SENTENCE COMPLETION QUIZ #1

April 7, 2016
EDUCATION AND LEARNING, PHILOSOPHY-ETHICS, THINKING AND THOUGHT
7 Comments

“An APHORISM is a short pithy or terse saying expressing or embodying a general truth; a maxim; an astute observation.”

Power tends to corrupt . . .  absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Be not the first by whom the new are tried . . .  nor yet the last to lay the old aside.

Fools rush in . . .  where angels fear to tread.

An ounce of prevention . . .  is worth a pound of cure.

Better safe . . . than sorry.

Measure twice . . .  cut once.

The devil you know . . .  is worse than the devil you don’t.

The love of money . . .  is the root of all evil.

If the gold rusts . . .  what will the iron do?

Time and tide . . .  wait for no man.

Neither a borrower . . .  nor a lender be.

Keep your friends close . . .  and your enemies closer.

The early bird . . .  gets the worm.

De gustibus . . .  non disputandum est.

Ignorance is bliss . . .  where tis folly to be wise.

What goes around . . .  comes around.

[All] good things . . .  come to those who wait.

You get what you deserve . . .  deserve what you get.

Never look a gift-horse . . .  in the mouth.

Nihil . . .  ex nihilo fit.

A rolling stone . . .  gathers no moss.

Beware the green-eyed monster . . .  jealousy.

Hell hath no fury . . .  like a woman scorned.

Haste . . .  makes waste.

Birds of a feather . . .  flock together.

Familiarity . . .  breeds contempt.

Waste not . . .  want not.

Absence makes the heart . . .   grow fonder.

Spare the rod . . .   spoil the child.

Don’t throw the baby out . . .  with the bathwater.

Bonum ex integra causa . . .  malum ex quocumque defectu.

Stick and stones may break my bones . . .  but names will never hurt me.

A bird in the hand . . .  is worth two in the bush.

The enemy of my enemy . . .  is my friend.

[Ed. note: in 2016: Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy.]

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“AND THE AWARD GOES TO…”: MY LIEBSTER AWARD

April 2, 2016
ACTIVITIES, ARTISTIC VENTURES, HISTORY, WRITING/BLOGGING
16 Comments

BY: JAMES F. O’NEIL

“Awards can give you a tremendous amount of encouragement to keep getting better, no matter how young or old you are.”  –Alan Alda

I have not been much of an award recipient in my days.  I might have received a penmanship award for cursive.  Maybe a spelling ribbon (never first: Eleanor Wagner always got 1st Place).  No swimming trophies–unless you count the one for perfect attendance, no matter what the Chicago weather in summer.  No high school valedictorian.  Definitely not a magna-cum-anything in college.  The retirement plaque was a reward, kinda, for endurance.  That’s it.

Until recently.

I’ve been blogging for three years now on WordPress.com.  I‘m happy.

Now I’m happier.

I’VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE LIEBSTER AWARD.  JAWOHL!

liebster-award-nomination

Yes, Mimi, at Mimi’s Corner, nominated me for the prestigious Liebster Award.  This award is conferred upon those whose blogging is noted, from the original German translation of “liebster” as “beloved,” or a term of endearment used only for VERY close friends; but also it can designate something “personal” or “greatest” or “favorite” or better “a personal favorite.”

It’s mainly a fun way for bloggers to encourage each other, and partake in the fun of blogging.  And the nomination comes from another who has been nominated. And on it goes. 

I carefully considered the requirements and the fun and sharing it might be–and how it would be a different kind of memoriesofatime posting from my usual. 

I decided Why not?  Why not share, for this is one of my blog goals anyhow.

I replied to Mimi: “I accept.  I humbly thank you for doing this for me.”  So you can find her blog site at   https://talkeasysite.wordpress.com/

There are a few rules for a blogger to follow to qualify for the award; I would like to let you know that I have complied:

RULES FOR THE LIEBSTER AWARD

If nominated for the award, and accept, write a blog post about the award in which you

Thank the blogger who nominated you with a link back to his/her blog

Display the award on your blog

Answer 11 questions asked by the nominator

Nominate 5-11 other bloggers

Create 11 new questions for the nominees

List these rules on your post (for others to know what is coming.  Not so bad.)

Mimi asked me these 11 questions about myself.  Very interesting information here for you, my readers.

11 QUESTIONS FROM MIMI MY NOMINATOR:

  1. When did you start blogging and why? I began blogging in May 2013, thanks to my younger brother, Denis. He encouraged me to publish my stories of growing up and to share my memories.
  2. Who is your role model? My dad, Mortimer J. O’Neil. He raised me, taught me the O’Neil ways of to be a gentleman, to work hard at whatever I do.  He was funny, kind, street smart, happy, sad, religious, patriotic, union, reliable, and more.  I respected him always as a kind of “elder statesman,” filled with wisdom when needed.
  3. What is your favorite book and why? I would choose a play, Shakespeare’s Othello. Yes, not a novel, not the Bible.  But the best Shakespeare did–for human weakness, love, lust, tragedy, marriage, evil, friendship, jealousy, treachery–all condensed, with some beautiful poetry, and a good story, too.  It’s my favorite.
  4. What country would you like to live in? I have been to Turkey and Greece; I’ll take Turkey. I have been to France and to England; I’d take England.  I have this primal urge to visit Iceland.  Maybe Ireland.  I’m happy to spend the rest of my life here in the United States, right here in Florida.
  5. What is your greatest strength? My greatest strength is my greatest weakness: over achievement. Perhaps some OCD thrown into the mix with my INFJ, and my bi-polarity.  Blend it all together with a bit of dusty shelves and chaotic sock drawers.  You get the picture.
  6. What do you fear most? Having a stroke and being incapacitated, relying upon and being a burden to others.
  7. If you could be an animal, which one would it be and why? No doubt a cat. I was never a cat lover.  However, since 1973, we’ve had seven cats, off and on.  From what I know of them, their lives, their little feet, I’m for them.  Oh, a black and white tuxedo, a Sylvester, of course.
  8. What is most important to you in life? FAMIGLIA. HEALTH.  PEACE.
  9. What is your favorite movie? My 100 Best Movies. My 10 Best Movies.  My Best Movie to watch over and over, to laugh, cry, and feel good?  “And the envelope, please.  IT’S A TIE!  CASABLANCA and SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE!”
  10. What would you want to change in your life if you could? I know from the Butterfly Effect (a concept that small causes can have large effects) that my whole life would be different were one thing changed. (See the movie The Family Man, one of my favorites.)  So I want to change nothing, despite everything that I ever thought about changing.

    11.  What makes you angry?  Angry?  How politicians, mostly learned lawyers, are so    stupid and do such stupid things, pass stupid legislation, get involved in stupid situations, forgetting the law, the Constitution, and their constituents: the voters.  (It’s more upset-ness than anger.  ANGER from religious intolerance, and bigotry with violence.)

Then I was to make a list.  Some of this you have NEVER known.

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MYSELF

–I used to be 5’10 ½”; now I am 5’9”…

–I had a cool tie collection with many tie-tacks.

–I have a Cross pen fetish.

–I am a member of NSS: The National Sedentary Society.  (We never meet.)

–INFJ

–I babysat for a WW2 Flying Tiger pilot’s baby son.

–I never was accepted into Northwestern U., but was by the U of Minnesota.

–I will eat almost any kind of soup, especially what my wife brews.

–I drove a mail truck; I also once or twice drove a school bus. 

–I have walked in snow up to my butt.

–I had a fantastic ride in a real WW2 B-17 bomber ($400 for ½ hour).

Now I will share a list of other writers whom I follow.  There are many others I read daily and could recommend.  But look at these for now.

https://theliterateshow.wordpress.com/

https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/

http://teachezwell.me/

http://skinnyandsingle.ca/  

https://marthakennedy.wordpress.com/

http://jilldennison.com/

https://hintsandechoes.wordpress.com/

https://thisonpurpose.wordpress.com/

https://thebestthingsinlifeblog.com/

https://susanmillard.wordpress.com/

https://onesunnyplace.wordpress.com/

NOW HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINATED BLOGGERS TO ANSWER:

Who is the most important person in your life today?

Have you seen a good movie lately?  What made it good?

Did your schooling connect to your life?

What makes you angry?

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

For a person you loved deeply, would you be willing to move to a distant country knowing there would be little chance of seeing your friends or family again?

What is your most treasured memory?

Which sex do you think has it easier in your culture? 

What is the greatest accomplishment of your life? 

Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as your dinner guest?

What do you like best about your life?

* * *

So, OK?  HOW DID I DO?  DID I WIN?  DO I GET THE AWARD?

© James F. O’Neil  2016

 

LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD Cross Calais Pen 2016

 


 

 

 

“WHO IS LEWIS H. LAPHAM?” “SHOULD I CARE?”

March 25, 2016
EDUCATION AND LEARNING, PEOPLE, READING, THINKING AND THOUGHT
3 Comments

Lewis H. Lapham (1935- ), former editor of the American monthly Harper’s Magazine from 1976 until 1981, and from 1983 until 2006.  He is the founder of Lapham’s Quarterly, a quarterly publication about history and literature, and has written numerous books on politics and current affairs. 

“As many as six out of ten American adults have never read a book of any kind…”

Some things about education (1989):

“Schools serve the wishes and expectations of the society to which they belong.”

In the spirit of re-arranging the American system of education, “citing the authority of Thomas Jefferson…I can imagine Jefferson’s purpose translated…that would train…students…  [with] curricula…directed toward two fairly modest tasks: the teaching of languages, history, and mathematics; and the instilling of intellectual confidence.”

“The study of languages and mathematics provides the student with the tools to work at the trade of learning.”

“A student reads the classical texts because they induce the habit of thought.”

”A thorough knowledge of a few writers instills in the student the confidence that he cannot derive from selected passages printed, usually in bad translation,  in an anthology chosen by a committee of pedants.”

“All students should learn the rudiments of writing, reading, history, and arithmetic…ceaseless reading (literature)…writing (letters, explanations, narratives)…calculations (bills, rates, balances)…ceaseless study of historical chronologies.”

“Jefferson assumed that roughly 90 percent of the population was ineducable: he meant that most people were not suited to the atmospheres of the higher learning.  Certainly everybody has a right to go somewhere, but not necessarily to academia.”

“Too often it is thought that an education can be acquired in the way that one acquires a suntan or an Armani suit, as if it were an object instead of a turn of mind.”

“An education begins with two or three teachers and six or seven texts (maybe books, maybe equations or fossils or trees) that introduce the student to the uniqueness of his or her own mind.  After that it’s a matter of educating oneself.”

“The best American minds, or at least the most generous and imaginative of American minds (I think of Lincoln and Melville and Edison), tended to be self-taught.  Expressing a sentiment that Jefferson probably would have seconded, St. Augustine observed that it is possible to learn only what one already knows.”

LHLaphamLewis Lapham

 

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RE-GREENING THE CHICAGO RIVER: “OH, MA! NOT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE AGAIN!”

March 17, 2016
EVENTS, RITE/RITUAL
11 Comments

BY: JAMES F. O’NEIL

“Yes, children. It’s that time of year again. HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!”

Same time. Same place. Same food. Same blessing. Same parade. Same beer. Same blessing. Same river. Same color. Same whisky. Boiled pah-day-dahs. Soda bread. (Maybe) scones. (Very salty) corned [pickled] beef (brisket) boiled, of course, or crock- potted. Boiled cabbage (NOT sauerkraut, of course). Carrots boiled. Guinness (or, perhaps, O’Doul’s or Kaliber?). And so it goes.

corned-beef-dinner-18

THE PERFECT CORNED BEEF DINNER

Oh, how we Irish do so love our rituals!

“ERIN GO BRAGH!”

* * *
[A return to yesteryear, 17 March 2015, for a delightful repast]:

“ONE CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE, COMIN’ UP!”

BY: JAMES F. O’NEIL

Corned Beef? “In the United States and Canada, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick’s Day. Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish; the connection with Saint Patrick’s Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their celebrations in North America.

“Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon by Irish-American immigrants in the late 19th century. Corned beef and cabbage is the Irish-American variant of the Irish dish of bacon and cabbage. A similar dish is the New England boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and parts of Atlantic Canada.” [Wikipedia]

Since I could ever remember, we had corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish Catholic Feast Day of St. Patrick was almost a Holy Day of Obligation: Attend church under pain of mortal sin. Well, it wasn’t really such a day; but it was a day off from school, it meant a Chicago parade, and it meant the Italians in my neighborhood had to wait two more days to get even with us by brandishing St. Joseph’s Day–and by having local processions and festivities.

[Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on 1 May was created in order to coincide with the celebration of International Labor Day (May Day) in many countries.]

He was the stepfather to Jesus; St. Patrick only drove out snakes from Ireland….
However, more people in America ate turkey at Thanksgiving time than they ate ham. And more people in America ate corned beef at St. Patrick’s Day-time than they ate Italian sausage and peppers (though I cannot “prove” this allegation by me)!

Well, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots had been the steady diet of my O’Neil family since I became part of the O’Neil/O’Neill Clan. So my wife and I have continued to carry on our clannish traditions with our own family on that Special Day of 17 March.

170px-Irish_clover

SHAMROCK or IRISH CLOVER

Thus ends the history lesson relating Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph, and corned beef and cabbage. Now about those Reuben sandwiches, available year round at your favorite deli….  sandwich-corned-beef by kaufmans deli skokie IL

CORNED BEEF on RYE

KAUFMAN’S DELI

SKOKIE, ILLINOIS

© James F. O’Neil 2015, 2016

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.