Jun. 15th, 2004

dreamer_easy: (transit)
More on Big Brother culture jammer Merlin Luck, with kind words to the host and watching kiddies, but no regrets.

The PM faces an MP revolt over the plan to invade teens' medical privacy. One Liberal MP and doctor tells of several teens who, terrified their parents would learn of their sexual activity, took their own lives rather than seek medical help.

Boox

Jun. 15th, 2004 11:38 am
dreamer_easy: (icons_osi-asimov)
A delightful find in the second hand bookshop: the 26 November 1960 issue of the Observer (published in Sydney), including the Christmas books supplement. It includes pieces on the hard choice facing Australian publishers: whether or not to take the dangerous plunge into paperbacks? and a loudly iconoclastic piece by the head honcho of Angus and Robertson called "Books as Merchandise?":

Books are merchandise just like soap or cereals. The purists will no doubt be shocked at this concept, but I believe from my experience in other fields that the merchandising approach is the key to success in this field. The analogy with food stuffs is an apt one. Books and food stuffs tend to go stale quickly (with exceptions, of course). Some foods provide enjoyment, some nourishment. Some foods are a luxury, others a necessity. The same can be said of books...

... This tendency among book-men to restrict their contacts to their own trade breeds a smugness and conservatism that makes book publishing and book-selling a potential bonanza for those who can break with tradition, broaden their horizons and treat books for what they are - merchandise to be manufactured and sold as quickly as possible...

... The institutional publisher is case in the role of a missionary or social uplifter, catering chiefly for an intellectual minority, but occasionally providing the masses with what he considers they should read rather than with what they want...

... Low price, high turnover is basic... The public wants a satisfactory product at a reasonable price...

... I was shocked to find that some 150 Australian authors have banded together in London and are feeding the English publishing houses with a continuous flow of their best manuscripts. Scarcely any professional authors are able to subsist in Australia by allowing Australian publishers to handle their works in hard covers at high prices...


Another piece laments the general dearth of books published Down Under, describes A&R's massive selloff off highbrow titles and "the mighty US paperback invasion and the revolution in wholesaling techniques that has accompanied it" - the invention of sale or return. Yet another frets that literary magazine Meanjin may not reach its twentieth anniversary. (It did.) A review of Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud damns it (and SF generally) with faint praise.

(Cheers to [livejournal.com profile] icons_osi for the Asimov quote ikon!)
dreamer_easy: (Default)
I've just found a romance novel by one Miriam Minger.
dreamer_easy: (ozzy)
Just a reminder that I delete unsigned anonymous postings. (Signed "anonymous" postings are very welcome.)

Genesis 26

Jun. 15th, 2004 09:36 pm
dreamer_easy: (Genesis)
For those who came in late, I'm researching Ancient Near Eastern texts with the long-term goal of writing a book on Mesopotamian religion. I'm reading the King James Version of the Bible for its connections to Mesopotamian texts, its importance to Western culture, and its beautiful language. I'm learning a lot. As I read each chapter I jot down notes to myself for future study.

So! Tonight's installment is Genesis 26.

- Oh dear - like father, like son... this time the king ain't fooled.

- Beeri the Hittite! What will become of Esau and his shiksa brides? More in our next exciting episode.
dreamer_easy: (Default)
I posted asking for advice on scaring off a neighbour's cat, explaining that our indoor-only cats make noise in the middle of the night when they detect the visitor. I got some good advice, but at least three people said completely stupid things which indicated they hadn't bothered to read the original message:

- Why not let your cats out to scare it off?

- Why not leave food for the visiting cat to quieten it?

- Why not just go out and shoo the cat away?

- And worst of all, an abusive response to the "shoo" suggestion from a self-righteous cat protector who failed to notice (a) the boys are indoor-only and (b) the "shoo" person didn't suggest letting them out. The YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CATS!!! attitude promoted by the rec.pets.cats FAQ etc is a very important one - it's a *huge* responsibility and you have to be prepared for it - but it does produce some prize know-it-alls just gagging to leap in and censure someone whether they need it or not.

It annoys heck out of me when I misread someone else's message and make a dunderhead posting; it's too easy to do. But I seem to have hit the dunderhead jackpot here! :-)

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