Quintessential New England - West Arlington, Vermont
The Lord of Leisure1 Photo Gallery
Quintessential New England - West Arlington, Vermont
[Click on graphic for view of larger image]
The Lord of Leisure writes:
Footnotes
- Lord of Leisure was previously known in these posts as Mr. Science. Both Lord of Leisure and Mr Science spend most of their time disguised as Neil Ellis, mild-mannered, retired teacher at a great suburban school system, who can identify a bird by its call, complete the New York Times Friday Crossword in ink, and snap a heck of a photo. ~back~
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Playlists By Authors
Book Notes At Largehearted Boy
An ongoing feature at Largehearted Boy, an always impressive pop music site, is Book Notes, in which “authors create and discuss a music playlist that is in some way relevant to their recently published books.”
The first entry on the list is Tom Bissell’s God Lives in St. Petersburg and Other Stories, dated March 30, 2005. The total number of book notes appears, by my estimate to be approaching 100, each with a brief introduction, the playlist, and links to book reviews, the author’s web site, the book’s website at the publisher, … .
A wide range of authors and books are representative, some familiar, some unknown to me. The quality of the playlist obviously varies by author but many are thoughtful and provocative, describing links between the music and their writing that stimulate ideas and enrich the reader’s experience; only a few have the ring of a publicist’s touch.
And, there is the voyeuristic thrill of watching as a published author reveals something semi-intimate about his or her preferences, predilections, and peccadilloes.
Admit it - aren’t you a bit interested to see what made it on the playlist put together by Susie Bright, who edited Best American Erotica 2006, and some of the contributors to that volume?
Excerpts
As it turns out, this month, two Canadian authors have contributed playlists, both of which include songs by Leonard Cohen. I’ve excerpted the notes dealing with the Leonard Cohen selections to provide the reader a taste of the offerings at Book Notes”
Robert Wiersema: Before I Wake
Joan Of Arc: Leonard Cohen
Joan of Arc is the patron saint of Before I Wake (and is mentioned, fairly early on, in a conversation between Father Peter and Tim when they first meet in the story). The story of a girl who brought glory and happiness to her people, who then turned on her, burning her at the stake, resonates with me, and informs much of what happens to Sherry in the novel. Cohen’s treatment of the story is unusual, and fairly profound.
Hallelujah: Jeff Buckley1
I had to include this song for two very different reasons. First off, it nicely encapsulates a number of the book’s themes, particularly those of failure and redemption. There is an uplifting quality to the song that belies its lyrics, and a rich quietness which can only be described as holy. The second reason is more personal. Despite everything I’ve done, despite everything I bring to the table, I don’t think I’ll ever write anything as immediate, anything as moving, as this song. I don’t think there are any words to rival the sound of an acoustic guitar resonating in an empty room… Ah well. There’s nothing I can do except, as Bob Dylan once said, “keep on keepin’ on”. To quote Browning, “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
Anosh Irani: The Song of Kahunsha
Take This Waltz: Leonard Cohen
I was in a taxi in North Vancouver, on a dreary rainy night about eight years ago. Being a recent immigrant, my mind was an attic for the mundane: phone bills, health insurance, student loans, social insurance number. Through the speakers, a voice came on. It grabbed me like Death itself, but a life-giving death, a death unsure of its own function. When the song got over, I asked the Persian taxi driver who the singer was. “Leo-nard Co-hen,” came the answer. His words and music ripped apart my phone bills and made me care even less about health insurance. I was not expecting Cohen, but he came anyway, unannounced, and took charge with his haunting, inspiring work. 2
Footnotes
- The playlist did not specify this was a cover of Cohen’s Hallelujah, a significant oversight, if an understandable one ~back~
- ”I was not expecting Cohen, but he came anyway, unannounced, and took charge with his haunting, inspiring work.” Way cool, eh? ~back~
Possibly Related Posts:
Sex, Scrubs, and Rock and Roll
AKA On Thursday We Serve Leftovers
Yep, today’s post regresses to the Heck of a Guy pastiche ploy, consisting of a batch of odds and ends that never made it as standalone posts but nonetheless clung tenaciously to the desk drawer, whether real or virtual, where they were stashed, escaping multiple attempts to purge the system of worthless detritus disguised as data.
Sounds yummy, no? Dig in.
Sex
What are you looking at?
In an eyetracking study, participants viewed a Web page that included an image of George Brett batting, along with biographical information about him. Special cameras tracked the participants’ eye movements (without requiring any special headgear). The results showed that
The report goes on to note that “men tend to fixate more on areas of private anatomy on animals as well, as evidenced when users were directed to browse the American Kennel Club site.”
And now what are you looking at?
In a different eye-tracking study, the participants (45 heterosexuals aged 23 to 28 tested 15 men, 15 “normal cycling” women, and 15 women on birth-control pills) were exposed to sexually explicit photos.1 This study found that
- “Men spent more time, and had a higher probability of, looking at female faces.”
- Normal cycling women “had more first looks towards, spent more time, and had a higher probability of, looking at genitals.”
- Women on pills “spent more time, and had a higher probability of, looking at contextual regions of pictures, those featuring clothing or background.”
The researchers explained these results by hypothesizing that the gender difference is biologically driven, since “women can tell by looking at naked men whether the guys are in the mood,” but men have to look for cues in a woman’s face.
And what are you buying?
According to research by Trojan reported in the New York Times, the average time shopping for a home-pregnancy test is 2.5 minutes; the average condom buyer, on the other hand, takes just 7 seconds because of the social embarrassment that persists about purchasing prophylactics.
Scrubs
At AlignMap,2 I am gathering incidents of patient compliance or noncompliance featured in fiction, limiting myself to serendipitous discoveries. Since beginning two months ago, I’ve noticed and posted brief descriptions of these examples, one of which is indeed the titular Scrubs episode (the two Scrubs posts cover the same episode). This was begun as an indulgence for my own amusement but has proven surprisingly popular.
-
The Scrubs Patient Compliance Subplot - Part I From Scrubs
The Scrubs Patient Compliance Subplot - Part II From Scrubs
The pills were a leash From A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly
Compliance As Metaphor: The Story of Naaman From 2 Kings 5: 1-19
Medication Noncompliance As Plot Device From Seinfeld
Rock and Roll
The dinner music for this smörgåsbord of leftovers is also contributed by the AlignMap Blog.
Put your hands together (metaphorically) and give a big Heck of a Guy welcome to Ted Nugent (AKA Great Gonzos, The Motor City Madman), the hard rock guitarist-singer with a list of hits that includes “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang,” “Fred Bear,” “Cat Scratch Fever,” “Motor City Madhouse,” “Paralyzed,” “Great White Buffalo,” and “Wango Tango.”
It turns out that two days ago in the pre-dawn hours, my TV, tuned to CNN Headline News, displayed the unmistakable visage of Ted “The Atrocious Theodocious” Nugent appearing on the Glenn Beck Show. It’s difficult to ignore Ted Nugent at 4 AM , especially when he makes a pronouncement about healthcare compliance. (OK, I’m willing to stipulate that not everyone will get all hotted up over a discussion of adherence to treatment, but still, …)
Moreover, one can read that (pretty darn interesting, if I do say so myself) post at its original AlignMap location, Ted Nugent, Patient Compliance, and Jerry Lewis OR one can mosey over to the Ted Nugent site to read it at Ted Nugent on Healthcare, where his daughter, Sasha, posted it.
The way I figure it, now that I’m listed on Anjani’s official web site and Ted Nugent’s official web site, I have the entire spectrum of worthwhile pop music covered.
Cover Me, Legally
Kinda, sorta related to Rock and Roll are cover songs.3 In the last month, no fewer than three of my acquaintances have asked me about the legalities involved in producing a cover song. My answer to each of them has been succinct, clear, and accurate; nonetheless, they each seemed less than completely satisfied with “I dunno.”
I have since discovered a thorough discussion of the legal issues involved in issuing a cover song. I refer those interested to The Cover Song Quagmire, Three Ways to Obtain Mechanical Licenses for Legally Recording/Distributing Cover Versions on CD, by Dale Turner.
Rock on.
Footnotes
- I cannot determine if any of these sexually explicit photos included George Brett and/or pooches from the American Kennel Club ~back~
- AlignMap is my professional blog dealing with patient adherence to treatment ~back~
- According to Wikipedia, ‘The term “cover version’ originally implied a rival version of a tune recorded by an artist subsequent to an “original version.” Popular musicians (and especially modern listeners) have now begun to use the word “cover” to refer to any remake of a song.” ~back~
Possibly Related Posts:
The Non-Binding Resolution Bindery
You Say You Want A Resolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world1
[From top left, proceeding clockwise: Walk To School Month (Seattle), History Happens Here Year (North Carolina), One County, One Book (Beaufort County), Operation Lifesaver Safety Week (Moose Jaw), National Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month (Iowa), National Society of Hispanic MBAs Day (New York City)]
The Resolution Convolution
One consequence of the publicity surrounding the non-binding resolutions recently considered by the Congress2 and the Carpentersville, Illinois Village Board3 has been DrHGuy’s realization that the process of creating such resolutions is poetically and accurately described by those famous lines from Macbeth:
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Now, DrHGuy cannot and, indeed, would not change the “signifying nothing” part of that equation; that is, after all, the charm of the non-binding resolution. It’s the “sound and fury” nonsense that strikes him as the rate-limiting step in the equation, a hurdle that, it turns out, is readily eliminated. As for the idiot telling the tale, DrHGuy certainly wants in on that action.
The problem with non-binding resolutions is the time and effort required by deliberative bodies to debate and pass them. If Lady Lawanda, for example, wished to promote an appreciation of teachers by establishing a “Pay Teachers A Living Wage Day,” the current process would entail her inveigling an unsuspecting city council member, state representative, US Senator, or other similarly titled elected office holder to convince that individual of the worth of her proposal and then that poor soul bringing the issue before his or her colleagues for debate and voting.
And what is the final result of this effort (i.e., this sound and fury) - if it is successful?
Another non-binding resolution.
DrHGuy’s epiphany is that the same result can be achieved in far less time with far less hassle by the magic of disintermediation - eliminating the middle man - a tactic that not only provides the individual in need of a resolution with a simple, direct route to that goal but also frees governmental officials from the burden of passing another “Best Darn Cat In The Whole World” resolution for a persistent constituent (and precludes some of the mischief propagated by such legislative bodies emboldened by the non-responsibility of the non-binding resolution).
The Resolution Redistribution Revolution Solution
Long minutes of research, including the study of actual non-binding resolutions such as those in the graphic atop this post,4 made it clear that the required elements of a non-binding resolution are
- The reason for the resolution (e.g., Declaring “National Non-Binding Resolution Day”)
- Complex, flowery, legalistic language, emphasizing the word “whereas”5
- A tone of high seriousness
- Official stationery
- The signature of an official empowered to execute proclamations and resolutions
- A nifty seal6
Well, DrHGuy is all about rhetorical flourishes, bright shiny seals, inflated language, mock solemnity, and meaningless pronouncements. And, as the owner-operator of several domains, including 1heckofaguy.com, oneheckofaguy.com and heckofaguy.com, he has a heck of an empowerment. The only essential component missing is the reason for the resolution itself. Thus was born the latest Heck of a Guy service to humanity, embodied in the motto:
Skip the fuss and leave the non-binding resolution to us
The Resolution Conclusion
1. Develop a Resolution Declaration
Official language resolutions, for example, are quite trendy locally although these pseudo-ordinances tend to be, sadly, quite unimaginative. One might want to liven things up by combining the mandate to speak, oh, let’s use English as a random example, with the requirement to speak or write only when simultaneously hopping on one foot. Or, make it a game - Between 8 AM and 5 PM, the official language is English minus any words with containing the letter “e.” Fun, right?
Of course, the potential universe of proclamations is infinite. Designate a day, month, or year for celebration of your favorite person, group, thing,7 place, or activity.
Guys, have you been looking for just the right gift for that sweetie of yours, something romantic enough to seduce her into playing the naughty schoolgirl gets spanked by the teacher game (and letting you choose who gets to be the schoolgirl) yet avoids commitments that could trouble you in the distant future (i.e., after sex)? What could be more perfect for such a situation than a non-binding resolution?
Don’t feel as though you have to limit your resolutions to yourself or your loved ones. Reach out to others. One might, for example, declare that the official languages of a given town would henceforth be apportioned on the basis of population percentages. If a village had a population that was - oh, I dunno, maybe 40% Latino and 60% White - it would seem in keeping with the principles of fairness to issue a proclamation naming English the official language Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while Hispanic would be the designated tongue Tuesdays and Thursdays, with weekends and holidays specified Speaker’s Choice.
DrHGuy recommends that readers make no small non-binding resolutions. He himself is pondering the merits of The DrHGuy Infinity Vs. The DrHGuy Eternity as the anticipated upgrade to the clearly suboptimal The DrHGuy Millennium. Declare yourself irresistible to the opposite sex. Wanna be 20 years younger or perhaps a minor deity? You’re only a resolution away. You Leonard Cohen & Anjani fans, for example, may be interested to discover that, according to a just executed non-binding resolution, their next concert will be held on the Heck of a House lawn - with Springsteen, Prince, and Willie Nelson as opening acts. Come early, bring a blanket. Reception to follow.8
2. Choose. download, and print the documentation.
Currently, Heck of a Guy offers two proclamation formats displayed below: the Traditional Format with fake parchment and a touch of Edwardian script and a Contemporary Format featuring blue lettering on a white background with an art deco border. Wording on each is identical.9
[Click on graphic to view larger image]
[Click on graphic to view larger image]
Depending upon printer margin and capabilities, some trimming may be necessary, especially with the traditional format.
To download the Traditional Proclamation Format version right-click on the next link, and choose “Save Target As …” or “Save Link As …”
Download: Traditional Proclamation Format
To download the Contemporary Proclamation Format version right-click on the next link, and choose “Save Target As …” or or “Save Link As …”
Download: Contemporary Proclamation Format
3. Fill in your name and the resolution itself in the spaces indicated
Upon completion of these three steps, you’ve got yourself one genuine, certifiably non-binding10 resolution.
Congratulations & remember to always use your new power only for good.
Footnotes
- With abject apologies to Lennon-McCartney ~back~
- See House Passes Symbolic Iraq Resolution ~back~
- See Carpentersville Outlaws Joie de Vivre - English Now Lingua Franca ~back~
- These documents were carefully selected by downloading the first available items on Google’s Image Search for “proclamations resolutions” ~back~
- DrHGuy foresees the day when the current generation, assuming control of this country’s law offices, eliminates “whereas” from the lawyers’ argot, replacing it with “whatever.” You heard it here first. ~back~
- The careful reader may note that one raging controversy is absent from this list. Lest that otherwise astute reader assume that DrHGuy has succumbed to the expedient of avoiding a decision, let it be known that the resolutions reviewed seemed evenly divided between those written in all caps and those printed in sentence case. Well trained in polite email discourse, DrHGuy eschews whenever possible the all caps missive. ~back~
- Hint: most foods and crops already have a time period in their honor ~back~
- As a result of the Dick Straub Non-binding Amending Resolution, naturists (with towels) are admitted without change ~back~
- The text on the Proclamation (either format) follows:
1HECKOFAGUY.COM
Proclamation Of Non-Binding Resolution
Even though a resolution is just fluff, we are still making a statement
Whereas, readers of the Heck of a Guy Blog are individuals known for being quick-witted, helpful, good-looking, God-enduring, footnote-reading folks with a penchant for bravery and cleanliness as well as commendably low standards for humor,
Whereas, those readers may, upon occasion, require an official proclamation, resolution, desideratum, acknowledgment, affirmation, commemoration, endorsement, commendation, or other recognition for one or more causes, personally significant dates, accomplishments, or ephemeral whims,
Whereas, such non-binding resolutions issued by 1heckofaguy.com possess the same lack of enforceability as non-binding resolutions issued by the US Congress, the Governors of the States, and the Village of Carpentersville – and arguably an even greater lack of enforceability,
I, the great and powerful DrHGuy, Potentate Extraordinaire, Master of the Subjunctive, Protector of the Existential Angst, Champion of Justice, Grand Vizier, Child of the Cosmos, One With the Universe, Devilishly Handsome Man About Town, All Around Cool Dude, and Proprietor of the Heck of a Guy Blog, do hereby authorize the holder of this certificate,
_________________________ , to proclaim, at his or her sole discretion, the following non-binding resolution with all the rights, privileges, obligations, perks, kickbacks, and votes pertaining thereunto, no King’s X, no takebacks:___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________In witness thereof I do hereby set my hand and cause the nifty seal of the Heck of a Guy Blog to be affixed, now and forever more. What DrHGuy hath created, let no man split asunder. Yabba Dabba Doo & Yada Yada Yada. Amen.
DrHGuy
Emperor of the Heck of a Guy Universe
1heckofaguy.com ~back~ - Is there any chance the non-binding resolution was originally developed because someone was in a bind? I didn’t think so. ~back~
Possibly Related Posts:
Dramatic, Yes - Chipmunk, No
It’s Hip, It’s Trendy, It’s Happening Now
DrHGuy recognizes that he has certain obligations to keep his readers up to date with the latest and greatest Internet fads and fashions. Be aware, however, that in this case, “up to date” is not the equivalent of bleeding edge; that kind of overly ambitious striving would be unseemly and undignified.
Instead DrHGuy, has synthesized philosophical extractions from D.W. Winnicott’s psychoanalytic hypothesis of “good-enough mothering” and the conceptual core implicit in the lyrics of alt country rocker, Tim Carroll’s wondrous classic, Girl That’s Hip:
But not THAT hip
to develop this criterion for “hip enough” internet awareness:
When it comes to awareness of what’s currently cool on the internet, Heck of a Guy viewers are at least one step ahead of the obnoxious brother-in-law (or his equivalent)
I.e., readers who receive yet another email from such an individual with yet another url for yet another “the damndest thing you’ve ever seen on the web,” are able to truthfully reply to that message with “Yes, I saw that some time ago; it is quite droll if a bit derivative.”
Certified Cool For At Least Another Five Seconds, Which Is All It Takes
Those wacky guys at CollegeHumor have come up with something they call “Dramatic Chipmunk,” and it’s certainly drama incarnate. It is also certainly a prairie dog, not a chipmunk.
DrHGuy submits that the coolest attribute is that the complete video runs in less than five seconds.
CollegeHumor Managing Editor Jeff Rubin insists that the clip has not been manipulated but is a cut from much longer footage1 shown on a Japanese TV show displaying the rodent. The 5 second span of “Dramatic Chipmunk” was just luck. As proof, CollegeHumor has uploaded the full, original footage, making it available at the all too accurately named Undramatic Chipmunk.
You may reboot your attitudinal facade now
Footnotes
- Make that much, much, much longer footage ~back~
Possibly Related Posts:
Deer On Parade
After posting A Sunday Visit To The Heck of a House Zoological Gardens, I realized that a collage of film clips of deer roaming the Heck of a House grounds during this past fall and winter that I had put together some time ago had never been placed online. That situation is now rectified, averting the potentially catastrophic loss to the arts and field biology.
The quality of the video, alas, does not rise to Walt Disney or Spielberg levels. It does not, in fact, rise to the level of even a documentary; I like to think of it as a documentation. One can, by squinting, certainly identify those large, mobile quadrupeds as deer. Beyond that, ones creative skills are called into play.
The entire clip is just over four minutes long.1 Of course, the highlight, a buck with an impressive rack that appeared for a moment within a few feet of the window where I stood with my camera, is in the final scene.
Most of the clips were shot from inside the house whenever I happened to notice these critters meandering about. The vertical bars that occasionally appear in the frame are posts dividing the window in the office I use. The most significant factor in the clarity of the clips is the amount of daylight during the filming. Given the overcast skies that typically accompany Chicagoland winters and the fact that deer are preferentially nocturnal, the small number of full daylight shots is hardly surprising. I have, however, compensated for the poor light by adding an extraordinary amount of camera shaking.
Footnotes
- For what it’s worth, this version is edited from an hour or so of video ~back~
Possibly Related Posts:
Color Me Impressed
Serendipity Strikes
Running a routine search for information pertinent to AlignMap, my professional blog dealing with patient compliance, I came upon The right color pill helps the medicine go down, a post by Rachel Perls, which addresses the effect of pill and capsule colors on the patient’s1 perception of those medications.
Ms Perls publishes Hue, a blog dedicated to color:
I read several random posts, all of which were interesting and some of which portrayed colors and combinations of colors that can only be described as gorgeous.2
These are not academic discourses on color theory but are instead brief expositions of a topic with the goal of providing an impression of the impact color can have.3
Most striking are the examples, such as the blister-pack of pills shown atop this entry.
I especially recommend Watching the progress of an artist, an entry from February 17, 2007 which links to a video of Picasso painting on a transparent canvas while time lapse photography captures his strokes. Ms Perls elaborates in this excerpt:
Hue strikes me as an enriching, stimulating blog to brighten ones Monday.
Footnotes
- To many physicians, including me, the world is divided into people who are patients and people who will become patients in the future ~back~
- Readers should be aware that my threshold for “interesting” may be especially low when it comes to color. An Ex, who is an artist, somehow managed to establish in me a heightened awareness of and appreciation for color, an accomplishment I find amazing and for which I remain grateful. I suspect that discovering a blog about color that I didn’t find interesting would prove a difficult task. Even taking my standards into account, however, Hue is impressive. ~back~
- From my non-artistic, subjective perspective, the textual content of certain posts seems oversimplified. This may have more to do with the difficulty of communicating concepts such as color to a public unfamiliar with the specialized argot of professionals in the field than with the writer’s skills. In any case, this issue was not significant enough to detract from my enjoyment. ~back~