“There was once a building boom,” said Thaw, growing excited, “In north Italy. The local governments and bankers of three or four towns, towns the size of Paisley, put so much wealth and thought into decorating public buildings that half Europe’s greatest painters were bred there in a single century. These bosses weren’t unselfish men, no, no. They knew they could only win votes and stay popular by giving spare wealth to their neighbours in the form of fine streets, halls, towers and cathedrals. So the towns became beautiful and famous and have been a joy to visit ever since. But today our bosses don’t live among the folk they employ. They invest surplus profits in scientific research. Public buildings have became straight engineering jobs, our cities get uglier and uglier and our best paintings look like screams of pain. No wonder! The few who buy them, buy them like diamonds or rare postage stamps, as a form of non-taxable banking.”
From Alasdair Gray’s novel Lanark.
Unusual death—man pierced by his own belt buckle.
Boobs Bones Mistaken for John The Baptist
Story: A man who wanted an elephant, or some such one of the wisest of beasts who could not talk. Then began to try to teach him to talk.
The Dancer Who Found She Could Fly
Words
A famous writer fakes his own death but things make him come back.
Or else he can’t.G. men as Samurai class.
Piggy Back Voyage
Girl whose ear is so sensitive she can hear radio. Man gets her out of insane asylum to use her.
Book: It might have been me. My old idea of half truth half lie, including all notes and everything. Shoot the works.
From F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Notebooks.
Biblioklept 