Aphorism of the Day: A question is friendly or insulting in direct proportion to the ignorance it reveals… Or is it?
Definition of the Day - Attitude: 1) the only thing cheaper than belief; 2) a popular brand of fact repellant; 3) something you need to lose a lot of to fly under other’s radar, but to keep a little bit of to avoid crashing.
I want to apologize to anyone I might have failed to reply to over the past couple weeks. I would also like to apologize if I came across as curt or too cute in the replies I did make for much the same reason. I’m not sure I’ve ever typed so many words in my entire life, rushing to give every devil his or her due – or just to cover my ass! I did become frustrated on occasion, especially if I felt I was simply answering the same questions. The trolls who came by are the exception of course. In their case, I would like to apologize to my argument for chasing them away so quickly.
Just a few cool things to update everyone on. First, I just signed contracts for audio book versions of both trilogies, something many people have asked me about over the years. I have no idea on what the timetable is, or any other details for that matter, but I will be sure to provide updates as that information becomes available.
Second, I posted two pieces in the Speculative Fragments section, one old, the other new. The old one is simply the Bestiary of Future Literatures piece I posted a while back. The new one is a Bestiary of Consciousnesses. Both are pretty wank and over-the-top technical, and will likely interest only those keen on the philosophy of mind stuff.
The third is something of a biggie. I’ve decided to invite a couple of guest-bloggers to TPB. The idea is to continue discussing things pulp and philosophical, only bringing in voices possessing less bluff and bluster and far, far more expertise. Your opinions, as always, are most welcome. (I swear to Gad I won’t try to pinch you in the nuts!)
It is presently 2:40PM Double Standard time. I expect to be selling coffee and bagels through the site before the year is through.
so who are the guest bloggers?
and most importantly, how is IUC? Are you still thinking duology or trilogy for the wrap up? etc. etc. fanboyfap bothering..
doh, TUC
“The third is something of a biggie. I’ve decided to invite a couple of guest-bloggers to TPB. The idea is to continue discussing things pulp and philosophical, only bringing in voices possessing less bluff and bluster and far, far more expertise. Your opinions, as always, are most welcome. (I swear to Gad I won’t try to pinch you in the nuts!)”
This makes me happy. Ever since reading Dog To Dog: A Conversation With Scott Bakker and James Sallis, I have wanted to ask if we could ever see TPB interview/engage/dialouge with other authors/philosophers.
Now, about my coffee order…
Audiobooks! Awesome. I spend so much time writing or reading philosophy that I get most of my fiction from audiobooks these days. Obviously, I’ve read your books already, but it’ll be nice to have them on the ol’ iPhone.
They had better use an Englishman! Seriously. Make it happen.
I was going to ask if they were author read.
If not, Brian Blessed should read them! Actually, no, might miss the point. Would prefer an author reading, particularly because of tone. If it ever gets famous enough, that might be an option in future.
Just say no to author readings, I say. An audiobook is a performance, and as such is best left to professionals.
Of course, if an author is _also_ a professional actor, then sure.
Last month I actually made an audiobook of Part 1 of the novel I’m working on. My brother asked for it for Christmas, and I thought it would be interesting to give it a go. It’s not altogether terrible, but man… what I wouldn’t give to hear Roy Dotrice reading my book!
Well, in that video someone posted awhile ago where Scott was reading out LTAG, seemed quite a fine reading. In the distant past, it was the person on the other side of the campfire who knew the story that was the one to tell it. Any lack of polish was part of the story. Part of the humanity of the story.
As I said, maybe/hopefully in future the texts will be famous enough to warrant a second, low-fi author reading release.
I know quite a few well-trained professional American actors who might work should your agent announce an open call. If you post the details here, I’d be happy to pass it on to them.
I’m thinking Joe Chrest, a good friend of mine who used to work with Stephen Soderbergh, would be extremely likely to knock it out the park.
Brian Blessed is the only one capable of of doing the amplitude of a million sranc throats any justice. Or is it the other way round?
With an hour and a half in the car every day, I actually do most of my reading via audiobooks these days. Recently I’ve started a reread of the The Second Apocalypse as my incentive to go to the gym (via second-copy Kindle purchases) and get on the treadmill, but I’ve been wishing for audio versions of these books for YEARS. Bravo!
I’m of two minds when it comes to the reader. On the one hand, only the author gives you the “intended” reading of the book. On the other, it’s always nice to have a great performer put inflection (and multiple voices) into the text.
“I’m of two minds when it comes to the reader. On the one hand, only the author gives you the “intended” reading of the book. On the other, it’s always nice to have a great performer put inflection (and multiple voices) into the text.”
For me, when it comes to an audio book, the reader is essentail. I am all for an author reading their own books IF the author has the skill set. Not all authors do.
I am a little biased in that I used to be a member of the National Forensics League, a competitive speech/debate honor society, throughout junior high and high school. The categories I competed in (dramtic interpreation, prose interpretation and poetry interpreation) involved selecting a text and then presenting that text to an audience using only voice. Being able to do this successfully took a lot of hard work. While a good amount of time was spent on ensuring I understood the text I was presenting, most of the time was spent on figuring out how to present the material and working on my voice (things like vocal excercises to improve diction or learning a new accent).
congrats on the audiobooks!
Come on down to Bakker Bagels and take a bite out of our world famous Logos. It’s deliciousness has neither beginning nor end!
delavagus said:
“An audiobook is a performance, and as such is best left to professionals.”
I agree and for the same reasons. Now, if the author is also a performer, then maybe. Steve Martin did a pretty good job with the audio book version of his novel(la) “The Pleasure of My Company.”
Let me know if you ever want someone to post an idiot’s guide to Judith Butler/Jill Dolan/Peggy Phelan’s philosophies of gender as a performance (or something on cross-dressing as performance praxis), Scott. It would dovetail nicely with an article that I’m editing for inclusion in the Oxford University Press anthology of Dance and Theatre.
Or, alternatively, to introduce the idea of historiography to your readers. Admittedly, it is a bit far afield from the cog-sci stuff you do here at TPB, but I think the insights offered on the way histories are never chronicles of the past but, rather, the locus of a dialogue between the present writer, the (frequently gendered) privilege that allowed them to write, and the world of the present might be a neat way to help thematize WHY you can say that you’re writing a feminist argument.
Again, the discussion on this blog – in particular, the good will and grace of saajan throughout our discussions – was extremely helpful, and a diverting way to spend my time grounded from being on campus until I recovered. When I returned to teach philosophy this week, I managed to devote some time in class to the things we discussed here throughout the week!
LTP – your patience was incredibly appreciated, and your insights very educational. Thanks!
I for one would be interested in the things you mention. Lots of meat there.
-Sci
Does Disciple reread Hardy in his spare time?
Why should Disciple reread anything if he has eidetic memory?
The feeling of time happening. I think reading is an act similar to watching a play – you see events unfold.
So even if you know Hamlet by heart you can enjoy watching it.
Also the masochism of “because he doesn’t need to.”
Does Disciple read?
RSB, based on abstract, I thought you’d enjoy reading this paper:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1978395
Off topic but I figure a non-sequitur might be a good place for clarification:
LTAG?
ODE?
Brassier’s Question?
thanks!
Sci
I’m not sure, off the top of my head, about the others, but…
LTAG = Light, Time, and Gravity
The CanLit novel Scott’s written. I’m pretty sure he’s found a publisher for it, but I don’t know any of the details.
LTAG is laser tag. Totally awesome video! I mean, sure you can express philosophy through the fantasy genre, but who knew you could express philosophy through laser tag!? “6 O’Clock head shot! Totally plato’s caved yo ass!”.
Ah, I was always confused about exactly what Light, Time, and Gravity was. A novel, has publisher – excellent.
thanks!
Sci
saajan,
I think your analogy of re-reading with watching a play isn’t perfect – but then again, I just got done directing a play for a 24 hour play festival so this is on my mind!
When I read something, it’s typically a controlled experience. But when I watch a play, there’s always the chance that something – anything – could go wrong! An actor can forget their lines, the pacing can be different, and so on, such that each performance of a play can be considered different from each other performance.
It’s kind of fun to figure out how art-status is connoted with plays. Is a run of plays, P, a work of art? Is each Performance of P (P1, P2, and so on) a different work of art? How do we chart this? Does this take the fun out of it (for people that do theatre it actually doesn’t, and that’s why actors bitch about audiences on a given night).
I also don’t really buy this analogy. You can enjoy watching the play you know by rote, because no two performances are identical and every actor will play Hamlet differerently, while text always remains the same. OTOH, I am strongly in the “I don’t really enjoy reading, I enjoy having read” camp, so my perspective may be far from universal.
Admittedly my analogy was off the cuff. I have re-read books or at least parts of books immediately after finishing them.
I guess perhaps it would be like watching the same movie over and over?
True, but not crippling to the analogy. You might also rewatch the play to re-experience the emotions that the play done well gives rise within you. Even though you have the play memorized, the emotional response of thinking about the play in your head is highly likely lower than the emotional response of watching again.
The audio book thing brings up something that I am curious about. What are the cognitive differences between reading a book and listening to one? Even though the information is coming in through different channels, and therefore stimulating different areas of the brain, are there differences in how we act on that information? Or our ability to retain that information?
are you interested in oral utterances vs written work. Because there are some interesting differences between the two that produces differences in consciousness.
Yes.
now that I am thinking about it it is hard to say. But if I could recommend Ong on the subject.
“now that I am thinking about it it is hard to say. But if I could recommend Ong on the subject”
As in Walter J Ong’s “Orality and Literacy?” Looks very interesting. I have added it it my wishlit.
This is one of the reasons why working within the confines of traditional publishing is still defensible*: you get to have a social network that pampers and propels your intellectual property so that it can be more easily picked up by other media.
Unless your digital distribution platform is aided by some other vouching system (ie: Louie CK and his internet distributed thing riding on the success of his TV show), your chances of making it solo are pretty slim when competing with essentially infinite online data for the scarcest resource in our fat over-entitled western world: attention (processing cycles in meat brains, if you will).
So, now you have an audio book in the works. Hack meat brains while they drive, seems good.
When you’re trying not to get hit by oncoming traffic it’s harder to skip the parts that make you uncomfortable.
*Sort of. My girlfriend had my physical copy of Neuropath rotting on her shelf unread for A YEAR. Suddenly, she gets access to a digital copy and she devours it in less than a week. And shocks me within 5 minutes of discussing the book with her. There were things about the ending I completely missed (or chose to forget?) you SICK FUCK!
You refering to the daughter, Jorge?
(ps: isn’t it great how glib I can sound when it comes to just typing the above, as if I was hip with it n’ shit)
If you need an email marketer to help get your words into people’s inboxes, just say the word.
I’m sure there’s a market out there for Bakker branded viagra, if only to annoy the feministas.