[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, azgrey no_reply@... wrote: This is getting creepy. Really really creepy. Thanks for noticing. What I find heartening is that this week, possibly as a result of my modest proposal, only one person has decided to sign on as a creepiness groupie. It must be a sign of the Age of Enlightenment dawning at last. The butt-bouncers must be working overtime. :-) Have you noticed that the thing that sets them off is someone -- anyone -- either saying something nice about one of their hate-objects, or having a pleasant conversation with them? I reiterate the point of my modest proposal. FFL provides an opportunity to occasionally say something interesting, something new, something that isn't a rehash of old dogma or old grudges. There are quite a few posters here who have shown themselves capable of doing that -- Share, merudanda, Xeno, Paligap, Marek, Curtis, bharitu, Vaj, salyavin, Alex, Rick, Susan, Sal, and many others. Then there are those who are stuck in the same rut, and seem incapable of climbing out of it. Uninteresting. Call me crazy, but I'm gonna spend my time reading and chatting with the interesting folks, and leave the uninteresting ones to their obsessions. Speaking of interesting, we are only 7 hours or so from finding out whether the Supreme Court of the United States has been completely bought and paid for by corporate interests, and the only thing some on this forum think is worthy of their comments is a guy they've never met, but whom they have a grudge against because he refuses to take them seriously.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
And for a moment I rejoice,And believe in transcendent things That would mould from this muddy earth A spot for the splendid birth-- may I add from the Whispering Gallery: Elspeth Morrison wrote with her 'The Dorothy Dunnett Companion', which provides a comprehensive guide to the minutiae of the art, culture, manners and science of those times in her historic novels creating a so called Dunnett effect: People scour art galleries looking for pictures of Venetian bankers and Brussels traders or seek out the Icelandic sagas to broaden their understanding of an ancient king who was later framed by Shakespeare Dorothy Dunnett looking a little bit like Judith Stein speaks to Off The Page about her childhood and how she became a writer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfemT4mwTgw Interestingly her seven lighter detective stories featuring a bifocal-wearing secret agent in the guise of a portrait-painting yachtsman, Johnson Johnson, originally published under her maiden name are not mentioned Dorothy Dunnett on the BBC's Desert Island Discs from 1982. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mks3 Do you know that rhinotomy means the removal of someone's nose by biting or 'other means' was a common punishment for adultery in 15th-century Europe, while an effective hair dye was achieved by marinating leeches in vinegar inside a lead vessel? No? Read D. Dunnet, been described as having a painter's eye for gorgeous detailanda vocabulary that sometimes outstrips the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary but IMHO a intriguing deep interest in music --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Oy, I've never even heard of your favorite writers! Which I'm sure sez way more about me than about them (-: Not really. Chris' books sell well, but he's not as well known as many American humorists. Dorothy wrote primarily historical fiction, which is not everyone's cuppa tea. Anyway, I do the same thing. I read/watch stuff over and over. Same with music. Some people don't understand how I can watch a movie over and over once I know the story. Or reread a novel. It's that my enjoyment is derived not only from the story, but also from how it's told. Exactly. And I'm also sensing that my taste is a little more low brow than yours. Vive la difference! Not necessarily. Chris writes very middlebrow humor, with occasional forays into brilliance, such as his Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's one of the most spiritual books I've ever read. Really. As for Dorothy, she was a trip. She was the wife of Lord Alistair Dunnett, editor of The Scotsman, and real-life model for Ian Fleming's James Bond. She only started writing in her late 30s, but developed a rather fanatical following, among whom she is regarded as the best writer of the English language in the 20th century. It's the mastery thang, as I suggested before. She writes the best plots in the world, her history is always impeccable (far better than historians'), but above all it's about her characters. They're like peeling an onion. You think you know them when you first meet them, but 2000 pages later she can make you gasp and say, Jesus...I never saw that coming. Now I have to go back and read the book from the beginning. Suffice it to say I have done just that, many times. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:16 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. But there are a few I've mentioned in the past. For funny, it's hard to beat Christopher Moore. For mastery, Dorothy Dunnett. The bottom line for me when it comes to Favorite Writers is the same as for Favorite Movies or TV. Repeatability. That is, do I want to read it twice, or even more than twice? As much as I liked Nora Ephron, she never met that criterion. The corollary to this criterion is whether the writing in question gets *better* with every reading. For Chris Moore, and for Lady Dunnett, this is always true. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry ÃÂ --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
well, but he's not as well known as many American humorists. Dorothy wrote primarily historical fiction, which is not everyone's cuppa tea. Anyway, I do the same thing. I read/watch stuff over and over. Same with music. Some people don't understand how I can watch a movie over and over once I know the story. Or reread a novel. It's that my enjoyment is derived not only from the story, but also from how it's told. Exactly. And I'm also sensing that my taste is a little more low brow than yours. Vive la difference! Not necessarily. Chris writes very middlebrow humor, with occasional forays into brilliance, such as his Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's one of the most spiritual books I've ever read. Really. As for Dorothy, she was a trip. She was the wife of Lord Alistair Dunnett, editor of The Scotsman, and real-life model for Ian Fleming's James Bond. She only started writing in her late 30s, but developed a rather fanatical following, among whom she is regarded as the best writer of the English language in the 20th century. It's the mastery thang, as I suggested before. She writes the best plots in the world, her history is always impeccable (far better than historians'), but above all it's about her characters. They're like peeling an onion. You think you know them when you first meet them, but 2000 pages later she can make you gasp and say, Jesus...I never saw that coming. Now I have to go back and read the book from the beginning. Suffice it to say I have done just that, many times. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:16 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. But there are a few I've mentioned in the past. For funny, it's hard to beat Christopher Moore. For mastery, Dorothy Dunnett. The bottom line for me when it comes to Favorite Writers is the same as for Favorite Movies or TV. Repeatability. That is, do I want to read it twice, or even more than twice? As much as I liked Nora Ephron, she never met that criterion. The corollary to this criterion is whether the writing in question gets *better* with every reading. For Chris Moore, and for Lady Dunnett, this is always true. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry ÃÂ --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry reply to azgrey and Rick A
azgrey wrote: All the while TurquoiseB and Share are getting on like the hoopy froods. reply to azgrey: laughing because I played basketball in grade school and high school and thought this meant that Barry and I shoot hoops together. Yeah, I don't get out enough! As for froods, thought that meant foodies who are also friends. Or maybe foodies who only eat frozen food. Or fresh food. Or fried food. Speaking of fried, I admit the temps here are getting to the share brain. (Did I already say Triguna told me I'm pure pitta?) Heat index of 110 F/38-43 C today. Anyway, googled and found Hitchhiker's Guide reference. Then bragged to a friend who's HG fan that I got called hoopy frood on FFL. That'll show him as he's the one who warned me about FFL (-: to Rick: Thank you for birthday wishes, Rick and fun to see you this morning at Everybody's. Sorry if sweaty. AC in Dome not quite doing its job this morning. I escaped to asana room for part of my program. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 7:02 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, merudanda no_reply@... wrote: And for a moment I rejoice,And believe in transcendent things That would mould from this muddy earth A spot for the splendid birth-- may I add from the Whispering Gallery: Elspeth Morrison wrote with her 'The Dorothy Dunnett Companion', which provides a comprehensive guide to the minutiae of the art, culture, manners and science of those times in her historic novels creating a so called Dunnett effect: People scour art galleries looking for pictures of Venetian bankers and Brussels traders or seek out the Icelandic sagas to broaden their understanding of an ancient king who was later framed by Shakespeare Meru is referring to a book that Dorothy considered her finest, King Hereafter, which told the story of the historical Macbeth, not the Shakespearean one. As for scouring places for traces of characters in Dunnett novels, I can attest to the truth of that because I used to lead such informal tours for fellow Dunnettophiles in Paris. Dorothy herself never wrote about a place unless she had been there herself. In one of her Lymond novels, there is a race across the rooftops of Blois, France, from the summer palace of the King down to the river. Dorothy not only researched the history of buildings to make sure it was possible, rumor has it that she made much of the rooftop journey herself. Before writing about the Sultan's palace in Istanbul, she went there, but being female was not allowed in. The palace guards noticed her hanging around outside and reported her to the authorities, one of whom happened to be a big fan of her novels. As a result she was invited inside to see the former harem, and could write about it first-hand. She was just that kinda lady. Dorothy Dunnett looking a little bit like Judith Stein speaks to Off The Page about her childhood and how she became a writer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfemT4mwTgw Great find. Dorothy was a famously nice person. I have a good friend who, having read all of her novels to date in California but having no one to discuss them with, called Lady Dunnett's house, hoping to leave a message with someone there saying how much one fan had appreciated her work and what it meant to her. To my friend's surprise, Dorothy herself answered the phone, and wound up talking with her for over four hours. She was famously in love with Alistair, and we fans were concerned that when he died she'd want to go too, just to be with him. This would have left the second series of novels, The House Of Niccolo, unfinished. But Dorothy hung in there, finished the last book of the series, and then passed away quietly. One story I don't think she told in this interview was about writing the first novel of the Lymond Chronicles. Her husband Alistair supported her efforts as a writer, but wisely didn't ask to read anything, leaving it up to her. This *is* the editor of the most famous news journal in Scotland, The Scotsman, after all, so he was in rather a good position to offer editorial advice. Finally, after a couple of years of writing, she finished The Game Of Kings and, with some trepidation, asked her husband to read it. She left him that night sitting in his favorite reading chair, just starting it. She came down the next morning to find him still sitting there, just having finished it, and in tears. He looked up and said, You have written the best novel I have ever read in my life. Interestingly her seven lighter detective stories featuring a bifocal-wearing secret agent in the guise of a portrait-painting yachtsman, Johnson Johnson, originally published under her maiden name are not mentioned The Dolly stories. I've read them, and as she says in this interview, they're
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry reply to azgrey and Rick A
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Share Long Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 10:20 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry reply to azgrey and Rick A to Rick: Thank you for birthday wishes, Rick and fun to see you this morning at Everybody's. Sorry if sweaty. AC in Dome not quite doing its job this morning. I escaped to asana room for part of my program. Good to see you too. Don’t worry about sweaty. Sweaty is the new pretty. Hey, I had been riding my bike for miles, and must have smelled it. Love, Rick
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, azgrey no_reply@ wrote: This is getting creepy. Really really creepy. Thanks for noticing. What I find heartening is that this week, possibly as a result of my modest proposal, only one person has decided to sign on as a creepiness groupie. It must be a sign of the Age of Enlightenment dawning at last. The butt-bouncers must be working overtime. :-) Have you noticed that the thing that sets them off is someone -- anyone -- either saying something nice about one of their hate-objects, or having a pleasant conversation with them? No, nobody has noticed this, including Barry. Unless one has a very vivid imagination, it's not possible to notice something that hasn't happened in reality. snip Call me crazy, but I'm gonna spend my time reading and chatting with the interesting folks, and leave the uninteresting ones to their obsessions. Well, no, you're going to keep leaving post after post about the uninteresting folks (i.e., your critics) and how you're ignoring them. You've been obsessing on them for many years, and you aren't going to stop now. Speaking of interesting, we are only 7 hours or so from finding out whether the Supreme Court of the United States has been completely bought and paid for by corporate interests, and the only thing some on this forum think is worthy of their comments is a guy they've never met, Think that could be because the Supreme Court hadn't yet said anything about ACA to comment on, whereas Barry had said many things worthy of comment? but whom they have a grudge against because he refuses to take them seriously. guffaw Er, no. In the first place, you take us so seriously that you make the above-mentioned post after post denouncing us and explaining that this constitutes ignoring us. Nobody takes *you* seriously when you come out with that kind of obvious nonsense, completely oblivious to how it makes you look like a real dope. In the second place, to demonstrate that anybody is holding a grudge against you because they criticize you, you'd have to have behaved unobjectionably for some period of time.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, azgrey no_reply@ wrote: This is getting creepy. Really really creepy. Thanks for noticing. What I find heartening is that this week, possibly as a result of my modest proposal, only one person has decided to sign on as a creepiness groupie. It must be a sign of the Age of Enlightenment dawning at last. The butt-bouncers must be working overtime. :-) Actually I think your proposal worked fantastic so far. I think that it was logical and an appropriate response, understood by quite a few here, basically the old wisdom: Don't feed the troll. Have you noticed that the thing that sets them off is someone -- anyone -- either saying something nice about one of their hate-objects, or having a pleasant conversation with them? I absolutely agree with you. Didn't I also say this before? This is based on about 15 years of observation on this forum and it's precursors, alt.m.t. The hate-objects are clear, the obsessive behavior is clear, and if there was any doubt, I even saw it more clearly in some private emails, where the person involved didn't feel the need to be so careful as in public. I reiterate the point of my modest proposal. FFL provides an opportunity to occasionally say something interesting, something new, something that isn't a rehash of old dogma or old grudges. There are quite a few posters here who have shown themselves capable of doing that -- Share, merudanda, Xeno, Paligap, Marek, Curtis, bharitu, Vaj, salyavin, Alex, Rick, Susan, Sal, and many others. Then there are those who are stuck in the same rut, and seem incapable of climbing out of it. Uninteresting. Exactly. I also kept myself back - purposefully - during this week. I enjoyed the lurking mode, and felt that whatever I would have wanted to say, was naturally brought up by others. (For example Jason and Empty, in an answer to RC, perfect analysis!) Call me crazy, but I'm gonna spend my time reading and chatting with the interesting folks, and leave the uninteresting ones to their obsessions. You are not crazy. You are the sane person here.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: snip Have you noticed that the thing that sets them off is someone -- anyone -- either saying something nice about one of their hate-objects, or having a pleasant conversation with them? I absolutely agree with you. Didn't I also say this before? You were wrong then too. This is based on about 15 years of observation on this forum and it's precursors, alt.m.t. The hate-objects are clear, the obsessive behavior is clear, and if there was any doubt, I even saw it more clearly in some private emails, where the person involved didn't feel the need to be so careful as in public. iranitea, if you continue to misrepresent our email discussion, I'll quote from it here. Exactly. I also kept myself back - purposefully - during this week. I enjoyed the lurking mode, and felt that whatever I would have wanted to say, was naturally brought up by others. (For example Jason and Empty, in an answer to RC, perfect analysis!) So ignorant. (That is, if he really believes what he's saying.) Call me crazy, but I'm gonna spend my time reading and chatting with the interesting folks, and leave the uninteresting ones to their obsessions. You are not crazy. You are the sane person here. It's called folie à deux, folks.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. But there are a few I've mentioned in the past. For funny, it's hard to beat Christopher Moore. For mastery, Dorothy Dunnett. The bottom line for me when it comes to Favorite Writers is the same as for Favorite Movies or TV. Repeatability. That is, do I want to read it twice, or even more than twice? As much as I liked Nora Ephron, she never met that criterion. The corollary to this criterion is whether the writing in question gets *better* with every reading. For Chris Moore, and for Lady Dunnett, this is always true. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry  --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, (Says Barry, going on to say anyway. I'd rather not is just a rhetorical turn to allow him to dump on people here he doesn't like.) because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. Translation: Anyone who criticizes the writers (movies, TV shows, music and musicians, whatever) I like is ipso facto criticizing *me*. (Just ignore the fact that I mock anybody who disagrees with my criticisms of their belief system/spiritual technique/guru/whatever as having identified themselves so completely with what I'm criticizing that they take my criticisms as criticisms of themselves. I'm nothing if not inconsistent.) But there are a few I've mentioned in the past. For funny, it's hard to beat Christopher Moore. For mastery, Dorothy Dunnett. The bottom line for me when it comes to Favorite Writers is the same as for Favorite Movies or TV. Repeatability. That is, do I want to read it twice, or even more than twice? As much as I liked Nora Ephron, she never met that criterion. The corollary to this criterion is whether the writing in question gets *better* with every reading. For Chris Moore, and for Lady Dunnett, this is always true. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry  --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
Oy, I've never even heard of your favorite writers! Which I'm sure sez way more about me than about them (-: Anyway, I do the same thing. I read/watch stuff over and over. Same with music. Some people don't understand how I can watch a movie over and over once I know the story. Or reread a novel. It's that my enjoyment is derived not only from the story, but also from how it's told. And I'm also sensing that my taste is a little more low brow than yours. Vive la difference! From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:16 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. But there are a few I've mentioned in the past. For funny, it's hard to beat Christopher Moore. For mastery, Dorothy Dunnett. The bottom line for me when it comes to Favorite Writers is the same as for Favorite Movies or TV. Repeatability. That is, do I want to read it twice, or even more than twice? As much as I liked Nora Ephron, she never met that criterion. The corollary to this criterion is whether the writing in question gets *better* with every reading. For Chris Moore, and for Lady Dunnett, this is always true. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry  --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Oy, I've never even heard of your favorite writers! Which I'm sure sez way more about me than about them (-: Not really. Chris' books sell well, but he's not as well known as many American humorists. Dorothy wrote primarily historical fiction, which is not everyone's cuppa tea. Anyway, I do the same thing. I read/watch stuff over and over. Same with music. Some people don't understand how I can watch a movie over and over once I know the story. Or reread a novel. It's that my enjoyment is derived not only from the story, but also from how it's told. Exactly. And I'm also sensing that my taste is a little more low brow than yours. Vive la difference! Not necessarily. Chris writes very middlebrow humor, with occasional forays into brilliance, such as his Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's one of the most spiritual books I've ever read. Really. As for Dorothy, she was a trip. She was the wife of Lord Alistair Dunnett, editor of The Scotsman, and real-life model for Ian Fleming's James Bond. She only started writing in her late 30s, but developed a rather fanatical following, among whom she is regarded as the best writer of the English language in the 20th century. It's the mastery thang, as I suggested before. She writes the best plots in the world, her history is always impeccable (far better than historians'), but above all it's about her characters. They're like peeling an onion. You think you know them when you first meet them, but 2000 pages later she can make you gasp and say, Jesus...I never saw that coming. Now I have to go back and read the book from the beginning. Suffice it to say I have done just that, many times. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:16 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. But there are a few I've mentioned in the past. For funny, it's hard to beat Christopher Moore. For mastery, Dorothy Dunnett. The bottom line for me when it comes to Favorite Writers is the same as for Favorite Movies or TV. Repeatability. That is, do I want to read it twice, or even more than twice? As much as I liked Nora Ephron, she never met that criterion. The corollary to this criterion is whether the writing in question gets *better* with every reading. For Chris Moore, and for Lady Dunnett, this is always true. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:40 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry ÃÂ --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, Barry, now I'm really confused. You say her writing style was superb and she always made you laugh. BUT, she was not one of your favorite writers! Huh? What am I missing here? Many writers, few spots on the Favorites list. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:11 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Nora Nora Ephron was never one of my favorite writers, but I can say of her something I can't say about many others -- she always made me laugh. Whether it was in the scripts of her movies or in articles for Esquire or the New Yorker or Huffington Post, she was a hoot. Her writing style was superb, and no matter how serious the subject, it almost always seemed to be almost-but-not-quite-concealing-a- smile. If you don't know her except as the author of When Harry Met Sally, here are a couple of short pieces to hopefully make you smile as well. Her recent hilarious short parody of Stieg Larsson: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron Nora's famous slightly longer piece on becoming an heiress: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_ephron
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Nora ques to Barry
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ok, thanks for explaining. So, who IS one of your favorite writers? I mean, that I might be familiar with given my limitations, weirdness, Domeness, etc. (-: I'd rather not say, (Says Barry, going on to say anyway. I'd rather not is just a rhetorical turn to allow him to dump on people here he doesn't like.) because there are some here who will leap upon them as a way of leaping upon me. Translation: Anyone who criticizes the writers (movies, TV shows, music and musicians, whatever) I like is ipso facto criticizing *me*. (Just ignore the fact that I mock anybody who disagrees with my criticisms of their belief system/spiritual technique/guru/whatever as having identified themselves so completely with what I'm criticizing that they take my criticisms as criticisms of themselves. I'm nothing if not inconsistent.) This is getting creepy. Really really creepy. Note, dear and fair readers, that the author is not only deep into obsession, she is also including subtexts of subtexts in her, ah, translation. All the while TurquoiseB and Share are getting on like the hoopy froods. Go figure. Another sad and psycho GOTTA GET BARRY, GOTTA WIN. pt, Judy: Your crazy is showing. kissey kissey smooch smooch :-)
