Monday, November 25, 2013

Too Many Books For One Lifetime

     

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Have you ever heard of an author named Doris Lessing? Until yesterday, I had not. I had heard the name, and the fact that she was a writer, but that was the extent of my knowledge of her.

For the last third of life there remains only work. It alone is always stimulating, rejuvenating, exciting and satisfying.
--Doris Lessing

I have never read any of Doris Lessing's works, but now I intend to do so since I heard mention of her on last Sunday morning's PBS show with Bill Moyers.

The show is titled A Tribute To Doris lessing

Doris May Lessing
(October 22, 1919 - November 17, 2013)


Doris Lessing was a British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing (1950), the sequence of five novels collectively called Children of Violence (1952 - 69), The Golden Notebook (1962), The Good Terrorist (1985), and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos (1979 - 1983).

Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the Prize the Swedish Academy described her as "that spiciest of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny". Lessing was the eleventh woman and the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature

It seems that every day I hear tell of another book or two that I have not read and would like to read as soon as I possibly can. There are so many of them, and I am getting so dog-gone old, week after week and day after day. There must be thousands unread (by me) out there... tens of thousands, or maybe even hundreds of thousands.

It's a pity.
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Did You Know . . .?

The month of August has the highest percentage of births.
(. . . not sure if that's in the U.S. A. or in the whole world)

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1999 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution designating November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The resolution, which was introduced by the Dominican Republic, marked the anniversary of the death of three sisters, Maria, Teresa, and Minerva Mirabel, who were brutally murdered there in 1960. While women in Latin America and the Caribbean had honored the day since 1981, all UN countries did not formally recognize it until 1999.

Although this is a sign of positive change in the struggle to end violence against women, statistics show that there is still much work left to do. A report released in 1994 by the World Bank, entitled Violence Against Women: The Hidden Health Burden, estimated that one out of every four women worldwide has been, or will be, raped. The report also said that violence against women is as serious a cause of death and incapacity among women of reproductive age as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined.

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WORD FOR TODAY

feminism
noun
-  Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
-  The movement organized around this belief.

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(Nov 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999)
John Kennedy, Jr.,, often referred to as JFK Jr. or John-John, was an American socialite, journalist, lawyer, and magazine publisher. The elder son of U.S. President John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy, Sr. and First Lady Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier, he died in a plane crash along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy; and her older sister Lauren Bessette, on July 16, 1999.



(born November 25, 1971)
Christina Applegate is an American actress who gained fame as a teenage actress, playing the role of Kelly Bundy on the Fox sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). She has major roles in several films, including Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), The Big Hit (1998), The Sweetest Thing (2002), Grand Theft Parsons (2003), Anchorman (2004), Farce of the Penguins (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009) and Hall Pass (2011). She also played the lead role in the sitcoms Jesse (1998–2000) and Samantha Who? (2007–2009) and starred in the NBC comedy Up All Night (2011–2012) 



(born November 25, 1944)
Ben Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Later, he entered the entertainment field and became an actor, comedian, and Emmy Award-winning game show host. His film career was launched by his performance as the monotonous economics teacher in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Stein has frequently written commentaries on economic, political, and social issues, along with financial advice to individual investors. He is the son of economist and writer Herbert Stein, who worked at the White House under President Nixon. His sister, Rachel, is also a writer. While, as a character actor, he is well known for his droning, monotone delivery, in real life he is a public speaker on a wide range of economic and social issues.



(born November 25, 1947)
John Larroquette is an American film, television and stage actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the 1984 - 1992 sitcom Night Court (winning a then-unprecedented four consecutive Emmy Awards for his role), Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, Lionel Tribbey on The West Wing and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.

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Borrowing is not much better than begging; just as lending with interest is not much better than stealing.
--Doris Lessing

NASA TV



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