The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett, author of The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom, my note on that is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-adventures-of-ferdinand-count.html - 7 out of 10

 

The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett, author of The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom, my note on that is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-adventures-of-ferdinand-count.html

 

7 out of 10

 

Tobias Smollett has four books on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, and The Adventures of Roderick Random is the second that I tried to enjoy, alas, without much, or any success, coming on the tails of The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom, which was another failed launch into Shangri La, or some other paradisical land

 

Which does not bode well for The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle and The Expedition of Humphry Clinker both by the same Tobias Smollett, included on the aforementioned list, ergo on my to read list, but considering my criminal record with this novelist, since I have killed his first two recommended works, it might be another misfire

On the one hand, it is not good to have too high expectations, I have even read this in one book of positive psychology, recommending that we lower our expectations, so that we get happier, in our parlance ‘do not go to the cherished tree with a large bag’, as in it will not have that many fruits, not what they say in any case

 

Somehow, The Killer came to my mind https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-killer-by-luc-jacamon-10-out-of-10.html one of the best movies I have seen in recent years, one that I will prefer to Anytime, Anywhere All At Once on any given Sunday or day, and which has not been nominated for an Oscar

Never mind winning for Best Motion Picture – I mean I could not believe Anytime got that, I could not even watch it, so enjoying it would have been impossible, which should be a worry, I see that I reject The Adventures of Roderick Random, which comes with such good credentials, and then I mock an Oscar winner

 

Besides, it did not win just Best Film, they gave it Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role and some more besides, in translation, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what I find divine, will look contemptible for others…the eternal trope – Orange Jesus is the Chosen Savior for a couple of billions…

Whereas I see him as a dumb fuck, a calamity like we have not seen before – let me use one of the suggestions of Harvard Professor Tal Ben Shahar https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-pursuit-of-perfect-by-tal-ben-shahar.html who says in his most popular lectures – they had had nothing like that in the history of Harvard:

‘Be a merit finder, not a fault finder’, so applying that to Orange Jesus, we could take comfort, be proud that our country (this Orange Felon would call it a shit hole place, but I will get back to this, if I do not get distracted) does not even have somebody like this idiot, ready to get the top job at the elections, not with a chance anyway

 

We have a replica, but as far as I know, this small Orange Baboon would be in fourth place, so first the spoiler alert, I am not bothered with Roderick Random and his alleged adventures – adventures my ass, it is boring for this reader – and instead, I am ranting, off subject just like the Master of the great ‘weave’

OJ aka Orange Jesus is calling weave his Random collections of nonsense, and he has had an employee from this realm, one that I meet at the club downtown, let me call him Volpone, and this fella has voted with OJ last time around, because they have met, he was the boss, and let me add, they both lack little grey cells in abundance

 

For some time now, Volpone has claimed that he sees the danger for our country, the region, and hence he would not choose again the same felon, only he was not being genuine, for we caught him out, and so he says ‘well, a woman, you know, I also worked for the guy…’ so he is likely to make the same catastrophic choice this time around

He tells us that he has tried to have the fool (he does not call him that, there is admiration there, clearly) open a casino in Sinaia, but the big shot gangster did not want to, he even called Volpone once – he worked at The T Tower – and said fuck you Volpone, with your casino, only to try something else, apparently

 

OJ wanted to use the big Houses of Parliament, supposedly the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon (at least that is what we told visitors, when I was in the hospitality business) for another of his (mostly failed) ventures, but he did not get the ok, it is used as a House for voting and such…

However, come to think of it, he could get to the very top once more (his cult members being the cretins they are, or just too deplorable, yes, Hilary was absolutely right, it was not a good maneuver, but that was and is the truth, they are deplorable, they may put him Up In The Air again, although I hope not, Insha’Allah)

 

Then, he could either dispatch the hooligans, that Shaman, Visigoths and what not that have stormed the Capitol Building almost four years ago to occupy our Parliament, why not, shit hole countries, right, or else, he might gamble at the casino with Putin, and if the monstrous dictator – I mean the latter, by that time they could both be in the same league – wins the hand, lottery, Russian roulette, or whatever, then he gets this place and more

Orange Jesus was asked at the debate if he wants Ukraine to win, and you know what, he did not give the only possible, sane answer, to one of the easiest questions, he did not say, daaah, I want Ukraine to be victorious, naturally, he just would not say, and you can guess his favorite in that atrocious war, I am sure he is all in for Putin

 

 Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”