Everyone is a number in this dystopian near-future where cameras track your every move. Score above 90 and your set for life. Score below 75 and you’re on your own, kid.
The Cycler Series
The Cyler Series: What would you do if you woke up one day as a member of the opposite sex? For Jill McTeague, this is no hypothetical question. It’s real life!
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Me? I hate Christmas shopping. I hate stuff. Don’t like to get it. Don’t like to give it. I’m not sure if that makes me a Scrooge or just a devoted minimalist. But one thing I can not get enough of is words. Books, magazines. Love the stuff. Total addict. I’m usually reading at least two books at once. Right now it’s Neuro-linguistic Programming for Dummies and The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld, both of which I highly recommend. It being the gift-giving interval, you might be wondering how best to endow your loved ones with a transactional token of your esteem. Look no further. Senses Five Press is running a holiday special. Delight in the words of Lee Thomas, Kelly Link, Yoon Ha Lee, Mercurio D. Rivera (a.k.a. “Evil David”), as well as yours truly for the price of a Starbucks coffee. Now that’s something to celebrate. 15 Responses to “Xmas Shopping”Leave a Reply |
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NLP. Now that’s an interesting subject. I believe that many fairy tales, and by that I mean the tales in their original, non-Disney form, use NLP techniques to deliver information. 1001 Arabian Nights which, additionally seems to contain the fundamental templates for delivering stories in a fashion similar to NLP.
And this story, I think, contains inportant information delivered while the conscious mind is, um, otherwise engaged.
http://coolblue.typepad.com/the_cool_blue_blog/2004/07/the_tale_of_mus.html
hey all, i’m just catching up on the previous entries. i’ve been out of connectivity for quite some time. seems it’s a busy time for others as well.
i’m right there with you on the xmas shopping and, from all the books out lately about materialism (or is that just what i happen to see?), i hope that our society as a whole is beginning to lay off the purchasing binge that happens this time of year. but i must confess, like you, i love words and just spent $300 buying myself some new books/cds at amazon. is book buying exempt from the binge/materialism category?
I confess to have mixed feelings about the materialism of book-buying. On the one hand, buying used books is more eco-friendly. On the other hand, authors don’t receive royalties from the sale of used books. Also, while, in principle, I support the advance of e-books, reading things on a computer hurts my peepers. But here’s a thing I can support wholeheartedly: the promotion of “small” books. Barnes and Noble does a “Collector’s Library” of small books (mostly classics) beautifully printed on thin (but smooth) paper with a built-in ribbon book-holder. I love them and they use fewer resources and take up less room (therefore are more efficient to ship). If we want to decrease the eco-footprint of our reading habits, we should encourage small books and give the boot to those giant door-stops that use size to take up shelf space and advertise their importance.
There’s no doubt in my mind that many fairy tales, myths, legends, etc. are attempts to transmit social codes via imaginative stories. What interests me so much about NLP is the ability to reverse the process on your own mind. Right now, I’m working on reverse-engineering my fear of caterpillars. In fact, I’m half-tempted to blog the whole NLP process, but I’m not sure I want to get that personal.
Lauren said:
“There’s no doubt in my mind that many fairy tales, myths, legends, etc. are attempts to transmit social codes via imaginative stories.”
Or, perhaps, something else. Something that goes beyond temporal social normatives.
You know, I really liked Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash”. One of the thigs that you learn in this book is that the Summerian language, the first known language, had no precedent and no languages today descend from it. That last fact itself is not only unusual, but interesting to boot.
Here’s another story that stems from this period that has some interesting aspects related to this discussion. It is the story of Inanna and here descent into the land of the dead, and her journey back.
http://coolblue.typepad.com/the_cool_blue_blog/2004/06/die_before_you_.html
Consider these stories my Christmas present to you….
I didn’t spend a dime and they contain lots of words.
And meaning.
Thanks, Frank, for the word-heavy, eco-friendly Xmas present!
I am not buying the whole – materialism is bad but hanging out in BNN buying books is okay – argument. Basically your position is that you only like to buy the material things that you enjoy most. Well, in case you weren’t aware, that puts you in the super majority of people. During this season, however, we expand on the idea and many of us will actually try to find gifts for our friends and loved ones that suit them more than us – so, for example, if I know someone who doesn’t enjoy getting books (gasp gasp) I will find something that I know they will enjoy (maybe a jacket). It sounds to me like you are just a scrouge and are making a thinly veiled attempt to disguise your scrougy-ness in the politically expedient equivalent of a fake nose and mustache. For trying to politicize Christmas I think you should be forced to add a Santa hat to your fake nose and glasses until your lump of coal arrives from the South Pole.
Believe me, Missile, if I were a Scrooge, I’d have no problem admitting it. But I actually like Christmas trees, Christmas carols, and other Christmassy things. I am also a minimalist and a promoter of anti-materialism. Of course I only like to buy the material things I like the most. Why would I buy things I don’t like?
We all buy things. But we shouldn’t be afraid to take account of the impact our purchases and habits have on the environment because if we don’t start paying attention to these things there won’t be an environment left. Or are you in the global warming skeptics camp? A lonelier and lonelier camp all the time, by the way.
Personally, I think Christmas will survive an anti-materialist revolution because at it’s heart it’s not really about stuff. It’s about warm, fuzzy things between people.
Okay. For your good work and deeds in attempting to eductate people about the need to consider the impact of their daily lives on the environment you can take off the grocho glasses. But, I still think you are treading the line of bah-humbugism.
Thanks, Missile. While I have no problem with the glasses, I simply refuse to be seen with ungroomed eyebrows.
Lauren said:
“Thanks, Missile. While I have no problem with the glasses, I simply refuse to be seen with ungroomed eyebrows.”
Because they would look like caterpillars?
I hadn’t thought of that, Frank. Now I’m afraid of my own eyebrows.
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