#ignatius j reilly

[hollywood-montrose]

“Adoring Angels” by Benozzo Gozzoli (1459)

“Theology and Geometry” book cover, authored by Leslie Marsh (2022)

“Griffith”, by Kentaro Miura (2003-2005)

[silvercompassjournal]

“The day before me is fraught with God knows what horrors.” - John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces.

New Orleans, LA.

New issue of the SCJ Newsletter out today. Issue 69 - The Fall Reading List.

Fall is a great time to read good books. These are five recommendations to read on a cool, crisp fall afternoon. There's a bit of everything here, from fiction to non-fiction, adventure, novels, short stories, biography, and a cookbook. These Pair well with a nice whiskey or some French red wine. Let me know what you think.

[cosmic-ghost-rider]

@lenathorul

so there’s this gormish oaf whose boorish conduct sears a doleful look on my already haggard features

[stone-cold-groove]

Illustration detail from the 1981 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces.

[stimtickle]

The cashier was real funny, he said, “I’m sorry sir, but that’s sold out.” I laughed and replied, “Yeah right.”

*Coppola’s not wrong: America is an empire on the verge of collapse and it will crumble sooner than later. His heart’s in the right place for sure. Yet that doesn’t stop him from making a garish af ersatz looking movie with questionable decisions (aesthetic and otherwise) throughout. And as usual Adam Driver is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Shia LeBuff is unintentionally funny just from how utterly stupid he looks. This movie’s a hot mess though and I often thought of that scene from A Confederacy of Dunces when Ignatius J. Reilly’s yelling at the movie screen, “What is this abomination before me!?” 💩🎥

[travsd]

Six Days in New Orleans: Two

Originally posted November 6, 2015. Carpe Diem! The Marchioness generally sleeps later than me, so on our first full day in New Orleans, I arose and spent an hour or two running from pillar to post photographing destinations that had no opening or closing times. Morning is a pleasant time in the French Quarter. A lot of WORK happens, from the crack of dawn. The classier places all hose down…

[celestialmazer]

Recently bought what I consider to be an Ignatius J Reilly hat so been doing a revisit

“Ignatius himself was dressed comfortably and sensibly… The outfit was acceptable by any theological and geometrical standards, however abstruse, and suggested a rich inner life.”

— John Kennedy Toole, from “A Confederacy of Dunces” (1980)

[jazznoisehere]

[hcshannon]

An AI Rap Battle

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, gather 'round for an epic clash of literary quips and verbal wit! In one corner, hailing from New Orleans, the indomitable Ignatius J. Reilly! And in the other corner, representing the concrete jungle of New York City, the unconventionally rebellious Holden Caulfield! Get ready for the ultimate rap battle of characters as we witness their lyrical duel!

Verse 1:

Ignatius J. Reilly:

Oh Holden, dear boy, with your whiny despair,

You claim to be troubled, but I find you quite square.

Your catchphrases are stale, your angst is half-baked,

While your pompous complaints leave me truly unfazed.

Holden Caulfield:

Ignatius, Ignatius, with your portly physique,

Your arrogance is laughable, it's truly unique.

You waddle around, claiming to be intellectual,

But your self-importance is purely ineffectual.

Verse 2:

Ignatius J. Reilly:

Holden, my dear, your cynicism is tired,

Your pseudo-rebellion blatantly uninspired.

Your longing for innocence, it holds no sway,

Grow up, little child, and seize the day!

Holden Caulfield:

Ignatius, Ignatius, with your delusions so grand,

You believe yourself a genius, all throughout the land.

But your escapades and schemes, they're an absurdity,

A pompous fool, living in perpetual hilarity.

Verse 3:

Ignatius J. Reilly:

Holden, my dear, your judgments are bleak,

Yet you fail to see the hypocrisy you speak.

Your incessant complaining is utterly mundane,

While you pretend to be different, just like the rest of the grain.

Holden Caulfield:

Ignatius, oh Ignatius, with your intellectual rants,

You critique society with your misguided stance.

But beneath all your bluster and self-righteous screams,

You're just another misfit, lost in your own dreams.

Final Verse:

Ignatius J. Reilly:

Holden, my boy, self-absorbed and naive,

Your disillusioned ramblings, they do deceive.

Your angst is a façade, a teenage cliché,

While I, Ignatius, remain timeless in every way.

Holden Caulfield:

Ignatius, you fat slob, with your delusions so grand,

Your arrogance and ignorance, they go hand in hand.

Your ignorance of the world, it truly astounds,

But rest assured, Ignatius, your obliviousness will rebound.

Announcer: What an electrifying spectacle of literary roasting, where words clash and egos clash even harder! We hope you enjoyed this rap battle for the ages, as Ignatius J. Reilly and Holden Caulfield leave no insult unsaid.

[osoanimation]

Confederacy of Dunces written by John Kennedy Toole is the story of Ignatius J Reilly an unemployed 30 year old living with his mother in New Orleans and getting into all kinds of trouble.

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read! Too bad Toole never saw it published but I'm so glad his mother fought so hard to get it published.

Throughout the years they have tried to make it into a film, John Belushi was going to star in it and he passed away, also John Candy and Chris Farley were going to star in it but they also sadly passed away. Will Farrel and Zach Galifiankis were also going to star in it but the film was never made. Hopefully one day we see a film of Confederacy of Dunces we have the book and we can read it again.

[aberrant-eyes]

He looks like a yassified Ignatius Reilly, and based on the time I wound up interacting with him on The App Formerly Known As Twitter, I think he'd take that as a compliment, at least the "Ignatius" part of it. He may not even know what "yassification" is, or wish to know.

(He told me the "human pet" thing was not in fact meant as a metaphor for gender-affirming surgery. I think it's about declawing, which would make it a point on which his sense of theology and geometry matches mine, for all that he and I draw the lines of taste and decency in some very different places.)

[hollywood-montrose]

Ignatius J. Reilly, from "A Confederacy of Dunces" (1980), novel by John Kennedy Toole

Morshu, from "Link: The Faces of Evil" (1993), videogame by Philips Interactive Media

[silvercompassjournal]

“I really don’t have time to discuss the errors of your value judgements.” - John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces.

Silver Compass Journal’s New Orleans Reading List. Some of my favorite books inspired by the Crescent City. In today’s newsletter.

[kcggggg]

empty boy sounds like master shake to me i love the greatures by the way. peak comic i like it a lot <3

I imagine EB with a lower register than Master Shake, but same overall disposition (maybe nicer). More of an Ignatius J. Reilly touchstone, but Master Shake is cut from the same cloth tbh.

[la-femme-au-collier-vert]

From the Library of Anne Rice (Part 3)

Flynn, Gillian. Gone Girl. New York: Crown Publishing, 2011. Lightly annotated. 

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars.  New York: Penguin Books, 2012. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Le Carre, John. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.  New York: Bloomsbury, 2005. Ownership signature. Tabbed. 

Martin, George R.R. A Dance with Dragons. New York: Bantam Books, 2011. Ownership signature. 

Metalious, Grace. Peyton Place. New York: Julian Messner, 1957. Ownership signature. 

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones.  New York: Back Bay Books, 2007. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Sheldon, Sidney. The Other Side of Midnight. New York: Willam Morrow & Company, Inc., 1973. Ownership signature.

Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Quo Vadis. New York: Hippocrene Books, 2002. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Silva, Daniel. The Kill Artist.  New York: Random House, 2000. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Susann, Jacqueline. Once is Not Enough. New York: Willam Morrow & Company, Inc., 1973. Ownership signature. Lightly annotated. 

Susann, Jacqueline. Valley of the Dolls. New York: New Market Home Library, 1996. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Turow, Scott. Identical. New York/London: Grand Central Publishing, 2013. Ownership signature. 

Turow, Scott. Identical. New York/London: Grand Central Publishing, 2013. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Bowman, Carol. Children's Past Lives. New York: Bantam Books, 1998.

Burpo, Todd with Lynn Vincent. Heaven is for Real. Nashville, Dallas, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro: Thomas Nelson, 2010.

Fronkzac, Paul Joseph and Alex Tresniowski. The Foundling. New York: Howard Books, 2017.

Greven, Philip. Spare the Child. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.

Joyce, Stephen H. Suffer the Captive Children. By the Author, 2004.

Malarkey, Kevin & Alex The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2011.

Mcfarland, Hillary. Quivering Daughter. Dallas, Texas: Darklight Press, 2010.

Postman, Neil. The Disappearance of Childhood. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Rafferty, Mary and Eoin O'Sullivan. Suffer the Little Children. New York: Continuum, 1999.

Reilly, Frances. Suffer the Little Children. London: Hachett UK, 2008.

Szalavitz, Maia. Help at Any Cost. New York: Riverhead Books, 2006.

Taylor, Marjorie. Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Tucker, Jim B. Life Before Life. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2005.

Woititz, Janet Geringer.  Adult Children of Alcoholics. Deerbeach, Florida: Health Communications, Inc., 1983.

Bloom, Harold. The Book of J. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Collins, Andrew. From the Ashes of Angels. Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Company, 2001. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Collins, John J. The Scepter and the Star. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Annotated.

Cook, John Granger. The Interpretation of the New Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism. Hendrickson Publish, 2002. Ownership signature.  

Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Scriptures. [Oxford]: Oxford University Press, 2003. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Enns, Peter. The Bible Tells Me So... HarperOne, 2014. Ownership signature.  

Fox, Everett. The Five Books of Moses. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. Ownership signature. Annotated.

House, H. Wayne. Charts of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1981. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Howard, Thomas. Evangelical is Not Enough. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1984. Ownership signature.  

Lockhart, Douglas, Jesus the Heretic. Shaftsbury, Dorset: Element, 1997. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Luckert, Karl W. Egyptian Light and Hebrew Fire. State University of New York Press, 1991.  

Parenti, Michael. God and His Demons. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2010. Ownership signature.  

Shaw, Russell. Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitors Publishing, 1997. Annotated.

Sparrow, W. Shaw. The Gospels In Art. New York: Frederick A, Stokes Company, 1904. Annotated.

Townsend, Mark. The Gospel of Falling Down. Winchester, UK: O Books, 2007. Inscribed by author.  

Valenti, Connie Ann. Stories of Jesus. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2012. Inscribed by author.  

Yallop, David A. In God's Name. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1984. Annotated.

Zuesse, Eric. Christ's Ventriloquists. New York: Hyacinth Editions, 2012. Ownership signature. Annotated.

Cayce, Edgar.  On Atlantis. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1968. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Collins, Andrew. Gobekli, Tepe Genesis of the Gods.  Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Company, 2014. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Cremo, Michael A. and Richard L. Thompson. Forbidden Archaeology. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing, 2003. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Eno, Paul F.  Faces at the Window.  By the Author, 1998. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Fiore, Edith. The Unquiet Dead. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Hoagland, Richard C. and Mike Bar. Dark Mission: The Secret History of Nasa.  Feral House, 2007. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Icke, David.  The Biggest Secret. David Icke Books, 1999. Ownership Signature.  

Joseph, Frank. The Atlantis Encyclopedia. Career Press, 2005. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Knight, Christopher and Alan Butler. Before the Pyramids.  London: Watkins Publishing. 1988. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Leshan, Lawrence. A New Science of the Paranormal. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 2009. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Peake, Anthony. The Out-of-Body Experience. Watkins, 2011. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Redfern, Nick. Shapeshifters Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publication 2017. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Roberts, Scott Alan. The Secret History of the Reptilians.  Pompton, N.J.: New Page Books, 2013. Ownership Signature.  

Spence, Lewis. The Occult Sciences in Atlantis. London: The Aquarian Press, 1970. Ownership Signature. Annotated

Temple, Robert with Olivia Temple. The Sphinx Mystery. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2009. Ownership Signature. Lightly Annotated

Thyme, Lauren O. The Lemurian Way. Lakeville, Minnesota: Glade Press, 2012. Ownership Signature.  

Wilson, Colin and Rand Flem-Ath. The Atlantis Blueprint. Delta Trade Paperback, 2000. Ownership Signature. Annotated.

[pazodetrasalba]

House of Unmirth

Dear Caroline:

These days we live in a house of sadness, and feed upon ashes and wormwood, which taste bitter in the mouth.

The House is as a grim fortress of despair, where light dares not linger, and the sun shows not his face. Its walls, high and unyielding, are built not of stone but of the weight of forgotten hopes. Within, time loses its meaning, each hour stretching into an eternity of regret. No laughter ever echoes in these halls, only the soft rustle of resigned footsteps and the hollow silence of souls abandoned by joy. The air is thick with the oppressive weight of isolation, and even the sky above seems to turn its face away, leaving the inhabitants trapped beneath a perpetual twilight of sorrow. Here, dreams are withered things, curled and brittle like autumn leaves caught in a cold wind, and the only escape lies not in the world outside, but in the hollowing of one’s own heart.

And yet...

There is a garden in the house. It is small, untidy, unkempt. It is overgrown with rank weeds, with gorse, and thistle, and bracken, and knotweed, choking the better plants. And yet amidst the verdure grows one lonely, one lovely, one solitary rose.

A rose regained. A rose redeemed.

It seems that ins your words before the judge, one of the things you said that during your time at Alameda, you lost your moral compass. You are way more knowledgeable about yourself that I can ever hope to be, but I feel the wording is a bit misplaced. A virtuous person like yourself can never lose their moral compass, but they can become entangled in wrong and misbegotten paths, like the one that starts Dante's Divine Commedy:

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita / mi ritrovai per una selva oscura / ché la diritta via era smarrita

And that you did. And it feels all the more tragic, and unfair, because of your fundamentally good nature. I suspect a non-trivial element of your fall stems from it, from what I would call the Hermione, or 'Good Girl' paradox. I feel you have always strived, since childhood, to optimize towards being the perfect person, the most dutiful, the most self-sacrificing, the most obedient and pleasing to the Authorities you recognize, the most agreeable. This, along with a certain naiveté and the weaknesses that love imposes upon us, was weaponized against you, and employed to turn you into a tool of unwholesome ends. It is the stuff of Greek tragedy that people, including good people, can be turned by the whims of fate into suffering unexpected and underserved evil. Such is the fate of mortals, it seems, whether it be in a god-full or in a godless world.

I've been racking my brains trying to find words, any words, that could give you support, consolation and solace, but I fear will never be up to the task, so I've also been thinking on what I could recommend you read in this regard. Stoic philosophy is something I find congenial: the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a slim little book I have never tired of going to when I need some rational comfort. Another that is exceedingly good is Boethius's De Consolatione Philosophiae. I don't know if you are acquainted with the latter (this migh sound preposterous, given your wisdom, wide readings and talents, but then again, this is a very humanistic book to read). In a way, Boethius was the last Roman, and he wrote the little booklet while in prison, falsely accused, and soon to be executed. The book is the foundation-stone of much Medieval philosophy, and Ignatius Reilly's nerdy fascination with it gets much jeering in J. Kennedy O'Toole's A Conspiracy of Dunces, but believe me, it is a great book, and one that I am sure will do you good and to read and ponder about.

In a few, short, months, you will have to begin a new, unhappy stage in your path of penance which I really hoped you would never have to walk. But you will not walk it alone, dear Caroline. Your friends and family will be there for you at every step of this via dolorosa, of this earthly Purgatory. Purgatory brings to mind Dante again. Many years ago, I made a little trip to the north of the country, taking advantage of the fact that some close university friends were using an Erasmus grant for a yearly stay in Bologna. One of the things I did was buy myself a profusely annotated Italian version of the Commedia, of which I have so far only finished the Inferno.

In the time to come, I really wish I could be of help to you, and write you letters of support to the House of Unmirth. Then again, I do not know if they would be wanted. Whatever the case may be, I have landed on an at least symbolic way in which I will be able to express my support for you and the desire to carry your burdens. Back again to Dante, I will devote the time of your incarceration as a constraining bound for a reading of the Purgatorio. And following an old Christian custom for Lent, I'll voluntarily deprive myself for as long as your captivity shall last of some important source of happiness and pleasure - which one, I have yet to think about and determine. These may feel like childish gestures, but one takes whatever one can get.