I had never been a SciFi person in the past - but over the past two-three years a person who is very close to me have me discover it, and I have since been reading some of the best work there with my eldest son.
I just finished Solaris and Fiasco by S. Lem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Lem). These are not as much SciFi as they are philosophical essays. Impressive work, and very good reading, highly recommended.
I am not surprised at all Lem did not see eye to eye with his peers (http://www.lem.pl/cyberiadinfo/english/faq/faq.htm#sfwa)...
Of course, it is ironic that the person who initiated me to this hates Solaris... and possibly would hate Fiasco. But that goes to prove that you can embrace and extend ;)!
Showing posts with label ramblings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ramblings. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Context, context...
As I was writing the previous post, it struck me that I was wondering about precisely what Borges covers in "Pierre Menard, author of the Quixote".
One message Borges delivers: the meaning of the literary text is more a function of the context (historical, cultural, etc) than it is of the text itself. Which means each reader creates the meaning of what he/she reads starting from what the author wrote - each one of us, in a personal way.
Another message he delivers: the meaning of the literary text is more a function of the process involved in creating it than in the result.
What I find more attractive than the messages (I do not want to want into discussions that involve the Barthes and the Baudrillards of the world... too far from what I can grasp) is the way Borges uses his immense wit to convey them in a tiny fraction of what these so-called scientists do, while provoking in the reader the pleasure that comes with stumbling on unexpected beautiful gems.
Enjoy (text in spanish):
"
Es una revelación cotejar el Don Quijote de Menard con el de Cervantes. Éste, por ejemplo, escribió (Don Quijote, primera parte, noveno capítulo):
También es vívido el contraste de los estilos. El estilo arcaizante de Menard —extranjero al fin— adolece de alguna afectación. No así el del precursor, que maneja con desenfado el español corriente de su época.
"
One message Borges delivers: the meaning of the literary text is more a function of the context (historical, cultural, etc) than it is of the text itself. Which means each reader creates the meaning of what he/she reads starting from what the author wrote - each one of us, in a personal way.
Another message he delivers: the meaning of the literary text is more a function of the process involved in creating it than in the result.
What I find more attractive than the messages (I do not want to want into discussions that involve the Barthes and the Baudrillards of the world... too far from what I can grasp) is the way Borges uses his immense wit to convey them in a tiny fraction of what these so-called scientists do, while provoking in the reader the pleasure that comes with stumbling on unexpected beautiful gems.
Enjoy (text in spanish):
"
Es una revelación cotejar el Don Quijote de Menard con el de Cervantes. Éste, por ejemplo, escribió (Don Quijote, primera parte, noveno capítulo):
- ... la verdad, cuya madre es la historia, émula del tiempo, depósito de las acciones, testigo de lo pasado, ejemplo y aviso de lo presente, advertencia de lo por venir.
- ... la verdad, cuya madre es la historia, émula del tiempo, depósito de las acciones, testigo de lo pasado, ejemplo y aviso de lo presente, advertencia de lo por venir.
También es vívido el contraste de los estilos. El estilo arcaizante de Menard —extranjero al fin— adolece de alguna afectación. No así el del precursor, que maneja con desenfado el español corriente de su época.
"
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A now something totally different...
I don't know what to make of this: [http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/].
I have genuine respect and admiration for Orwell. Through his life, involvement and writings, Orwell represents a amalgam of many of those people on the left of the political spectrum who are genuinely touched by injustice, unfairness, have a realistic understanding of the world and are not swayed by rhetoric, and hold their friends to the same standards as their "enemies".
I am part of a diaspora of sorts caused by political turmoil. I know how simple things are on one hand (how can you not fight against regimes that kill and torture?) and how complicated they can be on the other hand (do I have the right to bring my whole family into exile because of my ideals? Is it right for me to risk the welfare of my kids because of my belief system?). But while it's true that the real choices are significantly less obvious than idealists would like, there are some clear universal principles that are worth standing up for.
What I read from Orwell, what I read about him (read Hitchens [http://www.amazon.com/Why-Orwell-Matters-Christopher-Hitchens/dp/0465030491]and [http://www.amazon.com/Unacknowledged-Legislation-Writers-Public-Sphere/dp/1859843832/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218157821&sr=1-29]), increases my admiration for the writer.
His lucidity and his ability to convey reality clearly dazzles me, and I am not easily impressed. Read his essay on how the language is perverted for political purposes in everyday discourse: [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm].
But my respect and admiration are not blind - what about Orwell's delivery of a list of crypto-communists to the Foreign Office towards the end of his life? Well, as I wrote earlier, things are never as simple as they seem. This whole story has been hotly debated, and I am in no way qualified to argue but am ready to believe he did draft such a letter. That list reflects essentially his fierce anti-communism, his realistic choice of one evil versus another (I am not necessarily agreeing, I am stating a fact), and his public statements. While the list did name names, its purposes was to identify cultural agents that could not be trusted with anti-communism propaganda. Still a vile list, and it does not make me like Orwell-the-man better. But participating to those activities is the kind of decisions many brilliant and otherwise admirable people end up taking - something that I would really like to read more about. Borges is another such case.
Back to the blog that will open. According to what I understand, it's an interesting exercise: an attempt to blog through a few years using material from Orwell's journal in chronological order, starting 8/9/1939. This means the blog will go on from now to 2012.
I am glad we will get to know more about the writings - the raw writings. I understand some of what will be published is not-yet-published material.
And I wonder whether the new format, the blog, will somehow alter the message - make it resonate more, or less. I am certain the observations Orwell makes remain relevant - but will the blog medium used to deliver them change how they are received?
In any case, a very interesting project. Check it out!
I have genuine respect and admiration for Orwell. Through his life, involvement and writings, Orwell represents a amalgam of many of those people on the left of the political spectrum who are genuinely touched by injustice, unfairness, have a realistic understanding of the world and are not swayed by rhetoric, and hold their friends to the same standards as their "enemies".
I am part of a diaspora of sorts caused by political turmoil. I know how simple things are on one hand (how can you not fight against regimes that kill and torture?) and how complicated they can be on the other hand (do I have the right to bring my whole family into exile because of my ideals? Is it right for me to risk the welfare of my kids because of my belief system?). But while it's true that the real choices are significantly less obvious than idealists would like, there are some clear universal principles that are worth standing up for.
What I read from Orwell, what I read about him (read Hitchens [http://www.amazon.com/Why-Orwell-Matters-Christopher-Hitchens/dp/0465030491]and [http://www.amazon.com/Unacknowledged-Legislation-Writers-Public-Sphere/dp/1859843832/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218157821&sr=1-29]), increases my admiration for the writer.
His lucidity and his ability to convey reality clearly dazzles me, and I am not easily impressed. Read his essay on how the language is perverted for political purposes in everyday discourse: [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm].
But my respect and admiration are not blind - what about Orwell's delivery of a list of crypto-communists to the Foreign Office towards the end of his life? Well, as I wrote earlier, things are never as simple as they seem. This whole story has been hotly debated, and I am in no way qualified to argue but am ready to believe he did draft such a letter. That list reflects essentially his fierce anti-communism, his realistic choice of one evil versus another (I am not necessarily agreeing, I am stating a fact), and his public statements. While the list did name names, its purposes was to identify cultural agents that could not be trusted with anti-communism propaganda. Still a vile list, and it does not make me like Orwell-the-man better. But participating to those activities is the kind of decisions many brilliant and otherwise admirable people end up taking - something that I would really like to read more about. Borges is another such case.
Back to the blog that will open. According to what I understand, it's an interesting exercise: an attempt to blog through a few years using material from Orwell's journal in chronological order, starting 8/9/1939. This means the blog will go on from now to 2012.
I am glad we will get to know more about the writings - the raw writings. I understand some of what will be published is not-yet-published material.
And I wonder whether the new format, the blog, will somehow alter the message - make it resonate more, or less. I am certain the observations Orwell makes remain relevant - but will the blog medium used to deliver them change how they are received?
In any case, a very interesting project. Check it out!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
First post
Well, this is it. First steps in the blogosphere, which probably makes me a late-comer these days. Not the last thing I will be a late-comer to...
This blog is intended to cover topics which attract my attention, for better or for worse, and which I think will be interesting to others. It will revolve mostly around technology and product issues - but it will sometimes bleed into more personal, and potentially slippery subjects.
As you have probably guessed, I work in the software business. The enterprise software business. Not a pretty space right now - an odd mix of high complexity, low prices, market turmoil, and slim business and professional growth.
A lot of what I will debate here will revolve around the issues that we wrestle with every day. Not just the technical issues, but also the human issues.
Let's start...
P.S. My blog-editing software complains about "blogosphere" not been spelled properly... The irony - language always gives you away, as G Carlin used to say.
This blog is intended to cover topics which attract my attention, for better or for worse, and which I think will be interesting to others. It will revolve mostly around technology and product issues - but it will sometimes bleed into more personal, and potentially slippery subjects.
As you have probably guessed, I work in the software business. The enterprise software business. Not a pretty space right now - an odd mix of high complexity, low prices, market turmoil, and slim business and professional growth.
A lot of what I will debate here will revolve around the issues that we wrestle with every day. Not just the technical issues, but also the human issues.
Let's start...
P.S. My blog-editing software complains about "blogosphere" not been spelled properly... The irony - language always gives you away, as G Carlin used to say.
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