Author: Mark
Vita and Violet: The Greatest Bloomsbury Love Story By TONI BENTLEY
“Heaven preserve us from all the sleek and dowdy virtues, such as punctuality, conscientiousness, fidelity and smugness!” So wrote Violet Keppel in her unruly call to arms to the great ruling passion of her life, Vita Sackville-West. “What great man was ever constant? What great queen was ever faithful? Novelty is the very essence of genius and always will be. If I were to die tomorrow, think how I should have lived!” And indeed, how this woman, this “unexploded bomb,” as Vita called her, “lived!”
From the New York Times where you can read the entire book review.
Related Images:
Voting in America: The Electoral College
This is why someone can lose the majority of the popular vote … but win the election!
…. one of the strangest and most unsatisfying features of our Constitution is the electoral college. In 1824, this led the country to outrage at what most thought to be an underhanded presidential election. Since party nominating conventions were not yet developed, six formidable candidates competed in the general election … Read this and more at
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman by Random House
Related Images:
Related Articles
Decision Making
When I first read this, I wasn’t thinking about the hard times in Washington these days …
Related Images:
From Solal, by Albert Cohen
“There are so many words!” said Salomon.
“What do you mean, little ignoramus?” Mangeclous asked.
“I mean so many words in the world, so many sentences, so many thoughts! It just occurred to me.”
“But there’s also much silence,” added Saltiel.
“In the end, what’s truth?” Salomon dreamingly asked.
“It’s what’s there is between the words,” answered the little uncle …
Related Images:
The Smithsonian Folkways Collection
Real voices of real people with real emotion. Much of the collection is freely available and downloadable on iTunesU. As Pete Seeger said … “If you’re ever feeling a little down … listen to what these people have to say!” Music from the heart and soul. And what music! Enjoy.
The Smithsonian Folkways Collection
Related Images:
From our favorite sign maker …
Fortunately, there’s enough traffic to give us time to read it, understand it, digest it and react!
Well, understanding it might take a while … but who cares?
and then there’s one of my favorites here. …. and you have to pay particular attention when crossing … Boulevard Montparnasse.
For those of you who want to delve into this a little further … on this one, there were clearly good intentions…
For more … just type “signs” in the search box!
Related Images:
Newsletter – July 20, 2011
My mother has always had a good way of summing up situations. When something didn’t turn out as expected … and this was the case more often than not in our family, she’d come out with this one:
“It’s a blessing in disguise.”
I think she must have used it after we had a fire in our house in Gary, Indiana when I was a child. She probably didn’t telephone my father and announce the blessing as the firemen were putting out the blaze but after the disaster … there was no choice but to have a brand new kitchen rebuilt and installed. The fire? A blessing in disguise.
About a month ago, I looked out my window … and what did I see? Rather, what didn’t I see? It took me a minute to look twice, and then a third time. My bicycle had disappeared … Oh dear! I couldn’t believe it. Stolen. I loved my bicycle. It wasn’t a fancy one but it had taken me many a mile and I took good care of it, too. Catastrophic? No…but I have to say that I really love the new bike I’m riding.
Life’s like that. If you let it be. And that was the name of one of the Beatle’s greatest hits, wasn’t it?
A number of years ago, I was traveling with my two daughters from Savannah back to Paris and, due to stormy summer weather in Savannah, our plane was delayed. By the time we reached Atlanta, the connecting flight to Paris has already left the ground … and … as the luggage had flown without us … we were put up in a very nice hotel and provided with an indemnity for new bathing suits so that we could enjoy the pool …
I just heard on the radio that the annual summer strike planned at Air France is for July 31st and August 1st – among the busiest days of the year as people go on summer vacation.
Surely, for the other airlines … and some of us … in one way or another,
this, too, can only be seen as another …
“Blessing in d’skies.”
Related Images:
Parisians like … The New Yorker
and with good reason >>>> New Yorker covers
You must be logged in to post a comment.