Gleanings from the Past #83

2019, March 14.Reading time 3 minutes.

Time Passing People parted, years passed, they met again — and the meeting proved no reunion, offered no warm memories, only the acid knowledge that time had passed and things weren’t as bright or attractive as they had been. — Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls. 1966 I’m terrified of the thought of time passing […]

Deep Lines

2019, March 13.Reading time 1 minute.

T. S. Eliot (left) and Carl Sandburg (right) In the January 19, 1980 edition of the New York Times Book Review, editor T. O’Connor Sloane III told the following story: Many years ago, when Robert Giroux was editor-in-chief of Harcourt, Brace, he told me this little anecdote. He was expecting a visit from T. S. Eliot one […]

Quotable #83: Life and Death

2019, March 12.Reading time less than 1 minute.

“The first breath is the beginning of death.” — Anon. “There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.” — George Santayana “It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.” — Samuel Johnson, quoted […]

Pun of the Weak: Birdy Pun

2019, March 10.Reading time less than 1 minute.

One bird can’t make a pun but toucan…

Gleanings from the Past #82

2019, March 7.Reading time 7 minutes.

Wasted Time I wasted time, and now doth time waste me; For now hath time made me his numbering clock: My thoughts are minutes; and with sighs they jar Their watches on unto mine eyes, the outward watch, Whereto my finger, like a dial’s point, Is pointing still, in cleansing them from tears. Now sir, […]

Ambiguous Phonetics

2019, March 6.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I see this one on a newsgroup many years ago… “Information? I need the number of the Caseway Insurance Company.” “Would you spell that, please?” “Certainly. C as in sea. A as in aye. S as in sea. E as in eye. W as in why. A as in are. Y as in you.”

Oops: A Taxing Error

2019, March 5.Reading time 1 minute.

While browsing the news archive of United Press International (UPI), I came across an article published on November 18, 1993, which contained an amusing blunder. The article was about Dewi Sukarno, widow of Indonesia’s first president, receiving compensation from the Indonesian government: The government said Thursday it has paid a $2.85 million to Dewi Sukarno, […]

Quotable #82: Past and Present

2019, March 5.Reading time 1 minute.

“He who controls the past, controls the future; and he who controls the present, controls the past.” — George Orwell, 1984, 1949 “The past can’t now be altered, the future has yet to be lived, and consciously to experience every moment of the present is the only way to gain at least the illusion of immortality.” […]

A Postcard That Traversed Time and Space

2019, March 4.Reading time 1 minute.

In 1948, a mother from Spiceland, Indiana sent a postcard to her son. It took 58 years before her son received it. However, it was not as straightforward, as the town’s postmaster had to purchase it on eBay. Judy Dishman, Spiceland’s postmaster, was browsing on eBay while on vacation when she saw a postcard that […]

Inscription on the Entrance of a Villa in Siena of Yore