European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 8, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday june 8, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 9 wit philosophy highlight author s Brilliant potshots9 by Deedee Ahr Angton Doke staff writer Frankfurt there s Deal mess prose then there s the work of Ashleigh Brilliant. This is a Man who in t Content to have his witty Chi exams circulating about the world Many limes Overon Bright potshots postcards. This person wants his thoughts inscribed on great Walls emblazoned on pieces of paper stuck in Fortune cookies and serving As the basis for a to series with episodes thai last 30 seconds. And his real name is indeed Ash lugh Brilliant. The English bom author philosopher Best known for his potshots postcards is nothing if not Surpris ing. He might if asked burst into song to the tune or John Philip Sousa s stare and stripes forever com plete with brilliantly composed lyrics illustrating America s nearly 5do-Yeaf history. The titles of Brilliant s literary collections arc draw from the potshots sayings which number More than 4,500. Clever thoughts like appreciate me now avoid the Rush "1 May not be totally perfect but parts of me arc Excel Jenl and his most recent i try to Lake one Day at a time but sometimes several Days attack me at i be been doing it for 20 years and the results already have been beyond my wildest expectation Brilliant said of his potshots epigrams during a interview tuesday in Frankfurt. One Way i m very fortunate is the kind of work that i do. Is widely circulated and vastly appreciated already it the present time As witnessed by the fact that Here i am in Germany being appreciated by Large numbers of. Our forces Here. That s very Nicel know Brilliant said. In addition to a hunger for tame through Fortun cookies. Brilliant 55, makes no secret of his desire to win a Nobel prize for literature for his epigrams Short Pithy Little thoughts that offer wry commentary on the human condition he also makes no Bones about his wish to be recognized As the world s highest paid published writer per word a designation he claims he deserves based on his $468-per-word record. So far the guinness Book of world records and the Nobel foundation have yet to give Brilliant the nod partially because the writer said they Don t have that specific category. They keep giving the credit for High est pud writer to a woman who won a contest Tor writing a slogan for a car company. It worked out to something like $25,000 a the first Little saying Brilliant published Back in1967, was one thai might make Chrysler corp. Presi Dent Lee Iacocca All warm and Mushy inside. That first slogan let s keep the Christ in Chrysler a a nit play on let s keep he Christ in Christmas continues to be a popular motto in Detroit As Well As making regular appearance on Christmas cards. Brilliant said. His latest which is copyrighted but not published is Why is it that whenever 1 am with you 1 feel outnumbered one Rule Brilliant strictly a maximum 1 the japanese Haiku 17 syllables. But he quipped he May allow an 18-word maximum if his work is Ever translated into German. Since German very often takes a Little bit longer today the same thing i thought i ought to give the Ger mans an additional the toughest part or completing a Potshot though is very often illustrating it Matching an appropriate illustration to the words he said. Because Many of these thoughts Are very abstract and the illustration can make it or break it. And some of the never get published because i can t come up with a Good enough illustration for despite the acerbic wit piercing numerous Bril i Anliss sadness underlines Many More of the exercises in philosophical Brevity revealing a Wistful understanding that All is not right with the world. "1 never called myself a humorist Brilliant any Case humor is based upon things that would make us cry if they did t make us laugh. But i try to cover All the bases As far As emotions go. Brillian applies to his witticisms is 1 7-word length an idea he picked up froma poetry form that limits length to As Lelith Brilliant i m a very sad person yes he went on i m a very sad person. Why am i sad because i m a thinker. It s very hard 10 thin deeply and still be Happy in this world. I m not incapable of smiling or enjoying my human predicament. That s Why my work is popular think. 1 can express difficult unhappy things in a Way that makes us smile makes us almost enjoy Brilliant will be autographing copies of his work at the Frankfurt shopping Center s stars and Stripe Bookstore from 11 . To 2 . Wednesday and at the Vogel Weh Bookstore in from ii . To 2 . Thursday. 12 arrive in . To join War on obesity new York a they have flown in from around America each tilling two airline seats to lose weight and Call attention 10 Dick Gregory s Call for National War on obesity they Are a dozen very fat people from 268 to 600 pounds to whom Gregory has offered a free last Chance to lose weight a service the comedian turned nutritionist says the government should be Ren Dering. I never knew this kind of obesity exists Gregory said monday As he welcomed some arrivals at Laguar Dia Airport. I m saying the government has to come in and gel involved. Since the Case or Walter Hudson one of several highly publicized obese people who Nave lost weight under Gregory s guidance a group of invisible Tat people have become visible and they re All calling me Gregory said. He said obesity is a much bigger problem than drug addiction. If obese people started robbing and killing then we d find the Money to help Gregory s charges include Ron Miller 523 pounds who says his eating is a sickness and Barbara Peebles Smith who weighs about half As much but says she wants to be Able to Cross her legs without feeling like i m going to have a heart attack some have tried Over eaters Anonymous weight watchers and a variety of diets. Two have had their stomachs stapled one had Placenta injections and one was injected with the urine of a pregnant woman. The dozen will spend at least a year at a clinic Gre gory is opening in upstate new York. They will be placed on an herbal diet and exercise routine devised by Gregory. Gregory said the treatment program will Cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said part of the lab will be covered by his nutritional food business. Gregory said he chose these obese people because they had the Saddest stories and because they seemed healthy enough to diet safely some talked about suicide he said. One lady said she prayed she could get cancer. I though it Wasso she could die. She said it was so she could get Gregory said the Federal government should establish an Institute on obesity and a Clearinghouse Tor information on the problem. He also called for a con Gressional investigation of what he termed this National american health crisis and promised to begin a "40-Day fast and prayer Vigil for the obese of our Peebles Smith a 40-year-old Norfolk va., resident told new York s new Day that she is entering the clinic for my kids because i want to live Miller a chef until he slipped and injured himself three years ago said people Don t understand that eating is a sickness and you can t among monday s arrivals was Michael Parteleno 30, an activities director at a nursing Home in Youngs town Ohio. Parteleno said he weighs 758 pounds More than 200 pounds less than when he went on a diet prescribed by Gregory. He said he Hopes to drop to 190 pounds Over two years. Gregory has engaged in two other highly publicized weight reduction campaigns. Id 1986 he helped Ron High of Brooklyn who weighed 850 pounds lose More than 500 pounds Las year he took up the Case of Waller Hudson a Long Island Man who weighed 1,200 pounds. Hudson lost 400 pounds under Gregory s care and diet but they parted company earlier this year after Hudson refused to leave his Home and Check into Gregory s health spa in the Bahamas. Penthouse Swaggart Debbe Issue Selling fast Baton Rouge la
