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OT : O Brother where art thou?

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sofa-spud

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Feb 20, 2005, 5:02:33 AM2/20/05
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This the worst film I have seen for a long time - good job its free VHS
rental at the gym. What a crock - who said a) Clooney could act b) Clooney
was funny.

We watched The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan earlier though that was good for the
kiddies.


jules

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Feb 20, 2005, 5:21:26 AM2/20/05
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"sofa-spud" <comf...@here.ok> wrote in message
news:cv9n63$a2e$1...@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk...

> This the worst film I have seen for a long time - good job its free VHS
> rental at the gym. What a crock - who said a) Clooney could act b) Clooney
> was funny.

I never thought Clooney was a particularly good actor, nor terribly funny.
But I loved that film! It's a bit camp, very well observed, a little bit
weird, quite hilarious in places, and completely OTT. (like any good Coen
film). And it's one of the few movies which sent me running to buy the
soundtrack afterward. AND it made me want to read Homer, which nothing or no
one has *ever* succeeded in doing.

:)
jules


Von Gibbling

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Feb 20, 2005, 5:30:41 AM2/20/05
to

Sheesh - it's on Ch 4 nearly every day, now.
People can be soooh ignorant !


>
> :)
> jules


LJM

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Feb 20, 2005, 7:26:23 PM2/20/05
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Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>
[..]

> AND it made me want to read Homer, which nothing or no
> one has *ever* succeeded in doing.

And did you read Homer? :)

--
Lee J. Moore, whose ears prick up when people mention Homer
"Life is short, art is long."

LJM

unread,
Feb 20, 2005, 7:27:49 PM2/20/05
to
Friends, Von Gibbling, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
> jules wrote:
[..]

>> I never thought Clooney was a particularly good actor, nor terribly
>> funny. But I loved that film! It's a bit camp, very well observed, a
>> little bit weird, quite hilarious in places, and completely OTT.
>> (like any good Coen film). And it's one of the few movies which sent
>> me running to buy the soundtrack afterward. AND it made me want to
>> read Homer, which nothing or no one has *ever* succeeded in doing.
>
> Sheesh - it's on Ch 4 nearly every day, now.
> People can be soooh ignorant !

LOL! And about as homoerotic as a few scenes from The Odyssey if Dom's
random Simpson's quotes are owt to go by.
--
Lee J. Moore

Von Gibbling

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Feb 20, 2005, 7:52:23 PM2/20/05
to

Is Marge Simpson homersexual ?


jules

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Feb 21, 2005, 6:46:21 AM2/21/05
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"LJM" <subtex...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:slrnd1jepg.1h...@gmail.com...

> Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>>
>> "LJM" <subtex...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:slrnd1ialh.2e...@gmail.com...

>>> Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>>>>
>>> [..]
>>>> AND it made me want to read Homer, which nothing or no
>>>> one has *ever* succeeded in doing.
>>>
>>> And did you read Homer? :)
>>
>> Not yet - I have a very tidy pile of books in my office (which is quickly
>> turning into two piles). I'm giggling my way through "Mozart's Letters
>> Mozart's Life" at the moment.
>
> Wow. I'm told nothing brings Mozart (the man) to life like that book.

He's a trip and no mistake. As a young man, he makes me laugh out loud. But
I'm noticing him becoming more and more arrogant the older he gets, which is
probably a combination of his father's influence as well as his fame and
notoriety (from such a young age). Which of course makes me clap with
delight when I draw comparisions between him and modern day childhood
"stars" and realise that we don't change much as human beings over the
centuries. (I get really excited by shit like that)

>
>> When that's done...who knows? God give me
>> strength, though. I've heard he's not easy.
>
> Difficulty depends on the translation really. Samuel Butler's
> translation of The Odyssey (available online) is very easy to read.
> George Chapman's rendering is gorgeous but far too difficult unless
> you're already acquainted with the tale and accustomed to Middle English
> poetry. The Iliad is another matter entirely. Even Butler couldn't
> render that one into a fairy tale. :)
>
> /sorry. Ancient Graeco-Roman literature turns me on. ;-)

I have absolutely NO experience with writing from this period whatsoever. I
don't know what to expect, I'm a little frightened I'll feel like an idiot
whilst trying to read it and just a tad worried I'll be very Little Britain
about it and think "I don't like it. It's shit."

See...this is what happens when you snorted coke all through high school.
I'm furiously making up for lost reading in my mid 30's. And have huge
hang-ups about it. Nightmare.

:)
jules


LJM

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Feb 21, 2005, 5:42:55 AM2/21/05
to
Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>
> "LJM" <subtex...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:slrnd1ialh.2e...@gmail.com...
>> Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>>>
>> [..]
>>> AND it made me want to read Homer, which nothing or no
>>> one has *ever* succeeded in doing.
>>
>> And did you read Homer? :)
>
> Not yet - I have a very tidy pile of books in my office (which is quickly
> turning into two piles). I'm giggling my way through "Mozart's Letters
> Mozart's Life" at the moment.

Wow. I'm told nothing brings Mozart (the man) to life like that book.

> When that's done...who knows? God give me

> strength, though. I've heard he's not easy.

Difficulty depends on the translation really. Samuel Butler's
translation of The Odyssey (available online) is very easy to read.
George Chapman's rendering is gorgeous but far too difficult unless
you're already acquainted with the tale and accustomed to Middle English
poetry. The Iliad is another matter entirely. Even Butler couldn't
render that one into a fairy tale. :)

/sorry. Ancient Graeco-Roman literature turns me on. ;-)

--
Lee J. Moore

LJM

unread,
Feb 21, 2005, 10:13:28 AM2/21/05
to
Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>
> "LJM" <subtex...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:slrnd1jepg.1h...@gmail.com...
[..]
[Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life]

>>
>> Wow. I'm told nothing brings Mozart (the man) to life like that book.
>
> He's a trip and no mistake. As a young man, he makes me laugh out loud. But
> I'm noticing him becoming more and more arrogant the older he gets, which is
> probably a combination of his father's influence as well as his fame and
> notoriety (from such a young age).

Didn't Margaret Thatcher think it "inconceivable" that such a
foul-mouthed man could write "such exquisite and elegant music"? Silly
old bitch. ;D He was said to have an incredibly infantile sense of
humour and merely protected himself from maturity by indulging it.
Presumably his letters give that impression.

> Which of course makes me clap with
> delight when I draw comparisions between him and modern day childhood
> "stars" and realise that we don't change much as human beings over the
> centuries. (I get really excited by shit like that)

That (how little we change) is one thing I like about ancient Greek &
Roman literature. The plots and the comedy don't seem particularly
antiquated and given the liberal attitude towards sexuality at
particular periods during ancient Graeco-Roman times, some of the epics
and plays seem more compatible with present times than works churned out
a hundred years ago. Lysistrata (411BC) was always particularly awkward
for the Lord Chamberlain's office. Nowadays however...the URLs speak
for themselves:

http://www.uaf.edu/theatre/archives/lysistrata/
http://www.uaf.edu/theatre/archives/lysistrata/02.jpg

[..]


>> Difficulty depends on the translation really. Samuel Butler's
>> translation of The Odyssey (available online) is very easy to read.
>> George Chapman's rendering is gorgeous but far too difficult unless
>> you're already acquainted with the tale and accustomed to Middle
>> English poetry. The Iliad is another matter entirely. Even Butler
>> couldn't render that one into a fairy tale. :)
>>
>> /sorry. Ancient Graeco-Roman literature turns me on. ;-)
>
> I have absolutely NO experience with writing from this period
> whatsoever. I don't know what to expect, I'm a little frightened I'll
> feel like an idiot whilst trying to read it and just a tad worried
> I'll be very Little Britain about it and think "I don't like it. It's
> shit."

You could very easily not like one translation but love another. I'm so
careful about choosing thesedays. The Odyssey is a simple enough story
which generates plenty of suspense and utilises some incredibly
elaborate plot devices considering the time it was written (around
800BC?). Perhaps the most potentially confusing thing about it is the
number of characters in it. Many of them are linked to Greek myths and
obviously, if you're familiar with them, you'll get a buzz seeing how
they all link together. (One of Penelope's suitors in Odyssey is
Eurymachus, son of Polybus who was the supposed father of Oedipus Rex -
a play about whom was written by Sophocles.)

I actually think the best introduction to that whole period is by a much
more recent English author: Robert Graves. _The Greek Myths_ and _I,
Claudius_ left me with a permanent interest in the whole period and
furtively programmed me with enough knowledge to connect with the
ancient greats (Homer, Aristophanes, Sophocles, Euripides, Virgil, etc.)
with very little effort.

But I waffle. Sorry. I could talk about this stuff forever and should
probably study it or something. ;-)

> See...this is what happens when you snorted coke all through high
> school.

Makes me wonder how some Victorian writers managed to live half their
lives in opium dens and the other half being writing prolifically!

> I'm furiously making up for lost reading in my mid 30's. And
> have huge hang-ups about it. Nightmare.

Just go with the flow. Some excellent reading lists have been posted in
rec.arts.books in the past for those who'd like to experience a broad
range of literature in a relatively short space of time - thereby
helping you work out who and what you like for further reading of your
own choice. I'm always trying to introduce myself to other genres
because I'd hate to get stuck on one type of fiction.

jules

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Feb 21, 2005, 4:16:33 AM2/21/05
to

"LJM" <subtex...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:slrnd1ialh.2e...@gmail.com...

> Friends, jules, countrymen, lend me your newsreaders:
>>
> [..]
>> AND it made me want to read Homer, which nothing or no
>> one has *ever* succeeded in doing.
>
> And did you read Homer? :)

Not yet - I have a very tidy pile of books in my office (which is quickly

turning into two piles). I'm giggling my way through "Mozart's Letters

Mozart's Life" at the moment. When that's done...who knows? God give me

strength, though. I've heard he's not easy.

:)
jules


Dom Robinson

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Feb 21, 2005, 10:40:14 AM2/21/05
to
In article <cv9n63$a2e$1...@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk>, comf...@here.ok says...
VHS? They still use that?
--

Dom Robinson Gamertag: DVDfever email: dom at dvdfever dot co dot uk
/* http://DVDfever.co.uk (editor), http://LeilaniWeb.co.uk (editor),
/* 1036 DVDs, 303 games, 126 CDs, 92 cinema films, 33 videos, concerts & news
/* super size me, katherine jenkins, elvis singles, hellboy, pearl jam
Fight back against "PRESS RED": http://dvdfever.co.uk/pressrel/pressred.shtml
DVDfever.co.uk on BBC News 24's Click Online! - http://tinyurl.com/2mqj4

sofa-spud

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Feb 21, 2005, 3:29:53 PM2/21/05
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"Dom Robinson" <murphyi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1c84113de...@news.individual.net...

> In article <cv9n63$a2e$1...@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk>, comf...@here.ok says...
> > This the worst film I have seen for a long time - good job its free VHS
> > rental at the gym. What a crock - who said a) Clooney could act b)
Clooney
> > was funny.
> >
> > We watched The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan earlier though that was good for
the
> > kiddies.
> >
> VHS? They still use that?
> --
Oi! I get a lot of use out of my VHS - though Jackie Chan was on DVD. And I
watch them with a 28" Square TV

I'm typing this on a 300mhz Pentium 2 (da da di dum - The intel noise) 5.2
Gb Hd (spread over three small drives ) with a 56K dialup

Its like the 90's in here!!


Paul Hyett

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Feb 22, 2005, 2:49:13 AM2/22/05
to
In uk.media.tv.misc on Sun, 20 Feb 2005, jules wrote :
>
>I never thought Clooney was a particularly good actor, nor terribly funny.
>But I loved that film! It's a bit camp, very well observed, a little bit
>weird, quite hilarious in places, and completely OTT. (like any good Coen
>film). And it's one of the few movies which sent me running to buy the
>soundtrack afterward. AND it made me want to read Homer, which nothing or no
>one has *ever* succeeded in doing.

I found Marge too distracting. :)
--
Paul 'US Sitcom Fan' Hyett

Dom Robinson

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Feb 25, 2005, 6:22:37 PM2/25/05
to
In article <cvdga4$1k4$1...@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk>, comf...@here.ok says...

> "Dom Robinson" <murphyi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1c84113de...@news.individual.net...
> > In article <cv9n63$a2e$1...@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk>, comf...@here.ok says...
> > > This the worst film I have seen for a long time - good job its free VHS
> > > rental at the gym. What a crock - who said a) Clooney could act b)
> Clooney
> > > was funny.
> > >
> > > We watched The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan earlier though that was good for
> the
> > > kiddies.
> > >
> > VHS? They still use that?
> > --
> Oi! I get a lot of use out of my VHS - though Jackie Chan was on DVD. And I
> watch them with a 28" Square TV
>
Despite the fact it bored me intensely, O Brother.. isn't a film that would
work well in 4:3.
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