July 13, 2007
There are times when each of us needs to kick back, to take a short break, if only to recharge our batteries.
Quack! Neshaminy Creek, Bucks County, Pennsylvania June 2007
That's exactly what I'm doing, taking a short break. My son is away for summer camp, so the timing is ideal. Going to catch up with a friend or two, since that's a bit overdue. Might luxuriate and sleep in some mornings, possibly get out and shoot a few photos.
Now I know that rumors run rampant here, and just to clarify things for once and all, here's what I'm not going to do:
- Not wandering off to some enclave populated by people sporting shaved heads from some Eastern religious order in the Pennsylvania hills to try and "find myself." Nothing against those who want to find themselves, but I don't feel like finding myself right now, and occasionally like being a bit lost from time to time.
- Not sneaking off with Jenn somewhere, though she and I will probably communicate by email or phone from time to time.
- Not wandering off to that nudist sex colony in Florida for a chance to mingle in the raw with B-movie stars waiting to get discovered. Haven't been naked in public for a few years now, and don't need to have to deal with a sunburn on my nether regions.
- Not going to one of the workshops for writers that I've been thinking about for the last couple of years. The one in North Carolina that I had thought about ends this weekend. The one in Paris is too far away and non parlez francais, si vous plait. And that one for "open-minded writers of adult fiction and fantasy" worries me a bit, as they said that they "encourage total immersion in the experience"... whatever the hell that means.
But my non-Apple mp3 player is loaded with everything from Regina Spektor, Gogol Bordello, Amy Winehouse and Tom Waits, to some jazz and classical. I've included two versions of Carl Orff's "O, Fortuna" from Carmina Burana because I can't make up my mind which is best. If I want to go woods or trail riding, my mountain bike is now tuned properly, and I can hold off replacing the old gel seat for another year. Got another memory card for my digital camera in case I find some interesting things, or people, to capture through its lens.
So that's it, ready to take a break for a few days, and maybe even for a week. If you absolutely, positively have too reach me, send me an email or a message through here. Those of you who have my phone number know that I'll answer if I'm around, and if not, just leave a message.
And with that said, I'm ducking out - see you soon!
Technorati Tags: jargontalk, lexidiem, writer workshops, ducks, nudist, Buzznet, Regina Spektor, Gogol Bordello, Amy Winehouse, Tom Waits, O Fortuna, e-mail, no pule zone, ducking out
Tags: amy winehouse, buzznet, cumquats, ducks, gogol bordello, humor, jargontalk, jennybean, language, lexidiem, nudist, o fortuna, regina spektor, tom waits, word of the day, words, writer workshops
Posted on 07/13/2007 7:15 PM Comments (12)
July 4, 2007
Independence Day
Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more. Amen, and amen.
~ Virginia Gazette, 18 July 1777
Movietone Theatrical Newsreel: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Performed by Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians (1942)
Today, on the Fourth of July, let us remember Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to Congress on January 6, 1941. This became known as his "Four Freedoms" speech:
In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want -- which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear -- which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
 To that new order we oppose the greater conception -- the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
Since the beginning of our American history, we have been engaged in change -- in a perpetual peaceful revolution -- a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions -- without the concentration camp or the quick-lime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.
This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women; and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.
To that high concept there can be no end save victory.
From Congressional Record, 1941, Vol. 87, Pt. I.
Happy Independence Day, everyone!
Technorati Tags: four freedoms, franklin d roosevelt, independence day, jargontalk, july 4th, lexidiem, star-spangled banner, no pule zone, victory
Posted on 07/04/2007 2:53 PM Comments (14)
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