I was going to post this earlier, but decided to do other stuff first. After a bit of diddle daddle, I couldn’t decide whether to linger or lollygag, so I moseyed back into the house (I’d forgotten how to sashay). At any rate, here (finally) is – How to Wander through Life, better known as A Day in the Life of a Procrastinator (brought to you by blurburger.com): (I might goof off later, if I have time).
As a follow-up to all the other postings regarding the danger to Bullwinkle posed by Sarah Palin, we present McCain and Palin – Ridding World of Moose and Squirrel…
I like books, music, and lists, so where better to find those than – The Library! And since it’s October, it must be time for some happy haunting. Combining all of these elements, and just for fun… we bring you Haunted Libraries! Funny, but it seems to me that on the few occasions that I actually visited my college library as a student, the living weren’t even haunting the shelves… with the exception of the newspaper and magazine section (we weren’t particularly literate, but we were apparently well informed on current events).
Britannica Blog(click the link to see more) lists many haunted libraries from around the world, but I’m going to pick on Ohio (with more ghosts than I would have imagined) and England (with fewer than I would have expected); just for Stacy Buckeyeand A Brit in California(OK, Ambertoo):
Ohio
Ashtabula County District Library. The ghost of Ethel McDowell, who was appointed librarian when this Carnegie building opened in 1903, haunted the library prior to an October 1991 fire that took place during a million-dollar renovation. Odd footsteps were heard in the second-floor storage area, and apparitions and cold spots were reported in the basement hallway.
Circleville, Pickaway County Genealogy Library, Samuel Moore House. The ghosts of runaway slaves are said to haunt this 1848 building, a stop on the Underground Railroad. Slaves could have been kept in a secluded underground room connected with the basement beneath the sidewalk on Mound Street.
Dayton, VA Medical Center, Patient Library. Center Historian Melissa Smith said she has felt an uncomfortable presence in the library, while others have seen a ghostly woman standing at the upper windows.
Granville, Denison University, William H. Doane Library. A shadowy woman in an old dress sometimes wakes up napping male students on an upper floor.
Hinckley, Old Library. A young woman in an old-fashioned blue dress and a man with a hat have been seen in this 1845 structure. After the building opened as a library in 1975, librarians began to keep a file on the occurrences. Books left out the night before would sometimes be reshelved, while others (especially Anne Rice novels) would be flung to the floor during the night. Others have felt an odd presence in the upper rooms, occasionally paper clips sail through the air, and a furnace man once saw a ghostly figure on the basement stairs. The ghosts are believed to be those of Orlando Wilcox and his daughter Rebecca (1837-1869), who lived in a cabin on the site before the house was built. In 2003, the weight of the books and mold inside the walls forced the library to move to new quarters. A good summary of the haunt is Michelle Belanger’s “The Haunting of Hinckley Library,” Fate 56 (November 2003): 35-41.
Ironton, Briggs Lawrence County Public Library. The library staff has reported odd computer behavior and the sound of keys rattling, and Genealogy Librarian Marta Ramey said the hydraulic door to her office once closed abruptly three times in a row. The phenomena are blamed on Dr. Joseph W. Lowry, who was murdered in 1933 in a house on the current library site.
Kent Free Library, Carnegie building. The first librarian to work in this 1903 Carnegie was Nellie Dingley, who died of pneumonia in France in 1918 while volunteering as a Red Cross nurse. She is said to haunt the place. The library moved to new quarters in 2005.
Paulding County Carnegie Library. One night in the 1980s, cleaners were in the building late at night when they looked up and saw a figure hovering in the north wing. The frightened workers refused to return to the library. In 2003, the director and board president were walking near the elevator when a large plant suddenly fell to the ground next to them.
Steubenville Public Library. This Carnegie library opened in 1902 with Ellen Summers Wilson as the first librarian. Her office was located in the central tower, and after she died in 1904 stories began to circulate about creaking sounds and footsteps in the unoccupied attic. Today the attic houses air conditioning equipment that mysteriously turned itself off-until the controls were moved downstairs.
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, West Toledo Branch. Odd noises and bumps can be heard in the area near a fireplace on the west wall. The ghost of a man wearing clothing from the 1930s has also been seen there.
and
England
Arundel Castle, Sussex. A “blue man” ghost, apparently dating from the late 17th century, has been seen browsing the bookshelves.
Blackheath Library, St. John’s Park, London. The library in this former vicarage is inhabited by the ghost of Elsie Marshall (1869-1895), who grew up in the house. Lights come on when the building is empty, and an unseen presence brushes past people at the door.
Bristol Central Reference Library. The gray-robed monk who haunts Bristol Cathedral is said to visit the library next door to consult theological books.
British Library, Euston Road, London. If there are any spooks in the new facility that opened in 1999, no one is saying, but when it was under construction in 1996, workmen heard clanking sounds and one civil servant saw a “weeping man in 18th-century dress,” according to the Sunday Times, May 19, 1996.
Combermere Abbey, Shropshire. A visitor to the abbey library, Sybell Corbet, took a time-lapse photo of Lord Combermere’s favorite carved oak chair on May 12, 1891, at the same time that the man was getting buried four miles away. When developed, it showed a blurry image of a bearded man sitting in the chair.
Farnham Library, Vernon House, Surrey. Charles I slept in this building one night in 1648 when he was taken to London for eventual trial and beheading. The room that he occupied, now an office area, has a “heavy psychic atmosphere.”
Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk. William Windham III, an 18th-century scholar and close friend of lexicographer Samuel Johnson, haunts the library at this old estate. David Muffon was in charge of putting the estate in order after it was acquired by the National Trust. In November 1972, he was working at a desk in the library when he noticed a “gentleman sitting in the armchair by the fireplace reading books. It was so natural I thought nothing about it. . . . After about 15 seconds he put the book down beside him on the table and faded away.” Muffon asked the old family butler if the house had any ghosts and was told, “Oh yes, there’s the ghost of William Windham who sits on the armchair on the far side of the fireplace.” For many years the butler had set out books, specifically those given to Windham by Samuel Johnson, on the table for the ghost to read. “Rather more interesting,” Muffon revealed, “the next year we actually found in a trunk in the attic clothing very similar to the clothing I saw the ghost wearing from the 1780 period.”
Holland House, Cropthorne, Worcester. The ghost of Mrs. Holland is seen in the library of this Tudor retreat house.
Longleat House, Red Library, Wiltshire. Reputedly haunted by an elderly gentleman dressed in black. Librarian Dorothy Coates said the spirit was friendly and could be the ghost of Sir John Thynne (1512-1580), who was responsible for the original building at Longleat.
Mannington Hall, near Cromer, Norfolk. Antiquarian Augustus Jessop (1823-1914) saw the ghost of a large man in an ecclesiastical robe as he was consulting books in the library late on the night of October 10, 1879. The figure was examining some of the volumes Jessop had piled on the table, disappeared at a slight noise, then reappeared briefly five minutes later.
Raby Castle, Durham. The library is haunted by Sir Henry Vane the Younger, who was beheaded for treason in 1662. His headless torso sometimes appears on a library desk.
Windsor Castle, Royal Library, Berkshire. Elizabeth I and Charles I are said to roam the stacks.
York Central Library. In 1954 the library was disturbed by a series of paranormal incidents involving a book titled The Antiquities and Curiosities of the Church (1897). Every fourth Sunday at 8:40 p.m., an unseen hand would remove the book from its shelf and drop it to the floor. An intense cold spot would presage the event, and on at least one occasion the caretaker reported seeing the outline of an elderly man searching for a book.
The 70’s… the music started out mellow, but rocked us through the decade; it was almost killed by disco, then ended with a hip/hop song (Rapper’s Delightby Sugar Hill Gang, the first hip/hop single to make the top 40) that introduced us to rap.
The top selling song of the 70’s? American Pieby Don McLean. As a side note, Roberta Flack’sKilling Me Softly with His Song(also on this list), was written about Don McLean.
Here are the top selling songs of the 1970’s (according to the RIAA and NEA):
The Carpenters –Close to You– 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young –Ohio– 1970 The Grateful Dead –Uncle John’s Band– 1970 Loretta Lynn –Coal Miner’s Daughter– 1970 Joni Mitchell –Big Yellow Taxi– 1970 James Taylor –Fire and Rain– 1970 Edwin Starr –War– 1970 Three Dog Night – Joy to the World– 1971 Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee– 1971 John Denver – Take Me Home Country Roads– 1971 John Lennon – Imagine– 1971 Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven– 1971 Carole King – It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move – 1971 Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On– 1971 Isaac Hayes – Theme From Shaft– 1971
*Don McLean – American Pie – 1971 Santana – Oye Como Va– 1971 The Staple Singers – Respect Yourself – 1971 Rod Stewart – Maggie May– 1971 Harold Melvin/Blue Notes – If You Don’t Know Me By Now– 1972 Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now– 1972 Chicago – Saturday in the Park– 1972 Derek & The Dominos – Layla– 1972 Al Green – Let’s Stay Together– 1972 Helen Reddy – I Am Woman– 1972 Bill Withers – Lean On Me– 1972 Stevie Wonder – Superstition– 1972 Stevie Wonder – You Are the Sunshine of My Life– 1973 Neil Young – Heart of Gold– 1972 Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle– 1973 Allman Brothers Band – Ramblin’ Man– 1973 Thomas Dorsey/Marion Williams – Take My Hand Precious Lord– 1973 Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly With His Song– 1973 Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road– 1973 Gladys Knight & The Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia– 1973 Charlie Rich – Behind Closed Doors– 1973 Carly Simon – You’re So Vain– 1973 Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were– 1973 Harry Chapin – The Cat’s in the Cradle– 1974 Billy Joel – Piano Man– 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird– 1974 Shirley Caesar – No Charge– 1975 K.C. & The Sunshine Band – That’s the Way( I Like It) – 1975 Linda Ronstadt – When Will I Be Loved– 1975 Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run– 1975 Aerosmith – Walk This Way– 1976 George Benson – This Masquerade– 1976 Weather Report – Birdland– 1976 Abba – Dancing Queen– 1977 The Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive– 1978 Jimmy Buffett – Margaritaville– 1977 The Eagles – Hotel California– 1977 Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way– 1977 Queen – We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You– 1977 Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson – Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies…– 1978 Kenny Rogers – The Gambler– 1978 The Village People – Y.M.C.A. – 1978 Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down to Georgia– 1979 Gloria Gayner – I Will Survive– 1979 Sister Sledge – We Are Family– 1979 soundtrack recording – Grease– 1979 Blondie – Heart of Glass– 1979 Bob Seger – Old Time Rock & Roll– 1979 Sugar Hill Gang – Rapper’s Delight– 1979
Here’s that groundbreaking first hip/hop single – Rapper’s Delightby Sugar Hill Gang:
I recently posted How to Write Wicked Good Papers(from the Biology Department of Union College) and just found an expanded version from plainlanguage.gov, who’s motto is “Improving Communication from the Federal Government to the Public.” All of these seem to have originated with William Safirethrough his New York Times Magazine Column, On Language, and his recent book, How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar (Norton, 2005).
Of those on this list, I particularly like (and often use): number 6 (see?); nombre diez es muy bueno; as Safire himself would have said “Number 12“; it also behooves me to list number 15; I like number 17 a little, but I like number 18 big time ; who wouldn’t like number 24; I think numbers 32 and 33 are redundant; but I like number 32 because I dislike being repetitive and number 33 for the same reason as the previous number; 36; number 42!!; and finally
At any rate, and without further ado, here’s the skinny [list] on How to Write Real Good:
Always avoid alliteration.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Avoid cliches like the plague-they’re old hat.
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren’t necessary.
Do not use a foreign word when there is an adequate English quid pro quo.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
Avoid archaeic spellings too.
Understatement is always best.
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
One-word sentences? Eliminate. Always!
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice should not be used.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary.
Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
Subject and verb always has to agree.
Be more or less specific.
Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
Don’t be redundant.
Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
Don’t never use no double negatives.
Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
Eschew obfuscation.
No sentence fragments.
Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
A writer must not shift your point of view.
Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
Always pick on the correct idiom.
The adverb always follows the verb.
Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
Do you want to rock, or rap, or pop, or hip-hop, or yodel, or sing the blues (or at least pretend to)? Now’s your chance to see your future in music. DIYnotis giving us the opportunity. Here’s the way to play:
Go to:http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. If you want to do this again, you’ll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.
I’m going to sound like a mix of Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, and Larry King:
If the presidential and vice-presidential candidates were phones, what kind of phones would they be? This was posted at Paul Gregoire’s blogand I think it’s really funny. What do you think? (asks Babs Winfrey-King):
What would halloween be without a Jack-O-Lantern? If you haven’t carved yours yet, here are some creative ideas from ptnoticias.comthat they call Pumpkin Way. There are many more ideas at their site, but here are a few that I liked:
I’ve been tagged about my quirks and addictions (Thanks Chirax). This is supposed to be an opportunity for you to get to know your blogging friend better, so I’ll try to confess to obsessions I haven’t previously mentioned. I’ll try to be as honest as anyone running for an elected office, so (sounding like Bullwinkle) “away we go!”
Fantasy Baseball – I generally have three or four teams going. One of the first things I do each morning is check my stats and standings from the previous day. Rarely a week goes by that I haven’t dropped someone and picked up someone else from the waiver wire. This season I won first place in two leagues and had to settle for third in another. I will now have to settle for fantasy football (my team is down near the bottom of the standings) until baseball season begins again.
email – I check my work email (seemingly) every two minutes.
Coffee – My beverage of choice in the mornings and after a meal (keep the decaf away from me). I like my coffee black.
Your Comments – When I log onto WordPress, the first place I go is to the comments page. I like to know what you are thinking and saying. You are all kind to me – thanks!
Your Blogs – I read through my blogroll each day. So… even if I don’t comment, I have read what you have written. I’ll work on commenting more often (and try to sound more interesting).
Writing seems to be a minor theme this week. I found these wicked good rules at the Union Collegesite. They were posted by the Biology Department. I hope they will help:
Shun and avoid the employment of unnecessary, excess extra words.
Make certain all sentences are full and complete. If possible.
Avoid cliches like the plague.
Take pain’s to spell and, punctuate correctly.
BE Consistent.
Don’t approximate. Always be more or less precise.
Sedulously eschew obfuscatory hyperverbosity or prolixity.
Avoid pointless repetition, and don’t repeat yourself unnecessarily.
Always try to remembr t he/E extreme importance of being accurit; ne at, and carfful.
Don’t use no double negatives.
Don’t never use no triple negatives.
All generalizations are bad.
Take care that your verb and subject is in agreement.
A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.
Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.
“Avoid overuse of ‘quotation’ marks.”
Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
Reserve the apostrophe for it’s proper use and omit it when its not necessary.
Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Never use that totally cool, radically groovy out-of-date slang.
Avoid those long sentences that just go on, and on, they never stop, they just keep rambling, and you really wish the person would just shut up, but no, they just keep on going, they’re worse than the Energizer Bunny, they babble incessantly, and these sentences, they just never stop.
"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
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"Experience is something you get... right after you need it." - Steven Wright
Don'stuff 