Seeing as Pride & Prejudice is by far her most well-known novel, it makes sense that Elizabeth is the "standard" heroine most people associate with Austen. I think Emma fits that mold, too. And then there is Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park, a kind of dark mirror image of those characters, exhibiting the wit, but not…

Slowly made my way through my second Dickens novel in recent weeks, Nicholas Nickleby, but I'm close to putting it down. While the early goings derived their energy from skipping around in various milieus and settings, often with a satirical bent, the story has gotten rather stuck now, both regarding place and plot…

But isn't Sandra Bullock the Sandra Bullock of our time? She ain't dead yet, people!

That problem is present in the rest of the film as well. The discussion about superhero movies doesn't really work, because the example shown is terrible, and everyone raving about Jo-Ann's talent doesn't jibe with what we see of her, really.

Such a great book. I absolutely love the narrative structure. A long-wided, rambling tale by an old sea captain, full of lengthy digressions, backtracks, philosophical musings… just a lot of fun to read.

The literature fiends who would consider as the main candidates for supreme rulership of the English canon nobody else besides Jane Austen and Emily Bronte are probably best avoided…

Damn, Alexander Siddig is gonna be in this season? If they throw in Colm Meaney as his best buddy/right-hand man I'm game!

How far along are you with Happy Endings?
As the show develops Dave's (somewhat) annoying nature is actually turned into an actual character trait and source of comedy, so give it some time.

Maybe his twin sister's called Macy?

Regarding the French music, I'd say jazzman Henri Salvador is perfect for a day spent lying in a hammock drinking cocktails (that's what people in the Carribean do all day, right?). I also really like a girl called ZAZ, she's more pop than jazz.

In hindsight, I'm just happy someone bothered to respond to my strangely technical questions on Arabic abbreviation at all. ;)

I'm confused by that abbreviation. Like, where is the "A" coming from? Shouldn't that be an "I" for "Islamiyah"? And what's with the "I" that is there, even though "Iraq" technically starts with an 'ayn?
Shouldn't it be… DI'SH?

It is actually done with (the other kind of) football here in Germany. I've never been quite sure what to make of it, because you actually miss most of the goals, since the feed switches to the match in question only after one is scored, so you only catch the replay.
There are also a few radio shows that do a similar…

Liked for the sick Marlowe burn, yo.

Point taken. What about holograms, though? Aren't they all the rage these days?

You know what? Let's just get all of the old crew back, put them into those old red uniforms and have them quote Shakespeare at some Klingons.
Can't be worse than whatever's planned for this movie…

Um… I think fucking is its hobby…

And there was thunder, thunder over Thunder Road…

Ebony… and ivor… *is yanked off stage by comically large stage hook*

That, and he puts much of the blame for the titular decline and fall on the ascension of Christianity, if I recall correctly, without much real evidence. As an Enlightenment writer he felt more kinship with classical Romans than the "medieval" doctrines of Christianity, I suppose.