" cm has a good point -- one of the best-educated people I ever knew never finished his college degree. I have known very intelligent people who never finished more than high school. I also went through high school with a girl who was a mostly A student. One time I asked her to help me practice my lines for a play. She couldn't do it -- turned out she could barely read. By just paying attention in class, by understanding what the teachers expected to see, she slipped by with excellent grades and no skills (she wasn't actually very bright either). So, you never know. I try not to judge anyone based on their credentials (having known PhDs who were idiots and not nice people).

Vincent Price's last performance in "Edward Scissorhands" was extremely touching. Ever see the Tim Burton's short "Vincent?" I also remember seeing a very young Vincent Price in the "gaslight-"like movie, "Laura" -- a semi-romantic role with male gold-digger undertones -- not what comes to mind when thinking of Vincent Price.

It's a genre I know well -- just ask me about "Men, Women and Chainsaws" (by Carol Clover). Hey, a girl has to have some fun alongside fighting the evil influence of corporations on our lives. ;-) "

" Auburn School Board Long Range Planning Committee meeting
Bernie Donegan the finace and state aid guru for bonding the current proposed $14.9 million project, and also who did the last $14 million project, and maybe did the $54 million project and Architect Phil Wise of SWBR will be reporting to the Long Range Planning Committee on Monday, February 4th at 7:00 p.m. in the board room at Thornton Avenue.
ALL BOARD MEMBERS are welcome to attend . Public can attend any committee meetings also.
See you there. "

" Farmer's Gal--an interesting exploration of Poe there--my fave is "The Telltale Heart" What a great psychological tale! Oh, and "The Black Cat" And....sigh...there's just too many!
And I can't let it go without hailing Vincent Price for his characterization of so many of Poe's antagonists! I will always picture "Poe" as Price himself! He is sorely missed! "

" cm--ever the unrepentant advocate for the uneducated! LOL! (sorry--I couldn't resist!_ "

" An education is a great thing to have providing you take advantage of it to the fullest of your ability. Yet never under-estimate an uneducated person either, for many of our elder millionaires today were "street-smart" with only an 8th grade education. Some never even attended school. "

" ? "Axis of Evil"? One of the "Greatest Criminal Enterprises" --to bad they don't impeach anymore "

" Isn't Poe just brilliant? "The Purloined Letter," (deconstructionist's favorite) or "The Fall of the House of Usher" (Mad-Line and Rod-Rick like two sides of the same coin)? Amazing -- the construction of the stories, the use of language, and the whole "unreliable narrator" schtick which started with Poe, if I am not mistaken.

Here's a curiosity for Poe fans: Poe is often credited with having written the first detective story, but ETA Hoffmann (better know for writing the stories which make up the Nutcracker Suite) wrote Das Fraulein von Scudery about a little old lady detective during the French Revolution long before Poe's stories were written.

Hoffmann also wrote a short story called "Das Erbgut" (The Entail) which has all the basic components of "The Fall of the House of Usher" and which pre-dates Poe's story as well (though it is not nearly as well-written.) It also has elements which remind me of one of those Robert Louis Stevenson stories -- up a dark stairway which ends in air....)

I've been seeking some evidence that Poe read Hoffmann's tales, but so far have never found any. But the traces are certainly in Poe's writings.
Absolutely, you can be an egghead and have no sense whatsoever, or you can be a philistine but clever enough not to get rooked. Hopefully one can find a healthy balance somewhere between the two.

About Book Learning:

I've always been really good at being a student, but that doesn't mean I am a genius. It just means I know how to be student very successfully. I've also learned how to leverage what intelligence I have to reach a higher potential than some truly brilliant people I have known who were lazy, or just plain out of it, and were never able to make anything of their lives. Drive and persistence often take you further than raw intelligence, but an education is not a bad thing to have. "

" Yes, the dictionary is a good book. But,just because one knows big words does not make them intelligent! From normal observation, a person that uses big words is a simple way to cover their insecurity of NOT knowing the actual subject and trying to cover for their real stupidity! Also, being book smart does not make you street smart. I have also learned that street smart people tend to live in the real world and not the book world of fantasy. "

" 1. I'm the supervisor.
2. I work from home whenever needed and don't get paid for it -- I don't mind, I love my work.
3. I work through my lunch and don't take any kind of "official" break all day, so instead, I take mini-breaks to read the paper here and there.

As librarians, my colleagues and I need to keep abreast of what's going on beyond our walls. Everyone here spends a portion of his or her day reading the news or professional publications, or checking out information on websites, etc -- it's part of our profession.

So, it's not like we are "goofing off" -- believe me, my employer gets more than its money's worth out of me, never you worry.

As if it were your business. "

" It continues to amuse me that people on these blog sites keep issuing complaints about people who use "big words", s if it is an attempt to sound "lofty" or worse, as if that's a valid reason to vote or not vote for a candidate?!?
I remember being a boy of about 11-12 years old, and reading "The Best of Edgar Allen Poe." I remember the day when I got so peeved at all the "big words" which he used that I went and got the family dictionary, and from then on, read my book with a dictionary by my side.
What I soon discovered was that "big words" were a way to "sharpen the point" of whatever you were trying to say; ie, to say it more specifically, with greater clarity. If YOU can't understand it, that's not MY problem!
Get yer own dictionary!!! "

" Farmer's Gal,
Sounds like you don't have much to do at work today since you are on-line reading The Citizen and writing your two cents worth!! "

" Is their a new law in Auburn that allows snow plows to go left on red? I was behind one Friday at 9:10am and plow number 170 turned left at the red light onto South Street. I understand they have a job to do, and I am thankful that they do it well. But they have to abide by the traffic laws the same as anyone else, don’t they? I had my video camera with me but it was too late to catch them doing it. Also it’s not like I wanted to catch them doing it, but when they have an Auburn City Decal on their truck it’s kind of hard not to notice how they are driving. "

" The BOE only mails you a small card when your normal polling place has changed. I think its a good service and perhaps it may prod (or remind) some folks to go out to vote. "

" Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day....will he see his shadow? "

" I made it to work today because I leave so early (to go to the gym first) that I beat the ice, but a lot of my co-workers stayed home, and my kid is back in bed. It's kinda fun being at work when the staff is reduced by half, on a Friday, before the Superbowl and everything is a little more informal and relaxed. (Somehow, though, I still seem to have plenty to do -- Next!)

Hope everyone else who had to travel made it safely. "

" The period was invented to let readers know when they have reached the end of a sentence. Using separate sentences for separate thoughts makes a person's meaning more clear. It sounds like there might be a story in there, but it's hard to sort it out. "

" hmm No school today, GET your bowling balls and Ipods out of your cars NOW! Stock up on your egg supply, and be ready for your local "hooligans" ( I love that word/grandpas fav) to rob & beat you up for they have NOTHING TO DO! "

" I agree, Auburn is NOT that big that one cannot find out where they should vote! I am sure your mailboxes are getting full of "promo ads" from he candidates too, somewhere in all that junk mail is an address as to where to vote at. Our towns Board of Elections sends out a sample ballot with "where to vote" on it! "

" Everyone has a phone. Can't they just call to find out where they vote? Are people that helpless they can't figure these things out? The article said that most people who can vote in the primary will go to the same place as usual. "

" I think I would have thrown eggs back-so if they had caring parents the evidence would have been all over the "bad eggs"! If they had lousy parents then the police could easily spot them! "

" I expected more from the debate tonight, However one can easily see Hillary is very well taught with not only her words but how she even drinks a glass of water! Obama for sure reaches the lower levels of education-most of Americans, by using more understandable/not overly enlarged words! No matter who wins there will be higher taxes, both speaks of only 1% BUT 1% to those making minimum wage is alot less gas, food, and shelter! "

" any one watch the basket ball game at sccs thurs night? my what sportsmanship, its my understanding a sccs player started it, but how much you wanna bet nothing is done? wow he plays basket ball we cant suspend him and ruin our image of a great team, worse yet dont cancel the game and call it misconduct, cant do that,they didnt get where they are today by there parents sucking up to certain administrators to get there kids all he best stuff did they? o ya hat doesnt happen, neither does the o my name is so and so, so i can do whatever, to sccs administrators and coaches, if i was you i would feel really ashamed right about now and really think about if we want to finish the season, , to the other team, good job on your ball playing and conduct tonight, you didnt start it, sccs, face it, you really havent done much of any thing good since the late eighies when i graduated, grow up, lets see some punishment , dont worry , u may make the so called allies of yours angry, but lots more will say job well done, now lets see you all do something worthy of being wrote about "

" "Axis of Evil"? Yeah, I'd go along with that. One of the "Greatest Criminal Enterprises" also comes to mind. "