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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 388

October 23, 2024

“‘Gate lice’ is a slang term used in air travel to describe passengers who crowd around the boarding gate before their boarding group or zone is called. These passengers often gather in front of the gate long before boarding starts, creating congestion and frustration for others who are waiting for their turn or trying to pass through the area.

The term is humorous but a bit critical, likening the behavior to lice swarming together. It reflects the annoyance some travelers feel when people block the gate area, especially when boarding is often done in an orderly fashion by groups.”

—American Airlines following the successful debut of a new boarding tone that emits audibly when individuals boarding prematurely scan their ticket at the gate

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 387

October 5, 2024

"I was kidding James yesterday. I said he's about to pass from the role of regular human being into the role of a legend. And I think he really deserves it. More people are gonna have better jobs, people are gonna pay a little less for healthcare—get better care—and more kids are gonna go to better schools. So, thanks."

"I was 33 years old before I ever went to Washington or New York. I was 42 before I won my first campaign. And I'm happy for all of y'all. I'll never forget what y'all have done. Thank you."

—George Stephanopolous and James Carville, respectively, following Bill Clinton's surprise victory in 1992—after having consistently polled no better than 3rd behind Ross Perot and George H. W. Bush—Democrats' first win in 12 years. 

Their exchange (first captured in 1993's The War Room) is recounted in the brilliant new documentary Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid!

Democrat or not, Carville's vulnerability and humility in the moment is a sight to behold. 

Having once sat beside Mr. Carville on a flight out of Orlando, I can personally attest that he is nothing if not unpretentious. Costco-clothed and color-blind to boot, he's also smart as a whip, brash, funny as hell, and kind as the day is long.

He redefined political strategy, and Winning Is Everything is a joy to watch.

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 386

July 11, 2024

“To live in the presence of great truths and eternal laws, to be led by permanent ideals, that is what keeps a man patient when the world ignores him and calm and unspoiled when the world praises him.”

—Epictetus

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 385

July 10, 2024

“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather, what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking the ‘meaning’ of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. One could make a victory of those experiences, turning life into an inner triumph. Suffering had become a task on which we did not want to turn our backs.”

—Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 384

July 9, 2024

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

—Dolly Parton

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 383

July 8, 2024

"Keep in mind that culture is shaped not only by what we allow, but by what we are willing to accept. Always make it one's mission to ensure a healthy, efficient, positive and thriving work environment. To accomplish this, hold the line on doing the right thing for employees and culture overall. Everyone—starting with oneself and leaders—must be held to the same standard, lest integrity and accountability be cast to the wind."

—Todd Whitaker

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 382

July 7, 2024

“The book was called The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country. It came out in 2009; he wrote it mostly in 2007. And in 2020, he was out of the campaign trail and wrote me an email that read: 

'This is my tenth New Hampshire, starting with Gary Hart in 1984. I think I'm seeing the last reel of something in our politics. So I want to stick around for the big finale.'

Unfortunately, I think, you know, he would probably say that we might be seeing the last reel in 2024, and he's not going to be here for it. But remember, this was 2020.

I asked him what he meant by 'the last reel' and he said,

'The end of broad acceptance here and abroad of American exceptionalism, the idea that slavery, racism and ruthless economic and environmental exploitation notwithstanding, we were a once in a planet chance to create a great nation built on the best of human nature and the human mind. It's what I wrote from 2007-2009 in my entirely too optimistic book about Americathat arguments would keep us free instead of ruining us. Now we're coming to accept the fact that we're just another corrupt empire. This was Howard Zinn's and the communists' and fascists' view all along, but the inspiring fiction and hope [that America once had] feels like it's slipping away. Do you feel that, John?'”

—From June 24th's podcast of Impolitic with John Heilemann: Apple's A.I. Embrace & Elon's Tantrum, during which John Heilemann and guest Joe Klein recount the loss of their beloved friend [award-winning journalist and television commentator for 50 years], Howard Fineman, who died on June 11th at age 75 in his home in Washington, D.C. following a bitter battle with pancreatic cancer

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 381

July 6, 2024

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

—Abraham Lincoln

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 380

July 5, 2024

"Ted Lasso isn’t just a coach; he’s a playbook on leadership. His infectious positivity and authenticity are a winning formula for any coach. He reminds us to stay curious, use humor to connect, and always be true to ourselves.

Here are 7 Leadership Lessons from Ted Lasso:

1: BRING POSITIVE ENERGY — Ted is incredibly positive and optimistic, even in adversity. He encourages his team to focus on their strengths and celebrate their successes, no matter how small.  

TL: 'I do love a locker room. It smells like potential.'

2: SHOW EMPATHY — Ted is empathetic and takes the time to get to know his players personally. It is all about RELATIONSHIPS with Ted.  

TL: 'Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain't warmed up properly, something real bad could happen.'

3: BE AUTHENTIC — Ted is authentic and genuine. He doesn't try to be anyone other than himself. He is honest with his players and colleagues, even when it's difficult.  

TL: 'You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It's a goldfish. Do you know why? It's got a 10-second memory.'

4: USE HUMOR — Ted has a great sense of humor. He uses it to diffuse tension and bring his team together. He doesn't take himself too seriously and encourages his players to have fun and enjoy the game. 

TL: 'It's kind of like back in the '80s when bad meant good.'

5: BE COLLABORATIVE — Ted believes in collaboration and teamwork. He encourages his players to work together.  

TL: 'I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad, and that's being alone and being sad. Ain't no one in this room alone.'

6: BE A CONNECTOR — Ted is a connector of people. He understands that a connected team is a winning team.  

TL: 'If you care about someone, and you got a little love in your heart, there ain't nothing you can't get through together.'

7: BE CURIOUS! — Ted does not know it all. He does not have all the answers. He does have ALL of the questions. He is curious!  

TL: 'I feel like we fell out of the lucky tree and hit every branch on the way down, ended up in a pool of cash and Sour Patch Kids.'"

—Greg Berge

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 379

July 2, 2024

"blivet: noun; euphemism (plural, blivets). Anything overfull.

See, '10 pounds of sh*t in a 5-pound bag.'

—Etymological origin: Unknown; perhaps coined by American soldiers in World War II

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 378

July 1, 2024

In his phenomenal bestseller, "Iron John," Robert Bly captivated the nation with the wisdom embedded in a thousand-year-old fairy tale, creating both a cultural movement and publishing history. Now, in "Sibling Society," Bly turns to stories as unexpected as "Jack and the Beanstalk" and the Hindu tale of Ganesha to illustrate and illuminate the troubled soul of our nation itself.

What he shows us is a culture where adults remain children, and where children have no desire to become adults—a nation of squabbling siblings. Through his use of poetry and myth, Bly takes us beyond the sociological statistics and tired psychobabble to see our dilemma afresh. In this sibling culture that he describes, we tolerate no one above us and have no concern for anyone below us. Like sullen teenagers, we live in our peer group, glancing side to side, rather than upward, for direction.

We have brought down all forms of hierarchy because hierarchy is based on power, often abused. Yet with that leveling, we have also destroyed any willingness to look up or down. Without that "vertical gaze," as Bly calls it, we have no longing for the good, no deep understanding of evil. We shy away from great triumphs and deep sorrow. We have no elders and no children; no past and no future. What we are left with is spiritual flatness. The talk show replaces family. Instead of art, we have the Internet. In place of community, we have the mall.

By drawing upon such magnificent spirits as Pablo Neruda, Rumi, Emily Dickinson, and Ortega y Gasset, Bly manages to show us the beautiful possibilities of human existence, even as he reveals the harshest truths. Still, his probing is deeper and more unsettling than the usual cultural criticism. He finds that our economy's stimulation of adolescent envy and greed has changed us fundamentally. The Superego that once demanded high standards in our work and in our ethics no longer demands that we be good but merely "famous," bathed in the warm glow of superficial attention.

Driven by this insatiable need, and with no guidance toward the discipline required for genuine accomplishment, our young people are defeated before they begin. It is the young and disenfranchised who are most victimized by the sibling culture—our children, our elders, and those marked as "not us" by race and economic circumstance. In a phrase common to the ancient stories Bly uses to illustrate his themes, it is these people who we all too easily "throw out the window," but it is also these disenfranchised who will be waiting for us on the road ahead to claim their due.

A wake-up call, an inspiration, brilliantly original, "The Sibling Society" will capture the imagination and enliven our nation's cultural debate as no other book in years.

—Addison-Wesley Publishing's jacket description of Robert Bly's 1996 bestseller, The Sibling Society (inspired, in part, by Alexander Mitscherlich's 1963 Society without the Father).

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 377

June 29, 2024

"If you died, your manager would put out a job posting in 48 hours looking for a replacement. Your friends and family will never get that chance. As much as your job is necessary, do not ignore the relationships where you remain irreplaceable."

—Unknown

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 376

June 28, 2024

"If you raise your children, you can spoil your grandchildren. But if you spoil your children, you'll have to raise your grandchildren."

—Proverb

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 375

June 27, 2024

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom. I can feel the sadness like a fog rolling in, consuming everything, suffocating and thick. There is no escape, only the futile search for something that will dull the edges, if only for a moment.”

—Edgar Allan Poe, Letters

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 374

June 26, 2024

"If the truth shall kill them, let them die."

—Immanuel Kant

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 373

June 25, 2024

"Comfort is the worst addiction."

—Marcus Aurelius

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 372

June 24, 2024

“I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”

—Genghis Khan

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 371

June 23, 2024

"All good writing in the end is the writer's argument with God."

—Sean O'Faolain

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 370

June 22, 2024

“Maybe that’s what a ghost is: The absence of answers in the shape of a person.” 

—Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat), The Old Man, Season 2

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 369

June 21, 2024

"The culture of any organization is constrained by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate." 

—Todd Whitaker

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 368

June 20, 2024

"Let parents, then, bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence."

—Plato, Laws

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 367

June 19, 2024

"MEANING is a combination of COHERENCE (which is to say why things happen the way they do), PURPOSE (goals and direction in your life) and SIGNIFICANCE (why you believe that your life matters).

One of the most important ways you can get those parts of meaning in your life, especially through work, is by working with other people, getting feedback, seeing expressions, having teams, creating common cause, etc. When you don't have the in-person experience, it's much harder to find meaning in your work. The result is you're more likely to say, "Eh, it's just a job, and you know what, if a better job came along, I'd want to take it and I'm kind of on the market." And guess what? Those are exactly the things that we see in much, much higher numbers than we've ever seen before.

Work satisfaction really comes from the idea that you're EARNING YOUR SUCCESS and that you're SERVING OTHER PEOPLE. Earning your success and making sure that other people recognize it is key. That's creating value with your career, creating value with your work, and bringing value to the lives of other people. You must be able to demonstrate this in order to be rewarded for it, and you're not going to be rewarded for it as much when you can't demonstrate it as convincingly. That's one of the reasons that being in-person is so critically important.

Serving other people is really important as well. There are the kinds of jobs where you actually will never see a client or a customer in person. But there are also jobs where you would have seen clients and people in person, but now you don't unless you choose to. You will be less satisfied with your job if you feel like you're serving people less, and you will feel like you're serving people less if you never see those people.

One of the great secrets to happiness is feeling like you're touching somebody else, and that requires that you have some physical contact with that other person as well. Again, our brains don't work in virtual 2D very well. They work in real life 3D, and that means if you're going to serve other people, you got to see those people."

—Dr. Arthur Brooks speaking about his latest book, Build the Life You Want

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 366

June 18, 2024

“Thinking and talking about your problems all the time literally makes them grow. For example, a common symptom of depression is rumination—the pathological obsessing over one’s pain. That’s why something as simple as exercising or even running errands benefits mental health. Accomplishing ANYTHING can be so good for you, whereas sitting around talking, overthinking and dwelling on problems is a bad habit worth breaking.
 
The best cognitive behavioral therapists, dialectical behavioral therapists, consistently succeed by first helping patients break that habit and replacing it with actionable production. Unsuccessful therapists, on the other hand, often overindulge their patients, treating them more like recurring revenue streams or annuities rather than setting boundaries and the number of appointments in advance. 
 
When we give kids pills, oxygenate their problems, or cut them off from parents, grandparents, adversity, difficulty and the like, we sever them from the story of the human experience, which is a story of resilience and overcoming. 
 
An entire generation is losing the emotional scaffolding and musculature necessary to experience anxiety and overcome it. Despite (or perhaps because of) the unprecedented level of help from mental health experts, we have raised the loneliest, most anxious, depressed, pessimistic, helpless and fearful generation on record.”

—Abigail Shrier, Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 365

June 17, 2024

“People do not decide their futures; they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.”

—F. M. Alexander

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 364

June 16, 2024

"People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for."

—Judge Taylor, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 363

June 15, 2024

“Failure is success in progress.”

—Albert Einstein

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 362

June 13, 2024

“It really is true that you become the average of those you spend the most time with.”

—Sam Altman

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 361

June 12, 2024

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.”

—Pablo Picasso

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 360

June 11, 2024

“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become king—the palace becomes a circus.”

—Turkish Proverb

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 359

June 10, 2024

“If you want peace, begin with farewells.”

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 358

June 9, 2024

"Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will."

—Suzy Kassem

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 357

June 8, 2024

“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

—William Mather Lewis

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 356

June 7, 2024

“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”

—Norman Vincent Peale

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 355

June 6, 2024

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

—Hebrews 13:2

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 354

June 5, 2024

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty. I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 353

June 3, 2024

"The past is the present, isn't it? It's the future, too. We all try to lie out of that but life won't let us."

—Eugene O'Neill, Long Day's Journey into Night

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 352

June 1, 2024

"It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance."

—Thomas Sowell

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 351

May 31, 2024

“Always remember: Stressed is desserts spelled backwards.”

—Tru Dat

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 350

May 30, 2024

"My calendar is like my appetite: Overly ambitious and problematically so!"

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 349

May 29, 2024

"First I was certain of two things: death and taxes.

Then of three things: Death, taxes and resistance to change.

Now I'm certain of at least five things: Death, taxes, resistance to change, new Taylor Swift music and more Trump indictments."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 348

May 28, 2024

“Bury me with no casket, no prayers, naked, face down, away from the world. I want no gravestone, nor my name engraved anywhere. No epitaph for those who don’t keep their promises.

When the envelopes have been delivered, you will be given a letter. The silence will be broken, a promise kept — and only then may you place a stone on my grave and engrave my name in the sun.”

—The late Nawal Marwan (as recorded in her will and read after her passing by notary Jean Lebel to her surviving twins, Jeanne and Simon), Incendies

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 347

May 27, 2024

“All gave some; some gave all.” 

—Attributed to Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Howard William Osterkamp

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 346

May 26, 2024

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

—John 15:13-14

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 345

May 24, 2024

"We have three choices: The coward's choice. Stay here and let the men just mess with our minds. The fool's choice. Go out and meet the invisible enemy on the road to the bullet farm. And the warrior's choice. Throw down and CRUSH him!"

—Rectus, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 344

May 23, 2024

"Do I make myself a blessing to everyone I meet?"

—Brandi Carlile, That Wasn't Me

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 343

May 21, 2024

"Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"

—Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 342

May 20, 2024

"Wealth comes in many forms; among them are: (1) Financial wealth (money), (2) Social wealth (status), (3) Time wealth (freedom), and (4) Physical wealth (health). 

Be wary of jobs that lure you in with 1 & 2 then rob you of 3 & 4."

—James Clear

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 341

May 16, 2024

“When leading organizational change, I prefer kinetic energy over potential energy because it’s leagues easier to redirect emotions—even difficult ones like frustration, anger, confusion, overwhelm—than it is to resurrect emotions in those who’ve become apathetic or died inside.

As my mother put it more than once upon meeting a strong-willed child, ‘Better a spitfire or a pistol than a dud!’”

—DB Lee

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 340

May 15, 2024

"It's easier to tame wild mustangs than to raise the dead."

—Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 339

May 12, 2024

“There’s an employee out there who still thinks of you because you were kind to them. 

Never stop being that leader.”

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 338

May 11, 2024

“If you cannot think of one thing you can do better—pick humility.

—Marshall Goldsmith 

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 337

May 9, 2024

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito."

—Erma Bombeck

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 336

May 8, 2024

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”

—Benjamin Franklin

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 335

May 7, 2024

“The warrior is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who can not provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity."

—Chief Sitting Bull

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 334

May 6, 2024

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

—James Clear, Atomic Habits

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 333

May 5, 2024

“It is a waste of energy when we try to conform to a pattern. To conserve energy, we must be aware of how we dissipate energy.”

—Krishnamurti

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 332

May 4, 2024

"My destination is no longer a place, but rather, a new way of seeing."

—Marcel Proust

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 331

May 3, 2024

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

—Chief Seattle

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 330

May 1, 2024

“It’s only when you look at an ant through a magnifying glass on a sunny day that you realize how often they burst into flames.”

—Harry Hill

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 329

April 30, 2024

“If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it’s another nonconformist who doesn’t conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity.” 

—Bill Vaughan

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 327

April 28, 2024

"Leadership is not about pulling people to follow your path. It's about shining enough light for them to find their own route.

Bosses aim to wield power. They issue commands to maintain control.

Leaders strive to empower. They delegate authority to unleash potential."

—Adam Grant

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 328

April 28, 2024

"I will never joke about old soldiers who try to get to reunions to talk over the war again. To talk of old times with old friends is the greatest thing in the world."

—Will Rogers

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 326

April 26, 2024

"Stop expecting you from other people." 

—Ben Wiger, PhD

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 325

April 21, 2024

“Confidence gives us influence. Ignorance gives us insights.”

—Matty Piazzi

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 324

April 8, 2024

"Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Right is right, even if no one is doing it." 

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 323

April 5, 2024

"Until it's my turn, I will keep clapping for others. It's really that simple." 

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 322

April 3, 2024

“One tip I offer musicians is ‘If you’re stabbing someone in the back, you’re behind them. The guys up front don’t trash-talk.’

Disparaging others reveals how insecure, small, petty, scared, or jealous we are. 

Top performers in life—the confident, humble, truly capable ones—are not jealous types and don’t need to trash-talk others in order to make themselves feel better or look bigger. There’s no logic in pushing others down so that we might rise. Life ain’t no see-saw; it’s a rising tide whose aim is to inspire, carry forward, elevate, and to see that ALL boats rise and make it to the other side.”

—Rick Beato (renowned music teacher, legendary stage performer, and now host of a booming YouTube channel with 3.9 million subscribers tuning in weekly for Beato’s passion, kindness, curiosity, encyclopedic song-and-story memories, and scores of A-list visitors returning time after time to jaw, pick, and plink for hours at his posh yet cozy Atlanta recording studio)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 321

March 17, 2024

"Beware of overconcern for money or position or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are."

—Rudyard Kipling

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 320

March 14, 2024

"If you want to make the wrong decision, ask everyone."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 319

March 12, 2024

"Be careful who you let on your ship because some people will sink the entire ship simply because they can't be Captain."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 318

March 10, 2024

"Nothing will kill a great employee faster than watching you tolerate a bad one."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 317

March 1, 2024

“I think the things that have been the most meaningful are the ones I never made a penny on. They needed to be done — and that’s that.”

—Legendary criminal justice advocate and prison reformer, Bill Habern (1938-2023) in God Save Texas: Hometown Prison with Richard Linklater

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 316

February 13, 2024

"I was having dinner with Garry Kasporov and there was a check tablecloth. It took him two hours to pass me the salt."

—Andrew Tarvin

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 315

February 12, 2024

"I feel so fortunate to have gracious and merciful people with a lot of perspective and patience in my life. Connecting with those who are able to maintain a sense of humility is really useful."

—Julien Baker

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 314

February 11, 2024

"I believe no amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. Businesses are not dishonest or greedy, people are. Thus, a business, successful or not, is merely a reflection of the character of its leadership."

—S. Truett Cathy

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 313

February 10, 2024

Officer Evangeline Navarro (Kali Raiss): "This [banquet of food] is amazing. What were you, Rose, before?"

Rose Aguineau (Fiona Shaw): "You mean...before I was old and crazy?"

Navarro: "No, I mean before Alaska. Your name isn't Rose Aguineau, is it? Ya never talk about it."

Rose: "Well, I was a very serious professor in a very serious school, writing very serious ideas."

Navarro: "Why'd you leave?"

Rose: "One Tuesday morning after coffee, I sat down to polish some pompous, useless article. And I just had enough. I had enough. Every word I'd written in my entire life was meaningless. Making so much noise. So much noise. It is a little quieter here. Mostly. Except for all the dead."

—Rose and Navarro, True Detective: Night Country (aka Season 4, Episode 4)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 312

February 2, 2024

"Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face."

—Carol Moseley-Braun

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 311

July 5, 2023

"You gotta stay busy workin', but not doin' busy work!"

—Shawn Prickett

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 310

July 2, 2023

"There's a society of people who are reaching for something great, and then there's the record business." 

—John Waite

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 309

June 26, 2023

"I sing. And never forget that there's no such thing as happenstance. That's an illusion lawless and arrogant men invented so that they could sacrifice the truth of our world to the laws of reason."

—Andrea Bocelli 

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 308

June 24, 2023

"You don’t have to say anything. Many's the person who missed the opportunity to say nothing and lost much because of it."

—"Sean" (Andrew Bennett), The Quiet Girl

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 307

June 21, 2023

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

—Bertrand Russell

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 306

June 1, 2023

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

Eleanor Roosevelt

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 305

May 28, 2023

"They tried to bury me. They didn’t know I was a seed."

—Sinead O’Connor

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 304

May 19, 2023

"When you see the world and you see the laws of brute necessity which govern it, you realize the only way that you can reconcile this veil of suffering, the only way you can reconcile it to sanity is to glue your soul to prayer."

—Leonard Cohen

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 303

May 15, 2023

"Reputation is a foreshadowing of our character for those who’ve yet to meet us."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 302

May 9, 2023

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."

—Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Dawn, 1881

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 301

May 4, 2023

"In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety."  

—Abraham Maslow

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 300

May 1, 2023

"When you have money, it’s nothing. When you have none, it’s everything."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 299

April 26, 2023

"The only good race pace is suicide pace and today looks like a good day to die."

—Steve Prefontaine

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 298

April 24, 2023

“My father used to say, ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’” 

—Marquis (Bill Skarsgård), John Wick: Chapter 4

 

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 297

April 13, 2023

"Fall down seven times, get up eight."

—Japanese proverb

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 296

April 12, 2023

"To know the road ahead, ask those coming back."

—Chinese proverb

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 295

April 11, 2023

"Change is hard but irrelevance is harder."

—Dr. Steve Buchholz

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 294

April 2, 2023

"Some people change their ways when they see the light, others when they feel the heat."

—Caroline Schoeder

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 293

April 1, 2023

Things do not change; we change.”

—Henry David Thoreau

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 292

March 31, 2023

“Behold the turtle! He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."

—Attributed in 1949 (by Harvard University President James B. Conant) to an anonymous Manhattan Project scientist, engineer, or manager 

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 291

March 28, 2023

"Taking control of uncertainty and successfully steering your organization through frequent bends in the road is the fundamental leadership challenge of our time. And it will call for a distinctly different type of leadership than the one you were trained for and are likely currently exercising. The advantage now goes to those who don’t just learn to live with change, but who create change. I call these people catalysts."

—Ram Charan

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 290

March 26, 2023

“I tried to learn TikTok over the pandemic. My nieces love it, but they’re 13 and they're like, 'We'll show you, Aunt Kath,’ and they show me their phones and I watch them. If you've never seen TikTok, it's just a barrage of videos. And I put them down and they're like, 'You didn't like it, did you?' I go, 'Well, here's what I'll say about it: I feel like I just sat next to someone who did an eight ball! Nope. I'm a drinker, not a drugger, so nope.' And they go, like, 'Oh, are you saying it's, like, too much?' I go, 'Yeah, it's WAY too much. I...I can't process it.' They go, 'Yeah, but just because our videos are mostly dance and music and stuff. Like, you could build your own and it won't be as crazy.' I said, 'All right,' so I signed up, and I don't know how it decides what your first batch of videos is gonna be, but my first batch, all of my people were in hospice.

I like Instagram 'cause it's passive, pleasant, there's nothin' bad. People are nice on Instagram. It's beagles, puppies eating ice cream cones, and that kinda stuff.

Now, Twitter, I like that one, but it's aggressive. You better be ready! It's like walkin' into a bar at midnight and everybody's had shots except you: 'Well, well, look what the cat dragged in with a little opinion about nothin'!'

Facebook, I don't love it. I have it, for work, but I don't like Mark Zuckerberg. Yeah, because I feel like he stole all our information. He sold it 17 times around the globe and he never paid a price for that. My parents like it, but they're 80. They get up in the morning, they drink coffee, and then they troll the entire family, every second cousin, third cousin, people we lived by when I was five. That's their morning entertainment. That's why I told my nieces and nephews, ‘Uh, heads up. If I were you guys, I would NOT friend Grandpa. Or Grandma for that matter. They look innocent and seem nice, but they're spies. They're gonna go through your whole feed, they're gonna read everything, and then they're gonna report back and tell your parents.”

Kathleen Madigan: Hunting Bigfoot (2023 at 00:32:35, available on Amazon Prime)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 289

March 24, 2023

"Friendship means little when it's convenient."

—Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada), John Wick: Chapter 4

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 288

March 17, 2023

"Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become."

—James Clear, Atomic Habits

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 287

March 16, 2023

"Only the forgotten are ever really gone," so, if one loves others boundlessly, memories of her will reverberate throughout the ages and she shall prove immortal."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 286

March 13, 2023

"Innovation needs space to dream, and maybe more important, space to make mistakes. Detours and complications create a deeper knowledge and understanding of your topic. If you only repeat what was successful before, you will probably never create something truly unique." 

—Joachim Sauter (1959-2021), Founder of ART+COM, creator of TerraVision (now known as Google Earth)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 285

March 12, 2023

"No matter where you plant them, people are emotional orchards that always bear fruit. The question is, 'What kind?'"

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 284

March 11, 2023

“The right thing to do is simple to see: Among all the options, it's the difficult one!”

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 283

March 1, 2023

"Reputation is a foreshadowing of our character for those who've yet to meet us."

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 282

February 9, 2023

"Tell me your habits and I'll tell you your future."

"Trust is the degree to which I believe you are for me."

"Everything we are doing we are becoming."

"Just as marriage further forms us, so too does our work."

 

—Walter Nusbaum, Faith at Work luncheon, RockPointe Church, February 8, 2023

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 281

February 3, 2023

"Oh, look at that snaggletooth! My goodness, you could eat corn through a fence!"

—Betty (Sally Field) in 80 for Brady

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 280

February 2, 2023

 

SNAKE RULES:

Rule #1: If you see a snake, shoot it.

Rule #2: Don’t play with dead snakes.

Rule #3: Everything looks like a snake at first.

 

About Rule #1:

The key is snake-killin’. What’s dangerous must die. End of story. Don’t set up a snake committee. Don’t listen to snake user groups. Don’t write snake essays or send snake memos. Don’t have conference calls about the snake. Don’t leave voice mails about the snake. Don’t have meetings about the snake. Just kill the damn snake already. If you perceive a mortal threat, waste no time. Attack it before it attacks you. You may find that getting rid of a snake can sometimes be a greater problem than the snake itself. People within a company LOVE to write memos about the snake. Don’t let ’em! Just kill, kill, kill, and kill again! It’s kill or be killed.

 

About Rule #2:

Keep going even if you’ve attacked the wrong threat or solved the wrong problem. That’s life. That’s learning. And after the snake is officially dead, don’t revisit it. Some people may insist that the snake is still around. They’re usually the same people who lost the argument and were overruled.

 

About Rule #3:

Most opportunities start out looking like a snake. If a threatening snake turns out not to be a problem, turn from attacking it to using it!

—James Barksdale (former CEO of Netscape, COO of FedEx, and Board Member of Time Warner)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 279

January 18, 2023

"Barksdaleisms"

 

“In a fight between a bear and an alligator, it’s the terrain that determines who wins.”   

 

“Life is simpler when you plow around the stumps.” 

 

“Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.” 

 

“Nobody that I know can predict the next two pings of the pinball.”

 

“He squeezes a quarter so tight the eagle screams.”

 

“He’s tighter than a bull’s ass at fly time.”

 

“Now, I’m the President around here, so if I say a chicken can pull a tractor trailer, your job is to hitch ’em up.” 

 

“If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” 

 

“Your job is to run as fast as you can toward the cliff. My job is to move the cliff.” 

 

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” (Relentless focus on “the main thing” is a universal attribute of great operators. As an example of implementing this idea in a nonprofit context, Jim Barksdale has said: “…whatever they say to us about what’s going on here or there, our question is always, ‘But are the children learning to read?’ And we want to just stay focused on that.”)

—James Barksdale (former CEO of Netscape, COO of FedEx, and Board Member of Time Warner)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 278

January 1, 2023

Are our exclamation points out of hand?

See for yourself!

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 277

August 29, 2022

Charlie Ireland (agricultural consultant): “How's it feel?”

Jeremy Clarkson: “Well, I'll let you know in a minute, 'cause you're going to tell me the figures. You're going to give me the moment of truth. It hasn't been a great year for for farming, generally. I read in The Times yesterday [that] it's [been] the worst year for farmers since 1976. Dry summer.”

Ireland: “So, we're just gonna look at these top boxes. Look at the blue. And now I'm gonna frighten you. Last year, we made £226,000 from crop sales. That's before any costs. And this year's £137,000, so, £90,000 lower from the same area. That is £90,000 down.”

Clarkson: “It’s enormous.”

Ireland: “40% lower.”

Clarkson: “And £90,000 gone because of the weather. So, where are the costs, because how much?”

Ireland: “We spent £14,000 on seed, £34,000 on fertilizer, and £20,000 on sprays. So, £68,601. And then there's £68,457 of other costs: Kaleb, plus machinery. So, you've made £144 profit from the arable farm.”

Clarkson [incredulous]: “So, the fact of the matter is this: Farming seven days a week for a year, on a 1,000-acre farm, has generated an income of £144. Correct?

Ireland: “Correct.”

Clarkson: “Well, fortunately, at the moment, we have this subsidy. When that goes, what are farmers going to do? I mean, honestly, what are they going to do? The ones who don't have Amazon film crews following them around and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? To top up the income? I mean, what do you do when the subsidy starts to go down?”

Ireland: “There will be… there's gonna be a sea change to the, rurally, you know, the countryside. There'll be 30% fewer farmers, probably, but that's where we are with farming in this day and age.”

Clarkson: “So, the next time a farmer moans about the weather, put your arm ‘round him and buy him a pint, because he's not moaning about it ‘cause it's a bit miserable working in the rain; he's moaning about it ‘cause it's crucifying. I've worked bloody hard all year and my reward is £144. Even with the grants and subsidies added in, I'd have been far better off selling up, putting the money in the bank, and living off the interest.”

—Dialogue courtesy of Clarkson's Farm (episode 8 / season finale, Amazon Prime 2021), when Jeremy Clarkson takes stock of that year's profit (or lack thereof)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 276

August 17, 2022

[Harry Edwards:] "He would call me up and say, 'Harry, I was just thinking' and I would say, 'What do you want? What's goin' on?' or 'What do we got to talk about?' and, after a while, I came to respect his disposition."

[Arthur Ashe:] "You grow up Black in the American South, you have no control. Your life is proscribed. And then in the '60s, then you had Black ideologues trying to tell me what to do. All the time, I am saying to myself Hey, when do I get to decide what I want to do? and so I've always been fiercely protective with anyone wanting to control my life."

[Harry Edwards:] "Arthur was the fist person to really push me to understand that Black orthodoxy is not an acceptable substitute for institutionalized White racism... that it has to be about people having the freedom to make their OWN decisions in terms of how they approach this struggle. Otherwise, what are we fighting for?"

—Recollections by [Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley] Dr. Edwards and [then tennis champion, author, activist] Ashe (from HBO Max's Citizen Ashe) regarding the latter's approach to social justice

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 275

May 24, 2022

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see."

—Arthur Schopenhauer

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 274

April 20, 2022

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."

—Roddy Piper in John Carpenter's They Live (1988)

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 273

April 9, 2022

“Isn’t it amazing how far decent people will go when they’re sure they’re right.”

—Sam Waterston as George Shultz in 2022's The Dropout on Hulu

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 272

February 23, 2022

The person across from you has survived the unsurvivable, is wandering in the wilderness now, or is rapidly approaching violent waterfalls and unseen yet all-consuming plunge pools. In time, everyone drinks from the cup of sorrows.

AND WHEN THEY DO   — AND WHEN THEY DO —   may they also find in abundance there our spirits of patience, kindness, empathy, understanding, and love.

—Idea

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 270

February 11, 2022

"Life has taught me one thing, Miss Scott: If you don’t want to be disappointed, only help those who help themselves."

—Agnes Van Rhijn, Season 1, Episode 2, The Gilded Age

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 271

February 9, 2022

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."

—James Clear, Atomic Habits

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LANGUAGE HOUND with EAR & SNOUT

For the Love of Language (published sporadically, as moved) No. 269