I know a few people who do not ever read the same book twice. That's not the way I work at all. To me, good books are to be enjoyed again and again, like a favorite food. (particularly chocolate) I originally read the "Lord of the Rings" series close to 20 years ago. They were a gift from my uncle Glen. Since that time I've managed to read them about once a year and sometimes twice a year. My original are not in great shape today, the covers have fallen off and the top pages are torn and curled. I no longer read these, they are too valuable. A couple of years ago I bought a copy of all three in one volume and that is what I read now.
When the movies came out, I and a bunch of my relatives would go and see them. We would usually make an afternoon of it, eating an early supper because the films are so long. We also enjoyed the necessary popcorn, drinks and candy too. One year my group filled a whole row!
With all due respect to Peter Jackson, the movie that plays in my head while I'm reading is much better than his. I have long ago 'cast' the various parts with the actors I deemed best suited for the parts. The advantage of using my imagination is that I can pick the stars at their best, even though today they might be retired from acting. I can even create my own CGI characters and not have to spend millions. I will not go into the details of my mental casting here. My real subject is about writing.
"Lord of the Rings" is literature at its best. When I read the story there are certain places I look forward to, and when I get there, I approach them will slow relish. One of these is near the beginning, just after the Party. It goes like this:
"For LOBELLA SACKVILLE BAGGINS, as a PRESENT, on a
case of silver spoons. Bilbo believed that she had acquired a
good many of his spoons while he was away on his former
journey. Lobella knew that quite well. When she arrived later
in the day, she took the point at once, but she also took the
spoons."
The little pun here shows something of Tolkien's wry sense of humor and his love for word play, a trait that appears again and again. Because the scope of the books is so great there are places where the story could get bogged down: and then his subtle wit comes out and prevents that from happening.
The next part comes at the Prancing Pony, the inn at Bree. This is where Frodo and his friends meet a dark and mysterious character known only as 'Strider'. His true identity would be revealed later. Bilbo had written a letter about this Man, and part of the verse goes as follows:
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost:
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
I'm not much for verse, but Tolkien's command of the King's English is such that even the poetry draws me in. The words have great rhythm and majesty. Back when I first started reading the books, I (foolishly) skipped over most of the poems, but now I find myself reading them. Poetry is natural to the world of Middle Earth.
A third passage I always look forward to comes just after the fall of Orthanc and the parley with Saruman. An object is thrown from above which will soon play an important part in the story. That object is a Palantir - a stone of seeing - and one of only a few remaining in Middle Earth. It's not exactly a crystal ball, but it is close. From a time long past they came, and were formerly used as a means of communication at the height of Gondor's power. These globes were made by one of the Noldor named Feanor and of their making Gandalf expresses a wish:
"- to look across the wide seas of water and of time to
Trion the Fair and perceive the unimaginable hand and
mind of Feanor at their work..."
At this point in the story we have already learned a bit about Gandalf. He is a wizard, mysterious - powerful - and very wise. His knowledge reaches back over centuries. And yet his desire is to know even more. This line adds depth to Gandalf's character and shows that even he is mystified by some things. And we all know it's quite an accomplishment to impress a wizard.
As a writer I know it is not enough to just have a good plot. The incidentals also make the story move forward. The better I can provide these, the more depth my stories will have, and the more believable my characters will be. That goes for short articles, too. If anything I write can contain a bit of humorous word play, or some connection that is unique, then I will consider it to be a success.
Keep Writing!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dylan and Sandrine Talking in the Hall
Dylan walks up to Sandrine. He's got a book in his hand.
Sandrine: Is that a book you are reading?
Dylan: Why yes! I'll bet you never expected to see that, did you?
Sandrine: You got that right. Since when did you learn how to read?
Dylan: Since high school - no, wait - I learned way before then, but I'm re-reading this.
Sandrine: What is it?
Dylan: It's a modern day classic. "1984" By George Orwell.
Sandrine: "1984"? I really wouldn't call that modern day! It's a bit dated don't you think?
Dylan: What do you mean?
Sandrine: It was first published in, like 1950. And, I know how you like to live in the past, but 1984 came and went a long time ago.
Dylan: I know that! I wouldn't necessarily put this work in the same genre as our modern day post-apocalyptic missives, yet I have found this to actually be forward thinking and quite up to date! It's a perfect picture of life under......
Sandrine: Under - what? Communism?
Dylan: No, Obambacare.
Sandrine: Is that a book you are reading?
Dylan: Why yes! I'll bet you never expected to see that, did you?
Sandrine: You got that right. Since when did you learn how to read?
Dylan: Since high school - no, wait - I learned way before then, but I'm re-reading this.
Sandrine: What is it?
Dylan: It's a modern day classic. "1984" By George Orwell.
Sandrine: "1984"? I really wouldn't call that modern day! It's a bit dated don't you think?
Dylan: What do you mean?
Sandrine: It was first published in, like 1950. And, I know how you like to live in the past, but 1984 came and went a long time ago.
Dylan: I know that! I wouldn't necessarily put this work in the same genre as our modern day post-apocalyptic missives, yet I have found this to actually be forward thinking and quite up to date! It's a perfect picture of life under......
Sandrine: Under - what? Communism?
Dylan: No, Obambacare.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Law as a Medium
In the early 60's, Marshall Mcluhan emerged as being one of the great philosophers of the media age. Today's usage of the term "media" comes from him as well as some now familiar phrases like: "global village" and "age of information". Mcluhan was different from other critics of the media which focused primarily on content. Marshall went a great leap ahead by looking at ways in which a particular medium changes our relationships and our way of seeing the world. For example, he deemed the light bulb as a "medium without a message" but it has changed the way we live drastically. Take a quick look at the things we can now do and take for granted that were not possible before its invention.
What we will do today is take his general idea and apply it to something else - Law. Is law a medium? Yes, it is. Law is a medium of behavior. Those who love and obey laws will modify their behaviors to adhere to them. Every relationship is life will be affected. In this case we are going to look at a specific set of laws, two of them actually. The first is arguably the greatest set of laws ever proposed; recorded by none other than Moses in the Ten Commandments. A list of the Ten will not be enumerated here, but you can find them in Exodus 20.
Let's ask: What kind of behavior is elicited by adherence to the Ten? What would we expect such a person to be like?
He would be someone who loved God and who would set aside a special day of worship every week to show that love. He would be steadfast, not susceptible to the whims of false belief. He would give due honor to his parents, as his life is a continuance of theirs, and show fidelity toward his wife. He would honor friend and acquaintance by telling the truth. He has respect for other people's property and does not harbor secret whims to take what is not his.
Just think of what it would be like to live in a society of such people. The benefits would be enormous. Relationships would be based on mutual respect. Business would be conducted along the same lines. Little extra energy would have to be spent in worry and mistrust. Partners could sleep easy at night and not have to wonder if their capitol might disappear at any moment. It would foster great confidence that the deals they had forged would be strong. Note too that these ten laws did not just apply within the boundaries of Jewish society. Everyone was to be treated exactly the same way.
And what of a society which does not adhere to the Ten? (This includes those who wilfully ignore the Law.) One would expect the opposite to become true. There would be no love for God. Worship would be degraded to superstition and rote obedience. Parents would no longer be revered. Truth would go out the window along with fidelity. Family relationships would suffer. Business partnerships would be strained from mistrust. The other party might be just playing you to get ahead. Or they may simply murder you and take what they want.
No benefits can come from a society that does not have a good set of laws. The impetus for making a better life for yourself and your family would be nil. Why strive when the risks are so high? Why attempt to achieve when what you've worked hard for with your energy, intelligence and time might at any moment be taken away?
It is true that laws can be a good thing. There is no better set that the Ten Commandments. they are the foundation for the laws of the United States: the mark of a great people, the Jews, and a great nation, Israel.
At this point we should note that there are still many in the U.S. - even among those who would not define themselves as religious - who obey at least some of the Ten on principle. These are individuals whose word is their bond and their handshake is better than a contract signed in a room full of lawyers.
Let's make a few general observations about law before we continue. If laws are a medium of behavior it might seem better to have more laws rather than fewer, because then behavior would be more closely controlled. This is incorrect. At some point there are diminishing returns. More laws would mean that fewer people would even know them in their entirety. Also, the possibility of contradictory laws would be increased. This would encourage duplicity and decit. Or, laws not deemed important or rarely enforced would simply be ignored. It is better to have fewer and more clear laws than more of them.
The United States has its own "Ten Commandments". These are enumerated in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. One need only look at them for a moment to see that they are not laws for citizens of our great country. Rather they are laws mediating the behavior of our Federal Government.
Under these laws, what kind of government can we expect to have? Our government would allow its citizens to speak their mind verbally and in print. They could practice their Christian beliefs in any way they chose. They could peacefully assemble. They can defend their lives and property by owning guns. Their own property would not be violated by the government unnecessarily. It cannot be seized wtihout due process. The government could not force them to house troops. Further, this same government would protect their right to a fair trial, in public, with an impartial jury. Excessive punishments would not be meted out. Lastly, those powers not granted specifically to the Federal Government would be settled by the States, or the people.
For most of our history these laws have worked very well. But we can also see that today our government has vastly overstepped the boundaries granted them by law. This is especially true of our present administration and the majority of our representatives. Again, what happens when laws are wilfully ignored? The opposite of them becomes true.
We've already seen the illegal takeover by the government of one of our major car manufacturers and about a hundred other companies. Several of our major industries are under what are called "Czars". These are unelected officials who bear no direct responsibility to those they rule over. They were simply appointed. Right now health care legislation is being considered that will (illegally) hand over some 15 percent of our gross national product to the Federal Government.
We have seen the result of this behavior. Our economy is in shambles and losing jobs every day. There is currently a disincentive to start new business in the face of higher taxes and stifling regulation. The confidence of our citizens in the Federal Government is at an all time low.
The question is: If our representatives so easily ignore some of our laws, what is to stop them from ignoring them all? Unfortunately both parties are at fault for this situation. And to say that abuse of power began with the present administration is misguided even though the pace of abuse is accelerating. And now the solution is not be so easy. It will begin when we as citizens get so fed up with this activity that we will come out and use another, perfectly legal and time-honored method for changing behavior. And vote them out of office.
What we will do today is take his general idea and apply it to something else - Law. Is law a medium? Yes, it is. Law is a medium of behavior. Those who love and obey laws will modify their behaviors to adhere to them. Every relationship is life will be affected. In this case we are going to look at a specific set of laws, two of them actually. The first is arguably the greatest set of laws ever proposed; recorded by none other than Moses in the Ten Commandments. A list of the Ten will not be enumerated here, but you can find them in Exodus 20.
Let's ask: What kind of behavior is elicited by adherence to the Ten? What would we expect such a person to be like?
He would be someone who loved God and who would set aside a special day of worship every week to show that love. He would be steadfast, not susceptible to the whims of false belief. He would give due honor to his parents, as his life is a continuance of theirs, and show fidelity toward his wife. He would honor friend and acquaintance by telling the truth. He has respect for other people's property and does not harbor secret whims to take what is not his.
Just think of what it would be like to live in a society of such people. The benefits would be enormous. Relationships would be based on mutual respect. Business would be conducted along the same lines. Little extra energy would have to be spent in worry and mistrust. Partners could sleep easy at night and not have to wonder if their capitol might disappear at any moment. It would foster great confidence that the deals they had forged would be strong. Note too that these ten laws did not just apply within the boundaries of Jewish society. Everyone was to be treated exactly the same way.
And what of a society which does not adhere to the Ten? (This includes those who wilfully ignore the Law.) One would expect the opposite to become true. There would be no love for God. Worship would be degraded to superstition and rote obedience. Parents would no longer be revered. Truth would go out the window along with fidelity. Family relationships would suffer. Business partnerships would be strained from mistrust. The other party might be just playing you to get ahead. Or they may simply murder you and take what they want.
No benefits can come from a society that does not have a good set of laws. The impetus for making a better life for yourself and your family would be nil. Why strive when the risks are so high? Why attempt to achieve when what you've worked hard for with your energy, intelligence and time might at any moment be taken away?
It is true that laws can be a good thing. There is no better set that the Ten Commandments. they are the foundation for the laws of the United States: the mark of a great people, the Jews, and a great nation, Israel.
At this point we should note that there are still many in the U.S. - even among those who would not define themselves as religious - who obey at least some of the Ten on principle. These are individuals whose word is their bond and their handshake is better than a contract signed in a room full of lawyers.
Let's make a few general observations about law before we continue. If laws are a medium of behavior it might seem better to have more laws rather than fewer, because then behavior would be more closely controlled. This is incorrect. At some point there are diminishing returns. More laws would mean that fewer people would even know them in their entirety. Also, the possibility of contradictory laws would be increased. This would encourage duplicity and decit. Or, laws not deemed important or rarely enforced would simply be ignored. It is better to have fewer and more clear laws than more of them.
The United States has its own "Ten Commandments". These are enumerated in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. One need only look at them for a moment to see that they are not laws for citizens of our great country. Rather they are laws mediating the behavior of our Federal Government.
Under these laws, what kind of government can we expect to have? Our government would allow its citizens to speak their mind verbally and in print. They could practice their Christian beliefs in any way they chose. They could peacefully assemble. They can defend their lives and property by owning guns. Their own property would not be violated by the government unnecessarily. It cannot be seized wtihout due process. The government could not force them to house troops. Further, this same government would protect their right to a fair trial, in public, with an impartial jury. Excessive punishments would not be meted out. Lastly, those powers not granted specifically to the Federal Government would be settled by the States, or the people.
For most of our history these laws have worked very well. But we can also see that today our government has vastly overstepped the boundaries granted them by law. This is especially true of our present administration and the majority of our representatives. Again, what happens when laws are wilfully ignored? The opposite of them becomes true.
We've already seen the illegal takeover by the government of one of our major car manufacturers and about a hundred other companies. Several of our major industries are under what are called "Czars". These are unelected officials who bear no direct responsibility to those they rule over. They were simply appointed. Right now health care legislation is being considered that will (illegally) hand over some 15 percent of our gross national product to the Federal Government.
We have seen the result of this behavior. Our economy is in shambles and losing jobs every day. There is currently a disincentive to start new business in the face of higher taxes and stifling regulation. The confidence of our citizens in the Federal Government is at an all time low.
The question is: If our representatives so easily ignore some of our laws, what is to stop them from ignoring them all? Unfortunately both parties are at fault for this situation. And to say that abuse of power began with the present administration is misguided even though the pace of abuse is accelerating. And now the solution is not be so easy. It will begin when we as citizens get so fed up with this activity that we will come out and use another, perfectly legal and time-honored method for changing behavior. And vote them out of office.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Lines
Over the last year and a half I've built a miniature pile of books beside my couch. That pile is not yet big enough to build a fort; but give me a few more months and we'll see. There is something characteristic of just about all of them. Lines. Pick up a random book and flip through it. You'll see phrases and sentences with lines under them. Sometimes I'll use a vertical line and block off a while paragraph. The expecially good points have a little star beside them too. (I also write little notes in the margin beside points I disagree with.) At some future time I can take the book and, by reading the delineated passages, review the best parts in a short time. This practice becomes a bit of a problem when I read a really good book. There are lines all over the place.
I do this for articles, too. I highlight the best points and change the color of the font, usually to red or blue. When I re-read them my eye is immediately drawn to the different color. I've been known to change the font to bold for the same reason. A really great line might be both red and bold. I'm drawn to phrases that bring a particular point home in a powerful way. I love that many of those I read have a knack for doing just that.
The fact is that the particular genre of writing does not seem to matter much to me. I'm just as enamored by a great line from a novel as from an article about economics. I might even be more impressed with the economics line - it is a subject that holds little interest to me.
Good writing is both exciting and challening. Exciting because of the way words are used to convey ideas. Challenging because of a particular aspiration I have to write powerfully, too. The time may come - no - the time will come when this input will affect my writings in a positive way.
Keep Writing!
I do this for articles, too. I highlight the best points and change the color of the font, usually to red or blue. When I re-read them my eye is immediately drawn to the different color. I've been known to change the font to bold for the same reason. A really great line might be both red and bold. I'm drawn to phrases that bring a particular point home in a powerful way. I love that many of those I read have a knack for doing just that.
The fact is that the particular genre of writing does not seem to matter much to me. I'm just as enamored by a great line from a novel as from an article about economics. I might even be more impressed with the economics line - it is a subject that holds little interest to me.
Good writing is both exciting and challening. Exciting because of the way words are used to convey ideas. Challenging because of a particular aspiration I have to write powerfully, too. The time may come - no - the time will come when this input will affect my writings in a positive way.
Keep Writing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)