Thursday, April 05, 2007

Classic.

"Colourful things for sale! Don't know what they are..."
The Climber and his Best Friend set up shop in our front yard, exhorting passers-by to leave money in the letterbox in exchange for shiny beads..

We're off to the beach for the Easter weekend as of tomorrow. But I thought I'd leave you with a competition in case you're not going away and you are sitting at home, bored, wondering why no-one else is blogging. (Don't say I never do anything for you.)

I started pondering this because there are an embarrassing number of famous and allegedly excellent films that I haven't seen. So then I thought I could adapt a game called Humiliation, played by characters in a David Lodge novel (typically I can't remember which novel so leave a comment if you know for a bonus) to make an amusing bloggy meme/competition thing. Then I started making lists and it all got a bit complicated because I couldn't decide how to define "classic" and then I thought what about just name anything that lots of people have seen that I haven't and by then my head was starting to spin. So. I figure. I'm going to list works that I think are probably classic (with a bit of help from internet top-100-list sites) and if I'm wrong then that's because I haven't read/seen/listened to them so what would I know anyway? And I'm only doing 5 of each (could easily have done more) because I have to get organised to go to the beach tomorrow. So this is very hastily put together and not really well thought through - story of my life - BUT there are prizes (small, daggy and of no value whatsoever). And feel free to make a passionate case as to why I really should have read, watched or owned any of these. Or to make your own version...

You give me a point for each one you have read, seen or own. Daggy prizes for highest and lowest scores.

Classic Books I Have Never Read
  1. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  2. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
  3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
  5. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Classic Films I Have Never Seen (the tip of the iceberg, sadly)
  1. Casablanca
  2. It's aWonderful Life
  3. any of The Pink Panther films
  4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  5. any Marx Brother film

Missing from my Music Collection* (sourced from this website)
  1. Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan
  2. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
  3. Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
  4. Blue by Joni Mitchell
  5. Grace by Jeff Buckley
* and not just these albums, anything by any of those artists...

Happy Easter Everyone

We finally met the tiger cubs at Melbourne Zoo this morning.
Kitty, kitty. They're so cute.

27 comments:

  1. I score 10. What does that mean? Am I humiliated or are you??! Have a great Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The higher the score the more humiliated I am. But the more humiliated I am the more I win the game. (David Lodge wrote the original rules, not me...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't count Casablanca - in all the times I've seen bits of it, I've never seen it all the way through. Same for it's a wonderful life.
    Therefore, I score you the grand total of...

    wait for it...

    1 point. (Pet Sounds FYI)

    I'm not sure what that says about either of us...

    ReplyDelete
  4. email my your addy.
    I'm in the mood for an Easter giftin'

    ReplyDelete
  5. I got zilch so I am as uncultured as you - not humiliated though - I wear my nuffy tag loud and proud! Happy Easter and enjoy your time away!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh .. and ...

    you are doomed in this exercise, I think I score about 4, but there are so many good books, moofies, and music out there, and all of it is subjective.

    I get into a bind just thinking out it. Couldn't have done this post - you're a better woman than I, i'd be arguing with myself ...

    :)

    Have a good one - i'm a left behind-er, bored out my skull-er ! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm sitting pretty at 11.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 4 points - I think I will donate to your prize pool!!!
    Happy Easter to you and your family!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well Joanne is looking pretty untouchable at the moment for lowest score and Shula has the highest... but there's all weekend to play!

    I got into huge arguments with myself about this and I know it's totally subjective which is why I went to internet list sites in the end but what-the-hey, it's something to do over Easter. (If you're not going to the beach that is...)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Danged blogger lost my comment because I didn't log in to its satisfaction. Bah. It was my wittiest, best, most insightful comment ever -- all gone. Anywho. I score a 2, terribly uncultured.

    Enjoy the beach. Land-locked in OH, as far from the beach as one can be, I am mad jealous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I know I reneged on the whole cat thing but i think the tiger cubs may cause slightly more damage than my two...

    i scored 5 by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm as cultured as Liz on a tiny 2 points (Lord of the Rings and Pink Panther movie).

    Enjoy your easter at the beach :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Liz has hurt my feelings, calling a 2 "terribly uncultured". I am rather proud of it, it means I am not at the top, but not at the bottom either. I like being in the quagmire. There's a certain comfort in knowing you are mediocre. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have five, but does stuff you had to do for school count? That's forced culture, not culture by choice.

    I am inclined to deliberately avoid things that others tell me are good for me, just because I am contrary! I'll decide what is a classic for myself.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Five here, none of them on music. Does it count if you've seen enough snatches of a movie at different times to probably equal the whole?? If not , knock that five down to a four or a three.....Cuckoo's Nest is worth watching.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I got 6. I do own It's a Wonderful Life, but haven't watched it. Is that -1?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Seven for me (3 books, 4 films and 0 music) but one of the books (Catch-22) was such torture for me to get through that I wish my total was six and I could have those hours of my life back...
    Hope you enjoyed your Easter break.

    ReplyDelete
  18. 1. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
    2. Marx Brother film
    3. Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan
    4. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
    5. Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
    6. Blue by Joni Mitchell
    7. Grace by Jeff Buckley

    You get seven points.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Are halves allowed?

    Books: 3 and 1/2 - I tried sooo hard with Mrs Dalloway and failed. Also, I'm with Fairlie, don't waste any time on Catch 22. Or Lolita. But there are millions that would shout me down ;-)

    Movies: 4 Do yourself a favour and watch Cuckoo's Nest soon.

    Music: 2 A copy of Jeff Buckley is a must! (Please supply your address ASAP) And anything by Joni Mitchell is a given.

    9 and 1/2 - Kirsty by a nose - close but no cigar!

    I had to break my blogging break for this one :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is a fun Easter exercise! I didnt do very well, apart from music.
    But DONT bother with Catch 22.

    MUST see Cuckoos Nest!I would go so far as to say it is Nicholson's finest hour!
    As to music... you dont know what you are missing if you haven't tried Blue.
    Or any on the list!

    ReplyDelete
  21. BTW, meant to say Happy Easter, Hope it was possible to enjoy the beach in your area!

    ReplyDelete
  22. 7 for me (you) - spread across the categories.

    The tigers look great, I still haven't managed to see them, they're always sleeping when I go by...

    Have a great Easter.

    ReplyDelete
  23. You had to upgrade, didn't you!!

    Knew you couldn't hide forever.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I've seen cuckoo's nest but that's it. I'm terribly uncultured. And I dont' even udnerstand the scoring system so I'm thick too.

    Hope you had a great easter.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It appears I can't spell, either.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I think I must have been in the closet when all these hit the headlines, haven't seen, heard or read any. Does Toystory count?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh My - not sure about me because I scored 12!

    Never read Virginia Woolf; no Bob Dylan and no Jeff Buckley.

    ReplyDelete

Don't let the cat get your tongue.