Elvis

While we stood there near Elvis I recalled a previous conversation regarding the hair on Elvis’ chest. In some publicity photos Elvis had little hair while in others he had a normal amount. The question was, did he or didn’t he? After staring at Elvis’ chest for a few minutes, I turned to Jeannie and whispered, “You know, he DOES have hair on his chest!”

“Yeah baby, I sure do.” Elvis, who was deep in conversation with some reporters, smiled at me as he said this. I was mortified.

-- Maria Columbus (president of The Elvis Special fan club) during the International Hotel Press Conference, August 1, 1969.

( Pics )

sleep

When I woke up at three-thirty this morning, I was quite pleased with myself, for having slept four hours straight. I attributed it to the fact that the cats are outside. As I went on my bathroom and to check on the cats, I was feeling so sleepy, I was sure I would have no problem falling back asleep when I made it back to bed. Boy, was I wrong! That was the only sleep I was going to get. So, I am running a little ragged today.

74. Big and Tall

I'm too old to be herding cats. Pop got his new chair for his computer desk. The delivery was a little surprising. Kay brought it in her truck, and it looks like she is staying. Hence the frantic cat-herding. Well, at least Pop stayed over there for a couple of nights; so I shouldn't complain too much, I guess. The box from which the chair came says "Big and Tall", and I wonder if Pop fancies that he is a tall man. Maybe having a love life does that for you.

I remember when Gabe and I were deep into our plans for me to visit her for a romantic engagement, I actually started to think that I must not be that bad-looking after all, and maybe I was just too hard on myself all these years and kept myself down. It is a funny thing, such fond self-delusion: to think, if only for a moment, that the world just might be what we had always wanted it to be all along.

1984 (3,1) The Poet Ampleforth

Winston is still in the holding cell, and he runs into a colleague of his from the Ministry of Truth, Mr. Ampleforth, doubtlessly from the literary division, the poetry section.

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“What are you in for?” Winston asked

“To tell you the truth -” He sat down awkwardly on the bench opposite Winston. “There is only one offense, is there not?” he said.

“And you have committed it?”

“Apparently I have.”

He put a hand to his forehead and pressed his temples for a moment, as though trying to remember something.

“These things happen,” he began vaguely. “I have been able to recall one instance - a possible instance. It was an indiscretion, undoubtedly. We were producing a definitive edition of the poems of Kipling. I allowed the word ‘God’ to remain at the end of a line. I could not help it!” he added almost indignantly, raising his face to look at Winston. “It was impossible to change the line. The rhyme was ‘rod.’ Do you realize there are only twelve rhymes to ‘rod’ in the entire language? For days I had racked my brains. There was no other rhyme.”

The expression on his face changed. The annoyance passed out of it and for a moment he looked almost pleased. A sort of intellectual warmth, the joy of the pedant who has found out some useless fact, shone through the dirt and scrubby hair.

“Has it ever occurred to you,” he said, “that the whole history of English poetry has been determined by the fact that the English language lacks rhymes?”

No, that particular thought had never occurred to Winston. Nor, in the circumstances, did it strike him as very important or interesting.

-- “1984” by George Orwell

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Daily Fun

Sleeping panther - Javanese Leopard in the jungle surroundings. by Radu Frentiu

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