“It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream. But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake. On a cold, snowy night, everyone and everything should be welcomed somewhere, and the latke was welcomed into a home full of people who understood what a latke is, and how it fits into its particular holiday.”
And then they ate it. AAAHHHH!!
-Lemony Snicket, The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming
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Happy Hanukah to all who celebrate
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credits: Daniel Handler, Lisa Brown, McSweeney’s Publishing
There is a common Yiddish saying heard this time of year that I think is just a beautiful sentiment, “L’shana toyva tikasevu v’sayḥasemu”, loosely translated as, “You should be written and sealed for a good year”. Happy Hanukkah!
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I love that
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I don’t know what ‘latke’ is, Beth, but I will look it up but I do know who Lemony Snicket is; and . yes, we all know how hard it is to be misunderstood 🙂 I’m putting up a post about this tomorrow 🙂
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It is like a wonderful fried potato pancake
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Hahahaha. I will be frying latkes tonight 😋 and getting together virtually with family.
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Go easy on them! And have a happy holiday
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Thanks!
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I love the imagery created by these words.
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❤️
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Happy Hanukkah to all, Beth!
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Yes!
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Oh, poor little latke! But this made me really hungry 🙂
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Me too!
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It’s lovely Beth ~ have a joyful day 💫
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You too
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Lemony Snicket is a great character name, like Minty Fresh is for Christopher Moore. I’d love to learn how Daniel Handler came up with it.
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I’m sure there’s a great backstory
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Here’s the answer from the article at
https://web.archive.org/web/20100203024157/http://www.lemony-snicket-stuff.com/daniel_handler_biography.html
The pseudonym came as a result of research Handler had to do for The Basic Eight. He used it to contact right-wing organizations to get pamphlets and learn their dogma. One day on the phone, one of the agents asked Handler for a name to send documents to. He quickly blurted out: “Lemony Snicket”.
The fact that the name rhymes with “Jiminy Cricket” is likely a Freudian slip, since Handler has stated that Jiminy is “exactly the kind of overly moralistic, cheerful narrator who I despise”.
“It became a running joke with me and my friends; they gave me Lemony Snicket business cards one year, we invented a drink called the Lemony Snicket… And when I started writing the children’s books, and the character of the narrator emerged and my editor and I decided I needed a pseudonym, well, I’d had a pseudonym all along. And now I’m on the New York Times bestseller lists for a book by Lemony Snicket.”
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this is one of the best backstories I’ve ever heard – thank you
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Enjoyed this. We’re all unique, every single one of us:)
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That we are
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Yes, I know this feeling too well. And even if I was understood the right way, I was told how wrong I was with that. It can be frustrating indeed, most of all for a child!
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Absolutely !
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LOVE THIS! Thanks for sharing!
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My pleasure
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We used to have latkes on Christmas Eve, only we called them potato pancakes. I know, not really as elegant.
Donuts are another good Hanukkah food…
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I love them and donuts
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“With liberty and justice for all” are hollow words unless our laws and actions reflect that.
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Right
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I don’t think I’d want to be a latke… 🙂
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I imagine the most of them have a unhappy ending
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they make the ultimate sacrifice…
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Okay, you were eating a pear when you read my post and I had a potato pancake today. My neighbor bought one for me because she couldn’t be with her family, so we ate them together over the phone and she had her holiday dinner. 🙂 With applesauce.
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aww
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I think I like the latke and feel a kindred spirit !~
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yes, we’ve all felt that way at times
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This is especially fitting, as I just finished watching a Hallmark Hanukkah movie with Marilu Henner frying up latkes.
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perfect!
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This sounds great, Beth.
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❤️
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