There is no egg in eggplant,

nor ham in hamburger;

neither apple nor pine in

pineapple. English muffins

weren’t invented in England

or French fries in France.

Sweetmeats are candies while

sweetbreads, which aren’t

sweet, are meat. We take

English for granted. But if we

explore its paradoxes, we find

that quicksand can work

slowly, boxing rings are

square and a guinea pig is

neither from Guinea nor is it

a pig. And why is it that

writers write but fingers

don’t fing, grocers don’t groce

and hammers don’t ham? If

the plural of tooth is teeth,

why isn’t the plural of booth,

beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So

one moose, 2 meese? One

index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it

seem crazy that you can make

amends but not one amend?

If you have a bunch of odds

and ends and get rid of all but

one of them, what do you call

it? If teachers taught, why

didn’t preachers praught? If a

vegetarian eats vegetables,

what does a humanitarian

eat? Sometimes I think all the

English speakers should be

committed to an asylum for

the verbally insane. In what

language do people recite at a

play and play at a recital?

Ship by truck and send cargo

by ship? Have noses that run

and feet that smell? How can

a slim chance and a fat

chance be the same, while a

wise man and a wise guy are

opposites? You have to

marvel at the unique lunacy

of a language in which your

house can burn up as it burns

down, in which you fill in a

form by filling it out and in

which, an alarm goes off by

going on. English was

invented by people, not

computers, and it reflects the

creativity of the human race,

which, of course, is not a race

at all. That is why, when the

stars are out, they are visible,

but when the lights are out,

they are invisible.

PS. – Why doesn’t ‘Buick’

rhyme with ‘quick’?

Dr. Jeff Young, a psychologist who specializes in sleep, mood and anxiety disorders at UCLA, and his private practice in Encino, CA, is with us today to talk about the Oculus Quest 2.

Oculus Quest 2 is a virtual reality (VR) headset that is now owned by Facebook Technologies. It’s an all-in-one gaming library of inspiring games and experiences.

There is no better person to tell us all about this virtual reality experience than Dr. Jeff because he is a user and understands the technology.

Welcome Dr. Jeff to “Lying On The Beach On Camera.”

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You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is ‘UP.’

It’s easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?

Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends.
And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.

We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning.

People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.

It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.

When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn’t rain for awhile, things dry UP.

Michael Sommer is my secret weapon. Thank you Michael!

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Don’t miss Lincoln Road on the last Sunday of every month. Food and exotic treasures galore. We bumped into friends every few feet, Tom DeSantis and Wendy Unger Schapira pictured here. Stay tuned for the print and digital newspaper Jayda Knight and I will be publishing every few weeks about LR and other interesting Miami activities. It’s called The Peeker.

Thank you Michael Sommer for your words.

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse .

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present , he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove , dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

.

A 27 year old polymath with blue hair becomes editor of Vogue China. I’m getting a subscription.

What Margaret Zhang’s Vogue Hire Says About Fashion Media In China | Jing Daily

http://jingdaily.com/margaret-zhang-vogue-china-fashion-media/

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Best Buy is laying off 5,000 workers and closing more than 20 big-box stores as it moves deeper into e-commerce.

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Hasbro is dropping the “Mr.” from its Potato Head toy this year to keep the plastic spud gender neutral

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Answers tomorrow

GAMES

Friday Puzzle

Here is a classic puzzle—don’t shout if you know the answer. Without lifting your pencil, draw four straight lines to connect all nine dots.

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Gelson’s Markets to be acquired by Japanese retailer | Chain Store Age

https://chainstoreage.com/gelsons-markets-be-acquired-japanese-retailer

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https://youtu.be/eL3xA5ATdgg

The Story of Purim and The Book of Esther

To help celebrate Purim, Rabbi Marc Philippe, and Rebbetzin Valerie, of Temple Emanu-El of Miami Beach, Fl, just produced the most creative and informative animation about the festive holiday.

Together they wrote the script, created the digital characters and background environments, did the voiceovers, and handled all of the post production themselves.

Now they want to share this YouTube production with the world.

Happy Purim from Temple Emanu-El.

https://youtu.be/eL3xA5ATdgg

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FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 2021

Larry Luckinbill, Tony award–nominated actor, playwright, and director for television, film, and the theater has done it again. Larry has a new book. If you want to interview him, let me know.

Teddy

By Laurence Luckinbill; Adapted by Eryck Tait

“Teddy Roosevelt roars, fumes, and looks back on his life and family in this graphic version of Luckinbill’s one-man stage show Teddy Tonight…. It’s a vivid picture of Teddy at his most admirable…and prescient.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Teddy is an excellent graphic biography that serves as a compelling reminder of why Theodore Roosevelt is considered one of the greatest US presidents.” —Foreword Reviews

“A master storyteller of stage and screen, Laurence Luckinbill brings his remarkable abilities to bringing the lively Theodore Roosevelt back to life in this compelling graphic novel.” —Mark K. Updegrove, President & CEO of the LBJ Foundation and author of The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship between George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush

“Imagine what this book alone … could do within classrooms…. Graphic novels such as Teddy could create a spark for learning thanks to presenting history through the unlimited potential in the medium that is comics instead of a beaten-up textbook that has been signed out to kids for the last 20 years.”

—Masked Library

“Teddy is a personal look into probably the most iconic President to have ever held the office. The story by Luckinbill is extraordinary. The art by Tait is awe-inspiring. Altogether, Teddy is a graphic novel that makes this important historical figure both relatable and relevant.” —Graphic Policy

July 1918. Preparing to speak to an eager audience, 61-year-old Teddy Roosevelt receives the telegram that all parents of children who serve in war fear most: his son Quentin’s plane has been shot down in a dogfight over France. His fate is unknown. Despite rising fear for his youngest son, Teddy takes the stage to speak to his beloved fellow citizens. It is, he says, “my simple duty.” But the speech evolves from politics and the war into an examination of his life, the choices he’s made, and the costs of his “Warrior Philosophy.”

Overflowing with his love of nature, adventure, and justice, Teddy dramatically illustrates the life of one of America’s greatest presidents. His many accomplishments ranged from charging up San Juan Hill in Cuba as commander of the Rough Riders, to facing down U.S. corporate monopolies, to launching the Great White Fleet, building the Panama Canal, preserving hundreds of millions of acres of natural American beauty, and finally, to the vigorous life at Sagamore Hill and his immense pride in a beloved and rambunctious family.Teddy reveals how even the greatest of men is still just a man, and how even the most modest man can grow to be great.

Laurence Luckinbill was a cultural representative to the U.S. State Department in the 1960s and is an Emmy-winning, Tony Award–nominated actor, playwright, and director for television, film, and the theater.

Eryck Tait is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and designer. He is currently the manager of illustration for Ogilvy in Manhattan and resides in Bushwick with his wife, three cats, and one terrible dog.

| February, 2021 | Paperback | 2-color | $24.95

It’s Winter Again in the Northern Hemisphere. But This Year The World Has Gone Nuts

It snowed last night…

08:00 – I made a snowman.

08:10 – A feminist passed by and asked me why I didn’t make a snowwoman.

08:15 – So, I made a snowwoman.

08:17 – My feminist neighbor complained about the snow woman’s voluptuous chest saying it objectified snowwomen everywhere.

08:20 – The homosexual couple living nearby threw a fit and moaned it could have been two snowmen instead.

08:22 – The transgender man/women…person asked why I didn’t just make one snowperson with detachable parts.

08:25 – The vegans at the end of the road complained about the carrot nose, as veggies are food and not to decorate snow figures with.

08:28 – I was being called a racist because the snow couple is white.

08:31 – The middle eastern bloke across the road demanded the snowwoman be covered up .

08:40 – The Police arrived saying someone had been offended but were not sure by what.

08:42 – The feminist neighbor complained again that the broomstick of the snowwoman needed to be removed because it depicted women in a domestic role.

08:43 – The council bylaws officer arrived and threatened me with eviction.

08:45 – TV news crew from CNN showed up. I was asked if I know the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?

I replied “Snowballs” and am now called a sexist.

09:00 – I was on the News as a suspected terrorist, racist, homophobe sensibility offender, bent on stirring up trouble during difficult weather.

09:10 – I was asked if I have any accomplices. My children were taken by social services.

09:29 – Far left protesters offended by everything marched down the street demanding I be arrested.

By Noon it had all melted – Global warming was blamed.

Moral:

There is no moral to this story.
It is exactly what we have become…..all caused by Snowflakes.

Thank you Walter Salm for sharing this with us.

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President Joe Biden is such a mensch. He is absolutely the perfect pick after the monster we experienced for four years. Here is a WSJ story that proves my point.

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Jayda Knight and Eliot Hess discuss their children’s book project. His story, her illustrations. Mimo, now almost three months old, will make guest appearances.

As some of you know, I’m on the board of the Fountainhead Residency. The non-profit provides three artists, from all over the world, with a Miami remote studio, so they can create art away from their homes for a month. They also attend Miami art openings and talks, visit museums and galleries, and receive vital feedback from art professionals through one-on-one studio visits and public open houses.

Artists live communally in a 1950’s Miami Modern home flooded with natural light and the energy that comes with it. The home is located in the heart of Miami’s cultural community of museums, galleries, private collections, alternative spaces and performing arts venues.

The following artists are among our favorite. Here are their home studios.

Wynnie Minerva

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Sheila Elias

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Alex Nuñez

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Omar Barquet

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Debi Mitchell

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Matthew Morrocco

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