“For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think.”
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed.
frankiebleu: You know what? I am annoying sometimes. And that’s okay. It’s not the death sentence…
You know what?
I am annoying sometimes.
And that’s okay. It’s not the death sentence I was led to believe. People will love me even if I can’t read their signals sometimes. Not understanding is forgivable. I don’t have to hold myself back so I don’t annoy anyone ever.
The people who love me know I get excited. And I am still loved.
dustypalms: *daydreams about pretty envelopes* 🐌💌💜prints |…
“The Amazing Maurice is a fantasy book. Of course, everyone knows that fantasy is ‘all about’…”
“
- Terry Pratchett, as part of his Carnegie Medal acceptance speech for The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.
The Amazing Maurice is a fantasy book. Of course, everyone knows that fantasy is ‘all about’ wizards, but by now, I hope, everyone with any intelligence knows that, er, what everyone knows…is wrong.
Fantasy is more than wizards. For instance, this book is about rats that are intelligent. But it also about the even more fantastic idea that humans are capable of intelligence as well. Far more beguiling than the idea that evil can be destroyed by throwing a piece of expensive jewellery into a volcano is the possibility that evil can be defused by talking. The fantasy of justice is more interesting that the fantasy of fairies, and more truly fantastic. In the book the rats go to war, which is, I hope, gripping. But then they make peace, which is astonishing.
In any case, genre is just a flavouring. It’s not the whole meal. Don’t get confused by the scenery.
”- Terry Pratchett, as part of his Carnegie Medal acceptance speech for The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.
Free Culture Movies to Watch During #COVID19: SEVEN CHANCESAfter…
Free Culture Movies to Watch During #COVID19: SEVEN CHANCES
After we rewatched my “The Bachelor” DVD the other night, I noticed in the end credits it had been based on a Buster Keaton movie called “Seven Chances” that I had never heard of. So I went looking, and here it is. The opening sequence was a test filmed in Technicolor. Clearly the print color hasn’t held up. Apparently its been restored; this isn’t that version, however. I can only find the trailer online and its entirely sepia tone.
This Buster Keaton short (hour long) is a comedic masterpiece!
Canadian actress Mary Pickford became “America’s Sweetheart.”The…
Canadian actress Mary Pickford became “America’s Sweetheart.”
The public domain is filled with wonderful material that is legal for anyone to use for any purpose forever.
thenotoriousscuttlecliff: What’s great about the Paddington films is that they are unashamedly nice….
What’s great about the Paddington films is that they are unashamedly nice. They are nice films about a nice bear who get taken in by a nice family, and goes around London being nice to people and they become nicer by osmosis.
“Those years weren’t lost. They simply weren’t the way I’d planned them.”
“Those years weren’t lost. They simply weren’t the way I’d planned them.”
- Kurt Vonnegut, letter to Nanette Vonnegut, 1971.
- Kurt Vonnegut, letter to Nanette Vonnegut, 1971.
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“It’s clear that the books owned the shop rather than the other way about. Everywhere they had run…”
“It’s clear that the books owned the shop rather than the other way about. Everywhere they had run wild and taken possession of their habitat, breeding and multiplying, and clearly lacking any strong hand to keep them down.”
- Agatha Christie, The Clocks.
- Agatha Christie, The Clocks.