Posts by Islander
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"Argh! "couldNT stomach" etc.
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I really really enjoyed LOTR -when I was 13 (I have the original hardback editions.) I drew the characters, pondered things left out - and eventually wrote Tolkien - "Who did Meriadoc Brandybuck marry?" (It's not in the whakapapa...) I got a letter back from his secretary BUT with a handwritten comment, signed, in red ballpoint, by JRRTolkien:
"I believe it was a cousin of Fredegar Bolgers"etc. (I gave that away a couple of years ago to an American friend - and yep, I knew it's worth.)It was soooo disappointing to start to reread LOTR in 2004 and quickly realise that I could stomach rereading the while thing. And I've never been able to finish "The Sillmarillion"...
"Wall-E" - you lucky people who've seen it! I'm panting for the dvd...
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Or - at least- an oat...
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This thread is compulsive viewing...coupla things:
Jon Knox - I've never wanted to be omnipotent (omniscience is another matter, but would probably result in terminal sadness) but person I definitely am...tentacular, entomnivorous,also really odd tastes in music (Cooder to Segovia to Gregorian chant), but a definite person...
The only reason I didnt go for Sofie? Sacha?'s suggestion apropos an IP supportive/administrative body for all creative types is der dreaded bureaucracy...we have the CLL (opaque criteria, little money getting back to authors) and CNZ (where every bureaucrat therein whom I have ever met earns more than I do - yep, I've asked) - this computer at home freezes after about 50 minutes use, so it's taken me a while to catch up-to-date with the thread...thoughts for future copyright change apopo -
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Jon Knox -whichever version- I really like the cheepo kind
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Dear Jon Knox - having no rearlight/reflector on your bike means you swiftly become road kill: my tip is to have a gargantuan LED spotlight on the back of your velocipede (or whatever) which you switch on, upon hearing approaching motor vehicles - hilarity ensues.
Alternatively, you may wish to invest in my short pamphlet, "Roadkill, and how to utilise It" so your family/friends can make many interesting items with the resultant roadfelt.
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Stephen Judd - actually, one of my many failings is the ability to see people precisely as they appear/are...I am horridly observant, and my observations are not - warped? contaminated? glycerined?- by memories...
it can make life bloody hard. I noticed my broad-shouldered-nuggety
uncle collapsing into old age & infirmity way before other whanau did.
I see age-related disorder quite clearly in myself...and hey, you lovely
little gen x & y's - you wait 'til you get into your 60s! Then, your birthdays are not only awesomely long (only a coupla days Russell? Ptui!) but are also wonderfully food & alcohol enriched, and umukai & fireworks & live music & major friend/whanau congregations are *compulsory* (the latter are there partly because...they are wondering...if there's going to be a next one...) -
Coming back to this thread (I am away from home and am using family computers) I am especially interested in robbery & Sacha's comments...I am a person of specificities, and there is labyrinthine entanglement going on between 'traditional' copyright and electronic access in the discussion...way upthread there was a comment about fair useage- this seems to be a core issue?
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Whoa whoa Mark H -I didnt *complain* about the level of income I get: I stated that I earn less than the average wage. And I dont *expect* to *deserve* anything - except what copyrights I have, earn-
the system we have currently isnt exaxtly fair for writers et al but it is a damn sight better that Cory's version.
I am a writer who hasnt been 'doomed to obscurity' by *only *writing books. And I can think of several others right here in Aotearoa who dont/wont travel your suggested path of marketing, conferences, sales tours - and still keep writing, still get published...
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Mark H - without even thinking very much, I can bring to mind over two hundred Victorian writers who a lot of people know, respect, and acknowledge. Possibly you havent included the non-fiction writers, the naturalists, the fisher authors? Among many many others?
While publishers tend to take 40/45% of the profit from published books, they also put up the majority of finance to make a book (if we exclude the fact that the writer has generally put in an enormous amount of unpaid work & time.) The remaining 50-45% of profit goes to distributors and booksellers - and THAT is where the attention of owrking writers should be drawn to (not parameters of copyright.)
May I add I love booksellers? But not ever quite so much since I learned their take?