Dorothy Parker: Turn Off Your Search Engines.
Dorothy Parker was, as you know, the most clever writer and phrase-maker of her time (in the 1920s-30s) with her bon mots slightly but tastefully (I think) pale blue. Let’s see how many of these you know.
1. A Famous One. Attending a cocktail party populated by skimpily dressed, starlets desirous of making it big on either Broadway or Hollywood, Parker looked at them and said…what?
2. Reading a news story about a famous actress involved in a messy divorce legal battle who happened to break her leg, Parker looked up from her newspaper and said…what?
3. Asked at a party to originate an aphorism using the word “horticulture” Parker thought for a second and then said…what?
Mitt Romney.
Friend Frank Nofsinger asks this Blog’s opinion of Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, for president. For no especial reason, he doesn’t seem to strike a spark here. There would be an overriding reason to this Blog’s mind for Giuliani (if he would re-do his social views) since he’s every inch a hero from 9/11…and failing that (since time is running out for Rudy with this Blog), Newt Gingrich, whose intellectual prowess is unexcelled. For the life of me I can’t get warmed up about Romney but I don’t really have a good reason why. Sorry.
A Cautionary Word.
This Blog loves and respects hearty and robust expression of views in Reader’s Comments here as it does on the radio—but recently at least one writer has come close to the line. There is no place for anti-Semitism or anti-anything in this Blog and we think we can detect one writer who comes perilously close to it when he writes about the Middle East. While this Blog doesn’t object to people writing how stupid it is, it does vehemently resent attacks on the man it identifies as its hero, Henry Hyde. The same writer who strayed close to the line on anti-Semitism dealt a highly unfair and inflammatory attack on Hyde’s character which this Blog deeply resents. There is no place for that kind of stuff and if it continues we’ll have to disqualify the writer from continuing. The writer knows full-well who he is.
"You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think."
ReplyDelete1) If all these sweet young things were laid end to end, I wouldn't at all be surprised. (But wasn't it about Vasser girls insead of starlets?)
ReplyDelete2) Don't know this one.
3) You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think.
And how about this one: It was a great party...one more drink and I would have been under the host.
Was it ' Brevity is the soul of lingerie?'
ReplyDeleteMy favorite by Ms Parker:
When entering a hotel in NYC a young starlet allow Dorothy Parker through the door ahead of her with 'Age before Beauty.' To which Mrs. Parker shot back ' No, my dear, Pearls before Swine.'
Was it ' Brevity is the soul of lingerie?'
ReplyDeleteMy favorite by Ms Parker:
When entering a hotel in NYC a young starlet allow Dorothy Parker through the door ahead of her with 'Age before Beauty.' To which Mrs. Parker shot back ' No, my dear, Pearls before Swine.'
As long as several are adding their favorites, how about:
ReplyDelete(to a friend that just gave birth), "Great work Mary! I knew you had it in you!"
(suggested that it be carved on her grave stone)- "This one's on me!"
To Chuck: I believe that quote had to do with female Yalies of New Haven, CT.
As long as several are adding their favorites, how about:
ReplyDelete(to a friend that just gave birth), "Great work Mary! I knew you had it in you!"
(suggested that it be carved on her grave stone)- "This one's on me!"
To Chuck: I believe that quote had to do with female Yalies of New Haven, CT.
"How terrible. She must have done it sliding down a barrister."
ReplyDelete