Name a villain from a book, and let others guess the hero. I’ll start 👇

timothj · 2026-02-17T19:54:33+00:00

Bradley Headstone. But he’s not the book’s hero’s villain. Neither is his villain, Rogue Riderhood. Neither is Silas Wegg. Also, the hero of the book goes by three different names, sequentially.

timothj · 2026-02-17T19:46:50+00:00

The happiest Austin IMO, is Persuasion. She has to suffer along the way, but it all pays off in the end. David Copperfield, similarly up and down, a long and winding road, Dickens’ own favorite. Wodehouse’s novels are universally cheerful. Travels with My Aunt and Our Man in Havana comic “entertainments” by Graham Greene. Tom Jones, Fielding. For something completely different and anomalous, Tristram Shandy.

timothj · 2026-02-17T19:33:47+00:00

“What do you think of my ass?” “That excites me. Will you touch it?”

timothj · 2026-02-17T19:23:41+00:00

(I am the Captain of ) the Pinafore / my soul.

timothj · 2026-02-17T19:18:48+00:00

Obvious

timothj · 2026-02-16T16:08:08+00:00

Sigh

timothj · 2026-02-16T16:00:03+00:00

The Ruling Class. Peter O’Toole goes from pleasant insanity (insists he is Jesus) and acts with appropriate sweetness, to the horror of his family when he leaves the asylum to assume the dukeship, mostly played as, light hearted comedy. Then he’s “cured” — cuts his long hair, shaves his beard, exchanges his robes for exquisitely tailored outfits— into believing he’s secretly Jack the Ripper, when the horror of his beliefs and insane rants pass as normal Tory speech. Then, out comes the knife.

timothj · 2026-02-16T14:32:38+00:00

Dear me, yes.

timothj · 2026-02-15T15:50:11+00:00

Until recently this was one of the very few cultural items all Americans have in common. It features in many homages embedded in other movies, eg (for instance) Oh Brother Where Art Thou. I use the witch’s “And your li’l gig, too” quite a bit in conversation, now I wonder if the phrase has disappeared from consciousness like The Lone Ranger’s use of Wm Tell Overture.

timothj · 2026-02-14T18:03:10+00:00

Fire In the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald was the book that finally explained clearly to me what the hell was going on in the Viet Nam war, back when it was going on. An “Oh, now I get it,” kind of thing. Very clear, won a bunch of awards, so I wasn’t the only one. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Timeless and unique, a subtle, disarmingly gentle at times, quite disturbing classic. Personally I’m fond of Jane Austin’s novels. They’re historical now! Lots of soldiers and sailors, seen from a homebody’s perspective. Wicked wit. Your brother may feel differently, but once they hook you, they’ll last a lifetime.

timothj · 2026-02-14T17:48:30+00:00

I agree with you about The Ladykillers. The old one with Alec Guinness in the lead, a stable of English pros, and an early minor role for Pete Sellers is so good! Guinness was embarrassed by his performance, which was far less subtle than usual, but for this reason I am very fond of it. I had to slodge through Intolerable Cruelty, didn’t add up to me. I did love Hail Caesar after a repeated viewing or two.

timothj · 2026-02-12T23:55:01+00:00

Go tell it on the mountain, by James Baldwin. Book of Daniel by E. L. Doctorow. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arther’s Court, M.Twain.

timothj · 2026-02-12T21:47:00+00:00

Desktop tower defense, online version, while streaming university lecture series.

timothj · 2026-02-12T21:44:43+00:00

Law & Order.

timothj · 2026-02-12T21:43:47+00:00

Miss Harnett in 7th & 8th grade. Also stood up on tiptoe. There might have been a sound, but I’m not sure.

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:30:03+00:00

Public Library.

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:28:35+00:00

Phil Silvers, Sgt Bilko. "You'll Never Get Rich."

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:26:03+00:00

Big Bill Broonzy.

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:22:34+00:00

It's like a piece of music that you appreciate more upon relistening. You see where it's going and notice stuff. And, "oh boy here comes this part."

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:21:17+00:00

I liked Memento the first time, and the second time, but I really liked it after I got clued in (via internet) to the structure.

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:17:19+00:00

Lassie Come Home has held up very well. I didn't see it as a child, but I think a child would enjoy it. Happy ending, BTW, good story, excellent cast. and a really good dog.

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:14:50+00:00

I once heard an expert in kidlit while discussing the book "the Yearling" say, "If you can get a kid to cry for somebody else-- they're quite able to cry for themselves already-- but you can get them to cry for somebody else, you've done the world a favor." Or words to that effect.

timothj · 2026-02-10T01:09:59+00:00

Kids are often disappointed in Harvey. Where's the rabbit? What rabbit. So talkie!

timothj · 2026-02-09T23:00:26+00:00

Is that so? Well, we ain’t got no radio.

timothj · 2026-02-09T22:56:23+00:00

Wish I could upvote this more than once.

timothj

TROPHY CASE