Hello, everyone. This blog is brought to you from my bed which is warm and comfy. Bed – the soft choice.

I’m actually witnessing a really ridiculous cartoon right now. I am not generally a cartoon watcher, except for The Jetsons, but an insomniac like myself sometimes falls prey to Sylvester and Tweety. Tweety can fly. I’ve seen him fly. He flew a few moments ago. So, I ask you, why doesn’t he fly away when Sylvester chases him? He is running away from Sylvester at the moment. Does he do this to build calf muscle? Is this an aesthetically pleasing quality that makes up for his inexcusable lisp? A “puddy” cat? Come on! It is definitely a lower quality cartoon creation that utilizes such poor diction. Well, that’s the ridiculous part of this posting done with. Now, let’s hope something sublime happens in the Porky Pig cartoon that is now gracing the screen. Hmmm…….no, I’ll have to think of something else.

Well, I was recently reminded of a sublimely enjoyable book that was given to me by my best friend a few years ago. The other night/early morning (insomnia again) I caught the beginning of an A &E documentary called The Secret Life of Geisha. In it, the author of Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden, is interviewed. If I ever had the opportunity to meet Mr. Golden, I would thank him for the many hours of enjoyment his novel has given me. I think I have read it at least five times and it has kept me company on various trips to Europe and the States. Its paperback cover has been drenched with seawater and its interior has held crumbs from a muffin or two. All this soiling is a testament to the love I have lavished on it. The character of Sayuri is carefully drawn and I feel for her as she goes through every historically accurate trial and tribulation on the way to becoming a celebrated geisha. Golden also achieves something quite remarkable in the novel. He mesmerizes us with the beauty of the kimonos and the intricacies of the tea ceremony, yet shows us the politics and truly hierarchical nature of the geisha world. It makes the life of the geisha enjoyable to read about and view through art, but one which I would rather not enter into. I urge all of you to read or reread this novel. I would also recommend the A&E documentary and non-fiction writings about geisha and kimono by Liza Dalby, the only Caucasian woman to become a geisha (she is also interviewed in the documentary).