Following a significant hiatus, Flo is back

To my dismay, this blog has not found my radar for far too long.  I do now commit to posting again; as of right now, though, I am without inspiration.  Sigh.  

Maintaining it not-faux,

Flo

Famous Quotation Friday - Music Lyrics

Now that a short spring vacation is in our past.  Allow us to start posting again with our now traditional Famous Quotation Friday.  My aim was to maintain rhythm and rhyming, but I couldn't always accomplish that.  Two old songs, a youngish song, and a fourth (third in this list) that splits old from young, sort of.  Striking up our band . . . now:

• I'm picking up good vibrations.  This girl's providing all my titillation. (Ooh, bop bop good, good vibrations)
•  I split from my housing in Atlanta . . . aiming for that Frisco Bay . . . Had nothing in this world worth striving for . . . and look as though nothing's gonna blow my way.  Sitting on a dock of this bay . . . watching our moon pull that liquid away.  I'm just sitting on a dock of this bay . . . wasting hours.
• With all lights down . . . it's not as hazardous . . . all of us got to this spot, do an amusing thing.  I am stupid . . . and contagious . . . all of us got to this spot, do an amusing thing.
• So I won't dillydally additionally.  It cannot wait . . . I don't doubt.  No grounds for disarray . . . our clock runs short . . . this is our lot . . . I'm yours. 
  

Lots of outstanding artists in that list - Brian Wilson, Otis, Kurt Cobain, and Jason Mraz - that this blog looks upon with favor.  And just for fun, an additional fab four songs from John, Paul, Harrison, and Ringo.

• Oh, I . . . will say a thing . . . I think you'll think is grand . . . as I . . . say a fun thing . . . I want to hold your hand.  I want to hold your ha-a-a-and.  I want to hold your hand.
• Aurally distinguish (doo dah doo), do you want to know hush hush information? (doo dah doo)
• Day prior to last, all my difficulty was so far away.  Now it looks as though that difficulty is around to stay.  Oh, I still trust in that day prior to last.
• As I find yours truly in days of worry . . . Mama Mary talks to this man . . . Passing on words of wisdom . . . Allow it to stand.  And in my hour of caliginosity* . . . that woman is standing right in front of this man . . . Passing on words of wisdom . . . allow it to stand.

* Not from my normal vocabulary, I admit.  Had to look it up.

Fantasy Hardball

I took part in a fantasy draft not long ago and was aiming for solid, lipogrammatic guys to play on my squad.  Down to brass tacks, though, picking all and only guys on my list was an impossibility.  My fantasy lipogram ball club:

C: Kurt Suzuki, Oakland A's
1B: Troy Glaus, Atlanta
2B: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati
3B: Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado
OF: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
OF: Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
OF: Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays

SP: Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros
SP: Tommy Hanson, Atlanta
SP: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
SP: Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
RP: Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants
RP: Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs

And my back-ups: Adam Lind, Toronto; Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals; Marco Scutaro, Boston; Gavin Floyd, Chicago; Ichiro Suzuki, Sailors (a strain, I know, sorry); and Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays.

A tad soft at first, but a strong squad all around.  Tough to win against that group. I would put that club up against anybody.

And I should add that partial inspiration for this was found at this spot, which was found via that spot.  Thanks for linking and providing such brilliant information.

Famous Quotations - Film

This could go on and on, so I'm stopping at six.

• Frankly, my darling, apathy is my primary antiphon to that.
  
• It's living!  It's living!
• Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through this world, son.
• You had this girl at "Howdy".
• You can't wrap your mind around what's actually factual.
• If you build it, your dad will show up.

I'm hoping I didn't spoil that last film for you.  OK, an additional six of common origin.

• Of any gin joint in any town in this world, this girl walks into my gin joint.
• This is to looking at you, kid.
• Louis, I think this is a start to a pulchritudinous companionship.
• Play it again, Sam.  Play "As Days March By".
• Round up our usual suspicious individuals.
• You and I will always think back fondly on Paris.

An Initial Appraisal of Gadsby: Champion of Youth

Thanks to a kind gift, I am working my way through a singular book.  A book that was an inspiration for this blog, Gadsby: Champion of Youth, by a man I will call Sir Wright (can't so much as do his initials, which is fitting).  Calling him "Sir" may sound pompous, but I think such a skillful man warrants august titling.  Authoring a fifty-thousand word story without using such a common symbol is no small thing.

A fourth of my way through his book, though, I am sad to say it's a tad disappointing.  Possibly, that's unjust on my part; as I just said, that particular stylistic goal trumps all in this work, and criticism should account for that difficulty.  My adoration for Sir Wright and his arch-goal notwithstanding, my two primary thoughts thus far:

First, witty turns of phrasing occur, no doubt, but Gadsby's plot is basically just a chain of public works to this point.  Build a hospital.  Plant oaks and firs.  Build an airport.  Start a night-schooling program.  Build a zoo.  Not too thrilling.  Writing in 1939, it is not too surprising that Sir Wright sounds highly in favor of big FDR-ish social programs.  "A town can accomplish anything with a sound civic focus of mind" is our author's basic assumption.  Nothing wrong with that sort of optimism, but, man, Wright will just push and push it without stopping.  Solving any difficulty is just a function of mobilizing a handful of altruistic activists.  Wright lays it on thick.  Any conflict in any upcoming subplots will find my arms radiating outward, but I am not optimistic, as only faux antagonists show up, and only occasionally.

Um, sub-first, Wright oddly, in my opinion, broadcasts his handicap continually within his story.  As an illustration, this short quotation about stocking a zoo. 

Now, you know that all animals can't find room in this orthographically odd story; so, if you visit Lucy Zoo, you'll miss a customary inhabitant, or two.  But you'll find an array worthy of your trip.  (35*)

An astounding listing of animals follows just a paragraph down.  Why not allow said list to talk on its own?  Fracturing that fourth wall can work, but doing things subtly is usually a good way to go.  And that's just an individual illustration.  I found many similar quotations.  Although, if a word such as "orthographically" is in your vocabulary, why not throw it out now and again, right?

All this, as I said, is about a partial scan of this book, so a lot of its plot is still unfolding.  Conflict may start soon, who knows?  If Gadsby's story wins this critic at last or not, such an ambitious book will support many posts with its myriad thought-provoking and/or humorous quotations.

* Additional annotation is proving difficult. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lipograms is highly in favor of Saint Patrick.  Driving away slimy crawling animals is OK by us.  Not as fond of his symbolic color, obviously, but you can't always win.

Irish things Lipograms favors:

1. Stout
2. My Bloody [Inamorata]
3. Mulligatawny Soup
4. Pubs
5. U2
6. Hot Pot
7. That MacGowan guy and his bands
8. Shamrock malts from McDonald's

Irish things Lipograms could do without:

1. That bald O'Connor woman
2. Thin Lizzy
3. Oxtail Soup

Sort-of- or non-Irish things that this post brought to mind and almost got on our lists (which list for which thing?  I'm not saying):

1. Fish and chips
2. Corndogs
3. Haggis
4. Kilts
5. Twilight Sad 
6. Mondays

Famous Quotations - Sports

Lombardi: Winning isn't a totality of things, it's a singular thing to such a point that no ancillary things count.

Ali: Float a la a moth's cousin, sting a la a bug from an apiary.

Unknown: It's not if you win or don't win, it's how you play a sport.

Lou: Today, I am appraising yours truly, this world's primary lucky guy.

Yogi: Nobody visits that location, it's too full of folks.

March Insanity!

If you want a solid approach to scrying* this spring's NCAA hoops championship, Lipograms can assist.  My formula should not astound any of you.  All you do is count up a program's flaws.  Now, you may think I look at ball-handling or shooting skills, but that's not vital, as it turns out. 

Vital to making fruitful picks is karma.  Schools incorporating our taboo symbol will no doubt bow to karmic fury for such audacity.  Knowing this should put you in command of your pool.  Good luck.

Click this link for Lipogram's Official Picks.


* If you don't think my karmic approach is any good, how do you account for such a wondrous pick for alphadictionary.com's daily word right as I was drafting this? 

Nursing & Rhyming in Lipogram

Jack and Jill did go up a hill to grab a pail of liquid.
Jack did fall down and smash his crown.
And Jill did so also (although that girl had no crown to crack).

An itsy bitsy arachnid did go up an aquatic spout.
Rain did drop and wash that arachnid out.
That solar disk did visit to dry up all that rain.
And that itsy bitsy arachnid did try it again.

Baa Baa black ruminant mammal do you own any wool?
Yup, sir. Yup, sir. Just short of four bags full.
A bag for my boss.
And a bag for that broad.
And a bag for that small boy who has a habitat down our road.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a significant fall.
All our king's stallions and all our king's manpanions
Couldn't put Humpty into a condition of unity again!

It's raining, it's pouring;
That old man is snoring.
Hit his noggin;
And that guy laid down;
And that guy couldn't stand up in that following morning.
Rain, rain, go away
Visit again a distinct day;
Small Johnny wants to play.

Mary had a small lamb, small lamb, small lamb,
Mary had a small lamb, its fur was light as snow.
And all spots that Mary got to, Mary got to, Mary got to,
And all spots that Mary got to, that lamb was no doubt to go.
It did follow Mary to school on an occasion, school on an occasion, school on an occasion,
It did follow Mary to school on an occasion, which was against standards.
It was causing kids to laugh and play, laugh and play, laugh and play,
It was causing kids to laugh and play to look at a lamb at school.


(Co-authoring parts of this post was a pal I call J. Ward)