Mark Twain Archive
July 14, 2008
Mark Twain Loafed Here
Mark Twain stayed at the Mediterranean Hotel in Jerusalem, arriving on the afternoon of September 23, 1876 and checking out for the last time on September 29. Concerning his first afternoon in Jerusalem, Twain noted, "Loafed all afternoon in the...Read all of "Mark Twain Loafed Here"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:05 AM
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July 4, 2008
Rational Patriotism
Mark Twain wrote, Remember this, take it to heart, live by it, die for it if necessary: that our patriotism is medieval, outworn, obsolete; that the modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation...Read all of "Rational Patriotism"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:26 PM
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February 26, 2008
Michelle Obama Meet Mark Twain
This is a little belated and a somewhat off target but some of you may find it interesting. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Bok once interviewed Mark Twain and, being interested in accuracy, sent a copy of his report of the...Read all of "Michelle Obama Meet Mark Twain"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:33 PM
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November 30, 2007
Happy Birthday, Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835. That makes him 172 years old today. Well, it would have made him 172 if he hadn't died in 1910. Thank you old Mark; you still make us...Read all of "Happy Birthday, Mark Twain"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:19 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 1, 2007
Mark Twain on Waterboarding
Jim Zwick has written an abnormally interesting post for the Mark Twain Forum. Give it a read....Read all of "Mark Twain on Waterboarding"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:30 PM
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September 29, 2007
Mark Twain on One of My Abnormal Interests
Some of you may have noticed that I haven't really produced a substantive post in a while. I have several excuses and two reasons: 1) over the last several weeks, my 20% part time job hasn't exactly been 20% and...Read all of "Mark Twain on One of My Abnormal Interests"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:44 PM
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September 27, 2007
Mark Twain, The Sea of Galilee and Lake Tahoe
Todd Bolen of Bible Places reminds us of a comparison, made by Mark Twain, between the Sea of Galilee and Lake Tahoe. The account can be found in Twain's Innocents Abroad, Chapter XLVIII or if you're in a hurry, you...Read all of "Mark Twain, The Sea of Galilee and Lake Tahoe"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:58 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
July 21, 2007
Mark Twain on Horses and Mules
Some of Mark Twain's funniest stories are about various encounters with horses. But since I am currently thinking about mules, I decided to see if he had anything abnormally interesting to say about them. Well, it turns out that he...Read all of "Mark Twain on Horses and Mules"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:16 PM
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February 16, 2007
I Don't Seem to Meet the Minimum Qualifications
If only I were 72 years old or perhaps gay or married three times, I might just run for office. From recent Gallup poll, via Daily Kos: If your party nominated a well-qualified Candidate For WH ‘08 who was _,...Read all of "I Don't Seem to Meet the Minimum Qualifications"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:39 PM
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February 2, 2007
On the Theology of Swearing
The latest edition of Biblical Studies Carnival reminded me of an abnormal exchange between Chris Tilling and Jim West on swearing. I find it hard to believe that either one of them is much of an expert on the subject....Read all of "On the Theology of Swearing"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:16 PM
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December 18, 2006
Did Mark Twain Really Say This?
You see it attributed to Mark Twain everywhere these days. Dawkins even refers to it in The God Delusion. "I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years...Read all of "Did Mark Twain Really Say This?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:30 PM
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September 3, 2006
Thrice Scooped on Rediscovering Homer
I saw an article at Discovery News that I wanted to bring to your attention. The article tells of a new book by Andrew Dalby, Rediscovering Homer, in which he claims that Homer did not write these classic works: a...Read all of "Thrice Scooped on Rediscovering Homer"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:00 PM
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May 12, 2006
The Report of the Quotation is an Exaggeration
Yesterday a friend of mine who is constantly looking for jokes and quotations to use in his many presentations and conferences asked me, "Who said, 'The report of my death was greatly exaggerated?'" I followed the example of Mark Twain,...Read all of "The Report of the Quotation is an Exaggeration"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:41 AM
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March 22, 2006
Twain on Peace of Mind
Stardust Musings and Thoughts for the Freethinker has a quotation from Mark Twain on peace of mind that reflects his thoughts in a very interesting way. My own life experiences tell me that Twain is very much on target here....Read all of "Twain on Peace of Mind"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:35 AM
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February 28, 2006
If it Sounds Like That I Will Never Do it Again!
Friday of last week I did a post on what Mark Twain may have sounded like when he swore. I offered three quotations from Twain on the subject of swearing. In chapter 5 of Mark Twain's Chapters from my Autobiography...Read all of "If it Sounds Like That I Will Never Do it Again!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:27 PM
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February 24, 2006
How did Mark Twain Sound When He Swore?
The Mark Twain news group has been discussing two interesting questions. First, is there a recording of Mark Twain's voice? And Second, since he often made reference to swearing, exactly what did he say when he swore? About a recording...Read all of "How did Mark Twain Sound When He Swore?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:42 AM
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January 8, 2006
Quote Mining and Me
Friday I used a quotation from Mark Twain in a post on Pat Robertson's latest venture into nutdom. The quote, which appears from time to time at the top of the right hand column of Abnormal Interests, is from a...Read all of "Quote Mining and Me"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:39 AM
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June 18, 2005
The Folly of Another Person's Religion
If you do nothing else today, go to Pharyngula and read PZ Myers' brilliant analogy "Planet of the Hats." Among the many things that makes PZ's piece so great it that everyone would find a planet where inhabitants are "obsessed...Read all of "The Folly of Another Person's Religion"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:24 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 12, 2005
Did Mark Twain Use Pot or Hash?
Just as the "reliability of the Bible" brouhaha on the Mark Twain Forum cooled down a new issue has began. This one is a little more scholarly than the last one. The question is, "Did Mark Twain ever use pot...Read all of "Did Mark Twain Use Pot or Hash?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:47 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
March 26, 2005
Mark Twain on the Bible
There is a raging email debate in the Mark Twain Forum over the reliability of the Bible. It is motivated by a reference a forum member made to the following quotation from Twain,It (the Bible) is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.
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Posted by Duane Smith at 2:39 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
March 8, 2005
The Ethics of Indifference
Albert Bigelow Paine in Mark Twain: a Biography (chapter 287) quotes a marginal note by Mark Twain from Twain's personal copy of the Duke of Saint-Simon, The Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency which says;So much blood has been shed by the Church because of an omission from the Gospel: "Ye shall be indifferent as to what your neighbor's religion is." Not merely tolerant of it, but indifferent to it. Divinity is claimed for many religions; but no religion is great enough or divine enough to add that new law to its code.
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Posted by Duane Smith at 9:55 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
March 2, 2005
Mark Twain in Bermuda
I've been looking for something to post about Mark Twain and just such a thing arrived in my email from the Mark Twain Forum. Most people know that Mark Twain spent a good deal of his adult life in Europe...Read all of "Mark Twain in Bermuda"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:46 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
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