From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Jan 9 16:13:34 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 16:13:34 -0800 Subject: [CT] Temple of Eris, DKM and Discordia In-Reply-To: <1010603496.3c3c95e8e8cfd@webmail.colorado.edu> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020109160636.00b120f0@mail.queenofangels.com> The Prophet Harry is a decent guy whose teachings were hijacked by the Temples of Eris. The first book about him, Devlin's Razor, may well be published next year by QuietVision. Jodi is revising it. I think I've posted "The Prophet" and "The Fool" from DR before -- they're the opening and the bridge. I think you can find them both on kithrup.com. ~~~~~~ The Prophet The Pacific Ocean vomits up Venice Beach, a time warp psycho ward from hell. At the edge of the sand, artists, merchants and fortune tellers ply their trades with threatening urgency. Golden skinned musclemen, wearing little more than leather belts, pump iron and sweat. Women, wearing even less, watch them. Wild-eyed dopers crouch in the sand and dealers loiter in whatever shade they can find. Small children build sand castles and blond surfers with razor blades taped to their boards kick the castles down. Heat waves shimmer up off the water and a thousand sun worshipers invite skin cancer into their lives. Tourists wander uncertainly, looking for a bargain, or maybe a cop. The peculiar, the bizarre and the grotesque all saunter merrily along, hoping to catch the eye of a wealthy producer, just dying for their type, or a wealthier pervert, dying for practically anything. A man wearing a turban and playing a guitar roller-skates to nirvana. Harry Devlin killed his beer and dropped the empty bottle back into the ice chest. The sun reached down, dragging the moisture from his body; the dry air absorbed it almost immediately. People thought of Los Angeles as a tropical city, a paradise of beaches and palm trees. In fact it was a desert, an arid, wasted expanse of land made green by stolen water and imported gardeners. Harry laid on a lounge chair at the edge of the sand, tanning, while Father Spike and Swami Dave tried to sell one of his paintings to a girl who was prettier than they were. He pulled a fresh bottle out of the chest and popped the cap off with a small bottle opener tethered to the plastic arm of the chair. One end of the opener was rounded; the other pointed. Harry's father, for some obscure reason, called the bottle openers church keys. Harry leaned back in his chair. Approaching him from the south was a procession of Hare Krishnas, chanting soundlessly and rattling soundless tambourines. And drifting down from Malibu was a group of naked Go-Go Girls wearing green skin paint and scarlet wigs. Their bagpipes were anything but soundless. A collision was inevitable. Harry glanced from the Krishnas to the Go-Go Girls. He thought the collision might take place right where he lay. He let his head fall back, closing his eyes. Perhaps they would miss him. He certainly hoped so. A Hare Krishna/Go-Go Girl brawl would really be a flaw in what had so far been a very nice day. Mama Aghabaria was built like a warrior, or a mother, although she had been neither. She stood just a bit over six feet tall, long, lean and muscular. Her breasts were full and heavy, thrusting out, threatening, the nipples showing through the thin cotton of her dress. She had broad shoulders, a slender waist, rounded hips and endless legs. Her skin was the color of Hershey's Dark Chocolate, her hair long, wild and white, her eyes blacker and colder than Lucifer's heart. She claimed to know both the Devil and the Lord personally and no one who knew her doubted it. She worked out of a rainbow colored tent. Most days she did a steady business: a handful of the locals wanting a curse or a charm, then a couple dozen of the curious, getting their fortunes told so they could go back to Spokane or Des Moines and tell the ladies in the bridge club, or the boys at the lodge, about their trip to La La Land. The witch business was slow the day Channel 2 Action News came to the beach. Mama Aghabaria sat outside her tent, shuffling her tarot cards and waiting for Harry Devlin to wake up. He would do so any second. The priest and the swami who'd come to the beach with him were about to sell one of his paintings. It was a nice painting, a portrait of a woman walking along a deserted, wind-swept beach. The woman in the painting bore an uncanny resemblance to the blond girl who wanted to buy it. Harry slept directly across from Mama Aghabaria, on the other side of the strip of asphalt that passed in Venice for a boardwalk. Dark blond hair reached almost to his shoulders; the stubble coming up on his cheeks and chin was brown. His nose was crooked, broken when he'd tumbled face first out of a tree at the age of eight; a scar bisected his right eyebrow, a souvenir of yet another trip out of the same tree. Asleep, Harry looked younger and nicer than he was. The girl who wanted to buy his painting had exactly a hundred and three dollars. The priest wanted the whole hundred and three, the swami wanted to leave the girl a few dollars. Harry's eyes opened, the color of chlorinated water, surprisingly pale against his tanned skin. He said to the girl, "You can have it." Mama Aghabaria smiled. The girl said, "What?" "The painting. You can have it. You can have it for free. I don't want your hundred and three dollars." The priest said quite clearly, "Shit." From the corner of her eye, Mama Aghabaria saw Joey Pak, a sunglasses and earring dealer from down the beach, point her out to a suit. The suit had removed his jacket and tie and rolled up the sleeves of his fine white shirt, but the camouflage wasn't working. He still looked like a suit. She frowned slightly, mentally reviewing her business permits, then noticed that the suit was being tailed by a tall young man carrying a minicam. They crossed over to her, momentarily eclipsing her view of Harry. They were exactly on time. "Mrs. Aghabaria?" The suit spoke in a deep, professionally trained voice. "I'm Bob Kinly from Channel 2 Action News. We're doing a color piece on Venice Beach and were wondering if we could interview you." The conga player who had been crouched in the shadow of Mama Aghabaria's tent began beating a sleepy tattoo on his drum. The suit shot him a look of annoyance. "Mrs. Aghabaria?" he prompted. Across from them, the girl hurried off with her painting. The priest and the swami fell to arguing over whether leaving the Canadian bacon off a pizza was a morally superior act. Mama Aghabaria supposed the morality of it all depended on whether or not they left off the sausage and the pepperoni, too. The swami called the priest a fucking Papist and the priest said, "Oh, yeah?" Mama Aghabaria made a vague gesture with one arm. "Interview them. I don't talk to anyone for free." She spoke in the flat, almost accentless voice of a native Californian. The conga player beat a little faster on his drum. The suit looked across the boardwalk with a pronounced lack of enthusiasm. The priest announced loudly that Canadian bacon was inherently immoral anyway, so what difference did it make? "I'll pay you," the suit said. The Krishnas and green Go-Go girls met. Only the suit and the swami glanced over at the ensuing melee, the suit uneasily, the swami fondly. "No thanks. I don't want to be on the news. It'd scare away my regulars." The man eyed Harry and his friends again. "Are they anyone?" The guy with the camera touched a button, turning to pan across Harry and his friends. He sighted in on a painting of a blood spattered room, shifting in for a close up. Mama Aghabaria smiled. "The tall one with the red ponytail is Swami Dave. He's a Hare Krishna. Watch out for him, he'll try to save you. The boy standing next to him is Father Spike. He's a Catholic priest. He doesn't care if you're saved or not." "Don't tell me," the suit interrupted, "the guy on the lounge is a rabbi." "Nope." Mama Aghabaria owned one of Harry's paintings. The witch hadn't paid for it, Harry had simply given it to her one day. The painting was of a girl with long, wild white hair, floating cross-legged in mid-air. The girl in the painting was the image of the child Mama Aghabaria had once been. The conga player, while not a very good drummer, was extremely sensitive to atmospheric changes and recognized a momentous event when he saw one. His hands pounded rapidly against the leather skin, giving the witch an introductory drum roll. Harry flipped a beer across the boardwalk. The conga player caught it, terminating the drum roll. He didn't have a church key and couldn't get the cap off. "He's not a rabbi," Mama Aghabaria said. "He's a prophet." She smiled, rather smugly. She loved it when things worked out the way she planned them. "That's the Prophet Harry." It was a particularly uneventful day. Harry made the five o'clock, six o'clock and eleven o'clock news. ~~~~~ Midway through the book, you get "The Fool." ~~~~~ The Fool As twilight fell, the merchants on the beach began packing up. Those who worked out of tents packed their merchandise into trucks and vans, then pulled the tents down, shaping the tarpaulin into long thin rolls they threw into the vehicles alongside boxes of earrings, sunglasses and T-shirts. Vendors of a more suspicious nature, certain that thieves would take anything, pried the metal poles that supported the tents apart and took them along as well. Illegal, transient head shops, anticipating a new locale the next morning, boxed up posters and pipes and silver nose spoons with an eye toward artistic display. The few who worked out of buildings locked up, pulling retractable iron gratings across the doors and windows, setting alarms that would scream for the police at the first indication of a break-in. Unfortunately, the burglars would be long gone by the time the police finally arrived and flipped the switch that quieted the alarms. Mama Aghabaria did not close up shop. She didn't have a customer to keep her there, hadn't had one in over an hour, although her rainbow colored tent claimed one of the better spots on Venice Beach. Just north of Venice Boulevard, it was in the thick of things. Everybody passed by Mama Aghabaria's tent. The floor of the tent was the same blacktop that had been used to create the beach's promenade, but Mama Aghabaria had covered it with brightly colored rugs. The space had no color scheme, yet the discordant shades somehow managed to appear harmonious. There were two tables in the room. One, back against the far tent wall, was small and square. It was covered with a cloth, brilliantly embroidered with Christian symbols. Mama Aghabaria's nephew had stolen it from a Catholic church; he'd wrapped it in ancient Smurf wrapping paper and given it to his aunt on a day that wasn't her birthday. She'd been hesitant to use the cloth, afraid it might negate some of her powers, but it had proven to be as dead as the crucified Savior, which was dead enough for Mama Aghabaria and she'd kept it. The other table was darkly polished wood, four feet by six, large enough to lay out all eighty-eight Tarot cards at once. There was a richly padded chair on the witch's side of the table. On the other side, a piano stool covered with bile green velvet sat like an orphan. The witch sat at the table where she told fortunes to believers and curious alike, laying out the cards in formation after formation. The cards were old; Mama Aghabaria had painstakingly cut, drawn and painted them when she was still only a teenager. Her father hand carved a mahogany box for their safekeeping. Some of the Major Arcana had taken her months to do. But the result had been worth the investment; there was a brightness about the cards, an intensity other decks lacked. With these cards Mama Aghabaria could see the future. It was unlucky for a seer to look at her own future and Mama Aghabaria had never attempted to lay a hand for herself. The patterns she set out were for the prophet. She laid them compulsively, knowing it was a useless endeavor. The subject of the readings had never touched the cards and with every new formation they offered a new future. Mama Aghabaria had told his fortune almost a year earlier, but she'd used the cheap store bought cards she used for most readings and they had been handled so many times since, none of the prophet's aura remained. The tent flaps were pulled back and Mama Aghabaria watched the sunset through the opening. The sun changed as it approached the horizon, becoming bloody and swollen. The smog caught the dying orb in its deadly grip and squeezed. Scarlet tendrils reached across the sky, intertwined with orange and pink and blue, all held buoyantly aloft by particles of dirt and grit, carbon monoxide and chemical waste. The witch thought that if they ever got the air cleaned up, the sunsets weren't going to be worth the time it took to watch them. As Mama Aghabaria watched the day die, a young man passed by her tent. One arm was wrapped loosely around the shoulders of a dark haired girl, his fingers playing in the ebony strands of her hair. The other hand hung at his side. As they passed the open tent flap, the boy's free hand formed the sign against the evil eye. Mama Aghabaria smiled; smart boy. When the sun was only a faint pink line on the horizon, Mama Aghabaria took out a battery operated lamp. She set it on the polished wood of the table, but didn't turn it on. She began forming yet another pattern of cards. The Fool was the first of the Major Arcana to appear, the only card that had appeared consistently throughout all the readings. The Fool. Il matto; fate; luck; the end. In this latest reading the Fool was followed by the Magician and Justice. The rest of the reading was hopeful, foretelling a probable success. The two previous readings had offered certain doom. Mama Aghabaria shuffled the cards together in frustration, slapping the deck down into its box. She flipped the switch that activated the lamp and a cold white glow filled the room. A book lay on the rugs next to her chair. She picked it up, leaned back in the chair and began to read. She had a long wait ahead of her. Wednesday was well underway before the prophet arrived. She could hear him walking alone down the boardwalk, the gravel crunching slightly under his feet. She knew he hadn't come to see her, but the light had attracted him and he was headed toward her. She smiled; light had a way with mad young men and moths. The prophet poked his head in through the tent opening and said, "Hey." Mama Aghabaria said, "Hey what?" The prophet smiled just a bit. "I meant good morning." He entered the tent, stopping just inside the doorway. It was cooler on the beach than it was inland. His hands were tucked into his pants pockets; a gun-shaped bulge disfigured his waistline. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" "Waiting for you. And you certainly took your time getting here." "Sorry." The prophet, who hadn't realized he was expected, looked abashed at discovering he was late. "First things first," Mama Aghabaria said. "Go throw that gun in the ocean. Make sure to toss the bullets in separately." The prophet didn't move. "It's not my gun. It's Rami's." "Then lay it outside. I don't want it in here. Gives off a nasty odor." He nodded, ducking back out of the tent. Mama Aghabaria read twelve pages of her book while he was gone. When he finally returned, she asked him if he'd remembered to throw the bullets separately. "I remembered." He sat across from her on the piano bench. "The gun won't come back on the tide?" Mama Aghabaria shrugged. "Probably not. It's not exactly buoyant." The prophet blinked. He didn't seem to like her answer. After a moment he said, "I threatened to kill a man tonight." He smiled. "And I almost shot myself in the foot." "That's what people do with guns," Mama Aghabaria said. "Shoot themselves and anyone else who might be around." She took the hand drawn Tarots from her father's box and set the deck in front of Harry. He shuffled it without being asked, cut it and handed it back to her. She fanned the deck, holding it out to him. "Pick a card, any card." Harry plucked out a card and handed it back to Mama Aghabaria without looking at it. She held the card for an instant before laying it down on the far right hand corner of the table. She'd intended on laying out the cross again, but abruptly opted for a more extensive reading. "The significator." Harry stared at the card in dismay. "The Fool?" "The Fool is the fundamental mystery of the Tarot Pack: the only unnumbered card in the Major Arcana." In Mama Aghabaria's deck the Fool stood at the edge of a cliff with his back to the fall. He grinned, as if daring the elements to take him. At his feet, a small dog clenched his pants leg between its teeth, pulling him back from the cliff. In his lapel, a yellow flower drooped, dying. The same flower appeared as a bud at the feet of the Magician, opening near the Emperor and in full bloom in the Stars. "The card portrays a fool and in English it's come to be called the Fool." Mama Aghabaria flashed Harry a reassuring smile, laying cards on the table in a seemingly randomly fashion. "But its not such a bad card to have as your own. Originally, it was il matto, 'matador' or 'checkmate.' Il matto comes from a very old Persian word meaning 'to kill', or 'to put an end to'." "So the Fool's a killer." "No. The Fool isn't death, or even an agent of death. He's not a player in the game, he's the master of it. At every fateful moment, he's somewhere at hand, doing nothing himself, apparently only there to observe that whatever should be done is done. He's the end of things, the conclusion. He's Fate." The prophet stared at her. "Is that good?" The witch said, "It's not bad." "It doesn't sound good." Mama Aghabaria continued to lay out the prophet's future. "The Fool's a survivor. He's the only card of the Major Arcana to survive in the modern pack of playing cards; he's the Joker, the wild card. In the old courts, the king's jester, the fool, was punished for nothing he did. The Fool is freedom." Mama Aghabaria finished laying out the cards. She did not tell the prophet that the Fool, the joker in her deck of cards, was also the Fool of God, the shaman entranced with the wonders of the universe, the holy madman who lived a charmed life. He represented the best of luckbut it was luck and likely to turn at any moment. "If this Fool doesn't get punished for anything he does," Harry asked, "does he get punished for things other people do?" "Oh, probably," Mama Aghabaria said. "Life's not fair, you know." She read the cards from right to left, then took the first card and the twenty-sixth and read their combined meaning. She then combined the second and the twenty-fifth and continued until she came to the last pair, the thirteenth and the fourteenth. "You'd better watch out for relatives, Harry." "My relatives, or somebody else's?" "If I were you I'd keep an eye on everybody's relatives." "But that's everyone," he protested. "Yes, well." The first through eleventh and the thirty-fourth through the forty-fourth cards were the past and they showed the witch nothing she did not already know about Harry. The twenty-third through the thirty-third and the fifty-sixth through the sixty-sixth represented the present. She stared at the Woman Pope. Combined with the Ace of Swords and the Knight of Cups she was bad news. "You sleep with that lady pope?" It took Harry a moment to realize she meant Gayle. "No." "Don't lie to me." Mama Aghabaria was very fond of Iselma. "I know you did. And you better not do it again." "I slept with her sister." "Well, don't do that again either." The twelfth through the twenty-second and the forty-fifth through the fifty-fifth cards showed the future. Mama Aghabaria scowled down at the cards. She wasn't terribly fond of the future. There was always too much opportunity for chance to play its nasty tricks. "Is Jack Wilson going to call the cops?" "He's the guy you were gonna shoot?" "Yeah." She examined the cards. "Nope. He wants to avoid the police even more than you do." "Who's Peter Hegg? He keeps writing about me in the newspaper. He says he's doing it as a favor to you." Mama Aghabaria was not averse to lying. "I've never heard of him." Harry looked skeptical and she said, "Honest." He sighed. "Can you tell me who murdered Phil Sullivan?" "No. I'm not reading his cards. Not that I'd want to read a dead man's cards anyway; it's bad luck. I could tell you who murders you, though." Harry jerked forward, bumping the table, causing The Fool to slide a few inches closer to the witch. "What?" "Don't get so upset. Everyone dies eventually. You just do it more dramatically than most." She began gathering the cards together. "Now, go home. You're bothering me." "Who kills me?" "None of your business." He stared at her incredulously. "You're not going to tell me?" "No, I only said I could tell you, not that I would. Go home." She put the cards in their box and fitted the lid, then turned off the battery operated lamp. "Then tell me this: am I going to jail?" "Harry, I don't care if you go to jail. I'm only interested in your career as a prophet." In the darkness, she eyed him fondly. "And that's going very well. You don't need to worry about it at all. You're going to be a great prophet. "Now get out." At 12:11 PM 1/9/2002 -0700, you wrote: >AAARRRGHHH!!! >I was hoping for a discussion of how The Temple of Eris _might_ have evolved >from the current Discordian philosophy. What I've read of Discordia seems >intentionally obscure and confusing. How did the Temple of Eris become a >coherent religion? What thought processes did DKM have to change a >obscure "cult" into a mainstream religion? Did the Prophet Harry have >anything >to do with it? > >Speculate, damn it. > >--Ben > >benjamin.manthey at colorado.edu > >There were too many cell phones on that airplane and not enough pistols. - >Payton Miller >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 10 06:23:42 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 06:23:42 -0800 Subject: [CT] Left Behind? In-Reply-To: <200201100924.AA1159463616@kih.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020110062305.00a76160@mail.queenofangels.com> It's not there yet -- I'll be posting it along with a new version of the QueenOfAngels.com site later today or tomorrow. It's linked on the front page. At 09:24 AM 1/10/2002 -0500, you wrote: >Dan, should I be looking at your fiction archives at kithrup.com to find >Left Behind? I tried last night after I linked to it from your temporary >page at queenofangels.com. But I couldn't find it. > >Earl P. Dean >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 10 14:21:47 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 14:21:47 -0800 Subject: [CT] Gr - Stupid opportunists In-Reply-To: <200201101733.g0AHXYi16910@spidey.speakeasy.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020110142032.00a76470@mail.queenofangels.com> That's a joke, right? They were selling out anyway, it just would have taken another few months. We're going to trade PBs more quickly as a direct result of those hc's selling out. At 09:33 AM 1/10/2002 -0800, you wrote: >So I didn't manage to get in on the QuietVision Limited Edition books. I >just never got around to contacting them. I've got DKM's own published >works, but as I said, just missed out on hooking up with Quietvision. > >Since I've got all of his books, including The Ring, I just really felt >the urge to vent. > >It's no wonder that Quietvision sold out - people like this guy : >http://www.fanwyrlds.com bought them to resell. Makes me wonder how many >other did this vile, despicable thing.. > >j >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 11 12:47:45 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 12:47:45 -0800 Subject: [CT] Gr - Stupid opportunists In-Reply-To: <200201111658.g0BGwdn17425@spidey.speakeasy.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020111123208.00b07d18@mail.queenofangels.com> All right, fair enough. You compare them to scalpers and I see your point. OTOH, the next limited edition (of a new book) we'll run 1,000 copies. :-) There may be limited eds of AI War & Lord November -- and we've tentatively agreed (no contracts) to split LN into two books, since it runs so long. If there are LEs of those books, the general LEs and general hardcovers will go much closer together, no more than 3 months. At 08:58 AM 1/11/2002 -0800, you wrote: >The only reason I'm not joking is that this is just as bad as ticket >merchants. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but the limited editions >were going to sell out anyway. Maybe not as soon as they did, but they >were going to sell out. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 11 15:32:27 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 15:32:27 -0800 Subject: [CT] QueenOfAngels.com In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020111152419.00a769b0@mail.queenofangels.com> I got the bare framework of the new site up today -- nothing interactive works, so I disabled all the links for that. (Which is practically everything.) The site is entirely style-sheet driven, so if you hate the way it looks, hang in there; there'll be a new black-on-white stylesheet available as soon as I can get to it. There's a nice links page up so far. I've still got to .pdf "Left Behind," but as soon as I do I'll put it up. After that I'll probably .pdf the NPR columns I did and put those up as well. Unless there's some noticeable demand I'll only make essays and stories and such available as .pdf. (I will also e-mail copies of the .pdf files to kithrup.com -- if I end up with storage issues, kithrup has offered to store large images and so forth for me, which I appreciate.) I'd forgotten what terrible HTML Frontpage created. I'd written a bunch of .asp pages that I was happy with, but nothing as far as look-and-feel until a few days ago -- I prototyped the way the site would look in Frontpage. Then I went in to build stylesheets (.css files) to automate the production of future pages, and had to tear up the frontpage-created pages to remove all local formatting -- my God, that HTML was bad. I wouldn't hold mine up as a style to emulate, but at least you can read it. I do like "Left Behind." I'm sorry I never got a response on it from Asimov's -- in 20 years that's never happened to me before. ~~~~~ Left Behind: A Tale of the Continuing Time She was not famous then, in 2485. This was after she was taken from Eastersea, but before she met P'Rythan November, or the Destroyer of Worlds; it was even before Mister Dreadful escaped Eastersea and met Picky Jim. It was before all of that. Ola Blue was twenty-two years old, and a night face, when Shelomin Serendip, the Director of United Earth Intelligence, sent her to Gillen. Certainly no one in Gillen System had ever heard of her -- only a few people in Gillen System had even heard of Shelomin Serendip, and she had been Director of UEI for almost fifty years. For most of those fifty years Gillen System had not received much traffic or news from the rest of the Continuing Time; they had been at war that long. ... I'll go install Distiller and get this up. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 11 19:02:20 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 19:02:20 -0800 Subject: [CT] QueenOfAngels.com In-Reply-To: <20020112024617.71EB23C278@darksleep.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020111152419.00a769b0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020111185626.00a76c78@mail.queenofangels.com> There's a new appearance link on the front page that will permit you to set the stylesheet you want to use. Requires cookies. Currently there are only 2 -- green on black; black on white. At 09:46 PM 1/11/2002 -0500, Stephen J. Owens wrote: > Yeesh, what kind of account is queenofangels.com living on, >anyway? Disk space issues in this day and age? You're welcome to an >account on darksleep.com, if necessary. It's not exactly >high-availability (it lives in my bedroom on a static symetric DSL >line), but the price is right :-). I actually don't know what my disk space limits are, if any. I'm hosting with Readyhost.com -- $99 a year, and, now that things are working, I'm relatively pleased with it. Getting the account configured correctly was painful, though -- mostly getting SQL Server up and running. > I've had to fix frontpage stuff on odd occasions in the past. >Pure torture. Great table tools -- I can prorotype a table, cells, percentages vs. pixel aligments, etc., very quickly. In my experience, a better and more interactive prototyper than Dreamweaver. But I would never use it in a production environment where I expected to have to maintain its output. >I read the other short stories/chapters from queenofangels the other >day. No, you read them on kithrup.com -- there's very little up on QueenOfAngels.com, and most of the stuff that's on Kithrup will never be up on QOA, mostly because 1) It's already on Kithrup, and 2) I don't really want to maintain it. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 11 23:16:25 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 23:16:25 -0800 Subject: [CT] QueenOfAngels.com In-Reply-To: References: <20020112024617.71EB23C278@darksleep.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020111152419.00a769b0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020111231429.00a76e10@mail.queenofangels.com> If people insist on reading large chunks of text as html, I'll produce it that way. But in my experience I'd far rather read a .pdf file than html, certainly for long documents. Just out of curiosity, why the preference for html, assuming you can read .pdf? Text is text. (I know why _I_ have a preference for .pdf, aside from thinking it looks better, I'm not dying to output in multiple formats.) But why you? At 11:06 PM 1/11/2002 -0800, you wrote: >On 11 Jan 02, at 21:46, Steven J. Owens wrote: > > > I find PDF useful solely as a quick way to get print-formatted > > material available on the net. I would much prefer to see HTML > > versions of stuff. If necessary, I'll be happy to run it through a > > converter for you. > >Agreed, pdfs are significantly annoying and slow compared to >HTML text. > >-John Snead sneadj at mindspring.com >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.313 / Virus Database: 174 - Release Date: 1/2/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sat Jan 12 17:17:45 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 17:17:45 -0800 Subject: [CT] Left Behind In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020111231429.00a76e10@mail.queenofangels.com> References: <20020112024617.71EB23C278@darksleep.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020111152419.00a769b0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020112171641.00a77058@mail.queenofangels.com> Sorry to be a tease, but I've mislaid the install CD for Acrobat, and now I'm leaving for Santa Barbara for a day. If I don't find the CD when I get back, I'll try one of the other pdf encoders, or I'll just put it up as HTML. Sorry for the delay. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Jan 22 18:48:29 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 18:48:29 -0800 Subject: [CT] Left Behind In-Reply-To: <200201221931.LAA20251@phys-ha1cupa.eng.sun.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020122184650.00a787c0@mail.queenofangels.com> Sorry about the delay on this, folks. Left Behind is up, as pdf, on QueenOfAngels.com. I'm looking into producing an HTML version of it, but that might be a while; among other things I need to figure out how to handle the unifon characters that appear midway through. (As .pdf it's easy; you just embed the unifon font, which, admittedly, makes the file larger.) -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Jan 22 18:50:03 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 18:50:03 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA In-Reply-To: <200201221931.LAA20251@phys-ha1cupa.eng.sun.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020122184924.00ab7750@mail.queenofangels.com> Oh, by the way, QOA will be down later tonight; I've got some new code & database structures going live. It shouldn't be down more than a few minutes while the new structures come across. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Jan 22 20:17:40 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 20:17:40 -0800 Subject: [CT] [OT] Do you control the computer, or does it control you? In-Reply-To: <001f01c1a3c3$676d2180$6401010a@tspudz> References: <000d01c1a3be$d4c3ccc0$0200a8c0@mindspring.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020122201501.00a78b48@mail.queenofangels.com> Windows 3.0 ran fine on 286s. It didn't multi-task DOS apps particularly well, that's all. I though the article was silly myself -- hating Windows simply because it grew complex seems to me to be missing the point. Modern OSs _are_ complex. Objecting to being treated like a criminal, otoh, seems reasonable. Windows 2K Advanced Server is much more complex than Windows 95 ... but I understand it fine. Windows XP Home Edition is simpler than Advanced Server by quite a bit -- I refuse to run it. At 08:06 PM 1/22/2002 -0800, you wrote: > > I just gotta say: It's weird how this guy took all the time and effort >to > > master MS-DOS, but when Windows 95 came out he gave up on trying to >learn > > the nuts and bolts of his operating system. > > > > Being someone who has spent a lot of time learning about both MS-DOS >and > > 9x, > > I have to say I'd rather run 9x any day. > >I was all prepared to take the guy seriously, until I read, "I optimized >my system so that when Windows-3.x came out, I was able to run it on my >puny 286, and often better than a lot of 386SX machines could do." Ummm >... IIRC, Windows 3.0 was a real-mode only operating system. You CAN'T >run it on a 286 ... the processor doesn't do real-mode ... only >protected-mode. > >This guy isn't doing Linux any favors, personally ... > >Lee > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Jan 22 21:53:25 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 21:53:25 -0800 Subject: [CT] Queen of Angels site In-Reply-To: <001b01c1a3b9$923e05a0$6601a8c0@home> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020122215240.00a78b50@mail.queenofangels.com> Hmm ... I'm not having that problem. Anyone else having that problem? Joyce, if you right-click on the link and try to Save As, can you save the file? At 06:56 PM 1/22/2002 -0800, you wrote: >How come we can't get the page for the new pdf file "Left Behind"? It >keeps saying that we need some sort of authorization? >I have been on the site before and this has never happened. >What is the problem. >Joyce > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Jan 23 22:25:47 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 22:25:47 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: Left Behind In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020122184650.00a787c0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020123221641.00abe630@mail.queenofangels.com> Oddly, the font (which embedded fine the first couple of passes) apparently failed to embed in the last version of the file (which is now up there on the site.) What happens when that happens is that Acrobat creates a bitmap version of the font, which looks horrible. I'll re-generate it and put it up again when I have a chance. The same text in tLD was supposed to be Unifon; I had a conversation with the typesetter at the time that was a comedy of miscommunication. I didn't have a unifon font (1992, this was) and neither did they. I don't know why we ended up with greek characters -- I sent them a photocopy of the unifon characters with the .mss, and asked that they photographically reduce and set from that -- it wouldn't have looked great, but I doubt it would have looked any sillier than the greek characters we ended up using. At 06:48 PM 1/23/2002 -0800, you wrote: >On Tue, 22 Jan 2002, Daniel Moran wrote: > > > > >I'm looking into producing an HTML version of it, but that might be > >while; among other things I need to figure out how to handle the unifon > >characters that appear midway through. (As .pdf it's easy; you just embed > >the unifon font, which, admittedly, makes the file larger.) > > > >The Unifon text is rendered in a rather blocky, poorly-legible way. >It looks like a rather ugly font. I don't suppose there's a more >elegant version? > >Or maybe you could just use Tengwar (Tolkien's languages were both >visually and phonetically elegant). :-) > >Just out of curiosity, did you intend to use Unifon in "The Last >Dancer", and substituted Greek characters since they didn't have it >available then? > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 24 01:21:36 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 01:21:36 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: Left Behind In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020123221641.00abe630@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020122184650.00a787c0@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020123221641.00abe630@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020124012008.00b14420@mail.queenofangels.com> I re-ran distiller and it looks better now, though I haven't tested it on a machine that actually lacks the unifon font. >If you're not using the full Acrobat package to generate the PDF's it's sometimes hard to make sure you're nailing all the font issues. I am using distiller. I managed to mess it up anyway. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 24 14:17:21 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 14:17:21 -0800 Subject: [CT] [ot]: Phonetics (was: Re: Left Behind) In-Reply-To: <200201241943.LAA01639@phys-ha1cupa.eng.sun.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020124141407.00b02e18@mail.queenofangels.com> Jodi makes this argument better than I do -- though it'd be overstating it to suggest she really cares ... her attitude is that Californians, and particularly Los Angeleans, don't have accents, because we make all the movies and television and therefore the way we speak is the de facto Accent of America. At 11:43 AM 1/24/2002 -0800, you wrote: > > I don't have an accent; I speak like TV. > >Sorry; my last note on this topic: > >On the current season, they have a Californian landscape designer, and >just the >difference in how all the different people pronounce "driveway" is funny. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 24 16:10:55 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 16:10:55 -0800 Subject: [CT] [ot]: Phonetics (was: Re: Left Behind) In-Reply-To: <200201241912.LAA23337@phys-ha1cupa.eng.sun.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020124160936.00ac2708@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:12 AM 1/24/2002 -0800, you wrote: >Believe me when I say I do NOT want to start a flame war, but I am >curious: why >would anyone want to use anything other than the Internaional Phonetic >Alphabet, >since that represents almost every language sound? In my case, because I'd never heard of it until now -- I ran into Unifon for the first time maybe 20 years ago. Thanks for the link. >Here's a copy of the chart: http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/fullchart.html -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 24 17:19:18 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 17:19:18 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: Left Behind In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020124171859.00a7a070@mail.queenofangels.com> Thanks for the heads-up. I'll try again, and test it on one of my non-unifon font machines before I put it up. At 04:28 PM 1/24/2002 -0800, you wrote: >On Thu, 24 Jan 2002, David Silberstein wrote: > > > > >Page 21 in Acroread (which is page 17 of the story itself) is in fact > >the page that has the text in the Unifon font. If you're seeing a Y > >instead of a funky-looking underlined U, then the Unifon font isn't > >being rendered properly. > > > >As another datapoint, I just thought I'd mention out that there were >at least 3 versions of LeftBehind on the website (and possibly more). >I don't have the right datestamps, but their sizes are: > >139,331 LeftBehind-1.pdf (snagged as soon as I saw the announcement) >290,092 LeftBehind-2.pdf (downloaded somewhat after the above) >241,377 LeftBehind-3.pdf (downloaded today) > >LeftBehind-1.pdf & LeftBehind-3.pdf show "YnIted crT intelijens" in a >wide san-serif font if Unifon is _not_ installed, and show the text >correctly in Unifon (and it looks nicely (anti-aliased) rendered) if >Unifon _is_ installed. > >LeftBehind-2.pdf shows the text in Unifon, regardless of whether >Unifon is installed or not, but it is a very poor and pixelated >rendering, regardless of whether Unifon is installed or not. > >So now you know. > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 25 01:14:28 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 01:14:28 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: Left Behind In-Reply-To: <20020125090254.6E52210B39@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020125010705.00a7a1d0@mail.queenofangels.com> All right, what I hope will be the last version of this .pdf file is now up on QueenOfAngels.com. I generated the file as a .pdf, then opened the .pdf in Photoshop, converting it to a graphic, cropped everything around the unifon text, pasted the unifon graphic into the Word file replacing the unifon text, rendered it again as a .pdf file -- those unifon words should now show up as unifon to the known universe. It occurs to me that this might would also work for .html files, which I hadn't thought of before. I'll take a run at producing an acceptable-looking .html file -- I'm not going to generate both .html & .pdf, but I may switch to .html if I can produce an acceptable-looking version. (II'll be blunt, this is unlikely -- I really like the way that antialiased text looks in Acrobat.) But I'll try. I've been asked if I mind people converting .pdf to .html. I don't care what you do with my text in the privacy of your own computer. I've gone to some effort to make this read well on a computer, and print well on paper if you choose to do that with it, but really -- I'm not looking over anyone's shoulder, am I? Read it however makes you happy. If you convert it, please include all the text, even the text claiming that the file is an acrobat file. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 25 16:13:25 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 16:13:25 -0800 Subject: [CT] [OT] You suck :) (was re: Buffy) In-Reply-To: <20020125232801.A4A213C1A4@darksleep.com> References: <00b601c1a573$1ed2fb50$6601a8c0@none> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020125155429.00a7a038@mail.queenofangels.com> Spider has always struck me as one of the better people in the field of science fiction -- but I've been completely unable to read his later work. (And I was a huge fan of his earlier work.) I couldn't get 10 pages into his most recent Callahan novel. It's frightening how badly science fiction and fantasy writers as a group age. Larry Niven is another example; I'd list him as one of the half dozen best, and certainly cleverest, writers the field ever produced, based on his early work -- but his last Ringworld novel was virtually unreadable. Heinlein, same problem. Clarke less so, but still some dropoff. L. Neil Smith, 2-3 really nice books, followed by a descent into ideological psychosis. (To be fair, he strikes me as an honest man who means well. This doesn't make him less crazy.) Robert Jordan managed to collapse while writing a single series. George Lucas? Probably -- I'll wait for the next movie before making up my mind on that one, but it doesn't look good. I found Frank Herbert's last couple of novels actually painful. You could argue that some of this is just regression to the mean. (Well, some of it surely is; nobody hits home runs all the time. Larry McMurtry wrote the best novel I've ever read, "Lonesome Dove" -- he couldn't continue writing the best novel I'd ever read, and of course his later novels are not as good ... but his later novels are not substantially worse than his early novels.) But most of it is a general decline in the quality of work of sf/fantasy writers, linked directly to age, or perhaps success. It might be easier to list the writers who didn't suffer precipitous dropoffs in the quality of their work -- Asimov, though he was never an elegant writer to begin with. Sturgeon -- quantity of output dropped, but quality may actually have improved -- his last novel, "Godbody," is brilliant. I haven't re-read Bradbury recently enough to have a well-thought-out opinion, but "Green Shadows, White Whale," a later novel, is at least arguably better than any of his early works. Nonetheless, this is a caution to me. The idea that my best novel might have been written at 24 is genuinely frightening. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 25 19:32:49 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 19:32:49 -0800 Subject: [CT] LN Smith In-Reply-To: <20020126030725.GE5966@infodancer.org> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020125155429.00a7a038@mail.queenofangels.com> <00b601c1a573$1ed2fb50$6601a8c0@none> <5.1.0.14.0.20020125155429.00a7a038@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020125191938.026960b0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 09:07 PM 1/25/2002 -0600, Matthew Hunter wrote: >I'ved noticed the same thing, but I would like to know which 2-3 >of L N Smith's books are worth it to you. The Probability Broach and The Venus Belt both struck me as solid novels. Their Majesty's Bucketeers I don't remember well -- but do remember enjoying it when I read it. I've never managed to finish anything else of his, and I've actually started 4 or 5, hoping there would be cheese down that tunnel. (Got most of the way through Wardove, put it down one day and never picked it up again.) -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jan 25 19:47:30 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 19:47:30 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020125193259.0269d2a8@postoffice.pacbell.net> There are 7,048 quotes up on QOA now. These are "mine" -- i.e., they struck me as worth reading, though not necessarily accurate, truthful, or whatever. This is all that will be up there for a while -- I've got about another 20,000 quotes in the database, but for whatever reason they strike me as less interesting. Eventually they'll go up as well, but not soon. First I'm going to get a quotes rating system in place, with the ability for end users to rate and respond to quotes; and the ability to post new quotes. You'll have to be a registered user of the site to do any of those things. (There will be a search engine as well, which won't require registration -- at least at this point I don't anticipate registration being necessary, ever, to look at things on the site; only to post.) Once I've rated the quotes already in the database -- this may take a year -- I'll put up the less-interesting-to-me quotes and make them available for people to look at. The random quote generator, however, will continue to pull quotes that are highly rated by me, Daniel Keys Moran. Also, you'll be able to view and sort quotes based on either my ratings or someone else's -- as far as the database is concerned, I'm simply another use of the system -- "iEntityID = 1", admittedly. Eventually you'll be able to rate and recommend, and comment on the various stories and essays as well -- the ratings table doesn't care what the source object is that's being rated; it can be a quote, a person, or a work (novel, essay, whatever -- and it doesn't have to be mine.) For quotes the rating system is: How True; How Entertaining; How Important. For example, Pope Leo XIII: "The death sentence is a necessary and efficacious means for the Church to attain its ends when rebels against it disturb the ecclesiastical unity, especially obstinate heretics who cannot be restrained by any other penalty from continuing to disturb ecclesiastical order." This gets, from me, a 0,0,90 -- Not True, Not Entertaining, but pretty important given who the guy is. Pope Pius XII writes: "One Galileo in two thousand years is enough." This gets a 0,90,75 -- Not True, Very Entertaining (though maybe not intentional), fairly important given who the guy is. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sat Jan 26 11:17:16 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 11:17:16 -0800 Subject: [CT] [OT] You suck :) (was re: Buffy) In-Reply-To: <20020126085118.9CAB53C1A4@darksleep.com> References: <20020126055153.GA26681@trent.outlawdrake.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020126110539.00a7a508@mail.queenofangels.com> > I wouldn't say it's the upbeat-ness that bugs me. I think the >original Callahan's series was upbeat - but upbeat in a real world. I >really enjoyed this interview with Spider: > > http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue168/interview.html In which Spider writes: >Now I've got a regular column in [Canadian daily newspaper] The Globe and Mail, and a regular column in this wonderful new online outfit, galaxyonline.com. :-) By all odds, the least competent group of human beings I've ever met in one place. To be fair, since I had friends there, some of them were quite competent -- just not at what they were trying to do, run a website -- well, never mind that; they were under the impression they weren't trying to run a website; they were building a "media company." Which apparently meant blowing some millions (ten million?) of dollars renting limousines and going to conventions. When I joined GalaxyOnline.com, at the beginning of December, 1999, they were supposed to go live on January 1, 2000. They had a little countdown clock on their home page ... what they didn't have was: A database A single page of HTML or ASP Web servers or a co-location deal A pornographer who was friendly with our CEO sold them a "web server" for a ridiculous price shortly after I got there, and then co-located it at the server farm where he was peddling his filth. The "web server" was an old Compaq with no disk space and with other web sites running on it. The fund raising was being run out of a sweat shop off of PCH in Malibu ... gorgeous spot. People were cold-calling retirees and asking them if they wanted to get in on the ground floor of this amazing new broadband web company. "You can't go $15,000? How about $10,000? My supervisor says, just this once, we can go as low as $5,000 if you can make a firm commitment right now ...'" Two days after seeing that sweat shop, I resigned. I was there, all told, three months. I'd pay good money to see the books from that operation, see where all that money went actually went. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sun Jan 27 02:17:52 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 02:17:52 -0800 Subject: [CT] [OT] You suck :) (was re: Buffy) In-Reply-To: <005101c1a71a$dc761900$80133744@howard01.md.comcast.net> References: <4579-3C524AFA-981@storefull-2177.public.lawson.webtv.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020127021032.00b0df08@mail.queenofangels.com> >I have certainly been disappointed >by the later works of Marion Zimmer Bradley, The first Bradley book I recall her officially writing with someone else was Rediscovery with Mercedes Lackey, in the early 90s. I would not assume that anything published post-Rediscovery was written entirely, or even at all, by Bradley -- a friend of mine wrote at least one of those books. (And was depressed by it, except at the financial level; it sold many times more copies than everything she'd ever written under her own name, put together.) -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sun Jan 27 10:37:31 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:37:31 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA In-Reply-To: <1012147392.16115.1.camel@numbers.robnet.net> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020127103525.00ac4b48@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:03 AM 1/27/2002 -0600, you wrote: > > Good stuff, you've got an error in niels bohr ... > >Also in John Dryden. Fixed them both. The Dryden error was textual; the Bohr error was twofold; he was duplicated in the DB as Niels (correct) and Neils (incorrect) Bohr; also, the underlying SQL had an error where I'd put the filter for deleted records in the Where clause (bad idea when joining across multiple tables) rather than in the join itself. That Dryden quote opens "Lord November." -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Jan 29 01:24:57 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 01:24:57 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: continuing-time digest, Vol 1 #175 - 14 msgs In-Reply-To: <20020129080209.D96DF3C27C@darksleep.com> References: <20020128171048.443F67A926@taranis.mc.mpls.visi.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020129003003.00a7ada8@mail.queenofangels.com> Boy, if it's not the crying babies keeping you up, it's the earthquakes ... It's very hard to edit authors once they reach a certain degree of fame. Amy actually edited Scott Card's novel "Enchantment" -- as far as I'm aware Card didn't have a problem with it, but according to Card's agent, Barbara Bova, no one had asked Card to rewrite a novel in a very long time. But then, Amy's pushy and sure of herself, two things I admire about her. >Farnham's Freehold, well, yeah, it had some some aspects that are >political touchy, but then again, so did Stranger In A Strange Land. Farnham's Freehold is probably Heinlein's worst novel. It's racist while trying not to be (much as Heinlein's later novels were homophobic while trying not to be.) Consider the guy's age and background, it's hard to fault him too much for trying to throw off his early prejudices, and not quite succeeding. You can chart Heinlein's collapse as a writer from Starship Troopers. Troopers is a good book, though in broad I disagree with its ideology. (And, a digression, I _really hated_ that movie. Paul Verhoeven decided he wanted to piss on the work of a better man than he's personally ever _met_, and the studio let him, and that tells you almost all you really need to know about Hollywood.) But in later novels Heinlein's didacticism starts setting in pretty hard. There are only three books that work in whole or in part (for me, IMHO, YMMV, etc.) after that; "Stranger;" "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is brilliant; parts of "Time Enough for Love" -- "The Tale of the Adopted Daughter," as badly flawed as I found it (leering sexuality, the whole Woody Allen-Soon Yi thing) is also incredibly moving in its later stretches. After that, there's nothing. "I Will Fear No Evil," "The Number of the Beast," "Friday," "Job," "Cat," and "Sail Beyond the Sunset" -- I started all of them except "Sail"; the only one I finished was Friday. "Sail" I'm pretty sure I never even started. (Which is a hell of a tribute to Heinlein -- it took 4 rotten novels in a row before I stopped reading him.) ~~~~~ I think I've commented on Piers Anthony before. He's one unhappy man, and he takes it out through his writing. That's about the best guess I can make. I read a collection of his short fiction once -- I've never met the man, and having read that short story collection, with its astonishing list of grievances against everyone who he'd ever done business with -- have no desire to. That said, "Macroscope," if you can find a copy, is worth reading. The man could actually write, once, a long, long time ago. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Jan 29 23:36:22 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 23:36:22 -0800 Subject: [CT] A question for the sci-fi fans on the list... In-Reply-To: <007901c1a95b$3e3540c0$6401010a@tspudz> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020129231940.00ad1f38@mail.queenofangels.com> I really don't believe FTL travel is possible -- it seems pretty clear that if FTL travel is possible, time travel is also possible, and, all my stories aside, I really don't believe time travel is possible. One of the reasons I so respect Greg Benford is that, staying within these limits, he's still managed to do amazingly great space opera. (I'm probably the only person on the planet who thinks "Great Sky River" is space opera. But fuck 'em anyway, I'll call it whatever I like.) My spacelace tunnels are Dan Alderson's. My FTL tachyon drive is so generic that I don't think I can identify anyplace in particular I got it from -- though I think I did a nice job of laying out the "rules," even though none of you have ever seen them, until now: I've never built an equation for this (mostly because my math's not good enough) but once a tachyon starship passes the lightspeed barrier, it has to burn energy to stay near the speed of light (which is now the lowest speed at which it can move.) It's as hard to slow to the speed of light, on the other side of lightspeed, as it is to accelerate to the speed of light on this side. If your engines fail, your ship will eventually, because of resistance in the tachyonic medium (think space dust if it makes you happy) "decelerate" to infinite speed -- meaning every particle of you is everywhere at once, and you cease to exist. Also, time dilates on the other side of lightspeed just as it does on this side of lightspeed. The faster you go, the longer it takes _aboard the ship._ So if you go to Alpha Centauri in 3 years, by Earth's clocks (or only a little faster than lightspeed), it only takes you (I'm making this number up -- no eqations, as I said) 3 weeks aboard ship. If you go to Alpha Centauri in 1 year, it takes you three months aboard ship. If you go to Alpha Centauri in 3 weeks, it takes you 3 years, shiptime. (Actually, looking at how I'm scaling this, it strikes me that an equation wouldn't be that hard to make up ... thinking out loud is useful.) If you go to Alpha Centauri in 1 day, it takes you 30 years ... and so forth. (I'm definitely going to have to tweak these numbers -- Daniel November needs to be able to get to the Galactic Core in a ship that's less than a billion years old when he arrives.) But you get the idea. If you're taking a tachyon starship a long distance in a short time, you need stasis bubbles aboard ship, to prevent the crew from aging at the same pace as the ship itself. :-) Interesting timing on this. 3 days ago I started writing "The Voyage of the Dauntless" -- about humanity's first voyage in a tachyon starship. During that story, the first Archangel class starship is built..... -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 1/11/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Jan 30 10:55:11 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 10:55:11 -0800 Subject: [CT] A question for the sci-fi fans on the list... In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020129231940.00ad1f38@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020130105147.00a7c4b8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:19 AM 1/30/2002 -0800, Robert Hansen wrote: > > I really don't believe FTL travel is possible -- it seems pretty clear > >Still, it surprises >me that everyone who says "FTL isn't possible because I don't believe time >travel is possible" overlook the mathematical possibility of imaginary time, >which is a concept just *screaming* for a science fiction treatment. :) Well, I don't use the word "believe" by accident in this context. I'm not competent to have an opinion. (Mind you, I read a really great explanation of why ftl=time travel, some time ago now, which left me thinking that I actually understood the reasoning behind it. People who can explain science in English that clear are probably dangerous in other ways as well.) I've never heard of "imaginary time" -- can you point me at a reference? -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Jan 30 18:02:27 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 18:02:27 -0800 Subject: [CT] A question for the sci-fi fans on the list... In-Reply-To: <1012416969.3906.193.camel@two> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020130175800.00a7c730@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:56 PM 1/30/2002 -0500, Derek Glidden wrote: >Read any of Stephen Baxter's Xeelee stuff. His ways of doing >superluminal travel probably still fall into a "wormhole" or >"hyperspace" or "warp" frame, but with solid theory behind them. I wish >I could explain, but it's been long enough since I've read any of that >series that I don't recall it well enough to not have to use handwavium >myself. :) Yeah, I like him a great deal myself. Amy bought the Manifold: Space, Time, etc. series for Del Rey partially on my recommendation. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Jan 30 20:46:00 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 20:46:00 -0800 Subject: [CT] You're killing me Dan :) In-Reply-To: <012501c1aa05$2f250c00$b8534c0c@5urut> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020129231940.00ad1f38@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020130204024.00b1b048@mail.queenofangels.com> It's not a book, it's a short story. When it's done, I'll post it on QOA. I'm probably not going to bother trying to sell short fiction any longer -- it's literally not worth the money. (Though possibly the exposure? Last I was aware -- a decade ago -- Asimov's was still selling something like 100,000 copies?) The main character is William Price -- captains the first tachyon starship, creates the November Guard, ends up as the first Director of United Earth Intelligence. He's just a regular joe. :-) At 09:12 PM 1/30/2002 -0600, you wrote: > > :-) Interesting timing on this. 3 days ago I started writing "The Voyage >of > > the Dauntless" -- about humanity's first voyage in a tachyon starship. > > During that story, the first Archangel class starship is built..... > > > >And the "Must Have" list of books grows by yet another title. I had to go >check my American Heritage Dictionary just to make sure that "Daniel Moran" >did not appear in the definition of Delayed Gratification. How is everyone >else handling this news? > >I just finished "Left Behind". Thank you Dan! great story! The website is >also coming along nicely and the quotes keep me coming back. > >Gary > > > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 31 12:48:11 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 12:48:11 -0800 Subject: [CT] You're killing me Dan :) In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020130204024.00b1b048@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020131124641.00a7ce60@mail.queenofangels.com> Had already occurred to me, but thanks for the suggestion. Wonders of print-on-demand -- if the existence of the stories as .pdf files on QueenOfAngels.com causes the short story collection to sell badly, no biggie. At 12:34 PM 1/31/2002 -0800, you wrote: >On Wednesday, January 30, 2002, at 08:46 , Daniel Moran wrote: >>It's not a book, it's a short story. When it's done, I'll post it on QOA. >>I'm probably not going to bother trying to sell short fiction any longer >>-- it's literally not worth the money. (Though possibly the exposure? >>Last I was aware -- a decade ago -- Asimov's was still selling something >>like 100,000 copies?) > >How about a short story collection? Given that you undoubtedly have >oodles of short stories set >in the Continuing Time kicking around waiting to be told, that seems like >a win, and QuietVision >seems like a reasonable way to publish those. > >Not that I don't want them to appear for free on QoA as soon as you finish >them :<) >... but I'd pay for a "normal" copy of the collection so I can re-read it >without going to my >computer. > >- Subrata > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Jan 31 17:20:54 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 17:20:54 -0800 Subject: [CT] Resublimated Handwavium In-Reply-To: References: <1012515494.1042.33.camel@two> <007901c1a95b$3e3540c0$6401010a@tspudz> <1012509440.3c59ab00de61c@www.wilcoxon.org> <1012515494.1042.33.camel@two> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020131165759.00a98b60@mail.queenofangels.com> Science fiction is what I'm pointing at when I talk -- that's not mine, of course, but it's the only thing that works. Reality is fuzzy and writing, being a representation of reality, is even fuzzier. Any definition you come up with I'll name an exception (or a dozen.) I had an argument with a young writer once who argued that there were rules as to how you had to write a story. There aren't -- not one. After we'd been at it a while it became clear to me that writing, any writing, is simply an example of Goedel's theorem at work. Goedel's theorem states that self-contained systems cannot be perfect -- i.e., a representational system is either unable to make certain true statements, if it's consistent, or it is able to make statements that contradict, or are unresolvable, if it's powerful. That's in _math_ .... writing is merely English and vastly fuzzier. "There have to be people in a story" -- there very nearly isn't, in On Sequoia Time. "Stories can't be boring." Says you -- plenty of stories other people enjoyed, bored me to tears. Stories can't be _intentionally_ boring -- tell it to Samuel Beckett. Try this: hard SF is what people who understand science write, if they feel like it. Unsatisfactory definition, isn't it? But it's as close to being accurate as anything else I can come up with. At 02:45 PM 1/31/2002 -0800, you wrote: >In one of Isaac Asimov's essays on Science Fiction, he proposed a >categorization of terms, reserving "Sci Fi" for stories with the running & >the shooting & the spaceships & the what & the hey & the glaybin but which >had no interest at all in being speculative or tying themselves in anyway >to the possible, and "SF" for the stuff that actually attempts to at least >derive the handwavium from something plausible. So by this judgement, >there are alot of "Sci Fi" TV shows & movies, but very little SF, which is >mostly written. > >Have others run across this distinction, and do you find it useful? >-- >______________________________________________________________________ >Eric: I want to live in a world where software doesn't suck ////////// >Richard: Any software that isn't free sucks ////////// rafial at well.com >Linus: I'm interested in free beer ///// //// >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Feb 1 20:17:10 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 20:17:10 -0800 Subject: [CT] Terminal Freedom Trade PB In-Reply-To: <000c01c1aae1$e56f1370$6401010a@tspudz> References: <1012540206.3573.20.camel@issola> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020201201257.00a7e580@mail.queenofangels.com> I put the cover of Terminal Freedom, the trade PB, up on QueenOfAngels.com, if you're interested in seeing it. Been an odd few weeks. In the last month I've written -- a good 25 hours or so, part in Crystal Wind, part in "The Voyage of the Dauntless." I've done visual work -- the cover of "Last Dancer" is probably no more than a month or so old, and the cover of Terminal Freedom within the last two days. I've done programmatic work -- ASP and SQL code for QOA, a contract I've been working on that required some low-level Windows API stuff in Visual Basic. All of them at more or less the same time. I can _feel_ different parts of my brain lighting up and going dark as I switch from subject to subject. In particular the graphics work -- I get done with it, I feel noticeably thick-tongued. Odd stuff. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Feb 5 14:27:16 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002 14:27:16 -0800 Subject: [CT] Good database of SF writers and works. In-Reply-To: References: <1012943051.3409.17.camel@numbers.robnet.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020205142624.00a7ed20@mail.queenofangels.com> Anybody know of a good database of Fantasy/SF writers, and the books/short stories they've written? -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Feb 8 15:51:51 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 15:51:51 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA; fiction In-Reply-To: <48.6496c28.2995aa52@aol.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020208152809.00a84148@mail.queenofangels.com> I've added two Star Wars short stories to QueenOfAngels.com -- "A Barve Like That," about Boba Fett; and "Empire Blues," which is about a character you see for about two seconds in "Star Wars." A third and much longer piece, "The Last One Standing," which follows Fett from his youth to his old age, should be up sometime in the next week or so. I'm scanning in old fiction this last week. I scanned in "When Your name is November," "The Song of Camber and S'Reeth," and am about to scan and OCR the sf/western novel I wrote when I was about 15. All are horrifically bad, and all are plotted pretty well. Surprising to me -- they're virtually unreadable (and I don't mean, unreadable-by-me-because-I'm-embarrased by them; I mean, unreadable) -- and even so, because I've had to read them as I was scanning them in and reformatting them, I see the bones of stories that work just fine, once you get past the cardboard characters, screamingly bad dialog, awful world-building skills, and complete lack of internal consistency. Anyone out there who thinks they have no natural talent to write -- No. It's plain from the evidence that _I_ have no natural talent to write. So hang in there. Memory is treacherous. I thought that "November" was the oldest of my Continuing Time stories, but going through these ancient mss. I think I must be wrong. "November" is set in a recognizable Continuing Time -- there are no glaring continuity issues, no screeching lapses of terminology or whatever. (Well, one; the spacelace tunnels don't exist yet. There's a third stupid FTL drive instead of spacelace tunnels.) But aside from that, it's my universe as I recognize it today. "Camber" is barely recognizable as a Continuing Time story, except that people refer to the Continuing Time all through it. Camber's not even a night face, in this draft. (Night faces don't appear to exist; nor does the Zaradin Church, which really startles me; they came in together and they're an _old_ part of the CT.) But apparently this is older. After that I've got about 30 short stories I'm going to scan in; I may post some of them, as written, on QOA. ("A Day in the Life of a Telephone Pole," in particular. I wrote it when I was 12 and it still works fine -- aliens invade the Earth in spaceships that look just like telephone polls. It's so stupid it's charming.) -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Feb 8 16:20:51 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 16:20:51 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA; fiction In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020208152809.00a84148@mail.queenofangels.com> References: <48.6496c28.2995aa52@aol.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020208162011.00af1b90@mail.queenofangels.com> Of course, QOA appears to be down at this moment, for the third time in a week. A "hacker" attack, according to ReadyHosting.com. Not incompetence. Really. At 03:51 PM 2/8/2002 -0800, I wrote: >I've added two Star Wars short stories to QueenOfAngels.com -- "A Barve >Like That," about Boba Fett; and "Empire Blues," which is about a >character you see for about two seconds in "Star Wars." A third and much >longer piece, "The Last One Standing," which follows Fett from his youth >to his old age, should be up sometime in the next week or so. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Feb 8 17:43:28 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 17:43:28 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: QOA; fiction In-Reply-To: <20020208172419.R24550-100000@kithrup.com> References: <002a01c1b105$10b2f140$920456d1@queeg.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020208173810.00aeb540@mail.queenofangels.com> The broken URLs are fixed. That's the second time I've seen those links reformatted like that for no reason -- they were all like that after Readyhosting went down about a week ago, and I fixed them all individually. Why just these two, this time, baffles me. That URL -- queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com -- is the URL I was given by Readyhosting to start building the site, before DNS had switched over. It keeps popping up again for no apparent reason. You know, I've run some _busy_ IIS websites -- at Launch we sometimes had 60,000 unique visitors an hour; at peak, VideoGreetings.com got a thousand or more, on much lighter hardware than Launch ran on. It's possible to keep an IIS/SQL Server website up and running, honestly, though Readyhosting seems incapable of it, so far. At 05:32 PM 2/8/2002 -0800, David Silberstein wrote: >Strange things seem to have happened to 2 of the links - while the 2 star >wars tales are OK, the links to the earlier stories are: > >http://queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com/CT/LeftBehind.pdf > >http://queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com/Fic/OnSequoiaTime.pdf -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From counsgreen at yahoo.com Sat Feb 9 09:55:13 2002 From: counsgreen at yahoo.com (Donice) Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 10:55:13 -0700 Subject: ct-announce digest, Vol 1 #17 - 3 msgs-Ola Clue Stories References: <20020209170105.4C68110B33@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <002101c1b192$f26966e0$07830044@cx723554a> I read the Ola Blue stories that were a pitch for a series on another website. I REALLY enjoyed them and think they should be on the QOA website too. I am wondering if we will see more Ola Blue stories. Also please please can we have more AI War - the excerpt just left me hangin' And if you need a new hosting company -Xynetik ( a company I consult for) has had great success with Hostway.com ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2002 10:01 AM Subject: ct-announce digest, Vol 1 #17 - 3 msgs > Send ct-announce mailing list submissions to > ct-announce at ralf.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-announce > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > ct-announce-request at ralf.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > ct-announce-admin at ralf.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of ct-announce digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. [CT] QOA; fiction (Daniel Moran) > 2. Re: [CT] QOA; fiction (Daniel Moran) > 3. Re: [CT] Re: QOA; fiction (Daniel Moran) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > From: Daniel Moran > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Subject: [CT] QOA; fiction > Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 15:51:51 -0800 > > --=======7BF44490======= > Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-5EC66C68; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > I've added two Star Wars short stories to QueenOfAngels.com -- "A Barve > Like That," about Boba Fett; and "Empire Blues," which is about a character > you see for about two seconds in "Star Wars." A third and much longer > piece, "The Last One Standing," which follows Fett from his youth to his > old age, should be up sometime in the next week or so. > > I'm scanning in old fiction this last week. I scanned in "When Your name is > November," "The Song of Camber and S'Reeth," and am about to scan and OCR > the sf/western novel I wrote when I was about 15. All are horrifically bad, > and all are plotted pretty well. Surprising to me -- they're virtually > unreadable (and I don't mean, unreadable-by-me-because-I'm-embarrased by > them; I mean, unreadable) -- and even so, because I've had to read them as > I was scanning them in and reformatting them, I see the bones of stories > that work just fine, once you get past the cardboard characters, > screamingly bad dialog, awful world-building skills, and complete lack of > internal consistency. Anyone out there who thinks they have no natural > talent to write -- No. It's plain from the evidence that _I_ have no > natural talent to write. So hang in there. > > Memory is treacherous. I thought that "November" was the oldest of my > Continuing Time stories, but going through these ancient mss. I think I > must be wrong. "November" is set in a recognizable Continuing Time -- there > are no glaring continuity issues, no screeching lapses of terminology or > whatever. (Well, one; the spacelace tunnels don't exist yet. There's a > third stupid FTL drive instead of spacelace tunnels.) But aside from that, > it's my universe as I recognize it today. > > "Camber" is barely recognizable as a Continuing Time story, except that > people refer to the Continuing Time all through it. Camber's not even a > night face, in this draft. (Night faces don't appear to exist; nor does the > Zaradin Church, which really startles me; they came in together and they're > an _old_ part of the CT.) But apparently this is older. > > After that I've got about 30 short stories I'm going to scan in; I may post > some of them, as written, on QOA. ("A Day in the Life of a Telephone Pole," > in particular. I wrote it when I was 12 and it still works fine -- aliens > invade the Earth in spaceships that look just like telephone polls. It's so > stupid it's charming.) > > --=======7BF44490======= > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-5EC66C68 > Content-Disposition: inline > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 > > --=======7BF44490=======-- > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > From: Daniel Moran > Subject: Re: [CT] QOA; fiction > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 16:20:51 -0800 > > --=======17E11A53======= > Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > Of course, QOA appears to be down at this moment, for the third time in a > week. A "hacker" attack, according to ReadyHosting.com. Not incompetence. > Really. > > At 03:51 PM 2/8/2002 -0800, I wrote: > >I've added two Star Wars short stories to QueenOfAngels.com -- "A Barve > >Like That," about Boba Fett; and "Empire Blues," which is about a > >character you see for about two seconds in "Star Wars." A third and much > >longer piece, "The Last One Standing," which follows Fett from his youth > >to his old age, should be up sometime in the next week or so. > > --=======17E11A53======= > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8 > Content-Disposition: inline > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 > > --=======17E11A53=======-- > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > --__--__-- > > Message: 3 > From: Daniel Moran > Subject: Re: [CT] Re: QOA; fiction > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 17:43:28 -0800 > > --=======408D139F======= > Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > The broken URLs are fixed. > > That's the second time I've seen those links reformatted like that for no > reason -- they were all like that after Readyhosting went down about a week > ago, and I fixed them all individually. Why just these two, this time, > baffles me. > > That URL -- queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com -- is the URL I was given by > Readyhosting to start building the site, before DNS had switched over. It > keeps popping up again for no apparent reason. > > You know, I've run some _busy_ IIS websites -- at Launch we sometimes had > 60,000 unique visitors an hour; at peak, VideoGreetings.com got a thousand > or more, on much lighter hardware than Launch ran on. It's possible to keep > an IIS/SQL Server website up and running, honestly, though Readyhosting > seems incapable of it, so far. > > At 05:32 PM 2/8/2002 -0800, David Silberstein wrote: > > >Strange things seem to have happened to 2 of the links - while the 2 star > >wars tales are OK, the links to the earlier stories are: > > > >http://queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com/CT/LeftBehind.pdf > > > >http://queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com/Fic/OnSequoiaTime.pdf > > --=======408D139F======= > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8 > Content-Disposition: inline > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 > > --=======408D139F=======-- > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > --__--__-- > > __ > ct-announce mailing list > ct-announce at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-announce > > > End of ct-announce Digest > _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sat Feb 9 15:52:01 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 15:52:01 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: ct-announce digest, Vol 1 #17 - 3 msgs-Ola Blue Stories In-Reply-To: <002101c1b192$f26966e0$07830044@cx723554a> References: <20020209170105.4C68110B33@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020209155002.00a815a8@mail.queenofangels.com> You're talking about the outline for a possible Ola Blue tv series? They're on Kithrup.com -- they'll probably stay there, too. I'm going to make a pretty good effort to get all the fiction I have lying around on QOA, but there's a lot of stuff on Kithrup that'll probably stay there -- Sean Fagan and David Silberstein have put in a lot of work putting that site together, and I'm really not interested in duplicating it at QOA. At 10:55 AM 2/9/2002 -0700, you wrote: >I read the Ola Blue stories that were a pitch for a series on another >website. I REALLY enjoyed them and think they should be on the QOA website >too. I am wondering if we will see more Ola Blue stories. Also please >please can we have more AI War - the excerpt just left me hangin' And if >you need a new hosting company -Xynetik ( a company I consult for) has had >great success with Hostway.com >----- Original Message ----- >From: >To: >Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2002 10:01 AM >Subject: ct-announce digest, Vol 1 #17 - 3 msgs > > > > Send ct-announce mailing list submissions to > > ct-announce at ralf.org > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-announce > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > ct-announce-request at ralf.org > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > ct-announce-admin at ralf.org > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of ct-announce digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. [CT] QOA; fiction (Daniel Moran) > > 2. Re: [CT] QOA; fiction (Daniel Moran) > > 3. Re: [CT] Re: QOA; fiction (Daniel Moran) > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > From: Daniel Moran > > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Subject: [CT] QOA; fiction > > Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 15:51:51 -0800 > > > > --=======7BF44490======= > > Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-5EC66C68; charset=us-ascii; >format=flowed > > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > > > I've added two Star Wars short stories to QueenOfAngels.com -- "A Barve > > Like That," about Boba Fett; and "Empire Blues," which is about a >character > > you see for about two seconds in "Star Wars." A third and much longer > > piece, "The Last One Standing," which follows Fett from his youth to his > > old age, should be up sometime in the next week or so. > > > > I'm scanning in old fiction this last week. I scanned in "When Your name >is > > November," "The Song of Camber and S'Reeth," and am about to scan and OCR > > the sf/western novel I wrote when I was about 15. All are horrifically >bad, > > and all are plotted pretty well. Surprising to me -- they're virtually > > unreadable (and I don't mean, unreadable-by-me-because-I'm-embarrased by > > them; I mean, unreadable) -- and even so, because I've had to read them as > > I was scanning them in and reformatting them, I see the bones of stories > > that work just fine, once you get past the cardboard characters, > > screamingly bad dialog, awful world-building skills, and complete lack of > > internal consistency. Anyone out there who thinks they have no natural > > talent to write -- No. It's plain from the evidence that _I_ have no > > natural talent to write. So hang in there. > > > > Memory is treacherous. I thought that "November" was the oldest of my > > Continuing Time stories, but going through these ancient mss. I think I > > must be wrong. "November" is set in a recognizable Continuing Time -- >there > > are no glaring continuity issues, no screeching lapses of terminology or > > whatever. (Well, one; the spacelace tunnels don't exist yet. There's a > > third stupid FTL drive instead of spacelace tunnels.) But aside from that, > > it's my universe as I recognize it today. > > > > "Camber" is barely recognizable as a Continuing Time story, except that > > people refer to the Continuing Time all through it. Camber's not even a > > night face, in this draft. (Night faces don't appear to exist; nor does >the > > Zaradin Church, which really startles me; they came in together and >they're > > an _old_ part of the CT.) But apparently this is older. > > > > After that I've got about 30 short stories I'm going to scan in; I may >post > > some of them, as written, on QOA. ("A Day in the Life of a Telephone >Pole," > > in particular. I wrote it when I was 12 and it still works fine -- aliens > > invade the Earth in spaceships that look just like telephone polls. It's >so > > stupid it's charming.) > > > > --=======7BF44490======= > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; >x-avg-checked=avg-ok-5EC66C68 > > Content-Disposition: inline > > > > > > --- > > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > > Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 > > > > --=======7BF44490=======-- > > > > ____________________________ > > continuing-time mailing list > > continuing-time at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: Daniel Moran > > Subject: Re: [CT] QOA; fiction > > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 16:20:51 -0800 > > > > --=======17E11A53======= > > Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8; charset=us-ascii; >format=flowed > > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > > > Of course, QOA appears to be down at this moment, for the third time in a > > week. A "hacker" attack, according to ReadyHosting.com. Not incompetence. > > Really. > > > > At 03:51 PM 2/8/2002 -0800, I wrote: > > >I've added two Star Wars short stories to QueenOfAngels.com -- "A Barve > > >Like That," about Boba Fett; and "Empire Blues," which is about a > > >character you see for about two seconds in "Star Wars." A third and much > > >longer piece, "The Last One Standing," which follows Fett from his youth > > >to his old age, should be up sometime in the next week or so. > > > > --=======17E11A53======= > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; >x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8 > > Content-Disposition: inline > > > > > > --- > > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > > Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 > > > > --=======17E11A53=======-- > > > > ____________________________ > > continuing-time mailing list > > continuing-time at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 3 > > From: Daniel Moran > > Subject: Re: [CT] Re: QOA; fiction > > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 17:43:28 -0800 > > > > --=======408D139F======= > > Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8; charset=us-ascii; >format=flowed > > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > > > The broken URLs are fixed. > > > > That's the second time I've seen those links reformatted like that for no > > reason -- they were all like that after Readyhosting went down about a >week > > ago, and I fixed them all individually. Why just these two, this time, > > baffles me. > > > > That URL -- queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com -- is the URL I was given by > > Readyhosting to start building the site, before DNS had switched over. It > > keeps popping up again for no apparent reason. > > > > You know, I've run some _busy_ IIS websites -- at Launch we sometimes had > > 60,000 unique visitors an hour; at peak, VideoGreetings.com got a thousand > > or more, on much lighter hardware than Launch ran on. It's possible to >keep > > an IIS/SQL Server website up and running, honestly, though Readyhosting > > seems incapable of it, so far. > > > > At 05:32 PM 2/8/2002 -0800, David Silberstein wrote: > > > > >Strange things seem to have happened to 2 of the links - while the 2 star > > >wars tales are OK, the links to the earlier stories are: > > > > > >http://queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com/CT/LeftBehind.pdf > > > > > >http://queenofangelscom.readyhosting.com/Fic/OnSequoiaTime.pdf > > > > --=======408D139F======= > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; >x-avg-checked=avg-ok-61E435E8 > > Content-Disposition: inline > > > > > > --- > > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > > Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 > > > > --=======408D139F=======-- > > > > ____________________________ > > continuing-time mailing list > > continuing-time at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > __ > > ct-announce mailing list > > ct-announce at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-announce > > > > > > End of ct-announce Digest > > > > >_________________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > >__ >ct-announce mailing list >ct-announce at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-announce >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.317 / Virus Database: 176 - Release Date: 1/21/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Thu Feb 14 21:06:16 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 21:06:16 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA Registration In-Reply-To: <200202150038.g1F0coj18499@ha3sca-mail1.SFBay.Sun.COM> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020214204944.00a82e90@mail.queenofangels.com> Registration is up and running on QOA. You still can't _do_ anything, but you can register if you want to. :-) This is a stupid thing to be pleased about, but I am pleased about it. Launch spent literally hundreds of thousands of dollars writing login/registration procedures; I sat in meetings that ran for hours and had the top guys at Launch in it as well -- they had so many different registration scripts at various times that at least a third of their "2 million registered users," by my guess, were people who'd registered and then re-registered because they lost their account info. It took me 3 days to write that registration module, but it's a better registration than Launch had, with fewer tables. (I've spent years now preaching at web companies as to how they should write their databases; I rewrote Popcast's db and went from 70+ tables down to about 20. So far there are only 8 on QOA -- Entity (individuals, groups, companies) EntityLogin (Pseudo-one-to-one relationship with Entity, holding Login info for individuals only) Entity_Entity_Map (maps entities to one another -- for example, if Fleetwood Mac is a group, and Stevie Nicks is an individual, Entity_Entity_Map maps Nicks as a member of Fleetwood Mac.) Entity_Works_Map (many-to-many, maps entities to works) Works (quotes, posts, novels, songs, movies ... fundamentally, any work produced by an entity.) Works_Works_Map (many-to-many, maps works to one another; you could map a short story into a collection, or a song into an album.) Lookup (lists various lookup values) LookupGroup (Parent of Lookup; lists the groups for lookup values -- a LookupGroup might be "States" -- the Lookup values would be each of the 50 states.) There are two tables that aren't actually in use yet; Ratings & WorkCategories. WorkCategories is a true child of Works; Ratings is a pseudo-many-to-many reffing Entities and Works; at least in theory you can rate either one. I'm pleased. For over a decade I've been walking around chanting "Minimize structure, minimize code" to the DBAs working for me; but I don't think I've ever done it myself as elegantly as I'm managing to do it with QOA. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.323 / Virus Database: 180 - Release Date: 2/8/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Feb 19 17:27:42 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 17:27:42 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA Forums Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020219171831.00a85658@postoffice.pacbell.net> Forums are up and running on QOA. They're a little ragged yet; you don't have to be registered to read them, but you do have to be registered (and logged in) to post to them. Also some of the base functionality -- Edit your own Post after posting it, and Quote someone else's post, aren't working yet. There's also no mechanism to delete a post yet, although all three of those should be up within a few days. Not a single new field or table was required for the forums, and only 3 new lookup values in the lookup table -- I love my database. (Fair amount of code, of course. Weirdly enough, the page gizmo -- the nav tool that lets you move from page to page within the Topics and Posts -- took longer than any other single piece of functionality. The first 3 ways I tried to do it didn't work.) Upcoming functionality for QOA will include a Search forum covering the Quotes DB & Forums; and a couple of pages for browsing public information related to other users of the site. After that I'll probably push the ratings engine live. You'll be able to rate anything you like -- quotes, works by me or by others. (Though rating "works by others" is going to present an interesting challenge, since none of those "others" are in my database yet, unless I have a quote from them. Certainly no "works" are in the works table -- just posts & quotes, so far.) -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.324 / Virus Database: 181 - Release Date: 2/14/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Feb 19 19:03:17 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 19:03:17 -0800 Subject: [CT] QOA Forums In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020219171831.00a85658@postoffice.pacbell.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020219185937.00a857c0@mail.queenofangels.com> There was a really brutal login bug, which I think I've fixed. If any of you who posted there run into that problem again, please let me know immediately. Odd bug -- the Application Object on my server here at home handles logged in and non-logged in users without demonstrating this bug -- we only have 2 computers here for me to test with, so possibly this is a bug that fires only when more then 2 people are connected to the site? That seems unlikely. Anyway I rewrote it with cookies instead of the Application Object, and I'm now unable to duplicate the error on the live site either. So far as I know you can't get access to someone else's cookies ... -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.324 / Virus Database: 181 - Release Date: 2/14/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sun Feb 24 18:20:51 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 18:20:51 -0800 Subject: [CT] Chuck Jones In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020224181032.00a89308@mail.queenofangels.com> Been a rough few years over here. In the last 3 years I've had a sister-in-law murdered, lost my grandfather, stepfather, the uncle my son was named for (my father's youngest brother); a few weeks ago I lost my friend Dick Sommers, who was 71 and was mentioned in the dedication to Last Dancer. My father's younger sister had a stroke and is dying right now. Jim Murray died, Chick Hearn had heart surgery and a broken hip within weeks of one another, and Chuck Jones has died. When I was a teenager 5 of my friends died within a space of a couple years. It was rough, and in some ways may have been worse because their deaths were unexpected -- but I didn't feel _old_ because of it. Allegedly the most stressful events in life are Death, Birth, Divorce, Marriage, Losing Your Job and Starting a New One. I'm 5 for 6 in the last 3 years -- 6 for 6 if you stretch it back 5 years. Throw in the never-ending court time with my wife's psychotic (literally, apparently -- this twitch "forgets" things like having tried to choke her to death) -- psychotic ex-husband, and we've got material for 20 books. At 02:22 PM 2/24/2002 -0800, you wrote: >Slightly OT, but Chuck Jones does get props in tLR & tAIW. I think >DKM admires his work. > >http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/22/chuck.jones.obit/ > >http://www.chuckjones.com/entry.html > >http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20020224&mode=classic > >Requiescat in Pace, Folks > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Mon Feb 25 09:47:28 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 09:47:28 -0800 Subject: [CT] On a happier note ... In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20020224181032.00a89308@mail.queenofangels.com> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020225093729.00a898f8@mail.queenofangels.com> I've just been accepted to produce a radio show for a local radio station here in L.A. I'll let you know how that goes -- my first several on-air dates are going to be 15-minutes of DJing music, using a handle -- if I embarrass myself too badly, no one will have to know about it. (I'll get tapes of the segments when complete; if I don't feel embarrassed by them, I'll digitize them and put them up on QOA.com.) Once they feel comfortable that I know how to run the studio, I'll start off with a weekly hour-long show on anything I like. It won't be live, at first, so nobody will be able to call in, but I'll be able to do interviews, play music, and talk about whatever I like. Once the show goes live (several months down the road, in all likelihood) I'll be able to do call-ins. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Mon Feb 25 10:57:41 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 10:57:41 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: On a happier note ... In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.2.20020225093729.00a898f8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020225105113.00b101c0@mail.queenofangels.com> Well, if you hear a guy on the air named "Mohammed Vance" -- that's NOT ME. It's my friend Karl, who's in the same program and asked if he could be Vance. I don't know what handle I'm going to use yet -- possibly "Fat Sam" -- used to be my handle online in the long-ago days before the WWW. Though "Danny Boy" sort of works too ... This company, American Radio Network, syndicates to something like 40 different stations -- they own 5. I don't know which I'll be on, to start -- 2 of the 5 do have internet feeds. If it goes out through syndication, then it's whatever support the syndicating station has, and I have no idea about that at this time. At 10:33 AM 2/25/2002 -0800, you wrote: >On Mon, 25 Feb 2002, Daniel Moran wrote: > > >I've just been accepted to produce a radio show for a local radio station > >here in L.A. I'll let you know how that goes -- my first several on-air > >dates are going to be 15-minutes of DJing music, using a handle > >Will the handle be one that the CT list would recognize? > >And does the station have streaming audio, by any chance? > >Congratulations, by the way. :-) > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sun Mar 3 03:01:56 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 03 Mar 2002 03:01:56 -0800 Subject: [CT] FineLine Question In-Reply-To: <20020303072506.A285B3C28F@darksleep.com> References: <3C80E6C3.DA2A4CAB@wilcoxon.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020303025721.00a8d930@mail.queenofangels.com> "Yes, but he wouldn't." Blish? Just a guess, but one of the "After Such Knowledge" series? At 02:25 AM 3/3/2002 -0500, you wrote: > > Would a spool made of compressed FineLine work, or can FineLine cut > > FineLine? > > Can god make a stone so heavy he couldn't lift it? > >Steven J. Owens >puff at darksleep.com > >(Extra points if you can tell me what sf novel that's from :-). >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Mar 5 00:37:20 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 00:37:20 -0800 Subject: [CT] Another Star Trek ripoff. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020305001404.00a94d98@mail.queenofangels.com> This is going to be my last post on Star Trek piracy. As far as I can see, I've been plainly stolen from, by Star Trek, once. I've described that incident. There are three other incidents that are interesting, and none of them have anything to do with the current series. My friend Karl and I pitched together at "Next Generation" twice. We pitched two episodes that they quite liked; one of them had a gag where the Enterprise had to get to the center of the galaxy to prevent a terrorist plot to destabilize the black hole at the center of the galaxy, which would cause subspace "shock waves" that would prevent interstellar travel. Nothing terribly interesting about the story, except that the mechanism to get from A to B was a wormhole. I talked about how that wormhole, once established, would permit a series of stories about environments far away from the normal Star Trek universe. Within a year DS9 was announced. The second story was an adaptation of a novel Karl & I are probably going to write someday, "The Golden People." The Continuing Time races are, many of them, based on DNA (Zaradin DNA, from their common ancestor.) It was really an artifact of low budgets that Star Trek had all these human/humanoid races, but since they did, I suggested to them that this implied a common ancestor -- and more to the point, a merging-together of the variant races at some point, of Klingons/Humans/Vulcans/Romulans etc., into a better species, a hybrid vigor-enriched "Golden People". They didn't lift our story (far as I know) but in a later TNG episode there's a story about the ancestor race from which all the Klingons/Humans/Vulcans/Romulans etc. are descended -- I'm pretty sure that's from me. Finally, one of the stories I pitched to DS9 was "The Stopping Point." In this story, Bashir dies over and over again. It turns out that a race of aliens that _don't_ die are interested in the mechanism whereby other races do -- the "Stopping Point." I've never seen the episode, but apparently there's a similar Voyager effort where Captain Janeway dies, over and over again. (There's a funny story about how I ran into Alexander Siddig, who played Bashir, at Fry's Electronics. Karl and I were standing in line right in front of Siddig; he was buying a bunch of video editing equipment. I introduced myself, identified myself as the guy who'd written the story behind "Hard Time" -- and went on to describe to him the story I'd written where Bashir got killed, over and over again. He took it well -- "You kill Bashir ... over and over again, do you?" "Oh, yeah," I say, and proceed to describe the various ways his character dies. He got quieter in the face of my cheerful description....) Those are the biggies. I have heard other people have settled plagiarism lawsuits with Trek -- one guy who didn't, and should have, is my acquaintance Robert Hurt, who works (worked? Haven't talked to him in a couple years) at JPL. He described a story he'd pitched where the ship got twinned into a matter/anti-matter pair; he described it to me long before the Voyager episode that's plainly based on his pitch finally ran. Far as I know, nothing in "Enterprise" is mine. Admittedly, I haven't watched a single episode. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.330 / Virus Database: 184 - Release Date: 2/28/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Tue Mar 5 00:38:01 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 00:38:01 -0800 Subject: [CT] Another Star Trek ripoff. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020305003732.00a8cb20@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:24 PM 3/4/2002 -0800, you wrote: >mystic. B5 was *great* (mostly for the Londo tragedy, and the >command staff other than Sheridan), but it would have been even >better if they had cast Avery Brooks instead of Boxleitner. Boy, can you imagine Brooks as Sheridan? Boy, wouldn't that have been something? -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.330 / Virus Database: 184 - Release Date: 2/28/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Mar 13 13:13:35 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 13:13:35 -0800 Subject: [CT] RE: Quiet Vision Publishing - Daniel Keys Moran In-Reply-To: References: <7F0152E7FADA3742A8930023D4A58443012DB2D0@pocono> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020313131012.00a8f9f0@mail.queenofangels.com> Sorry, there have been two big delays on tLD -- one, the printing company QuietVision was originally working with was in the basement of the World Trade Center. Second, there have been problems (a bunch of them) with the cover. It's a 23" wide 1200dpi bitmap wrapped in a .PDF file -- it's HUGE. Various machines have completely failed to cope with it, so we've had to try different approaches. I think we've got that resolved, but we were working on the cover issues within the last few weeks, so ... I would assume the website is correct also. At 02:49 PM 3/13/2002 -0500, you wrote: >On Wed, 13 Mar 2002, Kirk Jenkins wrote: > >: Did I miss something?? Has TLD been released/shipped? On Quiet Vision it >:has a release date of April 30th, 2002? This mail has Jan 2002? Which is >:correct?? > >Hmmm. > >I wouldn't mind know ing the specifics, but I suspect they've just been >having scheduling problems getting the finished version of the book >printed. > >Originally it was supposed to be available in September 2001, right? > >7 Months is quite a long delay just to get something printed. > >Also, I strongly suspect the website, rather than the e-mail, is the >current releast date... > >Ben Bishop > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.333 / Virus Database: 187 - Release Date: 3/8/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.333 / Virus Database: 187 - Release Date: 3/8/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed Mar 13 18:01:37 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 18:01:37 -0800 Subject: [CT] DKM mentioned in Popular Science In-Reply-To: <003101c1cadb$79c7f280$b19214ac@MHART991PG> References: <7F0152E7FADA3742A8930023D4A58443012DB2D0@pocono> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020313175954.00a8eb68@mail.queenofangels.com> Thanks, Matt. I got a nice e-mail from a guy a week or two ago saying he'd submitted the words "handheld" and "webcast" to the OED. If those words end up in the OED, I'll grin for a week. At 04:07 PM 3/13/2002 -0600, you wrote: >That was me - I actually wrote a bit more but it was edited out - like >mentioning that Dan coined the term "handheld" meaning a small, portable >computer appliance. > >- Matt H -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.333 / Virus Database: 187 - Release Date: 3/8/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Mon Mar 18 18:28:36 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 18:28:36 -0800 Subject: [CT] Russian translations of CT books Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020318182714.00a90fb8@postoffice.pacbell.net> Russian company wrote to me, wanting to publish EE/tLR/tLD/AI War. Asked if I had rights to translation for the various books, and I do -- it would be amusing (though just barely) if AI War were available in Russian before being available in English. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.338 / Virus Database: 189 - Release Date: 3/14/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Mon Mar 18 18:39:26 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 18:39:26 -0800 Subject: [CT] Radio gig Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020318182846.00a8fb68@postoffice.pacbell.net> I've now done 3 shows -- 15 minutes of music DJing -- and next week will do my first non-music piece -- I'll be reading a couple of my NPR pieces that never aired, along with playing one or two pieces of music. If it goes well I'll digitize it and put it up on QOA. I'm registering a new domain name tonight -- (after writing this e-mail, in fact.) I'll let you know what it is once I've safely got it, but it's going to be the URL for my mostly-politics radio show. (I'll tell you what the original title was: "Liberal Jeremiad." Then it turned out that half the people I knew, some of them quite well educated -- Catholics! -- didn't know what the word "Jeremiad" meant.) I'm going to try and keep politics off of QOA (given how badly things have gone on this list over the years) but if the radio show does well, I may put Forums up on the new website so that people who want to argue politics, can. At least there it'll be thoroughly and completely on-topic, and anyone who objects to getting ranted at from either the left, the right, up, down, or the middle, can easily ignore it if they choose. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.338 / Virus Database: 189 - Release Date: 3/14/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Mon Mar 18 18:40:07 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 18:40:07 -0800 Subject: [CT] Russian translations of CT books In-Reply-To: <200203190233.g2J2XqG15923@ha3sca-mail1.SFBay.Sun.COM> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020318183957.00a91210@mail.queenofangels.com> At 06:33 PM 3/18/2002 -0800, you wrote: >What, they don't want to translate _The Armageddon Blues_? They haven't asked about it. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.338 / Virus Database: 189 - Release Date: 3/14/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sun Mar 24 12:21:55 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 12:21:55 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: The AI War, Lord November, and the Wrath of the List In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020324122028.00a93450@mail.queenofangels.com> I'll answer this later tonight. It's a long story, but for people who've been patient, you should get the facts. (And they're more promising than they've been in a while.) But we've had 25 separate episodes of vomiting at my house in the last 24 hours; 6 of the 7 people in my family have thrown up in the last 24 hours, including me 6 times, and right now, I'm going back to bed. At 08:32 AM 3/24/2002 -0800, you wrote: >I think quite honestly it's because DKM *doesn't* know when those books >are going to be published. The current arrangement with QuietVision (from >what I understand) only covers the four books that have actually seen the >printer's press already; everything else is rather nebulous. Therefore, >AI War, Lord November, etc., are all "yet to be published" with no solid >release date. > >Of course, if I'm wrong, I'm sure that someone will correct that. =) > >Dan S. > > >>From: "DNix" >>Reply-To: continuing-time at ralf.org >>To: >>Subject: Re: [CT] Re: The AI War, Lord November, and the Wrath of the List >>Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 21:07:33 -0500 >> >>I asked the same type of question and never saw a reply :[ >>-d >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Victor Vescovo" >>To: >>Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 1:26 PM >>Subject: [CT] Re: The AI War, Lord November, and the Wrath of the List >> >> >> > At the risk of enduring the wrath of those in the know, I haev been >>waiting >> > to discover the publication dates or other disposition for future >>Continuing >> > Time tomes, specifically: The AI War, Lord November, and maybe others? >> > >> > Heard previously that they were possibly being translated into full-motion >> > CGI features, but have also heard rumors that they might also be >>published. >> > >> > What is the latest ground truth on the new volunmes and when they may be >> > made available. Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but I >>haven't >> > seen it referred to recently or in the archives. >> > >> > Best, >> > >> > Victor > >_________________________________________________________________ >MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: >http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.338 / Virus Database: 189 - Release Date: 3/14/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.338 / Virus Database: 189 - Release Date: 3/14/2002 From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Wed May 8 15:13:41 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 15:13:41 -0700 Subject: [CT] "Last Dancer" Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020508151040.02c9be68@postoffice.pacbell.net> Cover for Last Dancer needs to get redone again; the books were printed with thicker paper for some fucking reason and the cover is now a quarter inch short on both sides. I've known this since Monday, but my father had a stroke on Monday and I just got back today. (He's OK and looks like he's going to make a full recovery.) My aunt and godmother (his younger sister) had a stroke and died 2 weeks ago. People are dropping like flies over here. Once I correct the cover, which I'm doing right now (it's a simple process, just add some black to the flaps) the covers should be reprinted within a few days, and the books should ship shortly thereafter. -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.351 / Virus Database: 197 - Release Date: 4/19/2002 From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed May 8 15:10:34 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 15:10:34 -0700 Subject: [CT] "The Perfect Thief" In-Reply-To: References: <20020504160003.22511.64571.Mailman@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020508150928.02ca5610@mail.queenofangels.com> I actually have a copy of that book scanned & PDF'd on my computer -- finished it about a month ago. It could be printed in no time -- I've been planning on contacting Bass & proposing just that. At 07:46 PM 5/8/2002 +0100, you wrote: >A thought: Given DKM's success at selling long out-of-print, >difficult to get, books in limited editions and (we hope) PoD, has >anyone thought of lobbying Ron Bass to do the same for "The Perfect >Thief"? Oh, I see Dan thought of it already, >seven years ago. Anyone know what came of that? And if it's worth >trying again? > >(http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/script_reviews/the_oracle_bones.html: >"If anyone out there has this book I will literally FedEx one of my >kidneys to you just to be able to read it". Don't try this in online >auctions, kiddies.) > >--------------------< Mchl.Grnt at phlogiston.aethernet >------------------------ >Don't look behind you; the lemmings are catching up.=8-0| Risus Sardonicus :-] >"Metaphysics has been an experimental science since the | Michael.Grant >1980s" -- Greg Egan, in "Distress" | @dial.pipex.com >-------------< http://website.lineone.net/~michael.s.grant >------------------ > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.351 / Virus Database: 197 - Release Date: 4/19/2002 -------------- next part -------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.351 / Virus Database: 197 - Release Date: 4/19/2002 From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon May 13 17:59:40 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 17:59:40 -0700 Subject: [CT] TLD and Hal Peters, sffantasy.com fanwyrlds.com In-Reply-To: References: <10205132236.AA0091@slc1386.modem.xmission.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020513175547.00ab0610@mail.queenofangels.com> I really don't think that's fair. QuietVision's doing the right thing in attempting to make right sales that they didn't make in the first place. You're not the only one who got hosed by Hal Peters (if you are one of them, and I assume you are); Peters also didn't pay QV for the books they shipped him. QV looks not only blameless to me on this one, but actually admirable in attempting to fix a problem they weren't responsible for in the first place. If you ordered a Bantam book through Hal Peters, and didn't get it, would you be upset with Bantam? At 06:39 PM 5/13/2002 -0400, you wrote: >I am not sure what irritates me more...paying for bogus express delivery or >receiving notification of a failed supply chain via an email forum instead >of a nice customer-servicey phonecall. >:( > >----- Original Message ----- >From: >To: >Sent: Monday, May 13, 2002 6:28 PM >Subject: [CT] TLD and Hal Peters, sffantasy.com fanwyrlds.com > > > > Hal Peters of sffantasy.com and fanwyrlds.com has disappeared leaving > > 8 to 10 people who are expecting copies of TLD from him. He will > > not be receiving any copies from Quiet Vision. Anyone who has > > an order with Hal needs to contact Quiet Vision at 800-442-4018. > > > > Orders at quietvision.com > > > > > > ____________________________ > > continuing-time mailing list > > continuing-time at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed May 15 15:37:50 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 15:37:50 -0700 Subject: [CT] A Faster Darkness Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020515153022.00a6cab8@mail.queenofangels.com> I wrote this a while ago. I don't believe I've posted it before -- I hadn't forgotten about it, exactly, but I just ran across it earlier today -- it holds up, I think. ~~~~~ A FASTER DARKNESS AS A WRITER I am a fan of the dash. I used to use ellipses, and I thought in those days that what writers needed was a two-dot ellipse: .. Four dots means a sentence has been completed and left to trail off, three dots that a thought has been left incomplete; one dot means the sentence is over. You can pause with commas, a small pause, or pause with semi-colons, a larger pause. I used to think that in between a semi-colon and a three-dot ellipse we needed an in-between pause, a two-dot pause, a pause that is .. that long. Perhaps we do need one. Precision is a virtue. But even if we had it, I probably wouldn?t use it. I no longer have time for it. I?ve grown fond of dashes. A dash is the swiftest of stops. ?Zooming to a stop,? I told my first wife once -- though I was talking about driving my car, a Grand National with a great engine and merely adequate brakes. Dashes zoom. They are very modern and exactly what you require when what you want is to pull the reader through your story without pausing and without letting the reader pause. Life is fast and writing about it requires strict measures. Something interesting happened to us all almost without our noticing it. When the world changes fast enough, the world ceases to be the background against which our lives are played out. The condition of change becomes the background. Change ceases to be change as we once knew it, and the only change worthy of note would be if the changes were to stop -- if things were to revert to being always the same, that would be a change worth noticing. The idea that change will always be with us is in some ways comforting. WHEN I MOVED to New York there was no sense of discovery, no sense of the strange. I was born in a large city, Los Angeles, and raised there. New York was just another large city -- dirtier and with worse weather and the people there have accents. In March of my first year in New York a girl called my name on the street, Second Avenue around 68th Street, at three in the morning. It was clear and direct: ?Danny,? which is a name only my sisters and other immediate family call me by, and I thought she spoke in my sister Jodi?s voice -- that California accent -- though Jodi was three thousand miles away. When I looked across the street there was nobody there. I wanted to rush home and call my sister and see that she was all right, for we are taught that such messages are warnings. Instead I went to my coffee shop as I?d planned, and wrote for a few hours. I didn?t write this account that you?re reading -- I worked on a screenplay about a time traveler and the woman he almost falls in love with. I think it?s a good screenplay, though what I think is unimportant. What is certain is that if it were as good as Terms of Endearment or Ordinary People it would not be as good as Terms of Endearment or Ordinary People -- the audience would not approach it the same way, with the same expectations; they would pay attention to the special effects and the costumes and the sets instead, and the producers would worry about the effects budget instead of the dialogue. Sometimes I hate writing science fiction. I called Jodi in the morning. She was fine. IT'S A CLICH? that we are most truly alive in the presence of death. And like many clich?s -- One hundred and twenty miles an hour, down the dark freeway. It's three A.M. on the 10 Freeway, East, toward San Bernardino, California. The motorcycle shudders underneath me, low rumbles that crawl up slowly through the frame. I feel them start in the tires, harmonics that work their way through the bike and into me. At that speed your tires barely touch the road beneath you and the freeway's slow gentle curves, designed for cars moving at seventy miles an hour, come at you with terrifying speed. The inside of my helmet is slightly fogged but I'm afraid to use either of my hands to crack the vent. You make speed slowly -- one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and thirty -- and the bikes shudders up against its limits, spedometer twitching up above 135, twitching up toward 140, falling back -- YOU WALK A lot in New York. It makes no sense to have a car in Manhattan, unless you?re extremely well-off, or for some reason must have one; it costs $300 or more just to rent a parking space for a month -- more than that, to get a good parking space, for a car worth having. The subway is cheap and cabs aren?t expensive, and while I was there I learned to enjoy walking. I did a lot of it, hundreds of miles of it in the daylight and the dark, but that girl only called my name once. Toward the end of his life Philip K. Dick started talking to beams of pink light -- God, you know. This has not happened to me yet. I am not convinced that girl was real, or unreal, and probably she was not God -- at least there was no beam of pink light in the vicinity either before she called my name, or after. If she was God I am not impressed. I would hope God could get up a better effect than that. I can?t shake this unpleasant feeling -- and I?ve tried -- that the girl?s name is Lita Germain. If it is she came out of one of my stories. While my first marriage was ending I outlined a story called Heat and Love, where I took a good, virtuous man, James Camber, and in a black Irish rage had him kill a woman he loved. I read it in public several times thereafter -- at the end of the first section, every time I've read it, one or more of the women in the audience has cried: Lita stares back at Camber, shaking, and then out of some depth of her own anger slaps Camber once. Camber is still for just a moment, and then he hits her, hard, the way he would hit a man. It snaps her head straight back and slams it against the wall, and afterward, trying to remember, he is never certain whether he might have killed her with that blow, or with one of the blows that followed; she never makes a sound, never makes a move to defend herself, and he hits her over and over again, holding her upright with the force of the blows, until suddenly something simply stops inside him, the rage vanishing as suddenly as it came, the realization of what he is doing coming home to him. He takes a single step backward and Lita folds to the floor like a rag doll, and Camber stands over her limp form, looking down on her, staring at her with a sudden and immense horror, a horror so profound he literally ceases to breathe. He takes a step toward her, and then kneels next to her, lifts her from the floor and sees that her head is bent over to the side, that her neck is cleanly broken, that Lita is dead. He sinks down on the floor next to her, lifting her up into his lap -- as he had once held her in the afternoons when she came home from work. He sits with her, cradling her in his arms. He does not notice when the tears begin, realizing that he is crying only when he cannot see Lita clearly any longer; and then something breaks within him, and he sobs like a child, crying helplessly through the long night. The morning finds him that way, still sobbing with the dead girl as the sun rises over Los Angeles. IT HELPS, in all this, to understand that there are two kinds of reality. The first one is trivial and obvious -- water is wet, stones are hard, don?t step in front of the bus. Call it Engineer Reality, Problem-Solving Reality, they wrote stories about Engineer Reality in Astounding in 1955 when they weren?t conquering the universe and making it safe for white Americans of a certain social class. The second kind of reality is internal -- our thoughts as influenced by our perceptions. Our perceptions are bandwidth. Yes, there is an external reality -- but that?s not the world you and I live in. We live in a world defined for us by the data we receive over a limited bandwidth, from senses that are terribly crude. We can see only a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum; we can hear only a tiny part of the range of sounds. Our sense of touch is useless at extremes of cold and heat, and our senses of taste and smell are crude mechanisms for analyzing chemicals. So we live in a very imprecise world, a virtual reality of our own making, a world where our perceptions of reality are far more important than our Engineer Reality -- the problem isn?t that the world doesn?t make sense, it?s that we don?t make sense: I read once in the paper a story about some psychologists who were doing a study to discover why people feared murderers. WE ALREADY LIVE in a virtual reality, or else ?virtual reality? could never be made to work. We?re easy to fool -- designed that way. THE EAST RIVER has a real beauty to it. It?s a piece of the wild that?s been enclosed by concrete where it runs between Queens and Manhattan. The concrete won?t last -- maybe two hundred years or a thousand; but the river is old and it will be here when Central Park has grown out to enclose Manhattan again, in two hundred years or a thousand, and the concrete that now encloses it has crumbled and worn away. There is a sense of the river?s power, of its capacity for violence, that the concrete does nothing to allay. Corpses end up in the river in the winter -- suicides, murder victims -- and the people we used to call bums before we decided that sounded too harsh. Today homeless people end up in the river. In the cold the corpses sink to the bottom of the river, into the dark water. They stay there until spring when it gets warm and the gases of corruption start bubbling up inside them and then they come popping up to the surface like balloons, sometimes carrying concrete blocks up with them. I saw one in early April and it made me wonder, for the first time, what my character Camber had done with Lita?s body after killing her. The river patrol came and hauled the body out of the water and I felt an intense surge of nausea. The body was a shapeless gray mass and I couldn?t tell if it was a man or a woman. It could have been a woman -- The scene from Heat and Love came to me while I watched them pull her up out of the water. It was a waking dream, more vivid than the sight of the body being pulled from the river or the smell of river with its hints of sea salt and sewage, sharper than any real memory I have ever experienced in my life. The world blinked -- and then he hits her, hard, the way he would hit a man. It snaps her head straight back and slams it against the wall NOTHING LIKE THIS ever happened to me before. I don?t have hallucinations and I don?t have waking dreams. And I?ve never hit a woman in my life. TWO OR THREE years ago I was up late, reading. I don?t remember the book, just the phrase -- it described someone as the sort of person who would read another person?s diary. Suddenly I was shaking with a rage, a black fury I hadn?t known was in me. My father did that. I kept a diary once, when I was a teenager. I didn?t do it for long -- maybe a month. He found it and he read it and then commented on what he?d read. It did not occur to me until years later that this was not simply a thoughtless piece of rudeness from a man without tact -- he had tact when he wanted to use it -- but a ruthless attempt at control from a man who had never trusted anyone in his life, not my mother, not his brothers or sisters, not even his own children. He seemed a big man when I was a boy, and that was not my imagination; he was, as I became. He was handsome as a movie star, black Irish, charming, and I loved and hated him with a terrible passion. He didn?t hit me often; he?d have killed me, when I was a child, if he?d ever hit me with his full strength. When he was forty-four and I was eleven he had a heart attack. By the time I was old enough to even think about hitting him back -- surely by the time I was old enough to know that I wanted to -- he had a heart condition that might kill him if he got angry. I sat in bed at two in the morning, sixteen or seventeen years later, trembling with an anger that knotted my stomach, dying for someone to hit, while my girlfriend slept at my side. I LOVE SPEED. Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. It?s the best thing about Los Angeles, though nobody ever called out my name as I drove or rode along the darkened freeways late at night, at a hundred or a hundred and twenty miles an hour, with the windows down and the radio up. I had to go to New York for that. It seems strange with all the science fiction I?ve written, much of it set in New York, that a dead girl from a story in present-day Los Angeles should have followed me there. Lita Germain seems very real to me; too real, in a way, to be put down on paper. Speech and its extension, writing, are the manipulation of symbols that we pretend have common meaning. But they don?t and the subtleties are always different -- sometimes the broad strokes, too. We don?t mean the same things with the same words, so putting Lita down on paper is just another way of killing her; we won?t see the same person when I?m done, you and I. AUGUST 24, 1996. The 101 freeway, South. Friday afternoon at about 3:30. It's a bitch of a day. Temperatures hovering around 105. I'm on the bike and not wearing leathers because it's so damned hot I'm afraid I'll have heat stroke. I'm wearing a backpack, jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved pink shirt. Riding through the air is like riding through a furnace -- the wind heats you as you cut through it. Friday afternoon, and people are leaving work early, to get a jump on the weekend. Traffic is bunching up already and speeds are down to a tightly clustered 55 miles an hour. I've got Bruce Springsteen in my head -- Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull And cut a six inch valley through the middle of my soul Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire I'm in the far left land and there's a van about five feet behind me. A car about five feet in front of me, another twenty feet in front of him. A semi back and to the right. I know these things without thinking about them; 350,000 miles of driving L.A. freeways will teach you to map; to know where things are even when you aren't looking at them. It's the same spatial wiring you use on the basketball court, flying down court with teammates you haven't looked at, knowing where they are without seeing -- all of that probably comes out of the time we spent in the trees, living in three dimensions. So when the guy in front of me hits his brakes for no apparent reason, I know instantly I'm in bad trouble. I hit back brakes and then front to no avail. My front wheel rides up on the guy's back fender. The bike flips out from under me and I go down doing 55 or close to it. The memory of the moment is clear. I hit on my back and tumble once and I feel my right leg snap the moment I hit and then I'm sliding down the freeway backward, the backpack shredding beneath me, watching the van and semi come up on me, hitting their brakes and swerving to miss the sliding projectile. The van goes by me first, inches away, and I slap at the pavement exactly as you would do the backstroke in a swimming pool, trying to swim across the pavement and away from first the van and then the semi. (The next day there are bruises on the tips of all ten of my fingers.) I slow and slow, flip once and tumble -- I looked good. I slowed and came to my feet almost in one motion, weight up and off the broken leg and lifted my hands, palms outward, to the hundred-odd cars that had just braked to avoid hitting me. Grinning. Alive. I BELIEVE in free will. Isn't that a ridiculous statement? If quantum mechanics is an accurate model of reality, then we are biochemical machines, and underlying the biochemistry is the reality of neurons that fire for no fucking reason other than that an atom chose to jump one way rather than another, because a wave function collapsed in one direction rather than another, all just because -- And yet there appears to be a connection between what I decide to do, and what I do; between how I plan and the results I achieve. If free will is anything, it's the mechanism by which we navigate the collapse of the eigenstates. I GOT MARRIED the second time while I was in New York. My sister Jodi called me late from California only three days before the wedding, with Heather this time, five years after divorcing Holly after seven years with her -- Jodi mentioned -- in passing -- that Holly had had a baby, a boy, with that tall guy she?s married to now: Baby Donovan, named after that singer from the ?60s she always liked. I hung up and sat that night, rushing into the future, motionless in the dark quiet with the sleeping stranger in my bed, my fiancee, three thousand miles from home. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sun May 19 21:03:14 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 21:03:14 -0700 Subject: [CT] Star Wars, Boba Fett In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020519205911.00a68cf8@mail.queenofangels.com> Actually, it broke my story less than I expected, based on what I'd heard was coming. There's no way of knowing what Lucas will do in Ep III, but my work with Fett never made any statements about his parentage or anything else -- merely that he's named "Jaster Mereel" and comes from a planet named Concord Dawn. It's a stretch, but if Lucas cared, which I'm sure he doesn't, fixing the continuity on that one wouldn't be hard. Had an interesting experience last night -- I saw "Clones" for the second time, this time on a digital projection screen. Film is better -- a good, clean 35 millimeter print is clearer and sharper than this new high-falutin digital projection from Lucas & Texas Instruments. If you wanted to go to 70mm, man, there wouldn't be any comparison at all. SPOILERS FOR EP II From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon May 20 00:09:42 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 00:09:42 -0700 Subject: [CT] Star Wars, Boba Fett In-Reply-To: <20020520041625.92509.qmail@web12807.mail.yahoo.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020519205911.00a68cf8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020520000819.00a67f40@mail.queenofangels.com> I could see pixelation in the digital image -- along the edges of diagonal sharp lines, in particular. I've never seen film suffer from that. Star Wars was shot on digital cameras and some artifacts that were visible on film -- there was some bad pixelation in one shot, love scene w/Portman and Hayden -- wasn't there on the digital projector, so that's plainly an artifact of the digital-to-film transfer. If I had to guess, off this one little exposure to digital projectors, the quality of the experience should rank something like this: 1. Shot on film, projected on film 2. Shot on digital, projected on digital 3. Shot on film, projected on digital 4. Shot on digital, projected on film Film is inherently less clean than digital, true. But I don't think the resolution compares, not yet. At 09:16 PM 5/19/2002 -0700, you wrote: >--- Daniel Moran wrote: > > Had an interesting experience last night -- I saw "Clones" for the > > second > > time, this time on a digital projection screen. Film is better -- a > > good, > > clean 35 millimeter print is clearer and sharper than this new > > high-falutin > > digital projection from Lucas & Texas Instruments. If you wanted to > > go to > > 70mm, man, there wouldn't be any comparison at all. > >I completely disagree. I've seen it 3 times on film (in very nice/new >theaters), and I just saw it on a DLP today and I was blown away: I've >never seen film look anywhere near that sharp. There was no fuzz, no >flecks or cigarette burns, and the colors just leapt off of the screen. > > >Ross > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience >http://launch.yahoo.com >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon May 20 11:39:13 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 11:39:13 -0700 Subject: [CT] Star Wars, Boba Fett In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020520113038.00a69678@mail.queenofangels.com> If you have a digital out on your laserdisc, it's for sound only -- laserdiscs store/stored video in analog format. Since that's true, any laserdisc to DVD transfer is going to inevitably require you to grab video -- there's no mechanism available to grab from the laserdisc player mechanism that I've ever heard of. If you have a fast computer and fast hard drive, the WinTV card is really cheap and captures uncompressed video just fine. If it doesn't work for you, you're only out a few bucks, but it's worked fine for me in the past -- use the SVideo input; it's a significantly better capture than the composite. Make sure your hard drive is at least 7200 RPM -- 10K SCSI would be better, but 7200 RPM IDE will probably get it done -- and generally I'd recommend an entire empty partition on the HD to capture into. If you can't get it empty, at least defrag ahead of time. The reason the WinTV card is so cheap is that it only captures uncompressed -- if your system isn't fast enough to take an uncompressed video stream, you're looking at something that compresses while capturing -- a Marvel G400, something like that. Good luck. At 11:16 AM 5/20/2002 -0700, you wrote: >>Two ways come to mind, both of which could cost you some cash. >> >>There exist hardware capture devices which will grab your video and >>convert it to AVI or even MPEG-2 realtime (I don't trust the latter). >> >>or... >> >>use the analog inputs of a DV or Digital8 camcorder to record the >>Laserdisc to digital video tape(s), and afterwards use firewire to >>transfer the entire tape to AVI format on the desktop. > >I'm guessing your second way is the most realistic, but I do wonder about >the fact that my Laserdisc player has some kind of fiber optic "Digital >Out" port on the back. Does anybody know anything about what kind of data >is available on this port? >-- >______________________________________________________________________ > Wilhelm Fitzpatrick | When we speak of free > http://www.3roses.com/ | software we are referring > rafial at well.com | to freedom not price. >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon May 20 11:44:10 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 11:44:10 -0700 Subject: [CT] Star Wars, Boba Fett In-Reply-To: References: <58651.139.76.65.129.1021918293.squirrel@www.dnaco.net> <1021909505.18869.15.camel@two.nks.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020520114316.00a698d0@mail.queenofangels.com> Probably but not necessarily. Could be last mile compression if your'e getting your video through any digital delivery mechanism -- DirectTV, digital cable, etc. At 11:36 AM 5/20/2002 -0700, you wrote: >On 20 May 02, at 14:11, mobrien wrote: > > > Somebody said: > > > improved and most of them look pretty good nowadays, but you still > > > run across the occasional cheaply-produced that has noticable > > > artifacting. > > > > Is artifacting little pixel squares, or is it when the DVD stops for a > > minute while your computer regroups? > >Speaking of pixelating, I've also noticed the same thing on a few TV >shows (specifically on the excellent series Farscape on the SF >channel). I'd never noticed pixelation on any TV show before a >couple of years ago. Is this some artifact of all the digital editing >they now do on television shows or what? > >-John Snead sneadj at mindspring.com >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon May 20 13:25:11 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 13:25:11 -0700 Subject: [CT] Star Wars, Boba Fett In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020520131923.00a6a848@mail.queenofangels.com> I'm not going to talk about Lucas's storytelling skills -- I don't have the time or the energy to talk about what's right and what's wrong. But that scream Luke gives in the SE of "Empire" when he falls down the shaft -- Jesus H. Fucking Christ. That silent drop as Luke fell to his (he supposed) death was one of the elegant, completely correct grace notes from the original trilogy. What the fuck Lucas was thinking there, if he was, I can't imagine. The Greedo-shoots-first thing is part of the progressive emasculation of the SW universe. In SW Luke's uncle says, "There'll be Hell to pay" -- in Empire, Han Solo says, "I'll see you in Hell" -- but the writers working in Lucas's universe weren't permitted to use the word "Hell." Why? Upset the kiddies, apparently -- as though there were younger people reading those stories than watching the movies. I'll just shut up now. I get onto my Lucas bitch I can go an hour. (There aren't any whores in Lucas's universe either, evidently. Or gays. Or ... shutting up right now.) At 05:06 PM 5/20/2002 +0000, Archie Baal wrote: >>>older episodes up and ensure that they are not dated compared to ep 1, 2& 3. >>>Anyway, the fact that they were not yet on DVD (legally) is apparently the >>>cause of serious itchass amongst the hardcore SW fans. > >Apparently. What seriously chaps my ass is that Lucas has disowned the >originals, to the extent that the Special Editions are, according to him, >the only way the films will ever be released again. There were some minor >improvements in the SEs, but these were far outweighed by the idiocy of >Greedo shooting first, and Luke screaming like a little bitch when he >falls down the reactor core. And the loss of Lapti Nek, but enough people >disagree with me there that I'm willing to concede it's arguable. :) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed May 29 14:24:39 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 14:24:39 -0700 Subject: [CT] I don't think he did In-Reply-To: <004b01c2075c$36c6d060$1708d78d@elb146eadsas> References: <1022683479.12563.15.camel@two.nks.net> <20020529115810.C13459@darksleep.com> <1022689834.12564.27.camel@two.nks.net> <20020529142041.A6056@darksleep.com> <1022697889.12563.63.camel@two.nks.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020529142119.00a6e570@mail.queenofangels.com> "I modeled you, walking through the wall," said Vance. "Of course you did," said Trent. "That bright room, the holoprojectors." "You can't quite get that son of a bitch to look right no matter what you do, can you?" "If the lights are low enough that the image looks solid, the image glows. If the lights are bright enough that the image doesn't glow, you can see through it." "Yeah. That's a tough one," said Trent sympathetically. ..... I got the contract for that Russian publisher I mentioned last night. I committed to deliver AI War this Sep. 1 -- Amy is reading the book right now for the first time ever. I can't tell you how intimidating I find that. I'm working on an English-language edition for sometime after Sep. 1. I don't have the vaguest idea what to do about the cover. There's a scene set at the Grand Canyon that I might use, but modeling the GC is tough -- I took a pass at it the other day and it looked hideous. I suspect you could do it with Bryce, but I don't use Bryce and I'm not going to learn it in the next couple months. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed May 29 15:18:12 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 15:18:12 -0700 Subject: [CT] I don't think he did In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020529151733.00acfdc8@mail.queenofangels.com> QuietVision & I talked about this -- we're not doing a limited ed. of "AI War," just a hardcover followed by a trade edition. At 02:28 PM 5/29/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Joy! Very much hoping there will be a hardback, signed or not. Need two >to complete my two sets :) >Then, perhaps, a set of the trade paper to lend out... >-----Original Message----- >From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] >Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 2:25 PM >To: continuing-time at ralf.org >Subject: Re: [CT] I don't think he did > >"I modeled you, walking through the wall," said Vance. >"Of course you did," said Trent. >"That bright room, the holoprojectors." >"You can't quite get that son of a bitch to look right no matter what you >do, can you?" >"If the lights are low enough that the image looks solid, the image glows. >If the lights are bright enough that the image doesn't glow, you can see >through it." >"Yeah. That's a tough one," said Trent sympathetically. > > > >..... > >I got the contract for that Russian publisher I mentioned last night. I >committed to deliver AI War this Sep. 1 -- Amy is reading the book right >now for the first time ever. I can't tell you how intimidating I find that. > >I'm working on an English-language edition for sometime after Sep. 1. I >don't have the vaguest idea what to do about the cover. There's a scene >set at the Grand Canyon that I might use, but modeling the GC is tough -- >I took a pass at it the other day and it looked hideous. I suspect you >could do it with Bryce, but I don't use Bryce and I'm not going to learn >it in the next couple months. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed May 29 15:41:43 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 15:41:43 -0700 Subject: [CT] Couple of really minor continuity/errors In-Reply-To: <1022691804.12564.61.camel@two.nks.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020529153744.03831b80@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:03 PM 5/29/2002 -0400, you wrote: >In "The Long Run", when Garon falls to his death, a big deal is made >that no Elite had been killed before this incident. Which I guess is >excepting Christian Summers, who certainly faked his death even before >EE, since he's clearly AWOL in that story. I think the bit you're talking about discusses the Elite who've been killed in combat or on duty -- presumably other Elite have gone down in planes, that sort of thing. >In "Emerald Eyes", though, a whole mess of Elite are apparently stomped >when they try to rush the Chandler complex and "flattened as if a giant >hand came down on top of them" or something to that effect, which is >when Vance finally decides that the tacnuke strike is necessary. Those Elite were not killed. They were literally knocked down and thrown off their feet some dozens of meters, if I recall, but none of them died. There are flaws in the continuity of any large work. I caught one just the other day, re-reading "Long Run" -- Gypsy Macoute colors are named as being "yellow and green" in that book, then they're "red and black" years later when I wrote "The Star." However, at least when I started out I knew who was related to who, so there's one for me. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed May 29 18:36:40 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 18:36:40 -0700 Subject: [CT] I don't think he did In-Reply-To: <200205300102.SAA06766@ddmi.he.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020529142119.00a6e570@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020529183538.00a880c0@mail.queenofangels.com> I haven't signed the contract yet. (I haven't _read_ it yet. It just came last night and I've been busy all day.) I assume they'd let me do the covers if I wanted to ... but I'm kind of interested in seeing what they do with it. I may be appalled, but.... At 06:02 PM 5/29/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Dan, do you have control over the cover art for the Russian edition? My >friend Kris just had her first book get picked up by a Russion publisher. >The cover was interesting. Among other things, it included a castle, a >tyranosaur, and a small rendition of a Minbari cruiser. Those were >interesting >choices given a biotech/military SF plot that had nothing to do with castles, >dinosaurs, or Minbari. > >Dave > > > > > I got the contract for that Russian publisher I mentioned last night. I > > committed to deliver AI War this Sep. 1 -- Amy is reading the book right > > now for the first time ever. I can't tell you how intimidating I find that. > > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu May 30 14:24:33 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 14:24:33 -0700 Subject: [CT] When will the American publishers wake up? In-Reply-To: <00d901c207f9$bc9afc00$8c14379d@redmond.corp.microsoft.com> References: <36415BB1E2779440BF8D5E5B48F1B1CB057D22@380exu03.mcdata.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020530142232.00a86500@mail.queenofangels.com> I dislike Gibson for the stuff most people really like -- I hate his computer stuff. It's fantasy, and bad fantasy at that. I do like the way he writes. He's perhaps the 2nd best pure stylist I've ever read in the field, after Jack Vance. (Which is where Mohammed got his name -- I wanted something that would subtly murmur class for your average SF reader.) Anyway, Gibson writes gorgeous prose. At 09:47 AM 5/30/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Corin wrote: > > > > What the heck is wrong with American publishers? Here we have a writer >who > > is the favorite author of anyone who's been lucky enough to lay their >hands > > on one of his books and the next book in his series is going to be >published > > in Russian before English...!!! What's up with that? If another Barnes >and > > Noble weenie tells me to try reading Gibson for cyberpunk I'm going to >puke. > > But I like Gibson... > > Al > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu May 30 14:53:08 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 14:53:08 -0700 Subject: [CT] Cable Artifacting In-Reply-To: <3CF60E6D.E3AD3A10@cstek2.com> References: <1021909505.18869.15.camel@two.nks.net> <3CF2396C.9090300@wilcoxon.org> <20020527130137.A25218@darksleep.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020530142500.00a9de98@mail.queenofangels.com> I promise not to do this again before the book is in print (I've been wading through the text and it's in my head right now): Booker swept the desktop clear. Half a dozen sticks of RTS RAM went flying along with the garbage. Trent winced visibly and Booker grinned at him. "Remember when that shit used to be worth something?" At 07:35 AM 5/30/2002 -0400, you wrote: >Remember these guys deal in terabytes of RTS RAM as a form of >currency. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu May 30 17:24:03 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 17:24:03 -0700 Subject: [CT] Cable Artifacting In-Reply-To: <3CF6B279.1020301@wilcoxon.org> References: <1021909505.18869.15.camel@two.nks.net> <3CF2396C.9090300@wilcoxon.org> <20020527130137.A25218@darksleep.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020530142500.00a9de98@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020530172317.00a6fe18@mail.queenofangels.com> Yep, I recognize the symptom. I am still using Word for my writing. I've been dual-booting Linux for a while now, but I've got so much text in Word, and know it so well, that switching is difficult. At 06:15 PM 5/30/2002 -0500, you wrote: >>at him. ?Remember when that shit used to be worth something?? > > >Been using Microsoft tools? >I think your text has been damaged by "Smart Quotes". > http://www.cs.tut.fi/%7Ejkorpela/chars.html#win > http://www.fourmilab.ch/webtools/demoroniser/ > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri May 31 13:13:46 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 13:13:46 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: When will the American publishers wake up? In-Reply-To: References: <36415BB1E2779440BF8D5E5B48F1B1CB057D2F@380exu03.mcdata.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020531131139.00a72ca0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:37 AM 5/31/2002 -0700, you wrote: >There is a near-zero probability that Bantam will ever bring out the >continuing-time series (or republish the earlier books, which is a >pity because I really liked the Jim Burns covers of tAB & tLR, and I >think Bantam still holds the rights to the art). Near-zero pretty much covers it. I've had two different passes in the last 6 ? years with them where I offered to deliver the book if they'd commit to some schedule of advertising and republication of the earlier works. Their response both times was they'd look at the mss. first, and then decide how to handle it. I don't even find this a particularly unreasonable position on their part, but given how they hosed the publication of Last Dancer, I'm unwilling to deliver that mss. to them without a commitment up front as to how it will be handled. Now they can't republish the earlier works; they've been republished. And I'm uninterested in another one-off paperback from Bantam. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri May 31 13:16:49 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 13:16:49 -0700 Subject: [CT] When will the American publishers wake up? In-Reply-To: References: <15607.14190.373877.369359@eris.io.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020531131558.00a6ed90@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:35 AM 5/31/2002 -0700, you wrote: >On 31 May 02, at 3:42, Joshua Kronengold wrote: > > As far as "science bad, book pretty" stuff, there's also John > > M. Ford's _Web of Angels_ -- a pre-cyberpunk (published in 1980, > > compared to Neuromancer's '84) book with a pretty straight fantasy for > > it's cyberspace (and some of the other science doesn't make that much > > sense)...but it's a great book anyway, with neat thematic Arthurian > > themes and the usual great Ford writing. This is where my webangels came from. Intentional nod to a fine piece of work. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri May 31 14:38:57 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 14:38:57 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: When will the American publishers wake up? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020531131139.00a72ca0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020531141824.00a6ff98@mail.queenofangels.com> Mostly just time. 4-1/2 years ago I got involved with Amy Stout -- then spent the next 4 years fighting a never-ending custody battle against her ex-husband, Alan Rodgers. (Which is quite a story -- I've got a couple hundred pages of source documents for an essay, possibly a book, about it. I used to be friends with Alan & Amy when they were married; after she left him Alan's first step was to start telling people that I was a child molester. After that he got really nasty. I'm dead serious about the essay at least -- Amy and I are considering whether to write a book together about the entire experience, but even if that doesn't happen, I'll publish the essay at some point as a free .pdf file.) This is a man who's threatened to murder Amy, his own children, his girlfriend's daughter ... claims he can't recall having put his hands around Amy's neck and choking her, can't even recall having told Bruce Holland Rodgers about this incident -- but I've got Holland Rodgers's testimony about this one under oath, got testimony from the girlfriend about his attempts to blackmail her when she left him -- these are people who under oath described themselves as Alan's friends; you can imagine what I think of the guy. He either perjured himself or had a breakdown about the suicide watch he was on after Amy left him -- claimed under oath not to recall that either, but again Bruce Holland Rodgers testified under oath about it, so that one's nailed down with sworn testimony. So ... four long years of that. The last 6 months have been fairly quiet, but I have no idea how long that's going to last; we may be back in court at any time. This has distracted from the writing. Lord November was in a mostly-complete state most of a decade ago; I haven't touched it in the years since then. I hope to see it in print not long after AI War, however. (There was an interesting stretch some time ago when I was writing both AI War and Lord November at the same time -- sometimes on the same day.) Could I have jumped ahead? Sure, though the first little stretch of Lord November, which is online, already tells people most of what happened between 2080 & the late 2600s. But mostly it's just been lack of time -- supporting a family of (now) 7 people, fighting court battles, trying to find time to write. At 03:25 PM 5/31/2002 -0500, you wrote: >Here's the goofy question: > >Aside from the obvious situation with having to write the darn things... > >Is there a particular reason why you haven't skipped to some other portion >of the CT cycle (say a book or few after Lord November so as to avoid >copyright issues and far enough along so that people don't feel like they've >missed anything) and 'started over' from there? > >David > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org > > [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org]On Behalf Of Daniel Moran > > Sent: Friday, May 31, 2002 3:14 PM > > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Subject: Re: [CT] Re: When will the American publishers wake up? > > > > > > At 11:37 AM 5/31/2002 -0700, you wrote: > > >There is a near-zero probability that Bantam will ever bring out the > > >continuing-time series (or republish the earlier books, which is a > > >pity because I really liked the Jim Burns covers of tAB & tLR, and I > > >think Bantam still holds the rights to the art). > > > > Near-zero pretty much covers it. I've had two different passes in > > the last > > 6 ? years with them where I offered to deliver the book if they'd > > commit to > > some schedule of advertising and republication of the earlier > > works. Their > > response both times was they'd look at the mss. first, and then > > decide how > > to handle it. I don't even find this a particularly unreasonable position > > on their part, but given how they hosed the publication of Last > > Dancer, I'm > > unwilling to deliver that mss. to them without a commitment up > > front as to > > how it will be handled. > > > > Now they can't republish the earlier works; they've been republished. And > > I'm uninterested in another one-off paperback from Bantam. > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jun 3 19:58:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 19:58:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: Cable Artifacting In-Reply-To: <3CFC12AD.3000405@wilcoxon.org> References: <1023147362.5719.6.camel@orca> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020603195744.00aa9e78@mail.queenofangels.com> FYI: http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:6JKFtnq3XvwC:ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/WJHutchins/PPF-1.doc+machine+translation+vodka+harper%27s&hl=en It would seem that a likely source was an article by John A.Kouwenhoven "The trouble with translation" in Harper's Magazine for August 1962: Our own attempts to communicate with the Russians in their language may be no more successful. Thanks to Robert E. Alexander, the architect, I can pass along this cheering bit of news. According to Colonel Vernon Walters, President Eisenhower's official interpreter, some electronic engineers invented an automatic translating machine into which they fed 1,500 words of Basic English and their Russian equivalents, claiming that it would translate instantly without the risk of human error. In the first test they asked it to translate the simple phrase: ?Out of sight, out of mind.? Gears spun, lights blinked, and the machine typed out in Russian ?Invisible Idiot.? On the theory that the machine would make a better showing with a less epigrammatic passage, they fed it the scriptural saying: ?The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.? The machine instantly translated it, and came up with ?The liquor is holding out all right, but the meat has spoiled.? It is a good story, but its superficial plausibility is damaged by the lack of any evidence of a US system at the time which could translate from English into Russian ? for obvious reasons the Americans wanted to translate from Russian into English ? and by the discovery that both examples were familiar apocrypha of translation before there were any machine translation systems in operation. For example, in April 1956, E.H.Ullrich was reported as saying: Perhaps the popular Press is the most attractive outlet for mechanical translations, because it does not really matter whether these are right or wrong and amusing versions such as "the ghost wills but the meat is feeble" might make mechanical translation into a daily feature as indispensible as the cross-word puzzle. (Ullrich 1956) At 08:06 PM 6/3/2002 -0500, you wrote: >That tale was circulating in the AI/language processing field in the early >1970s, which was pretty soon after the field was plowed. But it actually >has been traced back to 1956 -- with human translators. > http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/WJHutchins/Myths.htm >("Invisible idiot" was considered old in 1963 and reportedly was in >elementary Chinese textbooks) > >Ray Lee wrote: > >>I prefer the anecdote about the phrase "The spirit is willing, but the >>flesh is weak," being (computer) translated into and back from Russian. >>The (possibly urban legend) result: "The vodka is strong, but the meat >>is raw." > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jun 4 13:18:33 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 13:18:33 -0700 Subject: [CT] Book Suggestions In-Reply-To: <3CFD1C93.9070001@wilcoxon.org> References: <20020604133139.A7846@pheran.pit.comms.marconi.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020604131227.00aa4848@mail.queenofangels.com> John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series. Start out with one of the books that has Meyer in it -- the earliest books lack him and they're not quite as good as a result. The first one I read in the series was "Pale Gray for Guilt" -- I reread it recently and it holds up beautifully. The Fletch books by Gregory McDonald. Fletch, Confess Fletch, Fletch's Fortune, Carioca Fletch -- I have a soft spot for Confess Fletch. More than a little of Fletch ended up in Trent -- almost everything I think I know about how to write good dialog came out of those books. If your guy is open to SF at all, almost anything by Heinlein -- he's a very accessible SF writer by modern standards. Citizen of the Galaxy; Have Spacesuit, Will Travel; Double Star; Starship Troopers (though maybe not ST if your guy has seen that terrible movie; he might be too put off to continue); The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Stranger in a Strange Land might be pushing it -- though it's the first SF novel I ever read. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jun 4 13:31:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 13:31:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: [CT]Cryptonomicon In-Reply-To: <002901c20c18$2f209c90$1708d78d@elb146eadsas> References: <81677E4127CFF34C89F5267D7BA943A80FEE3A@sphlap01m.na.corp.gmacrfc.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020604133115.00a71ed0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:35 PM 6/4/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Exactly! I never did get through it. I liked the characters and >settings, but it was so SLOW! > >PM > >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: Delizzio, Robert >>To: 'continuing-time at ralf.org' >>Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 11:09 AM >>Subject: RE: [CT] Book Suggestions >> >>By the Gods, not Cryptinomicon !! I have been trying to plow my way >>through that book for the past 6 months. It is hard to believe that the >>same author wrote Snow Crash ! >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: Wilhelm *Rafial* Fitzpatrick >>[mailto:rafial at well.com] >>Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 1:54 PM >>To: continuing-time at ralf.org >>Subject: Re: [CT] Book Suggestions >> >> >(open heart) surgery. He's doing fine, but will be off work and unable >> to do >> >much of anything for the next 6+ weeks. So he will probably be doing >> quite a >> >bit of reading during that time. >> > >> >His usual fare is Tom Clancy and John Grisham type novels (but I don't >> think >> >he's read that many authors outside of those two). I'm looking for >> >suggestions >> >of other good authors/books in the same genre >> (political/thriller/military). >> >>Well then he's perfect fodder for Cryptonomicon, and 6 weeks might >>just be enough time to finish it ;) It's contemporary/historical so >>it'll ease him in... >> >>I'd also suggest "A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge, which is >>more explicitly SF (starships) but is also very much a >>political/military thriller and is overall just a massively excellent >>and thought provoking book. >> >>Since WJW has already come up on this thread, let me recommend >>"Metropolitan" and "City of Fire", which are both amazingly excellent >>books, but perhaps a little less challenging than "Aristoi" to a >>non-SFnal type. They live the techomagic urban fantasy corner of the >>genre. >> >>-- >>______________________________________________________________________ >> Wilhelm Fitzpatrick | When we speak of free >> http://www.3roses.com/ | software we >> are referring >> rafial at well.com | to freedom not price. >>____________________________ >>continuing-time mailing list >>continuing-time at ralf.org >>http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jun 4 13:33:36 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 13:33:36 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: [CT]Cryptonomicon In-Reply-To: <002901c20c18$2f209c90$1708d78d@elb146eadsas> References: <81677E4127CFF34C89F5267D7BA943A80FEE3A@sphlap01m.na.corp.gmacrfc.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020604133117.00acb908@mail.queenofangels.com> The only cypberpunk book I've ever really enjoyed is Snow Crash. Cryptonomicon took everything I disliked about that book (the silliness of the "Snow Crash" itself, for one) and lost the witty dialog and fast pace that made the earlier book so wonderful. At 03:35 PM 6/4/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Exactly! I never did get through it. I liked the characters and >settings, but it was so SLOW! > >PM > >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: Delizzio, Robert >>To: 'continuing-time at ralf.org' >>Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 11:09 AM >>Subject: RE: [CT] Book Suggestions >> >>By the Gods, not Cryptinomicon !! I have been trying to plow my way >>through that book for the past 6 months. It is hard to believe that the >>same author wrote Snow Crash ! >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: Wilhelm *Rafial* Fitzpatrick >>[mailto:rafial at well.com] >>Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 1:54 PM >>To: continuing-time at ralf.org >>Subject: Re: [CT] Book Suggestions >> >> >(open heart) surgery. He's doing fine, but will be off work and unable >> to do >> >much of anything for the next 6+ weeks. So he will probably be doing >> quite a >> >bit of reading during that time. >> > >> >His usual fare is Tom Clancy and John Grisham type novels (but I don't >> think >> >he's read that many authors outside of those two). I'm looking for >> >suggestions >> >of other good authors/books in the same genre >> (political/thriller/military). >> >>Well then he's perfect fodder for Cryptonomicon, and 6 weeks might >>just be enough time to finish it ;) It's contemporary/historical so >>it'll ease him in... >> >>I'd also suggest "A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge, which is >>more explicitly SF (starships) but is also very much a >>political/military thriller and is overall just a massively excellent >>and thought provoking book. >> >>Since WJW has already come up on this thread, let me recommend >>"Metropolitan" and "City of Fire", which are both amazingly excellent >>books, but perhaps a little less challenging than "Aristoi" to a >>non-SFnal type. They live the techomagic urban fantasy corner of the >>genre. >> >>-- >>______________________________________________________________________ >> Wilhelm Fitzpatrick | When we speak of free >> http://www.3roses.com/ | software we >> are referring >> rafial at well.com | to freedom not price. >>____________________________ >>continuing-time mailing list >>continuing-time at ralf.org >>http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jun 5 16:33:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 16:33:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: I don't think he did In-Reply-To: <200206052043.3190000@figure5.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020605162749.00a73080@mail.queenofangels.com> The lights inside glared at them, paint turned high. After the dimness of the emergency lighting elsewhere it was like being bathed by floodlamps. Cyborg eyes adjusted almost instantly. Trent stood inside, at the far end of the long oval conference table, watching the doors open. Mohammed Vance took a step into the room. He was peripherally aware of the other PKF, the Elite and Melissa, following him. His deep voice was tinged with weariness. "You are trapped, Trent. Please do not resist." Trent took a step back, stopped a few centimeters from the wall. Melissa moved off to Vance's right, maser coming up and centering on Trent's abdomen. The Elite with the autoshot had leveled it at Trent, and the laser in Vance's fist lit without conscious thought on Vance's part. "I would prefer to take you alive," Vance continued, "but if it is not possible..." The young man stood looking at them, with his back to the wall, simply looking at the Peaceforcers with a lack of fear so profound that Vance felt a twinge of unease. What made it all seem very strange for Mohammed Vance, thinking about that scene in the years to follow, was how quiet it had been, how Trent the Uncatchable had looked away from the other Peaceforcers and stared straight at Vance without saying a word, and then nodded once, smiled, and turned away from Vance, turned his back on the Peaceforcers and their weapons and walked into the wall. And through it. ~~~~~ The only person in that room who's _not_ an Elite is Melissa.... :-) At 03:43 PM 6/5/2002 -0700, you wrote: >What about the fact that all of the eyes in the room....Elite eyes.... >are digital and could have been spoofed through resonance >signals? > >If Trent had proved His Divinity beyond doubt, there would be >no need for faith. > >At 08:41 PM 6/3/2002 -0500,Scot Wilcoxon sagely observed: > >>"If the lights are low enough that the image looks solid, the image glows. > >>If the lights are bright enough that the image doesn't glow, you can see > >>through it." > >>"Yeah. That's a tough one," said Trent sympathetically. > > > >And if the lights and the entire room are actually holoprojections... > >with all the real objects in the room having projections of themselves > >wrapped around them? > > > >If the lights and their brightness is actually simulated and projected > >at the viewers, the rest of the room can be as dark as necessary. And > >if there is some glow, would it be visible against the same glow on the > >projected walls? > > > >Or would it be easier to just project miniature images around the heads > >of all the viewers? Including images of each other and the parts of > >their own bodies which are visible. They'd all look as if they had > >opaque balls on each eye -- if there is someone else in the room, such > >as Trent who walks out while everyone else is chatting with his image. > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jun 6 11:46:09 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 06 Jun 2002 11:46:09 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: I don't think he did In-Reply-To: <200206052340.QAA24502@ddmi.he.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020605162749.00a73080@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020605164228.00a70f68@mail.queenofangels.com> I do have an opinion as to what happened in that room, even though I try not to. In a very broad sense it doesn't matter -- either it was a fake and fooled people, or it really happened -- since the miracle is inaccessible to outsiders (just as in the real world), either way it's people's responses to the miracle that matter. It's not a mutually exclusive possibility, btw, that the Wall could have been faked ... and Trent was _still_ the incarnated presence of God, however you want to parse that word. If Jesus were the son of God, and some of his friends got together and swapped some water for wine as a party gag, would this detract from the reality of Jesus's divinity? Indeed, accepting Jesus as the son of God, then even if _every single one of his miracles_ ... wasn't one -- he'd still be the son of God. Wouldn't he? At 04:40 PM 6/5/2002 -0700, you wrote: >Dan, > > Some days I'm not entirely sure that YOU know what happened in > that room. > > Dave ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jun 7 10:08:08 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 10:08:08 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: I don't think he did In-Reply-To: <3D001C1B.3BE3FBAF@dnaco.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020605162749.00a73080@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020605164228.00a70f68@mail.queenofangels.com> <000c01c20da5$4a545180$5b01a8c0@nyc.rr.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020607100753.00a73488@mail.queenofangels.com> You'd sure have a hard time selling it. At 10:36 PM 6/6/2002 -0400, Maureen wrote: >And since God is an artist, no true incarnation of God will be some >borin' ol' mundanely explainable no-miracles guy. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jun 8 12:18:53 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 12:18:53 -0700 Subject: [CT] Cover for Last Dancer In-Reply-To: <20020607205459.NKHG5116.mtiwmhc23.worldnet.att.net@webmail .worldnet.att.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020608121813.00a72348@mail.queenofangels.com> Haven't seen the cover yet. QV shipped copies to purchasers, haven't shipped mine yet. (Not a complaint, I'd have done the same in their shoes.) So no comment. At 08:54 PM 6/7/2002 +0000, you wrote: >This is just a deduction on my part. Dan, any comment? ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jun 8 12:19:42 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 12:19:42 -0700 Subject: [CT] last dancer In-Reply-To: <10206072305.AA0087@slc291.modem.xmission.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020608121922.00a8fb10@mail.queenofangels.com> We had problems with that jacket. I think I posted here about some of them. I still haven't seen the final jacket. At 03:57 PM 6/7/2002 -0700, you wrote: >So i went with this rather than delay another month. Don't balme >it on Dan. > ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jun 8 12:25:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 12:25:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Terminal Freedom In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020605162749.00a73080@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020605164228.00a70f68@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020608122230.00aed0b8@mail.queenofangels.com> "In Cool Blood" is sitting on the back shelf; Jodi & I are actually writing together right now for the first time in years, but we're writing "The Mask of Changes" -- which is a real sequel to "Terminal Freedom," though it's both darker (I know) and funnier (I hope.) Can you believe I've been online, one place or another, 20 years -- just discovered person-to-person chat? AIM is cool. It's not the same thing as sitting at the keyboard with someone (I can't hear Jodi laugh when I write something funny, vice versa) but it's close enough to get work done. At 01:22 PM 6/8/2002 -0400, you wrote: >Hey all, just wondering if everyone has read TF? I finished it last night >and thought it was very entertaining from page one to the back cover notes. >If you liked Adam's "Dirk Gently" stuff, you will enjoy TF. > >Hey DKM, will "In Cool Blood" be a follow up to that? Also, does Jodi have a >web site of her own? >-d >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sun Jun 9 13:43:02 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2002 13:43:02 -0700 Subject: [CT] Terminal Freedom In-Reply-To: <200206091926.3226800@figure5.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020609133947.00abc6b8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:26 PM 6/9/2002 -0700, you wrote: >People pester me about getting into chat, but even typing >90 wpm the baudrate for chat is nowhere near that for another >wonderful invention: the telephone. Life is too short, once the >novelty of two-way teletypes wears off. Yeah, that's mostly accurate -- one of the reasons chat has never appealed to me. But it turns out to be a wonderful tool for writing together. >I was doing two-way over Compuserv in '75. It was novel >then, is still novel...but is not efficient use of a brief organic lifetime. >Consider that 110 baud was fast enough for most two-way chat, >and nobody (that I know of) can type at 1200 baud. I used to be able to outtype a 1200 baud connection in spurts. Never happened at 24, never happened at 12 for more than a few seconds. It was easy to outtype 300 baud connections. (On the face of it, I know, it's a ridiculous idea that I could type faster than 1200 baud. But line noise, whatever, it used to happen.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jun 10 19:24:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 19:24:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] Have to share In-Reply-To: References: <200206101839.g5AIdAO06991@ha3sca-mail1.SFBay.Sun.COM> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020610185906.00a73830@mail.queenofangels.com> It's at least partially an artificial distinction -- with the exception of the Star Wars stuff, everything I've ever written fits on the Great Wheel somewhere. Hell, even other writer's stuff fits on the Great Wheel if you want to put it there -- there's a footnote -- the only footnote, I hasten to add -- in AI War, reffing a planet elsewhere on the Great Wheel, shaped like a disc, that travels through space on the back of four elephants that stands on the back of a great turtle. Terminal Sue and Bogie Freedom are further south on the Great Wheel than the Continuing Time, but they're on it. (Some of the backstory here -- TS and Bogie were originally characters in a comic strip, "The Sunset Strip." They escaped from "The Sunset Strip" and got jobs working in books -- a step up, sort of.) I doubt Jodi & I are ever going to do "Sunset Strip" at this point, though I still hope for an illustrated book some day -- the main characters of "Sunset Strip," Joe Cool and his sister Mondo, are actors who are marched into "The Sunset Strip" at gunpoint after TS & Bogie escape. TS & Bogie, as characters in TF and any later books, don't know that they're being played by actors -- but when they appear in "The Sunset Strip" as guest stars, then they know. This is from maybe the 30th strip -- we wrote the first 8 weeks or so once, years and years ago, when we were trying to get it done as a daily strip. 1. Joe, Mondo, Terminal Sue Joe Okay. Restraint is where you don't do something immediately even though you want to. Terminal Sue Why not? 2: Joe stares at Terminal Sue. 3: Joe stares straight ahead. 4: PANEL FOUR: Joe (turns to Mondo) Mondo? Mondo? Mondo Don't rush me. ~~~~~ This is (and it's the first strip, so it requires no setup): ~~~~~ Monday SHIP IN SPACE 1960: A ship is lost in space. And not just any ship -- an Administration Battle Cruiser. EARTH -- from space The Present: Still lost. But is seems as if they've a place to land . . . Earth. SHOT OF SHIP IN MEADOW The 2000 elections have just taken place. Amid all the confusion, nobody even notices one lost, demoralized Administration Battle Cruiser -- SHOT INSIDE SHIP -- full of Motorpigs. CHIEF MOTORPIG Okay, fatheads. Where are we? wEDNESDAY GROUP SHOT MOTORPIGS IN SAUNA In a daring midnight raid, the Administration Motorpigs take over the entertainment industry. MOTORPIG (looking down into sauna, hands on hips) Hey, I dropped my chili. SHOT OF MAN WATCHING TV, CHILI IN LAP This, everybody notices. But they like it. Bowling for Dollars is on 24 hours a day. Chili commercials run rampant. Only people who sound like "Kasey Kasem" are allowed on the radio. MAN W/BOWL OF CHILI I like it. CALVIN AND HOBBES WITH CIRCLE AROUND THEM, BARRED. Legend: Even comic strips are affected. "Calvin and Hobbes" is forced into retirement -- THREE SHOT JOE, MONDO, FEMALE AGENT A big pic of The President hangs behind the agent: he has little baby tusks. Legend: And movies. There are no more. JOE You can't do this to us. We're serious actors. At 03:36 PM 6/10/2002 -0400, you wrote: >On Mon, 10 Jun 2002, Harold Ogle wrote: > >:> > "The Armageddon Blues" >:> > "The Ring" >:> > "Emerald Eyes" >:> > "The Long Run" >:> > "The Last Dancer" >:> > "Terminal Freedom" >:> >:> _The Ring_ isn't part of the Continuing Time, is it? >: >:True. But then again, neither are tAB or TF. > >I think of tAB as the first of the continuing time novels, although I >suppose it more appropriately corresponds to the great wheel of >existence, of which the Continuing Time is only a part. > >The same would apply to Terminal Freedom, but there is no explicit >references to the nature of existence as is in tAB (which is still one >of my favorite books). > >Ben Bishop > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jun 12 11:11:44 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 11:11:44 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: I don't think he did In-Reply-To: <3D064AA00000123D@mta06.san.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020612110712.00a77288@mail.queenofangels.com> I should keep my mouth shut more often. Yes, the last chapter of Wild has something to do with all this. I've had that text open recently, too. At 01:59 PM 6/12/2002 -0400, you wrote: >--- Thomas Valley wrote: > > I want to imagine that some day in the distant future, > > when Dan feels that he's written all he can write > > about the CT universe, he'll cap it off in some way to > > seal the curiosity of us all by saying something along > > the lines of "Yes, Trent did walk through the wall. > > The End" > > > > Of course, he could just publically admit that Trent > > is a Replicant, or something. > >This sparked my memory and sent me delving into old, old mailboxes that >I've got gzipped up... I found this... > > > > >From d.moran8 at genie.geis.com Mon Jan 2 18:37:28 1995 >Received: from relay1.UU.NET by odin.UU.NET with SMTP > (maildrop) id QQxwzu11202; Mon, 2 Jan 1995 18:37:28 -0500 >From: d.moran8 at genie.geis.com >Received: from relay2.geis.com by relay1.UU.NET with ESMTP > id QQxwzu12009; Mon, 2 Jan 1995 18:37:22 -0500 >Received: by relay2.geis.com > (1.37.109.11/15.6) id AA100099843; Mon, 2 Jan 1995 23:37:23 GMT >Message-Id: <199501022337.AA100099843 at relay2.geis.com> >Date: Mon, 2 Jan 95 23:07:00 UTC >To: ender at uunet.uu.net >Subject: Wow!! >X-Genie-Id: 5370713 >X-Genie-From: D.MORAN8 >Status: RO > >[SOME CONTENT DELETED TO GET TO THE POINT] > >Hmmm ... wanna hear the *last line* of the very last SF/fantasy story I >will >ever publish? This is the epilog to "Wild", the last story in "The Collapse >of the Levels." > >You post this to the list and I'll cut your heart out: > >[EDITED AS I DO NOT WISH DKM TO CUT MY HEART OUT!!!] > >Hang tight twenty years. I'm going somewhere with all this.... > > > >I only post this because I can assure you that the last line IS NOT "Yes, >Trent did walk through the wall." and because I find it interesting that >Dan said "Hang tight twenty years." back in 1995... Just 13 more years folks! >;) > >Funny how memory works... I had not thought of this in years... > > >ender at eponymous.com >"victum invideo silenti" > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jun 17 13:20:39 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 13:20:39 -0700 Subject: [CT] It's getting closer all the time In-Reply-To: <3D0E065F.4050701@wilcoxon.org> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020617131920.00abb848@mail.queenofangels.com> The last company I worked at full-time was offered the chance to develop Linux video drivers for the IPAQ -- I had the proposal from Compaq sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks. We should have done it, too, but we were busy crashing and burning. At 10:55 AM 6/17/2002 -0500, you wrote: >>http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-1040-936665.html >>Sounding more and more like Trent's handheld every day. > > >I'm running Linux on my iPAQ also. I've heard mention on a related >mailing list of a VNC client running on it...yes, here it is: > http://www.handhelds.org/z/wiki/fbvnc > >VNC also is a screen client/server protocol. For that matter, the X11 >window system also runs on iPAQ Linux and that's client/server too. > >The local editing in a screen is nice. X11 doesn't do that, but I don't >know what VNC can do. > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jun 25 14:33:07 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 14:33:07 -0700 Subject: [CT] Terrible Trents In-Reply-To: <001101c21c8f$da54d950$0d65a8c0@dduckmv0t2tbnd> References: <1025039267.25035.82.camel@two.nks.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020625142649.00a77fb8@mail.queenofangels.com> Boy, this thread is actually painful to read. Every now and again I play the casting game myself (I think all writers do) -- the best Trent would have been Val Kilmer around the time of "Real Genius," which is a while ago now. Matt Damon -- maybe; I really liked him in "Good Will Hunting." He doesn't hit my cringe button the way some other guys do, though he's small for the role of a guy who's supposed to be 6'4". Probably the scariest suggestion I ever heard for Trent -- again years ago, when the guy was still young -- was Tom Cruise. An agent who represented me briefly asked me if he should send the TLR screenplay to Cruise's people. I couldn't bring myself to say yes, though I probably should have. And I've liked several of Cruise's movies -- Risky Business is as concise a movie about the 80s as anything ever filmed. But as Trent? I went green at the suggestion. A short scheming big-nosed Trent, yeah, that's the ticket.... At 11:32 PM 6/25/2002 +0200, you wrote: > > The mind reels, but I think I can do you one better: > > > > Kevin Costner ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jun 25 15:00:14 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 15:00:14 -0700 Subject: [CT] Terrible Trents In-Reply-To: <200206252033.3514400@figure5.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020625145459.046e24a0@mail.queenofangels.com> Carl? Stephen Dorff. Played the bad vampire in Blade with a really nice brooding presence. Haven't seen Deuces Wild yet, but saw the trailer -- Dorff's in that and looks good there too. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jun 27 16:05:30 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 16:05:30 -0700 Subject: [CT] Casting Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020627155824.00a7ac68@mail.queenofangels.com> I could see Shatner as Chandler. He's a better actor than he generally gets credit for. I really liked two suggestions that wouldn't have occurred to me -- Vin Diesel as Vance, and Kevin Spacey as Eddore. Diesel in particular -- there's a lot of big guys with muscles floating around out there, damn few that have anything going on behind the eyes. Diesel in "Pitch Black" (really good SF movie, btw) was just a chilling presence. If he could tone down the muscle-guy thing a little and pick up a plausible French accent, I could see him as Vance. (OTOH, I'd hate to see The Rock attempt that role. Diesel is a little bit of a stretch, maybe -- The Rock is pretty much a clean reality break. My favorite line in Pitch Black -- "I absolutely believe in God. And I absolutely hate the fucker." ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jun 28 13:41:40 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 13:41:40 -0700 Subject: [CT] Casting In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020628133526.00b0f858@mail.queenofangels.com> I hadn't watched a single episode of Witchblade last season, despite occasional tips from friends who were enjoying it. Then by pure accident we turned it on for the last episode -- and was enthralled. Brave, gutty filmmaking -- characters who were evidently regulars dropping like flies -- and then they hit the Dreaded Reset Button and Bobby was standin' there in the shower. Glad I didn't get suckered into that. I've gotten in the habit of turning off the cable service after the Lakers win the championship each year. :-) Mostly because I don't want the kids watching tv all summer. Last year we didn't turn the tv back on until the All-Star break -- meaning the cable was only working about 4 months. That's about the right amount, IMO -- catch up on my Rockford Files reruns, NYPD Blue reruns. And then no commercials for 8 months. At 01:59 PM 6/28/2002 -0700, you wrote: >On 27 Jun 02, at 18:27, Brad Daniels wrote: > > > Another good choice for Vance would be Peter Mensah - he played > > "Mobius" in a couple of episodes of "Witchblade". He has these really > > intense eyes, and is very imposing, physically. > >Very much agreed, he has just the right looming, dangerous >presence. > >-John Snead sneadj at mindspring.com >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Sat Jun 29 19:08:05 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 29 Jun 2002 19:08:05 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fwd: Time Travelers PLEASE HELP!!!12861 Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020629190632.00a7b868@postoffice.pacbell.net> This is the cleverest piece of spam I've seen in forever. All it asks for is an e-mail -- which, if you respond to it, verifies your e-mail address and opens you to a million other pieces of spam. >Date: 28 Jun 2002 10:47:09 -0000 >To: physique at quebectel.com, pquirion at quebectel.com, joanb at quebectel.com, > arts at quebectel.com, badger at quebectel.com, tilly at quebectel.com, > reve at quebectel.com, lonewolf at quebectel.com, melp at quebectel.com, > sann at quebectel.com, bobbo at quebectel.com, courvill at quebectel.com, > tal at quebecweb.com, dominic at quebecweb.com, mikeb at quecom.com, > queencity at queencity.com, licence at queendom.com, nora at queendom.com, > wpcaward at queendom.com, sam at queenhealth.com, krisv at queenk.com, > dkm at queenofangels.com, booking at queensaba.com, price at queenscourt.com, > rafael at queensflowers.com, andrew at queenslandbeach.com, > bmaster at queenspark.net, quentin at quentind.com, aleli at quepasa.com >From: rick at gambler1.iuinc.com () >Subject: Time Travelers PLEASE HELP!!!12861 >X-RCPT-TO: > >Hello, >If you are a time traveler or alien and or in possession of government or >alien technology I need your help! My entire life and health has been >messed with by evil beings! If you have access to the carbon copy replica >model #50 3000 series, the dimensional warp, temporal reversion or >something similar please reply! I simply need the safest method of >transferring my consciousness to my younger self with my current >mind/memory. I need an advanced time traveler to work with who can help >me, I would prefer someone with access to teleportation as well as a >variety different types of time travel. This is not a joke! I am serious! >Please send a separate email to me at: Dragonball03 at aol.com if you can >help! Thanks > >78242 > >Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by (rick@) >on Friday, June 28, 2002 at 06:47:09 >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >x: i > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 1 10:05:03 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 10:05:03 -0700 Subject: [CT] Realtime by DKM In-Reply-To: References: <003001c21fd6$5fd656a0$dd00a8c0@shiva> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020701100405.00a7c710@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:29 PM 7/1/2002 -0400, you wrote: >Georges occupies a similar but different role in three different >timelines: Realtime, Armagedon Blues, and the EE-tLR-tLD timeline. It's >clear that circumstances, in his case, did not make the man, but rather >the other way round. I wounder what aspect of his character propels him >into possitions of global power? Realtime & TAB are both the same timeline, oddly enough. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 5 15:49:46 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 15:49:46 -0700 Subject: [CT] UN, EU and WTO In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020705140221.00aa79a8@mail.queenofangels.com> I'm reluctant to comment on this, given some of the threads politics have engendered on this list -- but I will anyway and we'll see how it goes. I do think some form of world government is inevitable -- the multinational corporations that run the world want one and will get their way on this one, IMO. As the net grows more and more important (and we're at the dawn of the internet -- this is 1915 in automobile industry terms) the multinationals will find it increasingly intolerable that there will be anywhere on Earth that a website can situate itself to escape regulation. Kiddy porn is what's going to do it (or at least be the mask for it) -- not that any governmental organization particularly cares about kiddy porn. Sorry for my overwhelming cynicism here, but if they don't care about child prostitution, and they plainly don't in any global sense, why on Earth would they care about kiddy porn? Anyway, countries that permit copyright infringement -- at least on movies & music -- will undergo what we're now politely calling "regime change." This will effectively be a world government -- you can murder your own citizens, execute men for being homosexuals, women for dressing immodestly or engaging in sex, you can prositute your children -- and the world will stand back and say "private business." But by God, don't fuck with corporate profit, or else.... OTOH -- I believe in "regulated free trade." Too often free trade is a race to the bottom -- globalization has produced children working in Nike factories for dollars a day. But free trade on a level playing field is a great thing and, next to science, has done more good for the human race than any other activity in human history. (Damn straight I include religion.) So we can't go backward in that regard -- the problem with the political left is that they don't want even managed free trade, since they have a psychotic belief that native peoples are better off without "interference" (like running water) from more developed cultures; the problem with the political right is they don't want regulation, since they have a psychotic belief that unregulated free markets will produce good results. (Or they're just bloody selfish. The unregulated free market's been tried over and over again down the millennia. It produces pirates and robber barons.) Here's two sets of interesting statistics -- the 3 columns below are State, per capita GDP in 2000, and who the state voted for in 2000: Mississippi 20993 Bush West Virginia 21915 Bush New Mexico 22203 Gore Arkansas 22257 Bush Montana 22569 Bush Louisiana 23334 Bush Alabama 23471 Bush Oklahoma 23517 Bush Utah 23907 Bush Idaho 24180 Bush Kentucky 24294 Bush South Carolina 24321 Bush North Dakota 25068 Bush Arizona 25578 Bush Maine 25623 Gore South Dakota 26115 Bush Tennessee 26239 Bush Iowa 26723 Gore Vermont 26901 Gore Indiana 27011 Bush North Carolina 27194 Bush Wyoming 27230 Bush Missouri 27445 Bush Kansas 27816 Bush Nebraska 27829 Bush Texas 27871 Bush Georgia 27940 Bush Florida 28145 Gore Hawaii 28221 Gore Wisconsin 28232 Gore Oregon 28350 Gore Ohio 28400 Bush Pennsylvania 29539 Gore Michigan 29612 Gore Rhode Island 29685 Gore Alaska 30064 Bush Nevada 30529 Bush Virginia 31162 Bush Delaware 31255 Gore Washington 31528 Gore Minnesota 32101 Gore Illinois 32259 Gore California 32275 Gore Colorado 32949 Bush New Hampshire 33332 Bush Maryland 33872 Gore New York 34547 Gore New Jersey 36983 Gore D.C. 37383 Gore Massacheussets 37992 Gore Connecticut 40640 Gore 13 of the 14 poorest states in the country (and 23 of 27) voted conservative. 10 of the 12 wealthiest states, including Washington DC, voted liberal -- something about highly regulated environments appears to produce wealth, wouldn't you say? The same appears to be true in the world at large. Here's the per capita GDP by country for 2000: Luxembourg $33,609 United States $33,586 Monaco $27,451 Switzerland $27,126 Cayman Islands $26,753 Norway $24,837 Jersey $24,743 Denmark $23,930 Belgium $23,766 Singapore $23,607 Austria $23,441 Japan $23,311 Iceland $23,230 France $23,142 Canada $23,091 Aruba $23,009 Netherlands $22,973 Kuwait $22,700 Liechtenstein $22,666 Germany $22,513 Hong Kong $22,231 Australia $21,712 United Kingdom $21,676 Italy $21,029 Finland $21,016 Sweden $20,737 What do these countries have in common? With a couple exceptions (Cayman Islands, Aruba, Kuwait) -- all are highly regulated places to do business. If low taxes and low regulations were the conditions that would create wealth, you'd expect to see most of South America on this list -- and it's not there, plainly. I'd be interested in comparing the members of the EU on this list when GDP for 2002 becomes available. If low trade barriers in a regulated environment are the path to wealth (or one of the better paths to wealth, anyway) you'd expect to see the members of the EU climbing this list as the years go on. And finally, just on raw dollars, 2000 GDP, not per capita: Total GDP 2000 (millions of US dollars) 1 United States 9,882,842 2 Japan 4,677,099 3 Germany 1,870,136 4 United Kingdom 1,414,557 (5) California 1,330 5 France 1,286,252 6 China 1,079,954 7 Italy 1,068,518 8 Canada 689,549 9 Brazil 587,553 10 Mexico 574,512 China, Brazil, and Mexico are all getting it done on strength of population -- the other 7 members of that list (8, counting California) are high-tax, high-regulation environments. Now, I won't argue that high taxes cause wealth -- but I will argue that transparency in business causes wealth, and that providing transparency is expensive. Lack of transparency -- cooked books -- gave us Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and a thousand smaller examples. It's not an accident that the wealthiest countries on the planet are also the most regulated -- businesses hate regulation and will do whatever they can to get away from it -- but the raw evidence is that it's good for them. So to directly answer your question (and to paraphrase Trent from a novel written in the late 80s) -- the WTO, or something like it, is a necessity. The political left should stop lobbying against it on premise and start working to regulate and tame it. The UN, or something like it, is a necessity -- otherwise the United States will become an empire in fact and not just in rhetoric; I'd rather our country be a member of some cautiously developed body of world governance than an empire, and I don't honestly see much room for any in-between positions. At 02:07 PM 7/5/2002 -0400, you wrote: >Hey DKM, >I heard a vaguely paranoid article on the local NPR affiliate today that has >added several new, low grade worries to my already over burdened Paxil. >Anyway, I wont get into specifics but will say that it touched on some >aspects of the United States involvement as a mere "team member" in these >bigger orgs and some of the darker, more conspiratorial things that happen >and that US military personnel are not to keen on. Stuff like incompetent >foreign commanders sending troops into 'peace keeping' forays with empty >weapons, etc... > >So I got to wondering if you had specific feelings of your own on this >topic, considering the role that the UN plays in your masterpieces. Was the >UN just a plot vehicle for you, or does the direction the planet has taken >with the WTO, UN and EU trouble you? >-dnix >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm_1 at pacbell.net Fri Jul 5 17:33:47 2002 From: dkm_1 at pacbell.net (Dan Moran) Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 17:33:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] UN, EU and WTO In-Reply-To: <200207052349.g65NnoC01534@rsmith-vpn1.nane.netapp.com> References: <"Message from Daniel Moran <5.1.0.14.0.20020705140221.00aa79a8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020705173154.00a7ee38@postoffice.pacbell.net> At 07:49 PM 7/5/2002 -0400, you wrote: >10 of the 12 wealthiest states, including Washington DC, > > voted liberal -- something about highly regulated environments appears to > > produce wealth, wouldn't you say? > > *Or* per-capita wealth (i.e. a large number of reasonably well off > people) tends to produce regulation. I suspect it's a feedback loop, myself. I don't think regulation produces wealth; I think regulation produces fear of getting caught, which produces mostly-honest-behavior which produces transparency and permits people to do business in an atmosphere of at least moderate trust -- which produces wealth. Which came first, wealth or regulation? I suspect they developed in tandem. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 5 17:40:07 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 17:40:07 -0700 Subject: [CT] UN, EU and WTO In-Reply-To: <20020706002029.GA9154@infodancer.org> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020705140221.00aa79a8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020705140221.00aa79a8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020705173357.00a86668@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:20 PM 7/5/2002 -0500, you wrote: >10 of the 12 wealthiest states, including Washington DC, > > voted liberal -- something about highly regulated environments appears to > > produce wealth, wouldn't you say? > >Post hoc, ergo proctor hoc. It's a fallacy. You could as easily >claim that great wealth produces regulations. Fair enough -- sloppy language on my part, I wrote that post in one draft. As I said in the previous post, I suspect they're feedback effects -- a little wealth, a little regulation, more wealth, more regulation, etc. Remove the wealth and the regulation is meaningless; remove regulation and the wealth disappears. >In fact, you have >presented evidence for neither, only for an association. Yep. But it's an overwhelmingly clear association. >Even >that association is confounded by others, such as the common >regional characteristics. Such as? > > The same appears to be true in the world at large. Here's the per capita > > GDP by country for 2000: > >Certainly this is not the entire list, and hence, less than >useless. That's a little harsh. But here, go to town: http://www.worldbank.org/data/databytopic/GDP.pdf Can't cut and paste out of a PDF file and didn't want to type up the 182 countries listed. But there's nothing in there that detracts from the underlying premise, IMO. >World government will eventually come about, driven in part by >the Internet. (The alternative is a separate "internet >government", which is intriguing). This world government might >be a good thing, but most likely will not be. Why? It can only >come about by conquest, and once complete, will offer primarily >a vehicle for the exploitation of successful nations by those >less successful. I think this is the most probable scenario too. And yeah, it's bad news. The rest of your analysis strikes me as pretty dead-on too. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 8 00:17:46 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 08 Jul 2002 00:17:46 -0700 Subject: [CT] UN, EU and WTO In-Reply-To: <20020706004518.GB6152@infodancer.org> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020705173357.00a86668@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020705140221.00aa79a8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020705140221.00aa79a8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020705173357.00a86668@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020707223650.00a7f600@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:45 PM 7/5/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: > > Yep. But it's an overwhelmingly clear association. > >Not really. There are alternative explanations. Perhaps more >regulated areas chose to vote for Gore? Perhaps wealthier areas >can afford greater inefficiency devoted to heavy regulation? Maybe -- I wasn't making an argument, just an association. I don't have a theory (or I have too many and none that I'd argue fiercely) as to why the association exists. But "more regulated areas chose to vote for Gore" certainly appears to be true; why those more regulated areas appear to be doing better, using GDP as the sole measure, is the question that interests me. ~~~~~ At 09:38 PM 7/5/2002 -0500, Scot Wilcoxon wrote: >There are a number of issues with these figures, the most obvious is who >won Florida :-) :-) That was mostly a joke; I was curious to see if anyone caught it. But it's true for the purposes of this argument (and no, I don't want to argue Florida here); Gore got more votes cast for him in Florida. Plainly he got fewer counted. ~~~~~ I like Matt Hunter's idea of one body solely to pass laws, another solely to repeal them. Anyone know if that's ever been tried anywhere? ~~~~~ At 01:02 AM 7/6/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >As the list's token conservative, let me give my spin on Dan's >statements. :) I think there are quite a few conservatives on this list. You're probably the one I've corresponded with the most off-line, though. >We have world government, and it is us. Err, U.S., rather. We're the >sole remaining superpower. For good or ill, we can basically do >whatever we want and nobody can do dick to stop us. That's not really true. How about China, Russia, France, England, Germany, and Japan all together? I wouldn't like our odds. Is it likely all those countries would unite against an Imperial America? I don't know, but I'm sure it's not impossible. >We have a _long_ way to go. I have no idea what form the ultimate >answer will take, but I have faith in humanity that we can do it. You and me both. >Realistically, the Net is only (directly) useful to those people who are >wealthy enough to have the essentials of life taken care of, with enough >surfeit cash to afford computers and a $20 monthly EarthLink bill. Yeah, but those billion people run the world and control everything of value on the planet. If I'm an evil multi-national, I want desperately to get some sort of a handle on this. You know what the most appalling stat I've run across in a decade is? According to Greg Palast ("The Best Democracy Money Can Buy") the richest 300 people on the planet have more money than the poorest three billion. You can be a happy capitalist (I come close) and still think there's something utterly appalling about that. For a fraction of the assets of that richest 300 people, everyone in the world could have clean water. > > OTOH -- I believe in "regulated free trade." Too often free trade is a > race > > to the bottom -- globalization has produced children working in Nike > > factories for dollars a day. But free trade on a level playing field is a > >Old chestnut. If those kids weren't working in Nike factories for >dollars a day, they'd be doing backbreaking work in rice paddies for a >quarter a day. You can use the exact same argument to justify almost anything -- "when in Rome." Children should be in school, not in sweat shops. >Nike has to turn away lines of people who want jobs >assembling shoes. Why? Because Nike is offering extremely competitive >wages for the local economy. Yes, it's a couple of bucks a day, but >that's a hell of a lot better than all the other work they can get. The fact that Nike has found desperately poor people to exploit is no argument in its favor. I'd make the practice illegal -- if $8 an hour would cause wild inflation in the local economy, Nike can donate the remaining $7 an hour schools to educate the young. But it's morally wrong that $140 shoes are being produced by children making a buck an hour. >At great risk of >banging the old conservative drum--don't screw with the free market; the >more you screw around with it, the worse it works. Assuming no moral component to anything ever, this is a fair argument. But there are moral components to many capitalist transactions -- I mentioned child prostitution earlier, but child labor is probably a less incendiary example. Rich companies shouldn't employ children. Period. If $8 an hour to their parents or older siblings would cause the economy to spiral out of control (an argument I don't buy) then pump that money into the economy as schools, as medicine, as whatever. If I were a Nike shareholder, I'd be ashamed of myself. >You'll have a hard time finding conservatives who advocate unregulated >free markets. Completely unregulated? That's probably true; most conservatives seem to favor some enforcement of contract law at a bare minimum. But a good example of what I think is the conservative belief in deregulation, carried to an extreme that I think is unreasonable, is Milton Friedman, who you mentioned later in your post. Friedman argues for radical deregulation including his famous example that doctors shouldn't be licensed by the state. I disagree with Friedman on this count -- if some guy moves into my neighborhood and hangs up a shingle, I want him to have been taught by other doctors, to have gone through medical school, to have taken the Hippocratic Oath and belong to the AMA -- sure, eventually the free market will catch out the guys who are incompetent to be doctors, but probably after the "doctor" in question has chopped up my liver while looking for my heart. This strikes me as an extreme example -- from a guy you cite as an authority. (Not arguing that he is an authority, plainly he is -- merely noting that he's your authority of choice in this example.) >Milton Friedman disagrees. Friedman (a Nobel Laureate in economics) >claims that what makes first-world nations so economically strong is not >government regulation, but _political freedom_. I don't necessarily agree or disagree with that -- though by this theory people in California are more free than people in Missouri. (Which maybe they are.) As to your point about the US being a high-tax environment, sure, the tax burden in the US is lower than that in Sweden -- in the US you spend about the first third of the year paying your taxes; in Sweden it's the first half. But I think most people would consider working for the government the first third of the year to be a high tax environment, certainly by comparison with e.g., Mexico or most other low-GDP countries. In any event I'm not arguing that high taxes cause high GDPs, though I suspect that high amounts of regulation and enforcement are one of (probably a large number) of factors that do. (Though, if you look up the tax freedom day for the various states -- the states with the higher GDPs also have the later tax freedom days. Coincidence? Probably not, though I'd be wary of assigning cause and effect. You can look up the states here: http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday.html The ten states with the latest tax freedom days in 2002 are Connecticut, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and California -- respectively #s 1, 11, 4, 3, 29, 21, 10, 9, 8 on the GDP list; so some correlation there too. The ten earliest tax freedom days are Alaska, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota, Mississippi, Montana, Louisiana -- respectively #s 16, 43, 49, 44, 34, 38, 35, 50, 45 -- so some good correlation going on there, too. (And some of those number leap out at me -- you really don't want to live in Wisconsin; high taxes & low GDP. And Alaska, aside from being fucking cold, looks pretty good -- high GDP (16th) and the lowest taxes in the country.) Digression -- you could make up an interesting metric -- a constant combining tax freedom day & GDP. Just multiply the rank for each state, GDP vs. tax freedom day -- the state with the lowest result offers up the best shot at making a good living, all else being equal. (An even more accurate version of that metric would be to use the actual number of days to tax freedom day.) Anyway, in broad the high-tax high-GDP link seems to hold here as well. (For purposes of the comparison above I omitted the District of Columbia -- I didn't notice it on the taxfoundation.org chart until I got to the bottom, and didn't want to go through and re-number the states, so I just left it out. ~~~~~ At 03:56 PM 7/6/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: >We should have >either taken him out in the Gulf War, or just decided to let him be. >Continuing to punish people after they have lost a war is never sound >policy. I thought we had learned that after World War I. Apparently not. I thought we'd learned after World War II that nation-building could be a great success, but apparently I'm wrong about that too. Apparently our intention in Afghanistan is to bomb the place sporadically for the next few years and otherwise wash our hands of the place. I was all in favor of invading Afghanistan, but I wish we were doing more there since the Taliban collapsed. (I'm also all in favor of invading and flattening Saudi Arabia -- I don't give much of a fuck if we ever take care of Iraq, though you can make an argument that it should be done. But Saudi Arabia? Our craven pretense that they were not responsible for 9/11 is one of the viler things I've ever seen from an American government or the American press.) ~~~~~ At 11:59 AM 7/8/2002 +0800, Andrew McColl wrote: >On 7 Jul 2002, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >|- Point of fact: the mission *did* achieve its objective at a cost of 18 >|- US lives. The warlord in question was captured. > >I beg your pardon. Why don't you go down the video store and take it out >again. Mohammed Farah Aideed was never captured by US troops. Read the >end credits of Black Hawk Down it says it right there. I'm sure Robert can respond on his own, but depending on how well he recalls that mission he may be correct. The targets the day those choppers went down were a pair of Aidid's lieutenants; he may be recalling "the warlord in question" as the guys the Rangers & Delta Force went in to grab. If so, yeah, the mission that day was a "success" on the objective for that day. The broader mission to capture Aidid was a failure, yes. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 11 12:52:47 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 12:52:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fletch homage in Emerald Eyes In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020711124336.00a9ee18@mail.queenofangels.com> I actually have something to add to the gun thread, but it's going to have to wait until I have some time to write it. Fletch is more fun anyway. Sorry to tell you the layer you've identified wasn't intentional (though I may very well have lifted it without meaning to; that happens.) In order, the writers I'm probably guiltiest of having lifted things from, intentionally or otherwise: John D. MacDonald Gregory McDonald Larry Niven Mary Stewart Hunter S. Thompson Confess, Fletch -- with Fletch and Flynn -- I re-read that recently for the first time in maybe 20 years and was startled at how much Inspector Francis Xavier Flynn resembled the mental image of Mohammed Vance that walks around in my head. Plainly that's not an accident. Andre Norton -- I was browsing some of her books at the bookstore the other day and turns out her wise old race of lizard people are the "Zacathans" -- I stopped reading her when I was about 15 or so, but evidently something stuck there too, because "Zaradin" seems unlikely to be an accident under the circumstances. If I could go back and tell my 13-year old self to rename some of his creation, I would.... At 06:55 PM 7/11/2002 +0000, Archie Baal wrote: >I am currently rereading _Emerald Eyes_, and ran across something that I >would never have noticed had I not just finished rereading Gregory >MacDonald's _Fletch_: > >journalist Gerry McCann is introduced to the Chandler car salesman, and >said salesman responds by telling him one of his articles about >SpeedFreaks was crap. Gerry responds back that his editors damaged the >story, etc. etc. > >It's almost *verbatim* any of a number of exchanges to be found in >_Fletch_ between Fletch and other characters, and I'd never have noticed >it had I not read the books so close together. I know, of course, that >DKM has acknowledged MacDonald as his dialogue guru, but I'd never spotted >the homage. > >The Continuing Time books have layers! Layers I tell ye! > >Rdgs, >AB > >_________________________________________________________________ >Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 11 12:55:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 12:55:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] AI War In-Reply-To: <20020711152522.B28250@darksleep.com> References: <25D4537A8E89D411935400306E020FAA04D6FE7E@msxuk09.london.schroders.com> <25D4537A8E89D411935400306E020FAA04D6FE7E@msxuk09.london.schroders.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020711125320.00a8c5a8@mail.queenofangels.com> Someone asked what was up with AI War. Amy's reading it & enjoying it & hasn't finished it. I got the contract from the Russian publisher, took a couple weeks to read it & have a lawyer read it (it's very different from American contracts) and agreed to the terms offered. Haven't heard back from the publisher since, but will let you know when I do. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 11 15:54:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:54:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] Politics of guns In-Reply-To: <200207111729.26247.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <25D4537A8E89D411935400306E020FAA04D6FE7E@msxuk09.london.schroders.com> <25D4537A8E89D411935400306E020FAA04D6FE7E@msxuk09.london.schroders.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020711155301.00a834a8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:29 PM 7/11/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >Actually, up until I was sixteen, I was enthusiastically in favor of >HCI-style gun control. Then two of my classmates tried to kill me. That's >what convinced me that, y'know, maybe there's something to the NRA's >self-defense argument after all. When I was a teenager I was relatively indifferent to guns -- then I got shot at on three separate occasions. Different experiences, different conclusions -- all perfectly valid within your life and mine. I don't want to shoot back; I want to not be shot at. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 11 21:36:39 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 21:36:39 -0700 Subject: [CT] Politics of guns In-Reply-To: <200207112245.59863.rjhansen@inav.net> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020711212001.00a9d820@mail.queenofangels.com> By an interesting coincidence, my ex-business partner (who's further right than anyone on this list, by the evidence) and I had this argument very recently -- he also mentioned "More Guns, Less Crime" and he too made the argument that crime decline more in states with CCW than in those without. I haven't read the book and would be happy to be educated ... but here are some interesting numbers that cover five years recently: Murder Rates per 100,000: 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 California: 6 6.6 8 9.1 11.2 Texas: 6.1 6.8 6.8 7.7 9 New York: 5 5.1 6 7.4 8.5 Florida: 5.7 6.5 6.9 7.5 7.3 In two large Western states -- one with liberal CCW, one without -- the state without CCW saw its murder rate decline by 5.2 murders per 100,000; the state with CCW saw its murder rate decline by 2.9 per 100,000. In two large Eastern states, one with liberal CCW, one without -- the state without CCW saw its murder rate decline by 3.5 murders per 100,000; the state with CCW saw its murder rate decline by 1.6. Now, _these_ are cherry-picked numbers and if Matt Hunter wants to call them worse than useless he's welcome to. The numbers come from: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murderrates.html I happen to know the CCW status of those four states. (GW Bush signed Texas's CCW into law in 1994.) I don't know them for every state listed -- anyone wants to go through and mark 'em up, I'd be interested in seeing the results. But on these 4 very large and statistically significant states, the biggest decline in murder rates over that 5 year period came from the states without CCW ... not with. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 11 22:41:32 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:41:32 -0700 Subject: [CT] Politics of guns In-Reply-To: <20020712051512.GJ1523@infodancer.org> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020711212001.00a9d820@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020711212001.00a9d820@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020711223712.00afcb48@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:15 AM 7/12/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: > > > > Now, _these_ are cherry-picked numbers and if Matt Hunter wants to call > > them worse than useless he's welcome to. The numbers come from: > > http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murderrates.html > >They are cherry-picked, and yes, they are worse than useless -- >because they deliberately mislead the reader as to the overall >conclusions. My overall conclusions are: "...on these 4 very large and statistically significant states, the biggest decline in murder rates over that 5 year period came from the states without CCW ... not with." That's not misleading; that's a limited and accurate statement. Thanks for the link on Lott. I'll read it as I have time. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 12 12:20:57 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 12:20:57 -0700 Subject: [CT] Actually OT Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712121803.00a84fa8@mail.queenofangels.com> I think I'm OT by definition on this list, but some things are more OT than others. Reached terms with the Russian publisher. They're sending the contracts. Looking forward to seeing myself in Russian .... Also, on an unrelated but also OT matter, my short story "Given the Game" is being quoted, about 400 words worth, in an English textbook -- chapter on fantasy, alongside discussion of Tolkien, I'm told, though the people seeking permissions didn't explain exactly _how_ GtG was being used -- I'll be amused (though admittedly also a little cranky) if it turns out to be "And here's how NOT to do it ..." We'll see. I'm getting paid with a copy of the book. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 12 12:34:01 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 12:34:01 -0700 Subject: [CT] Actually OT In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712121803.00a84fa8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712123253.00a81588@mail.queenofangels.com> Isn't OT actually shorthand for "Off-Topic?" I mean it as "On-Topic," of course. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean?neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master?that's all." ?Through the Looking-Glass At 12:20 PM 7/12/2002 -0700, Daniel Moran wrote: >I think I'm OT by definition on this list, but some things are more OT >than others. > >Reached terms with the Russian publisher. They're sending the contracts. >Looking forward to seeing myself in Russian .... > >Also, on an unrelated but also OT matter, my short story "Given the Game" >is being quoted, about 400 words worth, in an English textbook -- chapter >on fantasy, alongside discussion of Tolkien, I'm told, though the people >seeking permissions didn't explain exactly _how_ GtG was being used -- >I'll be amused (though admittedly also a little cranky) if it turns out to >be "And here's how NOT to do it ..." We'll see. I'm getting paid with a >copy of the book. > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 12 12:55:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 12:55:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Down to people swearing at each other Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712124758.00a82d30@mail.queenofangels.com> Maybe we should take a break from the gun talk. For the record, when you personalize your discussion with comments like "you don't get it" -- shit, isn't that obvious? If the other guy "got it" he'd agree with you. Apparently he's getting something else -- that doesn't make him wrong. It may surprise people on this list to know that I own a gun. A friend is keeping it for me -- I have 5 kids in the house and the gun's not here and won't be here unless I decide there's an urgent need for it. But if I do need it, I don't want to have whatever the current waiting period is to go get it. Now, I got that gun because of the conduct of a particular person who I probably don't need to name at this point -- but I suspect that a lot of the gun owners out there (most, in all likelihood) got their guns with similar sorts of motivation. One of my close friends was a member of the NRA for 3-4 years without owning a gun -- people thought she was a nut, but she felt that the 2nd Amendment was important and needed protecting. Did I agree with her? Nope, I think the 2nd Amendment is busted. But I respected her position, damn straight. A little more respect both ways might help here. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 12 13:27:41 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 13:27:41 -0700 Subject: [CT] Ursula K. Le Guin Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712130326.00a82868@mail.queenofangels.com> There aren't very many writers I read who I think are really completely outside my range. At the risk of looking both clueless and arrogant, I read Heinlein, I read John D. MacDonald, Gregory Mcdonald (note case!) and Larry McMurtry and I think, I can do what they do. (Hell, McMurtry wrote the best book I've ever read and while the odds of my ever writing something as influential as Lonesome Dove are miniscule, I'm arrogant enough to think I can write something comparable -- I sure intend to try, with "Always Rising of the Night.") Other writers I respect do things I can't do (or don't do) -- but don't want to do; Bill Gibson comes to mind, so do Arthur Clarke, Tolkien, Herbert.... Then there are the relatively few writers I read who make me really, really wish that I could write like them -- and leave me pretty sure I can't. Le Guin is probably at the top of that short list. I read a book of essays by Le Guin over the last few weeks -- Dancing at the Edge of the World -- and it slaps my writing ego around pretty good. She's not perfect, but then, no one is perfect: but at her best her gift for stringing words together is probably comparable to Vance, and her understanding of the the human condition is vastly superior to his. Her essay "Reciprocity of Prose and Poetry" is brilliant: "Such poetry may be mysterious but it is not idiosyncratic. Its movement is outward from the individual center to the larger whole, a community. That movement is the energy of all theater, and of all oral literatures, performances of which, whether ritual or casual, is their own occasion. It is surely the native movement or gesture of poetry." That last sentence -- "It is surely the native movement or gesture of poetry" -- would cause me to quit reading the overwhelming majority of all the writers I've ever read. I'd _know_ that that writer was in over his/her head, was stretching for meaning when there was none. I don't know what it means. But I am quite certain LeGuin knows what she means by it, and that it's me missing her point -- that if I were a little better reader, or perhaps a little better writer, there'd be meaning in there for me. I'm sure there is meaning there. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 12 19:06:31 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 19:06:31 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: Ursula K. Le Guin In-Reply-To: References: <200207122204.g6CM49509494@ha3sca-mail1.SFBay.Sun.COM> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712185249.04dced80@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:18 PM 7/12/2002 -0700, David Silberstein wrote: >On Fri, 12 Jul 2002, Harold Ogle wrote: >(It may be some time before we see it...) There are only about 10 pages in the Always Rising file, so I'd say that's a safe bet. I've avoided even thinking too hard about plotting it -- it's a novel about death and loss -- until quite recently I hadn't felt even remotely ready to write it. Recently I've had a bunch of deaths in my family and among my close friends and it's brought me back to that book -- my grandfather's death is probably one of the things that moved me to start writing "Leftbehind" a couple years ago. There are sketches of a good 2 dozen short stories I have in my head regarding Ola Blue; I'll write some of them before I write "Always Rising." I've written about 30 pages of "A Place Where We Belong," which is the story of how Ola Blue was taken from Eastersea by the Face of Night. They're clustered around Ola's early years working for United Earth Intelligence. Always Rising of the Night -- one of the few things I can say definitively about this novel -- progressively distances Ola from all her sources of power and strength as it proceeds. She's the 2nd most powerful person on Earth when it opens -- but she leaves Earth and goes elsewhere and her options get progressively more limited as she travels. (In that regard it resembles "Lonesome Dove" to some degree -- but that's an honest coincidence; that's been the plot of Always Rising for a good 20 years, and I only read Lonesome Dove a decade ago.) You, Andrew Marvel by Archibald MacLeish And here face down beneath the sun And here upon earth's noonward height To feel the always coming on The always rising of the night: To feel creep up the curving east The earthy chill of dusk and slow Upon those under lands the vast And ever climbing shadow grow And strange at Ecbatan the trees Take leaf by leaf the evening strange The flooding dark about their knees The mountains over Persia change And now at Kermanshah the gate Dark empty and the withered grass And through the twilight now the late Few travelers in the westward pass And Baghdad darken and the bridge Across the silent river gone And through Arabia the edge Of evening widen and steal on And deepen on Palmyra's street The wheel rut in the ruined stone And Lebanon fade out and Crete high through the clouds and overblown And over Sicily the air Still flashing with the landward gulls And loom and slowly disappear The sails above the shadowy hulls And Spain go under and the shore Of Africa the gilded sand And evening vanish and no more The low pale light across that land Nor now the long light on the sea: And here face downward in the sun To feel how swift how secretly The shadow of the night comes on . . . ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 12 22:23:46 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 22:23:46 -0700 Subject: [CT] Which aspect of DKM's writing most grabs you? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020712221940.04851dc0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:26 PM 7/12/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: >The action, when it happens, is beautifully written and perfectly paced, but >I suddenly realized it's the dialog that really brings his work alive for >me. Even in the action scenes, there's usually lots of good dialog of the >sort you *wish* you could find in Hollywood action movies. I'd love to see >a DKM screenplay filmed. Here's where I learned to write dialog -- this is "Confess, Fletch": ONE FLETCH snapped on the light and looked into the den. Except for the long windows and the area over the desk, the walls were lined with books. There were two red leather wing chairs in the room, a small divan, and a coffee table. On the little desk was a black telephone. Fletch dialled "0". "Get me the police, please." "Is this an emergency?" "Not at the moment." The painting over the desk was a Ford Madox Brown--a country couple wrapped against the wind. "Then please dial '555-7523'." "Thank you." He did so. "Sergeant McAuliffe speaking." "Sergeant, this is Mister Fletcher, 152 Beacon Street, apartment 6B." "Yes, sir." "There's a murdered girl in my living room." "A what girl?" "Murdered." Naked, her breasts and hips full, her stomach lean, she lay on her back between the coffee table and the divan. Her head was on the hardwood floor in the space between the carpet and the fireplace. Her face, whiter than the areas kept from the sun by her bikini, eyes staring, looked as if she were about to complain of some minor discomfort, such as, "Move your arm, will you?" or "Your watchband is scratching me". "Murdered," Fletch repeated. There was a raw spot behind the girl's left ear. It had had time to neither swell nor bleed. There was just a gully with slim blood streaks running along it. Her hair streamed away from it as if to escape. "This is the Police Business phone." "Isn't murder police business?" "You're supposed to call Emergency with a murder." "I think the emergency is over." "I mean, I don't even have a tape recorder on this phone." "So talk to your boss. Make a recommendation." "Is this some kinda joke?" "No. It isn't." "No one's ever called Police Business phone to report a murder. Who is this?" "Look, would you take a message? 152 Beacon Street, apartment 6B, murder, the name is Fletcher. Would you write that down?" "156 Beacon Street?" "152 Beacon Street, 6B." Through the den door, Fletch's eyes passed over his empty suitcases standing in the hall. "Apartment is in the name of Connors." "Your name is Fletcher?" "With an 'F'. Let Homicide know, will you? They'll be interested." II FLETCH looked at his watch. It was twenty-one minutes to ten. Instinctively he timed the swiftness of the police. He returned to the living room and mixed himself a Scotch and water at the sideboard. He would not bother with ice. He concentrated on opening the Scotch bottle, making more of a job of it than was necessary. He did not look in the direction of the girl. She was beautiful, she was dead, and he had seen enough of her. Sloshing the drink in his glass as he walked, he went back into the den and turned on all the lights. He stood at the desk, looking closely at the Brown. The cottage behind the country couple was just slightly tilted in its landscape, as if it, too, were being affected by the wind. Fletch had seen similiar Browns, but never even a reproduction of this painting. The phone made him jump. Some of his drink splashed on to the desk blotter. He placed his glass on the blotter, and his handkerchief over the stains before answering. "Mister Fletcher?" "Yes." "Ah, good, you did arrive. Welcome to Boston." "Thank you. Who is this?" "Ronald Horan. Horan Gallery. I tried to get you earlier." "I went out to dinner." "Your letter mentioned you'd be staying in Bart Connor's apartment. We did some restoration work for him a year or two ago." "It's very good of you to call, Mister Horan." "Well, I'm very excited by this Picasso you mentioned in your letter. You said it's called 'Vino, Viola, Mademoiselle'?" "It's been called that. God knows how Picasso thought of it." "Of course, I'm puzzled why you came all the way from Rome to Boston to engage me as your broker. . . ." "There's some evidence the painting is in this part of the world. Possibly even in Boston." "I see. Still, I expect we could have handled it by correspondence." "As I wrote in my letter, there may be one or two other matters I'd like to consult you about." "Yes, of course. Anything to be of service. Perhaps I should start by warning you that this painting might not exist." "It exists." "I've looked it up, and there is no record of it anywhere that I can find." "I have a photograph of it." "Very possibly it does exist. There are a great many Picassos in existence which have never been recorded. On the other hand, the body of Picasso's work very often has been victim to fakes. I'm sure you know his work has been counterfeited more than the work of anyone else in history." "I do know, yes." "Well, I wouldn't be giving you professional service if I didn't bring these matters up to you. If such a painting exists, and it's authentic, I'll do everything I can to find it for you and arrange for the purchase." Rotating blue lights from the roofs of police cars storeys below began to flash against the long, light window curtains. There had been no sound of sirens. "Are you free to come by tomorrow morning, Mister Fletcher?" Fletch said, "I'm not sure." "I was thinking of ten-thirty." "Ten-thirty will be fine. If I'm free at all." "Good. You have my address." "Yes." "Let's see, you're on Beacon Street across from the Gardens, right?" "I think so." Fletch pushed the curtains aside. There were three police cars in the street. Across the street was an iron railing. The darkness beyond had to be a park. "Then what you do is this: leave your apartment and turn right, that is, east, and go to the end of the Gardens. Then turn left on Arlington Street, that is, away from the river. Newbury Street will be the third block on your right. The gallery is about two and a half blocks down the street." "Thank you. I've got it." "I'll send someone down to open the door to you at ten-thirty precisely. We're not a walk-in gallery, you know." "I wouldn't think so. I'm sorry, Mister Horan, I think there's someone at my door." "Quite all right. I look forward to seeing you in the morning." Fletch hung up. The door buzzer sounded. It was seven minutes to ten. III "MY NAME's Flynn. Inspector Flynn." The man in the well-cut, three-piece, brown tweed suit filled the den doorway. His chest and shoulders were enormous, his brown hair full and curly. Between these two masses of overblown brown was a face so small it had the cherubic quality of an eight-year-old boy, or a dwarf. Even with the hair, his head was small in proportion to his body, like a tiny, innocent-looking knob in control of a huge, powerful machine. Nothing indoors had the precise colour of his green eyes. It was the bright, sparkling green of sunlight on a wet spring meadow. Below the break of his right trouser leg were a half-dozen dots of blood. "Pardon my pants. I'm fresh from an axe murder." For such a huge chest cavity, for anyone, for that matter, his voice was incredibly soft and gentle. Fletch said, "You're an Irish cop." "I am that." "I'm sorry." Fletch stood up. "I meant nothing derogatory by that." Flynn said, "Neither did I." There was no proffer to shake hands. As Flynn vacated the doorway, a younger and shorter man came in, carrying a notepad and ballpoint pen. He had the grizzled head of someone fried on a Marine Corps drill ground a score of times, like a drill sergeant. The rubbery skin around his eyes and mouth suggested his eagerness to shove his face in yours, tighten his skin, and shout encouraging obscenities up your nose. In repose, the slack skin gave him the appearance of a petulant basset. His suit and shirt were cheap, ill-fitting, but spotless, and his shoes, even this late on a drizzly day, gleamed. "This is Grover," said Flynn. "The department doesn't trust me to do my own parking." He settled himself in a red leather chair. Fletch sat down. It was twenty-six minutes past ten. He remained waiting in the den. A young, uniformed policeman waited with him, standing at parade rest, carefully keeping his eyes averted from Fletch. Beyond the den, other police, plainclothesmen, moved around the apartment. Fletch wondered if any reporters had sneaked in with them. Fletch heard the murmur of their voices, but caught nothing of what they said. Occasionally, a streak of light from a camera flashbulb crossed the hall, from either the left, where the bedrooms were, or the right, where the living room was. An ambulance crew entered, rolling a folded stretcher across the hall, towards the living room. "Close the door, will you, Grover? Then make yourself comfortable at the wee desk there. We don't want to miss a word of what this boyo in the exquisite English tailoring has to say." The uniformed policeman went through the door as Grover closed it. "Has anyone read you your rights?" Flynn asked. "The first fuzz through the door." "Fuzz, is it?" Fletch said, "Fuzz." "In more human language," Flynn continued, "I ask you if you don't think you'd be wiser to have your lawyer present while we question you." "I don't think so." Flynn said, "What did you hit her with?" Fletch could not prevent mild surprise, mild humour appearing in his face. He said nothing. "All right, then." Flynn settled more comfortably in his chair. "Your name is Fletcher?" "Peter Fletcher," Fletcher said. "And who is Connors?" "He owns this apartment. I'm borrowing it from him. He's in Italy." Flynn leaned forward in his chair. "Do I take it you're not going to confess immediately to this crime?" He used his voice like an instrument--a very soft, woodland instrument. "I'm not going to confess to this crime at all." "And why not?" "Because I didn't do it." "The man says he didn't do it, Grover. Have you written that down?" "Sitting here," Fletch said, "I've been rehearsing what I might tell you." "I'm sure you have." Elbows on chair arms, massive shoulders hunched, Flynn folded his hands in his lap. "All right, Mister Fletcher. Supposing you recite to us your opening prevarication." The green eyes clamped on Fletch's face as if to absorb with full credulity every word. "I arrived from Rome this afternoon. Came here to the apartment. Changed my clothes, went out to dinner. Came back and found the body." "This is a dandy, Grover. Let me see if I've got it in all its pristine wonder. Mister Fletcher, you say you fly into a strange city, go to an apartment you're borrowing, and first night there you find a gorgeous naked girl you've never seen before in your life murdered on the living room rug. Is that your story, in short form?" "Yes." "Well, now. If that doesn't beat the belly of a fish. I trust you're got every word, Grover, however few of them there were." Fletch said, "I thought it might help us all get to bed earlier." "'Get to bed', he says. Now, Grover, here's a man who's had a full day. Would you mind terribly if I led the conversation for a while now?" "Go ahead," Fletch said. Looking at his watch, Flynn said, "It's been a near regular custom I've had with my wife since we were married sixteen years ago to get me home by two o'clock feeding. So we have that much time." He glanced at the glass of Scotch and water Grover had moved to the edge of the desk blotter. "First I must ask you how much you've had to drink tonight." "I've had whatever's gone from that glass, Inspector. An ounce of whisky? Less?" Fletch asked, "You really have inspectors in Boston, uh?" "There is one: me." "Good grief." "I'd say that's a most precise definition. I'm greatly taken with it, myself, and I'm sure Grover is--an Inspector of Boston Police as being 'good grief'. The man has his humour, Grover. However, we were speaking of the man's drinking. How much did you have to drink at dinner?" "A split. A half bottle of wine." "He'll even define 'split' for us, Grover. A remarkably definitive man. You had nothing to drink before dinner?" "Nothing. I was eating alone." "And you're going to tell me you had nothing to drink on the airplane all the way across the Mediterranean Sea and then the full girth of the Atlantic Ocean, water, water everywhere. . . ." "I had coffee after we took off. A soft drink with lunch, or whatever it was they served. Coffee afterwards." "Were you travelling first class?" "Yes." "The drinks are free in first class, I've heard." "I had nothing to drink on the airplane, or before boarding the airplane. I had nothing to drink at the airport, nothing here, wine at the restaurant, and this half glass while I've been waiting for you." "Grover, would you make a note that in my opinion Mister Fletcher is entirely sober?" "Would you like a drink, Inspector?" Fletch asked. "Ach, no. I never touch the dirty stuff. The once I had it, the night after being a student in Dublin, it gave me a terrible headache. I woke up the next morning dead. The thing is, this crime of passion would be much easier to understand if you had a bottle or two of the old juice within you." "You may find that is so," Fletch said. "When you find the murderer." "Are you a married man yourself, Mister Fletcher?" "I'm engaged." "To be married?" "I expect to be married. Yes." "And what is the name of this young lady whose luck, at the moment, is very much in question?" "Andy." "Now why didn't I guess that myself? Write down 'Andrew', Grover." "Angela. Angela de Grassi. She's in Italy." "She's in Italy, too. Grover. Everyone's in Italy except he who has just come from there. Make a social note. She didn't come with you due to her prejudice against the Boston weather?" "There are some family problems she has to straighten out." "And what would the nature of such problems be?" "I attended her father's funeral yesterday, Inspector." "Ach. Dicey time to leave your true love's side." "She should be coming over in a few days." "I see. And what is it you do for a living?" "I write on art." "You're an art critic?" "I don't like the words 'art critic'. I write on the arts." "You must make a fortune at it, Mister Fletcher. First class air tickets, this lavish, opulent apartment, the clothes you're wearing. . . ." "I have some money of my own." "I see. Having money of your own opens up a great many careers which otherwise might be considered marginal. By the way, what is that painting over the desk? You can't see it from where you are." "It's a Ford Madox Brown." "It's entirely my style of work." "Nineteenth-century English." "Well, that's one thing I'm not, is nineteenth-century English. And who with a touch of humanity in him would be?" ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jul 13 16:41:11 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 16:41:11 -0700 Subject: [CT] Which aspect of DKM's writing most grabs you? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020713163408.04462ea0@mail.queenofangels.com> Sorry, I can see where that may have been unclear to some people, I now realize. "Confess, Fletch" isn't mine -- it was written by Gregory Mcdonald. Go to Amazon.com and order anything by him you like -- I particularly recommend: Fletch, Confess, Fletch Carioca Fletch Flynn Flynn's In The Fletch series is written out of order -- Carioca Fletch, for example, was written many years after Fletch & Confess, Fletch, but it takes place between the two novels. Fletch Won & Fletch, Too are the two earliest novels by internal chronology, I think, but they're two of the later-written Fletch books. (There's a weird continuity error in Fletch Won, written around 1985 -- Fletch talks about getting caught making out with one of his girlfriends, while a teenager, while watching the first first Star Trek movie. First Star Trek movie is 1979; Fletch was written in 1972, and Fletch Won, which precedes it, should take place in 1970 or 1971 -- I mean, Fletch & his buddy Alston have just gotten back from Viet Nam.) The Flynn books (there are only 3 -- the two I mention + "The Buck Passes Flynn" -- are in internal chronological order.) At 04:13 PM 7/13/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: > > From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] >... > > Here's where I learned to write dialog -- this is "Confess, Fletch": >[wonderful dialog sequence deleted] > >Is there more? You can't leave us hanging like that! At least please give >some more background on how that scene came about! > >... And I'm still waiting for my dose of action... > >Pushy bastard, ain't I? :-) > >- Brad >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 13:51:46 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 13:51:46 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for malicious hackers] In-Reply-To: <1026851995.20732.91.camel@two.nks.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716134243.00a87378@mail.queenofangels.com> Been a hell of a day, hasn't it? http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-china-sanitary-internet0715jul14.story Yahoo agrees to censor its Chinese internet operations -- Yahoo's been my home page most of the last 5 years. I just made QueenOfAngels.com my home page. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/14/1026185141232.html US plans to recruit one in 24 Americans as citizen spies. "The Bush Administration aims to recruit millions of United States citizens as domestic informants in a program likely to alarm civil liberties groups." I'm not alarmed. I don't actually want a swastika, but I would like to know when they're going to start handing out those nifty jackboots. I've got a couple of people I could inform on if there was a nifty pair of jackboots in it for me. At 04:39 PM 7/16/2002 -0400, Derek Glidden wrote: >Wow. Who'da thought that Real Life would so soon outstrip The >Unification in terms of outright stupid lawmaking when it comes to >Play... uh "hackers"... > >-- >-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > >Return-Path: >Received: from cluebot.com (server1.cluebot.com [216.110.36.217]) by > theslutclub.com (8.12.3/8.12.3/Debian -4) with ESMTP id > g6G6vE0v017520 for > ; Tue, 16 Jul 2002 02:57:14 -0400 >Received: by cluebot.com (Postfix) id 1F54310724; Tue, 16 Jul 2002 02:32:33 > -0400 (EDT) >Received: by cluebot.com (Postfix, from userid 91) id 6E7221053F; Tue, 16 > Jul 2002 01:57:27 -0400 (EDT) >Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 01:49:27 -0400 >From: Declan McCullagh >To: politech at politechbot.com >Subject: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for malicious > hackers >Message-ID: <20020716014926.A1261 at cluebot.com> >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >Content-Disposition: inline >User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.2i >X-URL: http://www.mccullagh.org/ >Sender: owner-politech at politechbot.com >Precedence: normal >Reply-To: declan at well.com >X-URL: Politech is at http://www.politechbot.com/ >X-Author: Declan McCullagh is at http://www.mccullagh.org/ >X-News-Site: Cluebot is at http://www.cluebot.com/ > >Text of bill: >http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.03482: > >Who voted (Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. Jeff Miller, Rep. Kucinich opposed): >http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=296 > >--- > >http://news.com.com/2100-1001-944057.html?tag=politech > > House OKs life sentences for hackers > By Declan McCullagh > July 15, 2002, 6:00 PM PT > > WASHINGTON--The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly > approved a bill that would allow for life prison sentences for > malicious computer hackers. > > By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also > expands police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping > without first obtaining a court order. > > The Bush administration had asked Congress to approve the Cyber > Security Enhancement Act (CSEA) as a way of responding to electronic > intrusions, denial of service attacks and the threat of > "cyber-terrorism." The CSEA had been written before the Sept. 11 > terrorist attacks last year, but the events spurred legislators toward > Monday evening's near-unanimous vote. > > [...] > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list >You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. >To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html >This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ >Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 14:25:19 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:25:19 -0700 Subject: [CT] Attachments.... In-Reply-To: <57FCCCB4-9842-11D6-BFC5-0005029F67F1@intelligent-imaging.c om> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716142103.0432f4f0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:29 PM 7/15/2002 -0600, Daniel Dvorkin wrote: >... and yet the vast majority of "Internet worms" that have done real >damage are actually "IIS worms." The conclusion is inescapable: Apache >is simply more secure than IIS (as well as being a better Web server in >just about every way.) And since the same company which gave us IIS also >gave us VBScript and Outlook Express and Internet Explorer and SQL Server >-- basically all the "security holes disguised as applications" which have >been responsible for just about every major virus and worm in the last few >years -- it is not unreasonable to believe that it is that company's lousy >coding, and not simply its inexplicable popularity, which is responsible. I have to back Daniel up on this. While there's sure a huge difference between a well-configured install copy of SQL Server and a badly configured install, over the years that I've been responsible for making sure SQL Server databases were secure, I must have seen a dozen exploits that would completely subvert even a well-designed SQL Server instillation -- about half of them buffer overruns of one sort of another. I've never had a server subverted that I know of, but I've sure had a couple attacks using exploits that would have worked if I hadn't religiously been applying patches as they were issued. I'm _really good_ at this ... and under real-world conditions I'm skeptical that I could secure one of my own servers against myself. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 14:34:34 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:34:34 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for malicious hackers] In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716143405.00a838f0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:27 PM 7/16/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: >500,000 points >Black Helicopter (tax, title and license again not included) So for informing on as few as 500 people I could get my own Black Helicopter? I tell you, people are completely missing the opportunities inherent in this program. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 14:37:40 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:37:40 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for In-Reply-To: <200207162133.OAA08702@ddmi.he.net> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716143619.00a84958@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:33 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, daveg wrote: > > 3,000 points > > Black Jackboots (only takes 3 tips!) > > Black leather trench coat > > > >CRAP. It's gonna take months to get that trench coat. Hey, Dan, if we each >inform on 1500 people, you can have the boots and I'll take the coat! It's >the kind of cooperation that made Amerika great! > >Dave Months? Man, your standards for reporting are plainly too high. The guy who served me breakfast this morning? Curly hair, big nose? He's first on _my_ list of reportees. (If it turns out he's an Auschwitz survivor, I'll certainly apologize.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 14:18:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:18:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Which aspect of DKM's writing most grabs you? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716135429.04335608@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:37 PM 7/16/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: >You say that book is where you learned to write dialog. Are there specific >lessons you learned from it that you can articulate, or was it more "my >dialog has to be at least as good as this". It taught me that consciously witty dialog -- characters who amused themselves -- could work on paper. Not all characters can be consciously witty -- 2 in a scene is about the limit, IMO. But if you want to do humor in a serious setting, it helps to have characters who are witty and who know they're witty. External humor tends to take place at the expense of the character -- enough of it will ruin a character. I.e., humor comes out of the unexpected -- if all your humor is external and acting upon your character rather than being generated by your character, one of two things happens: if you stay in character, the character becomes tired and the jokes become unfunny, because all the jokes are variations on a couple of themes -- in the long run the character becomes a caricature of him or herself. If you try to expand the range of things that can be funny at the character's expense, you break the character -- on long-running sitcoms this is usually referred to as broadening the character, but when the character's been broadened to the point where he's no longer recognizable as the source character, he's broken. To give two examples from back in the day, Larry Linville on MASH was the first sort of character; Fonzie on Happy Days was the second. A good example of a character who was permitted to grow and remain funny was Hawkeye Pierce -- a self-consciously funny character who generated his own amusement. He was funny end to end over the long run of that show, and he was able to grow to some degree along the way. >I liked the bantering style, and the extreme, almost absurd statements the >participants make in order to emphasize their positions, and I do see that >as similar to your style. Is that what you were talking about? Short sentences and paragraphs are wittier than long sentences. Fletch hung up. The door buzzer sounded. It was seven minutes to ten. ... is wittier and has more impact than: Fletch hung up as the door buzzer sounded. It was seven minutes to ten. Hidden knowledge -- language that the reader understands says something other than what the other participants in the conversation are hearing -- is also amusing: The voice on the intercom said softly, "Ten seconds to lift." "Oh, no," said Trent. He lay back in the acceleration couch; the webbing came up and embraced him. "Oh my God no." Lying flat on his back, he could not see Melissa's expression, but despite her accent he heard the surprise in her voice. "Trent? Are you afraid?" "Yes," said Trent. "Very, very much." or "Are you free to come by tomorrow morning, Mister Fletcher?" Fletch said, "I'm not sure." "I was thinking of ten-thirty." "Ten-thirty will be fine. If I'm free at all." In the chapters I quoted, Flynn is having more of a good time than Fletch -- Flynn isn't on the hook for a murder, so that works. But elsewhere Fletch is just as witty and just as flip. ... characters that provide their own amusement are much funnier -- certainly in the long run -- than characters that are principally the subject of amusement. Fast dialog -- 5 - 15 words a sentence -- is much funnier than slow dialog -- 20 words a sentence of more. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 14:45:32 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:45:32 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for In-Reply-To: <552A6BC8FD42D411A4C700508B65D9E5042ED64A@sgenexc1.puget.co m> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716144408.00a838f0@mail.queenofangels.com> Hey, I take exception to that, bud. I'm as good an American as anyone. There's practically no one I won't inform on. The fact that you read my patriotic comments and they sound sarcastic in your ears says VOLUMES about you, Jesse.... I'd be more careful in the future if I were you. At 02:41 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, Wendel, Jesse wrote: >Dan, > >You've written some pretty subversive stuff yourself. And the entire tone >of your comments on this important groundbreaking legislation just reeks of >sarcasm and disrespect. > >You're first on my list, buster, so just watch yourself. > >Jesse > > > -----Original Message----- >From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] >Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 2:38 PM >To: continuing-time at ralf.org >Subject: Re: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life >sent. for > >At 02:33 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, daveg wrote: > > > 3,000 points > > > Black Jackboots (only takes 3 tips!) > > > Black leather trench coat > > > > > > >CRAP. It's gonna take months to get that trench coat. Hey, Dan, if we >each > >inform on 1500 people, you can have the boots and I'll take the coat! It's > >the kind of cooperation that made Amerika great! > > > >Dave > >Months? Man, your standards for reporting are plainly too high. The guy who >served me breakfast this morning? Curly hair, big nose? He's first on _my_ >list of reportees. (If it turns out he's an Auschwitz survivor, I'll >certainly apologize.) > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 14:57:37 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:57:37 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for In-Reply-To: <552A6BC8FD42D411A4C700508B65D9E5042ED64B@sgenexc1.puget.co m> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716145341.043df608@mail.queenofangels.com> Uhm ... well, Russia is no longer communist. So technically these guys are ex-communists, which is OK. Daniel is originally Jewish. (So's Moran, for that matter.) And this isn't the 50s; Jews aren't the internal enemy we're worried about. Yet. The only Arab connection in my life is Mohammed Vance -- who's the bad bad bad bad clearly-BAD guy in my stories, of course. So no one needs to inform on me, right? Right. At 02:50 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, Wendel, Jesse wrote: >Oh yeah!? Says who?!!! > >At least I don't have a book deal with some commie publisher, like some >people I can name. And don't think I won't name names, DANIEL. What kind >of a foreign name is Daniel, anyway? > > > -----Original Message----- >From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] >Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 2:46 PM >To: continuing-time at ralf.org >Subject: RE: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life >sent. for > >Hey, I take exception to that, bud. I'm as good an American as anyone. >There's practically no one I won't inform on. The fact that you read my >patriotic comments and they sound sarcastic in your ears says VOLUMES about >you, Jesse.... I'd be more careful in the future if I were you. > >At 02:41 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, Wendel, Jesse wrote: > >Dan, > > > >You've written some pretty subversive stuff yourself. And the entire tone > >of your comments on this important groundbreaking legislation just reeks of > >sarcasm and disrespect. > > > >You're first on my list, buster, so just watch yourself. > > > >Jesse > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > >From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] > >Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 2:38 PM > >To: continuing-time at ralf.org > >Subject: Re: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life > >sent. for > > > >At 02:33 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, daveg wrote: > > > > 3,000 points > > > > Black Jackboots (only takes 3 tips!) > > > > Black leather trench coat > > > > > > > > > >CRAP. It's gonna take months to get that trench coat. Hey, Dan, if we > >each > > >inform on 1500 people, you can have the boots and I'll take the coat! >It's > > >the kind of cooperation that made Amerika great! > > > > > >Dave > > > >Months? Man, your standards for reporting are plainly too high. The guy who > >served me breakfast this morning? Curly hair, big nose? He's first on _my_ > >list of reportees. (If it turns out he's an Auschwitz survivor, I'll > >certainly apologize.) > > > >____________________________ > >continuing-time mailing list > >continuing-time at ralf.org > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > >____________________________ > >continuing-time mailing list > >continuing-time at ralf.org > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 15:07:48 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 15:07:48 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. In-Reply-To: <200207162204.PAA11958@ddmi.he.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716145341.043df608@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716150647.00a84f00@mail.queenofangels.com> I have to leave now to go play basketball -- a game which, let's all note, was INVENTED IN AMERICA. And whose best players are ALL AMERICAN ... unlike baseball, which is known to employ Cubans. At 03:04 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, daveg wrote: >Cut the crap. One of your good guys, D'van, isn't even human. >You're making a hero out of what is clearly an illegal alien. That's got >to be worth at least half a jack boot right there. > >Dave > > > > > > Uhm ... well, Russia is no longer communist. So technically these guys are > > ex-communists, which is OK. > > > > Daniel is originally Jewish. (So's Moran, for that matter.) And this isn't > > the 50s; Jews aren't the internal enemy we're worried about. Yet. The only > > Arab connection in my life is Mohammed Vance -- who's the bad bad bad bad > > clearly-BAD guy in my stories, of course. So no one needs to inform on me, > > right? Right. > > > > At 02:50 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, Wendel, Jesse wrote: > > >Oh yeah!? Says who?!!! > > > > > >At least I don't have a book deal with some commie publisher, like some > > >people I can name. And don't think I won't name names, DANIEL. What kind > > >of a foreign name is Daniel, anyway? > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > >From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] > > >Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 2:46 PM > > >To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > >Subject: RE: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life > > >sent. for > > > > > >Hey, I take exception to that, bud. I'm as good an American as anyone. > > >There's practically no one I won't inform on. The fact that you read my > > >patriotic comments and they sound sarcastic in your ears says VOLUMES > about > > >you, Jesse.... I'd be more careful in the future if I were you. > > > > > >At 02:41 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, Wendel, Jesse wrote: > > > >Dan, > > > > > > > >You've written some pretty subversive stuff yourself. And the > entire tone > > > >of your comments on this important groundbreaking legislation just > reeks of > > > >sarcasm and disrespect. > > > > > > > >You're first on my list, buster, so just watch yourself. > > > > > > > >Jesse > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > >From: Daniel Moran [mailto:dkm at QueenOfAngels.com] > > > >Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 2:38 PM > > > >To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > > >Subject: Re: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life > > > >sent. for > > > > > > > >At 02:33 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, daveg wrote: > > > > > > 3,000 points > > > > > > Black Jackboots (only takes 3 tips!) > > > > > > Black leather trench coat > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >CRAP. It's gonna take months to get that trench coat. Hey, Dan, > if we > > > >each > > > > >inform on 1500 people, you can have the boots and I'll take the coat! > > >It's > > > > >the kind of cooperation that made Amerika great! > > > > > > > > > >Dave > > > > > > > >Months? Man, your standards for reporting are plainly too high. The > guy who > > > >served me breakfast this morning? Curly hair, big nose? He's first > on _my_ > > > >list of reportees. (If it turns out he's an Auschwitz survivor, I'll > > > >certainly apologize.) > > > > > > > >____________________________ > > > >continuing-time mailing list > > > >continuing-time at ralf.org > > > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >____________________________ > > > >continuing-time mailing list > > > >continuing-time at ralf.org > > > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > > >____________________________ > > >continuing-time mailing list > > >continuing-time at ralf.org > > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > >____________________________ > > >continuing-time mailing list > > >continuing-time at ralf.org > > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > ____________________________ > > continuing-time mailing list > > continuing-time at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 18:56:50 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 18:56:50 -0700 Subject: [CT] Which aspect of DKM's writing most grabs you? In-Reply-To: <200207161953.00317.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716135429.04335608@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020716135429.04335608@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716184727.00a84fb0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:53 PM 7/16/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > Fast dialog -- 5 - 15 words a sentence -- is much funnier than slow > > dialog -- 20 words a sentence of more. > >Of course, this posits that you're shooting for a particular kind of wit. >Witty repartee, particularly. :) Mark Twain stands out as an example of >brilliant wit that, by our standards, is a little longwinded. Agreed. I was talking about dialog -- surely there are other longer, slower forms of humor -- Twain's "War Prayer" is one of the funniest things ever written, but it would be hard to render as dialog in any meaningful way: "O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle-be Thou near them! With them, in spirit, we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it-for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen." Tragedy and humor are closely related, of course -- Mel Brooks' definition: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open manhole and die." Or even more succint, an old Jewish concentration camp survivor who cut his finger: "First the Holocaust and now this!" (I read both these examples within the last few days -- I'd source them but I can't recall where.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 18:57:40 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 18:57:40 -0700 Subject: [CT] [Fwd: FC: House votes 385-3 for wiretaps, life sent. for In-Reply-To: <200207170109.g6H19g519346@ha3sca-mail1.SFBay.Sun.COM> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716185701.00a83f78@mail.queenofangels.com> Vance isn't a bad guy; he just plays one in my books. Yes, Eddore is a bad guy in every meaningful way. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 19:17:53 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 19:17:53 -0700 Subject: [CT] Books to learn from In-Reply-To: <7122E3C522C2D311B9C700508B02DCA308E141EA@ntmsg0099.corpmai l.telstra.com.au> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716185930.00a841e0@mail.queenofangels.com> John D. MacDonald, of course -- "The Green Ripper" in particular. Though I don't know if it's a good place to start reading the Travis McGee series -- the problem with it is that it only has one real action scene, near the end -- an astonishing one. One of the reasons it works so well is that, over the course of the 17 McGee novels preceding it, MacDonald had done a very good job of establishing what action looked like in a Travis McGee novel -- a desperate fight between two guys, usually ... and there'd be one or two or three of those in the course of a novel. "The Green Ripper" renders McGee as Rambo ... except with an emotional weight that's simply devastating. "I got all the records out of there I could find," I said. "And I looked everywhere for that goddamn missing arm. I looked high and low. I can't imagine how it hid itself so well." My voice was getting high and thin but I couldn't seem to stop. "Somehow we've got to find that damn arm!" That's as good as it gets ... but you really ought to read 4 or 5 other (earlier) books in the series before tackling it. (Including the book immediately prior, The Empty Copper Sea -- don't read "Green Ripper" without reading "Copper Sea," preferably one right after the other.) Others whose action work I've admired? The first chapter of Starship Troopers works very well. David Gerrold's Chtorran series has some really beautiful action sequences -- the Chtorran invasion of a camp full of orphans, and its immediate aftermath, is just wrenching stuff. (In A Rage for Revenge, Book 3 of the Chtorran series.) Hell, I just mentioned John Rambo -- how can I forget First Blood? David Morrell's novel is a screamer from end to end. That's off the top of my head a good place to start. Good action writing is scarce -- I can name 10 people who do good characterization for every one who can write a good chase scene. At 09:20 AM 7/17/2002 +1000, Tong, Simon wrote: >Dan, what novels would you recommend for learning to write good action scenes? >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 22:27:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 22:27:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Attachments.... In-Reply-To: <20020717050933.GE315@infodancer.org> References: <200207162338.55761.rjhansen@inav.net> <060201c22d42$45921c10$53992e04@Xanadu> <200207162338.55761.rjhansen@inav.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716222434.00a858e8@mail.queenofangels.com> http://www.counterpane.com/schneier.html http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0207.html (Last month's crypto-gram.) http://slashdot.org/interviews/99/10/29/0832246.shtml Someone should have a word with the boy regarding his combover, though. At 12:09 AM 7/17/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: >On Tue, Jul 16, 2002 at 11:38:55PM -0500, "Robert J. Hansen" > wrote: > > Check out Schneier's comments on it--he's even more bitter and cynical > > regarding it than I am. > >Got any links? I've seen some, but there are probably lots more. > >-- >Matthew Hunter (matthew at infodancer.org) > ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 22:48:09 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 22:48:09 -0700 Subject: [CT] Attachments.... In-Reply-To: <200207170040.46937.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716222434.00a858e8@mail.queenofangels.com> <200207162338.55761.rjhansen@inav.net> <5.1.0.14.0.20020716222434.00a858e8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716224704.00a84408@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:40 AM 7/17/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > Someone should have a word with the boy regarding his combover, though. > >We're both >certifiably weirdos. We're both suffering male pattern baldness. Speaking as another member of the club, one word: shave. It works for me, it can work for you. (Of course, not everyone has my handsome round skull, but even so there's no excuse for the combover.) :-) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 23:30:33 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 23:30:33 -0700 Subject: [CT] Signup Form for Brownshirts! Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716232423.00a85760@mail.queenofangels.com> https://www.citizencorps.gov/citizen/jsp/volunteerform.jsp Operation TIPS. I signed up already. No, I'm not kidding. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 23:32:13 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 23:32:13 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fwd: Citizen Corps Volunteer registration Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716233106.00a848c8@mail.queenofangels.com> >Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 02:29:20 -0400 (EDT) >From: citizencorps at fema.gov >To: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com >Subject: Citizen Corps Volunteer registration >X-RCPT-TO: > >Thank you for your interest in Citizen Corps. > >We will send you periodic e-mail updates on Citizen Corps activities and >information on events around the country. We will also send you specific >information on the program or programs you have indicated an interest in >as soon as possible. And please be sure to check our website regularly for >new developments. > >Help us spread the word about Citizen Corps! Do you know someone who would >be interested in making their community and family safer? Please tell your >friends about our website: www.citizencorps.gov. Consider the word spread. Good luck. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 16 23:43:03 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 23:43:03 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fwd: Citizen Corps Volunteer registration In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716233106.00a848c8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716233646.00a84af8@mail.queenofangels.com> Interesting 9 months, hasn't it been? I tried to join the Marine Corps. Reserve back in September of last year -- they wouldn't take me because I was too old. (38 then; cutoff is 35.) If I were under the UCMJ today I'd be court-martialed for what I've got to say right now about our current leadership. This isn't as blindly partisan as it might sound -- note that 385-3 vote in the House ... I'm almost as offended by that as by the Bush administration. But my understanding is that the UCMJ wouldn't prevent me from observing that the House was cowardly and dishonest and near-fascist; it would prevent me from making the same comment about Bush. At 11:32 PM 7/16/2002 -0700, Daniel Moran wrote: >>Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 02:29:20 -0400 (EDT) >>From: citizencorps at fema.gov >>To: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com >>Subject: Citizen Corps Volunteer registration >>X-RCPT-TO: >> >>Thank you for your interest in Citizen Corps. >> >>We will send you periodic e-mail updates on Citizen Corps activities and >>information on events around the country. We will also send you specific >>information on the program or programs you have indicated an interest in >>as soon as possible. And please be sure to check our website regularly >>for new developments. >> >>Help us spread the word about Citizen Corps! Do you know someone who >>would be interested in making their community and family safer? Please >>tell your friends about our website: www.citizencorps.gov. > >Consider the word spread. Good luck. > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 17 00:02:45 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 00:02:45 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fwd: Citizen Corps Volunteer registration In-Reply-To: <200207170156.12618.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716233646.00a84af8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020716233646.00a84af8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020717000006.00a85b90@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:56 AM 7/17/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > administration. But my understanding is that the UCMJ wouldn't prevent me > > from observing that the House was cowardly and dishonest and > > near-fascist; it would prevent me from making the same comment about > > Bush. > >Do it to the commander-in-chief and you get drummed out on a Bad Conduct >Discharge. No jail time. I'm not arguing with the principle, merely noting that I'd be drummed out right about now. And no great loss, since we're apparently not going to be going after Saudi Arabia -- the biggest supporter of terrorism on the face of the planet -- anyway. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 17 01:37:48 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 01:37:48 -0700 Subject: [CT] I can't believe I'm saying this... In-Reply-To: <200207170328.47761.rjhansen@inav.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020717013458.00a85f90@mail.queenofangels.com> Well, I agree with every word of it. We ought to have declared war on Afghanistan before going into it. We ought to have a working definition of terrorism that's more detailed than "Axis of Evil." (Of course, no honest definition of "terrorist" can omit Saudi Arabia ... and plainly we're not going there.) It's not the first time I've agreed with Buchanan -- he's a clear and honest thinker. Brutally wrong ... but from his premises he proceeds honestly. At 03:28 AM 7/17/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >... but Pat Buchanan is right. > >Is this one of the signs of the apocalypse? :) > >http://www.townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/pb20020717.shtml > >-- >Geek Code: GAT d- s+:+ a27 C++(+++)$ ULB++>++++ P++ L+++>++++ E W+ N+ w > PS+ PE++ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5++ X-- R tv b+++ DI++ D--- G+ e++ h* > r* y+* > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 17 20:26:08 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 20:26:08 -0700 Subject: [CT] Books to learn from In-Reply-To: <3D363155.5E84F573@dnaco.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020716185930.00a841e0@mail.queenofangels.com> <3D3622BC.4020006@wilcoxon.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020717202021.00a85fc8@mail.queenofangels.com> I've always wanted to write a Lensman story. It's about the only fanfic I've ever been tempted by -- yeah, I wrote Star Wars, but I got paid for it. I'm tempted to write a Lensman story for free. At 11:09 PM 7/17/2002 -0400, Maureen O'Brien wrote: >Scot Wilcoxon wrote: > >Speaking of Eddore... I like E.E.Smith's "Lensman" action sequences. > >They're either superbly over-adjectified, or it is explained that they > >are undescribable. His "Skylark" is similar -- you can almost see the > >empty holds filling with ranks upon ranks of generators... > >It's not easy to write like Doc Smith, either. I did my level best to >imitate him in my fanfic crossover "X-Lensman", but I really needed >to ratchet up the speed of events by a factor of ten, and get rid of a >_lot_ of extra words. The entire story would have taken up a chapter or >less in Smith. > >So yes, his prose tended toward the purple in places, but it was leanly >written purple prose. It's a nice trick. Lee Gold imitated it >infinitely better than I, in her story "Doomed Lensmen". > >You can find them both here: >http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/fanfic/lensfic/ > >Maureen >If you like html better, you can also read my story at >http://lonestar.texas.net/~lochness/worldsaway/stories/lensman.html >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 18 19:40:26 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 19:40:26 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fwd: Trustworthy Computing Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020718193840.00a86b98@mail.queenofangels.com> Some of you probably got this already, but it seems relevant at the moment. (It says it's the first in an "occasional series" -- any of you really interested in this subject can subscribe; I won't post the later letters.) Here you go: >Reply-To: "Bill Gates" ><3_34049_159EC1AD-51C7-D011-8B1A-08002BB74F3F_US at chairman.microsoft.com> >From: "Bill Gates" >To: >Subject: Trustworthy Computing >Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 18:47:51 -0700 >X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000 >Thread-Index: AcIuxkf/OJnH/CCCTCScEEEahfGbsw== >X-OriginalArrivalTime: 19 Jul 2002 01:48:43.0538 (UTC) >FILETIME=[69EDA720:01C22EC6] >X-RCPT-TO: > >I'm writing to you, as a reader of one of Microsoft's customer >newsletters, about an issue of particular importance to those of us who >routinely use computers in our work and personal lives - making computing >more trustworthy. Trustworthy Computing involves a lot of things - >reliability, security, privacy and business integrity. > >Before I share my thoughts about this in more detail, I want to give you >some context on why I am sending this email. This is the first in an >occasional series of mails that CEO Steve Ballmer and I, and periodically >other Microsoft executives, will be sending to people who are interested >in hearing from us about technology and public-policy issues that we >believe are important to computer users, our industry and everyone who >cares about the future of high technology. This is part of our commitment >to ensuring that Microsoft is more open about communicating who we are and >what we are doing. > >As I mentioned at the outset, you are receiving this email as a recipient >of a Microsoft newsletter. If you would like to hear from me, Steve and >periodically from other Microsoft executives in the future, please go to >http://register.microsoft.com/subscription/subscribeMe.asp?lcid=1033&id=155. >If you don't wish to hear from us again, you do not need to do anything. >We will not send you another executive email unless you choose to >subscribe at the link above. > >************************************************************************************************ > >As I've talked with customers over the last year - from individual >consumers to big enterprise customers - it's clear that everyone >recognizes that computers play an increasingly important and useful role >in our lives. At the same time, many of the people I talk to are concerned >about the security of the technologies they depend on. They are concerned >about whether their personal data is being protected. Although they know >that computers can do amazing things, they are frustrated that their >technology doesn't always work consistently. And they want assurances that >the high-tech industry takes these concerns seriously and is working to >improve their computing experience. > >Six months ago, I sent a call-to-action to Microsoft's 50,000 employees, >outlining what I believe is the highest priority for the company and for >our industry over the next decade: building a Trustworthy Computing >environment for customers that is as reliable as the electricity that >powers our homes and businesses today. > >This is an important part of the evolution of the Internet, because >without a Trustworthy Computing ecosystem, the full promise of technology >to help people and businesses realize their potential will not be >fulfilled. Ironically, it is the growth of the Internet and the advent of >massive computing systems built from loose affiliations of services, >machines, communications networks and application software that have >helped create the potential for increased vulnerabilities. > >There are already solutions that eliminate weak links such as passwords >and fake email. At Microsoft we're combining passwords with "smart cards" >to authenticate users. We're also working with others throughout the >industry to improve Internet protocols to stop email that could propagate >misleading information or malicious code that falsely appears to be from >trusted senders. And we are making fundamental changes in the way we >develop software, in our operational and business practices, and in our >customer support efforts to make the computing experiences we provide more >trustworthy. > >For example, we've historically made our software and services more >compelling for users primarily by adding new features and functionality. >While we are continuing to invest significantly in delivering new >capabilities that customers ask for, we are now making security >improvements an even higher priority than adding features. For example, we >made changes to Microsoft Outlook to block email attachments associated >with unsafe files, prevent access to a user's address book, and give >administrators the ability to manage email security settings for their >organization. As a result of these changes, the number of email virus >incidents has dropped dramatically. In fact, email viruses like the recent >"Frethem" virus propagate only to systems that have not been updated - >underscoring the importance of updating them regularly. > >We are also undertaking a rigorous and exhaustive review of many Microsoft >products to minimize other potential security vulnerabilities. Earlier >this year, the development work of more than 8,500 Microsoft engineers was >put on hold while we conducted an intensive security analysis of millions >of lines of Windows source code. Every Windows engineer and several >thousand engineers in other parts of the company were also given special >training in writing secure software. We estimated that the stand-down >would take 30 days. It took nearly twice that long, and cost Microsoft >more than $100 million. We've undertaken similar code reviews and security >training for Microsoft Office and Visual Studio .NET, and will be doing so >for other products as well. > >THE TRUSTWORTHY COMPUTING FRAMEWORK > >Trustworthy Computing has four pillars: reliability, security, privacy and >business integrity. "Reliability" means that a computer system is >dependable, is available when needed, and performs as expected and at >appropriate levels. "Security" means that a system is resilient to attack, >and that the confidentiality, integrity and availability of both the >system and its data are protected. "Privacy" means that individuals have >the ability to control data about themselves and that those using such >data faithfully adhere to fair information principles. "Business >Integrity" is about companies in our industry being responsible to >customers and helping them find appropriate solutions for their business >issues, addressing problems with products or services, and being open in >interactions with customers. > >Creating a Trustworthy Computing environment requires several steps: > >- Making software code more secure and reliable. Our developers have tools >and methodologies that will make an order-of-magnitude improvement in >their work from the standpoint of security and safety. > >- Keeping ahead of security exploits. Distributing updates using the >Internet so that all systems are up to date. Windows Update and Software >Update Services, discussed below, provide the infrastructure for this. > >- Early Recovery. In case of a problem, having the capability to restore >and get systems back up and running in exactly the same state they were in >before an incident, with minimal intervention. > >FIRST STEPS TOWARD MORE TRUSTWORTHY COMPUTING > >There is still much work that Microsoft and others in our industry must do >to make computing more trustworthy. Here is a summary of some of the >progress we've made, six months after my email to Microsoft employees: > >- We have changed the way we design and develop software at all phases of >the product development cycle. Our new processes should greatly minimize >errors in software, and speed up the development process for new products >and services. > >- Software Update Services (SUS) is a security management tool for >business customers that enables IT administrators to quickly and reliably >deploy critical updates from inside their corporate firewall to Windows >2000-based servers and desktop computers running Windows 2000 Professional >and Windows XP Professional. > >- Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer is a new tool that customers can >use to analyze Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems for common security >misconfigurations, and to scan for missing security hot fixes and >vulnerabilities on a variety of products, including newer versions of >Internet Information Server, SQL Server and Office. > >- In addition to providing customers with tools and resources to help them >maximize the security of Windows 2000 Server environments, we are >committed to shipping Windows .NET Server 2003 as "secure by default." We >believe it's critical to provide customers with a foundation that has been >configured to maximize security right out of the box, while continuing to >provide customers with a rich set of integrated features and capabilities. > >- The error-reporting features built into Office XP and Windows XP are >giving us an enormous amount of feedback and a much clearer view of the >kinds of problems customers have, and how we can raise the level of >reliability in those products - and that of products made by other >companies. As part of this effort, we recently created a secure Web site >where software and hardware vendors can view error reports related to >their drivers, utilities and applications that are reported through our >system. This enables the vendors who work with us to identify recurring >problems and address them far more quickly than in the past. All of our >server software products will incorporate these error-reporting features >in subsequent versions of the products. > >- With Microsoft Windows Update, we are completing the customer-feedback >loop based on the error-reporting features mentioned above. This globally >available Web service delivers more than 300 million downloads per month >of the most current versions of product fixes, updates and enhancements. >When customers connect to the site, they can choose to have their computer >automatically evaluated to check which updates need to be applied in order >to keep their system up-to-date, as well as identify any critical updates >to keep their system safe and secure. > >- We are working on a new hardware/software architecture for the Windows >PC platform, code-named "Palladium," which will significantly enhance >users' system integrity, privacy and data security. This new technology, >which will be included in a future version of Windows, will enable >applications and application components to run in a protected memory space >that is highly resistant to tampering and interference. This will greatly >reduce the risk of viruses, other attacks, or attempts to acquire personal >information or digital property with malicious or illegal intent. Our goal >is for the Palladium development process to be a collaborative industry >initiative. > >- We've incorporated what is known as P3P (Platform for Privacy >Preferences) technology in the Internet Explorer browser technology in >Windows XP, which enhances a user's ability to set privacy levels to suit >his or her needs. The P3P standard enables a user's browser to compare any >P3P-compliant Web site's privacy practices to that user's privacy >settings, and to decide whether to accept cookies from that site. > >Identifying and addressing critical Trustworthy Computing issues will >require significant collaboration across our industry. One example of the >kind of cross-industry effort we need more of is the recent creation of >the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) Organization >(http://www.ws-i.org/). Founded by IBM, Microsoft and other industry >leaders including Intel, Oracle, SAP, Hewlett-Packard, BEA Systems and >Accenture, WS-I's mission is to enable consistent and reliable >interoperability of XML-based Web services across a variety of platforms, >applications and programming languages. Among other things, WS-I will >create a suite of test tools aimed at addressing errors and unconventional >usage in Web services specifications implementations, which in turn will >improve interoperability among applications and across platforms. > >WHAT YOU CAN DO > >Given the complexity of the computing ecosystem, and the dynamic nature of >the technology industry, Trustworthy Computing really is a journey rather >than a destination. Microsoft is fully committed to this path, but it is >not something we can do alone. It requires the leadership of many others >in our industry and a commitment by customers to establish and maintain a >secure and reliable computing environment. For customers, the most >important first step is understanding what it will take to make their >computers and networks more reliable and safe. Below are some suggestions >on what individuals and businesses can do to create a more Trustworthy >Computing environment for themselves and others. > >- Give us feedback by using the error-reporting features built into Office >XP and Windows XP. > >- Use Microsoft Windows Update (http://windowsupdate.com/) to ensure that >you have the most up-to-date and accurate versions of product updates, >enhancements and fixes. > >- Businesses customers can take advantage of Software Update Services to >download critical updates from Windows Update. >(http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/windowsupdate/sus/) > >- Use Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to analyze Windows XP and >Windows 2000 for common security misconfigurations. >(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/tools/Tools/MBSAhome.asp) > >- Enterprise Systems Integrators can take advantage of the Systems >Integrator Source Licensing Program >(http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sharedsource/). > >- Hardware, software or systems vendors can sign up for Microsoft's >Windows Logo Program at http://www.microsoft.com/winlogo/ to ensure a >high-quality user experience. > >- Find more information about computing security at >http://www.microsoft.com/security/. > >- Our White Paper on Trustworthy Computing is at >http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/exec/craig/05-01trustworthywp.asp. > >- If you don't already have Internet Explorer 6.0, download it for free at >http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/evaluation/overview/ to take advantage >of its increased reliability and security and privacy features. > >We are doing everything we can at Microsoft to make software as >trustworthy as possible. By building awareness, through collaborative work >and with a long-term commitment, I am confident we can and will create a >truly Trustworthy Computing environment. > >Bill Gates > > >For information about Microsoft's privacy policies, please go to: >http://www.microsoft.com/info/privacy.htm. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Jul 18 21:51:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 21:51:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Fwd: Trustworthy Computing In-Reply-To: <200207182340.37420.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020718193840.00a86b98@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020718193840.00a86b98@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020718215145.00a86d80@mail.queenofangels.com> You could send it to me personally. I like bitter and cynical. At 11:40 PM 7/18/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >Dan, I had a magnificent rant for this letter, a point-by-point >evisceration. And once it was done, I decided it was too bitter and >cynical even for this list. Damn you. :) > >-- >Geek Code: GAT d- s+:+ a27 C++(+++)$ ULB++>++++ P++ L+++>++++ E W+ N+ w > PS+ PE++ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5++ X-- R tv b+++ DI++ D--- G+ e++ h* > r* y+* > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 19 21:23:21 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 21:23:21 -0700 Subject: [CT] Faster In-Reply-To: References: <3D3889F2.13AEB342@gte.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020719212143.00aa1ea0@mail.queenofangels.com> Can you give me a ref on that? I don't recall having read that in Thompson and I've read most of of Thompson. I got it from some guy whose name I don't recall; he said it to me in a conversation. At 06:48 PM 7/19/2002 -0700, David Silberstein wrote: >On Fri, 19 Jul 2002, Scooter wrote: > > >"Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of > >death." > >-Daniel Keys Moran, 'The Long Run' 1989 > >That quote, by the way, should really be attributed to Hunter S. >Thompson. Since he did say/write it first, and all. DKM heard it >from someone else. > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sun Jul 21 00:15:05 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 00:15:05 -0700 Subject: [CT] What would a sceenplay of The Long Run have to look like? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020721001441.00a878f0@mail.queenofangels.com> I don't have time right now to post much, but sure, go ahead. I won't be able to read the list until Wed. or Thu. At 12:21 AM 7/21/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: >We have periodic discussions of whom we'd like (or not like) to see in >various roles in the hypothetical movie of The Long Run, but I've never seen >any discussion of what the movie would have to be like. > >Dan, if you don't feel this is an appropriate discussion, please sqash it. > >It seems to me like there's way too much material for a truly faithful movie >to be made, and some bits require way too much background to convey. What >scenes would you cut to make something movie length? > >It seems to me that the critical bits of the story are: > >1. Trent is a genetically engineered being that the Unification considers a >threat. >2. The Unification discovers his identity, and starts chasing him. >3. Trent publicly causes the death of a PKF Elite, bringing the whole might >of the Unification down on him. >4. He runs off the planet, through the PKF's main orbial base (gotta keep >PKF Heaven). >5. He ends up on the moon, where the Unification thinks he's dead. >6. He decides to take down the Unification, starting with the LINK. >7. He anmounces he's alive (can't lose the press conference scene) >8. He steals the link and escapes to return in a sequel. > >A couple of interesting things pop out at me when I look at the plot that >way. First, you could save some exposition time and maybe make things less >confusing to the audience by eliminating the whole sequence with Deniece, or >cutting it down to little more than a cameo to help establish that he's one >of only two survivors of the roup of Telepaths, and that he's not telepathic >himself. > >Also, you could cut the story off at (5), moving 6-8 into a sequel, which >would probably then need to be expaned to include something from either The >Last Dancer or The AI War.... If you've gone Hollywood with Trent, though, >I think Deniece ends up getting shortchanged again, since it wouldn't make >sense to make a sequel to a film about Trent, that is mostly about Deniece. > >The TV series/miniseries approach would allow a much more faithful >adaptation, but even then, filling in back story could be problematic. > >- Brad >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 26 00:07:26 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 00:07:26 -0700 Subject: [CT] Order to read Travis McGee books Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020725235436.00a89698@mail.queenofangels.com> I forget who asked me this, but I'll take a pass at this anyway. You can read the entire thing in chronological order. This is probably the preferable approach -- but the God's truth is that the first four books, all copyright 1964, are among the weakest of all the Travis McGee books. So assuming you don't have the inclination to do this, start with: 1. Pale Gray for Guilt - 1968. For no other reason than that it's the first Travis McGee novel I ever read, and Travis and Meyer are both in it, and it hooked me. Thereafter we'll go in chronological order, though skipping some titles. A Deadly Shade of Gold - 1965. A great, sordid tale that that takes Travis to Mexico & Hollywood -- probably the first fully successful McGee novel. (Meyer isn't in it.) Bright Orange for the Shroud, 1965. Wonderful con story -- Arthur Wilkinson is gutted by some smooth, brutal operators; Travis goes in to see if he can get any of it back. The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper, 1969. One of the problems with MacDonald's naming convention is that some of the books titles are wholly forgettable, even when the books themselves are great. Not this one -- it gave me chills the first time I read it and still creeps me out. (The scene where Travis puts a body in his car, toward the end...) The Empty Copper Sea, 1978/The Green Ripper, 1980. The only two books in the series that really have to be read back to back. I'm not going to bother describing either one of them -- I already rhapsodized about "Green Ripper" a week or two ago. Cimmanon Skin, 1982. Carries on a thread from the previous novel ("Free Fall in Crimson") but it's not necessary that you read Crimson to apreciate Cinnamon Skin. All about getting old -- for both Travis and Meyer. The Lonely Silver Rain. MacDonald knew he was dying as he wrote this, and it shows -- read it last. (In fact, if you're not hooked by the time you get 2-3 deep into the books as listed, it probably doesn't matter what I say about this book; if you are hooked, go back to "The Deep Blue Goodbye" and read everything I failed to mention until you make your way back to Silver Rain. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 26 10:36:37 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 10:36:37 -0700 Subject: [CT] CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207261305.g6QD57d04212@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020726103023.03eae3d0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 09:05 AM 7/26/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >"The Apprentice" said: > >Yeah, but DKM just ripped off that whole "asset forfeiture upon >suspicion" thing from real-life U.S. law. Don't you _wish_ that was science fiction? > > It's times like these that I really start to wonder what the > > hell is the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Or a > > Progressive Conservative and a Liberal. > >Just because two political parties or movements both have some -- or >perhaps even a majority of -- rotten apples, that doesn't mean that >there's no difference between them. No matter what Ralph Nader might >try to tell you. The US is a plutocracy in practice, even if a republic in theory. Be glad there are guys like Bob Barr (to name someone on the other side who I despise) in the government; Barr has actual principles that guide his actions; he's not merely a whore for the money interests. Certainly there are differences between the parties, but what they have in common -- obedience to the people picking up the check -- is really much stronger than what separates them. The rare politician on either side who isn't a total whore for the plutocracy are a decided minority. The plutocracy that runs the country would much prefer not to have to fuck around with the forms of democracy, given the choice. The idea that their vote isn't 10,000 times more important than that of a bus driver is so offensive to them that they've created a world where the bus driver's vote doesn't matter. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 26 10:55:16 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 10:55:16 -0700 Subject: [CT] [OT] "TIPS" plan not dead yet In-Reply-To: <200207261451.g6QEp8Y11335@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020726105440.03e4c850@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:51 AM 7/26/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: > Mr. Barr called TIPS a "snitch system," saying, "A formal program, > organized, paid for and maintained by our own federal government to > recruit Americans to spy on fellow Americans, smacks of the very type > of fascist or Communist government we fought so hard to eradicate in > other countries in decades past." When I complimented Barr (in a completely left-handed way) in my previous post, I hadn't even seen this. But it's a great example. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 26 17:45:09 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 17:45:09 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020726103023.03eae3d0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020726174015.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> #1 with a bullet, I despise Barr for his role in the Clinton impeachment. I wasn't a fan of Clinton's, but he didn't deserve to be impeached. (Or if he did, then GW Bush deserves to be impeached; there's not a shred of doubt that Bush was guilty of perjury in Funeralgate -- nor, for that matter, that Newt Gingrich was guilty of it a couple years before Clinton. Unsurprisingly, there's not been a movement yet to impeach Bush in the conservative-controlled House....) But back away from Barr's partisanship, and he's a man you can do business with, if he's not shooting at you. Much like Buchanan, yes, there's a man there who'll stand up and fight for what he thinks is right -- a rarity on either side of the aisle. I respect that. At 01:57 PM 7/26/2002 -0700, sneadj at mindspring.com wrote: >On 26 Jul 02, at 12:16, David Silberstein wrote: > > > On Fri, 26 Jul 2002, Daniel Moran wrote: > > > > >The US is a plutocracy in practice, even if a republic in theory. Be > > >glad there are guys like Bob Barr (to name someone on the other side > > >who I despise) in the government; Barr has actual principles that > > >guide his actions; he's not merely a whore for the money interests. > > > > Er. Did a negation get left out there? Or did you mean you despise > > him despite the fact that he has principles? > >My guess is that like me, he admires Barr for having principles but >despises him for having the particular set that he has (I feel exactly >the same way about Pat Buchanan - he's certainly not a pawn to >the people with money, but he's scary enough in his own right). > >-John Snead sneadj at mindspring.com > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Jul 26 18:13:11 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 18:13:11 -0700 Subject: [CT] Contract came & went Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020726181109.00a894c0@mail.queenofangels.com> I signed & mailed back the Russian contracts today. The Russian edition of "AI War" will very likely see print before the English language edition -- I don't know if anything like that's ever happened in the SF field before. (I imagine it has in the larger literary field -- certainly there have to be some books written in Spanish or German or something like that, that saw their first publication in English, just on the odds. But the other way around? I'd be curious to know of an example.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jul 27 02:56:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 02:56:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207270220.35341.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020726174015.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020726103023.03eae3d0@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020726174015.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727025407.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:20 AM 7/27/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >At great risk of sounding like a conservative shill... I think Clinton >absolutely deserved to be impeached. I don't think a _conviction_ was >warranted, though. I'm not going to argue that Clinton didn't perjure himself; I think he did. I merely note that GW Bush (the son; his father is Herbert Walker, not merely Walker) lied under oath in Funeralgate in Texas, and to this day no conservative has attempted to impeach him. Apparently the "rule of law" is flexible. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jul 27 03:01:18 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 03:01:18 -0700 Subject: [CT] Obligatory legal foo. In-Reply-To: <200207270459.37517.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <200207270417.17255.rjhansen@inav.net> <200207270417.17255.rjhansen@inav.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727030112.00a8aac0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:59 AM 7/27/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >I will not discuss anything about him save what's available in public >records, plus (a) I love him a lot and (b) he's responsible for pissing me >off worse, and more often, than any man alive or dead. :-) I know that one. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jul 27 12:57:06 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 12:57:06 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207270516.45016.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727025407.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020726174015.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020727025407.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727120946.00a899d8@mail.queenofangels.com> >Still, that said, I've never heard an argument for GWB lying under oath in >Texas. If you can make a strong case for it, Dan, I'll be the first one >to write my Representative and ask for a Congressional inquiry (which is >the first step on the road to impeachment, for you non-Americans). Here's probably the best summary: http://www.auschron.com/issues/dispatch/2000-10-27/pols_naked6.html It's His Funeral Naked City BY ROBERT BRYCE October 27, 2000: As much as Gov. George W. Bush might want to kill it, Funeralgate just won't die. The latest development in the apparent influence-buying scandal involves testimony by former Texas Funeral Service Commission chairman Dick McNeil, who says that he spoke with Bush about the agency's investigation into Service Corporation International during a fundraiser at the Fort Worth Zoo in 1998. McNeil's testimony directly contradicts Bush's sworn statement, dated July 20, 1999, which says he had "no conversations" with any TFSC officials about the agency's investigation into SCI, which is headed by Bush contributor and family friend Robert Waltrip. McNeil's deposition, taken on Oct. 17, is the fourth time that Bush's sworn statement regarding the SCI investigation has been contradicted. It also calls into question Bush's statement that he has "no personal knowledge of relevant facts of the investigation" or "any dispute arising from this investigation." The deposition says that after McNeil introduced himself to Bush at the zoo, the governor replied, "Have you got -- you and Bob Waltrip -- are you and Mr. Waltrip got your problems worked out? And I said, no, we're still trying to work on that, Governor." McNeil, a Bush appointee, then said, "I hope that we have not been an embarrassment to you or to any of this administration." To this, he recalls Bush replying, "You're not an embarrassment to me. He said, do your job." McNeil said it was the first time he had ever met Bush and that their conversation lasted about 30 seconds. Bush's sworn statement on the SCI matter has already been impeached by Bush himself on two occasions. Last August, once in Iowa and once during a press conference in Austin, Bush admitted that he had spoken to Waltrip about the state's investigation while Waltrip was in the office of Joe Allbaugh, Bush's chief of staff (and now campaign manager). Bush said he didn't have a conversation with Waltrip. Instead, he said he had "only a brief exchange with him that lasted only a few seconds." The other contradiction came from Johnnie B. Rogers, SCI's longtime lobbyist, who confirmed that Bush spoke to him and Waltrip about the TFSC investigation while the two were in Allbaugh's office on April 15, 1998. Adding further intrigue is the news that the state's investigation of SCI, which began in 1998 under the direction of former executive Eliza May, has uncovered additional violations by the funeral home giant. In August 1998, a subcommittee of the agency recommended the company be fined $445,000 for a raft of violations which included the use of unlicensed embalmers. Last month, during a meeting of the TFSC board, officials from the Texas attorney general's office told the board members that they had discovered about 40 additional violations committed by SCI, the world's largest funeral company. If the agency seeks a fine for each violation, the company could face an additional $200,000 in penalties. While the case against SCI continues to be problematic for the TFSC, which has been in disarray ever since May was fired last year (the agency is facing sunset review and will likely be dissolved by the Legislature), May's whistleblower lawsuit against Bush, Waltrip, SCI, and the TFSC heralds more problems for Bush. McNeil's deposition is "flatly inconsistent with the governor's sworn statement," said May's lawyer, Charles Herring Jr. "And we will renew our efforts to depose the governor after the election." In August, state district judge John Dietz, a Democrat, ruled that May's lawyers could not depose Bush or key staffers, including Allbaugh, until after the election. The case is set for trial in April. The TFSC's case against the SCI is supposed to be handled by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, but no date has been set. ~~~~~ Here are two of the relevant affidavits: http://www.realchange.org/bushaffi.pdf http://www.realchange.org/macneil.pdf ~~~~~ That 2000 article is a little optimistic; the lawsuit was settled for $210K or thereabouts -- Bush never was deposed and directly questioned about his evident perjury. Nor has the "liberal media" (a hysterical idea; the mass media is owned and run by multi-national corporations) followed up on it. This is merely one example. The Clinton impeachment wasn't about "rule of law"; if it were, Newt Gingrich would have been impeached by the House for his perjury; he wasn't, he was censured instead. Apparently Clinton's perjury -- lying under oath with his mouth -- was much worse than Gingrich's perjury, lying in a sworn document submitted to the House Ethics Committee. They're the same crime, exactly; but like Bush's adventure with the SCI, the conservative-controlled House of Representatives found cause to treat them very differently. The last 4 years, and particularly the election of 2000, have pushed me substantially further left than I used to be -- I recall around 1993 being sorry that I'd voted for Clinton in '92; HW was a good guy who (admitting that he was a politician) plainly had some moral grounding and tried to do what he thought was best for the country. The contrast between him and Clinton -- a man with no evident moral core -- was fairly sharp. Ditto 1996, when Dole ran against Clinton; Clinton didn't get my vote that time. Fool me once.... Then conservatives voted for W over one of the finest human beings in the government, John McCain. W is Clinton writ small -- less bright, not as hard working, less of a sexual prowler, a drunk; equally dishonest. Bush's election actually managed to lower my opinion -- substantially -- of the American military. It was hard to defend Bill Clinton during the 90s, and I was willing to take at face value the revulsion that conservatives, and particularly military men, had for the guy; I felt some of it myself. About half my arguments during the Clinton era were "yeah buts" -- "OK, he's a scuzzball, yeah, but he did this thing over here I agree with" -- But then conservatives, and particularly military conservatives, embraced GW. A perjurer, a serial liar, a drunk who lied for decades about his arrests, a man who went AWOL from his National Guard service -- here: "What was her answer?" [Tucker] Carlson asks. Bush "whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation....Please...don't kill me," Bush says, pretending to be Karla Faye Tucker. "I must (have) looked shocked," Carlson writes, "ridiculing the pleas of a condemned prisoner who has since been executed seems odd and cruel, even for someone as militantly anticrime as Bush--because he immediately stops smirking." Who's Tucker Carlson? The right-wing host of Crossfire, at the moment. And if his portrayal of Bush as mocking a woman who was about to be executed is accurate (and I believe it to be) it tells you as much as you should ever need to know about the man sitting in the White House. Even during the 90s I knew (as everyone did) that much of the conservative revulsion for Bill Clinton was ideological. But the political right (and the military's) embrace of Bush the Younger clarified for me the degree to which that was true -- if there was ever a moral stance involved with the pursuit of Clinton, it got discarded the moment it ceased to be convenient. There are some exceptions to this -- Larry Klayman may be psychotic, but by God, he's serious about Judicial Watch; it's not just a right-wing shill organization -- but in large, a group that could impeach Bill Clinton for lying about a blow job has plainly found its man in W. The irony and the symmetry are so perfect it would have been hard to write a piece of fiction that would have demonstrated the underlying truth any more clearly. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Jul 27 15:31:14 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 15:31:14 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207271600.31191.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727120946.00a899d8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020727025407.00a89388@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020727120946.00a899d8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727151954.00a8af70@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:00 PM 7/27/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > http://www.auschron.com/issues/dispatch/2000-10-27/pols_naked6.html > > >Nor has the "liberal media" (a hysterical > > idea; the mass media is owned and run by multi-national corporations) > > followed up on it. > >I don't find it at all hysterical, Dan. When Barbara Boxer routinely gets >introduced as "Senator Boxer", while Bob Dole routinely gets introduced as >"the very conservative former Senator from Kansas", that right there tells >you the person doing the introduction has a subtle bias. http://www-csli.stanford.edu/%7Enunberg/bias.html 'For purposes of comparison, I took the names of ten well-known politicans, five liberals and five conservatives. On the liberal side were Senators Boxer, Wellstone, Harkin, and Kennedy, and Representative Barney Frank. On the conservative side were Senators Lott and Helms, John Ashcroft, and Representatives Dick Armey and Tom Delay. Then I looked to see how often each of those names occurred within seven words of liberal or conservative , whichever was appropriate. Of course some of those hits involved extraneous noise, say when the word liberal just happens to find itself near Barbara Boxer's name with no real connection between the two. But when I checked a sample of the results by hand, it turned out that more than 85 percent of them did in fact involve the assignment of a political point of view, with phrases like "Paul Wellstone, the liberal senator," or "Senate conservatives like Jesse Helms." And with a sample of more than 100,000 references to the names on the list, the results were statistically sound. 'In fact, I did find a big disparity in the way the press labels liberals and conservatives, but not in the direction that Goldberg claims. On the contrary: the average liberal legislator has a thirty percent greater likelihood of being identified with a partisan label than the average conservative does. ' ~~~~~ >I do my level best not to fall into the trap of tarring every liberal, nor >every Democrat, with the same broad brush. But it often feels as if >liberal Democrats do not reciprocate that effort. Well, sure. That's inevitable -- any time you say "conservatives think" or 'Liberals believe" -- you're generalizing by definition. This doesn't mean you can't make valid observations that apply to most conservatives, or most liberals, or most Lakers fans -- there are Lakers fans who don't like Kobe Bryant. (Hard as that is for me personally to believe, I know from personal experience that it's true.) But I can say honestly and accurately that "Lakers fans" love Kobe. > > This is merely one example. The Clinton impeachment wasn't about "rule > > of law"; if it were, Newt Gingrich would have been impeached by the > > House for his perjury; he wasn't, he was censured instead. Apparently > >He couldn't be impeached, Dan. Impeachment is only for Federal judges, the >President ahd the VP. For the House, they expel the person in question >instead (as they just have with Traficant) for the most extreme cases, or >censure for cases which don't rise to the level of expulsion. Fair enough -- substitute the word "expelled" for "impeached" and the point stands. > > The last 4 years, and particularly the election of 2000, have pushed me > > substantially further left than I used to be -- I recall around 1993 > >Oddly, the same timeframe has pushed me substantially further right. Same >events, different takes on them. Yeah, I'm familiar with that, too -- my old business partner and good friend was moderately right-wing when I met him, and he and I weren't that far apart politically. Today we're very far apart -- politically, anyway, though I still like and admire him as a person. > > Then conservatives voted for W over one of the finest human beings in > >Please be careful here. Conservatives are not a hive mind who all fall >lockstep into the same political beliefs. True, but nonetheless the statement above is accurate. Conservatives had a chance to show that "character matters" -- and failed to. >When push came to shove, though, I voted for Bush and tried to hold my >nose. The 2000 election wasn't a choice between Good and Evil. It was a >choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. McCain/Bradley in 2000 >would've had me dancing for joy--for once, a choice between Really Good >and Really Good! Who'd win that election? The American people. Yeah, I'd have voted for McCain over Gore, partisanship & all. And might have gone on for years thereafter believing that conservative moral outrage over Clinton wasn't, at its base, a fundamentally partisan outrage. Fortunately or unfortunately we got Bush instead, and now I know better. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sun Jul 28 14:08:26 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 14:08:26 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <3D435636.5BDF01DC@dnaco.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020727120946.00a899d8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020727151954.00a8af70@mail.queenofangels.com> <200207271812.34588.rjhansen@inav.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020728140047.00a8b2f8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:25 PM 7/27/2002 -0400, Maureen O'Brien wrote: >Ann Coulter _is_ a blithering idiot. God save us all from the >idiots, lunatics and criminals on our own side. All of whom seem to >be running amuck at present. Well, it's not unique to your side, which I'm sure you know. There are people on my side who I wish weren't -- Al Sharpton leaps immediately to mind. >I admired McCain's past but thought >he had some scary positions. Like what? Almost everything I know about McCain I admire -- I admit I don't know as much about him as about Bush, but what I do know I've generally agreed with. Even his use of the word "gook" -- if I'd spent five years in the Hanoi Hilton, I might use it myself. I think he's wrong to use it, but I have a hard time thinking too badly of the guy for it. >Fear is not an excuse. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are >not _optional_. And frankly, right now partisanship is less important >to me than finding people who actually believe that. Yeah, it's a strange day when Bob Barr and Pat Buchanan look to me like the people I should be standing up with, but there it is. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 00:25:29 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 00:25:29 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207290649.g6T6nHG02907@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729001557.00a8b3a8@mail.queenofangels.com> I have mixed feelings on campaign finance reform, to the degree that it prevents people with money from speaking politically. Seems to me a clear violation of First Amendment rights. OTOH, I have no problem at all with controlling the flow of money into political campaigns; I've heard 1A arguments on those grounds, but I think they're silly. What I'd like to see is real public access, via the public airwaves, some period of each day to discuss political issues. This still wouldn't force people to pay attention, but nothing does -- and it would at least give otherwise marginalized voices a chance to make their arguments. I don't care if the "marginalized voices" include the Klan or anyone else -- the free market of ideas is strong and I trust it to give the right result, at least in the long term. And those airwaves are OURS .... the multinationals currently pouring garbage out through them have them have no right to them at all. I'd like to see them auctioned off to the highest bidder (wipe out much of the national debt in the process) -- with a provision that they're required to provide X hours per day to elected officials & anyone running for office. I'll note that the same people who claim that the news media is full of liberal bias are the ones who did away with the old Fairness Doctrine and are dead set against anything that opens up the media to a wider array of voices. If they're unhappy with the "liberal media" you'd think they'd want to see more range of expression, not less. (Of course, a year or two ago I saw a study which showed the LA radio market was dominated by conservatives about 20 to 1 over liberals in terms of hours broadcast ... a direct result of the Fairness Doctrine getting overturned.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 00:53:06 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 00:53:06 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <20020729073123.GN32424@infodancer.org> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729001557.00a8b3a8@mail.queenofangels.com> <200207290649.g6T6nHG02907@panix2.panix.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729001557.00a8b3a8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729004355.00a8a6f8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:31 AM 7/29/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: >The argument against trying to control the flow of money is that >any attempt to do so inevitably controls the ability of every >citizen to spend money to express their viewpoint. Given the >current mass media situation, money and (effective) political >speach are inseparable. You could as easily argue that purchasing anything is a political statement -- that purchasing cigarettes or porno is a political statement. The state legislates that market and I see no reason it shouldn't -- the same is true of political campaigns. Giving money to Candidate X is not speech; buying airtime to say Candidate X is a swell guy, is. I'd regulate one, not the other. > > And those airwaves are OURS .... the multinationals > > currently pouring garbage out through them have them have no right to them > > at all. I'd like to see them auctioned off to the highest bidder (wipe out > > much of the national debt in the process) -- with a provision that they're > > required to provide X hours per day to elected officials & anyone running > > for office. > >You may not be aware of this, but this is already the case -- ie, >we have already auctioned off the airwaves and there are already >requirements for useful content in place (at least in many >places). I'm quite sure that ABC Television hasn't had to competitibely bid for its bandwidth in quite some time (if ever). They should -- if this means that every 5 or 10 years the multinationals have to dig deep to pay for their radio & television, all to the good. >Note that I have yet to see useful "public access" content. It's almost always cable access -- not a big deal. Give me an hour on broadcast television in Los Angeles -- you might not like what people have to say, but I assure you they'd have things to say that don't often get heard. How often do Libertarians or Greens get on the air? I honestly can't recall ever having seen one except Ralph Nader. (And boy, speaking as a Democrat, am I sorry about that. But the point stands.) >I claim the media is full of liberal bias. :-) OK. I disagree with you; I think the media in general is astonishingly conservative, operated for the benefit of the multi-nationals who own it. >I had nothing to do with the fairness doctrine, for or against. >What is/was it? Just the "journalistic integrity" idea of >telling all/both sides to a story, or what? The Fairness Doctrine required that equal time be provided for opposing political viewpoints. In the case of the radio market in Los Angeles, it would require the companies currently saturating my airwaves with conservative commentators to provide access to opposing political viewpoints -- it was enforced sloppily even back in the day, but it did help lead to some diversity of thought on the airwaves. It was terminated in 1987. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 01:12:20 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 01:12:20 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729004355.00a8a6f8@mail.queenofangels.com> References: <20020729073123.GN32424@infodancer.org> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729001557.00a8b3a8@mail.queenofangels.com> <200207290649.g6T6nHG02907@panix2.panix.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729001557.00a8b3a8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729005755.00a8b7d8@mail.queenofangels.com> I just googled up "Fairness Doctrine" -- it's been a while since 1987. I got at least one detail wrong: the Fairness Doctrine wouldn't have required equal time, merely some time. I'll try to hunt up the exact language of the statute. After the Reagan FCC cancelled it, over 70% of Congress voted to reinstate it -- Reagan vetoed that, and Congress couldn't muster the 2/3rds vote to override. (Which, of course, means that some portion of the above-66% vote backed down when push came to shove.) The corporate ownership of our media is truly startling. On Sep. 11 abruptly 4 of my six a.m. presets were broadcasting the same voice -- the KFI morning DJ. Turned out ClearChannel Communications owned 4 of my 6 presets. The Columbia Journalism review maintains a list of corporate ownership at: http://www.cjr.org/owners/ Here's a single example from the world of books -- note that Bantam, Doubleday, Dell, Fawcett, Ivy, Delacorte, Dial -- all used to be standalone companies. When I sold my first novel, Bantam and Doubleday and Ballantine were competitors -- today they belong to a single company, Bertellsman: The Ballantine Publishing Group Ballantine Books Ballantine Reader's Circle Del Rey Del Rey/Lucas Books Fawcett Ivy One World Wellspring Bantam Dell Publishing Group Bantam Hardcover Bantam Trade Paperback Bantam Mass Market Crimeline Domain Fanfare Spectra Delacorte Press The Dial Press Delta DTP Dell Island The Crown Publishing Group Bell Tower Clarkson Potter Crown Business Crown Publishers, Inc. Harmony Books Shaye Areheart Books Three Rivers Press The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group Broadway Books Currency Doubleday Doubleday Religious Publishing Doubleday/Image Main Street Books Nan A. Talese The Knopf Publishing Group Alfred A. Knopf Everyman's Library Pantheon Books Schocken Books Vintage Anchor Publishing Random House Audio Publishing Group Random House Audio Random House Audio Assets Random House Audio Dimensions Random House Audio Roads Random House Audio Voices Random House Audio Price-less Random House Listening Library Random House Audible Random House Children's Books Knopf Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group Alfred A. Knopf Bantam Crown David Fickling Books Delacorte Press Dell Dragonfly Dell Laurel-Leaf Dell Yearling Groups Doubleday Wendy Lamb Books Random House Young Readers Group Beginner Books Disney Sesame Workshop Picturebacks Step into Reading Stepping Stones LucasBooks Landmark Books First Time Books The Random House Information Group Fodor's Travel Publications Living Language Princeton Review Random House Espanol Random House Puzzle & Games Random House Reference Publishing The Random House Trade Publishing Group Random House Trade Books Villard Books The Modern Library AtRandom Random House Trade Paperbacks Random House Ventures Random House Audible ebrary Xlibris Literary Magazines Bold Type Online Book Sales barnesandnoble.com - joint venture with Barnes & Noble BOL Trade Publications ABI Building Data AZ Bertelsmann - direct marketing service provider BauNetz - German online service for architects Entertainment Media Verlag - publishes in fields of movies, television, cinema Gabler/Vieweg/Westdeutscher Verlag - publishes in fields of technology/science ICW Publications - information provider for construction industry MMV Medizin Verlag - German weekly medical magazine Verkehr Online - online service for German road haulage industry Heinrich Vogel Verlag - publishes in field of transportation Wila Verlag - publishes in field of legal expense insurance Springer Verlag (86.5% - Springer New York holds stakes in US Publishers Key Curriculum and Princeton Architectural Press) Bertelsmann - Broadcasting CLT-UFA European TV Stations include: Germany RTL RTL-2 (34.5%) SUPER RTL (50% with Disney) Premiere World (5% with KirchPayTV) VOX England Channel 5 France FUN TV M6 Multivision Teva Netherlands RTL - 4 RTL - 5 RTL - 9 RTL - Tele Letzebuerg Hungary RTL Klub Television Production UFA Film & TV Production Trebitsch Production Delux Productions (Luxembourg) Cinevideo (Canada) Holland Media House (Netherlands) First Choice (U.K.) European Radio Stations include: RTL Radio (Germany) Bertelsmann - magazines Gruner + Jahr (Corporate Magazine Division) Magazines in Germany Brigitte Capital Eltern Frau im Spiegel Schoner Wohnen Der Spiegel - 25% Flora Geo Geo Saison Oskar's P.M. Magazine Stern Tip TV Today Magazines in North America American Homestyle Child Family Circle (majority owner) Fitness Inc. Jump McCall's (majority owner) Parents (majority owner) Rosie YM Magazines (majority owner) Supplements Computer & Co. - computer magazine rtv - television programming magazine Bertelsmann - Multimedia Online Services AOL Europe (50%) AOL Germany (45%) AOL France (50%) bs medic Sport 1 Lycos Europe CD Now MyMusic.com Napster (partial investment) MusicNet (with Real Networks, AOLTW, and EMI) Multimedia Productions Bertelsmann Interactive Studios Information Technology Services Bertelsmann mediaSystems Bertelsmann Corporate Information Systems mediaWays Pixelpark Telemedia Services eps Bertelsmann - information and electronic general contractor Mount Media - German media online service Bertelsmann - Music Bertelsmann Music Group BMG North America (Labels and Clubs) Arista Records RCA RCA Victor BMG Classics BMG Music Publishing BMG Music Service BMG Special Products Windham Hill Group Special Imprint Genres Bugjuice Peeps Republic Twang This! International BMG Austria BMG Australia BMG Canada BMG Germany BMG Germany Interactive BMG Germany Studios BMG Germany Video BMG Hongkong BMG United Kingdom Storage Sonopress - cd manufactures with locations in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa ~~~~~ Spend some time browsing that list. Every single station on my cable (when I have it turned on) is owned by one of a handful of companies; I went through and looked once. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 01:43:17 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 01:43:17 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207290817.g6T8HB213640@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729013824.00b154f8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:17 AM 7/29/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >Unless you want to argue that what the people vote for _isn't_ a >reflection of what they want, anyway. I would. More often than not it's a choice among bad and less-bad options -- Tweedledee and Tweedledum, as I think Robert Hansen pointed out -- though he and I might differ on which was Dee & which was Dum. I don't know anyone I respect who honestly thought Bush was a better man than McCain (and damned few who thought Gore was a better man than Bradley, though the gap is closer; Gore did his stint in Viet Nam) -- but the money people picked Gore & Bush and the nearly-scientific advertising went to work. If you were to sit down and educate the American public about the four "finalists" in last year's election, I have to believe it would have gone something like McCain-Bradley as their respective first choices, depending on ideology, and Bush-Gore as second choices, again depending on ideology. McCain and Bradley had the misfortune to have spine and look unpurchaseable ... and so they weren't purchased. But the American public didn't get that education. If I'm wrong, and I might be, if Bush/Gore really ARE what the American people want ... God help us. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 02:33:12 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 02:33:12 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207290901.g6T91R820121@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729021311.00a8aad8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:01 AM 7/29/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >My whole point here, though, is that at no time did anybody point a >gun at the voters and say "You may only vote for Bush or Gore."[1] If >the people limited themselves to those two just because they were the >"brand name" candidates, well, that's the people's own damn fault, >isn't it? (Insert here W. Churchill's famous quote about democracy as >it compares to all other forms of governance.) I've got a huge long rant about that one -- I wrote a version of it to a friend in an e-mail a couple years ago. I'll try to dig it up. Not tonight, I'm going to bed, but the really Super-Condensed version is: The corporations brainwash you from the moment you first open your eyes. They push the corporate culture at you in your cartoons and your cereal. You go to school and get it shoved at you in the classrooms. It saturates almost every part of your culture. They tell you what beauty is. They tell you what strength looks like. They push CEO-worship at you like a religion. They define you as a consumer. That's you, bub: "consumer." Defined by what you purchase, by what you wear, by the catch-phrases you use: "Wassup, dude!" Fuck, you think you're hip? No, buddy, you don't know the Budweiser Corporation Catch-Phrase! No, no one points a gun to your head, except in some cases to take your stuff away from you. But they make damn sure they control your radio, your television, your cable television, the books you buy and the magazines for sale at the checkout stand of your grocery store. I concede, it's still possible to buy subversive fiction ... but not by design of the media corps, for damned sure; they'd stop it if they could. If it were possible to program every writer in their stables with the John Grisham formula, they sure would -- and indeed they try to. Occasionally someone slips through -- but only occasionally, and usually by producing some media-corp acceptable piece of work and _then_ writing something that actually matters. The most subversive SF writer of the last 50 years, Philip K. Dick, wasn't published widely when he was alive and is being cannibalized now he's dead -- I haven't seen Minority Report, but am I wrong that there are ads placed throughout the damned thing? THAT'S a subversive piece of work? I say again I haven't seen it, but I doubt it very, very much. So some genuinely subversive (by media-corp standards) pieces slip through, sure. But 99% of what's hitting the average person's senses over the course of a day is aligned with the corporate message. They bought and purchased our culture, pureed out anything likely to cause discomfort, and started feeding it back to us -- before I was born this started; it's just gathered speed since then. And the 1% or less that hits your average shmoe on a daily basis is so overwhelmed by the GoodThink that's broadcast to them from the day that they're born that it stands a snowball's chance in Texas of making an impact. "If I owned Hell and Texas, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell." Philip H. Sheridan -- the ancestor of Babylon 5's Sheridan, amusingly. And yeah, that is indeed the Super-Condensed version. Good night. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 13:53:13 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:53:13 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207291531.58690.rjhansen@inav.net> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729134840.00a8ab00@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:31 PM 7/29/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > As would I. I would ask though that you be sure that your definition of > > labor includes creative application of an idea. > >Labor is the (human) expenditure of effort towards a goal, in my view. >Wealth is created by labor, with precisely how much wealth is created >dependent mostly on how other people value the result of one's labor. I'm not an economist and I'm unclear about this. How do natural resources (land, e.g.) fit into this definition of wealth? Some things would seem to be intrinsically valuable without any labor having been applied to them -- if I own 10 acres in downtown Los Angeles, granted to my great-great-grandfather when LA was scrub, and I sell that land, I'm wealthy in any meaningful sense. But there's been no work done by anyone, unless the act of grabbing the land in the first place can be considered work. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 14:30:30 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 14:30:30 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack In-Reply-To: <200207291616.01963.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <200207292100.OAA11550@ddmi.he.net> <200207292100.OAA11550@ddmi.he.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729142554.00a8bd38@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:16 PM 7/29/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > Economic wealth is based on how much you can sell your shit for, nothing > > more. > >Incredible claims require incredible proof. :) Please find me a strong >proof that Adam Smith is wrong. Until that time, I'm going to stand on >_The Wealth of Nations_. I read Wealth of Nations a long long time ago -- I admit, I'm skeptical about this definition. Clean water, anyone? Clean water is valuable; but no labor went into it (in most cases) -- You're the Chief of your village. There's a water hole in the village. You charge people for coming to get a drink. Bingo! You're wealthy ... where's the labor there? The spear-waving? Certainly no one has improved the water in this scenario. The village? OK, instead of a village let's say they're nomadic & they just got to the water hole ... and the Big Chief sits down with his spear and starts charging for drinks. Where's the labor there? Nonetheless, the Chief is getting wealthy (admittedly by different standards than you and I are used to, but nonetheless.) Control of natural resources looks like a real source of wealth to me that's not dependent upon labor, or at a bare minimum not solely dependent upon labor. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 14:54:58 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 14:54:58 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack In-Reply-To: <82E5726F-A33C-11D6-85AC-0005029F67F1@intelligent-imaging.c om> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729142554.00a8bd38@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729145440.00a8bae0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:45 PM 7/29/2002 -0600, Daniel Dvorkin wrote: >>Control of natural resources looks like a real source of wealth to me >>that's not dependent upon labor, or at a bare minimum not solely >>dependent upon labor. > >But the "spear-waving" you mention is real work, or at least it invokes >the potential for work -- some of the hardest work there is, actually. I'll go back and read "Wealth of Nations" again. I'm sure I'm wrong, I'm just not clear how., ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From jamesmillar at yahoo.com Mon Jul 29 18:42:38 2002 From: jamesmillar at yahoo.com (James Millar) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 18:42:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: I have an extra copy of 'The Ring' Message-ID: <20020730014238.94080.qmail@web11207.mail.yahoo.com> I have an extra copy of 'The Ring', it is in Hardback (The only edition ever released I believe) and in good condition. If anyone is interested in buying it off me, please respond and I will send out a second email to interested persons directly. - James Millar. ===== ________________________________________________________ James Millar yea, yea, I know... __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 21:44:00 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 21:44:00 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207300152.g6U1qrw16873@panix1.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729212357.00a8c138@mail.queenofangels.com> At 09:52 PM 7/29/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >Any other interpretation leads to the conclusion that the people are >simple programmable automatons -- which concept DKM has alluded to >here -- which renders the whole idea of "democracy" somewhat moot and >we therefore may as well stop talking about it. People are _complex_ programmable automatons with some fuzzy circuitry that causes them to behave unpredictably. But in large populations they react in measurable and predictable ways to stimulus -- or advertising would not exist. _You_ got programmed. Now, you may have spent some time as a teenager and adult reprogramming yourself ... a necessary act for anyone who isn't willing to have their opinions dictated to them by the mass media, or by their church, or by their parents. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Trevanian Throughout all history, the merchants have cowered behind the walls of their towns, while the paladins did battle to protect them, in return for which the merchants have always fawned and bowed and played the lickspittle. One cannot really blame them. They are not bred for courage. And, more significantly, you can't put bravery in the bank. ? Shibumi I went looking for this quote on QueenOfAngels.com and it popped up on the first page as my random quote. That's about 7,000-to-1 against. We live in a mercantile culture. On balance this is probably more a good thing than a bad one, but with the exception of the men and women in the military, the media corps have done their level best to erase the idea that there is any moral system worth considering, any code worth living by, that doesn't focus on profit. Nothing wrong with profit; it's a minor virtue. But the media corps would have it the only virtue. One of my favorite movies, albeit badly made in places, is Knightriders -- a silly premise: guys put on a renfair and travel from town to town staging jousts on motorcycle. Ed Harris, in perhaps the best role of his remarkable career, plays Captain Billy, Sir William -- the King. As silly as the premise is (and there's my media corp programming talking) it's played dead straight -- people live by the code and die for their honor. "Our code is the truth," says the King. Use the word honor in modern America and people will look at you oddly. That's also the programming at work. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 21:48:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 21:48:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack fi le-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207300207.g6U276K18725@panix1.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729214532.00a8bee0@mail.queenofangels.com> >Sam Roberts said: > > Democracy isn't just the best form of government; it's the only one > > even remotely worth a damn. Only Democracy guarantees that people > > get what they deserve." That's a paraphrase of HL Mencken, I believe. So is the line about getting their democracy given to them good and hard, which I think someone attributed to Churchill. (What is it about Churchill? I see quotes attributed to him with great frequency that I know came from elsewhere -- he was a witty & outsized guy, I guess.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 22:35:37 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 22:35:37 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <200207300031.07791.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <200207300509.g6U59UC17324@panix1.panix.com> <200207300509.g6U59UC17324@panix1.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:31 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >(As a for-instance, I consider the ACLU to hold a spot in hell close to the >fire. The so-called defenders of civil liberties will not defend the >Second Amendment because they claim the phrase "the right of the people" >in the 2nd A refers to a collectivist right to form state militias. So how exactly do you keep me from owning nuclear weapons? I agree with your reading of the 2nd Amendment, btw -- I don't think it refers to a collective right either. But if my right to keep and bear arms is not to be infringed, I want to know under what conceivable legal theory you're preventing me from purchasing nuclear arms if I want them. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 23:06:40 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 23:06:40 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <200207300056.01270.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> <200207300509.g6U59UC17324@panix1.panix.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> So by your reasoning, if a nuclear weapon is portable and maintainable by one person, you'd permit it? I don't doubt for a second you could build a suitcase nuke today that one person could lift & maintain. Would you permit such a weapon? At 12:56 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >I read the Amendment differently. The right of the people to keep _and >bear_ arms... I read that as the Amendment protects arms which an >individual might reasonably maintain by himself without draining State >resources and which are also man-portable. It's one thing to "keep" a >weapon, a different thing to "bear" them, so I read "keep and bear" in the >way that I do specifically to avoid the nasty problem of what to do about >WMDs. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 23:18:11 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 23:18:11 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <200207300049.09438.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729212357.00a8c138@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729212357.00a8c138@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230652.02f0e2a8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:49 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >Dan, this is going to sound inflammatory and flaming. It didn't, though I disagree with you. >Even the people who call our faith the biggest blight on the world in the >last millennium. Which you have, from time to time, accused Christendom >of being. Don't believe I have. I believe I've stated that it's hard to disentangle the good and bad that organized religions have done across the years, but that I believe the good has been outweighed by the bad, which I do -- I'm sure my exact words are in the archives somewhere. >But I don't understand how you can, on the one hand, condemn the world for >being so dismissive of any code of honor which does not reduce down to >naked profit; and on the other, condemn hundreds of millions of people >worldwide who adhere, flawed and failed adherents though they are, to a >religion which is at its core deeply honorable. I distinguish between faith and organized religion, principally. Faith strikes me as an attempt to understand the universe without the messy and difficult tools of science and patience. (Almost all -- all? -- major religions existed before the scientific method did, so you can't fault the people who created those religions too badly.) Faith, though irrational, is not offensive to me. Faith is passed down, parent-to-child, when the child is too young to notice the essential silliness of the core theology -- and this is true of any religion you care to name; they're all the One True Religions; they're all theologically silly to people who don't believe in them; and none of them say the same thing. It's far easier to assume they're all wrong than to assume that all but one are wrong. Organized religions, on the other hand, are almost universally authoritarian tools for controlling populations of various sizes. They can range from the benign to the malign in how they do this -- at their best they do it by instilling a code that is not self-centered in the individuals they're indoctrinating. At their worst, they produce people who fly planes into buildings. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Jul 29 23:19:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 23:19:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <20020730055947.GD9748@infodancer.org> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> <200207300509.g6U59UC17324@panix1.panix.com> <200207300509.g6U59UC17324@panix1.panix.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729231935.00aa5978@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:59 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: >Me? I saw to stop it from happening, you'll need to amend the >Constitution. But nobody is really eager to open that can of >worms. It's rare I agree with you 100%, but I have to admire your honesty. Your reading is mine. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 00:07:41 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 00:07:41 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <200207300128.52170.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730000641.00a8b5a0@mail.queenofangels.com> Would you change your mind after the first nuke took out a city somewhere? (Which would happen, sure as the sun would rise.) At 01:28 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > by one person, you'd permit it? I don't doubt for a second you could > > build a suitcase nuke today that one person could lift & maintain. Would > > you permit such a weapon? > >Knowing what I do of nukes, I don't believe nukes can be maintained by one >person. But, for purpose of argument--yes, I would. The alternative is >to say "well, we believe in obeying the law, except in this case"... in >which case we are not a nation of laws at all, but a nation which obeys >political expediency. > >-- >Geek Code: GAT d- s+:+ a27 C++(+++)$ ULB++>++++ P++ L+++>++++ E W+ N+ w > PS+ PE++ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5++ X-- R tv b+++ DI++ D--- G+ e++ h* > r* y+* > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 00:10:50 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 00:10:50 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <200207300128.52170.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730000817.00a8c580@mail.queenofangels.com> If I were running a pro-gun control organization, I'd find me a guy who wanted to own his own Stinger missile and sue on the Justice Department's recently stated theory that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. I don't believe for a second that the Supreme Court, even as currently constituted, would permit individuals to own Stinger missiles; but it would be interesting and instructive to see which legal fiction they adopted to prevent it. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 00:22:36 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 00:22:36 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <3D463D37.1060604@memoria.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729223411.00aa56f8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020730000817.00a8c580@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730002158.00a8c7d8@mail.queenofangels.com> Pragmatically this may be true, but even then -- some lower court would have to compose the new and accepted legal fiction. At 12:16 AM 7/30/2002 -0700, Al Billings wrote: >They could simply refuse to hear the case after it was lost by the fellow >in a lower court. They do that all of the time to avoid making a decision >on their level about things. > >Daniel Moran wrote: >>If I were running a pro-gun control organization, I'd find me a guy who >>wanted to own his own Stinger missile and sue on the Justice Department's >>recently stated theory that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual >>right to keep and bear arms. I don't believe for a second that the >>Supreme Court, even as currently constituted, would permit individuals to >>own Stinger missiles; but it would be interesting and instructive to see >>which legal fiction they adopted to prevent it. >>____________________________ >>continuing-time mailing list >>continuing-time at ralf.org >>http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 00:33:10 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 00:33:10 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <200207300228.03573.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730000817.00a8c580@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020729230307.00a8adc8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020730000817.00a8c580@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730003148.03d7e738@mail.queenofangels.com> That would also be an interesting result -- I don't believe for a second that the mediacorps want individual ownership of extraordinarily powerful weapons, either -- the "American People" would be given their opinion on this subject with such vehemence that the Supreme Court would be impeached, IMO. At 02:28 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > individuals to own Stinger missiles; but it would be interesting and > > instructive to see which legal fiction they adopted to prevent it. > >If they uphold the 1939 _Miller_ decision, SCOTUS would likely affirm it. >_Miller_, contrary to being a gun-control victory, is actually a helluva >strong statement that civilians have the right to possess military >hardware. > >Miller was only found guilty because SCOTUS found that his sawed-off >shotguns served no military purpose. > >-- >Geek Code: GAT d- s+:+ a27 C++(+++)$ ULB++>++++ P++ L+++>++++ E W+ N+ w > PS+ PE++ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5++ X-- R tv b+++ DI++ D--- G+ e++ h* > r* y+* > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 00:38:29 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 00:38:29 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <20020730072547.1F74210B36@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730003708.03d8ebb0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:25 AM 7/30/2002 -0700, Charles Clark wrote: >I can assume from this that Trevanian has seen some Kurosawa :) Almost certainly, though I don't recall any specific references, I'd be stunned if he/she hadn't. (There's some question about Trevanian's gender, I've heard.) >George bleeping A. Romero; my nominee for most underrated US >filmmaker. Given the anti-corporate america semi-rant you posted, >you HAVE to like Dawn of the Dead. Right? I mean, you have to. Yeah, I do. I'm not a big horror guy either, but Romero is an exception. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 01:02:36 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 01:02:36 -0700 Subject: [CT] [OT] political stuff (was: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would...) In-Reply-To: <20020730075045.GQ9748@infodancer.org> References: <200207300511.g6U5Bdg18801@panix1.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730010216.00a8cad8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:50 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: >On Tue, Jul 30, 2002 at 12:50:06AM -0700, sneadj at mindspring.com wrote: > > A statement obviously proven by the utter lack of > > doctors and health care in Sweden and Denmark (or for that matter > > in Canada). > >External subsidies won't last forever. Pure opinion. And at least as far as farm subsidies go, wrong so far. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 01:35:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 01:35:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: CBCNEWS - U.S. bill would allow Hollywood to hack file-sharing networks In-Reply-To: <20020730082707.2A07A10B21@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730013001.00a8dc18@mail.queenofangels.com> Been a night for weird Trevanian coincidences. Just ran across this -- apparently I've just been missing the news on Trevanian all these years; he's a guy named Whitaker. Interesting piece about him here: http://www.enterprisepub.com/news/12.16.98news.htm#dana Apparently Jerry Pournelle knew him. If I could do this with money on the line I'd never have to work again. At 01:27 AM 7/30/2002 -0700, Charles Clark wrote: > > From: Daniel Moran > > > At 12:25 AM 7/30/2002 -0700, Charles Clark wrote: > > >I can assume from this that Trevanian has seen some Kurosawa :) > > > > Almost certainly, though I don't recall any specific references, I'd be > > stunned if he/she hadn't. (There's some question about Trevanian's gender, > > I've heard.) > >Having no other knowledge of Shibumi than your quote I don't >know the context, but that quote could easily be slotted into the >screenplay of the Seven Samurai. > >-- >Charles Clark | cmc at stegosaur.us | Salivo, ergo sum. >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 02:00:48 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 02:00:48 -0700 Subject: [CT] The two in one party In-Reply-To: <200207300354.06061.rjhansen@inav.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730000641.00a8b5a0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730015427.00a8cfb8@mail.queenofangels.com> I gotta stop doing this, I'm supposed to be writing. But the problem here is that 1 death <> 10 million deaths; it's entirely appropriate that they should be valued differently. I'd countenance steps to protect ten million lives that I wouldn't countenance to protect 1. The Constitution is supposed to serve us; it is not supposed to be our master. That's why the Founders put the option in to have a Constitutional Convention and rewrite it. Every single amendment in the Constitution has been violated repeatedly over the years, over and over again, by the judges, by elected officials, by the military, for things far more trivial than the deaths of millions ... and the Republic has survived. The Constitution is not _my_ code. (And please, don't ask me my code; I had that conversation with my 3-year old yesterday and told him I'd write it down for him and we'd go over it in simple words. If you're interested I'll post it when I get done.) I respect the Constitution -- I revere the Constitution -- but I didn't write it; fallible men like myself wrote it, and there are parts of it I disagree with. If I _had_ written it I'd reserve the right to change my mind as I learned and (presumably) got wiser. If the choice is protecting the document written bymen 200 years ago who'd never seen a nuke go off, nor ever imagined it -- or protecting the 10 million -- that portion of the Constitution has to go. If a Constitutional Convention can be convened to do it, fine -- but if not, I won't sacrifice those lives for that document. At 03:54 AM 7/30/2002 -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote: > > Hmm, the paraphrase of the Poul Anderson quote about the > > dangers of fanatics that I just posted comes vividly to mind. Mass > > death is *never* better than other options. > >Then let's reduce it down to something very simple that's not mass death. >Let's try _one_ death. > >If it spares just one life, will you abandon the rule of law? Will you >abandon the civil liberties that we treasure so highly? > >Let's try something smaller. > >If it spares, say, thirty-eight cents, will you abandon the rule of law? >Will you abandon civil liberties in order to save subway fare? > >H.L. Mencken once asked a socialite if she'd sleep with him for a million >bucks. The socialite hemmed and hawed, then finally laughed and said yes, >sure, why not? Mencken then asked her if she'd sleep with him for one >dollar. The socialite was offended and spat, "What do you think I am, a >whore?" > >Mencken replied, "Madame, you've already confessed to being a whore. Now >we're just dithering about your price." > >You've made it clear that your liberties are for sale, John. The only >question is what price you want for them. I fear for your liberty, >because history is full of examples of tyrants who will pay a very high >price in exchange for people voluntarily relinquishing their freedom. >Many people will trade them in exchange for bread and circuses. > >Mine are not for sale. Does that mean I'm willing to pay exorbitantly--pay >beyond my ability to pay, even--just to hang onto them? Yes. > >In the game _Alpha Centauri_ there's a wonderful quote, something to the >effects of "merchants have always feared faith, for how can you purchase >something which is priceless?" > >If my belief that my liberties are priceless--and my willingness to pay >literally any price to hold onto them--causes so much fear in you, then >what appears to me to be the next logical question is: why does it >frighten you so much to think there are some things which are beyond >price, and that there might be men and women who treasure these things >accordingly? > >-- >Geek Code: GAT d- s+:+ a27 C++(+++)$ ULB++>++++ P++ L+++>++++ E W+ N+ w > PS+ PE++ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5++ X-- R tv b+++ DI++ D--- G+ e++ h* > r* y+* > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 02:01:56 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 02:01:56 -0700 Subject: [CT] The Map Is not the Place Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730020115.00a8c0f0@mail.queenofangels.com> The Constitution is a map, a guide to how we should treat and protect one another. If it fails to map, sacrifice it; the lives are real, the map is not. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Jul 30 15:01:49 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 15:01:49 -0700 Subject: [CT] If there's any interesting DKM news... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020730150056.00a8cd88@mail.queenofangels.com> This seems reasonable (and certainly, the politics has generated a big blast of e-mails; I don't blame people for not wanting to slog through it.) I'm not sure I'm subscribed to ctforum -- how do you get on it? At 03:59 PM 7/30/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: > > From: Michael G. Montague [mailto:mmontag at med.unc.edu] >... > > Oh get off it... DKM has been writing on these threads HIMSELF... I > > joined this list because I enjoy reading his work, fiction, and "off- > > topic" posts alike! As far as I'm concerned ANY thread that DKM > > contibutes to, even once, is "on-topic" on a list of people who want > > to read DKM and discuss his writings, ***by definition***. > >Yeah, but I think the 3 day rule is a good guideline anyway... The current >discussion has done a remarkable job of not descending into rancor thus >far... Indeed, the above is the most hostile comment I've seen on the list >in weeks. > >- Brad >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 31 05:39:45 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 05:39:45 -0700 Subject: [CT] If there's any interesting DKM news... In-Reply-To: <20020731114649.68BC010B2F@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020731053801.00a8cd40@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:46 AM 7/31/2002 -0400, Sol Foster wrote: >"Michael G. Montague" wrote: >Wow, I think I sense a new continuing-time motto: > >Only three times as bad as spam! I can think of worse. >They're holding auditions for frogs, and if they need frogs, they must >need bears, too. > -Kermit :-) I watched that with my kids yesterday. "Bear left!" "Right, frog!" I think most of the flood's been moved over to the ctforum list. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 31 07:29:24 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 07:29:24 -0700 Subject: [CT] The Map Is not the Place In-Reply-To: <13424.139.76.65.129.1028124687.squirrel@www.dnaco.net> References: <20020730192856.GF15326@infodancer.org> <20020730192856.GF15326@infodancer.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020731070914.02546d60@mail.queenofangels.com> My first-ever ObCT, I think: When -- Emerald Eyes ? -- or The Long Run was getting typeset, the copy-editor edited my quotes. I stared at it in disbelief when I got the galleys -- they'd chopped me up pretty bad, and I went through writing STET in various places ... but when I got to the quotes, which I had typed up faithfully from the sources, and saw the copy-editor had gone ahead and EDITED THE QUOTES, I was dumbfounded. I got a big yellow sticky note and wrote, 'DO NOT EVER EDIT MY FUCKING QUOTES AGAIN" -- and stuck it on the manuscript. About a week later Amy called me. "Hey, Dan? After the book leaves the copy-editor, you know how it goes to you? And you write on the copy-editor's writing, and send it back? The copy-editor doesn't see it again. I see it next and I don't like being sworn at. So when you next feel like using the word 'fuck' in a business communication, stop yourself." "But it's a quote," I said helplessly. "You can't edit quotes. It's not right." "Tell you what," she said. "You make sure you never use the word 'fuck' in a letter to me again, and I will make sure that no one ever screws with your quotes in any novel that passes my desk. OK? Every piece of text created by someone else and used by you will be sacred, and we will only screw with _your_ text." "That's a deal," I said happily. But afterwards I realized I'd been viciously bitch-slapped by a professional editor. I forgave her because it was Amy, after all, but right around then is when I began referring to all editors as "Satans in eyeshades." Which they apparently don't even wear any more, but it's a great phrase. At 10:11 AM 7/31/2002 -0400, mobrien wrote: >Re: grammar and commas in the 2nd Amendment > >Late 18th - early 19th century grammar and punctuation, particularly in >legal matters, does _not_ follow the rules of Strunk and White. >Anyone anxious about the original intent should keep this in mind. > > Why, yes, that does sound like a bit of research might >be required. Feel free to go at it. > >OTOH, one _should_ quote things exactly, right down to the punctuation. >This applies especially to legal things and Emily Dickinson's poems >(She didn't put all those dashes and capitalizations in for her health! >Bloody nineteenth century Eric Flint-like editors...), especially >if one is concerned about the original intent. > >Maureen > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 31 15:30:36 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 15:30:36 -0700 Subject: [CT] OT: My baby is doing OK. Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020731152445.025c8d48@mail.queenofangels.com> My baby is going to be 8 months old in a couple days -- given how rough a start he had in life, and how many people have asked about him in the last many months, I thought I'd take a moment to let everyone know. He just had a checkup this morning (today is Amy's birthday, which is unrelated but it made a nice birthday present) with the neonatal ICU where he was kept the first few weeks of his life. Clean bill of health -- he's about where he's supposed to be mentally, lagging a little physically (both of which we'd already guessed) but within normal parameters all around. And for a kid who couldn't breathe without a ventilator when he was born, he has a pair of lungs on him. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Jul 31 15:57:06 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 15:57:06 -0700 Subject: [CT] Number Of Postings In Last Two Months In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020731155409.0264f320@mail.queenofangels.com> Well, this is as much my fault as anything -- I've been working at home on a couple different contracts & posting regularly about OT stuff, which pretty much invites everyone else to do the same. I'll pull back -- I should be writing anyway in my spare time. This is just the first time in many years I've had the luxury of spending the day at my own computer. I admit, it doesn't pay as well as being a CTO, but it's a lot easier to get to work -- my commute's been between 1-1/2 to 4 hours a day for the last several years, depending on conditions; I've been thrilled to recover that time. At 10:38 PM 7/31/2002 +0000, Karl Nicholas wrote: >Please find below a table that shows the number of postings by email >address in the last two months where number greater than 20. > >I took upper half of the list, removed DKM, and built a kill file. > >Really guys, for the most part, I really don't care what you think about >life, the universe, or anything. As a drill instructor once told me: >"Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one and they all stink!" > >---------------------------------------------------------- > >rjhansen at inav.net 163 >matthew at infodancer.org 145 >dkm at QueenOfAngels.com 122 >sneadj at mindspring.com 83 >harold.ogle at sun.com 71 >Brad.Daniels at NetIQ.com 60 >dglidden at illusionary.com 60 >scot at wilcoxon.org 53 >rafial at well.com 48 >wdstarr at panix.com 44 >davidnix at hotmail.com 39 >skippy at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au 38 >davids at kithrup.com 34 >casey at trinityhartford.org 33 >bridges at CS.Arizona.EDU 31 >mobrien at dnaco.net 31 >daniel at intelligent-imaging.com 30 >prophet at apple.com 27 >Sam.Roberts at apollogrp.edu 26 >dar at horusinc.com 23 >jpb at ApesSeekingKnowledge.net 22 >roger at firedrake.org 21 >eldorado at joedevivo.com 20 >puffmail at darksleep.com 20 > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Aug 1 13:27:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 01 Aug 2002 13:27:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] Won't post here any longer on non-writing matters Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020801132437.02549060@mail.queenofangels.com> I think it's clear that many of the people subscribing to this list -- and the guy running it -- object to the OT threads. Under the circumstances, I think it's only polite to respect that. From now on if I have something non-writing related to talk about, I'll post it to the ctforum list and would request that others do the same -- Matt Hunter created that list in the first place to handle OT threads. I'd appreciate no further argument about this; as a favor to me, please move your non-writing related posts to the ctforum. It's easy enough to subscribe to. Thanks. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Aug 2 12:02:45 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2002 12:02:45 -0700 Subject: [CT] Feltch, dialog style, bad movies of good books In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020802115359.025f44a0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:11 PM 8/1/2002 -0500, Brad Daniels wrote: >Anyway, as I read through the book, one key point of the dialog that you >(DKM) didn't mention in your analysis of what made it good was the total >absence of the word "said". Indeed, there were pages of text without a >single word outside of quotation marks, and yet I have yet to be even >slightly confused as to who's speaking when. Different writers approach this differently -- it's such a minor writing skill that most decent writers will have solved it in some fashion or other. There are a few exceptions to this -- one of Zelazny's (of all people) later Amber novels was so afraid of the word 'said' that I simply couldn't read it -- he stated, he concluded, he uttered, he proclaimed, almost every line -- people don't notice 'said' unless it's dreadfully overused; it's nearly an invisible word. But the avoidance of 'said' can lead to some really horrific writing. If you can omit 'said' through positional text -- Trent blinked. "Yes?" -- you should. People can usually remember 4-5 lines in a row who's speaking even without attribution -- you can attribute once and then go for a bit without attributing again. More than that is dangerous -- every now and again I catch a writer (or the writer's typesetter) forgetting who's talking, and that's embarrassing -- you count back through the lines of unattributed text and realize that at some point one of the characters speaks twice in a row. A little bit of business helps set the place and give some sense of the people -- and helps avoid the use of 'said' in every sentence. (Also, the gag with alternating sentence is only useful when only two people are talking -- if there are more than two it won't do, unless for effect, say you want the speaker of a particular line to be unclear -- I'm not sure I've ever seen that used, but I suppose you could.) But 'said' is safer than having your characters laugh or chuckle or howl or conclude or proclaim their dialog -- by a lot. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Aug 2 13:40:09 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2002 13:40:09 -0700 Subject: [CT] Contract came & went In-Reply-To: References: <200208021659.g72GxI701564@rsmith-vpn1.nane.netapp.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020802133907.00a8d560@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:38 PM 8/2/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: >Is this the part where Dan starts to laugh hysterically, gradually >dissolving into sobs, and then ominous silence predicating a series of >gunshots? Not exactly -- there's actually some light on that subject -- but I really can't talk about it right now. When I can, I will. I will tell you we're talking with QuietVision about a broader relationship between QueenOfAngels & QuietVision ... but that's going slowly & I can't say much about it. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 16:38:34 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 16:38:34 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> In Long Run Melissa refers to two interviews with Trent that were conducted in 2078. I wrote excerpts from both interviews many years ago now -- but someone mentioned how Stephen Brust had his readers interview one of his characters -- and I'm really taken with that idea. I don't guarantee I'll use it (or that "Trent" will answer your questions) but if you want to interview Trent, and if anything cool comes out of it, I may include excerpts in AI War at various points. I don't know if this is legally binding, but for whatever it's worth: BY SUBMITTING THESE QUESTIONS TO THE CONTINUING TIME MAILING LIST, YOU AGREE TO LET ME USE THE TEXT OF YOUR QUESTION, AND ANY ANSWER I MAY GIVE TO IT, AS I SEE FIT AT A LATER DATE, WITHOUT COMPENSATION TO THE PERSON ASKING THE QUESTION. If you don't want to do that, please don't submit any questions. If you're cool with that, I'd be interested in any questions you may have for Trent. Bear in mind that this is post-Last Dancer, but prior to the events in the excerpt on the web site, "Trent the Uncatchable and the Temple of 'Toons" -- you can't ask about events post-2078 (well, maybe you can, if you're clever and don't screw up my continuity.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 18:04:31 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 18:04:31 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <200208060005.g7605q508711@ha3sca-mail1.SFBay.Sun.COM> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805172652.00a8eba8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:05 PM 8/5/2002 -0700, Harold Ogle wrote: >* Many of our viewers are interested in the details of how you live. >Describe a >typical day in the life of Trent the Uncatchable. Next you're going to ask what my favorite color is. I do the same stuff other people do during their days. >* Do you have plans to ever return to Earth? What's the one thing you miss >most? I miss dancing. >* What is the single most important thing that needs to change in how the >Unification is run? Its existence. >* Do you think it's possible, or even desirable at this point, for >humanity to >exist under one government? I doubt it's possible and I'm sure it's not desirable. The best thing about the Belt is that it's given people, through the CityStates, the opportunity to try living in different ways. Some of those ways of living will prove useful in the long term. >* If you were able to go back in time and design the InfoNet from the >beginning, >what would it look like today? The best thing about the InfoNet is that it's grown organically; you can model the InfoNet as both an organism and as an environment. As an organism, reacting to the real world -- excuse me, the physical world -- in which you and I execute; and as an environment in which our agents -- our Images, our programs -- execute. As an organism it responds to its environment, to our needs and desires; as an environment, we respond to its. That's not design, that's evolution, and without it the InfoNet wouldn't be what it is today. I can tell you that clear, open standards are what made the InfoNet important in the first place; no proprietary solution would have been embraced the way the InfoNet was. That history is important; you can look at the old Lunar InfoNet, and the Unification's various internal networks, to see what they'd prefer: biometric ID of anyone using the network, and complete disclosure of all activity upon the network. Fortunately the InfoNet is too big, and bears too much traffic, to be shut down and reprogrammed as they'd prefer -- so far they've chosen to live with an open network because it's preferable, just barely, to the extraordinary costs of creating a closed one that perform what they perceive as the essential services. >* What do you think the average Unification citizen can learn from the >SpaceFarer's Collective? You only own what you can carry. >* What are your thoughts about the existence of non-human life in the galaxy? Obviously there is some -- the probes to Tau Ceti showed that. Friendly, hostile? I heard that this reb Sedon claimed they were bad guys, but I don't know how he'd have known that. >* If there's one thing our viewers should take away from this interview, what >should it be? I'm not willing to give advice to people I've never met. One size doesn't fit all. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 18:05:04 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 18:05:04 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <022801c23cdd$6f3b2020$0d65a8c0@dduckmv0t2tbnd> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805180449.02559878@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:08 AM 8/6/2002 +0200, Anders Sewerin Johansen wrote: >First to post the obvious question: >"So, Trent... DID you walk through the wall?" Sure. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 18:27:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 18:27:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <30349920-A8CF-11D6-BC17-0003939D0166@intelligent-imaging.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805180517.02665dc0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:18 PM 8/5/2002 -0700, David Silberstein wrote: > - Your personal philosophy is that killing is wrong, yet you are >nevertheless responsible for some deaths, particularly that of Emile >Garon. Do you feel any guilt over these deaths? I don't accept any responsibility for Emile's death except in the most general sense. Emile was a soldier and he died. Soldiers do. > - How do feel about the current political situation, on Earth, and >between Earth and the outer systems? The Unification has to be stopped. Diversity is a good, though not an absolute good: the universe inflicts change upon us. The more ways of living that we have available to us, the more ways we know to respond to change, the better our chances of surviving that change are. This is the first precept of all morality; intelligence must survive. The Unification, to the degree that it would prevent diversity, is an evil, though not an absolute evil. > - Is there any Player out there who is comparable to you in skill? No. > - You remain opposed to the Unification. Do you have any plans for >what you might want to replace it with? I'm going to pass on that. >When do you feel the >Unification became sufficiently tyrannical that normal political >processes could no longer be used to change it for the better? I'm not sure there was any one point, but the trend toward increasing authoritarianism has been clear since Sarah Almundsen's death. Perhaps this is inevitable for any large body of government; America's Founding Fathers tried to hold that back through a series of checks and balances, but it didn't work for them; Sarah Almundsen tried something similar with the Unification, but it didn't work there either. If I had to pick a point ... probably the destruction of the Speedfreaks. Travel was the original source of freedom -- the ability to go somewhere else is probably more important than the ability to vote. The Unification has assaulted both. >- Do you have any comments on Mohammed Vance? What do you think of >him, as a human being and as a soldier? Mohammed and I aren't on speaking terms. He hasn't written me in years ... OK, that's not true, he _never_ wrote to me. But I sent Christmas cards to him, and birthday cards, and sometimes just little notes about stuff that I thought was interesting. And usually he would jack up the price on my head within a few weeks of getting his card. I sort of felt that was a response, his way of keeping up his side of things. Lately, though, he just seems to be ignoring it when I write. You know, all relationships have their ups and downs. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 18:52:43 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 18:52:43 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <5A96E87E2BA0714ABBEA2C8F3F3F667C012996C5@cceexc19.americas .cpqcorp.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805184543.0261b750@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:41 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, Moreau, Ken wrote: > - Are you one of the gene-engineered Castanaveras' from "Project >Superman"? Yes. >- Are you a telepath? No. > - Why don't you look like the pictures of you as a boy? There are no pictures of me as a boy. Anyone claiming to have them is lying. >- How did you survive the bombing in New York, and who else survived? As far as I know I'm the only one who survived that. > - Was Denice Castanaveras your lover before you started your Long Run? >After? Denice was 9 when she died. We weren't lovers at the time. >What is your relationship with Melissa Dubois? She tried to kill me once. I like to think it's the equivalent of a formal introduction. >How do you feel about no longer being #1 on the Unification's Most >Wanted list? Try to keep up, babe. They paid off on Sedon. I _am_ #1 again. >What is your relationship with Mahliya Kutura? Which song is about you? We're friends. None of her songs are about me. >(This is assuming they talked to Jimmy Ramirez) > > - Is it a long-stem or short-stem rose? Jimmy is a liar. > - If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? The kind that doesn't give interviews. > - Did Johnny Johnny ever get back to you after talking with Denice >during the first part of the Revolution when she was at Chandler's home? No. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 18:54:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 18:54:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20020805170918.0372b780@mail.earthlink.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805185303.0261d0c0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:47 PM 8/5/2002 -0700, martes wrote: >What were you doing during the Tricentenial Riots? I was on Mars the entire time. I have witnesses. >PFK alleges you were involved in a failed attempt to take over the station >with the Johnny Rebs and the Erisian Claw. Do you have any comments on this? All Peaceforcers are liars. >Given that many people believe that you are one of the Castanaveras, is >there anything you'd like to say about the Troubles? No. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 18:58:11 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 18:58:11 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <200208052004.23734.rjhansen@inav.net> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805185459.0260c4d8@mail.queenofangels.com> >Q1: Who do you more fear--Secretary-General Eddore, or the Elite >Commissionaire? I'm not afraid of anything. All fear is fear of death, sublimated. I'm not afraid of dying. >Q3: Do you hold the Elite Commissionaire responsible for the deaths of the >Castanaveras telepaths? If not, then whom? Vance was carrying out the desires of the Amnier administration in that matter. Vance merely pulled the trigger; others loaded the gun for him and picked his target. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 19:12:21 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 19:12:21 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805185821.03dd1ce8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 08:35 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: >"Your family, the Castanaveres Telepaths, have been vilified by the >Unification and the PKF as being responsible for the deaths of >people, both during and after the destruction of the Chandler Complex in >2062. Without addressing the truth of that remark, what would like our >viewers, or perhaps history, to take away from this interview in regards to >your family, or your father, Carl Castanveres?" All children judge their parents harshly. He was a flawed man who did his best with a nearly unbearable responsibility. I used to judge him for having done badly, but no more: he failed, but he didn't quit and he didn't break. All parents are merely children who are fiercely pretending to be adults, so that their own children will feel safe. >"I'm sure that you are aware of the rumors that the PKF has indeed restarted >'Project Superman'. First, do you know if this is true or not? I've heard the rumor and I don't know if it's true. >Second, >assuming they are using identical genetic material, would you consider >members of this next generation of telepaths family?" No. Your family is built out of the people you love, not the accident of your genetics. >"You are known to work with the Erisian Claw, are you a member of the Temple >of Eris. No. I'm not a member of any religion. >Your tenent of 'Killing Is Wrong' notwithstanding, how do you >reconcile your belief in that statement with the death and suffereing your >actions have caused on a larger scale." All actions have consequences. A refusal to use power is the worst sort of cowardice. >"What is your favorite cartoon?" "Rabbit Seasoning," by the immortal Chuck Jones. Here's an oldstyle URL: http://www.animationusa.com/picts/wbpict/3_Beakhead.jpg >"Do you anticipate the fall of the Unification within your lifetime? Yes. >In any case, do you see it being replaced with some other world >government? Or do >you anticipate a return to the balkanization of the past and all it's >intendant problems." I'm going to take a pass on that one. >"There are few Players on this world as experienced as you. If experience is the name we give our mistakes, I'll give you that one. There are Players who've been at it longer. >What frightens >you most about the possibility of a war in Crystal Wind? And when do you >think it will occur? What do you think the result would be?" I can't imagine why you'd think such a thing would happen. The Unification's got the Cyrstal Wind locked down pretty tight. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 19:26:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 19:26:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <7122E3C522C2D311B9C700508B02DCA308E142F5@ntmsg0099.corpmai l.telstra.com.au> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805192231.0255a330@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:03 PM 8/6/2002 +1000, Tong, Simon wrote: >If Denice is alive today, would you die for her? Would you kill for her? The girl is long dead and I didn't know her well when she was alive; there were over 200 of us at the Chandler Complex. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 19:57:47 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 19:57:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805195051.0256e3f8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:44 AM 8/6/2002 +0000, Karl Nicholas wrote: >You grew up in a world where a great many people knew your every thought. >What did that teach you about morality? The fear of being found out drives many people to do things they shouldn't. Yes, you _are_ a fraud. But so is everyone else, and most of us know it. Even good people are only good on average; even bad people are only bad on average. Admittedly, sometimes averages are much higher than others. Don't worry about being a good person or being a bad person; work on improving your average. Work on having good moments, rather than bad moments. >Do you carry any beliefs today that are a result of that experience? It's easier to tell the truth than to lie, but not necessarily more useful. The world is dishonest; when dealing with dishonesty, lies are sometimes necessary -- people who tell the truth too often, often get killed for it. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 20:08:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 20:08:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <003001c23cf4$456774d0$5200a8c0@shiva> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805195803.04761870@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:52 AM 8/6/2002 +0300, Yehuda Porath2 wrote: >- Why Ralf? Your image, your representation on the 'Net, why would you >name it Ralf? I can't recall. Probably because it wasn't cool, but really, it was a long time ago and I don't remember. >- You are connected to the Castanaveras telepaths & Project Superman. >Would you like to have been a telepath? If I didn't have to die for it? Sure. >- Is there anything that could convince you to support the Unification? Its surrender. >- Will you ever stop running? Not planning on it -- running is good for you, though bad for your knees. Keeps your blood pressure down and your energy levels up. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 20:31:55 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 20:31:55 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805202831.0263cd70@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:21 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, Joel Grossman wrote: >- How do you explain the speed by which the so-called Mr. Obodi took >control over significant parts of both the Erisian Claw and the Johnny >Rebs? "Just lucky, I guess." >You always seem to have a quick, confident answer for everything, Trent, >but tell me: Where does it hurt? There's a bad twinge in my right kneee -- it comes and goes. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 20:38:14 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 20:38:14 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805185821.03dd1ce8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805203208.0263cb08@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:14 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: > > All parents are merely children who are fiercely pretending to be adults, > > so that their own children will feel safe. > >"Thank you. Do you ever see youself as 'settling down' and having a family?" I'd love to. Other things have to come first. > > >What frightens > > >you most about the possibility of a war in Crystal Wind? And when do you > > >think it will occur? What do you think the result would be?" > > > > I can't imagine why you'd think such a thing would happen. The > > Unification's got the Cyrstal Wind locked down pretty tight. > >"This statement seems at odds with both your actions in taking down the LINK >in 2069 There's a difference between freedom and the possibility of war. The Lunar InfoNet is more free as a result of my actions -- but there was no danger of a war erupting over the LINK per se. >and your more recent action on Halfway. I have a quote here, the >source of which I have promised to not reveal, attributed to you, as >follows. 'The Players would fight back, of course, and the war that followed >would make would make your silly rebellion look like the punk idiocy it >actually is.' All "sources" are liars. Just helping you out here, you'll learn this as you spend a little more time on the job. I haven't been to Earth in nine years now. I'm not aware of any danger in the Earth InfoNet that wasn't there when I left Earth -- though as I say, I haven't danced in the Earth InfoNet in a long time. So I don't really have much of an opinion about that. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 5 20:55:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 20:55:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805202831.0263cd70@mail.queenofangels.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805205440.02583c00@mail.queenofangels.com> >At 10:21 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, Joel Grossman wrote: >>but tell me: Where does it hurt? Well, Chick Hearn just died. I'm tired of people dying, that's for damn sure. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 02:22:45 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 02:22:45 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <91A094CD-A8F0-11D6-82F0-000A27E14D02@uwaterloo.ca> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805185821.03dd1ce8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806022022.00a8fda0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:57 PM 8/5/2002 -0400, Jason Foster wrote: >In a recent private interview, Neil Corona described an exchange between >you and one Michelle Altalona, a Player allegedly in the employ of the >Johnny Rebs. During this exchange he claim you said, and I quote: Neil Corona is a big fat liar. >"And the players would fight back, of course; the war that followed would >make your silly rebellion look like the punk idiocy it actually is. And >neither you nor I even want to think about what happens if the AIs >ever get together and mount a really serious campaign against >DataWatch." I didn't say that. >Give that the "punk idiocy" claimed over 2.5 million deaths, and given >that earlier in that conversation you apparently outlined the economic and >social consequences of a single InfoNet trunk failure, it sounds to me >like you have given some thought to the consequences and possibilities of >such a war. *Now* would you care to comment? I've thought about the consequences of lots of things. However, if such a war were a real possibility, you might assume I had given substantial thought ... to the consequences. But you're worrying where you shouldn't, and you can trust me on this one. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 02:30:44 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 02:30:44 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805203208.0263cb08@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806022255.0255a908@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:01 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: > > I'd love to. Other things have to come first. > >Can you share what some of those other things might be? I'm busy overthrowing the Unification of Earth. Maybe afterwards. > > There's a difference between freedom and the possibility of war. > > The Lunar > > InfoNet is more free as a result of my actions -- but there was no danger > > of a war erupting over the LINK per se. > >Could you expand upon that please? You have the SpaceFarer's Collective, Belt CityStates, the Reb & Claw -- all the obvious threats to the Unification. None of them were going to go to war over the LINK. >'The Players would fight back, of course, and the war > > that followed > > >would make would make your silly rebellion look like the punk idiocy it > > >actually is.' > > > > All "sources" are liars. Just helping you out here, you'll learn this as > > you spend a little more time on the job. > >Thank you, would you care to correct the quote and put it in a proper >context, or are you merely denying it? I didn't say that or anything like that. There is no conflict brewing, involving the Crystal Wind, that I'm aware of -- and I would probably know. > > I haven't been to Earth in nine years now. I'm not aware of any danger in > > the Earth InfoNet that wasn't there when I left Earth >What dangers would you consider those to be? The ones that don't exist? >And so you would have no comment on the continuing Netwatch reports >indicating a rise in the number of Replicant AI's? A sense of proportion is useful -- you won't get if you spend all your time auditing Slashdot. You need to compare the size of the InfoNet (which is growing, obviously) with the number of replicant AIs inhabiting it. This proportion has not changed noticeably in over 20 years. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 02:31:34 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 02:31:34 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <20020806072007.EAWV22139.rwcrmhc52.attbi.com@rwcrwbc55> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023056.026032d8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:20 AM 8/6/2002 +0000, nrische at attbi.com wrote: >Trent, your personal belief that killing is >absolutely wrong is well known. Is there anything that >you believe is worth killing for? To protect the innocent. >Is there anything that you believe is worth dying for? To protect the innocent. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 02:39:19 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 02:39:19 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <200208060818.g768Ifi13409@panix1.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023145.04685d88@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:18 AM 8/6/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >"Looking back on it, do you think that someone deliberately left that >bazooka in your apartment just so that you'd have one at the exact >moment that you needed it, and if so, have you any ideas about who it >was, how they knew, etc.?" No, it's all a big mystery to me. I've left things behind when I moved, too. Sometimes I've left behind a _lot_ of stuff. You forget things, you're busy, Peaceforcers are chasing you -- these things happen. >"Ginger or Mary Ann?" That's like "Coke or Pepsi," right? From the marketing wars the media corps used to have before the Unification. That was all a long time ago and I don't have an opinion about any of it -- the only woman from the last century I do have an opinion about is Audrey Hepburn: grace poured into a human body. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:09:28 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:09:28 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <3D459085000083CF@mta06.san.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806130628.00a90300@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:48 AM 8/6/2002 -0400, ender wrote: >Q: Your opposition to the Unification is well known, some would call it >your > "raison d'etre". Are you a nationalist? An American? A patriot? None of the above. Just a guy trying to do what I think is the right thing. >Q: If even half the stories about you are to be believed you have a truly > interesting set of friends. Whose friendship are you most amazed by? My friends deserve their privacy -- and more to the point, their safety. I don't talk about them in public. >Q: What will the InfoNet be like in 10 years? In 20? I don't know. No one else does, either. >Q: How do you see yourself? A freedom fighter? A terrorist? Just a guy trying to do the right thing. >Q: Leaving the Unification aside for a moment, what haven't you done that > you aspire to do or wish you had already done? A "boost" of some kind > perhaps? Or something in the 'Net? I'd like to marry and have children. >Q: How many pairs of sunglasses do you own? None. Only time I'm in direct sunlight I'm wearing a pressure suit. It would look silly. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:09:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:09:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <008501c23d3f$c0fdfce0$83119a8e@net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023145.04685d88@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806130934.0255b0d0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 08:52 AM 8/6/2002 -0300, The Apprentice wrote: >I realize that this may sound a trifle cliche, but if you knew you >just had 24 hours left to live, what would you do in that time? Spend time with people I love. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:17:16 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:17:16 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <2CAF1810-A935-11D6-82F0-000A27E14D02@uwaterloo.ca> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023145.04685d88@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806131003.0264e298@mail.queenofangels.com> At 08:08 AM 8/6/2002 -0400, Jason Foster wrote: >Do you believe in U.F.O.s No. >astral projections, mental telepathy, E.S.P., clairvoyance I wouldn't believe in them if I hadn't seen them at work -- of course, I was raised among telepaths. >spirit photography No. >telekinetic movement Seen it. >full-trance mediums, No. > the Loch Ness monster, and the theory of Atlantis? No. >Denice Daimara, the American traitor, has chosen to use her fame and her >sizable resources to effect change in the Unification by working within >the system. You, on the other hand, seem to persist in trying to effect >change from outside the system using disruptive means. Why not adopt her >strategy? > Yes, you may have to be more covert about things than she is, what with > the bounty and all, but at least you might have a chance of winning. Daimara and others like her see change from within as a possibility. I don't -- it's an honest disagreement. >Do you ever feel like you're playing a part in something much bigger than >you and that you never really had a choice in the matter? No. Within the fuzzy limits set by chance, everyone has a choice. You can quit and go home, you can get up and fight -- you don't get to blame others. >[OK, there has to be some way to link the comment by Belinda Singer about >Camber and the time when Neil Corona got "avatar-ed", with the whole >"...heard his voice say with the hollow echo of prophecy..." thing with >Carl. Given his InSkin and the associated perfect recall, Trent *has* to >be wondering by now, doesn't he?] DKM: Trent never told anybody about this, so his interviewer can't know about it. I'm sure he wonders about it, but you can't ask him about it. >Is terminating an executing AI the same as killing? If so, how do you >reconcile your activities on the InfoNet with your personal philosophy? They're small murders, yes. Replicant AIs cache copies of themselves -- it's hard to kill one completely. But you can kill a given line, a given set of experiences, if you terminate one in between caches -- "small murders." I've done it in self-defense, back when I used to dance in the Earth InfoNet, but I try and avoid it. >You appear to have engaged in a number of intimate liaisons (eg. Katrina, >Denice, Callia). Are you *sure* that there are no little Trents running >around? Far as I know I have no children. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:24:07 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:24:07 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806022255.0255a908@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806131742.04e40a68@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:27 AM 8/6/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: > > You have the SpaceFarer's Collective, Belt CityStates, the Reb & Claw -- > > all the obvious threats to the Unification. None of them were going to go > > to war over the LINK. > >Thank you. With the stated goal of the overthrow of the Unification and your >history of action against the Unification would you consider yourself 'at >war' with the Unification and, if so, doesn't this conflict with your >previous statement? Technically, I am at war with the Unification. But so far it hasn't been a shooting war -- well, not much of a shooting war: _I've_ been shot at. >It has been said that in a time of crisis one should 'lead, follow, or get >the hell out of the way.' By accident or design, you have been leading, >where are you taking us? "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." >Do you think that Mohammed Vance is evil, misguided, or something else? I think he's a flawed man doing his best with a dreadful responsibility. >In light of your ties to the Erisian Claw and the Johnny Rebs, why didn't >you ally yourself with them in the TriCentennial Rebellion? I was on Mars, so I couldn't. More broadly, no simulation showed them winning that uprising. Would I participate in a winnable uprising? I might, depending on circumstances -- but that wasn't it. >In light of the reports that the the Johnny Rebs and the Erisian Claw both >had and were willing to use nuclear weapons in the TriCenntenial Rebellion, >do you support the PKF's motives, and end result? Do you feel that you can >continue to work with or support organizations that are willing to use such >weapons? Do you think the use of nuclear weapons is ever justified? The death of the innocent is never justified. The motives of the individuals in the PKF vary, obviously. I agree with many of them -- they think they're keeping the peace, which is an honorable pursuit. They're wrong, but I don't know how you can think badly of men and women risking (and losing, during the TriCentennial) their lives in the service of their code. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:26:47 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:26:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806132425.0265be78@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:23 AM 8/6/2002 -0700, Seabhac Mhor wrote: >Questions for Trent: [glee, glee!] >Q: Given your opposition to the Unification, what would you like to see >it replaced with, in a best-case scenario? A freer, smaller, less centralized government. >Q: It seems that you have been linked with both the Erisian Claw and the >Johnny Rebs. Is this accurate, and if so, what is the nature of the >association? We do business. >Q: What is the most beautiful place you have been to? ... Earth, though technically I should say, Earth as seen from Halfway. >Q: What morals or ethics would you choose to pass on to the "next >generation"? Make up your own minds. If you meet the Buddha in the road, kill him. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:32:21 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:32:21 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023056.026032d8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806132711.026a7b88@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:52 AM 8/6/2002 -0400, Casey Rousseau wrote: >[Meta note: So, Dan, you figured a way to actually be working while >participating in the list. You get mad props, bro. Fun, fun, fun.] DKM: Props to Matthew Hunter -- apparently this was his idea. This has also been genuinely useful already in a couple spots. > > To protect the innocent. > >Do you have any particular innocent(s) in mind, or any examples from recent >history of innocents who worth killing or dying for that you would use to >illustrate your thoughts on this issue? Almost any example of mass bombing you care to name. Dresden, Hiroshima, Los Angeles -- soldiers die in the service of their people, and that's appropriate. It's wrong to kill the innocent to get at the guilty. I don't mean bombing is always wrong, but it's wrong when it's not specifically and wholly directed at military targets. To assert that the life of your soldier is more valuable than any conceivable number of the lives of your enemies' noncombatants, particularly children, is an immoral position. >Do you plan to kill for or die for any innocents any time soon? No. >Where should our viewers look for you to pop up next? The Moons of Jupiter. I would look there. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:36:50 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:36:50 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <00b801c23d5a$916595e0$83119a8e@net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023145.04685d88@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806133312.02650d70@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:04 PM 8/6/2002 -0300, The Apprentice wrote: >There are those who state that the Unification is, if not the best of >systems, no worse than what it replaced. That as distasteful as >things such as the activities of the Ministry of Population Control >are, that they are necessary to keep humanity from - if not killing >off humanity - ultimately killing the Earth, at least as a >life-supporting planet. That peacekeepers are needed to help enforce >laws and prevent crime. That people in Denver, London, and Kiev no >longer have to wonder if another nation-state will launch a nuclear >weapon at their city. And that while the voice of an individual >citizen in New Jersey might not have quite as much influence on the >government as it once did, it is because it is a government for the >entire world - and not just a portion of it. > >These individuals also state that while there are flaws in the >Unification - as there are in all things - that the best way to >correct with these flaws are within the system itself, and not by >running away or through violence. Only fanatics are certain of their rightness. I'm not certain -- but taking a stand on incomplete information (and, though better than most people's, mine is still incomplete and will always be) -- is necessary. I believe that on balance the Unification is more a danger to humanity than an aid to it. All of the evidence available to me is that the Unification has grown less free with each passing decade since its inception, and that this trend, rather than abating, is accelerating. Am I _certain_? No. I might be wrong. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:37:16 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:37:16 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023056.026032d8@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020806023056.026032d8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806133659.04e51830@mail.queenofangels.com> At 08:35 AM 8/6/2002 -0700, Dann Cutter wrote: >[pause] Looking Trent in the eye... "Who are the innocent? Who decides?" I do. You do. You can't let other people decide for you. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:52:37 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:52:37 -0700 Subject: [CT] OT Chick Hearn In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20020806085644.016ff7b8@fargo.cisco.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805205440.02583c00@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020805202831.0263cd70@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806134105.0255b328@mail.queenofangels.com> I drove by Chick's star on the Walk of Fame Sunday morning -- when I was firing everyone at Popcast Communications, I worked at the old Superman building -- the "Daily Planet" building -- at the intersection of Highland and Sunset. Every morning when I went to Starbucks to get my coffee I walked past Chick's star -- my coworkers thought I was nuts -- every time I walked past that star, I said, "Hello, Chick." ("Watch out for _him_! He'll fire you _and_ he talks to Chick Hearn's star!") I got good at firing people at that place....one of the first guys I fired started crying & I felt bad. Somewhere around the 10th guy I fired, he started sniffling and I snapped "Stop it! This is a job, not a life." And he stopped sniffling, though I suspect he hated me afterward. Chick's star was empty Sunday morning. I felt terrible -- I'd brought a rose with me and I put it on his star, and it was the only thing there. Monday night after Chick passed I drove by there again -- there were 6 or 7 tv trucks, and hundreds of people gathered around, and I admit, it made me feel better. I only ever talked to Chick once. Last season, when my girls were at girl scouts, my 3-year old & I were in the car waiting for them, listening to Chick's pre-game show before the Lakers and I called in to the pre-game and put Richard on the phone -- told Chick I'd been listening to him my entire life, and this was my boy, Richard -- who'd also been listening to him his entire life. Richard said, "Hi, Chick." Chick Hearn invented the language of basketball. You can't talk about basketball without using the phrases Chick invented. "Airball," "slam dunk," "no harm, no foul," "finger roll," dozens of others -- At 09:05 AM 8/6/2002 -0700, Christopher Huning wrote: >I'm thankful he was back for one more playoff run and the three-peat. He >will be missed. > > >http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=577&e=1&cid=577&u=/nm/20020806/sp_nm/nba_lakers_hearn_dc_6 >http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news/ap/20020806/ap-obit-lakers-hearn.html > >At 08:55 PM 8/5/2002 -0700, Daniel Moran wrote: > >>>At 10:21 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, Joel Grossman wrote: >>>>but tell me: Where does it hurt? >> >>Well, Chick Hearn just died. I'm tired of people dying, that's for damn sure. >> >>____________________________ >>continuing-time mailing list >>continuing-time at ralf.org >>http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 13:55:17 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:55:17 -0700 Subject: [CT] question for Trent In-Reply-To: <1028651104.3d4ff8605e30e@mail.goshen.edu> References: <20020806160012.28606.88870.Mailman@maniac.deathstar.org> <20020806160012.28606.88870.Mailman@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806135246.04e51638@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:25 AM 8/6/2002 -0500, Kelcie R Glick wrote: >If you could reach back into your past, and at exactly one moment in time, >make >a different decision, what moment would you choose? What decision would you >undo? What action would you take, or leave undone? And what difference >do you >think it would make? Two monks, both to a celibacy so complete that even innocent contact with women is forbidden by the terms of their oaths, are walking down a road. Heavy rains earlier in the day have turned the country lane into a rutted, sticky morass of mud. At a crossroads, they encounter an old woman, bent and feeble, carrying a small parcel of goods. "Oh reverend sirs," she says, "I must get to the village to trade these herbs and eggs for a few necessities, but the road is so muddy I cannot cross. Please help me." Without a word, one monk bends down, picks the old woman up, and carries her across the road, seeing her safely on her way to the village before he and his companion continue on their way. The other monk is scandalized...his brother has violated a holy vow and actually touched a female. They walk on, for several hours, before the second monk can stand it no longer, and bursts out, "Brother! I can no longer remain silent. I have been mulling it over and over but cannot understand how you could bring yourself to violate your oath and actually touch a woman, even an old woman, as you did. can you enlighten me?" The first monk turns to his brother and says: "My brother, I put that old woman down ten miles back. Why are you still carrying her?" ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 14:00:10 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 14:00:10 -0700 Subject: [CT] question for Trent In-Reply-To: References: <1028651104.3d4ff8605e30e@mail.goshen.edu> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806135526.02647d80@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:17 PM 8/6/2002 -0400, Ben wrote: > - What does it feel like to be the most wanted individual in the >Unification? It's good to be me. > - Do you think the bounty on your head is appropriate? Too small. > - Was the fact that 'seur Obodai was number one upset you in any way? Don't be silly. >- Just from the security arrangements you required of our team [ed: >presumed], and with that many credits on your head, can you or do you >trust anyone? I trust a few people. > - Are there individuals in the Unification you respect and feel are >helping rather than hindering? [ed: _what_ you might ask -- "progress", >"the world", "the Unification" whould be the context it would refer to] The Unification is a big place. Certainly some of the people within it are trying to make it a better place -- some of them are even trying to make it a better place in terms I'd agree with. > - You've been gone from Earth for nine years; do you plan on returning >to Earth? Yes. > - We've placed a few questions about you on some of the boards known to >be popular by Players; some of the responses indicate that if you >returned to the Earth infonet you would be ... let me find the right >quote ... "toast". Do you care to comment? All mothers think their children are beautiful. > - From other responses, you seem to have both an avid fan club and a >hate club (more "rabid" than "avid" I must say from the responses): can >you suggest why you inspire such reactions in those who can only be >described as your "peers"? I like who I am. I _really_ like who I am. Some people appreciate that. Some people resent it; it strikes them as conceit, egotism. > - Is there any chance of peace between the Unification and the other >polities within the solar system? A chance? Of course, though I think it a small one. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 14:01:29 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 14:01:29 -0700 Subject: [CT] A Question for Trent In-Reply-To: <001001c23d76$5c3975a0$89cdf7a5@queeg.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806140019.026a7780@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:23 AM 8/6/2002 -0700, Dave Godwin wrote: >Trent, if Mohammed Vance were a vegetable, what would he be? A rutabaga. [ ROO-tuh-bay-guh ] This cabbage-family root vegetable resembles a large (3 to 5 inches in diameter) TURNIP and, in fact, is thought to be a cross between cabbage and TURNIP. The name comes from the Swedish rotabagge, which is why this vegetable is also called a Swede or Swedish TURNIP. Rutabagas have a thin, pale yellow skin and a slightly sweet, firm flesh of the same color. There is also a white variety but it is not generally commercially available. This root vegetable is available year-round with a peak season of July through April. Choose those that are smooth, firm and heavy for their size. Rutabagas can be refrigerated in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks. They may be prepared in any way suitable for TURNIPs. Rutabagas, which are a CRUCIFEROUS vegetable, contain small amounts of vitamins A and C. That's Vance all over. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 14:03:55 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 14:03:55 -0700 Subject: [CT] Re: Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805195803.04761870@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806140145.026b5808@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:54 AM 8/6/2002 -0700, David Silberstein wrote: >On Mon, 5 Aug 2002, Daniel Moran wrote: > > >At 05:52 AM 8/6/2002 +0300, Yehuda Porath2 wrote: > > > >>- Is there anything that could convince you to support the Unification? > > > >Its surrender. >Surrender to whom? To you, personally? At the moment I'm the only person capable of accepting their surrender, so sure. >Are you planning to install yourself at the head of a new government, >or pass control to someone else? If so, who do you have in mind? I'm not interested in running a government. I expect others will be. >There *are* other groups opposed to the Unification. Have you >considered allying yourself with the Johnny Rebs or the Erisian Claw? I've done business with them -- "ally" is a little strong. >What do you think of these groups? They don't plan well. >Would you consider your struggle >over if either of them somehow actually succeeded in bringing down the >Unification? Life is struggle. >What is your opinion of Secretary General Charles Eddore? I can't think of a vegetable to compare him to, I'll tell you that much. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 14:07:36 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 14:07:36 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806140402.02649df8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:15 PM 8/6/2002 -0400, Michael G. Montague wrote: >M. Trent, do you consider yourself to be Human? I've never given it a moment's thought. The distinction between "human" and everything else is essentially a religious one. The gap between us and apes isn't that large; nor even is the gap between us and AIs. Most of the struggle to define "humanity" is underlied by a desire to define out creatures we want to make use of. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 15:07:50 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 15:07:50 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806150702.00a91be8@mail.queenofangels.com> >At 04:13 PM 8/6/2002 -0500, Michael Haffely wrote: >M. Castanavaras, how do you reply to those that say you never really take anything seriously? That's a damned lie. >You seem to want to *be* Peter Pan. Doesn't everyone? >You mocked the M. Vance to his face at the infamous press conference, No, no -- mocking is where you yell, "Hey, Mohammed! You got a big butt, man!" He does have kind of a big butt, but I didn't do that. >if reports are right you traveled with a circus for a while Everyone loves the circus. >Even when you are being serious you have this air about you, one that can go from talking a serious and sad topic like >dead puppies one minute to a glib offhand jibe at the world in another? What's your point? >Followup. Given this why should we listen to anything you say? Why are you? ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 6 22:25:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 22:25:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] OT Chick Hearn In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806134105.0255b328@mail.queenofangels.com> References: <4.3.2.7.2.20020806085644.016ff7b8@fargo.cisco.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020805205440.02583c00@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020805202831.0263cd70@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806222427.00a93258@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:52 PM 8/6/2002 -0700, Daniel Moran wrote: >Chick's star was empty Sunday morning. I felt terrible -- I'd brought a >rose with me and I put it on his star, and it was the only thing there. >Monday night after Chick passed I drove by there again -- there were 6 or >7 tv trucks, and hundreds of people gathered around, and I admit, it made >me feel better. http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0806/1414959.html I guess I'm famous now -- that's my rose on Chick's star, the red one to the right. http://sportsmed.starwave.com/media/nba/2002/0806/photo/a_hearnwof_ht.jpg ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Aug 7 23:40:22 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 23:40:22 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806131742.04e40a68@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020807230750.041012a0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:31 PM 8/6/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: >Thank you. If the use of fadeaway, fineline, and Infonet data attacks does >not constitute shooting back Shooting back involves involves killing people. So far I haven't done that. >and you consider yourself a thief by vocation, >what will you steal next, besides sleep, dignity, and peace of mind, from >the Unification and the PKF in order to continue your war upon them? Their moral authority. >Or have you commited to some other form of asymetrical warfare based on >another model? Of course it's asymmetrical; there's no way to defeat the Unification by force of arms. > If so, can you share with us what principles of warfare you >are operating by? "Only suckers get hit with right hands." >Thank you. Why do you think of Commander Vance as flawed? And what is his >dreadful responsibility? All of us are flawed. All that exists is the Eternal Now, and each moment is an opportunity to try again. Mohammed Vance is attempting to provide both peace and security to people in an inherently insecure world. His mission takes him into countries and among peoples who hate him; he sees himself as being in the service of those people, along with the others who do not hate the Unification. To justly execute your responsibilities to care for people who have been in armed rebellion against your authority would be difficult for anyone. I know it's difficult for Mohammed. > > >In light of the reports that the the Johnny Rebs and the Erisian > > >Claw both > > >had and were willing to use nuclear weapons in the TriCenntenial > > >Rebellion, > > >do you support the PKF's motives, and end result? There is no excuse for the murder of the innocent. >Do you feel > > >that you can > > >continue to work with or support organizations that are willing > > >to use such > > >weapons? I'll work with anyone. >Do you think the use of nuclear weapons is ever justified? Never say never; I don't think there's an instance in human history in which their use was justified, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it couldn't happen. >Thank you. There are many who are afraid that the Erisian Claw and the >Johnny Rebs have suffered such losses in the TriCentennial Rebellion that >thier previous tactics will change. I think that's a certainty. >While this is generally held to be a >lesser chance for members of the Erisian Claw, what chance do you feel that >the Johnny Rebs will continue to pursue the development and deployment of >weapons of mass destruction? This is the first I've heard of them having tried to. I doubt they would; they may not plan very well, but they're not monsters. >More importantly, is this the one area where you and the PKF would ever have >common ground, to the point that you would work together? I can't envision a scenario where I'd work with the PKF. They keep trying to kill me. Still -- never say never. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Aug 7 23:44:07 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 23:44:07 -0700 Subject: [CT] RE: Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806150702.00a91be8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020807234145.025bdb60@mail.queenofangels.com> At 06:00 PM 8/6/2002 -0700, David Silberstein wrote: >"Given Trent's known prediliction for getting complete body >modification biosculpture, how do we know you really are *the* Trent, >and not some clever fraud?" What do you want for free? ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Aug 7 23:47:20 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 23:47:20 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <1028686847.8137.3.camel@yog-sothoth> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020805163021.02559750@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020807234553.00a95288@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:20 PM 8/6/2002 -0400, Derek Glidden wrote: >So: why have you consented to this interview? Why now? Sometimes negotiations take a very long time. It doesn't hurt to let the people you're negotiating with understand that you're a reasonable guy who's willing to do business. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Aug 7 23:53:10 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 23:53:10 -0700 Subject: [CT] scanning the 'boards' for news In-Reply-To: <20020807143323.GA16071@olablue> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020807234931.025c8520@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:33 AM 8/7/2002 -0400, Rob Walsh wrote: >I'm still amazed >to see Dan's 10+ year old projections for the Infonet and Images hit >the mark so closely. (I'm *so* glad you're writing again, Dan. :-) It was obvious to me long ago that humans couldn't deal with the bandwidth required to operate in the internet or any other computing environment. That's all the speculation about Images was -- one plausible way (perhaps the most plausible way, but we'll see about that) to permit people to deal with the crush of data. I was online almost 20 years ago now -- all the stuff that seems obvious to everyone right now was obvious to me back then because I was experiencing it. I keep running into articles about "internet addiction." I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to identify that particular problem in print (though probably not the first person to recognize it.) I don't recall if EE specifically refers to datastarve or not (though Emile is obviously suffering from it), but I'm sure tLR does. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Aug 8 00:05:25 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 00:05:25 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020807235317.025c4770@mail.queenofangels.com> At 07:48 AM 8/7/2002 -0700, Patrick AhYo wrote: >1. It has been said that big events require big men to step up and >accomplish them. But after reviewing many of your accompishments/deeds you >seem to have been thrown into these events, and with some amazing skill >and unbelievable luck, been able to pull these stunts off. Almost as >though fate has selected you to be the "big man" to accomplish them. So >how does it feel to be a child of fate? I'm not, or if I am, so are you. >2. What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of? Why? Pride is treacherous. It makes you believe that you're better than you are -- confidence is fine; pride is dangerous. I try not to be proud. I've done some work with Prigogine's theory of dissipative structures that I think is quite good. >3. What else do you want to do in your life? I'd like to buy an island somewhere and live on it quietly. >4. Do you think you are destined for even greater glory/notoriety? I don't think anyone is destined for anything. You could get hit by an unexpected meteor tomorrow. >5. Heard any good jokes lately? A Dublin lawyer died in poverty and many barristers of the city subscribed to a fund for his funeral. The Lord Chief Justice of Orbury was asked to donate a shilling. "Only a shilling?" said the Justice, "Only a shilling to bury an attorney? Here's a guinea; go and bury 20 more of them." ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Aug 8 00:06:47 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 00:06:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] scanning the 'boards' for news In-Reply-To: <10B42E6BC5A983458F56C45E44B1F2BC093B20@qgpdc.Queallygroup. com> References: <10B42E6BC5A983458F56C45E44B1F2BC0B0E4A@qgpdc.Queallygroup.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020808000552.025ee850@mail.queenofangels.com> >This actually reminds me of Data Weasels, a term used in David Brin's >_Earth_. Little agents that would go out and acquire information for a >user, and then bring it back to them for perusal. I always pictured the >Infonet/Image filtering idea as a metaphor of walking into a room where >everyone was screaming, and being able to pick out one person in that >room. Whereas a Data Weasel walked into the room for you, picked out >the person, and brought them out into the relatively silent hallway. My take on an Image is that it walks into the room, listens to _all_ the conversations, and then passes you a discreet note if anything worth listening to happens to be said. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 00:00:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:00:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020807235317.025c4770@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020812235019.02573dd0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:05 PM 8/12/2002 -0400, Jason Foster wrote: >Q: According to [Halfway Security/Katrina/Candy/whoever] you have chosen a >non-traditional, semi-organic, neural-net based inskin. Why did you >choose this inskin over other, more standard models? My inskin is a completely normal radio packet model. I've heard speculation otherwise, but the speculation is misinformed. >Q: In an earlier question you discussed the "little murders" associated >with terminating an AI. As you have become more integrated with your >inskin, have you ever been "little murdered"? If so, how has this >affected you? [Lame, but I can't think of a better way to phrase >it] Further, if you have already been killed and are here talking to us, >are you effectively immortal so long as a copy of you exists? I've lost Images where I remained in touch up to the very last moments -- once the core code is exposed you liose the comm libraries and then you don't know what happened -- but most of the self-aware routines shred before the comm libraries, so you can get a very good sense for what it feels like to die a small death. DKM: There's a draft of a story on my computer called "Die a small death" -- I'd appreciate your not using that. If you want to use "small murders" in your own writing, go to town. Sorry for the paranoia, but I've had too many of my titles lifted/accidentally impinged upon over the years ... while I understand it, it makes me a little crabby on occasion. "The Mechanism of Desire" was mine before it was Francis Fukuyama's ... ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 00:06:04 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:06:04 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813000126.0268a570@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:23 AM 8/6/2002 -0500, Michael Haffely wrote: >Two very simple questions that have very complex answers? > >Trent, what make you angry? Cruelty. All sin is predicated upon either intentional or negligent cruelty; while the range of evil varies, the nature of it, the desire or willingness to treat people as things, does not. >and as a followup makes you happy? Elegance at work. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 00:06:51 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:06:51 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813000616.00a991d0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 02:39 PM 8/7/2002 -0500, Michael Haffely wrote: >...at the time? M. Trent, that is an odd way of putting it. What of the >green-eyed woman you were later seen with? Beats the hell out of me. I've known lots of women over the years -- I don't really recall any green-eyed ones, and I probably would, given who I grew up with. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 00:08:52 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:08:52 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020806150702.00a91be8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813000735.0268ec68@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:02 PM 8/7/2002 -0400, Marc deNial wrote: >So...is this the first time you've been interviewed by an AI, or rather, >several of us? How does it feel? You seem to be having difficulty following a thought through to its conclusion. There are collaboration libraries that might address this problem .... ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 00:11:23 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:11:23 -0700 Subject: [CT] more questions for Trent In-Reply-To: <1028825496.3d52a1981af2f@mail.goshen.edu> References: <20020808160003.8005.86674.Mailman@maniac.deathstar.org> <20020808160003.8005.86674.Mailman@maniac.deathstar.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813000923.026c32d0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:51 AM 8/8/2002 -0500, Kelcie R Glick wrote: >1. Trent, you are amazingly good at what you do. Yep. >You claim to be the best Player out there. Do not doubt me. >Does being so far ahead of everyone else ever make you feel >like a god, or do you find that people are treating you as if you were a >deity? Most Players don't actually understand how much better than them I actually am. But that's OK. >2. You have made it very obvious that according you your personal >philosophy, >killing is wrong. There are people that take the opposite stance. They find >killing to be beautiful, and for some, it seems to be an almost religious >experience. What do you have to say about those people? As a working definition of evil, they'd do until something better came along. >Could you ever have a >friendly personal relationship with someone who felt that way? No. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 00:15:41 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:15:41 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <200208090825.g798PpJ03715@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813001215.0268e858@mail.queenofangels.com> At 04:25 AM 8/9/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >Hmm. A bit earlier you answered a question with a parable about two >monks of an order that's forbidden to come in any physical contact >with women. [Unfortunately, I've already deleted that bit of CT >email. -- wds] Between that and the statement you've just made, you >_seem_ be espousing a philosophy that calls for people who've done >bad things to be forgiven, without any punishment being applied, >once they stop doing them. Is that the impression you meant to give? At the risk of making a parable blindingly obvious (which can lose you your membership in the Society of Mystic Gurus) ... the monk who put down the woman put down his own problem and walked away from it. This does not necessarily imply that he would have walked away from someone else's problem, or from the problem of someone else. >Certainly you can posit an "If you do not kill this one innocent >person, ten other innocent people will die (albeit not by your hand); >what do you do?" scenario, though. Do you have any general answer to >that age-old philosophical conundrum? All else being equal -- a treacherous phrase -- two lives are more valuable than one and three are more valuable than two. But you would have to give me a specific case to get a specific answer. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 11:30:47 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 11:30:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] Meta-"interview" In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813000735.0268ec68@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813113005.02642938@mail.queenofangels.com> At 10:00 AM 8/13/2002 -0400, Casey Rousseau wrote: >Hmm. Yeah, it has been more like a press conference than an interview. Oh, >well. Hope it has been useful nonetheless. Seems like the questions have >died down a bit? Would you like us to continue or do you have enough? It has been useful, I am going to use some of it, I do have more than I need -- if you've got a clever question that hasn't been covered, feel free to throw it out there. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Aug 13 14:10:13 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 14:10:13 -0700 Subject: [CT] Meta-"interview" In-Reply-To: <200208131931.g7DJV5Z00889@panix2.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020813140428.00a9a210@mail.queenofangels.com> At 03:31 PM 8/13/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >But in this >pseudo-interview, he seems quite open about it. Am I missing >something? The passage of time. Belinda Singer knew who he was; Michell Altaloma refs him as a Castanaveras at one point -- "the only Castanaveras who certainly survived the Troubles" -- so it's not a secret any more and hasn't been for some time. It's certainly not because Trent admitted to anything; just the accumulation of detail. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Aug 14 15:54:32 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 15:54:32 -0700 Subject: [CT] Want to be part of AI War? In-Reply-To: <200208142122.g7ELMs825478@panix1.panix.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020814153144.025752f8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 05:22 PM 8/14/2002 -0400, William December Starr wrote: >Scooter said: > > > I've been looking for the coffee question: > > > > Trent.....What do you drink when you can't get S&W Colombian? Chock > > Full O' Nuts? Prophet Harry's Blue Mountain Blend maybe? > >I was rather surprised when Trent said that dancing was the thing he >missed most from being on Earth -- I'd really been expecting him to >say 'coffee'. (Yes, he can get it out in the Belt from time to time, >but even for him it's probably hard to come by, at least in the bulk >quantities that a java addict craves. Or has someone been able to >cultivate coffee plants out there?) Nope, but -- minor spoiler for AI War here -- in 2078 Trent is pretty rich. Belinda Singer left him much of her wealth when she died. Shipping freeze-dried coffee up from Earth is expensive, but not too expensive for rich people. So he can get pretty much anything he wants, and does. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Aug 15 20:30:50 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 20:30:50 -0700 Subject: [CT] Amy & I will be at Worldcon -- Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020815202943.02546488@mail.queenofangels.com> Saturday & Sunday. Anyone interested in meeting at some point during those two days, drop me a line. (Dave, thanks for the invite to the Pratchett party Friday night, but we won't be arriving until Sat. morning.) ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Sun Aug 18 23:16:55 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2002 23:16:55 -0700 Subject: [CT] Amy & I will be at Worldcon -- In-Reply-To: <1029737463.7708.65.camel@diogenes> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020815202943.02546488@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020815202943.02546488@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020818231515.02539fd8@mail.queenofangels.com> In Los Angeles? Sure, we'd just have to schedule a time -- Friday or Saturday night preferably. At Worldcon? Possibly -- I think dinner Sunday is spoken for, but Sat. might be open. We have 5 kids, we hardly ever get on the road. (And aside from that, I don't really enjoy sf conventions and hardly ever go to them -- your chances of catching me at a convention are poor.) At 11:13 PM 8/18/2002 -0700, Max Rible wrote: >On Thu, 2002-08-15 at 20:30, Daniel Moran wrote: > > Saturday & Sunday. Anyone interested in meeting at some point during those > > two days, drop me a line. (Dave, thanks for the invite to the Pratchett > > party Friday night, but we won't be arriving until Sat. morning.) > >Can a group of us buy dinner for you and Amy one of those days? >-- >%% Max Rible % slothman at amurgsval.org % www.amurgsval.org/~slothman/ %% >%% "Before enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice. %% >%% After enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice." %% > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 19 13:51:03 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 13:51:03 -0700 Subject: [CT] Amy & I will be at Worldcon -- In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020818231515.02539fd8@mail.queenofangels.com> References: <1029737463.7708.65.camel@diogenes> <5.1.0.14.0.20020815202943.02546488@mail.queenofangels.com> <5.1.0.14.0.20020815202943.02546488@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020819135020.0253aac0@mail.queenofangels.com> Apparently my ability to read is impaired lately. Max wrote "one of those days" and I read "one of these days." Ignore the chatter about LA -- Saturday night is open for dinner if anyone wants to get together at Worldcon. At 11:16 PM 8/18/2002 -0700, Daniel Moran wrote: >In Los Angeles? Sure, we'd just have to schedule a time -- Friday or >Saturday night preferably. At Worldcon? Possibly -- I think dinner Sunday >is spoken for, but Sat. might be open. We have 5 kids, we hardly ever get >on the road. (And aside from that, I don't really enjoy sf conventions and >hardly ever go to them -- your chances of catching me at a convention are >poor.) > >At 11:13 PM 8/18/2002 -0700, Max Rible wrote: >>On Thu, 2002-08-15 at 20:30, Daniel Moran wrote: >> > Saturday & Sunday. Anyone interested in meeting at some point during those >> > two days, drop me a line. (Dave, thanks for the invite to the Pratchett >> > party Friday night, but we won't be arriving until Sat. morning.) >> >>Can a group of us buy dinner for you and Amy one of those days? >>-- >>%% Max Rible % slothman at amurgsval.org % www.amurgsval.org/~slothman/ %% >>%% "Before enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice. %% >>%% After enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice." %% >> >> >>____________________________ >>continuing-time mailing list >>continuing-time at ralf.org >>http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Aug 19 19:16:43 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 19:16:43 -0700 Subject: [CT] Boost In-Reply-To: <003b01c247ea$79dde5e0$95ddf7a5@queeg.net> References: <1a5.70a907e.2a92f41f@aol.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020819191352.00aa0330@mail.queenofangels.com> Boost is NY City slang from the 30s -- at least. It's in the East Side Kids movies and my father (born in NY City in 1930) used it occasionally around me when I was growing up. It was completely archaic (I think) when I started using it in my stories about Trent; lately it seems to be coming back. Possibly those stories had some small impact in that regard, but it's anyone's guess. At 06:39 PM 8/19/2002 -0700, Dave Godwin wrote: > >"Boost" is an ancient slang term for steal. I've heard it used in movies >from way before I was born ('63). > >Dave > >----- Original Message ----- >From: Tomryhmer at aol.com >To: continuing-time at ralf.org >Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 6:23 PM >Subject: [CT] Boost > >I caught 'Gone in Sixty Seconds' this weekend on cable. Not as bad a >flick to see as I thought it might be. Aside from a truly great car chase >scene in it, I was intrigued by the use of the word boost (in the movie) >to mean steal. Is this a case of great minds thinking alike? Is it slang >from the general LA area for stealing? Was it a straight rip off from >DKM's work? I'm pretty sure that Dan's works were published before this >movie was made, but didn't catch the copyright date so I don't know. >Inquiring minds want to know.... (OK mind.) > >Geoff Kieser > >"Odi profanum vulgus et arceo." -Horace 65 B.C. > ("I hate the vulgar herd and hold it afar") -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Aug 30 15:07:04 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 15:07:04 -0700 Subject: [CT] Amy & I will be at Worldcon -- In-Reply-To: <1030603153.1722.8388.camel@diogenes> References: <000a01c24e29$02132530$c50f7143@hermes> <000a01c24e29$02132530$c50f7143@hermes> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020830150236.00aa37f8@mail.queenofangels.com> Please do not abuse this number: cell: 818-645-6692 Anyone interested in meeting up, figure on dinner Saturday night -- probably an earlyish dinner, 5:00, 6:00, thereabouts. Amy and I will be arriving Saturday around 10:00, leaving Sunday evening. Sorry for having left this so late -- there are no solid plans even yet -- but anyone interested in dinner Sat. night (or just meeting up to say hello), you're welcome to join me whatever we end up doing. I'm probably going to ask Dave Godwin to pick out a place for dinner. HEY DAVE! PICK OUT A PLACE FOR DINNER! ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Sep 5 15:50:47 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 15:50:47 -0700 Subject: [CT] DKM dinner results? In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020814153144.025752f8@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020905154618.0257dac8@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:01 PM 9/3/2002 -0400, Ben Bishop wrote: >... but I would like to know how the dinner went, possibly even more >than I'd like to know how Worldcon went. There were ten of us at dinner (6 + me, Amy, and my 2 youngest.) It wasn't the best planned dinner on my end -- I wasn't entirely certainly 3-4 days ahead of time that I was going, since I was on deadline on another project. I think the general consensus is that I was charming & witty and remarkably good-looking, and that my boys took after me. And that my wife's a babe. You'd have to ask those who attended more specifically, but that did seem to be more or less the consensus -- nobody came right out and said those things exactly, but you could tell. >Can anyone who was there shed some light on this for those of us trapped >in other states? > >-Ben > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Oct 3 19:32:12 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 19:32:12 -0700 Subject: [CT] What's the status of AI War? In-Reply-To: <20021003172051.GB17524@infodancer.org> References: <1033665538.9832.2.camel@ralf> <20020905155616.A21747@darksleep.com> <1033665538.9832.2.camel@ralf> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021003193138.00ad3378@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:20 PM 10/3/2002 -0500, Matthew Hunter wrote: >Dan, would you be willing to ship an e-text, printout, whatever, >of AI War (in english) to those who buy the Russian version? I have to read my contract w/Bantam, but yeah, I'm seriously considering it. I haven't delivered AI War to the Russians yet, but I'm real close. Will let you know when I do. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 08:21:37 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 08:21:37 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: <3DA43DB8.4030504@wilcoxon.org> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009081218.00a95568@mail.queenofangels.com> I submitted what used to be called "A Moment in Time," now "A War in Time," to Project Greenlight. Will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of it. The script's available at Project Greenlight if you want to read it -- I'd put it up on QOA at this point except that the contest rules say you can't "publish" the script. Here's the Project Greenlight URL (you apparently need to be registered & logged in for it to work, unfortunately): http://projectgreenlight.liveplanet.com/pgl2scriptshow.jsp?id=1012906 It's the first of a film trilogy that I'm in the process of turning into a single large novel -- "A War in Time," "A War in Heaven," and "The Revolt of the Angels" -- going to be a novel called "The Revolt of the Angels," also the title of an Anatole France novel, not coincidentally. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 08:56:48 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 08:56:48 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: References: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009081218.00a95568@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009085539.00aeeb88@mail.queenofangels.com> At 11:51 AM 10/9/2002 -0400, Ben Bishop wrote: >You are right about the URL -- it doesn't work even if you _are_ >registered. It's working for me, but maybe the system "knows" that I'm the author of that script. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 09:01:22 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 09:01:22 -0700 Subject: [CT] Interview With Susan Stratton Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009085836.00a957c0@mail.queenofangels.com> http://www.lakerstalk.com/lakers/ If you're interested, I conducted an interview with Susan Stratton, the woman who worked most closely with Chick Hearn over the last quarter century (she produced KCAL Channel 9's Lakers broadcasts), for Lakerstalk.com. If you're not a Lakers fan, this probably won't be of interest to you, but the interview is partially up right now (the first 15 minutes; it's an hour long) and the rest will be up sometime today. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 11:29:49 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 11:29:49 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009112903.00a95c90@mail.queenofangels.com> If I were to e-mail the .pdf file to one of you guys, and you then put it up on one of your websites, that certainly wouldn't consist of me publishing it. Any of my close friends who want to read this, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 12:17:53 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 12:17:53 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: <200210091840.LAA25427@ddmi.he.net> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009112903.00a95c90@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009121008.00aafba0@mail.queenofangels.com> On second thought, probably no one should put up "War in Time" on any websites anywhere. You can e-mail it to each other if you like ... I'm e-mailing copies to: "Robert J. Hansen" "Casey Rousseau" Joshua Kronengold daveg I'm not mailing copies to Sean Fagan or David Silberstein, both of whom are associated with my website. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 13:00:59 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 13:00:59 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: <008e01c26fcd$dcb42ed0$be37389d@redmond.corp.microsoft.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009121008.00aafba0@mail.queenofangels.com> <3DA441B6.20460.B906E08@localhost> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009130052.00ab6e10@mail.queenofangels.com> At 12:55 PM 10/9/2002 -0700, Al Billings wrote: >Me too. (Gads, I said it.) I feel your pain. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 13:43:39 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 13:43:39 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: <20021009202442.95763.qmail@web40311.mail.yahoo.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009121008.00aafba0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009134315.00a95860@mail.queenofangels.com> At 01:24 PM 10/9/2002 -0700, Neil wrote: >Dan, > >One of my closest friends is a creative editor (or some similar title - he >reads scripts) for Village Roadshow pictures, so if you ever need an in >to get a script read, I may be able to help out, or at least give you an >introduction. > >-Neil If you'd be willing to pass it on to your friend, I'd be happy to send you a version with my contact info. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 14:03:15 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 14:03:15 -0700 Subject: [CT] Try sending mail directly to the group listed as having copies. Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009140203.00a95990@mail.queenofangels.com> Or even me, for that matter; I have a DSL line & will fill requests when I have time. (I'm going out right now and won't be back for some hours, but I'll send copies tonight to anyone who asks for one.) But a hundred "me too's" is probably a bit much for the list. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 20:28:22 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 20:28:22 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: References: <3DA4E099.45A12A1E@dnaco.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009202746.00a977c0@mail.queenofangels.com> At 09:22 PM 10/9/2002 -0500, David Rodemaker wrote: >Here's a Million dollar question DKM, what has drawn you to the >setting/genre of Time Travel as it relates to the 'Great Oops'? I just love time travel stories. Honestly, that's it. Life is loss -- time travel stories have a way of accentuating that. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 9 21:41:22 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 21:41:22 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" In-Reply-To: <7122E3C522C2D311B9C700508B02DCA308E14769@ntmsg0099.corpmai l.telstra.com.au> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021009214111.00a98470@mail.queenofangels.com> Yeah, I loved that book. At 02:24 PM 10/10/2002 +1000, Tong, Simon wrote: >Dan, have you ever read _Replay_ by Ken Grimwood? >"Life is loss" is probably one good way to sum up this excellent Time Travel >novel. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Oct 10 11:38:23 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 11:38:23 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" -Discussion In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021010112831.04097cc0@mail.queenofangels.com> This hasn't changed much in several years; it reached its current form (with some minor text changes) around 1997. (It doesn't much resemble the first draft any longer, but that's a good thing.) "Revolt of the Angels" is tangentially related to the "Trinity" stories I scripted out a long time ago -- Trinity is centered around World War II. There's a sequence of work that sort of run together -- Trinity, The Revolt of the Angels, The Time Wars series with Camber Tremodian -- From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Oct 10 20:23:12 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Daniel Moran) Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 20:23:12 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" -Discussion In-Reply-To: <000b01c270ca$135c0e60$1500000a@inet> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20021010112831.04097cc0@mail.queenofangels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20021010202159.00a9f448@mail.queenofangels.com> I don't know if there is, though I wouldn't object to it if you did. I don't know how you request a particular script -- I've done my 4 reviews and there doesn't appear to be a way for me to request a specific script -- I'd ask on the message boards, but Project Greenlight took them down because their website was flaky. At 07:01 PM 10/10/2002 -0700, D. Barker wrote: >Is there any way that we can get to your script on Project Greenlight to >review it? I know I would if I could. > >Derek Barker > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org > > [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org]On Behalf Of Daniel Moran > > Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 11:38 AM > > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > > Subject: Re: [CT] "A War In Time" -Discussion > > > > > > This hasn't changed much in several years; it reached its current form > > (with some minor text changes) around 1997. (It doesn't much resemble the > > first draft any longer, but that's a good thing.) "Revolt of the > > Angels" is > > tangentially related to the "Trinity" stories I scripted out a long time > > ago -- Trinity is centered around World War II. There's a > > sequence of work > > that sort of run together -- Trinity, The Revolt of the Angels, The Time > > Wars series with Camber Tremodian -- > > . > > BIG SPOILERS > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > . > > Mahliya Kutura is in "Trinity" and in "The Angel Fell," which I > > think I've > > mentioned; neither of them are CT stories. You'll understand how that > > happens at the end of "AI War." > > > > There's a great scene in "The Angel Fell" where the male lead, a musician > > who's travelled backward in time, tries to stop the assassinaton of John > > Lennon in 1980. He gets there and nearly gets himself killed -- there are > > four other time travelers at that moment, preparing to fight with each > > other -- Spider & Angel; Camber and Chai'ell November. I love that scene. > > > > There's an outline for "A War In Heaven" that I very much like -- I've > > shown that to a couple people -- it's a time travel story I think Poul > > Anderson would have been proud of -- 2 of the readers of that > > outline have > > compared it to Anderson's time travel stories, which makes me happy. > > > > At 08:59 AM 10/10/2002 -0400, Casey Rousseau wrote: > > >OK. I know I've sent out a few dozen copies over the last 16 > > hours and It > > >didn't take me much more than the projected run time to read the script. > > > > > >Dan, that's a cool script. I like it a lot. Nice fusion of Armageddon > > >Blues and Terminal Freedom. Plenty of nods, some explicitly > > noted either in > > >the footnotes or in the dialog, others just left out there to be > > so obvious > > >as to require no comment. > > > > > >A question or two. How recent is this. You noted that it had been "A > > >Moment in Time". I noted at the very end of your 1994 news release > > >http://www.kithrup.com/dkm/dkmnonfic/ctnews94.asc, a listing in > > the related > > >works section for TRINITY: The Revolt of the Angels. So, is > > this the story > > >that was listed there as _Earth Angel_? > > > > > >Cool. > > > > > >Casey > > > > > >____________________________ > > >continuing-time mailing list > > >continuing-time at ralf.org > > >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > ____________________________ > > continuing-time mailing list > > continuing-time at ralf.org > > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > > > --- > > Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. > > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > > Version: 6.0.394 / Virus Database: 224 - Release Date: 10/03/2002 > > > >____________________________ >continuing-time mailing list >continuing-time at ralf.org >http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Tue Oct 22 04:37:35 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 04:37:35 -0700 Subject: [CT] "A War In Time" References: <068601c2779f$03df33a0$6401a8c0@ryoko> Message-ID: <000c01c279bf$6c652e80$6401a8c0@sva> :-) I suspect you do. It's "A War in Time," a screenplay I submitted to Project Greenlight. If you want a copy, let me know & I'll e-mail one to you. Sorry for delay on response, was out this weekend. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert I. Howard" To: Sent: Saturday, October 19, 2002 11:40 AM Subject: RE: [CT] "A War In Time" > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Dan, > > Been away for a few weeks. What's everyone asking for a copy of? Do I > want one, too? Who knows? > > Bob Howard > > - -----Original Message----- > From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org > [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org]On Behalf Of Daniel Moran > Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 15:44 > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Subject: Re: [CT] "A War In Time" > > > At 01:24 PM 10/9/2002 -0700, Neil wrote: > > >Dan, > > > >One of my closest friends is a creative editor (or some similar > >title - he reads scripts) for Village Roadshow pictures, so if you > >ever need an in to get a script read, I may be able to help out, or > >at least give you an introduction. > > > >-Neil > > If you'd be willing to pass it on to your friend, I'd be happy to > send you > a version with my contact info. > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use > > iQA/AwUBPbGnI4u9iEkm9pBsEQLBPACgqXskdjkrHyVFCDEY7j8A02uayNUAoPgi > OdjsS63kEjZgm080IAYYgz/k > =hGn3 > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time > ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From dkm at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Oct 25 23:12:02 2002 From: dkm at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2002 23:12:02 -0700 Subject: [CT] E-Mail Changing Message-ID: <000e01c27cb6$9a011710$7501a8c0@sva> I've had dkm at QueenOfAngels.com too long -- the spam has just gotten unbearable, around 200 pieces a day. I've tried all the spam filters & etc., and I'm giving up. I'll give it maybe six months to make sure nobody's trying to reach me on that account, but I'm switching over to: Jimbo instead of dkm with the rest of the address the same. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Oct 26 18:36:34 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 18:36:34 -0700 Subject: [CT] E-Mail Changing In-Reply-To: <200210270124.g9R1OpK15113@panix3.panix.com> Message-ID: <000401c27d59$49281480$7501a8c0@sva> William December Starr wrote: >If it isn't too much trouble, could you not do that? >(Especially the part where the message is repeated in HTML.) Thanks. I hope this'll do it. I just switched from Eudora back to Outlook -- I'm looking for another mail client, still, but Eudora ate my mail twice in less than a month -- I backup pretty reliably, but I don't back up daily, and losing several day's mail twice made me crabby. >Oh, and -- just out of curiosity -- why Jimbo? It's what Angel called Jim Rockford on the Rockford Files, the best television show ever. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 30 16:20:03 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 16:20:03 -0800 Subject: FW: [CT] Re: Realtime by DKM (SPOILERS for end of tAB) Message-ID: <000101c28073$428a4ef0$6401a8c0@sva> I'm resending this -- it appears to have gotten swallowed. If it shows up a second time, forgive me. ~~~~~ >Which books are planned to contain the answers to these questions? I >suspect the AI War will address the genesis of The Source and Trent's >role in it, but are there books planned for the origins of the various >gods? The Time Wars -- 2nd Camber series -- covers that ground pretty thoroughly. AI War doesn't cover genesis of the Source -- that happens in Crystal Wind (which I've been writing in.) After Crystal Wind I'm doing the 1st Camber Tremodian series, Camber's Way. I had the outline for that open the other day, too. >when you go to write a book in the series, how much plot detail do you >have planned? Varies a lot by book. I've worked real hard at not knowing what happens in "The Always Rising of the Night" -- I'd like to come to that fresh. I know exactly what happens in the Camber stories -- who lives, who dies, what the timeline of events is, etc. I can tell you every meaningful thing Camber does in his entire life -- I can't do that with Ola Blue, and don't want to. >I know when I try to write anything longer than a few dozen pages, if I >know what's going to happen in the story, I start to lose interest in >the project. Have you had a similar experience? How did you overcome >it? Varies -- except for the ending I knew everything that was going to happen in AI War before I started writing it. I've got 80 or 100 pages of Crystal Wind (Deserts of Glass) and still don't know what happens in the second half of the novel (Crystal Wind) except in a really general sense. Ups and downs to knowing in detail what's happening before you write -- you get to concentrate more on clever detail, which helps sell things -- otoh, you're never surprised by what happens in your story, which is one of the things that makes writing fun. Mixed bag. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From sati at oz.net Wed Oct 30 16:37:59 2002 From: sati at oz.net (Rebecca) Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 16:37:59 -0800 Subject: Extra Copy of Emerald Eyes on eBay Message-ID: <000001c28075$c4317620$848627d8@oz.net> I have just posted a new auction of Emerald Eyes (the original paperback version) on eBay. This copy is in excellent condition and the auction is starting at only $10.00. Please check it out and feel free to email me if you have any questions! Click here to see my eBay auctions Thanks! Rebecca sati at oz.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Wed Oct 30 18:01:06 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 18:01:06 -0800 Subject: [CT] Re: E-Mail Changing In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000901c28081$60139db0$6401a8c0@sva> Is that the guy who also went by the name of Gharlane of Eddore? If so, he sent me tapes of "Dark Angel" and then died shortly before I actually watched it. -----Original Message----- By the way Dan, here's a blast-from-the-past / guilt-trip: http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=54rmjh$pq9 at news.csus.edu It's a guilt trip because the man who wrote it, an avid admirer of your work, died last year at a rather young age, considering. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Nov 1 14:48:48 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 14:48:48 -0800 Subject: [CT] Who was it who said Eudora ... Message-ID: <000001c281f8$d848aff0$6401a8c0@sva> Only crashed on him when his hard drive was going? Boot partition took a complete header this morning. Dead as a doornail. Thank God for Ghost; I had a complete backup of the hard drive ready to pop in and continue working. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Nov 1 19:05:21 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 19:05:21 -0800 Subject: [CT] Firefly In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <001501c2821c$aefa9c70$6401a8c0@sva> I used to use RAID (Promise IDE), but decided against it after a couple years. Seemed easier (and has been, mostly) to back up to hard drives using removable hard drives. Speed not that big an issue, and the flexibility to throw a new hd in and back up to it has been nice. -----Original Message----- From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of sneadj at mindspring.com Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 6:46 PM To: continuing-time at ralf.org Subject: Re: [CT] Firefly On 1 Nov 02, at 17:34, Brad Daniels wrote: > Has anyone else been watching that new TB series, FireFly? Though I'm > not sure I'm sold on the whole concept of a Western set in space, I've > got to say that the writing and production values remarkably good and > "smart". I'm particularly impressed that there's no sound for the > scenes that happen in space, and the regular use of Chinese phrases is > another interesting choice pf the kind that I associate more with > literary SF than television SF. I *love* it. The first episode was weak, but it still have *far* better character chemistry than any SF show I've seen except Farscape. Besides, really liked the ending of the first episode, in almost any other actionish show on TV the hulking bad guy would become their nemesis and not have gotten kicked into the engine. Since then, the plots have gotten better and last week was awesome. The characters actually *did* all the stuff I was thinking of, rather than behaving like nitwits when an emergency comes up, like characters in most SF shows. -John Snead sneadj at mindspring.com ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Fri Nov 1 19:12:50 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 19:12:50 -0800 Subject: [CT] Firefly In-Reply-To: <001501c2821c$aefa9c70$6401a8c0@sva> Message-ID: <001901c2821d$ba6d8f80$6401a8c0@sva> Pay no attention to me. They probably use RAID in the firefly universe. For their horses or something. -----Original Message----- From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of Dan Moran Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 7:05 PM To: continuing-time at ralf.org Subject: RE: [CT] Firefly I used to use RAID (Promise IDE), but decided against it after a couple years. Seemed easier (and has been, mostly) to back up to hard drives using removable hard drives. Speed not that big an issue, and the flexibility to throw a new hd in and back up to it has been nice. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Nov 2 02:45:37 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 02:45:37 -0800 Subject: [CT] Who was it who said Eudora ... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000401c2825c$fb611180$6401a8c0@sva> :-) I'm pretty sure Mac hard drives crash too. Andrew McColl wrote: >Or just stop using PCs all together. >Get a Life Get a Mac ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Nov 2 18:27:52 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 18:27:52 -0800 Subject: [CT] Who was it who said Eudora ... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000601c282e0$9cfe1e60$6401a8c0@sva> This is the God's-honest truth, I've lost 5 hard drives in the last 2 years, 2 in the last 2 weeks. I'm so paranoid about my data at this point, this is my setup: 7 hard drives - 4 for backup, 1 for boot, a clone of boot because I got tired of rebuilding my boot partition, and 1 for data. And then I burn to CD, deltas of my work, about once a week. To be fair, I do things on my machines that most people don't do. I'm running on the same partition Win2K Advanced Server, Windows Professional, Windows .NET Server, and on another partition Red Hat 7.2. I have an unusually large range of software -- Visual Studio 6, Visual Studio .NET, Office, Adobe Premiere & Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, every major media player installed(I develop streaming software, among oher things), DIVX, SQL Server, IIS 5.0, MySQL, IBM DB2, and Oracle. And I USE all those programs. One of the reasons I started ghosting my boot partition was after it died, twice in less than a year, it took me weeks to rebuild all my installed programs both times. -----Original Message----- From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of Gary Bunker Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 2:59 PM To: continuing-time at ralf.org Subject: Re: [CT] Who was it who said Eudora ... Dan, you have absolutely the worst luck with computer hardware. In 20 years, I've never had my boot partition get wiped except by my own failure (installing an early version of Debian - bad idea). > Only crashed on him when his hard drive was going? > > Boot partition took a complete header this morning. Dead as a > doornail. Thank God for Ghost; I had a complete backup of the hard > drive ready to pop in and continue working. -- http://andysocial.com ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Nov 4 12:48:53 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 12:48:53 -0800 Subject: [CT] other formats for "Emerald Eyes" In-Reply-To: <200211041729.gA4HTEe24050@smtp2.infinetivity.com> Message-ID: <001e01c28443$b517db30$6401a8c0@sva> Stephen R. Wilcoxon wrote: >Actually, the Emerald Eyes (and Armageddon Blues) small-format >hardbacks I have seem like they have lower-quality paper than >paperbacks (thinner paper anyway - no yellowing or other visible effects yet). I'm pretty sure that the small-format hardcovers are merely the paperback editions, with the covers torn off, laminated, and remounted. You could ask Jack Rems at Dark Carnival -- I believe he's the guy who did it. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Nov 4 12:49:53 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 12:49:53 -0800 Subject: [CT] other formats for "Emerald Eyes" In-Reply-To: <200211041729.gA4HTEe24050@smtp2.infinetivity.com> Message-ID: <001f01c28443$c0415ea0$6401a8c0@sva> Stephen R. Wilcoxon wrote: >Actually, the Emerald Eyes (and Armageddon Blues) small-format >hardbacks I have seem like they have lower-quality paper than >paperbacks (thinner paper anyway - no yellowing or other visible effects yet). I'm pretty sure that the small-format hardcovers are merely the paperback editions, with the covers torn off, laminated, and remounted. You could ask Jack Rems at Dark Carnival -- I believe he's the guy who did it. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Nov 4 15:07:27 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 15:07:27 -0800 Subject: [CT] QueenOfAngels.com Message-ID: <000501c28456$f3b03320$6401a8c0@sva> Anyone have an ASP host they can recommend? I signed up with ReadyHosting.com last year -- and have had dreadful results with them. The site is so slow as to be unusable more often than not. I've actually got a version of the site on my computer that I haven't bothered to put up because the host is so dreadfully slow -- operations that are sub-1 second on my machine are timing out on the ReadyHosting host. Any suggestions appreciated. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Nov 4 15:14:47 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 15:14:47 -0800 Subject: [CT] QueenOfAngels.com In-Reply-To: <000501c28456$f3b03320$6401a8c0@sva> Message-ID: <000801c28457$f8678430$6401a8c0@sva> Direct to me via e-mail, please, not via the list. BTW, my LakersTalk.com website (linux, php, mySQL) is running great on Dot5Hosting.com -- setup was a dreadful experience, but since then, pretty good. $150 a year, 1GB disk space, 20GB transfer a month. If any of you are looking, I've had a much better experience there than with ReadyHosting.com. -----Original Message----- From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of Dan Moran Sent: Monday, November 04, 2002 3:07 PM To: continuing-time at ralf.org Subject: [CT] QueenOfAngels.com Anyone have an ASP host they can recommend? I signed up with ReadyHosting.com last year -- and have had dreadful results with them. The site is so slow as to be unusable more often than not. I've actually got a version of the site on my computer that I haven't bothered to put up because the host is so dreadfully slow -- operations that are sub-1 second on my machine are timing out on the ReadyHosting host. Any suggestions appreciated. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Nov 4 17:21:39 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 17:21:39 -0800 Subject: [CT] "War in Time" In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000201c28469$b17d5a10$6401a8c0@sva> Didn't make the cut on Project Greenlight. It got reviewed 4 times by people who gave it roughly an 8 on a scale of 1-10 ... and a fifth time by someone who gave it 0s straight across the board. I either got somebody who just hated science fiction really bad, or else I got a devout social conservative who objected to the lesbianism or the Reagan smack or the Church of the SubGenius or something. (I actually considered taking the Reagan smack out -- I feel more kindly toward the man today than I did when I wrote that piece -- but it gave me a link to a political figure who Trader Joe would have known, so I left it in.) Oh well. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Thu Nov 7 11:21:42 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 11:21:42 -0800 Subject: [CT] AI War In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <00a101c28692$e7e97860$6401a8c0@sva> I shipped the 1st half of the book to my Russian publisher, I'm still hammering away at the ending. There are no English language publication plans at the moment -- QV & I don't have a contract, though I will be talking to them as soon as I've shipped the 2nd half to the Russians. Amy is still line-editing the mss. in all the spare time she has when she's not shepherding 5 kids through their lives. > -----Original Message----- > From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org > [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of Jory > Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 11:10 AM > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Subject: [CT] AI War > > > Sorry if this is redundant, as my subscription somehow > managed to get disabled, and the archives will take forever > to scan through looking for this info (wish I had an image > co-processor!). > > I'm wondering what the current status of AI War's publishing > is. Last I heard, it was supposed to get released by > QuietVision in September. > > Thanks, > > Jory K. Prum > Sound Guy > > ---------------- Colorado Chivo Productions ----------------- > | me at jory.org | > | http://www.jory.org http://studio.jory.org | > ------------------------------------------------------------- > | PO Box 775 | (415) 454-7937 | > | Fairfax, CA 94978-0775 | | > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuin> g-time > ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Nov 11 13:39:50 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 13:39:50 -0800 Subject: [CT] re: whatever In-Reply-To: <23704-3DD0227D-991@storefull-2171.public.lawson.webtv.net> Message-ID: <000201c289ca$dda82aa0$6401a8c0@sva> I think a lot of people have subscribed to the digest to avoid having to deal with stuff like this. I haven't myself, but I'm considering it. -----Original Message----- From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org [mailto:continuing-time-admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of Paul Robbins Sent: Monday, November 11, 2002 1:35 PM To: continuing-time at ralf.org Subject: Re: [CT] re: whatever Remember our discussion about appropriateness for the list and a possible need for a filter? Here we go again........... A rather tired-of-this DKM fan. Paul ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Nov 30 14:13:28 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 14:13:28 -0800 Subject: [CT] Happy Birthday Dan In-Reply-To: <000601c298ba$ca981a20$62013e44@roylok01.mi.comcast.net> Message-ID: <000401c298bd$b694ef50$6401a8c0@sva> > In addition to the thanksgiving wishes, I want to wish Dan a happy > birthday. 39 now 40, champ. > What's it like to be old Dan? You go to a lot of funerals. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Nov 30 21:10:14 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 21:10:14 -0800 Subject: [CT] Happy Birthday Dan In-Reply-To: <000401c298bd$b694ef50$6401a8c0@sva> Message-ID: <000101c298f7$ef2c7f10$6401a8c0@sva> Pretty sarcastic response here. I want to apologize for that. I spent yesterday morning with a doctor informing me that yet another person in my immediate family will be dying shortly. I appreciated the birthday wishes, though I'm not in much of a birthday mood today. I should probably have let this post pass rather than respond to it in this fashion. > -----Original Message----- > From: continuing-time-admin at ralf.org [mailto:continuing-time- > admin at ralf.org] On Behalf Of Dan Moran > Sent: Saturday, November 30, 2002 2:13 PM > To: continuing-time at ralf.org > Subject: RE: [CT] Happy Birthday Dan > > > In addition to the thanksgiving wishes, I want to wish Dan a happy > > birthday. 39 now > > 40, champ. > > > What's it like to be old Dan? > > You go to a lot of funerals. > > ____________________________ > continuing-time mailing list > continuing-time at ralf.org > http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Dec 9 11:31:31 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 11:31:31 -0800 Subject: [CT] My father passed on Sunday Message-ID: <000301c29fb9$9a3c3b80$f2acc53f@sva> And it was only 3 years ago he beat the hell out of a pair of muggers who thought he looked old. :-) He'd been sick for a while. Apparently he'd been fighting bone cancer for 3 years, and had told no one about it. That was typical of him. He died very peacefully; sank into a coma Saturday night, passed away Sunday at 12:40, just stopped breathing. One nice coincidence -- the man who kept my father alive all those years, after he had a massive heart attack at 44 -- Doctor Yo, the man my father trusted the most over the years -- we'd lost track of him after he left Kaiser Permanente. He'd gone into hospice care, and when my father was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer -- 10 days ago now -- by pure chance Doctor Yo got my father's case again. He kept my father alive for almost 30 years when the odds ran very much the other way, and he made his exit from this world as peaceful as possible. I'm deeply grateful to him. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Mon Dec 9 14:42:05 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 14:42:05 -0800 Subject: [CT] My father passed on Sunday In-Reply-To: <1039463580.27297.43.camel@two.nks.net> Message-ID: <000001c29fd4$33cef700$f2acc53f@sva> Derek Glidden wrote: > You sound very calm (maybe you're just writing very calmly) which is > admirable and even enviable; when I eventually lose a parent (or if, > since I'm still not fully able to admit that they might die one day) I'm > going to be a wreck for months. It's a frightening prospect. I feel very calm. I'm not sure if it'll last or not. I was 12 when my father had the first of his near-fatal heart attacks -- I've been braced for him to die for so long that right now I have no idea how I feel about it. He was the most interesting person I knew -- in the sense of having depths and contradictions to him. He was astonishingly charming -- the last couple years he lost a lot of his interest in women, but he was dating a woman in his 30s when he was in his late 60s. Started by dating the mother, broke up with the mother, waited a respectable period, started dating the daughter. I've had people (women -- no man's ever criticized me for it, unsurprisingly) call me promiscuous over the course of the years -- my only response has been, fuck, you don't know my Dad; Warren Beatty had nothing on him. I've spent my entire life comparing myself to him and more often than not feeling like I didn't measure up. I had lunch with Sean Connery once -- and granted, he was a movie star and the entire room was focused on him -- but if he hadn't been a movie star he'd have had the same response. I get that myself -- put me in most rooms and if I want to run the room, I can. But I don't get it the way men like Connery get it -- I don't get it the way my father got it. He was extraordinarily good looking -- not the way some men are, good-looking to the point where they approach feminity -- he was a rugged black Irish with an extraordinarily masculine voice and presence. There's an acronym the Christians use -- WWJD -- I've spent most of my adult life asking myself, "What Would Dad Do." There's a theory that young men without fathers are more prone to violence because their image of masculinity came from a movie screen and television -- I'm sure that's at least part of the answer. I never had to wonder what "being a man" meant -- all I ever had to do was look at my father. He was one. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sat Dec 28 17:48:17 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 17:48:17 -0800 Subject: [CT] anyone else catch the articles...? In-Reply-To: <20021228233531.GJ13530@infodancer.org> Message-ID: <000601c2aedc$5c727bc0$6401a8c0@sva> Matt Hunter wrote: >Fact is, homosexuals DO receive full human rights You might feel differently if you were unable to marry the person you loved. Defining the right to marry as "not a human right" strikes me as an astonishing stretch -- so long as we persist in talking about "rights," which don't exist in the first place. But if the legal fiction of "rights" means anything, it should mean that you can marry another consenting adult. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time From Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com Sun Jan 13 20:29:44 2002 From: Jimbo at QueenOfAngels.com (Dan Moran) Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 20:29:44 -0800 Subject: [CT] Military attributes In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20030110082139.009e88a0@mail.andysocial.com> Message-ID: <001201c19cb4$181bb580$6401a8c0@sv0> I've never served in the military, but I've known a lot of people who have. They've overwhelmingly good people -- better on average, in my experience, than civilians. Make of that what you will -- it may be a statistical quirk from my personal life, but it's been noticeable to me. ____________________________ continuing-time mailing list continuing-time at ralf.org http://www.ralf.org/mailman/listinfo/continuing-time