Fun; and Circuitous Mental Profit re- Wikileaks

When I was 14, my parents couldn't stand that my chores (making my bed, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, dusting, and vacuuming, taking out the trash, mowing and trimming our thick, 2/3-acre lawn using a heavy, non-self-propelled mower and hand shears, re-painting all the shutters on the house plus a picnic table, bench, etc.) did not completely take up all my free time; and I was too young to be legally, gainfully employed. So they enrolled me in a typing course, and for the duration, I rode my bike to class each week day.

The ride was 4 miles each way and included an extremely large hill. The area had been under a glacier, which might have scraped the land flat on its way in but left gigantic mounds when it melted. I never made it up this one without having to walk my bike up the last 10 - 20 yards.

I managed not to resist learning to type entirely; but engraved more deeply on my mind was an idea: that "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country."

We were told that typing those particular letters in that particular order involved the most difficult typing movements, so we practiced it, to improve our agility and speed. The sentiment was probably also thought helpful as an inspiration to young citizens.

Now, of course, we're just urged to shop.

Back then, my country certainly needed help, but I was too young and oblivious to feel personally called. But on some level, I understood that the time might come.

Re- the video below, there's a beyond-urgent need for Julian's stylist; but it's worth the visual torture for the info/ideas – it's jam-packed (pardon the pun) – and for the spoof on Alex Jones, plus lines such as "Obama must get firm grip on Wikitits."



If you appreciated the sentiment near the end, you may also like:

Let’s do something, while we have the chance! It’s not every day that we are needed. . . . Let us make the most of it before it is too late!
– Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (1949; emphasis supplied)

Or as Hamlet said, "the readiness is all."

This evening when I went out with friends, I brought 100 copies of this flyer with me. I returned home with about 25% of them. About 80% of the people I'd offered them to seemed glad to have them.

Here's another idea. Let's slip the word, "Wikileaks" into our everyday conversation, for no reason, without explanation, and on a regular basis.

More fun: Assange on The Colbert Report last spring.