You know what to do
Today is the birthday, in 1940, of Smokey Robinson. With The Miracles he had this 1970 hit.
19
Feb
2021
Music
18
Feb
2021
Thursday Rain
We’re lucky it’s only rain here. Some places have it worse such as the area around Palermo, Sicily.
and there’s this.
Today is the birthday (in 1941) of Herman Santiago, a singer with the Doo-Wop group ‘Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers’. This video of their Number One hit was recorded in 1956 when Frankie was 15. They went on to record a number of other hit songs. Frankie Lymon died at age 25 of a drug overdose. The interview is interesting, but for those in a hurry, the song begins at about 2:18.
17
Feb
2021
Cold Wednesday
mRNA
Walt showed up late for the card party at the senior center. He blamed it on his poor memory, which seemed to be growing worse with age.
“You know, I used to have that problem too,” said his friend Stan. “But then I went to a memory clinic, and they taught us some really great techniques, like visualization and association, and I haven’t had a problem since.”
“That sounds like just what I need,” said Walt. “What was the name of the clinic?”
Stan’s mind went blank. He thought and thought, and finally he said, “What do you call that flower with the long thorny stem?”
“You mean a rose?” said Walt.
“That’s it!” said Stan. Then he turned to his wife and said, “Hey Rose, what was the name of that memory clinic?”
It’s cold out and I’m thinking of warm, maybe tropical music.
16
Feb
2021
Tuesday, Tuesday…
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.
Let’s face it,
English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England.
We take English for granted.
But if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly,
Boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea, nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing,
Grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends,
But not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends
And get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught,
Why didn’t preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables,
What does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes, I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down; in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on.
Where did this strange language come from and why do we speak it?
‘Cause we don’t know another, I guess…
Stay Safe…
Today is the birthday (in 1918) of Patty Andrews, one of the Andrews Sisters. Throughout their career they sold over 75 million records. This was a 1941 hit for them.
15
Feb
2021
Meh Monday
It’s technically a holiday but I’ll post anyway.
Bada Bing!
Nothing in English starts with an N and ends with a G.
Wife: We just ate, why are you making pancakes?Me: They’re for the dogs.Wife: Why are you making pancakes for the dogs?Me: They don’t know how.
Bigfoot is sometimes confused with Sasquatch.Yeti never complains.(This was an abominable joke.)
We’re putting together an expedition to capture the legendary Sasquatch.If we’re successful, it’ll be no small feet.
The doctor asked if I’d like to be knocked out with anesthesia or with a canoe paddle.It was an ether/oar situation.
My gym membership costs $120 a year.That’s pretty steep considering it’s $60 a visit.
Why do bagpipe players always walk while they play?They’re trying to get away from the noise.
Applicant: Shows up 45 minutes late for an interview to be a cable installer.Interviewer: “You’re hired.”
and this…
‘The Blue Danube’ (An der schönen blauen Donau, Walzer, Op. 314) by Johann Strauss II had its first performance in 1867. Here is a wonderful performance by The Vienna Philharmonic on New Years Day in 2011 along with some beautiful dancing.
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