tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post2760316147158609484..comments2024-03-10T00:00:31.355+00:00Comments on BRIAN SIBLEY : his blog: FIRING THE IMAGINATIONBrian Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-19616807987830605542009-03-06T01:09:00.000+00:002009-03-06T01:09:00.000+00:00You won't be missing much, LISAH, and anyway there...You won't be missing much, <B>LISAH</B>, and anyway there won't be another blog until the weekend, so leave the laptop at home and have a good conference!Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-47781878144397136832009-03-05T23:57:00.000+00:002009-03-05T23:57:00.000+00:00I think it will come as a great surprise to us, Br...I think it will come as a great surprise to us, Brian, if you ever do a Blog that isn't terrific.<BR/><BR/>I'm off to a busy weekend conference - probably will have very little time to myself, if any. But, I think I'll take the laptop with me - don't know if I could cope with Brian's Blog withdrawal symptoms, even for a couple of days.SharonMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17369769107190148944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-50633722170071452262009-03-05T23:00:00.000+00:002009-03-05T23:00:00.000+00:00BOLL - You're probably the only person (other than...<B>BOLL</B> - You're probably the only person (other than me) who's heard that interview! I think the one that I linked to at the end of the post also has some interesting things to say...<BR/><BR/>Sibley screen savers? You are not (I am proud to say) the first user I've heard of, but which image(s) do you have?<BR/><BR/><B>PHIL</B> - Noel! <BR/><BR/><B>ANON (Cerumental)</B> - Great story about Ray and the Educationalists! I can hear him telling it! <BR/><BR/>And thanks for 'The Reading Mother'. I'm ashamed to say that I'd never come across the poem or heard of the poet. <BR/><BR/>I note from Wikipedia that Strickland Gillilan was also credited with what is said to be the shortest poem ever written:<BR/><BR/><B>'Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes'</B><BR/><BR/>Adam<BR/>Had 'em.Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-6691504665937502572009-03-05T21:11:00.000+00:002009-03-05T21:11:00.000+00:00I particularly enjoy Bradbury discussing a school ...I particularly enjoy Bradbury discussing a school district in the US who wished to use F451 in their reading program, only as long as they could censor certain words and passages. He retorted that F451 was all about freedom of speech. <BR/><BR/>An aside here: I rediscovered this wonderful little poem which I'd like to share here.<BR/><BR/>The Reading Mother<BR/>by Strickland Gillilan<BR/><BR/>I had a mother who read to me<BR/>Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea.<BR/>Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth;<BR/>"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.<BR/>I had a Mother who read me lays<BR/>Of ancient and gallant and golden days;<BR/>Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,<BR/>Which every boy has a right to know.<BR/>I had a Mother who read me tales<BR/>Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,<BR/>True to his trust till his tragic death,<BR/>Faithfulness lent with his final breath.<BR/>I had a Mother who read me the things<BR/>That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-<BR/>Stories that stir with an upward touch.<BR/>Oh, that each mother of boys were such!<BR/>You may have tangible wealth untold;<BR/>Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.<BR/>Richer than I you can never be --<BR/>I had a Mother who read to me.<BR/><BR/>Regards, <BR/>CerumentalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-80895675016543638262009-03-05T21:07:00.000+00:002009-03-05T21:07:00.000+00:00I've been desperately trying to think of an author...I've been desperately trying to think of an author known only by their first name... and I'm stumped.<BR/><BR/>You could ALMOST get away with Agatha. Or Enid.<BR/><BR/>For a long while Harlan would have worked. Until Mr Coben came along and made Mr Ellison non-unique.<BR/><BR/>A bit easier if they have two first names. In science fiction, for example, there would be Philip Jose (Farmer) and Arthur C. (Clarke). I know, this is cheating!Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04216810702125906530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-72209789283921534802009-03-05T20:56:00.000+00:002009-03-05T20:56:00.000+00:00As you are too modest to be able to do so, I'll sa...As you are too modest to be able to do so, I'll say that your interview of Bradbury in 1988 is one of your best.It gets to the very heart of what the great man is all about - a message of universal truth for everyone,that life is for living with all that that entails.Brilliant !<BR/>LOINGLYF:the expression with which a man looks at his screensaver, one of the usual sort, recently lifted from the Sibley Blog.Boll Weavilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03858122220880954456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-22456889613285398722009-03-05T15:41:00.000+00:002009-03-05T15:41:00.000+00:00Yes, EUDORA, it is a great film. What it lacks in ...Yes, <B>EUDORA</B>, it <I>is</I> a great film. What it lacks in elaborate sets and locations and sophisticated techniques it makes up for with story, character and a wonderful integrity...Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-41757743020523617342009-03-05T14:00:00.000+00:002009-03-05T14:00:00.000+00:00I love the film Farenheit 451 since I was a child,...I love the film Farenheit 451 since I was a child, since the first time a I wachted the movie; I was very impressed by the story, for me the books were something sacred, with my 8 or 9 I didn't understand why those fire men burned the books... Yes, wonderful film this of TruffautArts and Craftshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06747217179477869995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-2411006476454038902009-03-05T12:02:00.000+00:002009-03-05T12:02:00.000+00:00Ah, Dame Agatha! I'm not a huge fan, although I've...Ah, Dame Agatha! I'm not a <I>huge</I> fan, although I've read and enjoyed several (I think she's a bit patchy) including one I particularly liked - because it strayed into realms of the metaphysical - called <I>The Mysterious Mr Quinn</I> and I do like Miss Marple as a character: although I can never decide whether I prefer the more authentic Joan Hickson portrayal or the outrageous Margaret Rutherford version!<BR/><BR/>Never tried to get to grips with <I>Middlemarch</I> and, like you, gave up on <I>Vanity Fair</I>, settling for the movie instead. I did, however, adore Thackeray's children's story <I>The Rose and the Ring</I>.Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-13532219755604237742009-03-05T11:35:00.000+00:002009-03-05T11:35:00.000+00:00OK - to satisfy your curiosity Brian, it was Agath...OK - to satisfy your curiosity Brian, it was Agatha Christie and I can't remember the name of the book. And amongst the books I hated there is notably "Middlemarch"... which I finished, and "Vanity Fair" which I didn't...!<BR/>PHIL - One of the advantages of living in a different time zone! Although I have to admit that this morning I was VERY late up! (10 o'clock would you believe!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-11874700708276937472009-03-05T10:41:00.000+00:002009-03-05T10:41:00.000+00:00SUZANNE - How intriguing! I'd love to know who the...<B>SUZANNE</B> - How intriguing! I'd love to know who the author was - unless, of course, I'm their No.1 fan! I also hardly ever bin a book - however awful - it seems such a denial of the struggle of authorship...<BR/><BR/><B>PHIL</B> - No, no prizes which is just as well because if there had been you'd have lost out to Suzanne!<BR/><BR/>The thing about author's names is interesting: on an earlier Wordle I made I used more surnames (Whitman, Milne, Peake, Pullman, Shaw, Wilde etc) but I then decided to put in some of the forenames (or initials) to give greater variety to the pattern. <BR/><BR/>Obviously 'White' is useless without 'TH', 'EB' or 'Edmund' and, interestingly, even writers as well known as Lewis Carroll or C S Lewis would not immediately be recognised by the simple use of 'Carroll' or 'Lewis'!! <BR/><BR/>It's interesting to compare the single name issue with actors, singers and movie stars. Again, there are relatively few and most of them are known by the surname alone - Gielgud, Olivier, Brando, Redford, DiCaprio, Streisand - while only a handful are known just by the first names - Judy, Marilyn, Bing and Fred (with Ginger) come to mind.<BR/><BR/>But are there, I wonder, any <I>authors</I> known only by the first names?Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-47615225916250082242009-03-05T09:19:00.000+00:002009-03-05T09:19:00.000+00:00Hooray, another mention of Bradbury! And a very ni...Hooray, another mention of Bradbury! And a very nice piece of blogging. (And thanks for the link to mine!) Any prizes for being the first reply of the day? No, thought not!<BR/><BR/>Your Wordle got me thinking about authors who have a unique surname, and those for whom we (you actually!) feel the need to include the first name or initial letters. I noticed you have Tolkien without initials, but Milne and Travers with initials.<BR/><BR/>In the case of Bradbury, it's vital to distinguish between Ray and Malcolm, I suppose. But how many other literary Peakes or Whitmans are there?<BR/><BR/>Bapti: Naming of an author without initials.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04216810702125906530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-51806226632853885272009-03-05T09:16:00.000+00:002009-03-05T09:16:00.000+00:00Well I didn't know it was book day today. Every da...Well I didn't know it was book day today. Every day is book day as far as I'm concerned... Your blog reminds of a long wait at an airport some years ago when I read one of the worst books of my life - by a well-loved author whose name I shall not reveal so as not to offend their fans. I read through the whole book at the airport, and then PUT IT IN THE BIN. This was over 20 years ago and I still can't believe I did it! I still have other books in my collection that I absolutely hated, but I hang on to them so that I remember that I read them!<BR/>cosecta: the very last fragment of words in a book that remain when a book burns, just before the whole thing disappears in a cloud of smoke (as illustrated by some of the photos in your blog today)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com