To: *Prince William and Princess Kate - for especial decorum & self-control & fortitude in response to a blatant disregard of their personal privacy and boundaries by folk whose paparazzi character would and could only have been all too readily reminiscent of those selfsame ilk who pursued and hounded Princess Di to her own untimely death around fifteen years earlier.
*That great and unparallelled document, the U.S. Constitution, which forever enshrines the sanctity of the Western value of freedom of speech and expression, for which priceless/precious value and valued principle people have given their lives throughout generations, especially in that one, unique, World War 11.
*All those whose livelihoods (i.e. cartoonists, comedians etc - without whom this world would inevitably be immensely the poorer) depend upon and are inextricably associated with this cherished ability and liberty to lampoon one and all with fear of and favour toward none: long may their tribe continue!
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*J.R.R. Tolkien for his unparalleled masterpieces The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, etc, and for his sheer determination and utter unwillingness to ever deviate from his implacable desire to have and see his works published as and when and in the style that most suited them and best satisfied him.
*Peter Jackson for his remaining dignified and above the fray in view of the ongoing disrespectful references to his person (in public speeches) of C.T.U. President Helen Kelly, whose desire to make of Sir Peter an ideological cardboard cutout figure to suit her own political propensities may well make for good theatre - worthy of a cameo appearance in one of Peter Jackson's films no doubt - but does nothing to enhance her credibilitiy as a decent New Zealander, especially in view of the exemplary praise Sir Peter was given during the film row by some of the acting guild leaders themselves - among many others - (for his excellent treatment of his workers on his film sets) but moreover for his recent ongoing efforts, alongside wife Fran (and others) in securing the successful release from death row in the U.S, of the three fellows now known simply as 'The Memphis Three'.
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And last but by no means least to a personal friend and father figure and mentor, Richard Welch, whose birth-anniversary (as he himself ever referred to it) this (i.e. September the 24th) ever was...who died prematurely - but of natural causes and/or lifestyle failings - 18 years ago, I believe, (plus 2 months), while Yours Truly sojourned in 'the land of the free', shortly thereafter penning an ode to his cherished memory at a city park in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, state of my Mum's - also his one-time close friend - upbringing. (A friend in his pro-MMP - unlike my Dad's contrary anti-MMP - crusading to a man, Ian Upton, who visitied me entirely out of the blue a couple weeks ago from a little island off the coast of Auckland.) May he rest in peace, and join in the resurrection of the just on that great day so soon upon us.
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