Song Lyric of the Day (Carly Simon, on Pretending)

"And you know you can't pretend it's Camelot,

Then start to run when things get hot." —Carly Simon, “Half a Chance,” from her Another Passenger LP (1976)

Quote of the Day (Meryl Streep, on Pretending)

“Pretending is a very valuable life skill.”—Meryl Streep, quoted in “Quotes,” Reader’s Digest, October 2011

Easy for you to say, Meryl, what with that new Golden Globe (for Iron Lady) to go with your Oscars and who knows how many other awards? But what if someone’s not ready for stage or screen?

Then, as they say, it depends.

If you pretend to be a police officer, for instance, you may wind up in court. If you pretend to have clients’ money when you don’t, same thing. If you pretend to be an honest, competent steward of the public trust…

Well, then you might run for President.