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Menelaus
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#26
Old 05-14-2015, 01:10 PM

lol, I know right, and all to save the faces of a few old statues, for shame. the worst thing is, the pigeons in Trafalgar Square drew more tourists to the area than the square itself, but some fool historian decided that the damage they were doing to Lord Nelson and his lions far outweighed the prospect of people having a gaggle of pigeons sitting on their shoulders, go figure, huh. trust a historian to want to protect something that's not historically correct. for me, Trafalgar Square is best defined as the only place in Central London to catch a bus to anywhere and everywhere after midnight. that little snippet of knowledge has saved me a very very very long walk many a time over the years ��

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#27
Old 05-14-2015, 03:29 PM

That is a good thing to know. I was using Victoria station and the tubes, but not after midnight, hm. Unless I was in say, my dorm studying I went to bed pretty early. But then I kind of packed in more to those days.

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#28
Old 05-14-2015, 04:44 PM

lol, actually, you did the right thing. *activates geek mode* Victoria station is probably your best bet during the day, but the tubes stop around midnight/one am, and there's only one mainstream night bus that goes through (the N44 if memory serves). whereas all night buses travel through Trafalgar Square, the graveyard shift hub of Ye Olde London Towne. though you do have to wait an hour between each one (so don't miss it, especially in winter, brrrrr) instead of the usual fifteen minutes or so that you usually have to wait for regular 'daytime' buses. and remember, the freaks come out at night, so expect a more colourful/wacky/crazy/drunk/etc clientele to inhabit the bus queues in the twilight hours. and refrain from traversing any dark alleyways, lest you witness the human equivalent of the pigeons in Trafalgar ��

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#29
Old 05-15-2015, 12:42 AM

Ah, so that's why people always talked about the "drunk bus" in the singular and not the plural.

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#30
Old 05-15-2015, 02:18 AM

haha, yeah, there are alot of (mainly) drunken antics on the night bus, that's why anyone 'normal' tries to avoid getting on one by leaving places early. although, by that time of night, they're more like zombies than hooligans, and I mean the 'Night of the living dead' can barely function as a human, type. lol, I haven't heard it referred to as the 'drunk bus' in for-ages ��

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#31
Old 05-15-2015, 03:13 AM

A cab is better for me, I tend to get sleepy. That or walking. But I drank exclusively Pimm's the last two times so it wasn't a real problem for me.

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#32
Old 05-15-2015, 03:31 AM

lol, I live south of the river. cabs from the other side don't usually come to my neck of the woods after a certain time of night, partly because there's never any fares going back the other way but mainly because South London is freak central ��

on another note, someone was hurt by the billboard when it fell. I didn't notice at the time, but there was actually a woman trapped underneath it. she's recovering in hospital now though ��

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#33
Old 05-15-2015, 03:40 AM

Oh no, that's terrible! If she's still in it doesn't sound like the general observation stuff, it sounds like she actually got hurt :/

South London still has some thriving bookstores because of the remaining neighborhood feel, though right? It's apparently harder for the average neighborhood in North London to keep them up in the wake of say, Waterstones. Even Charing Cross is having problems. That's what I read anyway. So viva South London!

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#34
Old 05-15-2015, 06:38 AM

serious enough for it to be on the morning news. I can barely believe that I didn't see that there was somebody under there, I guess she must have been knocked unconscious. there was no talk on the news of her being critical, so either she had a lucky break, or they're playing it down until they have an angle they can manipulate into ratings ��

there are still book shops in South London, well my part of South London anyway (its a big place) but you don't really get many small book shops, because, as you rightly said, the large franchise stores such as Waterstones and WHSmiths have monopolized the whole industry (even supermarkets and bargain shops sell best sellers these days, and for cheaper too). the only decent non-franchise book shop near me is ironically called 'The Book Shop' and the place is massive, twice the size of any one franchise store in the area, and their reading list far more diverse. its the only way to successfully compete ��

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#35
Old 05-15-2015, 06:50 AM

That store sounds like heaven

A few hours away is Locations - Powell's City of Books - Powell's Books , which I've only been to once, sadly. And even then I only had the courage to traverse one wing But that was enough - I ended up with something like five books.

Closer to home is this gem: http://www.kingsbookstore.com/about

Last edited by Cardinal Biggles; 05-15-2015 at 06:52 AM..

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#36
Old 05-15-2015, 07:31 AM

oh my days, I know that I haven't been to a book shop in a while now, but I've just looked it up, and the book shop called The Book Shop has been absorbed be Waterstones ��
anyways, there are quite a few medium to large bookshops within a three mile radius of where I am, but most of them are either WHSmiths or Waterstones. there are some small secong hand book stores scattered here and there, and a comic shop situated about a mile up the road too, but I'm not sure if that should count as anything less than a specialist book shop ��

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#37
Old 05-15-2015, 08:35 PM

Oh dear

second hand bookshops seem like my best bet now a days, especially if you like collecting like, Ace gothic novels from the 70s

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#38
Old 05-16-2015, 01:16 PM

lol, I'm not sure if I know much about seventies Gothic as a specialist subject, but Gothic literature in general, especially late 18th century Gothic fiction, and you've got me hooked. its always set in a far more romantic time, its primed to stimulate strong emotions in the reader (in this case, fear and apprehension), though its probably the heavy emphasis it places on atmosphere, or the use of setting and diction to build suspense and a sense of unease in the reader that appeals to me most, or maybe the common subject matter of the supernatural, family curses, mystery, and madness which makes me feel at home, who knows. but I read all/most of the mainstream authors, such as; Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Gaston Leroux, H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Victor Hugo etc. as well as the 'not so well know' authors such as Daphne du Maurier, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Mervyn Peake, Anya Seton, Charles Robert Maturin, James Hogg etc. and the books in my personal collection range from; Rebecca, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Melmoth the Wanderer, The Phantom of the Opera, The Shadow of the Wind - The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, The Call of Cthulhu, Mateguas Island, Uncle Silas, Necronomicon - The Best Weird Tales, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Gormenghast Novels, Echoes in the Darkness - The Jago Legacy, The Ghost Writer, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, In a Glass Darkly , The Meaning of Night, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Witching Hour, Mary Reilly, The Magic Toyshop, The Canterville Ghost, and a crate load more which don't seem to want to come to mind at the moment ��

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#39
Old 05-16-2015, 11:17 PM

tbh the reason I like the ace novels is the dramatic covers (which are all formulaic - just like the contents ((zing!)))


But yes, proper gothic novels! I love them.... ha, I'm this close to going into a mysteries of udolpho rant but I'll save that for another post. I was quite a sucker for the 'real unsolved mysteries' books that used to be options in the book orders we got in grade school. And two of my favorite childhood books were Haunted Waters and Ghost Horse (which was actually a trilogy). When I got older I went for the classics, Like Mrs Radcliffe ' s stuff, and the Victorian - I'm such a fool for the victorian! - I'm currently reading Stoker ' s Jewel of the Seven Stars, have you read that? Love Wilde, Poe, and even Dickens, even if on a personal level the were all messes. I actually have ended up with a collection of Edgar Allen Poe themed scents - don't know how that happened - but.... Two candles and an air freshener Ah, Edwin Drood! What did you think of the adaption they did for TV a few years ago? I thought it was pretty good, but I guess I misremembered parts because when I saw it again a bit ago, some things were surprises. I like my memory of their solution better. There was also a show on unfinished masterpieces that featured it. I thought that was a very good idea for a show (speaking of unfinished masterpieces... The Salmon of Doubt. Sigh. But I digress) Now they have a website for Drood theories. I forgot what it's called, but I heard about it on NPR.

far as the 20th century, I haven't read all that much of that, but I think Lovecraft is marvelous at world building, and Du Maurier is so talented, with the bonus of having much if her stuff set in Cornwall.

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#40
Old 05-17-2015, 06:42 PM

lol, the supernatural, yet natural, phenomenon of Montoni's castle di Udolpho. I haven't read it myself, but I know the story. Jewel of the Seven Stars, isn't that the one about the Egyptian queen? another one to put on my bucket list. The Salmon of Doubt, Douglas Adams, right? lol, his Hitchhiker series is fantabulous, and holds a prized place on my bookshelf, "goodbye, and thanks for all the fish." Dickens certainly kept his cards close to his fancy waistcoast with Drood. an enigma of a tale wrapped deeply in mystery, then tucked neatly into the pocket of a whodunnit, with no need to shout "spoiler alert!" since the 'Great Inimitable' died at the half way line, long before the plot could properly thicken. so, though we can only speculate the exact denouement Dickens had in mind, I think that the TV adaptation went a long way towards satisfactorily ending that speculation ��

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#41
Old 05-17-2015, 08:00 PM

Read Udolpho, then I'll give my proper, unreasonable rant

SPOILERX

#teamdupont, that's all I'm going to say

The Egyptian queen, yes. I was actually impressed by how much Stoker got right (egyptology is one of my great passions) but it is still *very* victorian

SPOILERX

backstory: Powerful, competent ruling queen makes enemies of the ubiquitous priests of the cult of Amun - Re [actually does he state what cult they serve? I've forgotten. They are such the obvious choice I may have assumed. Anyway] Queen, using her own knowledge of ancient egyptian magic locks herself in her tomb and and puts herself into magical statis.

Victorian Protagonists: well clearly she did it in an effort to find Mr. Right

Me: yeah okay


Yeah, the Drood adaption felt very clean. Though, as I said, it was cleaner in my memory:

SPOILERX

in my memory, the father [everyone's father, ha] hadn't come back weeks before and had been extorting, He had only arrived that evening and wandered into the church when John mistook him for Edwin and killed him. Also John never realized he *hadn't* killed Edwin.


but the adaption of course could only have happened on our time, some things wouldn't have flown in Dickens' ever moralizing work

SPOILERX

interracial marriage the end, all the illegitimate children


My favorite contemporary solution to it is the one guy from Vermont(?) who said he channeled Dickens ghost. If only because Conan Doyle read it it and was all: "Yeah, totally legit. Dickens' ghost definitely is at work here"

My friend Simon often goes to this end of the year/Christmas Dickens meet up down in California. They always have a Drood mock trial. John always gets convicted apparently. As Simon has played Defense Attorney, I usually get worked up and tell him to try harder.

Yes, I adore Adams' work. Salmon was going to be another Dirk Gently novel, which was sorely needed

Last edited by Cardinal Biggles; 05-17-2015 at 08:02 PM..

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#42
Old 05-17-2015, 08:56 PM

have you read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke? its a very dark and gritty tale, set in early nineteen hundreds England. I vaguely recall the story gravitating around an old prophecy of two magicians rising up to change the world. the reclusive Mr Norrell who is a 'practical magician' trying to bring back magic as a recognized profession, and his unbeknownst counterpart, and 'gentleman magician' the foppish Jonathan Strange, who cares more about impressing his lady friend than he does practicing any magic at all. there's a seven part TV adapted mini-series of it premiering on the BBC later tonight (which is what brought it to mind) I'm not sure how good or bad that's going to be, but I think the book is something you may enjoy ��

Last edited by Menelaus; 05-17-2015 at 09:00 PM..

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#43
Old 05-17-2015, 09:30 PM

oh, I did, years ago! it was very good indeed. That's right, they're doing a mini series.... I'm terrible about adaptions, if I disagree with the choices made, I get really riled up. I guess I hold a too high opinion of my imagination

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#44
Old 05-18-2015, 07:29 AM

lol, I know right, reading the book is always the more fulfilling, and suspense filled, experience. probably because TV/movie directors project their own interpretation of the story onto the screen, whereas when you read the book your own imagination is the director. this particular interpretation is actually quite good though, I watched the first episode and was completely transfixed. of course, didn't quite match up to book, but the production team did a good job of creating a fantastically mind boggling, and totally in keeping world of mystery, intrigue, and extremely in-depth characters. in fact, the whole feel to the show, with its use of gritty 'olde London' backdrops vs broad countryside scenery, to depict the main characters conflicting personas, was thoroughly entertaining ��

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#45
Old 05-18-2015, 07:43 AM

Neat! I'm pretty wary of these things, people will recommend me thing and... maybe we are coming from different places is all. Someone recommended Desperate Romantics and as a lover/scrutinizer of the Pre-Raphaelites.... no. I think I trust your judgements rather more, however

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#46
Old 05-18-2015, 08:12 AM

lol, I think the title pretty much says it all, but the BBC in the naughty noughties put way too much emphasis on 'sexing' up their shows (hence the casting of Aidan Turner, formerly known for his role as a reformed vampire with obscure sexual fetishes) while giving them a modern spin (The Musketeers comes to mind), and allowing the subject at hand to fade into an afterthought, so that they would relate to a broader audience. I never really liked the show, too much promiscuity without reason and not enough depth of story. but I did like the idea it arose from. I just wish that they'd allocated it to BBC one, and not two, so that it would have gotten the production team it rightly deserved ��

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#47
Old 05-21-2015, 10:26 PM

Ha! That sounds like a pretty good appraisal of it all. Say, He's in the new Poldark, isn't he? How is it? I'm excited! I was in Cornwall last when they were filming it.

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#48
Old 05-23-2015, 05:35 PM

lol, you know, I saw trailers of Poldark a while back, but at the time I thought it was for re-runs of the old 70's series (which was pretty long winded and boring). but it wasn't until the last episode that, while channel flipping, I realized my err. from what I saw of it, it would've been worth the watch. I'll have to see if its still viewing on BBC iPlayer, if not then maybe I'll have to wait until they repeat in later in the year ��

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#49
Old 05-23-2015, 11:51 PM

I like the 70s series Plus my cousin was in it. It did drag in parts, but I'm wary of how quickly they seem to accelerate the story. Like, will people have time to invest in Demelza and Ross before they get together?

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#50
Old 05-31-2015, 02:00 AM

lol, all my cousin was ever was in was mucho trouble with my grandmother, he was a tearaway was that one. Im not certain od exactly how quickly they'll to accelerate the story, but I'd assume not too slowly as it only comes in seven parts.
on a different, yet not too far removed from the title topic, I found this little nigget on the net and thought an avid campaigner for pigeon right, such as yourself, would love to here the story of Pigeon Spies. its actually quite entertaining. especially when, upon knowing India's history with Britain cross referenced with Britain's history of pigeon warfare, you really see just haw far behind western culture these countries are, in the arts of war that is ��

Last edited by Menelaus; 05-31-2015 at 02:06 AM..

 


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