Marginalia

[coalescent]

Well, I know what I'll be watching on Boxing Day evening: Flashmob--The Opera.

Grammar: 1 Idiots: 0 [via sdn]

When blogging meets romance: "In the blogging community itself, there is a general consensus that dating fellow bloggers is crazy. "Dating a blogger: quite frankly, I wouldn't do it," wrote Jessica on the Blog of Chloe and Pete. "Dating writers is hard enough," she continued, noting that Tolstoy's marriage almost broke up after he shared with his virgin bride his diaristic accounts of liaisons with servant girls. "And that was a private drama. Imagine enacting such a dysfunctional ritual online."" I have ... some issues with the article. [via Jed Hartman]

Asimov's cover dates are a bit out of hand: I got the february 2005 issue in the post this morning. And given that I'm in the UK, I'm usually several weeks at least behind the US (with F&SF it's more like a month and a half, for some reason).

I'm not quite sure what possessed Margaret Atwood to write this, but I'm somehow glad that she did.

Philip Pullman comments on the recent fuss about the His Dark Materials film adaptations here.

The saddest Calvin and Hobbes strip ever. [via mmaestro, I think.]

Have a good christmas, all. Me, I think I'll be spending a goodly chunk of it curled up with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I hope it's as good as everyone's saying; I wouldn't mind getting away from this world for a bit.

Comments

[cellardoor28.livejournal.com]

i fangirl phillip pullman to a ridiculous degree (did you get a chance to see his discussion with rowan williams?) and that makes me feel better about the film.

of course, now i'm going to curl up and cry because of that C&H strip. it's SO wrong.

incidentally, do you think that warning about dating bloggers is a good thing? perhaps i should dump hoggy....

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

I didn't see him debate Rowan Williams, but I read a transcript. Good stuff. :)

incidentally, do you think that warning about dating bloggers is a good thing? perhaps i should dump hoggy....

No, I think it's basically nonsense. Yeah, it can be messy if it goes wrong: so can any relationship. And I think blogging is a really good way of getting to know people. That said, there are limits, and the article does touch on issues of personal privacy as well--to what extent do you have a duty to not blog about someone (to a fairly large extent, I would say)? This made me boggle somewhat:

You can read about the meeting on her blog, as well as tracking the progress of their relationship. At first, Deb continued to date several men at the same time, enumerating each of their strengths and weaknesses, but after what Deb recalls as a messy beginning, she broke up with Alex a month later. Then, as she recorded on her blog at the time, she found herself missing Alex while making out with another man. After blogging her guilt, she called Alex to apologize, and they moved in together soon after.

Deb has continued to blog her feelings during their cohabitation -- an exercise that, as you can imagine, sometimes leads to tensions. ''We used to joke in the beginning about things being on or off the record,'' Deb said. ''This was something we bickered about all the time -- I can't let him read something before I post it. It's like having someone reading over your shoulder, and I don't like people to read my rough drafts.''

[cellardoor28.livejournal.com]

wow. deb's a twat!

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Pretty much. :) Livejournal security features offer an interesting twist, in that if you so wish not only can you hide things from the world at large but you can hide them from your SO as well. I'm far from convinced that's a good thing, though; yeah, there's a case for asking your friends for advice, or using them as a sounding board, but at the end of the day if you have an issue with your SO you should be talking about it with them. Actually, that goes for pretty much any friendship, too. This is hard-won knowledge, though. :-/

[fba.livejournal.com]

but at the end of the day if you have an issue with your SO you should be talking about it with them

Well 'duh' - sometimes people really miss the obvious.....

TBH it doesn't matter what the media is - if you have problems with your SO the first person you should talk to about it is them. If you bitch about them to friends the chances are fairly high they will find out eventually......

[chance88088.livejournal.com]

Seems like the only time anyone I know bothers with that stuff is when they want advice on presents for the SO who might read the journal.

[tinimaus.livejournal.com]

I'll second that. Makes you wonder if she isn't one of those people for whom stuff is only real when they are talking about it to other people.

[snowking.livejournal.com]

Meep!

[tinimaus.livejournal.com]

The saddest Calvin and Hobbes strip ever.

Is that for real? Thanks, Harrison, you made me cry on Christmas. *sniff*

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, it's not a real Watterson strip.

I actually have mixed feelings about it: ADHD is a real condition, does need to be treated, and characterising that treatment as destroying the magical wonder of childhood is a gross misrepresentation, etc etc. But still ... damn, it's sad!

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

That was one of the saddest cartoon strips I've ever seen (and yes, you probably did get it from mmaestro ... *sniffle*.

[tinimaus.livejournal.com]

Phew. And I agree with what you say about the ADHD, but dammit - Calvin? I swear Hobbes was starting to fade in the picture.

[ajp.livejournal.com]

Flashmob--The Opera.

It's different, I'll give it that. It might be worth a look.

Grammar: 1 Idiots: 0

:-) I like it. Though would it be churlish to point out the lack of capital letters in webspiderus posts?

[(Anonymous)]

Though would it be churlish to point out the lack of capital letters in webspiderus posts?

There's a usenet law, whose name i forget, to the effect that every post pointing out errors in spelling or grammar contains at least one error in speling, grammar.

So, if not churlish, at least ultimately self-defeating.

-- tom

PS Apropos of nothing, ALL YOUR HED ARE BELONG TO US YAY!!!

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

It seems to just be 'some usenet law'. Which I quite like, actually.

[john-d-owen.livejournal.com]

Hmm, the one book I'd like to see Margaret Attwood write is the prequel to The Handmaid's Tale, showing how America went from Bush's era to that of THT -- should practically write itself, that one!

Maggie Atty...

[applez.livejournal.com]

Pleased to see she can take the piss out of her own work. :-)

[giantbedsprings.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite sure what possessed Margaret Atwood to write this, but I'm somehow glad that she did.

It's fantastic. It's like peeking into her brain and seeing what other things cross her mind as a writer. Reassuringly normal :)

[(Anonymous)]

I have ... some issues

Chroist yep.

I'm not quite sure what possessed Margaret Atwood to write this

I do - i smoked some of it a few weeks back.

I wouldn't mind getting away from this world for a bit.</blockquote {{{{{{coalescent}}}}}} But in a manly way, you understand. -- tom

[(Anonymous)]

CURSE MY PUNY RIGHT ANGLE BRACKET KEY!!!

-- tom

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

{{{{{{coalescent}}}}}}

OK. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Tom? :-p