I too used to wait for paper backs. Especially those by Robert Parker, Robert Crais and James Lee Burke. A few years ago I figured "what the hell" and started buying the hard covers. They stand up to several readings (I read almost everything at least twice), and I feel this is an expence I can justify. As to SICK PUPPY it obviously deals with the rape of the natural beauty of Florida. The protagonist, Twilly Spree, is the millionare son of a coastal real estate developer. Twilly makes a litter-bug state lobbyist his target and decides to queer plans to develop a barrier island. Along the way Twilly runs afoul of the current state Governor and becomes an ally of a certain former Governor and his State Police officer friend. The book is full of delightfully offbeat types that set all Hiaasen books apart. Like most Hiaasen works SICK PUPPY manages to to send a ecological message without being preachy. Over all I preferred this book to his last attempt LUCKY YOU.
Ok, #2 in particular was pretty darn cool, and I don't recall having seen that before. And I'd award points for seamlessness as well, especially where the backgrounds are concerned.
I'm not saying I'm converted, but I no longer feel this was quite as unjust as the whole "Tommy Lee Jones beating Ralph Fiennes" thing. :)
Bertie, is a there a honor system in place for this challenge? In other words, is finding a quote via an Internet search engine considered unsporting? Should we only answer based on memory rather than research? 'Cause I can identify one of kbuxton's, but I cheated.
Also, for the contributed lines, will you only add them to the list proper if they are worthy AND identified (the case so far), or will you add worthy unidentified quotes to the list so folks don't have to root through the comments for them? You, of course, must be the sole judge of "worthy."
what else did william kotswinkle write? i know that i've read something of his....a long time ago..i think it was sci-fi/fantasy and pretty well-known...i wanna say ET but that's not right. help me out if you know what i'm talking about... his best known book...thanks
I think the fact that you mention " all other miserable 'literature' from High School days" is interesting...perhaps it was your own state of mind during that time as opposed to the books themselves...i'm not really arguing in favor of any of the books but maybe there's more to your dissatisfaction with those books than you think. also, i've found that when i've gone back to re-read books that were assigned in high school that i may not have enjoyed at the time, some of them i actually ended up liking! that's just how it works for me sometimes...think about it a bit.
If I recall correctly, the two things that were considered to be so incredibly innovative were (and bear with me here, I am no effects expert, so my terminology may be wacky).
1) The use of wires. The way they made leaps and bounds and wild martial arts moves because they were attached to wires.
2) The stop-action photography (is that what it's called?) How they would stop the picture and pan around it in a 3D like manner. It was also recently used in a TGIFridays commercial.
Now I'm not sure if these reasons are good enough (could #1 be considered more of a choreography feat?) but I do give them credit for being more seamless and believeable, instead of so...map painting-ish.
"The woman pushed on the baby's stomach and sucked its penis into her mouth; it was thinner than the American menthold she smoked and a bit slimy, like raw fish."
Yes, the movie Remains of the Day didn't make me cry either. It just wasn't as good or as powerful, even with Merchant-Ivory at the helm and Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins acting. I think it may have been the writing in the last part of the novel. In the movie the end simply doesn't seem as poignant, as hopeless, as sad. I strongly recommend reading the novel even after seeing the movie. The end just GOT to me in a way few other books have. Night, I Know This Much is True, and Of Mice and Men are the others BTW. I'll definitely have to check out the book you spoke of when I have some time this summer. I am a student and shouldn't be reading anything but my work (ha ha.)
I always thought "Like a Prayer" by Madonna was kinda evil and dark, which is part of it's attraction, as it's out of character for her. Combine the lyrics and the video and you've got an interesting mix.
"'When your mama was the geek, my dreamlets,' Papa would say, 'she made the nipping off of noggins such a crystal mystery that the hens themselves yearned toward her, waltzing around her, hypnotized with longing. 'Spread your lips, sweet Lil,' they'd cluck, 'and show us your choppers.''"
sk, I hesitated over whether to offer you this link because it looks like it might be so interesting as to come dangerously close to luring you away from us. But, obviously, I've taken the risk. Don't forget to come back, or Jim will never forgive me.
I found "Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree" by plugging it into Alta Vista (haven't read that one yet). And I found the author (but not title) of another by plugging in "Dr. Alimantando" (haven't read anything by him yet!). So of course, I couldn't post "answers" having come by them so shadily. Your first first line, while quite the attention-getter, continues to elude me.
****EVERYBODY PLEASE READ THIS POST, BECAUSE I'M TOO LAZY TO REPEAT THIS STUFF IN 'AUTHOR COMMENTS'****
Jim, these problems had occurred to me, but thanks for making them explicit. My philosophy of sport is that you don't really win unless you win within the rules - you might get the medal by cheating, but you haven't really won, not even if everyone thinks you have, and if you have any integrity within yourself you will come to realise that such victories are hollow. An honor system was assumed, but I guess I should make it explicit.
So how does one identify an opening line within the rules? - well, by recognizing it or by having a hunch (or following one of the challenger's hints, if any) and finding it by looking through actual paper books. Use of search engines is out, but if you used one of the library sites to confirm your hunch about a quote, that would be okay.
Now that this page has reached a certain size, I suppose I'm going to have to place all issued challenges on the list proper, at least until they are identified, or have been there for a reasonable length of time, but I reserve the right to remove any quote I deem unworthy.
I was interested by your comment that THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is one of four books that made you cry. (I haven't read the book, but the movie is superb, though it didn't draw my tears.) I can only recall having cried over one book. Its title is TEN RILLINGTON PLACE and it was written by Ludovic Kennedy. It isn't fiction. It tells the true story of a murderer who not only killed several women but let the husband of one of the women be tried and hanged for the crimes. When this miscarriage of justice was brought to light it played a large part in bringing about the abolition of the death penalty in Britain. A movie has also been made of this book; it starred Richard Attenborough.
and i agree Bloodhound Gang is destined to be on the list someday... recently one of my coworkers was trying to shove off that "Discovery Channel" song, but i didn't know it well enough for it to stick, so his plan was foiled!
yeah, i'd say that's a pretty good description. and i *totally* agree that in the wrong hands this flick could've been a bomb. yay for cusack & friends!
I too used to wait for paper backs. Especially those by Robert Parker, Robert Crais and James Lee Burke. A few years ago I figured "what the hell" and started buying the hard covers. They stand up to several readings (I read almost everything at least twice), and I feel this is an expence I can justify. As to SICK PUPPY it obviously deals with the rape of the natural beauty of Florida. The protagonist, Twilly Spree, is the millionare son of a coastal real estate developer. Twilly makes a litter-bug state lobbyist his target and decides to queer plans to develop a barrier island. Along the way Twilly runs afoul of the current state Governor and becomes an ally of a certain former Governor and his State Police officer friend. The book is full of delightfully offbeat types that set all Hiaasen books apart. Like most Hiaasen works SICK PUPPY manages to to send a ecological message without being preachy. Over all I preferred this book to his last attempt LUCKY YOU.
jen!!! we need to see "your friends and neighbors" PRONTO! --KB
Ok, #2 in particular was pretty darn cool, and I don't recall having seen that before. And I'd award points for seamlessness as well, especially where the backgrounds are concerned.
I'm not saying I'm converted, but I no longer feel this was quite as unjust as the whole "Tommy Lee Jones beating Ralph Fiennes" thing. :)
Bertie, is a there a honor system in place for this challenge? In other words, is finding a quote via an Internet search engine considered unsporting? Should we only answer based on memory rather than research? 'Cause I can identify one of kbuxton's, but I cheated.
Also, for the contributed lines, will you only add them to the list proper if they are worthy AND identified (the case so far), or will you add worthy unidentified quotes to the list so folks don't have to root through the comments for them? You, of course, must be the sole judge of "worthy."
what else did william kotswinkle write? i know that i've read something of his....a long time ago..i think it was sci-fi/fantasy and pretty well-known...i wanna say ET but that's not right. help me out if you know what i'm talking about... his best known book...thanks
I think the fact that you mention " all other miserable 'literature' from High School days" is interesting...perhaps it was your own state of mind during that time as opposed to the books themselves...i'm not really arguing in favor of any of the books but maybe there's more to your dissatisfaction with those books than you think. also, i've found that when i've gone back to re-read books that were assigned in high school that i may not have enjoyed at the time, some of them i actually ended up liking! that's just how it works for me sometimes...think about it a bit.
If I recall correctly, the two things that were considered to be so incredibly innovative were (and bear with me here, I am no effects expert, so my terminology may be wacky).
1) The use of wires. The way they made leaps and bounds and wild martial arts moves because they were attached to wires.
2) The stop-action photography (is that what it's called?) How they would stop the picture and pan around it in a 3D like manner. It was also recently used in a TGIFridays commercial.
Now I'm not sure if these reasons are good enough (could #1 be considered more of a choreography feat?) but I do give them credit for being more seamless and believeable, instead of so...map painting-ish.
"Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree."
"For three days Dr. Alimantando had followed the green-person across the desert."
"The woman pushed on the baby's stomach and sucked its penis into her mouth; it was thinner than the American menthold she smoked and a bit slimy, like raw fish."
Yes, the movie Remains of the Day didn't make me cry either. It just wasn't as good or as powerful, even with Merchant-Ivory at the helm and Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins acting. I think it may have been the writing in the last part of the novel. In the movie the end simply doesn't seem as poignant, as hopeless, as sad. I strongly recommend reading the novel even after seeing the movie. The end just GOT to me in a way few other books have. Night, I Know This Much is True, and Of Mice and Men are the others BTW. I'll definitely have to check out the book you spoke of when I have some time this summer. I am a student and shouldn't be reading anything but my work (ha ha.)
Though I did have it stuck in my head for awhile, I just realized that my post above was not really what you intended the list to be about...
I always thought "Like a Prayer" by Madonna was kinda evil and dark, which is part of it's attraction, as it's out of character for her. Combine the lyrics and the video and you've got an interesting mix.
"'When your mama was the geek, my dreamlets,' Papa would say, 'she made the nipping off of noggins such a crystal mystery that the hens themselves yearned toward her, waltzing around her, hypnotized with longing. 'Spread your lips, sweet Lil,' they'd cluck, 'and show us your choppers.''"
"Jack was naked, and it was night, and cold."
yeah. that first one got my attention enough to buy and read the book. i'll hold out a few more days before giving it away though :)
19. "It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen."
20. "'What's it going to be then, eh?'"
sk, I hesitated over whether to offer you this link because it looks like it might be so interesting as to come dangerously close to luring you away from us. But, obviously, I've taken the risk. Don't forget to come back, or Jim will never forgive me.
I found "Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree" by plugging it into Alta Vista (haven't read that one yet). And I found the author (but not title) of another by plugging in "Dr. Alimantando" (haven't read anything by him yet!). So of course, I couldn't post "answers" having come by them so shadily. Your first first line, while quite the attention-getter, continues to elude me.
****EVERYBODY PLEASE READ THIS POST, BECAUSE I'M TOO LAZY TO REPEAT THIS STUFF IN 'AUTHOR COMMENTS'****
Jim, these problems had occurred to me, but thanks for making them explicit. My philosophy of sport is that you don't really win unless you win within the rules - you might get the medal by cheating, but you haven't really won, not even if everyone thinks you have, and if you have any integrity within yourself you will come to realise that such victories are hollow. An honor system was assumed, but I guess I should make it explicit.
So how does one identify an opening line within the rules? - well, by recognizing it or by having a hunch (or following one of the challenger's hints, if any) and finding it by looking through actual paper books. Use of search engines is out, but if you used one of the library sites to confirm your hunch about a quote, that would be okay.
Now that this page has reached a certain size, I suppose I'm going to have to place all issued challenges on the list proper, at least until they are identified, or have been there for a reasonable length of time, but I reserve the right to remove any quote I deem unworthy.
Seriously though...
I was interested by your comment that THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is one of four books that made you cry. (I haven't read the book, but the movie is superb, though it didn't draw my tears.) I can only recall having cried over one book. Its title is TEN RILLINGTON PLACE and it was written by Ludovic Kennedy. It isn't fiction. It tells the true story of a murderer who not only killed several women but let the husband of one of the women be tried and hanged for the crimes. When this miscarriage of justice was brought to light it played a large part in bringing about the abolition of the death penalty in Britain. A movie has also been made of this book; it starred Richard Attenborough.
why not just check it out of the library. read it, then buy the paperback when it comes out?
which one?
thanks for filling in some of my gaps, Antihero!
and i agree Bloodhound Gang is destined to be on the list someday... recently one of my coworkers was trying to shove off that "Discovery Channel" song, but i didn't know it well enough for it to stick, so his plan was foiled!
yeah, i'd say that's a pretty good description. and i *totally* agree that in the wrong hands this flick could've been a bomb. yay for cusack & friends!