In honor of Daphne of Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, a recent visitor to Paris (France), Barcelona (Spain), and Cape Canaveral (Florida, U.S.A.); and also in honor of Dr. Jim, a resident of that vast uncharted territory that spreads away from Houston (Texas, U.S.A.) who at this very moment is a passenger on the QM2 ocean liner and is planning to spend much of January on the island of Grenada in the Caribbean; and, belatedly, in honor of Sam and Dorothy G. who left frozen Ohio for Cabo San Lucas in Baja California before Christmas and Cocoa Beach in Florida after Christmas; and especially for all the fine folk everywhere who long to travel but for various reasons must stay at home, I post these words of wisdom:
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” --T.S. Eliot
“The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” --Marcel Proust
“If I had to live my life again, I’d do everything the same, except that I wouldn’t see The Magus.” --Woody Allen
Well, now I'll have to see "The Magus"! I read the book, had no idea there was a movie made of it.)
ReplyDeleteMr Rhymes With Carrot
ReplyDelete"The Magus" was a stupendous book - by John Fowles. It blew me away when I first read it but I agree with Mr Allen - the film version was very disappointing.
Happy 2009
Mr Pudding
Sam - Loved the book. Hated the film. John Fowles, who also wrote The French Lieutenant's Woman, wrote both the book and also the screenplay for The Magus. Wikipedia says the film was "a critical disaster" and Michael Caine called it "the worst film I was ever involved in because nobody knew what it was all about." I have seen it on television and agree with Michael.
ReplyDeleteI think the point of Woody Allen's comment is that you needn't waste your time on the movie. But I suppose, being the contrarian you are, you will do it anyway. Don't say you weren't warned.
I like the Proust quote very much! As I work toward improving my photographic skills, having "new eyes" is my goal.
ReplyDeleteMr. Yorkshire Pudding, Esq. - One thing I loved about reading stuff by John Fowles was how much he immersed himself in whatever he was writing about (see The French Lieutenant's Woman and also Daniel Martin).
ReplyDeletePat - Judging from your photos, it's working!
ReplyDeletetravel, i once followed on her blog an american girl through europe and i enjoyed it better than the times i have spent in france, belgium, holland, sweden, norway, switzerland, germany, england{no england i rather be there in person than vicariously}, spain, heberdies ,scotland, ireland...no baggage checks , snow, cold uncentral heating. bad food, unhospitable clerical peoples,,,but best wishes to our jim who is a big sissy not staying in houston and others traveling
ReplyDeleteI am liking the Marcel Proust quote the best of those. I usually am disappointed by a movie version of any book I have read. For me if I am to watch the movie then I should read the book after. But that is usually not how it happens. I haven't seen the Magus though.
ReplyDeleteCount me in as a fan of the Proust quote, too. And, as Pat said, I think of it as I wander around the farm taking photographs. Who needs traveling, anyway!?
ReplyDeleteFunny you should have included Woody Allen....I'm looking for more of his movies.
Happy Belated New Year greetings to more commenters....
ReplyDeletePutz (David) - Interesting placement of prepositional phrases (I once followed on her blog an American girl through Europe); reminds me of "Throw Mama from the train a kiss."
Egghead (Vonda - I like to read the book before seeing the movie version. Ones that I thought made the transition well include To Kill A Mockingbird, Prince of Tides, and the first Lord of the Rings movie, The Fellowship of the Ring. Also, I like to imagine the characters while I'm reading and not keep seeing movie stars.
Jeannelle - The Proust quote seems to be winning. Here's a bit of trivia: The Magus begins with the T. S. Eliot quote. I included the Woody Allen quote just to be oddball and quirky.