Le Visiteur 24 Feb 2014, 04:12
Grazie Guido
Cactus Jack 23 Feb 2014, 20:20
I vaguely remember a story, many years ago, In Analog (or Astounding) Science Fiction, where one of the characters needed a new pair of glasses. I can't recall the reason. He stepped into an Optical Shop, looked into a device, saw a green flash, and a few minutes later was handed some new glasses with his prescription.
This was years before there was such a thing as an auto-refractor. I think the time will come when an auto-refractor will be connected to a 3-D printer and it will print a new pair of glasses automatically. There are lots of problems to solve, such as how to print optically transparent lenses. Everything today is opaque or nearly so. Certainly not crystal clear, probably because of entrapped air bubbles, but who says you could not print lenses in a vacuum or submerged in a liquid.
C.
Guido 23 Feb 2014, 19:33
Amazon,Robert Mehnert, "The Time and Again Trilogy". Especially "In the Blink of an Eye", Ch. 4.
Le Visiteur 23 Feb 2014, 11:53
Guido, about that trilogy which you referred to as "I, glasses" on 29 Jul 2012, 18:38, I've tried to search for it but cannot find anything... do you know the author's name or can you provide us with a link where we can get the text, please? Thanks a bunch!
NJ 21 Feb 2014, 17:05
Two stories come to mind. The World According to Garp, in which Garp's wife wore glasses, and there are some initial comments about how badly she needs them. And in A River Runs Through It, the mom needed glasses quite badly.
Aside from that, Chaim Potok's novels are filled with glasses-needing Jewish characters, but mostly men IIRC.
Jennifer 21 Feb 2014, 13:02
Just wanted to ask if anyone has put together a good list of novels, where the main character wears glasses? I've been searching and found several. Some authors do a good job of describing the eyesight without glasses and what the character does with the glasses. Other authors just mention it like a fashion item.
I prefer to read about men in glasses, but have been very disappointed with what's out there. My disappointment has lead me to write my own.
If there is an author out there who is publishing novels that would appeal to an OO, please let me know.
Guido 29 Jul 2012, 18:38
I recently read the first two installments of the trilogy referenced by "I, glasses". It is science fiction and deals with the perception of time and probability. Essentially, it questions whether a possibility in a time sequence can be altered. The author has as the central character a beautiful 6' female scientist who is severely myopic. The author is quite consistent in his treatment of the visual impairment, that being many references to fogged lenses, displaced glasses, ever increasing myopia. By far the most thorough description is in the .pdf sample that "I,glasses" suggests.
Guido 07 Mar 2012, 09:20
Recently I read a novel by Michael Palmer, "The Patient" wherein the primary character is a female neurosurgeon. There are a few references to her putting on her glasses or having her glasses wiped during surgery. The references would lead one to believe she would be a full time wearer. There were no prurient details about her vision or eyewear, none the less it was fun picturing her as a moderate myope.
I, Glasses 01 Mar 2012, 10:39
A Dec/2011 post referred to a novel, 'In the Blink of an Eye,' available only via e-reader, that discussed a character's myopia. Chapters 1-3 of the book are available on the author's Web site. Early in chapter 1 the lead character, Jennifer, alludes to her poor vision; but in chapter 3, there is a great deal written about her vision and its correction. If you don't have an e-reader to access the entire novel, I recommend reading at least the chapters that are available at this URL: http://www.bobmehnert.com/books/blink.pdf
Astra 12 Dec 2011, 05:16
I have read some survey about Hong Kong, 85% of people aged 18-39 are myopic.
86% of aged 16-19 are myopic, in 1998.
Should not have changed much in 2011 due to the already high rate.
This rate is similar throughout East Asia, all are 60%-90%, excluding Japan.
The rate is lower in Japan. should be 50%-70% depends on age group.
RL 11 Dec 2011, 11:41
There's a novel on Kindle called "In the Blink of an Eye" (it's part of the Time and Again Trilogy) where the main character (a beautiful woman) talks about how nearsighted she is.
varifocals. 11 Dec 2011, 08:53
OLIM
I read in eye scene I think that 85% of Hong Kong are myopic.
On my recent visit glasses were every where but I did not see any read thick glasses.
Olim 10 Dec 2011, 13:36
A popular girl from Hong Kong,
Whose glasses are terribly strong,
Says she's really delighted
About being short-sighted
And no one can tell her that's wrong.
Dieter 26 Nov 2010, 19:30
Right you are specs4ever. Dr Bates claimed to be able to correct all refractive errors by his exercise and relaxation techniques. I read that dumb book as a child long before I develop visual problems myself. My interest in the book was literally inspired by my obsessiveness of all things optical. I credit that crazy doctor for teaching me a lot about vision, however. The Bates techniques were something my dad practiced but abandoned. I bet that book is still on a bookshelf at his house.
specs4ever 26 Nov 2010, 15:45
It has been a long time since I read my Bate's method book, but the vague memories from my brain seem to recall Bates telling people that he coudl cure long sight as well as short sight. Are my memories correct?? I threw out the book by the way.
oscar 26 Nov 2010, 13:10
James,
I don't think either of the things you say is accurate.
First, Huxley himself reported that his corneas were scarred when he was 16 and his vision was impaired from then on. In later life he could only read at all with strong glasses and dilated pupils.
Second, he was long-sighted, not short-sighted, as he reported and as these glasses demonstrate:
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/51887430/Hulton-Archive?language=en-GB&location;=GBR
(if the link doesn't work, just do a google image search for "Aldous Huxley" and "glasses" - there are lots of pictures of him in strong plus glasses.
James 26 Nov 2010, 11:24
Aldous Huxley was not visually impaired, just extremely nearsighted. He hated wearing glasses, and was a vocal proponent of the Bates method (which, through daily exercises, claims to "cure" nearsightedness).
To demonstrate the veracity of the Bates method, Huxley read a long speech off a teleprompter without his glasses. Later, either he admitted or it was somehow determined (not sure which) that he had, in fact, just learned the entire speech off by heart, and was not reading it at all.
So much for the Bates Method.
ehpc 26 Nov 2010, 11:02
Wikipedia is written by amateurs and largely talks nonsense! Huxley I think wrote 'Brave New World' ?
still 25 Nov 2010, 22:35
Yes. He is rather well known. Supposed to be legally blind, or close to it, maybe in later life. Probably can be found in Wikipedia.
Chrissi 24 Nov 2010, 15:04
Hi, has anyone here heard of the author Aldous Huxley? I read up some things about his controversial eyesight.
(My class is going to read Brave New World in a week)
I wasn't sure where this fit in exactly..so..
just wondering if anyone else out there knew about that.
James 13 Nov 2010, 14:06
Meant to type "central TO THE plot".
Time for an eye test maybe.
James 13 Nov 2010, 14:04
Leave it to Psmith by PG Wodehouse makes frequent (and direct) references to various characters' eyesight, including others' perceptions of those wearing glasses, losing one's glasses etc.
In fact, the loss of a highly myopic character's glasses leads to the mistaken identity that is central plot.
Julian 28 Aug 2010, 11:59
Yes, without referring to the book I remember that somebody, not Piggy himself I think, used his glasses to light a fire, but (again as far as I remember) the author refers to his myopia. I guess those who don't know the vocabulary use the term indiscriminately for any visual defect.
Again, the cover of the first Harry Potter book shows him in glasses with lots of power rings, but nowhere in any of the books does the author say what he wore glasses for, just that he saw badly without them.
Aubrac 28 Aug 2010, 10:57
Julian
Quite right let's add something.
I haven't seen Lord of the Flies for some time and so maybe can be corrected. But I seem to remember Piggy broke his glasses, in one film he is seen wearing strong minus glasses but uses his glasses to start a fire, which would only be possible with strong plus glasses.
Am i right in this?
Julian 28 Aug 2010, 04:27
Gosh, this thread's been quiet!
I've been reading several of Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole books lately, and notice that 'he' refers from time to time to his glasses. In (I think) 'Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction' somebody calls him a four-eyed git, and in another place (same book?) he mentions failing to see something and booking an eye test - but there's no mention of a visit to the optometrist or new glasses. It seems to me that the kind of neurotic guy the author shows us would have been bound to get his knickers in a twist about needing, and getting, glasses; and I'm just wondering if anyone here has read the books and can tell me when (i.e. in which book) Adrian Mole first joined the ranks of the four-eyed.
Tim 12 Dec 2009, 22:08
By the way, Chrisb, you have to remember that in the Bard's time glasses for presbyopia were rare, and ones for myopia had not been invented (or rather rediscovered - Nero reputedly had an emerald cut as a concave lens through which he watched the games in the Coliseum).
Tim 12 Dec 2009, 22:00
I do not have my Shakespeare with me here, but do recall a passage in Julius Caesar where Cassius asks someone to tell him what is in the distance, remarking "my sight was ever thick". When we staged this play at my prep school (many years ago) the part of Cassius was played by a boy who was shortsighted and normally wore quite thick glasses but for authenticity was told not to wear them on stage. I suspect the drama master was an O-O!
Chrisb 10 Dec 2009, 16:26
Shakespeare the OO ?
I cant remember if I have posted before about Shakespeare, but I am pretty obsessional about shakespeare as well as GWGs - however over years of seeing reading and watching the plays I have always been disappointed about his lack of any reference to OO. Helena in Midsummer nights dream is sometimes played with glasses but I've now come across this passage in Alls well that ends well. Helena (not the one in midsummer nights dream) is lamenting the departure of Bertram he object of her affections (unrequited) to the kings court.
Must die for love. 'Twas pretty, though a plague,
To see him every hour; to sit and draw
His arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls,
In our heart's table; heart too capable
Of every line and trick of his sweet favour:
But now he's gone, and my idolatrous fancy
Must sanctify his reliques.
Ok there are no glasses but arched brows and hawking eye is what we are about.
The bit at the start of the verse about being a plague also sums up my feeling about glasses obsession at the moment.
Pseldonymov 21 Sep 2008, 12:16
The fiction book by Elena Nesterina about a young girl with glasses:
http://www.litres.ru/pages/biblio_book/?art=165231&lfrom;=2
http://www.fictionbook.ru/author/elena_nesterina/pervoe_slovo_doroje_vtorogo/read_online.html?page=1
Enjoy reading!
lentifan 18 Sep 2008, 16:45
Does anyone have any pictures of Mary Stopes-Roe? She is/was and author and daughter -in-law of the birth-control lady Marie Stopes. I read somewhere that Marie Stopes became estranged from her son because he married the short-sighted Mary with her 'ugly glasses' against his mother's wishes.
Sounds like the opposite of OO.
All4Eyes 21 Aug 2008, 11:19
It's going fairly well, I have all 37 characters given distinct personalities, a general outline formed, along with the first chapter and some incidents in the middle of the story that I need to link together. I must say it is quite a bit different and somewhat harder than writing poetry or short stories, being longer, but I guess in a way I can think of it as just a series of short stories linked together, and that makes it seem easier. It will probably be a year at least before I finish it and get it into print, though.
I ALWAYS make passes at guys who wear glasses, Marie
18 Aug 2008, 13:46
All4Eyes-- How is your novel progressing?
All4Eyes 18 Aug 2008, 06:58
Well, this is just great, I started off by writing my own poems about glasses, but now I'm afraid I've gone a step worse-now I'm re-writing others' poems to make them about glasses! But the last line of this one practically begs for the poem to be "OO-ized (or should that be OO-eyesed?)"-I could, and have, used thousands of words to sum up our fascination with glasses, and here this guy who isn't even writng about glasses does it in just six little words! Here first is the original, as Robert intended:
Upon Julia's Clothes by Robert Herrick
When as in silks my Julia goes,
Then, then, me thinks, how sweetly flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free;
O, how that glittering taketh me!
And now my version, with sincerest apologies to Mr. Herrick (BTW, "seeing" as how MIGs are my thing, I've masculinized Julia. It's obviously not about our Julian, though, since he's a hyperope, hence no white rings, and his glasses aren't thick):
Upon Julian's Specs by Marie
When as in specs my Julian goes,
Then, then, me thinks, how sweetly flows
Those white-ring ripples, rows and rows
Next, when I squint mine eyes and see
How thick those polished lenses be;
O, how that glittering taketh me!
I ALWAYS make passes at guys who wear glasses, Marie
lentifan 30 Jan 2008, 14:33
So what are we supposed to be looking at, Robbie?
Robbie Burns 30 Jan 2008, 14:09
All4Eyes 23 Sep 2007, 11:40
Here is my latest myopia poem, written in the same style as my previous one, Blurry Bliss, and specially dedicated to all the myopes who enjoy an occasional bare-eyed experience, most especially Susanne DK.
My Myopic Soft-Self
All science and statistics and rational reason
Questioning, quibbling and truth-testing theories
Adding up mass and understanding meaning
Reading ravenously every word in the world
With glasses Im a thinker, sharp, hard, analytical, cool
As clear as my beautiful, sparkling framed jewels
So bright and so quick, Im nobodys fool
All handling and hearing and intense emotion
Proudly passionate and honestly open
I truthfully tell who I love and who I loathe
Feeling horny, erotic, itchy, full of hot, excited instincts
Without glasses Im a feeler, fuzzy, soft, intuitive, warm
The world has a peaceful, more tender form
When what I see isnt what some call the norm
Near(sighted)ly knowing blindnesss bliss
Gladly groping to discover details
But blessed by brilliant, scintillating sights, still
The perfectly lovely play of light, soft clouds of swirling colors
And leaning low to read a book
Clear sight requires a VERYCLOSE look
In my own little, cozy, nearsighted nook
I ALWAYS make passes at guys who wear glasses, Marie
All4Eyes 14 May 2007, 17:00
A great, sexy writer who sometimes forgets to capitalize her I's, that is. How could I, I's are EVERYTHING to me 8;-)?!
All4Eyes 14 May 2007, 16:44
Thanks, guys! i AM a great, sexy writer aren't I (and so modest, too!).
sourgrapes 11 May 2007, 17:11
Yeah. That was good, All4Eyes. Myopic Erotica. :D
lazysiow 10 May 2007, 19:42
All4Eyes that was very hot :D
JC 10 May 2007, 16:40
mesmerized by marie's magnificiant meter
joe jotted pitiful poetry upon his pad:
four-eyed freaks from frankfurt
he lusts and likes and loves
bare eyed girls appeal to him so hence
he loves to see them but never hints
his attraction to their squints
All4Eyes 10 May 2007, 15:09
OK, I know this is out of season right now, but it's my first ever glasses-poem and I just wrote it. It's in a new style of poetry that I made up (I've written a couple other poems of this type) where each verse consists of 4 lines of alliteration followed by a triplet rhyme and the title is also an alliteration (and, I'll admit it, I did need to use my spell-checker to get "alliteration" right!). It's probably a bit conceited of me to put this in the "Literature" thread, since it hasn't been published yet, but I thought this thread looked pretty lonely lately.
Blurry Bliss
Walking through a wintry world
Cold black sky, clear bright stars
Happily holding hands with my magnificent myopic man
I contemplate the concept of our eyes correction
Cold frames on our faces, the sweet allure
Of clear, sparkling lenses, the magical cure
For the soft and vague, squint-making blur
The warm welcome of the heated house
Greets our glasses with foggy fervor
Both of us blinded by steamy smears
We strip ourselves of our steamed-up spectacles
Now blinded by our extreme shortsight
Which most people would think a blight
We lean in close and hold on tight
Nearly nose-to-nose, as our nearsighted eyes necessitate
A few inches further, his face would be fuzzy
So small behind specs his special eyes seemed
That they look large without them, in spite of strong squinting
In the gentle, warm blur we share a kiss
Lost in a world poor emmetropes miss
The soft, sweet haze of myopic bliss
I ALWAYS make passes at guys who wear glasses, Marie
Julian 24 Aug 2006, 03:02
Sorry, but the earlier post wasn't there when I looked just now. Anyway, it's the best site I know for glasses-related fiction.
Julian 24 Aug 2006, 03:01
Nameless poster: there's a huge collection of S4E's stories (and other writers' too) on Bobby's site: http://bobbygoc.sweb.cz .
Julian 24 Aug 2006, 01:22
Nameless poster: have you looked on Bobby's site? There are far more of S4E's stories there: http://bobbygoc.sweb.cz/s4e. Other writers' too.
23 Aug 2006, 19:05
Will Specs4Ever's glasses stories page ever be updated? It looks like those stories have been there for years.
url 11 Jul 2006, 00:37
url 11 Jul 2006, 00:36
<a href="url.com">url</a>
All4Eyes 30 Jun 2006, 12:16
I have two questions here, one is literature and one is about TV, but I wasnt really sure where to post it so thought Id put it here as well. 1. On the TV series Little house on the prairie Mary gets glasses in one episode and in another episode (much later) goes blind. I have read about her blindness in the Little house book series, but find no mention of her wearing glasses. Did the creators of the TV show make that part up or is there a book Im missing? 2. I vaguely remember an episode of a show (for some reason I think it may have been Little house) where there was a little boy who pretended he needed glasses, I believe to impress a girl in his class who wore them. Anyway, the doctor found him out by pretending he couldnt find a candy jar or something across from where the boy was sitting and the boy gave himself away by pointing to it. But the doctor didnt let on and gave the boy a pair of planos just to make him happy. Does anyone remember this?
lazysiow 18 Jun 2006, 11:00
I should say, I never really intended everyone to write scripts. I was thinking more of a series that follow on like a tv series, not literally scripts: :)
lazysiow 18 Jun 2006, 10:54
wow thanks for the reply.
Im guessing it went over everyone's head, or crappy formatting. Maybe I can get it on specs4ever or bobby's site
All4Eyes 18 Jun 2006, 07:07
Lazysiow:I LOVE that idea! I'm thinking of expanding it some, though I've never tried writing scripts before. Why isn't everyone here jumping on this?!
Lazysiow 13 Apr 2006, 03:02
Hi, if you're reading this from the top it's going to make no sense, scroll down to the bottom to my first post :)
------------
Season finale, vision so powerful that it takes all 6 to see it, however it is projected out of one, after a flurry of images
which the phropter barely picks up, a bright beam shoots out of her eyes which are somehow refracted back into her pupils
through her lenses scarring her corneas and blinding her for good. This wil lbe a role reversal of sorts and also a shock to
the rest of the team. Though now actually blind, she still experiences visions alternately (now her only form of sight aside
from the darkness) but is now suicidal and withdrawn. Bums out the team. Possibility of her regaining her sight ("Through her
darkest hour") and even more possibility of the first seer with proper vision where corneas may "heal themselves".. This
really sdhould not be resolved in one episode, should be an arc.
Lazysiow 13 Apr 2006, 03:01
One of the seers who gained the "sight" through hormonal changes in her pregnancy, now has a daughter showing signs of the
"sight", seeing the same things as her mother. However she is only a very young age and her mother want the same thing for
her child.
Episode dealing with new seers who ignore the danger to themselves and revel in their power over men in exposising their
vulnerability "bare eyed". Episode deals with maturity as well as seers using this means as infiltration, assassination etc.
This episode may start the elevating of seers as agents themselves
Evil optometrist, ruining young girl's eyesight to set up his own counteragency to help him get rich.
New seers join have less to sacrifice - already bad eyesight or visually impaired. Contrast with resentment from older ones
Seer corruption - One seer that goes out of control and leaves the organisation taking several with her, now using her
"sight" for opportunistic ends. This could be an arc too, before she is finally taken out. Could be a harem type thing.
Another seer corruption episode - Girls are kidnapped or messed with during fake eye exams to produce seers. Group goes
undercover to stop them. The kidnapped or experimented on girls are given the eye drops and then raped while held down
wearing the proper glasses, upon climax their eyesight gets ruined for good. Many girls have this done to them, one that the
seers save however manages to close her eyes in time.. at least it is thought so initially. However this accelerates latent
myopia and eventually she is wearing a low presc i.e. -2 in later eps.
Quiet episode - A solution is developed for the eye drops, episode covers the girls slow recovery of their eyesight. Lots of
eye exams. Staring and squinting at the eye chart while things gradually get clearer. no one makes a full recovery, but most
recover back to low - mid myopia.
Seer sees death of the president/something important in a vision and steps are taken to prevent it, however the death occurs
anyway and the seers must deal with the fact that some things can not be changed, no matter how much precognition has
occured.
An episode where another nation fearing the economic power that the US has to gain from possession of the seers devises an
"antidote" eye drop (or hell, LASIK) that makes any seer's vision normal, and worse, it introduces an immunity to the
original formula. The organisation recovers the formula and this becomes a way out for any seer who wishes to take it.
Episode will discuss conflict and reasons for staying. Two seers are drugged involuntarily and converted, they will leave and
return to normal lives. Will they return? :) Perhaps cameos in other episodes or the next season
Lazysiow 13 Apr 2006, 03:01
Creation of a seer - upon first vision (impaired), hypnosis is used to go into victim's subconscious, then project through a
phropter "projector" projecting the image, then using lenses, make it clear. Same prescription then given to the seer, who is
given the eyedrops, the lenses (blurry at the time), and brought to intense climax whereupon the image through the lenses
becomes clearer and clearer and finally intense clarity. Her eyes are altered forever.
INitially one caretaker is seen, Rex. Head of the organisation. Organisation is revealed later. Intial seers very unhappy, no
fetish. JUst victim of circumstance. The later ones will be more willing, even revelling in it and getting off on it. There
will be conflict between young and old.
There will be a communion between the girls, as they eventually accept one another, their new lives and come to support each
other. I.e things like showering, picking out frames for one another and dealing with their new visual impairment (without
glasses)
Initially girls will be sheltered because of their eyesight and protected, work with handlers that are special agents that
are selected for their fit for the seer's personality (also with fetish or not). However as series progresses, the visions
become more and more direct therefore the seers become agents themselves and begin to take more active roles. It will be a
hero's journey as they gain their skills.
Agents are essentially manwiches/eye candy with a big thing for chicks in glasses :) This could potentially evolve...
Episode premises
-----------------
Early on, the first seers were picked due to being direct descendents of past seers through history,
Seers are used to crack a case involving tainted evidence and rigged testimony, they see the crime, and help authorities
locate lost evidence.
Domestic issueS?
Seers see a new economic depression from stock market manipulation and work with traders and financial institutions to
counteract it
A reporter trying to get into the organisation becomes a seer herself, but is unprepared for the shock of it. Will she be an
asset? or a danger to herself.
Lazysiow 13 Apr 2006, 03:00
Seers
-----
Basic Premise : very visually impaired, legally blind women through powerful glasses experience visions of past, present and
future that help stop major world crisis, all kinds of trouble bla bla. Also experience same visions in daily lives. Not all
visions are beneficial and must be intepreted, ambiguous etc. Visions will be central to the seer's background and ultimately
it is her knowledge of herself that helps interpret it. This will lead to good/bad seers, selfish ones, manipulators, the
ones that can't cut it etc. This will be a TV Season "style" series of stories.
Secret society, witches. Modern day descendents of those that were stoned or cast out that
did not understand their beliefs. Backdrop to that.
Modern day, through glasses, can harness and refine the power of the visions. Special eye drops make shape of eyeball to
accomodate, orgasms provide hormonal change and also provoke visions.
Government / privately funded organisation now using women to be seers. Think 80's TV shows i.e. phoenix foundation from
macgyver :). They work with visually impaired people, as a front and also as a means of recruitment to get first dibs on new
seers.
Only women :) Hormonal changes ;) HAH! Base this on pregnancy theory
Initially seers chosen will worsen eyesight to gain power, however newer girls will come with bad eyesight already. One will
come with perfect eyesight but who has experienced visions and make the sacrifice. Initial group of 6. Will become senior to
other lesser seers.
The glasses will be made of a special index, they will be highly strong but very thin to disguise the nature of refractive
aid i.e. no power rings. The index is so high that a high + lens is indistinguishable from a minus to help protect and
conceal girls' roles and identities
Lazysiow 13 Apr 2006, 02:58
In the old days of ES (wow I've been here 5 years now) there used to be a lot of stories and there was a section named "Fantasy Optical" which was by far my favourite section. I miss them now, and Bobby and Specs4ever's site are like the only places you can find stories nowadays, and they don't show up nearly as much as they used to.
Anyhow I've been sitting on a premise for a TV series style series of stories involving GvG's, think like Charlie's Angels mixed with ES possibly. I don't really have the time to develop it like I thought I would, so instead I want to release my notes here and maybe the best writers here can help run with it, develop the girls etc.
Thomas 11 Apr 2006, 20:38
You should all go out and buy/borrow Julian Barnes' new novel...one of the protagonists, George Edalji, is very short-sighted, and spends much of the novel running around without glasses...until it is discovered his prescription is around -8.
Some very, very worthy scenes in there, and a good book to boot in general.
George is unfairly accused of a crime, and the story narrates Arthur Conan Doyle's campaign to clear him. In addition to writing the Sherlock Holmes stories, he was also an optometrist.
Ukki 06 Apr 2006, 05:29
"The Spectacles", a short-story (or tale) by Edgar Allan Poe.
I like that story. I read it 13.5 years ago when I was 16 years old. Of course, the Russian translation ("Ochki").
Classics!
Ukki 06 Apr 2006, 05:29
"The Spectacles", a short-story (or tale) by Edgar Allan Poe.
I like that story. I read it 13.5 years ago when I was 16 years old. Of course, the Russian translation ("Ochki").
Classics!
Tim 04 Apr 2006, 01:08
Julian - most of my books are in storage in the UK so I cannot be absolutely sure, but I am pretty certain that it was Miss Prism (isn't the very name suggestive?) the governess that was referred to.
Julian 04 Apr 2006, 00:08
Tim: I don't have a copy of 'The Importance...' so I may be talking through a hole in my head but my recollection was that it was her MOTHER's method to bring the young lady up to be extremely short-sighted. I have certainly seen a performance on stage where Gwendolen produced a pair of glasses and put them on.
Tim 03 Apr 2006, 18:52
Two references which have stuck in my mind for many years, both Romantic Heroines:
1. Dorothea in George Eliot's Middlemarch, who is horrified when Sir James offers her a dog because she is "rather" nearsighted and fears that she would tread on it.
2. Gwendolen in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of being E(a)rnest asking Ernest if she may look at him (through a lorgnette) "because my governess has brought me up to be extremely shortsighted - it is part of her method".
Sadly, whenever I have seen the latter staged, this passage seems to have been edited out!
Plusheavy 03 Apr 2006, 05:39
Wei,
you probably mean "The Spectacles", a short-story (or tale) by Edgar Allan Poe. This is about a twenty-two year old young man, too vain to wear glasses, which results in what looks like marrying his own great,great, grandmother... Read the story to learn what actually happened.
Julian 03 Apr 2006, 03:53
Just read 'Brokeback Mountain' in a book with several other stories. Noticed this description:
Ennis, high-arched nose and narrow face, was scruffy and a little cave-chested, balanced a small torso on long, caliper legs, possessed a muscular and supple body made for the horse and for fighting. His reflexes were uncommonly quick and he was farsighted enough to dislike reading anything except Hamley's saddle catalog.
Wei 29 Dec 2005, 05:12
I hear of book about glasses i think The Spectacles. Maybe short story. Do any person know author?
woodframes 07 Oct 2005, 21:29
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Scott Urban
8hhhhhhhh8@gmail.com
Katy 20 Apr 2005, 16:41
Found this - 'The Adventure of a Nearsighted Man' :-)
http://www.emory.edu/EDUCATION/mfp/calnearsighted.html
Bobby 11 Dec 2004, 11:28
Stingray, send your story to my mail bobby.laurel@seznam.cz and I will upload your literary work on my website http://sweb.cz/bobbygoc where there are many stories about glasses written by Specs4ever, Tom the Hungarian and some other people.
Julian 09 Dec 2004, 23:33
(Sorry about that, I hit the wrong key)
Stingray: let us know where you post your story when it's finished, won't you?
Love and kisses, Jules.
Julian: 09 Dec 2004, 23:31
stingray 09 Dec 2004, 11:36
Wurm: okay...no problem. You can delete it if you wish.
Wurm 08 Dec 2004, 22:22
Sorry Stingray, but this site doesn't accept fiction anymore. I'll leave it up for a day or two in case you don't have a copy.
You might submit it to one of the fiction sites listed in the links on the ES front page.
Stingray 08 Dec 2004, 18:14
For lack of the Fantasy Optical thread which used to exist, here is a story I just wrote called: "They made me a Myope"
I used to be one of the top models in the United States. But that was years ago before I was imprisoned. No, I didnt spend time in prison, but wound up with a physical disability that prevented me from modeling ever again. It is not a real physical disability in the real sense of the word as you would think, but more like a real inconvenience. It happened to me 8 years ago when I was at the very top of my career.
Perhaps you remember Anna Manlova. She was the top model to come out of then Soviet Union. We personally were just friendly rivals in a very competitive business. At Annas insistence, I was invited to tour Russia for a photo shoot. Having never been there, it sounded very exciting and an excellent opportunity to further my career. I never expected in a million years what would happen to me.
I met Anna at the airport in Moscow. She was not only lovely, but also quite charming as well. She spoke no English and I no Russian. Everything was handled through an interpreter. The Russians, though dour in appearance and demeanor, nonetheless smiled all the time. I never knew what they had in store for me.
After several weeks of shooting in some of the coldest regions of Russia, Anna and I (and her entourage including ever present KGB agents) took a well deserved break from the daily regimen and exhausting work.
I was invited to go skiing with her at a lodge near Leningrad. I never skied before, but to be polite, I decided to go through the motions.
What disturbed me about Russia was that we were constantly followed. Of course, there was the usual photographers, agents and publicity people always present. What unnerved me was the presence of those men in the dark coats and equally dark hats always pulled over their faces to disguise not only their looks but also their expressions. Every time I inquired as to who they were, I was always told they were Annas bodyguards. Personally, I think they were some kind of state security agent, possibly KGB agents.
(to be continued)
Avid 31 Aug 2004, 19:33
Thought I would try bring this thread back to life.
Has anyone here read "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez? There are more than a few references to the protagonists very poor vision and need to wear thick eyeglasses.
Then there is also Ethan Hawke's debut novel, "The Hottest State". While the book was not as awful as some claimed, it wasn't exactly literary fireworks either.....be that as it may, there were some "delicious" references to the main character's myopia, his use of both contact lenses and glasses, as well as a very realistic description of walking around bare-eyed.
visitor 05 Oct 2003, 11:43
Just read an interesting passage in Queen Noor's memoir (former queen of Jordan, grew up in America, then married King Hussein). Noor describes how terrible her eyesight was when it was discovered she needed glasses in school. She couldn't see the blackboard from the front row. Her father couldn't believe that his daughter needed glasses and had her try to read a magazine from several feet away which she also couldn't even read the headlines. She also described going through high school wearing coke bottle glasses. She must have been a very early contact wearer because a college photo of her showed her without specs. Later in the book she explained briefly that she got lasik in recent years.
Emily 05 Oct 2003, 11:21
Girls interested in guys wearing glasses should read The Chosen by Chiam Potok and October Sky by Homer Hickam. Both of these books discuss the main characters' poor eyesight and glasses. Also, the movie version of Doctor Zhivago has a guy named Pasha/Strelnikov who wears glasses. It's a bit confusing, because in the beginning of the movie, Pasha wears plano or low plus glasses, and later on he has stronger minus glasses. However, there was no mention of any glasses in the book.
BoBo 31 Mar 2003, 11:02
I don't remember much about ary Beth Hurt's glasses in the film, though I did see it a long time ago. I'm guessing they were nothing special, not at least compared to the book, in which a big deal was made about them at the outset. Then again, I don't remember any really steamy GWG scenes in the novel either, but I read it when it first came out in the 70's
I do remember once seeing a cheap TV movie many years ago, in which the male lead always had this dream of flying, but couldn't due to his severe myopia. He wore very strong myodisks in the film, in the range of -20 to -25, but he had this annoying habit of taking them off whenever he had to do anything physical, such as walk around. I'm sure the budget was so low that they didn't even bother to give him contacts under the glasses so he could see. It wasn't very realistic, to say the least, but there were a lot of close-ups to highlight the glasses. I just wished that it was his wife who wore the glasses instead.
BoBo 28 Mar 2003, 16:57
"The World According to Garp" cast Mary Beth Hurt asw his wife. She was a glasses wearer in the film as well as a GWG in life. She appeared in a TV sitcom several years back as, I believe, a chef where she wore glasses regularly.
Christy 28 Mar 2003, 14:12
BoBo - in the movie - The World According to Garp - there's the bad girl who gives him all the grief through his life and shoots him in the end - who I seem to remember also wears glasses. Wonder what all that was about?
BoBo 28 Mar 2003, 13:43
Norman MacClean's novel, "A River Runs Through It", tells of the mother of the two brothers needing glasses. There was one scene where she was trying to break up a fight between her sons, when her glasses got knocked off. The was some comment to the effect that "she couldn't see anything without them, and couldn't see very well even with them on". I saw the movie some years after I had read the booking, hoping to see the mother in glasses, but she wasn't casted as a GWG. Too bad.
The other novel from way back was John Irving's "The World According to Garp". The girl Garp ends up marrying wore very strong glasses. ("Needing them as badly as her dad")Garp's mom was all excited about this: "A really pretty girl, and she wears glasses!" Alas, the movie did not make much, if anything, about this. As I recall, she may have worn some planos once or twice in the film, but she largely was without them.
Bob 23 Feb 2003, 22:56
Here's an old book you might want to dust off at the library sometime: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. There is a character named Catherine, the long suffering sometimes girlfriend of Peter, one of the book's main characters. Early in the book there is a mention of her not being able to see things far away. Later it talks about how she has glasses and won't wear them around Peter. Then after Peter dumps her, there is a passage about her wearing her glasses and taking them off while talking to her uncle, who also wears glasses, as if the two pairs of glasses caused a barrier to communications. And then after she is basically left waiting to elope, there is a passage about her going to work at a home for children, I think, where she is never seen without her glasses. The passage says something about people not liking it when she takes off her glasses because her eyes are not a pretty sight. And then toward the end of the book, Peter runs into Catherine and she is wearing glasses. In the past she had always taken her glasses off when she saw Peter. This time she leaves them on. I read that book years ago when I was in high school and don't remember a lot of it. But I've always remembered poor, put upon Catherine and her spectacles.
still 23 Feb 2003, 20:39
In "The Chip Chip Gatherers" (something like that) by Shiva Naipaul (1973), the unhappy wife of a rich man makes a purchase of glasses with gold frames in the later years of her life - and he forbids her to wear them in his presence, because her eyes, magnified almost double by the thick lenses seem to loom accusingly at him. The description of her eyes behind these thick lenses is graphic.
squinty 22 Feb 2003, 18:16
Linda Barry's cartoon characters Maybonne: "... Then I had to get glasses which my mother hated because it spoiled my looks. This was a long time ago when my mom's eye were perfect and my Dad was still with us"
and (arrow pointing to a picture of) ... "my baby sister Marlys who my mom says was born wearing glasses. And also "chubby"
Frank 22 Feb 2003, 13:47
The play Twelve Angry Men - author eludes me momentarily - about a jury that is about to convict an innocent man until, in the jury room, one of the 12 stands up and changes the others' minds, one by one -
'Did anyone notice' he says 'the residual/pinch marks on the side of a woman witness' nose? They denoted a glasses wearer too 'vain' to wear them in court. But she claimed to have seen the murder out her window while in bed. How could she,' asks Henry Fonda (I think - in the movie).
Another seed of doubt sown.
Loonettes 22 Feb 2003, 12:04
Read *Time Out of Joint* by Philip K Dick. Great book ... the main female character based, I think, on Dick's then wife, Anne, wears glasses and is constantly taking them off and putting them on. See also *Confessions of a Crap Artist* by the same author. If I remember, there is a similar character to the one in *Time Out of Joint*.
Long, long ago (1980 or thereabouts) I recall getting rather aroused when reading a girl's comic which had a strip about a girl who would not wear her glasses. Big horn-rims they were ... anyone remember?
Loonettes 22 Feb 2003, 11:57
One of the Raymond Chandler novels - The Little Sister has one of the main character in what he calls 'cheaters'. Mmmmm ...
squinty 22 Feb 2003, 11:44
and (continuing the OT movie vein) the character "Bug Eye" in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. In the Filmography book, Giancarlo Esposito describes doing GOC so he could see wearing the +5 glasses.
Puffin 22 Feb 2003, 09:41
In Terminator II there is also a cute GWG who peeks into the prison cell room containing Sarah Connor.
specs4ever 22 Feb 2003, 08:54
Of course there is the old favorite - The Girl In the Car With Glasses And A Gun by Sebastian Jaspariot(sp). Also Carter brown had one titled The Myopic Mermaid, and J.J Jance has had glasses mentioned in her last 3 Joanna Brady novels. Also, years ago I read a couple of Matt Helm mysteries by Donald Hamilton that had a couple of them with references to glasses wearers, but I no longer remember the titles. The 2 best movies for real glasses are in my opinion A Dangerous Woman, and Strangers on the Train. In Terminator II, there is a guard on the hospital ward that wears very strong glasses, and these are knocked off by the leading female character when she is escaping. And, in My Cousin Vinny, there is an elderly African American Lady who is a witness to the robery that is on the witness stand, and she puts on a seriously strong pair of minus glasses. I always try to remember any books that have the lady with specs scenarios, but alas, there are really too many to note.
Christy 22 Feb 2003, 00:17
Maybe this should be "Glittery References" - Just a thought!
Filthy McNasty 21 Feb 2003, 21:12
Steinbeck also referred to specs in "Of Mice and Men". I believe it was Lennie's aunt, who he always remembers as wearing "thick bull's eye glasses". This description of the power rings of a high myopic lens has always stuck with me. Perhaps Steinbeck was One of Us?
Wurm 21 Feb 2003, 20:18
Good stuff, still.
still 21 Feb 2003, 20:03
I've never been the first to post to a thread, so thanks for the chance. In "The Wayward Bus", John Steinbeck has a character who is myopic and who compensates for it by pulling at the sides of her eyes - when I read it, long time passing, I found it very erotic.