Thursday, June 16, 2011

How to Spend a Day



           "I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out."

           ~ Oscar Wilde, paraphrased








The photograph is mine.

39 comments:

  1. OMG, sounds like some of my days at the office. Except, of course, I often had lots of people offering their judgments on said comma.

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  2. What a legacy you're leaving for this day!

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  3. BLog (Nancy), I'm my own worst critic, so... Yeah one of those days....

    BB, I thought a few people might be able to relate. Besides writing, it works as a metaphor for all sorts of aspects in life.

    Linda, "First do no harm..." :)

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  4. I looked at this quote a totally different way than some of your posters. I thought that it was saying that we need to enjoy the smaller things in life more...things like "smelling the roses" and enjoying what is right now.

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  5. Teri, I think that's one of the things I like about this quote. I first related it to writing and the over-thinking that I can sometimes get into, then I recognized what a great way to say, what you just said... :)

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  6. My thoughts of this wonderful quote had me running along the same lines as Teri. Everything after the comma is unimportant. I tend to be wordy in my writing and shall try to take out a comma or two at times.

    Your irises and is it a birch? are lovely.

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  7. Hello Teresa:
    The quotation from Oscar Wilde is absolutely perfect. Would, we think, that we had the wit to produce such succinct, one off, one liners and dazzle the world as surely he did.

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  8. Heck, that's just my kind of day! Very pretty setting for the Iris.

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  9. Penny, I tend to get comma-itis, occasionally a struggle ensues.

    Jane and Lance, He certainly had a way with words.

    Montucky, It wasn't a bad way to spend the day. The greenery is spilling all over everything.

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  10. Well, if you got to go outside and photograph those beautiful iris, it wasn't a complete loss! And yes, I've had those kinds of days... :-)

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  11. I better start looking at my commas, there are lots of them, even in this sentence. Ha.

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  12. DJan, It was a day of mixed blessings. :)


    Linda, Rules, such as they are, are meant to be broken? :)

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  13. I like the pause for a day, but wouldn't disregard it very often.Sometimes word doesn't like where i place them.
    steve OOTP

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  14. I see Buddy is a good boy and let the iris's bloom. Cody took a nap in the middle of mine and only the fringe one's are blooming. What a quote, as I sometimes sit and stare at my screen without even a comma.
    Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

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  15. I have spent the day
    Thinking about Chess tonight,
    Thus the royal game.

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  16. Steve, Sometimes words don't like where I place them, either. That's when I try to become a better listener.:)


    Manzi, Buddy was napping, but for some reason the irises haven't been as tempting as those tulips were. Maybe his tastes are changing with age.

    Paul, Ah, planning possible strategy in your mind.

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  17. Pretty Irises. I've always liked this flower because it just rises up through the green...up tall to the sun on nice sturdy stalks. They are brave doing this since their yellow throat and purple petals are so delicate. Interesting that you chose this flower...might there be some synchronicity here? It's symbolism is faith, wisdom, hope, and the promise of love.

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  18. Karena, I didn't consciously choose it, I just loved the setting they were in, but nothing is truly unconscious, so... :) Thanks for telling me about these little beauties. They are a nice mix of fragile strength.

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  19. Hej Teresa!
    Oscar Wilde is very subtle.
    Happiness is to do nothing or to do what you like? Or maybe he tells us that happiness is being able to do at least something. If he was old and dement he might not be able to move even a comma. This comment is written without a comma!
    Well I don't know! But the irises are so lovely!
    Grethe ´)

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  20. Hi Grethe! I love that you wrote your comment without a comma! They are the scourge of writing for me. I think Oscar Wilde was working on a final draft of a poem he had written when he made the comment. Apparently he also had a tendency to over-think things sometimes, which I have been known to do a time or two!

    I trust you had a good week at the summerhouse

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  21. That's a good one! Only an editor would work so hard at his writing. Poor guy. Geez. I can relate, though.

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  22. Dan, Yes, I was having one of those days, and it just seemed so apropos. It sounds like you're having a wonderful time at Tahoe.

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  23. I remember things only to forget them later. It is a fear of dementia that keeps me guessing. Love the Iris. We call them "flags."

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  24. Honest Abe, Thank you so much for visiting. I sometimes forget to remind myself. Notes are coming in much handier than they once did.

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  25. Heat, heat and more heat
    Sweltering, thinking of cool -
    Like Maynard G. Krebs.

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  26. Excellent occupation.
    There's much thought invested in it.

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  27. Paul, I remember Maynard. Nice twist to haiku.

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  28. Friko, It's better than some occupations, eh?

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  29. Hope you can turn that comma into a slice of watermelon!

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  30. Hi Kittie, Are you dealing with some heat down your way? The sun finally came out here this afternoon. It's a beautiful evening. Stay cool!

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  31. Love the flowers. Your quote painfully reminds me that I've neglected writing.

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  32. Hi Kate! It is a rather sharp reminder. I certainly could understand Mr. Wilde's day. Nice to hear from you.

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  33. I've become a wierd writer .. using multiple full-stops... then going back and changing them to commas. I wonder what that says about me? I love Oscar Wilde. He is someone I would invite to dinner. I wouldn't have to say much.

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  34. Joan, I have to say, I have, too. My punctuation can be, uh, creative. Yeah, we'll go with that. When I discovered that it's okay to play with it a bit it freed me to write with less fear, but I still wrestle with a comma now and then. Yes, he would be a fun and interesting dinner companion.

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  35. That is the way I write my blog--I spend days thinking about something worth blogging about and then spend days talking myself out of it!

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  36. Ms. Sparrow, I can so relate. I am very glad you posted today, though. It's just great to hear of your sightings. I never tire of seeing deer, turkeys, and other wildlife.

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  37. I looked at the comment as a metaphor for an afternoon of wild, uninhibited...Hee Hee Hee

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  38. Cletis, "An afternoon of wild, uninhibited...Hee Hee Hee," would be one interpretation...

    Thank you for bringing a whole new, uh, perspective. :)

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