Humor

In a lighter vein, enjoy some online trivia!

Hillbilly Wisdom from Nature Journal

Hillbilly Wisdom from Nature Journal

𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦

  • Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
  • Keep skunks, bankers, and politicians at a distance.
  • Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
  • A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
  • Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
  • The best sermons are lived, not preached.
  • If you don’t take the time to do it right, you’ll find the time to do it twice.
  • Don’t corner something that is meaner than you.
  • Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
  • It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
  • You cannot unsay a cruel word.
  • Every path has a few puddles.
  • When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
  • Don’t be banging your shin on a stool that’s not in the way.
  • Borrowing trouble from the future doesn’t deplete the supply.
  • Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
  • Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
  • Silence is sometimes the best answer.
  • Don‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.
  • Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
  • If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
  • Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
  • The biggest troublemaker you’ll ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
  • Always drink upstream from the herd.
  • Good judgment comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgment.
  • Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
  • If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
  • Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
  • Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
  • Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

Found on Facebook from Nature Journal / http://www.sonyaz.net/nature-and-animals/
Featured image from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/photos/banjo-player-outback-hill-billy-2427086/
Posted by Jim Holmes, 0 comments
Musing on Memes

Musing on Memes

What’s in a Meme?

Good question. A meme is meant to convey a thought or an emotion using a graphic symbol or metaphor and a few terse words. I worked up a few of them over the last several months (it was fun finding the images and sourcing the quotes) and posted most of them on my Facebook account.


Here’s a great quote from Teddy Roosevelt (too long for a meme):

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”


Enjoy viewing them; get thinking; and maybe get motivated!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Creativity and Aesthetics, Gospel, Heritage, Humor, Reflections, Windows on My Work, Worldview, Writing, 0 comments
Favorites 3: Fun and Frivolity

Favorites 3: Fun and Frivolity

Muppet-Struck!

Do you like the Muppets?

Enjoy this unusual rendering by Rowlf and Fozzie of “An English Country Garden” (strictly “Country Gardens”) (and with apologies to Percy Grainger)!

 

And now for more in the same spirit…

 

Who does not enjoy the British wit of Morecambe and  Wise; this has to be one of the funniest comedy pieces ever!

 

Do you remember the Pink Panther films? My son recently pointed out to me that it is the 50th anniversary of the first ever film. He went to YouTube, and guess what he found? We love this clip. Enjoy…!

Posted by Jim Holmes in Heritage, Humor, Reflections, 0 comments
Favorites 2: Devotion and Discipline

Favorites 2: Devotion and Discipline

Noteworthy and Quoteworthy

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
? Jim Elliot, Martyred missionary to the Auca Indians

“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”
? Francis Bacon, The Essays

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
? Thomas A. Edison

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
? Winston Churchill, Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
? Theodore Roosevelt

Rudyard Kipling
Asking Questions

“I keep six honest serving men:
They taught me all I knew:
Their names are What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who.”

? Rudyard Kipling (Image credit: Wikipedia)

airplane-takes-off-into-wind
bird-roundelSaid the Robin to the Sparrow

Said the robin to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin,
“Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”

Posted by Jim Holmes in Heritage, Humor, Reflections, Worldview, 0 comments

Tweetable One-Liners!

Fun Quotes

Some time back, my friend Brian Darroll in South Africa sent me some fun quotes–they were referenced as “Christian One-Liners.” He did not originate them but passed them on from somewhere else in the ether. Many of them make a good point. Enjoy!

Christian One Liners

Don’t let your worries get the best of you; Remember, Moses started out as a basket case.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The good Lord didn’t create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes seem to come close.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

When you get to your wits’ end, you’ll find God lives there.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

People are funny; they want the front of the bus, middle of the road, and back of the church.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on the front door forever.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Quit griping about your church; If it was perfect, you couldn’t belong.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

If a church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

We’re called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God Himself doesn’t propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Some minds are like concrete: Thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Peace starts with a smile.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

I don’t know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Be ye fishers of men. You catch ’em — He’ll clean ’em.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Don’t put a question mark where God put a period.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Don’t wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God loves everyone, But probably prefers ‘fruit of the spirit’ over ‘religious nuts!’

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

He who angers you, controls you!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

If God is your Co-pilot, swap seats!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Prayer: Don’t give God instructions, just report for duty!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The Will of God never takes you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

We don’t change the message; the message changes us.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him or her.

Image credit: courtesy of http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/
Posted by Jim Holmes in Humor, Spirituality, 2 comments

A New Way to Learn States and Capitals

Enjoying History and Geography

My son, Matthew, comes up with some interesting things he sources on the Internet. Below are some notes he wrote (I asked him to introduce a clip he shared with me) and a short video that introduces the capital city of each of the states in the USA. Notice Wakko’s quasi-Yorkshire accent… we find that amusing, too!

Matthew Writes. . .

Animaniacs was a show that aired between 1993-1998 that was produced by Steven Spielberg (E.T., Indiana Jones films,etc.) and his company Amblin Entertainment’s television division. It was structured like a variety show, with different characters appearing in different segments. The main characters, however, were the Warner Brothers’ (Yakko, Wakko) and their sister Dot (unidentified as species, but they look like cats to me.)

The show was generally intended as a parody of Warner Bros’ Looney Tunes shorts (1930-1969) mixed with comic educational segments to soften the violence. This is one of the education segments listing all the states and their capitals. For those reading this article and watching this clip who do not understand the beginning, it is intended as a parody of Jeopardy, a popular game show here in the U.S. where the contestants have to answer the questions in the form of a question (e.g., Who is Road Runner?, What is the Bible?, etc.) I hope you enjoy this clip.

Posted by Jim Holmes, 0 comments

How to Write Good

dictionary_motif

I enjoyed reading this lighthearted entry I found on Facebook; it originates from Tutor2u.

1. Avoid Alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. They’re old hat.
4. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
5. Be more or less specific.
6. Writers should never generalize.
Seven: Be consistent.
8. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
9. Who needs rhetorical questions?
10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Featured image derived from a graphic on http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/
Posted by Jim Holmes in Humor, Publishing Books Today

Victor Borge on Phonetic Punctuation

Put the Fun back into Phonetics!

I am a former school teacher; I am now an editor and a publishing consultant, as well as functioning in an entrepreneurial role. So, words are important to me. I use them; and I love using them correctly.

Occasionally, something shows up that puts the work of a linguist in a better, more humorous light. We need this kind of light relief! Danish born Victor Borge had just the skill to do this. I’ll share more of his jokes in future posts. (It is recorded, by the way, that even though Borge did not speak a word of English upon his arrival in the USA in World War II, he quickly managed to adapt his jokes to the American audience, learning English by watching movies!)

Enjoy his verbal and visual way of explaining the place of those simple punctuation marks in the two-minute clip below!

Posted by Jim Holmes in Humor, Publishing Books Today, 0 comments

Secret for the Time Being!

Enterprise_piggyback

Launch Pending

I am not going into details at present, but anticipate being able to update you with an interesting development in the next few weeks. For the time being, consider this as being classified information that I’ll let out of the box below when I am ready.

Blogspot52_Favicon As the saying goes, watch this (Blog)Spot!

 

Box secret Blogspot

 

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Biblical Creationism, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Current Issues, Family and Friends, French Christian Literature, Friendship, Heritage, Humor, Hymns, Interviews, New & Noteworthy, Publishing Books Today, Reflections, Sickness, Spirituality, Technology, Theology, Travel, Westminster Standards, Worldview, 0 comments

A Knotty Problem (from My Son)

Wordplay_Graphic

Tied up in Notts

My son, aged eleven, has a set of magazines from the 1970s, and in this one he was recently reading to me, he came across an interesting word problem which is displayed in the following paragraph. Enjoy!

There was a duel and Fred Nott was shot. Stanley Shott was not, which shows that it’s better to be Shott than Nott. Some people said that Nott was not shot, but Shott swore that he shot Nott. So, either the shot Shott shot at Nott was not shot, or in fact Nott was shot. If the shot Shott shot shot Nott Nott was shot, but if the shot Shott shot shot Shott himself, then Shott would be shot and Nott would not be shot. But the shot Shott shot shot not Shott but Nott. It’s not clear who was shot and who was not shot, but we do know which one was Shott and which was Nott.

Posted by Jim Holmes in Humor, 1 comment