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    The Great Gordino Newsletter - Issue 285 - Wed 2nd Feb 2005
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    Hi There,

    So here we are, February already! I hope you're well.

    I've got a bucket load of things to write about, and have a real
    quandry about which one to pick.
    (By the way, that reminds me of one of my favourite song lyrics -
    "She was all in a quandry, 'cos she'd dropped all her laundry")

    I wanted to lean in my writing towards the brain this week, and
    still have an Einstein subject to cover, but since I'm already late
    with my last January anniversary, I'll have to give it a quick
    mention.

    Jan 8th, 1935, Mississippi.
    A certain Vernon and Gladys Presley had a baby boy, giving him
    a name which would come to be known by most of the people on
    the planet - Elvis.
    He would have been 70 this year.
    Maybe he *is* 70 this year, who knows?
    In fact, there's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis.

    Always one to follow his feelings, I can only imagine the uproar
    he must have caused as a teenager by wearing eyeliner and
    singing and dancng in a black style.
    Remember the Ed Sullivan show where he was shown from the
    waist up only?

    Into the army at the height of his fame, spending years
    churning out those movies as a second wind, then going down a
    3rd road with the Vegas years.
    1 or 2 burgers too many, and dead at 42.
    It's an amazing story, it really is, and in my view you can't beat
    that reassuring belching sound of the trombones in 'You've Lost
    That Loving Feeling.'

    Would it have happened without his manager, Col. Tom Parker?
    Well maybe, it's more than possible that he would have
    succeeded, but there's little doubt that Elvis benefitted hugely
    from Parker's undoubted publicity skills.

    That's the same Col. Tom Parker who wasn't actually a Colonel.
    In fact, he wasn't even Tom Parker, but an illegal immigrant
    from Holland.

    Once he had got Elvis to the top, he changed gear into a mode
    of enjoying it as much as he could.
    With a ferocious gambling habit, he sold Elvis' contract down the
    river, and ended up taking 80% of his earnings!

    Elvis' huge spending and Parker's gambling was why Elvis spent
    his last years as no more than an overweight cabaret act.

    Fascinating goal achievement from both sides of the
    Presley/Parker partnership, and although many entertainment
    careers are blighted by management difficulties, there is no
    major entertainment career that *doesn't* have support and
    management, it's just not possible to do it all on your own.

    Can that be related to life in general?
    Yes, I think it can.
    Follow your own path by all means, but seek out and take the
    support that's there, it usually helps!

    Ok, that's it for today, I'll see you on Friday for the 2nd of my
    Einstein issues, and here's the thought - what points can you
    draw from the Elvis story?

    'Til Friday,
    Health and Happiness,
    Gordon
    email me at gordon@gordonbryan.com - you'll have to copy and paste
    thanks to the idiot online spammers!



    
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