Happy 239th birthday, Jane Austen. #MrBennetRules!
I had the privilege of championing the cause of Mr. Bennet for an international audience on the BBC World Book Club radio show in January 2013. I come on the scene at 10:00.
And, for your dining and dancing pleasure, a sampling of the interaction between Mr and Mrs Bennet.
Somehow I missed this in 1963. #ItsNeverTooLate #OnActualTV #AmericanBandstand
Happy 184th Birthday Emily Dickinson.
I suspect that Ms. Dickinson was called Emily because of her obsession with the em dash. Or was it the other way around?
Don’t forget that Alfalfa in “Our Gang” = Guy who opens the gym/pool floor in “It’s a Wonderful Life” = Freckle-faced Haynes the dog-faced boy in “White Christmas.”
Alfafa
First sighting at 0:40.
Freckle-faced Haynes the dog-faced boy
Then the lights on the ceiling fan went out and somebody had to figure it out, so I pulled the light kit off. No apparent problem. I called in The Helpful Neighbor, who has a tester and, more importantly, the brains to use it. We determined that power was coming into the unit.
The puzzler is that there is very little that can fail in this system. The only thing between the wall switch and the light bulbs is wire and a $3 pull switch, and the switch tested just fine.
After an inordinate amount of troubleshooting, The Helpful Neighbor noticed a component about half the size of my little fingernail buried among the wires. We speculated on its purpose, since you don’t really need electronics to run a light. I suggested that it was planted by the NSA to spy on us.
Before we bypassed it to see if it was the point of failure, I decided to Google ‘y59 r 130c b03 27038’ to make sure we wouldn’t regret it. It took us several minutes to recover from reading the link at the top of the search results.
“You know what I like about Tuesday?” I said.
“It’s not Monday?” the Number One Son responded.
“It’s when the junk mail comes.”
“Ah. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“There’s more.”
“I can hardly wait.”
“It’s also when they pick up the recycle.”
“Well, there’s a mercy.”
“Yes, and an efficiency.”
Chocolate? Well, of course. Who wouldn’t?
Robin Hardy, author of countless novels and the one single individual most responsible for me getting published, besides myself, of course, suggested that I join in the conspiracy to link chocolate with books. But that’s not good enough for me. Where there’s chocolate, there’s a libation, so you’re getting more for your money.
Some have linked dark chocolate with dark subjects, but I disagree. It’s bittersweet, and so I link it with Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine, the book that springs to my head when I think of bittersweet. I discovered Bradbury in high school and began a lifelong love with his work. You could drop just about any of his books in here—Fahrenheit 451, Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes—but the creamy smoothness of the Dove Dark fits right in with the glorious 1928 summer of Douglas Spaulding in Green Town, Illinois.
Milk chocolate is less sophisticated and nuanced than dark, but is also excellent when done up right, and that’s where we come to P.G. Wodehouse. There is no pretense with Wodehouse, no hidden meanings, no delving down into the nuance of the human condition. Wodehouse himself said, “I believe there are two ways of writing novels. One is mine, making a sort of musical comedy without the music and ignoring real life altogether; the other is going right deep down into life and not caring a damn.” He brings good, clean fun by the lorry loads. And The Mating Season has the most complicated, outrageous plot of the 19 Jeeves books. To go with the milk chocolate, a simple Irish whiskey that adds a kick without getting in the way of the flavor.
A close second would be the Lucia books by E.F. Benson starting with Queen Lucia. I’ve been a fan for over twenty years and have yet to meet another person who has read them. A shame.
If you really want to get down to it with the real stuff, there’s nothing like an 85% cacao. And nothing better to complement it than a rich, strong coffee served black. No need for milk or sugar. The chocolate takes care of all that. So get plenty of both and settle down with the very clever and highly amusing first novel in the Salterton Trilogy. Davies is not so much unappreciated as unknown down here in the lower forty-eight, which is unfortunate because he was a brilliant writer, both of the novel and the essay.
Next week, Lara Resnik, author of The Girl From Long Guyland tackles this weighty problem.
A reader expressed an interest in my Rosie the Riveter mug featured in the coffee/microwave video, so I thought I’d share the three go-to coffee mugs I use to claw my way through the mornings.
In order of preference, from left to right:
I also have two preferred mugs for when making tea. They have a prevailing theme, as you can see.
“You know what I like about this microwave?” I said.
“It gets things hot?” the Number One Son responded.
“When you put in a half-cup of coffee and hit the 30-second button, it stops with the handle pointed toward you.”
The microwave beeped three times. I pulled open the door and grabbed the cup. “See?”
The Number One Son shrugged.
“Our last one stopped with the handle pointed toward the back. You had to set it for 22 seconds to get it to stop with the handle pointing out.”
The Number One Son began laughing.
“What?”
“Only you would take the trouble to figure out the exact number of seconds to get the handle pointed out. I mean, who does that?”
“Anybody interested in convenience and efficiency, that’s who.”
Am I right, or am I right?
While cleaning the desk I discovered a copy of an interview from when Living with Fred was released. It was for a religious organization. I fear I failed to satisfy their requirements because I never saw it in print.
For your dining and dancing pleasure . . .
Q. How did you become interested in writing?
A. I was an early and voracious reader. I began writing seriously in 1981 when I got a computer. Since then, I’ve been unable to stop myself from writing. Perhaps I should change medication.
Q. What compelled you to write a book on this subject?
A. I couldn’t stop myself from doing it. Neither could anybody else.
Q. What is the main theme or point that you want readers to understand from reading your book?
A. The main thing I’d like readers to understand is that they will always have a great time when they pick up one of my books. If they don’t laugh out loud at least once, I’ll refund their money.
Q. Are there some specific lessons you hope readers will learn and apply to their lives after reading your book?
A. Never date a practical joker.
Q. How does the book intertwine with God’s call on your life and how you are currently serving Him?
A. I feel God has called me to stop being so annoying. When I’m writing, I’m not annoying anyone.
Q. Do you have a favorite Scripture verse? What is it and why is it important to you?
A. Please be quiet! That’s the smartest thing you could do. -Job 13:5 NLT. Those who know me realize how important this verse is.
Q. Thank you for taking the time to answer a few of our questions. As we close, is there anything else you would like to add?
A. Never use pliers on brass.
