http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books ... =1&_r=1&hp

I had no idea that A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times.

I sure loved her books as a kid.

violet wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/07cnd-lengle.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

I had no idea that A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times.

I sure loved her books as a kid.

That gives any aspiring writer faith, doesn't it?

Rest in peace, Lady L'Engle.

Once again, I am prompted to say, "It's a shame about death."

Same goes for Pavarotti. Same goes for my Aunt Faustina's husband who died a few days ago.

I don't like death.

Thurston McQ wrote:Once again, I am prompted to say, "It's a shame about death."

I often hear this sentiment, though often couched in far less direct and more maudlin terms. I wonder though: if people didn't die, where would we put them all? They wouldn't go into boxes in the ground willing: of that I am certain. They'd have to be unconscious, at the very least. On top of that, there will probably be those complaining about the "inhumanity" of placing living people into boxes in the ground, whether they be conscious or not. Putting dead people in the ground works out fine, though: what the hell are they gonna care? They're dead! Nature clearly had this design in mind. Babies crying about death don't want to think about the practicality of it all.

If people didn't die, we'd just build higher.

We'd build as high as we could--until our Babel surpassed breathable atmosphere.

If people just weren't dying, I don't guess it would matter whether or not there was any sort of breathable atmosphere. We'd build and build until the top-most layer of folks drifted off into space. Ad infinitum.

Wonderful imagery.

You mock me!

* * *

I wrote the following (on one of the web logs I keep) in response to Pavarotti's death:

Pretty down about Pavarotti. . . . Ah, Death. The swath of your dutifully indifferent scythe be broad.

(Forgive the elision. Trust me when I say I am withholding nothing of importance from you. Forgive, also, the MLA Style ellipsis. I realize we do not all truck with MLA Style. I realize, yet I do nothing to protect those who may be offended by its usage from having to view it.

This . . . I command!)

I was being serious! I liked the imagery that the two of you came up with in just a few posts. Sort of like Highlander on steroids . . .

Very sad about Pavarotti. Very. Wonderful lyric tenor . . . and huge egoist, but whatever.

But if you like him, then you must like some Italian opera, and not just the German stuff, though I guess he did do some Mozart somewhere along the way. Yeah, yeah. I know Mozart was Austrian.

I saw Pavarotti in a couple of things at the Met. In retrospect, I was awfully spoiled to have heard him live. I remeber "elisir d'amore," which I think also starred Domingo. Man. I was really spoiled. I did only have a nosebleed seat though! Actually, I think I was in standing room. So, spent the whole show with binocs.

As for the MLA . . . Christ. If we all worried about grammar to that degree, we'd have very few posts indeed. I'm busy. I often hit "submit" with "previewing" and yes I know it shows. But whatever. At least everyone here seems very capable of expressing themselves! Which is very nice, when I think of other places I have visited.

*shudder*

violet wrote: At least everyone here seems very capable of expressing themselves! Which is very nice, when I think of other places I have visited.

*shudder*

Actually, that's one of the best things about Excelsior, and the main reason why I'm still here after years and years - if you can get past all the potty humor and sex jokes (we are, after all, dealing with a board full of men) everyone here is very intelligent, well-spoken, insightful, and for the most part, very tolerant. That's extremely hard to come by these days, believe me.

Ais wrote:Actually, that's one of the best things about Excelsior, and the main reason why I'm still here after years and years - if you can get past all the potty humor and sex jokes

I can never get past them, myself.

violet wrote:If we all worried about grammar to that degree, we'd have very few posts indeed.

* * *

I rarely ever proofread until after I've already submitted something. This usually means I find myself having to hit the "edit" button a few times before I am either satisfied with my post (not often) or ready to give up on it (usually the case).

Sometimes I am able to do this before someone else has managed to sneak in a post. Once another person's post is sneaked in, however, my post is branded as "edited."

Oh, the shame of it all!