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The Penultimate Word: time to check things out

August 22, 2010

It has been almost a year since I started publishing this blog, The Penultimate Word. As of today, this is the 319th piece that I have posted.  August is a traditional time in academic settings to take a break, look at the way things are going, and re-tool for the coming year.  So let [...]

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PROTAGONIST: the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.

August 20, 2010

One out of three isn’t bad.  In the definition shown above we learn that a protagonist is:

the leading character
a hero
a heroine

In Steig Larsson’s popular trilogy the subject is Lisbeth Salander.  Although she is not present on every page, the story is about her.  She is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played [...]

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ELECTION REFORM: let’s not wait for Congress

August 11, 2010

The mid-term elections are in full swing, and there’s no stopping them.   The opportunity to do anything about reforming the process before November is long past.  But in the past weeks there has been increasing energy in the media about the 2o12 Presidential elections.  It’s not too late to do something about that.
Congress  seems to [...]

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PURPOSE-DRIVEN: establishing a plan around a specific, designated goal

August 4, 2010

For some time now I’ve been uncomfortable with the work of Rick Warren, author of books about the Purpose-Driven Life.  I may be in the minority with my discomfort, as everyone from small-town clerics and teachers to Presidents of the United States seem to be drawn to him and his premise.  It may seem inconsistent for me, [...]

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VOLARE: fly away

July 29, 2010

I hate it when I get a tune in my mind and can’t get rid of it.  It happens all the time.  Usually I have to think of another song and start singing it to myself to over-ride the original, irritating song.  My wife and I have a deal that we don’t mention the name [...]

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DEPRESSED STORM DRAINS: gutters with a mental illness

July 25, 2010

We were driving along peacefully, minding our own business, when I began to laugh out loud.  Loud enough to wake up my wife who was taking one of her 10 minute naps needed to restore her energy for driving.  I didn’t realize that my laughter was loud enough to awaken her.
The subject of my mirth [...]

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PITON: a piece of metal hammered into a stone face to allow a climber to be secured

July 3, 2010

When driving through the Adirondack Mountains we frequently spot brave souls climbing rocky faces of the mountains which seem impenetrable.  A sheer face of rock thirty feet high and (from the road below) looking to be flat and without spots to place a foot.  Yet there they are, ropes encircling their shoulders, arms extended to [...]

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POET LAUREATE: our national poet

July 2, 2010

To be named Poet Laureate of the United States, a poet must be one whose work is representative of the people of the country.  There is no specific obligation of the Poet Laureate; rather, Laureates receive a US$35,000 stipend and are given the responsibility of overseeing an ongoing series of poetry readings and lectures [...]

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MYTHICAL DAD: a man who was more a figment of selective memory than reality

June 20, 2010

I’ve come to the conclusion that the father I refer to occasionally is a myth.  As in most myths, there is some truth to the depiction, but the overall picture has been shaped to fit into a frame I created from distortions.  When my father died a number of years ago (at the age of [...]

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GLENDA: our traveling companion

June 7, 2010

Glenda moved in with us about a year ago.  She came to live with us at the same time we bought a new car.   We never thought we needed to provide a home for Glenda, but since she came with the car, what the heck?   We could get used to her…although we didn’t see ourselves [...]

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