Like Jimmy Carter committing adultery in his heart ...

[rivkat]

I am committing SV vids in my head. It's a good thing I lack the time and the technology, or I'd have a new hobby to inflict on you all. Currently, I'm stuck on this:

Comments

[ex_greythist387]

(hello)

Which Monty Python film, and what are you teaching? Your Python comment struck a note; I'm teaching a composition course with readings oriented around King Arthur, and we have a date with a campus VCR to watch Holy Grail in a few weeks. I'm already a bit worried that some of the humor will feel too dated, so if you've any elaboration on "refusing to respond," I'd love to see it. (The silence bit sounds familiar as well. The kids really didn't want to talk about Malory last week. Maybe this means they'll find Pythonesque critique hilarious, but I'm not holding my breath.)

[rivkat]

I showed a segment of "The Light Entertainment War," to illustrate a case in my copyright course that was about unauthorized editing of the sketches by ABC so that all the sexual stuff and rude gestures were taken out -- leaving very little of the original, as you can imagine. There was laughter during the sketch, but very few wanted to talk about whether it was right for ABC to edit the content.

[coffeeandink]

She has a few short story collections--*Trinity*, *The Aliens of Earth*, *Beaker's Dozen*, and I think one after that which I don't have. *Beaker's Dozen* is probably the easiest to find; all of the collections I've read do a good job of showcasing her range, although *Trinity* has my favorite of her stories, "Out of All Them Bright Stars," which does just astonishing things in a very brief space.

[ter369]

Thanks for the Kress insights, Rivka. Her essays on writing are great, but I haven't ventured into her books. Should I begin with Beggars in Spain?

[rivkat]

I think her short stories are better -- can't remember the name of the collections offhand, but they should be easy to find. Beggars in Spain began as a short story/novella, and it's quite good like that, but got a little too much spun into three novels.

[rivkat]

Tough question. I like heroes in my books; I'm a sucker that way. This book has pain and struggle and murkiness, and Christopher is not particularly heroic in common terms -- even though what he does requires a tremendous amount of courage to overcome his cognitive limitations. As a portrait of a different kind of mind, the book is very interesting (I can't speak to its accuracy, though it comports with nonfiction things I've read), but the very lack of emotion of the narrator made it hard for me to feel attached to him. It wasn't just that he didn't know how he felt, but that he didn't *feel* the way I do. I guess my verdict is: technically good, but for that very reason emotionally distant.

[rivkat]

I used to listen to that song again, and again, and again. I didn't even really get the sex part of it, but I knew I liked it.