I have written an uncountable number of words in these pages over the years.  Often the subject of my post was actually words themselves. Including a post simply entitled, Words.

A lot of people in this ole world, have made their living or made their fame via the written or spoken word. Politicians, announcers, actors, playwrights, the writers of books or short stories.  Pastor/preachers, hopefully using the Holy Bible as foundation.  Poets, lyric writers for songs.

Some people are better at it than others and below are a few that are/were pretty good.  They are often referred to as “wordsmiths”. 

Poetry

“Hope” is the thing with feathers 
By Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

Some of the more famous lines from Shakespearean’ plays

” To be, or not to be: that is the question: …

“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day,

… “Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.” -Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene II. …

“Men at some time are masters of their fates:

Song lyrics

Some lyrics from Paul Simon’s, The Sound of Silence

“Fools,” said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops, fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence”

All of the lyrics from Both Sides Now from Judy Collins

“Both Sides Now”

Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feathered canyons everywhere
I’ve looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
When every fairy tale comes real
I’ve looked at love that way

But now it’s just another show
You leave ’em laughing when you go
And if you care don’t let them know
Don’t give yourself away

I’ve looked at love from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say “I love you” right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I’ve looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I’ve changed
Well something’s lost but something’s gained
In living every day

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all

Movies

The most famous movie line in the film Casablanca was when Humphrey Bogart said to Ingrid Bergman “here’s looking at you kid”. Casablanca had multiple writers but none of them wrote that line. Bogart ad-libbed it on the spot.

TV

“Lucy, you got a lot of “splainin” to do.

I don’t know who wrote it but Desi Arnaz said it to Lucy and it became legendary.

Famous quotes. 

Most legendary quotes were first written by writers, but some are adlibs. Either way, they are the work of wordsmiths.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

Don’t count the days, make the days count. Muhammad Ali

That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. Neil Armstrong

All I was doing was trying to get home from work. Rosa Parks

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. Plato

How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to get insight rather than silver!
Proverbs 16:16

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It has been a little over nine years since conservative thinker, and creator of Breitbart News,  Andrew Breitbart passed away. We owe a lot to him as he helped “even up the battlefield” so to speak, with the 24/7 bludgeoning we take from liberal news source after liberal news source. They are silent when the truth does not suit them, and “noisy with lies” when it serves their purpose, and are allowed to get away with it.

He was prophetic as the quote below proves.

“The real hate crime these days is the Orwellian intimidation wielded by the Left against those that don’t think the way they do. It’s worse than waterboarding.”
“As long as it is supported by Democratic politicians and by liberal Hollywood players, censorship is a useful tool to stifle dissent.”

“Political correctness—the rigging of politics using different rules for different groups and buttressed by the media—ensures that Democrats always have the upper hand.”
– Andrew Breitbart, 1969 – 2012

Need I say more.
https://www.breitbart.com/

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On tan unrelated note, we have a photo essay.

The Forest For The Trees

Forests are after all, are just groups of trees. To see the forest and miss the trees, is a mistake.

Forests are subject to seasons.  In some cases, like below, mixed deciduous/ coniferous forests in autumn, with a small creek intervening, can make for semi abstract postcard like scenes.

One needs to find a way into the forest. By foot or car, the path can become a part of the forest. Or at least a photo of the forest.

Sometimes it is what lives in the forest that makes it worth a photographic study.

Of course, even a cemetery full of trees can be a forest and there may be treasures hidden there.

When we struggle to see the forest for the trees, maybe it’s best to examine the trees. Patterns and details live on the trees that make up the forest.

There are many sorts of trees that make for many sorts of forests.

These “old growth”, giant deciduous trees, make for a different sort of photographic examination than does a newer forest.

Yes there are cactus forests. Sometimes a silhouette says it better than detail.

In photography as in life, it is best to see both the forest and the trees.

God Bless,
Wayne