Have some parkin & treacle toffee on me!

"Penny for the Guy?"

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
Have some parkin & treacle toffee on me!

"Penny for the Guy?"

Don't speak too literally or you will find it on you.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
Have some parkin & treacle toffee on me!

"Penny for the Guy?"

It was a pleasure to burn...

Happy 97th, Norman Lloyd! Have a good tennis match today!

On the subject of Guy Fawkes, one of my favorite books, The Phoenix and the Carpet, by E. Nesbit, starts out with four children on a rainy day contemplating whether their fireworks will sufficiently impress the snooty kids next door. I dreamed I was trying to recall this passage, but of course no matter how many times I had read the book I didn't have it memorized, so I was just sort of summarizing and lamenting, "I knew this memorizing was a bad idea! I do wish they hadn't burned all the books!" So here is the passage I was trying to recite, beginning with where Robert decides to test the fireworks. I see at least two Bradbury titles in this passage:

"'I think we ought to test them,' he said.

'You young duffer,' said Cyril, 'fireworks are like postage-stamps. You can only use them once.'

'What do you suppose it means by "Carter's tested seeds" in the advertisement?'

There was a blank silence. Then Cyril touched his forehead with his finger and shook his head.

'A little wrong here,' he said. 'I was always afraid of that with poor Robert. All that cleverness, you know, and being top in algebra so often--it's bound to tell--'

'Dry up,' said Robert, fiercely. 'Don't you see? You can't TEST seeds if you do them ALL. You just take a few here and there, and if those
grow you can feel pretty sure the others will be--what do you call it?--Father told me--"up to sample." Don't you think we ought to sample
the fire-works? Just shut our eyes and each draw one out, and then try them.'

'But it's raining cats and dogs,' said Jane.

'And Queen Anne is dead,' rejoined Robert. No one was in a very good temper. 'We needn't go out to do them; we can just move back the table,
and let them off on the old tea-tray we play toboggans with. I don't know what YOU think, but _I_ think it's time we did something, and
that would be really useful; because then we shouldn't just HOPE the fireworks would make those Prossers sit up--we should KNOW.'

'It WOULD be something to do,' Cyril owned with languid approval.

So the table was moved back. And then the hole in the carpet, that had been near the window till the carpet was turned round, showed most
awfully. But Anthea stole out on tip-toe, and got the tray when cook wasn't looking, and brought it in and put it over the hole.

Then all the fireworks were put on the table, and each of the four children shut its eyes very tight and put out its hand and grasped
something. Robert took a cracker, Cyril and Anthea had Roman candles; but Jane's fat paw closed on the gem of the whole collection, the
Jack-in-the-box that had cost two shillings, and one at least of the party--I will not say which, because it was sorry afterwards--declared
that Jane had done it on purpose. Nobody was pleased. For the worst of it was that these four children, with a very proper dislike of anything even faintly bordering on the sneakish, had a law, unalterable as those of the Medes and Persians, that one had to stand by the results of a toss-up, or a drawing of lots, or any other appeal to chance, however much one might happen to dislike the way things were turning out.

'I didn't mean to,' said Jane, near tears. 'I don't care, I'll draw another--'

'You know jolly well you can't,' said Cyril, bitterly. 'It's settled. It's Medium and Persian. You've done it, and you'll have to stand by it--and us too, worse luck. Never mind. YOU'LL have your pocket-money
before the Fifth. Anyway, we'll have the Jack-in-the-box LAST, and get the most out of it we can.'

So the cracker and the Roman candles were lighted, and they were all that could be expected for the money; but when it came to the
Jack-in-the-box it simply sat in the tray and laughed at them, as Cyril said. They tried to light it with paper and they tried to light it with matches; they tried to light it with Vesuvian fusees from the pocket of father's second-best overcoat that was hanging in the hall. And then Anthea slipped away to the cupboard under the stairs where the brooms
and dustpans were kept, and the rosiny fire-lighters that smell so nice and like the woods where pine-trees grow, and the old newspapers and the bees-wax and turpentine, and the horrid and stiff dark rags that are used for cleaning brass and furniture, and the paraffin for the lamps. She came back with a little pot that had once cost sevenpence-halfpenny when it was full of red-currant jelly; but the jelly had been all eaten long ago, and now Anthea had filled the jar with paraffin. She came in, and she threw the paraffin over the tray just at the moment when Cyril was trying with the twenty-third match to light the Jack-in-the-box. The
Jack-in-the-box did not catch fire any more than usual, but the paraffin acted quite differently, and in an instant a hot flash of flame leapt
up and burnt off Cyril's eyelashes, and scorched the faces of all four before they could spring back. They backed, in four instantaneous bounds, as far as they could, which was to the wall, and the pillar of fire reached from floor to ceiling.

'My hat,' said Cyril, with emotion, 'You've done it this time, Anthea.'"

"Billions and billions...!"

Carl Sagan, 1934

Scorsese.

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:
Scorsese.

Another Buster Keaton fan!

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Another Buster Keaton fan!

I would hope any serious filmmaker is a Keaton fan. Tuesday night, Harlan gushed over Keaton when telling how he had the opportunity to write for him. He was so excited in telling it, too. "I got to write a silent schtick for Buster Keaton!" It was on Burke's Law, of which was shown several clips. Keaton was, as always, magnificent.

OMG, Harlan gushed? Harlan? I thought I was impressed before. Now I'm impressed! (Pump him for every detail, do!)

This also may help explain in part just what the hell is wrong with my uncle, who came in during our Keaton marathon this evening and asked, "You're not serious about this stuff?" I told him, just try cutting off an addict's supply and see how serious it gets. Anyhow, this uncle has admitted to never taking a photograph in his life. I've taken a zillion of 'em plus videos. It was my interest in videotaping that got me into Buster, as I watched The Cameraman from curiosity about early filmmaking. This could explain much. Also, frankly, my uncle's taste runs to verbal humor, not sight gags.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
...my uncle, who came in during our Keaton marathon this evening and asked, "You're not serious about this stuff?"...

Show him Buster's train stunts in THE GENERAL, and even he will be amazed. (If he isn't, he has no imagination!)

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
OMG, Harlan gushed? Harlan?...

Despite the reputation that has built up around him, Harlan is capable of a full range of emotional responses! (As should be obvious from the emotional range of his fiction and essays.)

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
...my uncle, who came in during our Keaton marathon this evening and asked, "You're not serious about this stuff?"...

Show him Buster's train stunts in THE GENERAL, and even he will be amazed. (If he isn't, he has no imagination!)

Good idea. After watching the entire film, I will use scene selection and force him to view some of the best parts. Beats killing him outright.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
OMG, Harlan gushed? Harlan?...

Despite the reputation that has built up around him, Harlan is capable of a full range of emotional responses! (As should be obvious from the emotional range of his fiction and essays.)

So you're saying he's human?

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
So you're saying he's human?

And very sweet. At least he was to me. Pump him for Keaton stories? I shall do if given the chance. I asked him about contacting him again soon and getting together, perhaps for lunch. He relied, "oh, sure!", so I can hope. I have an inspiration - I want Arlene and him to cameo in an episode of my web series (still in pre-production). She's already said yes, and, after the Arlene story he told at the thingy, I have a great idea of what the webisode will involve. Hey - maybe I can get him to help me write it!

Ok. I'll wake up now.