Gdee, RE: Identical houses Patti wrote: >> Zooey, in his younger days on It's a wise Child amuses the audience by telling them he wished he lived in a neighborhood where all the homes were identical and he could go into any one and have dinner every night with a different family. I believe it is related in Raise High The Roofbeam Carpenters and it is in a letter from Boo Boo to Seymour that Buddy is reading to himself. Help me out some of you experts who those of you who may have your books with you. << I've got my book handy but I can't help you with the expert part :) The passage is actually from Seymour's diary, in Raise High The Roofbeam Carpenters (pg 43 of the Penguin edition; the one with a yellow and black spine, and the front cover divided into an upper yellow section and a lower grey section, the grey can also be found on the back - it has soft, blurred, almost illegible, text from The Catcher printed on it). Buddy reads the diary sitting on the edge of the bathtub. Boo Boo writes two pieces in the novel, the first one is to Buddy and it mentions, among other things, Franny having 'dust on her fingers from touching the lightbulbs'. The second piece is the brief 'Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters' message that Franny left on the bathroom mirror, for Seymour, scrawled in soap, which immediately precedes the scene of Seymour's diary. ------------------------------------ RE: Teddy I agree that the 'all-piercing, sustained scream - clearly coming from a small, female child' did of course belong to Teddy's sister. Regardless, I thought the following passage from "The Way of Zen" (Alan W. Watts. Penguin Arkana, 1990. Pg 155), provides some interesting thoughts for food, >> The story is told of a Zen monk who wept upon hearing of the death of a close relative. When one of his fellow students objected that it was most unseemly for a monk to show such personal attachment he replied, 'Don't be stupid! I'm weeping because I want to weep.' The great Hakuin was deeply disturbed in his early study of Zen when he came across the story of the master Yent'ou, who was said to have screamed at the top of his voice when murdered by a robber. Yet this doubt was dissolved at the moment of his satori, and in Zen circles his own death is felt to have been especially admirable for its display of human emotion. On the other hand, the abbot Kwaisen and his monks allowed themselves to be burned alive by the soldiers of Oda Nobunaga, sitting calmly in the posture of meditation. Such contradictory 'naturalness' seems most mysterious, but perhaps the clue lies in the saying of Yun-men: 'In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.' For the essential quality of naturalness is the sincerity of the undivided mind which does not dither between alternatives. So when Yen-t'ou screamed, it was such a scream that it was heard miles around. << ------------------------------------ RE: Salinger's Letters To Be Auctioned >> Ms. Maynard said the decision to sell the letters, which will be offered as a lot, was financial. They are expected to fetch up to $80,000, Sotheby's officials said. << She gives me a Royal Pain in the Ass, if you want to know the truth. And I haven't even read her goddam book. And I wouldn't be suprised if she pulled in well over $80,000. ------------------------------------ RE: The Simpsons Jason wrote: >> I think you really expected too much out of Goering and clan. The man knows one thing, American People. He doesn't know Aussies and he's wise not to try to lampoon a culture he has no intimate knowledge of. In short the Simpsons is so successful simply because it causes Americans to laugh at themselves. I'm really not sure why any other culture would enjoy the show. << Goering? Horrible, drug-addicted Nazi chap who poisoned himself hours before his scheduled hanging? :) I think the one you're looking for is Groening. And I disagree that The Simpsons only appeals to Americans. Sure, the show started out with a solid foundation of Uncle Sam satire (the baseball, 7-11, beer and couch-potato gags) but it quickly evolved into a huge, stunningly intelligent mockery/exploration of the human species in general, while still retaining some distinctly American elements. That's all I have to say about that. "Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals. Except the weasel." Homer S. ------------------------------------ RE: The Project Patti wrote: >> For those of us whose talent lies in reading rather than writing I am hoping that this compiliation will be for sale? << And for those of us whose talent lies in neither reading nor writing, I am hoping that the compilation will a include a blank sheet of paper at the back, by way of explanation. :) ------------------------------------ RE: Paul's show Friday night came and I was madly racing around downloading and reloading and exploding RealPlayer in a grey shower of dialogue boxes that told me to update to a newer version, forwarded me to the location of this latest version and then informed me that I already had it. And I was looped so for just enough time to miss the broadcast, I think, but I'm unsure because I never fully decided which channel it was meant to be on nor the exact time either. Anyway, I can't wait to hear it, have been unable to find it archived on their site yet and would be grateful if someone could mail it to me or point me in the right direction, when it appears. ------------------------------------ Although I love the Glass family and all those touching them, for me at the moment, and this may change as time passes, the Caulfields (including Vincent) just feel a lot closer. Brad Colbourne. colby@online.net.pg "The Smeg it is."