oh, how i love a list.
so linear, so logical, so digestible, so doable.
& sometimes, such a delightful literary snapshot.
shaun usher's latest website, lists of note, is a celebration of such enumerations.
lists of note features, well, notable lists.
from johnny cash's to-do list
to ghandi's 1947 list of "the seven blunders
that human society commits, & that cause all the violence"
to a new zealand newspaper's 1891 guide to the art of eye flirtation,
this is fairly fascinating stuff.
a few further examples:
how to write,
from advertising legend david ogilvy to his agency staff,
a 1982 list of ten writing tips, such as:
4. never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. they are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
7. never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. read it aloud the next morning — & then edit it.
10. if you want action, don't write. go & tell the guy what you want.
new year's rulin's,
by folk singer/hero woody guthrie,
an illustrated list of 33 resolutions for 1942, including:
3. wash teeth if any
8. write a song a day
27. help win war — beat fascism
31. love everybody
the 47 dwarfs,
by the disney writing team for the 1932 animated classic "snow white,"
a list of potential names for the seven dwarfs,
who are unnamed in the original fairytale.
the names eventually selected were
bashful, doc, dopey, grumpy, happy, sleepy & sneezy.
in the 1912 broadway stage adaptation of the story,
playwright winthrop ames chose blick, flick, glick, plick, snick, whick & quee.
my personal picks from the list of 47 are
awful, deafy, hickey, jaunty, neurtsy, snappy & soulful.
so, what's your latest list look like? do share.
i'm off to check off "blog — list site" on my list of daily to-do's.
image source: interesting top ten lists.
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