Godot 149 Posted May 17, 2006 Aye, apologies Godot, as my strap-line says; I need to get a life. Not exactly well read where Russian dissendent cult heroes are concerned. The problem being that Cumbrians when faced with books about people living in cold climates, criminally neglected by those in power and struggling for material comforts tend to shrug their shoulders and say: 'And yer point is......' It could have been worse for him. The bastards could have built a nuclear power plant there. But no-one is that heartless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrunoBrimley 86 Posted May 17, 2006 Who gives a sh*t about the spoon? Well I do for one MPFC. I had been giving this some thought and wondered if there was a clue in One Day in the life of Ivan Danisovich but I don't have a copy and it's a long time since I read it. I'm sure that Solzhenitsyn must have used a spoon that he would have carved himself, fashioned no doubt with his own hand. And the wood? I would venture either Pinus sylvestris or Picea abies, possibly Larix sibirica but almost certainly not Sorbus aucuparia or any type of Betula, thus pre-dating Ray Meers by at least a couple of decades. It was the only way to beat the system. Much and greetedly greatly obliged Mr. Godot. And good work on rememberalating the reference therein towards Ivan Denisovich and his spooon. It has been a puzzler for years to me to know whether Solzy did indeed carve a spoon on his own or was he forced to have another Gulag resident do this for him. A Always made me sad how they had to march into the cold barracks at night and leave their footwear piled near the stove (for drying purposes only0 and not fully know if th next day thye would get their own footwear back. and then those midnight inspections. But yet he pereservered and carried on and built that wall that day on outside assignment even though he was not feeling well. Loved that book since I first read it many a year back in the 19 and 70's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godot 149 Posted May 17, 2006 Who gives a sh*t about the spoon? Well I do for one MPFC. I had been giving this some thought and wondered if there was a clue in One Day in the life of Ivan Danisovich but I don't have a copy and it's a long time since I read it. I'm sure that Solzhenitsyn must have used a spoon that he would have carved himself, fashioned no doubt with his own hand. And the wood? I would venture either Pinus sylvestris or Picea abies, possibly Larix sibirica but almost certainly not Sorbus aucuparia or any type of Betula, thus pre-dating Ray Meers by at least a couple of decades. It was the only way to beat the system. Much and greetedly greatly obliged Mr. Godot. And good work on rememberalating the reference therein towards Ivan Denisovich and his spooon. It has been a puzzler for years to me to know whether Solzy did indeed carve a spoon on his own or was he forced to have another Gulag resident do this for him. A Always made me sad how they had to march into the cold barracks at night and leave their footwear piled near the stove (for drying purposes only0 and not fully know if th next day thye would get their own footwear back. and then those midnight inspections. But yet he pereservered and carried on and built that wall that day on outside assignment even though he was not feeling well. Loved that book since I first read it many a year back in the 19 and 70's. Much more authentic too (because it was true) than Papillon where it was impossible to separate fact from fiction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,639 Posted May 17, 2006 Always made me sad how they had to march into the cold barracks at night and leave their footwear piled near the stove (for drying purposes only0 and not fully know if th next day thye would get their own footwear back. and then those midnight inspections. But yet he pereservered and carried on and built that wall that day on outside assignment even though he was not feeling well. Footwear! They had footwear! Man, up in West Cumbria we used to dream about footwear, the lucky ones would get polish and could paint their feet black but the rest of us, we had it hard, I remember one time........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pulphack 6 Posted May 17, 2006 footwear? in essex they walk on their knees, get up half and hour before they go to bed, work 27 hours a day - oh, you look up the yorkshiremen sketch. honestly, northeners... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bennett_Cerf 2 Posted May 26, 2006 I really do not feel much up to making an extensive search at this time, so I am trusting that someone can tell me if Mr.Solzhenitsyn has written and published any volumes of interest as of late. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Zed Posted June 2, 2006 Hello my darlings Did you know that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was still alive? Well he is. He's 85 and feeling a bit peeky Death comes to us all wearing Pixie Boots Why do you call me darling? Do I know you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Four Horsemen 26 Posted June 4, 2006 Hello my darlings Did you know that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was still alive? Well he is. He's 85 and feeling a bit peeky Death comes to us all wearing Pixie Boots Why do you call me darling? Do I know you? I get the feeling that Ms Boots won't be along to any time soon to answer the question....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banshees Scream 110 Posted June 4, 2006 Hello my darlings Did you know that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was still alive? Well he is. He's 85 and feeling a bit peeky Death comes to us all wearing Pixie Boots Why do you call me darling? Do I know you? I get the feeling that Ms Boots won't be along to any time soon to answer the question....... Surely her laptop and internet service must be no use. Infact there isn't much quality to life when your in a small wooden box? Is there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrunoBrimley 86 Posted June 13, 2006 Hello my darlings Did you know that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was still alive? Well he is. He's 85 and feeling a bit peeky Death comes to us all wearing Pixie Boots Why do you call me darling? Do I know you? I get the feeling that Ms Boots won't be along to any time soon to answer the question....... Surely her laptop and internet service must be no use. Infact there isn't much quality to life when your in a small wooden box? Is there? I cannot speak for others here Bannnsheees but I am not following your reference. Is Pixie Boo no longer with us, as in deceased? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,358 Posted November 20, 2006 A new article about Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It does not elaborate on his health, but his wife says that while he attentively follows developments in Russia, his "very frail" health means he can do so only as a spectator, she added. "He is experiencing a certain draining of the life force." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banshees Scream 110 Posted November 20, 2006 "He is experiencing a certain draining of the life force." Hopefully the suction can be compared to Jenna Jameson sucking a golf ball through a watering hose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Devil May Care 0 Posted November 26, 2006 "He is experiencing a certain draining of the life force." Hopefully the suction can be compared to Jenna Jameson sucking a golf ball through a watering hose. Hmm Al and Jenna...he wouldn't last the day Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banshees Scream 110 Posted November 26, 2006 Come on last the day? This guy is from like the 16th century. How about a half hour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,639 Posted November 28, 2006 While he attentively follows developments in Russia, his "very frail" health means he can do so only as a spectator, she added. "He is experiencing a certain draining of the life force." The above from the article linked a few posts back. I suggest Putin's friends invite him out for Sushi in London now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Guest Posted November 29, 2006 "He is experiencing a certain draining of the life force." Hopefully the suction can be compared to Jenna Jameson sucking a golf ball through a watering hose. happy 88th birthday to Alex for december 11! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim_Rita 4 Posted November 29, 2006 I take it you were bored guest, posting a happy bday message 12 days beforehand! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Al Posted December 11, 2006 Happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me Happy birthday dear sweet huggable loveable Al Happy birthday to me You thought I would survive not to see another one but the laugh is on all of you. All those years in the gulag maded me strong like Olga Korbut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrunoBrimley 86 Posted December 11, 2006 Solzhenitsyn's birthday again? Wow! Guess it's time for another Monique story....and a happy birthday to her as well. Did I ever tell about the time she served me jello? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonPrice 0 Posted December 20, 2006 Why hasn't anyone talked about Solzhenitsyn since February? Is it because it he is now assumed to be some kind of immortal? I for one expect to him die before the year is out, he is after all over 85 years old and Russian, so excessive Vodka consumption is a given. It could well be that he gives us a surprise by passing away before the year is out. Maybe he will even die before Tempus Fugit reaches 1000 posts, although this is of course highly unlikely. _____________________ I'll post the following prose-poem inspired by Alexander Solzhenitsyn--before he goes into a hole for those who speak no more: ________________ ACUTELY GRIM On Nov. 20, 1962, in the midst of the Soviet Premier Nikita S. Krushchev's de-Stalinization campaigns, Mr. Solzhenitsyn's short novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, was published--with, it is said, the Premier's explicit approval. Solzhenitsyn became the lion of Soviet letters and "Ivan Denisovich" the first novel to deal with the acutely grim realities of Soviet labour camps. The book was also the account of his eight years experience in such a forced labor camp. The book won him the praise not only of politically motivated de-Stalinizers but of literary critics around the world. I was only 18 at the time, doing my matriculation studies in Ontario and eleven weeks into my life as a Bahá’í pioneer. Four years later my lecturer in the philosophy of education at Windsor Teachers' College sold me a copy of this book. I had just left the towns where I had grown up in southern Ontario and nine months later I left Ontario for Baffin Island and a job teaching Inuit children in a grade three primary classroom. -Ron Price with thanks to James F. Clarity,"Unpublished At Home," The New York Times on the Web, 9 October 1970. No one told me and I never asked about the novels coming out of Russia back then--or anywhere else for that matter. I was as busy as a proverbial beaver getting through 9 subjects in my last year of high school, wishing I could have it off with some girl somewhere, anywhere, but keeping my libido well-under control in those early pioneering days at the end of the 9th stage of history and the outset of the 10th. Labour camps would never be part of my story, although there would be much labour and many camps, none of your physical pain and torture, but more mental tests that I could ever have imagined back in 1962, tests that would last for some 50 years and, indeed, much more?? Ron Price 20 December 2006 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrunoBrimley 86 Posted January 1, 2007 Al is on the list again? If he doesn't kick off this year what happens? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Starch 1 Posted June 12, 2007 Solzy was recently bestowed a top Russian state honour, but skipped the ceremony. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070612/en_af...B.qD8HsWeBdDxkF Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,639 Posted June 13, 2007 Hopefully the suction can be compared to Jenna Jameson sucking a golf ball through a watering hose. Just noticed the above; did this ever happen? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banshees Scream 110 Posted December 11, 2007 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is still active as in giving his opinion on Russia's current 'moral state' - the article says nothing about failing health. Recently in an interview he says '"Russia has re-asserted its influence in international relations, and regained its role in the world. But inside, morally, we are far from what we wish and what we need to be," Solzhenitsyn said in an exclusive interview to the weekly "Vesti Nedeli" analysis of the state-run "Rossiya" channel. ' http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?...=ENT&sname= Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
halleluyahjohntudor 5 Posted December 11, 2007 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is still active as in giving his opinion on Russia's current 'moral state' - the article says nothing about failing health. Recently in an interview he says '"Russia has re-asserted its influence in international relations, and regained its role in the world. But inside, morally, we are far from what we wish and what we need to be," Solzhenitsyn said in an exclusive interview to the weekly "Vesti Nedeli" analysis of the state-run "Rossiya" channel. ' http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?...=ENT&sname= According to the state-run Rossiya channel he later confided that he retained sufficient faith in the country's current leadership to cast all of his 354 votes in favour of Vladimir Putin, without being put under any serious duress, and was happy to testify to his captors that it had been a free and fair election. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites