tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post195301751030471827..comments2024-03-25T09:01:20.997-07:00Comments on Diary of an Autodidact: The Private Dining Room by Ogden NashDiary of an Autodidacthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-75928348234650128392016-11-22T10:03:27.933-08:002016-11-22T10:03:27.933-08:00Well, as regarding the copyright permission, I did...Well, as regarding the copyright permission, I did originally give permission to use it as long as it wasn't altered, but I never expected anyone to use it for an English text book. I don't have that high of an opinion of my own work I guess. :-)Mary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-10142470075671871002016-11-21T15:58:09.080-08:002016-11-21T15:58:09.080-08:00Ah yes, the lemon juice and olive oil dressing. Cl...Ah yes, the lemon juice and olive oil dressing. Classic Greek dressing, basically. As I told my kids, you need an acid and oil, and it's a dressing. Perhaps not a vinaigrette, but a dressing. <br /><br />I'll have to look up your poem. The lack of copyright permission is such a throwback. Composers like Haydn had to just assume that they wouldn't get paid for their work outside their own country...<br /> Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-78973518424609972142016-11-19T19:20:40.191-08:002016-11-19T19:20:40.191-08:00Well, I'm going to have to do more reading of ...Well, I'm going to have to do more reading of Ogden Nash. I guess I have a taste for this type of humor, and actually it inspires me. My dad taught us to appreciate a good pun and also raised us on the writings of Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye, the humorist. One of our family favorites from Nye was when he wrote about Boston and said, "I met a man from the hub who spoke to a fellow until he was tired." ("The Hub" being the center of Boston for the uninitiated.) :-)<br /><br />The poem about the "nude eeler" is rich. How to people think of things like that? I would like to know the thought process behind that.<br /><br />I have to disagree about salad dressing, though. I think it can be even simpler and still be excellent. One of my favorites these days is this refreshing and simple mixture - olive oil, *fresh* lemon juice, salt and a bit of fresh ground pepper. There's nothing like a little fresh lemon to delight the taste buds and fresh herbs can be mixed in with the lettuce to give any other flavor wanted. The older I get the more I appreciate simple uncomplicated recipes. I don't know if it's because they really do taste better or if I'm just less industrious than I was in my twenties. I'll leave that to speculation.<br /><br />A piece of unimportant and slightly related information about myself: I am actually a published poet in India. Some years back one of my poems ("Whining and Dining") was published in an English textbook over there. A teacher looked me up on-line and wrote to me or never would have known since the publishers never sought my consent. (I have since stated that is necessary before printing.) My dad astutely noted that I may be a famous poet in India with so many million English students, while still being virtually unknown in my own country. (Yes, there is a humorous poem asking to be written about that, but I'll let it pass for now.) It is an odd sensation to think that I might someday meet an Indian who remembers my name and connects me with that poem. (In case you're curious what sort of madness I am capable of - the link is: http://www.homemakerscorner.com/whinedine.htm Please do not publish it in an English textbook in China. So much fame might go to my head. Thank you.)Mary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-24205928591643737612016-11-01T09:39:29.725-07:002016-11-01T09:39:29.725-07:00I should have mentioned the Saint Saens verses. Th...I should have mentioned the Saint Saens verses. They are quite brilliant (as is the music.) Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-9396551260703118942016-10-31T18:24:37.544-07:002016-10-31T18:24:37.544-07:00Oooh, thanks for these brilliantly witty samples! ...Oooh, thanks for these brilliantly witty samples! I suppose you have at least heard his equally brilliant verses to Saint Saëns' Carnival of the Animals; I grew up with the original recording of those verses spoken by Noël Coward, with Andre Kostelanetz and "his Orchestra" (probably members of the New York Philharmonic), and I can still recite them all.<br /><br />One of my favorites by Nash is The Seagull:<br />Hark to the whimper of the sea-gull!<br />He weeps because he's not an ea-gull.<br />Suppose you were, you silly sea-gull;<br />Could you explain it to your she-gull?jochanaanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14143066702059757955noreply@blogger.com