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GERTRUDE STEIN “…motor automatism (IS) comparable to the way a water-diving twig seems suddenly to twist in the fingers. The young Gertrude Stein, when still a student at Radcliffe, researched this condition of ‘divided consciousness,’ in which one read aloud while resting a hand on a planchette (something like the Ouija glass equipped with aContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: PEOPLE”

ON THE SPLAYED FINGERS “LIVE LONG AND PROSPER” VULCAN GREETING USED BY SPOCK ON THE FAMOUS STAR TREK SERIES ‘”It is derived from part of a Hebrew blessing that Leonard Nimoy first glimpsed at an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Boston as a boy and brought to the role.” Adam Nagourney. “Jewish Roots of ‘Star Trek’Continue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: TELEVISION”

COAL “Not all coal is the same. The lowest ranks –the closest to peat—are lignite and the sub-bituminous coal, known in Britain as brown coal. These have been estimated to make up nearly a third of proved global reserves, but are not much exploited in areas where higher-grade coal is available, because they produce aContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:OBJECTS, THINGS, IDEAS, ETC.”

THE WIZARD OF OZ AND THE RAVEN “Filming resumed November 4 under Victor Fleming who would receive the director credit for the film. Again, the cast began with the cornfield scene. The ‘crow’ that was to land on Bolger’s shoulder in the scene was actually a raven named Jimmy. Although Jimmy was himself a screenContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #12”

MARK TWAIN’S LOW OPINION OF JAMES FENIMORE COOPER’S THE DEERSLAYER “In one place Deerslayer, and in the restricted space of two-thirds of a page, Cooper has scored 114 offenses against literary art out of 115. It breaks the record.” Mark Twain. How to Tell a Story and other essays (1897) See The Book of ListsContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: THE JOYS OF READING”

BACKRONYM “an acronym deliberately formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word or words, either to create a memorable name or as a fanciful explanation of a word’s origin. “Biodiversity Serving Our Nation, or BISON (a backronym if ever there was one)” Oxford Languages “Many United States Congress bills have backronymsContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: WORDS, WORDS, WORDS”

TONY PERKINS & THE PLACE HE NEEDED TO ACT FROM “When I did Catch-22, I worked with Tony Perkins, who was a delightful, kind, and literate man. For some reason the moment he appeared before a camera things became painful for him. Just before the word ‘action,’ Tony would unfailingly say, ‘Oh God, where didContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #11”

FIDEL CASTRO IN A FILM FROM MGM “Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared as an extra in the Hollywood film Bathing Beauty, starring Esther Williams.” Ripley’s Believe It or Not Encyclopedia of the Bizarre (New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers,2002) ** JAMES BOND FILMS & ELEPHANTS “The producers of the James Bond pictures have discoveredContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #10”

“I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stronger it is. -Vladimir Nabokov Epigraph to Daring My Passages by Gail Sheehy (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2014) ** “Like Thackeray’s daughters, I read Jane Eyre in childhood, carried away ‘as by a whirlwind.’ Returning toContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: THE JOYS OF READING #10”

JACK BENNY & EDGAR BERGEN “Even when I’m generous –especially when I’m generous –I almost feel guilty about it. Having lunch with Edgar Bergen at the Brown Derby, I demanded the check. The waiter did the usual silly take, I’ve come to expect. He said,“Mr. Benny, I’m surprised to hear you ask for the check.”Continue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: CELEBRITIES”