So Long Marianne: Thursday Evening Open Thread

My blogging has been light because I am knee deep in archival work on a rare research trip to the Northwest and neck deep in the other projects I am finishing and are due soon. But I do want to at least mention a couple of things.

First, I mentioned yesterday that David Perry found the weird Gary Wills article on George Wallace I discovered on Monday useful. Today, he mentioned it on CNN. I really need all my random research findings I throw up on Twitter to go nationwide within 3 days. Work on it people!

Is your personal lube causing water pollution? Act accordingly.

Our valued commenter howard noted to me that today is Louis Armstrong’s birthday. Or yesterday depending on where you are. But Armstrong was from New Orleans so it’s still August 4. Party hard.

Finally, Marianne Ihlen has died. Who is that? It’s this woman.

Of course she and Leonard Cohen didn’t stay together forever, but when he discovered she was dying, he wrote:

It said well Marianne it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. And you know that I’ve always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don’t need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road…

I have nothing to follow that.