What advantage would someone have over me who knew a direct route from blue to yellow?

[sovay]

All right. I failed my Wittgenstein save. Let's try this again.

(I seem to have agreed to invent a Wittgenstein drink, although all I know is about it is that it must contain a maraschino cherry in honor of Carmen Miranda and cannot contain anything in honor of all the instant coffee he used to drink. I must research.)

c/o Rhees
96 Bryn Rd.
Swansea
8.9.45

Dear Norman,

You're terrific!—Thanks a lot for the mags. It's nice getting a parcel from you, not only because of its contents.

The one way in which the ending of Lend-Lease really hits me is by producing a shortage of detective mags in this country. I can only hope Lord Keynes will make this quite clear in Washington. For I say: if the U.S.A. won't give us detective mags we can't give them philosophy, & so America will be the loser in the end. See?—I'm still in Swansea & enjoying my absence from Cambridge. My work isn't going well; partly because I've contracted some trouble with one of my kidneys. Nothing serious, but it makes me jumpy & bad tempered. (I've always got some excuse.)—The other day I read Johnson's 'Life of Pope' & liked it very much. As soon as I get to Cambridge I'm going to send you a little book 'Prayers & Meditations' by Johnson. You may not like it at all,—on the other hand you may. I do.

This is all for now. Most of this page & the next page I will leave free in case you want to make any notes. I hope to see you before very long! Good luck! Thanks again!

Affectionately,
Ludwig

. . . I am going to read my magazines.

Comments

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

That's a charming letter. Thank you for sharing it.

I'm sorry for the failed save. I wish you luck with the drink concocting.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Nothing serious, but it makes me jumpy & bad tempered. (I've always got some excuse.)

Made me laugh. Who knew depressive philosophers had such a great sense of humor.

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

"if the USA won't give us detective mags we can't give them philosophy"

Well, that's an interesting blackmail threat! Wittgenstein certainly had a good sense of humour. I wonder what he might have made of Douglas Adams' striking philosophers?

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

Tiny R. sent Tiny W. a missive. By e-mail. It is, shockingly, not frontloaded with self-loathing.

It is top-heavy with fruit, though.

In re Wittgencocktailstein, you could use chicory syrup against a maraschino (like, the liqueur) base to make a red-and-black-stripe pousse-cafe kind of thing; garnish with inordinate amounts of the Unspeakable Fruitlike Things and a nice fan-cut slice of roasted pineapple. And then try not to drink it.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Okay, the notion of having to make a Wittgenstein Save amuses me greatly and would make D&D a much more interesting game.

Keeping instant coffee out of the drink is a choice I endorse.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Wittgenstein so I don't get the joke: what does Carmen Miranda have to do with him? Was he a huge fan of hers the way Joanna Russ was reputedly a fan of Buffy?

In any case, I support the idea of a Wittgenstein drink. If I still had the Playboy Cocktail Guide, you could have my copy--probably the same basic recipes as the Savoy book, plus a lot of cartoon women in thigh-high tights and very little else, but it might have ideas of its own.