Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I'm it!

Yikes! Unbeknownst to me until just a little while ago, I was tagged by Joel (who was tagged by John B.) in the latest book meme floating around the blogiverse.

Here's the dealio:
*Find the nearest book.
*Name the title and author.
*Turn to p. 123.
*Post sentences 6-8.
*Tag 3 more people.
And it so happens that I received a raft of new reading material for Christmas, and the first book I started was Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence by Tim Parks.

Here are sentences 6-8 from p. 123:
On the matter of San Marco, the pope again proved flexible. The Silvestrines were evicted. The rigid Dominicans were moved in from Fiesole.
So, who to tag next. This could be tough since most of my friends don't know how to read. But...Consider yourselves tagged.

tagged: , , , ,

6 comments:

  1. Man, that is both hoity AND toity. Well done.

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  2. chuckle. Yeah, I guess it sounds a little hifalutin. But if you're a history buff (like me) and you're still nursing an interest in the Italian renaissance since your last visit to Tuscany, then this book really scratches your itch.

    Believe it or not this is both the least hoity toity title I received this year.

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  3. Well, even though you stiffed me, I'll play along. Page 123, sentences 6-8?

    "Further, the just man who is foreknown is better than the predestined sinner. Now God loves more the predestined sinner , since He wills for him a greater good, life eternal. Therefore God does not always love more the better things."

    From "The Summa Theologica" of Saint Thomas Aquinas; Volume I.

    Ok, I had to walk across my office to fetch it. It wasn't really the closest book. But it was the same distance as all the rest of my books and randomly chosen, so it counts.

    I could just as easily have chosen "An Alien Affair"; Volume 4 of L. Ron Hubbard's "Mission Earth" series:

    "He pulled one out. He handed Bang-Bang the Bulletproof suit. 'Go in that booth over there and put this on.'"

    Alrighty then.

    Or (jeez, I'm almost afraid to look) Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow":

    "The driver of this huge, loud lorry now tries to get Roger's attention, the other midgets crowding at the windows calling 'Hey! Hey!' and emitting oily, gutteral laughs. Their leader speaks English with some liquid, unspeakably nasty European accent. Lot of winking and nudging up there now, too: 'Meester! Ay, zhu! Wet a meeneh, eh?'"

    OK. I have time for one more.

    The U.S. Naval Bluejacket's Manual, 19th Edition, circa 1973.

    "Immediately prior to getting underway, warn engineering control to stand by to answer all bells. Deballast as required. Pump bilges when conditions permit (Oil Pollution Act 1954)."

    OK. I'm done.

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  4. Well that was fun. Sort of. The next book over was Walt Bodine's "My Times, My Town." What do you say to that?

    XO: you got some crazy shelves.

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  5. lee - indeed I do!

    If you actually have Walt's book, you must be a fan, so please don't take offense at this.

    But yesterday KCUR replayed Walt's show with Garrison Keillor. OMG! Why?!? It was a train-wreck!

    Don't get me wrong, I like Walt too. I'm old enough to remember when the local TV news promo had a shot of Walt behind the protective door of a news car (to keep him from getting hit by stray bullets) watching breaking news (with a stealy-eyed gaze) through the open window and reporting it live over the car's two-way radio.

    But he's really old now. And blind. And they have a "keeper" assigned to him.

    And on the other end of the interview was Garrison Fucking Keillor! For an HOUR! Oh. My. God.

    Garrison has no idea that this guy is a KC broadcasting legend. All he knows is, he's says something subtley ironic or profoundly introspective and the response he gets back from the host is something like "Just like the old Katz drugstores, eh?"

    WHAT?? WTF?!?

    I could actually only listen to about 10 minutes of it before I was compelled to send Garrison a sympathy card and beg him not to put KC in his No Go Zone list.

    Christ it was painful.

    I know that KCUR tried to drop Walt a few years ago and there was a HUGE public outcry and they brought him back.

    Do you think that rebroadcasting the Keillor show is KCUR's way of saying "DO YOU SEE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT?!?"

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  6. You should be sorry I saw your comment at the office.

    The nearest book was "Missouri Condemnation Practice."

    Sentences: 6 - 8:

    "Long delatys often arise between the announcement of the project and actual commencement of construction. The condemnee cannot adduce evidence that this delay has decreased the value of the subject property on the date of taking. A counterclaim cannot be interposed to introduce evidence of this loss."

    Told you.

    Cheers.

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