George Eliot's Middlemarch?🐘

'1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die'

I just finished listening to George Eliot's novel 'Middlemarch' after having watched the 1994 BBC TV series on DVD and can say I enjoyed both.

What's a Bloke Like George Eliot Got to Do with International Women's Day?📚🐇

Middlemarch read by 
Margaret Espaillat

I think I'm more intrigued and impressed with the semi-fictious story of Mary Ann Cross (AKA George Eliot/Mary Ann Evans) who seems to have put a lot of her own life story and thoughts into her fictional stories like 'Middlemarch' and 'The Mill on the Floss'.

Coincidences in the Novel and Other Books?📖📚🐰

Middlemarch TV Mini Series (1994)

I've listened to some 'IDEAS' podcasts recently about the novel 'Middlemarch' and 'Picturing the Past' that are well worth a listen to, I think.

Ideas Podcast: Love and Consequences:
George Eliot's Middlemarch, Part One

Love and Consequences: George Eliot's
Middlemarch, Part Two

 Ideas Podcast:
Picturing the Past: History Movies

From the special features of the 1994 BBC DVD

The town of Stamford where the BBC filmed the TV series

Middlemarch is a fictious English town, but is said to be based on Coventry, where Mary Ann Evans grew up in and around.

The Coventry City Flag

Coventry is a very interesting city, I think.

David Icke

The ELEPHANT in the room (Coventry)?-)

Cloud Atlas: Everything is Connected?

As a young soccer player in my pre-teen years, I used to own and wear the blue, black and white Coventry City strip to soccer training, as it resembled the colours of my favourite Australian Rugby League team the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

My English neighbours brought me back the strip from a trip to England after I gave them some hard earned money of mine and asked them to get me the home kit of Coventry City.

My young teammates would wear their favourite English team's kit (or parts of it) to soccer training.

Teams I didn't like, like Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc.

I liked going for underdog teams like Coventry, so the coincidence that their jersey matched my favourite Rugby League team's colours swayed me to go for them.  

Coventry Junior 22/23 Home Shirt

 Sharks home-jersey-2023--youth

I never had any ties to Coventry though and can't remember why I drifted away from them being my team (probably relegation to the minor leagues, which we in Australia couldn't watch or easily follow). 
Over the years I eventually settled on going for Tottenham (Spurs), as I figured if I ever moved to England I'd probably go to London, so I picked my favourite London club to follow.
I've still never been to England ... and looks like I may never will in this lifetime, the way the years are now flying by in my life.

I wouldn't mind visiting Coventry and London ... and maybe Bronte Country, too.

From Brontë Country to a Byron Bay Brewery Tour?

Coventry Lucky Shamrock Dress Sock

Middlemarch is definitely a book I would read again ... God willing, that is;-)

Such is life as time Middlemarches on:-(

Brief Answers to the Big Questions?🌃❓

I was watching the above book review of Stephen Hawking's last book a few nights back when I was watching a book review about 'Around the World in 80 Days' on the same You Tube channel.

I Listened to Around the World in 80 Days in 1 Day?🌍🌎🌏

The next day I go into work (I've been doing volunteer work for a charity shop the last few weeks) and I'm sorting through a box of recent book donations, and what should be in that box?

So, I bought it.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions?

Hmm ... an answer, or just a coincidence?

Stephen Hawking's Final Theory: The Universe is a Hologram?

What Dreams May Come: Bledsoe Said So?😴🛌👽👼

Another interesting episode of BSS featuring Warren Smith and his dreams and strange goings on.

Angels and Aliens?👼👽

Around the World in Plane Sight?🌏🛩

Ryan Campbell critical
after Tiger Moth crash

It took me years to work out who the blindfolded guy almost being pushed off the Redcliffe jetty in 2017 by his mates as the whale watching cruise I was on that day was trying to dock in the same spot his "mates" were trying to push him off the jetty into -

Successful Whale Watching Thought Experiment ... or Just a Big Coincidence?

Youngest Pilot to Circumnavigate
 the World Solo

Who Can You Trust, if You Can't Trust Your Friends?

I Listened to Around the World in 80 Days in 1 Day?🌍🌎🌏

UPDATE: April 1st, 2023

A student pilot who “fell from the sky”
during his second ever flying lesson

Some people will just never learn it seems;-)

I Listened to Around the World in 80 Days in 1 Day?🌍🌎🌏

I was so tempted to skip reading 'Around the World in 80 Days' (or listening to it being read to me), but I'm glad that I didn't.

From '1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die' 

The book sounds like a Frenchman's take on just about everything he didn't like about the British Empire at the time.

I listened to the whole book being read to me on Sunday through a Loyal Books reading on Apple Podcasts, while I did some housework in the morning and then muted the commentary of the football games I watched on TV later that day.

Who needs to hear their opinions about the matches anyway?

Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne

I mentioned my intention of reading the book back in this old February 2023 post -

Around the World in the Year of the Rabbit?🌍🐇🌎🎈🌏🐰

I want to watch some movie and TV versions of Jules Gabriel Verne's novel to see how close they stick to the original novel, as unlike the reviewer in the You Tube right at the top of this post, I really enjoyed Verne's novel from a 2023 hindsight perspective of what the world was like then and what I know would happen to the world in all those years in-between then and now.

I like how Verne mentions in the book that the population of India being somewhere like 158 million at the time, when today the population is around the 1 billion mark.

Kind of mind boggling to me.

And timing is everything it seems, because I just wrote two posts about an ex-Mormon who hosts a podcast called 'Cults to Consciousness' and then find out that Verne has a whole chapter about Mormonism in the book with chapter 27 subtitled "IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT UNDERGOES, AT A SPEED OF TWENTY MILES AN HOUR, A COURSE OF MORMON HISTORY".

Trippy stuff indeed, I think;-)

How Psychedelics Changed an Ex-Mormon's Life?⛪🍄

Far From the Madding Crowd
by Thomas Hardy

Now I'm about to listen to 'Far from the Madding Crowd', which should be a contrast to Verne's story, but first I'll watch the 2015 movie, which I found on DVD in a charity shop for $1, and then see how it holds up to the novel.

UPDATE: March 30th, 2023

I bought the 1956 movie version (because I could either rent or buy it for $4.99) and watched it the other night and it was kind of faithful to the book, apart from a balloon ride and a visit to Spain, and no mention of a visit to Utah and Mormonism.

"I think comedians have something very serious inside. They see both sides of life. But they prefer to look at the happy side - and to make happy the people." Cantinflas

I had not heard of the Mexican comedian Cantinflas who was once described as "the world's greatest comedian" by none other than Charles Chaplin, until I watched this movie, and wondered who this guy was.

And I never knew 'Ol blue eyes' was in this movie until I watched it.

How Psychedelics Changed an Ex-Mormon's Life?⛪🍄

I found this You Tube above an interesting one, where the host of the 'Cults to Consciousness' podcast, which I mentioned in my last post gives her account of healing on plants after leaving the Mormon Church -

Faith/Cults on Trial?⛪📿👼

The Shadow Side of Ayahuasca

Faith/Cults on Trial?⛪📿👼

True Crime: Faith on Trial: Hillsong

Thinking about Religion and Violence

Hillsong Church has quite literally been in the news lately I see.

Not to mention some high-profile (ex-)Scientologists;-)

Cults to Consciousness Podcast

False Profits: Hillsong

I've been listening to a lot of podcasts about Hillsong and other cultish "Faiths" lately, as well as watching 'The Great Courses' Streaming channel's 'Thinking About Religion and Violence' lecture series hosted by Peter Garret lookalike Jason C. Bivins, Ph.D.:-)

Thinking about Religion and Violence

You've Gotta Have Faith ... and Religion?

My son just brought me back from his trip to the USA a gift from a Salem witch, so it was interesting watching the 'Thinking About Religion and Violence' lecture about the Salem witch trials, not that I'm into witchcraft myself.

Nor is he, as far as I know.

Modern Witchcraft, Inciting a Brew Ha Ha and Stirring the Cauldron?

And I have nothing against religion and people wanting to go to church, I'm just not into beliefs like an everlasting hell and a lot of the dogma religions try to push onto their flock.

Rituals Without DOGma?

Hillsong: A Megachurch Shattered

Mind you there are a lot of "WOKE" groups that aren't religions that act very cultish, too.

The Rough End of the Pineapple in 2023?🍍💸🤑

After years of growing a pineapple in my garden to almost an edible fruit I found that a possum most likely left me with only the rough end of it to do what I like with it:-P

A pineapple is a slang term for an Australian $50 note, as well, so my pineapple incident might just be a metaphor for the way the Australian economy is headed in 2023? 

The Rough End of the PINEapple?

Growing a pineapple was on my bucket list;-)

Pineapple Head?-)

Philip Lowe's signature on the pineapple

Faith in the Reserve Bank board
is at an all-time Lowe

I should have paid more attention to that 'When to Pick the Pineapple' video at the top of this post.

What's with the Pineapple Tattoo in 'Notre Dame'?🍍

That swinger's symbol of the upside-down pineapple is something I didn't know about back in 2013 when I wrote that post linked below, so I'm glad I never bought an upside-down pineapple shirt, as I'm certainly NOT a swinger. 

And I'm careful now not to accept Upside-down pineapple cake from strangers, either;-)

I wonder what would happen if you stuck an upside-down Australian $50 note on your cabin door?-)

The Upside-Down Pineapple

Subliminal Sex Messages?

Pineapple Head for People Who Like to Be Together Alone?🍍

More Pop Cultural Pineapples?🍍