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kingjon
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Mysterious Quote
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Jan 17 22:14 UTC 2006 |
It has been a *long* time since we had a Mysterious Quote item. So, I'm
assuming the option of whoever was "it" last has expired, and therefore:
I'm posting a quotation "such that a reasonably well-read Grexer should
be able to identify, from style or content, its author" (to paraphrase
what may be the first such item). Names of characters (or of cities, say)
may be obscured in the quotation to keep this from being *too* easy.
This perhaps should be linked to books or iq, if this gets interesting.
First Grexer to correctly identify the author may enter the next Mysterious
Quote. (If needed, I'll give hints, but I suspect that won't be necessary.)
Here goes:
"Thus they went along towards the gate. Now you must note that the city stood
upon a mighty hill; but the pilgrims went up that hill with ease, because they
had these two men to lead them up by the arms: also they had left all their
mortal garments behind them in the river; for, though they went in with them,
they came out without them. They therefore went up here with much agility and
speed, though the foundation upon which the city was framed was higher than the
clouds; they therefore went up through the regions of the air, sweetly talking
as they went, being comforted, because they safely got over the river, and had
such glorious companions to attend them."
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| 27 responses total. |
naftee
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response 1 of 27:
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Jan 17 22:27 UTC 2006 |
R. L. Stine
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johnnie
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response 2 of 27:
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Jan 18 00:15 UTC 2006 |
Hmm. Sounds like 17th-century porn, what with all the wet naked folks
and the glorious companions "attending" them, if you know what I mean...
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rcurl
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response 3 of 27:
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Jan 18 02:22 UTC 2006 |
"The Mysterious Quote" was killed by Google. This quote pops up in Google
from just the first sentence.
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kingjon
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response 4 of 27:
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Jan 18 02:29 UTC 2006 |
Oh, well.
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rcurl
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response 5 of 27:
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Jan 18 02:44 UTC 2006 |
Wasn't an attempt made to continue The Mysterious Quote outlawing search
engines? If so, it didn't work. The Mysterious Quote is what initially got
me deeply involved in Grex (pre-Google). Back then I even went to the
Library on occasion to search for authors based on hints from the quotes.
That sometimes led me to read entire works as it was easy to check out the
book after finding the quote. Can't do that on Google.
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richard
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response 6 of 27:
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Jan 18 03:37 UTC 2006 |
yeah google pretty much killed the trivia/quiz items too
unfortunately...
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naftee
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response 7 of 27:
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Jan 18 04:52 UTC 2006 |
you people are such defeatists :(
let's get rid of this John Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress business and put a REAL
mysterious quote :
in the doctor's office they were all reading LIFE, LOOK, NEWSWEEK and so
forth. there were hardly enough chairs and sofas and it was hot in there.
the pages turned. he looked down at his magazine, trying not to be seen.
it went all right for fifteen or twenty minutes and then a little girl
who had been running around bouncing a balloon, bounced it near him, it
bounced off his shoe and when it bounced off his shoe she caught it and
looked at him. then she went back to a very ugly-looking woman with ears
like small pancakes and eyes like the insides of spiders' souls and she
said, "Mommy, what's wrong with that man's FACE?"
and Mommy said, "ssssssshhhh!"
"BUT IT'S ALL YELLOW WITH BIG PURPLE SPOTS ALL OVER IT!"
"Mary Ann, I TOLD you to be QUIET! now you just SIT here by me for a while
and stop that runnin' around! NOW, I said SIT DOWN HERE!"
author needed ; bonus points for the title of the work.
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remmers
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response 8 of 27:
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Jan 18 14:10 UTC 2006 |
Hmm. I plugged a few phrases from that into Google Search, but nothing
relevant turned up. I conclude that this work is either (1) under
copyright, so that the contents are not posted online, (2) unpublished,
or (3) neither of the above, but extremely obscure.
No particular ideas as to who the author might be. The references to
"Life" and "Look" suggest that the setting is American and roughly mid
20th century. "Life" and "Look" haven't been weekly periodicals found
in doctors' offices for several decades.
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rcurl
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response 9 of 27:
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Jan 18 15:23 UTC 2006 |
Is not capitalizing the initial letters of sentences in the original?
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khamsun
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response 10 of 27:
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Jan 18 16:03 UTC 2006 |
My options:
--> it can be an hoax, literature of Monsieur Daloonik himself
--> it comes from a cartoon
--> but my first impression was that it smells Bukowski
At first I was almost sure it's Bukowski. In another life I've read all
Bukowski.
But I don't recall that Bukowski gives names (here Mary Ann) when some
children does appear in a short novel (to piss off adults, the only
thing children are good at), most of the time.
I really have to find where are my books of Bukowski to check that
out.And anyway I'm going to read him again, it's really refreshing.
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kingjon
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response 11 of 27:
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Jan 18 17:53 UTC 2006 |
Re beginning of #7: Are you *sure* it wasn't someone *quoting* Bunyan?
(All right, it was Bunyan, but you should have waited for confirmation, since
*that exact passage* also appears in Lois McMaster Bujold's "The Borders of
Infinity," where it is quoted as "scripture," being the only scrap of paper in
the entire Dagoola IV prison camp.)
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remmers
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response 12 of 27:
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Jan 18 18:58 UTC 2006 |
Even if it was someone quoting Bunyan, wouldn't the correct answer still
be "Bunyan"? The idea is to identify the author. If we allow quoters,
then "kingjon" would be a correct response. :)
Be that as it may, I agree that proper etiquette is to wait for
confirmation before proceeding to the next quote.
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naftee
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response 13 of 27:
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Jan 18 20:11 UTC 2006 |
unlucky
(more to follow)
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naftee
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response 14 of 27:
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Jan 18 20:20 UTC 2006 |
re 8
The work was published a few times ; I'm sure it is still under copyright,
but I'm hoping the Myserious Quote Item allows for copyrighted works ?
Also, I like your historical tidbit deduction.
re 9
I typed out the quote exactly as it appeared in my edition
re 10
---> not my literature
---> not a cartoon (non plus)
---> it's Bukowski !
I was sure most of you knew me well enough to choose Bukowski on the first
go, but anyway ! You should indeed read his stuff again if you've forgotten
it. The stuff is highly readable and entertaining, but unfortunately, it's
hard to re-read because there's not that much 'substance'. All the same, I
find his novels to be vastly greater than his short stories, even though I've
read (and of course don't agree with !) that he wasn't a very talented author.
Anyways ; extra points to the origin of the quote !
re 11 As Mr. Curl stated earlier, google rendered your quote's origins quite
obvious and certain :(
Sorry for my breach of etiquette !
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kingjon
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response 15 of 27:
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Jan 18 20:24 UTC 2006 |
Re #14 second-to-last paragraph: And as I pointed out it wasn't quite certain
because there was one definite possibility you had missed. (Bujold has been
my most-recommended-author of the year, and "Borders of Infinity" is available
online in at least an audio format if not "print.")
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naftee
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response 16 of 27:
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Jan 18 20:39 UTC 2006 |
uh oh.
ALSO, i wasn't sure if the whole item was going to die then and there (whether
or not ANYONE was going to attempt a guess), so I just uh, savagely took it
away.
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kingjon
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response 17 of 27:
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Jan 18 20:41 UTC 2006 |
Forgiven.
(mentally append :) to previous remarks)
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naftee
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response 18 of 27:
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Jan 19 00:40 UTC 2006 |
I'm reading "Le vol des cigognes" and there are all sorts of :) s in the book;
but they're not smileys
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khamsun
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response 19 of 27:
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Jan 19 07:01 UTC 2006 |
Re #14:
Glad to see my readings of Bukowski aren't completely worn.
This author has a very particular style and a nice sense of humor.Yes
not much "substance" in the short stories but the whole carries a kind
of social humanism quite uncommun in the 2nd 1/2 20th c. literature.
Anyway, I can't tell for sure if the quote comes from a short story or a
novel.If a novel, it's "Women"
(well, right now I'm done (re)reading the "ordinary madness" tales, so
it isn't in it at least...).
Re #18:
"Le vol des cigognes":
a very original crime novel.It starts and goes on very well, but after
the travels through central Europe are done the last part is sinking a
little bit into a cheap bloody Doc. Frankenstein theme.
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naftee
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response 20 of 27:
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Jan 19 21:44 UTC 2006 |
what !
first part : it's not from Women. Incidentally, "Women" was the first
Bukowski material that I've ever read. I got hooked by the writing style on
the first page, and been hooked ever since.
second part : have you read "le vol des cigognes" ? i'm down to the last 80
or so pages and I don't think it's gotten cheap ; bloody, yes, but not cheap.
Grange' had the Ludlum-esque idea to put a woman in at key points in the
story, and that softens up the lines a bit. Anyway, I should try to find
another novel by Monsieur Grange' to truly judge him.
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khamsun
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response 21 of 27:
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Jan 20 05:37 UTC 2006 |
Re #20:
yep, not "Women".Something from "South of no North" maybe.I give up, I
can't find all my books now.They are quite a few texts where
Bukowski/Chinaski goes to the doc for some funny or serious reason, most
of the time drinking side effects, or in the early days, acne.
Le vol des cigognes is really good, and at first I believed that was
some kind of historical/political thriller, by the way the travels of
Louis through Europe and then Africa go along together with very
accurate hints on each given country.It works as well as a travel album.
The ending in the house of Calcutta is a little bit exagerated for my
taste.But the overall is just excellent.
Btw. surprised you read it.I don't believe people in North America,
excepted Quebec, do read non-US or non anglo-saxon literature (but Brits
do read a lot of non-english literature!).
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remmers
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response 22 of 27:
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Jan 20 12:34 UTC 2006 |
Okay, so it appears that khamsun is up for the next quote.
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naftee
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response 23 of 27:
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Jan 21 04:30 UTC 2006 |
re 21 The Bukowski quote is from 'notes of a dirty old man'. i basically just
flip though the book, find a short story i haven't read yet, and enjoy.
they're great.
as for le vol des cigognes, i'm actually surprised you've read it ! i guess
it's a fairly popular book, and it's been translated in english. i'm reading
the french version, of course (must practice my passe simple). i started
reading the book because my mom left it on my desk at home ; she does that
with books that she reads and finds good.
anyways, i do enjoy reading canadian french literature more than literature
from france, mostly. i find it more interesting when i can relate to the
region where the book was written ; i've never been to europe, so it's harder
for me to place.
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remmers
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response 24 of 27:
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Jan 21 15:09 UTC 2006 |
I've read some Bukowski, mostly his poetry. Didn't clue in on the
quote, though. I think his life may have centered around alcohol. The
only Bukowski screen work I know of is the 1987 autobigraphical
"Barfly", starring Mickey Rourke as the alcoholic Bukowski alter ego
"Henry Chinaski" and Faye Dunaway as his equally soused companion. Good
movie, but possibly difficult to find. Netflix knows about it but
doesn't have it available and doesn't know when it will.
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