Stephen Hart
2003-12-11 02:27:32 UTC
Hello Pardoz,
P> post-Gutenberg, really. Certainly authors like Dumas and Dickens can
be
P> tarred with that particular brush.
Hey. I've nothing against a thousand page novel, if the author does
it well. Also, what one reader thinks is "filler" is another reader's
"deep treatment of meaningful themes". Still, I get a little nervous
when I compare later books by authors who formerly "got it done" in
six hundred pages...
I partly think word processors are partly responsible for the trend,
but I swear that part of it is publisher reaction to a perceived
consumer need to "get more bang for the buck". Probably many readers
do like longer novels, but it will be a shame if the end result is
watered-down quality.
Considering my own wordiness, it's probably almost amusing that I'm
agitating for a more concise or minimalist writing style. I guess
it's one more issue that I need to think about more. (One reason I
don't post in rec.arts.sf.written is that I think I'd get eaten alive.
That and the fear that becoming a regular there would steal a whole
lot of time. After all, I no longer even read more than ten percent
of the messages.)
[Leni Riefenstahl]
P> Disturbing, but brilliant.
The main google references for her didn't take me to an unbiased site.
The site really only mentioned her _Olympia_ the documentary of the
1936 Olympic Games...
[DW Griffith]
P> Klux Klan, certainly qualifies, yeah. I have an unfair advantage here,
P> having seen both Griffith and Riefenstahl's work (nobody much other than
P> film students has anymore).
P> whitewash...
:-) Strangely enough, the main web sites that a Google search kicks
out for both of these film directors are all sympathetic to them, or
engaging in a whitewash...
For me, one of the worries about browsing the web is figuring out how
accurate the information on web sites is or isn't. Course it's the
same in UseNet newsgroups, where you have to figure how clueful the
various message writers are.
P> scumbags the world over.
I'm making a note of that firm's name, for the next time I get into
this. 'Course the whole Iraq thing has become so weird. I really
don't want to think about how many U.S.A. citizens think that Iraq
either actually had "weapons of mass destruction" or backed the
Sept. 11 terrorist attack, because the numbers are too depressing.
What I "should" try researching is what public opinion is in countries
outside of North America.
P> Government is probably better run and more efficient than Big Corp, since
P> it generally avoids the bloated inefficiency that inevitably creeps in
P> when you let the private sector run things.
I could swear that I've seen private sector suits use a "similar"
argument that only happens to be the exact opposite of what you've
just said. Go figure, eh?
What probably won't be commonly available was the first paper, which
draws on his experiences in England and partly deals with English use
of CCTV coupled with facial recognition computer software. It was
later that he started dealing with marketing research surveillance.
Anyway, he's got some interesting views and all his work listed in the
library catalogue at http://stauffer.queensu.ca/
I threw that in just in case it's been too long since you used that
particular URL.
In passing, I may soon have a short "hiatus" here, while I go through
some small computer upgrades. 'Course you're already used to me
occasionally taking weeks or even months to reply.
TTYL, ...Steve
-
Woody Allen's new movie: Honey I molested the kids
point had been. Aside from my whining about "formula fiction", I was
mainly moaning about the apparent trend towards overly long novels
that are beefed-up with extraneous "filler"...
P> That one goes back to...well...in print it dates back to justmainly moaning about the apparent trend towards overly long novels
that are beefed-up with extraneous "filler"...
P> post-Gutenberg, really. Certainly authors like Dumas and Dickens can
be
P> tarred with that particular brush.
Hey. I've nothing against a thousand page novel, if the author does
it well. Also, what one reader thinks is "filler" is another reader's
"deep treatment of meaningful themes". Still, I get a little nervous
when I compare later books by authors who formerly "got it done" in
six hundred pages...
I partly think word processors are partly responsible for the trend,
but I swear that part of it is publisher reaction to a perceived
consumer need to "get more bang for the buck". Probably many readers
do like longer novels, but it will be a shame if the end result is
watered-down quality.
Considering my own wordiness, it's probably almost amusing that I'm
agitating for a more concise or minimalist writing style. I guess
it's one more issue that I need to think about more. (One reason I
don't post in rec.arts.sf.written is that I think I'd get eaten alive.
That and the fear that becoming a regular there would steal a whole
lot of time. After all, I no longer even read more than ten percent
of the messages.)
[Leni Riefenstahl]
When I saw the name Leni Riefenstahl linked to propaganda, I resisted
the urge to assume we were talking about Nazi Germany.
P> You resisted incorrectly :-). "Triumph of the Will" is brilliant.the urge to assume we were talking about Nazi Germany.
P> Disturbing, but brilliant.
The main google references for her didn't take me to an unbiased site.
The site really only mentioned her _Olympia_ the documentary of the
1936 Olympic Games...
[DW Griffith]
sure about Griffith, unless you categorize some of Griffith's films as
racist propaganda?
P> I'd say that "Birth of a Nation", a paean to the founding of the Kuracist propaganda?
P> Klux Klan, certainly qualifies, yeah. I have an unfair advantage here,
P> having seen both Griffith and Riefenstahl's work (nobody much other than
P> film students has anymore).
What interested
me was the not-so-subtle hint that he was a "dupe", and only trying to
portray a positive view of the Confederacy to offset all the other
more negative movies.
P> I'll give in to temptation and just call that an attempt at ame was the not-so-subtle hint that he was a "dupe", and only trying to
portray a positive view of the Confederacy to offset all the other
more negative movies.
P> whitewash...
:-) Strangely enough, the main web sites that a Google search kicks
out for both of these film directors are all sympathetic to them, or
engaging in a whitewash...
For me, one of the worries about browsing the web is figuring out how
accurate the information on web sites is or isn't. Course it's the
same in UseNet newsgroups, where you have to figure how clueful the
various message writers are.
Just to bring this closer to the present, and to show that I'm not
totally clueless, I'll quickly mention how the Bush Sr. administration
hired a Madison Avenue advertising shop to help "sell" the U.S. public
on the need for the first Gulf War against Iraq.
P> Indeedy they did. Hill and Knowlton, PR advisors to dictators andtotally clueless, I'll quickly mention how the Bush Sr. administration
hired a Madison Avenue advertising shop to help "sell" the U.S. public
on the need for the first Gulf War against Iraq.
P> scumbags the world over.
I'm making a note of that firm's name, for the next time I get into
this. 'Course the whole Iraq thing has become so weird. I really
don't want to think about how many U.S.A. citizens think that Iraq
either actually had "weapons of mass destruction" or backed the
Sept. 11 terrorist attack, because the numbers are too depressing.
What I "should" try researching is what public opinion is in countries
outside of North America.
P> This presupposes there's a difference between Big Government and
P> Big Corporations....:-)
That's an interesting point. I can see where you're coming from, but
I'll probably spend more time digesting the idea.
P> Digest away. Meself, the only real difference I see is that BigP> Big Corporations....:-)
That's an interesting point. I can see where you're coming from, but
I'll probably spend more time digesting the idea.
P> Government is probably better run and more efficient than Big Corp, since
P> it generally avoids the bloated inefficiency that inevitably creeps in
P> when you let the private sector run things.
I could swear that I've seen private sector suits use a "similar"
argument that only happens to be the exact opposite of what you've
just said. Go figure, eh?
I'll thank you for indulging me. In passing, I'd highly recommend
some of the books David Lyon has written. His being a Queen's
professor naturally means that I've easy access to gems like
_Surveillance As Social Sorting_ and all his other work...
P> I'll have to check his stuff out - thanks for the pointer.some of the books David Lyon has written. His being a Queen's
professor naturally means that I've easy access to gems like
_Surveillance As Social Sorting_ and all his other work...
What probably won't be commonly available was the first paper, which
draws on his experiences in England and partly deals with English use
of CCTV coupled with facial recognition computer software. It was
later that he started dealing with marketing research surveillance.
Anyway, he's got some interesting views and all his work listed in the
library catalogue at http://stauffer.queensu.ca/
I threw that in just in case it's been too long since you used that
particular URL.
In passing, I may soon have a short "hiatus" here, while I go through
some small computer upgrades. 'Course you're already used to me
occasionally taking weeks or even months to reply.
TTYL, ...Steve
-
Woody Allen's new movie: Honey I molested the kids