In God We Trust, All Others Bring Data

attributed to W. Edwards Deming

Possibly a riff on “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash

The rule of ABCD: Always Be Collecting Data
I can’t find a good source for this one, I heard it years ago in a presentation but not all of the content from the pre-Internet years has found its way into Google’s cache. If you have a source, please add a comment.

from Brick by Ben Folds Five

As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son its time to tell the truth and she broke down and
I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying

All this time I thought it was about a couple in their twenties, with the girl dying of some early onset cancer, with “They” being her doctors. But according to Frank Maynard’s original Ben Folds Five Website

On the record, Ben wasn’t much help […] Since the song became so popular, it’s been clarified that the song is indeed about a guy taking his girlfriend to the clinic for an abortion, and how he handles the situation. […] he has stated (on the syndicated radio show “Loveline”) that it was based on his experiences in the 12th grade, and that he had spoken with his girlfriend at the time and she said she didn’t mind if Ben talked about it. In the article by David Daley in the February 1998 CMJ New Music Monthly, Ben says “It’s the story of my senior year of high school, basically. More so, it’s about the fact that it happens and there are emotional byproducts.”

And, in closing…

‘A,’ ‘B,’ ‘C.’ ‘A,’ always, ‘B,’ be, ‘C,’ closing. Always be closing.

from Blake’s speech in Glengarry Glen Ross (screenplay by David Mamet)

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