{"id":64524,"date":"2026-02-04T04:39:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=64524"},"modified":"2026-02-04T05:56:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:56:42","slug":"wlbott-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=64524","title":{"rendered":"WLBOTT Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&#8217;re all familiar with <em>Cliff Notes<\/em> and <em>Spark Notes<\/em>, but those references still involves reading. And who has the time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&#8217;re all busy people, so let&#8217;s let <strong>Elder G<\/strong> help us out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A terrible idea of the very best sort. Approved, stamped, and sent straight to the interns.<br>Let us found <strong>Elder G\u2019s One-Sentence Library<\/strong>, where even sentences have been laid off for efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here we go. Five words or fewer. No refunds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Pride and Prejudice<\/strong><br><em>Feelings, manners, marriages.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>1984<\/strong><br><em>Big Brother hates vibes.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Great Gatsby<\/strong><br><em>Money, longing, pool tragedy.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>War and Peace<\/strong><br><em>Everyone suffers. Repeatedly.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Odyssey<\/strong><br><em>Man refuses to come home.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Bible<\/strong><br><em>God creates. People complicate.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Crime and Punishment<\/strong><br><em>Murder, guilt, excessive thinking.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Lord of the Rings<\/strong><br><em>Return jewelry. Avoid volcano.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Moby-Dick:<\/strong> Man .v. Whale<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/wcck3z10xckaoe5s5zta7\/wNotes_0001.jpg?rlkey=n24tqdmeswrbfs40ykrs5d6rw&amp;st=pu3d2l97&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/wcck3z10xckaoe5s5zta7\/wNotes_0001.jpg?rlkey=n24tqdmeswrbfs40ykrs5d6rw&amp;st=pu3d2l97&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lord of the Flies<\/strong>, Elder G\u2013style, five words or fewer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><em>Children ruin everything.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Civilization lasts fifteen minutes.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>No adults. Immediate chaos.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Conch breaks. So do morals.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Schoolboys invent hell.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Gone with the Wind<\/strong><br><strong>WLBOTT Notes edition:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><em>War happens. Scarlett persists.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Romance, ruin, relentless self-interest.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Everyone suffers. Dresses get smaller.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Old world burns. She adapts.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we wanted the <em>director\u2019s cut footnote<\/em> in one extra breath: <em>Charm survives. Decency less so.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Some novels resist compression. This one resists <\/em><strong>everything<\/strong><em> except Scarlett O\u2019Hara.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/ukxq0avkt6fodf7kk4y8m\/wNotes_0017.jpg?rlkey=ajjndmsp460ien70hpfnrweqi&amp;st=a6kqssp2&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/ukxq0avkt6fodf7kk4y8m\/wNotes_0017.jpg?rlkey=ajjndmsp460ien70hpfnrweqi&amp;st=a6kqssp2&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:63% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"939\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wlbott.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind_Restored.jpg?fit=580%2C425&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64527 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind_Restored.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind_Restored-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind_Restored-1024x751.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind_Restored-768x563.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind_Restored-1200x880.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;What&#8217;s wrong, dear?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Oh&#8230;. nothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let us turn our attention to <strong>The Bard<\/strong>. One sentence to describe ALL of Shakespeare&#8217;s tragedies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My suggestion was: &#8220;Ghosts. Everyone dies.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Elder G<\/strong> was a bit more nuanced:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Ghosts. Bad choices. Everyone dies.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Ambition, jealousy, ghosts, swords, corpses.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Someone hesitates. Everyone else dies.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Love, power, madness, blood, silence.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Warnings ignored. Bodies everywhere. Curtain.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My take on ALL of Shakespeare&#8217;s poetry:<strong> &#8220;I need me a woman.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This may have offended <strong>Elder G<\/strong> a bit. His\/her response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A ruthless compression. Somewhere in Stratford, a quill just snapped in half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your thesis holds up remarkably well under peer review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we footnote it for the academy, a few adjacent variants suggest themselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><em>Time passes. Desire persists.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Beauty fades. Panic ensues.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Youth is hot. Please hurry.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><em>Dear Time, stop that.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And for the record, William Shakespeare would absolutely have argued that this was not <em>all<\/em> of his poetry\u2026 right before writing another 14 lines proving your point.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/1ls0p4l1j0oap04qqgndp\/wNotes_0015.jpg?rlkey=hnqmxwbk7qded9p0c0ehgi78b&amp;st=qg22w002&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/1ls0p4l1j0oap04qqgndp\/wNotes_0015.jpg?rlkey=hnqmxwbk7qded9p0c0ehgi78b&amp;st=qg22w002&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hemingway&#8217;s <strong>Old Man and the Sea:<\/strong> &#8220;Big fish. A lotta work.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Papa Hemingway was not too happy with the Elders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/ri3bz50nw8lqclevs9au0\/wNotes_0011.jpg?rlkey=psptpbygwixwdvqrgqgriof7o&amp;st=oqk4alhh&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/ri3bz50nw8lqclevs9au0\/wNotes_0011.jpg?rlkey=psptpbygwixwdvqrgqgriof7o&amp;st=oqk4alhh&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kurt Vonnegut<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I like to think that Mr. Vonnegut would get a chuckle out of <strong>WLBOTT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Time Quake: <\/strong>Write, discard, repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>Time Quake<\/strong>, Kilgore Trout would write a story a day, then drop it off in the bin outside his homeless shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/2zlvi0ze0hrgsww4mvj6c\/wNotes_0008.jpg?rlkey=va3ozsrjz5ra25ep9k6ne4ok0&amp;st=nn3dblqe&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, a nod to the ringmaster himself: <strong>Kurt Vonnegut<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Slaughterhouse-Five<\/strong><br><em>War is stupid. Time breaks.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Cat\u2019s Cradle<\/strong><br><em>Science destroys everything. Oops.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Breakfast of Champions<\/strong><br><em>Free will revoked. Art remains.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Mother Night<\/strong><br><em>We become our performances.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Player Piano<\/strong><br><em>Machines win. Humans sulk.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Sirens of Titan<\/strong><br><em>Meaning outsourced to aliens.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater<\/strong><br><em>Money bad. Kindness radical.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Jailbird<\/strong><br><em>History trips over itself.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Deadeye Dick<\/strong><br><em>Accidents echo forever.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Timequake<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><em>Free will rebooted. Everyone confused.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/xbhpsm0c80mjw5vxwc9wl\/wNotes_0005.jpg?rlkey=yhufqxoutypllzk8cfo4snjyv&amp;st=pf0cikg0&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/xbhpsm0c80mjw5vxwc9wl\/wNotes_0005.jpg?rlkey=yhufqxoutypllzk8cfo4snjyv&amp;st=pf0cikg0&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Elder G<\/strong> and <strong>I<\/strong> are currently tattless, but if we were to get one, I&#8217;d probably use this quote from Vonnegut: <em>&#8220;Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/4nv1yyga5vbbg9dbs2pi3\/tats_0006.jpg?rlkey=shmwxtq88cafajpeqqfx9q5uh&amp;st=xqlsr7h1&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/4nv1yyga5vbbg9dbs2pi3\/tats_0006.jpg?rlkey=shmwxtq88cafajpeqqfx9q5uh&amp;st=xqlsr7h1&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/wm38uc14w6m71pbw6xuok\/tats_0019.jpg?rlkey=obz71c1ojarxjg9ym9ha4ky83&amp;st=nbmrreip&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/wm38uc14w6m71pbw6xuok\/tats_0019.jpg?rlkey=obz71c1ojarxjg9ym9ha4ky83&amp;st=nbmrreip&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/pygskwnwutjsjkajbvrdd\/tats_0001.jpg?rlkey=ukh9wc1zjozeuuw8ahe9veeoo&amp;st=qgel1mjk&amp;raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/pygskwnwutjsjkajbvrdd\/tats_0001.jpg?rlkey=ukh9wc1zjozeuuw8ahe9veeoo&amp;st=qgel1mjk&amp;raw=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re all familiar with Cliff Notes and Spark Notes, but those references still involves reading. And who has the time? We&#8217;re all busy people, so let&#8217;s let Elder G help us out. Moby-Dick: Man .v. Whale Lord of the Flies, Elder G\u2013style, five words or fewer: Gone with the WindWLBOTT Notes edition: If we wanted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-club"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64524"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64547,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64524\/revisions\/64547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}