Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Hialeah, accent and Nick and Nora

Shouse, Daniel. Georgia Thoroughbreds at Hialeah. Oils. State of Georgia Art Collection.

- This painting that depicts a horse race at Hialeah Park. The artist did a wonderful job of capturing the energy of the race. Viewing this painting brought back a memory of my grandfather relating his visits to Hialeah and seeing the beautiful flamingos they have there.

- The man behind the counter smiles at me as I wait for my take-out lunch, "Shall I refresh your drink?" He has a faint British accent and I love the lyrical way in which the question is phrased.

- A true find in the public library's audio collection - "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett, written in 1934. An era in which they apparently drank copious amounts of alcohol. I am enjoying the witty dialogue of Nick and Nora Charles, who solve a murder. According to Wikipedia, the characters of Nick and Nora are often thought to reflect the personalities of Hammett and his long-time lover, Lillian Hellman.

11 comments:

Meredith said...

Gotta love those British accents. (Or at least, I do.)

I'm never sure if they drank more alcohol in the '30s, or if they were just more open about it. I met a recovering alcoholic just this week and found his self-awareness, gentleness, humor and humility refreshing. :)

Lynn said...

Meredith -

This man was from Hong Kong - although he has lived here for a long time. I guess the British influence still persists after all this time.

Listening to this book, it amazes me how much alcohol is consumes by everyone. Nick Charles always seems to have an "eye-opener" too.

Granny Annie said...

I love British accents but usually have to use "closed captions" on the British comedies because it sometimes is difficult to understand.

Currently I am listening to THE APPEAL by John Grisham and so far, so very good.

If you haven't already, check out audio book THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. It is read by three readers and it is a wonderful story. I read the book first and then ordered to cds because I heard they were very well acted.

Lisa said...

For what it's worth, I think cocktail portion sizes were smaller than they are now. Also, this is fiction.

LL Cool Joe said...

My British accent seems to go down very well in the States, but sometimes I think people find it hard to understand what I'm saying. :D

TALON said...

That painting is full of life - I can hear the thunder of the hooves, hear the cheers of the crowd.

I grew up with a British accent (my Mom's) and my friends used to love listening to her and still do :)

Jannie Funster said...

British accents rock! And after I met my penpals from England and Scotland I really started to understand everything they said.

Beautiful race painting, I admire that kind of talent, not being able to create much more than a stick person myself.

Trying to get my site to pull up this morning, server's down. So, a great time to get around a visit all you guys' wonderful blogs, and have a little forced break from working on my next post!

xo

desk49 said...

Accents are so funny. Tho we all speak English we keep the twang with us. A foot print of our past.
A window into who we are. A tie to our home.

Youall hasem a great day.

Lynn said...

Granny Annie -

I love a good book on CD for my commuting time (I'm trying to stay off my cellphone for safety reasons.) And I actually did listen to The Help last month. You are right - it was quite an experience. Those actresses did an amazing job.

Lisa and Robb -

Thanks for stopping by. I actually did realize it was fiction. No judgment of Nick and Nora here. :)

Joe -

I'll bet you have a wonderful accent.

Talon -

Don't you love that painting? I should have turned my flash off though. I love the hallway at Georgia Public Broadcasting - there is new art there all the time.

I remember now that you said your mom has a British accent - I'll bet it is lovely.

Jannie -

I admire the fine artists, too - I am a stick figure kind of gal myself. :) Sorry your server is down - I keep seeing that around other parts today.

xo

Ellis -

Yep - I've got a bit of a twang myself. Not so much as when I get around my cousins in Macon, Georgia. It comes out more then. :)

Snaggle Tooth said...

Nice painting, full of motion. Great to have a Dad memory related to it! Brittish accents have such a way of sounding polite n smart, eh? I did one for a play once. Nick n Nora just sound so likeable n familar, sounds like a good read-

Lynn said...

Snaggle -

Nick and Nora are a very stylish couple - lots of witty banter. I'm getting a kick out of listening to it.