[Mr. Silverback]

Wonder how many folks there are who don't know Michaelangelo as anything but a ninja turtle.

[Mr. Silverback]

Please forgive the temporary (and unanticipated) shutdown of the Breakpoint ping list during finals last week. If it's any consolation to you, my wife and I both got all A's.

BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!

If anyone wants on or off my BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

[discostu]

Dorian Grey wasn't in the comic.

This is a gripe that seems to cycle back around every few years. Primarily it's an elist gripe and completely silly. Does it really matter if no one gets a bad reference to Moby Dick? No. Yeah Moby Dick is a pretty good book with good lessons on obsession and human falibility, but there have been good books and movies made on that theme a tad more recently so it's not like someone who never read Moby Dick will never learn these lessons. And it's not like the reference carried any meaning, none of the emotion of Moby Dick was in the reference or the story at that point, it was nothing more than a Hollywood script writer proving he'd done his research, BFD.

[T'wit]

>> "I hope, and I pray, for a Hester to win just one more 'A.'"

Neat example. But The Music Man was set in 1912, when even Iowa bumpkins knew classical allusions and enjoyed chautauqua. And one must note that Miss Marion Paroo did NOT give in to the traveling salesman! No more "A's" for Hester :-)

[NEWwoman]

A little more than ten years, I was working with a Mr. "Know-it-all." He was singing the praises of a profound musical piece composed by "The Byrds."

"To every thing , turn , turn , turn
There is a season , turn , turn , turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born , a time to die
A time to plant , a time to reap
A time to kill , a time to heal
A time to laugh , a time to weep
...

I pointed out that King Solomon wrote the words over 4000 years ago and showed him Ecclesiates 3.

Mr. "Know-it-all" was quite surprised and exclaimed: "Well, I be d@mned!"

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

"Early in the movie, Nemo introduces the others to his first mate who tells them, "Call me Ishmael" -- the first line from MOBY DICK."

It shows a certain lack of respect for the "cultural literacy" of his target audience to feel that he MUST inform us that "Call me Ishmael" is the first line of MOBY DICK. If I had written this, I would have made the assumption that my intended readers already knew little things like that...

[rudypoot]

Publik ejukashun rools

[astounded]

Or Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" as the "United" song. It goes on and on, but I don't know that this is unique to our era. That question would be an interesting dissertation project for an enterprising PhD student studying history.

[Shooter 2.5]

Does anyone really expect fifteen year old kids to read every single classic out there? I was lucky to read Classics Illustrated Comics when I was a kid. I don't expect them to read the full book versions.

If you go back far enough, some English parent was probably upset their kids were reading Shakespeare instead of the "Iliad".

Maybe a movie like this will inspire some student to read the classics. I read "Moby Dick" because of "The Wrath Of Khan".

[Aquinasfan]

"Call me Ishmael"

That's a real thigh-slapper.

[Steel Wolf]

Times do change. As far as entertainment and literature goes, being out of the loop with books written 150 years ago isn't that big a deal. A lot of the classics are actually quite dry, by todays standards. I've never been able to drink enough coffee to keep me awake through Hemmingway, and I'd rather jump into North Korea armed only with an accordian than read another page of Faulkner. Have you ever tried to read Lewis Carrol's 'Alice in Wonderland'? Keep some Absolut handy, it's as confusing to read sober as 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'.

Are the youth of today missing out by not reading James Joyce?

I personally read everything from Army field manuals, ancient Chinese poetry, biographies, 1940's sci fi, Maxim magazine, and any historical or current affairs book I find lying around unattended. Let's be honest, though, Maxim is current American culture, and the other stuff is job or personal interest. As a whole, Americans know what they like, which is humor, supermodels, and making fun of France.

Same thing goes for art. Call me a barbarian, but I don't think that the Mona Lisa is all that hot. Most pieces hanging in galleries are a lot less impressive looking to me than an action movie with well done CGI. I'd imagine that most people feel the same way. I enjoy going to see what our ancestors made it gives insight into how they lived, which I find fascinating. It's just that a statue with no arms doesn't speak to me culturally.

A story about a prince who has a crush on his mother, and pretends to be insane to catch usurpers, (because something is rotten in Denmark) may be historically interesting, but it doesn't speak to America, 2003.

Seeing an average guy bitten by a radioactive spider and transformed into something more powerful, but even more vulnerable, and trying to use his power responsibly, now that speaks to me culturally. Think about it.

We do have a culture, but it's not shrinking by any means. We will slowly lose contact with the past, as we move further away from it, but that's a natural progression. The wisdom and knowledge of the classics runs through our culture now, available to those who want it. If our culture fails, then both modern and classic tales will remain on record for future generations.

Our values may be a bit out of order, but our culture doth bestride this narrow world like a colossus, while petty French and Islamic fundamentalists scurry under our huge media corporations to find themselves dishonorable graves.

[goldstategop]

Did I hear THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN?? Peta Wilson is eye candy! I really liked her performance in "La Femme Nikita." Too bad it wasn't renewed for a full seven seasons...

[Sabatier]

Speaking of Melville and the movies rent "Bartleby", starring Crispin Glover. It's an updated version of Melville's story of the same name and it's a gem.

[janetgreen]

who don't know Michaelangelo as anything but a ninja turtle

...sadly laughing at the truth of this statement.

[handk]

Nevermind literary references, have you ever watched "Street Smarts"?

How many moons does Earth have?
Four!

What is the name of the country immediately north of the United States?
Poland.

Name one country located on the continent of South America.
South Africa! No, Somalia!

Who was the first American president to appear on television?
Abraham Lincoln!

Or how about the guy, a law student in Las Vegas, and working at a law firm, when asked to pronounce the word "judicial" -- pronounced it as "JOO-duh-cal".

[Young Werther]

Puhlese! Michaelanelo is an Italian Cargo Module constructed to support the International Space Station. Along with Rafael and Donatello, you have a trio of ninja cargo modules!

Isn't it sad that the most obvious lack of literary knowlegde exists in the entertainment field. The story tellers don't have a story to tell! Comic strips and 60s TV series are the stuff that dreams are made of???