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birdlord · 4 years ago

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Everything I Watched in 2020

We’ll start with movies. The number in parentheses is the year of release, asterisks denote a re-watch, and titles in bold are my favourite watches of the year. Here’s 2019’s list.

01 Little Women (19)

02 The Post (17)

03 Molly’s Game (17)

04 * Doctor No (62)

05 Groundhog Day (93)

06 *Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (86)

07 Knives Out (19) My last theatre experience (sob)

08 Professor Marston and his Wonder Women (17)

09 Les Miserables (98)

10 Midsommar (19) I’m not sure how *good* it is, but it does stick in the ol’ brain

11 *Manhattan Murder Mystery (93)

12 Marriage Story (19)

13 Kramer vs Kramer (79)

14 Jojo Rabbit (19)

15 J’ai perdu mon corps (19) a cute animated film about a hand detached from its body!

16 1917 (19)

17 Married to the Mob (88)

18 Klaus (19)

19 Portrait of a Lady on Fire (19) If Little Women made me want to wear a scarf criss-crossed around my torso, this one made me want to wear a cloak

20 The Last Black Man in San Francisco (19)

21 *Lawrence of Arabia (62)

22 Gone With the Wind (39)

23 Kiss Me Deadly (55)

24 Dredd (12)

25 Heartburn (86) heard a bunch about this one in the Blank Check series on Nora Ephron, sadly after I’d watched it

26 The Long Shot (19)

27 Out of Africa (85)

28 King Kong (46)

29 *Johnny Mnemonic (95)

30 Knocked Up (07)

31 Collateral (04)

32 Bird on a Wire (90)

33 The Black Dahlia (05)

34 Long Time Running (17)

35 *Magic Mike (12)

36 Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (07)

37 Cold War (18)

38 *Kramer Vs Kramer (79) yes I watched this a few months before! This was a pandemic friend group co-watch.

39 *Burn After Reading (08)

40 Last Holiday (50)

41 Fly Away Home (96)

42 *Moneyball (11) I’m sure I watch this every two years, at most??

43 Last Holiday (06) the Queen Latifah version of the 1950 movie above, lacking, of course, the brutal “poor people don’t deserve anything good” ending

44 *Safe (95)

45 Gimme Shelter (70)

46 The Daytrippers (96)

47 Experiment in Terror (62)

48 Tucker: The Man and His Dream (88)

49 My Brilliant Career (79) one of the salvations of 2020 was watching movies “with” friends. Our usual method was to video chat before the movie, sync our streaming services, and text-chat while the movie was on.

50 Divorce Italian Style (61)

51 *Gosford Park (01) another classic comfort watch, fuck I love a G. Park

52 Hopscotch (80)

53 Brief Encounter (45)

54 Hud (63)

55 Ocean’s 8 (18)

56 *Beverly Hills Cop (84)

57 Blow the Man Down (19)

58 Constantine (05)

59 The Report (19) maddening!! How are people so consistently terrible to one another!

60 Everyday People (04)

61 Anatomy of a Murder (58)

62 Spiderman: Homecoming (17)

63 *To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (95) Of the 90s drag road movies, Priscilla is more visually striking, but this has its moments.

64 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (92)

65 *The Truman Show (98)

66 Mona Lisa (86)

67 The Blob (58)

68 The Guard (11)

69 *Waiting for Guffman (96) RIP Fred Willard

70 Rocketman (19)

71 Outside In (18)

72 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (08) how strange to see a movie that you have known the premise for, but no details of, for over a decade

73 *Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (91)

74 The Reader (08)

75 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (19) This was fine until it VERY MUCH WAS NOT FINE

76 The End of the Affair (99) you try to watch a fun little romp about infidelity during the Blitz, and Graham Greene can’t help but shoehorn in a friggin crisis of religious faith

77 Must Love Dogs (05) barely any dog content, where are the dogs at

78 The Rainmaker (97)

79 *Batman & Robin (97)

80 National Lampoon’s Vacation (83) Never seen any of the non-xmas Vacations, didn’t realize the children are totally different, not just actors but ages! Also, this one is blatantly racist!

81 *Mystic Pizza (88)

82 Funny Girl (68)

83 The Sons of Katie Elder (65)

84 *Knives Out (19) another re-watch within the same year!! How does this keep happening??

85 *Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (10) a real I-just-moved-away-from-Toronto nostalgia watch

86 Canadian Bacon (92) vividly recall this VHS at the video store, but I never saw it til 2020

87 *Blood Simple (85)

88 Brittany Runs a Marathon (19)

89 The Accidental Tourist (88)

90 August Osage County (13) MELO-DRAMA!!

91 Appaloosa (08)

92 The Firm (93) Feeling good about how many iconic 80s/90s video store stalwarts I watched in 2020

93 *Almost Famous (00)

94 Whisper of the Heart (95)

95 Da 5 Bloods (20)

96 Rain Man (88)

97 True Stories (86)

98 *Risky Business (83) It’s not about what you think it’s about! It never was!

99 *The Big Chill (83)

100 The Way We Were (73)

101 Safety Last (23) It’s getting so that I might have to add the first two digits to my dates...not that I watch THAT many movies from the 1920s...

102 Phantasm (79)

103 The Burrowers (08)

104 New Jack City (91)

105 The Vanishing (88)

106 Sisters (72)

107 Puberty Blues (81) Little Aussie cinema theme, here

108 Elevator to the Gallows (58)

109 Les Diaboliques (55)

110 House (77) haha WHAT no really W H A T

111 Death Line (72)

112 Cranes are Flying (57)

113 Holes (03)

114 *Lady Vengeance (05)

115 Long Weekend (78)

116 Body Double (84)

117 The Crazies (73) I love that Romero shows the utter confusion that would no doubt reign in the case of any kind of disaster. Things fall apart.

118 Waterlilies (07)

119 *You’re Next (11)

120 Event Horizon (97)

121 Venom (18) I liked it, guys, way more than most superhero fare. Has a real sense of place and the place ISN’T New York!

122 Under the Silver Lake (18) RIP Night Call

123 *Blade Runner (82)

124 *The Birds (62) interesting to see now that I’ve read the story it came from

125 *28 Days Later (02) hits REAL FUCKIN’ DIFFERENT in a pandemic

126 Life is Sweet (90)

127 *So I Married an Axe Murderer (93) find me a more 90s movie, I dare you (it’s not possible)

128 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (67)

129 The Pelican Brief (93) 90s thrillers continue!

130 Dick Johnston is Dead (20)

131 The Bridges of Madison County (95)

132 Earth Girls are Easy (88) Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum are so hot in this movie, no wonder they got married

133 Better Watch Out (16)

134 Drowning Mona (00) trying for something like the Coen bros and not getting there

135 Au Revoir Les Enfants (87)

136 *Chasing Amy (97) Affleck is the least alluring movie lead...ever? I also think I gave Joey Lauren Adams’ character short shrift in my memory of the movie. It’s not good, but she’s more complicated than I recalled.

137 Blackkklansman (18)

138 Being Frank (19)

139 Kiki’s Delivery Service (89)

140 Uncle Frank (20) why so many FRANKS

141 *National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (89) watching with pals (virtually) made it so much more fun than the usual yearly watch!

142 Half Baked (98) another, more secret Toronto nostalgia pic - RC Harris water filtration plant as a prison!

143 We’re the Millers (13)

144 All is Bright (13)

145 Defending Your Life (91)

146 Christmas Chronicles (18) I maintain that most new xmas movies are terrible, particularly now that Netflix churns them out like eggnog every year.

147 Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse (18)

148 Reindeer Games (00) what did I say about Affleck??!? WHAT DID I SAY

149 Palm Springs (20)

150 Happiest Season (20)

151 *Metropolitan (90) it’s definitely a Christmas movie

152 Black Christmas (74)

THEATRE:HOME - 2:150 (thanks pandemic)

I usually separate out docs and fiction, but I watched almost no documentaries this year (with the exception of Dick Johnston). Reality is real enough.

TV Series

01 - BoJack Horseman (final season) - Pretty damned poignant finish to the show, replete with actual consequences for our reformed bad boy protagonist (which is more than you can say for most antiheroes of Peak TV).

02 - *Hello Ladies - I enjoy the pure awkwardness of seeing Stephen Merchant try to perform being a Regular Person, but ultimately this show tips him too far towards a nasty, Ricky Gervais-lite sort of persona. Perhaps he was always best as a cameo appearance, or lip synching with wild eyes while Chrissy Teigen giggles?

03 - Olive Kittredge - a rough watch by times. I read the book as well, later in the year. Frances Mcdormand was the best, possibly the only, casting option for the flinty lead. One episode tips into thriller territory, which is a shock.

04 - *The Wire S3, S4, S5 - lockdown culture! It was interesting to rewatch this, then a few months later go through an enormous, culture-level reappraisal of cop-centred narratives.

05 - Forever - a Maya Rudolph/Fred Armisen joint that coasts on the charm of its leads. The premise is OK, but I wasn’t left wanting any more at the end.

06 - *Catastrophe - a rewatch when my partner decided he wanted to see it, too!

07 - Red Oak - resolutely “OK” steaming dramedy, relied heavily on some pretty obvious cues to get across its 1980s setting.

08 - Little Fires Everywhere - gulped this one down while in 14-day isolation, delicious! Every 90s suburban mom had that SUV, but not all of them had the requisite **secrets**

09 - The Great - fun historical comedy/drama! Costumes: lush. Actors: amusing. Race-blind casting: refreshing!

10 - The Crown S4 - this is the season everyone lost their everloving shit for, since it’s finally recent enough history that a fair chunk of the viewing audience is liable to recall it happening.

11 - Ted Lasso - we resisted this one for a while (thought I did enjoy the ad campaign for NBC sports (!!) that it was based on). My view is that its best point was the comfort that the men on the show have (or develop, throughout the season) with the acknowledgement and sharing of their own feelings. Masculinity redux.

12 - Moonbase 8 - Goodnatured in a way that makes you certain they will be crushed.

13 - The Good Lord Bird - Ethan Hawke is really aging into the character actor we always hoped he would be!

14 - Hollywood - frothy wish-fulfillment alternate history. I think the show would have been improved immeasurably by skipping the final episode.

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justforbooks · 5 years ago

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The 100 best novels written in English: the full list

After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at his list.

1. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan’s prose make this the ultimate English classic.

2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)

By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations. Crusoe’s world-famous novel is a complex literary confection, and it’s irresistible.

3. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)

A satirical masterpiece that’s never been out of print, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels comes third in our list of the best novels written in English

4. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748)

Clarissa is a tragic heroine, pressured by her unscrupulous nouveau-riche family to marry a wealthy man she detests, in the book that Samuel Johnson described as “the first book in the world for the knowledge it displays of the human heart.”

5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749)

Tom Jones is a classic English novel that captures the spirit of its age and whose famous characters have come to represent Augustan society in all its loquacious, turbulent, comic variety.

6. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne (1759)

Laurence Sterne’s vivid novel caused delight and consternation when it first appeared and has lost little of its original bite.

7. Emma by Jane Austen (1816)

Jane Austen’s Emma is her masterpiece, mixing the sparkle of her early books with a deep sensibility.

8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Mary Shelley’s first novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of horror and the macabre.

9. Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock (1818)

The great pleasure of Nightmare Abbey, which was inspired by Thomas Love Peacock’s friendship with Shelley, lies in the delight the author takes in poking fun at the romantic movement.

10. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (1838)

Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel – a classic adventure story with supernatural elements – has fascinated and influenced generations of writers.

11. Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli (1845)

The future prime minister displayed flashes of brilliance that equalled the greatest Victorian novelists.

12. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)

Charlotte Brontë’s erotic, gothic masterpiece became the sensation of Victorian England. Its great breakthrough was its intimate dialogue with the reader.

13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)

Emily Brontë’s windswept masterpiece is notable not just for its wild beauty but for its daring reinvention of the novel form itself.

14. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (1848)

William Thackeray’s masterpiece, set in Regency England, is a bravura performance by a writer at the top of his game.

15. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)

David Copperfield marked the point at which Dickens became the great entertainer and also laid the foundations for his later, darker masterpieces.

16. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe.

17. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)

Wise, funny and gripping, Melville’s epic work continues to cast a long shadow over American literature.

18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)

Lewis Carroll’s brilliant nonsense tale is one of the most influential and best loved in the English canon.

19. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868)

Wilkie Collins’s masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic.

20. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-9)

Louisa May Alcott’s highly original tale aimed at a young female market has iconic status in America and never been out of print.

21. Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871-2)

This cathedral of words stands today as perhaps the greatest of the great Victorian fictions.

22. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (1875)

Inspired by the author’s fury at the corrupt state of England, and dismissed by critics at the time, The Way We Live Now is recognised as Trollope’s masterpiece.

23. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884/5)

Mark Twain’s tale of a rebel boy and a runaway slave seeking liberation upon the waters of the Mississippi remains a defining classic of American literature.

24. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

A thrilling adventure story, gripping history and fascinating study of the Scottish character, Kidnapped has lost none of its power.

25. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)

Jerome K Jerome’s accidental classic about messing about on the Thames remains a comic gem.

26. The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)

Sherlock Holmes’s second outing sees Conan Doyle’s brilliant sleuth – and his bluff sidekick Watson – come into their own.

27. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)

Wilde’s brilliantly allusive moral tale of youth, beauty and corruption was greeted with howls of protest on publication.

28. New Grub Street by George Gissing (1891)

George Gissing’s portrayal of the hard facts of a literary life remains as relevant today as it was in the late 19th century.

29. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)

Hardy exposed his deepest feelings in this bleak, angry novel and, stung by the hostile response, he never wrote another.

30. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895)

Stephen Crane’s account of a young man’s passage to manhood through soldiery is a blueprint for the great American war novel.

31. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story was very much of its time but still resonates more than a century later.

32. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)

Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece about a life-changing journey in search of Mr Kurtz has the simplicity of great myth.

33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900)

Theodore Dreiser was no stylist, but there’s a terrific momentum to his unflinching novel about a country girl’s American dream.

34. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)

In Kipling’s classic boy’s own spy story, an orphan in British India must make a choice between east and west.

35. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)

Jack London’s vivid adventures of a pet dog that goes back to nature reveal an extraordinary style and consummate storytelling.

36. The Golden Bowl by Henry James (1904)

American literature contains nothing else quite like Henry James’s amazing, labyrinthine and claustrophobic novel.

37. Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904)

This entertaining if contrived story of a hack writer and priest who becomes pope sheds vivid light on its eccentric author – described by DH Lawrence as a “man-demon”.

38. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)

The evergreen tale from the riverbank and a powerful contribution to the mythology of Edwardian England.

39. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells (1910)

The choice is great, but Wells’s ironic portrait of a man very like himself is the novel that stands out.

40. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm (1911)

The passage of time has conferred a dark power upon Beerbohm’s ostensibly light and witty Edwardian satire.

41. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (1915)

Ford’s masterpiece is a searing study of moral dissolution behind the facade of an English gentleman – and its stylistic influence lingers to this day.

42. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)

John Buchan’s espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down.

43. The Rainbow by DH Lawrence (1915)

The Rainbow is perhaps DH Lawrence’s finest work, showing him for the radical, protean, thoroughly modern writer he was.

44. Of Human Bondage by W Somerset Maugham (1915)

Somerset Maugham’s semi-autobiographical novel shows the author’s savage honesty and gift for storytelling at their best.

45. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)

The story of a blighted New York marriage stands as a fierce indictment of a society estranged from culture.

46. Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

This portrait of a day in the lives of three Dubliners remains a towering work, in its word play surpassing even Shakespeare.

47. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)

What it lacks in structure and guile, this enthralling take on 20s America makes up for in vivid satire and characterisation.

48. A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924)

EM Forster’s most successful work is eerily prescient on the subject of empire.

49. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (1925)

A guilty pleasure it may be, but it is impossible to overlook the enduring influence of a tale that helped to define the jazz age.

50. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

Woolf’s great novel makes a day of party preparations the canvas for themes of lost love, life choices and mental illness.

51. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

Fitzgerald’s jazz age masterpiece has become a tantalising metaphor for the eternal mystery of art.

52. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)

A young woman escapes convention by becoming a witch in this original satire about England after the first world war.

53. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)

Hemingway’s first and best novel makes an escape to 1920s Spain to explore courage, cowardice and manly authenticity.

54. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)

Dashiell Hammett’s crime thriller and its hard-boiled hero Sam Spade influenced everyone from Chandler to Le Carré.

55. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1930)

The influence of William Faulkner’s immersive tale of raw Mississippi rural life can be felt to this day.

56. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

Aldous Huxley’s vision of a future human race controlled by global capitalism is every bit as prescient as Orwell’s more famous dystopia.

57. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)

The book for which Gibbons is best remembered was a satire of late-Victorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence many subsequent generations.

58. Nineteen Nineteen by John Dos Passos (1932)

The middle volume of John Dos Passos’s USA trilogy is revolutionary in its intent, techniques and lasting impact.

59. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)

The US novelist’s debut revelled in a Paris underworld of seedy sex and changed the course of the novel – though not without a fight with the censors.

60. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)

Evelyn Waugh’s Fleet Street satire remains sharp, pertinent and memorable.

61. Murphy by Samuel Beckett (1938)

Samuel Beckett’s first published novel is an absurdist masterpiece, a showcase for his uniquely comic voice.

62. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939)

Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled debut brings to life the seedy LA underworld – and Philip Marlowe, the archetypal fictional detective.

63. Party Going by Henry Green (1939)

Set on the eve of war, this neglected modernist masterpiece centres on a group of bright young revellers delayed by fog.

64. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien (1939)

Labyrinthine and multilayered, Flann O’Brien’s humorous debut is both a reflection on, and an exemplar of, the Irish novel.

65. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)

One of the greatest of great American novels, this study of a family torn apart by poverty and desperation in the Great Depression shocked US society.

66. Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse (1946)

PG Wodehouse’s elegiac Jeeves novel, written during his disastrous years in wartime Germany, remains his masterpiece.

67. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946)

A compelling story of personal and political corruption, set in the 1930s in the American south.

68. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (1947)

Malcolm Lowry’s masterpiece about the last hours of an alcoholic ex-diplomat in Mexico is set to the drumbeat of coming conflict.

69. The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen (1948)

Elizabeth Bowen’s 1948 novel perfectly captures the atmosphere of London during the blitz while providing brilliant insights into the human heart.

70. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)

George Orwell’s dystopian classic cost its author dear but is arguably the best-known novel in English of the 20th century.

71. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951)

Graham Greene’s moving tale of adultery and its aftermath ties together several vital strands in his work.

72. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)

JD Salinger’s study of teenage rebellion remains one of the most controversial and best-loved American novels of the 20th century.

73. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1953)

In the long-running hunt to identify the great American novel, Saul Bellow’s picaresque third book frequently hits the mark.

74. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)

Dismissed at first as “rubbish & dull”, Golding’s brilliantly observed dystopian desert island tale has since become a classic.

75. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

Nabokov’s tragicomic tour de force crosses the boundaries of good taste with glee.

76. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957)

The creative history of Kerouac’s beat-generation classic, fuelled by pea soup and benzedrine, has become as famous as the novel itself.

77. Voss by Patrick White (1957)

A love story set against the disappearance of an explorer in the outback, Voss paved the way for a generation of Australian writers to shrug off the colonial past.

78. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

Her second novel finally arrived this summer, but Harper Lee’s first did enough alone to secure her lasting fame, and remains a truly popular classic.

79. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1960)

Short and bittersweet, Muriel Spark’s tale of the downfall of a Scottish schoolmistress is a masterpiece of narrative fiction.

80. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)

This acerbic anti-war novel was slow to fire the public imagination, but is rightly regarded as a groundbreaking critique of military madness.

81. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (1962)

Hailed as one of the key texts of the women’s movement of the 1960s, this study of a divorced single mother’s search for personal and political identity remains a defiant, ambitious tour de force.

82. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

Anthony Burgess’s dystopian classic still continues to startle and provoke, refusing to be outshone by Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant film adaptation.

83. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (1964)

Christopher Isherwood’s story of a gay Englishman struggling with bereavement in LA is a work of compressed brilliance.

84. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1966)

Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel, a true story of bloody murder in rural Kansas, opens a window on the dark underbelly of postwar America.

85. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1966)

Sylvia Plath’s painfully graphic roman à clef, in which a woman struggles with her identity in the face of social pressure, is a key text of Anglo-American feminism.

86. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (1969)

This wickedly funny novel about a young Jewish American’s obsession with masturbation caused outrage on publication, but remains his most dazzling work.

87. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (1971)

Elizabeth Taylor’s exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel postwar English life facing the changes taking shape in the 60s.

88. Rabbit Redux by John Updike (1971)

Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, Updike’s lovably mediocre alter ego, is one of America’s great literary protoganists, up there with Huck Finn and Jay Gatsby.

89. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (1977)

The novel with which the Nobel prize-winning author established her name is a kaleidoscopic evocation of the African-American experience in the 20th century.

90. A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul (1979)

VS Naipaul’s hellish vision of an African nation’s path to independence saw him accused of racism, but remains his masterpiece.

91. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1981)

The personal and the historical merge in Salman Rushdie’s dazzling, game-changing Indian English novel of a young man born at the very moment of Indian independence.

92. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (1981)

Marilynne Robinson’s tale of orphaned sisters and their oddball aunt in a remote Idaho town is admired by everyone from Barack Obama to Bret Easton Ellis.

93. Money: A Suicide Note by Martin Amis (1984)

Martin Amis’s era-defining ode to excess unleashed one of literature’s greatest modern monsters in self-destructive antihero John Self.

94. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (1986)

Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a retired artist in postwar Japan, reflecting on his career during the country’s dark years, is a tour de force of unreliable narration.

95. The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald (1988)

Fitzgerald’s story, set in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution, is her masterpiece: a brilliant miniature whose peculiar magic almost defies analysis.

96. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (1988)

Anne Tyler’s portrayal of a middle-aged, mid-American marriage displays her narrative clarity, comic timing and ear for American speech to perfection.

97. Amongst Women by John McGahern (1990)

This modern Irish masterpiece is both a study of the faultlines of Irish patriarchy and an elegy for a lost world.

98. Underworld by Don DeLillo (1997)

A writer of “frightening perception”, Don DeLillo guides the reader in an epic journey through America’s history and popular culture.

99. Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1999)

In his Booker-winning masterpiece, Coetzee’s intensely human vision infuses a fictional world that both invites and confounds political interpretation.

100. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (2000)

Peter Carey rounds off our list of literary milestones with a Booker prize-winning tour-de-force examining the life and times of Australia’s infamous antihero, Ned Kelly.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #100 best novels #Robert McCrum

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detectivehoward · 5 years ago

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cophine fanfic rec list <3

With quarantine in place, I feel inspired to create a fanfic rec list for my favorite ship Cophine (Cosima Niehaus & Delphine Cormier from one of the most amazing TV shows: “Orphan Black”). Quick searches of “_ fanfic rec lists” on Google and Tumblr are what started my reading of fanfiction... so hopefully – if someone ever goes down my “fanfic journey” – they’ll find this fanfic rec list.

*note: list is not constructed in any particular order (e.g. most favorite to least)

**summaries provided are the ones written by the author. i will try to add my own summaries if there wasn’t one (already) provided. overall, thank you to the authors for blessing us, readers, for everything.

1. I’m not French, I’m Jealous. By TB80.

Summary: Cosima is traveling the globe with the love of her life, and things have never been better. Everything is perfect. Everything except for two simple sentences that won't stop haunting Cosima's thoughts."I'm French. We enjoy lovers."

2. Daylight Savings Time. By KaydenVayne.

Summary: Cosima never used to be a morning person, but perhaps the shift from night owl to early bird is proving to be more problematic than Delphine originally anticipated. A bit of domestic Cophine fluff written for the prompt "things you said at the kitchen table."

3. grey’s anatomy’s got nothing on us. By BeggarWhoRides.

Summary: “Hey,” Xinyi hisses from her bunk, when Harper is just starting to teeter over the edge into sleep. “I’ll bet you fifty bucks they’re having hate-sex." Or, five times surgical interns Harper Rowe and Xinyi Zhou tried to figure out the relationship between Dr. Cormier and Dr. Niehaus, and one time they knew exactly what it was.

4. Dance Me To the End of Love. By SonnectCXVI.

Summary: A series of vignettes about Cosima and Delphine in a loving, long-term relationship.

*one of my favorites. so beautifully written.

5. Nothing Gold Can Stay. By SonnetCXVI.

Summary: Delphine ponders photographs of Shay and Cosima.

6. Heartbreak Even. By jaybear1701, OBFrankenfics, & tatarrific.

Summary: Cosima and Delphine in the aftermath of 3x01. A Cophine spec fic based on various OBS3 spoilers.

*one of my all-time favorites. i re-read this one all the time.

7. Before (a series). By Celine1618.

Description: A collection of related works loosely based on the Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight).

8. Delphine’s Descent. By gigi2690.

Summary: “I wasn’t supposed to fall for you, but I did.” ~Six vignettes telling the story of how Delphine Fell.

9. Continuing Travels of Cophine (a series). By ce_ucumatli.

Description: Post-season 5, Cophine Adventures.

*a fandom favorite

10. Like Real People Do. By backtoblack101.

Summary: Cosima ends her relationship after she finds out Delphine knew the stem cells were from Kira's tooth. Both women realise they can't live without the other, though it takes both of them a very long time to admit it.

*another one of my all-time favorites .. guess i like angst ha

11. Passengers. By zolawinters.

Summary: COPHINE VERSION OF THE FILM PASSANGERS (2016) - On a routine journey through space to a new home, Cosima, sleeping in suspended animation, is awakened 90 years too early when the ship malfunctions. After a year of being alone Cosima makes a drastic decision, and Delphine awakens. As Cosima and Delphine face living the rest of their lives on board, with every luxury they could ever ask for, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction, until they discover the ship is in grave danger. With the lives of 5,000 sleeping passengers at stake, can Cosima and Delphine can save them all.

12. The Martians. By TB80.

Summary: Cosima Niehaus had dreamed about going to Mars her entire life. Due to a freak sand storm, she ends up getting more than she bargained for. Getting stranded on Mars alone would be hell, but getting stranded with Delphine may just be the best thing that ever happened to her. Cophine AU based on the movie The Martian.

13. Love Match. By Mondax.

Summary: Multi-chapter AU: A series of last minute, happy accidents causes Cosima – an underrated and underachieving professional tennis player, and Delphine – an up-and-coming actress, to cross paths. Intrigued with each other from the get-go, would they be willing to complicate their already busy and accomplished lives with love? You don’t need to get tennis to read this story.

14. The Webs We Weave. By fembuck.

Summary: A look at what was going on in Delphine’s head during the scene where her secrets are revealed by Cosima.

15. A Beautiful Surrender. By jaybear1701.

Summary: A recovered Cosima travels to Africa to join a DYAD research expedition and meets a beautiful, but haunted MSF doctor in need of some cheering up. Canon-ish AU mildly influenced by Evelyne Brochu's film Inch'Allah.

16. into the night with me. By LtTanyaBoone.

Summary: Cosima'd figured that perhaps she could offer Dyad a trade. She's a scientist, after all. Her natural curiosity, her penchant for science and learning, along with being immortal, it's helped her gain quite some knowledge in her lifetime. She'd figured that perhaps the Institute would be interested in hiring her. aka rewrite/expansion of the vampire!AU of Every Me and Every You

17. Noise Complaints. By hellafitzgerald.

Summary: Delphine gets a noise complaint from a new neighbour. Good things result. Who even knows how this happened. First I was writing cute fluff about Delphine hearing Cosima sing in her kitchen and then there was smut. *shrugs*

18. Who Do You Love. By ghostriverunicorn (formerly known as otp424B21).

Summary: This takes place after 03×06. Cosima wakes up in the middle of the night and needs solitude, but what she finds is what she really needs.

*i love this piece of writing. love.

19. In Vino Veritas. By skivvery.

Summary: "No one gave her much credit for anything, but if there was one thing Delphine Cormier could claim for herself (and there were several, truly, though she was humble enough not to brag – when sober), it was willpower."

20. Holiday Strife. By anonymouscophine.

Summary: Requested: Domestic AU: Having to put up holiday decorations together after a big fight. Rated T

21. something always brings me back to you. By wingardiumleviosa111.

Summary: Three weeks and two days after Delphine breaks up with her, Cosima finds herself caught up in a furry sweater that smells like Delphine, the remnants of an Eskimo Pie still dotting her lips.

22. burned but not buried. By sharkfights (feartown).

Summary: Delphine is never going to look in the mirror and see Rachel. set s3.

23. 23 feels (23 Flavours, and Then Some). By trylonandperisphere.

Summary: Okay, here's my entry for the "23 emotions people feel, but can’t explain" challenge. What can I say? I'm totally mired in the save Delphine/cophine feels of late.

24. wedding planner AU (a one-shot from “Every Me and Every You”). By LtTanyaBoone.

25. coffee shop AU (a one-shot from “Every Me and Every You”). By LtTanyaBoone.

26. Corresponding Shapes (Like Puzzle Pieces From The Clay). By novel_concept26.

Summary: Soulmate: (n.) A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner. An anthology of unconnected AU environments, as prompted by various souls on Tumblr.

27. (If You’re) Going My Way. By geekmonkeyramblings.

Summary: Cophine Hitchhiker AU: Great things (and people) can turn up in unexpected places - like, for example, on the side of the road, holding a sign that reads “San Fran or Bust.” Delphine is not at all the type to give a stranger a ride, but there’s something about Cosima that she just can’t resist. What are the odds that a random hitchhiker could have such a profound effect on her life in a single day?

28. Business & Pleasure. By mveloc.

Summary: Some gratuitous Cophine porn without (or with very minor) plot.

29. Le Fil. By Dangereux.

Summary: Inspired by another fabulous prompt from thetravelingkid: "Delphine is an important person at a party, and Cosima is the bartender who hits on her with no idea who she is."

30. Any Other Time. By VillageVoice.

Summary: Non-clone AU. Cosima, after going through a nasty break-up and an aggressive auto immune disease, decides to take a “sabbatical”

*** if any of the links are not working or are incorrect (i.e. goes to the wrong fanfic), let me know! also, i’ll be updating this list (or at least trying to) whenever i find a new, lovely fic.

#orphan black #cophine #cosima niehaus #delphine cormier #cosima x delphine #delphine x cosima #orphan black fanfic #orphan black fanfiction #orphan black fanfic rec list #cophine fanfic rec list #cophine fanfic #hopefully ppl enjoy this hahahahahah i love this

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erandir · 5 years ago

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30 Days of Queer Reads

A prompt list for Pride Month by queer author @gailcarriger

I gave up posting these daily because reasons, but have my full list of LGBT book recs. And if you’re looking for a list of LGBT Sci-Fi/Fantasy books where being queer is a sidenote to the plot, this has many things for you.

(My definition of “LGBT book” got a little fast and loose a couple times, but if a character isn’t explicitly cis or straight then you can pry the headcanon from my cold dead hands.)

Day 1: The first queer book you remember reading: The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner. A scholar and a noble discover Old Magic.

Day 2: Queer book that reminds you of home: Passing Strange by Ellen Klages. Lesbians in 1940 San Francisco.

Day 3: Queer book been on your to-be-read for way to long. The Left Hand of Darkness by Urusla K Le Guin. I’m a bad queer scif-fi fan for not reading this yet.

Day 4: Queer book with a name or number in the title: George by Alex Nino. An elementary-school aged trans girl comes into her own.

Day 5: Queer book where protagonist has a cool job: Flesh & Fire by Laura Anne Gilman. Maker of magical wines.

Day 6: Favorite queer graphic novel: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. Everything Noelle touches is gold.

Day 7: Queer book you often re-read: Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga. This and the Zelda adaptations are the only manga I still own.

Day 8: Queer book with a happy ending: Queen of Ieflaria by Effie Calvin. Princesses fighting dragons.

Day 9: Queer book over 100 pages: Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly. Jazz age spies.

Day 10: Favorite queer genre novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Lesbian necromancers in space.

Day 11: Queer book you love in a genre you don’t read: Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I’m pretty staunchly a SFF reader, but this was bomb.

Day 12: Queer book with a strong sense of place: Starless by Jaqueline Carey. Incredible worldbuilding.

Day 13: Queer book that really made you think: Planetfall by Emma Newman. Mass Effect: Andromeda but it’s a cult.

Day 14: Queer book that made you cry: Time Was by Ian McDonald. Two lovers unstuck in time leave messages for each other.

Day 15: Queer book that made you laugh out loud: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. Ya’ll know this one.

Day 16: Queer book that is really personal to you: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. Obvious reasons?

Day 17: Favorite queer book sequel or spin-off: A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. Set in the same world as Wilson’s previous novel, but a stand alone story.

Day 18: Favorite queer book by a favorite author: Knight of Ghosts and Shadows by Mercedes Lackey. Mercedes Lackey never fails me, love triangle turned polycule.

Day 19: Queer book that changed your life: The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek. Still readable on Jesse’s LiveJournal. My first exposure to self published original queer fiction.

Day 20: Favorite queer book series: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Murderbot is my favorite agender android with PTSD.

Day 21: Queer book that you recommend a lot: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Space opera with lots of very good aliens, minimal plot.

Day 22: Queer book that made you take action: The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy. Fuck the police. By summoning the elder gods.

Day 23: Queer book by an author who is dead: Maurice by E.M. Forster. The OG gay novel (in the west).

Day 24: Queer book you wish you’d read when younger: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. Wish I’d had an asexual main character as a teen.

Day 25: Queer book in a historical setting: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. The Illiad from the pov of Achilles’ boyfriend.

Day 26: Queer superhero book or comic: Hero by Perry Moore. Gay son of a disgraced superhero becomes one himself.

Day 27: Favorite queer children’s picture book: And Tango Makes Three. Classic gay penguins.

Day 28: Queer book that made you feel uncomfortable: Autonomous by Annalee Newitz. Android changes gender just because boyfriend has internalized homophobia? Paladin is bad trans rep.

Day 29: Queer book that made you want to fall in love: Witchmark by C.L. Polk. We all want an elf prince who adores us, right?

Day 30: Queer book with your favorite ending: The Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale.

#readingpride #reading pride #queer reads #lgbt reads #lgbt books #book rec #book rec list

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theasstour · 6 years ago

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Part-time violinist and full-time procrastinator, Y/N, has a total of five problems after only the first week of starting Battersea, University of London.

1) Her flatmate keeps having sex with a bloke Y/N knows will eventually break said flatmates heart. 2) She can’t find a job in bloody busy London, and without one she’ll never be able to afford the violin of her dreams (or survive, for that matter, as she needs food). 3) She misses her little brother so much it hurts. 4) Jägerbombs used to taste better. 5) A very cute, yet annoying, guy named Harry keeps popping up everywhere, and she’s unsure how to appropriately flirt with boys as she’s only ever done so with girls.

Or, the short version, Y/N isn’t sure how she’s going to survive London; socially, economically, mentally, or sexually. - a story about moving away from home, comfort zones, making music, forming friendships for life, figuring yourself out, and the very thin line between 'just friends' and something more.

| YEAR 1 |

01. Presto. 02. Vivace. 03. Jupiter. 04. Allegro di molto. 05. La fille aux cheveux de lin. 06. Adagio non molto. 07. Lento assai. 08. Le cygne. 09. Largo. 10. Larghetto elegico.

| YEAR 2 |

11. Adagio. 12. Très calme. 13. Adagietto. 14. Adagio assai. 15. Amoroso. 16. Méditation. 17. Les cloches de Genève. 18. Recitativo. 19. Ballade. 20. Andante. 21. Schwanengesang. 22. i carry your heart.

| YEAR 3 |

23. Movement. 24. Elegie. 25. Love theme. 26. Poco allegretto. 27. Lacrimosa. 28. Shindler. 29. Sayuri. 30. Requiem. 31. Vocalise. 32. Swan lake. 33. The eternal scene. 34. Secret love. 35. Tristan und Isolde. / At the rainbow’s end.

DISCLAIMERS: 1) If you are under the age of 18, please be aware that this work is not for you. It targets adult themes, written by an adult, for adults. This is nothing against you as a person, but this story will deal with alcohol, sexual content, etc, in short, themes not ideal for minors to be delving into. 2) The main character will have a strong personality. I will not be as vague as I was writing Sweet Creature, for Symphonies of You the main character will have a distinct and clear personality that might not mirror your own. I need to know the person I’m writing. Get over it or don’t read. 3) THIS MAIN CHARACTER WILL BE BISEXUAL. 4) I do not own any of the symphonies or songs mentioned in this story. 5) I did not know anything about violins before writing this. If I get something wrong or you play the violin, please do contact me and tell me how I can right it! 6) Battersea, Unversity of London is a fictional university. I did not create and do not own the school emblem.

WARNINGS: This story features explicit language, sexual content, violence, drugs, alcohol, biphobia, character deaths, politics, stalking, and triggering topics (anxiety/panic attacks/depression/death etc.). Read at own risk if you are uncomfortable with any of those. I will warn in advance if a chapter is heavily influenced by any triggering topics.

For any other questions regarding the storyline, characters, setting, etc., do not hesitate to drop by my askbox! Happy reading!

#HEY HEY HEY WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT #IM SO EXCITED IM BASICALLY VIBRATING #IVE USED SO MUCH TIME THESE LAST FEW DAYS PLANNING IT AND CREATING THE SETTING #AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! PLS COME TALK TO ME ILYSM

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porlockstompf · 5 years ago

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Reading de Nacht Reading 2018

my favourite books of the year

my overall favourite book of the year:

wiliam h gass "the william h gass reader" (2018)

post-cyberpunkstompf:

01 cixin liu "ball lightning" (2018)

02 kim stanley robinson "red moon" (2018) 03 dave hutchinson "europe at dawn" (2018) + dave hutchinson "shelter (the aftermath 01)" (2018) 04 paul kincaid "ian m banks (modern masters of science fiction)" (2017) 05 hannu rajaniemi "summerland" (2018)

06 m john harrison "you should come with me now: stories of ghosts" (2017) 07 wade rousch (ed) "twelve tomorrows (2018) 08 christopher moore "noir" (2018) 09 jonathan strahan (ed) "infinity's end" (2018) + jonathan strahan (ed) "the best sf & f of the year, vol XII" (2018) 10 neil clarke (ed) "the final frontier" (2018) + neil clarke (ed) "the best sf of the year vol III" (2018)

11 gardner dozois (ed) "the year's best sf: thirty-fifth annual collection" (2018) 12 steve toutonghi "side life" (2018) 13 mike ashley (ed) "lost mars: the golden age of the red planet" (2018) 14 mary robinette kowal "the calculating stars: a lady astronaut novel" (2018) 15 mingwei song & theodore huters (eds) "the reincarnated giant: an anthology of twenty-first century chinese science fiction" (2018)

16 john zakour & lawrence ganem "the peach-blonde bomber" (2018) 17 becky chambers "record of a spaceborn few" (2018) 18 yoon ha lee "revenant gun" (2018) 19 derek künsken "the quantum magician" (2018) 20 gregory benford "rewrite" [arc] (2019)

21 richard k morgan "thin air" (2018) 22 charles stross "the labyrinth index" (2018) 23 john varley "irontown blues" (2018) 24 peter watts "the freeze-frame revolution" (2018) 25 karl schroeder "the million" (2018)

26 drew williams "the stars now unclaimed" (2018) 27 peter f hamilton "the salvation" (2018) 28 neal asher "the soldier" (2018) 29 nick mamatas "the people's republic of everything" (2018) 30 s j morden "one way" (2018)

31 gareth l powell "embers of war" (2018) 32 alex white "a big ship at the end of the universe" (2018) + alex white "a bad deal for the whole galaxy" (2018) 33 s k dunstall "stars unchartered" (2018) 34 catherynne m valente "space opera" (2018) 35 alastair reynolds "elysium fire" (2018)

36 charles stross "dark state" (2018) 37 n k jemisin (ed) "the best american sf & f 2018" (2018) 38 jack mcdevitt "the long sunset" (2018) + jack mcdevitt "a voice in the night" (2018) 39 elizabeth moon "into the fire" (2018) 40 r.e. stearns "barbary station" (2017) / steven erikson "willfull child III: the search for spark" (2018)

polarstompf:

01 david hewson "the savage shore" (2018)

ex aequo andrea camilleri "the pyramid of mud" (2018) + andrea camilleri "death at sea: montalbano's early cases" (2018)

02 mirko zilahy "de schaduw" (2017) + mirko zilahy "de mythe van de dood" (2018) 03 mick herron "london rules" (2018) + mick heron "the drop" (2018) 04 volker kutscher "babylon berlin" (2017) + volker kutscher "the silent death" (2017) + volker kutscher "goldstein" (2018) 05 chris petit "pale horse riding" (2017)

06 edgar cantero "this body's not big enough for both of us" (2018) 07 ian rankin "in a house of lies" (2018) 08 philip kerr "greeks bearing gifts" (2018) 09 jack grimwood "nightfall berlin" (2018) 10 dolan cummings "the existential leap: a crime story" (2017)

11 ann van loock "de expo '58 moorden" (2018) 12 massimo carlotto "master of knots" (2004) 13 joseph knox "sirens" (2018) + joseph knox "the smiling man" (2018) 14 geir tangen "het meesterwerk" (2017) 15 kate atkinson "transcription" (2018)

16 patrick conrad "diep in december" (2018) 17 jorge zepeda patterson "zwarte trui" (2018) 18 wolfgang burger "heidelberg requiem" (2016) 19 charles cumming "a divided spy" (2016) + charles cumming "the man between" (2018) 20 frank goldammer "the air raid killer" (2018) + frank goldammer "a thousand devils" (2018)

21 andreas norman "stille oorlog" (2018) 22 jesper stein "de onrust" (2018) + jesper stein "papa" (2018) 23 luca d'andrea "in de greep van de waanzin" (2018) 24 jo nesbø "macbeth" (2018) 25 hans dooremalen "descartes in amsterdam: filosofische detective" (2018) / chris pavone "the expats" (2012)

klassikstompf:

01 wiliam h gass "the william h gass reader" (2018)

02 louis armand "breakfast at midnight" (2012) + louis armand "the combinations" (2016) + louis armand "canicule" (2013) + louis armand "cairo" (2014) 03 andrew crumey "the great chain of unbeing" (2018) 04 viv albertine "throw away unopened" (2018) 05 daniela cascella "singed" (2017)

06 ted geltner "blood, bone, & marrow: a biography of harry crews" (2017) 07 steve erickson "zeroville" (2007) 08 olga tokarczuk "drive your plow over the bones of the dead" (2018) 09 julián ríos "the house of ulysses" [] (2010) + julián ríos "poundemonium" [1997] 10 daniel mendelsohn "an odyssey: a father, a son, and an epic" (2017)

11 giorgio van straten "in search of lost books: the forgotten stories of eight mythical volumes" (2017) 12 pascal mercier "night train to lisbon" (2004) 13 tony white "the fountain in the forest" (2018) 14 alejandro zambra "not to read" (2018) 15 gabriel josipovici "the cemetery in barnes" (2018)

16 lucy ives "impossible views of the world" (2017) 17 matthew herbert "the music: a novel through sound" (2018) 18 ann quin "the unmapped country: stories & fragments" (2018) 19 stephen fry "mythos" (2017) & "heroes" (2018) 20 johan swinnen "happening: de aanslag op de Inno" (2017)

21 ermanno cavazzoni "the nocturnal library" (2018) 22 richard powers "the overstory" (2018) 23 alain robbe-grillet "project for a revolution in ny" (1972) 24 melchior vischer "second through brain" (2015) 25 bob van laerhoven "return to hiroshima" (2018) + bob van laerhoven "dossier feuerhand" (2017) + bob van laerhoven "dangerous obsessions" (2015) + bob van laerhoven "heart fever" (2018)

gedächtnisstompf:

01 jacques derrida "geschlecht III: sexe, race, nation, humanité" (2018) + jacques derrida "le goût du secret: entretiens 1993-1995" (2018)

02 tom cohen, claire colebrook & j hillis miller "theory & the disappearing future: on deman, on benjamin" (2011) 03 hannah arendt "het waagstuk van de politiek: over politieke leugens en burgerlijke ongehoorzaamheid" (2018) + dirk de schutter "hannah arendt: politiek denker" (2015) 04 serge andré "les perversions #1: le fétichisme" (2013) + serge andré "les perversions #1: le sadisme" (2013) + serge andré "les perversions #1: le masochisme" (2013) 05 ger groot "4 ongemakkelijke filosofen: nietzsche, cioran, bataille, derrida" (2003)

06 mark fisher "k-punk: the collected & unpublished writings (2014-2016)" (2018) 07 molier, ellian, rijpkema (eds) "de strijd om de democratie: essays over democratische zelfverdediging" (2018) 08 florentijn van rootselaar "filosofisch veldwerk: grote filosofen van nu over leven in barre tijden" (2018) 09 lieven de cauter "van de grote woorden & kleine dingen" (2018) 10 nemanja mitrovic "the (im)possibility of literature as the possibility of ethics" (2017)

11 sue prideaux "i am dynamite! a life of friedrich nietzsche" (2018) 12 paul farley & michael symmons roberts "deaths of the poets" (2018) 13 erik bledsoe (ed) "perspectives on harry crews" (2001) 14 kailash c baral & r radhakrishan (eds) "theory after derrida: essays in critical praxis"(2018) 15 agnes czajka & bora isyar (eds) "europe after derrida: crisis & potentiality" (2016)

poesisstompf:

01 john cooper clarke "the luckiest guy alive" (2018)

02 kate tempest "running upon the wires" (2018) 03 robin robertson "the long take" (2018) 04 david austin "dread poetry & freedom: linton kwesi johnson & the unfinished revolution" (2018) 05 tommy pico "junk" (2018)

platterstompf:

01 power, devereux, & dillane (eds) "heart & soul: critical essays on joy division" (2018)

02 michael glasmeier & ursula block (eds) "broken music: artists' recordworks" (2nd edition 2018) 03 mark e smith "messing up the paintwork: the wit & wisdom of mark e smith" (2018) 04 willy dirickx (ed) "de brassers" (2018) 05 tommy mackay "40 odd years of the fall" (2018)

06 john h baker "the art of nick cave: new critical essays" (2013) 07 will oldham "songs of love & horror: collected lyrics of will oldham" (2018) + alan licht (ed) "will oldham on bonnie 'prine' billy" (2012) 08 michael goddard & benjamin halligan "mark e smith & the fall: art, music, & politics" (2013) 09 daniel kane "do you have a band? poetry & punk rock in nyc" (2017) 10 bendle "permanent transience" (2015)

11 david grubbs "now that the audience is assembled" (2018) 12 nick soulsby "swans: sacrifice & transcendence (the oral history)" (2018) + michael gira "the egg: stories" (2018) 13 robert young & irmin schmidt "all gates open: the story of can" (2018) 14 mike goldschmith "discord: the story of noise" (2012) 15 bruce russell "gilded splinters: essays & aphorisms towards an aesthetic of noise" (2018)

16 philippe robert "agitation frite" (2018)² + philippe robert "action friite" (2018) + philippe robert "action frIIIte" (2018) 17 guillaume belhomme, philippe robert, ea "le son du grisli: varèse, tzara, mochizuki & cave" (2018) 18 david stubbs "future days: krautrock & the building of modern germany" (2018) + david stubbs "mars by 1980: the story of electronic music" (2018) 19 blixa bargeld "europa: una letania" [2009] (2018) 20 chris bohn (ed) "the wire"

21 richard hirst (ed) "we were strangers: stories inspired by unknown pleasures" (2018) 22 françois girodineau "nick cave & the bad seeds: tender prey" (2018) 23 mick middles "the fall" (2009) 24 jim dooley "red set: a history of gang of four" (2018) 25 mats gustafsson "discaholics! record collector confessions vol I (2nd ed)" (2018) / + rob van scheers "drie akkoorden & de waarheid: muzikale levenslessen" (2014)

stagestompf:

01 ian rankin & rona munro "rebus: long shadows" (2018)

humorstompf:

01 robin ince "i'm a joke & so are you: a comedian's take on what makes us human" (2018) 02 simon munnery "how to live" (2018) 03 lucien randall "disgusting bliss: the brass eye of chris morris" (2011)

bilderstompf:

01 michael glasmeier & ursula block (eds) "broken music: artists' recordworks" (2nd edition 2018)

02 thomas bernhard & ferry radax "thomas bernhard: 3 days" (2016) 03 ed van der elsken "love on the left bank" (2002) 04 philippe monsel "francis bacon" (1994)

05 paul duncan & jürgen müller (eds) "film noir plus taschen's top 50 pick of noir classics from 1940-1960" (2017) 06 cuauhtémoc medina "manifesta 9: the deep of the modern" (2012) 07 julian schnabel: permanently becoming & the architecture of seeing" (2012) 08 reinhard kleist "nick cave & the bad seeds: an art book" (2018)

wissenschaftstompf & other distractions:

01 brian cox & robin ince "how to build a universe: an infinite monkey cage adventure" (2017)

02 patrick moore & chris north "the sky at night: answers to questions from across the univers" (2012) 03 chip carter "obsessed with star trek" (2011) 04 leon hunt "danger:diabolik" (2018)

cyclostompf:

01 jean cléder "petite éloge de la course cycliste" (2018)

02 max leonard "higher calling: cycling's obsession with mountains" (2018) 03 colin o'brien "giro d'italia: the story of the world's most beautiful bike race" (2018) 04 velominati "wielergoden: de meest heldhaftige renners ooit 38 heroïsche verhalen” (2018) 05 william fotheringham "sunday in hell" (2018)

06 jonas heyerick (ed) "bahamontes" (magazine) o.a. extra editie de giro (2018) 07 jorge zepeda patterson "zwarte trui" (2018) 08 dirk jan roeleven "de nieuwe fiets: villar san constanzo - a'dam" (2018) 09 frederik baeckelandt "gino bartali (les héros 03)" (2018) 10 chris sidwells "the call of the road: the history of cycle road racing" (2018)

10 john dowie "the freewheeling john dowie: a comedian, a bike, & a tent, what could possibly go right?" (2018) 12 edward pickering "the ronde: inside the tour of flanders, the world's toughest bike race" (2018) 13 charles pope "a golden age of cycling" (2018) 14 roger gilles "women on the move: the forgotten era of women's bicycle racing" (2018) 15 peter cossins "the first tour de france: 60 cyclists & 19 days of daring on the road to paris" (2017)

16 paul maunder "the wind at my back: my cycling life" (2018) + paul maunder "rainbows in the mud" (2017) 17 giacomo pellizzari "het geheim van de eenzame fietser" [2015] (2017) 18 dries de zaeytijd & fons leroy "25 jaar kweekvijver van koerstalent" (2018) 19 peter sagan "my world" (2018) 20 bradley wiggins "icons: my inspiration, my motivation, my obsession" (2018)

most pleasing purchases:

01 jayne county "man enough to be a woman" (1996)

02 berns, moyaert, & van tongeren (eds) "de god van denkers en dichters: opstellen voor samuel ijsseling" (1997)

03 anselm kiefer "l'art survivra à ses ruines: anselm kiefer au collège de france" (2011) 04 ludger lütkehaus "'ruhe. grösse, sonnenlicht': friedrich nietzsche in sils-maria" (2014) 05 paul raabe "spaziergange durch nietzsches sils-marie" (1994)

… tsundoku !

may your home be safe from tigers, leroy, x HNY!

find me on LT:

TBR... PILING UP ...

postcyberpunkstompf:

adam roberts "adam (the aftermath 02)" (2018) eric brown "the martian simulacra: a sherlock holmes mystery" (2018) gary gibson "scienceville & other worlds" (2018) greg egan "phoresis" (2018) ian mcdonald "time was" (2018) ian whates & tom hunter (eds) "2001: an odyssey in words: celebrating the centenary of arthur c clarke's birth" james lovegrove "firefly: big damn hero" (2018) james patrick kelly "the promise of space & other stories" (2018)

jeff noon "a man of shadows" (2017) + jeff noon "the body library" (2018) kevin j anderson "selected stories: science fiction vol I" (2018) rich larson "tomorrow factory: collected fiction" (2018) seb doubinsky "missing signal" (2018) stephen baxter "redemption" (2018) + stephen baxter "xelee: vengeance" (2018) steve erikson "rejoice" (2018) tom schweterlitsch "the gone world" (2018) & maybe, just maybe: jay key "how to pick up women with a drunk space ninja" (2018) + jay key "how to win a pit fight with a drunk space ninja" (2018)

polarstompf:

dario correnti "heimwee naar bloed" (2018) giancarlo de cataldo "suburra" (2017) matthew pearl "the dante chamber" (2018) victor del árbol "a million drops" (2018) zygmunt miloszewski "priceless" [2013] (2018)

#2018 #rewind #reading #lecture #librarything

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dustydahlin · 5 years ago

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Anointed - Your New Identity in Christ!

Subject: Your Identity as anointed. How a deeper look at what it means to be anointed can lead you to a deeper relationship with God!

“But you have been anointed by the Holy One... But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:20, 27).

To better understand our identity as anointed, I want to tell you about my recent promotion.

I recently received a promotion at my pest control job. I am still working in the same career. I am still in pest control. But my new position has imposed two significant challenges. Firstly, I have had to completely shift my mindset. I have needed to completely shift my overarching perspective of pest control. While it is still the same business, I cannot view the job anymore as a technician. I have to change my thinking to that of a manager. BIG SHIFT!

Secondly, I have been challenged with new insight into the inner workings of the business. It is like the curtain has been rolled back, and I have been allowed to see what goes on behind the scenes. This insight, or revelation, would not have come without my new position. This promotion has granted me to see things that I would not have otherwise seen.

This little story about my new position is helpful for two reasons: 1) it demonstrates how my new position requires a change of mind, thinking, and overarching perspective. And 2) it illustrates how my understanding of the “inner workings” has been enlightened. You see, too often, we have made teachings about our new position in Christ – our identity – nothing more than positive, biblical confessions or declarations that point to who we are. (And I understand this because, after all, our identity is OUR IDENTITY, Right!?) It seems, though, that the biblical teaching on identity should offer the same insight as my analogy. Our new position in Christ requires the same two challenges. It would be better, more theologically appropriate, if we paused for long enough to ask the question, “what does this gift of identity say, first, about the Giver of the gift? And what responsibility, or demand, does our identity place on us?” In the same way I experienced those two changes, a biblical understanding of our new identity as anointed requires the same. When we seek to ascertain who we are in Christ and everything about our new spiritual position, we must ask “what does our identity say about God, and what does this new position require of me?” Answering these questions will be the focus of our study, today.

(Reference work from Douglas Buckwalter about the Bible’s identity statements being a compendium of early Christian belief. The Bible’s presentation of Christian identity is clearly given to illustrate a revelation about God, His actions toward mankind, and His expectations for how believers are to live. Click here for my full article.)

Before we can answer our questions, we really need to start with “What is anointing? And what was the historical and cultural understanding of anointing with oil?” Anointing (χρῖσμα [chrisma] and χρίω [chriō]) simply means to smear, daub, or rub.

Background

In the ancient middle east, in both pagan and Hebraic practice, anointing was used as a toiletry. “The fierce protracted heat and biting lime dust of Palestine made the oil very soothing to the skin, and it was applied freely to exposed parts of the body, especially to the face” (George B. Eager). In line with this, it was used as a perfuming agent to cover bad odors. The heat and manual labor encouraged the use of anointing as perfume, especially for celebrations and social events (Jacob W. Kapp). The ordinary usage, in short, was that of covering foul odors and perfuming. Also, people would abstain from anointing with these fragrant oils as a form of the morning. All these practices can be seen in the Bible: Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 12:20 and 14:2; 2 Chron. 28:15; Ezekiel 16:9; Micah 6:15; Daniel 10: 3. It is very clear from Exodus 30:23-25 that the anointing oil was intentionally made to be fragrant and pleasing to the senses.

As pertains to its religious usage, it was especially used to consecrate “an individual or object… for divine use” (Louis Goldberg). This is evident throughout the Bible. It can be specially noted of the consecration of the tabernacle, and the items therein (Exodus 40:9-11). It was, also, used to consecrate people for divine use. This can be witnessed of Aron and his sons in Exodus 40:12-15. Anointing with oil was used as a symbol of God’s choice to consecrate (or “set apart” for a particular purpose). It is a wonderful and exciting revelation of a God who chooses to use His people for His sacred work.

Similar to the concept of consecration, Anointing with oil was also used as a symbol of inauguration. Anointing in the Old Testament was used to demonstrate God’s choice to elect people to a special office. This sacred practice can be seen in electing kings (1 Samuel 9:16 and 10:1, 1 Kings 1:34, 1 Kings 1:39), prophets (1 Kings 19:16, 1 Chron. 16:22, Psalms 105:15), and priests (Exodus 40:15, Numbers 3:3, Exodus 29:29, Leviticus 16:32, Leviticus 4:3). The anointing of the priests - the high priest especially - was the most common religious practice among the Jews (William Smith). It was a very sacred symbol. It conveyed the revelation of God’s choice for electing a people, or individual, to an office. This was not just a profound revelation of God choosing to use His people for His soteriological agenda, but it was also understood as endowing people with power.

George B. Eager states, “Among the Hebrews, it was believed not only that it effected a transference to the anointed one of something of the holiness and virtue of the deity in whose name and by whose representative the rite was performed, but also that it imparted a special endowment of the spirit of Yahweh.” This understanding can be seen in 1 Samuel 16:13 and Isaiah 61:1.

When John was inspired to write this passage in 1 John 2, He knew the people receiving this revelation would have had these things in mind. Anointing was familiar to them. Very familiar. They would have had the above concepts and practices ingrained upon their hearts and minds because the act of anointing was very culturally relevant to this audience. Although we do not know when 1 John was written, we do know that “It is called ‘general,’ because it was not written and sent to any particular church, or person, and not because it was for the general use of the churches, for so are all the particular epistles but because it was written to the Christians in general, or to the believing Jews in general wherever they were” (John Gill).

The reader’s ancestral and cultural understanding of anointing with oil, and their understanding of the broad (non-specific) target audience, would have had a great impact on their minds and hearts. Firstly, before answering our main question, it is important to note that John would not have known all of those who would have received this Epistle. Whoah! He did not know all of those that would read this inspired Text. It makes one wonder how he could have so confidently declared, “you have been anointed!” He did not know them! But he did know the reality was the Believers’ new identity was established upon their conversion. Upon placing faith in Jesus Christ, the Christian is made new (ref. Eph. 1:13-14 and2 Cor. 5:17). They are given an entirely new identity in Christ. No exceptions. Every single believer is a recipient of God's anointing.

How incredible is it to know that you have been anointed? God has covered you with His Spirit. He has poured over you the oil of empowering so that you may walk as Jesus walked, live as Jesus lived, die as Jesus died, give as Jesus gave. “You have been anointed.” You are just as anointed as any other believer in the Body of Christ. No one is more or less anointed than anyone else. We are equals in the Kingdom of God. We are anointed for His glory!

{The “anointing that you have received,” is written in the Aorist Indicative Active. This demonstrates a single, effective, one-time action. It “states an action that occurs without regard to its duration. It is analogous to a snapshot which captures action at a specific point in time. In the indicative mood, aorist can indicate punctiliar action (happens at a specific point in time) in past” (Precept Austin). This only further intensifies the dramatic work of God, upon salvation, to anoint His people with the Holy Spirit. Reference Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18, and Acts 10:38 }

With the cultural, historical, and grammatical information given above, we can answer our question. “what does this say about God, and what does this require of us?”

Theological Implications - what does this say about God?

First, it should be obvious that it reveals a God that covers His people. He is present. He is near. He covers us. God gives the Holy Spirit to his people. Being identified as anointed reveals an Anointer who cares.

The readers of John’s letter would have, no doubt, understood this in terms of the common use for anointing. They would have connected the fact of anointing was used to cover foul odors. They more than likely would have seen this to reveal a God who beautifies. Moreover, this conjures to mind the idea that the Holy Spirit covers the foul stench of our sin. This is incredible! How amazing is it to know that we are covered - and not with a temporary anointing that can be washed off with water. Rather, we are covered with God Himself. God permanently covers those who place their faith in Him. What a good God!

Also, in line with its historical and cultural context, it reveals something about the choice of God. It shows how the Almighty chose to elect us to a particular office. All believers. All those anointed by the Holy Spirit. It highlights the choice of God for the election. It was God’s Choice. It was His desire. It is the plan to elect you to participate with Him in His redemptive plan. Heaven’s prerogative was to partner with the Redeemed to extend the invitation for salvation, hope, life, and love to the world. This reveals a God who calls and qualifies all Believers to a sacred calling. He is not waiting for you to qualify yourself. He is not waiting for you to know your Bible better. He is not waiting for you to get your graduate degree. He is not waiting for you to feel qualified. He chose you! He elected you to be a part of His royal priesthood. The moment you gave your life to the Lord, He anointed you. He chose to ordain you to His great and glorious purposes.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Going deeper, it shows a God who consecrated you. It demonstrates a God who set you apart for divine use. He made you holy unto Himself. Like when God chose to consecrate the tabernacle with anointing oil, He also consecrated you for sacred use. You have been set apart for service to God. He chose you!

It also presents a God who chose to empower you. It shows that God not only qualifies you to serve Him, it promulgates how God also equips you. In the same way as Jesus was “anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power,” so are you (Acts 10:38). Being that our identity is that of anointed and being in Christ (in the Anointed One), God chose to place “the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1-4). And again, this choice is seen in Jesus’s statement to the disciples. He declared, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He chose to call, elect, and empower you.

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” ( 2 Tim. 1:7).

Lastly, this reveals another facet of our God. He chose you to take ownership of a particular calling and purpose. He chose to elect you to the office of priestly ambassador, and He chose to give you ownership over it. He places the responsibility upon us to steward our calling. The Old Testament and the New Testament are full of examples of men and women who succeeded and/or failed to steward what God had given them. This includes king Saul, judge Deborah, king David, Samson, king Ahaz, Eli, Eli’s sons, Peter, Paul, and many others. God chose to elect many priests, kings, judges, and prophets who failed to steward the office to which they were called. Many others succeeded. This demonstrates, further, how our identity as anointed reveals the fact of God’s choice to give us ownership of our calling and purpose. God gave us the freedom and responsibility to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling” (Eph. 4:1-7).

This leads us perfectly into our next question…

Practical Expectations - What does this require of me?

First, it requires the refreshing revelation of the fact that God chose you! Understanding our new identity as anointed from a proper cultural framework, we can identify a heavenly expectation. Being anointed of the Holy Spirit tells us that God expects us “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” God requires us to “live up to what we have already attained” (Phil. 3:16). Being anointed. Being elected to a special office. Being given a high calling and sacred purpose. Being anointed of God shows us that we are called to serve God and minister God’s love to others. God’s exceptionless expectation for us is that of priestly ambassadors.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matt. 28:18-20).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us…” (2 Cor. 5:17-20)

Second, it requires you to take ownership of that to which God has called you. No matter where life has brought you. Wherever you are. Mountain top or valley. Stream or desert. You have been anointed. You have been entrusted by God. Convenient or not, God has elected you and appointed you to an important office. You are called to serve God by sharing Jesus with the world around you. You have been set apart for divine use. No exceptions. Your new identity demonstrates the potent reality of responsibility. God asks that you take ownership of that to which you have been called!

You are anointed wherever you are. You carry the Presence of God with you. Where you are in life is where you have been sent as a priestly ambassador. To your family. To your co-workers. To your boss. To your wife. To your children. To your barista. To your waiter. To your social media following. To your kids. You are to minister the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ everywhere we are.

It doesn’t have to be scary. It doesn’t have to be complicated. This is simply doing good. Sharing your faith. Explaining your hope in the face of trial. Going “out of your way” to pray from someone. Dying to self. Loving as Jesus loved. Living as Jesus lived. Giving as Jesus gave.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:9-10).

Additional Recommendations:

Vines Expository Dictionary

Baker’s Dictionary of Bible Theology

Bibles

Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life

Bible Study Tools

#new identity in christ #new identity #identity in christ #biblical identity #anointed

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verdiprati · 6 years ago

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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES BY DAME SARAH CONNOLLY

[NOTE: this post is now out of date. Check the schedule tag on my blog for the most recent version of this list.]

After the jump: an unofficial schedule of Dame Sarah Connolly’s future performances. Those of you in Britain may catch a performance in London, Cardiff, Leeds, Oxford, Gloucester, Bath, or Chipping Campden. Those on the Continent may see her in Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Geneva, Zeist, or Baden-Baden. And finally, those of us in North America have a recital in Philadelphia to look forward to! Don’t live near one of these places? Take in a concert from afar: I am adding online broadcast and livestream details as they become available.

This is not an authoritative list. These are the upcoming performances by Dame Sarah Connolly that I have been able to learn about from Dame Sarah’s agent's website (Askonas Holt), Operabase, Bachtrack, Dame Sarah's Twitter, and generally ferreting around the web.

I sometimes list concerts that are not yet officially confirmed; you should of course check official sources before making plans and be aware that cast changes and cancellations can happen at any time.

I have added links to venue, ticketing, and broadcast information where available. Tips on new information are always welcome! Please contact me via email (verdiprati [at] selveamene [dot] com), Tumblr messaging, or ask box (plain prose only in the ask box; anything with links or an email address will get eaten by Tumblr filters) with corrections or additions.

[Masterclass] Public masterclass at Wigmore Hall, London, September 19, 2018. Part of Dame Sarah’s residency at the Wigmore.

Wagner, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Fricka in both) at the Royal Opera, London, September 24 through October 28, 2018. A revival of Keith Warner’s Ring Cycle, with Antonio Pappano conducting. For cast and date details, see the ROH web pages linked above. The October 28 performance will be livecast to cinemas; the October 18 performance, also marked “Filming,” is presumably a dry run for the camera crews and/or a chance to gather additional footage for promos and perhaps an eventual DVD release (we can hope). Rheingold dates: September 24; October 2, 16, and 26. Walküre dates: September 26; October 4, 18, and 28.

[New! Broadcast] There will be an audio-only broadcast of Das Rheingold by BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, October 27—conveniently timed to prime listeners for the livecast of Die Walküre the following day. If you can’t listen at the time of broadcast, though, you should be able to find the Rheingold audio archived on the BBC website for a month following.

[Cinema livecast] As mentioned above, the October 28 performance of Die Walküre is scheduled for livecast to cinemas. You can use this page to search for a screening near you. Oddly, no screenings are being shown in the US at the time of this writing, but I know of at least one deferred screening in New York, at Symphony Space on November 25.

[New! Broadcast] There will be an audio-only broadcast of Die Walküre by BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, November 3. As with all BBC Radio 3 programming, I would expect it to stay online for a month after broadcast. It seems like a fair guess that the other two Ring operas will be broadcast on subsequent Saturdays; check the Radio 3 website when the time gets closer, if you are interested.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde at the Royal Festival Hall, London, September 29, 2018. With Stuart Skelton and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. In a concert with Mitsiko Uchida playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27.

Appearance at “Opera For All” anniversary show at the English National Opera, London, October 10, 2018. The exact program has not (to my knowledge) been announced, but a blog post from ENO says “The performance will feature moments from operas that have played an important part in ENO’s history, including Britten’s Peter Grimes, Handel’s Alcina, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe Verdi’s Rigoletto and Wagner’s Ring Cycle.” Dame Sarah has sung roles in Alcina, Iolanthe, and the Ring Cycle, but I believe Alcina is the only one she has performed at ENO, and my hunch is that she will offer one or two of the Handel arias she has sung to such acclaim at ENO over the years.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde at the Philharmonie Berlin, October 14, 2018. With Torsten Kerl Robert Dean Smith and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

[Broadcast] The concert is scheduled for live broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

Recital of English song at the Oxford Lieder Festival, October 22, 2018. With Eugene Asti. Songs in English by numerous British composers including Rebecca Clarke, Muriel Herbert, and Sally Beamish. There is a good deal of overlap with the selections on Dame Sarah’s recent album “Come to Me in My Dreams.”

Concert with Tenebrae at Wigmore Hall, London, October 24, 2018. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. The mostly English repertoire centers on a new piece by Judith Bingham setting poetry by Ivor Gurney. The choir throws in some Schoenberg at the end.

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas (Dido) in concert at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, November 3, 2018. With the Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn, in a concert also featuring John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (which does not include Dame Sarah in the cast). Dame Sarah’s co-stars are Jonathan McGovern, Lucy Crowe, Dame Felicity Palmer Avery Amereau, and Rowan Pierce.

[New! Broadcast] Thank you to the astute reader who pointed out that, as mentioned on the Early Opera Company’s website (and less explicitly on the Concertgebouw site), this concert will be broadcast live on NPO Radio 4 as part of the NTR Saturday Matinee series. Recordings from the series seem to be kept available online for quite a while, so you should have ample chance to hear the concert even if you cannot tune in at the hour of live broadcast.

Tippett, A Child of our Time at the Paris Philharmonie, November 7 and 8, 2018. With Michelle Bradley, Mark Padmore, John Relyea, and the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Thomas Adès in a concert also featuring symphonic works by Berlioz and Adès.

[New! Broadcast] The Orchestre de Paris website says, “Concert du 7 novembre enregistré et diffusé sur France Musique en différé et disponible à la réécoute sur le site internet de France Musique en streaming pour une période de 3 ans.” I never took French but read that to mean that we can expect a deferred broadcast of the November 7 concert, available for replay for three years. I have not been able to find a date of broadcast yet but I will keep an eye out for it.

Recital at the Bath Mozartfest, Guildhall, Bath, November 13, 2018. With Joseph Middleton. Repertoire to include “Deh, per questo istante solo” from La Clemenza di Tito as well as songs by Schubert, Ravel, Debussy, Gurney, and Ireland. UPDATE: Dame Sarah withdrew from the concert and was replaced by Louise Alder.

"L’invitation au voyage,” song recital at Wigmore Hall, London, November 16, 2018. With James Newby and Joseph Middleton. The repertoire is Ravel-centric but not all by Ravel himself. Part of Dame Sarah’s residency at the Wigmore and also part of a Ravel song series being presented by the venue over the course of the year.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at deSingel, Antwerp, November 21, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

[New! Deferred broadcast] Recital at the Schubertíada Vilabertran. With Malcolm Martineau and Jonathan Brown. Works by Brahms, Mahler, Gurney, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Frank Bridge. Recorded at the live performance on August 18, 2018; scheduled for broadcast [PDF] on Catalunya Música November 23, 2018.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at the Philharmonie Berlin, November 23, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Tickets appear to be on sale here. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, December 1, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Appearance at the Glyndebourne Tour: Golden Anniversary Celebration at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, December 4, 2018. Sir Thomas Allen and Sir John Tomlinson are also appearing at the concert, and the Glyndebourne website says “More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.” The program has not been announced yet but I will be surprised if Dame Sarah does not reprise an aria or two from Giulio Cesare. This event does not yet appear on the Southbank Centre’s calendar, and I don’t see a way to purchase tickets online, but they apparently are available by phoning the Glyndebourne box office.

Wagner, Das Rheingold (Fricka) at the Teatro Real, Madrid, January 17 through February 1, 2019. In a production by Robert Carsen; conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. Co-stars include Greer Grimsley (Wotan) and Sophie Bevan (Freia) among others.

Berlioz, L’Enfance du Christ with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, February 15, 2019. Sir Andrew Davis conducts; the other vocal soloists in the all-Brit, all-excellent lineup are Andrew Staples, Roderick Williams, and Matthew Brook.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, March 5, 2019. Works by R. Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, A. Mahler, and Zemlinsky.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, March 7, 2019. I don’t see the repertoire mentioned on the theater’s website as of this writing, but presumably it will be similar to the works presented in Amsterdam and Philadelphia in the duo’s other recitals this month.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, March 11, 2019. Works by Brahms, Wolf, Roussel, Debussy, and Zemlinsky.

[New details!] Recital with Julius Drake at Wigmore Hall, London, March 15, 2019. Contrary to my earlier guess, Connolly and Drake are not repeating material from their recitals in Amsterdam and Madrid, but rather are preparing a completely different program for the Wigmore. It is described by Dame Sarah’s agency, Askonas Holt, thus: “On 15 March 2019, Sarah offers Dominick Argento’s cycle from Virginia Woolf’s posthumously published A Writer’s Diary, which won the composer the Pulitzer Prize in 1975, and Schumann’s moving late settings of texts attributed to Mary Stuart. She is partnered by pianist Julius Drake and actor Emily Berrington, who will intersperse the songs with reading from Woolf’s diaries and also from Schiller’s ‘Mary Stuart’, in a new translation made especially for the event.” Dame Sarah adds on Twitter, “There will be more songs in the second half.”

Recital with Julius Drake at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, March 22, 2019. Sponsored by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Repertoire includes works by Brahms, Wolf, Roussel, Debussy, and Zemlinksy.

[New!] Berlioz, Les nuits d’été at the Chipping Campden Music Festival, May 21, 2019. In a program with orchestral works by Fauré and Mendelssohn. Thomas Hull conducts the Academy Orchestra. As of this writing, the 2019 program has not yet been published on the Festival’s website, but the season brochure is available upon request, and that is how I obtained these concert details.

[Details TBA] Appearance at the Internationaal LiedFestival Zeist (Netherlands), late May, 2019. The festival dates are May 17-26. Programming details have not yet been released as of this writing, but Dame Sarah is mentioned as one of the performing artists.

Elgar, The Dream of Gerontius with the Hallé and three choruses at Victoria Hall, Leeds, June 1, 2019. Barry Banks and David Soar are the other vocal soloists; Simon Wright conducts.

Mahler, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (extracts) and Janáček, Glagolitic Mass at the Maison de la Radio, Paris, June 20, 2019. With the Orchestre National de France and the Choeur de Radio France, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The other soloists for the Glagolitic Mass are Simona Šaturová, Mati Turi, and Christof Fischesser.

[Broadcast] This concert will be broadcast live on France Musique.

Recital with Malcolm Martineau at Wigmore Hall, London, July 23, 2019. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. Repertoire TBA. Listed in the season preview brochure [PDF].

Berlioz, La damnation de Faust (in concert, presumably) at the Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, July 27, 2019. With Peter Hoare, Christopher Purves, and David Ireland. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24.

Bob Chilcott, A Christmas Oratorio (premiere) at the Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, August 1, 2019. With Nick Pritchard and Neal Davies. Note that this is an afternoon concert, not the main evening concert for August 1. (Multi-mezzo fans may want to stick around to hear Anna Stéphany do Les nuites d’été in the evening.) Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24.

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Handel, Agrippina at the Dutch National Opera. In June 2018, opera critic Hugh Canning tweeted the news that the Royal Opera is planning to offer Barrie Kosky’s new production of Agrippina with Joyce DiDonato in the title role during the ’19/’20 season; in a reply that has now been deleted, Dame Sarah mentioned that she and Alice Coote would do the same production in Amsterdam and Munich. (If you are a member of the Sarah Connolly fan group on Facebook, you can scroll back in time to June and see a screenshot there.) Subsequent discussion revealed that Coote would get the Munich gig (in July 2019), so Connolly must be the Amsterdam Agrippina. The DNO has already announced its ’18-’19 season and Agrippina isn’t in it, so presumably we’re looking towards ’19-’20 or beyond.

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Brett Dean, Hamlet (Gertrude) somewhere in the United States. Allan Clayton, who starred in the title role of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at Glyndebourne in 2017, mentioned in a recent interview with the Telegraph that he would be reprising the role at an unspecified date and venue in the US. When prompted on Twitter, Dame Sarah indicated that she would be participating in the revival, too (“I shall be misunderstanding my confused boy again”). Hat tip to Christopher Lowrey, who sang Guildenstern in the original production at Glyndebourne, whose tweet praising Allan Clayton brought the Telegraph interview to my attention. (No indication whether Lowrey will also be cast in the American revival.)

[Details TBA] A future appearance at the Opéra national de Paris is mentioned in the current bio that can be downloaded from Dame Sarah’s page on the Askonas Holt website (click “Publicity Pack”). I cannot find her name mentioned anywhere in the 2018-2019 season, so I suppose we must wait until at least the fall of 2019 if not later.

Previous versions of this list can be found under the schedule tag on this blog. This list published September 10, 2018. Edited September 15 to add the live broadcast of Dido from the Concertgebouw and to update the program details for the ENO concert. Edited September 18 to fill in details of Dame Sarah’s recital with Julius Drake at the Wigmore Hall in March. Edited October 16 to add the Chipping Campden concert and the Rheingold radio broadcast. Edited October 18 to update the cast list for the Concertgebouw concert with the Early Opera Company. Edited October 25 to add the radio broadcast of the ROH Die Walküre. Edited November 8 to add the radio broadcasts of A Child of Our Time and the Vilabertran recital. Edited November 19 to reflect (very belatedly) Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from the Bath Mozartfest recital. I may continue to edit this list as I receive new information.

#sarah connolly #schedule #performances

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theimaginesyouneveraskedfor · 7 years ago

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Roo’s Classic Literature Writing Challenge

As my first writing challenge, I am going to provide a list of classic literature quotes under the cut for all you lovelies to choose from. I thought it would be something a little different for everyone and something to have fun with.

Now you may have a few questions and I will answer them all before we begin:

Do I have to follow you to participate?

Not at all. I understand my blog isn’t for everyone and this isn’t to promote me, it’s to promote all of you lovely writers! It’s not required, but a reblog always helps spread the word for the challenge, too.

Which fandom do I write for?

That is entirely up to you. Your choice of fandom and characters. As well you can write Reader, AU, or Pairings. It is all your creative prerogative.

What kind of story do I write?

Angst, fluff, smut, whatever. They will all be accepted within reason (ie. no incest or non-consent).

What do I do with the quote? Do I choose only one?

The quotes are intended to provide a theme or mood for your story but that doesn’t mean you can’t include it directly in your piece. And if you want to choose more than one, go for it!

How do I get involved?

Send me an ask with the following:

*fandom and character (s)

*your selected quote

After you’ve finished, send me and ask or tag me in your fic and tag it

#Roo’s Classic Lit Challenge

. If I don’t reblog/like within a day, send me a message to make sure I’ve seen it.

All fics will be included in a masterlist that I will include on my blog 😊

When do I have to get this done by?

I know all of you have WiPs and all those lovely projects, so I will be generous with my time and set it for

Friday, April 20th, 2018.

Any other questions are appreciated and I look forward to reading all of your creations!

Quotes:

1. “I like good strong words that mean something…” ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

2. “My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

3. “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

4. “No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from. ” ― George Eliot, Daniel Deronda

5. “I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.” ― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

6. “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

7. “There was a star riding through clouds one night, & I said to the star, 'Consume me'.” ― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

8. “I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now.” ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

9. “Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist

10. “Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus

11. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

12. “Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

13. “As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.” ― John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

14. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.” ― Jane Austen, Persuasion

15. “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” ― Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

16. “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it... Yet.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

17. “It's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.” ― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

18. “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus

19. “We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

20. “There is but one coward on earth, and that is the coward that dare not know.” ― W.E.B. Du Bois, Dusk of Dawn

21. “Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.” ― Jane Austen, Emma

22. “I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince and Other Stories

23. “What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?” ― George Eliot, Middlemarch

24. “There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion.” ― Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death

25. “It was not the thorn bending to the honeysuckles, but the honeysuckles embracing the thorn.” ― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

26. “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.” ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

27. “At the moment when her eyes closed, when all feeling vanished in her, she thought that she felt a touch of fire imprinted on her lips, a kiss more burning than the red-hot iron of the executioner.” ― Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

28. “Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” ― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

29. “I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

30. “It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.” ― H.G. Wells, The Time Machine

31. "It's much better to do good in a way that no one knows anything about it." ― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

32. "It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason." ― Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island

33. “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

34. “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

35. “Alright then, I’ll go to hell.” ― Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

36. “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

37. “Some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships.” ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

38. “I saw the Cloud, though I did not foresee the Storm.” ― Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders

39. “After all, tomorrow is another day!” ― Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

40. “I look at you and a sense of wonder takes me.” — Homer, The Odyssey

41. “We can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them.” — George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss

42. “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” — John Milton, Paradise Lost

43. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

44. “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.” — Herman Melville, Moby Dick

45. “It’s better to look at the sky than live there” — Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

46. “I am satisfied ... I see, dance, laugh, sing.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

47. “We learn words by rote, but not their meaning; that must be paid for with our life-blood, and printed in the subtle fibres of our nerves.” ― George Eliot, The Lifted Veil

48. “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

49. “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

50. “If you look the right way, you can see the whole world is a garden.” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

#roo's classic lit challenge #writing challenge #writing #fics #multifandom #classic literature #quotes

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i-am-melancholys-child · 7 years ago

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4, 8, 11 (and what music if you do?), 9, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 37, 38 and 39 :) (sorry this is so many buuutttt I'm genuinely interested in your answers so I couldn't resist)

4. name three authors that were influential to your work and tell why

Tolkien - I first read Lord of the Rings in middle school. I was blown away, wrote LotR fanfiction as my first story, and kinda never looked back. I’ve been writing ever since, mostly.

Gaiman - He has the knack for the unexpected, writing dialogue, and interjecting humor. But I’ve especially learned a lot about dialogue from him. His characters have unique ways of speaking.

C. S. Lewis - He showed me how you needed to be five steps ahead in your story, to know where you’re headed before you get there. I marveled at the way his stories interconnected with each other.

8. what time are you most productive?

Late morning, probably, or late afternoon after a nap!

9. do you set yourself deadlines?

Sometimes? I don’t like more than two weeks to pass without a chapter update, so I try to keep an eye on the days. I don’t always follow that, however.

11. do you listen to music when writing?

I usually do! I have a highly-toned Pandora station built upon Pink, Sia, and Lorde. Ha! I have an instrumental station I’ve build up just for editing, but often I need silence for that.

12. favorite place to write

My beeeed. I’m there now.

13. hardest character to write

While he’s also so much fun, Erik is incredibly difficult. For every bit of him I write, there are many layers underneath what he says and does. In “Beneath the Shadows” right now, I have to know exactly what he’s thinking even though the readers never know directly. It’s been a fun exercise in what my brain can handle, but it’s also exhausting to manage. Erik himself is also complicated, and his characterization is central to any successful fic.

23. least favorite story you’ve ever written

Ah, I dunno. I tend to not publish unless I like it? If I have to choose, then “Nightmare.” It’s a weird little M-rated ficlet.

24. favorite scene you’ve ever written

Answered!

25. favorite line you’ve ever written

My last favorite line was from “Box Five.” It still makes me chuckle-

“Monsieurle Fantome,” she says after she catches her breath, “I believe you laid a trapfor me.”

Hisanswering chuckle thrills her. “Madame le Fantome, you wore no undergarments.”

37. canon or AU?

Eh, both? I’ll write or read anything if it’s GOOD.

38. do you reread your own stories?

I do! I write firstly for myself. If I don’t like to read it, then I won’t write it.

39. do you want to be published some day?

I used to have this dream? I don’t know. I like what I write right now; it makes me incredibly happy despite the frustrations of it. Maybe someday I’ll venture into true publishing, but it’d probably still be smutty stuff. Who even knows. For now, I’m having fun doing what I’m doing.

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thesimplyluxuriouslife · 4 years ago

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306: 25 British Petit Plaisirs (and a new category for all of TSLL's Simple Pleasures)

The French define le Petit Plaisir as a simple indulgence that brings great pleasure and enjoyment. In English, the translation is easy to note - small pleasures, yet significant in their ability to elevate the everyday.

This week on the blog is TSLL's 3rd Annual British Week, and while yes, the term Petit Plaisirs is notably French, my affinity for the British culture is grounded in so many of the Brits' daily rituals, appreciation for nature which surrounds each waking day, and the dogged determination to keep calm and carry on coined and released to the public in 1939 in an effort to steel the nerves and assuage the fears of the impeding war.

As I sat down this past Saturday, savoring a weekend to spent entirely at home, I took a moment and glanced about. So much of how I structure my own everydays welcomes British influences. Most seemingly simple, but others which have come about intentionally, with patience and clear-eyed understanding of the comfort they would bring into my life and sanctuary.

Today I would like to share with you 25 British-inspired Petit Plaisirs, and please do share in the comments, rituals or routines you welcome into your own life which are inspired by your Anglophile predilections.

Quickly, on the topic of Petit Plaisirs, I have added something to the blog I think readers and listeners alike will appreciate. First, I want to give a tremendous thank you to listener of the podcast and long-time reader of TSLL blog Margaret for suggesting I create a specific category for Petit Plaisirs. While most are shared on a Podcast episode's show notes, readers have had a difficult time finding the Petit Plaisirs they wish to further explore from episodes passed. I don't know why I didn't think of the idea sooner, but it has finally been created!

Now you will find in the Archives here on TSLL blog, a category titled Petit Plaisirs. You will find all of the Petit Plaisir posts which began what eventually came to be part of the podcast, as well as moving forward, each Petit Plaisir from each podcast episode will have its own post (linked directly in the Show Notes for each episode).

Now to the list of British-inspired Petit Plaisirs!

1.A knitted or quilted tea cosy for the teapot

2. The fresh scent of rain, and then the much anticipated breaking through of the sunshine

3. A sweet treat from the Great British Baking Show's finalist Jane Beedle's recipe archives

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBAMDixhlSy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

4. Enjoying a cuppa and your favorite pairings - newspapers, breakfast, etc. - in bed

18 Ways to Enjoy a Good Cuppa

5. Sitting in a pub enjoying a beer with good company (yes, I said it - a beer! But when in Britain! :))

6. Birdwatching, listening to birdsong, anything to do with birds and appreciating their gifts of delicate, amazing beauty and melodious music.

7. An umbrella at the ready which has stood the test of time - handmade or wooden stick if possible.

8. Snuggling up in a down and feather stuffed sofa or armchair, listening to the rain, whilst sipping a hot cuppa.

9. Nigel Slater recipes - how they are written - whether you make the dish or not, you are lulled into a state of calm

10. Meandering on the country roads lined with dry stone walls whether on foot or in a vehicle - the sight took my breath away when I saw it for the first time, and I long to return again.

11. Roses, simply cut from the shrub or the climber or rambler in the garden and brought into the home to add a summer fragrance from the garden.

12. Watching a cosy mystery set in the countryside of Britain (view a long list of favorites here)

The Art of the British Cosy Mystery: 16 British Cosy Mysteries to Enjoy

13. Enjoy a good hearty chuckle whilst watching a British comedy - The Vicar of Dibley comes to mind (thank you to TSLL reader Kameela for bringing this series from the 1990s to my attention)

14. Sitting next to a roaring fire after stepping in from the cold or rainy outdoors

15. Savoring an afternoon tea ritual in your own company and from time to time with others as well, but regular, often and without exception.

16. Slipping into a hot bath as the rain whips against the window and the house

17. Anything with Mary Berry (Simple Comforts, Country House Secrets, Mary Barry Cooks, GBBO, Everyday)

18. Walking along the sand at anytime of the year for its restorative fresh air and soothing sound

19. Time with pups or cats or horses or any other animal which is considered part of the family

20. Vintage or charity or thrift shop perusing and finding something you didn't know you needed until you saw it

21. Spending time in one's garden and losing it as well (time, that is)

22. Watching episodes of The Great British Baking Show or GBBO (Great British Bake-Off)

23. Enjoying a meal made with your own garden-grown vegetables, herbs, or fruit

24. Spending Friday evening or Saturday morning watching the latest episode of Gardeners' World on BritBox (BBC2)

7 Reasons to Watch Gardeners' World w/Monty Don (whether you are a gardener or not)

25. Enjoy tea or breakfast (as shown in the image at the top of the post) outside in the garden or on the garden terrace or porch letting the birdsong be your background music, your pets be your companions and whatever you are savoring, doing so with a cuppa and a pot of tea snuggled in a tea cosy.

Wishing you many moments to savor everyday life, elevated by inspiration from the British culture.

Petit Plaisir

~Leonardo, series (Amazon Prime, UK), soon to be released in the US

Starring Aidan Turner from Poldark fame

8 episodes in Season 1 (released in the UK in March 2021)

Each episode will examine one of da Vinci’s artworks for hidden clues about a tortured artist struggling for perfection.

View the individual post for this week's Petit Plaisir here.

https://youtu.be/1SgwpIZybmU

VIEW ALL POSTS SHARED DURING THIS YEAR’S British Week, on TSLL

15 British-based Books Worth Reading for a Variety of Reading Interests

The 1st Giveaway of British Week 2021 - A British Magazine Subscription of Your Choice

Become a TOP Tier subscriber to enter all six giveaways being shared during this week's British Week celebration. Learn more about the options for subscribing here.

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #306

~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube | Spotify

SPONSORS of Today's Episode:

Bombas

use promo code SOPHISTICATE to save 20%

Woodstock Chimes

promo code SIMPLE to save 15% off your order

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Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

#tsllpodcast thesimplesophisticate

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ewaenruwa · 4 years ago

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Why Do Marriages Fail?

Since this is a Christian space, I am excited to share some of my thoughts on issues that are present in our time.

I’ve found some interesting statistics from an article I read. The divorce rates of some countries are quite stacked. In Luxembourg in 2016, divorce rates were 66%. In that same year, Canada was 48%, the US was 46%, France was 54%, Spain was 56% and Portugal was 71%. Because these are Christian nations, it’s a surprise that they would have such rates, because the Bible has a strong position on how marriages should be organized for success.

But where did people coming together as a good thing commence, and how is that managed?

The institution of marriage was set up in heaven, because the relationship that Jesus Christ has with God Almighty, and the relationship that Jesus Christ has with his apostles is a very strong one indeed (Revelation 14:1–5, 19:6–7, etc). If we analyze their relationships, we can see a strong bond. One loves and therefore submits to another. Therefore, the idea of a bond of which marriage is a part has to be sourced from the heavenly conception of it. For such reasons, in Genesis 2:23–24, God brought it down here, because he knew that both women and men would enjoy it, if they adhered to the principles.

But what principles am I talking out?

Let me use a woman for example. When a woman loves somebody, feels affection for somebody and she comes across the Bible, and sees, “submit yourself to your husband”, (Ephesians 5:22–24, Colossians 3:18, 1 Peter 3:1–6), complying with it is so easy that she doesn’t even notice she’s doing it, because she’s constantly keeping an eye out for the man, in case he needs anything.

But what about the men?

Men also have to do their part. When a woman is submissive, a man has to have the means to take care of his wife, and preserve her so that she can continue being submissive. A man can’t oppress his wife (Colossians 3:19), and it is certainly not the job of the man to make sure that a woman takes part in making a marriage successful. That’s why a marriage where both women and men are interested in their own sides of salvation is bound to be successful, because both do their part in finding favour in God’s sight. That’s why, when it is done properly, what King Solomon had stated will make sense: “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22).

But, how did God himself exercise this with his own children in the Bible, and how can we learn from such les?

For example, the Israelites had taken heed of to such things, their relationship with God would’ve been so smooth. God had been considered the husband of the Israelites (Jeremiah 31:32). He loved them, and did many things for them, just as a man is expected to do for his wife (Ezekiel 16:8–63, Jeremiah 2:2–19, Ephesians 5:25–29, Colossians 3:19, etc). There is a relationship between God’s bond with his children generally, and the relationship that a man holds with his wife, and we can’t detach it from that idea and be successful. But, it was only because they felt entitled to decide for themselves whether they should take their matters to God that things didn’t go as well as they should’ve. That’s why, after the Israelites had decided for themselves that they needed a king in 1 Samuel 8:1–5, God said that they have rejected him (1 Samuel 8:7–8), because they wanted somebody who would preside over them, instead of God himself.

We have to remember, because God created marriage, he also created the rules to it. And those rules aren’t meant for power purposes, or so that one person can feel like he’s a king, and he has a servant. Rather, he made those rules, so that there is a basis on top of which two people can build a successful relationship together. The Bible shouldn’t be ignored in the marital organization, or be replaced by secular rules and principles that people want to impose in people’s relationships. Rather, we should move back to the origin of marriage, as conceived by God himself.

So, for anyone wanting to get married, I find it very beneficial to brush up on the BIble, and find out what God wanted and anticipated the institution of marriage to be when he’d instituted it on this earth. Don’t forget, he created man; he created marriage; and therefore, he has the ultimate right to decide how marriage should look like, and we can’t use our own inventions to make success of it. Just as how when we are experts in Scrabble, Chess, Backgammon, Checkers, or any game, we can move freely within the rules, and it becomes a very fun thing. Marriage isn’t much different.

If any readers are curious for more information on the steps to creating a successful marriage, I would recommend entertaining yourselves with these two videos that I made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAZbmXFQ2-I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xk7En9Xq-o

It Pays to Fear God

#https://ewaenruwa.wixsite.com/itpaystofeargod #Love #Faith #Belief #Trust #Patience #Charity #Truth #God #Jesus #God's Kingdom #Question #Answer #Christian #Isaiah #Jeremiah #Ezekiel

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romancatholicreflections · 7 years ago

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28th January >> Sunday Homilies and Reflections for Roman Catholics on the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year B

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel : Mark 1:21-28

vs.21 In the city of Capernaum, on a sabbath, Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. vs.22 And his teaching made a great impression on them, because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority. vs.23 In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit, and it shouted, vs.24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. vs. 25 But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what. it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.

*******************************************************************

We have four commentators available from whom you may wish to choose . Scroll down to the name of the commentator.

Michel DeVerteuil : A Trinidadian Holy Ghost Father, late director of the Centre of Biblical renewal .

Thomas O’Loughlin: Professor of Historical Theology, University of Wales, Lampeter.

Sean Goan: Studied scripture in Rome, Jerusalem and Chicago and teaches at Blackrock College and works with Le Chéile

Donal Neary SJ: Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger and National Director of The Apostlship of Prayer.

********************************

Michel DeVerteuil Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels www.columba.ie

General Comments As we go on with our continuous reading of St Mark’s gospel, we find Jesus in Galilee where he starts his public ministry.

This passage is in three parts: – verses 21-22: a summary of the teaching of Jesus in the synagogue; – verses 23 to 27: an example of his ministry of driving out unclean spirits; – verse 28: the effect of Jesus’ ministry.

In the first section, the emphasis is on the contrast between Jesus and the scribes. Here the scribes are symbolical of those who are content to record the teachings of others; Jesus speaks with personal authority.

In verse 28 St Mark evokes, as he often does in his gospel, the spread of Jesus’ reputation. Ask yourself how the passage if being fulfilled today, of the church or of any great movement.

Prayer Reflections

Lord, when we look back on our lives we realize that most of those who gave us moral teachings spoke platitudes. They were scribes recording what others had said. But we thank you that from time to time you sent us someone like Jesus who spoke from their own experience, and shared honestly what they were feeling; these made a deep impression on us, because unlike scribes they spoke with authority.

“When the church concerns herself with the development of peoples, she cannot be accused of going outside her own specific field of competence, and still less outside the mandate received from the Lord.” ...Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis

Lord, when the church confines herself to going to the synagogue and teaching, concerning herself with what is internal to her, many are happy – they rejoice that she is making a deep impression on them. But your will is that we should go further and cast out the demons of our society – racism, class conflicts, discrimination against the disadvantaged. When the church does this there are convulsions and loud cries. We thank you that in many countries the church has persevered in following Jesus, and people have been astonished and questioned themselves, and her reputation has spread as one who gives orders to unclean spirits and they obey her.

Lord, we remember a time when we were held in bondage by an inner force: – we could not forgive; – we did not want to commit ourselves because we were afraid of failure; – ambition was clouding our vision of the truth. Then someone began to speak, challenging us to face the truth – one of our children, a friend, a bible passage. We got angry, denied it vehemently, wept, complained to another. Like the man in the gospel, we went into convulsions and cried aloud. We realize now that it was because we knew that the Holy One of God was with us, he had come to do away with our sin. Eventually, after a long struggle, we recognized the demon for what it was, and it went out of us. Thank you, Lord.

“I can only reach that depth in my neighbour that I can reach in my own spirit.” …Mathew Kelly, Cistercian monk

Lord, our teaching will be new and will have authority behind it only if we have accepted its authority within our own selves.

“Once brought into the light of mutual love, demons lose their power and quietly leave us.” …Henry Now

Lord, we thank you for the times when we have been able to share deeply with a friend and something that was holding back our spiritual growth left us. We knew that Jesus of Nazareth was with us.

Lord, prayer is a moment when we pass from experiencing the teaching of Jesus as something vague to knowing that it has authority behind it, it gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey it.

Lord, a movement will spread only of it moves from teaching in a closed room to casting out the unclean spirits which are oppressing society.

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Thomas O’Loughlin Liturgical Resources for the Year of Matthew www.columba.ie

Introduction to the Celebration

In today’s gospel we hear of the reactions of people on encountering Jesus when they were gathered as a community: they encountered him as a brother, as a unique teacher, and as the Holy One of God. In our gathering today we are encountering him as our brother, our teacher, and the Holy One of God who is calling us together to share his supper.

Homily Notes

1. Hearing the story about the possessed man brings a shiver to some of us, and a wry smile for others. For some, it is the tingly fringe of religion, an unsettling fear, and brings to mind films about possession or exorcism. This is where faith meets the eerie and the weird. For others, this is part of the historical dross that comes with Christianity having arisen before the modern psychiatry: it is just one more bit that needs to be dumped. For most people in an average congregation it will just be an item that does not seem important one way or the other: another bit of religion that just slips over us.

2. It is probably worthwhile acknowledging this range of reactions in the congregation. All too often people imagine that they, as individuals, are the only ones who have such reactions to the readings, and imagine that for the priest there are no such problems. This suspicion then breeds a form of alienation that makes people feel that they ‘deep down’ do not belong in the gathering.

3. So what can we learn from this passage despite our reactions to the exorcism? The whole passage is in the gospel to help a small group of Christians in the latter half of the first century to understand who Jesus is whom they are confessing to be ‘The Holy One of God.’ We can take ‘Holy One of God,’ the ‘Anointed One,’ and ‘The Christ’ to be just different forms of the same reality. Mark intended his preaching to be heard by the group when they gathered for the sacred meal which united them with one another and with the risen Christ, and so our hearing this gospel today is hearing it in a more formalised version of its original setting. So what aspect of faith in Jesus did Mark want to emphasise? Here lies the key to the passage: he wanted the gatherings to have an adequate appreciation of Jesus as the Christ.

4. Note that we are concerned with an adequate – adequate for us to realise that he is the Way – not a complete understanding: such might be possible in heaven, but never on earth. All the saints can testify that after a life-long pilgrimage of faith,they are just scratching the surface in understanding the significance of the Christ.

5. Mark was concerned that people hearing about Jesus might just imagine him as another preacher – so he adds that the people who encountered him were struck by his uniqueness: he was a teacher like no other. But Mark, equally, did not want people to think of him just as the greatest teacher: Jesus having come among us does the Father’s will, he liberates people from their demons, and he brings new life. But Mark, yet again, does not want Jesus just seen as a wonder-worker, a magician, so people must keep all these insights and try to understand them at the foot of the Cross. Only when we follow the teacher, the liberator, the one who suffered, and the one who rose from the dead do we start to imagine the mystery of the Holy One of God.

6. Getting some grasp of who we encounter in Jesus the Christ is the work of a lifetime. Sadly, many people think they know all about him. Our reflections here do not tell us who Jesus is; they merely attune us to being aware of the Holy One who encounters us in our loves, our trials, our fears, our talents,our demons, and right now in our gathering, our praying together, and our sharing in his banquet.

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Sean Goan Let the Reader Understand www.columba.ie

Gospel Notes

A dominant aspect of Jesus’ work in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom in Mark is his role as a teacher and this is particularly evident in the early chapters. Here we see his teaching making a deep impression on his hearers and they respond with wonder and astonishment. In this teaching Jesus was, no doubt, speaking of God’s will for the world in terms that were easily understood by his hearers. Added to this, his action of exorcising demons can be understood as a way of indicating the triumph of good over evil and showing that now is the time to respond with faith to God’s action in the world. The prevalence of exorcisms in the gospels is not to be taken as suggesting there was more demonic possession then than now. It is more likely that these accounts reflect ancient views around a range of illnesses that are more easily diagnosed nowadays.

Reflection

In this age of information technology and instant access to information and entertainment, we probably appreciate more than ever the worth of a really good teacher. It is an aspect of Jesus’ ministry that can easily be lost sight of, and that is a pity because it is more important that we understand his message than that we believe he was a miracle worker. As disciples we are challenged to continue to grow in understanding, to sit at the feet of Jesus the teacher and to take steps to make our own the wonderful good news of the kingdom. By being properly informed, we are less likely to be led astray by the whole range of ‘false prophets’ who today compete for our allegiance.

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Donal Neary SJ Gospel Reflections www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

The Power of Evil

Jesus was very aware of the power of evil that can be around us. Jesus named the spirit whatever that meant. This gave him power over the spirit. He knew evil when he met it and he overcame it, with love, power and with kindness for this man.

In Jesus the good and the evil of the world met.

One big evil in us is the ‘it’s mine’. We learn it from childhood. We take the plate of cakes or a packet of sweets and say “all mine”. We normally get over this but not always. We need the conversion from it’s mine to it’s ours. That’s the christian way. The environment is not ours, but for us. We have no right to kill off livelihood all over the world for our paper, our oil and our greed. Any abuse of people is the ‘you are mine’ syndrome. Nobody owns anyone in this earth and we belong only to God in a free way.

Evil will never win out to the end. It has been conquered on the Cross, with love.

Somehow this man was possessed. Evil came into him and maybe it was not his fault. He left clean and whole, with a kindness in his heart he would never forget. The people were amazed not just at Jesus but at the change in the man who had been possessed.

What are evil desires in myself?For control of others, for greed, for whatever leads me away from love.Imagine the light of God filling the darkness in me.Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

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