Wishing that the weather would stop shilly-shallying and really get to Spring, but it can't be far off now as my eyes have started itching, meaning hay-fever's on its way...............Been shamefully neglectful of my doctor's advice to take regular exercise in the form of (at least) of a longish brisk walk daily to help boost body's insulin production. - No excuses.................In this Dickens anniversary year re-reading all the 14 major novels (+ the uncompleted 'Drood') and currently half-way through 'Barnaby Rudge', his fifth..................Hoping that George Osborne, our Chancellor of the Exchequer, pulls something out of the hat in Wednesday's budget for us recipients of low(est)-incomes...........Although always loved quizzes, don't like TV Quiz shows which give contestants a choice of possible answers, often just three. There's no 'skill' when chance has such a large part. You either know it or you don't!...............Why do people say "I am a Christian!" without also giving an indication of where they stand on the spectrum from 'progressive liberal' right through to 'ultra-conservative'? It's as meaningless as saying "I'm a politician!" without further elaboration, though my own observation is that those who shout loudest about their religion also tend to be more reactionary.............I've had this computer for 6.5 years now - and it takes a maddening 30-45 minutes (sometimes longer) after switching on, for it to start up and connect. Surely there must be faster ways by now - but lack of finance prohibits..............Feeling guilty about not reading so many other blogs in last few days, and commenting on even fewer of them. But take consolation in it being a phase that most bloggers seem to go through, only to return in force after a short(?) interval.............
(Well that's cleared some of the 'clutter' - until it builds up again)
Well, the cobwebs of your mind are quite insightful and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Quiz Shows and the "Christians".
Thanks, Bob. I think I'll do this 'odd strands of thought' type of blog occasionally. Gives vent to a number of subjects which may not merit a full blog entry individually - though in this particular case I could have gone on at length about the 'Christians' matter, so maybe that's one for the future.
DeleteHello Ray:
ReplyDeleteWell, you appear to be getting a number of things off your chest in this post, many of which we rather hope you may develop further in the future.
Happily we are without a television and so have no opinion of such Quiz Shows as you describe.
Hi, J & L. I'm sure it would be to the benefit of my health (blood pressure) if I too didn't have a TV - or just kept it switched off. I never cease to be astonished at the level of ignorance of so many people who don't seem to be the least bit interested in keeping themselves informed. Having said that, I'd better not shout too loud because when it comes to pop music since 2000, sport (other than some football and athletics) and TV programmes themselves, (especially 'soaps'), I really am a prize ignoramus!
DeleteDid I read this right, you are rereading all of Dickens major books? that is a commendable goal. he remains one of my favorite authors, and I plan to reread them all a few times over my life. and here you are, trying to get all of them done in a single setting! that is both admirable and shameful to me! hohoho
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Dr Spo - but it's reading them all over the course of the entire year, though at the present rate I might get through them all before Autumn has begun - AND this 'vanity-project' is in addition to reading other books, my score so far in 2012 being Dickens 5, Others 6. However, one big advantage I have is in being retired, so I DO have the time. But, in any case, it's good to have another Dickens-lover in my blog-circle - which I already knew you were from your previous mentions.
DeleteHurrah for Dickens! Tell me what you think of The Old Curiosity Shop!
ReplyDeleteWell, for one thing, Dr Spo, it's got hardly anything at all to do with the eponymous 'shop' (Such an odd title to have given it). The tale is also Dickens' at his most suffocatingly mawkish at times - and that really IS saying something! You'll already know the Oscar Wilde quote - "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing." However, the characters are very finely drawn, especially Quilp and his long-suffering wife - and I did enjoy it again as a re-read. Oh, AND it's one of his shorter novels (a mere 470 pages in my edition), which itself is no bad thing!
DeleteSome people say it is not 'essential Dickens". I say you can't know Dickens unless you read TOCS. Quilp is Dicken's dark side. People forget there are two amazing deaths in this book - Nell and Quilp.
DeleteIf we find humor in the death of children then we better wonder at ourselves why.
Although definitely worth reading, 'Shop' is, frankly, not one of the novels I'd take with me if I was walking the globe.
DeleteI'd never thought of a self-characterisation element in Daniel Quilp, though nowadays commentators are seeing the author everywhere in his writings. It may be so - I certainly can't prove that it's NOT the case.
Of course, any death in reality is to be mourned - it hardly needs saying. But Nell is drawn with such ridiculous, relentless innocence and with a forbearance that would try the patience of any God himself, that the bucketloads of tears we are intended to shed at her early demise (and I've no doubt that many of Dickens' own contemporaries did so) that I think it deserves the put-down Oscar accorded it. It's clear that he was aiming not at the child herself but Dickens' own overblown characterisation - this being just one of several instances in his writings.
Nell is one of Dicken's many 'good woman'.
DeleteOur bewilderment over the 19th century's preoccupation and emotional attraction to 'death' is a puzzle for me .
I sense 100 years from now they will be equally bewildered at the 20th century's preoccupation with sex.
Could well be, Dr Spo. Could well be.
DeleteSay, how about a new post - Dickens based!
DeleteI can't vouch it will be a success, but I would find it marvelous!
It's a possibility, I suppose - though I agree that it's unlikely to attract more than a very few interested readers. For the same reason, in all the six-years-plus of this blog, I've only ever done one posting on classical music, snobbishly assuming that it wouldn't stir interest in many of my blog-pals.
DeleteHowever, as you and I share a kinship in admiration of Dickens, Dr Spo, I ought to give it some serious thought - but only after I've completed this month's reading ('Chuzzlewit'), which will take me to not quite half-way through the complete list.
I love your comparison of christians and politicians. I think that's a great way to look at it. In the U.S., the right wing is trying hard to hijack the label "christian" to mean *only* conservative evangelical protestant, and any other form of christianity, including catholicism, is less-than, or pseudo-christian.
ReplyDeleteCubby, whenever anyone starts with saying "I am a Christian!" I just KNOW that you only have to scratch the surface to discover just how hard right-wing they really are. It's not just attitudes to gays that are the litmus test - just ask them if they'd feel comfortable going to a service conducted by a female celebrant - it's not long before you'll hear "Well.....erm....I'm not sure......ooh...." - anything but enthusiasm. And follow that up with reminding them that there are Christians around who ARE perfectly comfortable with women ministers and gays, and they have no alternative then but to show their true colours of intolerance and bigotry. No, let's not let them get away with the simple "I am a Christian" statement!
Delete