The Great Ketchup Wars
Friday, June 22nd, 2012 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rolanniWell, things have been hopping around the ol' Confusion Factory these last couple days.
Yesterday, I had nice chat with the second of the four brave and fortunate people who will be committing the Liaden Universe® to audiofile. I did laundry, and glared menacingly at the proposal file while I put words in and took words out. As one does. I did do-it-yourself deep muscle massage on my frozen shoulder with the TheraCane, which, just by the way, hurts like a sonofagun.
This morning, I started in signing sheets of paper. When Steve and I have both signed all 1200 pieces of paper, they'll go back to the printer and be bound into the appropriate number of Dragon Ships. I would just like to say? That 1200 sheets of paper is a non-trivial number of sheets of paper, and that I am entirely at peace with my decision to write under my own, and relatively short, name.
Also this morning, the proposals went to Madame the Agent, who will look them over and in the fullness of time either send them on to Madame the Editor for discussion, or to us, for improvements.
Fans of Socks will wish to know that he went back for a checkup today. He was not (that's NOT) happy about this at all, and when I let him out of his traveling box in the examining room, he jumped down to the floor and stamped around it, tail snapping. And when I say stamped, I mean stamped; it sounded like he had flamenco boots on.
Aside a fit of temper, he's in good health, and we're to continue doing whatever it is that we're doing, and cross fingers he'll continue to gain weight and otherwise improve.
Socks and I returned home in time to help Steve and Mozart (Scrabble having gone to the basement to, I assume, inspect the tornado room ) batten down the hatches, turn off the computers and marvel at a really splendid, and for several minutes there, quite scary, thunderstorm. I speak as one who tends more to the "thunderstorms make me ecstatic" side of the scale than the "thunderstorms scare the hotel outta me" side. The net effect of the storm? The temps fell from 93F34C, pre-storm, to 72F/22C, post-storm.
After the storm, I did a deep-massage session with the dern cane, then signed some more pages. Honestly, I think they're breeding down there in that box. I'm sure there are more empty pages now than there were this morning.
For those who follow the Free Culture debate, there's an interesting exchange that you may not have seen.
First, there's this blog post by Emily White, an intern at NPR, who confesses that, as someone with a music library in excess of 11,000 songs, she's only in her life purchased 15 music CDs.
Then, there's this (warning: long) and informative response from The Trichordist. If you have time to read only one of these posts, I would recommend this one.
And now?
I'm going to wash dishes.
And sign some more pages.
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no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 02:14 am (UTC)The Great Ketchup Wars
Date: 2012-06-23 03:31 am (UTC)Like Atilla, I looked up the Thera Cane. Looks brutal, my chiropractor does something like that to muscle fascia and it *hurts*. But it works! The pain goes away more or less permanently after the area is worked. Hope it works as well for you.
And the ketchup was where?
Re: The Great Ketchup Wars
Date: 2012-06-23 04:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 08:38 am (UTC)"I also find this all this sort of sad. Many in your generation are willing to pay a little extra to buy “fair trade” coffee that insures the workers that harvested the coffee were paid fairly. Many in your generation will pay a little more to buy clothing and shoes from manufacturers that certify they don’t use sweatshops."
which I feel DOES want to shame Emily. At that age, when I felt patronized, I usually didn't listen to the message itself any longer.
TL, DR version: some great explanations and logical conclusions, but with some of the phrasing choice the writer may have the effect that the target group he wants to most reach will hang themselves up on this gap between intention and delivery and discount the whole message, I fear.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 04:50 pm (UTC)Stealing.
People don't like to be told that their desire for a particular convenience has led them to repeatedly make unethical decisions. It's annoying to be found out as imperfect, and, believe me, I completely sympathize with that.
My experience has been that, on those occasions when I've had to hear the Ugly Words: "You done wrong," is that, yeah, I'll get mad. And then, some while later, I'll start going over in my head How I Was Totally Justified, and then, gradually, I'll come to see that, yeah, well, maybe somebody -- Who Wasn't Me! -- could maybe think that. . .and eventually, after cooler thought and reflection, make what modifications I feel are reasonable.
So, we'll have to hope that this process works with Emily and her peers, too. Perhaps it won't. A lot of the kids at the college I used to work at were so accustomed to having everything just like they wanted it that they never ever entertained the thought that what they wanted might not, for some little reason or another, be forthcoming, and on their terms.
I do think that you rightly pinpoint the problem with artists getting into the Free Culture discussion. Because we're being ripped off, we say emotional things like: "You're stealing my work, my livelihood and my future."
Not only is this insufficiently sympathetic to the Emily viewpoint, it elicits an emotional response in return: "Well if you'd make your damn' music/artwork/novel available in the Way I Prefer, then I'd pay you for it."
So, in all, I think the Trichordist did as best as might be done, given the situation; kept an even tone, and gave good information. We'll just hope that Emily will eventually be able to process what was said coolly, even if, right now, she's feeling a little bit shamed.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-24 07:45 pm (UTC)Let's hope for the best.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 05:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 10:11 pm (UTC)Still. In the "Emancipated child", there are two things that i find strange. First being, why is Cedar's voice "rough"? Is she aggressive by nature or is her voice damaged somehow? She is such a nice spirit, why couldn't she be rewarded with a voice charming and appealing?
The other I should probably figure by myself, but I can't. Why would mr. Varney care to keep Jason off the land? As far as we know, local people are either unawares of the trenvay, or sympathise with them. Apparently, there are even deeper conspiracies in those quiet places, than we are allowed to know.
Which bring another question: is there in fact _any_ normal human folk on the Main seaside, other than tourists?
And thanks for yet another nice story!
no subject
Date: 2012-06-23 11:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-24 10:32 am (UTC)The trick is that what Kate tells us about trenvay - is not exactly true. She just doesn't know very much herself (which, as we are informed now, is a common trait for guardians).
On the other hand, a sea trenvay wouldn't drown while fishing, which at least two men in the story did. That suggests that at least some fishermen are human. Perhaps, they are newcomers. :-)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-24 09:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-24 12:32 am (UTC)There's a journal for discussion of the Splinter Universe stories here: http://splinterverse.livejournal.com/
no subject
Date: 2012-06-24 09:48 am (UTC)Crossthreading things...
Date: 2012-06-24 12:45 am (UTC)Socks
Date: 2012-06-24 07:04 am (UTC)Proposals
Date: 2012-06-24 08:27 am (UTC)Re: Proposals
Date: 2012-06-24 01:39 pm (UTC)After we get a document that Madame believes she can pitch, that Less Drafty Proposal goes to Madame the Editor, who may accept it in whole, in part, or not at all. Alternatively, she may propose changes, which may or may not be accepted by the Authors.
I usually don't provide details about upcoming projects until we go to contract, which may be many, many months down the road, if it happens at all -- and the above is why.
Re: Proposals
Date: 2012-06-24 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-26 12:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-27 02:19 pm (UTC)