..Here's the thing, and I've said this before and it's worth repeating: I have a tragic view of life, which is that everything that lives must die; everything that man makes must fall. Everything passes away, ok?
So I've never seen conservatism or anything else as the salvation of the world. Jesus Christ is the salvation of the world; the rest is politics.
You're like a doctor. You fight every day for every little thing you can get, you know. If you can keep the patient.. the patient is freedom, and freedom is a living thing. And.. it dies. It goes away. Every free society has fallen: they all collapse. This one will not be any different. This free society will also collapse. It is in danger of collapsing - you know, probably not as fast as we think. But it's in trouble. It's weakened..
Every day you win: you win. Just like a doctor, just like a doctor with a patient. I sometimes tease pessimists and tell them: you know, a patient comes into you, and he's 40 years old, and you say: "I have bad news for you - you're dying." And he says "How long have I got?" You say "Well, about forty five years." You know that's actually not a good diagnosis, because it's not a tragic view of life.
The thing is: how long - how long can we keep this freedom alive? And when that's no longer possible, what do we do then?
My son Spencer wrote a beautiful piece in the LA Times about Cicero. And Cicero of course was there at the fall of the Roman Republic. And before they murdered him (did they kill him or did he commit suicide? but if he committed suicide it was 'cause they were about to kill him..) After the fall of the Roman Republic he retired and wrote about free societies and how a republic should be formed. 1700 years later that inspired our founders in the building of America. And they were frequently quoting Cicero. So when the battle was lost in his time, he fought the battle for eternity - he fought the battle for the rest of us.
And that's what all of us have to do every day. And that powers me because I believe that freedom is an absolute good. I believe that liberty is an absolute good, and I will fight to save it today.
I'm only a guy - I don't have any overblown ideas of who I am or what I can accomplish, but for what I can do with my voice, with my vote, I will do it to preserve freedom today. When that is no longer possible - and even now, in the troubles we're in - I write about what these ideas are, and what ideas should be retained. I read about them so I know what I'm talking about. And that's what powers me.
I think that liberty is an absolute good. I think we were made by God to be free. I think when they say we were endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights: they mean it. I mean it. I think it is absolutely true. And so you're not.. you know, if politics makes you crazy, if it makes you depressed, if it makes you anxious - ignore it. Don't pay any attention to it - really - because your life is not supposed to be that way. That is not what your life is supposed to be. Your life is supposed to be joyful, creative, as much as possible as you can make it.. courageous... all those things. If politics sap that out of you, if it makes you bitter, if it makes you angry, if you're just constantly yelling at the TV - turn the TV off. I don't feel that way at all, because I know the things I'm fighting for never die. The things I'm fighting for never die. They kill 'em, they bury 'em, they put 'em in the tomb, they roll the stone over them: you come in the morning - the stone is rolled back, the tomb is empty. The things, the truth, the truth of Liberty, the truth of what's good, the truth of good and evil, they just don't die, and so they're worth fighting for. And they're worth standing for because you're hooking yourself to something eternal. And that is what powers me. And I'm not in any way depressed by what's going on. I really am not.
I think that, you know: good things are coming, good things will happen, in the culture, in the world. And bad things.. but it'll always be worth it. It'll always be worth standing up for the things that make life worth living.
Friday 26 May 2017
Wednesday 7 September 2016
Analysis
The date on this post is old, but the information is up to date .. The interactive list is in the post below this one. I could leave it without comment, but supposing can implies ought here are 2 graphs..
Plot 1 The date of creation of AK's selections. You see a sort of cultural year zero at about 1970, so there's very little he likes from his early adulthood (dob 1954) - which shows a remarkable lack of nostalgia. I still haven't read his memoir so I don't know what kind of a time he was having in his twenties, and whether or not this gap is repudiation, or just plain old maturity.
You can swap this chart for one which shows that AK's cultural universe obeys the Pareto principle.
Plot 2 Timeline with a 2 week moving average. I was impressed by Klavan's present-minded thinking in a crisis - take a look at the run of brand-new works he recommended when Trump's campaign looked like crumbling following his 1st debate performance and Grabgate: far from hunkering down with some classics, he was immediately looking beyond the wreckage for the first cultural green shoots of a conservative resurgence.
AK has abandoned the daily addition to the list, so I'll call my effort here complete and send the site into an eternal klavanless weekend. Now all I have to do is read and watch (and sing and play) everything.
Plot 1 The date of creation of AK's selections. You see a sort of cultural year zero at about 1970, so there's very little he likes from his early adulthood (dob 1954) - which shows a remarkable lack of nostalgia. I still haven't read his memoir so I don't know what kind of a time he was having in his twenties, and whether or not this gap is repudiation, or just plain old maturity.
You can swap this chart for one which shows that AK's cultural universe obeys the Pareto principle.
Plot 2 Timeline with a 2 week moving average. I was impressed by Klavan's present-minded thinking in a crisis - take a look at the run of brand-new works he recommended when Trump's campaign looked like crumbling following his 1st debate performance and Grabgate: far from hunkering down with some classics, he was immediately looking beyond the wreckage for the first cultural green shoots of a conservative resurgence.
AK has abandoned the daily addition to the list, so I'll call my effort here complete and send the site into an eternal klavanless weekend. Now all I have to do is read and watch (and sing and play) everything.
Stuff He Likes
[full list starting 200+ should load in a moment. If not, click the blog's main title.]
184. music. Piano Guys . ..it really is terrific
183. poem. Crossing the Bar. Tennyson. ..a beautiful piece of work
182. poem. Charge of the Light Brigade. Tennyson. ..brilliant and deathless
181. poem. Ulysses. Tennyson. Every old man who reads this poem, his heart lifts up..
180. hymn. There Ain't No Grave. Peasall Family
179. film. River's Edge. ..a powerful picture about the state of youth then.. I don't know if it's any different now..
178. film. Alpha Dog. Not a classic movie, but a really, really interesting crime film.
177. film. Hell or High Water. ..the idea of testosterone is all over this movie..
176. hymn. How Can I Keep From Singing?. ..all will be well, all manner of things will be well!
175. film. It's a Wonderful Life. One of the very few Christmas stories (that isn't in the book of Luke) .. the world remains a tragic place.
174. film. Mr Smith goes to Washington. America .. bigger because of its ideas. The ideas will not die!
173. film. It Happened One Night. A beautiful way to show love without sentimentality..
172. poem. Ode to Joy. Schiller. ..this delight in the world is purely, purely Christian.
171. film. The Sixth Sense. ..the only reason not to eat a human body is because you respect it as a repository of the soul.
170. film. On the Waterfront. Strike back against the concensus!
169. film. The Matrix. What is Truth? Is there objective Truth? .. Either the truth is a Man, or there is no Truth.
168. music. Pie Jesu. ..sooo beautiful
167. film. Body Heat, The Postman Always Rings Twice. James M Cain. A culture based on visual art becomes stupid. A culture based on writing becomes wise..
166. novel. I, the Jury. Mickey Spillane. a tough, violent, mean story, but with violence as a metaphor for morality.
165. film. Bonnie and Clyde. What do you do with great art that sells values which are despicable?
164. song. Marnie Nixon. RIP
163. song. All of You. from Silk Stockings, musical version of Ninotchka. The benefits of the West over the Soviet Union.
162. film. Citizen X. I'm not going to tell you it's a great movie, but so, so fascinating.
161. film. Hail Caesar!. The most anti-Communist, pro-Christian film (that is well made) that I've seen in a long time
160. song. High Anxiety. Mel Brooks. it makes no sense!
159. tv. American Gothic. ..dumb, not that well acted, soo entertaining.
158. youtube. Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared. ..happy-go-lucky concepts do not contain the full existential horror of life
157. film. Truman Show. ..to hell with the fear, to hell with the panic!
156. song. I Used to be Somebody's Baby. Larry Gatlin.
155. novel. Great Gatsby. If you want to see why the Left loves Europe, read the Great Gatsby.
154. novel. Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. An amazingly entertaining book: read it in a couple of hours and you can pretend you're smarter than you are.
153. poem. Rubiyat of Omar Khayaam. Edward Fitzgerald. It'll keep you out of trouble..
152. youtube. Iggy Jackson-Cohen. The entire world can go to hell and some guy's gonna make music out of it!
151. novel. Flashman. George Macdonald Fraser. An antidote to political correctness.
150. novel. Night. Elie Wiesel. Evil loves irony. It loves when you're so sophisticated that you don't know there's such a thing as Evil. .. At the edges, life is: not fooling around. Evil is out there.
149. hymn. I Vow to Thee, My Country. Men are meant to be free. We have allegiance to our country, and we have allegiance to God's country, and only by paying loyalty to both can we have the freedom we deserve.
148. film. 39 Steps. incredibly suspenseful, even now..
147. film. Lawrence of Arabia. Every shot shows you how his personal inner life is imposing itself on world history
146. film. The Third Man. Europe has not had an internecine war since WW2 and what have they produced? The European Union.
145. film. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. When the legend becomes the truth, you [ie mainstream media] print the legend.
144. novel. House of Leaves. Mark Danielewski. ..a man who has the courage to walk into the darkness, and a woman who has the love to follow him.
143. tv. Game of Thrones. Only heroes change. Only people who really commit themselves to joy, and happiness, and the truth - only those people change.
142. videogame. Uncharted 4. ..an adventure story that makes perfect sense
141. soundtrack. Chinatown. Jerry Goldsmith. ..and that's how that's done!
140. film. Sunset Boulevard. an uniquely great movie. .. weird, weird, weird.
139. film. The Killing. one of the great last scenes in movies
138. film. Double Indemnity. one of the greatest of American films..
137. song. Skylark. Johnny Mercer. It's not Justin Bieber, but it'll do..
136. novel. Call for the Dead. filmed as Deadly Affair. ..hardboiled, mean and tough, and a really, really good movie.
135. film. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. It's still a remarkable thing we've got going [in this country] - worth preserving, worth fighting for.
134. tv. Night Manager. 'as interesting as it can possibly be, but without really dealing with the issues.
133. song. They can't take that away from me. Art lies to us when it takes the Soul out of Man.
132. song. Fascinating Rhythm. Jacob Collier.
131. song. They all Laughed. When the situation is as bad as it can possibly be, you can alwaysget drunk find love and joy.
130. song. Some Gave All. Billy Ray Cyrus. Somebody paid a very high price for your freedom.
129. classics. Herodotus: Histories. A small band of free men can beat a bigger band of slaves.
128. classics. Socrates: Apology. We know better because of documents like this..
127. classics. Theucydides: Pericles' funeral oration. Listen to the confidence of their leader! That their culture was a model to other people..
126. hymn. Jerusalem. The mental fight never ends..
125. film. 10 Rillington Place. The things that happen beggar belief.
124. novel. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. John Berendt. Just as fun and weird and corrupt a story as you can possibly imagine
123. novel. The Devil in the White City. Erik Larson. In the midst of civilisation we are still sinful creatures doing terrible things.
122. song. Happy Man. Thomas Rett. ..not bad..
121. novel. Unbroken . Lauren Hildebrand. One of the most exciting real-life adventures I have ever read.
120. novel. Gone Girl . Gillian Flynn. As a satire of modern marriage it's really good.
119. novel. Girl on the Train. Paula Hawkins. Beautifully written, really well plotted. 'Neo-girl Hitchcock'
118. song. There are Bad Times Just Around the Corner. if Noel Coward isn't in heaven, it won't be heaven.
117. song. Imagine. Stuff Idiots Like: Imagine is the Avatar of songs. Hold the light, and people will follow.
116. film. Avatar. Stuff Idiots Like: Avatar is the Imagine of movies. Everything about it was dishonest. And it was boring!
115. film. American Beauty. Stuff Idiots Like: Everything in American Beauty is false. .. leftwing fantasies about what is true..
114. song. You're Just in Love . Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor. Being joyful is not an option.
113. novel. David Copperfield. Serious critics hate entertaining novels.
112. novel. War and Peace. As entertaining as anything you will ever read.
111. novel. Count of Monte Cristo. I mean .. talk about .. this .. this is what they had before superheroes!
110. song. No. Megan Traynor. The feminists just hate her, and she doesn't care!
109. tv. Billions.
108. tv. Silicon Valley. ..really funny
107. film. The Jungle Book. ..brilliant
106. song. Zing a little Zong. ..it took me a long time to find out just what the hell this was all about.
105. film. Big Jim McClean. ..the movie is absolutely awful ..
104. film. Point Break. ..terrific movie, the worst dialogue..
103. film. Roadhouse. Pain don't hurt. ..a million great lines, great fight scenes .. it's hilarious.
102. song. Here Comes the Sun. Colbie Caillat. Keep it all together. Don't lose hope.
101. non-fiction. The Looming Tower. Laurence Wright. Just the facts..
100. non-fiction. From Dawn to Decadence. Jaques Barzin. ..such a beautiful description of a series of ideas .. that created us.
99. non-fiction. Witness. Whittaker Chambers. I would call it life-changing. It will change the way you look at the world.
98. hymn. Holy darkness. Every day is Easter, if you know how to see it.
97. film. Ben Hur. un-turn-off-able. It's how you make these [religious] films.
96. play. Underneath the Lintel. Glen Berger. Christ's crucifixion relected on by a Jewish guy..
95. novel. Tiger in the Smoke . Margery Allingham. ..the villain and the conclusion will tell you a lot about the meaning of Holy Week
94. song. This Magic Moment. The Drifters.
93. film. Harper. A little old-fashioned, but you have to watch it for its referential relationship to old-time detective stories.
92. film. Hud. ..has a lot to say about our moment.
91. film. Hombre. Paul Newman: the last classy Hollywood liberal. ..every line is terrific, the whole attitude is terrific.
90. song. Free. Lighthouse Family
89. film. The Young Messiah. a really lovely film.
88. videogame. Ico. ..the only videogame that had a story that genuinely touched me.
87. movie. The Fallen Idol. if you love the Third Man..
86. poem. If. Kipling. Some of the best advice you'll ever get.
85. play. Henry V . We few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters, we'll go on fighting for liberty: a principle that never dies, a fight that never ends.
84. poem. The Gods of the Copybook Headings. Kipling. The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to avoid finding yourself in the ranks of the insane.
83. poem. The Second Coming. W B Yeats. It's going to be painful - [but] it doesn't have to be bad.
82. song. You Should Be Stronger Than Me. Amy Winehouse.
81. novel. Black Wings Has My Angel. Elliot Chaze. ..excellent, excellent tough guy stuff.
80. film. The Gunfighter. a dark, brooding, unhappy feeling..
79. novel. The Rose of Tibet. Lionel Davidson. ..up there with the classics.
78. song. My Shining Hour. Mercer/Arlen. in the fight for freedom, courage and hope are not luxuries..
77. videogame. Limbo. You can't advance if you don't know where you're going.
76. advert. Damn, It Feels Good to be a Clinton. Ted Cruz campaign ad.
75. videogame. The Room 3. ..so much fun to play: really eerie.
74. song. The Way You Look Tonight. Rod Stewart.
73. film. Shakespeare in Love. Ben Affleck is great because he plays a loudmouth blowhard..
72. film. The Ghost in Mrs Muir. a great thwarted love story.
71. novel. Pride and Prejudice. Genius transcends any other category.
70. song. The Very Thought of You. John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman.
69. film. Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare is the real thing!
68. film. Brief Encounter. It's that British, that tight, that ordinary, but it elevates to this heartbreaking, romantic level..
67. novel. The Apple Tree. Galsworthy. ..very touching, very moving..
66. song. In The Wee Small Hours. Frank Sinatra. ..heartbreaking stuff.
65. essays. A Weight Of Glory. C S Lewis. If you want to see what real Christian thinking is..
64. film. The Revenant. ..it all takes place with a sense that God is in His heaven, and human life going on beneath a system bigger than itself.
63. song. But Not For Me. Judy Garland. ..this is hard! A human being did this, and it was hard! Which is what the arts are, kind of, supposed to be like.
62. song. You Must Believe in Spring. Tierney Sutton.
61. novel. Tarzan of the Apes. ..so amazingly entertaining. Some of the best adventure writing ever done.
60. film. The Naked Prey. one of those movies that about halfway through you'll think wow, this is really different
59. story. Leiningen versus the Ants. Carl Stephenson. ..the human mind is toughter than any force of nature.
58. song. I Get A Kick Out Of You. Tierney Sutton. I always say this, but this was from the day when people wrote lyrics..
57. movie. Shock to the System. Cynical, nasty crime movie, the kind I like. I wrote it, I should know.
56. novel. The Widow. George Simenon. Shane - if Shane went really, really bad. One of the great, great crime thrillers of all time
55. novel. The Ice Harvest. Scott Phillips. Beautifully written, tough, hardboiled story.
54. song. Dig, Dig, Dig. in Get Happy. ..if you want this to be a good day, you've got to do a good day's work
53. song. Free!. in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It's a little word, but don't you forget it!
52. non-fiction. Broadway Baby, Say Goodnight. Mark Steyn. ..like eating a piece of cake..
51. song. That's Entertainment. in The Bandwagon. ..the second-best movie musical ever made.
50. song. Hallelujah Chorus. People think that things that happen in the imagination are imaginary. That's not true..
49. poem. In Memoriam. Tennyson. Ring out false pride in place and blood, the civic slander and the slight..
48. film. Love, Actually. Yoda was right: 'Luminous creatures we are.'
47. tv. A Very Murray Christmas. The sadness of life and the sadness of real people, and how showbusiness, in its cheesy way, takes you to your dreams..
46. song. Ave Maria. insanely beautiful..
45. film. The Snow Queen. dreamlike, haunting quality that is really ..fascinating.
44. film. The Holly and the Ivy. very intelligent, and also very moving .. about a culture that is starting to fray.
43. stories. The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. Otto Pensler. ..you get 'em all.
42. song. Baby It's Cold Outside. Ray Charles/Betty Carter. ..it just bleeds sex. And if there's one thing about Christmas it ought to bleed sex, right?
41. non-fiction. The Infancy Narratives. Pope Benedict XVI. ..the meaning of the Christmas story .. almost poetry at the level of its thought..
40. film. Remember the Night. a very sweet movie..
39. novel. The Doomsday Book. Connie Willis. it's like eating a piece of cake. ..finds its way to a very uplifting idea.
38. song. Joy to the World. The Pentatonics. I love these guys.
37. poem. The Journey of the Magi. T S Eliot. Were we led all that way for birth, or death?
36. movie. The Bishop's Wife. ..very beautiful movie, and really entertaining.
35. non-fiction. Wild Swans. Jung Chang. ..men will love it too! .. a great, great story.
34. song. I Concentrate on You. Ella Fitzgerald/Cole Porter. Some of these guys, they could write the most condensed, optimistic lyrics..
33. card game. Frog Juice. A kid can beat you! .. An excellent game.
32. movie. The Iron Giant. a terrific film..
31. novel. A Simple Plan. Scott Smith. One of the best crime novels of the last 40 years.
30. film. Noises Off. My daughter loves this picture so much that it has become her test of whether you have a sense of humour.
29. song. Paris in August. Charles Aznavour. Only the French could write lyrics like these..
28. song. Jack, You're Dead. Louis Jordan. He's just the best.
27. novel. The Postman Always Rings Twice. James M Cain. ..what happens to people when they lose their values.
26. videogame. Braid. an intelligent look at the way narrative works, at the way time works..
25. film. Frailty. very dark and grim, classically told..
24. song. Operator! Get Me Jesus on the Line!. Jesse Dickson. When great causes are on the move in the world .. we learn we are spirits, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, the spells Duty.
23. cartoon. Daffy Duck in Robin Hood. I saw it on a plane and almost cut myself in half on the seatbelt.
22. film. The Gift. one of those genre pictures .. where someone is edging into your life and turns out to be a really bad guy
21. novel. Jeeves and Wooster. P G Wodehouse. When I walk into somebody's house and I see these on the bookshelf, I know that we're going to get along.
20. song. Bury My Bones. Lindsay Boreing. extemely talented musician..
19. story. The Monkey's Paw. W W Jacobs. ..creates this entore world, an emotional world and also a sociological world..
18. novel. The Little Stranger. Sarah Waters. ..has a lot to say about what we're talking about, about cultures, when the die, when they fade away, who takes them over.
17. film. Les Diaboliques. it's old, it's slow, it's French, but if you really focus on it..
16. song. Back it up. Caro Emerald. You cannot contain human life within theory..
15. poem. Annabelle Lee. Edgar Allen Poe. The spookiest, creepiest story..
14. novel. The Monk. Gregory Lewis. as weird and fun as it's possible to be.
13. film. The Exorcism of Emily Rose. a movie about faith, told as a ghost story.
12. film. Lake Mungo. ..the final credits are the best part..
11. stories. Children of the Corn. Stephen King. . ..I couldn't go to bed
10. novel. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson. A genuine creepy little tale..
9. song. Stompin' at the Savoy. Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong. One of the greatest recordings ever.
8. film. The Innocents. ..a chilling, scary picture..
7. stories. M R James, E F Benson, Robert Aickman.
6. song. Black and Blue. V Boseman in tv series Empire (not really very good). ..really something..
5. film. Public Enemy. ..that [grapefruit] scene made him a heartthrob to women, and a star to men
4. novel. A Kiss Before Dying. Ira Levin. ..holds up amazingly .. insanely suspenseful.
3. song. The Pentatonics. a capella group. ..romantic innocence .. unfeminist
2. tv. Peaky Blinders.
1. film. The Court Jester. ..one of the funniest pictures ever
184. music. Piano Guys . ..it really is terrific
183. poem. Crossing the Bar. Tennyson. ..a beautiful piece of work
182. poem. Charge of the Light Brigade. Tennyson. ..brilliant and deathless
181. poem. Ulysses. Tennyson. Every old man who reads this poem, his heart lifts up..
180. hymn. There Ain't No Grave. Peasall Family
179. film. River's Edge. ..a powerful picture about the state of youth then.. I don't know if it's any different now..
178. film. Alpha Dog. Not a classic movie, but a really, really interesting crime film.
177. film. Hell or High Water. ..the idea of testosterone is all over this movie..
176. hymn. How Can I Keep From Singing?. ..all will be well, all manner of things will be well!
175. film. It's a Wonderful Life. One of the very few Christmas stories (that isn't in the book of Luke) .. the world remains a tragic place.
174. film. Mr Smith goes to Washington. America .. bigger because of its ideas. The ideas will not die!
173. film. It Happened One Night. A beautiful way to show love without sentimentality..
172. poem. Ode to Joy. Schiller. ..this delight in the world is purely, purely Christian.
171. film. The Sixth Sense. ..the only reason not to eat a human body is because you respect it as a repository of the soul.
170. film. On the Waterfront. Strike back against the concensus!
169. film. The Matrix. What is Truth? Is there objective Truth? .. Either the truth is a Man, or there is no Truth.
168. music. Pie Jesu. ..sooo beautiful
167. film. Body Heat, The Postman Always Rings Twice. James M Cain. A culture based on visual art becomes stupid. A culture based on writing becomes wise..
166. novel. I, the Jury. Mickey Spillane. a tough, violent, mean story, but with violence as a metaphor for morality.
165. film. Bonnie and Clyde. What do you do with great art that sells values which are despicable?
164. song. Marnie Nixon. RIP
163. song. All of You. from Silk Stockings, musical version of Ninotchka. The benefits of the West over the Soviet Union.
162. film. Citizen X. I'm not going to tell you it's a great movie, but so, so fascinating.
161. film. Hail Caesar!. The most anti-Communist, pro-Christian film (that is well made) that I've seen in a long time
160. song. High Anxiety. Mel Brooks. it makes no sense!
159. tv. American Gothic. ..dumb, not that well acted, soo entertaining.
158. youtube. Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared. ..happy-go-lucky concepts do not contain the full existential horror of life
157. film. Truman Show. ..to hell with the fear, to hell with the panic!
156. song. I Used to be Somebody's Baby. Larry Gatlin.
155. novel. Great Gatsby. If you want to see why the Left loves Europe, read the Great Gatsby.
154. novel. Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. An amazingly entertaining book: read it in a couple of hours and you can pretend you're smarter than you are.
153. poem. Rubiyat of Omar Khayaam. Edward Fitzgerald. It'll keep you out of trouble..
152. youtube. Iggy Jackson-Cohen. The entire world can go to hell and some guy's gonna make music out of it!
151. novel. Flashman. George Macdonald Fraser. An antidote to political correctness.
150. novel. Night. Elie Wiesel. Evil loves irony. It loves when you're so sophisticated that you don't know there's such a thing as Evil. .. At the edges, life is: not fooling around. Evil is out there.
149. hymn. I Vow to Thee, My Country. Men are meant to be free. We have allegiance to our country, and we have allegiance to God's country, and only by paying loyalty to both can we have the freedom we deserve.
148. film. 39 Steps. incredibly suspenseful, even now..
147. film. Lawrence of Arabia. Every shot shows you how his personal inner life is imposing itself on world history
146. film. The Third Man. Europe has not had an internecine war since WW2 and what have they produced? The European Union.
145. film. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. When the legend becomes the truth, you [ie mainstream media] print the legend.
144. novel. House of Leaves. Mark Danielewski. ..a man who has the courage to walk into the darkness, and a woman who has the love to follow him.
143. tv. Game of Thrones. Only heroes change. Only people who really commit themselves to joy, and happiness, and the truth - only those people change.
142. videogame. Uncharted 4. ..an adventure story that makes perfect sense
141. soundtrack. Chinatown. Jerry Goldsmith. ..and that's how that's done!
140. film. Sunset Boulevard. an uniquely great movie. .. weird, weird, weird.
139. film. The Killing. one of the great last scenes in movies
138. film. Double Indemnity. one of the greatest of American films..
137. song. Skylark. Johnny Mercer. It's not Justin Bieber, but it'll do..
136. novel. Call for the Dead. filmed as Deadly Affair. ..hardboiled, mean and tough, and a really, really good movie.
135. film. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. It's still a remarkable thing we've got going [in this country] - worth preserving, worth fighting for.
134. tv. Night Manager. 'as interesting as it can possibly be, but without really dealing with the issues.
133. song. They can't take that away from me. Art lies to us when it takes the Soul out of Man.
132. song. Fascinating Rhythm. Jacob Collier.
131. song. They all Laughed. When the situation is as bad as it can possibly be, you can always
130. song. Some Gave All. Billy Ray Cyrus. Somebody paid a very high price for your freedom.
129. classics. Herodotus: Histories. A small band of free men can beat a bigger band of slaves.
128. classics. Socrates: Apology. We know better because of documents like this..
127. classics. Theucydides: Pericles' funeral oration. Listen to the confidence of their leader! That their culture was a model to other people..
126. hymn. Jerusalem. The mental fight never ends..
125. film. 10 Rillington Place. The things that happen beggar belief.
124. novel. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. John Berendt. Just as fun and weird and corrupt a story as you can possibly imagine
123. novel. The Devil in the White City. Erik Larson. In the midst of civilisation we are still sinful creatures doing terrible things.
122. song. Happy Man. Thomas Rett. ..not bad..
121. novel. Unbroken . Lauren Hildebrand. One of the most exciting real-life adventures I have ever read.
120. novel. Gone Girl . Gillian Flynn. As a satire of modern marriage it's really good.
119. novel. Girl on the Train. Paula Hawkins. Beautifully written, really well plotted. 'Neo-girl Hitchcock'
118. song. There are Bad Times Just Around the Corner. if Noel Coward isn't in heaven, it won't be heaven.
117. song. Imagine. Stuff Idiots Like: Imagine is the Avatar of songs. Hold the light, and people will follow.
116. film. Avatar. Stuff Idiots Like: Avatar is the Imagine of movies. Everything about it was dishonest. And it was boring!
115. film. American Beauty. Stuff Idiots Like: Everything in American Beauty is false. .. leftwing fantasies about what is true..
114. song. You're Just in Love . Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor. Being joyful is not an option.
113. novel. David Copperfield. Serious critics hate entertaining novels.
112. novel. War and Peace. As entertaining as anything you will ever read.
111. novel. Count of Monte Cristo. I mean .. talk about .. this .. this is what they had before superheroes!
110. song. No. Megan Traynor. The feminists just hate her, and she doesn't care!
109. tv. Billions.
108. tv. Silicon Valley. ..really funny
107. film. The Jungle Book. ..brilliant
106. song. Zing a little Zong. ..it took me a long time to find out just what the hell this was all about.
105. film. Big Jim McClean. ..the movie is absolutely awful ..
104. film. Point Break. ..terrific movie, the worst dialogue..
103. film. Roadhouse. Pain don't hurt. ..a million great lines, great fight scenes .. it's hilarious.
102. song. Here Comes the Sun. Colbie Caillat. Keep it all together. Don't lose hope.
101. non-fiction. The Looming Tower. Laurence Wright. Just the facts..
100. non-fiction. From Dawn to Decadence. Jaques Barzin. ..such a beautiful description of a series of ideas .. that created us.
99. non-fiction. Witness. Whittaker Chambers. I would call it life-changing. It will change the way you look at the world.
98. hymn. Holy darkness. Every day is Easter, if you know how to see it.
97. film. Ben Hur. un-turn-off-able. It's how you make these [religious] films.
96. play. Underneath the Lintel. Glen Berger. Christ's crucifixion relected on by a Jewish guy..
95. novel. Tiger in the Smoke . Margery Allingham. ..the villain and the conclusion will tell you a lot about the meaning of Holy Week
94. song. This Magic Moment. The Drifters.
93. film. Harper. A little old-fashioned, but you have to watch it for its referential relationship to old-time detective stories.
92. film. Hud. ..has a lot to say about our moment.
91. film. Hombre. Paul Newman: the last classy Hollywood liberal. ..every line is terrific, the whole attitude is terrific.
90. song. Free. Lighthouse Family
89. film. The Young Messiah. a really lovely film.
88. videogame. Ico. ..the only videogame that had a story that genuinely touched me.
87. movie. The Fallen Idol. if you love the Third Man..
86. poem. If. Kipling. Some of the best advice you'll ever get.
85. play. Henry V . We few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters, we'll go on fighting for liberty: a principle that never dies, a fight that never ends.
84. poem. The Gods of the Copybook Headings. Kipling. The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to avoid finding yourself in the ranks of the insane.
83. poem. The Second Coming. W B Yeats. It's going to be painful - [but] it doesn't have to be bad.
82. song. You Should Be Stronger Than Me. Amy Winehouse.
81. novel. Black Wings Has My Angel. Elliot Chaze. ..excellent, excellent tough guy stuff.
80. film. The Gunfighter. a dark, brooding, unhappy feeling..
79. novel. The Rose of Tibet. Lionel Davidson. ..up there with the classics.
78. song. My Shining Hour. Mercer/Arlen. in the fight for freedom, courage and hope are not luxuries..
77. videogame. Limbo. You can't advance if you don't know where you're going.
76. advert. Damn, It Feels Good to be a Clinton. Ted Cruz campaign ad.
75. videogame. The Room 3. ..so much fun to play: really eerie.
74. song. The Way You Look Tonight. Rod Stewart.
73. film. Shakespeare in Love. Ben Affleck is great because he plays a loudmouth blowhard..
72. film. The Ghost in Mrs Muir. a great thwarted love story.
71. novel. Pride and Prejudice. Genius transcends any other category.
70. song. The Very Thought of You. John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman.
69. film. Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare is the real thing!
68. film. Brief Encounter. It's that British, that tight, that ordinary, but it elevates to this heartbreaking, romantic level..
67. novel. The Apple Tree. Galsworthy. ..very touching, very moving..
66. song. In The Wee Small Hours. Frank Sinatra. ..heartbreaking stuff.
65. essays. A Weight Of Glory. C S Lewis. If you want to see what real Christian thinking is..
64. film. The Revenant. ..it all takes place with a sense that God is in His heaven, and human life going on beneath a system bigger than itself.
63. song. But Not For Me. Judy Garland. ..this is hard! A human being did this, and it was hard! Which is what the arts are, kind of, supposed to be like.
62. song. You Must Believe in Spring. Tierney Sutton.
61. novel. Tarzan of the Apes. ..so amazingly entertaining. Some of the best adventure writing ever done.
60. film. The Naked Prey. one of those movies that about halfway through you'll think wow, this is really different
59. story. Leiningen versus the Ants. Carl Stephenson. ..the human mind is toughter than any force of nature.
58. song. I Get A Kick Out Of You. Tierney Sutton. I always say this, but this was from the day when people wrote lyrics..
57. movie. Shock to the System. Cynical, nasty crime movie, the kind I like. I wrote it, I should know.
56. novel. The Widow. George Simenon. Shane - if Shane went really, really bad. One of the great, great crime thrillers of all time
55. novel. The Ice Harvest. Scott Phillips. Beautifully written, tough, hardboiled story.
54. song. Dig, Dig, Dig. in Get Happy. ..if you want this to be a good day, you've got to do a good day's work
53. song. Free!. in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It's a little word, but don't you forget it!
52. non-fiction. Broadway Baby, Say Goodnight. Mark Steyn. ..like eating a piece of cake..
51. song. That's Entertainment. in The Bandwagon. ..the second-best movie musical ever made.
50. song. Hallelujah Chorus. People think that things that happen in the imagination are imaginary. That's not true..
49. poem. In Memoriam. Tennyson. Ring out false pride in place and blood, the civic slander and the slight..
48. film. Love, Actually. Yoda was right: 'Luminous creatures we are.'
47. tv. A Very Murray Christmas. The sadness of life and the sadness of real people, and how showbusiness, in its cheesy way, takes you to your dreams..
46. song. Ave Maria. insanely beautiful..
45. film. The Snow Queen. dreamlike, haunting quality that is really ..fascinating.
44. film. The Holly and the Ivy. very intelligent, and also very moving .. about a culture that is starting to fray.
43. stories. The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. Otto Pensler. ..you get 'em all.
42. song. Baby It's Cold Outside. Ray Charles/Betty Carter. ..it just bleeds sex. And if there's one thing about Christmas it ought to bleed sex, right?
41. non-fiction. The Infancy Narratives. Pope Benedict XVI. ..the meaning of the Christmas story .. almost poetry at the level of its thought..
40. film. Remember the Night. a very sweet movie..
39. novel. The Doomsday Book. Connie Willis. it's like eating a piece of cake. ..finds its way to a very uplifting idea.
38. song. Joy to the World. The Pentatonics. I love these guys.
37. poem. The Journey of the Magi. T S Eliot. Were we led all that way for birth, or death?
36. movie. The Bishop's Wife. ..very beautiful movie, and really entertaining.
35. non-fiction. Wild Swans. Jung Chang. ..men will love it too! .. a great, great story.
34. song. I Concentrate on You. Ella Fitzgerald/Cole Porter. Some of these guys, they could write the most condensed, optimistic lyrics..
33. card game. Frog Juice. A kid can beat you! .. An excellent game.
32. movie. The Iron Giant. a terrific film..
31. novel. A Simple Plan. Scott Smith. One of the best crime novels of the last 40 years.
30. film. Noises Off. My daughter loves this picture so much that it has become her test of whether you have a sense of humour.
29. song. Paris in August. Charles Aznavour. Only the French could write lyrics like these..
28. song. Jack, You're Dead. Louis Jordan. He's just the best.
27. novel. The Postman Always Rings Twice. James M Cain. ..what happens to people when they lose their values.
26. videogame. Braid. an intelligent look at the way narrative works, at the way time works..
25. film. Frailty. very dark and grim, classically told..
24. song. Operator! Get Me Jesus on the Line!. Jesse Dickson. When great causes are on the move in the world .. we learn we are spirits, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, the spells Duty.
23. cartoon. Daffy Duck in Robin Hood. I saw it on a plane and almost cut myself in half on the seatbelt.
22. film. The Gift. one of those genre pictures .. where someone is edging into your life and turns out to be a really bad guy
21. novel. Jeeves and Wooster. P G Wodehouse. When I walk into somebody's house and I see these on the bookshelf, I know that we're going to get along.
20. song. Bury My Bones. Lindsay Boreing. extemely talented musician..
19. story. The Monkey's Paw. W W Jacobs. ..creates this entore world, an emotional world and also a sociological world..
18. novel. The Little Stranger. Sarah Waters. ..has a lot to say about what we're talking about, about cultures, when the die, when they fade away, who takes them over.
17. film. Les Diaboliques. it's old, it's slow, it's French, but if you really focus on it..
16. song. Back it up. Caro Emerald. You cannot contain human life within theory..
15. poem. Annabelle Lee. Edgar Allen Poe. The spookiest, creepiest story..
14. novel. The Monk. Gregory Lewis. as weird and fun as it's possible to be.
13. film. The Exorcism of Emily Rose. a movie about faith, told as a ghost story.
12. film. Lake Mungo. ..the final credits are the best part..
11. stories. Children of the Corn. Stephen King. . ..I couldn't go to bed
10. novel. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson. A genuine creepy little tale..
9. song. Stompin' at the Savoy. Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong. One of the greatest recordings ever.
8. film. The Innocents. ..a chilling, scary picture..
7. stories. M R James, E F Benson, Robert Aickman.
6. song. Black and Blue. V Boseman in tv series Empire (not really very good). ..really something..
5. film. Public Enemy. ..that [grapefruit] scene made him a heartthrob to women, and a star to men
4. novel. A Kiss Before Dying. Ira Levin. ..holds up amazingly .. insanely suspenseful.
3. song. The Pentatonics. a capella group. ..romantic innocence .. unfeminist
2. tv. Peaky Blinders.
1. film. The Court Jester. ..one of the funniest pictures ever
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