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I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

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Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#81

Post by culi »

HillRat wrote: post #8
ailun wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really "Newspeak" at all; if anything, it's the opposite. Newspeak had limited vocabulary. The interviewer is using a bunch of ten-dollar words. Still, interesting interview! I might read some Padgett Powell at some point because of this.

It's an interesting contrast, because Ah-Sen is an experimental formalist, and his questions progress from that point of view, whereas Powell is (hilariously) ... not. (As this feels like a Q&A-by-email with all the questions submitted en bloc, Ah-Sen probably didn't get a chance to adapt his questions, and their theoretical foundation, to Powell's responses, lending to the surrealistic air.)

> Ah-Sen is an experimental formalist, and his questions progress from that point of view

What does "experimental formalist" mean in this case and what is the associated point of view you're referring to?

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#82

Post by culi »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #57
kleiba wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The little info box about the interviewer at the end of the article tells you all you need to know.

"The little info box about the interviewer at the end of the article tells you all you need to know." That is a very round-about way of saying something negative about this article. Why not say straight out what you think is wrong with it? Why not? Maybe because it is easier for some people to agree with you when you don't present any actual facts. What does that little info-box say? And why do you think that is ALL…

I think the implication is that this interview is more about the interviewer than about the interviewee. Not sure I agree. Infoboxes about the author of an article are a common practice. I see them even on recipe websites

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#83

Post by Dudhbbh3343 »

roughly wrote: post #76
Aeolun wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should I read anything into this other than the response making fun of the tone of the original message?

The article’s worth a read, but no, I was just experiencing vicarious catharsis from the response.

So he's just mocking the melodramatic message of his colleague? As someone who's not that well read, I find his response nonsensical, so I imagine I'm missing a reference or two.

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#84

Post by mondobe »

nashashmi wrote: post #25

(meta) the site is a dream. It can be browsed without css/js.

Although, on the topic of site design, the Tweets on the sidebar do take up 2/3 of the page. Is it really necessary to see posts all the way back from April 2020?

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#85

Post by tyingq »

basil-rash wrote: post #77
tyingq wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It almost works, but "berthed" doesn't imply "created", since it means something more like "parked". So that doesn't read right with: "The destiny of all books is to become unmoored from the time which birthed them. - Ah-Sen" It could have used both maybe? "...and then berthed in the present"

You’re reading “created” into it to justify that interpretation. If you assume he meant created then sure go with birthed, but that doesn’t prove anything beyond your initial assumption. A “berthed”-friendly interpretation would be “all books start off tied to a particular point in time, it is their destiny to become free of their temporal bounds, to drift through eternity”

You're assigning some notion that berthed means berthed in a home port. Ships are berthed in many different places and times. So the "time which berthed them" just doesn't work.

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#86

Post by Dudhbbh3343 »

boplicity wrote: post #79
gred wrote: post #78

> Donald Barthelme in particular praised you for writing about things readers had never heard before between Black and white characters. It's bizarre to me that in certain circles some Colors are capitalized, while other colors are not.

It may be bizarre for you, but it is often a reasoned and thoughtful use of the word, meaningful in the context of a complex and consistent consideration of the general meaning and usage of words. I encourage you to consider and understand the perspectives of those who do capitalize the word. This serves as an introduction to some people's thinking: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/capital-b-black-styleguide.php Note, th…

You and your link make reasonable arguments for capitalizing black, but I don't see any justification (other than to be contrary to supremacist groups) for not doing the same for white, which leaves it inconsistent with the naming of all other racial/ethnic groups.

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#87

Post by Chris2048 »

boplicity wrote: post #79
gred wrote: post #78

> Donald Barthelme in particular praised you for writing about things readers had never heard before between Black and white characters. It's bizarre to me that in certain circles some Colors are capitalized, while other colors are not.

It may be bizarre for you, but it is often a reasoned and thoughtful use of the word, meaningful in the context of a complex and consistent consideration of the general meaning and usage of words. I encourage you to consider and understand the perspectives of those who do capitalize the word. This serves as an introduction to some people's thinking: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/capital-b-black-styleguide.php Note, th…

from your link, first paragraph:

"For many people, Black reflects a shared sense of identity and community. White carries a different set of meanings; capitalizing the word in this context risks following the lead of white supremacists."

I don't find that thoughtful.

The argument further erodes when they also capitalize "Asian", which is described as "groups that include myriad ethnic identities united by shared race and geography and, to some degree, culture" - How does that not apply equally to "white" also?

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#88

Post by neilk »

I went looking for more Padget Powell; in particular I wanted to hear his voice. This one is pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cvhp6h2cc

In the interview he also uses "made-up people doing made-up things", so this was not an nonce invention. Perhaps he uses the phrase when teaching literature. Also I would not judge him for this, every person who is frequently interviewed learns to deploy a few stories and phrases that have a reliable effect.

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#89

Post by hannofcart »

ducttapecrown wrote: post #9

A group of people just asked me what verisimilitude was, now I'm excited to come back and tell them about verisimilitudinously.

Last time I learnt that many new words was from the monologue in 'V for Vendetta'.

Re: I now lack the juice to fuel the bluster to conceal that I am a simpleton

#90

Post by hotdogscout »

Dudhbbh3343 wrote: post #86
boplicity wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be bizarre for you, but it is often a reasoned and thoughtful use of the word, meaningful in the context of a complex and consistent consideration of the general meaning and usage of words. I encourage you to consider and understand the perspectives of those who do capitalize the word. This serves as an introduction to some people's thinking: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/capital-b-black-styleguide.php Note, th…

You and your link make reasonable arguments for capitalizing black, but I don't see any justification (other than to be contrary to supremacist groups) for not doing the same for white, which leaves it inconsistent with the naming of all other racial/ethnic groups.

Leftist activists circles have grievances with white people and this is a small token of revenge. Depersonifying white people. Asians don't get internally consistent treatment because of intersectionality.

Are we really pretending it's a coincidence all the time?

This naivety is rightfully never applied to right wing bigotry.

I'm not white myself but I'm genuinely confused as to why this kind of blatant ethnic antagonization is so normalized in western elites and extremely taboo to point out.

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