Talk Like Shakespeare Today: No Beauty Queen for Him

Sonnet #130 by William Shakespeare Pass the breath mints!  The Bard paints an unflattering portrait of his mistress.   My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun [brown], If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her [...]

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Frida Kahlo in a Suit?

“Portrait of My Father,” (1951), Mexican artist Frida Kahlo shows us her photographer father Guillermo Kahlo with the tool of his trade – a camera. From an early age, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) identified with her German-born father, Guillermo Kahlo, a portrait photographer. In her diary, she wrote (in Spanish): “My childhood was marvelous because, [...]

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Frida Kahlo Had Childhood Polio Part 1

At the age of six, Frida Kahlo was stricken with polio. It affected her right leg. She spent nine months in bed. “‘It all began with a horrible pain in my right leg from the muscle downward,” she remembered. ‘They washed my little leg in a small tub with walnut water and small hot towels.’” [...]

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Walt Whitman: Animals Don’t Whine

from “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)   I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d, I stand and look at them long and long.   They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their [...]

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Jackie Kennedy Had a Dr. Feelgood

It was May 31, 1961, when Air Force One, carrying  American President John and First Lady Jackie Kennedy, landed on the tarmac at Orly Airport in Paris. The president was less than five months into his term of office and this was his first European stop. The Kennedys were greeted by French President Charles DeGaulle [...]

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How Liz Taylor Saved Monty Clift’s Life

On May 12, 1956, Anglo-American film actress Elizabeth Taylor and her second husband Michael Wilding threw a dinner party at their Beverly Hills home. It was a bad night for a party. For the first thing, it was foggy and the Wildings lived up a long and winding road in Benedict Canyon. For the second [...]

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Elvis Sings Gospel: My Birthday Tribute Part 2

Today is Elvis’ 75th birthday. Happy Birthday, Elvis. We love you. Elvis loved Christian gospel music. Here he is singing “Oh, Happy Day.” Song : Oh, Happy Day   Oh happy day Oh happy day Oh happy happy day; Oh happy day, When Jesus washed Oh when he washed When Jesus washed He washed my [...]

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Viva Elvis! My Birthday Tribute to the King of Rock and Roll, Part 1

I couldn’t let the day go by without saying at least a few words about Elvis. Today is his 75th birthday and I am watching a TCM marathon of Elvis shows. On the tube, paused so I could blog, is “Viva Las Vegas.” I just watched Elvis perform the title song. It’s obvious that the [...]

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