On Saturday, January 4, 2003, at 03:57 AM, Yvonne Studer wrote:

>
> Fred, I’m reading M.R. James, too, and at the same time RW, alternating
> between a story from the Penguin Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James
> and a chapter in RW.

 

This discussion inspired me to find my copy of M.R. James’s “Collected
Ghost Stories” and dip into it. I, too, am rereading RW, and I think
the combination will be delicious.

I bought the James book several years ago on a whim. I liked the cover
illustration, and the description of James as “the finest ghost-story
writer England has ever produced” intrigued me.

The seller was someone who bought a truckload of remainders, rented a
storefront in a run-down strip mall in suburban Maryland for few
months, dumped the books in a jumbled mess, and sold them for what he
could get. I think I paid a dollar or two. I remember it was the only
copy. How “Collected Ghost Stories” found me I do not know. I had never
heard of James before I bought the book.

I was thinking about my introduction to Russell Hoban’s books. I know
where, when, and which one (small college town library in Pennsylvania,
the late 1970s, Turtle Diary), but I cannot for the life of me remember
WHY. I wasn’t reading literary reviews and such, and no one I knew at
the time would have recommended it to me. How did that book and I get
together? I wish I could remember.

Lindsay

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At 09:28 PM 1/5/03 -0500, you wrote:

>This discussion inspired me to find my copy of M.R. James’s “Collected
>Ghost Stories” and dip into it. I, too, am rereading RW, and I think
>the combination will be delicious.

 

That appears to be the same edition as mine. Sorry to say there’s no
mystery about mine. I was looking for anything by William Hope Hodgson,
and I came across this one in a usedbook store. I first thought it was
Henry James and almost put it back when I discovered it was. However, I
glanced through it, and the stories looked interesting, so I purchased it.

No mystery either about how I first encountered Russ Hoban’s works. I had
just joined the Science Fiction Research Association and attended its
weekend conference sometime in the early 80’s. One of the events was the
awarding of, I think it was the Pilgrim Award? for the best SF novel of the
year. The winner that year was Riddley Walker. I hadn’t heard of the work
before.

I found it when I returned home, read it, and went looking for others.

-=Fred=-

Lonely silence,
A single cicada’s cry
Sinking in to stone – Basho –

email: fre_____@_____.com

Further to the recent Kraken haikus (Krakenikus?), Krakenistas may be interested in The
Guardian’s long-running competition whereby readers are invited to write a news story in
haiku form, such as:On Brighton’s West Pier
I met the love of my life
My heart collapses

Those selected for the site win twenty quidsworth of Penguin Classics.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/games/haiku/0,5917,124810,00.html

I tried to write
a haiku, but
couldn’t count

~ Ricardo ~

M.R. James invented a supernatural object with comic potential when he
came up with that brass whistle in “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You,
My Lad.” He knew it, but barely explored the possibilities.The whistle’s mysterious, portentous legend “Quis est iste quie uenit”
(“Who is this who is coming?”) counterbalanced by the ridiculousness of
what blowing it conjures (wind that dresses itself in bedclothes and,
once, waves from an upstairs window) made me wonder what a Hoban
character would do if faced with that situation. It was a
life-changing, terrifying experience for James’s Professor. However, I
expect a Hoban character would take the whole experience with
equanimity and a certain dry wit.

Lindsay

—– Original Message —–
From: Lindsay Edmunds <lin_____@_____.com>
To: <the_____@_____.com>
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: [the-kraken] M.R. James

M.R. James invented a supernatural object with comic potential when he
came up with that brass whistle in “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You,
My Lad.” He knew it, but barely explored the possibilities.

The whistle’s mysterious, portentous legend “Quis est iste quie uenit”
(“Who is this who is coming?”) counterbalanced by the ridiculousness of
what blowing it conjures (wind that dresses itself in bedclothes and,
once, waves from an upstairs window) made me wonder what a Hoban
character would do if faced with that situation. It was a
life-changing, terrifying experience for James’s Professor. However, I
expect a Hoban character would take the whole experience with
equanimity and a certain dry wit.

Lindsay

Linday–I’ll have to think about this.

Russ
—————————————————
The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
For help contact the_____@_____.com
To unsubscribe, send mail to:
the_____@_____.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

On Monday, January 6, 2003, at 01:55 PM, Russell Hoban wrote:

>
> The whistle’s mysterious, portentous legend “Quis est iste quie uenit”
> (“Who is this who is coming?”) counterbalanced by the ridiculousness of
> what blowing it conjures (wind that dresses itself in bedclothes and,
> once, waves from an upstairs window) made me wonder what a Hoban
> character would do if faced with that situation. It was a
> life-changing, terrifying experience for James’s Professor. However, I
> expect a Hoban character would take the whole experience with
> equanimity and a certain dry wit.
>
> Lindsay
>
> Linday–I’ll have to think about this.

>
> Russ
> —————————————————

 

Didn’t Neaera have a line in Turtle Diary about “a lot of damned
aggravation and bother”? If she and William G were driving the turtles
to the sea and suddenly had an inept wind ghost amongst the pillows and
blankets, I can imagine damned aggravation and bother being their
response to it. I mean, they would be intrigued, but on the whole it
would be an annoying distraction from the greater mysteries they are
part of.

Lindsay

I like your analysis, Lindsay. I think when you look at “Canon Alberic’s
Scrap-book”, you’ll find your hypothesis confirmed. The hairy demon
which first haunts the poor little sacristan of St Bertrand’s Church and
then Dennistoun could be the great-great-great-grandfather of Death in
Kleinzeit, couldn’t he? And we all know how Kleinzeit dealt with that
problem…”Lost Hearts”, on the other hand, about 12-year-old Stephen who escapes
from his cousin Mr Abney’s dark plot reminded me of Riddley escaping
from Abel Goodparley’s. Abney’s dark rites could have found their way
into the the RW story “Hart of the Wood”. Here the theme is too serious
for a comical re-writing, though.

Yvonne

Am Montag den, 6. Januar 2003, um 19:18, schrieb Lindsay Edmunds:

> M.R. James invented a supernatural object with comic potential when he
> came up with that brass whistle in “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You,
> My Lad.” He knew it, but barely explored the possibilities.
>
> The whistle’s mysterious, portentous legend “Quis est iste quie uenit”
> (“Who is this who is coming?”) counterbalanced by the ridiculousness of
> what blowing it conjures (wind that dresses itself in bedclothes and,
> once, waves from an upstairs window) made me wonder what a Hoban
> character would do if faced with that situation. It was a
> life-changing, terrifying experience for James’s Professor. However, I
> expect a Hoban character would take the whole experience with
> equanimity and a certain dry wit.
>
> Lindsay

—– Original Message —–
From: Lindsay Edmunds <lin_____@_____.com>
To: <the_____@_____.com>
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 7:17 PM
Subject: Re: [the-kraken] M.R. James

On Monday, January 6, 2003, at 01:55 PM, Russell Hoban wrote:
>
> The whistle’s mysterious, portentous legend “Quis est iste quie uenit”
> (“Who is this who is coming?”) counterbalanced by the ridiculousness of
> what blowing it conjures (wind that dresses itself in bedclothes and,
> once, waves from an upstairs window) made me wonder what a Hoban
> character would do if faced with that situation. It was a
> life-changing, terrifying experience for James’s Professor. However, I
> expect a Hoban character would take the whole experience with
> equanimity and a certain dry wit.
>
> Lindsay
>
> Linday–I’ll have to think about this.

>
> Russ
> —————————————————

Didn’t Neaera have a line in Turtle Diary about “a lot of damned
aggravation and bother”? If she and William G were driving the turtles
to the sea and suddenly had an inept wind ghost amongst the pillows and
blankets, I can imagine damned aggravation and bother being their
response to it. I mean, they would be intrigued, but on the whole it
would be an annoying distraction from the greater mysteries they are
part of.

Lindsay

Lindsay–The characters I’ve been working with lately accept
hallucinations and apparitions as ordinary phenomena. Observing
a bedclothes creature trying to get their attention, they would try
to find out what it wanted or, failing communication, simply wait
for it to unmanifest itself.

Russ
—————————————————
The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
For help contact the_____@_____.com
To unsubscribe, send mail to:
the_____@_____.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Lindsay Edmunds <lin_____@_____.com> wrote:
Subject: Re: 

On Saturday, January 4, 2003, at 03:57 AM, Yvonne Studer wrote:
>
> Fred, I’m reading M.R. James, too, and at the same time RW, alternating
> between a story from the Penguin Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James
> and a chapter in RW.

This discussion inspired me to find my copy of M.R. James’s “Collected
Ghost Stories” and dip into it. I, too, am rereading RW, and I think
the combination will be delicious.

I bought the James book several years ago on a whim. I liked the cover
illustration, and the description of James as “the finest ghost-story
writer England has ever produced” intrigued me.
>>

For those wanting more about M.R. James, I recommend the Ghosts & Scholars
website, dedicated to the study of James and his writings:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/GS.html

You’ll find articles online about James and his stories, and you’ll find
links to James stories that are posted online. A nice place to visit to whet
your ghost story appetite.

– Duane

Well, I’ve just done part-of-a-bit for Russ’s oeuvre, at least – by
cannibalising two of my earlier reviews of good old ‘Mr Ringo’.So, let’s see if I can beat Eli to the fifty quid… 🙂

Well being,
Chris

— In the_____@_____.com, “Richard Cooper” &lt_____@_____.>
wrote:

> According to www.amazon.co.uk, there are no customer reviews of Mr
>Rinyo-Clacton’s Offer

…

> for you (as if simply doing your bit for Russ’s oeuvre wasn’t

enough). The book can be

> linked directly at:
>

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0224051210/qid3D1041603298/02
6-2164247-3586869

Russ wrote:

> Observing
> a bedclothes creature trying to get their attention, they would try
> to find out what it wanted…

 

This reminds me of a quote I’ve always liked: “Some ideas, like ghosts, need a little
talking to before they will reveal themselves.” Annoyingly, I can’t remember who said
this, but I’m sure it was a writer.

Rich

— In the_____@_____.com, “Russell Hoban” &lt_____@_____.>
wrote:

>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: Yvonne Studer
> To: the_____@_____.com
> Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 8:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [the-kraken] Re: NYTBR illustration
>
>
>
> Am Donnerstag den, 2. Januar 2003, um 03:00, schrieb tjcurtin1
> &lt_____@_____.>:
>
> > How interesting! This review was my introduction to RW and to

the

> > adult works of RH. I have always wondered where the mental

image I

> > had of the locomotive lying on its side in the pit came from –

not at

> > all having recalled that there was an illustration! Thanks,

Yvonne.

> >
> > Ted
>
> You’re welcome, Ted.
>
> On the other hand, I think the illustration biases the perception

of the

> girt big thing. I had to actively get rid of the picture and of

the word

> locomotive while interpreting RW. While you’re reading it, you

never

> really know if it’s a locomotive or a simple carriage. Riddley

himself

> ends up saying “Jus 1 mor thing to make us feal stupid” (p.26),

and I

> think his sense of frustration at being confronted with one more

thing

> they are no longer able to use or make is more important than to

know

> what exactly it might be.
>
> Yvonne
>
> Right on, Yvonne–the big thing about that scene is that a big
> heavy unknowable piece of the past has killed Brooder Walker.
> NOT a locomotive–UNIDENTIFIABLE.
>
>

Russ

>

Regarding this thread of conversation – I was reminded of a comment
given in a talk by Joseph Chilton Pearce, a child-development
specialist: speaking to the deleterious effects of electronic media
on children’s brain development, he made a comment to the effect that
when Word is presented to the brain on its own (either thtough
reading or story-telling), a demand for imaginative work is placed on
it; when Word is accompanied by Image, there is no work for the brain
to do, no imaginative exercise necessary (or sometimes, even possible.
So the object in the pit should not be generally identifiable, but to
one’s own imagination it should be richly so.

Ted

Hey Russ, you know we all love having you here on the Kraken list,
but for this one time only, I’m going to ask you to read only the
first paragraph of this message, and then skip the rest. This is the
only message you’ll need to skip — after this you can read any
Kraken message you want,
as usual. We will be planning the 2003 edition of the SA4QE out in
the open, where you can offer input if you want, but we might have
some other surprises in store that we want to keep mum about for the
moment.Okay, I’ll now allow some scrolling space while Russ exits. The rest
of you, just keep scrolling down to where the text begins again.

s
c
r
o
l
l
i
n
g

s
p
a
c
e

…
…
…

…
…
…

…
…
…

Okay, everyone here. Good. As you know, we Kraken members usually
celebrate Russ’s birthday by sending him a bottle of scotch (and/or
other presents) from The Kraken as a collective. And as you also
know, Mr. Hoban has recently joined The Kraken and become part of our
community. I’m sure I speak for us all when I say it’s wonderful
having him there and hooray for that development. But it does make it
difficult to plan secret birthday surprises for him, as we normally
do this time of year.

So I have taken the liberty of setting up a secret, unlisted Yahoo
Group called “birthday-bottle” that we can use for secret birthday
planning this year and going forward. It’s located at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birthday-bottle .

If you want to be part of this year’s birthday planning, and maybe
help sponsor the gift, please join the birthday-bottle Yahoo Group
and we’ll hold all discussions of our birthday plans there. (I
figured it would be good to get an early start this year, since last
year we kinda ran out of time.)

For what it’s worth, I think we should do the SA4QE again this year,
and that it will be fine to plan and discuss the SA4QE itself on the
main Kraken list. Then we only need to discuss what sort of
present(s) we want to send Russ in addition to the SA4QE, and who
will participate, on the birthday-bottle list. (If you’re new and
don’t know what the SA4QE is, see
http://www.thoughtcat.com/sa4qe/sa4qefaq.htm .)

Okay. So. If you want to be in on the secret birthday plans, please
go join the birthday-bottle group, and we’ll pick up the discussion
there. (The birthday-bottle group is hidden from the listings, so the
only way anyone will find out about it is if they’re invited to join.)

You have two ways to join:

1) Via Web: go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birthday-bottle/join

2) Via email: just send a message to: bir_____@_____.com

Hopefully that will go smoothly for everyone. Message archives will
be available to members only, so if you want to read messages posted
before you get around to joining (if there are any), you’ll need to
be logged into Yahoo and then visit the main birthday-bottle page at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birthday-bottle/

If you have any trouble joining, please contact me off-list for help, as usual.

By the way, it goes without saying that we will need to be very, very
careful that top-secret messages intended for birthday-bottle don’t
get posted to The Kraken by accident…well, I suppose it won’t be
the end of the world if we accidentally tip Russ off. But this was
the best solution I could think up for taking a stab at maintaining
the air of surprise. We’ll see how it works…

best,
Dave

—
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coming January 8: THE PARTLY DAVE SHOW…
Not your everyday horse-frightening cabaret excursion.
—> Info: http://www.ocelotfactory.com/partlydave

On Monday, January 6, 2003, at 05:18 PM, Duane Spurlock wrote:

>
> For those wanting more about M.R. James, I recommend the Ghosts &
> Scholars
> website, dedicated to the study of James and his writings:
> http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/GS.html
>
> You’ll find articles online about James and his stories, and you’ll
> find
> links to James stories that are posted online. A nice place to visit
> to whet
> your ghost story appetite.
>
>

I just was over there. Thank you! I enjoyed learning that James’s
interest in ghosts began with the figure of a ghost in a Punch and Judy
set; also, that he read one ghost story aloud to friends every year on
Christmas Eve.

I like a good ghost story, and rereading my James collection is perfect
for the short, dark, snowy days of January.

Lindsay

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lindsay Edmunds <lin_____@_____.com> wrote:<<

On Monday, January 6, 2003, at 05:18 PM, Duane Spurlock wrote:

>
> For those wanting more about M.R. James, I recommend the Ghosts &
> Scholars
> website, dedicated to the study of James and his writings:
> http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/GS.html
>
> You’ll find articles online about James and his stories, and you’ll
> find
> links to James stories that are posted online. A nice place to visit
> to whet
> your ghost story appetite.
>
>
I just was over there. Thank you! I enjoyed learning that James’s
interest in ghosts began with the figure of a ghost in a Punch and Judy
set . . .
>>

Punch strikes again!

— Duane

This is the unedited text of an unsolicited email I received today. The strange vocabulary
and onomatopoeic interjections reminded me slightly of Gosta Kraken’s in The Medusa
Frequency…Richard

whats up? cyiNPA–1823qkmvfw Hi there, how’s it going? Well for starters I must confess
that this is indeed pretty awkward.
I qkmvfwnoticed your profile online and figured I’d drop ya a line….I bet that doesn’t
happen to you everyday! [not much! – RC.] I never really even thought about it until
someone saw mine and got in touch a little while back.
ANYWAY! My name isqkmvfw Karan, I’m 23, and I’m a sale repqkmvfw for a mid-sized
pharmaceutical company. Goodness I can’t get over how strange this is! I’m sure you’re
probably thinking the same thing! hehe.
Oh well, I really don’t want to go on too faqkmvfwr. Especially since I’m not sure whether
or not you have any intrest.
But if you would like to get to know more about me, please drop me a line. I’ll be more
than happy to include some pics as well.
Anything aqkmvfwbout you would be greatly apreciated as well 🙂 qkmvfw
Well I hope to hear from you soon! Take care. J

xoxo,
Karan …..3I6B2QUuDMi5q81K1yP6fx5

P.S. Do you use any messenger services, maybe we can chat on there sometime? My email
address is [removed so nobody gets into trouble with this! -RC]
OWRAAFOMR
Best regards,
J

Richard Cooper wrote:

> This is the unedited text of an unsolicited email I received today. The
> strange vocabulary
> and onomatopoeic interjections reminded me slightly of Gosta Kraken’s
> in The Medusa
> Frequency…

 

That’s lovely. I wish all my spam were like that.

Might be a little frightening if you did get in touch with “Karan” and
she sent you pictures of herself which also contained random eruptions
of Krakenism.

(Not to detract from the magic or anything, but I believe the real
reason for the qkmvfw interjections is to confuse anti-spam software by
making the text of each message slightly different.)

OWRAAFOMR best regards,
Eli

—
Eli Bishop, RN, Brooklyn, NY, USA .. / “But people have always eaten
Graphesthesia/Hob’s House of Comics: / people! What else is there
… http://www.graphesthesia.com … / to eat?” – Flanders & Swann

For anyone interested in looking at a few of M.R. James¹ stories on
the web:
http://www.litgothic.com/Authors/mrjames.html
which has links to several James stories[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I hate to tell you this, Richard, but Karan’s two-timing you. I
received an identical email at work today, but without the Gösta
Kraken interjections. Frankly, I’m disappointed.This makes me wonder whether someone is ‘farming’ our e-mail
addresses at Yahoo in order to spam us. Any other Krakenites
receiving heaps of junk mail – in particular from Karan?

Well being,
Chris

— In the_____@_____.com, “Richard Cooper” &lt_____@_____.>
wrote:

> This is the unedited text of an unsolicited email I received today.

The strange vocabulary

> and onomatopoeic interjections reminded me slightly of Gosta

Kraken’s in The Medusa

> Frequency…
>
> Richard
>
> whats up? cyiNPA–1823qkmvfw Hi there, how’s it going? Well for

starters I must confess

> that this is indeed pretty awkward.
> I qkmvfwnoticed your profile online and figured I’d drop ya a

line….I bet that doesn’t

> happen to you everyday! [not much! – RC.] I never really even

thought about it until

> someone saw mine and got in touch a little while back.
> ANYWAY! My name isqkmvfw Karan, I’m 23, and I’m a sale repqkmvfw

for a mid-sized

> pharmaceutical company. Goodness I can’t get over how strange this

is! I’m sure you’re

> probably thinking the same thing! hehe.
> Oh well, I really don’t want to go on too faqkmvfwr. Especially

since I’m not sure whether

> or not you have any intrest.
> But if you would like to get to know more about me, please drop me

a line. I’ll be more

> than happy to include some pics as well.
> Anything aqkmvfwbout you would be greatly apreciated as well 🙂

qkmvfw

> Well I hope to hear from you soon! Take care. J
>
> xoxo,
> Karan …..3I6B2QUuDMi5q81K1yP6fx5
>
> P.S. Do you use any messenger services, maybe we can chat on there

sometime? My email

> address is [removed so nobody gets into trouble with this! -RC]
> OWRAAFOMR
> Best regards,

At 11:41 PM 1/12/03 -0000, you wrote:

>
>This makes me wonder whether someone is ‘farming’ our e-mail
>addresses at Yahoo in order to spam us. Any other Krakenites
>receiving heaps of junk mail – in particular from Karan?
>
>Well being,
>Chris

 

I haven’t been recently, nor have I gotten anything from “Karen.”

But, a year ago I suddenly began getting a large number of junk mail daily
and found that Yahoo.com had changed all my options regrading advertising
to Yes. I changed it back, sent a nasty message, and have checked that
page regularly since then. It took several months, but the number has
dropped to about 1 or 2 a day now.
-=Fred=-

Lonely silence,
A single cicada’s cry
Sinking in to stone – Basho –

email: fre_____@_____.com

Chris Bell wrote:

> This makes me wonder whether someone is ‘farming’ our e-mail
> addresses at Yahoo in order to spam us. Any other Krakenites
> receiving heaps of junk mail – in particular from Karan?

 

I use a separate E-mail address for mailing lists, partly because that
can happen. I’ve never received any spam at my Kraken address. My
regular address, though, I must’ve given to the wrong person at some
point because I’m getting at least 10 spams a day there.

— Eli Bishop <kib_____@_____.com> wrote:
<HR>
<html><body><tt>
<BR>
Chris Bell wrote:<BR>

> This makes me wonder whether someone is ‘farming’

our e-mail<BR>

> addresses at Yahoo in order to spam us. Any other

Krakenites<BR>

> receiving heaps of junk mail – in particular from

Karan?<BR>
<BR>
I use a separate E-mail address for mailing lists,
partly because that <BR>
can happen.  I’ve never received any spam at my
Kraken address.  My <BR>
regular address, though, I must’ve given to the wrong
person at some <BR>
point because I’m getting at least 10 spams a day
there.<BR>
<BR>
</tt>

You don’t need to let slip your address to receive
spam. If you visit a newsgroup or website, there are
programs that can read and capture your address and
put it onto a list to be sold to spam advertisers. The
best way to combat this when posting on a newsgroup is
to disguise your return address with an extraneous
word like “remove”, so that actual posters can reply
but automatic programs can’t sweep the group for your address.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you’ll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com

I got this one the other day, not via the Kraken, but via Dave’s LeGuin
list. I haven’t had time to read my LeGuin mail lately, so I don’t know if
anyone else there got it, or if it’s been discussed there. I find this kind
of advertising particularly repulsive, and have sent a rude letter in
response. I am thinking of writing directly to Eos (the publisher involved),
and to HarperCollins, of which they are an imprint. (At least “Karan” was
subtle enough not to completely give the game away – I wonder what “she” is
selling”?)I’m telling you all this because I believe the best response is to turn
against them those same resources which they have exploited. Personally, I’
ll avoid buying HarperCollins. There’s always the public library.

 

>

Greetings from a fellow Ursula K. LeGuin reader …

Hey graemeww

This may be a little weird, but I was visiting Ursula K. LeGuin sites and I
thought I’d say hi and try and meet some fellow fans. I’ve been a huge fan
myself for a while. And you? What was your favorite book? Do you have a
favorite character? What other authors interest you? Besides LeGuin, I would
have to go with my two fav authors, Neil Gaiman and Garth Nix. I think Nix
is tops in the fantasy book genre. He has a new book coming out called
“Abhorsen”. It’s the sequel to Sabriel and Lirael. If you’re into high
fantasy too (the Abhorsen maintain the boundaries between life and death) I
definitely recommend work. The website has an excerpt of the book.
http://www.harpereos.com Besides books, I am really into the TV show Alias
and love Jennifer Garner. As far as music goes, I can’t stop listening to
the Coldplay cd. Two Towers is tops on my list of movies!!! Have you seen
it? Breathtaking!!! Let me know what your favorites are. I am always into
checking out new CD’s, books, what have you, so if you have any
recommendations, please send them over.

Anyway, just wanted to break the ice. Thanks for reading this and I hope to
hear from you.

Angela

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Although (or perhaps because) Cy Twombly’s work has more in common
with the modern art in Adelbert Delarue’s horrible Hoxton Square
museum, I couldn’t help thinking of Roswell Clark and ‘The Bat
Tattoo’ when I read this in a Twombly profile on the Guardian site
today:”‘Ah, it goes, is lost,’ he has scrawled in pencil on one of the four
tall canvases that constitute his Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons), A
Painting in Four Parts (1993-94), now on view at Tate Modern.”

The result reminds me rather more of vomit on a pavement than any
seasons I can remember, but such is life.

That link, in full, for the non-queasy (beware of wrapping lines if
pasting this into your web browser):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,874233,00.html

It goes,
Chris

I was looking on Amazon.com this morning and found The Medusa
Frequency is listed as out of print – despite Bloomsbury’s paperback
reissue of it late last year, which is available in the shops as well
as through the Bloomsbury site. I’m not sure how to go about
contacting Amazon to put them straight on the matter. Russ, maybe
Bloomsbury might want to contact them direct?Richard

—– Original Message —–
From: mailto:Richard Cooper <rik_____@_____.uk
To: the_____@_____.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 3:02 PM
Subject: [the-kraken] The Medusa Frequency on Amazon (or not)

I was looking on Amazon.com this morning and found The Medusa
Frequency is listed as out of print – despite Bloomsbury’s paperback
reissue of it late last year, which is available in the shops as well
as through the Bloomsbury site. I’m not sure how to go about
contacting Amazon to put them straight on the matter. Russ, maybe
Bloomsbury might want to contact them direct?

Richard

Richard–I just checked. The Medusa Frequency (Bloomsbury) is alive and well on
Amazon.com.uk. Picador paperback and Cape hardback are shown as available
used. Thanks for your message.

Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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—————————————————
The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
For help contact the_____@_____.com
To unsubscribe, send mail to:
the_____@_____.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

—– Original Message —–
From: mailto:Chris Bell <chr_____@_____.nz
To: the_____@_____.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 1:56 AM
Subject: [the-kraken] Bat Twombly

Although (or perhaps because) Cy Twombly’s work has more in common
with the modern art in Adelbert Delarue’s horrible Hoxton Square
museum, I couldn’t help thinking of Roswell Clark and ‘The Bat
Tattoo’ when I read this in a Twombly profile on the Guardian site
today:

“‘Ah, it goes, is lost,’ he has scrawled in pencil on one of the four
tall canvases that constitute his Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons), A
Painting in Four Parts (1993-94), now on view at Tate Modern.”

The result reminds me rather more of vomit on a pavement than any
seasons I can remember, but such is life.

That link, in full, for the non-queasy (beware of wrapping lines if
pasting this into your web browser):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,874233,00.html

It goes,
Chris

Chris–I looked at the link. Twombly sounds like an adverb. I think the verb would be “to twomble”,
as in “When his mother found him twombling she warned him that it would make him go blind”.
Happy New Year.

Russ

Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
For help contact the_____@_____.com
To unsubscribe, send mail to:
the_____@_____.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This whole article, not just Twombly’s daubs, made me want to throw
up, qv: “Twombly’s art is fervently, tenderly, even comically
romantic, elegiac, pleasurably mournful. It relishes gaudy,
dangerously exposed emotional language, with words written loosely on
the canvas – graffiti, but of the most literate and gentlemanly kind,
steeped in the classics…” Why, because he does it in Italian?Richard

Sorry again to use the group to communicate to one person, but I’m lousy
about keeping email addresses–Lara,

Thank you very much.

alida

“Richard Cooper <rik_____@_____.uk>” <rik_____@_____.uk> wrote:<<
I was looking on Amazon.com this morning and found The Medusa
Frequency is listed as out of print – despite Bloomsbury’s paperback
reissue of it late last year, which is available in the shops as well
as through the Bloomsbury site. I’m not sure how to go about
contacting Amazon to put them straight on the matter. Russ, maybe
Bloomsbury might want to contact them direct?

>>

 

THE MEDUSA FREQUENCY is available at Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0747559090/thepulprack-21

However, AMazon.com doesn’t list the book — I think because of whatever
laws/reasons/unreasons that prevent the sales of some UK-published books by
U.S. retailers.

– Duane

My apologies, Richard,Pepto-Bismol? Gaviscon, perhaps … ?

It goes,
Chris

— In the_____@_____.com, “Richard Cooper &lt_____@_____.>”
&lt_____@_____.> wrote:

> This whole article, not just Twombly’s daubs, made me want to throw
> up

Thanks for the early-morning laugh, Russ – the best therapy.I, too, twombled against my mother’s advice, and appear to have stuck
like this when the wind changed.

It goes, twombly.
Chris

— In the_____@_____.com, “Russell Hoban” &lt_____@_____.>
wrote:

>Chris–I looked at the link. Twombly sounds like an adverb.
>I think the verb would be “to twomble”,
>as in “When his mother found him twombling she warned him that it
>would make him go blind”.
>Happy New Year.

Thanks for checking, Russ and Duane – glad to see it’s on the Amazon.co.uk site, although
it’s annoying that US users, or people who simply don’t know that the .co.uk version of
the company/site exists, may not find out about the availability of the new edition. Then
again, if they’re really determined (as most Hoban fans are) they’ll get hold of one
somehow.Richard

Chris,It went!

Rich-uurrghd

—– Original Message —–
From: <chr_____@_____.nz>
To: <the_____@_____.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 7:44 PM
Subject: [the-kraken] Re: Bat Twombly

> My apologies, Richard,
>
> Pepto-Bismol? Gaviscon, perhaps … ?
>
> It goes,
> Chris
>
> — In the_____@_____.com, “Richard Cooper &lt_____@_____.>”
> &lt_____@_____.> wrote:
> > This whole article, not just Twombly’s daubs, made me want to throw
> > up
>
>
> —————————————————
> The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
> http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
> For help contact the_____@_____.com
> To unsubscribe, send mail to:
> the_____@_____.com
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

Some info on the forthcoming Her Name Was Lola, courtesy of Russ and
Bloomsbury…

>Her Name Was Lola
>Russell Hoban
>
>’This is it … this is my destiny woman,’ Max blurted out when he first met
>Lola Blessington at the Coliseum shop. Not only was Lola aristocratic and
>wild at heart, but the two had discovered an uncanny convergence of musical
>tastes. Soon they were converging at every level – Lola filling Max’s
>emptiness and vice versa.
>
>But Max had also always craved the recognition of another sort of woman, the
>sort who had been Homecoming Queen at her high school – just as the tempting
>Lula Mae Flowers had been back in Texas. Why did Max have to meet Lula Mae
>just when he’d found his destiny woman in Lola? And, what everyone wanted
>to know was this: if Lola embodied everything Max longed for, how could
>there be anything left over for Texan ex-Homecoming Queens?
>
>Russell Hoban’s hero is a man with a lot of remembering to do once Lola
>takes revenge by composing a raga of forgetfulness (and this is not
>something to try at home). In fact Max finds himself in a general quest for
>the beginnings of things – like a page 1 for either of the two books he is
>trying to write, or an answer to why his childhood memories always link
>Noah’s ark with the back of his grandfather’s boiler.
>
>This is Russell Hoban at his endearing, captivating best, revealing much
>along the way about his own creative process and producing the solution to a
>narrative conundrum that will make his readers say ‘Ah’.
>
>Russell Hoban is the author of many extraordinary novels including Turtle
>Diary, Riddley Walker, Amaryllis Night and Day and most recently The Bat
>Tattoo. He has also written some classic books for children including The
>Mouse and the Child and the Frances books. He lives in London.
>
>£15.99
>November
>207x145mm
>Hardback
>pp – TBC
>0 7475 XXXX X
>Territories: TBC
>Rights: David Higham

—
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ocelot Factory:
http://www.ocelotfactory.com

Thanks Dave –
A wonderful end to a horrid day at work! This is something to look
forward to – I knew there was a reason I named my three year old son
Max Harold – now I can tell him he has two Hoban namesakes, and one
is NOT a gorilla …
In anticipation
Lara

> To: the_____@_____.com
> From: Dave Awl <day_____@_____.com>
> Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 08:01:06 -0600
> Subject: [the-kraken] The lowdown on Lola
> Reply-to: the_____@_____.com

> Some info on the forthcoming Her Name Was Lola, courtesy of Russ and
> Bloomsbury…
>
> >Her Name Was Lola
> >Russell Hoban
> >
> >’This is it … this is my destiny woman,’ Max blurted out when he first met
> >Lola Blessington at the Coliseum shop. Not only was Lola aristocratic and
> >wild at heart, but the two had discovered an uncanny convergence of musical
> >tastes. Soon they were converging at every level – Lola filling Max’s
> >emptiness and vice versa.
> >
> >But Max had also always craved the recognition of another sort of woman, the
> >sort who had been Homecoming Queen at her high school – just as the tempting
> >Lula Mae Flowers had been back in Texas. Why did Max have to meet Lula Mae
> >just when he’d found his destiny woman in Lola? And, what everyone wanted
> >to know was this: if Lola embodied everything Max longed for, how could
> >there be anything left over for Texan ex-Homecoming Queens?
> >
> >Russell Hoban’s hero is a man with a lot of remembering to do once Lola
> >takes revenge by composing a raga of forgetfulness (and this is not
> >something to try at home). In fact Max finds himself in a general quest for
> >the beginnings of things – like a page 1 for either of the two books he is
> >trying to write, or an answer to why his childhood memories always link
> >Noah’s ark with the back of his grandfather’s boiler.
> >
> >This is Russell Hoban at his endearing, captivating best, revealing much
> >along the way about his own creative process and producing the solution to a
> >narrative conundrum that will make his readers say ‘Ah’.
> >
> >Russell Hoban is the author of many extraordinary novels including Turtle
> >Diary, Riddley Walker, Amaryllis Night and Day and most recently The Bat
> >Tattoo. He has also written some classic books for children including The
> >Mouse and the Child and the Frances books. He lives in London.
> >
> >£15.99
> >November
> >207x145mm
> >Hardback
> >pp – TBC
> >0 7475 XXXX X
> >Territories: TBC
> >Rights: David Higham
> —
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Ocelot Factory:
> http://www.ocelotfactory.com
>
> —————————————————
> The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
> http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
> For help contact the_____@_____.com
> To unsubscribe, send mail to:
> the_____@_____.com
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>

This morning I received an email saying “Are you interested in exploding your business?”Richard

On Friday, January 17, 2003, at 04:04 PM, Richard Cooper wrote:

> This morning I received an email saying “Are you interested in
> exploding your business?”
>

 

Why don’t I ever get good spam like that? I’d LOVE to explode my
business.

Lindsay

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

no apologies for forwarding this to Kraken – it’s one way of
standing up and being counted, and every petition copied and
forwarded adds to the positive weight of opinion whose energy
must surely, eventually, turn the tide in favour of balanced
co-existence.if you agree with it, please copy the text into a new mail and
forward it to other humans who dislike being misrepresented by
their elected leaders.

Cat

~~~Not In Our Name~~~
NION – it’s a four-letter word

=============================
The US Congress has just authorized the President of the US to go
to war against Iraq. Please consider this an urgent request:

UN Petition for Peace

Stand up for Peace and against war.

Islam is not the Enemy.
War is NOT the Answer.

Today we are at a point of imbalance in the world and are moving
toward what may be the beginning of another destabilising WORLD
WAR. If you are against this possibility, the United Nations is
gathering signatures in an effort to avoid a tragic world event.

Please COPY (rather than Forward) this e-mail in a new message,
sign at the end of the list, and send it to all the people whom
you know. If you receive this list with more than 500 names
signed, please send a copy of the message to:

usa@un.int

pre_____@_____.gov

Even if you decide not to sign, please consider forwarding the
petition on instead of deleting it.

1) Suzanne Dathe, Grenoble, France

2) Laurence COMPARAT, Grenoble, France

3) Philippe MOTTE, Grenoble, France

4) Jok FERRAND, Mont St. Martin, France

5) Emmanuelle PIGNOL, St Martin d’Heres, FRANCE

6) Marie GAUTHIER, Grenoble, FRANCE

7) Laurent VESCALO, Grenoble, FRANCE

8) Mathieu MOY, St Egreve, FRANCE

9) Bernard BLANCHET, Mont St Martin,FRANCE

10) Tassadite FAVRIE, Grenoble, FRANCE

11) Loic GODARD, St Ismier, FRANCE

12) Benedicte PASCAL, Grenoble, FRANCE

13) Khedaidja BENATIA, Grenoble, FRANCE

14) Marie-Therese LLORET, Grenoble,FRANCE

15) Benoit THEAU, Poitiers, FRANCE

16) Bruno CONSTANTIN, Poitiers, FRANCE

17) Christian COGNARD, Poitiers, FRANCE

18) Robert GARDETTE, Paris, FRANCE

19) Claude CHEVILLARD, Montpellier, FRANCE

20) gilles FREISS, Montpellier, FRANCE

21) Patrick AUGEREAU, Montpellier, FRANCE

22) Jean IMBERT, Marseille, FRANCE

23) Jean-Claude MURAT, Toulouse, France

24) Anna BASSOLS, Barcelona, Catalonia

25) Mireia DUNACH, Barcelona, Catalonia

26) Michel VILLAZ, Grenoble, France

27) Pages Frederique, Dijon, France

28) Rodolphe FISCHMEISTER,Chatenay-Malabry, France

29) Francois BOUTEAU, Paris, France

30) Patrick PETER, Paris, France

31) Lorenza RADICI, Paris, France

32) Monika Siegenthaler, Bern, Switzerland

33) Mark Philp, Glasgow, Scotland

34) Tomas Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden

35) Jonas Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden

36) Karin Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden

37) Ake Ljung, Stockholm, Sweden

38) Carina Sedlmayer, Stockholm, Sweden

39) Rebecca Uddman, Stockholm, Sweden

40) Lena Skog, Stockholm, Sweden

41) Micael Folke, Stockholm, Sweden

42) Britt-Marie Folke, Stockholm, Sweden

43) Birgitta Schuberth, Stockholm, Sweden

44) Lena Dahl, Stockholm, Sweden

45) Ebba Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden

46) Jessica Carlsson, Vaxjo, Sweden

47) Sara Blomquist, Vaxjo, Sweden

48) Magdalena Fosseus, Vaxjo, Sweden

49) Charlotta Langner, Goteborg, Sweden

50) Andrea Egedal, Goteborg, Sweden

51) Lena Persson, Stockholm, Sweden

52) Magnus Linder, Umea ,Sweden

53) Petra Olofsson, Umea, Sweden

54) Caroline Evenbom, Vaxjo, Sweden

55) Asa Peterson, Grimes, Sweden

56) Jessica Bjork, Grimes, Sweden

57) Linda Ahlbom Goteborg, Sweden

58) Jenny Forsman, Boras, Sweden

59) Nina Gunnarson, Kinna, Sweden

60) Andrew Harrison, New Zealand

61) Bryre Murphy, New Zealand

62) Claire Lugton, New Zealand

63) Sarah Thornton, New Zealand

64) Rachel Eade, New Zealand

65) Magnus Hjert, London, UK

67) Madeleine Stamvik, Hurley, UK

68) Susanne Nowlan, Vermont, USA

69) Lotta Svenby, Malmoe, Sweden

70) Adina Giselsson, Malmoe, Sweden

71) Anders Kullman, Stockholm, Sweden

72) Rebecka Swane, Stockholm, Sweden

73) Jens Venge, Stockholm, Sweden

74) Catharina Ekdahl, Stockholm, Sweden

75) Nina Fylkegard, Stockholm, Sweden

76) Therese Stedman, Malmoe, Sweden

77) Jannica Lund, Stockholm, Sweden

78) Douglas Bratt

79) Mats Lofstrom, Stockholm, Sweden

80) Li Lindstrom, Sweden

81) Ursula Mueller, Sweden

82) Marianne Komstadius, Stockholm, Sweden

83) Peter Thyselius, Stockholm, Sweden

84) Gonzalo Oviedo, Quito, Ecuador

85) Amalia Romeo, Gland, Switzerland

86) Margarita Restrepo, Gland, Switzerland

87) Eliane Ruster, Crans p.C., Switzerland

88) Jennifer Bischoff-Elder, Hong Kong

89) Azita Lashgari, Beirut, Lebanon

90) Khashayar Ostovany, New York, USA

91) Lisa L Miller, Reno NV

92) Danielle Avazian, Los Angeles, CA

93) Sara Risher,Los Angeles,Ca.

94) Melanie London, New York, NY

95) Susan Brownstein , Los Angeles, CA

96) Steven Raspa, San Francisco, CA

97) Margot Duane, Ross, CA

98) Natasha Darnall, Los Angeles, CA

99) Candace Brower, Evanston, IL

100) James Kjelland, Evanston, IL

101) Michael Jampole, Beach Park, IL, USA

102) Diane Willis, Wilmette, IL, USA

103) Sharri Russell, Roanoke, VA, USA

104) Faye Cooley, Roanoke, VA, USA

105) Celeste Thompson, Round Rock, TX, USA

106) Sherry Stang, Pflugerville, TX, USA

107) Amy J. Singer, Pflugerville, TX USA

108) Milissa Bowen, Austin, TX USA

109) Michelle Jozwiak, Brenham, TX USA

110) Mary Orsted, College Station, TX USA

111) Janet Gardner, Dallas, TX USA

112) Marilyn Hollingsworth, Dallas, TX USA

113) Nancy Shamblin, Garland. TX USA

114) K. M. Mullen, Houston, TX – USA

115) Noreen Tolman, Houston, Texas – USA

116) Laurie Sobolewski, Warren, MI

117) Kellie Sisson Snider, Irving Texas

118) Carol Currie, Garland, Garland Texas

119) John Snyder, Garland, TX USA

120) Elaine Hannan, South Africa

121) Jayne Howes, South Africa

122) Diane Barnes, Akron, Ohio

123) Melanie Dass Moodley, Durban, South Africa

124) Imma Merino, Barcelona, Catalonia

125) Toni Vinas, Barcelona, Catalonia

126) Marc Alfaro, Barcelona, Catalonia

127) Manel Saperas, Barcelona, Catalonia

128) Jordi Ribas Izquierdo, Catalonia

129) Naiana Lacorte Rodes, Catalonia

130) Joan Vitoria i Codina, Barcelona,Catalonia

131) Jordi Paris i Romia, Barcelona,Catalonia

131) Marta Truno i Salvado, Barcelona,Catalonia

132) Jordi Lagares Roset, Barcelona,Catalonia

133) Josep Puig Vidal, Barcelona,Catalonia

134) Marta Juanola i Codina, Barcelona,Catalonia

135) Manel de la Fuente i Colino,Barcelona,Catalonia

136) Gemma Belluda i Ventura, Barcelona,Catalonia

137) Victor Belluda i Ventur, Barcelona,Catalonia

138) MaAntonia Balletbo, Barcelona, Spain

139) Mireia Masdevall Llorens, Barcelona,Spain

140) Clara Planas, Barcelona, Spain

141) Fernando Labastida Gual, Barcelona,Spain

142) Cristina Vacarisas, Barcelona, Spain

143) Enric Llarch i Poyo, Barcelona, Catalonia

144) Rosa Escoriza Valencia, Barcelona,Catalonia

145) Silvia Jimenez, Barcelona, Catalonia

146) Maria Clarella, Barcelona, Catalonia

147) Angels Guimera, Barcelona, Catalonia

148) M.Carmen Ruiz Fernandez, Barcelona,Catalonia

149) Rufi Cerdan Heredia, Barcelona,Catalonia

150) M. Teresa Vilajeliu Roig, Barcelona,Catalonia

151) Rafel LLussa, Girona, Catalonia,Spain

152) Mariangels Gallego Ribo, Gelida,Catalonia

153) Jordi Cortadella, Gelida, Catalonia

154) Pere Botella, Barcelona, Catalonia(Spain)

155) Josefina Auladell Baulenas, Catalunya(Spain)

156) Empar Escoin Carceller, Catalunya(Spain)

157) Elisa Pla Soler, Catalunya (Spain)

158) Paz Morillo Bosch, Catalunya (Spain)

159) Cristina Bosch Moreno, Madrid (Spain)

160) Marta Puertolas, Barcelona (Spain)

161) Elisa del Pino (Madrid) Spain

162) Joaquin Rivera (Madrid) Spain

163) Carmen Barral (Madrid) Spain

164) Carmen del Pino (Madrid) Spain

165) Asuncion del Pino (Madrid) Spain

166) francesca Mostardini (Milano) Italy

167) Federico Bonadeo (Milano) Italy

168) Jo Burchell (Dorset) England

169) Matt Hinds (London) England

170) Vladimir Eatwell (London) England

171) Hannah Dawson (Cambridge) England

172) Helen Peeks (London) England

173) Judit Child (St. John) U.S.V.I

174) Kathaleen (Texas) U.S.A.

175) Deana Blanch (Texas) U.S.A

176) Erin Flaherty Vancouver, Canada

177) Holly Flaherty Daegu, South Korea

178) Meredith J. Hayes, Montreal, Canada

179) Jeffrey Murray Gougeon, Seoul, South Korea)

180) Chris Gougeon, Montreal, Canada

190) Rob Shallhorn, Montreal, Canada

191) Marc Edmunds, London, England

192) Marie-Eve Duffy,Montreal, Canada

193) Katie Ewald, Montreal, Canada

194) Christine Kjellberg, Hosle, Norway

195) Siri B. Rom, Stabekk, Norway

196) Halvard A. Møgster, Norway

197) Tor Grønvik, Norway

198) Dag Wollebæk, Norway

199) Else Hostvedt, Norway

200) Geir Allan Stava, Norway

201) Finn W. Fosen, Norway

202) Kjell Olav Leirvåg, Norway

203) Sissel Andsnes, Norway

204) Lars Øystein Folkedal

205) Berit Johanne Folkedal

206) Nina Janne Dalseth, Oslo, Norway

207) Leif Hadland, Stavanger, Norway

208) Øivind Refvik, Oslo, Norway

209) Einar Waldeland, Oslo, Norway

210) Hilde M. Jaacobsen, Oslo, Norway

211) Jon A. Aasgaard Johnsen, Drammen, Norway

212) David Hasseløy, Drammen, Norway

213) Andreas Marstad, Slemmestad, NORWAY

214) Shani Cohen, Tel Aviv, ISRAEL

215)Cristina Catalina, Soria, SPAIN

216) Jose R Polo, Madrid, Spain

217) Ali Bakran, Liverpool, UK

218) Christopher Birt, Liverpool, UK

219) Rosie Campbell, Liverpool, UK

220) Hilary Kinnell, Telford, UK

221) William Kinnell, UK

222) Mary Lewis, UK

223) Paul Speight, Lancaster, UK

224)Elizabeth Burnside, North Wales, UK

225) Ian McAlley, North Wales, UK

226) Kristen Lindop, Somerset, UK

227) Catherine Milne, Somerset, UK

On Mon, 20 Jan 2003, Catherine Milne wrote:

> no apologies for forwarding this to Kraken – it’s one way of
> standing up and being counted, and every petition copied and
> forwarded adds to the positive weight of opinion whose energy
> must surely, eventually, turn the tide in favour of balanced
> co-existence.

 

Unfortunately, it’s an ineffective, maybe even counter-productive, way of
doing it. There are three main problems with petitions in that format:

1) Many people will sign and never be counted; if your branch of the
petition doesn’t reach 500, the names on it will be lost.

2) People near the beginning, or people who send it to several folks that
*do* continue the petition, will be counted multiple times. But the first
problem and the second problem don’t cancel each other out, because
there’s no way to know which effect is bigger. If the President’s office
wants to figure out how many people signed the petition, they have to take
a bunch of emails and merge them, looking for duplication. But they won’t
bother, because…

3) The eventual recipients don’t care. Sending a real typewritten letter
in your own words will have more effect on a politician than a phone call,
and a phone call will have more effect than a personally-written email.
But the lowest thing on the ladder is an online petition. It’s so easy to
put your name on it and send to dozens of other people, easier than
*voting*, so politicians just don’t care.

A guy named Phil Agre wrote up a description of good email “action alerts”
a while ago:

http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/alerts.html

The one you forwarded breaks many of his guidelines. There’s very little
explanation, and no date, so it’s not clear what action is even being
protested: The idea of going to war at all? Unilateral war? Congress’s
accession to the war? You may find all those things objectionable, but did
everyone who signed the petition have the same things in mind?

If you want to make a difference, please please please do something that
WILL. Write a letter — a physically existing paper letter — and send it
to your House rep and Senators. Call your local news stations (not
confrontationally, but supportively) if you feel there’s unintentional
bias in their reporting. Rally against the war. Distill the *specific*
arguments against war that you favor into a letter to the editor. And if
you must be part of a web petition, there are places online like
www.petitiononline.com who do it in a centralized fashion, where at least
all signatures will be counted and the text of the petition will be dated
and unchanged.

aaron

thanks, Aaron – you’ve made some good points. yes – there are
certainly more effective ways of protesting ones position to
those in power. but –

>>1) Many people will sign and never be counted; if your branch

of the petition doesn’t reach 500, the names on it will be
lost.<<

– in no way does this negate creating that branch of the
petition; a tree can afford to shed a few branches, and the
purpose of these mailed petitions is collectively to build a
large tree that can be seen. whether it can be seen by those who
are perpetrating war is another matter. but they are in the
minority.

>>And if you must be part of a web petition, there are places

online like www.petitiononline.com who do it in a centralized
fashion, where at least all signatures will be counted and the
text of the petition will be dated
and unchanged. <<

excellent advice. would you have given it if i hadn’t posted the
petition?

things move backwards and sideways and often in the wrong order,
but eventually they’ll probably add up to a forward movement, if
that’s where we want to go.

wheels bearing,
cat

~~~Not In Our Name~~~
NION – it’s a four-letter word

On Mon, 20 Jan 2003, Catherine Milne wrote:

> – in no way does this negate creating that branch of the
> petition; a tree can afford to shed a few branches, and the
> purpose of these mailed petitions is collectively to build a
> large tree that can be seen.

 

Indeed; the reasons I posted were part of a whole. If signing the petition
were a large display of dedication or a highly inspiring act, it would
make sense to do it even if there were a risk that your own action
wouldn’t touch others. But this isn’t creating a large tree, and no
sign-and-forward email petition is going to: The mail you posted had a few
hundred names on it, and it seems to date back to last October. So in
three months it gathered — what, two or three names per day? I talk to
that many people who are opposed to the war *myself*.

There are other branches of this petition, of course, but I have no idea
how many. The sign-and-forward format *guarantees* that nobody who signs
it knows how many other people are signing it. It’s the opposite of
impressive; it’s the opposite of creating solidarity.

If you want to drop a few leaves on people’s porches with a note that says
“Just think how big a tree these leaves might have come from!” then feel
free. But you aren’t showing them a tree.

I’m afraid I forgot to mention this earlier, but there’s a fourth reason
that comes after the three I gave: given that this form of petition is
ineffective, the real problem with it is that it encourages other people
to make petitions in the same format, and THAT leads to a lot of wasted
time. I mean, even in the paper-and-pen world, if you agree with a
petition and you can spare a few seconds to sign it, you’re obviously
doing no harm; doesn’t matter if that petition later has an impact or not.
Doesn’t matter if the guy with the clipboard falls into a mud puddle and
loses your signature! At worst you’ve used a few seconds of your time,
freely given.

But if a particular kind of petition is nearly-useless for its intended
purpose and yet a lot of people see it and decide they’ll use that format
for their OWN petitions on other topics, you get a self-reinforcing system
where a lot of Internet users are spending their time shouting down a
well.

> excellent advice. would you have given it if i hadn’t posted the
> petition?

 

No, but, while I hate to be blunt, I don’t tell people they have spinach
caught between their teeth unless they do, either. This doesn’t mean that
getting spinach stuck in your teeth is a good idea, or that it’s a step
toward not having spinach stuck in your teeth. Nor, on the other hand,
does it mean that people who eat spinach are bad people.

a

>>No, but, while I hate to be blunt, I don’t tell people they

have spinach caught between their teeth unless they do, either.
This doesn’t mean that getting spinach stuck in your teeth is a
good idea, or that it’s a step toward not having spinach stuck in
your teeth. Nor, on the other hand, does it mean that people who
eat spinach are bad people. << (Aaron)

well, i’m glad we’ve got that cleared up, anyway.

as you’re obviously an authority on these things, Aaron, i’ll
make sure to run my next venture into peacemongering past you;
otherwise there’s the risk that i might not only have spinach
between my teeth but make the mistake of smiling at people
without realising how much the spinach offends their
sensibilities.

verdantly,
c

~~~Not In Our Name~~~
NION – it’s a four-letter word

Hey, come on, guys. I think there’s the risk here of forgetting that you both want the
same thing – peace. I do too, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones on the group. There are
lots of ways to protest against the war – I’ve written letters to my MP and the
newspapers, marched in London and signed email petitions as well. Anything that lets
someone know you’re not happy with what’s happening is better than nothing.Richard

—– Original Message —–
From: “Catherine Milne” <Wil_____@_____.com>
To: <the_____@_____.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 12:17 AM
Subject: [the-kraken] horse’s mouth

> >>No, but, while I hate to be blunt, I don’t tell people they
> have spinach caught between their teeth unless they do, either.
> This doesn’t mean that getting spinach stuck in your teeth is a
> good idea, or that it’s a step toward not having spinach stuck in
> your teeth. Nor, on the other hand, does it mean that people who
> eat spinach are bad people. << (Aaron)
>
> well, i’m glad we’ve got that cleared up, anyway.
>
> as you’re obviously an authority on these things, Aaron, i’ll
> make sure to run my next venture into peacemongering past you;
> otherwise there’s the risk that i might not only have spinach
> between my teeth but make the mistake of smiling at people
> without realising how much the spinach offends their
> sensibilities.
>
> verdantly,
> c
>
> ~~~Not In Our Name~~~
> NION – it’s a four-letter word
>
>
> —————————————————
> The Kraken: The Russell Hoban Mailing List
> http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban
> For help contact the_____@_____.com
> To unsubscribe, send mail to:
> the_____@_____.com
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

Dear Krakenites,As the Kraken’s anointed Mincer for SA4QE Documentation, Dave has asked me to announce
this year’s event to the group. For those of you not familiar with this, it started last
year when we were thinking of a suitable way of commemorating Russ’s birthday on 4th
February. Diana Slickman proposed the following (I quote verbatim from her suggestion
posted last year):

“I propose that we each, on February 4, write our favorite passage, of any length, from
any RH book on a piece of yellow paper, or cigarette paper, or whatever haunts you
personally, and drop it somewhere public and then walk away, leaving chance to do the
rest. I am a vehement hater of litter, so I would recommend leaving it someplace rather
than just dropping it on the ground – a seat on the train, a table in the library, in the
elevator at work, along with a tip for your waiter, or any of a hundred thousand other
places. And then we could all send the quotes to RH, along with the time and place where
they were released. The paper should at least include the name of the book and Russell’s
name. Part of me thinks it would be wonderful to leave it at that, and let the mystery of
things take it from there, let the paper find its way (or not) to some receptive (or not)
person who would then go seek out the book (or not) and become another fan (or not). Part
of me thinks it would be fine to include on the paper your e-mail or the Kraken website
address, or your home phone, or a note from you personally about why you chose it and the
occasion on which it was dropped. The more I think about this the more excited I am about
it. I like it because it is secret, and personal, and random, and small. Of course one
of us could drop a quote on the desk of the Times literary editor, or some such, and
perhaps generate a little notice. Did I say it should be hand-written? I think it should
be. It would draw more attention, I think, that way. Am I the only one? Feel free to
tell me I’m a nutcase.”

We then rallied round and told Diana she wasn’t a nutcase and that this in fact was a
fantastic idea. It became known as the Slickman A4 Quotation Event, or SA4QE for short.
When we’d dropped our sheets of A4, we then posted the quotes, their locations and our
reasons for our choices to the group for the other members to enjoy. I then turned all
this into the SA4QE website, www.thoughtcat.com/sa4qe , which has received a lot of hits
over the past months and was mentioned in Russ’s recent Guardian profile.

Once again this year I will be recording the new quotes on the site. As before, I will
make a fresh page for any new Krakenites and their choices (and update the pages of any
2002 yellow-paper-droppers who also scattered quotes this year). As Dave said, if you’re
unfamiliar with the site, do please have a look around it to get an idea of what was done
in 2002. The general format for the pages is as follows:

– your name
– your location and occupation
– the quotes you chose
– where your yellow paper was left
– the reasons for your choice of quote and location
– a photo of yourself with your yellow paper, or your yellow paper in its place of rest,
or a yellow-paper-inspired illustration
– anything else you’d like to add.

I should make it clear however that any info beyond your name and the actual quote is
entirely voluntary.

I can generate the web pages from the quotes/other info posted direct to the Kraken, so
there’s no need to go to any special typing/formatting efforts on my behalf, but if you
have any photos to contribute please send them to yel_____@_____.com

There’s only two weeks to go before SA4QE 2003, so if you haven’t already chosen your
Hoban quote for global dissemination, as Charlie Parker once tooted – now’s the time!

Best wishes,
Richard Cooper
Minister for Onlion SA4QE Documentation

Thanks, Richard, for announcing this year’s SA4QE.I have one suggestion to add to the event for this year: since we’ve
had a successful trial run last year, and since it’s already proven
to be interesting to media types, I’d like to suggest that we
accompany the event with a grassroots press release campaign as well.
Here’s what I’m thinking:

1. One of us who is familiar with the event and concept writes a
“universal” press release about this year’s event and posts it in the
Files area of The Kraken. It would be great if it could be someone
who has experience writing press releases. (I would suggest that
Richard might be ideal to do this, since he has the most SA4QE
documentation on hand, but our Richard has a lot to do already and I
don’t want to overburden him, so I’ll leave it up to him or anyone
else to claim this task if they feel they can do it.) The press
release can be identified as coming from “The Kraken — The
International Russell Hoban Fan Society” or something like that, with
space for the contact info of the local Kraken member who will be
sending it out (see below).

2. The various Krakenistas participating in the event can then
download the universal press release (was there a Buffy Saint-Marie
song about that? “It’s the universal press release, and it really is
to blame…” oh, never mind) and send it to local media in the same
are where s/he will be releasing Hoban quotations into the wild.

2A. Before sending the press release out, each Krakenite can make any
necessary changes to spelling and presentation to adapt it to the
local style, and add their personal contact info for follow-up if
necessary.

3. Any Krakenista planning to do this should “claim” the geographic
area they’ll be press-releasing here on the Yahoo Group: e.g “I call
London!” “Dibs on Elephant’s Butte, Montana!” etc. That will help
avoid duplication of efforts and maybe allow people to form local
teams and divvy things up, if they’re concentrated in a certain area.

What do we think of this? Any glaring flaws? If we decide to go
forward with this, I’d say we need to have the Universal Press
Release written and posted by Sunday (January 26) and folks should be
mailing or faxing it out within a couple of days of that.

Dave

—
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ocelot Factory:
http://www.ocelotfactory.com

>>Hey, come on, guys. I think there’s the risk here of forgetting

that you both want the same thing – peace. << (Richard)

yes, well, i’ve no wish for a spat.

whatever peace is.

anyone for fisticuffs?

god, i hate january.

cat

I gave a presentation last evening to the Lincoln Literary Society, about Lion of BJ and JB. All the 16 attendees had read the book beforehand. The subject line of this email was uttered by an engineer who was the only one in the group that didn’t at least like the book. All the rest were very enthusiastic. Is that publisher’s discount still on, Dave? I have two buyers. And two of my copies of Riddley, as well as Kleinzeit, Medusa Frequency and Mouse and His Child were all borrowed from my personal library.It was a successful evening, except for the engineer. Jerry claimed that he didn’t understand it at all, and why can’t we have more non-fiction selections in the group. 🙂 I did try to explain that Lion was non-fiction, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

Lil

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks Dave, thanks Richard.I’ve written quite a few press releases in my time (mostly music-
related for bands like Freur/Underworld and a few other Kiwi acts of
which you may never have heard…). I’d be happy to volunteer my PR
skills, but you’ve caught me at an extremely busy time this week. I’m
on magazine deadline, so January 26 is cutting it a bit fine for me.

How about I work on it on Monday 27th and deliver it early on 28th NZ
time? That’s still Monday for most of you and professional PR writers
are always fashionably late with their deadlines, anyway. 🙂

Well being,
Chris

— In the_____@_____.com, Dave Awl &lt_____@_____.> wrote:

> Thanks, Richard, for announcing this year’s SA4QE.
…
> 1. One of us who is familiar with the event and concept writes a
> “universal” press release about this year’s event and posts it in
> the Files area of The Kraken. What do we think of this? Any glaring
> flaws? If we decide to go forward with this, I’d say we need to
> have the Universal Press Release written and posted by Sunday
(January 26) and folks should be mailing or faxing it out within a
couple of days of that.
>
> Dave

> Is that publisher’s discount still on, Dave? I have two buyers.

 

Yup, it’s an ongoing deal as far as I understand. Just make sure
you give the right password: “P2ZW”.

Dave