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  1. #1
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    The Roald Dahl appreciation thread

    man was a genius.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  2. #2
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    And a war hero.

    (vaccinate your kids)
    Quote Originally Posted by Downbound Train View Post
    And there will come a day when our ancestors look back...........

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    Quote Originally Posted by PNWbrit View Post
    And a war hero.
    yep.

    And the list of books that are widely known, and widely admired, is incredible.

    James and the Giant Peach
    Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
    Fantastic Mr Fox
    Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
    Danny, the Champion of the World (ok, this one may not be widely known, but my parents gave it to me as a birthday gift because of the title, and I loved it)
    The BFG
    Chitty Chitty Bang Bang screenplay

    And as mentioned in the other thread, some of his adult stuff is fantastic too, such as My Uncle Oswald, Henry Sugar, and Tales of the Unexpected.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Danno View Post
    Danny, the Champion of the World (ok, this one may not be widely known, but my parents gave it to me as a birthday gift because of the title, and I loved it)
    Made into a little-known (outside of a handful of Millennials like me) movie with the always-excellent Jeremy Irons as Danny's dad. Given my Brit heritage and Brit-American upbringing, my dad or grandpa of course had taped it for me and I watched it on loop as a kid.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ernest_Hemingway View Post
    I realize there is not much hope for a bullfighting forum. I understand that most of you would prefer to discuss the ingredients of jacket fabrics than the ingredients of a brave man. I know nothing of the former. But the latter is made of courage, and skill, and grace in the presence of the possibility of death. If someone could make a jacket of those three things it would no doubt be the most popular and prized item in all of your closets.

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    Quote Originally Posted by LightRanger View Post
    Made into a little-known (outside of a handful of Millennials like me) movie with the always-excellent Jeremy Irons as Danny's dad. Given my Brit heritage and Brit-American upbringing, my dad or grandpa of course had taped it for me and I watched it on loop as a kid.
    Shit. Robbie Coltrane too. I forgot.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ernest_Hemingway View Post
    I realize there is not much hope for a bullfighting forum. I understand that most of you would prefer to discuss the ingredients of jacket fabrics than the ingredients of a brave man. I know nothing of the former. But the latter is made of courage, and skill, and grace in the presence of the possibility of death. If someone could make a jacket of those three things it would no doubt be the most popular and prized item in all of your closets.

  6. #6
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    took photos too

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by LightRanger View Post
    Given my Brit heritage
    The daily BBC TV afternoon kid's programming used to have one show called Jackanory. A rotating list of well known actors or tv celebs would read a kid's book over the course of five fifteen minute shows every week.

    The Dahl ones were always best and usually accompanied by the classic Quentin Blake illustrations along with the reading.
    Quote Originally Posted by Downbound Train View Post
    And there will come a day when our ancestors look back...........

  8. #8
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    One of my favorite things about this forum are the random threads that come up.

    As a parent, Dahl has been a staple for our family. Much better than most of the stuff coming out now. One of the greatest authors (adult and youth) ever.

  9. #9
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    Danny the champion of the world was on of my favorite books growing up.

  10. #10
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    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	263520 Highly recommend these to anyone (kid or adult). You’ll be smiling 95% of the time. It’s his two-part autobiography.

    Re-read them with my little brother recently and they reminded me to keep finding the joy in little things even though I’m (sort of?) grown up these days.

  11. #11
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    I have a young niece and nephew, and I want to get them the Roald Dahl collection for Christmas. How old should they be to read these? I asked my wife, but she never read any of these(how does that happen?!?), so she's no help there.
    It doesn't matter if you're a king or a little street sweeper...
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caucasian Asian View Post
    I have a young niece and nephew, and I want to get them the Roald Dahl collection for Christmas. How old should they be to read these? I asked my wife, but she never read any of these(how does that happen?!?), so she's no help there.
    You are aware that Christmas was 2 weeks ago, right?
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caucasian Asian View Post
    I have a young niece and nephew, and I want to get them the Roald Dahl collection for Christmas. How old should they be to read these? I asked my wife, but she never read any of these(how does that happen?!?), so she's no help there.
    What Dookey said... hoping you mean Christmas 2019

    But they can read these as early as 6 or 7 years. We read another one of his famous books, “The BFG” (Big Friendly Giant), as a class reading book in 2nd grade.

  14. #14
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    All of my gamer friends wigged out when the BFG movie based on Dahl's book came out because apparently "BFG" in gaming terms means "Big F$%king Gun"...
    Last edited by dookey67; 05-24-2020 at 07:09 PM.
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by dookey67 View Post
    All of my gamer friends wigged out when the BFG movie based on Doald's book came out because apparently "BFG" in gaming terms means "Big F$%king Gun"...
    you learn something new (and disturbing) every day

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caucasian Asian View Post
    I have a young niece and nephew, and I want to get them the Roald Dahl collection for Christmas. How old should they be to read these? I asked my wife, but she never read any of these(how does that happen?!?), so she's no help there.
    I'm not sure there's a single age, depends on the kid and the book. All of the stuff is pretty dark and twisted for kid lit; it's all absurdist so a kid who isn't really sensitive and can get humor like that would have a better time than a very impressionable/sensitive one. For example, George's Marvelous Medicine is about a kid who has a very mean grandma who treats him poorly, and so, one day when he's supposed to prepare her medicine, he decides to make his own special medicine instead. He throws all sorts of toxic stuff in there and gives it to her. In real life, this potion would have killed her (but in Dahl-world, it does something quite different). Some kids might find that whole thing disturbing (and some parents might too!).

    I think 6 or 7 is a possible starting age for the less sensitive kids. If you're talking about them reading the books themselves (vs parent reading to them), a little older, maybe 8-9?
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  17. #17
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    My Uncle Owald

    Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, an extremely attractive and wealthy bounder, was the greatest fornicator of his time. In this instalment of his scorchingly frank memoirs, Uncle Oswald recounts his discovery of the sexually invigorating properties of the Sudanese Blister Beetle, and his cunning plan to steal what men are most willing to give away and sell it to women who wish to have children 'fathered' by geniuses.

    Inspired by the aphrodisiac powers of the Sudanese blister beetle, the palpable seductiveness of the lovely Yasmin Howcomely, and the scientific know-how of Professor A. R. Woresley, Uncle Oswald anticipates the concept of the Nobel sperm bank by some 40 years, flim-flamming crowned heads, great artists, and eccentric geniuses into making "donations." The life of a commercial sperm broker has a few surprises even for a sophisticated bon vivant, and Dahl manages his signature sting-in-the-tail ending even in one of his lightest comic works.

    There were a few near-misses along the way--Einstein very nearly figured out what was happening--but only one real failure. Howcomely inadvertently eats the wrong chocolate she intended to serve King Haakon of Norway. She gets thrown out of the king's castle after she falls into a temporary state of nymphomania and tries to rape him.

  18. #18
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    The Roald Dahl appreciation thread

    Quote Originally Posted by half-fast View Post
    My Uncle Owald

    Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, an extremely attractive and wealthy bounder, was the greatest fornicator of his time. In this instalment of his scorchingly frank memoirs, Uncle Oswald recounts his discovery of the sexually invigorating properties of the Sudanese Blister Beetle, and his cunning plan to steal what men are most willing to give away and sell it to women who wish to have children 'fathered' by geniuses.

    Inspired by the aphrodisiac powers of the Sudanese blister beetle, the palpable seductiveness of the lovely Yasmin Howcomely, and the scientific know-how of Professor A. R. Woresley, Uncle Oswald anticipates the concept of the Nobel sperm bank by some 40 years, flim-flamming crowned heads, great artists, and eccentric geniuses into making "donations." The life of a commercial sperm broker has a few surprises even for a sophisticated bon vivant, and Dahl manages his signature sting-in-the-tail ending even in one of his lightest comic works.

    There were a few near-misses along the way--Einstein very nearly figured out what was happening--but only one real failure. Howcomely inadvertently eats the wrong chocolate she intended to serve King Haakon of Norway. She gets thrown out of the king's castle after she falls into a temporary state of nymphomania and tries to rape him.
    I stand corrected. Thanks for the save, half-fast & danno

    Edit:
    Maybe read the summary before you gift the book, but a lot of his stuff is pretty tame.

    Also, maybe post on moms4mom 4 better advice than mine http://moms4mom.com/questions/2254/a...ld-dahl-novels

  19. #19
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    My Uncle Oswald is fucking hysterical. Highly recommended. For adults.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  20. #20
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    Have watched a few episodes of Tales of the Unexpected on Amazon Prime.
    Super low budget 30-minute renditions of some of Dahl's darker short stories.
    Noteworthy for the fact that Dahl introduces each episode.

    The first one, "The Man From The South" I had actually seen before on an Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1985. Had no idea until I saw the Tales of the Unexpected version that it was a Roald Dahl story!
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

    https://www.blizzard-tecnica.com/us/en

  21. #21
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    Picked up the “Omnibus” book at the library yesterday. Up until 2am reading it last night. Good stuff. Very tired now.

  22. #22
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    Got my 9 year old the Dahl collection at Costco. Great stories with enough darkness.
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Danno View Post
    My Uncle Oswald is fucking hysterical. Highly recommended. For adults.
    Quote Originally Posted by bodywhomper View Post
    Picked up the “Omnibus” book at the library yesterday. Up until 2am reading it last night. Good stuff. Very tired now.
    Quote Originally Posted by Chugachjed View Post
    Got my 9 year old the Dahl collection at Costco. Great stories with enough darkness.
    With every post this thread is inching closer to digital book club status. Don’t hate it

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chugachjed View Post
    Got my 9 year old the Dahl collection at Costco. Great stories with enough darkness.
    Damn!
    Your Costco is hella progressive.
    Mine stopped selling hemp seeds.

    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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  25. #25
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    Watched a coupla more episodes of the first season of Tales of the Unexpected last night.
    Really predictable stories, but they're still fun (part of the fun is seeing if they end up the way they most logically are headed towards).

    Roald Dahl introduces each episode (at least in the first season) and I have to say that he's kinda creepy looking (at least he was at the time of the show)...very gaunt, high forhead, and, well, old. He's also got this kind of lascivious nature to him in the intros.

    Also, the title sequences for the show are hilarious...they have "naked" girls' shadows dancing around...seems totally influenced by the James Bond film title sequences...
    "Man, we killin' elephants in the back yard..."

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