Those of you who know me well know I don't like to talk about myself. Perhaps that's why I sometimes struggle to come up with material for this blog. Today I am going to write about myself a little bit, but I have a good excuse: I was tagged to do this 4X4 meme by the notorious Seana Graham. I've tweaked it a little bit as you'll see.
Four golf courses I'd like to play:
1. Augusta
2. Pebble Beach
3. Pine Valley
4. TPC Sawgrass
My four favorite Westerns are:
1. The Searchers
2. Rio Bravo
3a. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
3b. Once Upon a Time in the West
4. Unforgiven
PS - When will we see a revival of this genre? I hope soon. It is one of America's greatest contributions to the cinema.
Four books that I recommend to friends, family, and strangers:
1. Dead I Well May Be
2. The Shadow of the Wind
3. Noble House
4. Bernard Cornwell's take on Arthurian Legend
Four reasons why The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie ever made:
1. George Lucas didn't direct it.
2. George Lucas didn't write the screenplay.
3. No Ewoks, Jar Jar Binks, or bad dialogue.
4. "No, I am your father."
Four languages I studied in high school:
1. English (yeah, it counts)
2. French
3. Latin
4. Greek
And no, I don't really remember any French, Latin, or Greek, and even English is a struggle these days.
Four stories I want to write before I die:
1. Screenplay for a biopic on Caravaggio
2. Sci-fi western set on Mars
3. A book that makes money
4. Screenplay for a sequel to this year's Star Trek
Four people I'm tagging to do this as well
1. Jenna O'Rourke
2. Nate Green
3. Nicklas Hughes
4. Matt Damon
4 weeks ago
Posts
24 comments:
I realize now my comments on George Lucas seem a bit harsh. Allow me to explain myself: I think the man is an effing genius. But, I think he's more of a "big picture" kind of guy, and that was his role on the set of TESB. As a result: one of the best movies ever made.
Notorious? I like that.
What is TESB?
Bernard Cornwell is sort of the Anthony Trollope of historical fiction. In a word, indefatiguable. But I've never read him. This looks like a good place to start.
Oh, I'm so hoping that your tags are willing. Please let us know as they get their responses up.
Matt Damon?
Seana,
TESB is nerd-abbreviation for The Empire Strikes Back.
Cornwell's most well-known character is Sharpe. I haven't read any of those books, though, because I'm a bit put off by how large the series is. The Sharpe books number close to twenty, and that in my humble opinion is a bit implausible: that a character could simply survive that much carnage. But maybe they're the best things ever written, I don't know.
I know you're a King Arthur fan, so I do recommend The Warlord Chronicles. Cornwell takes a "realistic" approach to the story, and also plays with a lot of the conventions in interesting ways.
No St. Andrews or any other links in Europe,,,, and why no plug of your book would you not recommend it to someone???
Philly,
I went back and forth on the European courses, and the problem is, I couldn't settle on one, though St. Andrews was at the top. So yeah, I've excluded them from the list probably unfairly.
And no, I wouldn't recommend my book to anyone and everyone. I of course think it's a good read and more than just another "horror story." But deep down, it IS a horror story, and not everybody likes those. The books I did recommended are modern masterpieces that I think would be enjoyed by all or most readers.
Nice new tagline, by the way. I hadn't noticed it before.
I saw some of those Sharpes done on Masterpiece theater and they weren't bad. The thing I remember about Cornwell himself was that he came from some very challenging beginning and so, though I think he's made tons on those books, he basically never lets himself rest. Meticulous researcher and all that too. I'll have to give those Arthurian books a go.
Also, he should be a model to us. Hope you're working on one of those before you die projects right now.
v word=regrip, which is nice, especially for the golfers amongst us.
Enjoyed reading this post, Brian. I suggest you hop to writing the sci-fi western set on Mars--like the sound of that!
And, what, you know Matt Damon?
:-) Rita
Seana,
I've heard good things about the Sharpe TV series. Thanks for reminding me about it, I'll have to check it out. I think Sean Bean (good actor) plays Sharpe?
I don't know much about Cornwell's background, but I'm going to read up on him. And you're right - the guy's a machine. I don't know how he publishes so often in light of how much research he has to do for his books.
Rita,
How have you been? How was the last chat?
And I'm going to avoid answering any questions about Monsieur Damon ;)
Doing good, Brian. Chat was fun. Born of Darkness released today. As of next week, I'm back to the evil day job, so am trying to gear up for that... kinda sorta.
Just for the record, I lurve Matt Damon :-)
Rita,
Congrats! Do keep us all informed on how BoD is doing!
Ah you're going back to the evil day job? My condolences.
Oh and here's the link for Born of Darkness everyone.
TY, Brian, for the congrats and the condolences :-) Work is part-time, so not so bad. Thanks for the posting the BoD link!
--Rita
You probably met Matt Damon on a golf course.
Brian
I'm quite alarmed by one item on your list. I'm assuming that you have played the The Old Course at St Andrews, because if you havent wouldnt that be above Pebble Beach et al?
Also I dont think you should play August Nat until your wife can play with you as a member.
I'll also rec Royal Portrush - a really beautiful links course.
Adrian,
I had trouble picking one of the European courses, so I didn't pick any. It was kind of like deciding between The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. So obviously, I should have expanded the golf course list to include ties as well. I would love to play St. Andrews and Troon as well.
As for the wife, she can get back into the kitchen. Just kidding.
Marco,
No such luck, my friend. How's the world of politics treating you lately?
Hello dear... in one comment, you may have lost your entire reader base! Just teasing - I know that kitchen remark was a big joke... hilarious. I'll expect a lovely dinner tonight while I sit with my feet up. Thanks.
Dear,
A lovely dinner it is. I'll make sure to time the delivery from Domino's with your arrival home from work.
That's very considerate of you, Brian--giving Jenna some some time to work up her 4X4 meme. How's that going, Jenna?
Seana,
Jenna's a little hesitant to do it, but I think it'd be good for my blog, because people are no doubt tired of hearing me talk about the same things over and over again: movies I've seen, golf, and The Unearthed.
Tell her she can make stuff up. In fact, I give her my full permission to post as Suzie.
Yesterday we had our first post-Electoral meeting. We will try to continue as a group, working for and with our two elected councillors.
You wouldn't have voted for us; we strongly oppose the creation of a golf course with added tourist facilities in the area.
Marco,
You never know. I'm kind of all over the map politically-speaking. Keep up the good work.
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