sleep!

A good night's sleep!

They didn't use the ceiling fan last night. It feels like a miracle. Moreover, it was another one of those nights when I wake up at around two for a bathroom run and see that they have already gone to bed - they didn't even wake me!

If I can get my sleep, I think I can work around just about anything else.

Hitchens

I suppose it should not be a surprise that Hitchens did not care much for the Kennedy legend of Camelot. Hey, even Mother Theresa did not rate high with him. And he felt that this is an especially late date to be burnishing the myths.

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“The reputation of the Kennedy racket is now dependent on a sobbing effort of will: an applauding chorus demanding that the flickering Tinker Bell not be allowed to expire. It is pardonable for children to yell that they believe in fairies, but it is somehow sinister when the piping note shifts from the puerile to the senile.”

-- Christopher Hitchens, “JFK: In Sickness and by Stealth” in Arguably

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The Ducks

Feeding the ducks, it is demoralizing to see how sludgy the pond water is in parts, like someone poured cans and cans of oil into it.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is turning 80 years old and he is still doing it, putting out the music and doing his show. The aging only seems to give greater authority to his voice and country songs. We have an interview.

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Baby's Blues

Uh

Oh, I suspect that, umm, you and I are familiar with the use of rhetorical grunts and hem-hawing, when we give our written remarks more of the air of a face-to-face conversation. But, uh, now we got some science behind it.

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One study had people sit in front of an array of objects, then grab and manipulate a specific sequence of objects, as directed by a computer voice. Sometimes the computer voice said things like, “Move the box.” Other times it added a filler word, saying, “Move the, uh, box.” The task wasn’t complex, and people had no trouble following the directions. Still, they were quicker to follow directions that involved objects they hadn’t yet manipulated when their instructions included an “uh.” To listeners, “uh” indicates that something new, which requires more mental processing on the part of the speaker, is about to be introduced. This helped the study participants put themselves in the right mindset of choosing from the as-yet unfamiliar objects.

So even a word that’s no more than a grunt is helpful. Which is good, because all languages have verbal filler. American Sigh Language has a sign for “um,” and most languages have some monosyllable that has no meaning but indicates a pause.

-- Sully's Dish

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Very Dry

Stepped out back to get some fresh air. It's much cooler outside. Wonderful breezes, so gusty and cool. Ms. Walker left today, and so there's no air-conditioner. I'm not complaining, mind you. Just saying. More pointedly, while I was out back, I was debating whether I should take advantage of what is left of our 'water day'. There are still a good two and a half hours left, as they apparently extended the hours a little this year. The correct answer is, of course, I should get busy and unspool the hose and break out the sprinkler, but I don't suppose it will surprise anyone to hear that I opted to give in to my laziness. Though, as I look at the forecast and see the bone-dry week ahead of us, I could wish for a little more industry of spirit. We are very dry.

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Okay, I have found my gumption. I'm watering.

Pi giggles, "Where was your gumption lost."

It was moldering in the closet.

Daily Fun

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