Quote from: Slurpee on January 31, 2017, 12:03:44 AM

his name is Gandalf look at him he's the best

Green Asian Noodle Dragon Ah'd Like (to) Fuck

don't fuck a dragon :(

Quote from: PhantomCatClock on May 03, 2017, 01:19:52 AM
it's impressive that he manages it with a pool ball constantly up his ass

lmfao

Quote from: BilliardBall10 on May 02, 2017, 05:04:55 PMwell, i like historical books, fantasy books(medieval adventures+epochs), i also like semiotic novels that refer to real characters+places, but with a fictional action going on in the story, just like umberto eco's ''baudolino'', to name a famous example.

Do you mean you like semiotic novels, but only the ones that happen to have real characters & fictional action? Or are you saying that real characters & fictional action are what make a novel semiotical? One is oddly specific, the other is wrong.

Anyway, a book that comes to mind is Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon. It's a highly fictionalized account of the historical figures Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon and their efforts surveying what would eventually become known as the Mason-Dixon line. It's very weird, esoteric and paranoid. I'm talking giant golems, hollow earth, astronomy, astrology, geomancy, Jesuit conspiracy theories, talking dogs, an automaton in the form of a duck that gains consciousness and stalks a French chef, etc. That said, it's not just some flimsy excuse for jumping from one zany thing to the next, there are some complex characters (esp. Mason & Dixon, and their relationship) at the heart of this story. One episode that has stuck in my mind, for example, was a poignant description of the hardships suffered by Dutch colonists in 18th-century South Africa, exemplified through the struggles of one particular family. Their reason for living there, their individual feelings about it, their personalities and quirks, their dealing with existing social conventions etc. And it's funny too. Pynchon is an acquired taste though, and I haven't read any of Eco's fiction, so I can't really compare the two. From what I understand Baudolino is also effectively a story within a story? Is that right? As in it's framed as a story being told by a character? Accounting for the fantastical and subjective nature of the story and in doing so questioning the veracity of history? If that sounds at all appealing check it out. If you're anxious about jumping into an almost 800-page tome written by an "acquired taste", try The Crying of Lot 49 first, which is only like 150 pages.

Another book that I read recently and that I can recommend was Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. It's a savage nihilistic romp through World War I, insane asylums, Darkest Africa, America (New York & Detroit) and the poverty-stricken banlieues of Paris. There's cruelty, violence, abuse, murder, disease and prostitution. It's also funny. In keeping with Baudelaire and Wagner, Céline was a Nazi-collaborator and a raging anti-semite. And by raging I mean that apparently even some Nazis thought he went a bit too far...! There's none of that in this book though, just general misanthrophy and pessimism. Fun stuff.

Quote from: PhantomCatClock on May 03, 2017, 01:19:52 AM
it's impressive that he manages it with a pool ball constantly up his ass

Quote from: Slurpee on May 03, 2017, 03:51:22 AM
don't fuck a dragon

But fuck all the noodles you want.

Quote from: GreyClock on May 03, 2017, 05:21:42 AM
Do you mean you like semiotic novels, but only the ones that happen to have real characters & fictional action? Or are you saying that real characters & fictional action are what make a novel semiotical? One is oddly specific, the other is wrong.

i mean the former.
that is, the (semiotic) novels that happen to have real characters and fictional action in them.

apart from baudolino, eco's ''the island of the day before'', and ''the cemetery of prague'' are also notable examples of this kind of novel(s).

ofcourse, i dont like only semiotic works, but i really like reading a good adventure of real(and non-real) characters that are having adventures in a fictional story...
any historical/mythological novel is good for me, as long as it has interesting characters, good action, humour, adventures and some elements of lore in it.
(IF lore CAN be possible in a semi-realistic story, that is...)

Quote from: GreyClock on May 03, 2017, 05:21:42 AM
Anyway, a book that comes to mind is Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon. It's a highly fictionalized account of the historical figures Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon and their efforts surveying what would eventually become known as the Mason-Dixon line.
If that sounds at all appealing check it out. If you're anxious about jumping into an almost 800-page tome written by an "acquired taste", try The Crying of Lot 49 first, which is only like 150 pages.

excellent suggestions. i shall read them in the near future, thanks man!
the mason+dixon's story seems quite interesting, and i like the part about the everyday hardships of dutch explorers... (the age of exploration was a glorious one, but also a very difficult time, particularly in the sea-travelling department and/or when explorers were living in hostile, foreign lands).

Quote from: GreyClock on May 03, 2017, 05:21:42 AM
Pynchon is an acquired taste though, and I haven't read any of Eco's fiction, so I can't really compare the two. From what I understand Baudolino is also effectively a story within a story? Is that right? As in it's framed as a story being told by a character?

yes, that is correct. it's a story within a story, and while it describes real events(fall of constantinople by the crusaders on 1204, italian wars, frederick barbarossa's reign)it has alot of fiction in it, and it explores the legends of the (fictional) kingdom of ''prester john'' that was rumoured to exist in the far east(in modern china), it mentions fictional creatures that were rumoured to live in asia, such as the skiapod, it mentions the legend of hypatia(in an weird way), and even the titular character, baudolino has a few moments where he shares a similar fate with the italian saint baudolino. the book also mentions the forgery of holy artifacts, and the holy grail.
its a great adventure, and baudolino is a really cool character.

(in short: the book starts with the fall of constantinople by the crusaders on 1204, during the 4th crusade and the byzantine historian nikitas choniates tries to escape the destroyed city.
as he runs away, he is afraid that the crusaders will find him(they do) and that they will most likely kill him, but he is saved in the last minute by baudolino, a wandering knight+adventurer.
the two become friends, and as they both escape from constantinople, baudolino starts to tell his life-story to nikitas.)

Quote from: GreyClock on May 03, 2017, 05:21:42 AM
Accounting for the fantastical and subjective nature of the story and in doing so questioning the veracity of history?

yes.
the same thing happens to eco's other books, ''the island of the day before'', and ''the cemetery of prague''.

in ''the island of the day before'', it discusses the wars of 1500's, the arrival of gunpowder in the battlefields, and the dire need of many countries to find the geographical longitude of the world...
(it seems that people knew only the langitude, and they didnt know the longitude(or the reverse),
and they needed that information in order to explore the seas more accurately, and in order to find the fabled ''solomon's islands'', which were rumoured to have tons of gold in them...)

in ''the cemetery of prague'', it tells us about the rise of espionage+misinformation in the 19th+ century, while it also discusses the subjects of mysticism and the problems of racism that started to become very obvious in those times. (racism always existed sadly, but i guess it was recorded/ studied more carefully in those years)

in a slightly different vain, i also read italo calvino's books. he has some really nice books; some of them are large adventures, while others are (shorter)stories with humour/action/drama in them.

Quote from: GreyClock on May 03, 2017, 05:21:42 AM
Another book that I read recently and that I can recommend was Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. It's a savage nihilistic romp through World War I, insane asylums, Darkest Africa, America (New York & Detroit) and the poverty-stricken banlieues of Paris.

very interesting! i will check this out, as well!
BTW, have you read ''all quiet on the western front'', by erich maria remarque? its a great book about WW1.

i also like stephan schweig's books.. (a chess novel, amok, etc etc).
great writer, its a shame that he killed himself.
(stephan schweig was heavily depressed due to the effects of WW2 that destroyed the whole world around him, and he felt that there was no hope anymore...)

Quote from: GreyClock on May 03, 2017, 05:21:42 AM
In keeping with Baudelaire and Wagner, Céline was a Nazi-collaborator and a raging anti-semite. And by raging I mean that apparently even some Nazis thought he went a bit too far...! There's none of that in this book though, just general misanthrophy and pessimism. Fun stuff.

ah, yes. celine was another bloody racist.
didnt he wrote a book called ''mea culpa'', in order to make a half-assed apology about why he was racist? it didnt worked though, because he always was a dark bastard and a racist.

PS: i highly recommend the book ''all quiet on the western front'', any book by stephan schweig,
''in the name of the rose'' by umberto eco(his first novel), the other 2 books of eco that i listed above, ''the tower'' and ''the transformation''  by franz kafka, and anything by dostoyevsky.

PS2: if you want, feel free to tell me more book suggestions(any time you want), i really liked your suggestions.
thanks

Quote from: PhantomCatClock on May 03, 2017, 01:19:52 AM
it's impressive that he manages it with a pool ball constantly up his ass

good one! +100 points for gryffindor phantomcat!

update:

lets vote for NG's monthly movie suggestions... (best of april)..
and lets make more CC movies, so that we can get added to the list for the next month!

some pictures my friend sent me

im so confused...

feel free to recruit your friend, for SBC! for clocktopia!11

oh, BTW:

Quote from: BilliardBall10 on May 04, 2017, 05:36:38 PM
update:

lets vote for NG's monthly movie suggestions... (best of april)..
and lets make more CC movies, so that we can get added to the list for the next month!

^^^^this still applies.

guys, lets post more in the forums, its the least we can do in here,
for the emperor,
for clocktopia,
for B,
for the CLOCKCREW!11oneone (XD)

(but srsly, we could post more stuff+ideas).

OK, i will start:
so, today i played basketball with my friends.
...i lost.

im not very good at basketball(im so-so), but im perfect in badmington/ping-pong/fencing.
hoorah.

Quote from: BilliardBall10 on May 05, 2017, 02:22:18 PM
im so confused...

feel free to recruit your friend, for SBC! for clocktopia!11

oh, BTW:

Quote from: BilliardBall10 on May 04, 2017, 05:36:38 PM
update:

lets vote for NG's monthly movie suggestions... (best of april)..
and lets make more CC movies, so that we can get added to the list for the next month!

^^^^this still applies.

Quote from: BilliardBall10 on May 06, 2017, 06:44:01 PM
guys, lets post more in the forums, its the least we can do in here,
for the emperor,
for clocktopia,
for B,
for the CLOCKCREW!11oneone (XD)

(but srsly, we could post more stuff+ideas).

OK, i will start:
so, today i played basketball with my friends.
...i lost.

im not very good at basketball(im so-so), but im perfect in badmington/ping-pong/fencing.
hoorah.

Quote from: miracle fruit on May 07, 2017, 01:23:40 AM

when you imitate grey clock's epic posts, you officially commit blasphemy.

i laugh at thee, you heretic.

also news update:

everyone, lets welcome the glorious coalition of europe in the CC:
http://clockcrew.net/talk/index.php?action=profile;u=16144

Im watching Twin Peaks this week. I've got a couple of friends who have been riding me to see it for a year or two now but one of them sent me a download link for the show a legal copy of seasons 1 and 2, and damn if i'm not loving the hell out of this.

Quote from: RobClock on May 07, 2017, 06:39:10 PM
Im watching Twin Peaks this week. I've got a couple of friends who have been riding me to see it for a year or two now but one of them sent me a download link for the show a legal copy of seasons 1 and 2, and damn if i'm not loving the hell out of this.

Yeah that show is so good

I imagine you've already been warned, but the first part of season 2 is pretty rough going. Just press on, things get better.

Yeah, I'm watching S1E8 and I'm kind of dreading the fact that I know it doesn't stay this good

I just found out after David Lynch left the revival project like three years ago and I stopped paying attention, Showtime brought him back to direct every episode, and the episode count was also doubled to 18 (!) and it's finally debuting later this month (!!)

we should bookclub it or something. maybe. idk

also unrelated but John Boyega is going to play Iris Elba's son in Pacific Rim 2 🤤

the character doesn't have a name yet but if the first movie is any indication it's probably going to be something like Shackleton Ironpierce or Muscle Jim