WORK
“Quietly they moved down the calm and sacred river that had come down to earth so that its waters might flow over the ashes of those long dead, and that would continue to flow long after the human race had, through hatred and knowledge, burned itself out.”
—Vikram Seth
—from A Suitable Boy
WORD(S)
grubble/grabble. verb. To grope. To feel about or feel one’s way in the dark. To scrape together. Grubble is a variant of grabble, from Dutch grabbelen (grab, grope).
“There I will be, and there we cannot miss,
Perhaps to Grubble, or at least to Kiss.”
(Ovid, translated by Dryden)“Lame, cock-eyed hill-bitches, agitated into a perpetual state of oestrus, turning mean, nasty, as they frot and butt and rut and hump in the ordure and straw, gnash and grabble in their squatting capsules on the floor.” (Nick Cave)
“She grabbled around in her black and white bag and pushed some bills across the desk in a lump.” (Raymond Chandler)
“They deserve to grabble in the dirt and get nothing for it but a dry gut-ruble. They won’t listen.” (Robert Penn Warren)
WEB
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From Reader E. comes Emoji Ulysses…which contains a profile link to a work on almost precisely the opposite end of the Ulysses spectrum, Infinite Ulysses. If you’re planning on finishing that emoji literature degree, you’ll also want to read Emoji Dick.
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Today in 1756, 146 British prisoners, including two women and a few wounded soldiers, are allegedly herded at sword-point into an 18x15 foot cell in Calcutta that would later be dubbed the Black Hole of Calcutta. Later historians would conclude that the original number might have been as low as 64, though the fact that only 23 would survive the night, the rest succumbing to suffocation and trampling while their guards laughed at them outside, is not in dispute.
WATCH/WITNESS
Paul Latham flying over the English Channel, July 19, 1909. Before the crash. Which he survived.
REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES
- Reader K. writes: “David Curran’s postal explorations from 6/11 will be of great interest to marketers, who are always looking for a new way to reach their audience. One of my favorite ideas is to send an actual prescription bottle, address and stamp on the outside, prescription for success (use our product!) within. They say it has an 80% open rate!”
I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback and all manner of what-have-you. Just press ‘Reply’ or email to: clippings@katexic.com.
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