What swanky things are you reading?

[Tref]

Originally Posted by Tref

I am reading a pop up book about Abraham Lincoln written by Vidal Sassoon. It's a fine read though I abhor pop up ads in pop up books and this book has several and all for hair products.

According to Vidal, Lincoln shampooed irregularly. He once carried a letter in his hat for two weeks, walking almost 25 miles to deliver it. When he finally delivered the letter, the addressee complained of it being ruined by oil and dirt. Ironically, the letter Lincoln had been carrying for so long contained a free shampoo sample. "You need this more then I do," said the addressee. Lincoln, thanked the man for his honesty and put the shampoo sample back in his hat. Lincoln carried the sample around with him for several months, until the sample began to incorporate itself into Lincoln's thick mane. Lincoln would comb his hair each morning without notice of the sample. It had become such a part of his head that soon, Abe, unbeknownst to him, was even parting the shampoo sample and not his own hair. A year later, Lincoln was dead. Sassoon warns that without proper care, the same can happen to us, too. The rest, as they say, is shampoo history.*


* those who do not know Shampoo history are likey to rinse and repeat it.

I just finished the Sassoon Lincoln book, anditwasgood. Here are some things you may all ready not know about our sixteenth president:

1. He loved tacos.
2. He has never made it all the way through a performance of Our American Cousin.
3. He first draft of the Gettysburg Address was written on the back of a matchbook cover. The second draft was written on a single grain of rice.
4. Lincoln stood 7 foot 8 in his stocking feet and on a soap box. Off the soap box Lincoln stood 6 foot 5. Off his stocking feet he stood 6 foot 6.
5. As the average man of that era stood only 5 foot 2 many Washingtonians never actually knew what Lincoln looked like. Campaign posters of that time showed only Lincolns crotch area, as that was how he was seen by many.
6. Lincoln's favorite game was "gotcha your nose." It was said that he carried with him over seven or eight noses, which he refused to return.

[€uroMeinke]

I am still reading Haruki Murakami, this time a collection of short stories entitled The Elephant Vanashises and I continue to be delighted.


Last night I read The Dancing Dwarf, a sort of contemporary fairy tale, blending folk tale settings with contemporary attitudes, dreamlike absurdity, and a touch of darkness a la David Lynch. It was such a good read, I had to turn around and read it again, out load to Not Afraid as this was a story that demanded to be told and not just read.

I continue to be amazed by this author and am delighted that he's a contemporary presence on the literary scene. Yeah Harry Potter is waiting, but this writer has possessed me like no other.

It's lawys so great to find an artist who seems to be speaking to you.