Greetings, all --
For those who were wondering, it's from "HMS Pinafore", with Buttercup singing
to the Captain, viz:
DUET -- LITTLE BUTTERCUP and CAPTAIN
BUT. Things are seldom what they seem,
Skim milk masquerades as cream;
Highlows pass as patent leathers;
Jackdaws strut in peacock's feathers.
CAPT. (puzzled). Very true,
So they do.
BUT. Black sheep dwell in every fold;
All that glitters is not gold;
Storks turn out to be but logs;
Bulls are but inflated frogs.
CAPT. (puzzled). So they be,
Frequentlee.
BUT. Drops the wind and stops the mill;
Turbot is ambitious brill;
Gild the farthing if you will,
Yet it is a farthing still.
CAPT. (puzzled). Yes, I know.
That is so.
BUT. Though to catch your drift I'm striving,
It is shady -- it is shady;
I don't see at what you're driving,
Mystic lady -- mystic lady.
(Aside.) Stern conviction's o'er me stealing,
That the mystic lady's dealing
In oracular revealing.
BUT. (aside). Stern conviction's o'er him stealing,
That the mystic lady's dealing
In oracular revealing.
Yes, I know--
That is so!
CAPT. Though I'm anything but clever,
I could talk like that for ever:
Once a cat was killed by care;
Only brave deserve the fair.
Very true,
So they do.
CAPT. Wink is often good as nod;
Spoils the child who spares the rod;
Thirsty lambs run foxy dangers;
Dogs are found in many mangers.
BUT. Frequentlee,
I agree.
CAPT. Paw of cat the chestnut snatches;
Worn-out garments show new patches;
Only count the chick that hatches;
Men are grown-up catchy-catchies.
BUT. Yes, I know,
That is so.
Words by W.S. Gilbert, Music by A. Sullivan
By the way, "Topsy Turvy" is an interesting exploration of "The Mikado" on and
off the stage.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151568/
- Claiborne Booker -
-----Original Message-----
From: Nicholas Thompson <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:34 pm
Subject: [FRIAM] What is friam REALLY about?
My father;s favorite saying was:? Things are never what they seem, skim milk
masquerades for cream!? Not particularly elegant, but he LOVED to say it.
?
So it is that things are never about what they are called.? For instance, if
you have ever painted a house, you know that the proceddure?should be called
House Scraping, because the painting is a relatively insignificant part of the
whole operation.? And vacuuming should? be called "furniture displacement".?
?
Last year I discovered that faculty life is really about "finding high minded
rationales from protecting our salary."? At the university where I worked for
nearly 40 years, there is a "faculty discussion" list that was created so the
faculty could discuss matters of the mind.? Since I left , it went completely
silent.? I assumed that the list was defunct.? But when the compensation
committee proposed a salary freeze as part of an austerity program, oh WOW did
THAT sucker come to life!
?
And in the last week, I discovered that FRIAM is really about FOOD and PUNS.?
What a turnout!? What amazing richness of information and imagination!? Next I
expect to discover that the NAME of FRIAM is really the name?for?a cockney
method of cooking smoked pork.?
?
Nick
?
?
?
?
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University ([email protected])
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
?
?
?
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
