London

                                                                              London

It seems Culpepper Pemplefelt has decided to stay in London for a few days.  He was very excited to visit Piccadilly Circus.  He was very impressed with the architecture and the hustle and bustle of the crowd.  Culpepper was puzzled why there were no elephants, tigers, jugglers, clowns, high wire acts, after all isn't that what a circus is?  After strolling around Piccadilly Circus, Culpepper began to look for The Piccadilly Palare.  He looked for several hours and became very upset.  Piccadilly Palare was one of his favorite Morrissey songs.  He asked several people and they were unable to help.  The people he asked, knew of Morrissey but never heard of The Piccadilly Palare.  Culpepper thought that possibly The Piccadilly Palare was closed or did not exist.  He was very disappointed that Morrissey would sing about a place that didn't exist and thought smugly to himself that Morrissey could never match his intellectual level.

                                                                  Piccadilly Circus

                                                                 Piccadilly Palare

After his fruitless search for The Piccadilly Palare, Culpepper decided he wanted to visit the shrine to Mr. Bean and light a candle.  Mr. Bean is one of Culpepper's favorite television characters.  He feels that his use of non verbal communication was revolutionary.  Culpepper was extremely disappointed when the character was discontinued.  He is considering writing a play about the bouts of depression he and others suffered when he realized there would be no more Mr. Bean episodes.

Culpepper knew he had to find the subway to take him to the Mr Bean shrine.  When he asked several Londoner's, they directed him to the Subway restaurant.  In exasperation he told them, he didn't want to eat, he needed to get to The Mr. Bean Shrine.  He was directed to use The Tube.  Culpepper was horrified.  People in London traveled underground in a tube like they have at the drive-up window at the bank?  What a strange method of travel, he thought, but he must investigate.  He found the closest Tube entrance, went down the steps and sighed.  It was just like a regular subway in New York or Boston.  Culpepper thought to himself, this is why he came up with the phrase "America and Great Britain are two nations divided by a common language".

As he was making his way through the station he noticed two men busking and went over to have a look.  They were singing a U2 song called "Even Better Than The Real Thing".  Culpepper had always liked U2, so he listened and politely clapped when they finished.  In the pause between songs, Culpepper went over to the men and said they sounded pretty good but had a long way to go before they could sound like U2,  The men introduced themselves to Culpepper.  The guitarist's name was David Evans and the vocalist's was Paul Hewson.  Culpepper commented to the guitarist that his guitar was slightly out of tune and the singer was a little bit flat on the higher notes.  They both nodded and said they would work on it.  Culpepper was also very disgusted as the guitar player was playing an acoustic guitar.  Culpepper emphatically said that if you play an acoustic guitar you must be a protest singer.  Mr. Evans cordially smiled and said, you can play any type of music on an acoustic guitar.  Culpepper shrugged his shoulders and moved on to catch the next train.  He again was questioning his faith in Morrissey, who sang "I thought that if you had an acoustic guitar it meant that you were a protest singer".  Culpepper had always believed this to be the case and was not smiling and quite serious on the tube ride to The Mr. Bean Shrine.  Maybe this Morrissey fellow wasn't all that.  Then Culpepper thought, the fact was, there are very few that can meet his scholarly prowess.

                 David Evans and Paul Hewson, not near as good as U2, per Culpepper Pemplefelt

Culpepper's mood changed as he made it to The Mr. Bean Shrine.  He was quite jovial walking around looking at all the photo's of his favorite TV character.  He self righteously thought to himself, none of these other people understand the effect Mr. Bean has had on modern culture, and one day in the future Mr. Bean will be compared somewhere between Macbeth and King Lear.

After The Fox

I finally found him!!  After years of searching, the enigmatic Culpepper Pemplefelt has reappeared alive and well in England of all places.  He had previously spent 6 months alone on a deserted Caribbean island researching his latest thesis "No Man is an Island".  Apparently he decided to leave the island because he was dissatisfied with room service, so at this time his thesis research has been put on hold.

                                                                 "Old Prune Face"

Culpepper decided to go to The UK for several reasons.  He had an audience with the British actress Prunella Scales.  He is developing a college course on the social significance and influence of movies with "Old Prune Face" in them.  Culpepper is scholar in residence at Sumarongi College.

                                                  The enigmatic Culpepper Pemplefelt

Culpepper was also in England to visit the grave of his favorite politician, The Right Honourable Sir Alec Douglas-Home.  When Sir Alec passed away on October 9, 1995, Culpepper was devastated.  He was in mourning for 10 years, in which time he never left his apartment at Sumarongi College.  This is where he came up with his theory "No Man is an Island".  Culpepper Pemplefelt has truly suffered for his art and intelligence.

                                                            Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Culpepper has many items on his plate at this time.  He had other business in in jolly old England.
He is in the process of writing a biography of the British playwright Joe Orton.  As part of his research, he felt it was important to interview Edna Welthorpe.  Culpepper is apparently fascinated by the alter egos of Joe Orton and how he developed them.  Edna would not meet Culpepper face to face, but she did agree to meet in the confessional of a Catholic Church.  Culpepper agreed to the meeting even though he has many issues with the Catholic Church, especially his feeling that all Priests are perverted winos because they drink wine as part of the mass.

                                                                     Joe Orton

Culpepper has also been very troubled by the eternal question:  Is it better to burn out than fade away?  He has been suffering recent bouts of insomnia as he considers the ramifications of the question, how it applies to him, humanity and his favorite singer, Morrissey.  He is only able to sleep after drinking large quantities of gin.  His research into the meaning of this series of words: Gunter, glieben, glauchen, globen has been very trying as he cannot seem to decipher the secret code behind them.  This has been haunting him, taunting him, giving him severe ulcers and Barrett's esophagus.  This is the price Culpepper pays for carrying the burdens of the world on his back.  He will be returning to Sumarongi College to his Scholar in residence position, but first he will stop at the Battleship Oklahoma memorial.  He doesn't necessarily grieve for the lost sailors but he does pine that he never was able to get a haircut in the ship's barber shop.

                                                 Is it better to burn out, than fade away?

                                                      Battleship Oklahoma Barbershop

Project For The New Millennium

I had a dream last night, I was in a college class and I had to write an essay.  My essay was titled "Project For The New Millennium".   The essence of my project is to end marriage as we know it.  I woke up and immediately wrote this down and fell back to sleep.  I do think marriage as we know it has become antiquated.  It is basically a contract between 2 consenting adults.  The religious aspects are another matter.  It seems in today's world more couples are just living together.  Legally this could be good or bad depending on the situations of each of the partners.

I am delighted that gay people are allowed to marry.  Why shouldn't two people who love each other be allowed to be married.   It again comes down to what is right.  Again, contractually and legally it makes sense for gay couples.  Men and women can marry, men and men, women and women, are we going down a slippery slope?  Could a man potentially marry a dog?  Ha, ha, just kidding, that one was for you Rick Sanitarium, you creepo Republican.  Seriously though, if I support gay marriage, how does that impact my project to end marriage?

As society gradually evolves, should marriage go the route of the passenger pigeon?  I say yes.  If a couple wants to be together they can just go to the local government agency and sign a legal contract.  Why go through the formality of a costly wedding?  Chances are in 5 years the couple will be divorced.  There's a good probability that one of the spouses are cheating.  What does this say about marriage?  In many cases its a sham!!  Its an ancient tradition who's time should be done.  As more and more people turn away from religion, society's mores are changing.  People living together is certainly not frowned upon, like it used to be.

                                                                     D-I-V-O-R-C-E

Of course, my crusade to end marriage is just another quixotic adventure.  In fact, it's not real at all, it was just a dream I had last night.  I really don't care about marriage at all, as I will never marry.

                                              Morrissey - Will Never Marry (Nor will I)

One other small thought I had (most of my thoughts are small, but I still walk tall).  What will happen in the future when technology will have robots that are basically just like humans?  Will humans be permitted to marry robots?  It could be very interesting.

                                                           Love In The Year 3000

In other exciting news, our Moz has returned to the USA for a tour. Starting in New Orleans and going through Atlanta and Durham, so far.  He will be in Washington, DC tonight.  All the reviews and videos have been wonderful.  Mozza sounds better than ever.  He looks healthy and of course I wish him and the band all the best throughout the tour.  Unfortunately, Our Moz is not coming to Pittsburgh so I shall be unable to attend.  Because of circumstances beyond my control, I am unable to travel.  I do wish that all of the attendees have a marvelous experience because they are seeing a true legend.

             
                                                  Our Moz in The City of New Orleans

   
                        More than Georgia is on Mozza's mind, as he scoops up a bug in Atlanta

                                       Nothing could be finer than for Moz to be in Carolina    

The Author of the "Project For The New Millennium"

                                                          They call him "Mr. Nobody"

The last living mortal on earth.  Humanity has conquered mortality through the endless renewal of cells but not for Mr. Nobody.  An enigma, an anachronism, at some point no trace will exist that he ever existed.
                                             

6/6/44

Today is the 71st anniversary of D-Day, the invasion at Normandy France to retake Europe from the brutal Nazi's.  As we get further away from the date it seems there is less remembrance, as it somewhat fades from people's memories.  We must never forget those brave men who stormed those beaches.  Many died or were wounded in a true selfless act of valor.  Because of these true hero's, we are all here today and able to live our lives as free people.

I think to myself what those guys went through and wonder if I could have mustered the courage to crawl on to the beach at Omaha.  There was murderous machine gun fire, artillery shells and land mines.  Despite all of these obstacles, the soldiers made it across the beaches, scaled the cliffs and drove back the Nazi scourge.  How did these men do it?  What incredible intestinal fortitude and bravery they showed in the face of sheer evil.  When the gate/ramp of the LST craft dropped, these men faced almost impossible odds but were able to overcome them with herculean efforts.  What kind of men could do such deeds?  They were just common soldiers.  In reality they were so much more than that.  Men willing to die for freedom.  They gave all.  And for that, they deserve our love and praise.

As we drift further and further from June 6, 1944, it seems the memories of that day grow dimmer but it will always be a shining example of men who were selfless in giving of themselves for the cause of freedom.  We must never forget history or we will be doomed into making the same mistakes.  These men who participated in the invasion are truly our greatest generation.  We all should get down on our knees and thank them deeply for what they did.  I can only imagine the horrors that they went through on that day and unfortunately all I can offer is my sincerest gratitude for their bravery.  I promise never to forget those lads and what they did for me, for us.

Many brave souls died on D-Day and may they all rest in eternal peace.  In their resting place, they can know for their sacrifice, a world was saved from evil.  Today we are free people because of what they did.  To me, there is no greater epitaph for these brave men.  As the ranks of the greatest generation thin each day, we all owe every remaining WW2 Veteran our praise and thanks.  It is our duty to remember them because of what they did for us.  God bless them each and every day.