels would be more popular if they changed the names when they translate them? It seems like they'd lose something if they changed Dmitri to Dan and Alexey to Alan, etc.
On some of his books, including The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky's name is spelled with a y in the middle and on others it's omitted, even on the same title. This makes it just a little harder to search on eBay.
My guess is that ol' Mark and Oscar would be flattered that they're still being talked about long after their deaths. Oscar Wilde wrote, "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." And I'm sure that if I looked I could find some ornery comment that Mark Twain had to say on the matter. 
Do you think that Russian novels would be more popular if they changed the names when they translate them? It seems like they'd lose something if they changed Dmitri to Dan and Alexey to Alan, etc.
On some of his books, including The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky's name is spelled with a y in the middle and on others it's omitted, even on the same title. This makes it just a little harder to search on eBay.
My guess is that ol' Mark and Oscar would be flattered that they're still being talked about long after their deaths.
Oscar Wilde wrote, "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." And I'm sure that if I looked I could find some ornery comment that Mark Twain had to say on the matter.
Falcon, long before I entered college, I had to read the classics. And, I thus, learned to love them as they should be! I noticed that my grand children had no such assignments in Lit. class, so.... yes you guessed it, I'm sure! I assigned it to them and we read together. All of the grandchildren grew up to appreciate great books.
Christine,
I agree with your statement about classics. Maybe that’s one of the requirements to be a classic – a teacher makes you read it. A lot of people end up reading them to get a grade, which is the same as getting approval from someone else. It seems a better motivation to read something to get approval from one’s self. Reading should be a pleasure, not something one does because it’s an assignment (that’s probably true for everything in life). Forcing someone to read could backfire – instead of appreciating a book, a person ends up disliking it and perhaps dislikes other great books. No one has to force anyone to eat chocolate (I think that’s fairly accurate).
I’m not sure of the dynamics. You are recent to schooling, so you would have a better insight. It seems that schools provide a benefit in “forcing” students to read this kind of literature, in that the students probably wouldn’t have the time as adults. That’s a plus, and the educational system must hook some readers, other than someone getting a degree in literature so that they can go out and force other students to read these books. On the other hand, once someone has read a book, it seems less likely they will read the book again. The “been there, done it” kicks in, so they feel they’ve already “accomplished” the book, so no need to read it again. The downside to that is that as we get older, we hopefully have more experiences. Without these experiences, the ideas contained in a book don’t impact us the same way. I think someone said that reading lets us know we’re not alone (or something like that, but that probably applies to all art).
It’s such a shame that these books are read to get a grade, instead of read to be enjoyed. Cliffs Notes are an extension of this. Most people view Cliffs Notes as synonymous with cheating, or at least, not doing the “work” (funny word to be used for getting educated). It wouldn’t occur to most people to both read the novel and the Cliffs Notes. Fairly difficult to “fully” understand a great book solely by reading it. There’s usually more going on than just that which is on the surface. That is an advantage of reading in school – the teacher will/can hopefully point out the more subtle issues. It might surprise people when they see someone reading those yellow covers pamphlets with the black stripes - Cliffs Notes can provide some valuable enhancements to the reading experience (reading should be an experience). Maybe that’s a better definition of a “classic” – a book that has a Cliffs Notes.
I get that “I read that in school” response from well-educated people, but it’s been 30 years since they read it! They must have incredible memories, and very few experiences since going to school. With all that said, I think school is mostly wasted on younger people that aren’t interested in an education for the experiences that an education can/should provide, but as a vehicle to get into a career. The grade thing is particularly disturbing – but I don’t have a better alternative, especially when certain jobs require a degree.
Don’t think changing the Russian names to American nicknames would improve their popularity, but I know that was a rhetorical question. You have several hobbies. At some point, once you’ve spent time at some introductory level of challenge with a hobby (or any task), you are ready for the next level. That’s part of your bread making and fiber processing (et al). Spinning (such as coconut fiber), looming, knitting, and wheat grinding are more examples. For some of us, reading is the same. At some point, we need some reading that is more challenging. When that happens, a person finds a copy of a book like The Brothers Karamazov , or more likely the book finds them. The Russian names add to the challenge, therefore adding to the enjoyment. But, I did get a laugh out of your example name changes.
Did not know about the “y” in the middle of Dostoevsky’s name.
I think Twain was successful enough in his lifetime to know that he would not be forgotten. It seems that Wilde didn’t have that pleasure.
Don’t see how you have the time to read, but I find that people find time for things they enjoy, even if they don’t have the time.
Wow! Except for three-worded character names that end with “vitch”, looks like I might have posted a Russian novel. If this was a classic post, there’d be a Cliffs Notes, or it would be required forum reading (pop quiz time).
I agree with your statement about classics. Maybe that’s one of the requirements to be a classic – a teacher makes you read it. A lot of people end up reading them to get a grade, which is the same as getting approval from someone else. It seems a better motivation to read something to get approval from one’s self. Reading should be a pleasure, not something one does because it’s an assignment (that’s probably true for everything in life). Forcing someone to read could backfire – instead of appreciating a book, a person ends up disliking it and perhaps dislikes other great books. No one has to force anyone to eat chocolate (I think that’s fairly accurate).
I’m not sure of the dynamics. You are recent to schooling, so you would have a better insight. It seems that schools provide a benefit in “forcing” students to read this kind of literature, in that the students probably wouldn’t have the time as adults. That’s a plus, and the educational system must hook some readers, other than someone getting a degree in literature so that they can go out and force other students to read these books. On the other hand, once someone has read a book, it seems less likely they will read the book again. The “been there, done it” kicks in, so they feel they’ve already “accomplished” the book, so no need to read it again. The downside to that is that as we get older, we hopefully have more experiences. Without these experiences, the ideas contained in a book don’t impact us the same way. I think someone said that reading lets us know we’re not alone (or something like that, but that probably applies to all art).
It’s such a shame that these books are read to get a grade, instead of read to be enjoyed. Cliffs Notes are an extension of this. Most people view Cliffs Notes as synonymous with cheating, or at least, not doing the “work” (funny word to be used for getting educated). It wouldn’t occur to most people to both read the novel and the Cliffs Notes. Fairly difficult to “fully” understand a great book solely by reading it. There’s usually more going on than just that which is on the surface. That is an advantage of reading in school – the teacher will/can hopefully point out the more subtle issues. It might surprise people when they see someone reading those yellow covers pamphlets with the black stripes - Cliffs Notes can provide some valuable enhancements to the reading experience (reading should be an experience). Maybe that’s a better definition of a “classic” – a book that has a Cliffs Notes.
I get that “I read that in school” response from well-educated people, but it’s been 30 years since they read it! They must have incredible memories, and very few experiences since going to school. With all that said, I think school is mostly wasted on younger people that aren’t interested in an education for the experiences that an education can/should provide, but as a vehicle to get into a career. The grade thing is particularly disturbing – but I don’t have a better alternative, especially when certain jobs require a degree.
Don’t think changing the Russian names to American nicknames would improve their popularity, but I know that was a rhetorical question. You have several hobbies. At some point, once you’ve spent time at some introductory level of challenge with a hobby (or any task), you are ready for the next level. That’s part of your bread making and fiber processing (et al). Spinning (such as coconut fiber), looming, knitting, and wheat grinding are more examples. For some of us, reading is the same. At some point, we need some reading that is more challenging. When that happens, a person finds a copy of a book like The Brothers Karamazov , or more likely the book finds them. The Russian names add to the challenge, therefore adding to the enjoyment. But, I did get a laugh out of your example name changes.
Did not know about the “y” in the middle of Dostoevsky’s name.
I think Twain was successful enough in his lifetime to know that he would not be forgotten. It seems that Wilde didn’t have that pleasure.
Don’t see how you have the time to read, but I find that people find time for things they enjoy, even if they don’t have the time.
Wow! Except for three-worded character names that end with “vitch”, looks like I might have posted a Russian novel. If this was a classic post, there’d be a Cliffs Notes, or it would be required forum reading (pop quiz time).
That was certainly a long, but interesting post, Rick. Hope you don't mind my comment. I feel that reading today is almost a lost art. I understand the grade comment, but I also think that like a pump, sometimes we need to be "primed". I not only buy books for the grandchildren, we often read them together. I have found that the more we read,the more we desire to read. And, btw, there are many recent books out there, available at your library, that are excellent reading too. Perhaps, future classics! I must also say that I loved reading the classics in school, as a child. Perhaps it was because we also read them at home!
I must also say that I loved reading the classics in school, as a child. Perhaps it was because we also read them at home!quote:
I get that “I read that in school” response …
I agree with what you're saying, Rick. I think that part of the basic problem is that kids expect instant answers and instant feedback and don't want to take the time needed to read a book. Maybe television and the internet have caused a lot of this, but I also suspect that some of it has to do with our school system and how they were raised. Kids don't have to learn any more. I spent several years teaching and don't plan to go back. During that time I was told that certain students were "nonreaders" and I would just have to accept that. We were told to identify a certain quota as "learning disabled" whether they had a problem or not in order to get funds. Of course, once the label is there, much less is expected of the student. Then there's the whole issue of self discipline and personal accountability. If you expect them to behave and do their work, often you're not "respecting their disability" because they're "disabled with borderline ADHD." Anyone who's worked with kids knows that they'll raise or lower themselves to your expectations. Often these kids have no limits or responsibilities at home and know that their parents won't make them do anything that they don't want to do at school. These "nonreaders" have children and place little or no value on education or reading, which then gets passed on to their kids. We seem to be on a downward spiral. Students graduate knowing less and less, the future teachers who are among those students know less and less, and so on.
Every time I drive into town I stop to look for books at the Goodwill store that's about two blocks from the university. There are usually classics there, especially right after the end of the semester. Some of the covers are still tight from being new so they've probably never even been opened. There are enough of them that I can afford to be picky and go for the nice, preferably leather bound, hardcover ones. The last trip yielded a gilt-edged, leather bound copy of Jack London's works, The Last of the Mohicans, a novel by Joseph Conrad, and some collections of the writings of John Dryden and David Hume. More than once someone's said that they were surprised that I'd actually read them.
You're right about good books being a from of art and something that should be enjoyed again and again. Maybe more people would read them if they were taught in a more appreciative style instead of by reading a few chapters at a time and then beating those chapters to death ad nauseum. The average reading level is also on its way down, and since people tend to read what they're comfortable reading, this may also have an effect.
You have a good point about people finding time for what they truly enjoy. Baking things from scratch doesn't take much time if you're going to be home anyway. It only takes a few minutes here and there. Maybe it all boils down to what people value. (I gave up on trying to spin coconut hair after that first try.)
OK, I wrote a novel back to you, and since the Cliffs Notes haven't been released yet, the longer version is all that's available. No movie version is planned.
Every time I drive into town I stop to look for books at the Goodwill store that's about two blocks from the university. There are usually classics there, especially right after the end of the semester. Some of the covers are still tight from being new so they've probably never even been opened. There are enough of them that I can afford to be picky and go for the nice, preferably leather bound, hardcover ones. The last trip yielded a gilt-edged, leather bound copy of Jack London's works, The Last of the Mohicans, a novel by Joseph Conrad, and some collections of the writings of John Dryden and David Hume. More than once someone's said that they were surprised that I'd actually read them.
You're right about good books being a from of art and something that should be enjoyed again and again. Maybe more people would read them if they were taught in a more appreciative style instead of by reading a few chapters at a time and then beating those chapters to death ad nauseum. The average reading level is also on its way down, and since people tend to read what they're comfortable reading, this may also have an effect.
You have a good point about people finding time for what they truly enjoy. Baking things from scratch doesn't take much time if you're going to be home anyway. It only takes a few minutes here and there. Maybe it all boils down to what people value. (I gave up on trying to spin coconut hair after that first try.)
OK, I wrote a novel back to you, and since the Cliffs Notes haven't been released yet, the longer version is all that's available. No movie version is planned.
Falcon, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!!!!!! You have been there...you have seen... you know... You are 100% correct!!!
Christine,
It must have been extremely frustrating to be a teacher. I would hope that the curriculum and standards reflect the desires of society, and primarily of parents, but that could be naïve. To show you how removed I am from it, I had to look up ADHD. By the sounds of it, ADHD could be a byproduct of finding school boring. Your right - parents should expect more of their children instead of expecting less, but maybe there’s more of the former than of the later.
Yes, people are surprised when someone actually reads a book like The Brothers Karamazov . One can buy books by the yard(s). They aren’t intended to be read, just put on display to fill up shelf space.
I can definitely related to leather bound, gold-gilted books. That’s about all I’ve been reading for several years, and will be for several more. I pretty much limit myself to Easton Press, with a dash of Franklin Library’s thrown in. It enhances my reading experience to have such a nice looking book. It’s like using china and crystal for dining. Doesn’t really make the food taste any better; it just seems like it does. Also, since there are so many books “out there”, it helps to have someone do some screening. You might say I let Easton help me pick out the books I’m going to read. It’s not a perfect method, but considering the millions of books that have been published, it helps to have some kind of a system to decide which books to read.
It’s odd to think about all the current technology available for writing. Computers, word processors, spell checkers, grammar checkers, and online thesaurus. I try to envision the effort it took to write, edit (talk about cut and paste), publish and distribute a book a 100, or more, years ago. No laser printer, no Xerox machine, probably no typewriter (definitely not a Selectric). Think about the effort and cost it must have taken to get something published. Maybe, because it was so difficult to be an author, the lack of technology restricted some of the want-a-be authors. I wonder how much difference today’s technologies would have made on Tolstoy or Hugo.
I’m afraid if a movie version does come out, Christopher Lloyd will be playing my part. But you know how distorted the movie versions of books are lately so they’ll probably use Brad Pitt. That distortion seems more of a recent trend; say the last 10 or 15 years. And, it seems more of an American thing.
It must have been extremely frustrating to be a teacher. I would hope that the curriculum and standards reflect the desires of society, and primarily of parents, but that could be naïve. To show you how removed I am from it, I had to look up ADHD. By the sounds of it, ADHD could be a byproduct of finding school boring. Your right - parents should expect more of their children instead of expecting less, but maybe there’s more of the former than of the later.
Yes, people are surprised when someone actually reads a book like The Brothers Karamazov . One can buy books by the yard(s). They aren’t intended to be read, just put on display to fill up shelf space.
I can definitely related to leather bound, gold-gilted books. That’s about all I’ve been reading for several years, and will be for several more. I pretty much limit myself to Easton Press, with a dash of Franklin Library’s thrown in. It enhances my reading experience to have such a nice looking book. It’s like using china and crystal for dining. Doesn’t really make the food taste any better; it just seems like it does. Also, since there are so many books “out there”, it helps to have someone do some screening. You might say I let Easton help me pick out the books I’m going to read. It’s not a perfect method, but considering the millions of books that have been published, it helps to have some kind of a system to decide which books to read.
It’s odd to think about all the current technology available for writing. Computers, word processors, spell checkers, grammar checkers, and online thesaurus. I try to envision the effort it took to write, edit (talk about cut and paste), publish and distribute a book a 100, or more, years ago. No laser printer, no Xerox machine, probably no typewriter (definitely not a Selectric). Think about the effort and cost it must have taken to get something published. Maybe, because it was so difficult to be an author, the lack of technology restricted some of the want-a-be authors. I wonder how much difference today’s technologies would have made on Tolstoy or Hugo.
I’m afraid if a movie version does come out, Christopher Lloyd will be playing my part. But you know how distorted the movie versions of books are lately so they’ll probably use Brad Pitt. That distortion seems more of a recent trend; say the last 10 or 15 years. And, it seems more of an American thing.
Hi Rick and Mrs. M.,
I was surprised and saddened by the number of parents who were apathetic about what their kids did or didn't learn in school. We had some good parents who cared and made sure their kids came to school with their work finished and ready to learn. They were wonderful and their kids did well. Unfortunately, they were in the minority. We also had to deal with drugs, truancy, and violence.
I renewed my teaching certificate this summer just in case, but hope never to have to go back into that career field. A lot of the good teachers that I knew burned out and left. On the application for renewing my license there was a section for checking off hair color. There were blanks for pink and purple. How many teachers have you ever seen with pink or purple hair???
LOL, I feel the same way about nice leather bound books. It's sooo much nicer to hold the world's best literature in your hands in the finest binding available. An old paperback doesn't even compare. I've never understood why someone would want to buy fine books and put them on the shelf just to look good and never read them. That would be like buying a fine car to let it sit in the driveway. They do look good on the shelf, but that's only an added bonus.
If they had electronic ways of writing maybe the great authors of the past would have been able to write more books or maybe if they knew they could turn out a greater volume they might have put less thought and effort into each one. Who knows?
Hey, if we're gonna do a movie, do you think we could get J Lo or some other glamorous star to play my part?
I was surprised and saddened by the number of parents who were apathetic about what their kids did or didn't learn in school. We had some good parents who cared and made sure their kids came to school with their work finished and ready to learn. They were wonderful and their kids did well. Unfortunately, they were in the minority. We also had to deal with drugs, truancy, and violence.
I renewed my teaching certificate this summer just in case, but hope never to have to go back into that career field. A lot of the good teachers that I knew burned out and left. On the application for renewing my license there was a section for checking off hair color. There were blanks for pink and purple. How many teachers have you ever seen with pink or purple hair???
LOL, I feel the same way about nice leather bound books. It's sooo much nicer to hold the world's best literature in your hands in the finest binding available. An old paperback doesn't even compare. I've never understood why someone would want to buy fine books and put them on the shelf just to look good and never read them. That would be like buying a fine car to let it sit in the driveway. They do look good on the shelf, but that's only an added bonus.
If they had electronic ways of writing maybe the great authors of the past would have been able to write more books or maybe if they knew they could turn out a greater volume they might have put less thought and effort into each one. Who knows?
Hey, if we're gonna do a movie, do you think we could get J Lo or some other glamorous star to play my part?
quote:We'll work on that!
Hey, if we're gonna do a movie, do you think we could get J Lo or some other glamorous star to play my part?
quote:I would have enjoyed having a pink or purple haired teacher (pht), but I understand the absurdity. Maybe pink and purple haired teachers have powerful lobbyist. I think they (the pinks and purples) would be better protected as an endangered species.
On the application for renewing my license there was a section for checking off hair color. There were blanks for pink and purple. How many teachers have you ever seen with pink or purple hair???
Lol, I did have a highschool English teacher with blue hair! ( You have to be old as the hills to remember blue hair rinses!) One of the boys raised his hand once and asked why she had blue hair. He got wacked!
LOL! We had nuns, and you couldn't see their hair color under those habits. They could have been bald and we wouldn't have known it.
A boy in one of my early grade school classes got whacked when he snuck up on one of the nuns and lifted her robe a few inches to see if she had feet!
A boy in one of my early grade school classes got whacked when he snuck up on one of the nuns and lifted her robe a few inches to see if she had feet!
Oh my, now that is really, really funny!! You made my day!!!!
quote:Christine,
A boy in one of my early grade school classes got whacked when he snuck up on one of the nuns and lifted her robe ...
Was he trying to get into a habit?
You had boys in your school? I thought that was a no-no?
Remember this, Rick?
LOL @ the picture, Mrs. M.!
I drove into town again today and came home with more books. This is turning into a serious addiction. One of the books is a really old leather bound copy of Moral and Political Philosophy by William Paley, D.D. that was printed in 1827. It's surprisingly intact for being so old. I also got a complete hard bound set with leather spines and corners called Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature that was printed in 1879. (Yeah, that is how they printed the title.) It has lots of really old, really interesting looking stuff in it. One section is all stuff from prior to the year 1400. It's amazing what some people choose to get rid of. The old Oscar Wilde book arrived today too, so now I have lots of ancient books to read and no time to read them this weekend.
Rick, in grade school we had both girls and boys together in the same school. When we got to high school we went to separate schools. Of course, that didn't stop the guys from showing up at our high school every day after classes were over!
I drove into town again today and came home with more books. This is turning into a serious addiction. One of the books is a really old leather bound copy of Moral and Political Philosophy by William Paley, D.D. that was printed in 1827. It's surprisingly intact for being so old. I also got a complete hard bound set with leather spines and corners called Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature that was printed in 1879. (Yeah, that is how they printed the title.) It has lots of really old, really interesting looking stuff in it. One section is all stuff from prior to the year 1400. It's amazing what some people choose to get rid of. The old Oscar Wilde book arrived today too, so now I have lots of ancient books to read and no time to read them this weekend.
Rick, in grade school we had both girls and boys together in the same school. When we got to high school we went to separate schools. Of course, that didn't stop the guys from showing up at our high school every day after classes were over!
Falcon, actually, our Catholic HS was not female-male segragated then nor is it now!
Sounds like you have found a great place to find some jewel of books!
Sounds like you have found a great place to find some jewel of books!
Our nuns were always chasing the guys away from the front door after school. I could just see them trying to deal with a school with both--LOL!!
Yes, it's a great place to look for books, but it's unfortunate that people would fail to see their value and just get rid of them. Who was it that said that one man's junk is another man's treasure? Another quote for you....
It looks like it's about to start storming. (A great excuse to read and not do class work on line!)
Yes, it's a great place to look for books, but it's unfortunate that people would fail to see their value and just get rid of them. Who was it that said that one man's junk is another man's treasure? Another quote for you....
It looks like it's about to start storming. (A great excuse to read and not do class work on line!)
Christine,
Was it a good storm or a bad storm, or are those synonyms?
Have you seen 84 Charing Cross Road?
Was it a good storm or a bad storm, or are those synonyms?
quote:The hormonal years?
When we got to high school we went to separate schools.
quote:Definitely hormonal years.
Of course, that didn't stop the guys from showing up at our high school every day after classes were over
quote:Lucky you. Sure wish I could find those kinds of people. I can understand a customer not realizing the value, but I’m surprised the book dealer doesn’t. But, this is the Goodwill, so they want to create good will. Sounds like Goodwill needs to sell on ebay, but then they would be called Goodprofit. It just wouldn’t be the same to have people standing outside stores ringing a bell (imagine the hearing damage to the bell-ringer, let alone second-hand damage, and would Quasimodo be able to file for Workman’s Comp or start a class action case?) during Christmas holidays that were from “Goodprofit”. I wonder if those bell-ring kiosks take credit cards or Paypal? If you give them a $100 bill, do you think they check it with one of those felt-pens to see if it’s counterfeit? If you give them a $100 bill, do you think Goodwill would ever see the bell-ringer and his pot again? If you give them a check, do they require two forms of ID?
Yes, it's a great place to look for books, but it's unfortunate that people would fail to see their value and just get rid of them.
Have you seen 84 Charing Cross Road?
It won't be much longer until those bell ringers start hanging out in front of stores. A few stores are starting to put up odds and ends of Christmas related stuff. This is early September. How greedy can they get???
When I put money into their containers it's usually what's accumulated at the bottom of my purse. Lots of things can accumulate at the bottom of a purse but $100 bills don't seem to be one of them, so I wouldn't know. I wonder if they have some way of locking those things to keep Santa from dipping into the till?
When you were a kid, did you ever notice that when Santa paid a visit to your house he always looked an awful lot like one of your uncles who just happened not to be there at the minute? He'd always come in a few minutes later and just miss seeing Santa.
When I put money into their containers it's usually what's accumulated at the bottom of my purse. Lots of things can accumulate at the bottom of a purse but $100 bills don't seem to be one of them, so I wouldn't know. I wonder if they have some way of locking those things to keep Santa from dipping into the till?
When you were a kid, did you ever notice that when Santa paid a visit to your house he always looked an awful lot like one of your uncles who just happened not to be there at the minute?
He'd always come in a few minutes later and just miss seeing Santa. 
Falcon, does this bring back memories?
It’s a good idea to carry around some $100 bills. I wouldn’t want to disappoint someone when they robbed me.
The spreading out of the Christmas shopping time might have some merit. It seems like a lot of people get stressed trying to get their shopping done, and the stores have to hire extra temporary people, and there’s the problem of inventory, and the crowds. I don’t think it would cause people to spend more money, if they had more time. In fact, why not start it around Easter. January is pushing it, in that you might not like the person in 11 months.
The spreading out of the Christmas shopping time might have some merit. It seems like a lot of people get stressed trying to get their shopping done, and the stores have to hire extra temporary people, and there’s the problem of inventory, and the crowds. I don’t think it would cause people to spend more money, if they had more time. In fact, why not start it around Easter. January is pushing it, in that you might not like the person in 11 months.
I am coming late into this discussion; please excuse me for that.
As an educator, I can agree with most of what Falcon has written. I teach both students and future teachers, so I see both sides of the coin. Television and the internet most definitely have cut very deeply into what was already a shrinking American attention span. The other variable is the dissolution of the family, which used to provide support and assurance that children came to school ready to learn. The school systems, under political and legal pressure, have adjusted their expectations accordingly.
While this trend has been particularly acute over the last twenty years, it actually began after the First World War. This is the period when mass marketing and the advertising industry as we know it today began. During the 1920's, the onset of radio, color magazines, automobiles, telephones, mass-produced toys and other marvels of the industrial age began to capture the attention of the public. People began to develop product loyality and became increasingly susceptible to media manipulation. This continued during the thirties, even when the general public did not always have disposable income, as airplanes, comic books, talking movies and other elements of pop culture became American mainstays.
People worried about the quality of pulp comic books and the effect it would have on the attention spans of young readers, to say nothing of the quality of childrens' literature. In the fifties, concerns began to be expessed about the level of decency in the illustrations. (One has only to sample science fiction pulp covers of the period, to see the revealing, skimpy costumes worn by the various damsels in distress. Even by today's standards they are noticeable.) All of these developments from the 1920's--a period of great prosperity--onward, have layered, one on top of another, to form the fickle nature of today's readers. Remote controlled TV and the internet are the icing at the top of a multilayer cake.
To illustrate this, I share a finding I made when I analyzed children's literature during my graduate program. I compared an early volume of the famous Bobbsey Twins series with the same story republished years later, but both editions were long before the current generation. The original story was published in 1914 and the republished edition was in 1947.
1947 was when television was just beginning and had not yet made its big splash onto the American scene. It was in the immediate post-WWII era, and that war and its aftermath were still the predominating elements of American society.
Though the 1947 edition told the exact same story, with the exact same text, as did that of the 1914 edition, there were, even in 1947, noticeable disparities when compared to 1914. Some of the differences were merely vocabulary changes to reflect the times (sofa replaced davenport, restroom replaced w.c., etc.) while others were industrial (automobiles replaced carriages, etc.). But in describing various events of the story, even major ones, entire sentences and paragraphs were omitted. Sentence structures were shorter and simple clauses replaced complex ones. There was far less descriptive language, and chapters were broken up into shorter segments. In short, the attention span of readers was already weakening, even in the 1940's. Perhaps the occurrence of two world wars during the intervening years had some impact on all of this. Certainly the appearance of radio did, as many stories that would have been read were instead listened to on the radio.
One might speculate that periods of economic prosperity seem to generate distractions from reading--distractions from which not all segments of society always recover. One sees this during the greatest periods of American abundance, viz., the 1920's, 1950's, and 1980's through the present day. I am not posting this as a theory per se, as I never did empirical research on it, but is is food for thought. Sorry for the lengthy post.
As an educator, I can agree with most of what Falcon has written. I teach both students and future teachers, so I see both sides of the coin. Television and the internet most definitely have cut very deeply into what was already a shrinking American attention span. The other variable is the dissolution of the family, which used to provide support and assurance that children came to school ready to learn. The school systems, under political and legal pressure, have adjusted their expectations accordingly.
While this trend has been particularly acute over the last twenty years, it actually began after the First World War. This is the period when mass marketing and the advertising industry as we know it today began. During the 1920's, the onset of radio, color magazines, automobiles, telephones, mass-produced toys and other marvels of the industrial age began to capture the attention of the public. People began to develop product loyality and became increasingly susceptible to media manipulation. This continued during the thirties, even when the general public did not always have disposable income, as airplanes, comic books, talking movies and other elements of pop culture became American mainstays.
People worried about the quality of pulp comic books and the effect it would have on the attention spans of young readers, to say nothing of the quality of childrens' literature. In the fifties, concerns began to be expessed about the level of decency in the illustrations. (One has only to sample science fiction pulp covers of the period, to see the revealing, skimpy costumes worn by the various damsels in distress. Even by today's standards they are noticeable.) All of these developments from the 1920's--a period of great prosperity--onward, have layered, one on top of another, to form the fickle nature of today's readers. Remote controlled TV and the internet are the icing at the top of a multilayer cake.
To illustrate this, I share a finding I made when I analyzed children's literature during my graduate program. I compared an early volume of the famous Bobbsey Twins series with the same story republished years later, but both editions were long before the current generation. The original story was published in 1914 and the republished edition was in 1947.
1947 was when television was just beginning and had not yet made its big splash onto the American scene. It was in the immediate post-WWII era, and that war and its aftermath were still the predominating elements of American society.
Though the 1947 edition told the exact same story, with the exact same text, as did that of the 1914 edition, there were, even in 1947, noticeable disparities when compared to 1914. Some of the differences were merely vocabulary changes to reflect the times (sofa replaced davenport, restroom replaced w.c., etc.) while others were industrial (automobiles replaced carriages, etc.). But in describing various events of the story, even major ones, entire sentences and paragraphs were omitted. Sentence structures were shorter and simple clauses replaced complex ones. There was far less descriptive language, and chapters were broken up into shorter segments. In short, the attention span of readers was already weakening, even in the 1940's. Perhaps the occurrence of two world wars during the intervening years had some impact on all of this. Certainly the appearance of radio did, as many stories that would have been read were instead listened to on the radio.
One might speculate that periods of economic prosperity seem to generate distractions from reading--distractions from which not all segments of society always recover. One sees this during the greatest periods of American abundance, viz., the 1920's, 1950's, and 1980's through the present day. I am not posting this as a theory per se, as I never did empirical research on it, but is is food for thought. Sorry for the lengthy post.
quote:
Sorry for the lengthy post.
Nothing to be sorry about, Chatter. I found it very interesting, thought provoking, and true. I lived through these times and know first hand, it has happened slow, but sure, year by year. Thank you for your post.
Mrs. M., that definitely brings back memories!
Chatter, that's interesting. There is a noticeable difference between novels written a century ago and novels written today. Today's novels need to have some sort of action at the very beginning of the story in order to grab the reader's attention. The older ones tend to spend more time outlining the characters and scene before the action starts up. They may be excellent stories, but many people lack the attention span needed to keep reading until the story gets under way. Maybe what you're talking about has a lot to do with the relatively small number of people who read older works or classic books.
I wish I knew what we could do to reverse this situation. Every time somebody tries to raise their standards somebody somewhere manages to keep it from happening.
Chatter, that's interesting. There is a noticeable difference between novels written a century ago and novels written today. Today's novels need to have some sort of action at the very beginning of the story in order to grab the reader's attention. The older ones tend to spend more time outlining the characters and scene before the action starts up. They may be excellent stories, but many people lack the attention span needed to keep reading until the story gets under way. Maybe what you're talking about has a lot to do with the relatively small number of people who read older works or classic books.
I wish I knew what we could do to reverse this situation. Every time somebody tries to raise their standards somebody somewhere manages to keep it from happening.
Falcon, it reminded of when my oldest son came home from school with a pocket full of slaw! Do you remember you had to eat everything on your plate?
Is it an irony that Chatter’s post starts with a discussion about attention spans, but ends with an apology about the length of the post?
Even on this forum, I’ve learned to shorten posts, or they won’t get read. Perhaps that’s an example of dummying-down. That wasn’t always the case on this forum.
“People began to develop product loyality and became increasingly susceptible to media manipulation.” It’s spooky if one applies that to political campaigns.
Strange that books seem to be getting shorter, while sporting events and political champagnes are getting longer.
I suspect that with today’s technology that literacy and math skills are no longer needed to make a successful contribution to society.
As was stated, these issues could be the results of prosperity. Wealthy societies have a different mentally than poor ones. Wealthy societies can afford to be altruistic.
I think life expectancy is the best measurement of how a society is doing. Since that is increasing, I’m with the glass-is-half-full group.
Did you know? Humanity (oxymoron) killed off 100 million of it’s own humanity in 20th century in wars?
“One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic.” Joseph Stalin
Even on this forum, I’ve learned to shorten posts, or they won’t get read. Perhaps that’s an example of dummying-down. That wasn’t always the case on this forum.
“People began to develop product loyality and became increasingly susceptible to media manipulation.” It’s spooky if one applies that to political campaigns.
Strange that books seem to be getting shorter, while sporting events and political champagnes are getting longer.
I suspect that with today’s technology that literacy and math skills are no longer needed to make a successful contribution to society.
As was stated, these issues could be the results of prosperity. Wealthy societies have a different mentally than poor ones. Wealthy societies can afford to be altruistic.
I think life expectancy is the best measurement of how a society is doing. Since that is increasing, I’m with the glass-is-half-full group.
Did you know? Humanity (oxymoron) killed off 100 million of it’s own humanity in 20th century in wars?
“One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic.” Joseph Stalin