[I] VIsual & Performing Arts in SF & Fantasy
Anastasia
general call for papers for that gender & sexuality conference next March.
Naturally, I have to contribute idea for my division for the general CfP.
I have:
Illustrations, Anime, Dance, Body Art , Sculpture, Music, Theater,
Photography, and Graphic Novels.
manga, movies....
The other divisions are Fantastic Literature in English, Horror Literature,
International Fantastic Literatures, Science Fiction Literature, The
Fantastic in Visual & Performing Arts [1], Communities & Culture in the
Fantastic, The Fantastic in Film and Media, & The Fantastic in Children's &
Young Adult Literature & Art.
There are significant overlapping areas, IMO. Movies are always visual and
performative in some way, although it would depend on the emphasis; cosplay
and fan art are V&PA, in my opinion, and the YA division seems to have an
art annex.
You guys got ideas?
--
4th swordswoman of the afpocalypse, AFPMinister of Flexible Weapons,
Bondage-happy predator, Speaker-To-Students,
SadoMangoist, AFPMistress to peachy, 8'FED's AFPDeliciousSnack, AFPFiance to
A. Nevill , Graycat's Guttersnipe
Eric Jarvis
<uL%ig.11875$921....@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>
> You guys got ideas?
>
Loads. I can think off hand of three people who have produced dance and
theatre pieces that might be relevant and who might be willing to put
together a paper.
Contemporary dance in Europe often has a strong element of the fantastic
in it. Sort of inevitable in an art form that tries to be abstract and
spectacular. Both Lloyd Newsome and Lea Anderson have done a lot of work
looking at gender roles and sexual identity in dance pieces, though I
can't offhand think of pieces they've done that are definitely fantasy.
However I've by no means seen everything they've done. What might work
with dance is looking at metaphors for gender and sexuality. Though I have
to warn you that the best piece I've seen along those lines was one by
Joelle Taylor that used spiders as a metaphor for various aspects of
female sexuality.
Theatre tends to be more based on the mundane. However John Tordoff's
production of Reynard The Fox (featuring a pre Withnail Richard E Grant)
was along appropriate lines, since then I've also seen Lawrence's The Fox
done on stage. Again it's a metaphor for sexuality.
Of course both vampires and werewolves are often symbolic of sexuality
too, and they crop up often enough across the spectrum to be worth doing a
paper or ten about. It may be also worth looking at how gender and
sexuality have been represented by fantastic/supernatural metaphors in
dance and theatre over time. What has changed since Sophocles and what is
still the same?
Does that help? I could go on for hours if I wasn't falling asleep. :)
--
eric
www.ericjarvis.co.uk
"live fast, die only if strictly necessary"
Anastasia
> Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
> <uL%ig.11875$921....@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>>
>> You guys got ideas?
>>
>
> Loads. I can think off hand of three people who have produced dance
> and theatre pieces that might be relevant and who might be willing
> to put together a paper.
<snip>
>
> Does that help? I could go on for hours if I wasn't falling asleep.
> :)
Yes, muchly. Even better if you could make it into list form and e-mail it
to me.
Anything I can't use, I'll forward to other Division Heads, but my personal
worry is having enough papers for MY division.
Quoting the Vice-President in charge of programming:
"one way to think about Visual and Performing Arts is that your papers
should be focussed on technique rather than theme: so a paper on the plot of
Blade Runner would go to Susan in Film & Media; on the reception of the
movie or its fandom, to Barb in Communities & Culture; but if on the special
effects it would go to you."
I know some of this list is a repeat, but it's a work in progress, so I'm
not sure what has been mentioned and what hasn't:
Illustrations & relationship to text
Anime (specific aspects)
Cosplay (costume technique)
Dance (what other performing arts am I missing?)
Body Art (okay, there were a couple of tattoo/piercing papers at the last
conference--are there works where body modification is important?)
Sculpture (damfino, anyone know of sf sculptures? gotta be some, with the
millenium stuff...)
Music (star wars score? Danny Elfman, composer to the weird set?)
Theater
Photography
Graphic Novels.
manga
Scenery
special effects in movies and television
visual design in video games
multi-modal compositions
The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in writing
programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you can get into
the cohesive work. It pains me to say it, but PowerPoint slideshows are
multimodal (done right, anyway). I was thinking about that puzzle game
online that had the Death short-short story....
Keep it coming...anyone who's of serious help gets a beer on me at the Con,
for sure. Um. In the sense of me buying you one to drink, that is. Or my
sincere thanks if you're not making it to the con.
Eric Jarvis
<ts2jg.4600$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>
> Body Art (okay, there were a couple of tattoo/piercing papers at the last
> conference--are there works where body modification is important?)
>
Google for Stelarc.
Anastasia
> Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
> <ts2jg.4600$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>>
>> Body Art (okay, there were a couple of tattoo/piercing papers at
>> the last conference--are there works where body modification is
>> important?)
>>
>
> Google for Stelarc.
Will do. I have a more coherent document now, do you have a preferred e-mail
and can you open Word docs?
Richard Heathfield
> [...] can you open Word docs?
Anastasia->kudos *= 2.0; /* for asking the question */
I wish my email correspondents realised that not everybody's universe
revolves around Microsoft. (Some do, some do... but others don't!)
One person of my acquaintance recently sent a group email and asked people
to mark up their responses in different colours! I was tempted to respond
with [I want you to imagine that everything from here on is green until I
tell you otherwise] followed eventually by [you can stop imagining now].
Unfortunately, they simply would not have understood what I was talking
about, and would not have been particularly interested in hearing the
explanation - so I decided not to respond at all.
--
Richard Heathfield
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29/7/1999
http://www.cpax.org.uk
email: rjh at above domain (but drop the www, obviously)
gem...@tpg.com.au
wrote:
>Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
><ts2jg.4600$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>>
>> Body Art (okay, there were a couple of tattoo/piercing papers at the last
>> conference--are there works where body modification is important?)
>>
>
>Google for Stelarc.
Stelarc's done some interesting work, although it seems a bit tame. Needs
more Doctor Octopus and less "I've wired my leg up to a bulletin board".
-SteveD
Torak
> Anastasia said:
>
>>[...] can you open Word docs?
>
> Anastasia->kudos *= 2.0; /* for asking the question */
>
> I wish my email correspondents realised that not everybody's universe
> revolves around Microsoft. (Some do, some do... but others don't!)
>
> One person of my acquaintance recently sent a group email and asked people
> to mark up their responses in different colours! I was tempted to respond
> with [I want you to imagine that everything from here on is green until I
> tell you otherwise] followed eventually by [you can stop imagining now].
>
> Unfortunately, they simply would not have understood what I was talking
> about, and would not have been particularly interested in hearing the
> explanation - so I decided not to respond at all.
I use OpenOffice a fair bit (though Word mostly, it must be said), but
when I'm sending files to people I send them as PDF. Makes life easier.
Richard Heathfield
> I use OpenOffice a fair bit (though Word mostly, it must be said), but
> when I'm sending files to people I send them as PDF. Makes life easier.
Don't, please please don't, just *don't* get me started on PDF. For one
thing, they're a right nuisance to edit.
Torak
> Torak said:
>
>
>>I use OpenOffice a fair bit (though Word mostly, it must be said), but
>>when I'm sending files to people I send them as PDF. Makes life easier.
>
>
> Don't, please please don't, just *don't* get me started on PDF. For one
> thing, they're a right nuisance to edit.
This is true. But I don't use them when I need things edited, just when
I'm sending things to people for reading.
The question is, of course, what to use if both PDF and DOC are out of
the equation. Not a problem for me, of course, because everyone I send
things to has either Word or OpenOffice, but for other people.
Richard Heathfield
My preferred medium is text files for text and text files for pictures, but
I'll live with JPG or PNG if I think the receiver is not sufficiently
techie to handle XPM images. I'm okay with structured text (LaTeX, HTML,
whatever) - just so long as the actual message is readable in a text
editor. And that's for the excellent reason that, if I can read it in a
text editor, I can at least in theory cut code to edit it instead if I
wish, without having to go to what are, for this 'ere lazy programmer,
inordinate lengths (such as reverse-engineering PDFs or looking up the spec
or something equally bizarre).
Same goes for XPM, since it's a text format. (And yes, I have written
XPM-editing code.)
Orjan Westin
>
> The question is, of course, what to use if both PDF and DOC are out of
> the equation. Not a problem for me, of course, because everyone I send
> things to has either Word or OpenOffice, but for other people.
Text files.
Minimal HTML if you need headers, tables and lists.
RTF if you are dead set on having your layout (more or less) come
through.
I cleaned up a lot of old floppy discs recently, and found the Microsoft
RTF specification disc. I think I ordered that in 1992, and it still
worked. That's not too bad, I think. Makes me hope my old C64 and
Amiga discs might still work.
Orjan
--
The Tale of Westala and Villtin
http://tale.cunobaros.com/
Fiction, Thoughts and Software
http://www.cunobaros.com/
Eric Jarvis
<bn4jg.4780$o4....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
> Eric Jarvis wrote:
> > Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
> > <ts2jg.4600$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
> >>
> >> Body Art (okay, there were a couple of tattoo/piercing papers at
> >> the last conference--are there works where body modification is
> >> important?)
> >>
> >
> > Google for Stelarc.
>
> Will do. I have a more coherent document now, do you have a preferred e-mail
> and can you open Word docs?
>
Fascinating chap Stelarc, he's possibly worth a conference all of his own.
The reply to address should currently be OK, and I can open Word Docs.
--
eric
www.ericjarvis.co.uk
"in the beginning was the word, and the word was
'try switching the damn thing on first'"
Eric Jarvis
<9npp82d16v7sih5lt...@4ax.com>:
Like a lot of performance art, at least 75% of it is down to Stelarc
himself. He's a superb performer even though it's not always easy to tell
what's him, what's performance, and what's robotic prosthetics.
Eric Jarvis
Plain text files have a lot going for them.
Pudde Fjord
>
> Sculpture (damfino, anyone know of sf sculptures? gotta be some, with the
> millenium stuff...)
>
It depend a little on the scale you're looking at. There's a *lot* of
figurines based on SF/Fantasy in the games area.
Also a lot of figures and busts based on Manga, Anime and Comics.
There's a special section in the monthly "Previews" catalog for this
only. Some of these are quite big and pricy. Materials vary.
Pudde.
Torak
Doesn't work so well for Final Draft scripts. Or spreadsheets (all
right, different field, but still MS Office). Or things with comments
you want to preserve.
Richard Heathfield
> Eric Jarvis wrote:
>>
>> Plain text files have a lot going for them.
>
> Doesn't work so well for Final Draft scripts.
Before you make up your mind too firmly on that, take a look at this:
http://www.cpax.org.uk/scratch/latexdemo.png
Here is the text file I used to generate it (except that I've munged my
email address):
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{times}
\begin{document}
\title{It isn't so hard to get camera-ready copy into a text file}
\author{Richard Heathfield\\
\texttt{nos...@nospam.whatever.uk.invalid}}
\date{\today} %\today is replaced with the current date
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
As I hope you will soon see, text files are a bit more flexible than
you might have given them credit for.
\end{abstract}
\section{Introduction}
Normal text is easy to add, and you don't have to worry
very much about the format of the document. \LaTeX{} can
handle that for you.
\section{Fancy tricks}
\[ \frac{\partial u}{\partial t}
= h^2 \left( \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial x^2}
+ \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial y^2}
+ \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial z^2} \right) \]
\section{Tables}
%Tables can get very complicated in \LaTeX{} - but only
% if you want them to. Here is a very simple table.
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{| r | l |}
\hline % Print horizontal line
Title & Author \\ \hline
\emph{The Colour of Magic} & Terry Pratchett \\
\emph{The Light Fantastic} & Terry Pratchett \\
\emph{Equal Rites} & Terry Pratchett \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{document}
To produce the camera-ready image, I simply did this:
latex latexdemo.txt # this produces latexdemo.dvi
dvips latexdemo.dvi # this produces latexdemo.ps
http://www.cpax.org.uk/scratch/latexdemo.ps is the result, and it takes just
a second or two to produce it from the text file.
8'FED
> multi-modal compositions
>
> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in writing
> programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you can get into
> the cohesive work. It pains me to say it, but PowerPoint slideshows are
> multimodal (done right, anyway).
So in other words, it's basically another attempt to fill the void
left behind after the word "multimedia" was corrupted through
overzealous use by advertisers.
I wonder how long this one will last.
Adrian.
Philippa Cowderoy
> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in writing
> programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you can get into
> the cohesive work.
How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
Ivanova is always right.
I will listen to Ivanova.
I will not ignore Ivanova's recomendations.
Ivanova is God.
And, if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out!
Anastasia
>
> Plain text files have a lot going for them.
Yes.
But could I rehijack my own thread? I'd love ideas from the general
afpopulation, but Eric seemed into it, so I was going to e-mail him the
document.
If you guys want to discuss file types, just change the subject line, okay?
:-)
Anastasia
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>
>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in
>> writing programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever
>> you can get into the cohesive work.
>
> How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
Excellent question.
Richard Heathfield
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>
>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in
>> writing programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you
>> can get into the cohesive work.
>
> How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
It's newer. "Multimedia" is /so/ 1990s.
Torak
> Torak said:
>>Eric Jarvis wrote:
>>
>>>Plain text files have a lot going for them.
>>
>>Doesn't work so well for Final Draft scripts.
>
> Before you make up your mind too firmly on that, take a look at this:
>
> http://www.cpax.org.uk/scratch/latexdemo.png
>
> Here is the text file I used to generate it (except that I've munged my
> email address):
You know, that's rather impressive. I haven't a clue what the code
means, but if there's any way to output it with, say, a virtual print
driver that would definitely be an option.
If you send me an email I'll send you a short script file in Final Draft
format and PDF, if you want to see how it would work.
Torak
> Philippa Cowderoy wrote:
>>On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>>
>>>The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in
>>>writing programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever
>>>you can get into the cohesive work.
>>
>>How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
>
> Excellent question.
Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap website
with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so named because a
random marketing exec has the IQ of a small, drunk cucumber".
Richard Heathfield
> Richard Heathfield wrote:
>>
>> http://www.cpax.org.uk/scratch/latexdemo.png
>>
>> Here is the text file I used to generate it (except that I've munged my
>> email address):
> <snip code>
>
> You know, that's rather impressive. I haven't a clue what the code
> means, but if there's any way to output it with, say, a virtual print
> driver that would definitely be an option.
I don't think you'd need a virtual print driver, at least not if you have a
PostScript-aware printer. After all, PostScript is what they do. (And
incidentally, the PostScript file is a text file too.) And generating the
PostScript from the stuff I posted is trivial, as I showed earlier.
Anastasia
Torak, I am borrowing that for my blog and for use at work.
Torak
> Torak wrote:
>>Anastasia wrote:
>>>Philippa Cowderoy wrote:
>>>>On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword
>>>>>in writing programs, and it means, well,
>>>>>text+pictures+sound+whatever you can get into the cohesive work.
>>>>
>>>>How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
>>>
>>>Excellent question.
>>
>>Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap website
>>with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so named
>>because a random marketing exec has the IQ of a small, drunk
>>cucumber".
>
> Torak, I am borrowing that for my blog and for use at work.
Feel free!
::realises who he's talking to::
::mentally adds "-er than usual"::
Daibhid Ceanaideach
speaker: "Anastasia" <house_d...@yahoo.com>
> Philippa Cowderoy wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>>
>>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new
>>> buzzword in writing programs, and it means, well,
>>> text+pictures+sound+whatever you can get into the
>>> cohesive work.
>>
>> How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
>
> Excellent question.
So far as I can make out from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimodal it's kinda the
opposite of multimedia. Multimedia is output; you get a
combination of pictures, text, moving pictures and sound.
Multimodal seems to be more to do with how you input
information. I think.
--
Dave
Official Absentee of EU Skiffeysoc
http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/sesoc
Suggs against sexism. It's Madness gone
politically correct.
Jon Holmes, The Now Show 26/5/06
Daibhid Ceanaideach
...yet. Sooner or later *all* buzzwords mean that.
Orjan Westin
> Torak wrote:
>>
>> Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap website
>> with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so named
>> because a random marketing exec has the IQ of a small, drunk
>> cucumber".
>
> Torak, I am borrowing that for my blog and for use at work.
If so, be prepared for pedants pointing out that Torak is betraying his
(lack of) age, as "multimedia" was a buzzword of the early nineties, and
had become a tired cliche from marketing departments well before the web
exploded.
I should know, I spent some years back then writing a multimedia (text,
images and annoying little "ding" sounds") distance learning application
for the Swedish Army Engineering Corps.
Torak
> Anastasia wrote:
>>Torak wrote:
>>
>>>Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap website
>>>with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so named
>>>because a random marketing exec has the IQ of a small, drunk
>>>cucumber".
>>
>>Torak, I am borrowing that for my blog and for use at work.
>
> If so, be prepared for pedants pointing out that Torak is betraying his
> (lack of) age, as "multimedia" was a buzzword of the early nineties, and
> had become a tired cliche from marketing departments well before the web
> exploded.
What's your point? The fact that it was a cliche before "multimedia"
websites became a cliche doesn't really have any bearing on my comment.
And I don't really think it needed such a snippy reply, either.
Romeo
> Orjan Westin wrote:
>> Anastasia wrote:
>>> Torak wrote:
>>>
>>>> Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap
>>>> website with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so
>>>> named because a random marketing exec has the IQ of a small,
>>>> drunk cucumber".
From wikipedia:
" The advantage of multiple modalities is increased usability: the
weaknesses of one modality are offset by the strengths of another."
Looks like they're the same thing viewd from different sides. Multimedia is
receiver-side, and multi-modal (just guessing, the wiki article was about
computers) is more about the learning styles and communication strangths of
the transmitters: the individual expresses himself using whatever he can.
Romeo
--
Never avert your eyes - Kurosawa
Anastasia
> Orjan Westin wrote:
>> Anastasia wrote:
>>> Torak wrote:
>>>
>>>> Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap
>>>> website with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so
>>>> named because a random marketing exec has the IQ of a small,
>>>> drunk cucumber".
>>>
>>> Torak, I am borrowing that for my blog and for use at work.
>>
>> If so, be prepared for pedants pointing out that Torak is
>> betraying his (lack of) age, as "multimedia" was a buzzword of the
>> early nineties, and had become a tired cliche from marketing
>> departments well before the web exploded.
It's okay, they don't know Torak.
The difference is an interesting question,and I admit not having whole
answers. As a lit person, I sort of wandered into the raging debate over
composition curricula like an innocent kitten.
But Torak's comment was a funny thing that will get a couple of hallway
conversations started.
PleegWat
says...
> Torak said:
>
> > Richard Heathfield wrote:
> >>
> >> http://www.cpax.org.uk/scratch/latexdemo.png
> >>
> >> Here is the text file I used to generate it (except that I've munged my
> >> email address):
> > <snip code>
> >
> > You know, that's rather impressive. I haven't a clue what the code
> > means, but if there's any way to output it with, say, a virtual print
> > driver that would definitely be an option.
>
> I don't think you'd need a virtual print driver, at least not if you have a
> PostScript-aware printer. After all, PostScript is what they do. (And
> incidentally, the PostScript file is a text file too.) And generating the
> PostScript from the stuff I posted is trivial, as I showed earlier.
Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think Torak
wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I am not
quite sure that's that easy.
--
PleegWat
Remove caps to reply
Anastasia
> Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think
> Torak wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I
> am not quite sure that's that easy.
<mandatory Mistress Stacie joke>
There's a subthread for this, and I'm still hoping for input on the call for
papers.... :-)
Richard Bos
> Torak wrote:
> >
> > The question is, of course, what to use if both PDF and DOC are out of
> > the equation. Not a problem for me, of course, because everyone I send
> > things to has either Word or OpenOffice, but for other people.
MS Project files, of course, with a complete disregard of whether the
people you send it to have anything that even comes close to being able
to parse them. What? Oh. Well, you could've fooled me, and that middle
manager who sent it.
> Text files.
>
> Minimal HTML if you need headers, tables and lists.
>
> RTF if you are dead set on having your layout (more or less) come
> through.
Provided you write it yourself, of course. Not to my very great
surprise, MS's own products are IME not always entirely compliant with
their own RTF standards. They read well-written RTF okay, though.
Personally, I have no problems with PDF if I'm just expected to read it.
Richard
Orjan Westin
I'm sorry, it just seemed a bit pointless to describe an old cliche in a
manner that made it appear as if that was the original cliche. I
misread you, for which I apologise.
> And I don't really think it needed such a snippy reply,
> either.
Again, my apologies. I tried for pedantry, but obviously I failed.
Probably taught me a valuable lesson, too, as pedantry is very rarely
amusing.
Richard Bos
Orjan Westin
> PleegWat wrote:
>
>> Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think
>> Torak wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I
>> am not quite sure that's that easy.
>
> <mandatory Mistress Stacie joke>
I bet you couldn't get any latex into your navel, anyway, what with all
the fluff in there. :-)
> There's a subthread for this, and I'm still hoping for input on the
> call for papers.... :-)
Yes, sorry.
Something I've been thinking about a bit is possibly meta - how are
visual and performing arts portrayed in SF&F?
That is the other way around, not how V&PA portray SF&F.
Choreography for a ballet performed in weightlessness, or the dance of
dragons in the sunset sky and so forth.
And The Golden Key, by Rawn, Roberson, and Elliot. A brilliant fantasy
book about obsession, love, prejudice, and plots that would convince
Machiavelli he had not reason to put pen to paper after all.
And all given a counterpoint by the art of painting. Marvellous book -
read it!
So... Um... Yeah. That's my idea. A paper looking at how SF&F treats
V&PA.
Torak
>>>Richard Heathfield wrote:
>>>
>>>>http://www.cpax.org.uk/scratch/latexdemo.png
>>>>
>>>>Here is the text file I used to generate it (except that I've munged my
>>>>email address):
>>>
>>><snip code>
>>>
>>>You know, that's rather impressive. I haven't a clue what the code
>>>means, but if there's any way to output it with, say, a virtual print
>>>driver that would definitely be an option.
>>
>>I don't think you'd need a virtual print driver, at least not if you have a
>>PostScript-aware printer. After all, PostScript is what they do. (And
>>incidentally, the PostScript file is a text file too.) And generating the
>>PostScript from the stuff I posted is trivial, as I showed earlier.
>
> Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think Torak
> wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I am not
> quite sure that's that easy.
Not Word, Final Draft. I think the .FDR documents are essentially
RTF-based, which might make it easier.
I've never tried using LaTeX, so...
Torak
No worries. If anything it's reassuring that even the best of us can
misread... and of course, it's no surprise that I can phrase things
clumsily.
Arthur Hagen
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>
>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in
>> writing programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever
>> you can get into the cohesive work.
>
> How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
The same way "utilise" differs from "use". i.e. those who use the word is
the /least/ likely to know?
Regards,
--
*Art
Arthur Hagen
>
> If so, be prepared for pedants pointing out that Torak is betraying
> his (lack of) age, as "multimedia" was a buzzword of the early
> nineties, and had become a tired cliche from marketing departments
> well before the web exploded.
>
> I should know, I spent some years back then writing a multimedia
> (text, images and annoying little "ding" sounds") distance learning
> application for the Swedish Army Engineering Corps.
One of my pet peeves is when people use "multimedia" or "media" as a
singular.
I realise I have already lost the battle with datum/data, but the intarweb
is still a medium, not a media.
Regards,
--
*Art
Steve Rogers
"Orjan Westin" <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote in message
news:4f67olF...@individual.net...
> Anastasia wrote:
>> PleegWat wrote:
>>
>>> Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think
>>> Torak wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I
>>> am not quite sure that's that easy.
>>
>> <mandatory Mistress Stacie joke>
>
> I bet you couldn't get any latex into your navel, anyway, what with
> all the fluff in there. :-)
>
>> There's a subthread for this, and I'm still hoping for input on the
>> call for papers.... :-)
>
> Yes, sorry.
>
> Something I've been thinking about a bit is possibly meta - how are
> visual and performing arts portrayed in SF&F?
>
> That is the other way around, not how V&PA portray SF&F.
>
> Choreography for a ballet performed in weightlessness, or the dance of
> dragons in the sunset sky and so forth.
>
> And The Golden Key, by Rawn, Roberson, and Elliot. A brilliant
> fantasy book about obsession, love, prejudice, and plots that would
> convince Machiavelli he had not reason to put pen to paper after all.
>
> And all given a counterpoint by the art of painting. Marvellous
> book - read it!
>
> So... Um... Yeah. That's my idea. A paper looking at how SF&F treats
> V&PA.
>
Which could be diverse enough to include the description in Donaldson's
Gap series of a performer that does the self mutilation style of
performance art. Then you have Heinlein's use of an actor in Double
Star and of course for an odd take on painting itself The Unpleasant
Profession of Jonathan Hoag.
Steve
peachy ashie passion
> Eric Jarvis wrote:
>
>>Plain text files have a lot going for them.
>
>
> Yes.
>
> But could I rehijack my own thread? I'd love ideas from the general
> afpopulation, but Eric seemed into it, so I was going to e-mail him the
> document.
>
> If you guys want to discuss file types, just change the subject line, okay?
> :-)
>
I was about to suggest that Richard's artful work with the txt file
ought to qualify for your list.
peachy ashie passion
I've been wracking my brain for what work it was in that the
performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
generated by one of the performers.
I'm explaining that poorly.
Romeo
> I've been wracking my brain for what work it was in that the
> performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
> generated by one of the performers.
>
> I'm explaining that poorly.
Hmm. I'm hampered by not having gone to many concerts, but David Bowie comes
to mind. I *have* seen Peter Gabriel, but I'm not sure I can connect him to
. . . oh, wait a minute.
He did a couple of computer games that I'd call interactive, at least:
Xplora and Eve. Xplora is exceptionally interesting, but I never tried Eve.
Anyway, is that even close?
gem...@tpg.com.au
<daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote:
>So far as I can make out from
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimodal it's kinda the
>opposite of multimedia. Multimedia is output; you get a
>combination of pictures, text, moving pictures and sound.
>Multimodal seems to be more to do with how you input
>information. I think.
Mouse AND keyboard!
Peter Davies
wrote:
> One of my pet peeves is when people use "multimedia" or "media" as a
> singular.
> I realise I have already lost the battle with datum/data, but the intarweb
> is still a medium, not a media.
Ah, if only politicians would start blaming things on "the medium"!
Then we'd know they were crazy and would be able to kick them out.
..PeterH
esmi
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>
>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in writing
>> programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you can get into
>> the cohesive work.
>
> How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
Oh don't start me! Too late...
I've been struggling to get to grips with a document that refers to 'web
units' and 'users in different modalities'. A 'web unit' turns out to be
a web page whilst 'users in different modalities' means people using
different browsers etc (I think).
I've also found at that I am 'an author authoring authored units to be
used in authored components in programmatically-determined web units
that can be parsed unambiguously'. And here's me thinking I was just a
web designer.
Sometimes I think that there's a whole conspiracy of people who sit
around trying to think up complex new phrases and buzzwords just to
ensure that rest of us retain that slightly inferior feeling.
esmi
Orjan Westin
>
> I've been wracking my brain for what work it was in that the
> performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
> generated by one of the performers.
>
> I'm explaining that poorly.
Futurama? The second of Asimov's Foundation books?
jester
<exquisi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Steve Rogers wrote:
>
>> "Orjan Westin" <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote in message
>> news:4f67olF...@individual.net...
>>
>>>V&PA.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Which could be diverse enough to include the description in Donaldson's
>> Gap series of a performer that does the self mutilation style of
>> performance art.
>
>performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
>generated by one of the performers.
If you want self-mutilation with holograms, I'd have to recommend William
Gibson's 'Neuromancer'.
My nomination for best performing arts in a sci-fi movie has to go to The
Fifth Element.
--
Andy Brown
Whoever said that men think about sex every 15 seconds was grossly misusing
the word "think".
David Chapman on afp
Steve Rogers
"peachy ashie passion" <exquisi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:yZqjg.12927$Bj6.11737@trnddc08...
> Steve Rogers wrote:
>
>> "Orjan Westin" <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote in message
>> news:4f67olF...@individual.net...
>>
>>>Anastasia wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>There's a subthread for this, and I'm still hoping for input on the
>>>>call for papers.... :-)
>>>
>>>Yes, sorry.
>>>
>>>Something I've been thinking about a bit is possibly meta - how are
>>>visual and performing arts portrayed in SF&F?
>>>
>>
>> Which could be diverse enough to include the description in
>> Donaldson's Gap series of a performer that does the self mutilation
>> style of performance art. Then you have Heinlein's use of an actor
>> in Double Star and of course for an odd take on painting itself The
>> Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag.
>>
>> Steve
>
>
> I've been wracking my brain for what work it was in that the
> performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
> generated by one of the performers.
>
> I'm explaining that poorly.
Well you've got several Asimov stories where that sort of thing occurs -
Foundation series mainly although it does crop up in other of his
writings - although I can't remember the name of the instrument off hand
and their are a number that deal with other forms of art such as
sculpture as a part of the main theme (a couple of his Robot stories for
example), one of the later Stainless Steel Rat books (might be SSR goes
to Hell) uses a musical group & plays re-enacting a distorted Iron Hans
myth. That sort of thing crops up in a lot of Sci-Fi although I think
more so in older stories, but you can use even ST TNG and point to
several episodes where performances are used either immersively or as a
lead through into the main story which may bridge the two sides of the
subject as you have a visual artform (ok possibly stretching it here)
portraying art. You have the use/mis-use of performance in Heinlein's
Stranger in a Strange Land. There can be quite a list when looked at it
this way.
Steve
PleegWat
Anastasia says...
> PleegWat wrote:
>
> > Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think
> > Torak wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I
> > am not quite sure that's that easy.
>
> <mandatory Mistress Stacie joke>
>
> There's a subthread for this, and I'm still hoping for input on the call for
> papers.... :-)
I'm aware of this. Which is one of the reasons I always pay attention to
the capitals.
PleegWat
> PleegWat wrote:
> > Yeah, LaTeX is pretty powerful. I use it for my uni stuff. I think Torak
> > wants to make LaTeX source from a word document though, and I am not
> > quite sure that's that easy.
>
> Not Word, Final Draft. I think the .FDR documents are essentially
> RTF-based, which might make it easier.
>
> I've never tried using LaTeX, so...
I've never used Final Draft, but a quick lookup on wikipedia suggest it
doesn't do very complex layout. I've also never yet looked for tools
that convert anything else into LaTeX, since I've always written my
LaTeX by hand.
The main disadvantage of converting something to LaTeX would be that
complex layout probably wouldn't come through too well.
A quick google does suggest there are RTF to LaTeX tools.
Eric Jarvis
>
> Choreography for a ballet performed in weightlessness, or the dance of
> dragons in the sunset sky and so forth.
>
That's not sf anymore it's reality on a small scale with plans to make it
large scale in the future. Though I suppose it's contemporary dance rather
than ballet.
<http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/space/ESA2002.html>
<http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/space/SPACE_MIR_flight001.html>
--
eric
www.ericjarvis.co.uk
"live fast, die only if strictly necessary"
Arthur Hagen
>
> Not Word, Final Draft. I think the .FDR documents are essentially
> RTF-based, which might make it easier.
I'm pretty sure that most FDR documents were typewritten. Probably
Remington-based.
Regards,
--
*Art
peachy ashie passion
>
> Sometimes I think that there's a whole conspiracy of people who sit
> around trying to think up complex new phrases and buzzwords just to
> ensure that rest of us retain that slightly inferior feeling.
>
> esmi
But do you really feel inferior?
I have to admit, my elitism slips out at times like that, and I think
they are blooming idiots.
peachy ashie passion
> On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 04:15:26 GMT, peachy ashie passion
> <exquisi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Steve Rogers wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"Orjan Westin" <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote in message
>>>news:4f67olF...@individual.net...
>>>
>>>
>>>>So... Um... Yeah. That's my idea. A paper looking at how SF&F treats
>>>>V&PA.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Which could be diverse enough to include the description in Donaldson's
>>>Gap series of a performer that does the self mutilation style of
>>>performance art.
>>
>> I've been wracking my brain for what work it was in that the
>>performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
>>generated by one of the performers.
>
>
> If you want self-mutilation with holograms, I'd have to recommend William
> Gibson's 'Neuromancer'.
>
> My nomination for best performing arts in a sci-fi movie has to go to The
> Fifth Element.
>
The virtual rape of whoserbuckit in Gibson is the closest to it, but
isn't really what it was.
I have GOT to finish this stupid homework so I can go on a book search
and find it.
Hendrik Schober
> [...] Not to my very great
> surprise, MS's own products are IME not always entirely compliant with
> their own RTF standards. They read well-written RTF okay, though.
(It's the same with Adobe and PDF, BTW.)
> Personally, I have no problems with PDF if I'm just expected to read it.
You can do a lot of stuff with PDFs (like adding notes,
stamps etc.) using Acrobat, although the free Reader does
not do any of this. But then -- the MS Office Readers do
not either.
Schobi
--
Spam...@gmx.de is never read
I'm Schobi at suespammers dot org
"The sarcasm is mightier than the sword."
Eric Jarvis
8'FED
>>>> Torak wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Unlike "multimedia", "multimodal" doesn't mean "random cheap
>>>>> website with irritating MIDI plonking in the background and so
>>>>> named because a random marketing exec has the IQ of a small,
>>>>> drunk cucumber".
> The difference is an interesting question,and I admit not having whole
> answers. As a lit person, I sort of wandered into the raging debate over
> composition curricula like an innocent kitten.
>
> But Torak's comment was a funny thing that will get a couple of hallway
> conversations started.
You will note that I raised the issue of multimodal vs multimedia a
full two and a half hours before Philippa did, and yet *she* gets to
have started the exciting new subthread.
Of course, I'm not bitter at all.
Well ... not so bitter that eating someone sweet won't put me right.
<chomp>
Adrian.
:-)
P.S. I will probably not post much in the next twelve hours. My dialup
internet connection is behaving haphazardly, which I have reason to
believe is caused by my line being upgraded to broadband as we speak.
However, I can't take the next step on that right now, because I've
been told to phone my ISP when the broadband comes through to get
further instructions, and it's currently /way/ past office hours over
here (it's midnight). In the meantime, what seems to be happening is
that my current dialup connection /works/, but only for a couple of
minutes at a time, then it drops out. So, I'm around, but in a kind of
limited phantom-like way.
Eric Jarvis
<Vszjg.7713$hN2.3457@trnddc05>:
> esmi wrote:
>
> >
> > Sometimes I think that there's a whole conspiracy of people who sit
> > around trying to think up complex new phrases and buzzwords just to
> > ensure that rest of us retain that slightly inferior feeling.
>
>
> I have to admit, my elitism slips out at times like that, and I think
> they are blooming idiots.
>
It's a largely subconscious policy to create elites based on having done
the right university courses. Lots of professions do much the same. From
my perspective it shows that the web is a mature enough industry that the
upper middle class are moving in and trying to establish an elite that
it's difficult to join that can cream off most of the money before scruffy
working class oiks can get their hands on it.
I deal with it by trying to get a step ahead. Learning the current
buzzwords is useful, but what really screws them up is inventing your own
phrases that will make sense to somebody who doesn't know the field but
which don't relate to the jargon in any way. That way the jargoneers are
stumped and the people who have their hands on the real money think you
know what you are talking about. That's why I tend to talk about web
design and development in terms of "narratives". It lets me tap in to a
large vocabulary of reasonably well understood words that aren't web
buzzwords.
Chip on my shoulder? No that's a whole plate of pie and mash.
gem...@tpg.com.au
<exquisi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I've been wracking my brain for what work it was in that the
>performers did great performance art assisted by holographic visuals
>generated by one of the performers.
Gibson had a human holographic projector in _Neuromancer_, although from
what I can remember he worked alone on stage with backing music.
-SteveD
peachy ashie passion
> Orjan Westin nos...@cunobaros.com wrote in
> <4f67olF...@individual.net>:
>
>>Choreography for a ballet performed in weightlessness, or the dance of
>>dragons in the sunset sky and so forth.
>>
>
>
> That's not sf anymore it's reality on a small scale with plans to make it
> large scale in the future. Though I suppose it's contemporary dance rather
> than ballet.
>
> <http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/space/ESA2002.html>
>
> <http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/space/SPACE_MIR_flight001.html>
>
And this post reminds me of Bujold's quaddie ballet. ahh, for the
homework to be done!
Michael J. Schülke
> I cleaned up a lot of old floppy discs recently, and found the Microsoft
> RTF specification disc. I think I ordered that in 1992, and it still
> worked. That's not too bad, I think. Makes me hope my old C64 and
> Amiga discs might still work.
I made disk images of my C-64/C-128 stuff (dating from 1986 to 1992) a
couple of years ago, and >98% of the disks were still perfectly
readable.
Michael
Diane L
<snip>
> Something I've been thinking about a bit is possibly meta - how are
> visual and performing arts portrayed in SF&F?
>
> That is the other way around, not how V&PA portray SF&F.
>
> Choreography for a ballet performed in weightlessness,
/Stardance/ (and sequels) by Spider and Jeanne Robinson.
http://www.spiderrobinson.com/stardance.htm
Then there's the ballet from Bujold's /Diplomatic Immunity/
Diane L.
esmi
> esmi wrote:
>
>> Sometimes I think that there's a whole conspiracy of people who sit
>> around trying to think up complex new phrases and buzzwords just to
>> ensure that rest of us retain that slightly inferior feeling.
> But do you really feel inferior?
Sometimes. But mainly just frustrated and irritated with a bad headache.
> I have to admit, my elitism slips out at times like that, and I think
> they are blooming idiots.
My guess is that, sometimes, it's an effort to attract academic kudos,
or status - which is pretty ridculous, IMO. I've always found that the
most respected academics/teachers are those who can explain complex
concepts in simple, understandable language rather than hide behind
tortuous phrasings and buzzwords.
esmi
esmi
> It's a largely subconscious policy to create elites based on having done
> the right university courses. Lots of professions do much the same.
I agree on both counts but when it comes from a group that is supposedly
trying to promote widespread understanding of subject, it's
counter-productive to say the least.
> From
> my perspective it shows that the web is a mature enough industry that the
> upper middle class are moving in and trying to establish an elite that
> it's difficult to join that can cream off most of the money before scruffy
> working class oiks can get their hands on it.
I don't know about 'upper middle class' but, yes, there are signs that
there is an elitism being created based upon who you know and what
cliques you associate with. However, I'm not convinced that it's
commercially motivated. Rather I think it's an attempt to try and
establish academic credibility and move the sector from a trade/craft to
a 'proper science' and that the root driving force is pure ego.
> I deal with it by trying to get a step ahead. Learning the current
> buzzwords is useful, but what really screws them up is inventing your own
> phrases that will make sense to somebody who doesn't know the field but
> which don't relate to the jargon in any way. That way the jargoneers are
> stumped and the people who have their hands on the real money think you
> know what you are talking about. That's why I tend to talk about web
> design and development in terms of "narratives". It lets me tap in to a
> large vocabulary of reasonably well understood words that aren't web
> buzzwords.
Yet in order to translate from jargon to narrative in a meaningful
manner, you need first to be able to understand the jargon. So you end
up being an interpretor for something that damn well shouldn't need such
intensive interpretation in the first place. And the ultimate losers in
all of this won't be the jargon-authors, or you or me. It will be the
very people the damn jargon-ridden thing was supposed to be helping!
> Chip on my shoulder? No that's a whole plate of pie and mash.
We can probably manage an entire 3 course meal between us.
esmi
peachy ashie passion
>
>
> My guess is that, sometimes, it's an effort to attract academic kudos,
> or status - which is pretty ridculous, IMO. I've always found that the
> most respected academics/teachers are those who can explain complex
> concepts in simple, understandable language rather than hide behind
> tortuous phrasings and buzzwords.
>
> esmi
On the other hand, in the academic world I sometimes lose points on
papers and often lose credibility because I rarely use the field
appropriate jargon.
In their defense, it appears to be some sort of "prove to me you've
learned the concept" mechanism, which I really do see as necessary.
That doesn't stop it being annoying as all get out.
Alec Cawley
> My guess is that, sometimes, it's an effort to attract academic kudos,
> or status - which is pretty ridculous, IMO. I've always found that the
> most respected academics/teachers are those who can explain complex
> concepts in simple, understandable language rather than hide behind
> tortuous phrasings and buzzwords.
My mother used to be a professional simultaneous interpreter, and worked
in that role at a number of very high powered medical conferences. So
she had to listen to a lot of people talking very heavy technical stuff,
most of which she did not understand even though she was interpreting
it. The exceptions, she said, were the Nobel Prize winners, who managed
to explain things in terms that she could understand.
Anastasia
<jargon>
> The exceptions, she said, were the
> Nobel Prize winners, who managed to explain things in terms that
> she could understand.
There are two conversion processes. Converting the phenomenon, whatever it
is, into words. Because these words often need to be EXTREMELY precise, they
have lots of syllables. Consider chemical names.
Once that is done, frequently the work can only be read by others at or
above the level of the author. This is if the writing is, in itself, decent.
To convert the article or concept back into something that a bright
layperson can grasp is a second, and very different process from
understanding the original research. Not all scientists can do both, but
many at the level of Nobel Prize winner have other talents. They also have a
much more intuitive grasp of the original material, IMO, than lesser
scientists. They are "native speakers" of the science AND the language.
--
4th swordswoman of the afpocalypse, AFPMinister of Flexible Weapons,
Bondage-happy predator, Speaker-To-Students, SadoMangoist,
AFPMistress to peachy, 8'FED's AFPDeliciousSnack, AFPFiance to A.
Nevill , Graycat's Guttersnipe
Anastasia
> on 13/06/2006 14:55 peachy ashie passion said the following:
>> esmi wrote:
>>
>>> Sometimes I think that there's a whole conspiracy of people who
>>> sit around trying to think up complex new phrases and buzzwords
>>> just to ensure that rest of us retain that slightly inferior
>>> feeling.
There *is* some of that. But really it's two different skills: understanding
the material and being able to write about it in the first place, and being
able to write about it in simple terms *IMPORTANT PART* while retaining
sometimes extremely complex concepts.
I'll say again, writing is hard in some respects, and takes not only some
talent, but considerable practice.
Why aren't there more Terry Pratchetts? It's no different from academics.
You get one genuis who can explain the inner workings of literary theory in
a way that makes it seem easy, and another hundred who can only talk to each
other.
>> But do you really feel inferior?
>
> Sometimes. But mainly just frustrated and irritated with a bad
> headache.
>> I have to admit, my elitism slips out at times like that, and I
>> think they are blooming idiots.
No, they're just not skilled enough to process the material back into real
language.
I have to put in a disclaimer that there ARE some concepts that defy simple
language, to the extent that writing about them feels less like normal
writing than sculpture with words. The concepts go to the paper, and you
just have to guide them as best you can.
> My guess is that, sometimes, it's an effort to attract academic
> kudos, or status - which is pretty ridculous, IMO.
Sometimes.
>I've always
> found that the most respected academics/teachers are those who can
> explain complex concepts in simple, understandable language rather
> than hide behind tortuous phrasings and buzzwords.
Of course...they are better at it. I am something of a crusader for plain
language. I despise needlessly complex syntax and vocabulary. Use/utelize,
for example. However, English has a huge vocabulary, and it can be very
precise instrument. It's wrong to blame people who can use it precisely, if
they're just over a particular reader's head. Not referring to you, esmi, or
anyone here. But there are readers who simply resent that the material is
too hard, sometimes.
For xample, I talk about like I write, and my ex husband's family has hated
me from the get-go because I'm "stuck-up." The jargon argument can turn into
the same thing at a higher level.
Plain language is great, and simpler means less can go wrong. But as
Heinlein wrote, shorter words have more potential for differences of opinion
over meaning, like "love."
Jargon is sometimes necessary.
Anastasia
> esmi wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> My guess is that, sometimes, it's an effort to attract academic
>> kudos, or status - which is pretty ridculous, IMO. I've always
>> found that the most respected academics/teachers are those who can
>> explain complex concepts in simple, understandable language rather
>> than hide behind tortuous phrasings and buzzwords.
> On the other hand, in the academic world I sometimes lose points
> on papers and often lose credibility because I rarely use the field
> appropriate jargon.
It's uphill. But many of you have read my critiques. I believe in
simplicity, but you'll notice sentences of, what was it, peach? 70 words or
more?
Jargon is really for use between professionals in the field. It's shorthand.
Jargon really refers to the language subsets the pros use in private--it was
never intended to be for outsiders. It takes skill to translate it back, and
that is not often the primary skill of these professionals. For teaching
undergrads, jargon is not always appropriate--the concepts are more
appropriate.
In a Master's program, you are becoming, well, a master of the field. You'll
be expected to converse with other pros at a level above most
people.....hope that doesn't sound too bad. But there's a reason social
workers need a Master's and why it pays more than $6.00 an hour.
I'm not sure I nailed what I was trying to get at, but at your level, you
are focusing tightly on the subject matter, and only bigger, more precise
words will do.
Somteimes.
<shrug>
Anastasia
> Okay, requesting brainstorming help. The IAFA people need to put
> together a general call for papers for that gender & sexuality
> conference next March.
> Naturally, I have to contribute idea for my division for the
> general CfP.
<snip>
> You guys got ideas?
Here are some expansions I've had from a friend and her friends:
Here's what we've come up with so far. If you want any clarification or
examples, ask away.
Illustrations & Text: doujinshi (fan-created manga) - particularly the
differences in copyright laws and practices that make doujinshi more
accepted in Japan than fan creations here (the existence of Comiket), the
differences in the numbers of fan artists who successfully go pro in Japan
and the U.S., illustrations of fanfic (especially slashfic and
gender-swap-fic), the assignment of seme/uke (roughly, top/bottom) roles in
yaoi doujinshi
Anime: gender cues in anime art (including the often-puzzling-to-Westerners
bishonen), DIY animation as an extension of the fan film/parody film scene,
I doubt anyone would be daring enough to study "futanari" (girls with
penises) in hentai anime and manga, or for that matter the use of tentacles
as pseudo-penises, but it would amuse me...
Puppets & Puppeteers: stop-motion as both special effects in live-action
movies (Harryhausen et. al.) and as a moviemaking technique in its own right
(Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride)
SF&F Role-Playing Games: the balance between "realism" and playability in
gender roles in roleplaying settings, the inclusion of non-heterosexual
characters in published game materials and the marketing of games to GLBT
gamers
Cosplay: the difference in approach to character between American and
Japanese cosplayers (Japanese cosplayers tend to "stay in character"
whenever they are in costume and most Americans don't), the relationship of
cosplay to the non-anime fan costuming scene, furry costuming and its
relationship to the subset of furries who feel themselves to be animals in a
spiritual or reincarnational sense, subcultures of cosplayers such as those
based on J-rock or the Japanese goth scene, people who choose to live in
costume (say, Star Trek uniform) outside of fannish events
LARP: the insertion of fantastic elements from LARP and cosplay into
historically-based costumed venues (elves in the SCA, vampires at Renfaires,
and the like)
There's plenty to be done with the costumed fan organizations that might
look LARPish but don't have gamelike plots or characters (Starfleet, the
501st Legion, etc.) I don't know these groups well enough to be more
specific, though.
Body Art: the use of body modification to create a deliberately "non-human"
appearance, body art that signals membership in a particular fannish
community
Dance: I don't know quite what to do with this. A variety of dance-related
events (raves, DDR, Para-Para, even costumed charity balls) are popular at
anime cons, but they are not themselves particularly fantastic.
Sculpture: lots of topics relating to the vast field of action figures and
model kits and other fannish collectibles - the use of computers in design
(both CAD as a tool and the full-body scan techniques that have
revolutionized actor-likeness sculpting), professional-quality prop
reproductions as fannish collectibles (the urge to own "Boba Fett's helmet)
or the like, the rise of toy-sculptors-as-celebrities (Randy Bowen, the Four
Horsemen)
Music: filk, professional parody music, songs referencing SF&F as pop
culture, the Star Trek tribute band scene
(http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A15683), video-game
themes as concert music
Theater: no ideas beyond yours
Photography: no ideas beyond yours
Scenery & Special Effects: the explosion in amateur SF&F film resulting from
the availability of affordable home special-effects software,
Video Games: self-presentation and community in MMORPGs, the increasing
acceptance of female protagonists in action games,
Multimodal Compositions: no ideas beyond yours
Fantasy Art History: the depiction of fairies through the centuries?
Fantasy Art Techniques, Artists, & Media: Vallejo, Frazetta, Froud,
webcomics, many topics relating to American comic books (superhero and
otherwise) - for example, the exaggeration and sterotyping of sexual
characteristics in comic art, gay and lesbian characters in comics (see the
recent mainstream-media hullabaloo over the announcement that the new
Batwoman is a lesbian), fine art in comics (Alex Ross comes to mind)
Cover Art: the use of "women in (exotic) peril" on the cover of old pulps
(even when it had nothing to do with the contents)
Art Manifestos: no ideas beyond yours
Film: parody films, fan edits of existing material (the infamous "no
Jar-Jar" edit of Episode I), anime music videos, parody dubs and subs,
fan-created episodes and sequels (non-parody) of popular SF&F media
properties, the influence of the internet on the production and distribution
of fan films, fannish parody as an increasingly-accepted part of mass
culture (Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Robot Chicken)
Miscellaneous: visual design in CCGs and/or clix games, trading cards,
bringing the fantastic into daily life via architecture and design
(hobbit-hole houses, Enterprise apartments, etc.), otherkin and otakukin
Steve Rogers
"Anastasia" <house_d...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Eg%jg.5800$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Anastasia wrote:
>> Okay, requesting brainstorming help. The IAFA people need to put
>> together a general call for papers for that gender & sexuality
>> conference next March.
>> Naturally, I have to contribute idea for my division for the
>> general CfP.
> <snip>
>
>> You guys got ideas?
>
> Theater: no ideas beyond yours
Well here you've got the likes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a
theater event and as a film event, which then dovetails into your
multimodal types as there are the various "other versions" such as the
infamous "Scratch and Sniff" one and the perennial showing of the movie
and having people acting the parts on stage at the same time etc.
Anastasia
YEs, thanks. hat falls right on the line between my division (visual and
performing arts) and another (fan culture and community).
Steve Rogers
> Steve Rogers wrote:
>> "Anastasia" <house_d...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:Eg%jg.5800$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>>> Anastasia wrote:
>>>> Okay, requesting brainstorming help. The IAFA people need to put
>>>> together a general call for papers for that gender & sexuality
>>>> conference next March.
>>>> Naturally, I have to contribute idea for my division for the
>>>> general CfP.
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>>> You guys got ideas?
>> <snip>
>>>
>>> Theater: no ideas beyond yours
>>
>> Well here you've got the likes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a
>> theater event and as a film event, which then dovetails into your
>> multimodal types as there are the various "other versions" such as
>> the infamous "Scratch and Sniff" one and the perennial showing of
>> the movie and having people acting the parts on stage at the same
>> time etc.
>
>
> YEs, thanks. hat falls right on the line between my division (visual
> and performing arts) and another (fan culture and community).
You might also consider The Man Who Fell to Earth in there somewhere as
well http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=304
Steve
Eric Jarvis
<Eg%jg.5800$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>
> Here are some expansions I've had from a friend and her friends:
>
> Here's what we've come up with so far. If you want any clarification or
> examples, ask away.
>
> appearance, body art that signals membership in a particular fannish
> community
>
I may have some ideas on this but need to talk to a friend first.
> Dance: I don't know quite what to do with this. A variety of dance-related
> events (raves, DDR, Para-Para, even costumed charity balls) are popular at
> anime cons, but they are not themselves particularly fantastic.
Ditto, but this time two different friends. There's a lot of contemporary
dance dealing with gender and sexuality, and by it's nature dance is an
art form that tends towards the fantastic or mythical when it isn't being
deliberately mundane or abstract.
> Music: filk, professional parody music, songs referencing SF&F as pop
> culture, the Star Trek tribute band scene
> (http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A15683), video-game
> themes as concert music
>
David Bowie and Bill Nelson come immediately to mind. Both often using sf
themes, in one case with an androgynous persona the other dealing with
BDSM at times. I have to think about that some more and dig through the CD
collection.
I would have thought the various heavy metal derivatives might lead to
some interesting ideas, but they largely aren't forms of music I know much
about.
> Theater: no ideas beyond yours
>
Working on it.
> Photography: no ideas beyond yours
>
Back to needing to talk to the first friend again.
>
> Multimodal Compositions: no ideas beyond yours
>
Ditto.
>
> Miscellaneous: visual design in CCGs and/or clix games, trading cards,
> bringing the fantastic into daily life via architecture and design
> (hobbit-hole houses, Enterprise apartments, etc.), otherkin and otakukin
>
I don't know if it's still around, but there used to be a chat site that
had a fantasy swords and sorcery section, a Gor RPG section and a
selection of BDSM related forums, all with some cross over in
participation. Though I suppose that's possibly under RPGs. However it
creates a very strange set of cultures. I'll go look and let you know if
it's still there.
Eric Jarvis
<_U_jg.5791$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
> Alec Cawley wrote:
>
> <jargon>
>
> > The exceptions, she said, were the
> > Nobel Prize winners, who managed to explain things in terms that
> > she could understand.
>
> There are two conversion processes. Converting the phenomenon, whatever it
> is, into words. Because these words often need to be EXTREMELY precise, they
> have lots of syllables. Consider chemical names.
>
> Once that is done, frequently the work can only be read by others at or
> above the level of the author. This is if the writing is, in itself, decent.
>
> To convert the article or concept back into something that a bright
> layperson can grasp is a second, and very different process from
> understanding the original research. Not all scientists can do both, but
> many at the level of Nobel Prize winner have other talents. They also have a
> much more intuitive grasp of the original material, IMO, than lesser
> scientists. They are "native speakers" of the science AND the language.
>
More importantly they can often work through everything they have to say
by building it up from first principles, when somebody less accomplished
will have to include some things they don't understand well enough to do
more than simply use somebody else's words.
It's also the case that getting a Nobel Prize requires not only great
original work, but also having a reputation for great original work. The
former does not particularly require a tremendous level of articulacy but
the latter does. I'm not saying that you have to be primarily a PR genius
to get a Nobel Prize, but being able to put ideas across effectively is a
factor in being recognised as worthy of one.
Anastasia
Mmm, yeah . . . I think peach said something about concerts, and I said
something about Bowie .. . .am I making sense?
Anastasia
> Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
> <Eg%jg.5800$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>>
>> Here are some expansions I've had from a friend and her friends:
>>
>> Here's what we've come up with so far. If you want any
>> clarification or examples, ask away.
>>
>> Body Art: the use of body modification to create a deliberately
>> "non-human" appearance, body art that signals membership in a
>> particular fannish community
>>
>
> I may have some ideas on this but need to talk to a friend first.
>
The funny thing is, the NEXT conference after this one is about Visual &
Performing Arts, so it falls right into my lap.
This year is Gender & Sexuality, but G&S topics are welcome any time.
Steve Rogers
Yup, Bowie has always had the Alienesque look to his characters
particularly his early ones, of course not only have you got that film
but also Labyrinth as well which not only ties in with the fantasy
aspect but also with music & music videos, puppets and art. As to other
groups that have made use of Sci- Fi themes you have of course ZZ-Top
and their videos for the Eliminator and Afterburner Albums two of which
even pay homage to the 50's style B movie. Then there's the Electric
Light Orchestra who had as part of their concert scenery a large UFO and
who also recorded a number of Sci-Fi themed songs, the ones I can recall
all appear on the Time album - Here is the News, Ticket to the Moon
amongst others - of course you then get Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds
which in its complete packaged form has not only the music and
readings/acting on the recording but of course has the accompanying
artwork booklet which can be looked at in sync with the tracks. As to
concerts and art - how about those of Jean-Michel Jarre? Certainly at
various times he has been taking things into the realms of Sci-Fi as it
becomes Sci-Fact - I'm thinking about the Laser Harp which he was one of
the first artists to use, which is not only a functional instrument but
is a light sculpture and when played becomes a piece of performance art.
There are also cross overs where a remixed version of the theme song for
a show or film has made it into the charts - for example Thunderbirds
are Go featuring MC Parker which had a remixed theme from the
Thunderbirds TV series and used some of the original puppets as well as
clips from the show for the pop video was in the UK charts a number of
years ago.
Speaking of Thunderbirds then leads now to puppetry and Sci-Fi -
basically just look to the work of Gerry Anderson who along with his
ex-wife Sylvia practically wrote the book on the subject of marionettes
in film and TV - in fact the relatively recent World Police film you
would be hard pushed to see a difference between those puppets and the
techniques used and the ones the Andersons used in the 60's. There are
also all the special effects that were created by none other than Derek
Meddings who is the one responsible for making Thunderbird 2 fly,
amongst other things, and seemed to do one hell of a line in scale model
explosions lol. http://www.fanderson.org.uk/fanderson.html is the
official fan site, where it mentions yet another stage show that I had
forgotten about - Return to the Forbidden Planet as well as live action
and cross over work - incidentally Space Precinct which is another of
Anderson's creations is responsible for the cutting of the time needed
for high end prosthetic make up and costuming.
Damn, just noticed the time, like I need more late nights and early
mornings lol, well something to do I suppose as I play with ideas for my
writing project. To be honest it's only as I starred idly at my artwork
that most of the above came to mind. Hope it helps some, I could
probably come up with a mountain of other such if I weren't so tired
lol.
Steve
Steve Rogers
"Eric Jarvis" <er...@ericjarvis.co.uk> wrote in message
news:MPG.1efabd5e8...@cenote.gkhs.net...
> Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
> <Eg%jg.5800$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>>
>> Here are some expansions I've had from a friend and her friends:
>>
>> Here's what we've come up with so far. If you want any clarification
>> or
>> examples, ask away.
>>
>> Body Art: the use of body modification to create a deliberately
>> "non-human"
>> appearance, body art that signals membership in a particular fannish
>> community
>>
>
> I may have some ideas on this but need to talk to a friend first.
>
You've got the cats and lizards for starters for deliberate non-human
appearance and there are a few who have gone for the imp style horn buds
and other facial implants. Tatoos of characters, I know Deanna Troi was
a popular one when STNG first started, there are a few of us with PTerry
characters Tatooed on us (mine's Death of Rats) and I have seen Detritus
on another's arm.
>> Dance: I don't know quite what to do with this. A variety of
>> dance-related
>> events (raves, DDR, Para-Para, even costumed charity balls) are
>> popular at
>> anime cons, but they are not themselves particularly fantastic.
>
> Ditto, but this time two different friends. There's a lot of
> contemporary
> dance dealing with gender and sexuality, and by it's nature dance is
> an
> art form that tends towards the fantastic or mythical when it isn't
> being
> deliberately mundane or abstract.
>
Think Ballet for starters and the telling of fairy tales and go from
there, ice-dance as well and not just the big spectaculars but the
competitions skaters as well. Also Robotics, and more interestingly
those who specialise in UV work.
>> Music: filk, professional parody music, songs referencing SF&F as pop
>> culture, the Star Trek tribute band scene
>> (http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A15683),
>> video-game
>> themes as concert music
>>
>
> David Bowie and Bill Nelson come immediately to mind. Both often using
> sf
> themes, in one case with an androgynous persona the other dealing with
> BDSM at times. I have to think about that some more and dig through
> the CD
> collection.
>
> I would have thought the various heavy metal derivatives might lead to
> some interesting ideas, but they largely aren't forms of music I know
> much
> about.
>
>> Theater: no ideas beyond yours
>>
>
> Working on it.
>
There has been a theate run of Hitch Hikers (started the UK tour in
Plymouth so I remember this one lol) obviously PTerry's work, the others
I've already mentioned elsewhere. There are also numerous short lived
tribute shows and spoofs, one thing to consider is that some of the
actors are/were actually very well know as, for example, Shakespearean
Actors - Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy (correct?), William Shatner etc.
Now there use to be an act - I can't for the life of me remember the
performer's name - but the principle was that a nutty professor type
"made" a man/creature on stage which then went loopy and took him apart
revealing that the professor was the construct. I can recall the entire
act but not the guy's name.
>> Photography: no ideas beyond yours
>>
>
> Back to needing to talk to the first friend again.
>
If you extend photography to include film in general then you start
looking at special effects such as compostite shots, double exposures,
photo-montages, etc. This is a *very* big field and you would need to
be very selective. You can then recount the tale of the Green Girl in
Star Trek and the processor who kept colour balancing the film back to
flesh tones as he didn't know that she was meant to be that colour.
>>
>> Multimodal Compositions: no ideas beyond yours
>>
>
> Ditto.
>
Thinking about this one as there have been sound and light sculptures
and soundscape exhibitions etc. As was promised but so far not really
delivered with the total body VR kit?
>> Miscellaneous: visual design in CCGs and/or clix games, trading
>> cards,
>> bringing the fantastic into daily life via architecture and design
>> (hobbit-hole houses, Enterprise apartments, etc.), otherkin and
>> otakukin
>>
>
> I don't know if it's still around, but there used to be a chat site
> that
> had a fantasy swords and sorcery section, a Gor RPG section and a
> selection of BDSM related forums, all with some cross over in
> participation. Though I suppose that's possibly under RPGs. However it
> creates a very strange set of cultures. I'll go look and let you know
> if
> it's still there.
You've got toys of all shapes and forms as well as film set miniatures
and mock ups plus scenery including landscaping and greens.
Think also Disney type rides as well methinks, there is even a very
basic fairground ride that doesn't use power for anything but lighting
that is an all round experience (literally as you are fooled into
thinking that you have looped the loop) Simulators - as used by NASA
etc.
Steve
Elder1
IIRC the term was projecting telepath...</ObPedant>
C:\>
--
sig currently asleep in front of fire
Elder1
> gem...@tpg.com.au gem...@tpg.com.au wrote in
> <9npp82d16v7sih5lt...@4ax.com>:
>> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 02:35:55 +0100, Eric Jarvis <er...@ericjarvis.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Anastasia house_d...@yahoo.com wrote in
>> ><ts2jg.4600$lf4....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>:
>> >>
>> >> Body Art (okay, there were a couple of tattoo/piercing papers at the
>> >> last conference--are there works where body modification is
>> >> important?)
>> >
>> >Google for Stelarc.
>>
>> Stelarc's done some interesting work, although it seems a bit tame.
>> Needs more Doctor Octopus and less "I've wired my leg up to a bulletin
>> board".
>>
>>
> Like a lot of performance art, at least 75% of it is down to Stelarc
> himself. He's a superb performer even though it's not always easy to
> tell what's him, what's performance, and what's robotic prosthetics.
>
I saw a wonderful performance of his, in conjunction with one of those
ABB production line robots. Not so sure about expression of sexuality,
but certainly about humanity/awareness (IMHO humanity = sexuality in many
ways (back in your box, Freud!))
C:\>
--
sig has been put out, it was scratching at the furniture - again
Elder1
> Anastasia wrote:
>
>> multi-modal compositions
>>
>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in
>> writing programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you
>> can get into the cohesive work. It pains me to say it, but PowerPoint
>> slideshows are multimodal (done right, anyway).
>
> So in other words, it's basically another attempt to fill the void left
> behind after the word "multimedia" was corrupted through overzealous use
> by advertisers.
>
> I wonder how long this one will last.
>
> Adrian.
To me, multi-modal implies a certain degree of interactivity, more than
just 'click mouse button for next page', anyway.
C:\>
--
sig currently scratching at the door 'just a minute...'
Elder1
> Philippa Cowderoy wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, Anastasia wrote:
>>
>>> The last is of special interest. Multimodal is the new buzzword in
>>> writing programs, and it means, well, text+pictures+sound+whatever you
>>> can get into the cohesive work.
>>
>> How does it differ from the older term multimedia?
>
> Excellent question.
>
It comes with white leather upholstery, and a new badge
C:\>
--
sig back by fire
8'FED
> 8'FED wrote:
>> So in other words, it's basically another attempt to fill the void left
>> behind after the word "multimedia" was corrupted through overzealous use
>> by advertisers.
>>
>> I wonder how long this one will last.
>
> To me, multi-modal implies a certain degree of interactivity, more than
> just 'click mouse button for next page', anyway.
"Multimedia" implies - or at least, implied, before it started being
used to describe practically everything - about the level of
interactivity of a powerpoint presentation. Click button for next
event, whether that event be the appearance of new text, the moving of
an object from one part of the screen to another, or something that
goes "ping". There may be branching, but not usually. Stacie pointed
to Powerpoint to illustrate the meaning of "multimodal", which is
my basis suggesting that they are the same.
Nowadays people talk as though Powerpoint is unique, but I remember
that when "multimedia" was a new word, there were Powerpoint-like
applications all over the market. I remember trying out several of
them, about five I'd guess, to decide which was the best (we ended up
choosing none of them, but that's beside the point). All of these
applications involved user-defined objects that could do various
things on the screen, be it appear, move, make noises, etc, and they
were all intended for presentations of some kind or other. I don't
remember what proportion were geared towards lecture-room style
presentations as per Powerpoint, nor do I really remember any
specifics of the applications at all, beyond what I've mentioned.
(When I first saw good Powerpoint applications, I thought, "Ah, it's
just like those applications that used to be called multimedia".)
Adrian.
Torak
>
> C:\>
I love that prompt... The other one I like is
>_
...unless my memory fails me, of course, which is not in the least
unlikely. The BBC BASIC one, anyway.
Arthur Hagen
Some of us miss
1>
Regards,
--
*Art
Ed Weatherup
CP/M?
--
Ed.
Arthur Hagen
Steve Rogers
"Arthur Hagen" <a...@broomstick.com> wrote in message
news:e6sj0t$c84$1...@tree.broomstick.com...
Don't worry Art, some of us remember - we may wish we didn't, but some
of us do ;-)
Steve
Daibhid Ceanaideach
speaker: "Steve Rogers" <st...@soapietrekkers.demon.co.uk>
The C64 didn't bother with any of that stuff. We just had a
cursor.
--
Dave
Official Absentee of EU Skiffeysoc
http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/sesoc
Suggs against sexism. It's Madness gone
politically correct.
Jon Holmes, The Now Show 26/5/06
Steve Rogers
"Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:Xns97E3ECB5...@130.133.1.4...
> The time: 15 Jun 2006. The place: alt.fan.pratchett. The
> speaker: "Steve Rogers" <st...@soapietrekkers.demon.co.uk>
>
>>
>> "Arthur Hagen" <a...@broomstick.com> wrote in message
>> news:e6sj0t$c84$1...@tree.broomstick.com...
>>> Ed Weatherup <inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>> Arthur Hagen wrote:
>>>>> Torak <perr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Elder1 wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> C:\>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I love that prompt... The other one I like is
>>>>>>
>>>>>> > _
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ...unless my memory fails me, of course, which is not
>>>>>> in the least unlikely. The BBC BASIC one, anyway.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some of us miss
>>>>>
>>>>> 1>
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> CP/M?
>>>
>>> *sigh*
>>>
>>> http://www.mtb.ee/~mac/museum/amigados.gif
>>>
>>
>> Don't worry Art, some of us remember - we may wish we
>> didn't, but some of us do ;-)
>
> The C64 didn't bother with any of that stuff. We just had a
> cursor.
>
We use to do promo videos for fun-pubs using a Vic20 and a BBC B (a la
Art of Noise - Close to The Edit) way back when. Ah fun times :-)
Steve
Lesley Weston
er...@ericjarvis.co.uk wrote on 14/06/2006 5:23 PM:
<snip>
> It's also the case that getting a Nobel Prize requires not only great
> original work, but also having a reputation for great original work. The
> former does not particularly require a tremendous level of articulacy but
> the latter does. I'm not saying that you have to be primarily a PR genius
> to get a Nobel Prize, but being able to put ideas across effectively is a
> factor in being recognised as worthy of one.
It helps with getting grants, too, which are also essential for doing great
original work.
--
Lesley Weston.
Brightly_coloured_blob is real, but I don't often check even the few bits
that get through Yahoo's filters. To reach me, use leswes att shaw dott ca,
changing spelling and spacing as required.
Lister
Ooh, old computer thread!
I'm too young to really remember all the old ones, but a friend of
mine had a speccy (timex to the Americans)
Of course, I got a NES in 1989, and have been following Nintendo ever
since.
Orjan Westin
> On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 23:59:32 +0100, "Steve Rogers"
> <st...@soapietrekkers.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote in message
>> news:Xns97E3ECB5...@130.133.1.4...
>>>
>>> cursor.
>>
>> We use to do promo videos for fun-pubs using a Vic20 and a BBC B (a
>> la Art of Noise - Close to The Edit) way back when. Ah fun times :-)
>
And subject line changed accordingly. Wouldn't this have caught your
eyes faster if you like old computer threads?
> I'm too young to really remember all the old ones
<g> Well, quite. So am I. I didn't start playing with computers until
the early 80'ies.
I expect there are a fair few people here with war stories about the old
computers, and soon enough we'll have the four yorkshiremen complaining
that in their day they only had one bit of swap and were grateful for
it.
> but a friend of
> mine had a speccy (timex to the Americans)
Was that the one with the rubber buttons?
> Of course, I got a NES in 1989, and have been following Nintendo ever
> since.
I got my first ever game console only three years ago - a second-hand
GameBoy Colour, the Pikachu special edition in blue and yellow.
I still have a C64, Amiga 500 and Amiga 1200 HD (40 MB!) in the attic of
my parent's farm. Some day, when I have room for them...
After I began working as a programmer, I did a job using the C64. It
was a charter-holiday themed party, and the old breadbox (actually, mine
was the new, streamlined model) ran the flights departure board, with
controls to delay flights, opening and closing check-in, opening and
closing departure gates, changing gates and so on.
Fun job. Lousy pay, of course, but I got lots of free beer.
Orjan
--
The Tale of Westala and Villtin
http://tale.cunobaros.com/
Fiction, Thoughts and Software
http://www.cunobaros.com/
Richard Heathfield
> I think the .FDR documents are essentially
> RTF-based, which might make it easier.
They aren't. They're in some kind of binary format, if the sample I got in
email is anything to go by.
Turning .FDR into LaTeX is probably a waste of time. Either produce LaTeX
directly, or use whatever you're using now.
I like LaTeX because you don't have to point anything or click anything. You
just type, and every now and then you \emph{use italics} or whatever it is
you want to do. And of course you remain portable to wherever LaTeX has
been ported, and I can't see any good reason why it would be difficult to
port to every common platform in existence.
--
Richard Heathfield
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29/7/1999
http://www.cpax.org.uk
email: rjh at above domain (but drop the www, obviously)