A Good Man Is Hard To Find Read by Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor reading her short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

My all-time favorite author, Flannery O’Connor, reads here one of my all-time favorite stories, A Good Man Is Hard To Find. It’s so interesting to hear the creator of such a widespread work (the story appears in many college “English 101″ college compilations) reciting her own creation.

A Southern Accent

I know many people who sound exactly like this around where I’m from. To me it sounds comforting. And that’s saying quite a bit, considering how disconcerting the subject matter of the story is.

I wonder what O’Connor would have thought of Breaking Bad. If I ever meet Vince Gilligan or any of the writers, I’ll bring this up.

What do you think? Have you ever heard any of your favorite authors reading one of your favorite works? Do you think hearing the words from the person who wrote them affects the interpretation? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Characters of “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

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• Dramatic Irony on A Good Man is Hard to Find! (kcrosby1932.wordpress.com)


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Find What You Love

Find What You Love, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

“And let it set you free.” This is a play on the phrase by Charles Bukowski, “find what you love and let it kill you.” I like his phrase, but I also like the idea of setting something free or being set free in the name of love. This is a montage I assembled on my iPhone using a shot of a couple of treetops at sunset (with the moon rising), a roadside view of some wildflowers, and a gash of peeling paint in a parking deck. Click to see the originals and full-size version in greater detail at my Flickr photostream.

National Moth Week 2013: July 20-28

National Moth Week is back, and I’m happy to be taking part once again. I think moths are a great example of the everyday beauty that’s around us all the time but often goes unnoticed. Here’s some of my photos and artwork over the past year featuring the creatures, and there will be more to come this week. For more information – and to take part – check out NationalMothWeek.org.

My photomontage, “We Got This.” Click for full size.

What do you think? Ever done any macro photography of moths or other insects? Let us hear from you in the comments.

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Ship My Pants! Is Kmart Being Smart?

A little blue humor and the blue light special

Original photo by DoppioM via Flickr

I remember being in a Kmart a hazy handful of times in the ’70s seeing a blue siren flash after an announcement over Kmart’s intercom. It was exciting, and an obvious gimmick to get some quick attention while having a little fun.

Something similar is happening now with Kmart’s latest ad campaign, dubbed “Ship My Pants.” Highlighting the retailer’s offering of in-store shipping, excited customers riff about shipping their pants, drawers, a bed, and… you get the idea.

I love some wacky wordplay, so I’m naturally a fan of the ad. I don’t know that I’ll be shopping at Kmart any more because of it, but I’ll definitely be smirking the next time it happens, or maybe even the next time I drive by a store.

It reminds me of the “Make 7up Yours” campaign from the ’90s…

I noted the similarity to Kmart through Twitter, and they acknowledge the connection.

@rsmithing Same idea! Thanks for the compliment #ShipMyPants

— Kmart (@Kmart) April 20, 2013

My take away is that, although this might be a bawdy approach, it gets us talking (blogging) about the brand when there was absolutely no chatter before. In the case of Old Spice, this did get me interested in the product, and it will be interesting to follow Kmart’s business as consumers start to, um.. ship their pants.

What do you think? Can you recall a similar campaign? Would this make you more or less likely to shop at a Kmart or similar advertiser? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Kmart’s ‘ship my pants’ ad causes shockwaves and smiles (usatoday.com)


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• Lessons for Communicators From Kmart’s Wildly Successful “Ship My Pants” Viral Video (prnewsonline.com)


• How Kmart Used Social Listening (And Some Nerve) To Create A Ship-My-Pants Funny Viral Hit (fastcocreate.com)

Focus

Distractions are a distracting factor;

Procrastination delays the matter…

Does it matter? Get there faster?

More to-do we’re chasing after.

(laughter)

A quick photomontage of a candle I shot along with a macro view of my eye. For a full-size look at this and others like it, check out the Photomontage set at my Flickr gallery.

Musical accompaniment for this post: Incubus – Made for TV Movie

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• Determine to do as much good as you can, for as many as you can, as often as you can, for as long as you can (knuthblog.wordpress.com)


• The Complete Guide To Procrastinating At Work (lifehacker.com.au)