Monocles.

[Dr Doran]

Where is the picture with the monocle Doran?

I forgot to wear it for the baptism service (which was lovely and all in Polish) ... whoops ... I'll put up a picture of the service and then take a pic of myself with the monocle and a double breasted suit ... soon ... I promise ... gotta get back to the Thucydides ... will post soon.

 

[Alan Eardley]

(Lovely wedding pictures, lovely white dress.)

OK. OK. The monocle finally arrived today. I just got home. I put it in. It keeps wanting to fall out. Perhaps I shall indeed wear the cord.

Doran,

Will you accept a little advice from a long-time monocle wearer? The cord has nothing to do with keeping the monocle in your eye. It just suspends it from your neck when you are not wearing it or helps you to retrieve it from your pocket.

If it keeps falling out you need to make sure that you have the correct size for your eye socket. Did you check that before buying it? Also, is it gated (a sort of ring behind the one that holds the lens) or ungated? Some people need a gate, others can't keep a gated glass in their eye. Finally, are you having to try hard to hold it in? It should fit naturally without any effort on your part, otherwise it will drop out every time you relax your eye muscles.

Alan

 

[Dr Doran]

Doran,

Will you accept a little advice from a long-time monocle wearer? The cord has nothing to do with keeping the monocle in your eye. It just suspends it from your neck when you are not wearing it or helps you to retrieve it from your pocket.

If it keeps falling out you need to make sure that you have the correct size for your eye socket. Did you check that before buying it? Also, is it gated (a sort of ring behind the one that holds the lens) or ungated? Some people need a gate, others can't keep a gated glass in their eye. Finally, are you having to try hard to hold it in? It should fit naturally without any effort on your part, otherwise it will drop out every time you relax your eye muscles.

Alan

Thank you, Mr Eardley. I am pleased to hear your advice. Yes, my mention of the cord was only in that if it DID fall out, the thing would not break on the floor. Yes, the monocle is gated (I did not know that term!). I am not sure if it is the correct size. More experimentation to follow and I'll keep you posted on this (mon)OCULAR ADVENTURE.

 

[6StringShooter]

FWIW, I think monocles are cool...don't give up your quest!!!

 

[Dr Doran]

FWIW, I think monocles are cool...don't give up your quest!!!

Thanks SS. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Dr Doran]

Finally got the monocle.

There it is. Got the monocle. Here is a picture of me with it in. I think I will only wear it for special occasions and photographs, though. It's my new avatar. I cannot seem to upload a baptism picture, though, for those of you who were asking.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

The monocle looks nice. You lucky dad, what a sweet baby.
Ashley

 

[Dr Doran]

The monocle looks nice. You lucky dad, what a sweet baby.
Ashley

Thank you, Ashley! That is nice of you to say (both compliments, I mean). Dominika is a nice baby altogether. She has a new yell that is rather unnerving, though. It is the precise scream made by Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers when he has become a pod person and points at the female to indicate that she is human.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

How well I remember the scream from that movie. Glad to read the monocle is going on the Portland outing, too!

 

[Dr Doran]

How well I remember the scream from that movie. Glad to read the monocle is going on the Portland outing, too!

An unforgettable scream ... a brilliant film. The older one (with Kevin McCarthy, was it?) was amazing too.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Oh, yes. I saw it at the George Eastman House's theatre in the 70s. The off-shoulder dress the beautiful girl wore! I decided I loved the fifties right then. Story by the great Jack Finney.

 

[Dr Doran]

Oh, yes. I saw it at the George Eastman House's theatre in the 70s. The off-shoulder dress the beautiful girl wore! I decided I loved the fifties right then. Story by the great Jack Finney.

You know the way the first one ended? You know that's how the Donald Sutherland one began, right? Kevin McCarthy (if that was his name) in traffic, trying to warn people about the horror, looking like a madman.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

fftopic: As if it were yesterday. It is Kevin McCarthy. Those are going on my library hold list! I've even seen part of the 1993 version when I repaired the library's copy of the videotape and wanted to make sure the splice was unnoticable.

 

[Dr Doran]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/images/smilies/offtopic.gif 1990's version? Abel Ferrarra version? Hated it. His best flick was Addiction.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

fftopic: The same. I only watched about 5 minutes of it. I saw The Addiction when I was watching every movie catalogued as 'Horror' the Rochester Public Library system owned. I recall there was something I liked about it but I can't recall precisely what it was. That one goes on the list, now, too. There is not a movie I have discovered that is scary enough for me. I keep looking.

 

[Dr Doran]

fftopic: The same. I only watched about 5 minutes of it. I saw The Addiction when I was watching every movie catalogued as 'Horror' the Rochester Public Library system owned. I recall there was something I liked about it but I can't recall precisely what it was. That one goes on the list, now, too. There is not a movie I have discovered that is scary enough for me. I keep looking.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/images/smilies/offtopic.gif
Wow, this is getting off topic. But it's great stuff. If you want to continue it in another thread, let's, but in the mean time:
My 2 favorite scaries are about sick people and the fear of dismemberment, not about supernatural entities (though I loved The Ring), for I do not believe in a spirit world. They are:
1: Audition. Japanese. Nice middle aged guy wants to meet a lady. His friend is a commercial producer and says they should pretend they need a lady to cast a part in a commercial. He says OK. They do tryouts. One catches his eye. But she is the most messed up woman imaginable. Huge gore. Utterly frightening and disgusting. Brilliant. Sick.
2: Hostel. American but filmed in Amsterdam and Slovenia. Two American boys and go a-whoring in Amsterdam, then hear that in Slovenia at this one hostel the girls will do anything with a boy provided he has an American accent. They go to the hostel. I cannot spoil the gimmick because it's quite original. Utterly sickening. Loved it.
And I suppose #3: 28 Days Later. English. A 'real' movie, but also a zombie movie, beautiful soundtrack, lyrical visuals, full of very interesting themes about the nature of society, freedom, reproduction, the tradeoff between individual and group survival, personal loyalty vs. loyalty to the human race's reproduction. Somewhat nihilistic. The DVD gives you 3 separate possible endings to ponder; will spark many conversations.

 

[HadleyH]

Nice avatar Doran!

 

[Dr Doran]

Nice avatar Doran!

Thanks. Knew you'd like it! Can't see much of my suit, though. Too bad.

 

[Harp]

What a beautiful baby!
...And do I spot a monocle, old boy?

 

[Dr Doran]

But of course, my good Harp, I am indeed wearing it in this photo. My wife, bless her soul, despises it (the eyepiece, not our baby) so I don't wear it for much more than the occasional photo ... it appears to raise some hackles ... the Oxford-educated professors at Berkeley think it's hilarious and want me to wear it more, even to teach Latin in it; I wore it for my Latin students and they were amused, a good show all around. Pip pip pip, jolly well, etc. Now if they can just memorize the subjunctive .... Perhaps some of the professors have schoolboy memories of some ancient Oxford dons sporting one above their fuliginous robes at dinner. (Who bloody knows. Nice gents, though.) One (Ferarri, teaches Greek philosophy, wrote the book "Listening to the Cicadas" about Plato; I have not read it) said if I wear the eyepiece I can get away with keeping a habitual sneer on my face because I can pretend that I need to keep the sneer on in order to hold the thing in ... heh heh heh ... I'd rather smile than sneer, but it's nice to know I have the freedom if I change my mind ... thank you sir for your compliments about our little munchkin, she is five and a half months old and tonight we just got back from a dinner party at the house of a professor and everyone was cooing over her. She's a lot of fun to have around, plus when they see her they feel sorry for all the diapers I have to change, and they thereby do not get on my case TOO hard if I don't speed fast enough through the program ... A USEFUL TOOL INDEED as well as a wonderful and sweet baby unto herself.
Sorry about the ellipses, the telegraphic style, the dot dot dot ... been reading Louis-Ferdinand Celine again ... Death on the Installment Plan (Mort a Credit) ... bleak ... can't seem to finish a sentence ...