[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

blogger

Rhys and others said things like,  "what! oprah endorsed this book? but
but it's so *good*."

The lit nerds (inc. me) all sort of sigh about Oprah, at least a few
times; then we realize that there are a bunch of good books that she's
giving big time exposure.  You *can* overdo the Alice Walker/Toni
Morrison niche, but, then, you can't knock AliceWaker, Toni Morrison,
Edwidge Danticat (sp?), and others on the list.  So, anyway, of all the
talk shows, maybe Oprah stands alone doing some literary good.  But,
then, maybe a lot of that good is canceled out by the existence of _O_
magazine . . . .

Kelvo said, "I also know that Jonathan Franzen tried to prevent his 'The
Corrections' from being labelled an Oprah book because he feared it would
compromise its integrity."

I think what he did was raise the point about integrity in an interview,
and then "O" said: Fine buddy, you wanna dog my list in public, I'm gonna
give ya a whole lotta nothin'.  

Probably turns out okay for Franzen, since he gets a whole lot of
publicity AND no O on his book.

Michelle said, "I'm officially scared."

Um. Sorry.      :)

/         /    v        /
Um.  Sorry.      :)

On weeknights:

Maybe Sunday is a weeknight, if Friday is the weekend; but that would
require changing the rules.  If it worked for my granddaddy, it works for
me!!!  Maybe it's just that Friday's a weekday AND a weekend night.

On Matthews: I said, "I mean.  Matthew."  Mesina said, "You mean me?? 
Gadzooks!!  What did I ever do?"  I reply: No, no, not you.  I just . . .
it's too hard to explain.  Why did so many parents name their kids Matt
over the course of five years?

>>>"M@ Mesina" wrote: One quick thought- if Bin Laden is so opposed to us
for moral/spiritual
reasons, why didn't he target and bomb Hollywood?  Ask that to anyone who
tries to tell you the love of religion is the root of all war.<<<

Actually, I'd reverse this question.  Whatever else bL thinks, he sure
thinks our culture is decadent and threatening to him and "his" people. 
And he doesn't see the root of the threat in our entertainment industry:
he sees it in our economic and political culture.  I would've been
unsurprised to see an attack on Hollywood at first, too; but then,
thinking about all this, it sort of becomes clear how little Hollywood
matters.  It's the guys who let Hollywood exist, who actually foster
religious and social tolerance, that count.  This makes sense everywhere
historically.  Artists think of themselves of knocking down cultural
barriers, but certain conditions have to exist before they can do an
ounce of good.  Theater gets big in the Hank8, Bess1, Jim1 era in England
b/c there's a development of cities, middle class, and prosperity, not
b/c William Shakespeare and Christoper Marlowe were revolutionary.  (They
were great, but they were beneficiaries, not originators, of cultural
change.)
 
Dan asked: 
>>>a valid point, but i have what i believe to be a valid question as
well: since bin laden is involved in a 'holy war'. one in which (by his
religious beliefs) dying for the cause will gaurantee a person a place in
paradise, why is he still alive?<<<

Different rules for leaders: part of his sacrifice is that he isn't
allowed to kill himself yet.  That's one more reason why he's great in
his followers' eyes.  (Just speculating.)

it is an ancient mariner,

Fred
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/OtR/
Follow-Ups: