I was a man alone
Leaning on the white courtesy phone
Holy fools and hobo signs
I rebuke in moony lines
I drove into the sun
Yeah I was the dirt and when the wheels spun
Wanting to escape myself
Leave the gun upon the shelf
Stroll through, ’scuse me but I thought I knew you
Smiling like a check is due
Feeling pleasure that you’re bound to lose
Wait! Oh, you’ll find a better way
Oh yes I’m free to face all the darkness on my own
You were a holy mess
You were dressed in infinite forgiveness
But you were the heaviest
Cat in the crowd nonetheless
You were a wretched wave
All the sullen trolls that you swam out to save
All the moves and all your mind
Dust swirls in the sunlight
All things empty and amazing
Jot ’em down upon the wall
Dressed like a professional
Wait! Oh, you’ll find a better way
Oh yes I’m free to face all the darkness on my own
—Mike Doughty
—lyrics from “Wait! You’ll Find a Better Way”
—found on The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns
sabot /SA-boh/. noun. A wooden shoe or clog. A sleeve that holds and guides a projectile through a rifle tube. In baccarat, the box or shoe for dealing cards. In Australia, a small, snub-nosed dinghy. From Old French çabot, a blend of çavate (old shoe) and bote (boot).
The word sabotage is derived from sabot, though the popular folk etymology that saboteurs threw their wooden shoes into the machinery like the proverbial monkey-wrench is sadly unlikely. More prosaically, sabotage comes from the general sense of the term used in French for doing things badly, particularly performing music, which would be likened to the sound of wooden shoes clomping across the floor.
“They were in the forest, as on the day before, in a hut used by sabot makers. Its walls were of straw, and its roof came down so low that one had to stoop. They sat close together, on a bed of dry leaves.” (Gustave Flaubert)
“I drank greedily, determined to chuck a monkey wrench or hurl a sabot into the entertainers’ works and to have a good time in the bargain…” (Gilbert Sorrentino)
“The inside of the flintlock had been replaced with newer technology and contained a magazine of real bullets complete with sabot and primer caps, cleverly hidden in the stock, and a rifled barrel.” (John C. Wright)
Issue #28 of Robert Wright’s Mindful Resistance newsletter (a highly recommended subscription) has a piece answering the question “What is the Mindful Response to a School Shooting?” I can’t believe I live in a time where something like that needs to be written…and I wish I could believe something will change.
Jason Kottke is an inspiration to many, not least for his longevity. Any reader of Katexic CLippings has to be familiar with his work and should read Last blog standing, “last guy dancing”: How Jason Kottke is thinking about kottke.org at 20
Take a gander at the Star Wars posters of Soviet Europe.
Inside the OED: can the world’s biggest dictionary survive the internet? → Thanks to the indefatigable Reader B.! || See also: a notable link in the article which I shared here years ago, but deserves a new look now that the project is now live: BabelNet
Daily Art Magazine has painstakingly documented every piece of art in all four seasons of BoJack Horseman.
Mr. Rogers is getting a stamp. About time. Related new-to-me news: Catherine O’Hara has Canadian stamp.
Explore the Largest Known Early Map of the World, Assembled for the First Time.
Take a minute for this beautiful Google Arts & Culture exhibit of Japanese paper wrapping: Ogasawara-Ryu Origata Wrapping.
The images of the crowd, at least as interested in the woman who was supposed to “pull the trap,” are as horrifying as the photos of the condemned at the last public execution in the US.
Today the annual plum blossom festival is celebrated at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, Japan, with a special tea ceremony (Baikasai) performed by geiko (geisha) and apprentices (maiko) for more than 3000 visitors. While the outdoor tea ceremony dates back to “only” 1952, the shrine was built in 947.
► Watch the first episode of Mr. Rogers’ from Feb. 19, 1968. See also: Mr. Rogers learns to breakdance.
I was skeptical, but this ► cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by Japanese group Goose house won me over.
Reader B.: "From Twine to the Roti-matic, what a fine return for Katexic!
Reader G.: “Loved the WORK in this publication. With #21 – ‘love forgives everything’ – for me, that applies until I’ve fallen out of love. Maybe too, there are different levels of forgiveness.”
Reader A.: “This one [#6 -- 'Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself.'] is tough. One of the things a manager must do is hire those with more skill than themselves so that the work which gets done is top notch. Managers need to be competent enough to understand the product of their team, but to draw out work from each member so the whole is greater than the parts. Micromanagement is the bane of creative teams.”
Reader R.: “Family drama with my love’s daughter remains in full force, and nothing could have been a better start to my day than seeing you in the inbox and reading these wonderful words of wisdom.”
I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback and all manner of what-have-you. Just press ‘Reply’ or email to: clippings@katexic.com.
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