Miffy's eyes and mouth are the hardest. "That's all you have. With two dots and a little cross I have to make her happy, or just a little bit happy, a little bit cross or a little bit sad - and I do it over and over again. There is a moment when I think yes, now she is really sad. I must keep her like that."

Making Miffy sad can take days. Bruna ( Read more... )

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It's a ghastly, ghastly day here. Seconds after I'd posted that last entry, I had a call from a press officer who helped me out on a recent article. We used a pic of the guy he put me in touch with - but apparently, the pull-quote that appeared under the photo was not his quote. It was said by someone else. The press officer was deeply unhappy. He ( Read more... )

The Spartan family was quite different from that of other Ancient Greek city-states. The word "spartan" has come down to us to describe self-denial and simplicity. This is what Spartan life was all about. Children were children of the state more than of their parents ... They learned to fight, endure pain and survive through their wits. The older ( Read more... )

A bad pear is always better than a bad apple. A good pear is always better than a good apple. Therefore, I should eat more pears.

... I received the following email from a friend in New York:

Just got my mail back. Address written letter for letter as below. Any ideas?He's a man of few words. This missive is only typically curt - not unusually curt. It's also typically cryptic. I couldn't work out what he was talking about. So I ignored it ( Read more... )

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"Hollywood likes to think that it is, in addition to being entertainment, a tool for enlightenment, an instrument for bringing mankind together and a vehicle for showing the humanity of others. And then they make movies like Kill Bill. Parts 1&2. Then they marvel why the world thinks of us as violent. Hollywood isn't part of the solution, like they ( Read more... )

I saw the "Murkleman" video ... ooh ... last October, I think. Since then, I've been waiting to get my hands on the vinyl. Last December, I became convinced that I'd missed it somehow - but no! Promos are finally in the shops and one is winging its way to me as I type this ( Read more... )

I love a good insult - and this one is a winner because of its deadly economy. Sandra came out with it last night when we were on our way to the pool hall. We encountered a woman who was wearing a three-quarter-length winter coat which looked like a kid's sleeping bag, combined with a giant woolly hat and chunky boots. Somehow she managed to sashay ( Read more... )