Conversation is thinking in its natural state. Thinking is the conversation within us. The Soul Book, 3d. ed. by Malvina Reynolds (1900-1978) singer, social activist and composer of songs such as Little Boxes, Turn Around and Magic Penny.

Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment. The International Morse Code encodes the ISO basic Latin alphabet, some extra Latin letters, the Arabic numerals and a small set of punctuation and procedural signals as standardized sequences of short and long signals called "dots" and "dashes" respectively, or "dits" and "dahs". Because many non-English natural languages use more than the 26 Roman letters, extensions to the Morse alphabet exist for those languages. See the code at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code

American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. It is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and is one of several communication options used by people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions. For example, British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/asl.aspx

The American Manual Alphabet is a manual alphabet that augments the vocabulary of American Sign Language when spelling individual letters of a word is the preferred or only option, such as with proper names or the titles of works. Letters should be signed with the dominant hand and in most cases, with palm facing the viewer. See chart at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_manual_alphabet

Thomas Augustine Arne (1710–1778) was a British composer, best known for the patriotic song. Between 1733 and 1776, Arne wrote music for about 90 stage works, including plays, masques, pantomimes, and opera. Many of his dramatic scores are now lost, probably in the disastrous fire at Covent Garden in 1808. In 1741, Arne filed a complaint in Chancery pertaining to a breach of musical copyright and claimed that some of his theatrical songs had been printed and sold by Henry Roberts and John Johnson, the London booksellers and music distributors. The matter was settled out of court. Arne was certainly one of the very first composers to have appealed to the law over copyright issues. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Arne

Irving Berlin came up with “God Bless America” in 1918, while serving in the Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, N.Y. It was intended for a military revue called Yip Yip Yaphank. His musical secretary Harry Ruby remembered, “There were so many patriotic songs coming out at the time. Every songwriter was pouring them out. I said, ‘Geez, another one?’” Berlin decided Ruby was right, calling the song “just a little sticky.” He cut it from the score, stashing it away in his trunk. Two decades later, Berlin saw new hope in the old tune. “I had to make one or two changes in the lyrics, and they in turn led me to a slight change and improvement in the melody, one line in particular. The original ran: ‘Stand beside her and guide her to the right with a light from above.’ In 1918, the phrase ‘to the right’ had no political significance, as it has now (told to a journalist in 1938). So for obvious reasons, I changed the phrase to ‘Through the night with a light from above.’” http://performingsongwriter.com/god-bless-america/

William Jacob "Will" Cuppy (1884–1949) was an American humorist and literary critic, known for his satirical books about nature and historical figures. Many of Cuppy's articles for The New Yorker and other magazines were later collected as books: How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes (1931); and How to Become Extinct (1941). Cuppy also edited three collections of mystery stories: World's Great Mystery Stories (1943); World's Great Detective Stories (1943); and Murder Without Tears (1946). His last animal book, How to Attract the Wombat, appeared two months after his death in 1949. Cuppy's best-known work, a satire on history called The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, was unfinished when he died. The book's appeal can be gauged by the fact that CBS broadcaster Edward R. Murrow and his colleague Don Hollenbeck took turns reading from it on the air "until the announcer cracked up." In 2003, a committee of the International Astronomical Union approved the name "15017 Cuppy" for an asteroid. Cuppy described his mother as "a singer of great talent." While she sang in the choir of the Auburn Presbyterian Church, Will pumped the old-fashioned pipe organ, an experience that he said led to his membership in the "Guild of Former Pipe Organ Pumpers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Cuppy

"Family style" usually means that the host or hostess serves the meat, and the side dishes are passed to the right (counterclockwise) with each dinner guest helping himself. This helps maintain a sense of order at the table while all the dishes are being served. Exception to this rule: If someone sitting to your immediate left requests a second helping of potatoes, don't send the dish all the way around the table. It's perfectly fine to directly pass the dish to the left. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/table-manners/pass-food-peggy-dec04

Platters are passed from right to left because most people are right handed and find it convenient to hold the plate in the left hand while using the right hand to serve themselves food. Those who are left-handed can reach over with the right hand (thus having to experience how awkward it is to have food approaching from the wrong side) and transfer the platter to the right. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-03-15/features/0703130275_1_invited-etiquette-business-etiquette-books

”In 1989, Seeds of Change began with a simple mission: to preserve biodiversity and promote sustainable, organic agriculture. By cultivating and sharing an extensive range of organically grown vegetable, flower, herb and cover crop seeds, we have honored that mission for almost 25 years." Find links to urban gardening, four season growing and gardening how-to at: http://www.seedsofchange.com/

The richest thing in the world is the earth, for from it come all our bounties.
Clever Manka, a Czech fairy tale http://ils.unc.edu/~sturm/storytelling/cuecards/clevermanka%20(Betsy%20Spackman).html