Adoration of the Magi by Sandro Botticelli
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Friday Open Thread34 comments to Friday Open ThreadLeave a Reply |
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Copyright © 2012 threedonia.com - All Rights Reserved |
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TO ALL THREEDONIANS, READ THIS.
Now, do I have everyone’s attention?
Modern Conservative had a project/book in the works for some months under the working name of the The American Primer (though not the final title, which would’ve been something like What is America?). It was to be a one-stop civics reference that explained what America was, through the lens of history; political, legal, economic, cultural, and social. It was to be an American Primer, not a Conservative Primer, so it wouldn’t scare off schools from using it. Because of bad scheduling, it fell apart.
I would like to turn this into a Threedonia group project. We have a magnificent braintrust here and more than enough writing talent. I still have piles of notes. And a couple of our Threedonians were even to provide some material for it (they shall remain unnamed). I want to get volunteers. I want to get discussion started. I want to get volunteers for some sections, if anyone is interested. Then, I want some feedback on a business model I still have the plans for and everyone who contributed to the book can get a cut on the profits.
I want us to take all of our discussions and insight and produce something with it. I want to make this a group project. Who’s with me?
To add:
The idea behind this book is that it is supposed to be a “non-textbook textbook,” using personal and historical narrative, working by parable and analogy, approachable for a general audience, even high schoolers.
What form would this project take? Book? Web site? Multimedia?
A book as the first piece and then we could build things around that. The Primer was originally supposed to be a stepping stone to things like a curriculum package.
A question that occurs to me is that the other side has Howard Zinn for its anchor. Douchebag he may be, but he has a great deal of credibility? Do you have anyone whose status would offset his? I know mine wouldn’t, such as it is.
There are strategies and connections we can tap to try and build credibility. Having the material actually written would be the first step, since we would actually be delivering on something.
Botticelli (First name “Jethro,” which is why he seldom used it) always reminds me of (Obi Wan) Benvenuto “Ben” Cellini, mainly because they were both Italians who’s names prominently feature a “B.”
I had to read Cellini’s autobiography in college for some reason. Man oh man oh man was he gay! Anyone else ever read it? My favorite bit was that in between a couple gay bits he grabs a cannon and fires one shot that takes out half the enemy, for which the pope gives him absolution “For all my past and future sins.”
Of all one of the screamingly homosexual self-serving openly dishonest autobiographies I’ve ever read, this one was far and away the funniest.
Sounds interesting. I wrote commercials for about 15 years. Would that be of any use to this project? I wasn’t a history or English major. Sorry.
It might, with experience in an aspect of American culture, but the structure of the book needs to be settled (again…this thing is probably going to grow). R3, I could use a contribution from you. You up for it? Anyone else?
David, I’m willing and interested in contributing…but I’m well aware of my limitations. I don’t want to commit to something and then realize that I’m over my head. I do have a little bit of experience with research assistance and proofreading. I can write a little but don’t know if I have the depth of knowledge necessary for such a project. My main areas of interest and education are in social science and study of culture. So put me down as a maybe or at least interested in helping in the process.
David,
I dunno. I’m pretty tapped out, time-wise, but I *am* interested. Can you tell me more of what you’d like me to do? I’d better be able to judge whether or not I can do it if I knew what was expected of me.
Here’s what I’m thinking. A few of us will be interested in writing for it and have time. A few of us will be interested, but won’t have time to do anything full-blown. A few more of us will be interested in contributing in some smaller way. What I’m thinking, should the rulers of Threedonia deem it worthy, is that we have regular posts/threads related to wherever we are with the project. Maybe it’s a subject we put up for discussion. Maybe it’s material that needs some reading and criticism. So, for those who can only do a little, simply contributing your banter and observation, as you already do in the course of others discussions, will help.
In any case, if you’re interested and think you have something to contribute, just leave a summary of those interests, talents, and experiences you think pertinent to something like this. Then we can sort everything out and see who can do what.
Don’t know how much use I’d be in it unless you needed bitter sarcasm or a history of cartoons.
Question though. Do you plan on touching on some of the more obscure events in American history? There are so many fascinating things that are completely ignored in our history from the Japanese internment camps during WW2, Chinese slavery on the railways all the way up until the Great Depression, Huey Long and the great Socialist push of the 1930s, the attempted takeover of Hollywood by Communist in the 40s and 50s (obviously they eventually won), Soviet infiltration of universities and the anti-war movement in the 50s and 60s, the list goes on and on.
One thing I do have if it would be of any use is a massive archive of war time propaganda pieces. My collection has about 3,000 pieces. Let me know if that would be helpful.
Anyway, check my post above. Just leave a summation and any ideas that might pop into your head. I gotta jet for a while, but I’ll be back to the thread later.
To add (this is directed at Veruckt especially): Feel free to mention anything that you might think handy. Even crazy ideas are appreciated.
Well,Veruckt,the Japanese internment has not been completely ignored…one thing about it that has been is the role of the unscrupulous Attorney General of California,the liberal icon Earl Warren.
That is more what I mean referring to these things. We get very incomplete information on internment camps; how they evolved, who was involved, the fact that the Japanese made over 1,500 attempts (some of which sounded like something Wily Coyote would do) to attack the US during WW2. Then regarding the attempted communist takeover of Hollywood wherein they staged a coup of the actor’s unions all we hear about is HUAC and McCarthy but we do not hear about the massive amounts of Communist activity that triggered it. They float these supposed black marks out there as if they were completely unprovoked I think something that filled in the blanks would be nice.
Also I second Lars we need a counter to Zinn. The whole idea of free market and liberty is under heavy attack and someone has to return fire.
I agree: Japanese internment is a centerpiece of freshman college history courses, as the “blacklists” of the 1950s (those evil, nasty conservatives!). The zinning of the classroom is well underway. “The People Speak” is just the cherry on the crap sundae.
I remember the 50th anniversary of the “Blacklist” years ago. PBS, and all the usual suspects had their specials, trotted out “survivors”. The response from the public? Crickets, followed by a stifled yawn. Didn’t stop the gatekeepers though.
No kidding…you can go to Tiger Wood’s official website and buy “Tiger Jam” merchandise!
Unrelated to any of that, here’s an article I wrote a couple days ago on Republibot http://www.republibot.com/content/planetary-chauvinism which deals in part with our ecological biases, and how that colors our views of the alternatives. My fellow ‘Bots deemed it better-than-average, so I pass it on to you fine people for discussion and feedback.
@ David – that’s still a little vague on what you’re expecting of us. I mean, if I were to contribute something for, say, the political history of the American Space Program, what kind of parameters would I be dealing with here? Am I expected to crank out an essay, or a full chapter? What kind of word count am I looking at? Is my style to be cooloquial, or scholarly? Do I need to copyright my own material, or would I be signing it over to you? Would I receive any kind of financial recompence for my work, or would I be getting a cut of the profits, if any? Is a publisher lined up for this, or is it all on spec? How much editorial intrusion will there be? How do I cite my sources if my sources are NASA employees who wish to remain nameless? Am I alowed to theorize and extrapolate from available facts, or do I need to remain strictly literal? Will I be working by myself, or will I collaborate with someone else on my section?
That’s more what I was getting at. That’s the kind of stuff I need to know before I can really agree to sign on, otherwise I’m making a completely uninformed decision, you know? Money is particularly important. I hate to say that, but it is – where will the procedes from this project, if any, go? I’ve been repeatedly cautioned by some noteworthy writers against giving away your stuff in print for free, but I’d be willing to consider it in this case because the project sounds interesting.
So help me decide!
I’d be happy to contribute somehow. My father was greatly interested in Western and American history so that is my pasttime, though I’m no scholar or anything even resembling one.
Also, getting Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States” onto the History channel I find extremely depressing. One of the other Big Hollywood threads mentions a sit down with Zinn and company about the History Channel project, one of the exec’s of the channel said something to the effect of we have all this pro-WW2 stuff but we don’t have enough anti-WW2 stuff to balance it out. Anti-World War 2? What the hell does that even mean? Apparently all liberals know, because no one asked him about it.
Thanks Skip. I just had a mini-stroke reading that. It would have been far more entertaining if it said “we have all this anti-Hitler stuff so I just thought we should balance it out with some pro-Hitler stuff.” You wonder if these people have any idea how ridiculous they sound.
Skip,
It is very depressing that so few journalists have the talent to ask a simple question like the one you just stated. I think, in their minds, that would have shown bias, yet they never hesitiate to ask questions like that when they disagree with the stance of the interviewee. A good journalist would have asked that question, “What does ‘anti-WWII’ mean to you?” The answer would have been fascinating.
To be fair, that comes from the Big Hollywood blog post:
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/12/10/a-nation-of-star-fers-hollywoods-love-affair-with-the-left/#more-275342
Fourth paragraph, where Stage Right asks the question, “What does being ‘anti-World War II’ even MEAN?”
No,they are just sorry that Stalin didn’t take the whole of Europe…
Well, if Stalin *DID* take all of Europe, we wouldn’t have to put up with crap from France…
Ok, here’s an interesting question: Let’s assume Truman went with his original plan, and used the Atomic Bomb to clear the beaches in preparation for the invasion of Japan. Estimates are about 36 million dead (1 million of our own, 25 million Japanese) and another 18 months of war. Assuming that actually *happened*, obviously the USSR and China would have gotten involved in the fighting. Maybe England and France too, though I kind of doubt it.
Undoubtedly this would have resulted in the partitioning of Japan amongst the allies, just like Germany was, and just like Germany, the USSR wouldn’t have left. China might not have either, but that’s harder to say, what with their whole civil war and all. So we’d end up with at least two Japans, maybe three.
How would this have affected the cold war? It’s said that East Germany alone propped up the Eastern Bloc for anywhere from a year to a decade, depending on which irresponsible source you talk to. If they’d had pieces of both Germany and Japan, how much longer would it have lasted? Of course East Germany might not have had any effect on the East, since it didn’t get Marshal Planned, and neither would the commie sections of Japan in this scenario. That might all just be cold war rhetoric hanging around.
Still: Interesting question. If there were two (or three) Japans, how would the Cold War have played out differently?
You mean like, what if Superman grew up in Germany instead of America?
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78jwhatif.phtml
So “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (described as an expanded version of the Austen classic, the book tells the timeless story of a woman’s quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers) is being made into film. Which I would normally be all for except its going to star Natalie Portman.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012601.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
I think there is a “Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters” as well. Stroke of brilliance by whoever came up with this idea.
By the way anyone wanting a good laugh should take a look at this little gem from one of my IT people. There is bad language but other than that nothing to worry about.
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2009/12/04/funniest-email-conversation/
For those with questions, let me dust off a description of the work from an e-mail:
R3, let me hit your questions, point by point:
that’s still a little vague on what you’re expecting of us. I mean, if I were to contribute something for, say, the political history of the American Space Program, what kind of parameters would I be dealing with here?
This is a civics work, not specifically a history book, so there are limits to what it covers. We can, of course, tack on additional essay pieces, should they
Am I expected to crank out an essay, or a full chapter?
What are you comfortable with?
What kind of word count am I looking at?
400-500 words per page.
Is my style to be colloquial, or scholarly?
Conversational, which means between those two poles. That is, the goal is to make concepts approachable, without making them overly simple.
Do I need to copyright my own material, or would I be signing it over to you?
It would unduly complicate the production of the book if every author tried to control their own individual copyrights. I’m certainly willing to agree to certain terms–how your credited or how the work might be used–but if it’s going into a book, by necessity those putting together the book would have to have some final say on how its used.
So, yes, you would be signing it over to me, but we could work out conditions.
Would I receive any kind of financial recompense for my work, or would I be getting a cut of the profits, if any?
You would receive a cut of the profits in the form of a residual, meaning as long as the book brought in revenue, you would get a percentage of that.
Is a publisher lined up for this, or is it all on spec?
Spec right now, but we want to sell it ourselves, pitching it to private schools, charter schools, magnet schools, independent school districts and various education programs. Short-run printing/print-on-demand provides the ability for us to sell the books.
How much editorial intrusion will there be?
This is an anthology work where all the parts fit into a larger narrative. Each respective section builds on and flows into the next. There has to be some editorial direction, to make sure everything works together. That being said, I tend to try and not be an imperial editor. I usually give certain things that need to be in a section and then leave it up to the author to incorporate those into their work, as they see fit. I also try and develop a mutual understanding with a section author as to what a section will say.
How do I cite my sources if my sources are NASA employees who wish to remain nameless?
All citations will be numbered and go into a bibliography.
Am I allowed to theorize and extrapolate from available facts, or do I need to remain strictly literal?
As long as it is made clear it was an extrapolation.
Will I be working by myself, or will I collaborate with someone else on my section?
Other than an editor, no? But it would be helpful to discuss things with other authors, as these sections are mutually supportive.
That’s more what I was getting at. That’s the kind of stuff I need to know before I can really agree to sign on, otherwise I’m making a completely uninformed decision, you know? Money is particularly important. I hate to say that, but it is – where will the proceeds from this project, if any, go? I’ve been repeatedly cautioned by some noteworthy writers against giving away your stuff in print for free, but I’d be willing to consider it in this case because the project sounds interesting.
I hate to say that, but it is – where will the proceeds from this project, if any, go?
Modern Conservative and the resurrection of Cthulhu through black alchemy that will tap into the lower plains, but mostly Modern Conservative.
Ok, I’ll think of it. The Cthulhu thing is a bit troubling, though. I’m more a fan of Nyarlhotep.