I may have a bit too much time on my hands. This week one evening I watched a history channel review of famous monuments. Well I watched part of it anyway as I felt like it was more important to take the dog for a walk. I was taken by the obelisk analysis that was highlighted. I had never thought about the shape or it’s significance. An obelisk, from Ancient Greek, obelos, a nail, pointed pillar, is a tall four sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramid-ion. The word evolved through Latin and finally to English. The ancient obelisks are monolithic, a single stone. The more modern monuments are made of multiple stones or are buildings like the Washington Monument. Imagine manually carving a quarried stone that would eventually be tilted up at a temple or as a monument at a sacred tomb that is over 108 feet tall and weighs 520 metric tons. The Great Stele at Axum is one of the three largest stones ever worked by humans. Spanning the ages, the obelisk continues today as a dominant form. From the 555 foot Washington Monument, to Bunker Hill, to Bennington Battle, and Rugby, North Dakota. Indeed, Rugby is the Geographical center of North America which is logically marked by an obelisk.
Saturday Night Live has been the most prolific catalyst for comedians for many years. One act seems very current even though it was showcased in 1985. Jon Lovitz was Tommy Flanagan, a pathological liar. Flanagan was a likable weasel, who nervously “stuttered and stammered while he scanned his mind’s Rolodex of ‘I am a really cool guy lies’ and fantasy resume” was intended to impress anyone within earshot. As one example Tommy bragged that he invented “rock and roll” and he would follow up to embellish the charade by claiming, yeah, I’m the lead singer for the ahh, ahh, as he invented something memorable—the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. A video clip of him on The Johnny Carson show is worth watching. I always remembered a catchphrase he concluded with when he thought he had impressed with a unique made up story-Yeah! That’s the ticket. He stole it from Humphrey Bogart but it fit perfectly. I did a bit of research on “tells” if someone is lying; Looking up and to the right, hand gestures, nervous ticks are not reliable. My favorite was “if their lips are moving you know it is a lie”. Good luck separating fact from fantasy!
Enjoy your week end. Mike