April 30, 2003
My Sentiments, Exactly
"Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, and then it is disgusting." - Dave Barry
Just when I thought I had heard every excuse for losing a debit card....
This guy just came into the bank and said his dog ate his debit card. He brought it in to show us the remains.
April 29, 2003
Where Couches Go to Die
I would just like to point out that Matt's apartment is like an elephant graveyard, expect that instead of being for elephants, it's for couches. He's got four circa 1980 couches, all of questionable origin. It's quite a sight.
Quote of the Day
"Women are successful in the business world because the business world was created by men. Men are babies. And women are ... good with kids." - P.J. O'Rourke
All Over Again
I've been sitting at this desk for three days now (not continuously), and I've just realized that I can see The DejaVu from my window.
Did I already say that?
April 28, 2003
Did you get that memo about the new cover sheets for the TPS reports?
I'm having an Office Space day.
I've actually intended to post several things recently, but I've been staying busy both at work and at home. I'm jotting notes here and there, though, so when I finally get a chance to both think and write at the same time, I'll remember what it was I was wanting to say.
A Dear Diary Moment
That said, I want to settle down. NOW. (If only I had someone to settle down with...)
Wow. I don't know the girl who made that comment, but she captured my feelings almost perfectly. Sometimes I stop and realize that I spend so much time planning for the future, that I forget that the things that happen to me in the meantime are my life. Don't get me wrong: I'm not discontent with my life. In fact, I rather like it. But I do sometimes find myself wishing for the weekend when it's only Monday, or wishing for that next big step in life without being thankful for where I am and what I have. I remember all that time I spent in high school waiting to move on to college, and once I got in college, I remember wondering what life would be like in "the real world". Well, I guess this is it, huh? Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between setting goals for my future and daydreaming my life away. I need to live in the now, but not live for the moment. Easier said than done.
Search
I feel kind of bad for the people who are doing legitimate searches on the internet and end up here on my blog. From my site meter, I can tell that those searching for Kid Cratic and the movie Equalibrium end up here, even though I've only ever mention each topic once. (Of course, now that I'm mentioning them again, it's probably only making the problem worse.) If you ended up here just by searching for either topic, here's some help for you: try www.kiddlive.com. It's actually spelled Kidd Kraddic, which might help your search (and will probably bring even more unsuspecting searchers to my blog *evil grin*). If you're looking for the movie Equalibrium, this is the only place I can actually find anything about it. I only happened upon it because my roommate works at a video store and she brought home a preview copy.
Quote of the Day
"You provide the noblest materials for building, when a pick-ax and a spade are only necessary; and build houses of five hundred by a hundred feet, forgetting that of six by two." - Henry Fielding, Tom Jones
April 25, 2003
Quote of the Day
"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." - Albert Einstein
Quote of the Day
"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." - Albert Einstein
Observation
When one 24 year old girl is shopping for clothing, one can't help but notice that most women's clothing falls into one of these three categories:
*Childish
*Matronly
*Skanky
April 24, 2003
Theories on Creation and The Waffle House
Earlier today, I was discussing creation/evolution theories with someone, and I brought up the whole "created with the appearance of age" thing. You see, it's sort of like The Waffle House: even if it's brand new, it looks like it's been around forever. The color scheme and the waitresses look like they've been there since the 70's and they somehow import that smell of greasy food and cigarette smoke. Of course, with the earth, we're dealing with a much larger scale.
Quote of the Day
"Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes." - John LeCarre
April 23, 2003
Quote of the Day
"Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connection can supply." - Jane Austen, Manfield Park
NEIGHBORS!
You would think the people who design apartment complexes would have, by now, figured out a way to isulate each apartment so that every move made by a neighbor would not sound like a proverbial herd of elephants. This is the second apartment complex I've ever lived in and in both cases, I've had loud neighbors. In the first apartment, I lived upstairs, so we didn't hear the walking. However, we frequently heard the downstairs neighbors singing along to Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and other pop stars (which was amusing, since they were from Saudi Arabia). We also had "the drug dealers" and "the loud walker" both of whom caused disturbances. Now I live downstairs from "the bowlers" (who I've mentioned before). "The bowlers" are the worst kind of people to have living upstairs from you: they are three single guys who keep crazy hours, own a foosball table, like to entertain guests, and like their music loud. Sunday night, they kept me awake until 3 am with all their talking and music. I discussed the problem with Emily and Matt and they suggested that I bang on the ceiling when I get up in the morning (5:30 am). I was hesitant to solve the problem with revenge until they woke me up at 2:30 this morning. So when I woke up at today, I was ready to get the broom to bang on the ceiling until I realized THEY WERE STILL AWAKE! Oh well. I guess having loud neighbors is a risk you take when you live in an apartment.
April 22, 2003
Quote of the Day
"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey
Things that are cool
Things that are cool
*Unexpected gifts (Thanks, Annie and Jennifer!)
*Getting enough sleep
Procrastination is the mother of invention
I have no motivation to do the things I really need to do at home. I really only have a few hours between the time I get off work and the time I'm ready to go to sleep, so I should probably do something productive, huh? I've got the old "better grades through notebook reorganization" syndrome: my house is clean, but those other things just seem to be neglected. So here I am writing about it instead of taking care of business. Better go.
April 21, 2003
Quote of the Day
"One boy will be better adapted for the study of history, another for poetry, another for law, while some perhaps had better be packed off to the country." - Quinitllian
Public Service Announcement
I haven't put away all my black clothes, but I have mixed with them an array of light springtime colors, thus rendering me "the new, (even more) fun Christin."
April 19, 2003
Experimentation
I thought, since I was home for the weekend, I'd get my dad to show me how to put images on this baby. So this is just a trial run. This is a picture of (from L-R) myself, Annie, and Oriel, from last March, the day before Oriel's wedding.
April 17, 2003
Quote of the Day
"Nothing is easier than to keep a secret: there needs no more but to shut one's mouth." - Unknown
A Rainbow of Terror
I'm not trying to be cynical, but the color-coded terror alert system doesn't seem like it has much of a function. Of course I could be wrong. It's possible that having the "red" terror alert a few weeks ago saved thousands of lives. Maybe civil servants know a lot more about what each color means so it really affects their jobs. However, I don't see the point of constantly telling the American public what "color" we're at each day. I don't know about you, but the color has little or no effect on my daily life. This morning, Kid Cratic (radio talk show host), said he was dissappointed they changed the color from orange to yellow because he had spent all that money on orange clothes.
But seriously, we know we're at war. We know many nations are not happy with us right now, so we know that terror attacks are a possiblity. Don't you think people in Iraq are watching CNN and finding out when our government is telling us to let our guard down? I don't see how that makes us any safer.
Birthday?.....Schmirthday.
So this Sunday will be my birthday. I was thinking about how excited I used to get when my birthday was getting close. As soon as the new year started, it was a birthday countdown, and once April started, I began making party plans and looking for cards and gifts to come in the mail. Now than I'm older, I don't get as excited as I used to. I know my birthday is just another day. Everybody (myself included) just goes about life as usual, but some part of me still hopes my birthday will be the most exciting day of the year.
Even though my birthday is just another day, here are some fun facts about April 20:
*This year it's Easter
*This year, I'll be exactly the same age my mother was when she gave birth to me
*Several world rulers shared my birthday: my mother (who may not have ruled your world, but she ruled mine), Adolph Hitler, Napolean, Edward IV of England, and Marcus Aurelius (Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is April 21, so she almost counts)
*Other somewhat famous people who share my birthday: Don Mattingly, Lionel Hampton, Jessica Lange, Joey Lawrence (Whoa!), AND Olympic silver medalist Townsend Saunders (freestyle wrestler)
*For you history buffs: 1139, 2nd Lateran Council (10th ecumenical council) opens in Rome; 1861, Colonel Robert E Lee resigns from Union army; 1879, 1st mobile home (horse drawn) used in a journey from London & Cyprus; 1902, Marie & Pierre Curie isolate radioactive element radium
*Inordinate amount of Baseball history: 1912, Fenway Park officially opens, Boston Red Sox beat New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11; 1912, Tiger Stadium in Detroit opens, Tigers beat Cleveland Indians 6-5; 1916, 1st National League game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field) in Chicago opens, Chicago Cubs beat Cincinnati Reds 7-6; 1920 Phillies manager Gravvy Cravath puts himself in as pinch hitter, his 3-run homer and beats New York Giants 3-0; 1939 Ted Williams' 1st hit (off of Yankee Red Ruffing) a double; 1941, Dodgers start to wear liners in their caps; 1950, Baltimore's Memorial Stadium opens - Orioles of International League; 1988, Baltimore Orioles set worst record to start a season 0-14 (will go 0-21)
With fascinating history like that, maybe it's not just an ordinary day after all!
Quote of the Day
"You can marry more money in five minutes than you can make in a lifetime." - My Granny, Lucille Booth
April 16, 2003
Quote of the Day
"I insist on thinking that a lot of their troubles would be lessened if they both took to drinking only unfermented beverages." -- Flannery O'Connor
April 15, 2003
I'm Not Dyeing
So, I went to Walmart yesterday and as I was making my way through the store, I saw the little Easter egg kits and I was very tempted to buy one. Quickly, I remembered all the time and money I've spent on Easter eggs in the last few years and decided I should use my resources elsewhere this year.
Last year, I covered 1 dozen eggs with tiny glass beads and another dozen with glitter. They were pretty, but I don't think they were worth the $25 I spent on them. They sat on the table as a centerpiece for about a week, so they weren't edible. I meant to take them to some kids at church so they could hunt them, but alas, I forgot and ended up throwing them away. It was a sad day, but that was nothing compared to the Martha Stewart incedent of 1998. Two of my friends and I spent days gathering all the right ingredients for these "naturally dyed" eggs that "Martha" showed how to make in her magazine that year. We had purple cabbage, spinach, beets, turmeric, onion skin, and all sorts of vegetables and spices that were supposed to, when boiled in water or wrapped around the egg, dye the egg all sorts of fascinating shades. After shopping for all the special stuff, we spent several hours working on the eggs. It was all very exciting until we brought the eggs out of the dye: they were all varying shades of brown. Now, you may or may not be aware that you can buy brown eggs at the store: no dying required. It was rather dissappointing. We ended up putting food coloring in with the so-called "natural dyes" and acting like we had made something special.
I'm not messing with eggs this year. Next time I do dye eggs, I'll just buy the most basic, inexpensive kit possible, make plain old Easter eggs, and call it good.
Quote of the Day
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." --Galileo Galilei
April 14, 2003
April 12, 2003
Quote of the Day
"Man only can be aware of the insensibility of man towards a new gown. It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies could they be made to understand how little the heart of man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire." -- Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
April 11, 2003
Quote of the Day
"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love." - Charlie Brown
Some of Life's Great Mysteries
Why is it that men feel the need to back into parking spaces? Is it easier to back into a space now than to back out of one later?
Why will a woman wait 10 minutes for someone to back out of a parking space, causing a sever parking lot traffic jam, rather than park a little further away, walk a few extra feet, and get into the store sooner?
The Comfort Zone
I'll be the first one to admit it: I have a long break-in time. It takes a while for me to feel really comfortable around people and I think it takes people a while before they feel comfortable around me. I'm comfortable with silence. I don't mind being a bystander. It takes a while before I'll admit how I really feel around a group of people or before I'll joke around with people. It takes me a while to settle in to a new job and it takes some time before my house feels like my house. I'm not sure how long the transition takes (though it's usually around 1 year). It usually happens before I'm aware of it, and somewhere along the way, when I least expect it, I find myself thinking, "This (person, place, or thing) is mine."
For the past few years, whenever anyone has asked me where I'm from, my standard response has been, "I'm homeless," but that's not true. The fact is that there are several places that are "home" to me. I lived in Texarkana from the time I was born until I was 17. While I don't feel particular attachment to it now, so many of the stories of my life took place there and involve people who live there. There are still people there who I have great affection for and I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to make the 3 hour journey to Texarkana just to see it again. I would love to go to the mall, where I spent so much time working and playing while I was in high school, to visit places I've been to so many times, to see those people that I never met, but I always seemed to spot wherever I went, to drive on those roads where I first learned to drive and see how the city has grown and changed. Texarkana will never be home, but it will always be my hometown.
In 1996, when I was just 17, I moved 2500 miles across the country to Moscow, Idaho, which is in the middle of nowhere, yet in the middle of everything simultaneoulsy. The first year was my "break-in" time, and while I enjoyed that year, the next four years proved to be most delightful. Of course there were many times when I wanted to be near my family and I had to settle for a phone call. I especially rember Thanksgiving time, when all the rest of the family would be getting together, but I would be stuck in Idaho. There were occasions when Moscow, Idaho was the last place in the world I wanted to be, but somehow the bad memories grow dim while the good times stay fresh in my mind. I've visited Moscow twice since I moved back to the south and both visits were great, but the facts of a college community rang true, even though I never imagined they would: there are constantly people moving there or moving away. The first time I visited, it was only 2 months after I had moved but things had already started to change. The second time I visited, which was nearly a year after my move, the city was the same but the people were remarkably different. Not only were there many so new faces present and so many old faces absent, but even the poeple who had lived there while I lived there seemed different. I'm sure I did my fair share of changing in that year, but everyone else did too. It makes me sad to think that if I visit Moscow in 5 years, many people there will never know who I am or that I had ever been there before, not that I'm the most important person ever, but it's strange how a town could have so much impact on me, yet I had so little impact on it.
Some things never change though, and those are the things I miss the most about Moscow. I would love to be there right now. Spring was always my favorite time of year. I miss the tulips and the lilacs. I miss the white and brown hills turning bright green. I miss the delights of a pedestrian friendly small town. I miss the cute little downtown. I really miss having somewhere to go where I could get away from the stresses of life. I used to love to drive to Pullman to go to Starbucks or Lawson Gardens. Just the 8 mile drive to Pullman was enough to ease my mind. The last month I lived in Moscow I had to prepare for my thesis defense, which involved a presentation and I also had a big choir concert. I probably drove to Pullman 1000 times reciting my speech aloud in my car until I had it down or singing every chorus from Messiah until I new each note. I miss those roads. While I don't really have a desire to live in Moscow again, I'll always miss it. And I have to admit: the last 2 years at Thanksgiving, though I enjoyed spending it with my family, I couldn't help but think of the Thanksgivings I spent with the LaMoreaux's in Moscow and a part of me wished I was there.
After I left Moscow, I lived in Nacogdoches, TX for a year. I moved there because my parents lived there and I must say, the transition was tough. To go from a town where I saw someone I knew almost everywhere I went to a place where I knew about 10 people was somewhat traumatic. For a while, I was too stubborn to let myself feel at home in Nacogdoches. I went to grad school there and, while the school work itself was fine, the professors were less than I had hoped they would be. I waited tables part time at the Bistro (AKA the den of iniquity) with a bunch a reprobates. I never really met any piers there that I connected with. There were (and are) people in Nacogdoches who I love. Besides my parents, of course, I loved the people I went to church with. I just needed someone near my age who I could hang out with. In March 2002, I drove to Virginia for a wedding and on the way back, I found myself thinking, "I can't wait to get home." That's when I realized (after 10 months of living there) that I really did consider Nacogdoches home. Coincidently, it was that same trip to Virginia when I made plans to move to Monroe. However, I still refer to going to Nacogdoches for the weekend as "going home."
I've lived in Monroe for 10 months now. I think the "break-in" period is almost over. I'm finally comfortable with my home. I'm happy with my job. I have lots of people around who I love. While I don't necessarily feel like there's one group of friends that I belong to, there are several groups that I'm comfortable with. I'm so pleased to live near my siblings and I know that once my niece is born next month, I'll be even happier. It's also nice to live in a place that many of my Texarkana/Moscow/Nacogdoches friends are likely to visit.
This post is much longer than I ever intended it to be. I've been adding to it, sentences at a time, as I've had a chance throughout the day. All I ever really intended to say is that I wish there was a place in Monroe where I could go when I needed to get away for a while, like the mall in Texarkana, or Lawson Gardens in Pullman. I wish I felt about the roads here the way I felt about the roads in Texarkana and Moscow. I think once I find that place and those roads, I'll know I've made it home.
April 10, 2003
Early to rise, early to bed, makes a man healthy but socially dead
I was off work yesterday, so I decided to sleep as late as I possibly could. I figured I would wake up by 9 at the latest, but somehow, I ended up sleeping until 11:30. I can't believe I spent over a year of my life sleeping that late almost everyday. Of course, back in the day, I didn't go to bed until 3 or 4 in the morning, but because I never did any work after 10 pm, I basically only had 8 hours of productive time rather than the 16 hours that I have now.
All that is to say: my day flew by yesterday. By the time it was 4, I felt like it should only be noon and by the time it was 8, I felt like it was only 4. While it's nice to be able to sleep in from time to time, I don't recommend it.*
Another side effect of sleeping for 12 hours is that I have a serious case of Gumby neck. What I mean by that is that I woke up with a major crick in my neck so I can't turn my head. If I need to look at something, I have to turn my whole body, like Gumby.
*If my dad is reading this, I'm sure he's enjoying it. He told me a thousand times that I should get up early and I never listened.
April 08, 2003
Quote of the Day
"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." --Mark Twain
NumenoreanBlogrolling
Earlier today, I was messing around with the settings on my blog. You may notice the *new* orange background on my comment page as well as the new arrangement of the links. They're supposed to refresh and list in order of who has the most recent post, but I don't think that's working. I may go back to the alphabetical listing. I was also thinking of adding more people to my blogroll, but I couldn't decide who to add, so here's my idea: if I don't link to you and you think I should, please submit a written argument telling me why I should do such a thing and I will think about it.
Also, I changed blogout from saying "shout out" to saying "comment" because I never could come to terms with the fact that more than one comment made it say "shout outs" rather than "shouts out". One more thing...Blogout is not working quite right so even if it looks like there aren't any comments, there may very well be some, they just don't show up on the main page. I have notified the proper authorities of this problem, so hopefully it will be corrected soon.
April 07, 2003
This is not meant to offend anyone who lives in a mobile home...I know perfectly respectable people who live in trailers. (Of course, they have ambition to move into other, more substantial housing.) But if you live in a trailer and your idea of "adding on" to your home involves setting another trailer next to yours and opening the doors between them to join them together, I think you should seal the joint with duct tape in order to maintain to level of integrity of the structure.
And remember: nothing screams "class" like a doublewide with an awning built over it.
Quote of the Day
"It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it." -- The Blues Brothers
April 04, 2003
If you lived in Iraq, would you fly out of the "Saddam International Airport"? That sounds about as safe as a hotel called "Hitler's Hideaway."
April 03, 2003
Quote of the Day
Jon's recent mention of John Schwandt reminded me of something Mr. Schwandt once said in class (Greek or Latin, I don't remember which):
"To think a quiz is easy is a blessing. To say a quiz is easy is boasting."
April 02, 2003
April 01, 2003
The American Way
Can food possibly get any faster? Fast food restaurants aside, pretty much all food in America is fast. Sure, there are recipes that take an hour to cook. There are some things that are more involved than others, but overall, I think we have reached the pinnacle of cullinary speed. (I'm using "cullinary" in a broad way.) This morning, I had a frozen waffle with spray butter on it. Spray butter: now that is laziness. I don't even have time to soften butter. I don't have time to use ever-soft butter spread. I use a pump to put butter on my one-minute waffle. Just think of all the time I've saved...and I'm still rushing out the door as I grab a bottle of water (who has time for tap water?) and eat my waffle in the car.
Other than spray butter and frozen waffles, we buy bread that's already baked and sliced, minute rice, cake mixes, canned or frozen veggies, canned biscuits, frozen meat, bullion cubes, and individually wrapped cheese slices or pre-grated cheddar or the ultimate in laziness: aerosol cheese.
Don't get me wrong, I like to cook. I even like to cook things that take a long time to make. My point is: American's have it really easy (or should I say "E-Z"?). Even when we do actually cook something, think of all the processes other cultures have to go through that we never even think about: grinding wheat for flour, milking cows (eww!), gardening, slaughtering animals, etc. I know plenty of Americans actually do these things, but we don't have to. That's what Wal-mart is for.
Now if they could only make instant coffee witht the perfect amount of cream and sugar...but then again, I don't have time to wait for water to boil.
This is really long, but what else do you have to do? It's not like anyone else has anything new posted on their Blog.
After I got off work today, I was lounging on the couch scanning the channels and I came across the Marx Brothers' "A Night in Casablanca." I'd never seen it before, so I watched it for a while. I forgot how amusing those guys were. I wasn't able to watch the whole thing, but I did watch long enough to learn that Harpo was quite impressive on the harp.
Seeing the movie reminded me of a letter Groucho Marx wrote to Warner Brothers concerning the name "A Night in Casablanca." Apparently, WB contended that the use of the name "Casablanca" violated their copywrite. Here is Groucho's response:
Dear Warner Brothers:
Apparently there is more than one way of conquering a city and holding it as your own. For example, up to the time that we contemplated making this picture, I had no idea that the city of Casablanca belonged exclusively to Warner Brothers. However, it was only a few days after our announcement appeared that we received your long, ominous legal document warning us not to use the name Casablanca.
It seems that in 1471, Ferdinand Balboa Warner, your great-great-grandfather, while looking for a shortcut to the city of Burbank, had stumbled on the shores of Africa and, raising his alpenstock (which he later turned in for a hundred shares of common), named it Casablanca.
I just don't understand your attitude. Even if you plan on re-releasing your picture, I am sure that the average movie fan could learn in time to distinguish between Ingrid Bergman and Harpo. I don't know whether I could, but I certainly would like to try.
You claim that you own Casablanca and that no one else can use that name without your permission. What about "Warner Brothers"? Do you own that, too? You probably have the right to use the name Warner, but what about Brothers? Professionally, we were brothers long before you were. We were touring the sticks as The Marx Brothers when Vitaphone was still a gleam in the inventor's eye, and even before us there had been other brothers--the Smith Brothers; the Brothers Karamazov; Dan Brothers, an outfielder with Detroit; and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (This was originally "Brothers, Can You Spare a Dime?" but this was spreading a dime pretty thin, so they threw out one brother gave all the money to the other one and whittled it down to, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?")
Now Jack, how about you? Do you maintain that yours is an original name? Well, it's not. It was used long before you were born. Offhand, I can think of two Jacks--there was Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk," and Jack the Ripper, who cut quite a figure in his day.
As for you Harry, you probably sign your checks, sure in the belief that you are the first Harry of all time and that all other Harrys are imposters. I can think of two Harrys that preceeded you. There was Lighthouse Harry of Revolutionary fame and a Harry Appelbaum who lived on the corner of 93rd Street and Lexington Avenue. Unfortunately, Appelbaum wasn't too well known. Last I heard of him, he was selling neckties at Weber and Heilbroner.
Now about the Burbank studio. I beleive this is what you brothers call your place. Old man Burbank is gone. Perhaps you remember him. He was a great man in a garden. His wife often said Luther had ten green thumbs. What a witty woman she must have been! Burbank was the wizard who crossed all those fruits and vegetables until he had the poor plants in such a confused and jittery condition that they could never decide whether to enter the dining room on the meal platter of the dessert dish.
This is pure conjecture, of coure, but who knows--perhaps Burbank's survivors aren't to happy with the fact that a plant that grinds out pictures on a quota settled in their town, appropriated Burbank's name and uses it as a front for their films. It is even possible that the Burbank family is prouder of the potato produced by the old man than they are of the fact that from your studio emerged "Casablanca" or even "Gold Diggers of 1931."
This all seems to add up to a pretty bitter tirade, but I assure you it's not meant to. I love Warners. Some of my best friends are Warner Brothers. It is even possible that I am doing you an injustice, and that you yourselves know nothing at all about this dog-in-the-Wanger attitide. It wouldn't surprise me at all to discover that the heads of your legal department are unaware of this absurd dispute, for I am acquainted with many of them and they are fine fellows with curly black hair, double-breasted suits and a love of their fellow man that out-Saroyans Saroyan.
I have a hunch that this attempt to prevent us from using the title is the brainchild of some ferret-faced shyster, serving a brief apprenticeship in your legal department. I know the type well--hot out of law school, hungry for success and too ambitious to follow the natural laws of promotion. This bar sinister probably needled your attorneys, most of whom are fine fellows with curly black hair, double-breasted suits, etc., into attempting to enjoin us. Well, he won't get away with it! We'll fight him to the highest court! No pasty-faced legal adventurer is going to cause bad blood between the Warners and the Marxes. We are all brothers under the skin and we'll remain friends till the last reel of "A Night in Casablanca" goes tumbling over the spool.
Sincerely,
Groucho Marx
*From The Groucho Letters, Signet Books, 1967