Archive for the ‘Literature’ Category
Book Recommendations – A Lexicon of Terror and We Make this Road by Walking
May 8, 2008These are both excellent books – the first is about Argentina’s totalitarian regime of the 1970s/1980s and the latter is about educational methodology.
War and Peace
January 23, 2008Captain Ahab speaks
October 24, 2007“Hark ye yet again – the little lower layer. All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event – in the living act, the undoubted deed – there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. If man will strike, strike through the mask! How can the prisoner reach outside except by thrusting through the mask! How can the prisoner reach outside except by thrusting through the wall? To me, the white whale is that wall, shoved near to me. Sometimes I think there’s naught beyond. But ’tis enough. He tasks me; he heaps me; I see in him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him. Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me. For could the sun do that, then could I do the other; since there is ever a sort of fair play herein, jealousy presiding over all creations. But not my master, man, is even that fair play. Who’s over me? Truth hath no confines. Take off thine eye! More intolerable than fiends’ glarings is a doltish stare! So, so; thou reddenest and palest; my heat has melted thee to anger-glow. But look ye, Starbuck, what is said in heat, that thing unsays itself. There are men from whom warm words are small indignity. I meant not to incense thee. Let it go. Look! See yonder Turkish cheeks of spotted tawn – living, breathing pictures painted by the sun. The Pagan leopards – the unrecking and unworshipping things that live; and seek, and give no reasons for the torrid life they feel! The crew, man, the crew! Are they not one and all with Ahab in this matter of the whale? See Stubb! He laughs! See yonder Chilian! He snorts to think of it. Stand up amid the general hurricane, thy one tost sapling cannot, Starbuck! And what is it? Reckon it. ‘Tis but to help strike a fin; no wondrous feat for Starbuck. What is it more? From this one poor hunt, then, the best lance out of all Nantucket, surely he will not hang back, when every foremast hand has clutched a whetstone? Ah! constrainings seize thee; I see! the billow lifts thee! Speak, but speak! Aye, aye! thy silence, then, that voices thee. (Aside) Something shot from my dilated nostrils, he has inhaled it in his lungs. Starbuck now is mine; cannot oppose me now, without rebellion.”
The Southeast is not having a good month
July 17, 2007Saving the World, One Corpse at a Time – the novella
November 29, 2006That’s the current title anyway – I suspect it will hold up.
This has been a lot of fun to write, especially any part with Big Rod (he occurs in every fourth section at the moment). One difficulty I’m running into is maintaining the tone I want while introducing changes to keep developing the story and characters. Another issue is that the novella’s setting is the CRPG genre as a whole (and even a bit of other RPGs)… which introduces some chaos into the environment since several different games with different mechanics and gameplay are present. Its been fairly smooth sailing so far through the early simple stages of the novella. Its broken up into Levels which correspond to the main character’s (and Big Rod’s) level. Amazingly, Big Rod may be the hero of the story, although he’s not the main character and as a parody himself hardly seems appropriate. Perhaps that’s just more commentary on the genre.
“Oh my god, they killed Arneson!” “You bastards!”
On 1984
October 26, 2006The book. I’m at Part 2: Chapter 9
Just one curiosity: Winston talks continuously about the Thought Police and fear of the thought police, yet he does not seem surprised to evade them so effectively. Doesn’t he ask why he hasn’t already been captured? Has he truly been that careful? He himself stated that Julia is the clever one, he admitted errors. He admitted haste. Optimism and pride may be the death of him…
We're in Our World Now 