pleasures

[bronze_ribbons]

* A glass of Peirano "The Other Red" with roast duck. Yummy! [A description by someone who knows more about wine than I.]

* Sir Denis Johnson's discussion of Il Trovatore (in A Night at the Opera), which opens with "Stand by for the most confused baby-swapping plot in the business" and goes on to assert that "Verdi could not have foreseen that almost within his lifetime baby-swapping plots were to become ludicrous through over-use, thanks particularly to W.S. Gilbert."

* Sir Denis's take on Werther:

The chief weakness of the story lies in Werther being such a pill. Romantic love on a suicidal scale is hard enough to take even with the noblest of heros, but when the suicide is committed by someone you would have been glad to have got rid of in ActI, the impact is negligible. Werther is both a wet and a selfish bore. Let's hope he as at least a half-decent poet, but the way he drools over a lavatory-calendar quote from Ossian (who never existed anyway) doesn't give one much hope. Bring on the pistols!

* tbranch's illos, including a very nice rendition of Ten. (And there's also Snape/Lupin and H/Hr...)

* florahart's "Big Words and Small Mercies", which is Neville/Grover. Adult Neville/Grover. Yes, the pathetically sweet fuzzy blue critter you watched on telly when you were a tyke. I can't quote from this - there isn't enough brain-bleach left in the house - but most of you are already sharing handbasket-space with me for enjoying "Why Sex Ed Should Stay in Schools", so head on over if you haven't already.

* Speaking of sex ed, I am flirting with ordering The Cunt Coloring Book for a friend's birthday when the time comes...

* Speaking of Babeland, one of their bloggers nicely articulated her horror upon hearing about injections to enlarge G-spots: "I believe that mine has unwrapped itself from my genital area and is presently cowering behind my sacrum."

* ...and as for fictional characters who probably wouldn't need a GPS to find the thing (nods to westernredcedar and other perps of that meme), I'd include Peter Wimsey, Mervyn Bunter, Luc Ashford (from Stephanie Laurens's Cynster series), Berowne (Love's Labours Lost, at least as played by Mike Gwilym), Death (from Gaiman's Sandman series), Alys Vorpatril, Joan Edwards (the athletic, no-nonsense science tutor in Gaudy Night), Gramarye's Professor Will Stanton... hmm, that's only eight, but I'm too tired to come up with two more. Everyone else I can think of at the moment would be too gauche, too scary, too self-absorbed, too much Not My Type, or too much from my personal fanon to count (badass!bisexual!AU-after-HBP!Lupin, I'm looking at you). The Whomping Willow almost made the list, but I'm so not keen on splinters...

It's also clear that I need to read more fiction. But not tonight. Zzzzzzzz....

...and one last link: celebrating imperfection.

Comments

[westernredcedar.insanejournal.com]

Ossian! Oh, I once wrote a paper of some sort on the Ossian fraud. Ah, vague memories.

Ooo, I must look up this Mike Gwilym...I like Berowne too. In fact, I could make an entire list of Shakespeare characters. Your list is a mess of books I still need to read.
And wait, I counted said Lupin on my list...isn't he canon? *whimpers pathetically* He is canon, yes?? Please?

Shall I walk down to Babeland and get the Coloring Book for you? The store is not far from me. :) I'm not kidding, if you want. I can't fault an excuse to stop in and check out what is new there...

*hugs my ribbons*

[bronze_ribbons.insanejournal.com]

Gwilym was in the 1980s BBC-televersions of LLL and Pericles. I replayed the way he exclaimed "Go to! it is a plague..." over and over...

Methinks said Lupin wouldn't be caught dead making speeches that start with "It is I" and then proceed to proclaim details that any spy with half the brains of a house elf would have armed himself with.

Thanks for the offer, but I think I'd rather color some Snape or Lupin. *darts glance in Lore's direction* But if I'm ever in your fair city...

P.S. Some action on its way to you. *smiles mysteriously*

[rymenhild.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

I was with you on that meme until you got to Will Stanton. While Gramarye's Will very probably knows the theory of feminine anatomy, I don't think he's bothered to take the practical exam.

Oh, wait, is the meme "fictional characters you would shag," not "fictional characters who would know how to do so"?

[gramarye1971 (from insanejournal.com)]

I'm thinking the former myself (mostly because he'd be on my list, too, even though I'm quite sure he wouldn't be the one to make the initial offer). ^^;;

[bronze_ribbons.insanejournal.com]

Never mind the canonically straight women... But yeah, that's a good point. And yes, it's the who-would-you-jump meme... and I figure Professor Will would have decent manners and probably a friendly if not extensive acquaintance with female parts, which would put him ahead of Sherlock Holmes (sexy, but not so much with the manners), various Arthurian knights (chivalrous, but not so much with the sex), anyone in Ayn Rand's universes (eek!)...

[It also occurs to me I'm probably conflating Gramarye's Will with significantowl's "For A Season" (http://bronze-ribbons.livejournal.com/29469.html) Will...]

[ellid.insanejournal.com]

* Speaking of Babeland, one of their bloggers nicely articulated her horror upon hearing about injections to enlarge G-spots: "I believe that mine has unwrapped itself from my genital area and is presently cowering behind my sacrum."

AAAAHHHH!!!!!!!! Who came up with THAT????

OW OW OW OW OW OW OW.

*cowers*

[aunty_marion.insanejournal.com]

I am currently hyperventilating with giggles from the Cunt Coloring Book and the G-spot enlargement injections. Both my cunt and my G-spot (if it exists) are now threatening to move out entirely.

*goes to put fresh batteries into BOB to placate both the above*

[(Anonymous)]

Whilst LPW is undoubtedly well-versed geographically (certainly more so than Harriet, one assumes, judging by his "you think that's good, kid, I've hardly started" comments) I am not so sure about Bunter. No doubt Bunter has perused those sections of his lordship's library when his master has been slow to rise*, but whether he would actually care about putting them into practice I'm not quite so sure.

I always liked Miss Edwards; she's so obviously of the opinion that a healthy mind in a healthy body involves acceptance of one's sex drive and summers spent on vigorous rowing holidays in Switzerland with members of one's preferred sex. In fact, I'd like to see the whole of GN from her point of view. I can imagine her watching Peter and Harriet with a certain amount of "Oh, just get over yourselves and on top each other!" She's probably written a sex manual under an assumed name.

Nineveh_uk

[bronze_ribbons.insanejournal.com]

Something kept the Corsican innkeeper's daughter interested.

the whole of GN from her point of view.

Oooh... methinks this needs to be "discovered"...

She's probably written a sex manual under an assumed name.

And this, too.

[(Anonymous)]

I dunno - I've always thought the COrsican innkeeper's daughter was a cover story, though for what I'm not quite sure!

[im_kalena.insanejournal.com]

The Whomping Willow almost made the list

You are too much. :)