(no subject)
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
At first I wasn't sure how this question differed from 3. Then I figured, hang on, "everyone" means all ages, any political or religious conviction, any gender or nationality or interest. That's asking quite a lot.
I can't quite manage to find something for everyone, but for every English-speaking person of school-age or older, I thoroughly recommend
What's My Line?
I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. The concept is simple: A panel asks yes-and-no questions to a guest, to try to figure out the guest's profession. Every time there is a "no" question, the judge flips a five-dollar card. (Which leads to some convoluted question of the "is it true that you are not...?" type.) When ten cards have been flipped, the guest wins 50 dollars and the game. Some guests are celebrity guests - then the panel is blindfolded and have to try to figure out the identity of the guest.
The eps I've been watching are from the 50s. The show continued into the 60s with a different panel, different judge, and different rules, and from what I've watched of those eps they're not half as fun, so concentrate on the 50s stuff.
Old people and people who like 50s culture will enjoy the celebrity guests. I have previously mentioned Salvador Dalí (whose line is EVERYTHING apparently), Elizabeth Taylor, and Yul Brynner as being particularly good ones, but you might also enjoy hearing Eartha Kitt trying to disguise her voice, or Victor Borge appearing as a poultry farmer, or why not Groucho Marx as both a guest and a panelist?
For those who aren't familiar with old-school celebs some "celebrity guests" are actually friends and family of the panel. Arlene Francis's son is a tough one to guess, as are the panel's secretaries, and then there's the delightful episode in which judge John Daly is his own mystery guest.
The non-mystery guests are great too. For those who are interested in the history of women and minorities, no one beats previously mentioned Charlotte Whitton, Mayor of Ottawa (seriously, even if you don't watch any other clips, watch this one!), but you might enjoy seeing rocket scientist Helen P. Mann or gun trainer Rodd Redwing.
Then there are the professions that are just plain weird, like the kangaroo boxing referee, the elephant blanket embroiderer or the salesman of false teeth for cows.
But even perfectly ordinary guests with perfectly ordinary jobs can be great fun, like garbage collectors or lipstick demonstrators.
Oh, and for the patriotic Swedes, guests include Ingemar Johansson, his fiancée and Anita Ekberg.
Fun for pretty much everyone. :-)
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
***
Book alphabet, I
1. Last week was about a main character you like, now I wonder which person from the world of books you identify the most with?
I could say Pella for this as well, but in the interest of variation I'll say Saga Sandler from GunBritt Sundströms Oppositionspartiet. (Fun fact: the author is a high school classmate of my mother's, the book is based on her high school days, and my mom is actually in the book as Elsa, who is described as so proper she has "spiritual hairpins". Not a very exciting description, but certainly not incorrect. *g* God, I love my mom.)
Saga is remarkable as a YA novel protagonist in that she's neither angsty nor in love. She's mostly interested in hanging with her friends and learning things, though she doesn't necessarily get along with her teachers. (The Swedish lit teacher apparently was very sad and upset after reading the book. Ouch.) She gets top grades in all subjects but is chastised by her teacher for being so emotionally immature and "against everything". Her clique of friends communicate mostly through jargon and quotes - though they're high brow enough that the quotes come from classic literature, which they delightedly mangle for their own purposes. (For instance, Carl Snoilsky's sonnet "I bring thee grapes, I bring thee roses..." is changed by one of Saga's friends into "I bring thee socks, I bring thee panties, I take thee measures for a corset. There are some black ones, and some with roses, yes, e'en the chubbies can be made light...")
Most protagonists in YA novels might as well be from Mars where I'm concerned. Saga is a kindred spirit. Which makes it ironic, but not surprising, that the book has never come back in print since the publishers don't think modern youth would understand it. (The same, btw, is true for Pella. I asked.)
2. Internatskolor (boarding schools) are popular subjects. Tell us of a book that takes place in one of those.
Hmm, part of me wants to say Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, which really is a book where the characters might as well be from Mars, but where that's part of the point. I read the book and went "...People actually live like this? Wow." One interesting part is how the protagonist insists that the school is a "post-racial" world and finds it embarrassing whenever the students are accused of racism, because how can the accuser not get that they're post-racial? But there are so many interesting points in this book, ways in which the protagonist adapts to her surroundings.
Another part of me wants to say Diana Wynne Jones's The Year of the Griffin, which is a very different kind of book and technically set at a university campus. (Close enough.) It's the sequel to The Dark Lord of Derkholm, but a lighter kind of romp. It mostly takes the mickey out of different kinds of academics while having some fun with the fact that practically all the students are there against their family's wishes - causing assassins and pirates and all sorts of wild hijinks.
So since I can't decide, I'm saying both. :-)
3. Tell us about a book concerning identity and the search for this!
You know, the first thing that came to mind is a short story by Gösta Knutsson about two trolls, one who was called Olsson and one who had no name, who go to town to try to find a name for the one who doesn't have one.
Then it struck me that not knowing who you are (or what you are) is actually a common theme for Diana Wynne Jones as well: Archer's Goon, Hexwood, Power of Three, the latest one Enchanted Glass, and more.
In the end, though, I'm choosing Maria Gripes Skugg-gömman, which is interesting because Gripe was asked so many times as she wrote her other Shadow books: "Can't you write a book from Caroline's point of view?" And she felt that she couldn't, because Caroline was a cypher to her. So the book she wrote to figure out Caroline is also a book about Caroline figuring out herself, and that's not entirely easy. Caroline is a born actress, she loves to take on a role, but she's quite afraid of what she might find beneath them. Her mother has been running away from part of herself all her life; her grandmother was a dictatorial narcissist - she doesn't want to be like either of them but is afraid of being like both. To complicate matters, the outspoken "Caroline" part of her is matched by the more philosophical "Saga" part, and they're not always on speaking terms. Not to mention the occasions when she finds it necessary to become "Carl".
The book is a tag-on to the other three; the plot is really finished after the previous one and this one is basically just character exploration, but it's such fascinating character explorations and makes the previous books even deeper. (And I really should fansub the TV mini of the other books... if I ever finish fansubbing the other stuff I've been doing.)
4. Which book related Internet sites do you visit the most?
Oy. I'm a librarian, and a bookworm. So, a lot.
Serious blogs: Bokhora, Bokfreak, Bokunge and of course Lilla Os blogg. Plus my own at Holmabloggen.
Silly blogs: Awful library books, Arga bibliotekstanten (though sometimes she pisses me off), and En man med ett skägg.
Shopping: AdLibris, Amazon, Barnbokhandeln, Bokus and Bokspindeln.
Trading: BookMooch.
Information: Alex (pay database)
Comic: Unshelved
And somewhat more rarely, yet often enough to count: Library Thing
And that's not even counting all the catalogues and stuff...
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/496262.html and has
comments there.
At first I wasn't sure how this question differed from 3. Then I figured, hang on, "everyone" means all ages, any political or religious conviction, any gender or nationality or interest. That's asking quite a lot.
I can't quite manage to find something for everyone, but for every English-speaking person of school-age or older, I thoroughly recommend
What's My Line?
I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. The concept is simple: A panel asks yes-and-no questions to a guest, to try to figure out the guest's profession. Every time there is a "no" question, the judge flips a five-dollar card. (Which leads to some convoluted question of the "is it true that you are not...?" type.) When ten cards have been flipped, the guest wins 50 dollars and the game. Some guests are celebrity guests - then the panel is blindfolded and have to try to figure out the identity of the guest.
The eps I've been watching are from the 50s. The show continued into the 60s with a different panel, different judge, and different rules, and from what I've watched of those eps they're not half as fun, so concentrate on the 50s stuff.
Old people and people who like 50s culture will enjoy the celebrity guests. I have previously mentioned Salvador Dalí (whose line is EVERYTHING apparently), Elizabeth Taylor, and Yul Brynner as being particularly good ones, but you might also enjoy hearing Eartha Kitt trying to disguise her voice, or Victor Borge appearing as a poultry farmer, or why not Groucho Marx as both a guest and a panelist?
For those who aren't familiar with old-school celebs some "celebrity guests" are actually friends and family of the panel. Arlene Francis's son is a tough one to guess, as are the panel's secretaries, and then there's the delightful episode in which judge John Daly is his own mystery guest.
The non-mystery guests are great too. For those who are interested in the history of women and minorities, no one beats previously mentioned Charlotte Whitton, Mayor of Ottawa (seriously, even if you don't watch any other clips, watch this one!), but you might enjoy seeing rocket scientist Helen P. Mann or gun trainer Rodd Redwing.
Then there are the professions that are just plain weird, like the kangaroo boxing referee, the elephant blanket embroiderer or the salesman of false teeth for cows.
But even perfectly ordinary guests with perfectly ordinary jobs can be great fun, like garbage collectors or lipstick demonstrators.
Oh, and for the patriotic Swedes, guests include Ingemar Johansson, his fiancée and Anita Ekberg.
Fun for pretty much everyone. :-)
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
***
Book alphabet, I
1. Last week was about a main character you like, now I wonder which person from the world of books you identify the most with?
I could say Pella for this as well, but in the interest of variation I'll say Saga Sandler from GunBritt Sundströms Oppositionspartiet. (Fun fact: the author is a high school classmate of my mother's, the book is based on her high school days, and my mom is actually in the book as Elsa, who is described as so proper she has "spiritual hairpins". Not a very exciting description, but certainly not incorrect. *g* God, I love my mom.)
Saga is remarkable as a YA novel protagonist in that she's neither angsty nor in love. She's mostly interested in hanging with her friends and learning things, though she doesn't necessarily get along with her teachers. (The Swedish lit teacher apparently was very sad and upset after reading the book. Ouch.) She gets top grades in all subjects but is chastised by her teacher for being so emotionally immature and "against everything". Her clique of friends communicate mostly through jargon and quotes - though they're high brow enough that the quotes come from classic literature, which they delightedly mangle for their own purposes. (For instance, Carl Snoilsky's sonnet "I bring thee grapes, I bring thee roses..." is changed by one of Saga's friends into "I bring thee socks, I bring thee panties, I take thee measures for a corset. There are some black ones, and some with roses, yes, e'en the chubbies can be made light...")
Most protagonists in YA novels might as well be from Mars where I'm concerned. Saga is a kindred spirit. Which makes it ironic, but not surprising, that the book has never come back in print since the publishers don't think modern youth would understand it. (The same, btw, is true for Pella. I asked.)
2. Internatskolor (boarding schools) are popular subjects. Tell us of a book that takes place in one of those.
Hmm, part of me wants to say Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, which really is a book where the characters might as well be from Mars, but where that's part of the point. I read the book and went "...People actually live like this? Wow." One interesting part is how the protagonist insists that the school is a "post-racial" world and finds it embarrassing whenever the students are accused of racism, because how can the accuser not get that they're post-racial? But there are so many interesting points in this book, ways in which the protagonist adapts to her surroundings.
Another part of me wants to say Diana Wynne Jones's The Year of the Griffin, which is a very different kind of book and technically set at a university campus. (Close enough.) It's the sequel to The Dark Lord of Derkholm, but a lighter kind of romp. It mostly takes the mickey out of different kinds of academics while having some fun with the fact that practically all the students are there against their family's wishes - causing assassins and pirates and all sorts of wild hijinks.
So since I can't decide, I'm saying both. :-)
3. Tell us about a book concerning identity and the search for this!
You know, the first thing that came to mind is a short story by Gösta Knutsson about two trolls, one who was called Olsson and one who had no name, who go to town to try to find a name for the one who doesn't have one.
Then it struck me that not knowing who you are (or what you are) is actually a common theme for Diana Wynne Jones as well: Archer's Goon, Hexwood, Power of Three, the latest one Enchanted Glass, and more.
In the end, though, I'm choosing Maria Gripes Skugg-gömman, which is interesting because Gripe was asked so many times as she wrote her other Shadow books: "Can't you write a book from Caroline's point of view?" And she felt that she couldn't, because Caroline was a cypher to her. So the book she wrote to figure out Caroline is also a book about Caroline figuring out herself, and that's not entirely easy. Caroline is a born actress, she loves to take on a role, but she's quite afraid of what she might find beneath them. Her mother has been running away from part of herself all her life; her grandmother was a dictatorial narcissist - she doesn't want to be like either of them but is afraid of being like both. To complicate matters, the outspoken "Caroline" part of her is matched by the more philosophical "Saga" part, and they're not always on speaking terms. Not to mention the occasions when she finds it necessary to become "Carl".
The book is a tag-on to the other three; the plot is really finished after the previous one and this one is basically just character exploration, but it's such fascinating character explorations and makes the previous books even deeper. (And I really should fansub the TV mini of the other books... if I ever finish fansubbing the other stuff I've been doing.)
4. Which book related Internet sites do you visit the most?
Oy. I'm a librarian, and a bookworm. So, a lot.
Serious blogs: Bokhora, Bokfreak, Bokunge and of course Lilla Os blogg. Plus my own at Holmabloggen.
Silly blogs: Awful library books, Arga bibliotekstanten (though sometimes she pisses me off), and En man med ett skägg.
Shopping: AdLibris, Amazon, Barnbokhandeln, Bokus and Bokspindeln.
Trading: BookMooch.
Information: Alex (pay database)
Comic: Unshelved
And somewhat more rarely, yet often enough to count: Library Thing
And that's not even counting all the catalogues and stuff...
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/496262.html and has
comments there.