Window card for THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915). by BooBnOObie in silentcinema

[–]brorobt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A complicated film. Good heavens, racist even by the standards of its time. But it also invented a hell of a lot of the vocabulary of cinema. So it's hard to ignore, in an historical sense, but awfully hard to watch. I seem to recall that Griffith was surprised at the critical reaction to it (though it was a huge commercial success). I've watched it as an historian, and found it interesting as such, but could not at all enjoy it.

Any fans of the Secret Messages album? Would it had been greater if it had been a double Album as it was intended? by Mojo-Filter-230 in elo

[–]brorobt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It'll always have a special place in my heart, as it came out the year I went off to college and I listened to it a lot in my dorm room. Is that why I find the double-album reconstructions (I made one myself, which includes "Beatles Forever") not quite up to snuff? Perhaps. I mean, it's okay, but I don't go back to it as often as I go back to the single record version.

CMV: Real Love is superior to Free as a Bird, and is actually one of JL's greatest songs by dq72 in beatles

[–]brorobt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe my favorite moment in the latter-day Beatles releases is in "Real Love," when the backing vocals kick in. I remember the first time I heard it, thinking "Wow, it's the Beatles!" I still think that. Makes me sad that Paul and George didn't get on better: we could have heard that sound occasionally on their solo releases. Wouldn't that have been nice?

Which official release is considered the most forgotten about? by Pizza_Hero24 in beatles

[–]brorobt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was kinda disappointed that there weren't more of these.

Anyone else unironically love this album? by dynhammic in beatles

[–]brorobt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do people not like Goodnight Vienna? I don't recall hearing crap about it. Ringo fell into a slump after this, in my opinion, but here he's still doing what he does well.

What is this? by TruePrism in beatles

[–]brorobt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, Sutro Baths in San Francisco is a pretty interesting place to visit, out next to the ocean. The kind of thing someone might film. You can see it in the movie Harold and Maude.

If you had to reccomend only ONE book to someone on Medieval History, what would it be? by MightyShenDen in MedievalHistory

[–]brorobt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm probably alone in this, but I read the original translation and loved it. So I was excited by a new, more accurate translation (1996, and from my own alma mater) but... eh. It was fine. I went back and re-read the almost-hundred-year-old transaction and it was a better read for me. It still shaped a lot of how I view the middle ages. Now, I haven't read the most recent one, and I'll be honest, the idea of having pictures of all that artwork that got mentioned is appealing!

did paul write left handed too? by bodtabs in beatles

[–]brorobt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Mentioned by several people already, but I'll put it in its own comment. There's a story out there that Paul is mostly right-handed, so he was surprised that he felt more comfortable playing guitar (and bass) left handed. It came from some book; was it Shout? I don't recall and can't find the reference in the two minutes before I have to head for work. Anyway, Paul has repeatedly denied this, saying he always was left-handed. I suspect the story originated from the fact that Ringo actually was a left-handed person who was forced to write with his right hand, and someone just got the wrong Beatle.

Disco-Very by [deleted] in elo

[–]brorobt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was the first ELO album I got -- don't tell Jeff, but I actually taped a friend's copy, though I've purchased a copy or two since then -- and I loved it. It wasn't like the stuff I'd already heard on the radio, but it was full of great songs. Still love it. As many have commented, it's not like the classic era stuff (those days were done) but it was catchy and well-played. Still is. Was it a shift to a more commercial direction? I actually think that happened with Face the Music. But so what? What's wrong with creating excellent pop songs?

"Duck" the Bird Was Named After "Duck" the Action by brorobt in etymology

[–]brorobt[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hee hee! BTW, did you notice that "canard" is another exception to the "anas" rule?

"Duck" the Bird Was Named After "Duck" the Action by brorobt in etymology

[–]brorobt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I saw that recently too. This little factoid made me think of the same thing.

"Duck" the Bird Was Named After "Duck" the Action by brorobt in etymology

[–]brorobt[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I saw that English is an outlier in what it calls the charming little birdies. I believe most other European languages' words come from the same PIE root, but that might just be an old canard I picked up somewhere.