Positive Fortune

Last week's fortune cookie is a new favorite. What it lacks in English it makes up in a Capra-esque optimism about the good that each individual can do for the world. I suppose we all believe we're doing good, and many of us may truly be, but certainly more of us can strive to do more. That's not a bad line of thought to get started on from something as simple as a Chinese fortune cookie.

"Your existence has a positive contribution to mankind."

Note:  There are two kinds of blogs: those that have posts about fortune cookies and those that do not. This blog has posts about fortune cookies.

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The Unintriguing Fortune Cookie

I will admit only that I'm not intrigued.

Note:  This blog has a goodly collection of Chinese fortunes, each more intriguing than this one.

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The Self-Serving Fortune Cookie

Always be wary of the possible unstated motives of writers. For example, is this fortune really my destiny? Well, it is, but that's besides the point.

In a related example, you love this blog.

Note:  You wouldn't think all those little paper fortunes would necessarily be good subjects for a blog, but I believe in leaving no stone unturned.

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Why Even Fortune Cookies Need Proofreaders

Everything written should be proofread, even in fortune cookies. Can you spot the error?

"There are 356 days in a year, may all 365 of your dreams come true."

That's right, the comma should be a semicolon. In an ideal world, I'd have secretaries, research assistants, and fact-checkers helping me with the day's blogging chores, not to mention a few proofreaders. As things stand, no one has ever pointed out to me even a single spelling error, a grammatical faux pas, or a missing Oxford comma, leaving the entire proofreading burden on me. I did once have a reader question my slightly errant use of the word bucolic, but his criticism was aimed more at the non-Wodehousian tenor of my Wodehouse book review than at my failure to consult the thesaurus.

Note:   Anyway, should you note a dangling participle here or some similar crime against the English language, by all means let me know. For that matter, I'm interested in any correction that will make the blog better. Or more bucolic.

Then, once you've corrected my grammar, please take a look at other fortune cookies that have come my way and ask yourself, is there anything this blogger won't write a post about? Alas, there I go ending a sentence with a preposition.

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The Unreliable Fortune Cookie

If you can't trust your Chinese fortune cookie, what can you trust? Last week's fortune cookie proved just slightly self-serving:

"A good way to keep healthy is to eat more Chinese food."

Note:  The blog archives are replete with unexpected fortunes from various Chinese banquets.

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The Ruin of the Spirit

"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." That's what my fortune says. Tell it to Lewis Carroll. Tell it to Mr. Spock. Actually, the fortune cookie is quoting Antoine de Saint-Exupéry without attribution. Chinese fortune cookies will do that, you know. I suppose it's logical.

"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit."

France's 50 franc banknote, by the way, honored Saint-Exupéry as a cultural hero. In contrast, today's Euro banknotes feature architectural elements and do not commemorate individuals.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the Little Prince on a 1997 French 50 franc note

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-France-50-Francs-Saint-Exupery-Pick-187Ad-/141189145380?nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Note:  Fortune cookie wisdom has enlightened this blog in the past here. Some of that wisdom has been plagiarized.

Bob Mankoff's memoir How About Never--Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons is now officially published. You can read more about him on his website here, or on my blog here and even here.

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The Fortune of the Night

I'm beginning to suspect my Chinese fortune was plagiarized.

"Open up your mind. Let your fantasies unwind."

The relevant lyrics are at about 2:21 in this video recording of "The Music of the Night:"

"The Music of the Night"

from "The Phantom of the Opera" (1986)

Michael Crawford as the Phantom

Sarah Brightman as Christine Daaé

Andrew Lloyd Webber, music

Charles Hart, lyrics (with Richard Stilgoe?)

Speaking of allegations of plagiarism, the estate of Giacomo Puccini once accused Lloyd Webber of lifting a musical passage from the opera "La Fanciulla del West" ("The Girl of the Golden West"). The suit was settled out of court. Listen from 0:40 and see what you think.

"Quello che tacete"

from "La Fanciulla del West" (1910)

Daniele Barioni, tenor, as Dick Johnson

Giacomo Puccini, music

Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, libretto

Note:  It seems much of the world's accumulated wisdom can be gleaned from fortune cookies. See my collected musings after Chinese banquets here.

More posts about the Broadway stage may be seen here.

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Greatness in Your Lifetime

I concede that this is an inspiring fortune. The only problem is that it didn't come from my fortune cookie! The good news is that it is my wife who is destined for greatness. The bad news is that proofreading skills are on the decline everywhere, including in fortune cookie factories.

"It's...very possible that you will achieve greatness in your lifetime."

Note:  Much fortune cookie wisdom may be found here.

The documentary "Gahan Wilson:  Born Dead, Still Weird" by Steven-Charles Jaffe has its website here. The film opens on November 22 in Beverly Hills, California and will run through November 28. Here are the gory details:

The "Searle in America" exhibition is now showing at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. Sometimes I think I'm living on the wrong coast.

Fifty years ago this week President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I have my one relevant blog post here.

"Catching Fire" opens later this week. My reviews of the books in The Hunger Games series may be found here.

By the way, if my own proofreading skills should ever prove lacking, please let me know.

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Fortune Cookie Fascination

Here's another great fortune. I can relate....

"It's tough to be fascinating."

Note:  Look! There's even more fortune cookie wisdom here.

Are you following the baseball postseason? I happen to have a few posts about the sport here.

No, I am not going to write about the partial government shutdown. I am referring people to my one blog post about sequestration, and that's it. You already know what I think, and it ain't pretty.

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A Fortune Cookie for the Class of 2013

I would ask this year's graduating class to please take note of the following timely fortune cookie:

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Also, the Class of 2013 should feel free to be further inspired by these YouTube videos.

Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
("Land of Hope and Glory")
(Last Night of the Proms 2012)

Fountains of Wayne
"Prom Theme"

July 21, 2013 Update:  The fortune cookie quotation apparently has been around for a while, but I hadn't seen it before. I learned that it is often attributed to Gandhi, but this is what Brian Morton had to say in the New York Times of August 29, 2011:

Starting from the fourth paragraph:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html?_r=0

So I apologize to the Class of 2013 for dispensing hackneyed advice from a bumper sticker. In my defense, I thought it came from a fortune cookie.

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Fortune Cookie Genius

The secret to genius came to me in last month's fortune cookie. So now I have the secret but just I don't have the time for it.

"Genius is eternal patience."

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My Kind of Fortune

I was lucky enough to receive this fortune last weekend. While I realize it's nothing personal, I'd still like to imagine some fortune cookie writer is giving a thumbs-up to my blog.

"Your wisdom is a treasure for all time."

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A Most Unfortunate Fortune

A most unfortunate fortune was found in last night's fortune cookie!

"You should pay for this check. Be generous."

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Magic Kingdom Fortune Cookie Wisdom

Thanks to Disney's Dining Plan, here is some genuine fortune cookie wisdom obtained in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom during my visit on March 18, 2008. I like the first two fortunes. The third I'm not so fond of.

"Your ability to find the silly in the serious will take you far!"

"There will be plenty of time to work hard; enjoy yourself!"

"Be careful!  Straight trees often have crooked roots."

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