Do Nothing People

Those who do nothing do bad things. Those who do nothing have many associates and supporters. The brain of a lazy and idle person is the favorite stopping place of the devil. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 25 August) 30 September 2012

Begin

There's no perfect place or time to begin anything you want to do.

(Sharon Foster in Daily Guideposts - 2010, 26 August)

29 September 2012

You Are Still Needed

... as long as we have the willingness and the capacity to interact with others, on some level, our services are still needed. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 21 July) 28 September 2012

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Last night I watched some of the 23rd Annual IBMA awards show from the Ryman in Nashville, TN.  The show was broadcast, for the first time, over Livestream.  At one time during the show there were over two thousand people in the chatroom, more than that were watching.  There were several technical issues with the show: 1) poor lighting on the stage, 2) audio level too low, 3) video somewhat problematic.  When I grew tired of those issues I moved to the streaming audio on WSM radio.  I turned off the broadcast during the acceptance speech of Doyle Lawson who became a member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.  He said he was talking from notes, but it was hard to believe that from the disjointed way he spoke.  That said, I really did enjoy being able to see and hear the show over the Internet.  Next year the awards show will move to Raliegh, NC.  I don't know what that move is all about.

Vocal Group of the Year

Blue Highway

Male Vocalist of the Year

Russell Moore

Female Vocalist of the Year

Dale Ann Bradley

Entertainers of the Year

Gibson Brothers

Mr. Dickie
28 September 2012

Agenda

What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. (Hugh Mulligan in Touchstones, 14 August)

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Yesterday I went to the library bookstore to purchase more books for my BookCrossing releases.  The shelf with the ten cent books was full.  I brought my canvas bag and filled it with ten books.  I found four novels and a daily devotional that I may want to read myself.

Dick's Reading

1. Boyle, Walter J. - Dawn Over Kitty Hawk
2. Gingrich, Newt and William R. Forstchen - Never Call Retreat
3. Allende, Isabel - Zorro
4. Allende, Isabel - Portrait in Sepia
5. Buechner, Frederick - Listening to Your Life

BookCrossing Books

1. Irving, John - Cider House Rules
2. Dillard, Annie - Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
3. Hillerman, Tony - Finding Moon
4. Frazier, Charles - Thirteen Moons
5. Smith, Wilbur - Assegai
6. Burt, Guy - A Clock Without Hands

Mr. Dickie

27 September 2012

A Man's Life

A man's life is what his thoughts make it.

(Marcus Aurelius in Touchstones, 15 August)

26 September 2012

Little Free Library

Every human being is a problem in search of a solution.

(Ashley Montague, in Touchstones, 20 August)

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Little Free Library and Bookcrossing

This weekend we discovered two Little Free Library locations within a couple of blocks of each other in downtown Hyattsville, MD.  One is located in Centennial Park and the other in King Memorial Park. On 24 Sep 2012 I returned with four of my Bookcrossing books.

Later in the evening I discovered that there is a third location in Berwyn Heights, MD.  All three Little Free Library locations are about four miles from the house.

It's my own idea to release some of my Bookcrossing books at these locations.  I didn't see any evidence on the Little Free Library website that the two programs should work together.

Mr. Dickie
25 September 2012

Make Things Better

It is not my assignment to keep an inventory of ... [other people's] faults and misbehavior.  My task is to watch for my own and root them out, so that what I say and do will help to make things better ... (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 18 August) (24 September 2012)

What Do You Think?

We seem to be thinking hard all the time, but it is mostly about our troubles, and who's to blame for them. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 26 July) 23 September 2012

******

I'm working on a project to create just over forty PDF files from the posts on a blog.  I used the Print Friendly application to create the PDFs.  There's a free online application, Merge PDF, that will merge all of the PDFs into one PDF which I can easily print or share.  My testing  yesterday seemed to confirm that everything will work together.

Yesterday (22 Sep 2012) we went to a PTA booksale in Hyattsville, MD.  They priced the CDs at 50 cents each.  It's hard to resist when you can buy them at that price.  I bought thirteen and arrived home with fourteen because one was a two CD set.  Here's the list of my treasures.

1. Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way
2. Emmy Lou Harris - Cowgirl's Prayer
3. Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia - Friday Night in San Francisco
4. Alan Jackson - High Mileage
5. Seattle Symphony - Howard Hanson Symphonies No. 3 & No. 6
6. Nanci Griffith - Other Voices | Other Rooms
7. Mark O'Connor - The New Nashville Cats
8. Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio - Live In New York
9. Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio - In Full Swing
10. k.d. lang - Live By Request
11. Essential Blues - House of Blues (2)
12. Various Artists - American Fiddle Tunes (Library of Congress)
13. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer - Changing Your Thoughts Meditation

On Wednesday (19 Sep 2012) we went to the double thrift store on New Hampshire Ave.  There were some good CDs there too.  I bought five.

1. Richard Clayderman - All By Myself (2)
2. John Gary - The Very Best Of
3. Chuck Mangione - Chase The Clouds Away
4. Phil Vassar - Phil Vassar
5. Ronnie McCoury - Heartbreak Town

Mr. Dickie

23 September 2012

My Story

Until today, you may have been making up a tale about what you want without doing what was required to make it happen. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 8 September) 22 September 2012

Still Needed

... as long as we have the willingness and the capacity to interact with others, on some level, our services are still needed. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 21 July) 21 September 2012

Today

No day is like any other day. Isn't that interesting? And you never know what the next day will bring and that's exciting. (Alpha English in Keepers Of The Wisdom by Karen Casey, 1 September) 20 September 2012

Know-It- Alls

Few Know-It-Alls are blessed with new insights or information. 

(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 20 August) 

19 September 2012

Magical Thinking

... magical thinking will take you on a carpet ride to nowhere. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 3 September) 18 September 2012

Negative Thinking

When a person drowns himself in negative thinking he is committing an unspeakable crime against himself. (Maxwell Maltz in Touchstones, 14 September) 17 September 2012

I'm Not Interested

We seldom give our best effort to projects or groups [or people] that don't really interest us, so why are we involved with them at all. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 24 August) 16 September 2012)

Taking Offense

If you are in the habit of taking offense, "Where do you usually take it?" (Mr. Dickie after One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 27 August) 15 September 2012

Violence

Subduing people through violence is never justice. 
(Blaise Pascal, in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 14 September)

All violence is contrary to love: do not participate in violence.
(Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom, 14 September)
14 September 2012

Easy Does It

Easy Does It

No Change

... But then time goes on, nothing changes except the rulers in power and their policies and, often, the borders of the countries they control. (God's Problem, Bart D. Ehrman, p. 260) 12 September 2012

Stop Violence

People have become too accustomed to the use of force.  Life without violence seems impossible for them to imagine. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 14 August) 11 September 2012

Eating Habits

The irony of your present eating habits is that while you fear missing a meal, you aren't fully aware of the meals you do eat. (Dan Millman in Touchstones, 22 August) 10 September 2012

Status Quo

When a man clings too tightly to the status quo or tries to control the direction of change, he is bound to be disappointed. (Touchstones, 17 August) 9 August 2012

Weeding

... try to weed out those things that are undesirable, unworthy, and unnecessary - to keep things as simple and as pure as possible. (Mia Farrow in Powerful Prayers by Larry King and Rabbi Irwin Katsof p. 84) 8 September 2012

Forgive Me

When you are willing to acknowledge that you can do better, you become willing to admit to yourself those things for which you need to be forgiven. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 8 June) 7 September 2012

It's Not My Problem

People today foolishly try to believe that all the world's senselessness and cruelty -- the richness of the few, the great poverty of the many, the violence and warfare -- happens outside their own lives and does not interfere with them and their way of life. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 6 September) 6 September 2012

To Tell You The Truth

To tell you the truth,
     I'm more interested in telling it,
          than listening to it myself.
(Richard E. Henthorn after Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 27 August)
5 September 2012

Imagine

... imagine what wonderful changes would occur to human lives if people would stop poisoning themselves with brandy, wine, tobacco, and drugs. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 1 September) 4 September 2012

Do What You Can

Today, I will do what I can within the limits of one day, and I will stay in communication with my Higher Power. (Touchstones, 30 August)

I am in charge of the important stuff today.  

• How I think, 
• how I act, 
• what I dream, and 
• what I dwell on 

are in my power. 
(Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 9 June)

I will watch my life closely today.  It will not be the same tomorrow.  This journey moves me along moment by moment. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 17 June)

I don't need to figure out all my problems at once. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 7 August)

Perfection is a long way off, but improvement can be made to happen every day. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 18 June)
3 September 2012

What Are You Saying?

I can listen to someone's fears today, but I can't change them or take them away.  My role is limited and that's good. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 25 July)

He who answers before listening -- that is his folly and his shame. (Proverbs 18:13 (NIV), Daily Guidepost - 2011, 25 June)
2 September 2012

Get Rid Of It

Do not be afraid to get rid of things which distract your attention -- everything material, everything which can be seen or can be felt.  The more you purify the spiritual core of your faith, the firmer your faith will be. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 26 July) 1 September 2012