[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: The Who Mailing List Digest V5 #247
At 5:38 -0800 11/1/1998, The Who Mailing List Digest wrote:
>
>Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 14:23:49, -0500
>From: KGiles@prodigy.com ( K D GILES)
>
>Oh, and be nice to Gary L, he's a decent sort of guy.
Albeit a bit quick to resort to the overused "moron" epithet.
>Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 17:56:15 -0500
>From: Brian <bmcgow01@wild.vill.edu>
>Subject: Re: poetry
>
>> I DO wonder, though, why you DTATDTMT on a Who list. As
>> opposed to, say, praising Dickinson and smearing Townshend on a Dickinson
>> list.
>>
>Conformity is no fun.
And yet you conform by posting in English! Careful, McGoo, you're becoming
predictable...
I understand the impulse to upset applecarts but it comes from some
hostility toward the object upset. What has the list or Townshend done to
make you angry?
>> >"'Faith' is a fine invention/ When Gentlemen can see-/ But Microscopes are
>> >prudent/ In an Emergency." #185
>>
>> Oh, my GOD! Is THIS an example of genius of the written word???
>>
> I do not recall saying that is was.
Without going into the archives, I believe you've stated that you regard
DicKinSon (or however she capitalized it) as a genius of the written word.
So now you're admitting that not everything she wrote exhibited this
genius? Fair enough.
>> >"'Faith' is a fine invention/ When Gentlemen can see-/ But Microscopes are
>> >prudent/ In an Emergency." #185
>It was just a quote that has a similar
>meaning to "I'm Free." But I am guessing you didn't bother to try and
>figure it out, automatically dismissing it as inferior.
Its meaning seems fairly obvious. Faith won't give you the tools needed to
cure a medical problem. You could (and should) generalize to statements
about the efficacy of faith and its relationship to reason and science. I
don't see the similarity to "I'm Free", but if you'd care to expand on that
at least it would Who-related...
>I don't even think further comment is necessary, but if it is I will be
>happy to explain the meaning of this poem to you, seeing as you obviously
>missed it.
Indeed, I think I obviously got it. You're welcome to enlighten me offline
if you wish as this has nothing to do with The Who.
>I will also say it is only an average Dickinson poem.
So Dickinson's average is worse than The Who's worst recordings. Another
admission, you may come around yet.
>> But when you have EARNED a PhD, you don't have to [spell words ay way you
>> please], because you know
>> better.
>>
>I did NOT spend six years in graduate school to have it all dismissed in one
>sentence by you.
Perhaps in those six years you took time off from your specialty for a
philosophy class or two, in which you might have heard of the fallacy of
the argument from authority. You're falling prey to it here. BTW, since
you brought it up, the degree gains weight in INVERSE proportion to the
number of years spent obtaining it.
>For your information, I EARNED my Ph. D. three years ago,
>hence the reason I said I HAVE a Ph. D. Don't forget what those tenses
>mean.
Well, thanks for the information. There's a difference between HAVING a
PhD and having EARNED it, and I say anyone who flaunts misspellings proudly
as a privilege conferred by having a piece of paper on his wall is missing
the point of what a PhD represents (or, at least, used to). Don't forget
what "patronizing" means and try to avoid it, would you? Thanks.
>I will now present you all with an example of what I think is masterful use
>of language:
[snip]
>That time I flew
>Both eyes his way
>Lest he pursue
>Nor ever ceased to run
>Till in a distant Town
>Towns on from mine
>I set me down
>This was a dream.
>
>- -Dickinson # 1670
I don't deny that #1670 is good (great, whatever) use of language. I do
think it's a bit lame to dismiss the whole thing at the end with the single
line "And then I woke up", but hey <shrug>
For your next assignment, your Doctorhood, try to set your e-mailer to NOT
reprint your entire stinking post complete with embedded HTML tags. (sample
below):
>- --------------206E9952C2EBB7CF2676E99D
>Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
><HTML>
>
><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> </BLOCKQUOTE>
>I must apologize in advance for the lenght of this post, but I wanted to
>answer as many of your comments as possible.I must also say that Mrs. Emily
>spelled her name DickInsOn. I will never profess to be a good speller,
>but at least I get names right.
>
><P>And away we go:
><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>Symbolism is representing one thing by means of
>something
>else. Imagery
><BR>is wording that evokes pictures in the mind of the listener.
>Metaphor
><BR>is similar to symbolism, but it's supposed to be created within the
>work
><BR>you're dealing with.</BLOCKQUOTE>
>Glad someone around here remembers high school English.
><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>You can argue that the Acid Queen is a metaphor and
>not a symbol, but I
><BR>don't think you have grounds to say she's only imagery.</BLOCKQUOTE>
>Well, techinically you can argue that anything in the entire world, from
>a song to the chair you are sitting on, is a symbol or a metaphore
>[sic].
>However, I believe that I said "Townshend does not use MASTERFUL
>metaphores."
>That is true, at least in my mind. If the Acid Queen is indeed a
>metaphore, what is she representing? I have to believe that if she
>is indeed a matephore, which she may be, she would stand for conventional
>youth culture, or something like that. While that would certainly
>be a metaphore, or possibly even symbolism, it lacks a certain degree of
>mastery and precision.
><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>Here's an excerpt from "Drowned":
>
><P>There are men high up there fishing,
><BR>Haven't seen quite enough of the world,
><BR>I ain't seen a sign of my heroes,
><BR>And I'm still diving down for pearls.
>
><P>I'm flowing under bridges,
><BR>Then flying through the sky,
><BR>I'm travelling down cold metal
><BR>Just a tear in baby's eye.
**335** lines of further crap snipped, out of mercy to the reader. You're
welcome.
>Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 05:14:37 -0600 (CST)
>From: William Sherman -Visualization <wsherman@ncsa.uiuc.edu>
>Subject: PT vs. ED & WW
>
>I think Emily Dickenson was probably the best Emily Dickenson-like
>poet ever.
hehehe...accurately summing up the argument AND with a Who-reference to boot.
Alan
Be sure to read _McKendree: A Burning Novel of Murder and Revenge_
by Douglas Hirt, ISBN 0-8439-4184-7 (available at www.amazon.com)