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As of July 25, 2011, I have migrated over 130 articles from my Neologistics blog, where since August 2005 I have posted many unsorted articles, including items unrelated to editing, writing, or literature. The articles copied from the old site have all been labeled with the category LEGACY. It has been a longstanding shortcoming of Google’s otherwise . . . → Read More: About Legacy Posts  Comments are closed  Arts, Baseball, Editing, Film, Humor, Language, Legacy, Literature, Music, Opinions, Quotes and Quips, Re: Views, Running, Sports, Squibblings, Stories, Technology, Thoughts, Usage, Writing Image by Getty Images via @daylife When I lived outside the tiny coastal town of Searsport, Maine, I had a nasty tooth problem and had to hightail it to a dentist. I knew of one in Belfast named — I’m not making this up — Dr. Blood, and his assistant was named Savage. . . . → Read More: Giving Away My Roots Long ago I considered running the Mickelson Trail Marathon. It sounded like a good race to me, and besides, I hadn’t run a regular marathon in years; but running it would have required me to travel from Arizona to South Dakota. When I proposed the idea to Suzy, her initial reaction was: . . . → Read More: Running Only Four or Five Hours Comments are closed Humor, Language, Legacy, Quotes and Quips, Running, Sports, Squibblings, Stories, Thoughts At any given time I have between one and seven books in my Recent Reading stack marked as current. These are books that I really am reading at present. At this writing there are six on the stack: Washington: A Life (Ron Chernow) The Associated Press Stylebook Comments are closed Language, Legacy, Opinions, Re: Views, Thoughts, Writing  AP Stylebook, Elements of Typographic Style, John Grisham, Keith Richards, Ken Burns, Robert Bringhurst, Ron Chernow Cover via Amazon As a sometime composer and writer, I have always been fascinated by listening to creative people of all types discuss their work, especially how they go about doing it. Therefore, when I recently bumped up against the title The Creative Habit, a 2001 book by master choreographer Twyla Tharp, . . . → Read More: The Creative Habit — Twyla Tharp Comments are closed Arts, Legacy, Music, Re: Views The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, Twyla Tharp My At 9:00 a.m. on December 29, 2010, I began to run the 72-hour race at Across the Years. By 5:30 p.m., after completing only 81 laps (40.5 km, 25.166 miles), I was packed up and on my way to my friends’ house, to be their unexpected house guest for the next . . . → Read More: The Tempest Cover via Amazon We were present at the Columbus Museum of Art on October 7, 2010, for the members only opening of the exhibit “The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis.” If you are unfamiliar with the world of comic book and cartoon art, you may not know who Robert Crumb is, known professionally as . . . → Read More: The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis — Columbus Museum of Art Last spring our daughter Cyra-Lea wrote to ask if I’d be willing to pick out and run a half marathon with her this fall. I hadn’t done that sort of running for several years. My last half marathon race was in February, 2004, my last full marathon was in May, 2005, and . . . → Read More: Daughters Are Good — It was not until August 25, 2010, that I decided to run the 2010 North Coast 24-Hour Endurance Run (NC24) in Cleveland, Ohio. Up until the day before, I assumed that I would not be able to participate, and have done no ultramarathon training at all since 2008. The year 2010 has marked . . . → Read More: I Coulda Had a Medal Cover of Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov‘s 1963 novel Pale Fire appears on a number of lists purporting to identify the greatest novels of the twentieth century. I wouldn’t dare to attempt a literary analysis of Pale Fire. It’s been a staple of literature classes for over forty years, and countless reviews and scholarly . . . → Read More: Pale Fire — Vladimir Nabokov Comments are closed Arts, Language, Legacy, Literature, Writing Charles Kinbote, John Shade, Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Have you ever noticed how some older people like to tell you their age? It seems I’ve reached that point in life where I’m anxious to tell people my age, sometimes looking for excuses to do so. It’s a pretty sorry state to be in — . . . → Read More: Can You Guess How Oold I Am? Cover via Amazon Last night we saw the recently restored version of Franz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece silent film Metropolis, the progenitor of almost every later science fiction action film. The venue was one of my favorite places in Columbus, the Wexner Center for the Arts on The Ohio State University campus, in the theater that holds . . . → Read More: Metropolis — 2010 Restoration Last night we watched Julie & Julia. Yes, we’re behind everyone else. All the movies we watch are borrowed from the library, so we have to wait until they are available. We haven’t rented a movie in nearly three years. The last time it was from Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. . . . → Read More: Julie & Julia Comments are closed Arts, Film, Legacy, Re: Views Julia Child, Julie & Julia, Julie Powell, Meryl Streep Image via Wikipedia Last night we watched the movie Bright Star, about the (short) life of John Keats — or at least about the last part of it. It’s a good movie. The dialog is captivating, particularly the snippy repartee between Keats’s romantic interest Fanny Brawne and his friend Charles Brown. Fanny and . . . → Read More: Bright Star Image via Wikipedia Certain tainted words occur repeatedly in journalism about ultrarunning, all of which cause noisy alarms to go off in my head whenever I see them. The four most frequent culprits are: crazy Rarely have I ever read an article about ultrarunning by a non-ultrarunner that does not use the word crazy to . . . → Read More: Ultrarunning Hyperbole Comments are closed Language, Legacy, Opinions, Running, Sports, Thoughts, Usage, Writing Badwater Ultramarathon, Ultramarathon My Grandma Newton had no automobile; Last week I stumbled across a newly published book displayed on a book stand next to a terminal in the Bexley library: Why Boys Fail, by education reporter Richard Whitmire. Intrigued, I snatched it up and read it in two days. The book’s main thesis is: The world is becoming more verbal. That’s a direct . . . → Read More: Why Boys Fail — Richard Whitmire Cover of Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9) Cover of Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9) Exactly one year ago today Suzy and I attended the world premiere of a documentary about comic book artist Jeff Smith, who is from Columbus area, and a graduate of The Ohio Statue University. Smith is famous in . . . → Read More: Bone — Jeff Smith Comments are closed Arts, Language, Legacy, Re: Views, Writing Bone, Columbus Metropolitan Library, JeffSmith, Out from Boneville Cover of House This morning I finished reading House, by literary non-fiction author Tracy Kidder, still most famous for his Pulitzer Prize winning book “The Soul of a New Machine,” written a couple of years before “House”. The book was published in 1985. I bought it around the time it was on the shelves in . . . → Read More: House — Tracy Kidder Cover via Amazon Albert Einstein is such an iconic personage that Time magazine named him Person of the Century in 2000. Despite this, few people can explain what it was this singularly independent, rumpled man did to earn the world’s approbation. Countless biographies have been written about Albert Einstein. From among them I chose to read . . . → Read More: Subtle Is the Lord — A Reflection Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart A friend approached me one evening, an older (but not ancient) woman, wanting to know if she correctly understood what she had heard — that I had at one time been a professional photographer in New York City. Having no idea where she might have acquired such misinformation, I assured . . . → Read More: My Buddy Mozart Comments are closed Arts, Humor, Legacy, Music, Stories Bob Dylan, George Washington, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart On Saturday, December 12, I ran the Festivus 50K for the second time. The race is an out and back, mostly on the Olentangy River bike path, starting at its northern extremity in Worthington, Ohio, through the streets of downtown Columbus, where there’s currently a lot of construction and opportunities . . . → Read More: Festivus 50K 2009 Image via Wikipedia An urban legend that circulated in 2000, one that persists today as a standing joke, was that Al Gore, then running for the office President of the United States, made the wild claim to have “invented the Internet.” Although Gore made no such claim, he did frequently talk about the . . . → Read More: The Real Inventor of the Internet The North Coast 24-Hour Endurance Run (NC24) in Cleveland, Ohio made a spectacular debut in its first edition on October 3–4, 2009. As host to the USA Track and Field/American Ultrarunning Association national championship, it drew a total of 107 runners: 82 men and 24 women. That the venue provides a fast course . . . → Read More: North Coast 24-Hour Endurance Run 2009 Image via Wikipedia Can you say “rubber baby buffer dumpers” ten times real fast? It is not without reason that this blog has not been updated regularly for the last year. I apologize to all zero readers who have missed it. Once an author being interviewed on NPR mused that the truly great authors, a group . . . → Read More: Rubber Baby Buffer Dumpers Author’s Note: I wrote this piece in February 2002, but never got around to publishing it. It seems particularly appropriate in these times of economic crisis to do so now. Some persons work for pleasure, others for money. It’s a fact of today’s life that most adults—men and women alike—must work outside their . . . → Read More: Real Men Love Work Now that school is back in session I'm hearing stories from parents of school age children about meeting their kids' teachers. News from the Land of Educationville is not good. Children of parents who neglect to take a personal hand in the education of their progeny have little hope for any sort of . . . → Read More: Life in Skool Image via Wikipedia One day in 1972, while browsing in a book store in Manhattan, I stumbled across a 246-page, cartoon filled self-help pocket book with the eyebrow-raising title How to Develop Your Thinking Ability—A guide to sound decisions by Kenneth S. Keyes, Jr., which I purchased on impulse for a whopping $2.45. Given . . . → Read More: Self Improvement My seventh grade assistant principal’s name was Mr. Sniff. The man was as ludicrous as his name. As an underling administrator, Mr. Sniff’s primary duty was to render discipline to recalcitrant students, inevitably boys who wreaked havoc and disturbed the peace with activities like setting off cherry bombs in waste paper baskets and . . . → Read More: Mr. Sniff Cover of Elliott Carter On December 8, 2008 Elliott Carter celebrated his one-hundredth birthday, in good health and spirits. He still works several hours and goes for walks daily. This milestone was observed along with a flurry of accolades and honorary concerts, including a world premiere in New York performed by Daniel Barenboim . . . → Read More: Elliott Carter at One Hundred Geesler and Gavin Introduction This, my longest race report ever, is the story of my last race—Across the Years 2008. Whether the title means “last ever” or simply “most recent” you will have to read to find out. Were I to list the ten most rewarding things I have done in my life, involvement with Across . . . → Read More: My Last Race Geesler and Gavin Introduction This, my longest race report ever, is the story of my last race—Across the Years 2008. Whether the title means “last ever” or simply “most recent” you will have to read to find out. Were I to list the ten most rewarding things I have done in my life, involvement with Across the Years . . . → Read More: My Last Race As I prepare to move in a few days into our new house in the Berwick community of Columbus, these thoughts cross my mind. Long ago I attended a church service on Communion Sunday, when they pass around bread and wine. Next to me was a lady I never saw before, one who struck me . . . → Read More: Nuggets The drought is over. Today, for the first time, I walked into Fancy Dan’s Hotsy Totsy Downtown Athletic Club, more commonly known as the Athletic Club of Columbus (ACC), as a fully sanctified, card-carrying member. Finally — I can begin to get a piece of my life back. Given that by last Saturday . . . → Read More: Life at Fancy Dan’s There have been far too many sissy sports allowed into the Olympics, and personally, I’m weary of it. I say it’s time to beef up the agenda a bit with a few more MANLY sports. Here are some suggestions. Hitting other MEN in the face as hard as you can until they fall unconscious. Oh wait, they . . . → Read More: MANLY Sports Dilbert Some time ago there was a Dilbert strip wherein, when charged with having a bad attitude, Dilbert responds: “My attitude is proof that I am thinking clearly.” In one of the conference rooms at the now defunct Motorola Computer Group there was a plaque with a quote from CEO Bob Galvin that said: “Come to work . . . → Read More: The Power of Negative Thinking On a long walk though Columbus, as I headed up Neil Street, I saw an earnest looking young man sitting on the front steps of his Victorian home. He was holding something close and rocking back and forth rhythmically. As I observed him on approach, I guessed he was either religious . . . → Read More: How to Tell the Difference Today I visited the local Social Security office in order to offer proof in person that I had been born. My life has just entered a new phase, as I have formally enrolled for Medicare. Perhaps I should also be buying up stock in Depends adult undergarments, as the leading edge of the . . . → Read More: On Civility Part One Most every Saturday of my life that I can arrange it, I spend the morning teaching others about the Bible, and then devote the afternoon or more engaged in long runs of varying dimension. At least that was my habit for the last twelve years before I moved to Columbus. While . . . → Read More: Two Running Vignettes Image by Getty Images via @daylife As a freshman at University of Illinois, I took Hawksa boring required course. The instructor was an insufferable moron, a graduate liberal arts student. Early in the semester there was a big snow storm. It was an early morning class, and I arrived a few minutes late, . . . → Read More: Coping with Incompetent Authority Here are some thoughts I’ve wanted to express for a long time. Yesterday I thought of a great mnemonic device, but I forgot what it was. I’m fully aware of the irony of this situation. Or maybe I was just looking for a way to use “irony” in a sentence. Dad On the morning my father died, he woke up and told my mother that he didn’t feel well and needed to get to the hospital right away. It did not take long to get him to where he could be made comfortable, but there was nothing that could be done. His life systems . . . → Read More: Famous Last Words Image via Wikipedia We often hear people say dismissively: “Yeah, most of what’s on TV these days is junk, not worth watching.” The point-of-view seems to imply that the ones saying it have actually watched “most of what’s on TV these days’” so as to make a proper evaluation, which says much about . . . → Read More: On TV Image via Wikipedia No one rises to an opportunity to make fun of newbies more quickly than someone, usually young and male, who was himself a newbie just last week and now knows everything. These people like to be alert to opportunities to respond to sincere questions asked on lists with handy . . . → Read More: Newbie Is as Newbie Does Did you know that M O T H E R I N L A W is an anagram for W O M A N H I T L E R That charming coincidence certainly applied well to my first one. Image via Wikipedia So—yesterday I drove up to Highbanks Park, in the north end of the city, and because I’ve been sick for two weeks straight, opted not to do a long run, but wanted at least a token excursion to get some fresh air and bestir my heartbeat, so I walked . . . → Read More: Adena Mounds On Wednesday, January 2, 2008, I returned to my hole in the wall in Columbus, Ohio, from my ninth annual running of Across the Years, my seventh consecutive year in the 72-hour race, where the question most commonly asked by friends both new and old was: “Why, oh why Ohio?” It’s a reasonable question . . . → Read More: Across the Years 2007 I’ve been away from my blog. The following Piece was written in late October, 2007, about two weeks before I moved to Columbus, Ohio, about which I will more to say at another time. I invite you to view some pictures of the Bally’s indoor track I run at on my Web site. Allow time for the . . . → Read More: My Gym Geezer in San Francisco This race report lacks literary merit. Besides being endocrine depleted, I’m too busy to make it any better. But some people are hoping to see some sort of a report from the San Francisco 24-hour race, put on by Wendall Doman and Sarah Spelt of Pacific Coast Trail . . . → Read More: San Francisco One-Day Race Comments are closed Arts, Humor, Language, Legacy, Literature, Opinions, Quotes and Quips, Squibblings, Thoughts Humor, p g wodehouse |
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Copyright © 2012 Lynn David Newton - All Rights Reserved |
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