On fashions, Pfunzl and freedom

[Tabouli]

Meril:
> Tanith Lee isn't an American author, by the way; she's British.

(Tabouli blushes, discreetly pushes her cross-cultural CV under the carpet, and tries to cover for herself).  Er, yes, why, of course is she, I mean, she is.  For some reason, I always pictured The Silver Metal Lover taking place in the US, perhaps Chicago-ish or somewhere, a big city from which you could go either East or West.  Must admit that the first time I saw a picture of Tanith I was taken aback, mostly because she was decked out in full 80s regalia, big hair, big eyeliner, big earrings, teased hair and all.  How perilous a thing is fashion for those "About the author" photos...

> Supposedly there is a graphic novel of "The Silver Metal Lover" but I haven't seen it.

I saw it once, but (to my eternal sorrow) didn't buy it, and now it's all but unobtainable.  Though I was told by someone who read the graphic novel that they made a hash of the original novel.  It would be even harder to capture the mood of that book in a film, but if they succeeded it would make a wonderful movie.  I particularly love Clovis, and the way they decorate the slums apartment (and ha!  Yes!  I just checked, and Tanith *does* say apartment, not flat.  I knew there had to be some sound reason for thinking the book was American (just found another straw to clutch)).

Bored David:
> "The logical outcome of the freedom of speech is a society in which 
>nobody listens any more."?
>
>I thought it might have been Spadini, but I'm coming round to the 
>unpalatable idea that it was Pfunzl.

A comment clearly calculated to spark a raging, mailbox filling debate.  (Spadini?  For shame!  Everyone knows these were the famous last words of Xbagnikov, as reported in Fgrotlstok's 1892 Manifesto on Liberty).  All I know about Pfunzl is that he seems a little short on vowels, which may be why people wouldn't listen to him...

Joywitch:
> I had a college professor who used to say "In the United States, you 
have freedom of speech as long as no one listens to you,"  but that's 
kind of a different point.<

Hey, since freedom quotes seem to be the order of the day, who said "The prison unto which we doom ourselves no prison is"? (quoted in "The Blue Castle", but original source unknown).

My controversial Chinese colleague Kaiyu had a lot to say about the "free" West, not much of it good (not that what he had to say about China was any better).  His argument sounded more convincing at the time that I can recount here, but I think it was something along the lines of the Chinese government controls the people by restricting individuals' freedom, the US media controls individuals by making them prisoners of their own freedom: they would never overthrow the government because they're so busy exercising their own individuality and civil rights that they would never unite against it.  Same net effect.  Divide and rule the individualist way... convince people that they *chose* what you want them to think and they're yours forever!

Phew.  Any thoughts on this diatribe? (we'll get that raging discussion happening yet, David, don't you fret)

An intimidating but fascinating fellow, yon Kaiyu.  A lot of colleagues who worked less closely with him than me loathed him, attributing his general bluntness and abrasiveness variously to rudeness, sexism and arrogance, but he certainly made me think in a way a more tactful person wouldn't have.  I don't think I've ever met anyone who cared less what people thought of him. The worst part was the four last months of our acquaintance when they made me his *boss*, which was horrifying (a manager intimidated by her own staff member - not good), as he's 9 years older than me and not impervious to the loss of face involved in having a younger, female boss who used to be his equal status co-worker.  Ghastly.  His scathing diatribes went from being interestingly politico-cultural to more personally directed at me and my refusal to acknowledge my own Chineseness.  As for taking orders from me, ha!  Fortunately, the indignity overwhelmed him quickly within those months, and he got a job in Shanghai and returned to China with his (Australian) wife.  Though I do miss his (vicious but perceptive) cross-cultural insights...

Tabouli.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]