FENDER AND THE BARNUM PHILOSOPHY

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:32 am

All I know is that I'm glad that the work Paul is going to do to my bass will be by hand. For some reason that will make it more valuable to my somewhat disturbed soul.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:33 am

Sheena, would you happen to be a "classic" SF fan?

Not quite, i'm rather a fan of classic literature but i love reading Bradbury, Sheckley and Vonnegut. As far as HP is concerned - could be a bad translation, plain and simple. All the humor has somehow extinguished from the book, thanks go to the translator. Since Mousie is not good at English yet, that'd be a trouble for her to read the original version. Moreover, there's lots of "Potter rip-offs" and "Potter parodies" (not funny at all, BTW) by Russian authors. One of them (Tanya Grotter series) is in fact very good (imho) and not only rips off Rowling's books, but adds "intertext links" to Russian fairy tales and literature - both classic and science fiction, Strugatski brothers in particular. Both Mousie and myself enjoy reading them, because these are interesting and funny (and, by coincidence, Mousie's full name is Tatyana). The other "Potter rip-offs" are just plain ugly, one of them is even written in "soft porn" genre (and it usually is represented in "Children literature" sections in book stores, would you believe?!) So, i may rather be referring to those endless rip-offs and the quality of translation than to books about Potter as such.
Anyway, my goal was actually to show i'm glad that kids started reading again...

geddeeee · Post by **geddeeee** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:37 am

Hi Brian. Greetings to a fellow Southamptonite. I'm not originally from here. I'm from London. Have moved around a bit. California, Massachusetts. Seen the world, than ended up here. Not too bad and a half decent music scene. Apart from the young bands and their relic-ed Telecasters... Ooops, couldn't resist! LOL.

winston · Post by **winston** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:06 am

Mark,

I suppose the term "Hampshire Hog" has been relegated to the obscure or perhaps has even lost its meaning over time. If it has, it would be yet another casualty of replacement mentality that is so pervasive in modern society.

Modern Literature for example is a far cry from the classic texts that my generation was exposed to in the school system. Personally I love the classics and tolerate most attempts to create neoclassical literature.

In my view the ability to read and write effectively has been watered down as a result of many new thought processes that have entered the mainstream. Spell check on computer programs such as MS Word for example negate the need to learn how to spell. Whilst the feature is helpful it should never have been used to replace the deployment of effective learning methodologies.

geddeeee · Post by **geddeeee** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:18 am

I tend not to use a spellchecker, because I had a good education and I can spell. I agree with your observations on that particular subject. Also the 'Americanisation' of the English language has done little to help. I think the key word here is 'English'. Colour NOT Color.... HA ha ha!

freshmattyp · Post by **freshmattyp** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:47 am

Mark - No we have not left, but I promised myself that I wouldn't comment on this topic any further since there is nothing to be gained by it. I will however de-lurk to say that your commentary in this thread has seriously ****** me off. You've crossed a line with me, whether meaning to or not. You might want to think about that the next time you hit submit.

I'm done here. Again.

Matt - The Fender Loving Killjoy.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:52 am

I think you mean "AmericaniZation, mark.

Spell checkers won't capitalize for you, either.

Yeah, I took a little heat for being a language stickler and having my own name in lc; Peter jumped in and saved me...

You folks are onto another of my rant topics...spell checkers (the crutch of those who didn't pay attention in grade school) DON'T deal in homonyms. They don't correct punctuation, because so much of it is in context. And they of course don't correct contextual errors and idiomatic spellings, either.

My University's website has response page. When you fill it out and hit the radio button to send your message, a new screen pops up. It says:

Thank you for you're response.

They also hung the German flag upside down on our building (we are an "international school"), where it was duly noted and reported. Two months later this was corrected. But this is getting WAY off topic. I simply must control myself!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:56 am

Um, Matty. Let's not take this personally, huh? There have been a lot of polarized opinions on things which have been aired in this thread. I see no personal remarks directed toward you.

It would be more appropriate to send a personal e-mail to mark and see if you two can iron out your friction.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:04 am

Paul, I quickly tire of the tedium of most things, short of sitting in the sun with a cold drink watching the sea, which I could happily spend the rest of my life doing...oh, and sleeping. I never get tired of sleeping...

I recently managed to get in touch with an old friend who once shared my "Harryhausen of the Future" (an SF novel in the making perhaps?) goal, the difference being that he followed it through and went on to work within the genre on such things as Tim Burton's Mars Attacks and The Corpse Bride (I loved the fact that the piano in the Corpse Bride was a "Harryhausen"!). He also has an Oscar-nominated animated short to his name ("The Sandman"). It would appear that the main problem with such work is actually keeping IN such work on a constant basis. As he puts it, "downtime (i.e. periods of unemployment) is worth the gamble in return for doing more interesting work". But on the CGI/stop motion debate, despite the latter being his particular field, he's pragmatic.

In my perfect little world all of these things would co-exist, support and cross-pollinate. Ultimately people should be free to be creative using whatever medium(s) best suits their aims, as per your example. As for art vs craft, the best results should hopefully be when both are combined towards the same goal. I should add BTW that my computer skills in art, design, music or otherwise will probably soon be outstripped by those of my 2 year old nephew. If they haven't already. Ever felt like a dinosaur? (Yet another idea for a book! I just hope I don't get to be T-Rex, barre chords would be murder!).

On a lighter note, I love the Potter books. I read the first one fully expecting not to, but was hooked almost instantly. I tend to lean slightly more towards fantasy than SF, despite the dreadful reputation it has as a result of some of its more derivative and hack-like authors. I've always been a big Moorcock fan, although he can be slightly erratic. Greatly enjoyed some Robin Hobb recently too, again against my better judgement. Not at all what I expected. I also love Terry Pratchett, whose wry humour and depth of insight never fail to amaze me. If anyone ever put me off writing a book it's him, as I could never envisage coming up with anything half as funny or wise even in my wildest dreams. So regardless of what anyone else thinks of him, thank him for that at least! (as an aside, I once had a brief conversation with someone who had attempted to read Pratchett but couldn't get into him "because it's not real". "No, it's SATIRE", I explained...)

Oh, I also love Alan Moore. Comic or no, "Promethea" is probably as good a read as I've ever had....

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:10 am

Did it really take me so long to type a post that I'm really a page and a half behind where I thought I was posting? Good job I never wrote that book....

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:13 am

I think that should be "nearly a page and a half"...I'll give up while I'm ahead....

BTW, was Talos relic-d or was he real? (This joke will be lost on anyone who hasn't seen "Jason and the Argonauts", so apologies in advance).

geddeeee · Post by **geddeeee** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:21 am

No friction from me to anyone. If I've p'ed anyone off then so be it. It's my opinion. If other people do not agree then that is their right. I always thought the point of a discussion was to invite opinions from ALL sides. I've found if some people get really, really annoyed then there is usually a grain of truth to be had in what's said.
I think Matt should accept what has been said or put forward an argument to the contrary.
None of this personal.....

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:22 am

Oh, not again... Peter, could you change the first letters in my name and surname to lower case and take away that pathetic "D.", please?

Kiddin'.
On a serious note - being an editor, i have to deal with mistakes all of the time. Orthography, punctuation, style, etc. Must say my Russian is close to perfect (there's nothing perfect in this world), and when it comes to native tongue, i rarely make mistakes (misprints - yes, sometimes). And naturally, i notice lots of mistakes in others' writing, especially given the overall level of literacy seems to be decreasing all around the world, but i rarely challenge people about them, because i remember an old saying, "a true gentleman is not only the one who never spills sauce on tablecloth, but also the one who seems not to notice when somebody else does it" - well, it's about men, but i'd suggest it could be applied to women as well. Don't get me wrong, i'm not accusing anyone of not being gentlemanish, just clarifying my own position as far as other people's mistakes are concerned.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:34 am

This is all light, hearted, sheerna!

Mark, I agree. A Forum is for linear discussion, with as many lateral diversions as the moderator (Peter) permits. But, in general, friendly jibing is accepted but whenever things flare up, it seems to be because someone took something too personally.

So we edit ourselves before posting, and we make fairly certain that we're saying what we mean.

Like monkeys, we get a lot out of tone of shriek and facial expressions. These are rare on computer keyboards, however. And I abhor "emoticons", because to me they seem to be a crutch for the nuances that well-written language should convey.

Aitch's emos, however are a HOOT. And, Sheena, I admire anyone who is bilingual as well as you are. Having tried to learn a new language in late middle age, I have respect for this.

Perhaps if I wrote in a Russian forum, I'd use Russian emoticons. But would they all be sad and depressed, I wonder?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:34 am

(sic)