I feel a bit sad about van Vogt, because clearly people a generation or so older than me got lots of pleasure out of his work, but I didn't at all. I read a few of his books when I was a kid, but even then I thought they were pretty rubbish. And looking again now doesn't change that view. The comparison with Weinbaum's still-valuable 'A Martian Odyssey', which Pohl makes, is telling.
But perhaps I'm being too harsh. What do you think about A E van Vogt's work?
Poll #1836368 Non-Aristotelian checkboxes
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 26
Fan of Slan?
View Answers
| Never heard of him (I assume it's a him) tbh |
   4 (8.9%) |
| Heard of, but never actually read |
| 4 (8.9%) |
| I might have read something, but it didn't really stick |
| 4 (8.9%) |
| Awful |
| 3 (6.7%) |
| Bad |
| 6 (13.3%) |
| Mediocre |
| 7 (15.6%) |
| Fair |
| 1 (2.2%) |
| Good |
| 3 (6.7%) |
| Great |
| 2 (4.4%) |
| A badger with a gun, without a gun, or something inbetween |
| 11 (24.4%) |
- Music:Stina Nordenstam - I Dream of Jeannie
So it is in that spirit that I've decided to stop using 'whom' (and whomever). Not that I really used it much in speech anyway, but I did every now and then in writing instructions and the like.
Consider, for example, these two sentences:
- Ask the player whom they want to attack.
- Give the prize to whomever you think deserves it.
But what do you think?
Poll #1827655 For whom, the bell tolls (or does it?)
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 33
Do you use 'whom' yourself?
View Answers
| Yes, whenever it's correct to do so |
| 4 (12.1%) |
| Yes, although tbh I'm not sure if I always do so correctly |
| 5 (15.2%) |
| Yes, every now and then, but often I use 'who' instead |
| 16 (48.5%) |
| Only in quotations, archaisms and the like |
| 3 (9.1%) |
| No, and tbh I'm not sure when one's supposed to |
| 2 (6.1%) |
| No way, even though I know some people think I should |
| 1 (3.0%) |
| Other (in a comment) |
| 2 (6.1%) |
And what about 'whomever'?
View Answers
| Yes, whenever it's correct to do so |
| 1 (3.0%) |
| Yes, although tbh I'm not sure if I always do so correctly |
| 3 (9.1%) |
| Yes, every now and then, but often I use 'whoever' instead |
| 10 (30.3%) |
| Only in quotations, archaisms and the like |
| 10 (30.3%) |
| No, and tbh I'm not sure when when one's supposed to |
| 4 (12.1%) |
| No way, even though I know some people think I should |
| 2 (6.1%) |
| Other (in a comment) |
| 3 (9.1%) |
- Music:Orbital - The Moebius
Bit late to post this, sorry, but you can still catch them at T in the Park this summer…
- Music:Simple Minds – 70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall
This is quite a well-known play among kids, it turns out, being on the national curriculum. I guess about 80% of the audience were teenagers. I thought it was a very neat production and well acted – although the play itself, while it contains some powerful and in palces funny dialogue and individual scenes are strong, was a bit lacking in overall sense and plausibility in places. You can see how it would be good to teach around… but it's no Lord of the Flies, tbh.
If you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you'll like, I guess is the verdict. We had a good time, anyway.
- Music:Shriekback - Malaria
Poll #1820257 Vincent van what now?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 39
How do you, personally, pronounce Van Gogh?
View Answers
| Van Go |
| 6 (15.4%) |
| Van Goff |
| 18 (46.2%) |
| Van Goch (similar to Scottish 'loch') |
| 12 (30.8%) |
| Other (in a comment) |
| 3 (7.7%) |
And if you had a gun held to your head and had to guess (or if you actually know), how do you think it's probably supposed to be pronounced, ie. by southern Netherlanders?
View Answers
| Van Go |
| 5 (12.8%) |
| Van Goff |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| Van Goch |
| 15 (38.5%) |
| Other (in a comment) |
| 6 (15.4%) |
| No idea at all, please don't pull the trigger I beg you, I'll do anythng to live |
| 13 (33.3%) |
(And did you know he lived at various times in Brixton, Ramsgate and Isleworth? I didn't until recently.)
- Music:Technics2000 - New Wave Remixes Mixed Vol. 5
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.6){kind=small}
sturgeonslawyer who prompted me to give it a go (thanks, Dan'l).The book is a deeply impressive intellectual achievement, and also gripping, funny, moving and thought-provoking. The capsule description (a kid goes to a magical college and thence into a fantasy land) makes it sound derivative of, among other things, Harry Potter and Narnia. But actually it is a thoughtful and insightful commentary on how the subgenres represented by those two series operate, and what they imply. I guess the closest I can come is that it bears the same sort of sideways relationship to them as Rosencrantz and Guidenstern Are Dead does to Hamlet.
But that makes The Magicians sound like a nerdy exercise in alluson-spotting, whereas (although that is true to some extent) it also works very well as an entertaining novel. Grossman really is a very skillful writer. Some of his sentences and images are extremely beautifully formed. And the energy and conciseness of his narrative is admirable – he spirits you along through quick successions of events, covering a lot of story very quickly, but without neglecting his characters' development along the way.
I see there's a sequel: interested to see how that works. The book seems to have said all it needs to in itself, so I'm not sure where he could go next. Anyone read The Magician King?
- Music:R.E.M. - Star 69
The button linked to an url on http://www.harpmakers.co.uk/ (safe to visit afaics, but not illuminating).
Have your message included in
Sir Jimmy Savile's book of condolences
A memorial and book of condolence to the late Sir Jimmy Savile has been set up in SAVILES hall opposite the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. If you are unable to visit but wish to leave a message of condolence you can get your message included through our exclusive condolences portal.
Leave your message |
"Sir Jimmy was a great friend and a driving force for us and we want to pay tribute to the man. He was a legend – an extraordinary larger than life character," said James Vincent, Managing Director of Royal Armouries International.
"We share the grief of his passing and hope his loyal local fans will appreciate this as a fitting place in which to honour his memory and lay any flowers or mementoes."
- Music:Banco de Gaia - Amber
(Well, it was exciting to me. But I dare say some of you have known about it for years, and had thousands such comments?)
- Music:Fox n' Wolf - Claws Against Knives (Todd Terje remix)
Hello [undyingking],
Maybe you have heard about BitCoin.
I want to inform you that Bitcoins now is not completely virtual and you can buy physical Bitcoins.
We make coins from metal, electroplated with real gold. Each coin contains redeemable bitcoin private key protected by hologram sticker.
If you interested, please, visit my shop: [website redacted].
Or you can write me email: [email address redacted].
Regards,
[name redacted]
You have to love the optimistic mind that would come up with a daft scam idea like this. I wonder how many takers they got.
The conspiracy theory that the plays were written by someone other than Shakespeare (who in this version was just an actor) is of very long standing. There are a number of other candidates suggested, but the overall gist is the same: 'the man from Stratford's' contribution to the oeuvre (sonnets and other verse as well as the plays) was nil or negligible.
It seems to me that this theory or set of theories, which I used to think of as being the realm of fringe loonery, has recently gained a bit of currency. What better way to find out than with an LJ poll?
Poll #1787472 Nobler in the mind?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 29
Do you think that the work of 'Shakespeare' was all or mostly written by the Stratfordian actor of that name?
View Answers
| Yes, I do |
| 16 (55.2%) |
| Mm, probably |
| 8 (27.6%) |
| Not too sure tbh |
| 5 (17.2%) |
| Hmm, probably not |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| No, I don't |
| 0 (0.0%) |
And furthermore:
View Answers
| I didn't actually know there was a controversy |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| I agree, it does seem to have been growing recently |
| 10 (21.7%) |
| I disagree, not see signs of recent growth |
| 8 (17.4%) |
| It's all a bit silly isn't it? |
| 16 (34.8%) |
| I suppose it makes people happy |
| 6 (13.0%) |
| I am sufficiently post-modern that I don't think it can be considered as of even theoretical significance |
| 4 (8.7%) |
| Other (in a comment) |
| 2 (4.3%) |
( Discussion )
(The post title is a call-back to this post of a while back.)
- Music:FSOL - Dirty Shadows
It's estimated that a typical 20-tube installation on a south-facing roof will pull down somewhere around £400-500 for you per year through this subsidy: not bad.
There is a snag, though, which is that the subsidy isn't payable for installations on houses with combi boilers: only for those with the more traditional cylinder-plus-boiler setup. Not because there is any technical drawback to using solar-heated feed to a combi, or efficiency penalty, or anything like that: that's not an issue. It's simply a policy decision.
This is probably a bit galling for anyone who thought they were being nice and eco-friendly by installing a combi boiler, as previous govts persistently urged us all to do. But fair enough, maybe they are thinking that encouraging solar adaptation of older boiler systems is going to clean up more of the low-hanging carbon-emission fruit.
But this is where the title of this post comes in. It'll cost you about £3000 (say) to rip out your lovely efficient new combi boiler and replace it with a cylinder-plus-boiler system. With the subsidy guaranteed to rise with inflation for 20 years, you'd repay that and be quids in before too long.
Hmm.
One curious aspect of the coverage, though, is that I don't think I've once heard a TV reporter point out that the land actually belongs to the Travellers themselves: they are being evicted from their own land, which they bought some time before settling it. Whether deliberately or not, the impression has firmly been given that they are squatting/trespassing there – which is quite untrue.
(Was that a surprise to you? If so, that supports my point.)
Given that it's their land, the issue at hand is that they are using it for residential purposes without having planning permission for the change of use. This planning permission would be denied, because the land is in the green belt. But don't think that means it's leafy verdant lungs of the countryside: it was a disused scrapyard when they bought it. It would be hard to argue that using it for residence purposes is any kind of degradation. Planning premission has been granted retrospectively, or the breach tolerated, in any number of such cases – that didn't involve Travellers.
It seems to me that the council are pushing the issue (at considerable expense) not for any practical reason, but because they think kicking Travellers out will play well with the Basildon electorate. And they are probably right.
(Interestingly, if the govt's current plans go through, there will be an enforced predisposition in favour of housing development, even on green belt land. I assume the Travellers could then apply anew for planning permission, and would have to be granted it. That would render this exercise an even more absurd waste of money.)
Anyway, this one is a social game for a large group of people (at least 20 or so), so maybe an icebreaker or at a conference or something.
First you decide upon three topics of factionalism, and four permitted values for each. So eg.
- Favourite colour – red, yellow, green, purple;
- Most inspiring Wizard of Oz character – Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Wizard;
- Best housebuilding material – timber, brick, concrete, steel frame.
Assign each player a random value from each category. So player A might be assigned Red, Scarecrow and Concrete; player B gets Purple, Wizard and Concrete; etc. Player A is then considered to be in the Red Faction, the Scarecrow Faction and the Concrete Faction, and so on.
Each player knows what Factions they are in (and has some sort of card or something on which they're recorded), but they aren't publicly visible. (They aren't secret, just not obvious.)
The game proceeds by the players mingling and chatting with one another in one-on-ones. In one such interaction, Player A approaches player B, they introduce themselves, and player A chooses one of their three Faction allegiances to enthuse about (eg. what a wonderful character the Scarecrow is, triumphing over his lack of brain). Player B listens respectfully but begs to differ, suggesting that the Wizard's ingenuity is truly admirable. Having established that they disagree, B chooses another Faction allegiance to raise, arguing that Purple is a colour of marked superiority. But A prefers Red.
A and B can now, if they both want to, agree to convince each other – ie. A will change from Red Faction to Purple Faction, and in return B will change from Wizard Faction to Scarecrow Faction. Or vice versa – as they mutually prefer. They mark these new values on their cards, and from now on must believe and argue them as vigorously as they did their initial positions.
A and B now separate, and each moves away to start a new conversation with other players (who meanwhile have been doing the same sort of thing, all over the room). As people convince and are convinced by each other, the number in each Faction will rise and fall. If it was purely random, it would stay fairly even, but my suspicion is that topics will usually tend to congregate towards one Faction or another.
The game continues with these free-flowing exchanges, until a predefined time limit has passed: then the organizers tot up how many members there now are of each Faction, and announce the results.
(Note that if you find yourself talking to someone who is already in your Faction for all three topics, or for two of the three, then you might as well bid them a cheery farewell and move on to someone else.)
- Music:Danger Mouse - What More Can I Say
This was for a moderate-sized for two, so adjust accordingly. Peel about 200g of shallots. Halve or quarter any larger ones – basically you don't want any of the pieces to be bigger than a cm or so in any dimension. Put them in a roasting dish with a good slug of olive oil – enough to cover them liberally and still slosh around the bottom a bit. The roasting dish should be of a size that they're in one layer but not too spaced-out. Grind salt and pepper over them, add a few drops of balsamic vinegar, and mix. Put in a 160C oven (fan-assisted – I guess 180 if not?) for 10 mins, shake and mix, then 10 mins more. When done, the larger bits should be very soft, the smaller bits somewhat crispy.
In the meantime, melt 30g or so of butter, get it gently foaming, and add 150g of risotto rice. Stir it around in the butter for a few minutes until transparent round the edge. (Don't let the butter go brown.) Add a litre of veg stock – a spoonful at a time if you're a purist, or all at once if you're lazy like me. You could also add a pinch of saffron at this point if you like it and have some; likewise a chunk of parmesan rind. Put the lid on and let it cook down to your preferred risotto texture, stirring frequently.
Mix the shallots into the risotto (including any delicious oil that's clinging to the bottom of the roasting dish) and serve with a mix of undressed salad leaves – preferably including some sharpish stuff like sorrel and wild mustard, and maybe some basil and oregano leaves too.
Peeling the shallots is the only fiddly bit, but really this ends up good enough to dish up to anyone.
- Music:The Donnas - Perfect Stranger
In the dream it was quite fun, although I dare say in real life it would be quite hard for the GM to generate scenarios. But that is true of any 'solving mystery' type of game, and at least this one, because of the restrictions on what the PCs can do, you know that you don't have to cover too much ground outside of the main plot.
But really first I should do a proper test of the Haunted House game, as my migraine rather knackered the first one.
- Music:TMS
08:37:50: RT @TimHarford: RT @stevesilberman: Lovely: High-speed video of gelatin cubes dropped onto solid surface.http://bit.ly/kfKlz0
10:55:00: Excellent Selvey article about facing Holding: http://is.gd/BlnC8W
12:52:50: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: シートベルツ (32), Carpenters (23) & of Montreal (18) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
13:42:23: Nice simple 3D text CSS effect: http://is.gd/wjxs2D HT @ilovetypography
10:55:00: Excellent Selvey article about facing Holding: http://is.gd/BlnC8W
12:52:50: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: シートベルツ (32), Carpenters (23) & of Montreal (18) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
13:42:23: Nice simple 3D text CSS effect: http://is.gd/wjxs2D HT @ilovetypography
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10:59:11: RT @guardianstyle: Both correct and appear to mean the same, but we can't see any reason to say "unseasonable" when "-al" is more economical
13:13:42: RT @IpswichLabour: Poll on Library incompetence. followers may like to write-in a vote for Judy Terry (Suffolk)... http://twtpoll.com/6r94zf
14:50:43: RT @alexiskennedy: Possibly the most preposterous bit of gamification puffery yet. Bar high on that one, I know, but: http://bit.ly/j1JrR0
13:13:42: RT @IpswichLabour: Poll on Library incompetence. followers may like to write-in a vote for Judy Terry (Suffolk)... http://twtpoll.com/6r94zf
14:50:43: RT @alexiskennedy: Possibly the most preposterous bit of gamification puffery yet. Bar high on that one, I know, but: http://bit.ly/j1JrR0
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17:05:52: Sculptures made out of Scotch tape! (Yes, this is publicity for them, But also: brilliant.) http://is.gd/1Mgoff
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10:34:18: Anyone out there playing SpaceChem? http://is.gd/FnaCgU http://youtu.be/tUGUfq8_nbA http://is.gd/eEJNeX Looks highly addictive!
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14:22:34: Labour take Ipswich council from Tory/LDs -- excellent news! http://is.gd/CvE44t
16:43:02: I love these monuments in former Yugoslavia: http://is.gd/502kRv
16:43:02: I love these monuments in former Yugoslavia: http://is.gd/502kRv
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11:20:28: Daniel Bejar's fun Googleganger project http://is.gd/zPMHGu http://is.gd/Oumn5A
14:29:54: Astonishing NASA expt supports general relativity predictions: http://is.gd/yJZDBc
15:43:11: EARIOT NSLCUD is the new ETAOIN SHRDLU: http://is.gd/oO4UaB RT @OxfordWords
19:46:06: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Carpenters (16), of Montreal (15) & シートベルツ (14) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
14:29:54: Astonishing NASA expt supports general relativity predictions: http://is.gd/yJZDBc
15:43:11: EARIOT NSLCUD is the new ETAOIN SHRDLU: http://is.gd/oO4UaB RT @OxfordWords
19:46:06: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Carpenters (16), of Montreal (15) & シートベルツ (14) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
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16:38:42: "JUDGE THORNTON: Section 4: conclusion of the jury as to the death? THE FOREMAN: Unlawful killing." http://is.gd/CakarD
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08:44:40: Guardian front page has a 'Republicans click here' button to hide wedding coverage: http://is.gd/ji1STy
12:12:56: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Saint Etienne (20), Pizzicato Five (14) & The Cars (13) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
19:54:48: .@pintwatch The first draft, "Putting the stinking back into drinking", was not so well received.
12:12:56: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Saint Etienne (20), Pizzicato Five (14) & The Cars (13) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
19:54:48: .@pintwatch The first draft, "Putting the stinking back into drinking", was not so well received.
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09:27:40: RT @ChantryLibrary: "Hamlet In 75 Minutes Or Less" comes to Chantry Library at 19:45 on Friday for just £5.
09:57:23: RT @TimHarford: Those of you who tell me they want more "Dear Economist" - (ahem) - http://timharford.com/books/dearundercov
16:53:28: Ham 69 #bandmissingaletter
16:53:54: The Cur #bandmissingaletter
16:54:36: Ladtron #bandmissingaletter
16:56:29: Sot Cell #bandmissingaletter
16:57:43: The Camps #bandmissingaletter
16:58:38: The Retenders #bandmissingaletter
16:59:04: Panda Bar #bandmissingaletter
16:59:45: Ears for Fears #bandmissingaletter
09:57:23: RT @TimHarford: Those of you who tell me they want more "Dear Economist" - (ahem) - http://timharford.com/books/dearundercov
16:53:28: Ham 69 #bandmissingaletter
16:53:54: The Cur #bandmissingaletter
16:54:36: Ladtron #bandmissingaletter
16:56:29: Sot Cell #bandmissingaletter
16:57:43: The Camps #bandmissingaletter
16:58:38: The Retenders #bandmissingaletter
16:59:04: Panda Bar #bandmissingaletter
16:59:45: Ears for Fears #bandmissingaletter
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12:12:40: Amazing diagram of history of SF: http://tinyurl.com/3pwt5tf
12:20:51: RT @tomhartney: Indiest thing ever? Knitted record player in Brighton's North Laines. http://t.co/s6R91pP
12:20:51: RT @tomhartney: Indiest thing ever? Knitted record player in Brighton's North Laines. http://t.co/s6R91pP
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14:31:27: .@cleanskies Don't expect sympathy if you get tench foot.
14:33:58: RT @mjrobbins: Amazon sellers using algorithmic-pricing inadvertently lock into an arms race ending in a $23m-valued book http://lay.si/3t
14:33:58: RT @mjrobbins: Amazon sellers using algorithmic-pricing inadvertently lock into an arms race ending in a $23m-valued book http://lay.si/3t
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16:06:59: Martin Allen: "Very polite and well mannered, friendly, funny, kind, caring, occasionally mad." http://tinyurl.com/42wh4g7
16:32:18: RT @karohemd: RT: @meemalee: Made me 50% happier than I was already RT @cookingthebooks: legendary ebay car description http://bit.ly/hdyZ1r
16:34:39: Excellent! RT @davidschneider: The NoToAV leaflet. Slightly amended http://bit.ly/h8GE1I
22:26:41: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: The Donnas (24), The Tiger Lillies (24) & Broadcast and The Focus Group (23) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
16:32:18: RT @karohemd: RT: @meemalee: Made me 50% happier than I was already RT @cookingthebooks: legendary ebay car description http://bit.ly/hdyZ1r
16:34:39: Excellent! RT @davidschneider: The NoToAV leaflet. Slightly amended http://bit.ly/h8GE1I
22:26:41: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: The Donnas (24), The Tiger Lillies (24) & Broadcast and The Focus Group (23) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
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08:43:52: Nice one! RT @hatmandu: Twitter sentiment analysis tool: find out how ppl view a topic, get idea of its popularity: http://qurl.com/feeling
18:47:21: This take on Totoro is brilliant: http://tinyurl.com/y8oq6fm via and see also http://tinyurl.com/4x2d4fc HT @lovecraftsman
19:07:42: RT @rhi_lassiter: Get Ghost of a Chance by @rhi_lassiter on Kindle for just £1.10. (Please RT) http://trunc.it/fg9cj
18:47:21: This take on Totoro is brilliant: http://tinyurl.com/y8oq6fm via and see also http://tinyurl.com/4x2d4fc HT @lovecraftsman
19:07:42: RT @rhi_lassiter: Get Ghost of a Chance by @rhi_lassiter on Kindle for just £1.10. (Please RT) http://trunc.it/fg9cj
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07:30:35: Hmm... RT @lovecraftsman: First look at Kidthulhu, the adventures of a young elder god and his pet shoggoth - http://bit.ly/fygJfa
10:03:09: Interesting-looking new egyptology journal/magazine: http://www.egyptological.com/ Some great articles already.
10:03:09: Interesting-looking new egyptology journal/magazine: http://www.egyptological.com/ Some great articles already.
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10:33:00: Greenwoods talking on Radcliffe/Maconie about the Anyone Can Play Guitar film re 'the Oxford scene': http://tinyurl.com/5w8yuqc
14:40:40: RT @dknippling: Coupon for FREE copy Zombie Girl Invasion (pulp for 9-12yos) this weekend only. http://wonderlandpress.com/?p=70 #freebook
14:51:25: With two kinds of delicious veggie burgers, @BreweryTapPub is spoiling us! Made winning the quiz again taste all the sweeter :-)
14:40:40: RT @dknippling: Coupon for FREE copy Zombie Girl Invasion (pulp for 9-12yos) this weekend only. http://wonderlandpress.com/?p=70 #freebook
14:51:25: With two kinds of delicious veggie burgers, @BreweryTapPub is spoiling us! Made winning the quiz again taste all the sweeter :-)
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11:14:39: RT @TheGreyhoundIps: Date for your diary beer lovers, Ipswich Beer Festival at the Waterfront 18-21 August, part of Maritime Festival #CAMRA
13:55:27: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: The Tiger Lillies (25), This Mortal Coil (24) & MELODIJA (22) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
13:55:27: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: The Tiger Lillies (25), This Mortal Coil (24) & MELODIJA (22) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
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Poll #1730021 And, for a bonus:
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 29
the word 'dew'?
the word 'jewel'?
Bah, that's going to make analysis a bit of a pain. Ah well.
- Music:DeathBoy - Razorblade
If you use different pronunciations in different contexts, answer the commonest one and expand in a comment. Likewise if you have a pronunciation that's not like any of the options…
Poll #1729985 How do you pronounce...
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 36
the word 'dune'?
the word 'duel'?
View Answers
| dyool / dyooəl / dyooel |
| 26 (72.2%) |
| dool / dooəl / dooel |
| 2 (5.6%) |
| jool / jooəl / jooel |
| 8 (22.2%) |
the word 'due'?
And how would you describe your personal flavour of English speech – region(s), class(es), etc? Eg. mine is Essex middle-middle-class.
- Music:The Donnas - Shake in the Action
08:14:20: Fun infographic about double the other mount. Excellent Mr Men reviews! HT Ah, James Blunt, the H.P. http://tinyurl.com/3vsdht9
12:44:08: I chose Flowers for Alg and Little,Big HT @rhi_lassiter: RT @Gollancz: choose which books get cool reissue http://bit.ly/eulPK8 #gollancz50
12:44:08: I chose Flowers for Alg and Little,Big HT @rhi_lassiter: RT @Gollancz: choose which books get cool reissue http://bit.ly/eulPK8 #gollancz50
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13:33:28: RT @hatmandu: Yes, the famed Who Should You Vote For? site is back! Should you vote yes or no in the referendum - or neither? Find out a ...
13:34:36: Ladies wot lunch! RT @guardianstyle: Who RT @zoelouwhite: @guardianstyle "Ladies that lunch" or "Ladies who lunch"? (Please say who...)
13:34:36: Ladies wot lunch! RT @guardianstyle: Who RT @zoelouwhite: @guardianstyle "Ladies that lunch" or "Ladies who lunch"? (Please say who...)
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Now I must admit that I had no idea the govt was directly funding poetry publishers in the first place. And I don't think this is either necessary or desirable. It's not just poetry: I don't think they should be subsidizing any kind of publishing. This is not because I'm some sort of barbarous philistine... it just seems an inappropriate area of activity by the state.
I'm all in favour of the state encouraging arts participation and consumption. So funding of theatres, writers in residence, school visits, workshops, and so on: no problem. But publishing itself seems to me quite a different case. Anyone can publish their own poetry (or fiction, or whatever) practically for free on the internet. Why should the state be (effectively) paying for hard copies to be printed out and distributed?
I can see writers saying that publishers serve an important gatekeeping function -- their selection of a particular work for publication is an imprimatur of good quality, as against an internet that's full of all sorts of rubbish. I'm happy to believe that, but I don't think that poetry is such an important industry that it requires governmental oversight of this process. If people care enough about it, then sites will be established that sort out the good from the bad, as there are in a host of other comparable industries.
Another argument is that publishers help writers achieve a wider audience, with their marketing skills and distribution contacts, and hence increased sales that allow them to devote more time to writing. I'm sure that's true too. But again, I don't think the country will really be harmed if only those writers who sell commercially can afford to do it full-time, and those who don't sell have to restrict themselves to a hobby activity. That is, after all, how it was for the centuries prior to the establishment of the Arts Council: and I think a pretty reasonable quantity of good stuff somehow managed to get written.
Your thoughts?
- Music:Sevenchurch - Surreal Wheel
08:08:56: Re increased Gmail false positives as noted the other day, see also http://tinyurl.com/6c5x35j and @WheresMyMail
16:16:22: Gah, replaced the diaphragm OK but over-tightened and split the retaining nut on refitting. Monstrous new 18" wrench made this all too easy.
16:16:22: Gah, replaced the diaphragm OK but over-tightened and split the retaining nut on refitting. Monstrous new 18" wrench made this all too easy.
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10:26:06: .@tomhartney They were mostly newsletters, but a few were eg. auto acknowledgement responses from buying things.
11:49:36: Malinga destroying Delhi 3-1-8-4 http://tinyurl.com/3qc4zy2 His yorker surely the most terrifying delivery in world cricket
11:49:36: Malinga destroying Delhi 3-1-8-4 http://tinyurl.com/3qc4zy2 His yorker surely the most terrifying delivery in world cricket
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16:11:52: How is it that so many places sell pipe wrenches without saying how wide the jaws open? Which is surely the most important thing to know.
17:33:43: Just found about 10 false positives in my Gmail spam folder. Have they tightened up recently? Hmm.
17:33:43: Just found about 10 false positives in my Gmail spam folder. Have they tightened up recently? Hmm.
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07:34:30: RT @TimHarford: It's not the quality of the review that matters. It's whether the reviewer can spell: http://goo.gl/B7wQ0
09:01:42: The Lovecraftsman, interesting Cthulhoid miscellany collector: http://tinyurl.com/5udsjx3
11:33:13: Interesting suggested way to measure obsoleting meanings/evolving usages: http://tinyurl.com/5twa3jx
15:35:00: RT @lovecraftsman: Take the H.P. Lovecraft Vocabulary Challenge! - http://bit.ly/ihTmwd < I got 36, how pnakotic is that?
09:01:42: The Lovecraftsman, interesting Cthulhoid miscellany collector: http://tinyurl.com/5udsjx3
11:33:13: Interesting suggested way to measure obsoleting meanings/evolving usages: http://tinyurl.com/5twa3jx
15:35:00: RT @lovecraftsman: Take the H.P. Lovecraft Vocabulary Challenge! - http://bit.ly/ihTmwd < I got 36, how pnakotic is that?
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10:25:52: Just had delivered our copy of @EmApocalyptic 's /From Dark Places/ http://tinyurl.com/673dssd Huzzah!
14:21:34: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Banco de Gaia (32), The Beta Band (16) & Jah Wobble (15) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
17:52:18: RT @tomhartney: Faintly terrifying article on antibiotic resistance: http://alturl.com/y49qz (via @SciencePunk)
14:21:34: My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Banco de Gaia (32), The Beta Band (16) & Jah Wobble (15) #music http://bit.ly/hbHcw3
17:52:18: RT @tomhartney: Faintly terrifying article on antibiotic resistance: http://alturl.com/y49qz (via @SciencePunk)
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Research suggests this has been the case ever since the very early days of the internet, back in the Middle Ages.
henry_the_2: that @becky_thomas is like right up in my face i mean haha will no-one rid me of him?
fitzurse_etc: we will!!
henry_the_2: hah yeah lol ur my favourite knights
fitzurse_etc: no yeah we totally will!1!
henry_the_2: haha lol yeh right guys ;-)
...
henry_the_2: hahh u do no i was just jokg right guys?
...
henry_the_2: guys?
- Music:DJ Tripp - Maniacs Emerge (Fischerspooner vs. Michael Sembello)
I suppose I feel particularly saddened because her writing was very important to me when I was growing up. I think I first came across her with Wilkins' Tooth in about 1975, fell in love straight away, and from then on pretty much read them as they came out.
Apart from the tremendous invention and vividity of her writing, she struck a particular chord with me (and I suspect this is true of many of her readers) because of the way she handles her often powerless, often friendless protagonists. Of course, the idea of child protagonists needing to find their place in the world is classic in children's literature. But Diana was unusual in the unsentimentality, even ruthlessness, with which she displayed the forces of adversity. I learned much later that this came from her own unpleasant childhood (more or less portrayed in Time of the Ghost), but at the time, I just felt that she had a great understanding of what would strike chords with my own unhappiness. So her writing was emotionally satisfying in a way that few other authors (Jacqueline Wilson is the only other who springs to mind) are able, or maybe dare, to manage.
As I got older I continued reading her books, now most admiring of her skillful plotting. Charmed Life is perhaps my favourite, because of the watch-mechanism-like neatness of the way its different plot elements fit together and resolve. I also greatly admire the vision and scope of the Dalemark books, which I think match Alan Garner in bringing the power of myth to life: and again, tremendously clever in structure. And I value her fierce emphasis on the need to think for oneself: this is perhaps the most important 'message' of her writing. Auhtority is not to be accepted unquestioningly: by adults any more than by children.
I only met her once, in about 1998, but that was great fun and she was just how I imagined: like a kindly auntie of whose unpredictability and forthrightness one may remain slightly wary. I hope that, like her great influence E. Nesbit, her works live on for the children of many future generations.
- Music:Fad Gadget - Love Parasite
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