never-ending gallery

[solongleonard]

I don’t know Mike’s writing. A few years ago we had a brief affair which lasted only til two years earlier. I often begged him to let me see what his naked pen is but he would communicate only by semaphore. Eventually the relationship flagged.

So, doing my best, I think his note reads

“ To God-free, my dear fiend. A bone toffee man. No hoser. I had the most wonderful stag with you in Summer 2058.”

It appears to be signed by “Macaroni” , presumably a reference to saving all his ribbons of pasta for thee.

Dear Sue, there are many reasons why I detest you and have written many a book about your bad qualities. I have also produced TV shows and Broadway drama in 1 different languages and of course I set up the International Athletic Events to dishonour you.

However, I feel truly sad how your last post, with it's alleged wit, was totally ignored by the President Ritics here.
That must be so disappointing and ever so hurtful for you and therefore I would like to say
HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[LisaLCFan]

Dear Sue, ...I feel truly sad how your last post, with it's alleged wit, was totally ignored by the President Ritics here.
That must be so disappointing and ever so hurtful for you and therefore I would like to say
HAHAHA...

Oh, Solong, don't be such a hoser! The reason we didn't respond to Sue's stellar word-play is because sometimes it is best to allow such brilliance to shine unshaded by the lesser attempts at wit by we mere mortals of the keyboard. It was with respectful silence that we sat motionless and positively in awe of her impossibly perfect and unparalleled paranomasia.

[Geoffrey]

solongleonard wrote:
>I feel truly sad how [my] last post, with it's alleged wit, was totally ignored by the President Ritics here. That [is] so disappointing and ever so hurtful for [me] . . .
----------------------
dear friend
i well understand how you or anyone else must feel at having a message overlooked, especially one into which time and energy was invested. please forgive my shortcomings for not always providing a response, but there is a life outside of this forum, and occasionally priority has to go elsewhere. i do the best i can, but nevertheless still struggle with a bad conscience at not managing to accommodate everyone. of course, i could always politely reply with a brief acknowledgement to show appreciation, but hesitate to do so. a message should, whenever possible, contain substance, eloquence, an element of insightfulness, something more than just a simple pleasantry - because too much small talk tends to dull the atmosphere. thinking people seek inspiration rather than boredom. allow me to assure you that your messages, though possibly lacking in intellectual content, do meet the desired standard. i feel they frequently entertain readers by exhibiting humour, wordplay and mental dexterity - all qualities that are more than acceptable.
-g

as a gesture of friendship, a picture of what leonard's brother might have looked like

[Sideways]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQjh9H-ymK4

[solongleonard]

solongleonard wrote:
>I feel truly sad how [my] last post, with it's alleged wit, was totally ignored by the President Ritics here. That [is] so disappointing and ever so hurtful for [me] . . .
----------------------
dear friend
i well understand how you or anyone else must feel at having a message overlooked, especially one into which time and energy was invested. please forgive my shortcomings for not always providing a response, but there is a life outside of this forum, and occasionally priority has to go elsewhere. i do the best i can, but nevertheless still struggle with a bad conscience at not managing to accommodate everyone. of course, i could always politely reply with a brief acknowledgement to show appreciation, but hesitate to do so. a message should, whenever possible, contain substance, eloquence, an element of insightfulness, something more than just a simple pleasantry - because too much small talk tends to dull the atmosphere. thinking people seek inspiration rather than boredom. allow me to assure you that your messages, though possibly lacking in intellectual content, do meet the desired standard. i feel they frequently entertain readers by exhibiting humour, wordplay and mental dexterity - all qualities that are more than acceptable.
-g

as a gesture of friendship, a picture of what leonard's brother might have looked like
brother.jpg

you and Lisa are such Mensch and have dealt beautifully with Moaning Mike. I presume the picture above is one of your child. Congratulations to you both. In a very very tiny way your daughter reminds me of the American singer Leonard Cohen.

[Geoffrey]

Of course, if one finds that consuming bee pollen improves their health, then that's great, and clearly Leonard was one of those people.

well, i don't think it's quite that clear, lisa. in one of his packages of pollen he wrote the following p.s.:

[LisaLCFan]

Thank you for the clarification, but of course, I did allow for the possibility that Leonard was not actually a convert to bee pollen with my parenthetical "and/or he thought that you should be!". He was, after all, apparently trying to get rid of the stuff, by sending it all to you!

[LisaLCFan]

[1] you and Lisa are such Mensch and have dealt beautifully with Moaning Mike. [2] I presume that is a picture of your child. Congratulations to you both

1) You are so kind!

2) Perish the thought!

p.s. Love the subject line!

[Geoffrey]

rainy day, so stayed home. do this if you want a decent square meal like me:
carefully brown some minced beef with a little olive oil in a big-ass frying pan. add fresh ginger and garlic, then chopped onions, then after a while drain off any oil or liquid, 'cos you don't need that shit. add pasta sauce, then pre-boiled baby carrots, and lastly sweetcorn. make sure you reckon everything's ready and ok, then ladle it over into a flat baking tray. on top of it you have to put a layer of potato that's been mashed with pepper, butter and a splash of milk. then you got to sprinkle grated cheese on top of it all - then sliced tomatoes. stick the whole messy load in the oven until it starts getting a nice golden colour and doesn't look quite so much like dog's vomit any longer. serve with blanched broccoli, beetroot, light gravy and a glass of chilled rosé wine. after you've got it down ya, you're guts is bloated and yet there's still some left, you can freeze the rest.

[LisaLCFan]

That would be a hi-cal cottage pie -- was there anything in your fridge/pantry that you didn't add to the meal? It actually sounds very good, although I'd likely skip the gravy, and steam the broccoli.

Oh, and it may be best, if you share future recipes, to omit references to vomit (canine or otherwise), as that can be rather off-putting for one's appetite.

[Geoffrey]

LisaLCFan wrote:
>That would be a hi-cal cottage pie

i could probably have lowered the calorie count, but as you know, there is something called orthorexia too. anyway, the main culprit was the yellow cheese, i had forgotten to buy the lite kind. the ground beef i used was very lean, a special low fat type. it's called karbonadedeig, containing only 4-5% fat compared to the usual 14-15%. also, i drained off all fluids (oil, stock, water, fat) that accumulated as the meat warmed.

>was there anything in your fridge/pantry that you didn't add to the meal?

a variety of things. amongst them peas, sweet potatoes, red peppers, occra (ladies fingers) and an aubergine.

>It actually sounds very good, although I'd likely skip the gravy, and steam the broccoli.

yes, the broccoli should have been steamed, i agree, but i opted for a quick dunk into boiling water, maybe less than a minute. the stems were still crispy. the gravy i used was not the traditional gravy, but a much thinner version (norwegian sjysaus) - i even added twice as much water than the packet instructed, and only poured about an eggcupful onto my plate.

>Oh, and it may be best, if you share future recipes, to omit references to vomit (canine or otherwise), as that can be rather off-putting for one's appetite.

well, if it's a high calorie meal then perhaps putting one off one's appetite may not be a bad thing

yes, objectionable language can be unattractive. the trouble is, reading leonard's 'beautiful losers' and 'death of a lady's man', seems to have influenced me. not to mention the lyrics 'giving me head', 'anal sex', 'cardboard and piss', etc.

say what you like about bob dylan, but, as far as i recall, he has never used expletives or filth

[LisaLCFan]

I really do think that your cottage pie sounded very good (high-calorie does not necessarily mean that it is unhealthy -- lots of good healthy stuff in your recipe!), and I often make something similar -- variations on cottage pie is a favourite of mine. I do, however, tend not to use cheese in it (makes it a bit too heavy), and I think that tomato sauce and gravy is an odd -- and perhaps excessive -- combination (I find most pre-made gravy/gravy-mixes to be far too salty for my taste, anyway, so I usually avoid them).

...yes, objectionable language can be unattractive. the trouble is, reading leonard's 'beautiful losers' ... seems to have influenced me...

I was influenced by that book, too, in that it compelled me to want to fling the book as far from me as possible, to somehow wash my mind of the disgusting language, imagery and themes with which I was inflicted, and to be persuaded never to read it again. Trying to emulate the language of that book would not be my inclination, to say the least.

[Geoffrey]

I was influenced by that book, too, in that it compelled me to want to fling the book as far from me as possible, to somehow wash my mind of the disgusting language, imagery and themes with which I was inflicted, and to be persuaded never to read it again. Trying to emulate the language of that book would not be my inclination, to say the least.

point taken. some time ago jarkko published my 'beautiful losers' walkthrough (link below). in the preface i did warn people the language should be considered 'highly offensive'.

apart from that, this was an exceedingly brave opinion for you to voice, especially in a leonard cohen forum that is likely followed not only by the webmaster, administrators and loyal followers, but also, perhaps, his management and family. i have always had deep respect for you, your high intelligence and supreme eloquence, but never more so than now - when seeing what you have dared to write. leonard would certainly have understood, and applauded you, as do i.

https://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/bl-walk.html

[LisaLCFan]

Well, I like to say what I think and feel about things, and in fact, I usually do, without reservation. However, note that I said "things", and not "people" -- and this is an important distinction to me. I have found that some people take my honest comments about things personally -- as if I am directly criticising or insulting them or someone else -- but that is never my intention and I would never deliberately nor consciously denigrate a person, even if some thing associated with them is not to my taste or inclination. I certainly do not consider my comments about Beautiful Losers to be a personal insult against Leonard Cohen or anyone else who admires him (and I am included in that latter category!). I also do not think that I am alone in my assessment of Beautiful Losers, but that really doesn't make any difference to me, as I make my own judgments regardless of what anyone else may think (and I would hope -- or wish -- that others do the same).

While I do realise that my blatant honesty about things does not always go down well with everyone, I have also been told by numerous people (yourself included) that they admire that quality in me, which is quite lovely of them (and you) to say. Thank you!

Incidentally, I have read your synopsis of Beautiful Losers, and I found it to be amusing. It is quite a different experience from that of actually reading the book!

[Geoffrey]

leonard wrote:
>"i like a good laugh, but we all know when we come into our rooms and close the door, it isn't all that funny."

i actually eat a lot of fresh fish, also some chicken, and am sure my intake of red meat is less than the average person. i keep away from pork except on rare occasions when it is served at a dinner party, and even then i eat only a tiny amount and hope no one notices. fanatically conscious of social etiquette i have always been, do not wish to either disappoint the host or appear fussy. i just like to be anonymous and blend in with everyone else, let them see that i am normal, even if it means doing things i don't like. the serviette is constantly wiping the corners of my mouth so that they notice i am well brought up, and i am careful not to allow unsightly brown lip marks on the outside of my coffee cup. being the centre of attraction is not for me, that's why i seldom speak unless someone brings me into the conversation, and even then i keep well away from anything controversial. in scandinavia it is customary when visiting someone to leave one's footwear in the vestibule, so i make sure, without exception, to always wear brand new white cotton socks, so that people can see how aware i am of hygiene and cleanliness. two weeks ago my dentist made plaster of paris molds of my teeth, and then she gave me the two plastic 'trays' and several packets of something called 'whiteness perfect 16%' to take home - and i can see the improvement already. i can smile or laugh and everyone can see what nice teeth i have, and that's so important.