#John Zenda

[hellostarrynightblr]

favourite movies wached in 2022

1. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) dir. John Cromwell

The King lives.

#john cromwell #ronald colman #madeline carroll #1937 #douglas fairbanks jr #david niven #1930s #30s #adventure #romance #oldhollywoodedit #classic hollywood #favourite 2022 #the prisoner of zenda

[byneddiedingo]

Ronald Colman in The Prisoner of Zenda (John Cromwell, 1937)

Cast: Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor, David Niven, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Screenplay: John L. Balderston, Edward E. Rose, Wells Root, Donald Ogden Stewart, based on a novel by Anthony Hope. Cinematography: James Wong Howe. Art direction: Lyle R. Wheeler. Film editing: James E. Newcom. Music: Arnold Newman. 

The identical cousin is a genetic anomaly known only to Anthony Hope and the creators of The Patty Duke Show, but both got a great deal of mileage out of it. Hope's novel about a man who finds himself posing as a Ruritanian king to fend off a threat to the throne was such a hit that it was immediately adapted for the stage, turned into a film in 1913, and even became a Sigmund Romberg operetta. But leave it to David O. Selznick to produce perhaps the best of all adaptations. It was once said of Selznick -- I forget by whom, but it sounds a lot like something Ben Hecht would say -- that to judge from his movies, he had read nothing past the age of 12. Among the novels he made into movies are David Copperfield (George Cukor, 1935), A Tale of Two Cities (Jack Conway, 1935), Little Lord Fauntleroy (John Cromwell, 1936), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Norman Taurog, 1938). But it has to be said that each of these adaptations remains probably the best screen version of its source. The 1937 Prisoner of Zenda is so good that when MGM decided to remake it in Technicolor in 1952, producer Pandro S. Berman and director Richard Thorpe not only used the 1937 screenplay by John Balderston and Noel Langley, with Donald Ogden Stewart's punched-up dialogue, but also the score by Alfred Newman, following the earlier version almost shot for shot. The chief virtue of Selznick's production lies in its casting: Ronald Colman is suave and dashing as Rudolf Rassendyll and his royal double, Madeleine Carroll makes a radiant Princess Flavia, and Raymond Massey is a saturnine Black Michael. Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, and David Niven steal scenes right and left. Best of all, though, is Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Rupert von Hentzau, a grinning scamp of a villain. Fairbanks is so good in the role that we cheer when he escapes at the end. How Selznick got this one past the Production Code, which usually insisted on punishing wrongdoers. is a bit of a mystery, but he may have told the censors that he was planning to film Hope's sequel, Rupert of Hentzau, in which Rupert gets what's coming to him. He never got around to the sequel, of course, being distracted by Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939).

#The Prisoner of Zenda #John Cromwell #Ronald Colman

[dangermousie]

Farscape rewatch: 2x11 Look at the Princess Part 1

This three-parter is one of my fave eps and I think classic Farscape: taking the usual scifi trope and remaking it into something unique. On the surface, the set-up is something that has been done before, not just in scifi but in adventure lit of Victorian era: our brave Earthling (or Big Game Hunter, or Aristocratic Englishman) ends up having to pretend/be the groom of local royalty. Because he is so awesomely superior and attractive, of course. See Prisoner of Zenda and 8 million other titles. But this is Farscape, so this is not the case at all. When John is being chased, it’s never anything good  (I keep thinking of the fact that when Farscape finally decided to do the good old ‘hero must have more than one woman’ thing, they had Crichton raped by Grayza. In general, Crichton’s uniqueness brings him nothing but misery.) Here, the ‘other culture’ is far superior to the Earth one in its advancement, it’s powerful and needs no favors from anyone. Moreover, there is no ‘love’ or ‘he is so attractive’ on the part of the ‘natives.’ The reason Crichton works is, precisely, because in this world he is the genetic screw-up so he works as a mate for Katralla whose DNA has been messed with.

Nor is John someone who falls for the exotic Princess, or heroically rushes to the rescue of the kingdom out of noblesse oblige. He fights being married tooth and nail and then ‘unheroically’ surrenders to it when faced with threat of being turned over to Scorpius, and then saves everything only out of desperation and at the end, he is confronted with loss: his inability to kill Scorpius, the fact that he will never see his future child.

You know, I’ve forgotten how sharp the dialogue in Farscape is and how easily is can alternate between heart-breaking and completely funny. I keep thinking of the scene with John and D’Argo where John talks to D’Argo about hope and how “I have hope or I have nothing” and it’s an utterly heartbreaking scene:

(D’Argo pointing out his alternative is brain dissection by Scorpius is so very on brand - there is never an easy out or a good choice and a bad choice, just a bunch of bad choices.)

But anyway, it’s heartbreaking...

But it segues right into the bit of cultural misunderstanding about what ‘best man’ means and it’s now funny.

(Side note - will always love that D’s objection to what he thinks is John is propositioning him is “I am in a relationship already” and not anything else.)

D is a really good friend to John in this. They’ve come a long way since s1. Only a good friend would tolerate being constantly interrupted in his activities with Chiana (I love that John is so freaked by his future he merely registers her there and continues talking). John needs a friend badly at LATP. He doesn’t know it, but his insanity breakdown has began for real (he tells Aeryn he hears Scorpy in his head and she shrugs it off as paranoia. It must be pretty awful for John to have the one person you fear and hate the most always present). It’s a shudder-inducing scene in retrospect as it would be bad enough if it were PTSD but as is (Aeryn’s asking if 80 years as a statue is better than Scorpius here shows how much she does not yet get just how damaged John got by all of this; she will by the end of s2 but the price will be horrific.)

He is trapped by the Empress (whom I am not a fan of. I understand the necessity, but people who have no problems using other people as pawns are not a fave. And the whole setup is seriously proof as to why monarchy is a bad form of government - they are one bad ruler away from disaster). And then there is Scorpy. I love that John’s reaction to Scorpy is purely visceral, unreasoning. He is terrified and the way he uncontrollably flashbacks to his torture is evident on his face, and he tries to jest and put bravado but it all falls hollow.

He cannot control himself. I don’t think anyone else, not even Crais or Grayza, comes close to eliciting such a reaction out of him. Crais did a number on him physically, Grayza raped his body, and both hunted him assiduously, but Scorpius raped his mind and that’s his most important faculty in the mad world he’s thrust into. (But I love that even with all of that, he still asks Katralla what she wants not just as a last ditch hope of escape but because he does not believe in forcing people.) And now, I want to discuss my favorite stuff: John and Aeryn. I find myself both very frustrated with Aeryn through these eps (until the end of ep 3) and understanding completely where she comes from. She might deny that her wanting this marriage off is jealousy but Chiana can see it. I think in a way Crichton can too, but he needs her to give him something, anything to indicate reciprocity, that she would one day want to have something with him. The worst is when she says she won’t come to the wedding. She pushes a lot and wants a lot but tries to give nothing in return and yes that is very unfair but she is terrified, being with John would be the first real relationship she would have and she cannot handle the exposure, not yet. She can deal with the sex but she cannot deal with feelings. Her ambivalence is totally encapsulated in the first scene: she scents her hair so John would notice and tells him so later but when he does, she freaks and pulls away. He leans in for a kiss and she kisses him back but then breaks off. No wonder John is going insane.  I always die a little of swoon when they discuss the hair oil and she says that she will tell Zhaan he found her oils pleasing and he responds, both frustrated and trying to convince her desperately: ‘It’s you I find pleasing. Oh boy. She desperately needs to make it all about sex (something she is used to and familiar with). Crichton only wants her for sex, he is a walking horndog on legs etc etc, because she wants to deny any of her own feelings and any of his.

After having seen the entirety of Farscape, I melt a little when she sees Crichton interact with the simulacrum of his child and she realizes that he would want a child, that children are important to him. But also - as I mentioned, this is one child Crichton will never meet and he just has to live with it, there are no clean victories (side note, I loved that John was the one who wanted the emotions and the marriage and the baby and Aeryn had to think long and hard; such delicious reversal.)

P.S. Rygel/Aeryn kiss will never cease being funny. But also extra hilarious in light of his becoming her baby’s surrogate later, heeee.

PPS Ain’t it the truth

#farscape

[tinydooms]

2024 Old Hollywood Movies Project

After taking everyone's Old Hollywood movies recommendations into consideration, I've come up with a list of fity or so films to watch this year. I haven't yet decided whether or not I'm going to schedule specific films to specific months (though I will watch the Christmas movies at Christmas) or if I'm going to go by decade or just by list order. We'll see!

I also want to put in a couple of Anna Mae Wong's and Buster Keaton's films, but here is the list as it stands today, January 11th, 2024:

Design for Living, 1933

Morocco, 1930

The Prisoner of Zenda, 1939

My Man Godfrey, 1936

Bringing Up Baby, 1938

Stand-in, 1937

The Thin Man, 1934

The Big Sleep, 1946

The Maltese Falcon, 1941

It Happened One Night, 1934

Ball of Fire, 1941

The Gay Divorcee, 1934

Random Harvest, 1942

Now, Voyager, 1942

Brief Encounter, 1945

Meet John Doe, 1941

The Lady Eve, 1941

The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1934

Berkeley Square, 1933

I’ll Never Forget You, 1951

The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938

The Mark of Zorro, 1940

The Sea Hawk, 1941

Rebecca, 1940

The Bishop’s Wife, 1947

The Shop Around the Corner, 1940

Scrooge, 1951

The Philadelphia Story, 1940

Holiday, 1938

Without Love, 1945

I Know Where I’m Going, 1945

Dodsworth, 1936

The Furies, 1950

Ninotchka, 1939

Christmas in Connecticut, 1945

Gaslight, 1944

The Crimson Kimono, 1955

Sweet Smell of Success, 1957

The Little Minister, 1943

The Uninvited, 1944

His Gal Friday, 1940

Trouble in Paradise, 1932

The Scarlet Empress, 1934

The Old Dark House, 1932

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1947

The Night of the Hunter, 1955

Queen Christina, 1933

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, 1946

Shanghai Express, 1932

#Old Hollywood #movies #personal

[thebarroomortheboy]

RONALD COLMAN and MADELEINE CARROLL in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937) dir. John Cromwell

#1930's cinema #1937 #the prisoner of zenda #ronald colman #madeleine carroll #filmedit #classicfilmsource #classfilmgifs #oldhollywood #oldhollywoodgif #filmblr #dramaedit #romancedit

[oldshrewsburyian]

hey i saw some of your posts in the rogue male tag and wanted to ask if you could recommend some similar books?

Hello! Well, I'm not sure what you think of as similar, because of the particular layered ways in which the prose and plot of Rogue Male work, but here goes with a range.

The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope: adventurous Englishman goes to East Central Europe, gets involved in politics when he arguably shouldn't, remains committed to his sense of what his personal honor requires even when this raises the likelihood of his ending up extremely dead.

The End of the Affair, Graham Greene: extremely repressed Englishman writes with a mixture of defiance and self-loathing about the most passionate events and relationships of his life.

Watership Down, Richard Adams: life and philosophy -- and intermittent existential crises -- underground. Also much reflection on Englishness, of landscape and otherwise.

The 39 Steps, John Buchan: in which the international desire to keep a fragile peace and the desire of an individual Englishman to follow up Suspicious Dealings are at odds.

Kim, Rudyard Kipling: the original Great Game. Biracial orphan traverses subcontinent, contemplates multiple ways of knowing, seeks liberation from categories created by empires while deciding what his duty to the land of his birth is (I love this book.)

A God in Every Stone, Kamila Shamsie: An Englishwoman and an Armenian archaeologist and a Punjabi soldier traverse multiple continents, and most of all the Indian subcontinent, in an age of seismic change (I love this book too.)

The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje: featuring 'the English patient' as the most unreliable narrator of his own feelings, on the cusp of -- and, later, in the midst of -- a world war that threatens to shatter both present alliances and research into a deep past. (We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom...)

Silverlight, John Le Carré: I could just recommend his entire oeuvre, but instead I'm going with his last novel, an unusually slim one that, like Rogue Male, contains a very gradual reveal of an emotionally tangled and politically complex history.

#book recommendations #adultbooklr #graham greene #rogue male #watership down #the 39 steps #a god in every stone #kim #rudyard kipling #silverlight #the english patient #john le carré

[suzannahnatters]

Thank you so much for opening this up and for the list, Suzannah! :) Below are my asks~~

5. What is your ultimate favourite book?

11. Favourite authors? (Feel free to include/emphasize the underrated/non pop ones ;)

31. Is there a particular album/movie/TV show that really matched the vibes of a book you read? Which ones?

39. Favourite book to movie/TV show adaptation? (feel free to throw in a few - old+new are appreciated ;)

42. If you could change the ending of any one book, which book would you pick and why?

58. A book that emotionally wrecked you?

Thank you so much!

5. My favourite book of all time is The Lord of the Rings. Not a single misplaced word. The greatest artistic achievement of the 20th century, bar none. Demonstrates magnificent command of narrative, spectacular use of language, majestic thematic resonance, unforgettable settings and characters, impeccable grasp of military strategy and tactics, and an ending so poignant in its bittersweet emotion that it lifts an already brilliant book into the pantheon of great classics.

It may surprise you to learn that this is my favourite book because I've never even attempted to write anything remotely like it, but this is simply me recognising that I'd be an utter loon to try.

11. Favourite authors? I have so many! Among the dead my faves are JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser. The most obscure author I'm really abnormal about is Spenser, whose Faerie Queene is a magnificent epic of knights, monsters, virtues, vices, and the coolest ladies you will ever meet (Britomart, my love!!!). My favourite author of nonfiction is William Dalrymple who writes about travel and history mostly in Asia and is always worthwhile. 31. I'm having a lot of trouble with this one, so I'm going to flail out wildly and say that the album "Arcadia" by Eurielle is, from memory, a really close vibe match with Elizabeth von Armin's The Enchanted April, which is totally a book you should all read - peaceful, sunshiny, nostalgic.

39. Right now my favourite book-to-screen adaptation is Dune - Villeneuve's two movies are a brilliant adaptation job that capture what makes the book great and then improve on it in some key ways. Other noteworthy adaptations include The Princess Bride for a note-perfect adaptation of an already enormously fun book and Crazy Rich Asians which is SO much better than the book it's hard to believe.

42. Ooh! There are two books I absolutely adore, but the endings really disappointed me. Anthony Trollope's Can You Forgive Her? is one of my favourites of his, but I will always be disappointed that Alice ends up with John Grey - he starts out by disrespecting and gaslighting her, and while they eventually patch things up at the end, I never felt that he had really learned his lesson or would treat Alice any better in the future, and given that the book is over 300,000 words long I was super invested in Alice getting a good ending and I will never not be disappointed that she didn't. On the other hand, there's The Prisoner of Zenda in which the hero and heroine heroically relinquish their love for honour and this is why I can never write a good old-fashioned swashbuckler, even though I adore reading them, because deep down I don't believe that one should act like a turnip for the sake of honour, and you can't have a swashbuckler without that. 58. The most emotionally wrecked I've ever been by a book is Jennie by Paul Gallico. I was a BLUBBERING MESS but also mad about it to this day because I don't think he had the right to do that to anyone.

(Ask me more asks!)

#books i have read #books and reading #asks

[gatutor]

Ronald Colman-Madeleine Carroll "El prisionero de Zenda" (The prisoner of Zenda) 1937, de John Cromwell.

#Madeleine Carroll #Ronald Colman #John Cromwell

[lover-of-the-starkindler]

Prisoner of Zenda (1979)

Anthony Hope’s novel The Prisoner of Zenda is either the formative influence of the tropes I adore or one that manages to hit the sweet spot of most of them, and I’ve long said that MGM should do a shot for shot remake of their 1930′s version of the story, kind of like a ‘draw it again’ meme because it would be a lovely example of changing cinematography and filmmaking philosophy (and we also have the 1950s version to compare).

After watching the loosely adapted version with Peter Sellers I had a few thoughts, some snarky remarks, appreciation, and a laugh count...

Opening: !!!LANDSCAPE!!! PRETTY! not quite so enthusiastic about the king in the balloon, though, since he’s drinking and presumably about to meet his end. 

YIKE--oh, okay, wine cork through the bag is maybe funny and not the disaster I was envisioning at this point. ....and, nope, not amused by the irony of the actual death.

I’m having flashbacks to The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood; ah-ha, it IS Black Michael (who is a red-head, and not quite as charismatic as Prince John, though that may be a deliberate choice to have Michael overtly tyrannical) and here’s Rupert of Hentzau who is pretty. Pretty annoying, that is, and it seems Black Michael agrees. 

And here are Sapt and Fritz going to retrieve their prince from London... it’s interesting that the prince is expensively dressed, but the count is well dressed. If only the count had chosen his wife with the same care he bestowed on his wardrobe, we wouldn’t have to sit through this flirtation and mayhem in the club. Points to the count for his casual exit of the fountain after leaping in with his clothes on fire; and a point to Sapt for his use of a non-flaming pan and a cuspidor, the exits are the best part of the sequence.

Ah, we meet the cabbie with his uncanny resemblance to the prince. Sapt has a BRILLIANT idea. He and Fritz try to convince the cabbie to come to Ruritania--ooh, an actual laugh for Sapt and Fritz’s improv on the skills of the coachmen they’ve met. Poor Fritz, he’s really not cut out for this. ...and I call that the cabbie is talking about his horse right away; am I supposed to know that so that the dialogue is funnier? Either way, I’ll give it a hah, and kudos to the cabbie for looking after his business partner.

The count is back, and looking snazzy in a morning suit. Pity he runs into the cabbie who has no patience for a duel among gentlemen, and so the count is left without satisfaction. 

OOOOOH Fritz, you are not subtle in setting up the decoy. :/ On the bright side, the cabbie is a nice guy and the people at the station are going to have a lovely favorable impression of their new king. The cabbie is also confused by Fritz’s show of protocol, which is probably good for another hah. 

There’s a moment where Fritz realizes that he may not actually survive the attempt on the decoy’s life, and he swallows and takes his lumps bravely. What a cinnamon roll. Someone get this boy a new job. Or a better king. The cabbie takes the reins and wields his whip like an action hero! (DID RUPERT JUST GET TOSSED IN THE DITCH? HA! TAKE THAT RUPERT!)

SCENERY!!! CASTLE!!! NICE!!! But we have the spoiled prince to contrast with the cabbie and he doesn’t come off well. The staff are mildly confused when they meet the cabbie, and the cabbie is Suspicious and Demands Answers. We have a Discovery that there is Another (half-brother, that is, which explains the resemblance) and a kidnapping which is more cringe than comedy, which is sad because we were doing drama decently. Sapt convinces the cabbie to continue playing decoy.

Rupert taunts/flirts with Antoinette de Maubin. She slaps him. He backs off. Creepily.

OOOOOH Black Michael and Rupert have NICE uniforms for the coronation. And... aw, it’s the count again. And he’s in a snit.

Did we HAVE to mock the clergy? It’s sad, since we have a solemn moment when the cabbie is crowned.

Black Michael: How is this even possible? Rupert what did you do? Rupert: I swear I had nothing to do with this.

Flavia, love, what did you do to your hair? Oh, the 80s. I see. XD

It’s a bit out of place for the cabby to use the orb as a bowling ball, but I’ll grant it a laugh.

Now this is interesting. Zero effort is made to sell a cabbie/Flavia romance, and when she sees the difference between the prince and the cabbie he starts to tell her the truth right then and there and only Sapt’s swift intervention puts it off. And in every other interaction between the two they’re very honest and even kind to one another which is highly refreshing given how petty and cruel the other characters are.

Count: 1 wacky outfit, 1 horrible attempt at murder by croquet ball, 1 misfire. Props for dramatic tension, though?

The prince tries to convince Black Michael to let him go. What a poor little pathetic excuse for a man. Like, I think we were supposed to laugh when the prince rated his butterfly collection higher than the treasury or crown jewels, but, really, that’s just so sad. 

Plans are made for a double or triple cross; the major players meet at an abandoned windmill and, okay, having both sides pick a chicken for their ‘secret signal’ that all is not well is good for a laugh. Sapt and Fritz bumbling around does their characters no favors, alas. The night scenes here are BEAUTIFULLY lit; there are some wide shots that look more color-graded, but if there’s a light source the contrast is lovely. (So is Rupert’s red silk shirt he wears as he defends Zenda against the escape/rescue attempt.) The cabbie gets to call Rupert on his annoying habit, and Rupert grins as if, yes, he knows EXACTLY how much it drives everyone up the wall.

And then Rupert decides to play chaotic evil and switch sides.

YIKE--oh. Black Michael is only pinned to the wall, unharmed, not impaled through the throat. (is it on the viewer or did they really set up those scenes for the letdown/irony of the worst not happening??) Anyway, we have a fight scene that doesn’t hold a candle to a well done sword fight--or even a well done ‘bonk everyone on the head with random objects while other people fight’--and then we have an ending where the prince goes back to his gambling with the count’s wife at his side (poor count--but also, wow does that woman have poor taste) and the cabbie gets to be king and marry Flavia and hey! his horse gets to pull the bridal carriage and the cabbie gets to drive! Happy endings all around!

Or at least, what this movie considers to be happy endings.

#the prisoner of zenda #rabbit trail reviews

[waxedpaperdoor]

Since deleting all my social media (except tumblr, which can be pried out of my cold, dead hands) I suddenly have a lot more free time - who knew?? - and as a consequence I’m making my way through the most recent of my TBR piles. I lack any and all discipline at self-appointed tasks, so this post will serve as a bit of accountability.

Books I have read in 2023, up to and including re-reads, audiobooks, and ones I started in 2022 and never finished:

- The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham

- The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

- The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

- The Epic of Gilgamesh

[nabooro]

Names on Naboo

Something fun: names on Naboo! I love populating my worlds with OCs and I like having names that either sound similar to regular names but suited to fit the language (i.e. Isabella, Isabeau, Isobel) and names that have the same meaning but sound totally different.

So, some [non-canon] names on Naboo, definitely not an exhaustive list though, and their meanings:

Note: For names I have not kept to my own spelling rules, because they're names and they look prettier this way and also that's exactly how Naberrie works. Most are the exact same, but if a name ends with an "e", it is actually an extension of the previous vowel, i.e. Câlude would be spelled "câlood" and pronounced /ca:lu:d/ not /ca:lʊde/.

Adnéat - unisex name, meaning "born of the néâchin tree", more common in the rural parts of the Nirerd region, Hill Country (Ewan)

Câlod - male name, meaning "Graciousness of God" (John)

Câlude - female name, equivalent of Câlod (Jane)

Cooreeb, Cooreev - female name, for the cooreeb flower

Coshid, Coshan - male name, meaning "resolute protector" (William)

Dérun - unisex name, meaning "child of the moon"

Enshind, Enshid - female name, meaning "to excel", etymologically unrelated to Enshadu, but often associated with her all the same (Emily, Emilia)

Filla - female name, meaning "beloved" (Mary)

Gochan, Goshan - unisex name, meaning "famous warrior" (Louis[a])

Gorin / Gorine - unisex name, though female as Gorine, meaning "free man" (Charles / Caroline)

Goré, Gorrie, Gorne, Goren - shortened versions of Gorin/e, with Goré mainly female and Goren mainly male (Charlie / Carrie)

Gyâtar, Gyâtak - male name, meaning "victory of the people." Especially common with followers of Zenda. (Nicholas)

Hodâch, Hodâsh, Hodré - female name, meaning "river"

Ishees, Yshees, Yshese - female name, "ruler of the world"

Jisom, Jisomb, Jisombe - male name, deriving from a patronymic of Vânes, as was common practice in the Shisén and Danank regions, aka the Headlands and Low Country (Harrison)

Jiyoon - female name, meaning "moon's daughter"

Kiléa, Leia - female name, meaning "undying, immortal"

Kosâb, Cosâb - male name, meaning "bright son" - but brightness associated with the moon, not the sun

Massât - male name, old-fashioned, meaning "weapon of God" (Oscar)

Medsen, Medsin, Mezin, Medsine - male name, but growing common for girls as medsin / medsine, meaning "dedicated to Zenda" (Mark)

Midsom, Mizom - male name but growing common for girls as Midsom, meaning "hay field" (Hayden)

Nakâtu, Nakté, Nokart - female name, meaning "birth of God", but very old-fashioned as Nakâtu. (aka Natalie)

Namise - female name, meaning "home ruler" (Harriet, Henrietta)

Namun - male name, popularised by a famous artist from a few centuries before present time, means "worker of the earth" (George)

Nasâsh, Nacysh - male name, meaning "ruler of the world" (Donald / Domhnall)

Niki, Nikki - female name, meaning "queen"

Oréd - female name, meaning "orédfil flower"; more old-fashioned versions include Rédfil, Rédfilla. (Daisy).

Orren, Odnen - male names, though sometimes given to women as a nickname for other similar names - shortened versions of Ornesun / Odnesun, meaning "protector of men" (Alexander / Alex / Alec)

Râdmen, Radmé - female name, equivalent of Rudmân (is Edwina a f. version of Edward ?)

Rodmin - male name, meaning "worker of earth" (Edward)

Rosâte - female name, meaning "wealth [given by] God" (Jessica)

Ryaré, Riyaré - female name, meaning "sweet flower"

Shineke - female name, meaning "to strive, to aim for" (Emily, Amy)

Sonn - male name, very common, meaning "born of the earth" (Adam)

Sorun - male name, very popular, meaning "bringer of light" - one of the many moon-based names on Naboo, especially popular for children born on one or more full moons (Lucas)

Soluke, Luke - unisex as Soluke but mainly male as Luke - "just, righteous" (Justin)

Soo - unisex name, meaning "river"

Thâcon - male name, meaning "god will give" (~Joseph)

Tsadun - female version of Sonn (not Eve lol)

Vânem, Vânes - male name, shortened from the out-of-use Vânemes, meaning "home ruler" (Henry, Harry)

Yeji - female name, meaning "pure" (Catherine)

#naboo #naboo culture #nabooro #sw #star wars #.names #.vocabulary #i had such a blast with this #i could keep going forever but this post is... long enough lol

[hellostarrynightblr]

every 1930s movie watched (31 - ∞)

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) dir. John Cromwell

King for a day...

#john cromwell #1937 #1930s #the prisoner of zenda #ronald colman #madeleine carroll #douglas fairbanks jr #david niven #fave #favorite2022 #adventure #romance

[fairytalesandfandoms]

1, 16 and 47 for the bookworms ask?

Thank you!

1 - Name the best book you've read so far this year

This is difficult. I know I ought to pick Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, because it was very good and it's been nominated for awards, it's by a Black woman, it includes queer POC... From a 'quality of writing' standpoint it probably is the 'best book'.

BUT the one that brought me most joy was Bookworm by Lucy Mangan. Mangan recounts the books she read as a child and how books and reading were interwoven with her life. And like, she GETS it. She gets the whole reading thing. (The only place we diverge in any significant way is Tolkien and other 'secondary world' fantasy - she tried it but found it just wasn't her thing.) I'm sure some people would find all her hyperbole about books annoying though.

I can't think of a way to explain this that doesn't sound silly, but it was like 'oh THIS is why I liked reading'. I'll go off on one about this in a different post because I wrote a whole thing and it got off topic. But it really made me want to read, especially books that are like... whatever the children's books I/we read are like. If you can think of anything, I'm definitely open to suggestions!

16 - Favourite trilogy

It has to be Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

47 - What are the last three books you read?

Midnight by Jacqueline Wilson (reread as part of my 'let's go through all my books in the approximate order I read/got them' thing. Apparently where my dad does walking challenges, I do convoluted book [and film] challenges of my own devising which aren't monitored in any way)

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly

#asks #phoenixflames12 #books

[entremirada]

Un mundo feliz’: Toma soma y quítate la ropa

"(...) También hay una especie de inteligencia artificial superdesarrollada, INDRA, que es quien controla todo esto y graba todo lo que ven las lentillas, detectando incluso quién está empezando a follar con demasiada poca gente diferente, provocando motivo para la alarma social, y cuya naturaleza proveerá a la historia con un par de sorpresas en la trama. Una de ellas es que John, lejos de suicidarse en una torre abandonada, lidera una revuelta de epsilons que se le va de las manos y que provocará un cambio cataclísmico en esta sociedad, quién sabe si para bien o para mal."

Huxley

#Un mundo feliz

[thebarroomortheboy]

In my heart there is no King, no crown - only you!

RONALD COLMAN and MADELEINE CARROLL in PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937) dir. John Cromwell 

#1930's cinema #1937 #the prisoner of zenda #ronald colman #madeleine carroll #filmedit #classicfilmgifs #classicfilmsource #oldhollywood #oldhollywoodgif #filmblr #dramaedit #romanceedit

[palladium-poisoned]

2, 7, 16, and 19 for the book asks? :)

2. top 5 books of all time? HMMMM what a good question omg

the zenda series by ken petti, john amoedeo, and cassanda westwood for sure. if for no other reason than no one has heard of it and i'm going to never stop talking about it so other people can get dragged into this hell with me and be sad that this childrens book series trying to capitalize on the 00's boom of magical school popularity got canceled and mysteriously never published its 9th book (it has an isbn and everything and i even emailed the publisher about it but they left me on read)

honestly the lies of locke lamora by scott lynch i think. this is a newer one (in that it's not grandfathered in by a decade) but it is honestly. phenomenal. it's uh. VERY crass and VERY violent and VERY graphic and nasty so if thats not ur thing, avoid avoid avoid. but if u dont mind it getting fucking. uhm. real. it's super fucking good the world building is incredible (and then we leave it all behind in book two 🥲 rip)

honestly the percy jackson series is top notch and heroes of olympus its sequel series killed it too. rick riordan is so good i love his stuff so much. yeah these are series instead of books but thats the kind of fantasy world loving queer i am. i also have cant make decisions disorder so we're going with series! it's fine!

the wide awake princess by e.d. baker and its sequels are so cute. it's by the same author who wrote the princess frog books (nothing like the movie but ""allegedly"" the insp. the insp my ass.) and it's like. all the fairytales existing in one magical world and i love it very much. it's not very deep or anything its for ages like. five to nine. but i love it anyway

honestly probably the princess academy by shannon hale. i return to it so often and im trying to read the sequel now. i even named one of my oldest ocs after the main character. so yeah, probably this one.

7. is there a series/book that got you into reading? YES and im sorry to report it was harry potter. i liked reading,,,, enough before then, but it was more of a "mommy mommy read me dr seuss's sleep book or stellaluna again" and mom tried to read me sorcerer's stone back when they tried to ban it but i wasn't interested then i saw the movie and i had to know what happened next. so like a lot of people my age, it was harry potter

16. how many books have you read this year? don't look at me and my shame 🥲 i think one. i read it when the power went out. i've been kind of super depressed since late last year, and my main hobby is roleplaying. so when i do have the energy to be reading long form prose, it tends to be roleplay posts i need to respond to askjdfhg i have a bunch i want to be reading though, and honestly i'm like. got my finger on the trigger i am SO close to rereading all of pjato and heroes of olympus i can just fucking feel it

19. most disliked popular books? HHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMM other than fifty shades and asoiaf uuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhmmmmmmm

YOU KNOW WHAT? ROBIN HOOD i loved robin hood and all things medieval as a kid (still do) and we had to read robin hood in school and i loved it!

until the ending. i was FURIOUS at the ending !!!!! i will. post a private post. and link it. bc tumblr is fighting me tonight.

link!

#THANK U FOR ASKING <333 #i love books even if im too depressed to read them lately #so this ask game is fun ;v; #piratebay #palladiuhm