addicted to dark and stormy nights

[ciroccoj]

"The G8 needs to be democratized to ensure fairness and equity in the global economy."

This statement assumes that there is not, currently, fairness and equity in the global economy, that this is due at least in part to the fact that the G8 is not democratic, and that this situation can be ameliorated by democratizing the G8.

Well, there's my own scintillating opening line. Yeeha. Oh, I can just feel an A+ flowing out of my fingers right about now. Yesirree.

And here's the rest of my scintillating paper:

Introduction
Part I: What is the G8?
Part II: What is democracy? Is the G8 democratic?
Definitions of government and democracy
Democracy and Globalization
The G8: Is it government? Is it democratic? AKA: the Duck Test
Part III: What is the G20?
Part IV: What is the L20?
Part V: Equity in the global economy
Conclusion

So, you know, I could be working on my essay, or I could be doing this instead. Namely, looking through my shelves for books that I bet at least one person on my flist has read other than me, and writing out their opening lines for your amusement. Or rather, for mine.

Some are rather dead easy. Others, notsomuch. I'm curious to see how many people peg. (Books still to be guessed are in red)

1. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, guessed by shellmidwife and siliconivy
   
2. The volcano that had reared Taratua up from the Pacific depths had been sleeping now for half a million years. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke, guessed by animaltalker
   
3. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. 1984, George Orwell, guessed by dragonduerme
   
4. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowlings, guessed by shellmidwife
   
5. A squat grey building of only thirty-four storeys.
   
6. Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, guessed by siliconivy
   
7. They're out there.
   
8. When I stepped out into the bright sunshine from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home. The Outsiders, SE Hinton, guessed by shellmidwife
   
9. Early one evening in September of 1974 a small twin-engine plane, silver and black, sailed down onto a secondary runway at Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport, and slowing, turned aside and taxied to a hangar where a limousine stood waiting.
   
10. Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, CS Lewis, guessed by siliconivy
    
11. When I was four months old, my mother died suddenly and my father was left to look after me all by himself.
    
12. I remember the day the Aleut ship came to our island. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell, guessed by linaelyn

Oh and because I just can't seem to get enough of opening lines, here's a link to the
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, 2003 Results, a contest to find the worst opening sentences to imaginary novels. They are named in honour of Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, who first began a book with the immortal words, "It was a dark and stormy night."

Comments

[umbo.livejournal.com]

1. Little Women
4. HP and the Sorcerer's Stone
10. Is maybe Peter Pan? (I've never actually read PP)
Someone else on my friends list posted #8, but I don't remember the answer. 3, 6, 11, and 12 are all familiar, but I don't know what they're from.

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

#10 is not Peter Pan. :-)

[umbo.livejournal.com]

Um, I just saw the answer to #8 on someone else's post. Is it cheating if I say it now? ;-)

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

Heh, no, go ahead :)

[umbo.livejournal.com]

Okay. It's The Outsiders.

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

#4 is really familiar, but I can't quite place it...

;-D

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, and 12 is Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. A personal favorite, and one we read for homeschooling, last year.

[siliconivy.livejournal.com]

1. Little Women
4. One of the Harry Potter books but not sure which one
6. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
8. (Oh oh I know this one. Damn!)
10. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
12. (this was familiar but I didn't place it until I read linaelyn's response and then I went "oh yeah!")

[jennifus.livejournal.com]

#3 is "1984".

[bast2.livejournal.com]

your #3 was #1 on my book list. 1984.

#1 is little women.

Funny but

[animaltalker.livejournal.com]

my hitchhiker's guide didn't start that way because Hitchiker's Guide happens to be on my list as well. Mine starts with "The house stood on a slight rise just on the edge of the village." I wonder if the difference is because Adams is a British author and my book is an American copy and yours is likely a Canadian?

Re: Funny but

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

"The house stood on a slight rise" is the first sentence of the first chapter. "Far out in the uncharted backwaters" is the first sentence of the book I have - it's sort of like an unlabelled prologue, or something. Don't know about the American/Canadian thing - my edition is from "Pan Books, London and Sydney."

Ok Cheating slightly

[animaltalker.livejournal.com]

#2 is an Arthur C Clark I think it's Childhood's End

and #11 is by the guy who wrote James and the Giant Peach right?

Re: Ok Cheating slightly

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

#2: Yes!!!

#11: Right again!

Re: Ok Cheating slightly

[animaltalker.livejournal.com]

Ah yes but why can't I remember the title something about Daniel (oh duh) just as I typed that it dawns on me

[ninja-kat.livejournal.com]

A-ha!

#5 - Brave New World! I remember reading this book because you were reading this book when we were in grade 7 or 8, because your mom had recommended it. And then in grade 12, we studied it in English class. The teacher commented on this first line because in the days that the book was written, buildings didn't get above a few stories, therefore, a building that was 'only' 34-stories indicated how 'advanced' civilization had become.

#11 - Danny, Champion of the World :) My second grade teacher read us this book, from which I discovered the rest of Roald Dahl's children's books. :)

This is fun...:)