In my experience secrets are almost never kept. I’ve been guilty of “loose lips” a few times and ended up regretting it. Paybacks for breaking someone’s confidence can be catastrophic as I can attest. Todays post will contain information about secrets from a number of sources. The first entry comes from a famous New York columnist:
WALTER WINCHELL
“I usually get my stuff from people who promised somebody else that they would keep it a secret.”
A FEW ANONYMOUS
“There are two kinds of secrets: one is not worth keeping, and the other is too good to keep.”
“There is a skeleton in every house.”
“He who tells a secret is another’s servant.”
“Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.”
It seems that everyone on the planet has opinions on secrets and they love to call them proverbs.
FRENCH: “Nothing is so burdensome as a secret.”
YIDDISH: “After nine months the secret comes out.”
RUSSIAN: “Confide in a dumb man, and he will speak.”
SPANISH: “He who keeps his own secret avoids much mischief.”
LATIN: “Sooner would men hold fire in their mouths than keep a secret.”
And finally an old standby from the BIBLE:
ECCLESIASTES 10:20“Even in your thought, do not curse the king, nor in your bedchamber curse the rich; for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature will tell the matter.”
TELL ME ALL YOUR SECRETS, I WON’T TELL ANYONE, I PROMISE
I recently began rereading Isaac Azimov’s “The Foundation Series“. I’ve read it at least four or five times over the years which probably makes me a crazy rabid Azimov fan. Since I’ve lately reintroduced him to my brain, todays post will include a few of his limericks. While he was a prolific writer of books, he was also a lover of all things limerick. In company with a friend and fellow writer, John Ciardi, they’ve written hundreds of limericks both funny and many times a little bawdy. Here are a few to make you smile.
I know this will make some of you jealous especially the male readers. I’ve been lucky enough to acquire a wonderful little booklet published in 2000 filled with hundreds of quotes and other tidbits of wit and wisdom by some of our most famous women. I try to keep things interesting on this blog by gathering information from all sides of the human equation. Here are a few samples from the distaff side of things.
“In nine cases out of ten, the woman had better show more affection than she feels.” Jane Austen 1813
“Love ceases to be a pleasure, when it ceases to be a secret.” Aphra Behn 1687
“Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.” Helen Keller 1927
“If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?” Mary Astell 1706
“To be a king and wear a crown is more glorious to them that see it than it is a pleasure to them that bear it.” Queen Elizabeth I 1923
Queen Elizabeth I
“If I didn’t start painting, I would have raised chickens.” Grandma Moses 1947
“Always be smarter than the people who hire you.” Lena Horne 1985
“The person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down.” Edna St. Vincent Millay 1986
“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mocking bird.” Harper Lee 1960
“Truth is such a rare thing, it is delightful to tell it.” Emily Dickinson 1870
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Here is one of my favorite quotes from a successful and feisty long-running actress.
It’s been a while since I posted any quizzes. Todays will consist of ten sports related trivia facts. These questions will not be easy. Let’s see who the real sports fanatics are out there. As always the answers will be listed below. Have fun with it.
What is the distance between bases on a Little League ball field?
In 1939 what famous American athlete starred on UCLA”s undefeated team and was the top scorer in the Pacific Coast Conference for basketball?
What is the state sport for Alaska?
Who was the world champion swimmer disqualified from competing in the 1936 Olympics?
How many baseball gloves can be made from one cow?
Daredevil Jack
What did basketball star Kareen Abdul-Jabbar and Frank Sinatra have in common?
“Daredevil Jack” is the title of a 1920 movie starring which heavyweight boxer?
Who was the only American to win a gold metal at the 1968 Winter Olympics?
In what major league ballpark was a pitcher charged with a balk when the wind blew him off the mound during an All-Star game?
Who was the first major league baseball plyer to win a batting title in three different decades?
George Brett
HOW DID YOU DO?
Answers
60 feet, Jackie Robinson, Dog-mushing, Eleanor Holm, Five, Both born at 13lbs., Jack Dempsey, Peggy Flaming, Candlestick Park in 1961, George Brett – .333 in 1976, .390 in 1980, and .329 in 1990.
I just experienced a rare Spring day here in Maine. There was real actual sunshine and really large and fluffy white clouds in a deep blue sky. Beautiful right? That one beautiful day has to be remembered in as much detail as possible because we rarely get that kind of perfect day. The rest of the year we hunker down to await the return of the Sun at least once more before Winter sets in. That’s when many, many, (and I do mean many) Mainers retire to their favorite local bars, pubs, or watering holes to sit around and loudly and rudely discuss just how wonderful that next sunny day will be. Then we sip a taste (or two) of our favorite drinks to help fuel more of the loud and disorderly discussions (which require even more alcohol) and to further argue about what the weather might be tomorrow.
So here I sit in a local Maine Alcohol Distribution Center (my man-cave) where interesting discussions are rarely heard because no-one really cares anyway. See if these few questions of sports trivia are more interesting that what your currently discussing and/or drinking? Answers will be listed below.
Baseball
Throwing a no-hitter is tough, but which major league pitcher tossed back-to-back no-hitters in 1938.
How many times did Yogi Berra play in a World Series game?
Basketball
What basket ball team was responsible for ending UCLA’s 88 game winning streak in 1974?
Which tall man won the NBA “Defensive Player of the Year” in 2009, 210, 2011?
Football
Which legendary football innovator was affectionately know as “Papa Bear”?
When the Packer and Seahawks met in week 3 of the 2012 season. Who was ruled as having scored the game winning touchdown on what some have dubbed the ‘Failed Mary”?
Hockey
On November 1, 1959 which goaltender was the first in NHL history to wear a full face protective mask?
What famous “goon” holds the NHL career record with 3,966 penalty minutes?
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BONUS
What year introduced Beach Volleyball to the Olympics in Atlanta.
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Answers
Johnny Vander Meer, 14, North Carolina, Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic, George Halas, Golden Tate, Jacques Plante (after stitches to his lip), Dave “Tiger” Williams, BONUS-1996
As you are aware I hunt like an obsessed bloodhound for topics that are a 7-9 on the weirdness scale. Fortunately for me all that weirdness has for some reason had little or no effect on me (I hope you are someone who doesn’t miss a satirical comment when you read it). Todays post will contain six blurbs about well-known people who were truly weirder than anyone ever imagined.
WALT WHITMAN
When American poet Walt Whitman died in 1892, his brain was put in a jar and donated to the University of Pennsylvania. The University doesn’t have it anymore because a clumsy lab technician dropped the jar on the floor and damaged the brain. The University quietly discarded it, and Whitman’s “Specimens Days” were over.
MARGARET WISE BROWN
American children’s author Margaret Wise Brown (1910 to 1952), who wrote many tender kitty-and-bunny tales, including Good Night Moonand The Bunnies Birthday, loved to hunt rabbits and she collected their severed feet as trophies.
VOLTAIRE
Voltaire always fainted whenever he smelled roses. He also drank seventy cups of coffee every day. Are the facts related, who knows?
EMILY DICKINSON
Poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) will’s final requests were that she would be buried in a white casket, that heliotropes be placed inside along with a posy of blue violets to be placed at her throat. All of her wishes were granted.
AGATHA CHRISTIE
Agatha Christie nearly pulled off a real-life hoax worthy of her mystery novels. Upset that her husband was leaving her for another woman, she set up an incriminating crime scene that almost got him arrested for “her murder”. Luckily for him, an employee at a distant seaside hotel saw news photos of Christie and recognized her as the woman who had slipped into their hotel under an assumed name. Although Christie claimed amnesia, the police were not amused after having wasted a week of searching rivers and bogs for her body.
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And last but not least goes to someone who finally discovered his true worth.
TUPAC SHAKUR
Requested that his ashes be mixed with marijuana and smoked by his friends in the band Outlawz.
There are times that I really miss the old style Playboy magazines. They helped answer many questions that all young boys had about females. Everyone jokes about reading the magazines just for the articles but that was always a huge bit of sarcasm. Was the content misogynistic, probably, but the young lads paging through those articles just wanted to see and read about those gorgeous women willing to share their most intimate secrets and secret areas to them while they furiously and quietly masturbated. I have to admit I participated myself on occasion. It all depended on whether I could find my fathers stash of Playboys he thought were so well hidden. He actually hid them from my mother because we were all afraid of her. Todays post will list five items from some of those beautiful Playmates on “Turn-Ons & Turn-Offs” from the 1970’s, 1980,s, and 1990’s. No names will be mentioned but I know it’s possible you’ll remember a few of the those forgotten beauties that aided in your teenage sex education.
I seem to be overflowing with accumulated trivia information these days and as I get it I’ll pass it along to you. Todays topics for review are all pop-culture related facts.
The famous quote “play it again Sam”, was never actually uttered in the movie Casablanca.
Though they look alike, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are fraternal twins, not identical.
John Lennon signed the paperwork formalizing the breakup of the Beatles while staying at a Disney World hotel.
Woody in Toy Story has a last name. It was revealed in 2009 as “Pride”.
In the movie Home Alone, the picture of Buzz’s girlfriend that Kevin finds is actually a boy in a wig.
During his performances of James Bond, Sean Connery always wore a wig.
The injuries on Luke Skywalkers face when he was attacked by the snow monster in The Empire Strikes Back were real.
Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t draw the sketch of Kate Winslet in Titanic . . . but director James Cameron did.
DC Comics boasts a superhero named Arms-Fall-Off-Boy.
2006’s Bond movie Casino Royale was the first Bond movie that could be watched in China.
BONUS FACT
(On everyone’s favorite character)
In the Star Wars Trilogy, George Lucas’s original full name for
As a youngster I was easily impressed by just about everything. Being that impressionable had it’s pitfalls and Mae West was one of my first. She won me over with her outrageous sense of humor, her “I don’t give a shit” attitude, and that buxom body. I loved watching her short but outrageous appearances on TV and her movies with W.C. Fields were next level hysterical. She was also a well known comedian, singer, screenwriter, and playwright. She remained bawdy and outrageous well into her late eighties as she strutted her stuff and was always accompanied by two large muscular young men. She passed away on November 27, 1980 and the world lost a unique and exciting woman. Todays post is a short collection of some of her most colorful quotes and a few photos. I still miss the old girl.
“It’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the the life in your men.”
“It’s better to be looked over than overlooked.”
“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.”
“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”
“When I’m good, I’m very good, but when I’m bad, I’m better.”
“Good sex is like good bridge,. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand.”
“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”
“Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?”
I spend a moderate amount of my time reading, listening, and even watching some sports on TV or online. For me baseball is the absolute best. I fell in love with it at age 8 and that love affair continues to this day. I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area but when it comes to baseball I favor no particular teams. It’s the skill of exceptional players that keeps me coming back. I thought today a short quiz of baseball trivia might interest some of you. Here are ten questions with the answers listed below. Have fun with it.
How man times did the “Father of Baseball” Abner Doubleday, mention the sport in his 67 diaries?
What baseball team introduced the sacrifice bunt, the squeeze play, the hit-and-run play, and the double steal?
Why did baseball manager Hal Lanier order all TV sets removed from the Houston Astro clubhouse in 1986?
What was the greatest number of homeruns hit in a single season by Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach?
What famous sports commentator announced his first major league baseball game without ever having seen a game before?
FRED LYNN
What was baseball great, Stan Musial’s, advice to players trying to hit the spit ball?
What baseball playing brothers came in first and second in the race for the National League batting title in 1966?
What other two brothers hit home runs in the same World Series game?
Who was the only rookie in baseball history to be honored as rookie of the year and most valuable player in the same season?
What is the maximum length and thickness permitted for a major league baseball bat?
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Answers
Not once, The Baltimore Orioles, Player missed some practice because of watching the Wheel of Fortune, 12, Red Barber in 1934 for The Cincinnati Reds, “Hit it on the dry side.”, Matty .342 & Felipe Alou .327, Ken & Clete Boyers, Fred Lynn 1975, Length 43″ & Thickness 2 1/4″.
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