A Vicarious Thrill November 9, 2022
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Writing & Writers.comments closed
My niece is a 3rd year student at Harvard Law School.
Last year, her Moot Court Team made it to the finals of the Ames Moot Court Competition
The Ames Competition is one of the most prestigious competitions for appellate brief writing and advocacy in the country. Students participating in the Final Round started the competition in the fall of their 2L year. From there, two teams progress to the Final Round through their strong research abilities and excellent written and oral advocacy. The Final Round is traditionally judged by this country’s preeminent jurists.
The oral arguments for Ames 2022 are right around the corner.
Let the Countdown begin:
Aah . . . that’s brilliant!
The oral arguments are tomorrow night! Click HERE for more information on the 2022 Final Round.
For a summary in Harvard Law Today: The Ames Game
Like A Box of Chocolates January 21, 2022
Posted by nrhatch in Blogging, Mindfulness, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
The titles of magazine articles and blog posts can be misleading.
Titillating titles and teasers may grab our attention without holding it.
Great curb appeal may mask an empty shell:
Inside the vestibule, we encounter a veritable dumping ground of mish mash and pish posh with little rhyme or reason, almost as if the author tossed a bunch of unrelated thoughts into the air and allowed the hodge podge and hoi polloi to descend and settle willy nilly into disordered and discordant chaos and disarray.
Like so much falderal and fiddle dee dee.
If a post leaves me befuddled (because “the point” of the post is M.I.A.), I leave the pointless post, post haste.
Of course, the opposite also occurs.
On occasion, we stumble across a blog title so dumpy or frumpy that we lower our expectations before stepping across the threshold.
Why step inside at all?
Curiosity, perhaps. Or maybe the slim reed of hope that the dowdy exterior, like an oyster shell, houses a pearl of wisdom.
Sometimes, despite the gloomy interior heralded on the marquee, intrepid visitors are rewarded.
Instead of finding a warren of empty rooms, we encounter a brilliant flash of light as a veritable palace of jewels and gems opens before us.
What a delight when valuable insight awaits those who venture past a dingy signpost outside.
For a post with valuable time-saving advice, may I recommend:
Everything Must Be Paid For Twice, by David at Raptitude
Aah . . . that’s better!
“Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” ~ Forest Gump
Call Me Taciturn July 2, 2021
Posted by nrhatch in Blogging, Humor, Writing & Writers.comments closed
When I started Spirit Lights The Way, more than a decade ago, I posted daily and never seemed to run out of things to say.
No one would have referred to me as taciturn.
Quite the opposite.
I might have been described as loquacious, open, communicative, fluent, talkative, garrulous, chattering, prating, prattling, twaddling, verbose, gabbling, and/or cackling.
In short, a real Chatty Cathy.
In contrast, for most of June, I’ve stayed silent.
A topic comes to me. I start to flesh it out. But I don’t follow through to the FINISH line.
You might say I’ve been “ghosting” my postings.
I don’t blame the pandemic, but it’s played its part ~> social distancing in real life has encouraged me to exercise a greater degree of social media distancing.
Then again, maybe I’ve just become reserved, uncommunicative, incommunicado, reticent, and stingy with words in my old age.
Time will tell!
Aah . . . that’s better!
The Thinking Ladder October 9, 2019
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Mindfulness, People, Writing & Writers.comments closed
Tim Urban, over at Wait But Why, is sharing a fantastic series right now ~ The Story of Us: Full Series.
Last week’s post, The Thinking Ladder, is fabulous.
It’s about HOW we think (and to a much lesser extent WHAT we think).
It addresses different types of information processing, hypothesis testing, confirmation bias, dissent, etc.
It is LONG . . . and worth every minute it takes to digest it.
Aah . . . that’s better!
The Triumph of Stupidity September 30, 2019
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, People, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves and wise people so full of doubts.”
~ Bertrand Russell
Hmm . . . he sounds certain of himself, but did he really say that?
I wasn’t sure so I did a bit of cyber digging to alleviate my doubts.
I found a nugget that suggests that Russell may have said something similar, but different:
“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”
~ The Triumph of Stupidity, Mortals and Others: Bertrand Russell’s American Essays, 1931-1935.
Hmm . . . he sounds cocksure about The Triumph of Stupidity, but did he really say that?
And does “the modern world” encompass the years 1931 – 1935?
Who was this guy anyway? A fool? A fanatic? Stupid or Wise? Cocksure or Uncertain?
To doubt, or not to doubt, that is the question.
Aah . . . that’s better!
An Offer To Good To Refuse July 18, 2019
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Humor, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
Tippy Gnu has fallen off his rocker. Not a big surprise, I know. We knew it was going to happen. I mean, c’mon, he doesn’t even drink coffee. What kind of red-blooded American writer doesn’t drink coffee?
Except, you know, when they are drinking alcohol.
But Tippy is not a tippler either.
No coffee. No alcohol. Nothing to blur the edges of reality. So we knew it was just a matter of time before he toppled.
Now that he has, his topple is your Piglipple:
That’s right! He’s giving away his Pumping up Piglipple book for FREE.
Go grab yours: FREE BOOKS
Just remember to hold it by the edges and wash your hands thoroughly after you’re done.
Aah . . . that’s one Unique Unicorn!
For Your Next Murder Mystery . . . July 7, 2019
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Nature, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
I don’t know about you, but I appreciate it when Agatha Christie wannabes write outside the box.
Instead of relying on mundane methods of murder to kill off “the surplus population,” creative writers explore alternative murder weapons.
If you are looking for a bit of inspiration for your next murder mystery, Britannica.com has got you covered:
7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Step away from that knife. Put down that gun. And wander out to the garden.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Foxes With Sockses January 27, 2019
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
Learning the English language is challenging. It is filled with pitfalls and minefields that constantly keep us on our toes . . . whether or not we are hanging around with a Fox wearing Socks or a Cat in the Hat.
The following poem is not my original work, but it’s too cute not to share . . .
OK, class, let’s Start:
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;
yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
but though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.
“No wonder Dr. Seuss always had such FUN!”
Said the Cat in the Hat to Thing 2 and Thing 1.
Aah . . . that’s better!
An extended version: The English Lesson, by Richard Krogh
Fiction Prompt from Poets & Writers September 7, 2018
Posted by nrhatch in Fiction, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
I received this Fiction Prompt from Poets & Writers today and found it intriguing:
What kind of story would you write for someone reading it one hundred years from now?
For Scottish artist Katie Paterson’s Future Library project, which started in 2014, she has commissioned Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Elif Shafak, Sjón, and Han Kang to write manuscripts that will remain unread in storage in an Oslo library until 2114. The texts will then be printed on paper made from one thousand trees planted in a Norwegian forest when the project began.
Write a short story with the notion that it won’t be read for one hundred years. While imagining a future generation of readers, explore themes involving time, eternity, and mortality.
Do you think that the participating writers will all abide by the “rules” . . . allowing their words to remain unread for 100 years?
Or will most/all of them keep a copy available to share with chosen readers before the designated date?
Aah . . . that’s better!
About My Somewhat Free Book September 2, 2018
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Happiness, Writing & Writers.comments closed
What’s better than spotting a Unique Unicorn?
How about snagging a FREE copy of Unikonics ~> TG’s life philosophy in legible digital printed form!
That’s right! His life philosophy. For FREE!
Click the Unikonics book cover image above, to skip the nonsense below, and go directly to my book.
I’ve written a book called Unikonics. This book won’t cost you any money, but it will cost you some time. So it’s somewhat free, but not entirely. It’s only 18,000 words, but if you’re a slow reader like me it will require about three hours of your life to complete.
I first wrote this philosophy and self-help book in 2014, and true to self-help form, self-published it on Amazon. I can count on the fingers of one finger how many copies it sold. And that poor bastard who paid 99 cents for it must be kicking himself, because now I’m giving it away free.
I recently had a very boring experience. I was called in for jury duty and had to sit around for hours in a courtroom, waiting for some…
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