Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Treasurer's Report Ruined My Family

"To know my father is to know 'The Treasurer’s Report,' a monologue written by Robert Benchley of the Algonquin Round Table." is a line from Fiction Ruined My Family By JEANNE DARST, an excerpt from which is available on the website of the New York Times.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Diane Lynne Naegel, 1980-2011

Diane Lynne Naegel, August 31, 1980 - September 25, 2011

Diane Lynne Naegel was born August 31, 1980 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the first and only daughter of Sarita Diane Naegel and Mark Robert Naegel. Diane attended pre-school and grade school at Concordia Lutheran School and high school at St. Ursula Academy, graduating with Honors, both in Cincinnati. Diane studied and worked at the University of Cincinnati (parent's alma mater), in the co-op program of the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning and graduated with Honors with a degree in Fashion Design in 2003. She was proprietress of the internet scarf business Lulette.com for a year before coming to New York to work in the fashion industry, first at the Gap and most recently at Osh Kosh Corp., designing children's accessories.

Diane met the love of her life, Don Spiro, in New York, and together they operated Wit's End live vintage jazz club, the only monthly jazz age club in New York. In 2009, Diane began to publish Zelda Magazine, first issue Fall/Winter 2009, and most recent issue, Spring/Summer 2011.

Diane was stricken with breast cancer in late September, 2010 and succumbed to the disease and its complications on the morning of September 25, 2011 in the presence of her betrothed, Don Spiro, her mother and father, brother, Mark Naegel, Jr., sister in law, Brittany Naegel, and several close friends. Diane leaves Diane leaves a legacy of beauty, kindness, grace, love and faith with her departure, and she touched the lives of her many friends and admirers. Her Christian faith has made her whole and gave her the strength and courage 'til the very end.

Dorothy Parker News

Annual Dorothy Parker Day in Long Branch
Sunday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m. Long Branch Free Public Library, 328 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ, 07740

This is the only celebration of Dorothy Parker in the Garden State. Since 2005, when a memorial plaque was unveiled at the location where her family beach cottage once stood, the residents of Long Branch of gone out of their way to put together a terrific celebration. On Sunday, Oct. 2, there will be a focus on the Round Table, with talks by local authors. Actors and actresses will perform Parker material. At noon, local restaurants will offer a Round Table-worthy luncheon, which is a great way to experience Long Branch. You can also walk to the boardwalk nearby and see the ocean. There will be screening of the Alan Rudolph film "Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle" at 1:30 p.m. The day will wind up at the official cocktail lounge of the Dorothy Parker Society on the Jersey Shore, The Mix Lounge at 71 Brighton Avenue. Come meet for an informal cocktail reception, in which the Dorothy-themed specials are sure to flow. For directions and additional information on Dorothy Parker Day 2011, contact 732-222-3900. Dorothy Parker Day is sponsored by the Library with the Long Branch Arts Council, the Long Branch Historical Association and the City of Long Branch. Don't miss it.

"A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York"

New York Public Library Illustrated Talk - Free

Thursday, Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m.

Mid-Manhattan Library, 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor

212-340-0837 information line.
Wheelchair accessible.

Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, president of the Dorothy Parker Society and author of A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York (Roaring Forties Press, 2005), will give an illustrated tour of Mrs. Parker's Manhattan. From 1893 until her death in 1967, Mrs. Parker called New York City her hometown. Come explore the residence apartments, hotels, speakeasies and haunts that defined her life. Learn about the locations that shaped her life, and that she shaped too. The talk is free and the book will be available.

Algonquin Round Table Walking Tours


Sunday, Nov. 13 and Sunday, Dec. 4

Location: Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St (bet 5th and 6th Avenues)

Cost: $20 ea


Walk in the footsteps of the Vicious Circle in the only walking tour dedicated to the city's greatest literary friends. See the places where the Round Table, lived, worked, played and drank. You'll visit the former homes, theaters and speakeasies associated with Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Franklin P. Adams, Heywood Broun, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman and many more. The walk begins and ends in the landmark Algonquin Hotel; it will be shortened to accommodate the evening start and finish time. The walk is led by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, president of the DPS and author of
A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York. RSVP to kevin@dorothyparker.com.
Buy tickets in advance via TicketWeb:

•November 13

•December 4

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Subscribe for Free Robert Benchley Society Email Updates

Due to technical reasons our email distribution list of hundreds of subscribers to our free email news is no longer accessible. If you wish to continue your subscription (or start a new one) please click on the "subscribe to Robert Benchley Society by email" link at the upper right and you may add yourself to the list.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Benchley Round-up in Lowell, Mass. Next Sunday

Hollywood & Fashion: The Golden Age
Lecture by Patricia Warner, Professor Emeritus, UMass - Amherst.

In 1932 some 60 million Americans -- more than half the total population -- went to the movies every single week. Most of them were women. the producers catered to them, giving them glamour and romance, but more importantly, wonderful clothes, makeup, and hairstyles to copy cheaply at home. Learn why clothes in the movies mattered.

Museum Exhibition: Grace and Glamour: 1930s Fashions

In the 1930s, graceful cuts and glamorous fabrics replaced the boxy, boyish styles of the previous decade. In the face of economic hardship, people embraced the streamlined shape, elegant styles and newly invented fibers of a hopeful modernism. This exhibit shows dresses and accessories typical of this extraordinary decade.

Website: http://www.athm.org/exhibitions/current_exhibitions/index.php#grace

The lecture and exhibition are at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. For more information or to sign up contact David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org.

The lecture is at 2:00 p.m. Afterward we'll view the Grace and Glamour: 1930s Fashions exhibit and other exhibits at the American Textile History Museum. If there is interest in dining together I recommend the Athenian Corner (www.atheniancorner.com), 207 Market Street, Lowell 01852 - Tel. 978-458-7052.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once) RATED MEDIUM DIFFICULTY

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once) RATED DIFFICULT

Thurber House Humor Prize Semi Finalists Announced

Thurber House has announced the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor finalists. They are Mike Birbiglia, Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories; David Rakoff, Half Empty; and Rick Reilly, Sports from Hell: My Search for the World’s Dumbest Competition.

The winner will be announced on Monday, October 3 at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City where James Thurber once lived. Stay tuned to learn who won!

Apocalypse Now…Grab the Karaoke Machine!

Ed Tasca’s latest novel is a comic, cross-genre thriller that flies from page to page and asks the question, what will bring the world to an end.
All around her, Virginia, a conscientious, often paranoid spokesperson for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (Agency of Homeland Security), sees an apocalypse unfolding behind the secret societies that may be involved in a biogenetic experiment on a strain of test bacteria gone wrong; while Bruno, a free-lance writer, atheist and cynic, is trying to dig up incriminating info on Homeland Security against Virginia’s will.

A mysterious feud is going on all around the couple as they reluctantly join up to investigate. The central conflicts in the narrative include their own constant quarrelling, skirmishes between unknown agents of different religions looking to invest bacterial DNA with their respective scriptures, spread their “Word” into the future and end the world.

The oddball characters, obstacles and disasters our principals face at every turn, and most vividly, Virginia’s peculiar dreams, lead her to believe the world is ending and something must be done to stop it.

The story is a comic take on the complications of Homeland Security interactions and the craziness of religious zealotry, climaxing with a confrontation and resolution that gives us a glimpse of apocalypse and how it might actually become reality. Virginia and Bruno wind up, in the most bizarre way, literally in one another’s arms and locked in an unholy embrace with a flayed decomposed corpse, surviving the mayhem and turning the whole tale into a surreal romantic adventure. Whether they have saved the world or not remains an unanswered question, but several compelling issues are raised about what could be the ultimate reason for any apocalypse to occur. Ed’s new book is currently available in e-book format at all online bookstores. Published by Aardwolfe Books, September, 2011.

Ed Tasca was the 2009 first place winner of the Robert Benchley Society Award for Humor Writing.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

RBS Round-up in Lowell, Massachusetts

Hollywood & Fashion: The Golden Age
Lecture by Patricia Warner, Professor Emeritus, UMass - Amherst.


In 1932 some 60 million Americans -- more than half the total population -- went to the movies every single week. Most of them were women. the producers catered to them, giving them glamour and romance, but more importantly, wonderful clothes, makeup, and hairstyles to copy cheaply at home. Learn why clothes in the movies mattered.

Museum Exhibition: Grace and Glamour: 1930s Fashions

In the 1930s, graceful cuts and glamorous fabrics replaced the boxy, boyish styles of the previous decade. In the face of economic hardship, people embraced the streamlined shape, elegant styles and newly invented fibers of a hopeful modernism. This exhibit shows dresses and accessories typical of this extraordinary decade.

Website: http://athm.org/exhibitions/future_exhibitions/

The lecture and exhibition are at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. For more information or to sign up contact David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once) RATED DIFFICULT

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Mark Russell Thinks We Have Some Funny Writers

The Robert Benchley Society congratulates the winners of the 2011 Robert Benchley Society Annual Award for Humor Writing. This year's celebrity judge, Mark Russell, has ranked the top four entries and has provided comments to the writers, who are listed in order from first place and on:
  1. Tim French of Midway, Alabama, for The Old Man and the Leaf Blower
    My wife and I laughed out loud at the title. That alone, made me pick your short story as my favorite. The title was wonderful. And the premise, oh, so original. At that Great Sardis' in the Sky, Robert is amused, as is Old Ernie, wherever he is.

    Thanks for a delightful read.

    Sincerely,
    Mark Russell
  2. Robert G. Ferrell of La Vernia, Texas, for Up the Greek Without a Paddle
    I thoroughly enjoyed your short story. It takes off quickly with the first two sentences and maintained Benchley's level throughout. I loved the use of "#2iPencils and narrow-ruled iPads", and I laughed out loud at "please drop your fig leaves by the door."

    Thanks for an enjoyable read.

    Sincerly,
    Mark Russell
  3. Edward Southerland of Sherman Texas, for Certificates of Authenticity
    Your premise was nicely original. "Leonardo Da Vinci's plans for a steam powered blimp" and
    "Dr. Murney's Das Facten Wel Knowen are delightful. Who knew that people from Texas were so funny?

    Thanks for an enjoyable read.

    Sincerely,
    Mark Russell
  4. Steve Shrott of Toronto, Ontario, for Unblocking the Block
    Thank you for an enjoyable read. I liked the Marx Brothers rhythm you had going in your short
    story. Having, on occasion, suffered from writer's block, you had me going with the first paragraph and kept my attention throughout. Loved "must pea" may be the coffee table book of the decade."

    Sincerely,
    Mark Russell
This year's Annual Award Dinner will be held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, November 12th as part of the Eighth International Robert Benchley Society Annual Gathering "A Capitol Idea," November 11-13, 2011. For more information about the Annual Gathering and the Award Dinner, visit www.robertbenchley.org/AG2011/registration.htm.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once) RATED MEDIUM DIFFICULTY

Friday, September 2, 2011

Art Reception September 21st

Helen K. Garber & Images from the Venice Historical Society

September 13 - November 13, 2011

Art Reception

September 21, 2011

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Joe's Restaurant - 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd. - Venice, California

Post Reception Dinner @ $45.00 including tax & tip

Valet parking available behind restaurant
For Reservations: 310 399 5811

Robert Benchley Society

For more information about the Robert Benchley Society, local chapters near you, our annual Award for Humor, and our Annual Gathering, visit The RBS Website