First of all, it's not true

I would not wish to argue with John Cleese, because even if I were right and he were wrong, I have a feeling that I would be on the losing end of things. Witness the correspondence between Cleese and a newspaper that reported he had done something that, as he claims over and over, he didn't do.

John Cleese vs. The Sun.
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Malcolm X

There's certainly a lot that has been said about Malcolm X, while he was alive and after his death, not the least of which is The Autobiography of Malcolm X, ghost-written by Alex Haley. But when was the last time you actually saw Malcolm X? This video from 1963 [via Dangerous Minds] is a reminder of, as the article says, his personal grace under pressure. More, it's an artifact of a time not terribly long ago that in some ways seems so close, and in other ways so far. The issues of race in America have not been resolved, even though America is a radically different country from what it was 50 years ago. Watch this for a snapshot of that time, and for a gestalt of Malcolm's personality. It's startling.


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The Titanic

The disaster has become so invested with mythical status—it’s been said that the name Titanic is the third most widely recognized word in the world, after “God” and “Coca-Cola”—that it almost seems to be a constant, an event that repeats itself on a never-ending loop.

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the sinking of that most famous ship, it seems that everyone under the sun is writing something about it, and the whole thing is inescapable. Masochists can even go watch the Cameron film in theaters, this time in 3-D. As far as nights to remember go, this one just goes on and on and on.

But there's a reason for this, because at its heart, the story of the sinking of the Titanic is, on its own, a narrative that we are simply drawn to because of its singularity in the history of human tragedy. But the sinking of the ship is just the beginning of the Titanic narrative. The stories of the survivors, and the story of the telling of the story, over time becomes every bit as important as the original event. The best piece we've seen that sums all this up is Why the Titanic Still Fascinates Us (via). If you read only one Titanic story, let it be this one.

Interviewing Mark Twain

You would expect Twain, the great lecturer, to be a raconteur at all times. But like many performers, there seems to be on-stage and off-stage, and the two are not the same. When journalist and caricaturist Kate Carew met with him at breakfast ostensibly to sketch him, but secretly to interview him, one of the things he said, firmly, was "I won't be interviewed. I don't--approve--of interviews; don't like them--on-- principle."

This is a wonderful glimpse of Twain, 64 years old, a "wholesome old man" as young Carew describes him:

It would be impossible to exaggerate the composure and gravity with which Mark Twain utters his quaintnesses--and I'm sure he wasn't in much of a mood for quaintnesses that morning. There is no after-gleam of self-appreciation, no swift glance to see how his point has "taken." I am sure he does not try to say funny things, only he sees life through a glass that distorts every fact into a paradox. Or perhaps it is the serious people that have a distorted view of life. I wish Mark Twain would say what he thinks about it.

The interview is here.

Via.

The sewers of London

This is not about a new musical group. It is literally about the sewers of London, into which journalist Rose George traveled with a group of what are known as wastewater operatives, i.e., sewer workers.

Here's how the adventure begins:

I am presented with the things that will protect me in the hours to come: a white paper overall suit; crotch-high waders with tungsten-studded soles that will grip but won’t spark; a hard hat with a miner’s light; heavy rubber gloves, oversized; a ‘turtle’, a curved metal box that holds emergency breathing apparatus, to strap around my waist, along with a back-up battery; a harness to loop through my legs in case I need to be dragged out.

Being dragged out? That's a heartening thought.

What is found below the streets of London, running out into the Thames, is some of what you might expect, and some things you might find surprising. No alligators, alas. Not much wildlife at all, come to think of it. The good news is, you can read about it without any protective gear: Travels in London’s sewers. (Via.)