A discussion regarding any new technology, including the subject of e-book readers, is incomplete without what Neil Postman once brought into the theory of evolving societies: What is apparent yet overlooked whenever we bring new technology into play is that the one-eyed prophets of technological invention rush into things with their aim set on what the new toy can do – while completely forgetting what it may undo.
Not that long ago I stumbled onto a blogpost by one of the leading (not my words) Swedish authorities on… Well. Everything digital really. He published a quick number on the future of readingpads, like Amazon’s Kindle, say. He prophecied that it would surely make the most wanted christmas gift of the 2010. But. What to expect from a tech savvy blog but evangelism, right?
Scanning recently published books, and in particular those written by debutant authors is usually a discomforting task. Thin storylines, vague characterisation or downright abuse of language (and not in any creative sense) is par. Will time iconise these works just like they did with the works of the Beat generation? Ginsberg, Burroughs.
Filed under: Books / Poetry (translated)
October 6, 2009Translation: “Mannen utan väg”, 1940 then 1946, Erik Lindegren. Movement XXXII.
Understanding why halfwits such as Brad Pitt and exoskeleton wife Angelina Jolie can effectively reintroduce colonialism in Namibia.
“In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
In all honesty, there are but a few works of art that modern people interested in understanding their own lives should at least have a perpetual glance at. And no – I’m not talking about any self-help books or DYI-checklists. That stuff [...]
Filed under: Books
March 30, 2009One afternoon, browsing the Kodak archives, I realised that old photography is almost entirely devoid of children. Crowds of adults, the worlds of adults, the streets were not for children. Parks were for children (are lovers children at heart? The purity of love unspoilt is certainly a childlike quality), places set aside for them. The [...]
There’s an article I’ve been wanting to write for a very long time. The title was supposed to go along the lines of “In defence of Fantasy Literature”. Luckily, I googled it before I wrote it. It already exists – in several better or less well written versions.
Filed under: Books
February 9, 2009Let’s be honest here. Even if Robert E. Howard somehow ended up being the father of the modern hack-and-slash genre, barbarian in throes – the stories about Conan haven’t aged kindly. Deny it all you want. The charming hunk of muscle comes across as a half-crazed brute with an improbable amount of luck and stale [...]
After having finished the omnipresent (and rightly so) Farseer and Tawny Man-trilogies I was left with the unfortunate task of having to find another decent fantasy read. Just browsing the recommended books via Amazon really doesn’t cut it anymore. Perhaps the American taste is so watered down that the audiences seem to be satisfied with [...]