tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post2079868665680523658..comments2024-03-29T04:38:14.302-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Because Something is Happening Here But You Don’t Know What it is, Do You, Mister Jones?Leigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-28788980378369858792015-04-07T20:34:39.338-04:002015-04-07T20:34:39.338-04:00The old movie, The Time Machine, had all those bea...The old movie, The Time Machine, had all those beautiful young people who were dumber than a rock, sitting around all day doing nothing and who were to end up as the "blue plate special" for the morlock. Is there much difference? The kids with the i-pads and smart phones will end up being "consumed" by a society that can no longer afford them. They will have no skills, no knowledge, no "common sense." The survival rate for that species is pretty low.GBPoolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190573764848658894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-33024264719795947412015-04-07T18:08:08.589-04:002015-04-07T18:08:08.589-04:00Paul, it's less a matter of recent generations...Paul, it's less a matter of recent generations not caring what happened before they were born, but that they don't believe anything important happened back then.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-5014728403371499332015-04-07T15:39:29.056-04:002015-04-07T15:39:29.056-04:00I wish I could say I disagree with your post, Paul...I wish I could say I disagree with your post, Paul, but I can't. The only true glimmering hope seems to be the e-readers of all kinds. Amazon alone sells millions of new novels, and old ones, in one form or another. There are more new authors by day now on the Amazon marketplace than there were new readers before the e-reader advancements. :) Obscure references can still be made in a novel, but they need to be presented entertainingly. Too many I've run across are imparted in an info-dump. :) BernardLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09722619048888613647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12884253955961565862015-04-07T15:34:31.639-04:002015-04-07T15:34:31.639-04:00What wonderful comments! I love Andrew’s and I wan...What wonderful comments! I love Andrew’s and I want to move in with Kat. I know what Connie means. It reminds me of what another sleuthsayer said, living in a town with a college isn’t the same as living in a college town.<br /><br />Melodie’s note reminded me of research that indicates that watching television stops parts of the brain working like no other form of entertainment including movies and stage plays. Sections of the mind supposedly shuts down. Julie’s observation may suggest this applies to the internet as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-90720813079041256842015-04-07T15:33:01.305-04:002015-04-07T15:33:01.305-04:00Ironic how things turned out after that push to pu...Ironic how things turned out after that push to pump Mozart into baby cribs. Youth aren’t stupid but they can be so dumb. Did our parents say the same things about us?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-7264708670752956032015-04-07T12:29:07.525-04:002015-04-07T12:29:07.525-04:00Come to my house, you'll see over 5000 books (...Come to my house, you'll see over 5000 books (probably closer to 6000 and ever growing), that doesn't count the 1000 or so on my Kindle and Kindle apps. I've been asked more than once why I have so many books. I usually respond, because I can - they are worlds I can escape into.<br /><br />Of our six children, at least four of them love to read. I think that's because there has always been books in the house and they were never allowed to say they were bored - I'd tell them to grab a book and start reading.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13723876435090409807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24229239266156876552015-04-07T11:30:16.106-04:002015-04-07T11:30:16.106-04:00Connie, I think we are spoiled and also in somewha...Connie, I think we are spoiled and also in somewhat of a bubble. But hopefully you're right about the readers of all ages on Goodreads. Maybe there is hope. Though I tend to be on the pessimistic side.Paul D. Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-11650854406394989322015-04-07T11:24:06.081-04:002015-04-07T11:24:06.081-04:00So frightening, Paul! But I'm spoiled, I get ...So frightening, Paul! But I'm spoiled, I get to talk to, read about and hang out with authors, it's easy to forget the rest of the world isn't like us. One thing that gives me hope are all the people, young and old, I see on Goodreads. They may not be the norm, but they're there.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383329889855942977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75615907949791858932015-04-07T11:19:06.924-04:002015-04-07T11:19:06.924-04:00Leigh: Yeah, that useless old music. What’s the po...Leigh: Yeah, that useless old music. What’s the point when we have Kanye? I’ve heard of some people – and it seems like a lot – who really don’t give a damn about anything that happened before they were born. I even had a friend tell me once that what was the point of learning history. I don’t get it, but I think it’s only going to get worse. And love the lyrics you put in to go with my post title. One of my favorite Dylan songs.<br /><br />Julia, that’s really scary. I would have thought that long ago there would have been more books around. And I’ve hearde that, too, about people who write notes. It always worked for me, ‘cause I took good notes, but barely studied otherwise.<br /><br />Melodie, I agree. We have to compete with TV, movies, all that stuff. And it’s a hell of a lot easier to sit down and let a show wash over you than have to put the effort into reading. But books do offer more depth, so hopefully we’ll still have an audience.<br /><br />Eve, your story is very scary, but sort of proves my point. You really do have to dumb things down to talk to most people today and that’s very despressing. Re: your Paladin reference: I used to write for a radio show – yeah they still have them (or did). And got called on the carpet by the producer who gave me and another writer a lecture about using too big words. We didn’t they were, but he did and we had to dumb that down too. It was very frustrating. So it’s nice that Paladin could use those references. Star Trek too. I guess there are exceptions, but unfortunately they are the excpetions.<br /><br />Dale, you might be right. One can only hope that the book people aren’t selling...<br />Paul D. Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-50881352220350743682015-04-07T10:43:27.650-04:002015-04-07T10:43:27.650-04:00I wonder if the answer could be that since books a...I wonder if the answer could be that since books are so damned difficult to pack up, people that have a lot of them simply sigh, shrug, and decide not to sell their house! Dale Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553503281187956955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-28943635681661834742015-04-07T10:15:24.094-04:002015-04-07T10:15:24.094-04:0030 years ago, I was in grad school for history (no...30 years ago, I was in grad school for history (non-trad student, at least 10 years older than everyone but the teacher), and the teacher complained then of the "dumbing down" of American students, because it meant that they had to have everything explained to them. She used to be able to count on her students at least knowing the Bible, etc. - very important, because well into the 20th century, old diaries, memoirs, and sayings were full of allusions to the Bible & Shakespeare at the very least - but now, "They read 'Moby Dick', and they don't even know who Ishmael is." Everyone nodded wisely. Later that night, at the local watering hole, one of the students leaned in to me and asked, "Who IS Ishmael?" I explained it to her. <br /><br />Part of it is lowered expectations. If you've ever rented or streamed "Have Gun Will Travel", you'll hear Paladin reference everything from the Peloponnesian Wars to William Blake in a single conversation, before he shoots someone. (Star Trek had similar tropes - apparently Shakespeare found a whole new audience in the 23rd century.) At least there was some chance that a young kid would look up the "hoplite phalanx" just to see what his/her hero was talking about, and they might be off to the races. Now they get offered a reference to Beyonce or JayZee. If that. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-60816829450041876412015-04-07T08:38:31.803-04:002015-04-07T08:38:31.803-04:00An A-list writer friend of mine said recently that...An A-list writer friend of mine said recently that our competition is not ebooks - it's HBO, Showcase, and all the great shows that are appearing on up-market networks. It's so much easier to park yourself in front of the telly rather than read, when you've come home from a grueling 1.5 hour commute.<br />I'm posting a humour column on this subject here in a few weeks. The shocking thing it - it isn't new. I wrote it over 15 years ago.<br />The writing was on the wall then.Melodie Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870938103759179132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-77867138256914296662015-04-07T07:36:32.455-04:002015-04-07T07:36:32.455-04:00We noticed a lack of books in our house-hunting ov...We noticed a lack of books in our house-hunting over forty years ago! Obviously, it's gotten worse since.<br />I understand there is some research indicating that students who actually take notes by writing things down on paper with pens, remember more of what they're hearing, than do those who take notes by clicking away on a laptop or other electronic device. Sad.Julianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-91442435273022860312015-04-07T03:30:02.671-04:002015-04-07T03:30:02.671-04:00Strangely and sadly enough, I’ve been pondering si...Strangely and sadly enough, I’ve been pondering similar concerns. At one time, classical allusions were once understood by everyone with a certain amount of education. Biblical references were common too, but now we’re reduced to the wisdom of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians. Give me shelter from the storm.<br /><br />I wrote about teens who disdain anything ‘old’, but they’re hardly the first. I have acquaintances who think movies and pop music have 2-week expiration dates. I attended a seminar where a guy argued that record companies should support indy artists and drop Bach from their catalogues since nobody listens to useless old music.<br /><br /><i>You've been with the professors<br />And they've all liked your looks.<br />With great lawyers you have<br />Discussed lepers and crooks.<br />You've been through all of<br />F. Scott Fitzgerald's books.<br />You're very well read<br />It's well known… Mr. Jones.</i>Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.com