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Author Quotes
- "I have great faith in fools; self-confidence, my friends call it." Edgar Allan Poe
- "The love of knowledge is a kind of madness." C.S. Lewis, "Out of the Silent Planet" (1/8/10)
- "...my private opinion is that after the words 'In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou earn thy bread; another clause has dropped out from the original text, running 'In the exasperation of thy souls shalt thou attend social functions.'" C.S. Lewis, "Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis Vol. 1" (9/17/09)
- "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown." Ralph Waldo Emerson (9/16/09)
- (Description of Charlotte Lucas) "Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be the pleasantest preservative from want." Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice" (8/4/09)
- "Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to noone, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But, in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken, it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredemable. To love is to be vulnerable." C.S. Lewis (5/13/09)
- (Elizabeth to Jane) "Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good will. You need not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense." Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice" (3/21/09)
- "If He who in Himself can lack nothing chooses to need us, it is because we need to be needed." C.S. Lewis, "The Problem of Pain" (3/15/09)
- "Man is the Reasoning Animal. Such is the claim. I think it is open to dispute." Mark Twain (3/14/09)
- "How frequently in the course of our lives, the evil which in itself we seek most to shun, and which when we are fallen into it, is the most dreadful to us, is oftentimes the very means or door of our deliverance, by which alone we can be rais'd again from the affliction we are fallen into." Daniel Defoe, "Robinson Crusoe" (2/12/09)
- "I did avoid a critical personal examination...I referred to all the people of high standing I could think of in the community who would be least likely to know anything about me." Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad" (1/10/09)
- "When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy. We are bidden to 'put on Christ', to become like God. That is, whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want." C.S. Lewis, "The Problem of Pain" (12/23/08)
- "Let us never forget what the poor widow did, when we think we are charitable." Charles Dickens, "The Life of Our Lord" (11/30/08)
- (Writing of champion boxer, Max Baer, in comparison to James J. Braddock) "Everything was so easy for him-but great champions usually are fashioned by adversity." Jeremy Schaap, "Cinderella Man" (11/27/08)
- Dorian Gray to Lord Henry, "'I don't want to see him alone. He says things that annoy me. He gives me good advice.' Lord Henry smiled. 'People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity.'" Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (11/18/08)
- "Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different." Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (11/17/08)
- "In the same way, it is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less." C.S. Lewis, "The Problem of Pain" (11/14/08)
- "Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good actions, or Faith in Christ. I have no right really to speak on such a difficult question, but it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary." C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity" (11/5/08)
- "A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it." Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities" (11/1/08)
- "Many of us probably would be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect." Norman Maclean, "A River Runs Through It" (10/27/08)
- "'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'" Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol" (10/26/08)
- "The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use for oneself." Oscar Wilde (10/25/08)
- "I have been cautioned to talk but be careful not to say anything. I do not consider this a difficult task." Mark Twain, "Nineteenth Century Progress" (10/24/08)
- "Only keep your ears open and your mouth shut and everything will lead you to everything else in the end." C.S. Lewis, "Surprised by Joy" (10/23/08)
- "I think that all things, in their way, reflect heavenly truth, the imagination not least." C.S. Lewis, "Surprised by Joy" (10/22/08)
- "Shasta's heart fainted at these words for he felt he had no strength left. And he writhed inside at what seemed the cruelty and unfairness of the demand. He had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one. But all he said out loud was: 'Where is the King?'" C.S. Lewis, "The Horse and His Boy" (10/21/08)
- "Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself." C.S. Lewis, "The Problem of Pain" (10/20/08)
- "If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning..." C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity" (10/19/08)
To dispel any idle curiosity concerning the photo, I'll admit it has nothing to do with the post; I just needed something bright and colorful to act as a catalyst for the dissipation of the lingering winter blues, in anticipation of the spring days shortly to come. (Notice I didn't say 'summer.' I have a very ambivalent attitude towards summer, leaning more towards the 'hate' side of ambivalence. I know there are some who will gasp in utter horror at the sacrilege of such a statement; but to them I say- try one summer encased within a skin that refuses to tan.....and thighs that refuse to diminish......and swimsuits that refuse to fit.......and friends who adore the beach and plan weekend trips while you vainly dig for yet another insipid excuse as to why you 'would love to go, but just can't make it....next time.....maybe.....or when Antarctica finally thaws out, maybe we can plan a beach trip there, I'll be ready by then.....with all of this global warming it shouldn't be too much longer.....' Makes me want to slap Coco Chanel for making my life hell for about two and a half months......Anyway......) 
No, the reason for this post is actually.....Well, there is no reason. "The reason that isn't" being this: I have noticed that everyone (who is 'everyone'? It's.....well.....I don't know......It's the same 'everyone' that is in "They all say...." or "Everybody knows....." That 'everyone'.....now, no more grammatical questions, I have a very important non-reason for this post......) has a list of 'must-see' movies. Now, some specify that these movies are 'must-see-before-you-die.' For the individual responsible for this statement I have but one question: As opposed to what? Post-mortem viewing? That'd be a tough crowd to sell. To be quite honest, I'm not too sure about many of these lists. I know it is a struggle to come up with 100 great movies, but it is a struggle, not an impossible feat. I mean, honestly, are we scraping the bottom of the barrel so soon that we must include 'Titanic'? Really? I know it was a mega-blockbuster hit, but then again, someone had to think it was a good idea to stick a screwdriver in a light socket the first time, didn't they? (Apparently the same 'they' that belongs with the 'everyone'....) It's the millions of others who succeeded him in the genius line that made it a stupid idea. If you ask me, the same goes for movies like 'Titanic'- or the gut-wrenchingly terrible, mind-numblingly horrendous, convulsion-inducing adaptation of Shakespeare my generation had the gall to entitle "Romeo+Juliet." I've tried to disown them all for this cinematic faux-pas, but apparently that only works with blood relations. I decided, therefore, that the only logical solution was and is to construct my own "Greatest" list. All 100. I undertook this task thinking it would be a struggle to make '100.' However, I have learned something about myself while assuming this task. I either a) watch too many movies, or b) remember too many movies at the expense of forgetting other things I should be remembering instead....like where I put my car keys....or checking my voicemail every day....or whether or not I've brushed my teeth that morning.....(okay, not that last one, but you get the idea.....) So, for the next month or so, I'll post five titles a day. There is no specific order, they are not by preference or alphabetical, chronological or by director; they are simply in the order they crossed my brain. (Yes, I've got one of those....I just can't remember where it is most of the time....) So, first up is:1. Ben-Hur- a must-see simply because Charlton Heston is one of the best-looking men ever to grace this planet, but you feel as if you're condemning yourself straight to the depths of hell if you think such while watching him portray Moses. There's got to be some rule against that somewhere. The cinematography is impressive for its day, the story is absorbing, and the final and ultimate reason for the movie is very moving. Plus, I mean, how many chariot races have you seen?2. The Long Hot Summer- Paul Newman...Paul Newman in his 20's.....Paul Newman in his 20's in color.....Paul Newman, in his 20's, in color, with a set of eyes that could launch any sane woman into a catatonic stare.....'nough said.3. Citizen Kane-I know, I know, but in my defense, I am not giving in to popular opinion. I didn't like this movie, per se; it is long.....and frankly somewhat boring....and honestly, bordering on disturbing for some reason. BUT, the makeup is astounding. The aging process Orson Wells undergoes is absolutely mind-blowing. The cinematography is interesting, and you have to hand it to him-it was both the making and the destruction of Wells' career. Anyone who has the backbone to take on William Randolph Hearst derserves some respect, however begrudging. So, it is one of those movies you have to sit through at least once, 'just 'cause.''4. Casablanca-I'm sorry, but if I have to explain, we just can't be friends.......5. 1968, Franco Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet-because everyone should see what Shakespeare can and should be on celluloid.
#1 Love the rubber ducky!
ReplyDelete#2 I've never watched Ben Hur so it's next on my list - right after the new James Bond.
#3 "Mama Mia" was worse than Titanic
#4 Paul Newman - some's got it and some ain't - there's never been a time or an age when he didn't have it
#5 I'm so old that the Romeo and Juliet you're talking about came out when I was in Jr. High and we were ALL in love with that Romeo
Fun stuff here
P.S. Thank you for your comment. Yo' mama loved reading to you and I'm glad you listened.
ReplyDeleteYa know, I haven't seen Casablanca yet. I think I need to look into that one. =0) Love the post!!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I enjoy Romeo + Juliet, though I have to say, Leo has much better movies (Catch me if you can, Blood Diamond, etc).
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Titanic though. It really was a waste of talent and money. I consider myself fan of Leo D, Kate W, Kathy Bates, I was going to say James Cameron, but looking at his movies I am glad I never said that. But then they put top notch actors and special effects on a pretty mediocre love story and i would say even the movie came out mediocre...
But anyway. I kinda like this. I might have to make my movie list.
P.S.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.avclub.com/articles/watch-the-where-the-wild-things-are-trailer,25712/
p.s.s. where is your main picture? looks like southern france! :)