If this were a poll,

[shoju]

I prefer Brave New World to 1984. They both are essentially a similar 'warning', but Brave New World being written Pre-WWII is a less "doom and gloom" approach to things. Plus, who doesn't like the name Centrifugal Bumble Puppy!?

I keep hoping that someday, a good director will make a good film of BNW. The attempts so far have been.... incredibly lackluster.

As a side note, I have a Warcraft character named "jondasavage", it was the closest I could get to John the Savage. I have enjoyed the whispers I have gotten about the name from people who get the reference.

If you can find it, The "Authorized Restored" version of Metropolis is just amazing, and can be picked up on Amazon for 22.99.

I hope you get a chance to read BNW soon.

[--Pete]

Hi,

@Pete, I imagine space is much less limited in electronic form as opposed to the printed dictionaries I consulted. Though I will Google definitions when time is of the essence, I often prefer to look in the physical books because I am likely to run across other intriguing words in the process.

I often do that, myself. Indeed, I've just opened dictionaries at random just to see what interesting words I could stumble upon. But when I need a definition, then I use those on my PDA. It's always with me, the paper dictionaries aren't.

Ok, guilty pleasure when I was younger was the Piers Anthony Apprentice Adept series.

For me it was his Xanth series.

Whoops. If Pier-XANTH-ony is bad, then I'm evil indeed. From my Book Collector db, in alphabetical order (too lazy to sort by series):

Battle Circle
Bearing an Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality, Book Two)
Centaur Aisle
Chaining the Lady
Chthon
Cluster
Dragon on a Pedestal Mag
Dragon's Gold
Executive (Bio of a Space Tyrant, Vol 4)
Faith of Tarot
For Love of Evil
God of Tarot
Hasan
Heaven Cent
Incarnations of Immortality #7: And Eternity
Incarnations of Immortality, 5: Being a Green Mother
Kirlian Quest
Macroscope
Man from Mundania (Xanth Trilogy, No 3)
Mercenary (Bio of a Space Tyrant, Vol 2)
Mute
Night Mare
Ogre, Ogre
Omnivore
On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, Bk. 1)
Orn (Of Man and Manta #2)
Ox
Phthor
Piers Anthony: Three Complete Xanth Novels/a Spell for Chameleon/the Source of Magic/Castle Roogna
Politician (Bio of a Space Tyrant, Vol 3)
Pretender
Race Against Time
Refugee: 1 (Bio of a Space Tyrant, Vol 1)
Shade of the Tree
Statesman (Bio of a Space Tyrant, Vol 5)
The Ring ®
Thousandstar
Total Recall
Vale of the Vole (Xanth)
Viscous Circle
Vision of Tarot
Wielding a Red Sword (Incarnations of Immortality/Piers Anthony, Bk 4)
With a Tangled Skein (Incarnations of Immortality (Paperback))


What's scary is that's not even a third of his output -- and he's still going strong.

--Pete

[kandrathe]

I read about 10 or so of the Xanth novels. Entertaining, yes, in a way like E! is entertaining. It was pretty amazing how far he would go to weave a pun into a plot. There were lots of creative, and interesting things in his worlds.

Me, being a visually oriented person... I'm still a bit freaked out by the worms in one story that float in the air, then zip around randomly leaving worm holes in their wake. Perhaps is was the result of being a veterinary assistant during summer vacations. I saw too much real life horror and pain in animals before I was 16.

[Taem]

Hi,

I am having that same problem with all forms of media lately.

I don't know what you mean by 'kid', but movies and literature from my youth are a mixed bag for me. I recently watched Lawrence of Arabia again, and found it just as good -- maybe even better -- than I remembered. Fantasia was briefly re-released in the '70s (or '80s) and I loved it every bit as much as I had as a child. Many of the westerns and action films from that era have lost much of their appeal since then, but a few are still worth the time.

Some of the stuff seems better when viewed with older eyes, some worse, and some just like I remembered it.

--Pete

I agree with that also, for example, some humor that wasn't understood in youth, but take on a whole new meaning when your older. Some actions seem more heroic or reasonable.

One of the movies that comes to mind in the negative is Point Break - when I was around 14 watching this movie, I totally understood why the agent let his man go at the end, and felt I would have done the same thing had I of been him. Watching it again a few years back, I was aghast at the concept - no, he should serve his time in prison! People died because of his actions! Because as an adult I did not like the ending, the flavor of the movie had changed, because I have changed.

With books, I recently reread a Jr High favorite Dragonlance Chronicles while my son was reading it also. To my appointment's, it was much more childish than I recalled and I had a hard time relating to the characters, but when I first read it, I remember feeling it was the best book I had ever read with one of the most indepth plots; I LOL at that now.

There are of course many more examples, but that was the first one (movie and book) that popped into my head.

[LavCat]

If you can find it, The "Authorized Restored" version of Metropolis is just amazing, and can be picked up on Amazon for 22.99.

I onced watched Metropolis in VHS format at a friend's house, and a year or so ago I watched a restored (2003) version on DVD. I am thinking of ordering the 2010 restoration that just came out yesterday on Blu-ray. This version suppossedly incorporates newly found footage from South America.

Actually when I was looking at it at work it was "today" but as such things go it is now tomorrow, so that makes it yesterday. Something like that.

When I searched just now for "authorized restored" I got the product page for the 2003 restoration, not the 2010 restoration (which is also supposed to be available on DVD). I must say the Metropolis versions are a bit confusing. If Amazon is right, the 2003 version is five minutes longer than the 2010 version, which seems odd.

I'm another that prefers Brave New World to 1984. To me BNW was much more frightening.

[shoju]

Metropolis was a huge undertaking for its time, and the most expensive Silent Film ever made.

The 2003 version was made up of clips that have been found over the years.

The 2010 version is a version of the film that was discovered in argentina in 2008. Because so much of the film has been edited, re-edited, cut back together and the like using various pieces and parts, no edit is going to be the same, but from what I understand the differences between the 2003 and the 2010 versions will be at least noticable.

Yes! BNW seemed far more.... "Plausible?" of a future reality to me than 1984. Because of my age, and my lack of experience dealing with countries/dictatorships that serve as an influence for 1984, Brave new World seems terrifyingly real.

[ZatarRufus]

Frank Lloyd Wright's Guide to Better Bamboo Bungalows

If I may: Dang it, Pete!

I can't get that title out of my head. I would love to have that book. Since kandrathe won't be needing it on the island, could I borrow your copy?

I finally had to go to my work bookcase to get The Place of Houses by Charles Moore, Gerald Allen, & Donlyn Lyndon. Re-reading p136, I fondly re-imagined Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house and its amenities. (Built in 1936 in Bear Run, Pennsylvania.)

... capturing and intensifying the natural ledging of rock and cave ... smooth concrete bridges crossing the crevice, darting up the hill, and balancing out over the falling stream.

Then I had to skip around reading p73, 77, 91,176-177,190-191,& 219 and next thing I know an hour has passed reading and contemplating.

So, dang it, don't do that.

[--Pete]

Hi,

Oh, and happy birthday.

Thanks, again. And for posting in the official HB thread too.

... could I borrow your copy?

As soon as he finishes writing it. Some days the Ouija connection isn't too good. And the illustrations are hard to get.

--Pete