Notes to Tolstoy's zoo

* A coworker, on learning that I wasn't all that into Bauhaus design, exclaimed, "But you have a shaved head and black-framed glasses and are the most disciplined person I know!"

Notes to The show must go on!

*Amusingly, the Wikipedia entry for Nelly Ternan features an italicized subhead near its top that informs readers that

Ellen Ternan is sometimes confused with her near contemporary, the Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry, whose career was more distinguished, but who did not have an affair with Dickens.

Notes to Metternich's alarm clock

* Though there's far less grounds for it, I find that the terseness of the message brings to mind one of the most famous writings of Ulysses Grant, who was known for the clarity and economy of his written orders: at the Battle of Fort Donelson, in response to an inquiry from the Confederate commander, Grant wrote in response that he demanded unconditional surrender, and that "I propose to move immediately upon your works."