Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Go Invent Something


I came across this . . . geez, I don't even know what to call it . . . a while back when it was published in the New York Times. I meant to post about it then, but don't think anyone will mind that it's a couple of years old.

I love the message. And I love Benjamin Franklin--the greatest American of all time. Enjoy.

15 comments:

Pshychidelic Snail said...

That was great!!!

Clare said...

And the Pursuit of Happiness is a fantastic book! I got it for Christmas and promptly devoured it. I'm glad you've found it (If you haven't read the whole book, you should!)

Ari the Awesome said...

That was very cool. It inspires me to invent something. What I am going to invent, I have yet to figure out.

On a completely different note, I got accepted into an advance Language Arts online class at school. So every day I get to work on the computer while other students are syuck doing reading logs and correct puntuation. The new class is pretty fun, but it has a really complicated reading assignment in it, about a graduate study on humant communication through eye contact. Does anyone know what, 'epistemological' means? I can't find it in the American College Dictionary.

Sally said...

Very cool. I enjoy amusing and historically educating comic things such as this. It reminds me of these Smithsonian ads: http://wins.failblog.org/2011/03/21/epic-win-photos-shopped-hardcore-history/

Alice the Elf said...

Very nice. I like the part about his fury hat, I never knew he was a fury hat kinda guy.:)

Anonymous said...

Dear Kirsten:
"And I love Benjamin Franklin--the greatest American of all time." Oh, don't say that around my family! I'm a fan of Old Lightning Rod myself, BUT:

My Mom's thinks Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are in a tie for first place. My Dad prefers George Washington, George Marshall, Harry Stimson (yeah, I had to look him up, too), and Dwight D. Eisenhower, in that order. My sister is an FDR fan. My brother refuses to answer the question at all. My cousin the historian of food, disaster, and war relief efforts is torn between Herbert Hoover and Charles Lindbergh. My cousin the mechanical engineer has a boundless appreciation for Henry Ford -- we can't even distract him by mentioning Thomas Edison or Andrew Carnegie.

Robert in San Diego

Anonymous said...

Dear Ari the Awesome:

epistemology: from the Greek episteme, knowledge, from epistannai, to understand or believe, originally from epi and histanai, to stand before or confront. noun. The study or theory of the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge. Inexactly quoted from the Webster's New World College Dictionary I happen to have by my computer.

My most recent "invention" was using a hairband and a binder clip to hold my outgoing mail to my bike handlebars. It makes stops by the collection box so much quicker.

Robert in San Diego

Isobel said...

that was good, i enjoyed it. :)
whenever i'm on the computer and i look at your blog, i always learn something. your posts are great and gives me a different look at the world.

AlexTheInferno said...

This is awesome! I love it!

netta said...

its a cute poem here's poem i wrote.

Sun

The water glistens
covered with thousands of stars
reflecting the sky
i peer in to the water thoughtful
dreaming about the day when i reach the stars.
But for now all i can do
is just tuch the stars
on the water
dreaming.....

Anonymous said...

very cool. Lets all go invent something great! And Ari the Awesome, It might be usful to try out dictionary.com

Ari the Awesome said...

Thank you Robert in San Deigo and Anonymous, for helping me find a definition of that word. And Netta, I loved your poem.

MushroomCloud said...

while I admit he was brilliant, his morality was sadly lacking. His extra-marital affairs almost caused a fit of apoplexy between my s.s. teacher and a girl in my seventh grade.

i think i own a book by this man- its about grand central and is highly entertaining. anyway...

i assume people will now start becoming irate at me disparaging Ben F- but i really do admire his accomplishments.

anyone read the Glass harmonica? Great story about him

EQ said...

Anybody read "Ben and Me"? It's a hilarious little book about the mouse behind the genius.

I have HAD an IDEA. It's a contest idea--people would have to try to make themselves look like one of the Irregulars. (You know--costume, hair, the look on their face, etc.)

In other news, I didn't know it was possible to sunburn the whites of your eyes.

claracat said...

GREAT book!!!! even though it was Maira Kalman, not interest in US history that brought me to that book, it made me regard my social studies teacher with even more contempt then usual. Why couldn't that be our textbook, instead of 'the american nation'?