Work is slow, I am bored. I got in around 10am and there has been little to do. Beyond describing what testing and issues took place over the weekend, I haven't had anything to do.
I slept in this morning, trying to make up a bit for having no day off. Feeling a bit fatigued, but can't complain. I sit all day, after all.
I enjoyed writing the comments on the Lolita post. I don't really discuss books I've read very often, or in much detail. I think I'd enjoy a discussion group. But people annoy me. Perhaps an online discussion group. I like the ability to type my comments out and tweak them until they're just so, more than just rambling on.
Now I want to go back a re-read Lolita. It's been three years, I think. I recently picked up a hardcover edition with the Borders gift certificate I received for Christmas. I'd given away my annotated trade paper edition to Julio, who will probably never read it. Bad, Bad Julio.
I made some progress on the web work last night, and Cindy took a glance at my progress. She said that ideagateway is my best site so far! It helps that it's very simple. There are few elements to dislike.
The window in our dining room at home is leaking - it has been for about a week now. Initially, I was using a tupperware container to catch the drips, but they have begun running faster, and now we have a small trash can on the sill. Looks pretty crummy from outside, but what to do? Talked to the manager of the complex this morning, he told me the roofers are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.
Monday, January 10, 2005
More on the Delores Discussion
(In response to my Lolita post from last night, Katixa replied):
Thanks, Mike, for your comment. Unfortunately, I disagree with you when you say that "the book defies any reinterpretation". Any text, by definition, is open to interpretation by each of its readers. That's why I'm surprised of the wide acceptance of Lolita as a vixen, when it's clear that Humbert is not reliable as a narrator, and thus, Lolita will not be probably as he describes. It's not that clear that she seduces him, by instance. It's a very interesting debate, I hope you keep on taking part in it. Regards
~~
(My response):
Each person interprets what they read, it's true. When I mentioned 'interpretation', I meant 'adaptation'. Sorry for being vague.
A personal definition I apply to any successful adaptation of a novel - Is the essential essence captured? Does the adaptation summon up the same emotions, teach the same lessons? In cases of Lolita's adaptations, I have to say no. The story only works from inside Humbert's head. Subtracting the narrative removes the essence.
Humbert's descriptions are rich and detailed - he's a very intelligent character - but like all of us, his perspective is limited by ego and agenda. Often what he omits is as important as what he describes. A film made up of two and a half hours of narrative wouldn't be feasible - or very watch able. (At least, not by any but the most committed fans of the novel.)
Can an adaptation be created? Yes. Is it successful? No. This is what I meant by 'defies reinterpretation'. Instead of the beautiful, tragic 'Lolita', you have a pathetic personals ad - 'Older man seeks pubescent girl for prurient purposes'.
I agree with your point that today's pop culture iteration of Lolita is not the true character from the novel. Sorry it took so much rambling to say that.
Thanks, Mike, for your comment. Unfortunately, I disagree with you when you say that "the book defies any reinterpretation". Any text, by definition, is open to interpretation by each of its readers. That's why I'm surprised of the wide acceptance of Lolita as a vixen, when it's clear that Humbert is not reliable as a narrator, and thus, Lolita will not be probably as he describes. It's not that clear that she seduces him, by instance. It's a very interesting debate, I hope you keep on taking part in it. Regards
~~
(My response):
Each person interprets what they read, it's true. When I mentioned 'interpretation', I meant 'adaptation'. Sorry for being vague.
A personal definition I apply to any successful adaptation of a novel - Is the essential essence captured? Does the adaptation summon up the same emotions, teach the same lessons? In cases of Lolita's adaptations, I have to say no. The story only works from inside Humbert's head. Subtracting the narrative removes the essence.
Humbert's descriptions are rich and detailed - he's a very intelligent character - but like all of us, his perspective is limited by ego and agenda. Often what he omits is as important as what he describes. A film made up of two and a half hours of narrative wouldn't be feasible - or very watch able. (At least, not by any but the most committed fans of the novel.)
Can an adaptation be created? Yes. Is it successful? No. This is what I meant by 'defies reinterpretation'. Instead of the beautiful, tragic 'Lolita', you have a pathetic personals ad - 'Older man seeks pubescent girl for prurient purposes'.
I agree with your point that today's pop culture iteration of Lolita is not the true character from the novel. Sorry it took so much rambling to say that.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Thoughts on Delores
(I posted this as a comment on to a blog about Nabokov's 'Lolita' and thought I'd include it here.)
It's unfortunate that Nabokov's beautiful book and all the symbolism in it have been reduced to a word most recognizable as a porn genre. The book defies any reinterpretation or adaptation. The screenplay adaptation he wrote for Kubrick was simply a shorter version of the book, heavy with Humbert's narration.
None of the films come close to capturing what Humbert was feeling, and the way that he side-stepped the details of what exactly was happening, to himself as well as Delores. The book is helpfully vague, allowing the reader to fill in the blanks. As I've read it, years apart, the hidden meanings can take on different directions.
Lolita is that which you cannot have, but are compelled to possess. And in having it, you destroy it. Like a picking a flower too delicate to be held, it disintigrates in your hand. But its death is beautiful too.
It's unfortunate that Nabokov's beautiful book and all the symbolism in it have been reduced to a word most recognizable as a porn genre. The book defies any reinterpretation or adaptation. The screenplay adaptation he wrote for Kubrick was simply a shorter version of the book, heavy with Humbert's narration.
None of the films come close to capturing what Humbert was feeling, and the way that he side-stepped the details of what exactly was happening, to himself as well as Delores. The book is helpfully vague, allowing the reader to fill in the blanks. As I've read it, years apart, the hidden meanings can take on different directions.
Lolita is that which you cannot have, but are compelled to possess. And in having it, you destroy it. Like a picking a flower too delicate to be held, it disintigrates in your hand. But its death is beautiful too.
Sunday Without Sun
Got up at the BCOD and loaded the vaccum and steam cleaner into the cab of the truck (cause it's raining). I met Liz at her old rental and helped her vaccum and steam clean the carpet. I hope she gets at least some of her deposit back. If not, hey we tried. At least she earned some good Renters Karma.
I'm the only one at work again, testing - checking out installer stuff, found one minor issue with a shortcut. Probably a 15 second fix for the programmers. So I have Launch.com running on one PC, while I test on the others.
I did make some good progress on Ideagateway.com last night. The layout is coming together more, and I'm pretty happy with it. I think the primary thing is that it's so simple. I need to do a little reconsidering of the page headers. For the first page I made last night, I put the text atop the picture. However, this won't work for most of the pics, so I'll have to come up with a different solution if I want a congruent look.
I'd planned to take today off from computer work, cause my hand/wrist/arm is sore. But what the hell, life is short. I'd like to get the Nani Power stuff up and online while the hits for The Sea of Tears are still low. :o) It would be neat to see my page come up on a search engine. Maybe even get some visitors, end up with some posts on the forum (which I have yet to create...)
I'm the only one at work again, testing - checking out installer stuff, found one minor issue with a shortcut. Probably a 15 second fix for the programmers. So I have Launch.com running on one PC, while I test on the others.
I did make some good progress on Ideagateway.com last night. The layout is coming together more, and I'm pretty happy with it. I think the primary thing is that it's so simple. I need to do a little reconsidering of the page headers. For the first page I made last night, I put the text atop the picture. However, this won't work for most of the pics, so I'll have to come up with a different solution if I want a congruent look.
I'd planned to take today off from computer work, cause my hand/wrist/arm is sore. But what the hell, life is short. I'd like to get the Nani Power stuff up and online while the hits for The Sea of Tears are still low. :o) It would be neat to see my page come up on a search engine. Maybe even get some visitors, end up with some posts on the forum (which I have yet to create...)
OCD as a Survival Mechanism
These days we have a pill to prescribe for almost every neurosis. Experts argue back and forth about to what degree such disorders are learned, and how much is biochemical.
To me it's pretty clear that the predisposition for many disorders are inborn. We will be compulsive, we will be obsessive, each person has their issue. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's OCD as a Survival Mechanism.
Survival of the fittest means that the mother who is compulsively protective of her infants is probably the mother whose infants will survive - without getting eaten, falling off a cliff, or into a deep puddle and drowning.
So for millions of years, making sure the cook fire is out before we leave the hut, that there are no predators in sight waiting to eat us, and that we don't take unnecessary risks has kept us alive. We're neurotic. We spaz as a survival tool. It's what being human is all about.
My wife checks her car doors four times before leaving the garage. It's annoying, but guess what, the chances are pretty slim that someone is going to steal her car because she left the door open. Her battery is not going to get run down overnight because she left her lights on. And her car is more likely going to be where she left it in the morning thanks to her neurosis.
To me it's pretty clear that the predisposition for many disorders are inborn. We will be compulsive, we will be obsessive, each person has their issue. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's OCD as a Survival Mechanism.
Survival of the fittest means that the mother who is compulsively protective of her infants is probably the mother whose infants will survive - without getting eaten, falling off a cliff, or into a deep puddle and drowning.
So for millions of years, making sure the cook fire is out before we leave the hut, that there are no predators in sight waiting to eat us, and that we don't take unnecessary risks has kept us alive. We're neurotic. We spaz as a survival tool. It's what being human is all about.
My wife checks her car doors four times before leaving the garage. It's annoying, but guess what, the chances are pretty slim that someone is going to steal her car because she left the door open. Her battery is not going to get run down overnight because she left her lights on. And her car is more likely going to be where she left it in the morning thanks to her neurosis.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Saturday Work, the OT is nice...
So yeah, I worked today. I am working right now, can you tell? Just about to leave, I put in my eight hours and didn't come across anything broken. Yay!
It was quiet here today, just me in the office, so it was a laid back experience. I never even plugged in my headphones, instead I played the sound through the tv. That's a much nicer way to test, let me tell you!
Gonna go home and check on the leaky windows, exercise, and probably work on the ideagateway web site. Cindy closes tonight. She's still sick, so I hope she feels better. I'm like 90% well from my own cold. I got off easy though - I was only 20% sick to begin with.
I have plans to meet Liz at her old rental early tomorrow before I work, to let her use the steam cleaner. I hope to wait while she uses it, and then take it with me as I leave. I need to pick up some more cleanser for it, I'll have to do that today on the way home.
It was quiet here today, just me in the office, so it was a laid back experience. I never even plugged in my headphones, instead I played the sound through the tv. That's a much nicer way to test, let me tell you!
Gonna go home and check on the leaky windows, exercise, and probably work on the ideagateway web site. Cindy closes tonight. She's still sick, so I hope she feels better. I'm like 90% well from my own cold. I got off easy though - I was only 20% sick to begin with.
I have plans to meet Liz at her old rental early tomorrow before I work, to let her use the steam cleaner. I hope to wait while she uses it, and then take it with me as I leave. I need to pick up some more cleanser for it, I'll have to do that today on the way home.
Something To Do At Last
Busy day! We're trying to put together a gold candidate for the game, but keep finding new issues. Most of them are minor, but noticable.
Slept in a bit this morning, and read Nani Power instead of doing web site work. Her writing is upliftingly, frustratingly good. When non-athletes watch the Olympic Games, and are awed by how powerful, graceful, and impressive the human body is, we're proud of our species, and somewhat disapointed in ourselves. We see what humans can accomplish, and know that we are not on that level. That's how I feel when I read Nani Power, especially The Sea of Tears. I'm not yet half way through, but I think this one may turn out to be my favorite Nani Power book.
I'm dismayed by the lack of information about her on the web. I'll have to change that!
Looks like I'll be working Saturday and Sunday...
Slept in a bit this morning, and read Nani Power instead of doing web site work. Her writing is upliftingly, frustratingly good. When non-athletes watch the Olympic Games, and are awed by how powerful, graceful, and impressive the human body is, we're proud of our species, and somewhat disapointed in ourselves. We see what humans can accomplish, and know that we are not on that level. That's how I feel when I read Nani Power, especially The Sea of Tears. I'm not yet half way through, but I think this one may turn out to be my favorite Nani Power book.
I'm dismayed by the lack of information about her on the web. I'll have to change that!
Looks like I'll be working Saturday and Sunday...
Thursday, January 06, 2005
BPM on the Rise! YEEAH
I haven't made any progress on Evil Genius at all in the last week - since I've been back to work from Christmas break - I just haven't been in the mood. It's a great game though! It's one of those games that rewards you for paying attention. There are so many funny little details!! It's very wry and witty, well thought out.
Julio recommended the newest Jak game. I haven't played any of the Jak games yet - I hear good things though. I keep planning to join Gamefly, and sample all those games I've missed. I haven't gotten around to it yet. Julio was griping that GTA beat Jak for game of the year. I haven't played Jak or GTA, but any game that lets you beat up hoe's is probably gonna have an edge over the competition.
I've been thinking lately that I'd like to be a stand-up comic. Except that the life would not agree with me. The pressure, the constant travel from one comedy club after another across the country, the hecklers, on and on. Maybe I'll make a little animated comedian and put it up on the web. Like Foamy (illwillpress.com) but not angry. Mebbe I'll look into it.
One bit would be about email. You know how when you're bored, you play around on the internet. You check your email like once every ten minutes, and of course you have no new mail. Out of desperation you check your spam mail, and are disappointed when you don't have any. No one loves you - not even the hair loss, home loan, or porn industry folks. And they love everybody.
Yes. I am now caffeinated. Thank you for noticing.
Julio recommended the newest Jak game. I haven't played any of the Jak games yet - I hear good things though. I keep planning to join Gamefly, and sample all those games I've missed. I haven't gotten around to it yet. Julio was griping that GTA beat Jak for game of the year. I haven't played Jak or GTA, but any game that lets you beat up hoe's is probably gonna have an edge over the competition.
I've been thinking lately that I'd like to be a stand-up comic. Except that the life would not agree with me. The pressure, the constant travel from one comedy club after another across the country, the hecklers, on and on. Maybe I'll make a little animated comedian and put it up on the web. Like Foamy (illwillpress.com) but not angry. Mebbe I'll look into it.
One bit would be about email. You know how when you're bored, you play around on the internet. You check your email like once every ten minutes, and of course you have no new mail. Out of desperation you check your spam mail, and are disappointed when you don't have any. No one loves you - not even the hair loss, home loan, or porn industry folks. And they love everybody.
Yes. I am now caffeinated. Thank you for noticing.
Slow Down and Wait
Hey, it's Thursday, what do you know about that. Got up, worked on web site, came to work. Kind of a blah day. We're supposed to find out info today about the nature of our jobs, and how long we might have them. I don't know if we will or not, but we're supposed to.
I know what the problem is - I haven't had my uppers today! Silly me. Too late now, maybe tomorrow.
I know what the problem is - I haven't had my uppers today! Silly me. Too late now, maybe tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Uppers, Hoo Yea!
Feeling a little twitchy this morning, I took some caffeine pills with my vitamins and breakfast. Twitchy but upbeat. I got about an hour and a half worth of work done on Fiction Interactive this morning - updating all the page titles and meta tag keywords.
We got a new build today, so we had something to do for about an hour. A number of new bugs have cropped up, but nothing too serious. Cindy was encouraging about the Nani Power info page on Ideagateway, so that's cool.
She's always encouraging! She never says "Well that's a dumb idea!" Always upbeat and positive. That's my girl! Hey, it's just a matter of time before one of my half baked schemes actually turns a profit.
We got a new build today, so we had something to do for about an hour. A number of new bugs have cropped up, but nothing too serious. Cindy was encouraging about the Nani Power info page on Ideagateway, so that's cool.
She's always encouraging! She never says "Well that's a dumb idea!" Always upbeat and positive. That's my girl! Hey, it's just a matter of time before one of my half baked schemes actually turns a profit.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Nani Power Page?
I've been thinking about doing a Nani Power information page on my yet-to-be-posted website, Ideagateway.com - I asked Cindy if she'd be interested in doing an author too. There's probably someone she'd like to sing the praises of, who doesn't have much info on the web.
It would be a pretty basic thing, just:
-news
-books
-short pieces
-reviews (official and user-generated)
-bio + pics
-contact us
Since books only come out like once a year or once every two years, there's not a lot of updating to be done... I know I should be finishing projects, not starting them, but it's my way.
It would be a pretty basic thing, just:
-news
-books
-short pieces
-reviews (official and user-generated)
-bio + pics
-contact us
Since books only come out like once a year or once every two years, there's not a lot of updating to be done... I know I should be finishing projects, not starting them, but it's my way.
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