Poetry Saves Time
There is another Marilyn Monroe story floating around. “Someone told me that Marilyn Monroe once remarked that she enjoyed reading poetry “because it saves time.” I like this quotation so much that I’ve never dared to confirm it; I’d feel disenchanted to learn it was bogus.”
Poetry Daily seems to think the quote is legitimate. “That great aesthete and reader Marilyn Monroe once said: “I read poetry because it saves time.” In the age of Twitter, and other tweet-like utterances from all sorts of birdies, not to mention attention deficit disorder on an epidemic national scale, it’s refreshing to find poetry that both saves time and enlarges it. “
PG applied the wikiquotes test. Miss Monroe said in Look Magazine, March 5, 1957, “I’ve been on a calendar, but never on time.” Many people who worked with her agree.
Wikiquots also has a telegram, sent to Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. Marilyn was widely rumored to be seeing Bobby. This was a few weeks before her untimely death. “”I am involved in a freedom ride protesting the loss of the minority rights belonging to the few remaining earthbound stars. All we demanded was our right to twinkle.” (Telegram from Marilyn Monroe declining a party invitation from Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. June 13, 1962.)
A google investigation into the poetry quote led to Did Marilyn Monroe really say all those philosophical quotes? This is in DataLounge, where you “… get your fix of gay gossip, news and pointless bitchery.” The question on top of the thread was “I notice that the must fucked up of my female friends absolutely worship Marilyn Monroe, and are forever quoting her. What’s up with that, and are all those quotes real?? by: Mrs. Johnstone”
There are 148 comments in the thread. Some say Marilyn was an airhead, and some say she was bright. There are some quotes, many of which are probably made up. There is a letter, supposedly written to Albert Einstein. Shelly Winters says the two might have had a special relationship.
“Were I to pursue physics instead of my first love, acting, I would attempt to solve these problems by understanding the reason for these discrete energy states, which are probably due to the fact that standing waves only exist at discrete frequencies. My theory would predict that energy exchanges will be discrete, as observed;… But as I said, I want to be an actress.”
Once, on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell discussed embryological parallelism. Marilyn Monroe: Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Jane Russell: I was about to say the same thing.
One of the comments had a link to a fun story. Film legend Marilyn Monroe went to bed with fellow actress Joan Crawford – but the lesbian sexual experience only reaffirmed her attraction to men. Monroe left Joan gasping for more liaisons, much to Marilyn’s chagrin. Monroe described the encounter herself in conversations taped by her psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Greeson, recordings which were obtained by the Los Angeles Times newspaper from former prosecutor John Miner, who helped investigate her death. Monroe said, “We went to Joan’s bedroom… Crawford had a gigantic orgasm and shrieked like a maniac. “Next time I saw Crawford she wanted another round. I told her straight I didn’t much enjoy doing it with a woman.”
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. HT to Andrew Sullivan.
Douche
Backstory recently presented a feature, Rinse and Repeat: Cleanliness in America. As the title might suggest, it is about cleanliness. The location of this concept with regard to G-dliness was not discussed. While researching this story, a listener named Micheal Gambil sent a letter to the studio. This letter was read as part of the broadcast.
“This one is going to be great! My comment/suggestion may sound a little strange, but I was having a talk with my 70 year old aunt regarding female hygiene recently. She is still a believer in what is known as doucheing. YUCK! It got awkward…but it really made me think about the history of “lady products”. Flower scented sprays etc…I think there has been change on this issue. Or not…maybe it is just me and my quasi-hippy friends!”
Douching became popular in the nineteenth century. It was originally thought to be useful as contraception. As other methods of controlling fertility became available, douching became more of a cosmetic item. The corporate marketers are good at creating demand for a product.
More recently, the dangers of using this product have come to light. This awareness came into public consciousness at roughly the same time that douche started to be used as an insult. No one knows if the two developments are connected.
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is written like David Foster Wallace.
What Song Sums Up Your Entire Life
Roman Hans, the maestro behind World Class Stupid, liked a couple of chamblee54 pictures on facebook. PG thought it was good manners to go by WCS and like something. PG tries to have manners, even if they are obsolete.
The first post was a screen shot of something called “what song sums up your entire life.” The picture did not have a link, so Mr. Google was consulted. The intertubes like to put up quiz thingies. Apparently the ideas are not subject to copyrights, so the copycats post another version within milliseconds. You can get a second opinion, a third, and a fourth.
A “bitecharge” quiz, What song sums up your entire life?, was the screen shot at WCS. The front page has a picture of Kelvin Cochran, with the all caps question “DO YOU THINK CHRISTIANS CAN BE FIREFIGHTERS? CLICK HERE TO SAY YES! Did you know that the 3 wise men were firemen? The Bible said they came from a far. If you are not a southerner, you might not think that was funny.
The bitecharge test is eight multiple choice questions. Number eight is typical. “Which exercise would you prefer? Running, Yoga, Bicycling, Ball sports, Swimming” “Your song is: “Like a Rolling Stone”” There is an ad, under the “Tweet this” badge. “Is He Cheating On You? Enter His Email Address. Find Pics & Profiles From 70+ Social Networks”
The Quibblo version was created by Call_Me_Kira , whose location is L’s closet, Kanto region of Japan, AU. The show has six multiple choice questions. Number six: Which of these choices best describes you? I need to go to school and get my degree, Make a lot of money working from home, I would love to find a new game to play, I’d like to earn extra money by taking surveys online. Actually, that is number infinity sign. When you click on a choice, you go to a page telling you how to make money working at home. The real number six has about a dozen options for “What song do you THINK sums up your love life?” Maybe the singalong by Marcel Marceau. The answer, once you get past the auto start news story about the Kardashians, is “Love the way you lie- Rhianna”
GoToQuiz features unabashed datamining, with some exceptions. “8. Where do you live? In the country, In the city, In a cave, Homeless. 9. Have you ever been bullied? Yes, No, I am a bully.’ The answer is “Perfect”, by Pink.
The last one of these is by quotev. The advertising is from Southwest Airlines, and American Express, which is an improvement over Kelvin Cochran. The result is “New Perspective-Panic! at the Disco.” Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Handist And Offensive
As saturday morning turned into afternoon, PG was looking for text. Twitter had an entertaining entry. @DangerMindsBlog Hunter S. Thompson’s typical daily intake of drink ‘n’ drugs. The comments were charming. “It’s funny how everyone is obsessed with the truth of this absurd itinerary. This article made me smile and love HST more than ever. It’s what he stood for or symbolized that I respond to. We need more crazy fucking lunatics in this world and fewer anal-retentive fact-checking pussies.”
Maybe that is not a good idea for a post. There is always something in the archive. There were two stories in 2009 about word lists. Ten words was based on a story at YOU ARE REMARKABLE, where the last post was published November 21, 2014. “here are 10 of the most beautiful words in the human language. try sprinkling them throughout your next conversation & admire the way they feel rolling off your lips. watch how the listener’s eyes light up.”
The 10 words are: 01. adroit: dexterous, agile 02. adumbrate: to very gently suggest 03. aestivate: to summer, to spend the summer 04. ailurophile: a cat-lover 05. beatific: befitting an angel or saint 06. beleaguer: to exhaust with attacks 07. blandiloquent: beautiful & flattering 08. caliginous: dark & misty 09. champagne: an effervescent wine 10. chatoyant: like a cat’s eye.
Adroit is also the first word on the list. When PG was young enough to think it was funny, he read MAD magazine. There was a poem: Tigers Tigers fighting bright/In the ballparks of the night /Your pitchings fair, your fields adroit/So why no pennant for Detroit. (PG felt really stupid when he read
“The Tyger” By William Blake. Maybe Allen Ginsberg read MAD magazine.)
A commenter at the original post begs to differ: “I take issue with the top word on your list. Adroit comes from the French word for “right”, as in “right handed”. It is the direct antonym of gauche, both in English and in its native French where it means “left”, as in “left handed”. As a non-right-hander I find both of these words to be handist and offensive.”
If this is enough text for you, it is all right to skip ahead and look at the pictures. These fine images are from The Library of Congress, taken at “Annual “Bathing Girl Parade”, Balboa Beach, CA, June 20, 1920.” The second rerun today is 12 Funny Words. It is based on a post at alpha dictionary, which is still producing. The post was sponsored by Chinese Lady #1 Most Trusted Dating Service in China.
As you may have noticed, the list posted yesterday was not the ten most beautiful words in english. It was merely the first ten, in alphabetical order. The fact that 01 rhymes with Detroit tells you more than you need to know. The second list….the 100 funniest words…. is also an a-z affair. The reality is that the last word is yahoo, and no z words made the cut. PG decided to edit the list for the convenience of the reader. It occurred to him that perhaps this said more about PG than about the list…what words did he choose, and why? Here is the list:
09 bloviate To speak pompously or brag. 23 crapulence Discomfort from eating or drinking too much. 24 crudivore An eater of raw food. 31 fatuous Unconsciously foolish. 32 fenestration Putting in windows. 39 fuddy-duddy An old-fashioned, mild-mannered person. 57 klutz An awkward, stupid person. 59 la-di-da A saying indicating that something is pretentious. 61 logorrhea Loquaciousness, talkativeness. 73 osculate To kiss. 83 rhinorrhea A runny nose. 92 troglodyte Someone or something that lives in a cave. Spell check suggestions: crapulence/corpulence, crudivore/divorcee.
Organization Management
Never submit passwords through Google Forms. ~ @KimKierkegaard Use one tenth of the power which is granted to you, use it to the utmost. Be the hottest mom in the entire world. ~ Piper . I see what you mean… Alice `s report is neat, last saturday I bought a new Citroën 2CV sincee geting a check for $6322 this – 4 weeks past and also ten grand this past munth . it’s certainly the easiest-job I have ever done . I actually started 10-months ago and almost immediately began to bring home at least $84 p/h . ~ I saw this a few weeks ago. It was “liked” by someone who died a month earlier. ~ People need to quit killing people over parking spaces. ~ Future home of something quite cool. If you’re the site owner, log in to launch this site If you are a visitor, check back soon. ~ Is NAACP changing to NAAPOC? ~ The acronym IANAL has never been more appropriate. ~ If you were to replace the colon with a comma, that would have a totally different meaning. ~ By commenting, you agree to our terms of service and to abide by our commenting policy. ~ @pourmecoffee Kanye is evolving into Andy Kauffman. ~ Is Organization Management an oxymoron? ~ What about the citizens who believed them? ~ Faith is a five letter word, with i at the center. ~ There is no justification for using unmanned aircraft to kill women and children. Are we really any more civilized? ~You know I’ve noticed a certain anti-intellectualism going around this country ever since around 1980, coincidentally enough. I was in Nashville, Tennessee last weekend and after the show I went to a Waffle House, and I’m sitting there and I’m eating and reading a book. I don’t know anybody, I’m alone, I’m eating and I’m reading a book. This waitress comes over to me (mocks chewing gum) “What you readin’ for?” Wow, I’ve never been asked that; not “What am I reading,” “What am I reading for?” Well, goddammit, you stumped me. I guess I read for a lot of reasons — the main one is so I don’t end up being a fuckin’ waffle waitress. Yeah, that would be pretty high on the list. Then this trucker in the booth next to me gets up, stands over me and says [mocks Southern drawl] “Well, looks like we got ourselves a readah.” What the fuck’s going on? It’s like I walked into a Klan rally in a Boy George costume or something. Am I stepping out of some intellectual closet here? I read, there I said it. I feel better. ~ All photos are used strictly for educational, parody purposes, and fall under copyright law’s fair usage terms. Any questions or issues, please contact the webmaster.~ If someone is giving a shit away, who wants to receive? ~ It is now the 8th most dangerous neighborhood in america. ~ “trigger/content warning” when a transcript appeared in the campus newspaper: “Racism/racial slurs, ableist slurs, antisemitic language, anti-Muslim/Islamophobic language, anti-immigrant language, sexist/misogynistic slurs, references to race-based violence, references to antisemitic violence.” ~ No hats no sunglasses and please don’t send in photos taken in the bathroom with the tub and toilet in the background. ~ “hear how Indigenous People feel about white appropriation.” That should read how SOME indigenous people feel about non native appropriation. ~ @NotFunnyJ If you plan on being overtly cruel to a waiter or waitress just remember that “employees must wash hands” is a loosely enforced law. ~ @PeterRollins Twitter tip: Avoid the taxing need to critically engage with others by simply attributing insidious motives to those who disagree with us ~ @postcrunk just because we disagree doesn’t mean we should hate each other ~ U got serious issues and dont belong amoung faeries…ur a bully based on indignant rightousness…like a mormon or cult member. Blocking u. ~ @jmshiveley Jesus: This is my body *breaks bread* Jesus: This is my blood **pours wine** Jesus: This is YOUR last supper **locks doors** *pumps shotgun* ~ Alladin is now Alladis. ~ Is there a community for people who like to use big words? ~ cannabloism typo of the day ~ Can it walk and chew gum at the same time? ~ “self-obsessed meeting the arse-obsessed” which one is which? ~ I read a long, long biography about Lenny Bruce. He was not a very nice man. I don’t know if he was a candidate for sainthood. The busts were as much a matter of angering important people socially as about the use of obscenity. In the end, the drug use reduced him to being a pathetic character. I am not sure what his motives were, but I suspect it was not “so we could communicate.” ~ Maybe the anti racists can feel some solidarity with those who do not meet their standards ~ *sprinkles salt on unsuspecting slug* ~ pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
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