Oh. Well, That's innocent Enough.

Here's a rather frightening series of illustrations from a 19th century French inventor's magazine I just bought-

Now, I'm not sure what this looks like to you,
but I know what it looks like to me-

ok, yeah, this is what I thought the next step would be...

please please please please don't show what comes next.

oops. Oh.

It's just a roll of paper advertisements
to be read by passersby.

I'm not sure whether this makes me happy or sad...

Pedal to the grindstone...

We're back, back home again from the long weekend, refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to rock n' roll! Now, nose to the grindstone! Pedal to the metal!

Um... is it lunchtime yet?

Adelaide Alsop Robineau-

Our Book of the Day is an interesting, beautiful folio-sized magazine from an important American art potter -

Featured Book-

Please visit our new Featured Book, a charming 1849 French watercolorist's guide with hand-colored plates.

May 15 in History-

Today in History-

May 15, 1565 Henrick de Keyser, architect and master builder of Amsterdam, was born.
May 15, 1856 L. Frank Baum, American Author
May 15, 1923 Richard Avedon, photographer, was born.
May 15, 1930 –Jasper Johns, American Abstract Expressionst is born.
May 15, 1936 Ralph Steadman, British Artist/Cartoonist, was born.

It's a Cat's World-

The beauty of being a cat is that you can sit anywhere you want.

How long 'till dinner?

Our Latest Catalog-

The anguished cry could be heard from one end of town to the other. It disturbed the cows down at the dairy 3 miles away and annoyed the crows as they finished their nests in the tall pine trees-

OHMYGODTHEBOOKELVESHAVEDISCOVEREDTWITTER!!!!!!!

Yes, it was true- the Book Elves signed themselves up with a Twitter account.

There were positive sides to the ghastly news- it quickly became evident that, with the Book Elves solidly planted down at their computer screens twitting away the day, the chaos & mayhem level in the Cataloging Cave decreased remarkably, and we actually went an entire week without getting a single visit from the police or FBI.

So, despite my initial horror, there may actually be a positive side to the whole thing. And hey, now I get to call them “twits”.

But before they accumulated 32,511 “followers” on Twitter, the Book Elves finished our latest catalog-

RECENT ACQUISITIONS FOR MAY, 2009

which features 112 books and catalogs on decorative and fine arts, design, and related subjects. You may see the catalog on our website.

Printed copies are also available. Please remember to send us your postal address if you would like one.

And, if you’d like to follow to Book Elves on Twitter, don’t say you weren’t warned...

So, how do you define "healthy", anyway?

Specifically, I wonder if homemade strawberry shortcake is an acceptable Springtime breakfast. It's fruit and dairy, right?

Bloomin' Spring-

The crab apple in full bloom in front of the cherry tree, also in full bloom, as seen from the window at the top of the stairs.

Springtime-

The azaleas have come into full bloom out back, so we sacrificed a few to mount on my office mantle...

A Nation Mourned-

A story in today's New York Times-

After news of President Lincoln's assassination reached New York, in all arteries and capillaries of the city, shopkeepers designed makeshift shrines to the martyred president. An anonymous diarist walked for miles, drawing sketches of as many storefronts as he could (evidence suggests, but does not confirm, that the diarist was a man). Through his relentless activity this nameless reporter made the news a bit more comprehensible. Here are selections from the diary entries.

Here's the full story and images of the pages.

Are Your Sure?

I just took one of those Facebook quizzes which asked "Which Shakespearean Character are You?" and found out I am Lady Macbeth. And here I was hoping for Richard III. I think it's rigged...

The Bonfire of the Xmas Trees

Yesterday we humanely disposed of several years' worth of dead Xmas trees by having a bonfire in our neighbors' backyard fire pit. First, the pit was readied by burning a few old wooden pallets as the audience warmed up with some champagne-

And in goes the first tree!

That was fast. the second tree approaches...

And there it goes!

Same time, same place, next year?

Morning -Yeah, What's Up with That?

Philosophical Query for the Day-

What is the Real Problem with Morning?

a) it's an every-day event, and that's just too much. Can we cut it back to, say, 4 days a week?

b) people expect you to do stuff when it happens.

c) it comes before lunch.

Rain? Sun??

The forecast says rain-
The sky says sun. It's April,
And I'm so confused.

Opening Day ! (??)

Well, Red Sox fans are all set for Sox Opening Day, Take 2, after yesterday's washout. Hey, at some point it has to stop raining right? Maybe by May?

Opening Day Haiku-

Its Opening Day-
First pitch- going, going gone!
What's gone- ball or hope?

Our Latest Catalog-

The past few weeks were Spring break Time, and the Book Elves went winging their way Southwards. Well, ok, not “winging” it exactly, as they have been banned from flying almost all the domestic airlines, but Peter Pan’ing it to Florida, where they spent a few weeks in one of the few counties where they did not currently have outstanding warrants for public nudity and intoxication (and, in one instance, a warrant citing a surplus US Army truck, a circus donkey, and the roof of the Sarasota Town Hall).

But before the Book Elves arrived in Key West, did their unforgettable (and obscene) a-capella rendition of “Margaritaville” and had Jimmy Buffet call the cops on them, they finished our latest catalog-

RECENT ACQUISITIONS FOR APRIL, 2009

-which features 135 books and catalogs on the decorative and fine arts, design, and related topics. The catalog is now posted on the web , and we also have free printed copies available.
If you would like one, please send us your mailing address.

Our Latest Books on Silver Catalog-

The rapidly changing March weather can prove daunting to even the most experienced meteorologist, and this March's weather has been schizophrenic enough to defeat even the best of them. The Book Elves would no sooner get the sleds ready for promised snow than it would rain. A forecast for a sunny day with temps in the 50s saw them getting the lawn chairs ready only to be covered with 3 inches of sleet. Annoyed, the Book Elves decided they could forecast that sort of weather with as much accuracy as any talking head on channel 4, and set up their own You-Tube-based weather forecasting service called "L@@K -> WEATHER 4YU!!".

But before they re-labeled the quadrants on the Book Cave dart board "Sun", "Snow", "Sleet" & "Meteors", they finished out latest catalog-

"Books on Silver & Silversmiths, A-H" features 128 books and catalogs on silver & silversmths, and you can browse it on our website!

Those Darn Jewels!

I do love a good Art Deco dust jacket...

New Books on Ceramics Catalog

March is said to roar in like a lion and leave like a lamb, but it’s always a bad idea to use such descriptive phrases around the Book Elves, who are likely to put them into “living” practice on the front lawn... But before the local State Police lieutenant (who is around here so much that we now exchange Christmas and birthday cards with him) showed up and began taking photos of what the MSPCA is insisting in calling “the incident scene”, they finished our latest catalog-

"BOOKS ON CERAMICS" features one hundred and sixty-three 18th, 19th and 20th century books and catalogs on a wide variety of pottery, porcelain, potters, and related subjects.

The catalog is posted online, and we also have printed copies available. Please send us your address if you would like a free copy.

Word Freak!!

I just unearthed a small pile of buttons I picked up at one the the yearly Boston Globe Book Festivals back in the late 70s or early 80s. Here's one-

Drama in a Picture-

We had a copy of Phillip Barraud's 1782 book "A New Book of Single Cyphers, Comprising Six Hundred Invented and Engraved by Ph. D. Barraud" in our catalog a few years ago. We sold the book, but I wanted to share one of the engraved frontispiece plates at the front-



I just love dramatic copper-plate engravings like this.

I Suppose it Was Inevitable...

To: All Staff
From: The Board of Directors
Date: December 19
Subject: New "Twelve Days of Christmas" Policy

The recent announcement that Donner and Blitzen have elected to take the early reindeer retirement package has triggered a good deal of concern about whether they will be replaced, and about other restructuring decisions at the North Pole. Streamlining is due to the North Pole's loss of dominance in the season's gift distribution business. Home Shopping TV channels and mail order catalogues have diminished Santa's market share. He and the Board could not sit idly by and permit further erosion of the profit picture.

The reindeer downsizing was made possible through purchase of a late model Japanese sled for the CEO's annual trip. Improved productivity from Dasher and Dancer, who summered at the Harvard Business School, is anticipated. Reduction in the reindeer will also lessen airborne environmental emissions for which the North Pole has received unfavourable press (gas and solid waste). We're pleased to inform you that Rudolph's role will not be disturbed. Tradition still counts for something at the North Pole!

Management denies, in the strongest possible language, the earlier leak that Rudolph's nose get red, not from the cold, but from substance abuse. Calling Rudolph "a lush who was into the sauce and never did pull his share of the load" was an unfortunate comment, made by one of Santa's helpers and taken out of context at a time of the year when they are known to be under 'executive stress'.

As for further restructuring, today's global challenges require the North Pole to continue to look for better, more competitive steps. Effective immediately, the following economy measures are to take place in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" music subsidiary:

1) The partridge will be retained, but the pear tree, which never produced the cash crop forecast, will be replaced by a plastic hanging plant, providing considerable savings in maintenance;

2) Two turtle doves represent a redundancy that is simply not cost effective. In addition, their romance during working hours could not be condoned. The positions are, therefore, eliminated;

3) The three French hens will remain intact. After all, everyone loves the French;

4) The four calling birds will be replaced by an automated voice mail system, with a call waiting option. An analysis is underway to determine who the birds have been calling, how often and how long they talked;

5) The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification into other precious metals, as well as a mix of T-Bills and high technology stocks, appear to be in order;

6) The six geese-a-laying constitutes a luxury which can no longer be afforded. It has long been felt that the production rate of one egg per goose per day was an example of the general decline in productivity. Three geese will be let go, and an upgrading in the selection procedure by personnel will assure management that, from now on, every goose it gets will be a good one;

7) The seven swans-a-swimming is obviously a number chosen in better times. The function is primarily decorative. Mechanical swans are on order. The current swans will be retrained to learn some new strokes, thereby enhancing their outplacement;

8) As you know, the eight maids-a-milking concept has been under heavy scrutiny by the EEOC. A male/female balance in the workforce is being sought. The more militant maids consider this a dead-end job with no upward mobility. Automation of the process may permit the maids to try a-mending, a-mentoring or a-mulching;

9) Nine ladies dancing has always been an odd number. This function will be phased out as these individuals grow older and can no longer do the steps;

10) Ten Lords-a-leaping is overkill. The high cost of Lords, plus the expense of international air travel, prompted the Compensation Committee to suggest replacing this group with ten out-of-work congressmen. While leaping ability may be somewhat sacrificed, the savings are significant as we expect an oversupply of unemployed congressmen this year;

11) Eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming is a simple case of the band getting too big. A substitution with a string quartet, a cutback on new music, and no uniforms, will produce savings which will drop right to the bottom line;

Overall we can expect a substantial reduction in assorted people, fowl, animals and related expenses. Though incomplete, studies indicate that stretching deliveries over twelve days is inefficient. If we can drop ship in one day, service levels will be improved. Regarding the lawsuit filed by the attorneys' association seeking expansion to include the legal profession ("thirteen lawyers-a-suing"), a decision is pending. Deeper cuts may be necessary in the future to remain competitive.

Should this happen, the Board will request management to scrutinise the Snow White Division to determine if seven dwarfs is the right number.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2009.

Not Home on the Range-

2008 will be marked forever as the year the Book Elves went green. No, not "green" the way they "went green" last St. Patrick's Day with that vat of permanent industrial dye, "green" as in ecologically-minded (as in using 300 feet of extension cord to tap into the neighbor's solar panels). For Thanksgiving they decided to go with a "free-range" turkey this year, a decision you would not normally expect to be a recipe for trouble, broken crockery, and numerous minor injuries...

Unfortunately the Book Elves neglected to fully grasp the huge difference between "free-range" and "feral", and proceeded to round up a flock of 20 wild turkeys and herded them onto the screen porch. Wild turkeys, unlike the domesticated variety, can fly, like to kick, have a bad attitude, and (rather like wolves) will attack, in packs, when they are angry.

But before a hungry pack of 20 wild turkeys ravaged the dining room, ate all the cranberry sauce, and locked the Book Elves in the pantry, and just before the fine folks from the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Wildlife showed up with a packet of summonses, the Book Elves finished our latest catalog-

"Catalog #315: 'To Furnish a Fine House' -Books on Furniture, Cabinetmakers, Metalwares, Textiles, and other Americana"

You can browse the catalog on our website , and we have free printed copies available, just send us your mailing address.

The Simple Life-

As we enter the month of December, Christmas Shopping Season, Holiday Party Season and all the other hoopla that go with the Holidays, sometimes it's good to take a step back and try to simplify.

In that spirit, I offer the following Amazingly Simple Home Remedies to Simplify Your Life which I stole from somewhere or other-

-Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop.

-Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

-For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

-A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

-If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives; then you'll be afraid to cough.

-You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

-Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

-If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.


- -

Boy, that Moscow Mule Kicks...

My, my, my... digging through a box of ephemera we uncovered this gem from the mid 1960s-

Of course, vodka has made a comeback in the past 10 years, with lime-flavored vodka, cherry-flavored vodka, and pistachio-flavored vodka, but somehow this little pamphlet appeals to me more than all the over-priced, over-hyped stuff they are trying to peddle now.

Not that you could actually give a "Vodka Party" today- somebody would hit a tree on the way home and you'd get your rear-end sued off. But let's just take a look at some of the snacks they recommend-

-avacado dip (matches the color of your new fridge)

-broiled anchovies (I actually love anchovies, but nobody is going to want to enter the house after you get done broiling a batch)

-cheese sticks (remember, what's good for Kraft is good for America)

-cheese logs (in case your arteries survived the cheese sticks)

-camembert almond balls (actually, I'd try those. I've never heard of such a thing, but it sounds as if it might be good, especially after a few vodkas).

The pamphlet then roves over toward the more "dramatic" entrees, incliuding "Flaming Dishes". I'm not sure I'd stick around for that performance- the host and hostess have had a half-dozen Moscow Mules, and then attempt to set fire to the turkey...

ouch.

Working, Working, Working-

Two catalogs are in the works this week- a new Furniture & Americana catalog, scheduled for mailing the weekend after Thanksgiving, and a shorter Recent Acquisitions catalog, scheduled for mailing as soon as possible...

I may need more coffee.

(Not Really) the Bulwer-Lytton Contest Winners-

“It was a dark and stormy night!"

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, [1803–1873) was a popular Victorian writer, perhaps best remembered to day for his florid, over-blown style. He was the author who penned the immortal opening sentence-

“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”

He is immortalized by the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, in which contestants vie to supply atrocious first sentences to imaginary novels. The following entries have appeared on the internet and are not actually contest entries, but they certainly capture the spirit of the whole thing!

So, we are proud to present-

(Not Really) the Bulwer-Lytton Contest Winners-

10) As a scientist, Throckmorton knew that if he were ever to break wind in the sound chamber he would never hear the end of it.

9) Just beyond the Narrows the river widens.

8) With a curvaceous figure that Venus would have envied, a tanned, unblemished oval face framed with lustrous thick brown hair, deep azure-blue eyes fringed with long black lashes, perfect teeth that vied for competition, and a small straight nose, Marilee had a beauty that defied description.

7) Andre, a simple peasant, had only one thing on his mind as he crept along the east wall: Andre creep... Andre creep... Andre creep.

6) Stanislaus Smedley, a man always on the cutting edge of narcissism, was about to give his body and soul to a back-alley sex-change surgeon to become the woman he loved.

5) Although Sarah had an abnormal fear of mice, it did not keep her from eking out a living at a local pet store.

4) Stanley looked quite bored and somewhat detached, but then penguins often do.

3) Like an overripe beefsteak tomato rimmed with cottage cheese, the corpulent remains of Santa Claus lay dead on the hotel floor.

2) Mike Hardware was the kind of private eye who didn't know the meaning of the word fear, a man who could laugh in the face of danger and spit in the eye of death -- in short, a moron with suicidal tendencies.

AND THE WINNER IS...

1) The sun oozed over the horizon, shoved aside darkness, crept along the greensward, and, with sickly fingers, pushed through the castle window, revealing the pillaged princess, hand at throat, crown asunder, gaping in frenzied horror at the sated, sodden amphibian lying beside her, disbelieving the magnitude of the frog's deception, she screamed madly, "You lied!"

Engineers vs. Management

My story about the balloons that drift over us at this time of year brought this story to mind-


Engineers vs. Management-

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 6 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be in management."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

Our New Catalog-

The Book Elves had two new interests this summer- watching the colorful hot-air balloons that drift lazily across the sky above the Cataloging Cave in the afternoons and evenings, and growing pumpkins.

Now, either of those interests would be innocent enough, but both combined, in the hands of the Book Elves, was bound to result in utter chaos and massive property destruction.

It all started one golden afternoon this fall, as they sat and contemplated a dozen pumpkins the size of small Volkswagens, and watched a balloon drift by overhead, and suddenly the idea of pumpkin balloons came to them.

Still, all might have gone well, or at least not gone badly, because even when hollowed out your average pumpkin, even one large enough to double as Snow White’s carriage, will not fly. There are certain things that will fly on hot air- silk balloons & politicians, for instance. But pumpkins, not so much.

Still, all might have gone well, or at least not gone badly, (isn’t it frightening how often that phrase recurs when discussing the Book Elves?) had the Book Elves not made the mistake of confusing helium with hydrogen, and not misunderstood that those gas-powered hot-air blowers are not necessary if you’re not using hot air...

The Daily Hampshire Gazette’s 24-point headline- “Holy Blazing Pumpkins in the Sky, Batman!!” perhaps best captures the ensuing conflagration, and is certainly much more colorful than the 6-page State Police report, or the rather frosty letter we received from the National Guard.

And the FBI van remains parked outside the Cataloging Cave.

But before they immolated enough pumpkin flesh to bake pies for the entire state of New Hampshire, the Book Elves finished our latest catalog-


RECENT ACQUISITIONS for NOVEMBER, 2008

-which features a new selection of books about decorative arts, fine arts and design.

The catalog is available on our website.

Up, Up, and Aawy...

The prevailing wind in the Pioneer Valley is south to north, so every spring, summer and fall the early morning and early evening sky plays host to colorful hot-air balloons which take off down toward Springfield and drift up the valley over the broad fields of corn, potatoes and pumpkins to land here in Hatfield or just to our north in Whately, short of the rocky prominence of Mount Sugarloaf.

-

The view from the top of Mount Sugarloaf, looking back down the Valley along the Connecticut River-

-

In the spring and summer, when the windows are all open, often the first warning we have of a balloon overhead is the "whooooooosh!" of the gas-powered hot-air blower pumping more hot air into the balloon.

The balloons are all followed by chase crews, who are in radio contact with the balloon pilot and drive pickups or vans pulling the trailer that the balloon will be packed up into at the end of the flight. The balloon crew carries a bottle of champagne which they present to a farmer if they land in his field.

Last summer in the early evening a balloon drifted over the house and began to come down in the soccer field of the high school across the street. As the balloon slowly descended an entire convoy of vehicles came down the street, chase truck and trailer in the lead, followed by at least a dozen cars full of people. The balloon drifted left toward some trees, and the pilot "hit the gas", making the balloon bound upward and start to drift north toward a neighboring potato farm.

The convoy of followers turned into the school's long driveway, raced around the circle in front of the school and came racing back out, tearing off down the street in the direction of the rapidly-disappearing balloon.

A number of neighbors were out on the sidewalk at this point, because you never see a convoy of cars that large chasing a balloon, and we were curious about what was going on. The mystery was cleared up when a young woman in one of the last cars leaned out the window, holding a cell-phone in one hand, and yelled to us-

"She said YES!!"

-

Most balloon fly-overs are far less dramatic, except for the random low-flyer who looks as if he may take the top of our chimney off. Balloons are beautiful at any time of year, but they are especially triking against the colorful fall leaves in the crisp, blue autmun sky.

-

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Computer Haiku

A file that big?
It might be very useful.
But now it is gone.

The Web site you seek
Can not be located but
Countless more exist.

Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.

Aborted effort:
Close all that you have worked on.
You ask far too much.

Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.

Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
Windows is like that.

First snow, then silence.
This thousand dollar screen dies
So beautifully.

With searching comes loss
And the presence of absence:
?My Novel? not found.

The Tao that is seen
Is not the true Tao until
You bring fresh toner.

Stay the patient course.
Of little worth is your ire.
The network is down.

A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
To a simple stone.

Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.

Out of memory.
We wish to hold the whole sky,
But we never will.

Children of the Corn-

On Sunday morning we made our annual trip with our friends and their kids to Mike's Corn Maze at Warner Farm in nearby Sunderland. Past mazes have pictured Julia Child and Louis Armstrong, and this year's maze is called "Odysseus and Polyphemus, An Odyssey in Corn" -

Ready? Let's go!

Uh oh. Which way?



Um, no, this is a dead end.



A bridge! I wonder where it goes...



Of course, it's everyone's favorite, the spud cannon!



A new feature this year is a gazebo with a camera obscura inside-



For a better view, you can climb the viewing platform-



Our friend Jeff appears satisfied with the day.



For completing the maze, finding the 24 numbered checkpoints, and getting out again, we got a free pumpkin, but not the one Jeff is sitting on!

So- Who Was He?

The gentleman in question was George E. Ohr (1857-1918), the self-proclaimed "Greatest Art Potter on Earth", also known as "The Mad Potter of Biloxi, Mississippi". Ohr was certainly very talented, and not at all mad, though he was quite annoyed that he never received the acclaim he felt he deserved in his own lifetime.

His pots were ahead of their time, and not at all in keeping with the art pottery fashion of the day. Critics even accused him of "torturing" his clay...

In 1905 Ohr was invited to send four pieces of his work to be exhibited at the annual United states Potters Association convention. He sent the pieces, along with a note stating-

"I send you four pieces, but it is as easy to pass judgment on my productions from four pieces as it would be to take four lines from Shakespeare and guess the rest".

Ohr was also an amateur photographer, and delighted in creating improbable scenes featuring himself-

Potting at the Ohr pottery was a family affair-

Ohr's pottery never sold widely, and his work was largely forgotten after his death, but in 1972 a cache of more than 6,000 pots was discovered, forgotten and covered with dust, in a family warehouse. It was eventually purchased en bloc by an art pottery dealer, who took 3 months to unpack it, and then put it on the market gradually over a period of years, and so Ohr pottery is widely appreciated and avidly collected today.

It's too bad "The Greatest Potter in the World" never got to see that.

Who Am I?

I was the greatest at what I did,
my self-assertion knew no lid.
And unlike some whose talents rot-
my genius never went to pot.

Answer on Monday!