The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry » Forum: Books and Articles

The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry » Forum: Books and Articles - Recent Topics http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/forum/books-and-articles Just another bbPress community en-US Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:01:16 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/search.php gnu on "Ode Less Traveled Poetry" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/ode-less-traveled-poetry#post-263357 Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:57:49 +0000 gnu 263357@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Be sure to read the new review of Stephan Fry's poetry book , The Ode Less Traveled. at <a href="http://newpoetryreview.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://newpoetryreview.blogspot.com/</a> The New Poetry review Cafene kissaled on "The Fry Chronicles - Read it, Learn, Love it!" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/the-fry-chronicles-read-it-learn-love-it#post-248129 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 01:23:26 +0000 kissaled 248129@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Stephen Fry's autobiography "The Fry Chronicles" is a tear jerking roller coaster ride from sugar addiction to class A needs and of course a wide variety of his many achievements, though he doesn't seem to admit to most of these. I could talk to for an eternity, well a long while at least on his style of writhing and his many book's, directions, television appearances etc., however it would be merely rehashing everything we have heard before and that of what we love of this colourful personality. I want to talk to you or type to you as it were about his stance of celebrity. I feel bordering on hope that if I a mildly popular blogger could meet Stephen in the street that he would stop and talk on any range of subjects, just as much as he would speak to an audience in political debate, he is in every sense of the word approachable. I love his use of language, he is by his own admittance very middle-class, not that, that in itself is a bad thing, though he seems to think it is, but every word he utters is a mongrel mouthful truly, he pulls from the romance languages, to the Anglo-Saxon right down to the text phenomena of today. He isn't by any means a defender of proper English, but more a promoter of the ever changing stance of what language should be, he develops it rather than try and install some pompous pride of the old style of English. I wont ruin the fun of reading the book yourself because believe me it is laugh after laugh from chapter to chapter, but one thing that stands out for me is when he was teaching at Cundall and he had to exact "corporal punishment" on a boy named Philips, and in Stephen's mind a light strike, not dissimilar to a spank with a plimsoll on the buttock's, of course as I suspected he didn't do it again because he felt it vulgar, but for me I thought of that student, how funny the story's must have been to the other boy's in the dormitory of this new teacher, a soft touch of sort's, hitting you if you could call it that only once, something tells me though that boy sees that now as a claim to fame by association. Reading the book I am shocked and in awe of his stark honesty, telling a fellow student when he was younger that his parent's were dead and he was shuffled from aunt to aunt during holiday's, most people especially of fame, would never put that in print, never mind admit it publicly. He remarks on his weight, one time he catches himself in a mirror while wearing just underwear and he cried because of his size, not happy with it of course which I found quite moving, a celebrity, a gay celebrity no less, admitting they were disgusted with there bodies, as many of us people on the ground do on a regular basis, so do the famous. I will leave you with this, buy the book, I truly believe it will entertain you to no end, it is also accompanied with pictures, random as they are it is quite nice to see him with the likes of Oscar winner Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie among others before the fame, he truly is real human among the stars of that time, we love him dearly and wait in anticipation for his next revelation of his life. <a href="http://irishhomo.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://irishhomo.blogspot.com/</a> MillenniumShakespeare on "Shakespeare" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/shakespeare#post-263327 Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:56:45 +0000 MillenniumShakespeare 263327@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I'm curiouos as to why in this modern day, while more books than ever appear to be sold, its so difficult to get readers interested in Shakespeare, whethere it is adpated to introduce readers to the Bard or the original text. A book on Jordan (the model) would sell 10000x faster than a book on or about Shakespeare? 100 years ago it popular to have or collect a libray in the home, and the library was a mark of intelligence, seems to date it is not as few people have libraries of any note. any ideas? <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_eek.gif" title="8O" class="bb_smilies" /> tallest44 on "Israel" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/israel#post-279217 Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:15:51 +0000 tallest44 279217@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary reddit this The Guardian, Wednesday 30 April 2008 Article history In May, Jewish organisations will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. This is understandable in the context of centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocaust. Nevertheless, we are Jews who will not be celebrating. Surely it is now time to acknowledge the narrative of the other, the price paid by another people for European anti-semitism and Hitler's genocidal policies. As Edward Said emphasised, what the Holocaust is to the Jews, the Naqba is to the Palestinians. In April 1948, the same month as the infamous massacre at Deir Yassin and the mortar attack on Palestinian civilians in Haifa's market square, Plan Dalet was put into operation. This authorised the destruction of Palestinian villages and the expulsion of the indigenous population outside the borders of the state. We will not be celebrating. In July 1948, 70,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes in Lydda and Ramleh in the heat of the summer with no food or water. Hundreds died. It was known as the Death March. We will not be celebrating. In all, 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400 villages were wiped off the map. That did not end the ethnic cleansing. Thousands of Palestinians (Israeli citizens) were expelled from the Galilee in 1956. Many thousands more when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Under international law and sanctioned by UN resolution 194, refugees from war have a right to return or compensation. Israel has never accepted that right. We will not be celebrating. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations. We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East. Seymour Alexander Ruth Appleton Steve Arloff Rica Bird Jo Bird Cllr Jonathan Bloch Ilse Boas Prof. Haim Bresheeth Tanya Bronstein Sheila Colman Ruth Clark Sylvia Cohen Judith Cravitz Mike Cushman Angela Dale Ivor Dembina Dr. Linda Edmondson Nancy Elan Liz Elkind Pia Feig Colin Fine Deborah Fink Sylvia Finzi Brian Fisher MBE Frank Fisher Bella Freud Catherine Fried Uri Fruchtmann Stephen Fry WTF What about Palestinian crimes? stanlobe on "Autobiography Volume 3" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/autobiography-volume-3#post-276438 Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:39:31 +0000 stanlobe 276438@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I was wondering when the next installment of your biography will be hitting our shops? The Fry Chromicles finished on such a cliff hanger that I can't wait to read the next one!!! Stacey xx <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_lol.gif" title=":lol:" class="bb_smilies" /> exoskeleton on "Moab Is My Washpot" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/moab-is-my-washpot#post-162973 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:02:58 +0000 exoskeleton 162973@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Joanna, reading through some of your posts I have a question, and I think I may have misunderstood what you are asking. When you ask if something sounds "funny" are you interested in finding out if it is humorous funny, or unusual funny? I think there may be people who are willing to share their favorite examples of "Fryisms" from Moab if that is what you are referring to. Actually I guess they would even be willing to share their favorite funny moments from Moab as well. <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> </blockquote> It's my turn to say I haven't understood what you are asking. I didn't get what do you mean by unusual funny. Hope, hah! I think Mr. Fry will be pleased if he sees your post;)</blockquote> if I may, here are some examples to clarify "funny." if I heard an unfamiliar noise in my house, I might say I heard a "funny noise" in my house. the noise wasn't making me laugh, it was unusual and weird. that is different from saying that someone was being very funny because they were making jokes. sometimes in Moab you'll find Stephen saying comical things, and so he's being funny in a funny way. the other way his statements are "funny" he choses unusual words, or combines normal words in unusual ways. these unusual words are often used for comedic effect. so you could say, if it's not too confusing, that the funny word choices are supposed to be funny. francoise van herreweghe on "Fry Chronicles" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/fry-chronicles#post-275291 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:32:20 +0000 francoise van herreweghe 275291@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Why not translated in french ? We love you here ! (in France) By the way, I specialy loved your tragic hair ! Put on Google images please, so I can pick it up ! stephenselby on "Corduroy Jacket - What brand?" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/corduroy-jacket-what-brand#post-270077 Wed, 11 May 2011 13:52:51 +0000 stephenselby 270077@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ The brown, or should I say chesnut, corduroy jacket on Stephen Fry's Chronicles. Does anyone know what make it is? Or is it tailor made? I am making a feature and the style of jacket would suit the leading role. Stephen Tabascofanatikerin on "Mrs. Fry's Diary" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/mrs-frys-diary#post-269993 Sat, 07 May 2011 20:17:57 +0000 Tabascofanatikerin 269993@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Hasn't anyone here read this? I started it about a week ago and read it mostly when I travel by train, which means: nearly every day. That's how I read most of the other Fry books <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> But back2topic: until now I'm not dissappointed. Actually it's a real funny but still not too goofy diary of the...wife...of Stephen Fry, Edna. She raises six children. Or seven? She is the devoted wife which comments her husband's behaviour a lot, lives mostly a quiet housewife's life and tries to deal with the fact that Stephen might not be her Prince Charming anymore after 16 years of marriage. This - considering who Stephen actually is - sounds so weird and unbelievable...it makes the diary even more interesting <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_wink.gif" title=";)" class="bb_smilies" /> I'm in the August chapters and when I'll have the book finished I already know that a possible fanart (a wallpaper?) might be the next Fry fanart. spiralthreads on "Ballads of danny wise" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/ballads-of-danny-wise#post-50879 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:17:01 +0000 spiralthreads 50879@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Right then, I've gone back to the instructions for this exercise and the brief is to have fun with the form, not to worry too much about rhyme or meter (although there's nothing wrong with a little perfection, I say, if that suits your intent). The scansion gets lost twice in my version: once when Annabelle first learns of Danny's wandering eye, and again when the gypsy admits triumphantly that it was just a lie - pebbles in a diamond brooch, you might say. The point is that Annabelle, sweet and mild, is a control freak and gets driven to extreme action when her world is not perfectly orderly - evidence her desire to consult a fortune teller about her husband: she needed to know what was ahead and could not trust to chance. The slight chaos in the stanzas reflects her state of mind. Now - how did you get on with the villanelle? Tabascofanatikerin on "Paperweight" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/paperweight-2#post-263829 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:01:25 +0000 Tabascofanatikerin 263829@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I'm not going to ask if you have read this book (of course you have). I am half way through the book now. Although the texts are (at least half of it) from the 1980s already and written mainly about the British culture I haven't lived (*grr*) I enjoy them because many topics are still timeless, I like reading about the British culture and Fry's texts as well as of his alter ego Donald Trefusis are amusingly written <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> Is there a chance to get something like "Paperweight 2"? <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_wink.gif" title=";)" class="bb_smilies" /> Katrina on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-145995 Mon, 25 May 2009 17:48:03 +0000 Katrina 145995@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ a ha-ha. that was the most confusing word that I didn't know.</blockquote> Dude I know! I was trying to picture it and thinking, "what the hell is that?" I did laugh out loud at the word, though. exoskeleton on "Making History" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/making-history#post-154707 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:58:21 +0000 exoskeleton 154707@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I realized that I didn't actually answer the questions original proposed for this thread when I wrote my last post. I don't really have much to think about, because my ancestors really haven't gone anywhere in so long, my family doesn't exist outside of America. I live near to where everyone has lived for so many generations, it must go back well past the Civil War. I have examined one family tree, and only a few branches along the way came from anywhere in Europe. most just fade out still in America. so,. if any one of those unknown genetic players hadn't decided the Atlantic was worth it, I wouldn't exist. btw, this book, *fans self*, so exciting. I keep reading a bit, and then I have to get up and walk around a little or distract myself because I'm enthusiastic about it I can't actually read any more. ImeldaLumos on "The Liar" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/the-liar#post-141575 Fri, 15 May 2009 07:08:30 +0000 ImeldaLumos 141575@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ One of my favourite books, although the first time you read, it was quite an agony to understand properly. Probably, because I wasn't very used then, to reading such book with a lot of questioning of what's real and not, when are we decieved by it and when are we offered truth. I read it a second time and it brought a lot more clarity. The cricket match was very incomprehensible, although I tried to put all my brain cells in the busy area of the brain, and it did make a little more sense, after I've read a bit of this mysterious and vastly blurry sport. I found the character of Donald Trefusis completely inspiring in his way of using the language and the eccentric manners which was frequently evoked in his mouth and other living part of his. The plot was an interesting insight in a self-centered mind - including not the tightest grip around reality. As most liars have, after some time has went by. I read it in both Swedish and English, but reading a Fry book translated is quite useless - all the pleasures which can only be created with the English tool of language vanished with the plain and complicated structure that Swedish brings. Stephen wrote an exclusive preface to the Swedish edition, saying that he understood that the Cricket part would be difficult to understand, like Swedish herring tradition. So, I suppose, he can be forgiven those pages shrouded in wickets, bowls and Howzat. Simply, a book to enjoy. Joffa on "Making History" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/making-history-1#post-264595 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:58:06 +0000 Joffa 264595@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I have just finished reading 'Making History'. It didn't take too long as I was unable to put it down. A fantastic twist on history and a stark warning to all humanity not to meddle is business that is not to be meddled with. I want to say a huge thank you to Stephen, without whom it would not be possible to complete a week and keep one's sanity. A daily dose of 'Fry' is better than any remedy a doctor can prescribe. If we all aspired to be (even the minutest bit) as humble, compassionate and considerate and Mr Fry, this world be a far better place. I think we should start a campaign for Stephen's knighthood. Sir Fry is what this country is missing. <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_lol.gif" title=":lol:" class="bb_smilies" />