Can relate to the idea of “making something of yourself”, whatever that means and however the need actually manifests itself. And I only speak for myself, but I definitely enjoy and look forward to updates on your projects. Will keep you updated with my reading progress. 📖
"The Control Booth" -- interesting concept, the intelligence controlling our lives, our habits, and thoughts...at least insofar as giving direction to our reading, to what authors, ideas and literary device we expose ourselves to. "Reading" is the quasi-mechanical connection made between the author of an idea, a story, an analytical view of how Life happens, and ourselves. We, the readers, feel the imprint of the author's words -- his words become part of us, a very positive way, as when a plot or character or a situation takes root in our imagination, perhaps coming to mind at odd moments. The connection between author and reader is not so much through the medium -- the written word -- but through the very human exertion of translating symbols into words, and hearing those words in our mind as we strive to grasp the meaning and significance of the author's idea. Sadly, reading is, for too many, a chore and a burden. It is often said that the internet has shortened our attention spans. Is it really so? Perhaps it is that we can be entertained by so many things in such a short time that we are like people at an all-you-can-eat buffet, dazzled and tempted by so many good things that we flit from one palter to another, tasting bits here and there, but never getting a sense of our as having a beginning, middle and end. To read and understand the author's idea in an online story or article is to consume it as a whole meal, starting with the introduction (the appetizer that whet's our appetite), moving on through the soup of setting and character, to main course (the heart of the plot or the problem being considered) and finally, concluding the meal with a sweet resolution, loose ends gathered up, mysteries solved. It is hard to do this online, where lurk so many distractions just a key click away.
Imagine a world where authors' thoughts could be shared without writing, and could be transmitted directly into the "readers' " minds, and if the author could then see or hear the impact their words have. The effect must be as if their minds are connected, sharing thoughts directly without the intermediation of written language, or ink and paper, or electronic screens.
That is how stories were told, in olden days, in the beginnings, when authors were both stay-tellers and performers. Homer , I imagine, held his audience in rapt attention as he spun his tale, wrapping his listeners in a cocoon of story and imagery. I wonder if we modern folk still are able to be possessed by words that we see, in our mind's eye, the story unfold as it is told us by the poet. It is theater. In this internet-controlled age, do we readers still have the ability to transform words into theater without relying on the story (whether fact or fiction) undergoing transformation into a movie or a TED Talk PowerPoint presentation, where the hard work of translating words into images is done for us?
I appreciate the spike in the spokes, David.
Okay - 1961 . . . go!
Gotcha.
Can relate to the idea of “making something of yourself”, whatever that means and however the need actually manifests itself. And I only speak for myself, but I definitely enjoy and look forward to updates on your projects. Will keep you updated with my reading progress. 📖
Oh, please do!
"The Control Booth" -- interesting concept, the intelligence controlling our lives, our habits, and thoughts...at least insofar as giving direction to our reading, to what authors, ideas and literary device we expose ourselves to. "Reading" is the quasi-mechanical connection made between the author of an idea, a story, an analytical view of how Life happens, and ourselves. We, the readers, feel the imprint of the author's words -- his words become part of us, a very positive way, as when a plot or character or a situation takes root in our imagination, perhaps coming to mind at odd moments. The connection between author and reader is not so much through the medium -- the written word -- but through the very human exertion of translating symbols into words, and hearing those words in our mind as we strive to grasp the meaning and significance of the author's idea. Sadly, reading is, for too many, a chore and a burden. It is often said that the internet has shortened our attention spans. Is it really so? Perhaps it is that we can be entertained by so many things in such a short time that we are like people at an all-you-can-eat buffet, dazzled and tempted by so many good things that we flit from one palter to another, tasting bits here and there, but never getting a sense of our as having a beginning, middle and end. To read and understand the author's idea in an online story or article is to consume it as a whole meal, starting with the introduction (the appetizer that whet's our appetite), moving on through the soup of setting and character, to main course (the heart of the plot or the problem being considered) and finally, concluding the meal with a sweet resolution, loose ends gathered up, mysteries solved. It is hard to do this online, where lurk so many distractions just a key click away.
Imagine a world where authors' thoughts could be shared without writing, and could be transmitted directly into the "readers' " minds, and if the author could then see or hear the impact their words have. The effect must be as if their minds are connected, sharing thoughts directly without the intermediation of written language, or ink and paper, or electronic screens.
That is how stories were told, in olden days, in the beginnings, when authors were both stay-tellers and performers. Homer , I imagine, held his audience in rapt attention as he spun his tale, wrapping his listeners in a cocoon of story and imagery. I wonder if we modern folk still are able to be possessed by words that we see, in our mind's eye, the story unfold as it is told us by the poet. It is theater. In this internet-controlled age, do we readers still have the ability to transform words into theater without relying on the story (whether fact or fiction) undergoing transformation into a movie or a TED Talk PowerPoint presentation, where the hard work of translating words into images is done for us?