Bennett Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. He also liked to put together compilations of humor. Granted, since these were published in the 1950's, some of the humor and jokes are very dated. However, now and again, you find something worth pondering. (Note: I'm not sure if I'm repeating a former entry, but if I am -- so what! It's my blog after all. Plus, it's worth repeating.)
So here's the good thought on aging:
"Feeling old and discouraged? The snap of youth gone from your stride? Look over these statistics compiled by an agency pushing old-age annuity policies and take heart: Between the ages of 75 and 83 Commodore Vanderbilt added 100 million dollars to his fortune. Kant wrote his philosophical masterpiece at 74. Tintoretto painted his biggest and most famous canvas when he was 75. Verdi was 85 when he wrote Ave Maria. Cato decided to study Greek when he was 80. Goethe was also 80 when he finished Faust. And -- listen to this! -- Titian painted his historic 'The Battle of Lepanto' when he was exactly 98!
Sun shining a bit brighter?"
Papillon
Showing posts with label Bennett Cerf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bennett Cerf. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Incorrect Attribution
Here is a quote that is usually attributed to John Lennon:
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
While Lennon probably said this at some point - it turns out he was not the first to have done so.
I love books. Love 'em. Have them all over my house.
Twice a year, the Albuquerque main library has a $3-a-bag book sale. You take a bag
and stuff as many books into it as you can. You can buy as many bags of books as you want. Love it! One of the books I bought in November 2010's sale was Bennett Cerf's Laugh Day. It bills itself as a "treasury of over 1000 humorous stories, anecdotes...."
At one point in the book, Cerf mentions that he loves to collect quotes. (Me, too!) One of the quotes is:
"Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans." Cerf attributes the quote to a Robert Balzer. (I haven't looked him up so am not sure who he is.) As you can see, other than Lennon's use of the word 'busy', the quotes are identical.
Cerf was not ignoring Lennon since the book was published in 1965, right about the time that Lennon was rising to enough prominence to be quoted. Cerf does not say when he first noted the quote from Balzer, but considering the amount of time it takes to compile and publish a book, it had to have been at least several years before 1965.
It's likely that Lennon (who was NOT a stupid man) saw or heard the quote someplace and used it. People who didn't know about Balzer then gave Lennon all the credit.
It was just interesting to be reading a 45-year-old book and run across the quote.
-------------------------
Also seen in this book is a list of words that are now obsolete. (Note: the list is from another book, Your English Words by John Moore.)
Example:
Quockerwodger - it's a puppet.
Skilligolete - a soup served sometimes to prisoners or sailors (now there's an odd combination).
Calibogus - a mixture of spruce beer and rum (eew?).
Jobbernowl - a blockhead.
Rumblegumption - a Scottish word for common sense.
All for now.
Papillon
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
While Lennon probably said this at some point - it turns out he was not the first to have done so.
I love books. Love 'em. Have them all over my house.
Twice a year, the Albuquerque main library has a $3-a-bag book sale. You take a bag
and stuff as many books into it as you can. You can buy as many bags of books as you want. Love it! One of the books I bought in November 2010's sale was Bennett Cerf's Laugh Day. It bills itself as a "treasury of over 1000 humorous stories, anecdotes...."
At one point in the book, Cerf mentions that he loves to collect quotes. (Me, too!) One of the quotes is:
"Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans." Cerf attributes the quote to a Robert Balzer. (I haven't looked him up so am not sure who he is.) As you can see, other than Lennon's use of the word 'busy', the quotes are identical.
Cerf was not ignoring Lennon since the book was published in 1965, right about the time that Lennon was rising to enough prominence to be quoted. Cerf does not say when he first noted the quote from Balzer, but considering the amount of time it takes to compile and publish a book, it had to have been at least several years before 1965.
It's likely that Lennon (who was NOT a stupid man) saw or heard the quote someplace and used it. People who didn't know about Balzer then gave Lennon all the credit.
It was just interesting to be reading a 45-year-old book and run across the quote.
-------------------------
Also seen in this book is a list of words that are now obsolete. (Note: the list is from another book, Your English Words by John Moore.)
Example:
Quockerwodger - it's a puppet.
Skilligolete - a soup served sometimes to prisoners or sailors (now there's an odd combination).
Calibogus - a mixture of spruce beer and rum (eew?).
Jobbernowl - a blockhead.
Rumblegumption - a Scottish word for common sense.
All for now.
Papillon
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A Glitter of Unicorns?
As has already been mentioned, I love going to places like Goodwill & looking through their used books. Most recently (yesterday to be precise), I found a book edited by Bennett Cerf. (For those too young to remember him, he was a publisher, lecturer, columnist, toastmaster, and TV personality.)
The book is Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter. It was published in 1970 and there is a fair amount of humor in it that is rather dated or is what would now be considered politically incorrect.
However, I have run across some items that I like. Here's one:
"Almost everybody knows that lions travel in prides, that pups come in litters, that elephants en masse are referred to as herds, and that fish navigate in schools. But you'll have to dig into James Lipton's unique book An Exaltation of Larks to find that in their time and fashion, good folks have referred to an ostentation of peacocks, an impatience of wives, an unction of undertakers, a sneer of butlers, a twinge of dentists, a tantrum of decorators, an indifference of waiters, a descent of relatives, a no-no of nannies, and a babble of barbers. If the game appeals to you, you might strike out on your own."
I may just have to see if I can find a copy of Lipton's book. It sounds rather a hoot (of owls?).
So what sorts of things can you come up with?
Papillon
The book is Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter. It was published in 1970 and there is a fair amount of humor in it that is rather dated or is what would now be considered politically incorrect.
However, I have run across some items that I like. Here's one:
"Almost everybody knows that lions travel in prides, that pups come in litters, that elephants en masse are referred to as herds, and that fish navigate in schools. But you'll have to dig into James Lipton's unique book An Exaltation of Larks to find that in their time and fashion, good folks have referred to an ostentation of peacocks, an impatience of wives, an unction of undertakers, a sneer of butlers, a twinge of dentists, a tantrum of decorators, an indifference of waiters, a descent of relatives, a no-no of nannies, and a babble of barbers. If the game appeals to you, you might strike out on your own."
I may just have to see if I can find a copy of Lipton's book. It sounds rather a hoot (of owls?).
So what sorts of things can you come up with?
Papillon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
