Quote May 10th

“I DO NOT FEAR DEATH, I HAD BEEN DEAD FOR BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN, AND HAD NOT SUFFERED THE SLIGHTEST INCONVENIENCE FROM IT.” 

Mark Twain

  

This week's quote came from a movie we saw at the Ancaster Film Festival on Monday night. It was engaging, funny, sad and hopeful. About living and dying and the nether land in between where some of us hang out thinking we are alive until something wakes us up (if we are lucky). 

Cheers

Jeanne

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Reviews:

RogerEbert.com/Susan Wloszczna

Finding Your Feet finds its own footing by putting its trust in its sturdy performers and avoiding many of the usual tea-time clichés as it allows its British cast to be defined by their relatable human circumstances more than quaint Anglo quirks.

Women's Voice For Change/Alexandra MacAaron
There are things that the British simply do better than we do. One of them is creating romantic comedies with old people. Here's a new one, with a marvelous cast that's living it up.

Washington Post/Jane Horwitz
This dramedy about middle-class Londoners in their 60s and 70s getting on with life has a genial watchability - even a stubborn relevance - thanks to its crackerjack ensemble cast, who play characters just eccentric enough to keep things tasty. 

Mark Twain Interesting Facts from the Farmer's Almanac

November 30 is the birthday of Mark Twain, born in 1835.  Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, provided us with endless entertainment through numerous novels, nonfiction books, short stories, and essays—all despite having ended formal schooling after the fifth grade.

10 CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT MARK TWAIN

When Was Mark Twain Born?

Baby Clemens arrived prematurely in a two-room shack in Florida, Missouri, on November 30th, 1835. He was a frail infant and sickly child, prompting his mother to admit, “When I first saw him, I could see no promise in him.”

Mark Twain’s Many Cats

The Clemens family had 19 cats at one time during Twain’s childhood. Over the years he gave his cats inventive names such as Bambino, Famine, Pestilence, Satan, Sin, Sour Mash, and Stray Kit.

What Is Mark Twain’s Real Name?

Sam Clemens tried out several pseudonyms, including Rambler, W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, and Josh, before settling on Mark Twain (the phrase used by Mississippi River steamboat crews when measuring water depth).

Mark Twain’s Typewriter

In 1874, the author spotted one of the first typewriters, a Remington, in a Boston store window. Although it could only type capital letters and he had to operate the carriage return with a foot pedal, he bought it for $125. Twain also claimed to be the first person in New England to have had a telephone for private use.

How Tall Was Mark Twain?

This literary giant stood 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall and was so well known that he once received a letter addressed “Mark Twain, God Knows Where.”

Mark Twain in New Hampshire

In 1905, he spent the first of two summers in Dublin, New Hampshire (home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac). There he wrote (but never finished) a book called Three Thousand Years Among the Microbes. To keep him company, he rented three kittens from a local farm. While lecturing at the Dublin Lake Club, he noticed that an audience member was knitting a pair of socks while he spoke. Infuriated, Twain declared that he had never played second fiddle to a sock and left the room. The following year, he returned to the Lake Club and spoke for over 2 hours on various topics. He received a standing ovation.

Mark Twain’s Clothing

Twain made headlines in 1907 by walking from his London hotel to a public bath across the street attired in his blue bathrobe and slippers. Back in America, he often wore scarlet socks and all-white suits, which he called his “don’tcareadam suits.”

Mark Twain’s Leisurely Habits

Twain loved to write in bed, and reporters chatted with him there more than once. He said, “I have never taken any exercise, except for eating and resting, and I never intend to take any.”

Mark Twain’s Memory

He once observed: “When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so that I can not remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it.”

When Did Mark Twain Die?

He was born and died when a comet passed, once noting: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year [1910], and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t.” He got his wish. He died on April 21, 1910, just two days after Halley’s Comet had reached its point closest to the Sun.