Gonna form my own science fiction GEE-tar band …

… and write songs about parallel universes.

Gonna call it “STRING THEORY.”

Besides … you can always be Jung at heart.

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“The Star Spangled Banner,” by Francis Scott Key

Star_Spangled_Banner_Flag_on_display_at_the_Smithsonian's_National_Museum_of_History_and_Technology,_around_1964

O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

 

 

“Live free or die.”

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“Live free or die — death is not the worst of evils.” Revolutionary War General John Stark

Happy Birthday, America!!!  (Sniff … they grow up so FAST!)

 

Two words: GO ARMY. A soldier stands his ground against Islamophobia.

And scores one for First Amendment Freedom of Religion.

This reinforces the impression I’ve always gotten about people who serve in the United States military.  (If you live in Virginia, you meet a lot of them.)

They have a strong value system and a sense of service, a clear understanding of the Constitutional freedoms they protect.

And they’ll put a punk in his place when necessary.

Shared by Uni Lad magazine:

How the CIA secretly published Dr Zhivago. (BBC News)

[“Soon the book’s blue linen covers were found littering the fairgrounds. Some who got the novel were ripping off the cover, dividing the pages and stuffing them into their pockets to make the book easier to hide,” The Zhivago Affair says.]

Wow.

Thanks to Dagda Publishing for the link:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27942646

“Magic potion,” sent by mail.

This arrived yesterday from my Connecticut Muse — a “magic potion” for  a writer’s productivity.

People close to me know I can be a bit skeptical where paranormal claims are concerned, but I can vouch for this, at least.

It’s some damned fine “dark” sorcery, and tasty too.  Thanks, Amanda.  🙂

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“Hannibal.”

It’s the thinking man’s “Walking Dead.”

I … can read Kindle books without having a Kindle?

Didn’t see that one coming.  

It’s a free app available at Amazon.com, and it’s quick to download.  You do need to be a past Amazon customer.  Ya learn something new every day.  🙂

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311

“A lot of sports happened.”

Found on VectorBelly.com and Imgur.com.

This reminds me of my news reporter days at the Culpeper Star-Exponent, when I would endlessly kid the sports staff about their beats.

Of course, I was just being an obnoxious twerp.  My more experienced colleagues, David Utnik and Michael Hicks, were tremendously capable journalists who handled people and information with skills that I hadn’t learned yet.

But … to someone who is NOT a sports fan … this IS rather what sports interviews sound like!

Thanks to my great friend Carrie Schor for passing this along.  🙂

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Nurse Your Favorite Heresies in Whispers