Game: This or That

[Lykren]

My inherent sexism, though I'd probably still feel affronted. But what's interesting to say about a cat, compared to ME?!!

Heroin or skydiving?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh come on. You're a cat fancier like the rest of us. ;-)

Skydiving. Heroine's too expensive.

Germanic mythology or Greek mythology?

[North Star]

Greek

porter or port wine?

[Pompey Bum]

Port wine. Any port in a storm, though.

And welcome to the site, North Star. :)

Saunas or volcanic springs?

[Lykren]

I've been to natural hot springs but not volcanic ones. The latter over saunas, sounds more exciting, wilder.

I like cats plenty, but still don't see what there is to say about them. Tactile experience, primarily, in my opinion.

San Francisco or New York?

Oh yeah, hi, North Star. If you like Beethoven you must be cool.

[Pompey Bum]

San Francisco.

Boston or LA?

[Lykren]

I've never been to Boston, but with all those intelligent well-read college girls walking around, surely it beats LA, which I don't like at all.

The original, or a clear improvement on the original? Show your work.

[Pompey Bum]

The original version of a movie (usually--Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was improved by the added scene of the liberation of the Island of Misfit toys, but that was an exception); but there's nothing wrong with digitally remastering a recording or technically restoring a film. No "coloration" though.

The better villain: Scrooge or Fagin?

[North Star]

Fagin is surely better at villainy.


Port wine. Any port in a storm, though.

And welcome to the site, North Star. :)

Saunas or volcanic springs?
Cheers, Pompey Bum. (Sauna, by a body of water)


Oh yeah, hi, North Star. If you like Beethoven you must be cool.
Hello, Lykren, and same to you. :smile5:

prose or poetry?

[Pompey Bum]

I usually prefer reading prose (or epic poetry), but I like both; and some literary forms combine the two.

Metrical or free verse?

[Lykren]

Free, I'm just more accustomed to it I think. Of course I'll fall for Keats's flexible meters, Wordsworth and Frost's blank verse is splendid for sure. I'm not so well read in poetry :(

Backpack or briefcase?

[North Star]

Backpack

coffee or tea?

[Clopin]

Coffee by a mile.

Pine or tropical forest?

[Lykren]

Tea, I've never ventured into coffee. Backpack for me too.

Ode to a Nightingale or a Grecian Urn?

edit: pine

[Clopin]

Meh, Nightingale I guess, I'm not the biggest Keats fan.

Yeats or Keats?

[Lykren]

Yeats I suppose. Wonder if that's cause he's closer to the modern sensibility? Though Keats had better technique I do believe.

Same question.

[Clopin]

Yeats, I like Yeats much more.

Sylvia Plath or Ted Hughes?

[North Star]

Ted Hughes

Auden or Larkin?

[Lykren]

Plath! Way more exciting. Edit: oops. Auden.

continuing with poets...

Eliot (TS) or Stevens (Wallace)?

[Clopin]

Eliot beats practically anyone for me. And I agree with North about Hughes, Plath has only a few poems I like, though I like them a fair bit.

Vancouver or Seattle?

[Pompey Bum]

Only been in Seattle once, under terrible conditions, a few weeks ago, so I'll say Vancouver. I hear the Chinese food there is really good.

Hungry or thirsty?

[Lykren]

Vancouver, but I've barely visited either city. edit: hungry, love the taste of food after deprivation more than water.

Fie, Stevens is far superior!!

Hatted or hatless?

[Clopin]

Debonneted, my head is sort of too small for hats and they mess up my hair.

Too much makeup or no makeup (on girls)?

[North Star]

Hatted

No makeup

Donne or Blake?

[Pompey Bum]

None.

Patchouli ("hippie perfume") on a woman, or no perfume at all?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh sorry, North. I like both, but Donne's the better poet. Same question about patchouli.

[Lykren]

Mm, yes on Donne. I don't quite get Blake, at least the early stuff I've read.

I like strong perfumes generally though I don't know what patchouli smells like, so I'll take a chance with aye.

Too much perfume or too little?

[Pompey Bum]

A little is nice. And patchouli smells like dirt--but good! I'm a big fan, but my wife can't stand it.

Would you rather kiss a woman with or without lipstick?

[Lykren]

NBK - but I think without.

Would you rather dream about physical or emotional pain?

[Pike Bishop]

Physical...the unconscious is much better at replicating the emotional.

3rd date or 1st date?

[Clopin]

asap

Cold or hot coffee?

[Lykren]

I prefer hot drinks in general. I'm always cold.

Cheerful brusqueness or intimate despondency?

[North Star]

Cheerful brusqueness

Chopin or Brahms?

[Lykren]

Um, mood-dependent. Mostly Brahms I think though.

Flowers or puppies?

[North Star]

Tough one, but I'll go with puppies.

Brahms's chamber music or symphonies?

[Lykren]

Mostly chamber music, I'd say. Symphonies are also interesting, but it feels like he's struggling with Beethoven's influence there too much.

Solid friendship or tense (but real) love?

[North Star]

Mostly chamber music, I'd say. Symphonies are also interesting, but it feels like he's struggling with Beethoven's influence there too much.
The right answer ;) (although of course chamber music also wasn't that easy for him - what with over ten burned mature string quartets)

Solid friendship.

Raw or well done fillet steak?

[Pike Bishop]

Raw.

The Wire or Breaking Bad?

[Lykren]

Cool I passed! haha. I play clarinet and of course his sonatas for Clarinet (or Viola, fine) are standard rep. I've never gotten them under my fingers enough to perform them. I play my parts alone though, and they are really rich. Brahms is one of the most downright quirky composers. I mean there's always something going on, some strange passing tone, (he was trying hard to go one further than Beethoven I guess is the conclusion?) but for me, his long term plans/compositional ideals are not always clear.

I have Gould's Brahms, the Intermezzi/Ballades/Rhapsodies one, and I love it. Aren't I not supposed to care for Gould's Romantic interpretations though? Oh well.

Medium? Is that cheating? Raw if it is.

Magic Flute or Don Giovanni? continuing with classical music.

EDIT: Oops, not again! I haven't seen either, so next person can answer that one or my opera question.

[Pike Bishop]

Don Giovanni

The Wire or Breaking Bad.

[North Star]

I have only seen The Wire, and that almost twice From what I know of Br(omine) Ba(rium), I'd definitely vote for The Wire after seeing it, though. The Wire is one of the greatest things ever on screen in my opinion.

I have Gould Brahms too, and although I'm far from a Gould fan in general -actually I don't care for any of his other recordings, that disc is wonderful.

Flute, but I must confess that I don't know either one as well as I should (I'm saving for the Jacobs recordings...) Love Nozze, though.



Godfather I or II?

[Pike Bishop]

Godfather II...not even close

William Faulkner or Henry James?


P.s. You have to see Breaking Bad; it's unabashedly brilliant.

[Lykren]

I have only seen The Wire, and that almost twice From what I know of Br(omine) Ba(rium), I'd definitely vote for The Wire after seeing it, though. The Wire is one of the greatest things ever on screen in my opinion.

I have Gould Brahms too, and although I'm far from a Gould fan in general -actually I don't care for any of his other recordings, that disc is wonderful.

Flute, but I must confess that I don't know either one as well as I should (I'm saving for the Jacobs recordings...) Love Nozze, though.



Godfather I or II?

What! Gould's Bach is wonderful! So tactile it's like scratching an itch.

Haven't read enough of either so I'll pass that off to the next person.

[Pike Bishop]

Godfather II...not even close.

William Faulkner or Henry James?

[North Star]

Sorry, haven't read enough of them either.


P.s. You have to see Breaking Bad; it's unabashedly brilliant.
Alright. :)


What! Gould's Bach is wonderful! So tactile it's like scratching an itch.
I just tend to prefer harpsichord in the repertoire, especially in GV.

[Lykren]

I just tend to prefer harpsichord in the repertoire, especially in GV.

Mmmmm I've never even heard a harpsichord GV... or much harpsichord in general. Where to start, friend?

Still waiting for someone with an opinion on both Faulkner and James to move this thing along. Anyone?

[Pike Bishop]

A literature Forum where people haven't read Faulkner or James, two of the greatest American and Modernist novelists? Unreal. The English departments in some universities these days.

Anyway, William Faulkner or Henry James?...someone who went to a school with a good English dept. will come along.

[NikolaiI]

Haha I will say Faulkner.

I don't remember where I got it -- I think it was from inheriting a computer. . . but I once had a HUGE collection of Bach, played on harpsichord. . . truly wonderful. . . It's one case where you can have good music with a midi -- without some of the depth of other music, but as far as a ton of beautiful music, it's a nice way to go.

Listening to those while doing all kinds of things was really wonderful.

Ukilele or Mandolin (to own and play, not sit there and be looked at ;-)

[NikolaiI]

Nice tact. No worries, we are a very forgiving lot, in general I would say.

[Pike Bishop]

Why thank you. And who exactly are "we'? I see thousands of people registered on this forum. So, "we" sounds like something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That's one of my favorite films, so we're (oops) cool...;)


P.s. Lykren, by the way, had the "tact" to actually call me "disingenuous" on another thread, but I forgave him. I'm the forgiving type as well.

[North Star]

Mmmmm I've never even heard a harpsichord GV... or much harpsichord in general. Where to start, friend?
Fabio Bonizzoni's GV - listening to it at the moment, coincidentally - is as good a place as any: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cddehw_WI8E
Andreas Staier's French Overture (and his other recordings on DHM, the Scarlatti in particular.) is another favourite. I also love Gustav Leonhardt's recordings on Alpha - in better sound than some of his earlier recordings, certainly. Celine Frisch's Rameau is a thing of beauty.

[NikolaiI]

Why thank you. And who exactly are "we'? I see thousands of people registered on this forum. So, "we" sounds like something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That's one of my favorite films, so we're (oops) cool...


P.s. Lykren, by the way, had the "tact" to actually call me "disingenuous" on another thread, but I forgave him. I'm the forgiving type as well.

Very glad to know this, friend. And I am the trusting type. Also forgiving, well you get the picture. :-)

I suppose whenever I use we I generally mean the whole world. . . humanity in general; often simply to encourage people to feel part of life and society, &c, &c.

I don't think it'd really be possible to function with a little bit of looking for the good in people no matter what, or forgiving etc.

Anyway very nice to meet you, Pike Bishop.

[Pike Bishop]

Ukelele

T.S. Eliot or Ezra Pound?

[North Star]

Eliot



Ukilele or Mandolin (to own and play, not sit there and be looked at ;-)
Mandolin

Fitzgerald or Orwell?

[Pike Bishop]

Very glad to know this, friend. And I am the trusting type. Also forgiving, well you get the picture. :-)

I suppose whenever I use we I generally mean the whole world. . . humanity in general; often simply to encourage people to feel part of life and society, &c, &c.

I don't think it'd really be possible to function with a little bit of looking for the good in people no matter what, or forgiving etc.

Anyway very nice to meet you, Pike Bishop.

Yes, I get the picture, friend. You like to speak ambiguously and refer to yourself ambiguously as "we," which now apparently means the whole world...which isn't actually that forgiving.

So, I forgive your implications about my "tact," and I will seek out the good in you as well.

Anyway, very nice to meet you, Nikolail.

[Pike Bishop]

Fitzgerald, and that was an interesting pairing.

Thomas Pynchon or Don DeLillo?

[Lykren]

Eliot, but not by a huge margin. Though I haven't read Eliot for a while.

Green tea or black tea?

woah I'm way late.

Fitzgerald over Orwell. Pynchon over DeLillo.

So, tea, black or green?

[NikolaiI]

Yes, I get the picture, friend. You like to speak ambiguously and refer to yourself ambiguously as "we," which now apparently means the whole world...which isn't actually that forgiving.

So, I forgive your implications about my "tact," and I will seek out the good in you as well.

Anyway, very nice to meet you, Nikolail.

Humans are forgiving in general; as for the humans here at Lit-net, they're from all over the world. People generally put their best side forward when they're online, or anywhere else; so we see a lot of good in them here, as well as lots of other places. Yes, I was pretty much saying, "We are a nice bunch here," talking about all Lit-netters.

If I have offended you by my statement of "nice tact," what can I say but it's no big deal - look for the good and you will generally see the good.

[NikolaiI]

I love them both, very very much, black iced tea at a restaurant is really lovely. . . if I have any option of green tea, =I'll almost always take that one, instead, as it's a little healthier.

Windy or calm weather?

[Lykren]

Windy, though I might tire quickly of it. We only get calm weather here in SoCal.

Will You Please Be Quiet Please or Snow Country?

[NikolaiI]

Nice, cryptic post. :-)

Snow Country.

My first thought was cryptic post, my second one was movie titles or book titles; but either way Snow Country. hehe :)

Jupiter or Saturn?

[Pike Bishop]

Humans are forgiving in general; as for the humans here at Lit-net, they're from all over the world. People generally put their best side forward when they're online, or anywhere else; so we see a lot of good in them here, as well as lots of other places. Yes, I was pretty much saying, "We are a nice bunch here," talking about all Lit-netters.

If I have offended you by my statement of "nice tact," what can I say but it's no big deal - look for the good and you will generally see the good.

You didn't offend me at all; it was just an inaccurate implication and an inappropriate way to introduce oneself to another. As I said before, I forgive you, and it is no big deal. As to your idealistic view of people in general, i have no interest in dispelling it. We do at least agree there are good people out there and this is a nice forum. So. I look forward to future discussions.

[Pike Bishop]

Saturn...not even close

Fellini or Bergman?

[Lykren]

Oh, I meant, which book do you think is better.

Saturn by far!

Same question as before, Will You Please Be Quiet Please or Snow Country?

EDIT: Bergman! Fellini's great too of course. But Fanny and Alexander is a personal favorite.

still looking for an opinion regarding Carver vs. Kawabata.

[NikolaiI]

You didn't offend me at all; it was just an inaccurate implication and an inappropriate way to introduce oneself to another. As I said before, I forgive you, and it is no big deal. As to your idealistic view of people in general, i have no interest in dispelling it. We do at least agree there are good people out there and this is a nice forum. So. I look forward to future discussions.

It's all good, brother. No harm, no foul.

[Pike Bishop]

It's all good, brother. No harm, no foul.
That's what I said in my last post to you, brother. I do appreciate the repetition, though.


Anyway, Daniel Day-Lewis or Phillip Seymour Hoffman?

[NikolaiI]

There was never any.

[Lykren]

That's what I said in my last post to you, brother. I do appreciate the repetition, though.


Anyway, Daniel Day-Lewis or Phillip Seymour Hoffman?

Day-Lewis, I think. Close though.

Shall I abandon Raymond and Yasunari?

Okay, which is more exciting to read about, war or love?

[Pike Bishop]

There was never any.
Yes, there was. You repeated the sentiment of my post before yours. I'm sorry you can't see that, and I guess this will continue.

I'll reply in a few hours, though. I'm heading home from work.

[NikolaiI]

Love.

I have no reason to apologize for my statement of "Nice tact."

Still, peace and friendship offered to you - always.

[bounty]

i do love love stories...but most of the war stories ive read make for better reading. the former are often too much "chick lit."

if we are talking about fiction id go with war.


old country music or the new country music? (hard to say when the change occurred)

[NikolaiI]

Old country music, except when it comes to, I think it's called - Hellecaster.

Moody Blues or Dire Straits?

[Pike Bishop]

Love.

I have no reason to apologize for my statement of "Nice tact."

Still, peace and friendship offered to you - always.

Yes, you do, but I forgive you for not doing so. Peace and friendship to you, brother.

[Pike Bishop]

Dire Straits

Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino?

[Lykren]

DeNiro, mostly for Taxi Driver.


Yasujiro Ozu or Kenji Mizoguchi?

[Pike Bishop]

Kurosawa

R.E.M. or U2

[Lykren]

R.E.M. for sure.

Daydream Nation or OK Computer?

[Pike Bishop]

OK Computer, OK Computer, OK Computer

Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman?

[Lykren]

Emily Dickinson, no contest.

Kurosawa's Ran or Seven Samurai?

[Pike Bishop]

I absolutely agree about Dickinson.

Ran...a much better Shakespeare adaptation than Throne of Blood

Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back?

[bounty]

id have to say star wars just for the sheer novelty/ground breaking nature of it.

I think ive asked this before:

star wars or star trek?

[Pike Bishop]

Star Wars

Curb Your Enthusiasm or Seinfeld?

[bounty]

ive not seen an episode of the former, so id have to go with the latter.

jerry or Kramer?

[Pike Bishop]

Kramer, Kramer, Kramer

Nirvana or Pearl Jam?

[Lykren]

Nirvana.

Dvorak's Cello Concerto, or Elgar's?

[Pompey Bum]

Anyone but Dvorak. Sorry--pet peeve.

Charlie Parker or Lester Young?

[North Star]

E: Parker

Dvorak, if forced to choose one

Sibelius or Brahms VC?

[Lykren]

Anyone but Dvorak. Sorry--pet peeve.

Eh?? What's so offensive about Dvorak, now?

Oh, Brahms VC for me.

Harking back to contemporary music:

Steve Reich's Music for XVIII Musicians or Arvo Pärt's Te Deum?

[North Star]

Pärt's Te Deum (although the Reich isn't bad either)

Schnittke's Requiem or Shostakovich's 14th Symphony?

[Lykren]

You got me. I think I listened to Shosta's 14th Symphony a long time ago, but I've never even heard of Schnittke or his Requiem. (I hope I didn't offend your national pride when I chose Brahms over Sibelius by the way ;) I'm listening to the Sibelius VC right now and it's better than I remember.)

We can wait until I have time to listen to Shostakovich's 14th Symphony and this Schnittke guy's Requiem, and then I can report back, or wait for someone else to answer, but I kind of don't think anyone else will be too familiar with them either (MorpheusSandman probably could answer if he was around these days) so you might want to change your question. Sorry!

[Pompey Bum]

Nothing's offensive. It's my problem, not his. A few years ago (ah! many, now that I think of it), I used to have a radio alarm clock set to a classical station. For a few years, I used to wake up to Chopin, Shubert, Mozart--the gentle stuff. Then the station got a new morning DJ, whose philosophy, apparently, was that people needed to be jolted and annoyed FROM BED. Out went Chopin's gentle stardust, in came Dvorak's flying peasant skirts. I put up with it for about six months, and when it didn't stop, I switched to a beep beep beep alarm. On an intellectual level, Dvorak's fine, of course, but on an intimate level, I've never really forgiven him.

Edit: Yes, you're over my head, too, North. I'm impressed but mystified. :) Maybe some one else can choose.

[North Star]

You got me. I think I listened to Shosta's 14th Symphony a long time ago, but I've never even heard of Schnittke or his Requiem. (I hope I didn't offend your national pride when I chose Brahms over Sibelius by the way ;) I'm listening to the Sibelius VC right now and it's better than I remember.)
National pride doesn't enter the matter, but Sibelius is among my favourite composers, as is Brahms. I'm not sure which one's VC I'd pick, to be honest. The symphonies and tone poems are Sibelius's strongest works. And Luonnotar.
Never even heard of Schnittke? The Requiem is a nice place to start. Then there's the Faust Cantata (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mJ4-ChAVnM), Choir Concerto, Piano Quintet, String Quartets, the symphonies, etc.


We can wait until I have time to listen to Shostakovich's 14th Symphony and this Schnittke guy's Requiem, and then I can report back, or wait for someone else to answer, but I kind of don't think anyone else will be too familiar with them either (MorpheusSandman probably could answer if he was around these days) so you might want to change your question. Sorry!

Berlioz or Chopin?

[Pompey Bum]

Chopin. Life can be beautiful.

Disposable razors or electric shavers?

[North Star]

Nothing's offensive. It's my problem, not his. A few years ago (ah! many, now that I think of it), I used to have a radio alarm clock set to a classical station. For a few years, I used to wake up to Chopin, Shubert, Mozart--the gentle stuff. Then the station got a new morning DJ, whose philosophy, apparently, was that people needed to be jolted and annoyed FROM BED. Out went Chopin's gentle stardust, in came Dvorak's flying peasant skirts. I put up with it for about six months, and when it didn't stop, I switched to a beep beep beep alarm. On an intellectual level, Dvorak's fine, of course, but on an intimate level, I've never really forgiven him.

Edit: Yes, you're over my head, too, North. I'm impressed but mystified. :) Maybe some one else can choose.
I'm guessing Some Chopin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M2PO4f5Y7k) or Schubert (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvdmimkSqCo) works could have worked at getting you out of bed, too. ;)
Another early morning favourite is surely Beethoven's Great Fugue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjUh11EPGcM).

[Pompey Bum]

No doubt, but the station didn't used to play them at 5:00 in the morning.

Disposable razors or electric shavers?

[North Star]

Chopin. Life can be beautiful.
An excellent answer. Of course, Berlioz (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYwDteQkq2k) can be beautiful too. :)

Electric shaver

Chopin mazurkas or preludes?

[Pike Bishop]

Berlioz

Charlie Parker or John Coltrane?

[Pompey Bum]

Preludes (or Waltzes)

Augustine or Luther?

[Lykren]

Another early morning favourite is surely Beethoven's Great Fugue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjUh11EPGcM).

You tease, you!

I've never read either! But Trane over Bird for sure.

Oboe or clarinet? Careful now!

[North Star]

You tease, you!

I've never read either! But Trane over Bird for sure.
Ditto.

Clarinet.

Calvin or Hobbes? (you can interpret this either way...)

[Lykren]

Wise choice :devil:

Hobbes, I'm a solipsist! edit: I see what you did there... going with the comic strip interpretation here...

Electronic music or punk rock?

[Pompey Bum]

Punk

And Hobbes over Calvin, but only just.

Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen?

[Lykren]

And Hobbes over Calvin, but only just.

Comic strip characters or theologians?

Haven't read since childhood, and those were watered-down versions of Grimm I bet, but, I like Andersen's whimsicality. I also have fond memories of the ornate illustrations. So him not Grimm.

Mary Barnard's Sappho, or Anne Carson's? Pompey, if you answer you're not allowed to say Sappho's Sappho! :D

[North Star]

Pentti Saarikoski's Sappho. ;)

Renoir or Monet?

[Pike Bishop]

I'm not fond of Impressionism, but Renoir

Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller?

[North Star]

I'm not fond of Impressionism, but Renoir
Well, neither was Renoir ;)

Williams, but I must get more familiar with both, really.


Picasso or Van Gogh?

[Lykren]

Gogh, Gogh, Gogh! Not a shred of uncertainty for me. I'm hopelessly emotional.

I also need to read more Williams and Miller. American drama's something I've not delved into.

Okay, painters, hmm. Turner or Constable?

[North Star]

Agreed on Gogh.

Hah! I very nearly posted that pair :)
As much as I love Constable's nature studies, Turner wins easily with his masterful use of oils and watercolours.

Vermeer or Rubens?

[Pike Bishop]

Vermeer

Pollock or DeKooning?

[Lykren]

Agreed on Gogh.

Hah! I very nearly posted that pair :)
As much as I love Constable's nature studies, Turner wins easily with his masterful use of oils and watercolours.

Vermeer or Rubens?

Oh yes they're usually a pair. Turner? Agreed.

For me Vermeer. Rubens to me is too blunt or too obvious or something. Vermeer of course could be too subtle for some people's taste. I know stluke is a huge Rubens fan, he loves to talk about Rubens' women. Fleshy nudes are fun, I suppose. But GWPE is more seductive in my eyes, Girl With a Red Hat more deliciously tangy, Woman With a Pearl Necklace a symbol (as I see it) of worship to the mystery of materiality more profound than Helene Fourment.

Rembrandt or Da Vinci?

EDIT: late again. DeKooning I think. Other than Rothko not really into Abstract Expressionism, though.

So, Rembrandt or Da Vinci?

[Pike Bishop]

Rembrandt by default.

Hume or Kant?

[North Star]

Rembrandt over Leonardo for me too

Hume.

Einstein or Newton?

[Pike Bishop]

Hume all the way.

Einstein...although Newton made a larger break from his predecessors.

Wallace Stevens or William Carlos Williams?

[Lykren]

Wallace Stevens, by a big margin; he's an all-time favorite. Williams is quite good though.

Johnny Cash's late work or early work?

[North Star]

E: Late Cash


Einstein...although Newton made a larger break from his predecessors.
That might be debatable - all of natural science - and society - was totally altered by both men's work.


Wallace Stevens or William Carlos Williams?

Stevens

Mahon or Muldoon?

[Pike Bishop]

E: Late Cash


That might be debatable - all of natural science - and society - was totally altered by both men's work.


Of course it's debatable; there's no fully quantifying or qualifying scientific influence...and I never said science wasn't also altered by Einstein's work. However, Einstein was far more dependent on Newton's calculus--and even his flawed optics--than Newton was on the insufficient mathematics of his predecessors.

Muldoon. I've never read either, but I've heard much more about him...and a good call on Stevens.

Marlon Brando or James Dean?

[North Star]

Of course it's debatable; there's no fully quantifying or qualifying scientific influence...and I never said science wasn't also altered by Einstein's work. However, Einstein was far more dependent on Newton's calculus--and even his flawed optics--than Newton was on the insufficient mathematics of his predecessors.
Fair enough.


Marlon Brando or James Dean?

Brando.

Dickinson or Melville?

[Pompey Bum]

Melville

Joseph Conrad or Ford Madox Ford.

[Lykren]

Melville

Pshawwwww. Well, okay. Melville's appeal is mostly a mystery to me; care to elucidate your feelings for us benighted?

Ford. Neither are particular favorites, but The Good Soldier is just wicked. Conrad kinda clunks along, stylistically, in my opinion.

Diego Rivera or Paul Gauguin?

[Pompey Bum]

Whaling's a Massachusetts thing. :)

Gauguin by kazillions.

Sheridan le Fanu or Bram Stoker?

[Calidore]

I like Stoker, but Le Fanu wins this one easily.

Ghosts or zombies?

[Pompey Bum]

Ghosts are scarier but zombies are more fun. Ghosts seem evil, probably because they seem smarter. Zombies are just dumb and messy. So zombies.

Slow lumbering zombies or fast turbo-zombies?

[bounty]

oh my, if I have to personally be in the zombie mine field, I want to go with the slow lumbering kind. i am not interested in fair competition there! but if I am just watching them on tv, id be okay with their turbo cousins.

the northeast in the dead of winter or the southeast in the height of summer?

[Calidore]

Northeast. I do cold much better than heat.

Rage or sorrow?

[Lykren]

I get sad all the time and rarely angry. Maybe a change would be nice!

Improvising or planning, with regard to art you make?

[tailor STATELY]

re: "Whaling's a Massachusetts thing."... and Emily isn't?

Improv... after planning (it's like magic sometimes)

Inspiration or perspiration ?

[Pike Bishop]

You got to have both to succeed in any art form. Subconscious improvising has to inform the rational planning of craft, and vice versa. My art is literary criticism, so I lean towards the planning. However my perception and appreciation of the art I critique and theorize about needs to be guided by the pleasure--"jouissance"--of the text and the free flow of my thoughts.

Surfing of snowboarding?

[Pike Bishop]

Inspiration or perspiration ?
Both, can't do without either.

Surfing or snowboarding?

[Pompey Bum]

re: "Whaling's a Massachusetts thing."... and Emily isn't?

Fair enough. :)

I'm Ishmael, who are you?
Are you with the Pequod's crew?
And do you come without a doubt
To freely stick the fish that spout?
How dreary to be Ahab,
The silly sulking sod!
To sail the seas of destinies
And kill his father's God.

Old whale bone used for art (scrimshaw) or total ban?

[Lykren]

Way to go for obscurity dude :)

Pro-scrimshaw!


The internet, where you can textually interact with people like you, or real life, where you can physically interact with people not so like you?

[Pompey Bum]

Real life. No one should have to interact with someone like me.

Nasty hangover or infected splinter?

[North Star]

Infected splinter.

Japanese or Chinese art?

[Pike Bishop]

Japanese by a light year

William Blake or William Wordsworth?

[NikolaiI]

William Blake

Bert Jansch or John Renbourn?

[bounty]

you might have pulled the too esoteric card on that one nikolaiI, but I could be wrong...smiles...

[Pompey Bum]

You may regret asking. :)

Chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal raison cookies?

[North Star]

Chocolate chip cookies.

Goya or Caspar David Friedrich?

[Lykren]

Chocolate chip - and anyone who thinks otherwise is a monster. ;)

Unless you mean oatmeal raison cookies; whose reason is oatmeal. Then I'm just confused!

How's that for a lame pun?

EDIT: Goya by a lot.

Do you think using vision aids (glasses, contacts) makes your vision worse?

[Pompey Bum]

No, that's an illusion based on the fact that your vision IS worse.

Oh and this is the this or that thread. :)

Snoopy or Scooby

[Lykren]

Whoops!

Snoopy, much cuter.

Chess or Go? If you play neither, which board looks cooler?

[Pompey Bum]

Actually, not only have I never played chess, but (as with basketball) I don't even know the rules. Chinese chess pieces look the coolest, although the actual boards are often just skins or paper. But western chess set certainly looks cooler than the go set.

Peking opera or nails on a black--um, I mean, Italian opera?

[bounty]

laughs...well pompey, given I saw you said you live(d) in tapei (more on that later), im hesitant to say Italian...but ive never experienced peking opera, so maybe I'd go with that for the newness.

arwen or eowyn?

[Lykren]

Arwen.

Italian opera for me. Verdi!

Folk or blues?

[Pompey Bum]

From the actresses, Arwen, since I have a thing about dark brunettes.

"Peking opera" is actually street opera by tradition, so it really can't be compared to Italian opera. To the uninitiated, though, it can sound awfully--foreign?

Blues.

Did you guys answer this before? Red Sox or Yankees?

[bounty]

I can listen to folk all the time---the blues I have to be in the right mood for...but they are oh so important aren't they? a tough choice...

am going to say the blues...by a smidgen!

arwen or tauriel?

[Lykren]

Yes - I said Wesley So (http://sports.inquirer.net/files/2014/08/wesleyso1.jpg) over Hikaru Nakamura :D

Sci-fi or fantasy?

[bounty]

dag nab it! smiles...

Yankees---great history and tradition often on top.

red sox---great history and tradition often not on top.

gotta go with the underdogs! red sox.

arwen or tauriel?

[bounty]

dag nab it again!

sci-fi only if its star trek, otherwise fantasy.

arwen or tauriel (we'll get there eventually!)

[Pike Bishop]

Nymeria Sand

Billy Parham or John Grady Cole?

[Pompey Bum]

Seven Samurai. He was so famous by the time he made Ran that everyone was afraid to edit him.

Hidden Fortress or Kagemusha?

[Lykren]

Seven Samurai.

Sacrilege!

Kagemusha.

He was broke and unpopular when he made Ran by the way. I think Lucas and Spielberg, who were fans, funded the movie.

Ugetsu or Life of Oharu?

EDIT: Though you're right, he may still not have been edited much. Anyways, I find that the film's length is appropriate.

[Pompey Bum]

He was broke and unpopular when he made Ran by the way. I think Lucas and Spielberg, who were fans, funded the movie.

Not in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he wasn't. We worshipped the very wind he broke at the time. He was considered a bit old hat in Japan, I think, but I never heard it described as unpopular. Lucas and Spielberg were trying to make him more mainstream over here (Hidden Fortress and Kagemusha were obviously influences on Star Wars), but somehow that got translated into: anything the genius wants gets left in. Beautiful looking movie, but in my opinion it was killed by kindness. I remember some fairly lukewarm reviews when it was released. It wasn't the length as much as the tightness (or lack thereof) that bothered people. Doesn't mean it was a bad movie--it wan't, but personally, I prefer his older stuff.

Don't know the other two, so someone else will have to answer.

[Lykren]

Not in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he wasn't. We worshipped the very wind he broke at the time. He was considered a bit old hat in Japan, I think, but I never heard it described as unpopular. Lucas and Spielberg were trying to make him more mainstream over here (Hidden Fortress and Kagemusha were obviously influences on Star Wars), but somehow that got translated into: anything the genius wants gets left in. Beautiful looking movie, but in my opinion it was killed by kindness. I remember some fairly lukewarm reviews when it was released. It wasn't the length as much as the tightness (or lack thereof) that bothered people. Doesn't mean it was a bad movie--it wan't, but personally, I prefer his older stuff.

Don't know the other two, so someone else will have to answer.

Fair enough. Ugetsu and Life of Oharu are both excellent Mizoguchi movies, but the right answer is Ugetsu, for that same reason of tightness. (I thought Ran was actually quite balanced!).

Startling recontextualization of cliche or subtler and more original phrasemaking? In poetry?

[Pompey Bum]

I like to play games with unstated cliches in my poetry, but I'm that sure original phrasemaking is a sign of a better poet.

Tragic or comic plays?

[North Star]

Tragic

1984 or Brave New World?

[Lykren]

Tragic, I suppose. I haven't read that many plays though.

EDIT: Brave New World.

The exotic or the familiar?

[bounty]

lykren I wanna go on a date with your avatar...(don't tell dark muse though)

am going to go with the familiar, but I love exotic too.

I liked both 1984 and a brave new world but I found 1984 the more believable of the two, and so therefore more scary, which I think was its intent.

have you all seen demolition man with Sylvester stallone and Sandra bullock? im sure it was influenced by a brave new world overall, and there are some small references to the book in the movie also.


dr seuss or Aesop's fables?

[Lykren]

lykren I wanna go on a date with your avatar...(don't tell dark muse though)

Hahahaha, NO, she's MINE. Why not tell DM though? You two dating or something?

Aesop's Fables. Consistently clever and way more interesting than Seuss, though Seuss is alright, not bad.

Albert Ayler or Ornette Coleman?

[bounty]

smiles---no no, its just that I told her I wanted to go out with her avatar too!

hmm, I don't know either, give me a few minutes. ah, jazz musicians. they both look incredibly accomplished on paper but I am out of my element. let me pass that one along and hopefully the next person will be an aficionado.

albert ayler or ornette coleman?

[North Star]

Free jazz isn't my element either. :(

Re: BNW being less believable than 1984, I'm not sure if that is the case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World#Comparisons_with_George_Orwell.27s _Nineteen_Eighty-Four).

Miles Davis' 50s quintet or 60s quintet?

[Pike Bishop]

50's quintet

Derrida or Foucault?

[Lykren]

60's quintet.

Making a heart with your hands or a V sign?

[bounty]

Free jazz isn't my element either. :(

Re: BNW being less believable than 1984, I'm not sure if that is the case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World#Comparisons_with_George_Orwell.27s _Nineteen_Eighty-Four).

Miles Davis' 50s quintet or 60s quintet?

ah that was really interesting north star thank you. and from that perspective, id have to amend my thinking and say there's an awful lot of "a brave new world" going on...

[Pompey Bum]

Backwards peace sign, like Churchill's.

Who was worse, Stalin or Mao?

[North Star]

Who was worse, Stalin or Mao?
Stalin, Mao, Hitler - none of them was any good at all...
I don't know how one can say who was the worst human being simply by looking at how many, or what percentage, of their country's (or other countries') population they killed.

Not familiar enough with Derrida & Foucalt to answer Pike.

John Coltrane or Bill Evans?

[Pike Bishop]

Coltrane

Kierkegaard or Heidegger?

[Pompey Bum]

John Coltrane or Bill Evans?

Coltrane when he had his good stuff going.

More money for social programs or manned space exploration?

[Calidore]

Social programs. As fascinating and amazing as NASA's work is, and as much as I'm looking forward to the new telescope launching, we have to live here on Earth now.

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, or Chevrolet?

[Pompey Bum]

Apple pie!

Okay, so baseball or Chevrolet?

[Lykren]

Baseball but living without either is fine by me.

Learning in a small group (of fairly like-minded students) or autodidacticism?

[Pompey Bum]

A small group of respectful but differently minded students sounds wonderful, although I love teaching myself things, too.

Are "manners" really about mutual respect?

[Lykren]

Maybe, but they're also about familiarity with custom, and therefore cliquism.

Rachmaninoff or Liszt?

[North Star]

Rakh or Liszt, that's a tough question. Rakh has the PCs, preludes, and most of all the All-night Vigil and Symphonic Dances on his side. Liszt Années de pèlerinage, the PS and gobs of other music.
I think I'll go with Rakhmaninov, if forced to choose. Perhaps.

Stravinsky or Sibelius?

[Pompey Bum]

Liszt of course. And Sibelius I guess.

Sweet or sassy?

[Lykren]

Can't I have both??!

Christmas or your birthday?

[Pompey Bum]

My birthday. Cheaper and less obnoxious music.

Okay, innocent or slutty? (Hey, you're 22 :))

[Lykren]

Slutty, not in the sense of 'will sleep with other guys if I'm with her," but "really, really likes sex."

If you were a lesbian, would you be the butch or the lipstick one? Speaking strictly visually here. If you ARE a lesbian, welcome to the forum.

[Pompey Bum]

I think that's another thing you can't really choose. In any case, I don't know the answer.

Keeping a fish tank: family fun or cruelty to animals?

[Clopin]

Family fun, the fish are probably better off.

Keeping birds (in a cage) as pets?

[Lykren]

Both! Haha.

EDIT: Birds in cages? I wouldn't.

Richter or Horowitz?

[North Star]

Richter.

Argerich or Pollini?

[Lykren]

Haven't listened to Argerich except for the Tchaikovsky PC, but Pollini's Chopin is wonderful, so him I suppose.

Richter for me too.

Amarcord or La Strada?

[North Star]

Haven't listened to Argerich? Try the Ravel PC, all of her Chopin, particularly the scherzi and Barcarolle, Schumann Kreisleriana & Kinderszenen. And then there are the chamber music recordings - the piano duo discs with Freire and Pletnev are superb, as is the Prokofiev VS disc with Kremer.

Haven't seen either movie yet.

Tchaikovsky or Brahms?

[Lykren]

Brahms is deeper of course but that also means his pain is deeper. But still Brahms.

Okay, man, I'll listen to a bunch of Argerich and you watch some Fellini okay?

Ravel or Debussy?

[North Star]

Brahms is deeper of course but that also means his pain is deeper. But still Brahms.
You're right, Brahms is deeper, although that doesn't make Tchaikovsky shallow, of course. But to say that Brahms's pain was deeper than the man's who composed the Pathétique Symphony, the Manfred, Swan Lake even, and the Piano Trio. But, in any case, I'd take Brahms over Tchai, too. Not least for all that chamber music.


Okay, man, I'll listen to a bunch of Argerich and you watch some Fellini okay?
It's a deal!


Ravel or Debussy?
Ravel.

Vivaldi or Händel?

[Lykren]

Well, maybe Brahms's pain just resonates more with me, so I notice it better.

I was expecting Debussy! I would be hard pressed to decide.

Vivaldi most likely.

Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata or Tolstoy's?

[North Star]

Oh, you have your eyes on a married woman, too? ;)

Beethoven's, by a country mile. I read the Tolstoy 5 years ago, and it felt rather pathetically moralistic. I did find the reason for why he didn't go after the pianist amusing, though.
Ravel is one of my very favourite composers, Debussy is among the top 15. Everything in Ravel is just so perfect, and nothing is overdone.

Prokofiev or Shostakovich?

[Lykren]

Shostakovich.

Yes Tolstoy became weirdly obsessed with morals late in life.

This (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Rembrandt_baadster.jpg) or this (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Rembrandt_Harmensz_van_Rijn_-_Girl_at_a_Window_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)?

[North Star]

Ah, Rembrandt! I haven't actually seen Girl at Window before. It's beautiful, of course, but I'll go with the avant-garde mastery of A Woman Bathing in a Stream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_du_moulin_de_la_Galette or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies ?

[Lykren]

Good choice :)

Water-Lilies. So over-the-top, color-wise.

Church At Auvers (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/29/6e/44/296e4463ebe12c5deaa8f96dee10dbef.jpg) or this trippy wheat field (http://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/vincent-van-gogh/wheat-field-behind-saint-paul-hospital-with-a-reaper-1889.jpg)?

[North Star]

I don't know, the trippy wheat field has more pleasing colours, but Church at Auvers is very striking even for van Gogh - it's quite a bit like Picasso (https://clairefrommars.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/dora-maar-picasso.jpg?w=186&h=221). Cubism quite a bit ahead of the curve, Vincent. I'd rather have the golden wheat field on my wall, though.

Wivenhoe Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wivenhoe_Park_(painting)) or Het Steen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_View_of_Het_Steen_in_the_Early_Morning)

[Lykren]

The Constable, as I think I mentioned earlier I'm not a huge Rubens fan.

Picasso's Blue or Rose period?

[North Star]

Blue period.

Schumann or Schubert?

[Lykren]

'Bert. Schwanengesang!

Good choice on the blue by the way.

Appassionata or Hammerklavier?

[North Star]

'Bert. Schwanengesang!
"Leise flehen meine Lieder Durch die Nacht zu 'dir" :) Fine choice.


Appassionata or Hammerklavier?
Hammerklavier. That slow movement, that finale.

Elgar or Britten?

[Lykren]

Hammerklavier. That slow movement, that finale.

Correct. We have a winner!

We have a loser, too. I barely know Elgar except through the Cello Concerto, and Britten even less. Where to start, if you please?

Since I flunked out, let's change gears.

Reading sitting or lying down?

[Pompey Bum]

Lying down.

Ernie or Bert?

[North Star]

I barely know Elgar except through the Cello Concerto, and Britten even less. Where to start, if you please?
Britten: Les Illuminations, Serenade for tenor, horn & strings, Nocturne (Bostridge & Rattle's recording of those three). Then there's the VC, Ceremony of Carols, the cello suites, SQ2/3, the operas (Grimes is a good place to start those - you could also listen to the Sea Interludes & Passacaglia first, it's a rather popular item separately, too, then there's Midsummer Night's Dream, Turn of the Screw, Billy Budd, Death in Venice... add to that the songs, and you see that Britten used rather good texts in his works). For starters. ;)

Elgar: Sospiri, Dream Children, Music Makers, Sea Pictures, Violin Sonata, Enigma Variations, Falstaff, Violin Concerto, Dream of Gerontius



Since I flunked out, let's change gears.
Reading sitting or lying down?
Lying down.


Bert.


Cezanne or Degas?

[Pike Bishop]

Cezanne...although I'm not much of a fan.

Rothko or Diebenkorn?

[North Star]

Rothko.

Inchbold or Millais?

[Pompey Bum]

Cezanne or Degas?

Cezannne. Didn't we do that one before?

Millais

Egyptian pyramids or Mayan pyramids?

[North Star]

Cezannne. Didn't we do that one before?
Ah yes, I thought it sounded familiar ;)

Egyptian pyramids or Mayan pyramids?
Egyptian, I think.

Kipling or Hardy?

[Lykren]

I had not seen Inchbold's work until just now, but I like it. Still, the prize goes to Millais for his exuberant coloring.

Derain or Franz Marc?

EDIT: Hardy!

Derain or Franz Marc?

[North Star]

Derain

Janáček or Martinů?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, Hardy is a better author, but sometimes I get in the mood for Kipling's bad weirdness.

Derain

St Paul's (London) or St Peter's (Rome)?

Edit: Okay, okay, never heard of 'em. You two enjoy. I'm going to bed. :)

[Lykren]

St. Peter's cause of the opulence, so I bet you Clopin likes St. Paul's more.

I had to play in Martinu's flute/oboe/clarinet trio once. Like Pompey hasn't forgiven Dvorak, I can't forgive Martinu (or the lady who put that on our program). Janacek.

Pisarro or Morisot?

EDIT: Night Pompey :)

[North Star]

St. Peter for me too.

Morisot.

(You should listen to Martinu's nonet and then reconsider if you want to forgive him ;) )

Childe Hassam or Caillebotte?

[Lykren]

I prefer Caillebotte's firmness and solidity. The Avenue in the Rain sure is wonderful though.

Okayyyyy, maybe I'll give Martinu another chance. After all that Argerich and Elgar and Britten you've assigned me!

The Bakery Girl of Monceau or The Baker's Wife (Pagnol).

^^The above are my co-worker's suggestions, as I have not seen either film I cannot offer an opinion!

[North Star]

Okayyyyy, maybe I'll give Martinu another chance. After all that Argerich and Elgar and Britten you've assigned me!
Hah! I'm not saying you have to listen to this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HE3NESM-rk&list=PL27C675BB81ADEE36), of course. But, I'm glad you like Janáček, or did you vote just to spite Bohuslav? :D


The Bakery Girl of Monceau or The Baker's Wife (Pagnol).

^^The above are my co-worker's suggestion, as I have not seen either film I cannot offer an opinion!
I haven't seen them either. Time for me to go as well.

[Lykren]

Okay, back to questions people can answer, eh?

Geoffrey Hill or Seamus Heaney?

[Pompey Bum]

Seamus Heaney. Erin über alles. :)

Bathing or showering (not which do you do more, which do you prefer)?

[Lykren]

Bathing, so peaceful.

I like Heaney too.

The Laocoon or the Winged Nike of Samothrake?

[Pompey Bum]

The Laocoon, just because that part of the story is so weird.

"Flipped classrooms" in which the students (allegedly) conduct the class and the teacher merely facilitates/serves them.

[Lykren]

Hm, I prefer the Nike. Power and grace, doncha know.

I don't like traditional classrooms, so flipped might be a nice change.

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

No. Teachers need to be mentors.

Beards or clean shaven (for yourself, not others)?

[North Star]

Clean shaven.
And traditional classroom.

Frost or Pound?

[Lykren]

Pound, but not for the Cantos, and Frost has some good stuff so it's close.

Being a lion or an eagle?

[Lykren]

No. Teachers need to be mentors.

I've had about one good year in the last 17 years of experiencing ordinary education, when the teacher helped to clarify my thinking while also sharing their understanding in an accessible and humane way. I learned to read of course. But overall I find the mentorship model to be a very disheartening, disturbing thing. I can't say if the flipped method you speak of would be better or worse.

[North Star]

I've had about one good year in the last 17 years of experiencing ordinary education, when the teacher helped to clarify my thinking while also sharing their understanding in an accessible and humane way. I learned to read of course. But overall I find the mentorship model to be a very disheartening, disturbing thing. I can't say if the flipped method you speak of would be better or worse.
Imagine a flipped chemistry classroom. That might be difficult, but once you've managed to do it, it should be easy to imagine a flipped chemistry teacher.

Being a lion or an eagle? A dimwit descendant of dinosaurs, actually a dinosaur, or a mammal living in the savanna and hunting antelopes, and lying down? Lion obviously.

Gauguin or Chagall?

[Lykren]

Wings, man! Flying!

Gauguin. I think Chagall is kinda sappy, haha.

Short films or long ones?

[Pompey Bum]

Long. Books, too.

Blissfully ignorant or knowledgeably unhappy?

[North Star]

Knowledgeably unhappy, at least when the ignorance is of the kind that will eventually damage you.
And long movies definitely, if by short you mean shorter than a feature film.

Would you rather be a forest or a street?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, perhaps a deserted road that wound thorough a really spooky forest. You know, if I could.

Simon or Garfunkle :)

[Lykren]

The one who wrote the songs, not sure which and I don't care enough to look them up.

Sally Mann or Vivian Maier? Look them up and you will not regret it.

[North Star]

Maier.

Koudelka or Kertesz?

[Pompey Bum]

I don't care enough to look them up.

It was a joke, Lykern. North's previous question was taken from one of their songs. :)


Sally Mann or Vivian Maier? Look them up and you will not regret it.

I haven't read Sally Mann, but I love history enough to appreciate an archaeological find like Maier's photographs.

Ham or turkey at holidays (excluding Thanksgiving)?

[Lykren]

WOW they are great. Had not heard of them! Thank you!

Kertesz from a very quick inspection but a hard choice.

Elephants or guinea pigs?

EDIT: Ham. and you haven't READ Sally Mann? Excuse me?

[Pompey Bum]

Elephants. Guinea pigs tend to run away during tiger hunts.


and you haven't READ Sally Mann? Excuse me?

Yeah well, I'm reading a 3,000 page book at the moment, and I've got a 4,000 pager in line next. If Sally loves me, she'll wait.

Hershey's chocolate or Hershey's chocolate with almonds?

[Lykren]

Almonds.

Sally Mann is a photographer, I'll have you know! And I'm reading a 4,300 page book right now. Hrrrmmmmph.

Brancusi or Moore?

[Pompey Bum]

Dinty Moore was the superior canned stew, in my opinion.

Grant or Lee?

[North Star]

Hugh Grant over Christopher Lee.
E: The other way round, I mixed Hugh Laurie and Hugh Grant . . .

Eugene Atget or Edward Weston.

[Pompey Bum]

Well, Hugh Grant's chick flicks were pretty scary.

Eugene, Oregon's got it all over Weston, Massachusetts.

Edison or Bell?

[North Star]

Neither, thanks, I'd rather have someone who invented something. Bell was the less despicable, I suppose.

Robert Burns or John Clare?

[Pompey Bum]

True, and Ford was worst of all.

Burrrrrrrns.

Ireland or Scotland?

[North Star]

Ireland.

Yeats or Joyce?

[Pompey Bum]

Yeats (although I haven't really read Joyce)

St. Petersburg or Moscow?

[Pike Bishop]

Joyce by numerous light years. Second greatest writer in the history of the English language vs. a solid neo-mystical poet. I'd take Beckett over Yeats as well.

Plath or Sexton?

[Lykren]

St. Petersburg judging solely from Tolstoy.

Read Ulysses, Pompey. In the next five minutes.

The girls at the coffeeshop or the bar?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, Tom Waits assures me that you don't meet nice girls in coffee shops, so I'll take them.

Punky girls or hippy girls?

[North Star]

E: Girls at the bar and no hippies, but more certainly no punks.

Haven't been to Russia.

Sexton over Plath.

Byron or PB Shelley?

[Pompey Bum]

Byron, although it's a somewhat sentimental choice. Shelly's usually a better poet.

Tom Jones or Joseph Andrews?

[Lykren]

Shelley.

EDIT: Only read Tom Jones but I hope Joseph Amdrews is better!

Cream cheese or lox?

[North Star]

Lox! I love a mildly sugar-salted salmon slice with some sour cream, onion and dill on bread.

Cold-smoked or hot-smoked salmon?

[Lykren]

What's the difference? I like hot food so the latter?

Black roses or black angels?

[North Star]

What's the difference? I like hot food so the latter?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_(cooking)#Types

Crumb's Black Angels, of course.


Gaspard de la nuit or Miroirs?

[Pike Bishop]

Byron or PB Shelley?

Byron...not even close.

And cold smoked salmon

Eliot or Austen?

[Pompey Bum]

Cream cheese or lox?

Both.

Disney or R. Crumb?

[Clopin]

Well I love golden age Disney and it's had a much greater impact on me than Crumbs output, though I really enjoy his stuff as well.

I men Disney is an entire studio and Crumb is one guy, so I'll pick Crumb over any Disney employee, but Disney as a force for entertainment in the world.

Disney or Ghibli?

[Calidore]

Hard to choose between either at its peak. Disney also now includes Pixar, which might give them the edge.

Bushido or Chivalry?

[Clopin]

Chivalry.

France or Japan (Considering people, language, culture, literature, anything)