Last Words

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"I'm going to the bathroom to read."

- Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977)

Spoken to his fiancee, Ginger Alden, in bed at his Memphis mansion, Graceland when he was having problems sleeping. She replied "OK, but don't fall asleep.” Two hours later she found him dead on the bathroom floor. Although he was taking multiple medications and drugs (in the first 8 months of 1977 his doc had prescribed him more than 10,000 doses of sedatives, amphetamines and narcotics), the autopsy attributed death to a sudden heart attack

Elvis with Ginger Alden

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“I’m losing.”

- Frank Sinatra (1915 - 1998)

Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles aged 82, after a heart attack. He had been in ill health during the last few years of his life and had been frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He was further diagnosed as having dementia. Sinatra’s wife Barbara was at his side when he died and had been encouraging him to fight his medical conditions but shortly before his death he spoke the words above. After his death, the lights on the Las Vegas strip were dimmed, the casinos observed a minute’s silence and the Empire State Building turned its lights blue.

Sinatra with wife Barbara Marx (widow of Marx brother Zeppo)

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“Tomorrow, at sunrise, I shall no longer be here.” 

- Nostradamus (1503 – 1566)

Nostradamus was a French physician and reputed seer. Some swear by him, others say that alleged accuracy of his prophecies is the result of misinterpretation and forced explanations. He is alleged to have spoken the above words to his secretary on the evening before his death. Another version holds that he told his secretary "You will not find me alive at sunrise."

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“Last tag.” 

- Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933)

Banker Richard B. Mellon and his brother Andrew played a game of tag that lasted seven decades. On his deathbed, Richard’s last words to his brother were as quoted above. His brother remained “it” until he died four years later."

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“Yeah, country music.”

- Buddy Rich (1917-1987)

Drummer Buddy Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumor. As he was being prepped for surgery, a nurse asked him, “Is there anything you can’t take?” Rich replied "Yeah, country music."

Quote for the Day

20 Vinegar Valentines

I was tempted to post today’s post yesterday, but I decided not to disturb the feng shui of Valentine’s Day with something that is the reverse of the meaning of the day.

I know that sounds confusing but it will become clear.

I read once of a modern graffiti on a wall that was to the effect that people were scratching the same comments on the walls of ancient Rome and Greece, so that progress was a texta marker.

So it is with trolls, people who anonymously, deliberately and maliciously abuse other people on the internet, often with hurtful and nasty comments.

Between 1840 and 1940 anonymous persons did their trolling by means of nasty cards that were most frequently sent on Valentine’s Day. These cards were known as “Vinegar Valentines” and were often accompanied by a poem that insulted the recipient as being a type of person: arrogant, stupid, vain and so on.

Here is a selection . . .

Quote for this valentine's Day

Edgar Allan Poe, "Annabel Lee"

Cartoon Characters and the Finger

Most cartoon characters have only 4 fingers (or 3 fingers and a thumb, to save Martin S correcting me 😃) because a four-fingered hand is easier to draw than a five-fingered hand. It also simplifies the design of the hand in the same way that the rest of the body is simplified. Hands with 5 fingers tend to look large and klunky.

Where the cartoons and animations depict people, the move is towards depicting the full set of 5 fingers on each hand, leaving the 4 fingers for the traditional cartoony depictions.

Interestingly, 4 finger depictions rarely appear in Japanese works. This is because:

• Yakuza members traditionally chop off fingers if they are unable to pay back a debt, or as punishment for other offences that don't warrant death.

• The four-fingered hand is taken as a derogatory reference to the burakumin social class (four fingers = four legs = animals).

• In Japan, four (四) can be read as "yon" (よん) or "shi" (し). The kanji for death is "shi" (死), which is why the number four is considered unlucky.

Bonus item:

Whilst talking of fingers . . .

Quote for the Day

Color of Reality

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Readers may be delighted to know that More Week is no more. From today there will be fresh items. In preparing something for More Week I discovered an amazing short video that is well worth the watching. It is amazing because of the artwork involved and in the poignant message it conveys in just a 5 minutes and 41 seconds.

See the film by clicking on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq1tm5TqYsg

The film stars Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, and features the artwork of Alexa Meade. It was made by Jon Boogz and Alexa Meade.

Not wanting to spoil the delight of first viewing, I won’t comment on the film or its story. Readers wishing to read about the making of the film, the persons who made it and feature in it, and the motivations of the those persons, should visit the following site but only after they have viewed the film:

http://www.alexameade.com/colorofreality/

Late last year the film was shown at the beginning of each hour on a building in Los Angeles.

I would be interested to hear how you react to the film.

Quote for the Day