tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post1000322972066197714..comments2024-03-29T11:16:37.695-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: What's the Objective?Leigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62594703734366136572012-10-05T16:48:31.256-04:002012-10-05T16:48:31.256-04:00Thanks for clearing that up, Eve!
As for me -- ...Thanks for clearing that up, Eve! <br /><br />As for me -- count me a Cockeyed Optimist. Of course, considering that I spend much of my life writing down things I make up, and expecting somebody to pay me for that ... I suppose I'd better be! lolDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-81113823907275170102012-10-05T16:26:28.986-04:002012-10-05T16:26:28.986-04:00I still say we're optimists, at the very least...I still say we're optimists, at the very least. :)Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-57944902126193966752012-10-05T16:25:32.455-04:002012-10-05T16:25:32.455-04:00Sorry, had to go out for a while. The phrase itse...Sorry, had to go out for a while. The phrase itself (life, liberty, and property) is from John Locke, and supposedly Jefferson started with that and changed property to pursuit of happiness in the Declaration. (It's also in the 5th Amendment to our Constitution: "no person shall be deprived.... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law".) Re France, I was wrong; the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen does NOT include life; instead it says "liberty, property, safety, and resistance against oppression." (Article 2: Le but de toute association politique est la conservation des droits naturels et imprescriptibles de l'Homme. Ces droits sont la liberté, la propriété, la sûreté, et la résistance à l'oppression.) Nothing about life, or happiness...Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12767985447723768762012-10-05T15:28:33.440-04:002012-10-05T15:28:33.440-04:00Uh ... not that I'm any great contitutional or...Uh ... not that I'm any great contitutional or historical scholar, or anything.<br /><br />God knows, when my A-Team was in Ghana, we were asked to sing the Star Spangled Banner. We tried to explain that Americans tend to memorize the Pledge of Alegiance instead, but they insisted, because they all have to learn their national anthem verbatim. So, first they sang their's, then we sang parts of the first and lass stanzas of ours -- which was all anybody could seem to remember. LOLDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-23092913181994783122012-10-05T15:23:09.558-04:002012-10-05T15:23:09.558-04:00Hmmm... Interesting point. Fraternity does spring...Hmmm... Interesting point. Fraternity does spring to mind when you say that, Leigh.<br /><br />Is it: Liberté, égalité, fraternité, or something like that?? (Please excuse my spelling; been a long time since I studied French.) Seems to ring a bell from old "French Resistance" stuff I've seen. However, perhaps the phrase I'm quoting is largely used in verbage, while the one Eve mentions actually comes from the French Constitution document itself. Where's our Brit living in France? He can surely straighten us out.<br /><br />God knows, we Americans (U.S. kind) tend to confuse parts of the Declaration of Independence with our own Constitution all the time. At least, it seems that way to me, when I speak to folks on the street. And, I remember that during the Bicentennial many of the Hollywood stars who presented what I <i>think</i> they called a "Bicentennial Minute" (or something like that) on TV confused the HELL out of the two documents! LOLDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-30804461682195231092012-10-05T15:09:59.061-04:002012-10-05T15:09:59.061-04:00Eve, I don't have the French motto before me, ...Eve, I don't have the French motto before me, but isn't the 3rd word 'brotherhood'?Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-28049465126328062622012-10-05T14:39:09.620-04:002012-10-05T14:39:09.620-04:00Elizabeth, thank you for pointing out that King...Elizabeth, thank you for pointing out that King's Holmes & Russell make it work by sharing similar objectives. I haven't read that series, but now think it might be worth a look -- given your insight.Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-18696364572483785952012-10-05T14:36:33.913-04:002012-10-05T14:36:33.913-04:00Eve, I think you're right about relationships....Eve, I think you're right about relationships. I have to say that I find writing a convincing love-relationship pretty tough -- even when it comes to shorts or single novels. Let alone series, where it must be a killer to handle. <br /><br />After all, it changes (or at least <i>should change</i>, if it's going to be realistic) many of the protagonist's goals and outlooks. S/he now has somebody who has to be looked after, in a way, because that person will expect the protagonist to be home at certain times for family reasons. <br /><br />Kind of messes things up if you're character's used to being a hard-boiled loner, and that's what your audience has come to expect.<br /><br />And, when it comes to "the pursuit of happiness" I vote: Slightly-Hedonistic-Optimist. And, that Jefferson was brilliant. The implications of people having the right to pursue happiness are enormous! LOL Aren't they?Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-65143405911689150562012-10-05T14:16:18.146-04:002012-10-05T14:16:18.146-04:00Leigh, I agree with your analysis, drawing compari...Leigh, I agree with your analysis, drawing comparison about Reacher (or McGee, et al) and the "wandering gunslinger." And, I feel particularly remiss for leaving out the Continental Op, who is probably worthy of having his own mention.<br /><br />I also always enjoyed the way the Continental Op sort of "road into town" and cleaned things up. In his case, however, there was an added technical aspect that I think helped differentiate it from most westerns (IMHO). I think this aspect probably came from Hammett's own experience with Pinkerton. <br /><br />Frankly, I welcomed this change in the story mechanism -- or perhaps "update" might be a better word, though it would now be a rather arcane update given our current technology. However, it's what I thought made him worth a special mention here.Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-59370175215181386912012-10-05T14:11:58.318-04:002012-10-05T14:11:58.318-04:00Eve, it depends on what kind of hero you're ta...Eve, it depends on what kind of hero you're talking about. Lord Peter Wimsey finds Harriet Vane, and after a very unpromising beginning, it keeps getting better. Laurie R. King's version of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell. In both cases, the love becomes a partnership in search of the objective (justice, righting wrongs etc.).Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55859058188656818502012-10-05T14:00:24.318-04:002012-10-05T14:00:24.318-04:00Fran, I think you're very right: A good way to...Fran, I think you're very right: A good way to bury the past is to work through it in print, sometimes. Works for me, at least.Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78421585314706407532012-10-05T13:58:58.768-04:002012-10-05T13:58:58.768-04:00R.T., you pegged it. I've got Deathlands book...R.T., you pegged it. I've got Deathlands books all over my bookshelves. Haven't read one in years. Frankly, I didn't mention the title, because I didn't think anyone would have read them. Thanks for proving me wrong. Nice to know I'm not the Lone Ranger. LOL<br /><br /> Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-73551421542588185772012-10-05T10:53:00.823-04:002012-10-05T10:53:00.823-04:00Henry David Thoreau said, "Never look back, u...Henry David Thoreau said, "Never look back, unless you plan on going that way." But the one I think knew it best was Satchel Paige who said, "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you."<br />There are parts of life I prefer not to look back on and deliberately don't go there, however, there are also times my mind feels that tap on the shoulder because the past came to visit anyway. Best to keep moving forward, don't ever stand still.<br /><br />The sci-fi books you referred to are the Deathland series. Good, fast reads at the time, if you went for the action and didn't dwell on the rest.R.T. Lawtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15523486296396710227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55347832419546254622012-10-05T10:26:40.524-04:002012-10-05T10:26:40.524-04:00We're the only country who uses the phrase &qu...We're the only country who uses the phrase "the pursuit of happiness" - in France, it's "Life, liberty, and property." Is it because we're optimists, or hedonists? <br /><br />Good article. I haven't read any of the Reacher novels, but I remember Travis McGee well. I think one of the problems with series is there are only so many ways of dealing with relationships. It's always been kind of a running joke that, on TV, if the hero/heroine falls for someone, s/he dies. In written series, s/he dies, or s/he betrays, or s/he's written such that s/he's unbearable (I place Susan Silverman in this category, along with Inspector Lynley's wife). The exceptions are those who are married from the get-go - I was very sorry when Joe Leaphorn's wife died, and I always longed for a written sequel to "The Thin Man". Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-53230486902556817662012-10-05T07:03:38.950-04:002012-10-05T07:03:38.950-04:00I didn't make the connection until you mention...I didn't make the connection until you mentioned it, but Jack Reacher <i>is</i> a kind of Western gunslinger.<br /><br />Travis McGee also wanders from woman to woman. He helps out a girl and, after she breaks his heart, he wanders on to another who breaks his heart yet again.<br /><br />Terrifically insightful column, Dixon.<br />Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74093364096111557012012-10-05T06:26:05.871-04:002012-10-05T06:26:05.871-04:00Dixon, "putting things behind you" is ea...Dixon, "putting things behind you" is easier said than done, but I do see reading (and in our case, writing) as pathways to destinations that help us do that. Great post!Fran Rizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08655783035179620991noreply@blogger.com