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[personal profile] poliphilo
Hey I'm 55.

I was going to write that I've now outlived Shakespeare, but I find I was wrong in thinking he died at 54. In fact he died at 52- so I've now outlived him by three years. I tried Googling "people who died at 54" in search of other celebs I could crow over, but I didn't get any usable results. Did I want to know about "Famous people who died in air crashes"?

Actually, no.

Google hasn't had a good day. Earlier I wanted it to tell me about Ausburg- the town in Bavaria (I'm thinking Purchas might drop by sometime) and it was very parsimonious. I was offered information on American citizens called Ausburg and some American towns called Ausburg and the diary of an American soldier who was once stationed in Ausburg. ("Beaucoup women hereabout" he tells us- what a lovely, perceptive man) but substantial inside dope on one of the loveliest cities in Southern Germany- No.

Gosh, I may be forced to consult those awkward, cumbersome, out-of-date things called "books".

But I do now know the Roman name. Augusta Vindelicum. It's better than nothing.

But we mustn't knock Google. They're standing up to Bush. They're not going to let him know I've been wanting to find out about Ausburg or people who kicked the bucket at 54.

My heroes! (Google, that is- not the middle-aged deaders.)

Date: 2006-01-21 05:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sorenr.livejournal.com
It's spelled "Augsburg"... :-P

Date: 2006-01-21 05:31 am (UTC)
jenny_evergreen: (Nice Smile)
From: [personal profile] jenny_evergreen
Happy Birthday!

Date: 2006-01-21 05:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pickwick.livejournal.com
Happy birthday!

I turned 28 on mine, which was a relief - 27's the age all the rockers die :) Jimi, Janis, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison... Dead Or Alive tells me that Marc Bolan didn't die till he was 29, though. I just got so lost in that site!

Date: 2006-01-21 05:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mummm.livejournal.com
Happy official birthday! :-) I hope it is a very good one.

I just read in the NY Times that Vladimir Lenin died on this date... and guess what? He was 54!

Date: 2006-01-21 05:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] suzilem.livejournal.com
Happy Birthday Tony! Many happy returns.

Date: 2006-01-21 06:12 am (UTC)
ext_550458: (Purple balloons)
From: [identity profile] strange-complex.livejournal.com
Whee! Happy Birthday!

Date: 2006-01-21 06:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kishenehn.livejournal.com
A very happy birthday to you!

So I tried a quick web search for people who only made it to 54 ... the best I could come up with was Robert Palmer. (Oh, and John Ritter -- do non-Americans even know who he was?)

Date: 2006-01-21 08:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dadi.livejournal.com
Happy Birthday to you :) and may it be a year full of interesting journeys, be they real or literary!

As somebody already mentioned, it is Augsburg. And if you need some help on it, I have been there several times and know it quite well, I even have relatives who have been living there for many centuries, among which one who has been burned as a witch around 1480...
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Date: 2006-01-21 08:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bodhibird.livejournal.com
Happy happy birthday!

Date: 2006-01-21 09:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] seaslug-of-doom.livejournal.com
A very happy birthday to you!

Let's accentuate the positive and see who was born on this day in history!

Horace Wells the dentist, who pioneered the use of medical anesthesia. Thank heavens for him!

John Browning, the weapons manufacturer. I'm sure he's contributed to a few people dying at age 54.

Barney Clark, the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. Is he still alive? And isn't Barney a marvelous name! Hey Barney! How's the old ticker?

Oh, and Telly Savalas was born today. Who loves ya baby!

Ah, but who died on January 21?

Louis XV1 got a bit of a sore throat over in France on this day.

George Orwell died on this day at age 46 from tuberculosis. That one may cause some reflection.

Col. Tom Parker, Elvis' manager kicked the bucket today.

On this day in history Philip II, Henry II and Richard the Lion Hearted began the Third Crusade. Adrian Boeyens, head inquisitor, was elected Pope in 1522. The Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, was launched on the Thames in 1954. In 1994, Lorena Bobbitt was found to be temporarily insane for misinterpreting the term "whacking off". And the first edition of Charles Dickens' Daily News was published today in 1846.

Now I'm off to read more of your own serialized novel. You can blow out the candles now.

Date: 2006-01-21 09:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lblanchard.livejournal.com
Happy birthday!

Date: 2006-01-21 09:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lblanchard.livejournal.com
P.S. Just in fairness to the Administration, it should be noted that they are *not* asking for personal information in the Google subpoena. There's a useful look at the issue, without a lot of bias one way or the other and drawing no conclusion at the moment, at

http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_01_15-2006_01_21.shtml#1137705478

I find it an interesting issue. If we stipulate that barring minors from pornography is a good thing, and if for the moment we ignore the vexing fact that to do so we must define both "minor" and "pornography" to the satisfaction of all or at least many, then what might be the most effective way of keeping pornography out of the hands of minors without violating others' First Amendment rights to produce and consume the stuff?

Date: 2006-01-21 09:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] methexis.livejournal.com
The happiest of birthdays to you!

Cordially,
J.

Date: 2006-01-21 10:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] four-thorns.livejournal.com
happy birthday, tony!

i am enjoying purchas quite a bit, by the way. what do you do to come up with ideas, when you have none?

(asking as someone who's now expected to write a poem a week, and hasn't had a new idea since, oh, october-ish)
(deleted comment) (Show 1 comment)
(deleted comment) (Show 1 comment)

Date: 2006-01-21 08:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] four-thorns.livejournal.com
well, as you say, knowing nothing and caring little... i think i would have to listen to his music a bit to do it. and i don't suppose limewire's much good for downloading classical music. maybe i'll write about a different dead russian...

Date: 2006-01-22 05:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jackiejj.livejournal.com
I hope your birthday was very happy!

Google failings

Date: 2006-01-22 05:51 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] methodius.livejournal.com
I wanted to see if a copy of Auden's poem Vespers was available on line some where. I wanted to quote a couple of lines to someone, and didn't want to have to retype them; the only copy I had I had transcribed into my diary nearly 40 years ago, so I'd have to find it as well.

I tried Google, and most of the responses were absolute junk. I've never seen such junk from Google. Does someone have something against Auden?

Try it -- enter words from the poem -- Auden, vespers bellini scorpion's mouth.

Date: 2006-01-26 12:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaysho.livejournal.com
It's been said that you're not old until you start assiduously reading obituaries. Watch yourself. :)

Happy Birthday!

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