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| A Bigger Splash (1967) |
I instinctively knew I was going to like it and as I flew over San Bernardino and saw the swimming pools and the houses and everything and the sun, I was more thrilled than I have ever been in arriving in any city.
--British expatriate artist David Hockney, on the many sun-drenched paintings, particularly those of swimming pools, that he produced while living on the West Coast.
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| 1937-2026 |
Cyndi Lauper, honored by Outright International this past June 1 for her longstanding support for the LGBTQ community, yuks it up with transgender actress Laverne Cox, who emceed the event. Further evidence, as if any was needed, that girls, whether they were assigned as such at birth or not, just want to have fun.
I once dreamed of living in LA. I also once took a United States Postal Service exam. The latter wasn't a dream, just what was in those pre-internet days a practical goal of job security and a good pension. I got 60%, enough to pass the exam but it didn't put me high on the list, so I was never hired. Actually, I'm surprised I got that good a score, as a portion of the test required memorizing addresses. I can barely remember my own! Anyway, had I gotten a job as a mailman, it would have been in Cleveland, not Los Angeles, and that may have been a good thing if the above chart is any indication, as it would have meant 40 less chances of getting bit. Finally, I ask that you not judge canine mailman-phobia too harshly. According to cartoonist Gary Larson, it may someday be our only hope:
Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism:
The right to criticize;
The right to hold unpopular beliefs;
The right to protest;
The right of independent thought.
The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn’t? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in.
--Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME), "Declaration of Conscience" speech, 6/01/1950
Lusciously low-key song stylist Peggy Lee was born on this day in 1920 (she died in 2002.) She sits down with Johnny Carson in this 1977 clip:
Peggy comes across as very likable in her chat with Johnny, and that trait is fine in conversation. However, when she does the thing she does best, it's not likeability so much that I want from Peggy Lee as a certain moodiness:
She runs from hot to cold. How's that for a mood swing?
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| 1940-2026 |
On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn got her head lopped off over trumped-up (no pun intended) accusations of treason, adultery, and incest, though of course the real reason had to do with her inability to provide King Henry VIII with a male heir to the throne (a female heir considered too scary a proposition.) Such was the problem of trying to ensure an orderly transfer of power back in the day. You know, I sometimes get frustrated with democracy. After all, there's been some huge blunders committed on Election Day, but all it is I have to do is look at a picture like the one above reminding me what we're trying to avoid that restores my faith in popular sovereignty.
Oh, and another thing is we've totally gotten over our fear of a female succeeding a male as head of state.
Um...er...hmm...Well, at least they kept their heads.
