Posts
{"Today there are no fairy tales for us to believe in,
and this is possibly a reason for the universal prevalence of mental crack-up.
Yes, if we were childish in the past, I wish we could be children once again."
- Anita Loos.}
Sam, that's Samuel Clemens to you still-mortals, is morose. Seems no one is visiting this blog anymore. I told him it needed a women's touch.
Being Sam, he said, "Have at it, woman."
What artist could resist such an invitation? Besides I'm a bit morose today, too. I died on this date in 1981.
"And who am I?," you say. Great. You people are such a boost to a girl's morale.
Hmm, who am I? Let's just say you're lucky I'm not Plato or Freud. You'd get such an answer it would put you to sleep in an eyeblink.
Ever hear of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES? I wrote it back in 1926, its 1200 first edition copies selling out by noon of the day of its publication. The second edition numbered 65,000.
By 1966, there were 45 more editions, and the whole world was reading my book. Though some were downright party-poopers about it :
When the book reached Russia,
I was told by our then Ambassador, William Bullitt,
that the Soviet authorities embraced it as evidence of the exploitation of helpless female blondes by predatory magnates of the capitalistic system.
As such, the book had a wide sale, but Russia never sent me any royalties,
which seems rather like the exploitation of a helpless brunette author by a predatory Soviet regime.
Men! You can't live with them. And there're too many to kill.
Oh, there's a right way to pronounce my name, but it's too much trouble to correct everyone. So I pronounce it Luce. You might as well, too.
If you girls and boys are lucky, I'll drop by again and teach you a few tricks ... writing tricks. The other kinds you'll have to pick up on your own.
It's more fun that way. And remember : gentlemen may prefer blondes, but they marry brunettes.
***
and this is possibly a reason for the universal prevalence of mental crack-up.
Yes, if we were childish in the past, I wish we could be children once again."
- Anita Loos.}
Sam, that's Samuel Clemens to you still-mortals, is morose. Seems no one is visiting this blog anymore. I told him it needed a women's touch.
Being Sam, he said, "Have at it, woman."
What artist could resist such an invitation? Besides I'm a bit morose today, too. I died on this date in 1981.
"And who am I?," you say. Great. You people are such a boost to a girl's morale.
Hmm, who am I? Let's just say you're lucky I'm not Plato or Freud. You'd get such an answer it would put you to sleep in an eyeblink.
Ever hear of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES? I wrote it back in 1926, its 1200 first edition copies selling out by noon of the day of its publication. The second edition numbered 65,000.
By 1966, there were 45 more editions, and the whole world was reading my book. Though some were downright party-poopers about it :
When the book reached Russia,
I was told by our then Ambassador, William Bullitt,
that the Soviet authorities embraced it as evidence of the exploitation of helpless female blondes by predatory magnates of the capitalistic system.
As such, the book had a wide sale, but Russia never sent me any royalties,
which seems rather like the exploitation of a helpless brunette author by a predatory Soviet regime.
Men! You can't live with them. And there're too many to kill.
Oh, there's a right way to pronounce my name, but it's too much trouble to correct everyone. So I pronounce it Luce. You might as well, too.
If you girls and boys are lucky, I'll drop by again and teach you a few tricks ... writing tricks. The other kinds you'll have to pick up on your own.
It's more fun that way. And remember : gentlemen may prefer blondes, but they marry brunettes.
***
"Men! You can't live with them. And there're too many to kill"
ReplyDeleteLoved that line. I always enjoy your excerpts, Roland. By the way, I mention you in a blogpost on the 20th. I was talking about innovative ideas and mentioned your work.
Have a super day!
Ahhhh, men! You're cute little devils! :)))
ReplyDelete"Men! You can't live with them. And there're too many to kill." That's good stuff!! I like this Luce chick...hope we'll hear more from her!
ReplyDeleteSo they were hating on chick lit, even back then. Love Anita Loos!
ReplyDeletePleased to meet you, Anita! I know of the movie and have seen it on DVD but I must admit I've been remiss in reading your novel. I will fix that as soon as possible. Look forward to your tips. And more Ghost Of A Chance from Roland, too!
ReplyDeleteMen are darlings in wolf's clothing:)
Hey, what about strawberry blondes?!!! Anyway, a really fun post! I had no idea it was a book, just thought it was a movie! Cool, especially that it was written by a woman. You know, of course, that 1. I use every blonde strand I have as an excuse for my occasional (recurrent) absent mindedness and 2. many (most) brunettes have blonde roots...just saying :P
ReplyDeleteVery cool, Roland. Loos was an amazing screenwriter and far, far, far ahead of her time. I loved the bit about her last name. That's exactly how I deal with mine. Easier to pronounce it wrong than to continually correct folks.
ReplyDeleteLOL "gentlemen prefer blondes but they marry brunettes." I Love that LOL
ReplyDeleteRaquel : I looked for that post you mentioned, but I couldn't find it. Thanks for thinking of me and innovation. That's quite a compliment.
ReplyDeleteKittie : The photos of your vacation on your blog made me feel as if I were walking along with you. Thanks for visiting.
Slushpile : Anita loves your name, and she's geared up for another post in the near future.
Anne : Those pesky Russians! Glad you liked my post.
Terry : Anita is a talented writer (I'd say was but her ghost is right at my shoulder.) As for further chapters of GHOST OF A CHANCE, my visitors get meager when I do them. But I am a stubborn cuss. Two more are on hand soon.
Words Crafter : I had the biggest crush on a Texan strawberry blonde once. Sandra, my best friend, says wryly that she knows a lot of blondes with brunette pasts.
VR : Loos indeed was a screenwriter ahead of her times. And her days were filled with loss and pain as well. The human condition is fragile indeed. Glad you liked my post.
Summer : Anita is glad that you liked her line. It was also the title to her sequel to GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES.
All of you made my day by commenting. Thanks, Roland
Roland, I came late to the party...story of my life...but I really enjoyed the blog. But then I have enjoyed all those I have read. Still catching up on some of the others.
ReplyDeleteKill them? Torture maybe. Men do have their uses. *wink* Gentlemen may prefer blonds but REAL men marry brunettes. Blonds are practice for the main event.
ReplyDelete