tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82170602024-03-13T21:29:39.375-07:00AE's BlogExplorations of culture, linguistics, and science fiction.Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-45658384301343570182018-06-10T09:22:00.000-07:002018-11-04T22:25:20.974-07:00Creating Future Accents: Fun, Fulfilling, and Phonological<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqiz01RhV_hghsYIlcGWsYMMrYWDKMDOA3AJF-5TPi0Iddf03G2tOPoR7y6xQm9E5CLIkA-8z3LL4TCkkn5XO6sJoqf6BR1z6_rM7RIxeh9BQDnwv7JTWkNjyDvT4ugPgpz_LV/s1600/Future-Dialect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Future Accents for Dummies" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqiz01RhV_hghsYIlcGWsYMMrYWDKMDOA3AJF-5TPi0Iddf03G2tOPoR7y6xQm9E5CLIkA-8z3LL4TCkkn5XO6sJoqf6BR1z6_rM7RIxeh9BQDnwv7JTWkNjyDvT4ugPgpz_LV/s1600/Future-Dialect.jpg" title="AE creates a fictional accent" width="320" /></a>
</div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the most recent episode of my science fiction podcast, <i><a href="http://aereadsskiffily.podomatic.com/" target="_blank">AE Reads Skiffily</a></i>, the featured story ("10<sup>16</sup> to 1" by James Patrick Kelly) included a time traveler who is described as having an "odd, chirping kind of accent." Accents are fun, but the details on this accent were sparse. To make my podcast reading compelling, I was thus compelled to take the measly clues given on the page and create a fictional accent. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Today I'm going to break down what guided my choices in constructing a fictional accent and give you some examples of this in the character's lines with audio ripped right out of the podcast episode.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Naturally, the fictional future accent isn't the point of the story, so there are only a few clues that fill us in on the details. The first clue we get about this fictional future dialect's phonology comes when the robot, Mr. Cross, first speaks to the protagonist, Raymond Beaumont:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"You are a child..." Child was <i>Ch-eye-eld.</i></blockquote>
<br />
It seems from Ray's crude attempt at representing pronunciation that there is some sort of vowel breaking going on. Technically, vowel breaking is a historical change turning a monophthong into a diphthong (such as turning Old English [iː] into modern English [aɪ]), but I don't know of a better term. You can see this kind of vowel breaking in the "Southern Drawl" that sees vowels broken up into multiple syllables. In this case, we can say that [aɪ] (the vowel of <i>hi</i>) becomes [ajɛ] in this accent from the future, at least before [l].<br />
<br />
The hyphen after the ⟨ch⟩ means there is some sort of delay with that first consonant. English /tʃ/ is already aspirated, so it's not likely to be additional aspiration. It could, instead, be an extra long-pronunciation, but a native speaker of English who hears [tʃʃ] might just interpret it as additional aspiration, so we've got to throw that out. What I decided to go with is [tsʃ], which is a longer pronunciation than a simple [tʃ], but with two sibilant elements. Since a native speaker of English can normally distinguish between alveolar [s] and postalveolar [ʃ], they're more likely to pick up on the difference and therefore perceive the added length. For the sake of consistency, I also applied this to all the postalveolar sibilants of English:<br />
<ul>
<li>[tʃ] > [tsʃ]</li>
<li>[ʃ] > [sʃ]</li>
<li>[dʒ] > [dzʒ]</li>
<li>[ʒ] > [zʒ]</li>
</ul>
<br />
The next clue for the accent of the future comes in Mr. Cross's next line:<br />
<blockquote>
"What is the date?" It said <i>da-ate-eh</i>.<br />
For a moment I thought it meant data. Data?</blockquote>
<br />
From Ray's stumbling use of English orthography for phonetic transcription (a fool's errand on any day), we can surmise that the silent e is being pronounced in the word <i>date</i>, possibly as [e] or [ɛ]. This could be a spelling pronunciation or a phonotactic constraint on coda consonants. It also seems like /eɪ/ is pronounced with that same sort of breaking, like [ə.eɪ].<br />
<br />
Actually, it seems like breaking is a consistent feature of Cross's future dialect. When he says, "I am not invisible", Raymond says that Cross "squeezed about eight syllables into <i>invisible</i>." Normally, invisible has four syllables: [ɪn.vɪ.zɪ.bəl]. If Cross the time-traveling robot from the future has a pattern of vowel-breaking, it only makes sense that this is what's going on here as well with <i>invisible</i>. Going strongly with our Southern inspiration, let's break [ɪ] into two syllables (yes, this does indeed happen in the American South).<br />
<ul>
<li>[ɪ] > [ɪjɛ].</li>
</ul>
This will get us to seven syllables, which is close enough to eight for government work.<br />
<br />
But wait! There's one more exchange in this story to help us with Cross's accent of the future:<br />
<blockquote>
"This is only camel." Or at least, that’s what I thought it said.<br />
"Camel? "<br />
"No, camo. "</blockquote>
In many varieties of English, including the one Raymond Beaumont speaks, /l/ is velarized (that is, the back of the tongue is bunched at the velum) at the end of a syllable. In more colloquial speech, this velarization can transform the consonant into a vowel (a phenomon called l-vocalization). Pronouncing the second vowel in <i>camo</i> as a high vowel that approximates this l-vocalization can lead one to interpret it as an /l/ (this is why, in my early Dungeons and Dragons days, I heard <i>drow</i>, the dark skinned race of elves, as <i>drell</i>, the acquatic aliens of <i>Mass Effect</i>). So it thus seems that Mr. Cross pronounces unstressed /oʊ/ as [ʊ].<br />
<br />
Those are all the details that Raymond Beaumont gives us, but I'm having fun here. So I went ahead and added a few additional features of this future accent. I wanted these changes to be consistent with what is given, while not making Cross's speech so different that listeners would have trouble understanding him.<br />
<br />
<b>Additional features of Cross's future accent</b>.
<br />
<ul>
<li>changed all instances of [ʌ] to [æ] so that words like <i>cup</i> and <i>fuck</i> would sounds like <i>cap</i> and <i>fack</i></li>
<li>turned instances of [oʊ] to [aʊ] (In keeping with the breaking tendency, and inspired by the vowel shift that turned Old English [oː] into modern English [aʊ]) so that words like <i>boat </i>would sound like <i>bout</i></li>
<li>removed most instances of [h]</li>
<li>turned instances of [ɜr], the vowel of <i>nurse</i>, to other vowels, usually guided by spelling</li>
<li>replaced most instances of [s] with [ʃ] and [z] with [ʒ], which ended up making him sound way more Dutch than I intended</li>
</ul>
Here are some examples with IPA transcriptions for those at work and helpful audio files for the IPA illiterate.<br />
<br />
"you are a child"<br />
[juː ɑr eɪ ˈtsʃaɪ.jɛld]<br />
<audio controls="">
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/aeusoes1/media-files/AERS17-Cross-Child.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1"></source></audio>
<br />
"What is the date?"<br />
[wæt ɪjɛʒ ðə ˈdeɪte]<br />
<audio controls="">
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/aeusoes1/media-files/AERS17-Cross-Date.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1"></source></audio>
<br />
"I am not invisible. This is only camo."<br />
[aɪ jɛm nɑt ɪɛnˈvɪɛʒɪɛbʊ. ðɪɛʃ ɪɛʒ ˈaʊnli ˈkæmʊ]<br />
<audio controls="">
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/aeusoes1/media-files/AERS17-Cross-Camo.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1"></source></audio>
<br />
"No, camo. You have not heard of camouflage?"<br />
[naʊ, ˈkæmʊ. juː æv nɑt ɛrd əv ˈkæmʊflɑzʒ]<br />
<audio controls="">
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/aeusoes1/media-files/AERS17-Cross-Camo2.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1"></source></audio>
<br />
"I am naturally male. Eyes do not have gender"<br />
[aɪ jɛm ˈnætsʃrɛli məˈeɪlə. aɪʒ duː nɑt æv ˈdzʒɛndɛr.]<br />
<audio controls="">
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/aeusoes1/media-files/AERS17-Cross-Gender.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1"></source></audio>
<br />
"Oh Fuck!"<br />
[aʊ fæk]<br />
<br />
<audio controls="">
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/aeusoes1/media-files/AERS17-Cross-Fuck.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1"></source></audio>
<br />
Creating your own fictional accent, either for a future dialect or some other fantasy setting is easy and fun. Just apply phonological rules consistently and practice by transcribing text into IPA with these phonological rules and then read the IPA. Anyone can do it. Even you!<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div></span>
Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Phoenix, AZ, USA33.4483771 -112.0740372999999932.6020036 -113.36493079999998 34.2947506 -110.78314379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-27926330005662358892018-01-20T14:27:00.000-07:002018-08-12T19:20:23.412-07:00 Lies My (Jedi) Teacher Told Me Part 3: The Truth About the First Skywalker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYsxXT9tKCUshL_7OXgJLulEhVsRbJ6R5x1kXE44r9rp5q-g7EtSwEUOMp0rGS6OdgoIhZr2dL8lyh7HithbBNirNZIU2JKumTeTa3d36_hFte3YZmNlUH-q5Lv1bM6KwQvkF/s1600/Jedi-Lies-part-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Star Wars Jedi lies" border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="663" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYsxXT9tKCUshL_7OXgJLulEhVsRbJ6R5x1kXE44r9rp5q-g7EtSwEUOMp0rGS6OdgoIhZr2dL8lyh7HithbBNirNZIU2JKumTeTa3d36_hFte3YZmNlUH-q5Lv1bM6KwQvkF/s320/Jedi-Lies-part-3.jpg" title="Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda lie about Darth Vader" width="320" /></a></div>
Previously, I went over what appear to be Star Wars discrepancies, but are actually lies that Obi-Wan Kenobi
told <a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2018/01/jedi-lies-part-1.html" target="_blank">so that Luke Skywalker would kill his own father</a> as well as a deliberate
pattern of <a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2018/01/jedi-lies-part-2.html" target="_blank">omitting references to Qui-Gon Jinn</a> to avoid the embarrassing
admission that the Jedi of the past had acted against their own principles. In
this final installment, we turn to the lies about Anakin Skywalker's
transformation from a Jedi Knight to a Sith Lord.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
Anakin and Vader</h2>
It is clear by the end of <i>Empire
Strikes Back</i> that Obi-Wan's account of this conversion was deceptive. Here
is the initial account he gives to Luke in <i>A New Hope</i>:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoLwGSQv2hzY0sqC6Upot7ZlRa0sBiwtxrXUVtCDFUWKTInAAXm4cIqv0Fk_YOtfxk5eTC0Tp9lMBwie5r4rHLyzqiyBZ51M6qeHOtGi4gOs9pJp06tgoDKVO4vlvVcyJBwoa/s1600/Obi-Wan-Seduced.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BEN: A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoLwGSQv2hzY0sqC6Upot7ZlRa0sBiwtxrXUVtCDFUWKTInAAXm4cIqv0Fk_YOtfxk5eTC0Tp9lMBwie5r4rHLyzqiyBZ51M6qeHOtGi4gOs9pJp06tgoDKVO4vlvVcyJBwoa/s320/Obi-Wan-Seduced.gif" title="Obi-Wan says how Anakin died" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
When Luke later calls out Obi-Wan's ghost for
the deception, his excuse is that this account was <i>technically</i> true:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKGrQjgSd_nucWxLMl9RZXDEDyJA2P3TsggAc6A2gcMSkNGEbrVGjcB69n-o-xRCSBS-OXFF-RWKiV2WWI3mms4ceflKQcJDyGeV3vpboSDoTt1A7Obt_a5AlDBrYR-yO48E8/s1600/Obi-Wan-POV2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BEN: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true from a certain point of view." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKGrQjgSd_nucWxLMl9RZXDEDyJA2P3TsggAc6A2gcMSkNGEbrVGjcB69n-o-xRCSBS-OXFF-RWKiV2WWI3mms4ceflKQcJDyGeV3vpboSDoTt1A7Obt_a5AlDBrYR-yO48E8/s320/Obi-Wan-POV2.gif" title="Obi-Wan comes clean about Anakin-Vader, sort of" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This is hard to swallow, isn't it? Words like <i>betray</i>
and <i>murder</i> have a plain meaning and also have serious implications that
simply don't apply to Anakin Skywalker's case. Even if we are to accept that
Obi-Wan's perspective is that Anakin Skywalker became a different person when
he switched sides, it's obvious by his wording that he intended Luke to falsely
believe that his father was dead in the literal sense. The ghost's excuse runs
hollow because the deception is obvious.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Obi-Wan and Yoda</h2>
Obi-Wan is not alone in this deception, as Yoda
is complicit in the effort to deceive Luke. We see this most prominently in <i>Return
of the Jedi</i> when Yoda shows reluctance to confirm that Darth Vader is
Luke's father:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPhtXkydRHdB8JeZCJpFCMKd81douN8lC8OAnDHh3-cvJv1nkFel00OLHzIZq_eVPft8rhMkmE5yv3bMhpHkF2iXqM_NfOYeGmP9i9wCyFbAlFDiOASPQNFcLY8VWv746LgVC/s1600/Yoda-Unfortunate.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="YODA: Unexpected this is, and unfortunate. LUKE: Unfortunate that I know the truth? YODA: No. Unfortunate that you rushed to face him, that incomplete was your training. Not ready for the burden were you." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPhtXkydRHdB8JeZCJpFCMKd81douN8lC8OAnDHh3-cvJv1nkFel00OLHzIZq_eVPft8rhMkmE5yv3bMhpHkF2iXqM_NfOYeGmP9i9wCyFbAlFDiOASPQNFcLY8VWv746LgVC/s320/Yoda-Unfortunate.gif" title="Yoda reluctantly confirms the truth" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Obi-Wan and Yoda are allies and it's no surprise
that they take the same approach in tricking Luke about his father. They are
both motivated to train Luke enough in the ways of the Jedi that he might
eschew his familial loyalties to carry out his Jedi duties and kill his own
father. However, Yoda provides an account that expands on Obi-Wan's deception
in <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>. As both Yoda and Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost plead
with Luke to stay on Dagobah and complete his training, Yoda elaborates just
enough on Darth Vader's turn to the Dark Side to create a new lie:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9opK7L-Q-G9UNyQG_yi2ERIT9zL6A1xWqTBYsMtGBE4R97JUbUXljmK3W983wuFh2Sea3vxQC48epAKhqvdLhccwYXUkVe5TfdMAUDY1G2q6GH4CBOF-_rSrYhzAm7E3qlcP/s1600/Yoda-QuicknEasy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="YODA: If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil. " border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9opK7L-Q-G9UNyQG_yi2ERIT9zL6A1xWqTBYsMtGBE4R97JUbUXljmK3W983wuFh2Sea3vxQC48epAKhqvdLhccwYXUkVe5TfdMAUDY1G2q6GH4CBOF-_rSrYhzAm7E3qlcP/s320/Yoda-QuicknEasy.gif" title="Yoda Lies about Anakin's Turn" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In <i>A New Hope</i>, we saw how Obi-Wan misled
Luke into believing that Anakin had similar experiences to himself. In this
scene, Yoda is doing the same. The impression that the two Jedi give here is
that a still-in-training Vader turned to the Dark Side because he had
motivations similar to Luke's. Remember that, in this scene, Luke is
interrupting his Jedi training—something he's doing so he can kill Darth
Vader—to go off and save his friends from a Darth Vader that he will then
attempt to kill. So Space Ghost and Kermit the Alien are telling Luke that
Vader (his father) cut his training off short to accomplish a goal that he
presumably would have gotten to eventually when he was more ready to accomplish
it. But this wasn't the case at all. For one thing, we see from the prequels
that Anakin Skywalker was hardly still in training. Obi-Wan Kenobi himself
tells him as such:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNXhL24M-BW5TOx2tm-A0RcYr1MrU0HT8gkqTaKgpc0jnSCMNMf6-XpcPQfNT8M4G-K8NFa2g315t3eLQrfqbbgJTd0IX__caB-B-ekHk-RT7ARuk32RWqwJ9D7TS6NAFYduE/s1600/Obi-Wan-Not-long.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OBI-WAN: I have taught you everything I know. And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be. But be patient, Anakin. It will not be long before the Council makes you a Jedi Master." border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNXhL24M-BW5TOx2tm-A0RcYr1MrU0HT8gkqTaKgpc0jnSCMNMf6-XpcPQfNT8M4G-K8NFa2g315t3eLQrfqbbgJTd0IX__caB-B-ekHk-RT7ARuk32RWqwJ9D7TS6NAFYduE/s320/Obi-Wan-Not-long.gif" title="Obi-Wan says Anakin is, like, the best" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Gone with the Sith</h2>
<div>
It's clear that Anakin Skywalker could not have been cutting his training off short, since he was not still in training in the first place—at least, not as a "pupil" as Obi-Wan describes it. Moreover, the "quick and easy path" (as Yoda puts it) isn't something that actually motivated Anakin to turn to the Dark Side; from <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>, we see that Anakin is motivated by his disillusionment with the Jedi Order and the desire to save his secret wife. Plagued by visions of her dying in childbirth, he learns from then Chancellor Palpatine that there is a way to keep this from happening through a thinly veiled story about Darth Plagueis:</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzIWA7jO7v0Cc0Ss_8IbEVVhlf0Zo_Dn-S20XP9TddqZCBhFFbWdaZv3xIgYw_wiic8rZlG0VpjWpFYrgVt98EdbazWWIr3s1OospcfUyFcY39w_Nfo6le9zWi7FPOrIUnex_/s1600/Palpatine-Dying.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="PALPATINE: He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. ANAKIN: He could actually save people from death?" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzIWA7jO7v0Cc0Ss_8IbEVVhlf0Zo_Dn-S20XP9TddqZCBhFFbWdaZv3xIgYw_wiic8rZlG0VpjWpFYrgVt98EdbazWWIr3s1OospcfUyFcY39w_Nfo6le9zWi7FPOrIUnex_/s320/Palpatine-Dying.gif" title="Palpatine talks about Darth Plagueis" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zGWxU5LxMQDoWyxeEjSaQ5wTABgkaUDoAb45rE_6u_Adbo4o1T8sJBX9JmljUmM6TO4zhoqoCy2ABJizkVjcJacT061xu77-Sgnzuv4j1rAon_b8tdbxApbD74rJBdg2t55G/s1600/Palpatine-Not-Jedi.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ANAKIN: Is it possible to learn this power? PALPATINE: Not from a Jedi." border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zGWxU5LxMQDoWyxeEjSaQ5wTABgkaUDoAb45rE_6u_Adbo4o1T8sJBX9JmljUmM6TO4zhoqoCy2ABJizkVjcJacT061xu77-Sgnzuv4j1rAon_b8tdbxApbD74rJBdg2t55G/s320/Palpatine-Not-Jedi.gif" title="Palpatine reads the Jedi" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This desire to cheat death comes to the forefront later on when Jedi Master Mace Windu is attempting to kill Palpatine in front of Anakin:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2ckODG-lTEQjj9CC32W9GTEj4bcPXzGeGkXwCnVJrgLvNeRvxa7v4MDuTMj4f66d1SYHTQ_NFd-mdUNL-ObWGtGSFrCnl-ivrVuPDKbwfHaOPHjAqTODsCoWytySmN6DG7sP/s1600/Palpatine-Save.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="PALPATINE: I have the power to save the one you love. " border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="500" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2ckODG-lTEQjj9CC32W9GTEj4bcPXzGeGkXwCnVJrgLvNeRvxa7v4MDuTMj4f66d1SYHTQ_NFd-mdUNL-ObWGtGSFrCnl-ivrVuPDKbwfHaOPHjAqTODsCoWytySmN6DG7sP/s320/Palpatine-Save.gif" title="Palpatine seduces Anakin" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
When Anakin saves Palpatine and pledges himself to become a Sith Lord, he again cites this as his reason for turning:</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkza0bW4BlwEJS-fp76ghSk2q4m9Wx4roiMvGcuFV_peXOZ5uQeJO9ukLdOm3XAR-vPpDlKJDra21J1hOFq-xBj3reKln3K13xo4tilfKcUd3NX0ulnKZWnTWg9Ag9OiLrir9/s1600/Palpatine-Save-Padme.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ANAKIN: I will do whatever you ask. PALPATINE: Good. ANAKIN: Just help me save Padmé's life. I can't live without her." border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkza0bW4BlwEJS-fp76ghSk2q4m9Wx4roiMvGcuFV_peXOZ5uQeJO9ukLdOm3XAR-vPpDlKJDra21J1hOFq-xBj3reKln3K13xo4tilfKcUd3NX0ulnKZWnTWg9Ag9OiLrir9/s320/Palpatine-Save-Padme.gif" title="Anakin declares his love of Padme to Palpatine" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anakin's motivations here are far from Yoda's
quick-and-easy characterization because there is no way in which the Jedi would
be willing or able to help him save his wife from death. Not only do the Jedi
force him to hide his marriage, but when Anakin appeals to Yoda for help, he
gets this advice:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRpFRVt9aEqO77oqaxctdtaQz-YwGOc-siTFeKD2_4Bzjsf_-Id0lqYbsxfQRo9Nva12WlYg0Sy7A5qbtNn42V08ugjb_6-cYRMzhQJHJEf_tnkZlfUa_dGaopwJ15eodkzbj/s1600/Yoda-Let-Go.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ANAKIN: What must I do, Master Yoda? YODA: Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRpFRVt9aEqO77oqaxctdtaQz-YwGOc-siTFeKD2_4Bzjsf_-Id0lqYbsxfQRo9Nva12WlYg0Sy7A5qbtNn42V08ugjb_6-cYRMzhQJHJEf_tnkZlfUa_dGaopwJ15eodkzbj/s320/Yoda-Let-Go.gif" title="Yoda gives bad advice" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
Saving Padmé isn't the only thing that convinces
Anakin, though. When Mace Windu has his lightsaber pointed at the cowering Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker is witnessing what amounts to an extrajudicial killing. Mace Windu has turned a simple arrest (already problematic enough) into a bloody coup d'état. Mace Windu has an obligation to the democratic institutions he serves. The correct course, in the framework of a just, fair, and stable democratic government, would be to peacefully arrest Palpatine and have him stand trial. In <i>Attack of the Clones</i>, Naboo's own queen expresses this sentiment in a manner that is both explicit and prophetic:</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-xzYQFzYJk8aQ0zqFMRGUd74O7cWveZhghOsqsF2e_ajcx85ndbbeSCKm98bzakglML5AH7L6xUPi20tShMbQ2hySNdgS9kB_LVMX9y8BXgr6zh_B3B2iRUETazETBsnWQ-t/s1600/Jamillia-Republic.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="QUEEN JAMILLIA: We must keep our faith in the Republic. The day we stop believing democracy can work is the day we lose it." border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="500" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-xzYQFzYJk8aQ0zqFMRGUd74O7cWveZhghOsqsF2e_ajcx85ndbbeSCKm98bzakglML5AH7L6xUPi20tShMbQ2hySNdgS9kB_LVMX9y8BXgr6zh_B3B2iRUETazETBsnWQ-t/s320/Jamillia-Republic.gif" title="Queen of Naboo gives a prediction" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This literally happens. The Chancellor announces
the reorganization of the Republic into "the first Galactic Empire"
the same day Mace Windu tries to kill him. While it's easy to gloss over this
as a poorly written and muddled attempt at inserting heroic characters (who <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Myth_of_the_American_Superhero.html?id=aP4xGQAACAAJ">implicitly
eschew democratic principles</a>) into a political narrative, the choices and
consequences fit with Yoda's above syllogism about a dark path. Given that the
Jedi path would not have helped him save his wife from death and Anakin was
disillusioned by what we might call the corruption of the Jedi, we can see that
Anakin's motivations for turning to the Dark Side are far from Yoda's
quick-and-easy characterization.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
See No Evil</h2>
The apparent hypocrisy of the Jedi is the reason for
their deception about how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. The Jedi Order
itself—Obi-Wan and Yoda included—made the mistake of violating their principles
out of impatience and desperation; they ended up losing everything when keeping
to their principles likely would have turned out better for them. Thus, if
anything, Mace Windu's abrogation of the duty to follow judicial procedure was
taking the "quick and easy path." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimR2MDXKsWiThvrsiXd3GzTg9WazxKSYxdUGJLVhwFJRBpe73pvHOCHJqykxsohT14TUjiC0T5oxso1JRQoJt_pi8w44mH7luT1oFRuLLvVjJcUXYXKJKNEPK8M5X3Jcr2J5jV/s1600/Yoda-cute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Yoda looks cute" border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="500" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimR2MDXKsWiThvrsiXd3GzTg9WazxKSYxdUGJLVhwFJRBpe73pvHOCHJqykxsohT14TUjiC0T5oxso1JRQoJt_pi8w44mH7luT1oFRuLLvVjJcUXYXKJKNEPK8M5X3Jcr2J5jV/s320/Yoda-cute.jpg" title="Image of Yoda" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The way of the Jedi, hypocrisy is.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
From the perspective of the Jedi, they would
want to make sure that Luke Skywalker didn't make the same mistake that they
themselves fell into. At the same time, they want to maintain credibility in
Luke Skywalker's eyes, something that would be undermined if they admitted that
they had made such glaring mistakes. Moreover, were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda to
admit to falling into the trap of taking things the "quick and easy"
way, Luke Skywalker might realize that they haven't actually corrected their
mistaken approach: not only is lying as a means to an end itself a form of taking
the easy way, but their wish that Luke kill Darth Vader rather than redeem him
is another way that the Jedi approach seems to be to take the easy way at the
expense of what is right. If Yoda is correct that doing things the easy way
leads one to "become an agent of evil" then both Jedi are evil by
virtue of being dirty filthy liars. </div>
Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Phoenix, AZ, USA33.4483771 -112.0740372999999932.6020036 -113.36493079999998 34.2947506 -110.78314379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-88954379858780852762018-01-13T12:37:00.000-07:002018-08-12T19:05:54.219-07:00Lies My (Jedi) Teacher Told Me Part 2: Choosing Not to Look at Qui-Gon Jinn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDJeYt8VjrAybGBl-eieWOb6XCvAv2laR30Mtkg2mi9fXPDej2KKcUOD2Ay0sjjY3gtO9SlX2YrvTGclpGR-vlQ5_7O3RFOwzDo91-AH3MjFaw-tM0synVDQvf9S-4CNfn5HD/s1600/Jedi-Lies-part-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Star Wars Jedi lies" border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="699" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDJeYt8VjrAybGBl-eieWOb6XCvAv2laR30Mtkg2mi9fXPDej2KKcUOD2Ay0sjjY3gtO9SlX2YrvTGclpGR-vlQ5_7O3RFOwzDo91-AH3MjFaw-tM0synVDQvf9S-4CNfn5HD/s320/Jedi-Lies-part-2.jpg" title="Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda lies about Qui-Gon Jiinn" width="320" /></a></div>
In <a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2018/01/jedi-lies-part-1.html" target="_blank">part 1</a> of this series, I covered Star Wars discrepancies that were the result of Obi-Wan Kenobi lying so as to get Luke Skywalker off-planet and start his Jedi training.<br />
<br />
In the second of this three-part series, it is time to learn about Obi-Wan's deceptions regarding his own past that are definitely not simply the result of the filmmakers making continuity mistakes.<br />
<a name='more'></a><h2>
The True Importance of "The"</h2>
The pattern of subtle but implicit lies about the elderly Jedi's own past training make their debut in Empire Strikes Back, when Obi-Wan's spirit calls Luke to find Yoda in the Dagobah system:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6N1ZoYn5o-2LaWwdp8PuSuo9xd33Hc_XtwSJv0S-DoMwbKdzlek0MksvjNwKx45zwleSUfcfKNSh3IPy7FGb5Xyqz1CnLaNth1FDXtMPcWnut_z7gma2Emb5t-ZCY3DbiWvF2/s1600/Obi-Wan-Instructed-Me.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BEN: There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me." border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="500" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6N1ZoYn5o-2LaWwdp8PuSuo9xd33Hc_XtwSJv0S-DoMwbKdzlek0MksvjNwKx45zwleSUfcfKNSh3IPy7FGb5Xyqz1CnLaNth1FDXtMPcWnut_z7gma2Emb5t-ZCY3DbiWvF2/s320/Obi-Wan-Instructed-Me.gif" title="Force Ghost Obi-Wan makes an appearance" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
With his use of <i>the </i>(the article) he is implicitly saying that Yoda was the only Jedi who trained him to become a Jedi Knight. We know this to be untrue from <i>The Phantom Menace</i>, where we see a young Obi-Wan Kenobi as a Padawan apprenticed to a Jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn. We might be tempted to hand wave this contradiction away by parsing the distinction between Jedi <i>Master </i>and Jedi <i>Knight</i>, which the prequels establish to be specific ranks. In this line of thinking, Yoda would be the Master who instructed Obi-Wan while Qui-Gon was the Knight who continued the process. But it is quickly apparent that Qui-Gon is a powerful and dedicated enough Jedi to be on the Jedi Council, as the younger Obi-Wan says:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDjFKyKhrnT1dGP0SkF1PpMzQWJBJLTUBCDJb6wHe1BcVjxsytrsy4N8raUGlqfUPfo56822GbVWSCKxiK9ZJC5loTYhwrVyUOICbLnOWZR_FDNpodBkoFFYDwyWqaAgfBkTI/s1600/Obi-Wan-Just-Follow-Code.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OBI-WAN: If you just followed the code, you would be on the Council. They will not go along with you this time." border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="500" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDjFKyKhrnT1dGP0SkF1PpMzQWJBJLTUBCDJb6wHe1BcVjxsytrsy4N8raUGlqfUPfo56822GbVWSCKxiK9ZJC5loTYhwrVyUOICbLnOWZR_FDNpodBkoFFYDwyWqaAgfBkTI/s320/Obi-Wan-Just-Follow-Code.gif" title="Obi-Wan says Qui-Gon could be on the Jedi Council" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
The prequels also make it clear that the Jedi Council is exclusively composed of Jedi Masters:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdvrS0Q_RLAQZQt4x1TLRbim55ofhBhUXPcY7WNPaXQPuZH8vyatUxHYYwLBxVvOyVjtrf3zOksMCu7oWSDacWNT3WCwlFtPeOzfNZAYMQcaxTFyN-OCldNZlhSm5ORG5EgXr/s1600/Anakin-not-a-master.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ANAKIN: What kind of nonsense is this, put me on the Council and not make me a Master? That's never been done in the history of the Jedi. It's insulting." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdvrS0Q_RLAQZQt4x1TLRbim55ofhBhUXPcY7WNPaXQPuZH8vyatUxHYYwLBxVvOyVjtrf3zOksMCu7oWSDacWNT3WCwlFtPeOzfNZAYMQcaxTFyN-OCldNZlhSm5ORG5EgXr/s320/Anakin-not-a-master.gif" title="Anakin is mad about not being a Master" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
Anakin's anger in <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> only makes sense if admittance into the Jedi Council goes hand-in-hand with the rank of Master. In addition to Qui-Gon's qualifications for the Jedi Council showing him to be a Jedi Master, the Yoda of the prequels also refers to Qui-Gon explicitly as <i>Master </i>when the latter informs the Jedi Council of a Sith threat:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGlYRZsZ2LsMjY8Cdt4DmqjVuOX_GyOTawnP_wqQyQKVracH9a2z_kmiPSF4FPYLwvxe1eylNj3coGm679QWwKPNxKhy4TxtMtYvgzfmXb2kGHaEllcwqZR7R3oSRERJIE_0y/s1600/Yoda-Master-Qui-Gon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="YODA: Master Qui-Gon. More to say, have you?" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGlYRZsZ2LsMjY8Cdt4DmqjVuOX_GyOTawnP_wqQyQKVracH9a2z_kmiPSF4FPYLwvxe1eylNj3coGm679QWwKPNxKhy4TxtMtYvgzfmXb2kGHaEllcwqZR7R3oSRERJIE_0y/s320/Yoda-Master-Qui-Gon.gif" title="Yoda calls Qui-Gon Jinn Master" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
Because Yoda is a Master himself, he would not refer to another Jedi as Master unless they had attained that rank. This title is not something used flippantly, as Padmé even goes out of her way to correct the misuse of the title when Anakin Skywalker is still a Padawan:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMkz4-r9FgJBhyphenhyphenHpcg6zKSGhoao9jt7hHDj4Rkj_mZN394A-yi7ptmj4Sk3Q7B2XxLTQs37Tz5J1DRoi4EMYoBg3RfGl2mJql5XEu7pMHsmmyzvT9MLuis4O_LKn10U91nQG6/s1600/Padme-Not-Jedi.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="SIO BIBBLE: What is your suggestion, Master Jedi? PADMÉ: Oh, Anakin's not a Jedi yet. He's still a Padawan learner." border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="500" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMkz4-r9FgJBhyphenhyphenHpcg6zKSGhoao9jt7hHDj4Rkj_mZN394A-yi7ptmj4Sk3Q7B2XxLTQs37Tz5J1DRoi4EMYoBg3RfGl2mJql5XEu7pMHsmmyzvT9MLuis4O_LKn10U91nQG6/s320/Padme-Not-Jedi.gif" title="Padme regulates on the Jedi" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
<h2>
The Invisibility of Qui-Gon Jinn</h2>
With the understanding that Yoda could not have been the only Jedi Master who instructed Obi-Wan Kenobi, we can then take note that Obi-Wan Kenobi deliberately omits other references to Qui-Gon Jinn that should have been there. For example, Obi-Wan explains to Luke the circumstances in which he trained Anakin without mentioning his own teacher: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIxX3uu7I_pNWxNsOilpaMXA7WcCznSuBGoPl4u44yKZPaT1-gY6tXDNQC4zZ6T4Gncf5s8AuUJimPjU44rGKvIwOMxAnSFwZnshKib6B7rnXS9KkEIdrOrWddVyACaRQBbrK/s1600/Obi-Wan-good-as-Yoda.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BEN: I took it upon myself to train him as a Jedi. I thought that I could instruct him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong." border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="500" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIxX3uu7I_pNWxNsOilpaMXA7WcCznSuBGoPl4u44yKZPaT1-gY6tXDNQC4zZ6T4Gncf5s8AuUJimPjU44rGKvIwOMxAnSFwZnshKib6B7rnXS9KkEIdrOrWddVyACaRQBbrK/s320/Obi-Wan-good-as-Yoda.gif" title="Obi-Wan says he was wrong" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is misleading in two ways. Firstly, we can surmise that Yoda wouldn't have been the first comparison Obi-Wan would have made. In <i>The Phantom Menace</i>, it is initially Qui-Gon Jinn who is set to take the young Anakin as a Padawan:</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAJRmEBqqsX1LR1LD4twn0qWf45Y2thQ8lLK1ot7FoV4ILe_AGtBbavnIMkEo4aj4zXMaQdVSFciQgjvNWb8vimGmZGsp5ry32lgDEk3pPzXq8jkvpwDdxD2lpXK-FRpjeGzc/s1600/Qui-Gon-will-teach-Anakin.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="QUI-GON: I will train him, then. I take Anakin as my Padawan learner." border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="500" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAJRmEBqqsX1LR1LD4twn0qWf45Y2thQ8lLK1ot7FoV4ILe_AGtBbavnIMkEo4aj4zXMaQdVSFciQgjvNWb8vimGmZGsp5ry32lgDEk3pPzXq8jkvpwDdxD2lpXK-FRpjeGzc/s320/Qui-Gon-will-teach-Anakin.gif" title="Qui-Gon takes Anakin as his padawan" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With this in mind, it would seem that Obi-Wan would primarily hope to live up to the training standards of his old master, Qui-Gon, rather than to Yoda. In addition, Obi-Wan didn't take it upon himself to train Anakin as much as he was compelled by a dying Qui-Gon Jinn to train him:</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5oBe5JEVXZrK3cwHR2oJfpQvb8fPAIbAbp_U8-UEhOdH-i2elpupwlVB3mSofKyEVK6WPt7jBfSHiMFcGHdTb78psp3nr_-GbtUgySivN3zGI5ffwj8rjLI1qFEc6UCyvv0M/s1600/Qui-Gon-Promise-me.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="QUI-GON: Obi-Wan, promise...promise me you will train the boy. OBI-WAN Yes, Master." border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="500" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5oBe5JEVXZrK3cwHR2oJfpQvb8fPAIbAbp_U8-UEhOdH-i2elpupwlVB3mSofKyEVK6WPt7jBfSHiMFcGHdTb78psp3nr_-GbtUgySivN3zGI5ffwj8rjLI1qFEc6UCyvv0M/s320/Qui-Gon-Promise-me.gif" title="Qui-Gon makes Obi-Wan train Anakin" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This lie of omission even flavors other information about Obi-Wan's past that we get from other characters. When Yoda is resistant to taking Luke on as a student, he and Obi-Wan have this exchange:</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcac1BjYyYxZpA_Q0j8XxZKg3xTS0gs5qSSHm5Jk05lx9txKLc-SDlt8qS0XAuF6v6pd283Tw6yseYL6zRMgWAPG5EQ_A_hRPqDvKock8ot5YyUGBMWlLjdbb0yMm7ZieZJwr8/s1600/Yoda-Anger-in-Luke.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="YODA: Much anger in him, like his father. BEN: Was I any different when you taught me?" border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="500" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcac1BjYyYxZpA_Q0j8XxZKg3xTS0gs5qSSHm5Jk05lx9txKLc-SDlt8qS0XAuF6v6pd283Tw6yseYL6zRMgWAPG5EQ_A_hRPqDvKock8ot5YyUGBMWlLjdbb0yMm7ZieZJwr8/s320/Yoda-Anger-in-Luke.gif" title="Yoda says Luke is angry" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
Yoda does not deny Obi-Wan's assertion because he likely did teach Obi-Wan as a Jedi youngling; the prequels establish that
Yoda had a hand in teaching many of the younglings. Without this proper information from the prequels, the inference that Luke gets from overhearing this exchange is a confirmation that Yoda and only Yoda trained Obi-Wan Kenobi in a manner similar to the training he could provide for Luke.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5I0ma25kd4-zyMGq5cGaL90SR7v-cY_aS8NbCKRBaZcbUkCu0OpQkKMSmQlHoXh_C4OyFIxD-NtK9igVgfcl4-IegZUTePQ4KBG5CzY3fWC0ErACpADSFLsDpqsfFqQL8edU/s1600/Yoda-Training-Younglings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Yoda standing with small children holding laser swords" border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5I0ma25kd4-zyMGq5cGaL90SR7v-cY_aS8NbCKRBaZcbUkCu0OpQkKMSmQlHoXh_C4OyFIxD-NtK9igVgfcl4-IegZUTePQ4KBG5CzY3fWC0ErACpADSFLsDpqsfFqQL8edU/s320/Yoda-Training-Younglings.jpg" title="Yoda teaches Jedi younglings" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Come children. To the rock-lifting room we must
go."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2> Down the Memory Hole</h2>
<div>
This pattern of omission might seem like the byproduct of the creators of Star Wars movies inventing Qui-Gon Jinn for the prequels without worrying about how so instrumental a figure to Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi past should have naturally gotten some mention in Luke's training, but the omission still makes sense at a narrative level if we are to understand Obi-Wan as taking part in further deception. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
From this line of deception, where it is clear that Obi-Wan doesn't wish to mention Qui-Gon Jinn, it is likely that the lies about Obi-Wan's past are part of a deliberate coverup. But why would Obi-Wan wish to mislead Luke on what seem like minor points of history?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsWOVUF24P3KdilAUrXT5Whx9qegPw_ja51Qd5a5oFK8y-wSml_PjVzafmNFNEuqbyW82C3Tt1HErtrr5o8xrOjrEEScC_T17w9ds93D7iw608jcw5fMXZFXc4MpT2y3x7IJU/s1600/Obi-Wan-and-Padme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Obi-Wan looks intensely at Padme " border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsWOVUF24P3KdilAUrXT5Whx9qegPw_ja51Qd5a5oFK8y-wSml_PjVzafmNFNEuqbyW82C3Tt1HErtrr5o8xrOjrEEScC_T17w9ds93D7iw608jcw5fMXZFXc4MpT2y3x7IJU/s320/Obi-Wan-and-Padme.jpg" title="Obi-Wan and Padme" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insert Obi-Wan+Padmé fan theory/fan fiction here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The most likely answer is embarrassment. Qui-Gon Jinn was a Jedi, but he acted independently of the Jedi Council when he felt that the structures or rules of the Jedi Order stood in the way of what he felt was right. This actually helps Qui-Gon Jinn stand apart, as the other Jedi fail to uphold their own principles, such as when they task Anakin Skywalker with spying on the Chancellor in <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdp4dHaEz5MLgKxw6Tne_n27LOID0wMG5bxd8nQkTE8-zD2HSzkvPx4oKWfKcMvJGRcLmXXJsp-9YB8hfmc0aMAW3wlnbL1kxPOMbh6ysDul3xhH3pHgklE_kh1onlj-od3BH/s1600/Obi-Wan-Spy-on-Palpatine.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OBI-WAN: The Council wants you to report on all the Chancellor's dealings. They want to know what he's up to. ANAKIN: They want me to spy on the Chancellor? That's treason." border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="500" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdp4dHaEz5MLgKxw6Tne_n27LOID0wMG5bxd8nQkTE8-zD2HSzkvPx4oKWfKcMvJGRcLmXXJsp-9YB8hfmc0aMAW3wlnbL1kxPOMbh6ysDul3xhH3pHgklE_kh1onlj-od3BH/s320/Obi-Wan-Spy-on-Palpatine.gif" title="Obi-Wan has Anakin spy on Palpatine" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
It's even clear that the Jedi are conspiring to
remove the Chancellor from office and establish a military junta:</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS_hztWaKAJz-KvRwSVG_C1ot5Oe3HI-JkXJ-ZPPi7uFu6I9ZI0tcGFQfe1SBNURKAKNZrwgiaOY4XmqmQoe1eCFF8v1dcltv8duQN5XBVnpZKfT0hhAz1NETxWNXpylXc5zr/s1600/Jedi-Council-Coup.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="KI-ADI-MUNDI: If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office. MACE WINDU: The Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition. YODA: To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Hmm. great care we must take." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS_hztWaKAJz-KvRwSVG_C1ot5Oe3HI-JkXJ-ZPPi7uFu6I9ZI0tcGFQfe1SBNURKAKNZrwgiaOY4XmqmQoe1eCFF8v1dcltv8duQN5XBVnpZKfT0hhAz1NETxWNXpylXc5zr/s320/Jedi-Council-Coup.gif" title="Jedi conspire to install a junta" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Compounding this is that these Jedi Council members failed
to uphold their own principles because of their desire to stop the Sith, but
ended up failing anyway. Were Luke Skywalker to learn of Qui-Gon Jinn, he would
also learn of how both Yoda and Obi-Wan failed against Palpatine, not because
of the treachery of Darth Vader but because of their own mistakes. That might shake his trust in them enough to doubt their council.</div>
<br />
I will return to this idea of saving face and
maintaining credibility in <a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2018/01/jedi-lies-part-3.html" target="_blank">the third and final installment</a> in this Star Wars
series by covering the lies both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda tell to Luke regarding
Anakin Skywalker's religious conversion to a Sith Lord.</div>
Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-10769323449177038532018-01-07T11:35:00.000-07:002018-08-12T19:06:29.782-07:00Lies My (Jedi) Teacher Told Me Part 1: The Process of Hero Making<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuAeJovPK7tXN4-59PmR80ShEvcn9__wvT1JiriVzyid5pU4UwkvopuA_wZv5xIBKbHDJDKRpU6HzMzhYs4vVnsARJeGOFIl3IPAir13QEHuPeMl0FFmsymiPFBMmw0wZDsvB/s1600/Jedi-Lies-part-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Star Wars Jedi lies" border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="699" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuAeJovPK7tXN4-59PmR80ShEvcn9__wvT1JiriVzyid5pU4UwkvopuA_wZv5xIBKbHDJDKRpU6HzMzhYs4vVnsARJeGOFIl3IPAir13QEHuPeMl0FFmsymiPFBMmw0wZDsvB/s320/Jedi-Lies-part-1.jpg" title="Obi-Wan Kenobi lies about Anakin Skywalker" width="320" /></a>We would all do well to remember when <i>Return
of the Jedi</i> showed Obi-Wan Kenobi to be a brazen liar. The moment comes when the Force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi—who is supposed to be a good guy—sits down on a fell tree in the swamps of Dagobah to rationalize his fabrication about the fate of Luke Skywalker’s father. While Obi-Wan had said that Darth Vader killed Anakin Skywalker, it turns out that Darth Vader <i>is</i>
Anakin Skywalker. But, Obi-Wan says, he was actually telling the truth because, from his perspective, Anakin Skywalker's turn to the Dark Side of the Force was the same as becoming a different person. He even lamely tries to boost this attempt at weaseling his lie into the truth by tacking on a vague aphorism about "point of view" as if this were some sort of lesson in wisdom:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj67L6OULG6UAF7_GyGXqMGh13tnkSDBMPGjtMSHd68mNSDpdlF_1svSaojcYPp3oiEGfwv8zVcBU_8q6SqLm9HJY2W6BO_50S-mWOybKhG4F_vXYWeF0mVbsmfl8jLDVQAzrX/s1600/Obi-Wan-POV.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BEN: Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="500" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj67L6OULG6UAF7_GyGXqMGh13tnkSDBMPGjtMSHd68mNSDpdlF_1svSaojcYPp3oiEGfwv8zVcBU_8q6SqLm9HJY2W6BO_50S-mWOybKhG4F_vXYWeF0mVbsmfl8jLDVQAzrX/s320/Obi-Wan-POV.gif" title="Obi-Wan weasels out of a lie" width="320" /></a></div>
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What could be a saving move on the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi becomes a non-starter for the rest of the film. There is no moment with Luke Skywalker realizing for himself that perspective alters truth. There is no point where Luke—much less <i>anyone</i>— sees that alternative facts lead to different conclusions that reflect one's ideological assumptions. Rather, in Star Wars, it is when truth has been compromised that this sort of point-of-view shift comes about. What we are left with, then, is Obi-Wan Kenobi using this vague aphorism as an excuse to get himself out of having to own up to his lie.<br />
<br />
Some might argue that this apparent dishonesty is a byproduct of the films' creators lacking any grand vision for the series, leading to continuity mistakes and discrepancies in the Star Wars movies from changing things haphazardly. But, as I will demonstrate, the better explanation is that the Jedi have a firm habit of misleading with lies and half-truths.<br />
<br />
Welcome to the first of my three-part series on Jedi lies and the lying Jedi who tell them.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
The Lie of Opportunity </h2>
<i>A New Hope</i> makes it clear that, even before going off on his Jedi adventure, Luke Skywalker had been living with lies. His Uncle Owen, desiring to keep Luke safe at the moisture farm, continuously stalls Luke’s efforts at joining his friends at "the Academy" and also makes nakedly deceptive attempts at keeping Luke from interacting with Obi-Wan Kenobi:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO6nHic9my0E9XdrUt3bVcJdQ4fBPUn7RSv_rYsMUdhgjmKJ5QO1cTdXMvjenqRebW_PCKmFG3hP9y4JQyB7thS8oiEgNe3Wo_B-Xz5QXqGcLkPkspmnhIZGagBNnV7v3JsIU/s1600/Owen-Lies.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="LUKE: But what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for him? OWEN: He won't, I don't think he exists any more. He died about the same time as your father." border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="500" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO6nHic9my0E9XdrUt3bVcJdQ4fBPUn7RSv_rYsMUdhgjmKJ5QO1cTdXMvjenqRebW_PCKmFG3hP9y4JQyB7thS8oiEgNe3Wo_B-Xz5QXqGcLkPkspmnhIZGagBNnV7v3JsIU/s320/Owen-Lies.gif" title="Owen lies to Luke" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's pretty obvious that Owen is making this lie up on the spot, since it's so poorly thought out. If you know someone has died, you would be a little more certain about whether or not he existed.<br />
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This environment of deception creates an opening for "Old Ben" Kenobi to easily gain Luke's trust. After he disproves Owen's transparent lies by explaining that he himself is Obi-Wan, the shaky credibility Luke had for his caretaker has been undermined, creating a trust vacuum for Luke and setting Obi-Wan up to become a new trusted figure with little effort.<br />
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Obi-Wan takes this opportunity to gain Luke's trust by replacing Owen's lies with those of his own making. Here is how Obi-Wan Kenobi characterizes Owen Lars's relationship with Anakin Skywalker:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXYNmNFNSq4eGW2NDaU-YcywFBg0JE3TtsyvzoRZUKUHcFspUJoQ775WbftF7jWkscK8tqU9uhBlE4louq_DpEAJ68AA92HOcJ7TZnTHgYW7WuaC_lQpfird0PvI3im9yWuMj/s1600/Obi-Wan-involved.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="LUKE: No, my father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter. BEN: That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals. Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXYNmNFNSq4eGW2NDaU-YcywFBg0JE3TtsyvzoRZUKUHcFspUJoQ775WbftF7jWkscK8tqU9uhBlE4louq_DpEAJ68AA92HOcJ7TZnTHgYW7WuaC_lQpfird0PvI3im9yWuMj/s320/Obi-Wan-involved.gif" title="Obi-Wan calls Owen a coward" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
The picture we get here is of an Anakin Skywalker about Luke's age who was raised on Tatooine along with his brother, Owen. Presumably, Anakin Skywalker left Tatooine when he was a young man and wished to take part in the Clone Wars, perhaps driven by Jedi duty or due to some other value that made involvement in interstellar affairs important to him. Meanwhile, diffident Owen wanted to just work on the moisture farm and keep Anakin on Tatooine, as he does with Luke. </div>
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<div>
However, the most basic plot outline of <i>The Phantom Menace</i> shows this to be a fabrication. Anakin Skywalker was taken from Tatooine as a small boy, compelled more by a desire to escape enslavement than any sense of justice or duty, much less awareness about galactic affairs. There were no clone wars at the time and Owen, it turns out, is half-brother to Anakin through a marriage that wouldn’t even take place for several years (as we see has happened by <i>Attack of the Clones</i>). Not only were the two of them strangers when Anakin left to become a Jedi, but in the brief amount of time they did see each other, there was no clashing of ideals or even any clashing at all. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0a0esy72X9crA8RDJ_xQt7ovDkiUqsOUyCYgGwO5jnhDyw0-AyBwU8hF60YA0pfUURqmGxy2tHBSsKdthgd9p8ItORcQlxAxT_pBUVxJ1hh3Ix51QjiJkhNeTlJPa_FXEmF_X/s1600/maury-Owen-Clone-wars.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MAURY POVICH: You said that Owen opposed Anakin's involvement with the Clone Wars. The prequels determined that this was a lie.]" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0a0esy72X9crA8RDJ_xQt7ovDkiUqsOUyCYgGwO5jnhDyw0-AyBwU8hF60YA0pfUURqmGxy2tHBSsKdthgd9p8ItORcQlxAxT_pBUVxJ1hh3Ix51QjiJkhNeTlJPa_FXEmF_X/s320/maury-Owen-Clone-wars.gif" title="Maury Povich fact checks Obi-Wan Kenobi" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Watching Big Brother</h2>
<div>
This line of deception reveals the Jedi Master's motives: Obi-Wan Kenobi wishes to mislead Luke into believing that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker are different people; because his plan involves Luke killing Vader and Palpatine, avoiding the revelation of Vader's identity keeps Luke on track with this plan (at least until his Jedi training would allow his sense of duty to outshine any reluctance to kill his own father). However, Kenobi's lies go beyond this by misleading Luke regarding how Anakin left Tatooine and Anakin’s relationship with Owen. Why would he do that? The answer to this comes about with the further weaving of a fanciful tale when Obi-Wan pulls out Anakin’s lightsaber:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjoq7zayPUhzFimzlC2sJ2iitc5GeZOnGElwYj7lU5q7dArbTR3UvZKgFSxVUGNeWXRilWSuevYxjsymeIXv3uysS8tCHd_eacdPjvxgcSPG5sB-HtSVmnhviZa3I5VaShKTGS/s1600/Obi-Wan-dads-sword.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BEN: Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjoq7zayPUhzFimzlC2sJ2iitc5GeZOnGElwYj7lU5q7dArbTR3UvZKgFSxVUGNeWXRilWSuevYxjsymeIXv3uysS8tCHd_eacdPjvxgcSPG5sB-HtSVmnhviZa3I5VaShKTGS/s320/Obi-Wan-dads-sword.gif" title="Obi-Wan lies about lightsabers" width="320" /></a></div>
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Obi-Wan Kenobi is trying to trick Luke into abandoning his obligations with an implied promise of adventure. The first clause of this line is a fabrication. Not only was there no point that Anakin Skywalker expressed that he wanted his son to have his lightsaber, there was no indication of what he wanted for any of his children. He certainly had no opportunity to tell Obi-Wan Kenobi or his half-brother, Owen, since he and Padmé kept their marriage secret.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta7YGynAqp-pcmcjiu1WJp0EOcXdajGD6FDPjF3M3LkVdnCd2PCYp5Xy39m3TKE7sM6wgyFrKIE5nkPiUy_lOHuFyeSTmswQ6KCWZ0JYV8jFZvXyW1fp0KmpKYHra0ABIAkh6/s1600/maury-Owen-stop-anakin.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MAURY POVICH: You said Owen tried to stop Anakin Skywalker. The prequels show this was a lie" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta7YGynAqp-pcmcjiu1WJp0EOcXdajGD6FDPjF3M3LkVdnCd2PCYp5Xy39m3TKE7sM6wgyFrKIE5nkPiUy_lOHuFyeSTmswQ6KCWZ0JYV8jFZvXyW1fp0KmpKYHra0ABIAkh6/s320/maury-Owen-stop-anakin.gif" title="Maury Povich determines the restults of a lie detector test" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
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<div>
While this might seem like a strange thing to make up, Obi-Wan's lie makes sense in the overall narrative that he is constructing for Luke. Luke's Uncle Owen has been suppressing his efforts to leave the moisture farm and the lies that Obi-Wan tells him make it seem as though Owen did the same thing to his father, Anakin. Obi-Wan has reframed Luke's experiences from a protective caretaker looking out for the safety of his charge to that of a contrast between Anakin's high-minded idealism and Owen's cowardice. This is designed to manipulate Luke into abandoning his family, something the Jedi typically have no problem with anyway. </div>
<div>
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<div>
By reframing Owen's behavior in this way, Obi-Wan can now weasel in bits of truth: the rest of the above line implies that he and Owen had a falling out regarding Luke's involvement in galactic affairs. Owen, being Luke's guardian, must have somehow forbidden Obi-Wan from even contacting Luke, much less training him to be a Jedi. This seems to be an accurate characterization (though, again, for different reasons than Obi-Wan implies) because it coheres with Owen's failed attempts to dissuade Luke from finding Obi-Wan. </div>
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<h2>
Why are Jedi taught like this?</h2>
<div>
We can also surmise that this disagreement between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Owen Lars happened long ago because, were Luke to be trained as a Jedi, Obi-Wan would have started much earlier. Remember that, in <i>Empire Strikes Back</i>, Yoda remarks that Luke's ripe old age of 21 is a problem for his training:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWrUJS-Mmh4EdOJ8S1aeR4YX69r3eu1dsSbGvLxeTuG1PsuJhwaZ7GRua9616lfFdVMiBn09OjvXBvihIqC6Odesuc8s5NnyV9vEI7XPDSZClAs8e4N5dL0WLjjk_ASjsDqRX/s1600/yoda-too-old.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="YODA: He is too old. Yes, too old to begin the training." border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="500" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWrUJS-Mmh4EdOJ8S1aeR4YX69r3eu1dsSbGvLxeTuG1PsuJhwaZ7GRua9616lfFdVMiBn09OjvXBvihIqC6Odesuc8s5NnyV9vEI7XPDSZClAs8e4N5dL0WLjjk_ASjsDqRX/s320/yoda-too-old.gif" title="Yoda thinks 21 is too old." width="320" /></a></div>
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It turns out that this is an understatement. In <i>The Phantom Menace</i>, even nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker is too old:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmROWqejwvjYIqfYARZ0qVJl9BCqBx_ZXx1GUX2udhn3wR2EckFX1MhzmTy93V-9Ox1VmqmSrcRIcPkpka_eiy46tWosRuIWC-7sxqG91t97kQkvQfqDdE6QcRND47fzWMRQI/s1600/Obi-Wan-too-old.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OBI-WAN: The boy will not pass the council's tests, Master. He's too old." border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmROWqejwvjYIqfYARZ0qVJl9BCqBx_ZXx1GUX2udhn3wR2EckFX1MhzmTy93V-9Ox1VmqmSrcRIcPkpka_eiy46tWosRuIWC-7sxqG91t97kQkvQfqDdE6QcRND47fzWMRQI/s320/Obi-Wan-too-old.gif" title="Obi-Wan thinks 9 is too old." width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4l-Ys5HJ9Tmj-YK98umx0taWb8ONC5xmx6OMbSoQqzl2D-P5AbdmIdFWTZX6G9Us40uFDyuMsNkzWTfDURdwAiDYTsjWjbvVAQDPRG0TlJPFSOkzV4KuaUYRFcXf8WQsy3HP/s1600/Mace-Windu-too-old.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MACE WINDU: He is too old." border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="500" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4l-Ys5HJ9Tmj-YK98umx0taWb8ONC5xmx6OMbSoQqzl2D-P5AbdmIdFWTZX6G9Us40uFDyuMsNkzWTfDURdwAiDYTsjWjbvVAQDPRG0TlJPFSOkzV4KuaUYRFcXf8WQsy3HP/s320/Mace-Windu-too-old.gif" title="Mace Windu thinks 9 is to old." width="320" /></a></div>
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If Jedi are normally trained at a much earlier
age and Obi-Wan has not started training Luke already, then it is likely that
there really was a disagreement between Owen and Obi-Wan that prevented the
latter from starting Luke’s Jedi training.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjoRBsY57eMQ1fmy4tsOoxilxmk881XPg09Sb1BUVK0hyphenhyphenQRtYedt3j6FZ8Cqx6JwRhAFHFZ4cCUgPMoxkMgaL6JCTorE4Iv_pAo3_7oiwL8PkN_5L3OA3n3lliW80F0husg9l/s1600/Maury-Povich-not-father.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Looks like the dude is not the father." border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjoRBsY57eMQ1fmy4tsOoxilxmk881XPg09Sb1BUVK0hyphenhyphenQRtYedt3j6FZ8Cqx6JwRhAFHFZ4cCUgPMoxkMgaL6JCTorE4Iv_pAo3_7oiwL8PkN_5L3OA3n3lliW80F0husg9l/s320/Maury-Povich-not-father.jpg" title="family drama from the Maury Povich show" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please accept this placeholder image until relevant <br />
shots from the not-yet-confirmed Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off film <br />
become available</td></tr>
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Given that conflict, Obi-Wan Kenobi is ready to snatch at the first opportunity to begin this training process, even if it is much later than he would have liked. If we are to understand Obi-Wan's character as consistent, then his mantra about point of view from <i>Return of the Jedi</i> can inform his rhetorical tactics in this scene: Obi-Wan is trying to shift Luke's "point of view" so that he will abandon his familial obligations. Unsurprisingly, Obi-Wan desperately makes this move right after he receives Leia’s summons to Alderaan, when he says:</div>
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Having laid the groundwork of deception, Obi-Wan strategically words his call to action in a way that presumes Luke has agreed to come, rather than as a request that Luke join him (this is what's called the assumptive close). This assumption is the icing on top of the deceptive cake he has baked to butter Luke up and get him to leave his protective uncle; Obi-Wan has told Luke of an adventurous father who would have wanted him to follow in his footsteps (something he has no way of knowing) were it not for the overly confining Uncle Owen (something that Luke likely perceives himself, making this a shared connection with his father). He's even given Luke a cool weapon, which would also help subconsciously ease him into accepting the call to adventure. </div>
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What is the result of lying like this?</h2>
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We now understand that Obi-Wan, desperate to begin training Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi and kill his own father, wastes no time in trying to trick Luke and get him away from Owen as quickly as possible. We thus see two interconnected motivations: start training Luke to become a Jedi and set him up to kill his own father.</div>
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While egregious in their own right, these aren't the only Jedi lies that bombard Luke Skywalker. In the next post of this series, I will explain the lies that Obi-Wan Kenobi tells about his own past.<br />
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<a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2018/01/jedi-lies-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2018/01/jedi-lies-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a></div>
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Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Phoenix, AZ, USA33.4483771 -112.0740372999999932.6020036 -113.36493079999998 34.2947506 -110.78314379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-44939863357248187472017-06-04T12:14:00.000-07:002018-06-10T13:50:50.477-07:00AE Reads Skiffily Episode 7: "Her Husband's Hands" by Adam-Troy Castro<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6CJMqIvWZvTHDSpqu6CdSz7gqTTwE0170LIdDAK8jFuJVCG-_0kt4HRl5rs9jxU1sUyhs8pts36_3xs3LuWC8nWdn0x3QjO79JCxNEPiIVKMVkV-Y45sDWxg7qXdMycUrCIG/s1600/AE-Reads-Skiffily-Logo-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="science fiction literature podcast" border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6CJMqIvWZvTHDSpqu6CdSz7gqTTwE0170LIdDAK8jFuJVCG-_0kt4HRl5rs9jxU1sUyhs8pts36_3xs3LuWC8nWdn0x3QjO79JCxNEPiIVKMVkV-Y45sDWxg7qXdMycUrCIG/s1600/AE-Reads-Skiffily-Logo-7.jpg" title="Scifi Podcast" width="320" /></a></div>
Episode 7 of <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i> is recorded, edited, and published. This is a science fiction podcast that features readings of speculative fiction stories from around the (English-speaking) world, and inspires artists, listeners, and other sorts of entities with ears. Gather round and listen to a story about a woman whose husband has come back from war missing pieces of himself.
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<a name='more'></a>In light of the recent Memorial Day holiday, the story chosen for this episode is "<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/her-husbands-hands/">Her Husband's Hands</a>" by Adam-Troy Castro, which was first published in <i>Lightspeed Magazine</i> in October of 2011. This story is about a woman whose soldier husband is killed in combat, but brought back via digital backup to operate what is left of his body, the eponymous hands.<br />
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Episode 7 features another first for <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i>; after Mona and I finish reading the scifi story, we discuss some of its content and weigh in on issues the speculative fiction story brings up, such as dealing with the grief of others, whether a copy of you can really be you, and how people respond to grief (see <a href="http://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2017/06/ae-reads-skiffily-episode-7-her.html#show_notes">show notes</a> below).<br />
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If you think you can handle a science fiction podcast with readings of literature and at least onehttps://podomatic.com/embed/html5/episode/8408160click the player below to listen here or download directly from PodoMatic for later listening (runtime 0:50:05). PodoMatic also has an app that you can use, which I am sure has some nifty features to help you subscribe to podcasts.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="208" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://podomatic.com/embed/html5/episode/8466826?autoplay=false" width="504"></iframe>
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There are some adult issues in the story, and I think one or two naughty words. Not surprisingly, "Her Husband's Hands" features dead hands moving around. So be warned if you don't like certain words or if the thought of mobile body parts freaks you out.<br />
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Please don't be afraid to shower me with comments. You can comment below or contact me on Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/skiffilypodcast">@SkiffilyPodcast</a>) to let me know what you think of the podcast. Do you like the idea of a discussion so that the podcast is more than just a "glorified audio book" (in the words of a local Phoenix comedian)? Let me know if there are any stories you think should be featured on the podcast. Mona is an enthusiastic seamstress, so you can also see her stuff on Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sewagainstthegrain/" target="_blank">@sewagainstthegrain</a>). You can follow my podcast at PodoMatic <a href="https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/aereadsskiffily">here</a> or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ae-reads-skiffily/id1225685225"> subscribe to <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i> on <i>iTunes</i></a>. If you are an inspired artist, please share a link to your art on Instagram or Facebook, either tagging me or using hashtag #skiffily. You can also find me on Tumblr <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/aeusoes1" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you all for listening. Keep drawing. Keep reading!<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="show_notes">Show notes</a></h3>
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I won't spoil the discussion, but for those of you who have already listened, you know that I mention a few science fiction pieces in Episode 7 of <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i>. Here is more information on them for you to enjoy them yourselves: <br />
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<li>Jon Varley has a whole series (called Eight Worlds) that, among other things, features digital copies of people's consciousness being implanted onto clone bodies when someone dies. The story that comes to mind most prominently is "The Phantom of Kansas" (1976).</li>
<li>Cory Doctorow's book <i>Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom</i> (2003) is about a post-scarcity society that includes serial immortality through force-cloned bodies and freely available digital backups when someone wants a new body or dies.</li>
<li>While I didn't mention it by name, "Another Life" (2008) by Charles Oberndorf includes the same sort of technology as Varley and Doctorow's settings, but the technology is much more expensive and therefore out of reach for anyone except the wealthy and members of the military.</li>
<li>The recent 2017 Phoenix Comicon featured a screening of <i><a href="http://www.mirroredfilm.com/">Mirrored</a></i>, directed by Bradford Hill. This short film presents the serial immortality technology as illegal for reasons unexplained.</li>
<li><i>The Sixth Day</i> (2000), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Roger Spottiswoode, also has the technology of digital backups and force-grown clones. Like <i>Mirrored</i>, this technology is illegal.</li>
<li>There is an episode from season six of <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i> called "Second Chances" that features a perfect copy of one of the crewmembers, Riker, stemming from a transporter action. Star Trek likes to think up incredible technologies that are hardly used to their fullest potential, but every once in a while the show's writers considered the implications of the power given to these future people. </li>
<li>Greg Egan has a number of stories dealing with consciousness. The one I referred to in the podcast is "<a href="http://eidolon.net/?story=The%20Extra">The Extra</a> (1990), which was
made into <a href="http://www.tv.com/shows/welcome-to-paradox/the-extra-71623/">an episode of <i>Welcome to Paradox</i></a> in 1998.</li>
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If you would like to make computer-generated files for your own amusement or your own podcast, you can do like I did for this podcast episode and go to <a href="http://www.fromtexttospeech.com/">This</a> text-to-speech converter.
Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Maricopa County, AZ, USA33.711546186510979 -112.152832299470932.865172686510981 -113.4437257994709 34.557919686510978 -110.86193879947091tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1764881938110032022017-04-08T13:32:00.000-07:002018-06-10T13:49:14.278-07:00AE Reads Skiffily Episode 5: "Beneath Impossible Circumstances" by Andrea Kneeland<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Time for episode 5 of <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i>, the literature podcast that features science fiction stories read out loud with sound effects. This science fiction podcast features speculative fiction stories that inspire readers and listeners everywhere. Episode 5 is a little shorter than some of the other episodes, but still contains a full story for your listening pleasure.</span>
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This episode’s story is "<a href="http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/beneath-impossible-circumstances/">Beneath Impossible Circumstances</a>" by Andrea Kneeland. The story was first published at <i>Strange Horizons</i> in April of 2012 and features a troubled lesbian couple. Previously on <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i>, I included Mona (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sewagainstthegrain/">@sewagainstthegrain</a>) to read the dialogue of different female parts, and I am continuing the practice for episode 5. However, as was the case with episode 1, this story contains a female narrator. Because I wanted two different voices for the two characters, I am voicing this narrator who is also more than likely female. I hope that won't be confusing to anyone. I say that the narrator is "more than likely" female because this character is a cyborg (or biomechanical) and this is the future. Mona and I had a conversation about this after we read the story. Could it be that this is some sort of transgender cyborg? Maybe gender is less meaningful in the future. I suppose that is something you will have to decide for yourself after reading and listening to the story.<br />
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Get your headphones ready, activate your Bluetooth™, rev your engines, and reticulate your splines to get ready for the next installment of this science fiction podcast. Because I am still using Podomatic as a hosting site, you have the freedom to listen in a number of ways. You can click the play button below or download the sound file to your computer and/or phone (runtime 0:14:14). Podomatic also has an app that you can use, which I am sure have benefits that I don't know about.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="208" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://podomatic.com/embed/html5/episode/8408160?autoplay=false" width="504"></iframe>
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As a warning to parents and delicate Victorian ladies, episode 5 includes some issues of sexuality and dead cyborg birds. There is also some ominous-sounding wind, if you believe that wind can sound ominous. Then again, there is also this really cute kitten that mewls throughout the episode. So it's a wash.<br />
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Once again, I thank you all for listening to my podcast and feel free to leave comments, whether to give your thoughts on the story (like, are these lesbians or what?), the audio, or express your support. Shoot, I will even take suggestions for stories if there is one you would like to hear.<br />
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If you like the sound of Mona's voice (but not too much, because she's my girlfriend), you can follow her on Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sewingagainstthegrain/" target="_blank">@sewingagainsthegrain</a>). You can follow my podcast by going <a href="https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/aereadsskiffily">here</a> and clicking the <b>"follow"</b> button. You can also to subscribe to me on iTunes. If you are an inspired artist, please share a link to your art on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, either tagging me (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/skiffilypodcast/" target="_blank">@SkiffilyPodcast</a>) or using hashtag #skiffily. You can also find me on Tumblr <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/aeusoes1" target="_blank">here</a>. Happy listening. Keep drawing and keep reading!<br />
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Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Chandler, AZ, USA33.3061605 -111.8412501999999933.093774499999995 -112.16397369999999 33.5185465 -111.5185267tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-77720819950777412802016-12-24T23:38:00.001-07:002018-06-10T13:42:07.984-07:00AE Reads Skiffily Episode 2: "Taste the Singularity at the Food Truck Circus" by Jeremiah Tolbert<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I have done it again. Episode 2 of <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i> is now available for your listening pleasure. Each episode of this science fiction podcast features me, AE, reading thought-provoking speculative fiction along with sound effects. Yes, that is right, you get the <i>pew pew pew</i> with your science fiction audio. </div>
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<a name='more'></a>Last month's episode got a lot of positive feedback, which was such a relief for me. Initially, I didn't know what response to expect from listeners. I still haven't gotten a lot of art yet, but that's okay. I'm having a lot of fun recording and editing these episodes. As I build an audience, I hope the art submissions will rise in number. For now, I can be satisfied with the pride of creating an enjoyable experience for listeners like you. The more the podcast's audience grows, the more those hidden artists will come out and show their love by contributing art.<br />
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Episode 2 of <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i> features an excerpt from "<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/taste-singularity-food-truck-circus/" target="_blank">Taste the Singularity at the Food Truck Circus"</a> by Jeremiah Tolbert from the August 2016 issue of <i>Lightspeed Magazine</i>. Science fiction is often about projecting both future technologies and what people(s) might do in certain circumstances. When I first read this story, I could see the projection as a combination of developments in <a href="http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-wild-nominally-edible-world-of-3d-printed-foodstuf-1689349517" target="_blank">3D food printing</a> and the kind of cultural contact and exchange that might flow from people relocating due to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise#Cities" target="_blank">rising sea levels</a>. In the story, Nico (the narrator) is trying to save up to become a freelance accountant, but must battle with his love of food trucks. He discovers that Alberto, an acquaintance from a cooking class he took as a child, is a vendor of a popular food truck near his work. Alberto has invited Nico to the exclusive food truck circus. </div>
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You can click the play button below to begin listening to my science fiction podcast in your browser. As I read, feel free to imagine that you yourself are at the food truck circus. Would you try what Nico and Alberto eat?</div>
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If you are having trouble with the player and/or want to listen to me read science fiction while you're in your car, cooking dinner, or at the gym, you can directly download the episode <a href="https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/aereadsskiffily/episodes/2017-03-06T19_20_42-08_00" target="_blank">here </a>(run time 0:20:16). I should warn you that the episode does make heavy use of reggaeton beats. There are also some expletives uttered.<br />
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As always, I thank you for listening to my podcast. Please feel free to leave a comment, whether to give your thoughts on the story, the audio, or express your support. If you are so inspired, please share a link to your art. There are also other ways to share art available to you. You can email me (my email is pasted in the image above) or even post an image of your art on Instagram, either tagging me (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/skiffilypodcast/" target="_blank">@SkiffilyPodcast</a>) or using hashtag #skiffily. You can do the same with Facebook and Tumblr (you can find me on Tumblr <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/aeusoes1" target="_blank">here</a>). Happy listening and keep reading!<br />
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<b>Update</b>: Since first releasing this blog post, I have started using Podomatic as a hosting site and have modified the download/listen link. You can also find <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i> on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you download podcasts.Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Fresno, CA, USA36.7468422 -119.772586836.3399012 -120.4180338 37.153783200000007 -119.1271398tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-45262275085202378852016-11-04T06:30:00.004-07:002018-06-10T13:47:31.355-07:00New Podcast Premiere - AE Reads Skiffily<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXb7i07PKY9VJdsCQf16tAn3nKIsfCWijYU18nTbKAwe6TY_0KpqacGe0u6QX8FnNLYZlbh6jy9GDFnDuczF1PdGsH8oGO77Pm3ANGXfsEx56MaJRQEAgaK-1o5DwHIQhVGh7I/s1600/AE+Reads+Skiffily+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Teenagers from Outer Space by Dale Bailey" border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXb7i07PKY9VJdsCQf16tAn3nKIsfCWijYU18nTbKAwe6TY_0KpqacGe0u6QX8FnNLYZlbh6jy9GDFnDuczF1PdGsH8oGO77Pm3ANGXfsEx56MaJRQEAgaK-1o5DwHIQhVGh7I/s320/AE+Reads+Skiffily+Logo.jpg" title="AE Reads Skiffily episode 1" width="320" /></a>Welcome everyone to the first episode of <i>AE Reads Skiffily, </i>a new podcast featuring me, AE. The core of this new science fiction podcast is my desire to share engaging speculative fiction and see new worlds jump out of the page onto other media. Each podcast episode will feature me reading excerpts from science fiction books, magazines, blogs, or wherever else science fiction is published. I assure you that the speculative fiction will be the kind that taps into your imagination and takes you to new and intriguing places.</div>
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<a name='more'></a>What I ask of you, my budding audience, is to listen to each episode as a call to action. If you are an artist, I want you to translate what you hear (and read, since I'll be providing links to the content I read whenever I can). I envision <i>AE Reads Skiffily </i>to grow into a large collaborative project involving numerous painters, drawers, moviemakers, actors, seamstresses, t-shirt designers, photoshoppers, and sculptors. I see this science fiction podcast as a way for people to blow each other's minds and it starts <i>today</i>. If you aren't an artist yourself, but you like where this could go, share the podcast with your artsy friends.<br />
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For our first episode of <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i>, I share an except from Dale Bailey's <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/bailey_08_16/" target="_blank">"Teenagers from Outer Space,"</a>which first appeared in <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/" target="_blank"><i>Clarkesworld Magazine</i></a> this last August. The excerpt depicts Nancy Miller's (the narrator) visit to Bug Town, an alien enclave that popped up in Milledgeville,
Ohio (a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milledgeville,_Ohio" target="_blank">real place</a>) in the early 1950s. Nancy's best friend Joan Hayden has run away to Bug Town to escape her overbearing father. Joan's ex-boyfriend Johnny Fabriano wants to take Joan from Tham (the alien's name is actually Sam, but the aliens have a lisp and Nancy is quite the irreverent narrator) for stealing his girlfriend and ruining the top of his Mercedes Coupé. I chose this story and this excerpt because Bug Town sounds so evocative. The alien ghetto sounds both enticing and dangerous, like a dangerous narcotic or really good cheese dip.</div>
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You can listen to the podcast by clicking the play button below. </div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.podomatic.com/embed/html5/episode/8373152?style=normal&autoplay=false" style="height: 208px; width: 504px;"></iframe><br />
If you are having trouble with the embedded player and/or want to download the episode for later and listen to me read science fiction while you're in your car or at the gym, click <a href="https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/aereadsskiffily/episodes/2017-03-06T19_18_26-08_00">here</a>. I should warn you that, if there are children nearby, I do say a four-letter word that rhymes with "schmuck."
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Thank you for listening to my podcast. Please feel free to leave a comment, whether to give your thoughts on the story or to share a link to your art posted on a free image-hosting site like <a href="http://imgur.com/" target="_blank">Imgur</a> As I develop the podcast and my listener base, I will be modifying this paragraph to reflect changes in how podcast art is submitted and shared. For the time being, you can either email me (my email is mentioned in my podcast and also in the image above. I won't list it explicitly yet to avoid spammers, but if you have difficulty with either the audio or the image, you can always <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Skiffilypodcast/" target="_blank">message me on Facebook</a>). Happy listening and always keep reading!<br />
<br />
<b>Update</b>: Since first releasing this blog post, I have started using Podomatic as a hosting site and have modified the download/listen link. You can also find <i>AE Reads Skiffily</i> on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you download podcasts.Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0Phoenix, AZ, USA33.4483771 -112.0740372999999932.6020036 -113.36493079999998 34.2947506 -110.78314379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-68363226175970819232016-10-24T14:31:00.000-07:002018-11-05T11:54:13.780-07:00Cobalt Eyes and Dark Skin - The Real Faces of Dune<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8j0iUf8ZQC3HhhlD4zXdyYITkpBdcWMzx_OLiK-s-4OsnmsyM1epfJ7F5mDLsSnjcHKF8u25BZQ-buCYz8Krpp24w22Ip9Hdqmjd8fFNZPGHJDdkthDC2BHa-vUvRwr9wfqQ/s1600/Dune+Representation2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8j0iUf8ZQC3HhhlD4zXdyYITkpBdcWMzx_OLiK-s-4OsnmsyM1epfJ7F5mDLsSnjcHKF8u25BZQ-buCYz8Krpp24w22Ip9Hdqmjd8fFNZPGHJDdkthDC2BHa-vUvRwr9wfqQ/s200/Dune+Representation2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
As a fan of Frank Herbert’s <i>Dune</i> (1965), I have a
love-hate relationship with the visual-media representation of the characters
and styling of David Lynch’s (1984) and the Scifi Channel’s (2000, 2003) representation.
On the one hand, it’s exciting to see a book come alive and to share
thought-provoking content with my not-so-literate friends. On the other hand,
when movies get your favorite characters wrong, your blood boils so bad that you need medical treatment from the Scary German Guy in <i>Monster Squad</i>
(1987).</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsQrn7nd17MSb0DkQ2NLifQeDi-__xvx9wUbNJs628XlQkVQg5REAVXhAAfh3szE9Vj81UYMRUMSblJxZ_0fbvtu8MLlQNlHpvxgtbS_doTLh7ymeDE6yeJugfQWPr4OCC93G/s1600/blood-boil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsQrn7nd17MSb0DkQ2NLifQeDi-__xvx9wUbNJs628XlQkVQg5REAVXhAAfh3szE9Vj81UYMRUMSblJxZ_0fbvtu8MLlQNlHpvxgtbS_doTLh7ymeDE6yeJugfQWPr4OCC93G/s320/blood-boil.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How do you say "I love your face sores" in German?</td></tr>
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With the revelation of an unmade Dune project directed by Alejandro
Jodorowsky (2013), a growing number of visual-media services capable of providing engaging multi-season adaptations of popular book series (I’m looking at you, <i>Game of Thrones</i>), original content from streaming services not bound by demands of conventional television (see Netflix et al.), and the willingness of the eldest of Herbert’s
sons to soak money out of the <i>Dune</i> Franchise, it’s only a matter of time
before another attempt at adapting the <i>Dune</i> series will engage (and
disappoint) long-time <i>Dune</i> fans.</div>
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With that in mind, I would like to focus on a few characters who I feel didn’t get an accurate representation in the 1984 movie, the 2000 miniseries, or the 2003 <i>Children of Dune</i> miniseries. In addition to notable representations in video games and Jodorowsky’s failed project, I will also be sharing interesting art I've found via trolling through DeviantArt, giving credit along the way to artists I think have more accurately captured the characters in the book.</div>
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Duke Leto Atreides</h3>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4xV9XAu9FxrRJVaqxiHrgw1TRtM1TWS2bBd1v08cH8kvLGcHFvkEaR3P2GHt99y6cE2Qbvbvb_EQjVgZ6hXOmQ9UfECzkNAnZBJNRngCbCf4-yIXrL_o6rzPlW9OI3EeOSf1/s1600/Duke-Leto-Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4xV9XAu9FxrRJVaqxiHrgw1TRtM1TWS2bBd1v08cH8kvLGcHFvkEaR3P2GHt99y6cE2Qbvbvb_EQjVgZ6hXOmQ9UfECzkNAnZBJNRngCbCf4-yIXrL_o6rzPlW9OI3EeOSf1/s400/Duke-Leto-Two.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of these Dukes is not like the other</td></tr>
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Here’s how Duke Leto Atreides is described in <i>Dune</i>: </div>
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[Jessica] looked at his tallness,
at the dark skin that made her think of olive groves and golden sun on blue waters. There was woodsmoke in the gray of his eyes, but the face was predatory: thin, full of sharp angles and planes.</div>
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Hmm, okay so he shouldn’t have a beard, which rules out
David Lynch's Leto (played by Jürgen Prochnow), as well as a lot of DeviantArtists' renditions. But then William Hurt is too round-faced and light-haired to be accurate either. Leto also should have dark skin. Before you
think that means he has a simple tan, consider Liet-Kynes’s description of Leto as “a tall man, hawk-faced, dark of skin and hair.” If Duke Leto is dark to even a Fremen-type who spends enough time in the desert to have gotten a solid tan, he must be quite swarthy. </div>
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Leto should not be so pale. The movie and miniseries casting light-skinned actors is likely connected to the general tendency to whitewash minority characters in film and television adaptations. This has been counteracted a bit in video games. <i>Emperor: Battle for Dune</i>, a game that largely echoes Lynch’s style, goes to the opposite extreme, casting Michael Dorn as a black Duke Achillus Atreides (they have different characters in this
game, but the same royal Houses). </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jkcW5FjrcI2xzfj3rpiNDsFF32sWOnh_XLku7XRqCQUEBq6Awm8WG1cuvREHBm2OM9QYi-hlYMS173jqHe_romXxUm9mA_yHAWYaFFxEvAU5_ubBS_hXqcASmffLNpwmnOcE/s1600/Achillus-Leto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jkcW5FjrcI2xzfj3rpiNDsFF32sWOnh_XLku7XRqCQUEBq6Awm8WG1cuvREHBm2OM9QYi-hlYMS173jqHe_romXxUm9mA_yHAWYaFFxEvAU5_ubBS_hXqcASmffLNpwmnOcE/s400/Achillus-Leto.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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“His black working uniform with red armorial hawk crest at
the breast looked dusty and rumpled.”</div>
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I like the effort at diversity, though I think an even more accurate Duke Leto comes from the computer game <i>Dune</i> (1992). Leto is rendered with no beard, dark skin, and angular features. A future adaptation should look to this Leto as a model, possibly with less pixelation.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjxmpBOnG2ChknTdXz1rv6IPgrJtpFioLaOKZrf7ebFlimjs1drHaLm7s6A3LdxHn1WP5H5vx_lCvQoSj7ZXA3V5FZ1dQGqlfYWPMaD-bBwSyXhaeaB9t-S5HfEhC3cmYhwvU/s1600/Duke-Leto-1992-Game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjxmpBOnG2ChknTdXz1rv6IPgrJtpFioLaOKZrf7ebFlimjs1drHaLm7s6A3LdxHn1WP5H5vx_lCvQoSj7ZXA3V5FZ1dQGqlfYWPMaD-bBwSyXhaeaB9t-S5HfEhC3cmYhwvU/s320/Duke-Leto-1992-Game.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch</td></tr>
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<h3>
Paul Atreides</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOcqoht6WWHeNBBwdTXHcjxODHnYN_T1v-wx6wGJqbGij5IKmtz7IPSTGh21ZlVkfb5e8EEg7wX0qFAf1ru7zpArlYUP5mILWdcuK4HLmp2q3pLwQGTByGGxTjK0JLFBW5Lyi/s1600/Paul-Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOcqoht6WWHeNBBwdTXHcjxODHnYN_T1v-wx6wGJqbGij5IKmtz7IPSTGh21ZlVkfb5e8EEg7wX0qFAf1ru7zpArlYUP5mILWdcuK4HLmp2q3pLwQGTByGGxTjK0JLFBW5Lyi/s400/Paul-Two.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you think prescience would keep you motivated to lose weight?</td></tr>
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Paul Atreides, the son of this dark-skinned duke, is never described as also having dark skin. This not only leads me to believe Jessica, his mother, to be light-complected, but that Paul must not have inherited much of his father's dark skin. Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam sees him and remarks that he has a "face oval like Jessica's, but strong bones" His hair is said to be "black-black but with browline of the maternal grandfather who cannot be named, and that thin, disdainful nose: shape of directly staring green eyes..."</div>
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Later on, Liet-Kynes thinks of Paul as "a youth with the same dark hair [as Leto], but rounder in the face."</div>
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So let’s compare:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsT6rTGVeqiBQRzKHpVDy6X5_EyPBzhO298zkFUTOwdEJTfwieT1pFke0pfVjiAm_o4REipGDpVsexcYl-K9GMwLGqCYRNXeexymYDbv0a0nRyTGLGzpbAOBnGDeTSlaytxjGh/s1600/Paul-Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsT6rTGVeqiBQRzKHpVDy6X5_EyPBzhO298zkFUTOwdEJTfwieT1pFke0pfVjiAm_o4REipGDpVsexcYl-K9GMwLGqCYRNXeexymYDbv0a0nRyTGLGzpbAOBnGDeTSlaytxjGh/s400/Paul-Paul.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of these Pauls is more comfortable than the other</td></tr>
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Kyle MacLachlan has dark hair and boyish good looks, while Alec Newman has light hair and stubble. It might be important to point out that Paul Atreides never passes 18 before the last page of <i>Dune</i>, when he becomes Emperor of the Known Universe. Paul is 15 when Stilgar refers to him as "A child who thinks and speaks like a man..." Both actors were in their mid-20s. This doesn't have to be too serious a problem. Casting adults as teenagers is a thing that happens so often that actual teenagers look like preteens on screen. But there is only so much give. That's why it's so strange that Emperor Palpatine calls Luke Skywalker "boy" before trying to kill him in <i>Return of the Jedi</i> (spoiler alert), despite Mark Hamill being in his early 30s at the time of shooting. Cosmic superbeing or not, adult stubble on a 15 year old boy really upsets a story's verisimilitude.</div>
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If we really want to show Paul to be a super being, let's get an actual teenager in the role. Something like this:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4PZsvHQy7IWvXC8rr-BPBBbRBgJfZLZ56wNEc2EETZmdvVzJvQTC6C0wjtAFxIAZeMQfyz_cluiIusz2yMsQ5uddUqBMg-VedNoRgtuG-juk6qmrVhxf-lZW8uPGxjJ1LXg_/s1600/Paul-Deimos-Remus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4PZsvHQy7IWvXC8rr-BPBBbRBgJfZLZ56wNEc2EETZmdvVzJvQTC6C0wjtAFxIAZeMQfyz_cluiIusz2yMsQ5uddUqBMg-VedNoRgtuG-juk6qmrVhxf-lZW8uPGxjJ1LXg_/s400/Paul-Deimos-Remus.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://deimos-remus.deviantart.com/art/House-Atreides-Paul-Atreides-451601182" target="_blank">Deimos-Remus</a>, whose art you'll see more of in this post.</td></tr>
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That way, the audience gets a greater sense of the accomplishment of Paul as a master fighter, philosopher, Mentat, and religious
leader.</div>
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<h3>
Duncan Idaho</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzwHSILCXzFPEXFAOyErckHNCcKZD3lUWN3-DY9XbxkKyHRLe5CYjsbqbqpSU9zPw9GrJSHpoCe7w-C9dsqqaa_7EGhAkGv0g3Bi1mGGjbLHhKN5X6F2LB768Wdy8gbB4quAL/s1600/Duncan-Idaho-Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzwHSILCXzFPEXFAOyErckHNCcKZD3lUWN3-DY9XbxkKyHRLe5CYjsbqbqpSU9zPw9GrJSHpoCe7w-C9dsqqaa_7EGhAkGv0g3Bi1mGGjbLHhKN5X6F2LB768Wdy8gbB4quAL/s400/Duncan-Idaho-Three.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As a child, I thought Duncan Idaho was a Mr Potato Head type</td></tr>
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While Duncan Idaho dies in the first book (spoiler alert), he is important because he appears as a character in every book of the original <i>Dune</i> series. This makes him a sort of glue to a series that spans
thousands of years. If we’re talking about adapting <i>God Emperor of Dune</i> and later books, we're going to want to cast someone people will like. While Kit Harrington would be a popular choice, Jon Snow is missing some important features. Here is how Herbert describes Duncan Idaho in <i>Dune</i>:</div>
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<span style="text-indent: 48px;">Idaho's dark, round face was drawn into a frown. His hair, curling like the fur of a black goat, was plastered with dirt.</span></div>
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In <i>Dune Messiah</i>, Alia meets Hayt, the clone/ghola of
Idaho who has robot eyes:</div>
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The face remained somewhat round,
but darker and with slightly flattened features. High cheekbones formed shelves
for eyes with definite epicanthic folds. The hair was black and unruly.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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Duncan is dark-skinned <i>and</i> has epicanthic folds. Thus,
while the dark-skinned representation by <a href="http://deimos-remus.deviantart.com/art/House-Atreides-Duncan-Idaho-451602860">Deimos-Remus</a>
is on the right track, we would need an actor like Don Cheadle or Taye Diggs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
Gurney Halleck</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QS-X_lHdgE9o2ilO4GXsbOJro1pDkyZ1BfflOodm0wY92UrAb7uwIjXJi67CzhZTKAKpvwCZkpgPhklFMOWmggr2Ex72pB40J8llfginmskpgb-wuopXzN5Ct5EI6V_RIcHF/s1600/Gurney-Halleck-Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QS-X_lHdgE9o2ilO4GXsbOJro1pDkyZ1BfflOodm0wY92UrAb7uwIjXJi67CzhZTKAKpvwCZkpgPhklFMOWmggr2Ex72pB40J8llfginmskpgb-wuopXzN5Ct5EI6V_RIcHF/s400/Gurney-Halleck-Three.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balisets: Not even once</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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Herbert describes Halleck from the perspective of Duke Leto:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
"The Duke watched Halleck, admiring the ugly lump of a man, noting the glasssplinter eyes with their gleam of savage understanding… Halleck's wispy blond hair trailed across barren spots on his head. His wide mouth was twisted into a pleasant sneer, and the scar of the inkvine whip slashed across his jawline seemed to move with a life of its own."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Patrick Stewart is a fine actor and a totally believable character. But he is all wrong for Gurney. Based on the description, Gurney either has patches of hair missing or he’s got male-pattern baldness and is covering it up with a combover. The 1992 <i>Dune</i> game does a better job of representing Gurney as ugly, though his hair is white instead of blond, and his scar is not very prominent. </div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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I have a fondness for DeviantArtist <a href="http://strib.deviantart.com/art/The-Inkvine-Scar-311117367">Michael Stribling</a>’s
rendition, which feels true to form. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysOEObej0iS9f6X1mq5mbUyC7mFcEUxQtGXeWxlD2hB_hx4X_JtBhkwKO9rdKNMBiP9rcT2hn0DgBUxMo8aslnSmT8N3enbP71poD4Ua-ALjvAuC516o1dDHUKyZB8ez41ryT/s1600/Gurney-Halleck-Strib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysOEObej0iS9f6X1mq5mbUyC7mFcEUxQtGXeWxlD2hB_hx4X_JtBhkwKO9rdKNMBiP9rcT2hn0DgBUxMo8aslnSmT8N3enbP71poD4Ua-ALjvAuC516o1dDHUKyZB8ez41ryT/s320/Gurney-Halleck-Strib.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A face that says “I’m disappointed in you and I’ll love you forever” all at the same time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The scar is prominent, the ugliness feels lumpy, and there’s a yet-untapped grittiness to him. </div>
<br />
<h3>
Thufir Hawat </h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nQr2zkNsZMu2PH72xYvy4i1hWJT21GzNTPX0qPgqLiQ5kENQ_Sg8tZH4OkrGwi5F8JZMlo-P5A14TXmhBvC5Vvvu98bkDJ6phbKsm74HMGYB4Y_La2T1xo5yTV7Y7NWFIUu0/s1600/Thufir-Hawat-Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nQr2zkNsZMu2PH72xYvy4i1hWJT21GzNTPX0qPgqLiQ5kENQ_Sg8tZH4OkrGwi5F8JZMlo-P5A14TXmhBvC5Vvvu98bkDJ6phbKsm74HMGYB4Y_La2T1xo5yTV7Y7NWFIUu0/s400/Thufir-Hawat-Three.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're called "Mentats" so you wouldn't mistake them for something your cat toys with</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The two major representations sort of go to opposite
extremes. In the case of David Lynch, Mentats are identifiable by their
cartoonishly large eyebrows, gray hair, and purple-stained chins. In the
miniseries, Mentats are otherwise normal-looking people who wear a specific
purple outfit that comes with an optional goofy hat. Here is how Thufir is
described for the reader of <i>Dune</i>:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Paul looked up at the grizzled old man who stopped at a corner of the table. Hawat's eyes were two pools of alertness in a dark and deeply seamed face.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
The leathered old face appeared composed in the predawn dimness as he spoke. His sapho-stained lips were drawn into a straight line with radial creases spreading upward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I first played the 1992 game, I wondered why Thufir was drawn like a reptilian alien. I suspect now that some overzealous artist read "leathered" as some sort of lizard-person, rather than indicating the skin of
someone old. His skin isn't <i>literally</i> leathery in the sense that he has scales. Rather, he's a geriatric who might be physically frail but mentally alert. Really, if baggy-eyed Freddie Jones didn't have those fur burgers over his eyes, he'd be a decent Thufir. But, since we're going back to the drawing board, I say we take a lesson from <i>Game of Thrones</i>, which is not shy about casting the youth-deficient. I like Julian Glover's Pycelle, who is also more than meets the eye before he is mercilessly stabbed by orphans (spoiler alert).</div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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The best rendition of Hawat from DeviantArt comes from <a href="http://sillof.deviantart.com/art/Dune-Thufir-Hawat-131639891">sillof</a>: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6HvctEvHKb4J4xvCgl1F8hHvQWDD3Xlzr9zQ8Q1EQjVT73LWBBcrqKZQ-Xi26j2My54LVEhqKX5KNXXGY9ktqUYvgYPIEvLRz2JIRJ7vjCUlOzsGcPOkB5xLYE-n8waeoVJk/s1600/Thufir-Hawat-sillof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6HvctEvHKb4J4xvCgl1F8hHvQWDD3Xlzr9zQ8Q1EQjVT73LWBBcrqKZQ-Xi26j2My54LVEhqKX5KNXXGY9ktqUYvgYPIEvLRz2JIRJ7vjCUlOzsGcPOkB5xLYE-n8waeoVJk/s320/Thufir-Hawat-sillof.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, where my solaris at, girl? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sillof manages to represent the sapho stains without making it look like a sophisticated Mentat doesn't know where his own mouth is (hint: put the stains on his lips, not his chin). The cane was something that I missed when looking at descriptions. And the use of a cane, rather than suspensors or something skiffy, is a nice contrast to...</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIdaIes5laOMXbyt7TdGyvwyxhcgSBaE3SPBXf_8cHkQYE3fkmxOp3Fetpte-4JKLqPIWmeZT8OPNJRUGemzShJwjP2wbFoUzuzf_Lc2auAEZbFr9wEaDTfJD8k2MtAFQc6CU/s1600/Vlad-Hark-Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIdaIes5laOMXbyt7TdGyvwyxhcgSBaE3SPBXf_8cHkQYE3fkmxOp3Fetpte-4JKLqPIWmeZT8OPNJRUGemzShJwjP2wbFoUzuzf_Lc2auAEZbFr9wEaDTfJD8k2MtAFQc6CU/s400/Vlad-Hark-Three.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only one of these barons knows how to dress himself</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a treasure trove of inaccuracies with Vlad the Pederast, which is surprising, given that every description of the Baron boils down to him being so cartoonishly obese that people in the future will balk at
the sizism of Frank Herbert in the same way we blush when we read Mark Twain at night: </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
As he emerged from the shadows, his figure took on dimension -- grossly and immensely fat. And with subtle bulges beneath folds of his dark robes to reveal that all this fat was sustained partly by portable suspensors harnessed to his flesh. He might weigh two hundred Standard kilos in actuality, but his feet would carry no more than fifty of them.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Somehow in the process of making that first movie, the use of suspensors to ease the burden of his immense fat got conflated with being able to float (at will) so that the baron is an everyday Superman. Because Lynch managed to get it wrong by having the overweight Harokonnen float, so many depictions of Vladimir Harkonnen have had him fly in the air so that it has become a mainstay of the character. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Another common feature of the character is his red hair. But there is no indication that he's a ginger. Sure, it's left open for interpretation, but Lynch has even Harkonnen henchmen with the same orange-red hair, like he was doing a favor to the local ginger-man who sells red hair dye. But that certainly isn't the case in the book. And it's not like Herbert was shy about giving red hair to characters. The emperor has red hair. Chani has
red hair, Ghanima and Leto II have red hair. If he had red hair, Herbert would have told us.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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My favorite depiction at DeviantArt comes from <a href="http://deimos-remus.deviantart.com/art/House-Harkonnen-Baron-Vladimir-Harkonnen-451608347">Deimos-Remus</a>,
one of the few artists who depicts a standing baron:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2xVsdMdOCV65TqxhDeOv3c4VwSzI552iVDpV9DamNUrCoKUyeXLWj8IBymW7SPzv2WGGNFCfatQ9KDmXFAjyoIZmq0psTzXqq6pTjqK1uy8ov81j_T4sBZPQXVimOzDV0sUk/s1600/Vlad-Hark-Deimos-Remus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2xVsdMdOCV65TqxhDeOv3c4VwSzI552iVDpV9DamNUrCoKUyeXLWj8IBymW7SPzv2WGGNFCfatQ9KDmXFAjyoIZmq0psTzXqq6pTjqK1uy8ov81j_T4sBZPQXVimOzDV0sUk/s320/Vlad-Hark-Deimos-Remus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He definitely earned those medals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another nice touch from this rendition is the baby face. As much as we might love Kenneth McMillan's boil-infested baron, it's also clear from <i>Children of Dune</i> that the evil Harkonnen doesn't have such an unsightly face: </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
A face formed itself upon her
awareness. It was a smiling face of such fatness that it could have been a
baby's except for the glittering eagerness of the eyes. She tried to pull back,
but achieved only a longer view which included the body attached to that face.
The body was grossly, immensely fat, clothed in a robe which revealed by subtle
bulges beneath it that this fat had required the support of portable suspensors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leave it to David Lynch to get everyone to misrepresent a character whose only description is his weight.<br /></div>
<h3>
Emperor Shaddam IV</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDXLmz-Pvmax6LwHfXZxMad3Xr5okiEkEvQYH24mCp0b7RePlFO4n3Kj-JLKQDF_S29WJJiLTznqavpEmOpIiYeJbGPwOwi1IZGUnwIHxuHrs-80-vyRdDxpfGNQTfP-CXp6k/s1600/Padishah-Emperor-Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDXLmz-Pvmax6LwHfXZxMad3Xr5okiEkEvQYH24mCp0b7RePlFO4n3Kj-JLKQDF_S29WJJiLTznqavpEmOpIiYeJbGPwOwi1IZGUnwIHxuHrs-80-vyRdDxpfGNQTfP-CXp6k/s400/Padishah-Emperor-Two.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One is the leader of an interstellar fighting force, the other in his high school's marching band</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you believe the appendices, the Padishah Emperor is in his early 60s during the time of the events of <i>Dune</i>. So it;s understandable to desire an older actor. But it is clear from an excerpt of "In My Father's House" (which provides a different age) that the geriatric spice has kept him youthful:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
my father and this man in the
portrait--both with thin, elegant faces and sharp features dominated by cold
eyes…My father was 71 at the time and looking no older than [Duke Leto]…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A later description makes it clear that Shaddam IV still has
enough youth to keep his same hair color:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
The Emperor stood poised, waiting
-- a slim, elegant figure in a gray Sardaukar uniform with silver and gold
trim. His thin face and cold eyes reminded the Baron of the Duke Leto long
dead. There was that same look of the predatory bird. But the Emperor's hair
was red, not black, and most of that hair was concealed by a Burseg's ebon
helmet with the Imperial crest in gold upon its crown.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With that in mind, I think a good representation of a
young-looking emperor comes from <a href="http://ilya-b.deviantart.com/art/Emperor-Shaddam-IV-206838670">ilya-b</a>,
who gets points for accurate coloring of his uniform. Ilya-b’s emperor is
missing a helmet, though. Perhaps for inspiration, we can look at the concept
art from Jodorowsky’s <i>Dune</i> with Salvador Dalí as the Padishah Emperor:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQx3Lpgi8HS1x_ARaxjEhy95yoDArRzfMUCyhNdddskCU4AV6YtWBrwZ5ntQDco19QwZFN_hH5l4bopTIxoW4MlZasocK17_c7LPNRjZhjQrB8sX3F-huas8JzypGvJuHcAh1/s1600/Emperor-Emperor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQx3Lpgi8HS1x_ARaxjEhy95yoDArRzfMUCyhNdddskCU4AV6YtWBrwZ5ntQDco19QwZFN_hH5l4bopTIxoW4MlZasocK17_c7LPNRjZhjQrB8sX3F-huas8JzypGvJuHcAh1/s400/Emperor-Emperor.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dalí, of course, couldn't act his way out of a floppy clock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or we can take a more literal interpretation</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGmrzWhpgRe8PqOADLjDwZXsZNttTustY0tE2xyWVJ0jS6Fs9std8k6iGi5bmYoj4Zx-WOAnar1kP6gNBNSzN1v6KWuBKki7Ih8gkba4Vgq7pnmgKa6Ypbh2OTtmsQqxMFgJ2/s1600/Emperor-Sloppy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGmrzWhpgRe8PqOADLjDwZXsZNttTustY0tE2xyWVJ0jS6Fs9std8k6iGi5bmYoj4Zx-WOAnar1kP6gNBNSzN1v6KWuBKki7Ih8gkba4Vgq7pnmgKa6Ypbh2OTtmsQqxMFgJ2/s320/Emperor-Sloppy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art courtesy of Virgin Interactive</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3>
Guild Navigator</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLr2votmtPI5MYj8c_PcHVFyEjzZ9ILq47aBPOKBiFek9ZCBDoecz0KsGwKue4K5jrdxDr0HM0BPTfKG94fnQdnSsZV59mmez6ZrLMa52VCTuLUqVJQgtNk3TPrzR5ILgKXAB/s1600/Navigators-Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLr2votmtPI5MYj8c_PcHVFyEjzZ9ILq47aBPOKBiFek9ZCBDoecz0KsGwKue4K5jrdxDr0HM0BPTfKG94fnQdnSsZV59mmez6ZrLMa52VCTuLUqVJQgtNk3TPrzR5ILgKXAB/s400/Navigators-Three.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One you take to bed, the other you take to Mom. The middle one watches</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Navigators are the prime example of David Lynch’s <i>Dune</i>
making characters, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W51H1croBw">the words
of Jon Hodgman</a>, "sexy and deformed at the same time." While nothing like
the iconic Third Stage Guild Navigator (whatever that even means) appears in <i>Dune</i>,
a "Guild Steersman" (whatever that even means) shows up in <i>Dune Messiah</i>
and is described as swimming</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
in a container of orange gas…The
Guildsman was an elongated figure, vaguely humanoid with finned feet and hugely
fanned membranous hands -- a fish in a strange sea. His tank's vents emitted a
pale orange cloud rich with the smell of the geriatric spice, melange.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not only is Lynch's navigator better at being "vaguely humanoid" than the strange bat creature from the <i>Dune</i> miniseries and Edric from the <i>Children of Dune</i> miniseries, but he seems more real and more alive than either of them. Herbert liked it so much that he included the v-shaped mouth in his description of Navigators in <i>Chapterhouse: Dune</i>. Beating the Third Stage Guild Navigator at strangeness is a tough task, but there are two problems with him. First, the hands are tiny when they should be large. And there is also <a href="https://youtu.be/ZHf8aoR8_Bs?t=59">this crude</a> attempt at showing the work of the navigator. In case the YouTube link no longer works, here is the important detail: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-f_tFWkUzVnDBKIk6NeUY68nW8Rn9SpOH8OCgYbIBiWIEa6NaTjMS3Svou1PNUtEomMjRoGuOstOJv0SbTL-vHCKruImmMEMki5dcrp2P4R7iFMvr7eOoFTih9-RDZhWywmX/s1600/Navigator-1984-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-f_tFWkUzVnDBKIk6NeUY68nW8Rn9SpOH8OCgYbIBiWIEa6NaTjMS3Svou1PNUtEomMjRoGuOstOJv0SbTL-vHCKruImmMEMki5dcrp2P4R7iFMvr7eOoFTih9-RDZhWywmX/s400/Navigator-1984-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It's Spacefoldin' Time"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, that's right. Light shoots out of the Navigator's mouth. The miniseries isn't much better. Rather than the Navigator using spice "to produce the limited prescience necessary for guiding spaceships through the
void," they are apparently able to simply fold space without any technology. In both renditions, the navigator need only float out in the middle of a heighliner and dance in microgravity to get everyone to their destination. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the goings-on of the Spacing Guild are left secret, it is clear that one can be a "Navigator" and still look perfectly human. In <i>Dune</i> two of them show up and, other than having deep blue eyes marking intense spice addiction, they are perfectly normal human looking people. So, in addition to representing space travel in a more technocratic way, future adaptations might also take direction from Mark Zug, who illustrated the Dune-themed card game from 1997.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmYFhxZ97CJ1-MZtdmuvGL8ISvPJb_u8g-CVvch24iqInGr99uYASRv3Vy4BiMM_SQlbKyLdAWqNaJ2yHGo3hynqcLlWSA3zng6IKArOPJIpcsfWJXpiS22tgZnrxGTGCkBJ5/s1600/Edric-Mark-Zug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmYFhxZ97CJ1-MZtdmuvGL8ISvPJb_u8g-CVvch24iqInGr99uYASRv3Vy4BiMM_SQlbKyLdAWqNaJ2yHGo3hynqcLlWSA3zng6IKArOPJIpcsfWJXpiS22tgZnrxGTGCkBJ5/s320/Edric-Mark-Zug.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here you see the large hands, the fish-like gills. They even put the Navigator in a reasonably sized lava lamp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
Dr. Wellington Yueh</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnKiFuHIwfl06-y7S66RO-6mOlXgW-FpX3eRu6JdZpg2Z1opbPrR0vRtiv13gXiz2LqdozKtGzrgeKbiQSHtFgRO2Cv0IEfac-zePFyhPKJgKdvC6JXRC60MTs86DXu-9Wejo/s1600/Yueh-Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnKiFuHIwfl06-y7S66RO-6mOlXgW-FpX3eRu6JdZpg2Z1opbPrR0vRtiv13gXiz2LqdozKtGzrgeKbiQSHtFgRO2Cv0IEfac-zePFyhPKJgKdvC6JXRC60MTs86DXu-9Wejo/s400/Yueh-Two.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is he even a real doctor?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Herbert describes Dr. Yueh as having "up-angled cheeks, the dark sequins of almond eyes, the butter complexion" and a moustache, which Dean Stockwell would present pretty well, if this moustache were not one of those
stringy kind "hanging like a curved frame around purpled lips and narrow chin."
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yueh is probably the best lost opportunity for <i>Dune</i>
adaptations. Here we have the treasonous doctor who gains the trust of the
Atreides royal family but overcomes his imperial conditioning to bring the
house down. Before he even takes action on his betrayal, though, suspicion
arises that there is a traitor close to the Duke. Could it be the Lady Jessica,
a Bene Gesserit with conflicting loyalties and Harkonnen blood? Or could it be
the guy with an oh-so-twirlable moustache standing in the corner and (maybe)
laughing maniacally. <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/art/Dr-Wellington-Yueh-71872784">Attama13</a>
knows what I’m talking about:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGq340SThUpDREAZu1DFVK1T2vVv6OBIm4Wl_MipnP2CFDUaqvAzB6DPRIZ0CMnsoi1RQu5Y5HFaJNgDIfD8KIX1xrMUCASjreJcdcgMgqw8GJI_MxuuCYqduv_oA4sTROpwG/s1600/Yueh-Attama13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGq340SThUpDREAZu1DFVK1T2vVv6OBIm4Wl_MipnP2CFDUaqvAzB6DPRIZ0CMnsoi1RQu5Y5HFaJNgDIfD8KIX1xrMUCASjreJcdcgMgqw8GJI_MxuuCYqduv_oA4sTROpwG/s1600/Yueh-Attama13.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muahahahaha! I will avenge my torture-killed wife (spoiler alert)!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
The Planet Arrakis</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00F8z-ktVUGL8_j99I5sALkqx3Xfu4UpM8yOtqCJ2-Ii0gOFLGsDUb00n7_mA9KxWL-3AnT_VIaoK57CrJX4aUuxUBq09wrX4Z-6XnmvtRi2dDUfXZ5tssnx9W4sgpTH_sxae/s1600/Arrakis-Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00F8z-ktVUGL8_j99I5sALkqx3Xfu4UpM8yOtqCJ2-Ii0gOFLGsDUb00n7_mA9KxWL-3AnT_VIaoK57CrJX4aUuxUBq09wrX4Z-6XnmvtRi2dDUfXZ5tssnx9W4sgpTH_sxae/s400/Arrakis-Two.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Try watching <i>Dune </i>without swallowing. You can't do it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
David Lynch shot on location (in Mexico, not Arrakis) and
then filtered the sky to look orange for some reason. The miniseries shot
everything in a studio, augmenting shoddy backdrops with crude CGI. We can do
better than this. Arrakis is largely desert, but it is also an alien world.
Based on some descriptions in <i>Dune</i>, here are the ways Arrakis and its
deserts should be depicted:</div>
<h4>
<ol>
<li>The sky should be dark in
the day. Perhaps gray or blue depending on time of day or latitude.</li>
</ol>
</h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="text-indent: 24px;">It was still early afternoon here, and in these latitudes the sky looked black and cold -- so much darker than the warm blue of Caladan.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
Hawat's attention was caught by a
flash of sun on metal to the south, a 'thopter plummeting there in a power
dive, wings folded flat against its sides, its jets a golden flare against the
dark silvered gray of the sky.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="text-indent: 24px;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2. The sun should be white,
rather than yellow, since Arrakis orbits </span><a href="http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=name+canopus" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Canopus</a><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
an A type star.</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
The too-dark sky hung over the
slope like a blot, and the milky light of the Arrakeen sun gave the scene a silver
cast--light like the crysknife concealed in her bodice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
3. At least some of the sand
should be gray or yellow-gray, rather than orange or yellow</h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="text-indent: 24px;">This one is a little tricky, since there are variable descriptions and it could be in part because of the lighting. Still, there are quotes like: </span><span style="text-indent: 24px;">“</span><span style="text-indent: 24px;">They crossed a shallow basin with the clear outline of gray sand spreading across it from a canyon opening to the south." Later on, there is mention of </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">“Patches of yellow-gray sand" stuck on people. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">At another point Jessica sees “</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">biscuit-colored
landscape of rocks and sand.”</span></div>
<h4 style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
4. Sunrises should be green,
rather than pink or blue</h4>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
Paul crawled through the
sphincter opening, stood on the sand and stretched the sleep from his muscles.
A faint green-pearl luminescence etched the eastern horizon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
Eyes of the Ibad</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds0Yf34tCrYngLOcH_m6tNgrjgs3BPnOKMRVfqMGAWdAY5d130RrsXGZoNId75al6ZgczRgukteeFTh1tUzhe5zUnBSFw07TqB26k3dfagOlGuTJx9QXA2B1aoxuzSvagO2ZP/s1600/Eyes-of-Ibad-Top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds0Yf34tCrYngLOcH_m6tNgrjgs3BPnOKMRVfqMGAWdAY5d130RrsXGZoNId75al6ZgczRgukteeFTh1tUzhe5zUnBSFw07TqB26k3dfagOlGuTJx9QXA2B1aoxuzSvagO2ZP/s400/Eyes-of-Ibad-Top.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spend an afternoon in the uncanny valley by photoshopping real eyes onto marble statues</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know this isn’t a character, but this is important, since
the blue eyes are the most iconic feature of the <i>Dune</i> franchise and it
bothers me that nobody has come close to accurately capturing the
blue-within-blue eyes that represent melange addiction. Nobody. Here is how
Frank Herbert describes the “eyes of the ibad” in <i>Dune</i>’s glossary:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
characteristic effect of a diet
high in melange wherein the whites and pupils of the eyes turn a deep blue
(indicative of deep melange addiction).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be more explicit, Fremen are said to have “totally blue”
eyes with no whites in them.” Even Piter de Vries, the offworld mentat is
described as having “shaded slits of blue within blue” representing his own
spice addiction. So, how does this “deep” blue get muddled? Here is how 1980s
special effects technology represented spice addiction:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher_ePYLEuysE0uDri4EjOpA6GL5-3QSbdLzalVbNCWosTSeUqa6MB7F7e2Dq6lQbV3MHVvSyd8-BMVv4ucM63eiI8YNK6N9wqabPi3TdfYDRgS159YEr-OaIkMwn8gsUR4ESZ/s1600/Eyes-of-Ibad-1984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher_ePYLEuysE0uDri4EjOpA6GL5-3QSbdLzalVbNCWosTSeUqa6MB7F7e2Dq6lQbV3MHVvSyd8-BMVv4ucM63eiI8YNK6N9wqabPi3TdfYDRgS159YEr-OaIkMwn8gsUR4ESZ/s400/Eyes-of-Ibad-1984.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's like an inverted Smurf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It kind of looks like her eyes are glowing. But maybe we can ascribe that to the limitations of the time. But here is how the SciFi Channel thought to improve upon
that representation<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NE1wzLu3EsLDyD1nGifbc_YQZNU-QVSxzAPyk45sR32YOuf3Yk2wHlTVyHVw0hsD89aaWetTIdbXEHDXMLNsDvGvDuBK2xfEYGTV6F1GadF53nanwOnRDMW0-YjEoaN0usfG/s1600/Eyes-of-Ibad-2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NE1wzLu3EsLDyD1nGifbc_YQZNU-QVSxzAPyk45sR32YOuf3Yk2wHlTVyHVw0hsD89aaWetTIdbXEHDXMLNsDvGvDuBK2xfEYGTV6F1GadF53nanwOnRDMW0-YjEoaN0usfG/s400/Eyes-of-Ibad-2000.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look closely. Closer. Do you see the slight blue tinting of the whites?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even Deviantartists fail to provide a true “deep blue” eye
for Fremen or any characters from <i>Dune</i>, either <a href="http://hidrico.deviantart.com/art/DUNE-518373489">repeating the mistake
of light-blue whites</a> or <a href="http://tomedwardsconcepts.deviantart.com/art/Dune-Cover-341384923">making<span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span>them<span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span>glow</a>.
I think the reluctance to represent a deeper shade of blue relates to Lady
Jessica’s reaction to the Shadout Mapes, an elderly Fremen, whose “wash of
deepest, darkest blue without any white” fills Jessica with an uneasy feeling.
To her, the Fremen is “secretive, mysterious.” That is the effect we want to
have and are missing by avoiding the deep blue color. We certainly don’t want
to provide the sense that those addicted to spice are all filled with mystical
powers or on their way to becoming an Aryan aristocrat. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What would I consider accurate? How about something like
this:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFFhelAnoBWva8qgFzGyDEN4FeqG0SCrdrRCtFaLQRsS0wf6swE7OmTn8JPOcfHY3V6L6Z1FwusupgxilbpLk_i6egt7j9lKJoL8cQIsQFoDyC47iLOFYZ42Z1i-nTAQcCYwY/s1600/eyeball-tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFFhelAnoBWva8qgFzGyDEN4FeqG0SCrdrRCtFaLQRsS0wf6swE7OmTn8JPOcfHY3V6L6Z1FwusupgxilbpLk_i6egt7j9lKJoL8cQIsQFoDyC47iLOFYZ42Z1i-nTAQcCYwY/s320/eyeball-tattoo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.oddee.com/item_96955.aspx" target="_blank">Oddee</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is an eyeball tattoo. There are various shades people do and, from what I hear, it's the most excruciating pain known to prisoners and body-modifiers. It’s a little unnerving, but that’s kind of the point with Fremen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
Conclusion</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So that's my take on how these characters should be represented. What do you think? Should Duke Leto be black? Should casters try for extra diversity in the face of whitewashing? Would you accept some license to give set and costume designers some creative freedom? Let me know in the comments</div>
Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-61737061324805072782015-08-19T17:54:00.001-07:002018-10-23T13:15:55.034-07:00The Language of Riddley Walker (part 2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4wnxHey0YCtEBDh0f2si3cJsg-qCtC7RE0UruX2ZThV3NUqb8vtfSiGrF72HzIxLGYazhTMyeqe4OXDa6APfaxbXXTTIa8OwiF_7ueGD4i5LPaBdFG1Iv5iv2YUFt3LPw-mb/s1600/rwphpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4wnxHey0YCtEBDh0f2si3cJsg-qCtC7RE0UruX2ZThV3NUqb8vtfSiGrF72HzIxLGYazhTMyeqe4OXDa6APfaxbXXTTIa8OwiF_7ueGD4i5LPaBdFG1Iv5iv2YUFt3LPw-mb/s200/rwphpic.jpg" width="200" /></a>In my <a href="https://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-language-of-riddley-walker.html">last post</a>, I talked about the portrayal of dialect in <i>Riddley Walker</i> and how author Russell Hoban clearly established the rules of the narrator's speech. Today, I am going to focus on what the grammatical rules of "Riddleyspeak" are. This is more than an academic exercise, as it relates to how people think about language and the ways people relate linguistic difference to culture and cognition.<br />
<div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
This relationship between language and culture is most apparent with those who view the differences between Riddleyspeak and Standard English as reflecting a loss of important qualities. For example, literature scholar Jeffrey Porter (1990) calls the language "neobarbaric" (p. 451).<sup>1</sup> Similarly, science fiction author Norman Spinrad (1990) refers to the narrator's language as both "degenerate English" and "degenerate patois" written in an obtuse and "inconsistently-worked-out devolved orthography" (pp, 37–38; he also likens it to inauthentic renderings of British dialects by American comedians).<sup>2</sup> From a linguistic standpoint, these judgments have little merit. No form of communication is intrinsically better than another. The prestige given to one language variety or another has more to do with social conventions than with intrinsic features of a given variety. In actuality, comments like these say a lot more about those making them—namely that they are language snobs, ignorant of how languages actually function and change—than about Riddleyspeak. Porter and Spinrad aren't alone in this sort of pedantry. Comparative literature scholar Robert Detweiler (1995) characterizes Riddleyspeak as "butchered English" and also links the linguistic features to unfortunate historical and cultural changes, saying that they show that those of Riddley's time and place have degenerated (p. 161).<sup>3</sup> Other critics echo this link between arbitrary-but-socially-governed views of language structure and judgments on culture. Political science scholar Ernest Yanarella (2001) refers to the language as "a garbled, patched-together English which reflects the badly-damaged cultural communication processes underlying it…" (p. 68).<sup>4</sup> Ruppert (1999) summarizes this link by saying that, "along with everything else, English grammar and syntax have broken down, degenerated" (p. 254).<sup>5</sup> Poet Nancy Drew Taylor (1989) goes even further, calling Riddleyspeak "a broken language" and saying that, like other trappings of modern society, "language was almost destroyed during Bad Time…"<sup>6</sup></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Like other authors, Taylor also links the notion of "phonetic" spelling (or, rather, what is simply just a more regularized spelling system) to rudimentary language and thinking, saying that Riddleyspeak "is generally read phonetically, yet [Hoban] manages to imbue its crudity with a poetry and irony all its own." Reflecting a similar view, novelist Keir Graff (2008) refers to Riddleyspeak as "…devolved, phonetic English…" (p. 32).<sup>7</sup> Writers James Parker and Dana Stevens (2014) even call it "pig-iron English" that is different only because the apocalypse "blasted [it] into poetic-phonetic lumps" (p. 35).<sup>8</sup> While these authors show ignorance about orthography, and the above critics mentioned so far display ignorance about language, literature professor Peter Schwenger (1991) combines these with bone-headed views about culture itself, referring to Riddleyspeak as "Quasi-illiterate, largely phonetic" and arguing that it "slows us to the pace of an oral culture…" (p. 254).<sup>9</sup> There is no such thing as an oral culture. There are groups that have no written tradition, or that function more-or-less without writing, but such groups are too varied to make this a meaningful cultural category. This is not just an issue of semantics; given that most of these groups come from Africa and the Americas, Ruppert has basically lumped extremely diverse non-Western peoples into one group and strongly implied that their ways of life are as slow as someone struggling to read through unfamiliar, difficult prose.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These sentiments about language, orthography and culture are echoed in numerous Amazon reviews, with readers calling the language "devolved" or "broken English." One reviewer even says that Riddleyspeak "reflects the primitive speech of his society, constructing jagged sentences and spelling words phonetically." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Even the author himself seems to accept this view. In the Afterward, he characterizes the linguistic changes as a "grammatical decline." In an interview with Hoban, English professor Sinda Gregory says that Riddleyspeak embodies the fall of human society by itself being "debased" (p. 127), which Hoban doesn't contradict.<sup>10</sup> </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>A new language?</b></div>
<div>
Beyond the uninformed judgments on linguistic change, there is dispute among both scholars and Amazon reviewers about how different from Modern English Riddleyspeak really is. In the same interview with Hoban, Sinda Gregory characterizes his process of developing the narrator's speech as creating a whole language. Hoban didn't correct her on this, meaning he either agreed or was being unnecessarily polite. Among Amazon reviewers, judgments of Riddleyspeak as degenerated English are closely connected to beliefs that it is an entirely new language (usually referred to as a "pidgin") or a strikingly different dialect. One skeptical Amazon reviewer even says that the linguistic changes seem too far-fetched, as the "pre-civilized patois" or "proto-language" reflects the "reversion of language to some more primitive version" that they can't accept, even 2,000 years after a societal collapse. These views also tend to echo the link between language change and societal decline. Literature professor Mária Minich Brewer (1986) says that Riddleyspeak is "a new language" invented "out of the shattered remnants of English" (p. 159).<sup>11</sup> Ignoring the sociohistorical requirements of pidgin and creole development (particularly their place in situations of linguistic contact), for Riddleyspeak to be an English-based pidgin, there would have to be a huge amount of morphological, phonological, and even syntactic simplification. True pidgins don't even allow for embedded clauses. If grammar and lexicon are the motivating factors in one's assessment of Riddleyspeak as a separate language, the narrator of <i>Riddley Walker</i> would need to speak in a way so different as to impede communication. In other words, if you can understand the narrator of <i>Riddley Walker</i>, then he speaks English. As my last post demonstrates, once you correct for spelling, <i>Riddley Walker</i> is readable to a native English speaker. That can't be said for any of the English-based creole or pidgin languages spoken today.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The notion that Riddleyspeak is actually English is shared by a number of critics, though there still may be a connection made between language, culture, and thought. Zigo and Moore (2004) say that the "fabricated future dialect" of <i>Riddley Walker</i> suggests "social, political, and cultural influences on the story line and characters" (p. 87).<sup>12</sup> One generous Amazon reviewer refers to Riddleyspeak as "a futuristic dialect of english" that Hoban invented "by mimicking and grossly exagerating<sup>[sic]</sup> the peculiar pattern of linguistic evolution which resulted in current english…" This characterization tends to view the differences as a mixture of some sort. Levitt (1996) characterizes this mixture as one between "phonetic Cockney, mixed regional [dialects], and corrupted remnants of computer-speak…"<sup>13</sup> An Amazon reviewer refers to it as "phonetic slang with a healthy helping of dialect based on guesswork as to what terminology might survive" and Maynor and Patteson (1984) say that Riddleyspeak "evokes simultaneously medieval usage, the patois of pre-school children, fragments of cybernetic jargon handed down from our own era, and essays written for remedial English classes" (p. 18).<sup>14</sup> A number of readers, perhaps missing a few of the grammatical nuances, fail to even recognize Riddleyspeak as a separate dialect from Standard English. Granofsky (1986) says that, while Riddleyspeak is "fragmentary and neologistic", it is "still recognizably our own language" (p. 175).<sup>15</sup> Literature professor Jack Branscomb (1991) says that it is merely "unconventional spelling and punctuation and an occasional metathesis" and reflects twentieth-century English "transmitted orally" (p. 107).<sup>16</sup> Similarly, one Amazon reviewer argued that the language presented on the page is "English, written the way it sounds." Finally, a particularly unsatisfied reviewer said that "[w]hat apparently appears, to many readers, to be a refreshing, daring, and unique take on post-apocalyptic language just looks, to me, an awful lot like the unedited first drafts of my students who read and write far below grade level."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While I have argued against viewing Riddleyspeak as another language, it would also be too much to say that it was identical to either Standard English or even one of the many English dialects found throughout the world. With an understanding of this debate about the grammatical difference between Modern Standard English and Riddleyspeak, I present to you the grammatical rules that differ from Standard English. </div>
<div>
<br />
<b>Linguistic features</b></div>
<div>
<b><i>Devoicing of -ed.</i></b></div>
<div>
As I mentioned in the previous post, the -<i>ed</i> suffix is prototypically devoiced. Devoicing this suffix is actually something we do in Standard English in certain contexts. For example, <i>lopped</i> is written <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>loppt<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, which reflects how we already pronounce it (with a final <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/pt/</span>). The major difference occurs after sonorants (<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/l/ /n/ /m/ /ŋ/ /r/</span>) and vowels, where we typically use the voiced <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/d/</span> variant and the narrator uses the voiceless variant. While we would expect that adding this suffix to a voiced obstruent (such as <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/b/, /v/, or /dʒ/</span>) would trigger the voiced variant, words like <i>grabbed</i>, <i>moved</i>, and <i>foraged</i> are written <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>grabbit<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>movit<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, and <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>foragit<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, suggesting that an epenthetic vowel may be inserted to maintain the voiceless pronunciation. This parallels the practice of inserting an epenthetic vowel in the past tense of verbs like <i>divide</i>, <i>pad</i>, and <i>need</i>.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
<b><i>Reduction of posttonic o.</i></b></div>
<div>
The vowel of GOAT (often represented in British dictionaries as <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/əʊ/</span>) seems to be reduced to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ə/</span> in unstressed post-tonic (that is, after the stress) syllables. Because this is reflected with the spelling of <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>er<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, it's clear that Riddleyspeak is non-rhotic (or at least stems from a present-day non-rhotic dialect). <i>Shadow</i> becomes <i>shadder</i>. <i>Tomorrow</i> becomes <i>ter morrer</i>. Affixes don't seem to interrupt this rule, as <i>following</i> is spelled <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>follering<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> and <i>borrowed</i> is spelled <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>borrert<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>. This also means that <i>fagger</i>, an undefined unit of measurement, would formerly have been <i>faggow</i>. I don't know what that would come from.</div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><b>Issues with clusters</b></i></div>
<div>
One of the more noticeable features of Riddley's speech is his simplification of consonant clusters. Thankfully for the reader, Hoban is quite inconsistent with this rule. However, some general tendencies arise. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/t/</span> is frequently lost in clusters (<i>last</i> becomes <i>las</i>, <i>kept</i> becems <i>kep</i>) and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/d/</span> typically is lost when next to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/n/</span> or <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/l/</span> (<i>didn't</i> is spelled <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>dint<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, <i>underneath</i> <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>unner neath<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, and <i>world</i> <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨w</span>orl<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>). It's not clear how much of this is crystallized into the Riddley's underlying grammar and how much of it reflects a sort of surface-level deletion process, but I did notice that Riddley writes <i>shift</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>shif<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> but <i>shifting</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>shiftin<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, meaning that the word is underlyingly <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">|ʃɪft|</span> and the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">|t|</span> is lost when not followed by a vowel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There are also a few words that reflect clipping, which is more severe than cluster simplification. <i>Around</i> becomes <i>round</i> (notice that the <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>d<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> is still written), <i>certain</i> becomes <i>cern</i>, <i>Parliaments</i> becomes <i>Parments</i>, etc.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some other changes may also reflect issues with clusters. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/dr/</span> becomes <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/gr/</span> in a few words (<i>drizzle</i> becomes <i>girzel</i>, <i>drooling</i> becomes <i>grooling</i>), <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/sn/</span> becomes <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/sm/</span> (<i>snarling</i> becomes <i>smarling</i>), and the metathesis of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/r/</span> and a vowel may also be motivated by cluster simplification: e.g. <i>great</i> becomes <i>girt</i>, <i>proper</i> becomes <i>parper</i>. Since most speech in England is non-rhotic, I'm not sure if this metathesis re-introduces <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/r/</span> in the syllable coda or not; that is, would <i>girzel</i> (from <i>drizzle</i>) be pronounced <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ˈgɪrzəl]</span> or <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ˈgɜːzəl]</span>?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>Th-labialization</i></b></div>
<div>
<i>Teeth</i> becomes <i>teef</i>, <i>throat</i> becomes <i>froat</i>, and <i>breathe</i> becomes <i>breave</i>. This is a very British thing to do and is probably the main reason why some of the above reviewers invoked Cockney in their assessment of Riddley's speech.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>Back vowels</i></b></div>
<div>
There seems to be some vowel merging going on. Assuming that Kentish has the same three low back vowels of Received Pronunciation (<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɑː/, /ɔː/,</span> and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɒ/</span>), writing <i>thought</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>thot<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> and <i>moss</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>maws<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> implies a merger of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɔː/</span> and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɒ/</span>. It is possible that this was actually intended as eye dialect: while American English speakers tend to merge the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɒ/</span> with either <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɑː/</span> or <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɔː/</span> (depending on context) and west-coast speakers like myself merge them all to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɑː/</span>, Hoban lived in London most of his life and may have had an understanding of the extra vowel contrasts of British English. But this inconsistent treatment can't be attributed to American ignorance, since Americans still use <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɔ/</span> for words with <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>or<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>. So when the word <i>farms</i> is spelled <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>forms<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, it implies a merger of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɑː/</span> and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɔː/</span>, even if this rule is inconsistently applied. We d indeed find an inconsistency here, as the words <i>arm </i>and <i>harm</i> are spelled the same as in Standard English. Even the first syllable of <i>Parments</i>, which comes from <i>parliaments</i>, still maintains the <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>ar<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> spelling, despite it containing an already altered pronunciation. Similarly, Hoban spells <i>bombs</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>barms<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> implying a different merger of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɒ/</span> and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ɔː/</span>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>Morphological leveling</i></b></div>
<div>
A few irregular verb forms are eliminated. So <i>knew</i> becomes <i>knowit</i>, <i>afraid</i> becomes <i>afeart</i> and <i>across</i> becomes <i>acrost</i>. <i>Was</i> is eliminated for <i>wer</i>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>Relativizing conjunctions</i></b></div>
<div>
Normally, the words <i>that</i> and <i>which </i>are used to introduce relative clauses, particularly for non-human antecedents. For example, "The robot <b>that</b> ate my thermometer" or "my house, <b>which</b> is currently on fire." In <i>Riddley Walker</i>, the narrator uses <i>what</i> in this position, which is not allowed in Standard English.</div>
<div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>"…in there with his red jumper <b>what</b> they all ways wear."</li>
<li>"…Big Boar <b>what</b> makes the groun shake."</li>
<li>"All <b>what</b> Ive wrote jus now gone thru my head in a flash…"</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<i>Who</i> is used the same way for human antecedants. The narrator instead uses <i>as</i>:</div>
<div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>"The man <b>as</b> knows that shape can go in to the nite…"</li>
<li>"The man <b>as</b> got the hevvyness took off him wer ready to take on some mor."</li>
<li>"The name <b>as</b> comes 1st is the man as works the figgers and does the voyces</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b><i>Miscellaneous changes</i></b></div>
<div>
There are also a number of changes that don't necessarily reflect a broader pattern or that I haven't been able to generate a general rule from. <i>Whisper</i> is spelled <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>hisper<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span>, though no other wh words are altered to indicate an <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/h/</span> sound. <i>Whole</i> and <i>hole</i>, which are pronounced the same in modern English, are spelled <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>woal<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> and <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟨</span>hoal<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">⟩</span> in Riddleyspeak, suggesting that they are pronounced differently. This could reflect a current contrast that Kentish people make (the author has visited Kent, after all) or it could be a sort of oversight. Why else would they be pronounced differently?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Baby</i> becomes <i>babby</i>, there are a few non-standard contractions (<i>Isn't</i> it becomes <i>innit</i>, <i>why not</i> becomes <i>whynt</i>, and <i>more than</i> becomes <i>more'n</i>), and <i>fucked</i> becomes <i>forkt</i>. Initial consonants are haphazardly added (<i>indicator</i> becomes <i>nindicator</i>) and <i>removed</i> (loansome becomes <i>oansome</i>. A few words are changed to reflect a seemingly different morphological analysis. <i>Himself</i> becomes <i>his self</i>, <i>million</i> becomes <i>millying</i>, <i>been</i> becomes <i>bint</i>, and <i>compensation</i> becomes <i>comping station. </i>Similar to this is the strange change of <i>charcoal</i> to <i>chard coal</i>. Clearly, we are getting a reversion of the modern term back in the direction of its etymological source (charred coal), which is weird enough. But this also goes against the rule about a devoiced –<i>ed</i> suffix. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>How different is it?</i></b></div>
<div>
As it should be clear, many of the changes involve minor tweaks of Standard English grammar. As mentioned with cluster simplification, they may actually reflect merely surface-level differences. Some of them may even be commonplace in our own time but under the radar. Particularly in fast speech, the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/t/</span> of kept can easily be deleted so that people pronounce it <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[kɛp]</span>, though people don't typically take note of this because the meaning is understood. Because of the way this can reflect merely surface-level differences, it is clear that the underlying grammar of Riddleyspeach closer to Standard English than many non-standard varieties of English are. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Even with the potential vowel mergers, there is no question that Riddley's language is English. If all the back vowels merged into one phoneme, it would make Riddleyspeak much like the California English that I have been writing in <i>this whole time</i>. </div>
<div>
<br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Jeffrey
Porter “‘Three Quarks for Muster Mark’: Quantum Wordplay and Nuclear Discourse
in Russell Hoban's ‘Riddley Walker’ <i>Contemporary Literature</i> 31.4 (1990)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Norman
Spinrad <i>Science Fiction in the Real World</i> (1990).</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Robert
Detweiler <i>Breaking the Fall: Religious Readings of Contemporary Fiction</i>
(1995)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Ernest
J. Yanarella <i>The Cross, the Plow and the Skyline: Contemporary Science Fiction
and the Ecological Imagination</i> (2001)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Peter
Ruppert “Riddley Walker” <i>Utopian Studies</i> 10.2 (1999)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Nancy Drew Taylor “‘…You bes go ballsey’: <i>Riddley
Walker</i>’s Prescription for the Future” <i>Critique</i> 31.1 (1989)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Keir
Graff “Core Collection: Before and After <i>The
Road</i>” <i>Booklist</i> 104.18 (2008)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> James
Parker and Dana Stevens “Which Book is Begging to be Made Into a Movie?” <i>The
New York Times Book Review</i> (Aug. 17, 2014)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Peter
Schwenger “Circling Ground Zero” <i>PMLA</i> 106.2 (1991)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Sinda
Gregory “An Interview with Russell Hoban” in Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory
(eds.) <i>Alive and Writing: Interviews with American Authors of the 1980s</i>
(1987)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Mária
Minich Brewer “Samuel Beckett: Postmodern Narrative and the Nuclear Telos” <i>boundary
2</i> 15.1/2 (1986)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Diane
Zigo and Michael T. Moore “Science Fiction: Serious Reading, Critical Reading” <i>The
English Journal</i> 94.2 (2004)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Jennifer
Levitt “Russell Hoban: Overview” in Susan Windisch Brown (ed.) <i>Contemporary
Novelists</i> (1996)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Natalie
Maynor and Richard F. Patteson “Language as Protagonist in Russell Hoban's <i>Riddley Walker</i>.” <i>Critique</i> 26.1 (1984)</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> Ronald
Granofsky “Holocaust as Symbol in ‘Riddley Walker’ and ‘The White Hotel’” <i>Modern
Language Studies</i> 16.3 (1986)</span></div>
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[16]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Jack
Branscomb “Knowledge and Understanding in Riddley Walker” in Nancy Ansfield (ed.) <i>The Nightmare Considered</i> (1991) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">See also </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">R.D. Mullen. “Dialect, Grapholect, and Story: Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker as Science Fiction” <i>Science Fiction Studies</i> 27.3 (2000).</span></div>
Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-36950643036522180972015-04-30T22:28:00.000-07:002018-10-23T13:14:46.326-07:00The Language of Riddley Walker<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today, I'm going to talk to you about <i>Riddley Walker</i> by Russell Hoban, a post-apocalyptic novel that takes place over 2,000 years in the future. More specifically, I'll be focusing on the language of this novel and using it to talk about the creative use of language, with some tips you can use in your own writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The rules of a <i>Riddley Walker</i></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first 20 pages of a novel are like a contract between the writer and the reader. In these first 20 pages, the reader learns the "rules" and therefore knows what to expect from the novel. These are basic things, like whether the narrator is first or third person, if and how the point of view changes, and the style and tone of the piece. When a writer puts forth a novel that has unusual rules, it is in everyone's interest that most or all of these rules be demonstrated in the first 20 pages. If dialogue is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Whom_the_Bell_Tolls" target="_blank">a word-for-word translation of Spanish</a>, be sure to have enough of it by page 20 to make that apparent. If only <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Grapes-Wrath-John-Steinbeck/dp/0143039431/" target="_blank">every other chapter focuses on the main characters and plot</a>, be sure that your third chapter starts before page 20. If your narrator has <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HtuRSsAb2fEC&dq" target="_blank">a distinctive speech style</a>, be sure to lay out what marks their speech as different in those first 20 pages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In <i>Riddley Walker</i>, we have a narrator with a distinctive style of English. Presumably, this is because English has changed from a lack of formal education, a chaotic situation immediately following the apocalypse, and/or because language changes over time and it's been 2,000 years. Let's take a look at the very first sentence in Walker's future English:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Luckily for us, Hoban already sets four major rules for the language of the text in just the first sentence. Here they are in no particular order:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Rule 1:</b> The narrator uses nonstandard grammar.</i>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We see that the narrator
uses <i>come</i> for Standard English (SE) 'became' and <i>gone</i> for 'went.' Everyone's favorite nonstandard
word <i>ain't</i> makes an appearance here. We also see <i>been</i> without an
auxiliary <i>have</i>; from the context and the later use of <i>hadn't</i> <i>been</i>,
it seems that this is intended to convey the perfect aspect, which implies that
the missing <i>have</i> is present in the narrator's underlying grammar and
deleted outside of cases of negation (or, as is the case with auxiliary <i>do </i>in SE, added in cases like negation). </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;">In addition to these, there
are two more interesting grammatical features with this narrator. They may
actually be novel features, though I don't have an exhaustive knowledge of
nonstandard dialectal grammars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first interesting feature is shown in the
spelling of <i>killed</i> as ⟨kilt⟩,
which indicates a pronunciation with a final</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> /</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;">t</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">/. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Because the narrator doesn't change the spelling of
<i>wild </i>to also have a final ⟨t⟩, it is not likely that this is a case of a general word-final
devoicing of obstruents. Rather, it seems that his pronunciation of the <i>–ed</i>
suffix differs from that of Standard English where the suffix <i>-ed</i> would
normally be a voiced</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">d</span>/
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">unless following a voiceless sound (that is, <i>bagged</i> is pronounced </span>/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">bægd</span>/ <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">and <i>peed </i>is
pronounced</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">piːd</span>/
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">while <i>backed</i> is pronounced </span>/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">bækt</span>/)<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">;
for the narrator, the voiceless /t/
pronunciation is the default, with a voiced pronunciation presumably only
appearing after voiced obstruents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The other interesting feature is the use of <i>nor</i>,
which seems to be used as a conjunction of two clauses that marks the second as
semantically negative. This is similar to the nonstandard feature of some parts
of the United States where <i>anymore</i> appears in sentences like "He might
want to stay home anymore." It's a sort of extension of standard usage.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Rule 2:</b> There are words
that are spelled differently but pronounced the same.</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span new="" roman="" serif="" times="">This is called <i>eye
dialect</i> (representations for the eye, but not the ear) and gives the effect
of altered speech without actually indicating it. Thus, spelling <i>wild</i> as </span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">⟨</span><span new="" roman="" serif="" times="">wyld</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">⟩</span><span new="" roman="" serif="" times="">, <i>bundle</i> as </span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">⟨</span><span new="" roman="" serif="" times="">bundel</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">⟩</span><span new="" roman="" serif="" times="">, and <i>before</i> as </span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">⟨</span><span new="" roman="" serif="" times="">befor</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">⟩</span><span new="" roman="" serif="" times=""> implies to the reader that the narrator is speaking
differently, but doesn't actually give any information on <i>how</i> the
narrator's speech is different. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span new="" roman="" serif="" times=""><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Rule 3: </b>There are words that are spelled differently to show a particular pronunciation.</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The most striking example from this first sentence is the
spelling of <i>probably</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>parbly<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span>, implying
a pronunciation of </span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">ˈp</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;">ɑr</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">bli</span>/ <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">which differs from what Wiktionary tells me are the two most common
pronunciations,</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">ˈprɒbli</span>/
and /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">ˈprɒbəbli</span>/.
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spelling <i>been</i> as ⟨ben⟩ and <i>again</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>agen<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span>
may also be included in this, as the reader is assured that the narrator is not
pronouncing these words with /iː/
and /eɪ/,
respectively (these are less common pronunciations found in dictionaries). For
most speakers, though, these might just be eye dialect. We can also consider
the spelling of <i>last</i> as <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>las<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span> as another example.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Rule 4: </b>Punctuation is haphazardly applied.</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The conventions for using punctuation to carefully delineate
complete ideas and properly set up the relationships between clauses are used
inconsistently, ignoring them enough to make the narrator's writing as polished
as a middle school student’s English paper. For example, there should be
something following <i>boar</i> to indicate that the clause has been completed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Problems with these rules</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like a good writer, Hoban gives the reader the main rules that they need to know to help them understand what to expect with the narrator's language for the rest of the book. Unfortunately, most of these rules turn what would be otherwise good writing into largely incomprehensible drivel.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let's start with punctuation. A close look at this first sentence shows
that it is actually composed of three sentences. The first is "On my
naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar."
Because "when I come 12" is an embedded clause, it should also be set
off by a pair of commas. Commas and
periods are signals to readers designed to quickly indicate the boundaries and
relationships between clauses, preventing confusion from adjacent words that could go together but are part of separate ideas. They reflect paralinguistic cues given to
listeners in oral speech. Omitting them
(or applying them haphazardly) forces the reader to slow down as they try to
figure out what is being said. Slowing a
reader down isn't necessarily the mark of bad writing. A proficient writer may
produce prose composed of complex sentences with triple-embedded clauses, hoards of prepositional phrases, and rarely-used words from the bowels of Oxford. If they are particularly
ambitious, they might even pack such difficult-to-parse prose with
thought-provoking ideas. But omitting proper punctuation is not in the same
caliber. It only adds to an obtuseness that makes reading an
unnecessarily difficult exercise. Praising this is tantamount to applauding a
video game experience as challenging simply because it has unwieldy controls (I'm
looking at you, every water level, ever).</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The greater sin, in my mind, is the use of respellings. Firstly,
it's a bad idea to try to use English spelling to indicate pronunciation because
it is notoriously haphazard. Part of this is because the
pronunciation of English has changed considerably since the last time any major
orthographic reform has been applied to the language and part of it is because
of the many loanwords borrowed into English that usually retain the original
spelling. With no real regular spelling
conventions, English orthography is not set up for phonetic spelling. There are
a few general rules that could be applied, such as the double <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>ee<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span>
pronunciation for /iː/
and the pronunciation of most consonants. But there are quite a few ambiguous
cases. How, for example, could the distinction between /θ/ and /ð/ be written? English spelling uses <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>th<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span> for both. There's no real way to
distinguish /ʌ/
from /ʊ/.
Would <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>ay<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span> represent</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">eɪ</span>/ or /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">aɪ</span>/?<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> What about <span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟨</span>ei<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">⟩</span>?
The issue gets even worse when we consider rhotic and non-rhotic dialects,
which is one of the most salient distinctions between British and American pronunciations.
There's no way to use spelling to clearly indicate that one is speaking with a
British (i.e. non-rhotic) accent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Eye dialect is even worse. As with the punctuation issue
above, it slows the reader down with very little payoff. Eye dialect may be
artfully applied to indicate to the reader that a narrator or character is
speaking with a dialect, but whether or not the reader can tell which
dialect is being spoken, it usually gives off the impression that the speaker is
uneducated or stupid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Think about the issue in terms of what you do when you meet
someone who speaks an accent different from your own. At first, you might take
note of the pronunciation differences, or at least note that they are speaking
in a marked way. Even if you are initially unfamiliar with the accent,
however, you quickly acclimate to their speaking style and start to ignore most
of the differences enough to understand what they're saying. This is called <i>diaphonemic identification</i> and it's a
largely unconscious process that allows you to communicate seamlessly with
people who speak differently from yourself. Using
spelling changes to indicate pronunciation doesn't help the reader understand
dialectal pronunciations, nor does it help them access their knowledge of a
dialect they've heard before. Instead, it focuses on the period before
diaphonemic identification occurs and exacerbates the sense of
unintelligibility. In other words,
respelling is not a good way to trigger the reader's memory of a dialect and
apply it to prose as they read in their mind. The problem is compounded with <i>Riddley
Walker</i>, since the narrator is presumably speaking with a
fictional dialect that the reader is unfamiliar with and where no sort of
respellings will trigger recognition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What we have left is the nonstandard grammar. I'm fine with most of this, though I think indicating the devoicing of <i>-ed</i> isn't worth the issues mentioned above. When we add punctuation and fix the spelling, we get this:</span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">On my naming day, when I come twelve, I gone front spear and killed a wild boar. He probably been the last wild pig on the Bundle Downs anyhow. There hadn't been none for a long time before him, nor I ain't looking to see none again.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hey, this is actually good. I could read a 200-page book written like this. I could even suspend my disbelief that, 2,000 years in the future, English would have changed little enough to be intelligible to a modern reader. What I can't do is read <i>Riddley Walker</i> as it is originally written.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the process of writing this post, I've applied this sort of revision to the first three chapters of <i>Riddley Walker</i>. A line-by-line comparison below is included for your reading pleasure. Other than a few items, I'm pretty confident about my changes. My <a href="https://aeusoes1.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-language-of-riddley-walker-part-2.html">next post</a> will most likely be a more linguistic approach to the language of <i>Riddley Walker</i>'s narrator, so stay tuned.</span><br />
<br />
<table border="1" style="width: 100%;">
<caption><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 1</span></b></caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Original</th>
<th>Revised</th>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen. He dint make the groun shake nor nothing like that when he come on to my spear he wernt all that big plus he lookit poorly. He done the reqwyrt he ternt and stood and clattert his teef and made his rush and there we wer then. Him on 1 end of the spear kicking his life out and me on the other end watching him dy. I said, "Your tern now my tern later." The other spears gone in then and he wer dead and the steam coming up off him in the rain and we all yelt, "Offert!"</td>
<td>On my naming day, when I come twelve, I gone front spear and killed a wild boar. He probably been the last wild pig on the Bundle Downs anyhow. There hadn't been none for a long time before him, nor I ain't looking to see none again. He didn't make the ground shake nor nothing like that. When he come onto my spear, he weren't all that big. Plus, he looked poorly. He done the required. Turned and stood and clattered his teeth, and made his rush. And there we were then. Him on one end of the spear, kicking his life out, and me on the other end, watching him die. I said, 'Your turn now, my turn later.' The other spears gone in then, and he were dead. And the steam coming up off him in the rain. And we all yelled, "Offered!" </td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>The woal thing fealt jus that littl bit stupid. Us running that boar thru that las littl scrump of woodling with the forms all roun. Cows mooing sheap baaing cocks crowing and us foraging our las boar in a thin grey girzel on the day I come a man.</td>
<td>The whole thing felt just that little bit stupid. Us running that boar through that last little scrump of woodling with the farms all round: Cows mooing, sheep baaing, cocks crowing, and us foraging our last boar in a thin, grey drizzle on the day I come a man. </td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>The Bernt Arse pack been following just out of bow shot. When the shout gone up ther ears all prickt up. Ther leader he wer a big black and red spottit dog he come forit a littl like he ben going to make a speach or some thing til 1 or 2 bloaks uppit bow then he slumpt back agen and kep his farness follering us back. I took noatis of that leader tho. He wernt close a nuff for me to see his eyes but I thot his eye ben on me. </td>
<td>The Burnt Arse pack been following just out of bow shot. When the shout gone up, their ears all pricked up. Their leader, he were a big black and red spotted dog. He come forward a little like he been going to make a speech or something till one or two blokes upped bow. Then he slumped back again and kept his farness following us back. I took notice of that leader, though. He weren't close enough for me to see his eyes, but I thought his eye been on me. </td> </tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Coming back with the boar on a poal we come a long by the rivver it wer hevvyer woodit in there. Thru the girzel you cud see blue smoak hanging in be twean the black trees and the stumps pink and red where they ben loppt off. Aulder trees in there and chard coal berners in amongst them working ther harts. You cud see 1 of them in there with his red jumper what they all ways wear. Making chard coal for the iron reddy at Widders Dump. Every 1 made the Bad Luck go a way syn when we past him. Theres a story callit Hart of the Wood this is it:</td>
<td>Coming back with the boar on a pole, we come along by the river. It were heavier wooded in there. Through the drizzle, you could see blue smoke hanging in between the black trees and the stumps, pink and red where they been lopped off. Alder trees in there and charcoal burners in amongst them, working their hearts. You could see one of them in there with his red jumper what they always wear. Making charcoal for the iron ready at Widow's Dump. Everyone made the Bad Luck go away sign when we passed him. There's a story called "Heart of the Wood." This is it:</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><i>Hart of the Wood</i></td>
<td><i>Heart of the Wood</i></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>There is the Hart of the Wud in the Eusa Story that wer a stag every 1 knows that. There is the hart of the wood meaning the veryes deap of it thats a nother thing. There is the hart of the wood where they bern the chard coal thats a nother thing agen innit. Thats a nother thing. Berning the chard coal in the hart of the wood. Thats what they call the stack of wood you see. The stack of wood in the shape they do it for chard coal berning. Why do they call it the hart tho? Thats what this here story tels of.</td>
<td>There is the Heart of the Would in the Eusa Story. That were a stage. Everyone knows that. There is the heart of the wood, meaning the very's deep of it. That's another thing. There is the heart of the wood, where they burn the charcoal. That's another thing again, isn't it? That's another thing. Burning the charcoal in the heart of the wood. That's what they call the stack of wood, you see. The stack of wood in the shape, they do it for charcoal burning. Why do they call it the heart, though? That's what this here story tells of.</td>
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<tr valign="top"><td>Every 1 knows about Bad Time and what come after. Bad Time 1st and bad times after. Not many come thru it a live.</td><td>Everyone knows about Bad Time and what come after. Bad Time first and bad times after. Not many come through it alive.</td>
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<td>There come a man and a woman and a chyld out of a berning town they sheltert in the woodlings and foraging the bes they cud. Starveling wer what they wer doing. Dint have no weapons nor dint know how to make a snare nor nothing. Snow on the groun and a grey sky overing and the black trees rubbing ther branches in the wind. Crows calling 1 to a nother waiting for the 3 of them to drop. The man the woman and the chyld digging thru the snow they wer eating maws and dead leaves which they vomitit them up agen. Freazing col they wer nor dint have nothing to make a fire with to get warm. Starveling they wer and near come to the end of ther strenth.</td>
<td>There come a man and a woman and a child out of a burning town. They sheltered in the woodlings and foraging the best they could. Starving were what they were doing. Didn't have no weapons, nor didn't know how to make a snare nor nothing. Snow on the ground and a grey sky overing and the black trees rubbing their branches in the wind. Crows calling one to another, waiting for the three of them to drop. The man, the woman, and the child digging through the snow. They were eating moss and dead leaves, which they vomited them up again. Freezing cold they were, nor didn't have nothing to make a fire with to get warm. Starving they were, and near come to the end of their strength.</td>
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<td>The chyld said, 'O Im so col Im afeart Im going to dy. If only we had a littl fire to get warm at.'</td>
<td>The child said, 'Oh I'm so cold. I'm afeared I'm going to die. If only we had a little fire to get warm at.'</td>
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<td>The man dint have no way of making a fire he dint have no flint and steal nor nothing. Wood all roun them only there wernt no way he knowit of getting warm from it.</td>
<td>The man didn't have no way of making a fire. He didn't have no flint and steel, nor nothing. Wood all round them, only there weren't no way he knowed of getting warm from it.</td>
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<td>The 3 of them ready for Aunty they wer ready to total and done when there come thru the woodlings a clevver looking bloak and singing a littl song to his self:</td>
<td>The three of them ready for Aunty. They were ready to total and done when there come through the woodlings a clever-looking bloke and singing a little song to his self:</td>
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<td>My roadings ben so hungry<br />
Ive groan so very thin<br />
Ive got a littl cook pot<br />
But nothing to put in</td>
<td>My roadings been so hungry<br />
I've grown so very thin<br />
I've got a little cook pot<br />
But nothing to put in </td>
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<td>The man and the woman said to the clevver looking bloak, 'Do you know how to make fire?'</td>
<td>The man and the woman said to the clever-looking bloke, 'Do you know how to make fire?'</td>
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<td>The clevver looking bloak said, 'O yes if I know any thing I know that right a nuff. Fires my middl name you myt say.'</td>
<td>The clever-looking bloke said, 'Oh yes. If I know anything, I know that right enough. Fire's my middle name, you might say.'</td>
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<td>The man and the woman said, 'Wud you make a littl fire then weare freazing of the col.'</td>
<td>The man and the woman said, 'Would you make a little fire then? We're freezing of the cold.'</td>
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<td>The clevver looking bloak said, 'That for you and what for me?'</td>
<td>The clever-looking bloke said, 'That for you and what for me?'</td>
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<td>The man and the woman said, 'What do we have for whatfers?' They lookit 1 to the other and boath at the chyld.</td>
<td>The man and the woman said, 'What do we have for whatfers?' They looked one to the other and both at the child.</td>
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<td>The clevver looking bloak said, 'Iwl tel you what Iwl do Iwl share you my fire and my cook pot if youwl share me what to put in the pot.' He wer looking at the chyld.</td>
<td>The clever-looking bloke said, 'I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll share you my fire and my cook pot if you'll share me what to put in the pot.' He were looking at the child.</td>
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<td>The man and the woman thot: 2 out of 3 a live is bettern 3 dead. They said, 'Done.'</td>
<td>The man and the woman thought: two out of three alive is better than three dead. They said, 'Done.'</td>
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<td>They kilt the chyld and drunk its blood and cut up the meat for cooking.</td>
<td>They killed the child and drunk its blood and cut up the meat for cooking.</td>
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<td>The clevver looking bloak said, 'Iwl show you how to make fire plus Iwl give you flint and steal and makings nor you dont have to share me nothing of the meat only the hart.'</td>
<td>The clever-looking bloke said, 'I'll show you how to make fire. Plus, I'll give you flint and steel and makings, nor you don't have to share me nothing of the meat, only the heart.'</td>
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<td>Which he made the fire then and give them flint and steal and makings then he cookt the hart of the chyld and et it.</td>
<td>Which he made the fire, then, and give them flint and steel and makings. Then he cooked the heart of the child and ate it.</td>
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<td>The clevver looking bloak said, 'Clevverness is gone now but littl by littl itwl come back. The iron wil come back agen 1 day and when the iron comes back they wil bern chard coal in the hart of the wood. And when they bern the chard coal ther stack wil be the shape of the hart of the chyld.' Off he gone then singing:</td>
<td>The clever-looking bloke said, 'Cleverness is gone now. But little by little it'll come back. The iron will come back again one day. And when the iron comes back, they will burn charcoal in the heart of the wood. And when they burn the charcoal, their stack will be the shape of the heart of the child.' Off he gone then singing:</td>
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<td>Seed of the little<br />
Seed of the wyld<br />
Seed of the berning is<br />
Hart of the chyld</td>
<td>Seed of the little<br />
Seed of the wild<br />
Seed of the burning is<br />
Heart of the child</td>
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<td>The man and the woman then eating ther chyld it wer black nite all roun them they made ther fire bigger and bigger trying to keap the black from moving in on them. They fel a sleap by ther fire and the fire biggering on it et them up they bernt to death. They ben the old 1s or you myt say the auld 1s and be come chard coal. Thats why theywl tel you the aulder tree is bes for charring coal. Some times youwl hear of a aulder kincher he carrys off childer.</td>
<td>The man and the woman then eating their child, it were black night all round them. They made their fire bigger and bigger, trying to keep the black from moving in on them. They fell sleep by their fire. And the fire biggering on it ate them up. They burned to death. They been the old ones—or you might say the ald ones—and became charcoal. That's why they'll tell you the alder tree is best for charring coal. Sometimes you'll hear of a alder kincher, he carries off children.</td>
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<td>Out goes the candl<br />
Out goes the lite<br />
Out goes my story<br />
And so Good Nite</td>
<td>Out goes the candle<br />
Out goes the light<br />
Out goes my story<br />
And so Good Night</td>
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<td>Coming pas that aulder wood that girzly morning I fealt my stummick go col. Like the aulder kincher ben putting eye on me. No 1 never had nothing much to do with the chard coal berners only the dyers on the forms. lce a year the chard coal berners they come in to the forms for ther new red clof but in be twean they kep to the woodlings.</td>
<td>Coming past that alder wood that drizzly morning, I felt my stomach go cold. Like the alder kincher been putting eye on me. No one never had nothing much to do with the charcoal burners, only the dyers on the farms. Once a year, the charcoal burners, they come into the farms for their new red cloth. But in between, they keep to the woodlings.</td>
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<td>It wer Ful of the Moon that nite. The rain littlt off the sky cleart and the moon come out. We put the boars head on the poal up on top of the gate house. His tusks glimmert and you cud see a dryd up trickl from the corners of his eyes like 1 las tear from each. Old Lorna Elswint our tel woman up there getting the tel of the head. Littl kids down be low playing Fools Circel 9wys. Singing:</td>
<td>It were Full of the Moon that night. The rain littled off, the sky cleared, and the moon come out. We put the boar's head on the pole up on top of the gatehouse. His tusks glimmered and you could see a dried up trickle from the corners of his eyes, like one last tear from each. Old Lorna Elswint, our tell woman up there, getting the tell of the head. Little kids down below playing Fool's Circle nine ways. Singing:</td>
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<td>Horny Boy rung Widders Bel<br />
Stoal his Fathers Ham as wel<br />
Bernt his Arse and Forkt a Stoan<br />
Done It Over broak a boan<br />
Out of Good Shoar vackt his wayt<br />
Scratcht Sams Itch for No. 8<br />
Gone to senter nex to see<br />
Cambry coming 3 times 3<br />
Sharna pax and get the poal<br />
When the Ardship of Cambry comes out of the hoal</td>
<td>Horny Boy rung Widows Bell<br />
Stole his Father's Ham as well<br />
Burnt his Arse and Forked a Stone<br />
Done It Over broke a bone<br />
Out of Good Shore vacked his weight<br />
Scratched Sam's Itch for number eight. <br />
Gone to senter next to see<br />
Cambry coming three times three<br />
Sharna pax and get the pole<br />
When the Hardship of Cambry comes out of the hole</td>
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<td>Littl 2way Digman being the Ardship going roun the circel til it come chopping time. He bustit out after the 3rd chop. I use to be good at that I all ways rathert be the Ardship nor 1 of the circel I liket the busting out part.</td>
<td>Little two-way Digman being the Hardship going round the circle till it come chopping time. He busted out after the third chop. I used to be good at that. I always rather'd be the Hardship, nor one of the circle. I liked the busting out part.</td>
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<td>I gone up to the platform I took Lorna a nice tender line of the boar. She wer sitting up there in her doss bag she ben smoaking she wer hy. I give her the meat and I said, "Lorna wil you tel for me?"</td>
<td>I gone up to the platform. I took Lorna a nice, tender line of the boar. She were sitting up there in her doss bag. She been smoking. She were high. I give her the meat and I said, 'Lorna will you tell for me?'</td>
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<td>She said, "Riddley Riddley theres mor to life nor asking and telling. Whynt you be the Big Boar and Iwl be the Moon Sow."</td>
<td>She said, 'Riddley, Riddley there's more to life nor asking and telling. Why not you be the Big Boar and I'll be the Moon Sow?'</td>
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<td>When the Moon Sow<br />
When the Moon Sow comes to season<br />
Ay! She wants a big 1<br />
Wants the Big Boar hevvy on her<br />
Ay yee! Big Boar what makes the groun shake<br />
Wyld of the Woodling with the wite tusk<br />
Ay yee! That wyld big 1 for the Moon Sow</td>
<td><i>When the Moon Sow</i><br />
When the Moon Sow comes to season<br />
Ay! She wants a big one<br />
Wants the Big Boar heavy on her<br />
Ay yee! Big Boar that makes the ground shake<br />
Wild of the Woodling with the white tusk<br />
Ay yee! That wild big one for the Moon Sow</td>
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<td>She sung that in my ear then we freshent the Luck up there on top of the gate house. She wer the oldes in our crowd but her voyce wernt old. It made the res of her seam yung for a littl. It wer a col nite but we wer warm in that doss bag. Lissening to the dogs howling aftrwds and the wind wuthering and wearying and nattering in the oak leaves. Looking at the moon all col and wite and oansome. Lorna said to me, "You know Riddley theres some thing in us it dont have no name."</td>
<td>She sung that in my ear. Then we freshened the Luck up there on top of the gatehouse. She were the oldest in our crowd, but her voice weren't old. It made the rest of her seem young for a little. It were a cold night, but we were warm in that doss bag. Listening to the dogs howling afterwards and the wind wuthering and wearying and nattering in the oak leaves. Looking at the moon all cold and white and lonesome. Lorna said to me, 'You know, Riddley, there's something in us, it don't have no name.'</td>
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<td>I said, "What thing is that?"</td>
<td>I said, 'What thing is that?'</td>
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<td>She said, "Its some kynd of thing it aint us but yet its in us. Its looking out thru our eye hoals. May be you dont take no noatis of it only some times. Say you get woak up suddn in the middl of the nite. 1 minim youre a sleap and the nex youre on your feet with a spear in your han. Wel it wernt you put that spear in your han it wer that other thing whats looking out thru your eye hoals. It aint you nor it dont even know your name. Its in us lorn and loan and sheltering how it can."</td>
<td>She said, 'Its some kind of thing. It ain't us, but yet it's in us. It's looking out through our eyeholes. Maybe you don't take no notice of it. Only sometimes. Say you get woke up sudden in the middle of the night. One minute you're asleep and the next you're on your feet with a spear in your hand. Well it weren't you put that spear in your hand, it were that other thing that's looking out through your eyeholes. It ain't you, nor it don't even know your name. It's in us lorn and alone and sheltering how it can.'</td>
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<td>I said, "If its in every 1 of us theres moren 1 of it theres got to be a manying theres got to be a millying and mor."</td>
<td>I said, 'If it's in everyone of us, there's more than one of it. There's got to be a manying. There's got to be a million and more.'</td>
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<td>Lorna said, "Wel there is a millying and mor."</td>
<td>Lorna said, 'Well, there is a million and more.'</td>
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<td>I said, "Wel if theres such a manying of it whys it lorn then whys it loan?"</td>
<td>I said, 'Well, if there's such a manying of it, why's it lorn then? Why's it alone?'</td>
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<td>She said, "Becaws the manying and the millying its all 1 thing it dont have nothing to gether with. You look at lykens on a stoan its all them tiny manyings of it and may be each part of it myt think its sepert only we can see its all 1 thing. Thats how it is with what we are its all 1 girt big thing and divvyt up amongst the many. Its all 1 girt thing bigger nor the won and lorn and loan and oansome. Tremmering it is and feart. It puts us on like we put on our does. Some times we dont fit. Some times it cant fynd the arm hoals and it tears us a part. I dont think I took all that much noatis of it when I ben yung. Now Im old I noatis it mor. It dont realy like to put me on no mor. Every morning I can feal how its tiret of me and readying to throw me a way. Iwl tel you some thing Riddley and keap this in memberment. What ever it is we dont come naturel to it."</td>
<td>She said, 'Because the manying and the million, its all one thing. It don't have nothing together with. You look at lichens on a stone, its all them tiny manyings of it. And maybe each part of it might think it's separate. Only we can see it's all one thing. That's how it is with what we are. It's all one great big thing and divvied up amongst the many. Its all one great thing bigger, nor the won and lorn and alone and lonesome. Trembling it is and afeared. It puts us on like we put on our does. Sometimes we don't fit. Sometimes it can't find the armholes and it tears us apart. I don't think I took all that much notice of it when I been young. Now I'm old, I notice it more. It don't really like to put me on no more. Every morning, I can feel how it's tired of me and readying to throw me away. I'll tell you something, Riddley, and keep this in memberment. Whatever it is, we don't come natural to it.'</td>
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<td>I said, "Lorna I dont know what you mean."</td>
<td>I said, 'Lorna, I don't know what you mean.'</td>
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<td>She said, "We aint a naturel part of it. We dint begin when it begun we dint begin where it begun. It ben here befor us nor I dont know what we are to it. May be weare jus only sickness and a feaver to it or boyls on the arse of it I dont know. Now lissen what Im going to tel you Riddley. It thinks us but it dont think like us. It dont think the way we think. Plus like I said befor its afeart."</td>
<td>She said, 'We ain't a natural part of it. We didn't begin when it begun. We didn't begin where it begun. It been here before us, nor I don't know what we are to it. Maybe we're just only sickness and a fever to it, or boils on the arse of it. I don't know. Now listen what I'm going to tell you, Riddley. It thinks us, but it don't think like us. It don't think the way we think. Plus, like I said before, it's afeared.'</td>
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<td>I said, "Whats it afeart of?"</td>
<td>I said, 'What's it afeared of?'</td>
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<td>She said, "Its afeart of being beartht."</td>
<td>She said, 'Its afeared of being birthed.'</td>
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<td>I said, "How can that be? You said it ben here befor us. If it ben here all this time it musve ben beartht some time."</td>
<td>I said, 'How can that be? You said it been here before us. If it's been here all this time it, must've been birthed some time.'</td>
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<td>She said, "No it aint ben beartht it never does get beartht its all ways in the woom of things its all ways on the road."</td>
<td>She said, 'No, it ain't been birthed. It never does get birthed. It's always in the womb of things. It's always on the road.'</td>
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<td>I said, "All this what you jus ben telling be that a tel for me?"</td>
<td>I said, 'All this that you just been telling, be that a tell for me?'</td>
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<td>She larft then she said, "Riddley there aint nothing what aint a tel for you. The wind in the nite the dus on the road even the leases stoan you kick a long in front of you. Even the shadder of that leases stoan roaling on or stanning stil its all telling."</td>
<td>She laughed. Then she said, 'Riddley there ain't nothing that ain't a tell for you. The wind in the night, the dust on the road, even the leases stone you kick along in front of you. Even the shadow of that leases stone rolling on or standing still, it's all telling.'</td>
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<td>Wel I cant say for cern no mor if I had any of them things in my mynd befor she tol me but ever since then it seams like they all ways ben there. Seams like I ben all ways thinking on that thing in us what thinks us but it dont think like us. Our woal life is a idear we dint think of nor we dont know what it is. What a way to live.</td>
<td>Well I can't say for certain no more if I had any of them things in my mind before she told me. But ever since then, it seems like they always been there. Seems like I been always thinking on that thing in us what thinks us but it don't think like us. Our whole life is a idea we didn't think of, nor we don't know what it is. What a way to live.</td>
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<td>Thats why I finely come to writing all this down. Thinking on what the idear of us myt be. Thinking on that thing whats in us lorn and loan and oansome.</td>
<td>That's why I finally come to writing all this down. Thinking on what the idea of us might be. Thinking on that thing what's in us lorn and alone and lonesome.</td>
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</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table border="1" style="width: 100%;">
<caption><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 2</span></b></caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Original</th>
<th>Revised</th>
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<td>Walker is my name and I am the same. Riddley Walker. Walking my riddels where ever theyve took me and walking them now on this paper the same.</td>
<td>Walker is my name and I am the same. Riddley Walker. Walking my riddles wherever they've took me, and walking them now on this paper the same.</td>
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<td>I dont think it makes no diffrents where you start the telling of a thing. You never know where it begun realy. No moren you know where you begun your oan self. You myt know the place and day and time of day when you ben beartht. You myt even know the place and day and time when you ben got. That dont mean nothing tho. You stil dont know where you begun.</td>
<td>I don't think it makes no difference where you start the telling of a thing. You never know where it begun, really. No more than you know where you begun your own self. You might know the place and day and time of day when you been born. You might even know the place and day and time when you been got. That don't mean nothing, though. You still don't know where you begun.</td>
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<td>Ive all ready wrote down about my naming day. It wernt no moren 3 days after that my dad got kilt in the digging at Widders Dump and I wer the loan of my name.</td>
<td>I've already wrote down about my naming day. It weren't no more than three days after that my dad got killed in the digging at Widow's Dump and I were the lone of my name.</td></tr>
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<td>Dad and me we jus come off forage rota and back on jobbing that day. The hoal we ben working we ben on it 24 days. Which Ive never liket 12 its a judgd men number innit and this ben 2 of them. Wed pernear cleart out down to the chalk and hevvy mucking it ben. Nothing lef in the hoal only sortit thru muck and the smel of it and some girt big rottin iron thing some kynd of machine it wer you cudnt tel what it wer.</td>
<td>Dad and me, we just come off forage rota and back on jobbing that day. The hole we been working, we been on it 24 days. Which I've never liked 12. It's a judgment number, isn't it? And this been two of them. We'd pretty near cleared out down to the chalk and heavy mucking it been. Nothing left in the hole. Only sorted through muck. And the smell of it. And some great big rotting iron thing. Some kind of machine it were. You couldn't tell what it were.</td>
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<td>Til then any thing big we all ways bustit up in the hoal. Winch a girt big buster rock up on the crane and drop it down on what ever we wer busting. Finish up with han hammers then theywd drag the peaces to the reddy for the melting. This time tho the 1stman tol us word come down they dint want this thing bustit up we wer to get it out in tack. So we ben sturgling with the girt big thing nor the woal 20 of us cudnt shif it we cudnt even lif it jus that littl bit to get the sling unner neath of it. Up to our knees in muck we wer. Even with the drain wed dug the hoal wer mucky from the rains. And col. It wer only jus the 2nd mooning of the year and winter long in going.</td>
<td>Till then, anything big we always busted up in the hole. Winch a great big buster rock up on the crane and drop it down on whatever we were busting. Finish up with hand hammers. Then they'd drag the pieces to the ready for the melting. This time, though, the firstman told us word come down they didn't want this thing busted up. We were to get it out intact. So we been struggling with the great big thing, nor the whole 20 of us couldn't shift it. We couldn't even lift it just that little bit to get the sling underneath of it. Up to our knees in muck we were. Even with the drain we'd dug, the hole were mucky from the rains. And cold. It were only just the second mooning of the year, and winter long in going.</td>
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<td>We got hevvy poals and leavering it up jus a nuff to get a roap roun 1 end of it we had in mynd to shif that girt thing jus a littl with the crane so we cud get it parper slung then winch it out of there. It wer a 16 man treadl crane with 2 weals 4 men inside 4 men outside each weal. Userly I wuntve ben on the crane we all ways put our hevvyes on them weals. All we had tho wer 20 in all and we neadit some mussl on the leaver poals so I wer up there on the lef han weal with our hardes hevvy Fister Crunchman we wer the front 2 on that weal. Durster Potter and Jobber Easting behynt us. Straiter Empy our Big Man he wer down in the hoal with Dad and 2 others. Us on the out side of the weals looking tords the hoal and them on the in side looking a way from it.</td>
<td>We got heavy poles and levering it up just enough to get a rope round one end of it. We had in mind to shift that great thing just a little with the crane so we could get it proper slung, then winch it out of there. It were a 16-man treadle crane with two wheels, four men inside, four men outside each wheel. Usually, I wouldn't have been on the crane. We always put our heavies on them wheels. All we had, though, were 20 in all and we needed some muscle on the lever poles. So I were up there on the left-hand wheel with our hardest heavy, Fister Crunchman. We were the front two on that wheel, Durster Potter and Jobber Easting behind us. Straiter Empy, our Big Man, he were down in the hole with Dad and two others. Us on the outside of the wheels looking towards the hole and them on the inside looking away from it.</td>
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<td>We took up the slack then Straiter Empy give the syn and Chalker Marchman the Widders Dump 1stman chanting us on:</td>
<td>We took up the slack, then Straiter Empy give the sign and Chalker Marchman, the Widow's Dump firstman, chanting us on:</td>
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<td>Gone ter morrer here to day<br />
Pick it up and walk a way<br />
Dont you know greaf and woe<br />
Pick it up its time to go<br />
Greaf and woe dont you know<br />
Pick it up its time to go</td>
<td>Gone tomorrow, here today<br />
Pick it up and walk away<br />
Don't you know grief and woe<br />
Pick it up, it's time to go<br />
Grief and woe, don't you know<br />
Pick it up, it's time to go</td>
</tr>
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<td>Roun we gone with the roap winching in and the A frame taking the strain. Straiter Empy and Skyway Moaters leavering the girt thing wylst we wincht and Dad and Leaster Digman working the sling unner.</td>
<td>Round we gone with the rope winching in and the A-frame taking the strain. Straiter Empy and Skyway Moaters levering the great thing whilst we winched and Dad and Leaster Digman working the sling under.</td>
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<td>London Town is drownt this day Hear me say walk a way<br />
Sling your bundel tern and go Parments in the mud you<br />
know Greaf and woe dont you know Pick it up its time<br />
to go</td>
<td>London Town is drowned this day. Hear me say walk away<br />
Sling your bundle, turn and go, Parliaments in the mud. You<br />
know Grief and woe, don't you know. Pick it up, it's time<br />
to go</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Weals creaking stoppers knocking 32 legs going. The roap gone iron hard and the girt big thing coming up out of the muck all black and rottin unner the grey sky. A crow going over and it had the right of us.</td>
<td>Wheels creaking, stoppers knocking, 32 legs going. The rope gone iron hard and the great big thing coming up out of the muck all black and rotten under the grey sky. A crow going over and it had the right of us.</td>
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<td>Dad and me looking up at the crow. I knowit that crow wer going to say some thing unner that grey sky. I knowit that crow wer going to tel.</td>
<td>Dad and me looking up at the crow. I knowed that crow were going to say something under that grey sky. I knowed that crow were going to tell.</td>
</tr>
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<td>The crow yelt, "Fall! Fall! Fall!" I dont know if I wer falling befor he said that or not. The treadls wer wet and slippy but I had a good grip on the railing any how I thot I did. But there I wer with my feet gone out from unner me and nothing in my han. Falling I wer I knockt Durster Potter and Jobber Easting luce and they grabbit me they dint have nothing else to hol on to. Fister Crunchman cawt my arm only the railing he had holt of with his other han come a way in his han and off he gone with the res of us. I cud see in my mynd how funny it musve lookit I wer near larfing with it only I seen that weal going backards and I heard some thing tear luce it wer the stoppers 2 on each weal all 4 gone whanging off. Boath weals screachit and the 4 bloaks on the out side of the other weal shot off tords the hoal like stoans out of a sling. Wel it wen the load took charge and SPLOOSH! Down it come that girt big thing it made a jynt splosh and black muck going up slow and hy in to the air. That girt old black machine fel back in to the muck with my dad unner neath of it. It all happent so fas the crow wer sill in site he larft then. "Haw! Haw! Haw!" and off he flappit.</td>
<td>The crow yelled, 'Fall! Fall! Fall!' I don't know if I were falling before he said that or not. The treadles were wet and slippery, but I had a good grip on the railing. Anyhow, I thought I did. But there I were with my feet gone out from under me and nothing in my hand. Falling I were. I knocked Durster Potter and Jobber Easting loose and they grabbed me. They didn't have nothing else to hold onto. Fister Crunchman caught my arm, only the railing he had hold of with his other hand come away in his hand and off he gone with the rest of us. I could see in my mind how funny it must've looked. I were near laughing with it, only I seen that wheel going backwards and I heard something tear loose. It were the stoppers, two on each wheel, all four gone whanging off. Both wheels screeched and the four blokes on the outside of the other wheel shot off towards the hole like stones out of a sling. Well, it went. The load took charge and SPLOOSH! Down it come, that great big thing. It made a giant splosh and black muck going up slow and high into the air. That great old black machine fell back into the muck with my dad underneath of it. It all happened so fast, the crow were still in sight. He laughed then. 'Haw! Haw! Haw!' And off he flapped.</td>
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<td>We pickt our selfs up then all but 1 of us. The roap wer sill fas to the girt big thing. We all got on that roap then we dint use the weal winch only the A frame and the pullys. Chalker Manchman chanting us on the strait pul:</td>
<td>We picked ourselves up then, all but one of us. The rope were still fast to the great big thing. We all got on that rope then. We didn't use the wheel winch, only the A-frame and the pulleys. Chalker Manchman chanting us on the straight pull:</td>
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<td>Heard it and the news of 10<br />
Sling your bundel haul agen<br />
Haul agen and hump your load<br />
Every bodys on the road</td>
<td>Heard it and the news of ten<br />
Sling your bundle haul again<br />
Haul again and hump your load<br />
Everybody's on the road</td>
</tr>
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<td>We shiffit the thing and got Dad out from unner. Parbly it kilt him soons it come down on him he dint have no time to drown in the muck. He wer all smasht up you cudnt tel whose face it ben it mytve ben any bodys.</td>
<td>We shifted the thing and got Dad out from under. Probably it killed him soons it come down on him. He didn't have no time to drown in the muck. He were all smashed up. You couldn't tell whose face it been. It might've been anybody's.</td>
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<td>I begun to clym all over that thing then. That girt big black thing. I wen looking to see if it had a name stampt in or raisd up in the iron of it like them things do some times. It had a shel of old muck stoan hard unner the new muck tho nor I cudnt fynd no name.</td>
<td>I begun to climb all over that thing then, that great big black thing. I went looking to see if it had a name stamped in or raised up in the iron of it, like them things do sometimes. It had a shell of old muck stone hard under the new muck though, nor I couldn't find no name.</td>
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<td>Every 1 wer saying, "What is it Riddley whatre you doing?" I said, "My dad ben kilt by some thing I dont even know the name of aint that a larf." I begun larfing then I cudnt stop.</td>
<td>Everyone were saying, 'What is it Riddley? What're you doing?' I said, 'My dad been killed by something I don't even know the name of. Ain't that a laugh?' I begun laughing then. I couldn't stop.</td>
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<td>They let me have my larfing out but I wer stil wanting some thing some kynd of las word some kynd of onwith. If I wernt going to get it from Dad at leas I wantit some thing for onwith even if it wernt nothing only the name of that girt black thing what smasht him flat so you cudnt even tel whose face it ben. I said that to Fister Crunchman.</td>
<td>They let me have my laughing out. But I were still wanting something. Some kind of last word. Some kind of onwith. If I weren't going to get it from Dad, at least I wanted something for onwith. Even if it weren't nothing, only the name of that great black thing what smashed him flat so you couldn't even tell whose face it been. I said that to Fister Crunchman.</td>
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<td>He said, "You look at your dads face Riddley thats what Widders Dump done to him theres your onwith."</td>
<td>He said, 'You look at your dad's face, Riddley. Thats what Widow's Dump done to him. There's your onwith.'</td>
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<td>I said, "It wernt Widders Dump done it to him it wer me I los my footing and I pult you with me. It wer me made the woal of us lose our perchis."</td>
<td>I said, 'It weren't Widow's Dump done it to him. It were me. I lost my footing and I pulled you with me. It were me made the whole of us lose our purchase.'</td>
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<td>Fister said, "That load wer too much for that weal. It wernt us falling kilt your dad it wer the stoppers coming luce and the weal took charge."</td><td>Fister said, 'That load were too much for that wheel. It weren't us falling killed your dad. It were the stoppers coming loose and the wheel took charge.'</td>
</tr>
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<td>Straiter Empy said, "Fisters right it wer too much of a load for that weal."</td>
<td>Straiter Empy said, 'Fister's right. It were too much of a load for that wheel.'</td>
</tr>
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<td>Chalker Marchman said to Straiter, "It wer you lot put it on the weal. All I tol you wer to get that thing out of the hoal. You cudve draggit cudnt you I never give you the do it for the weal. Any how that weal wudve ben all right if youd had a nuff hevvyness on it and kep your hevvyness where it ben meant to be."</td>
<td>Chalker Marchman said to Straiter, 'It were you lot put it on the wheel. All I told you were to get that thing out of the hole. You could've dragged it, couldn't you? I never give you the do it for the wheel. Anyhow that wheel would've been all right if you'd had enough heaviness on it and kept your heaviness where it been meant to be.'</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Straiter said, "Widders Dumpwl give comping station for Brooder Walker tho youwl do that much wont you."</td>
<td>Straiter said, 'Widow's Dump'll give compensation for Brooder Walker, though. You'll do that much, won't you?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Chalker Marchman said, "O yes wewl sen Reckman Bessup with it hewl road back to fents with you."</td><td>Chalker Marchman said, 'Oh, yes. We'll send Reckman Bessup with it. He'll road back to fence with you.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>We borrert a drag to take Dad hoam. Going back to fents then all of us. They give us ful days meat at Widders Dump and Reckman Bessup he wer ther connexion man he brung the comping station. What we callit dead mans iron and he carrit on his back.</td><td>We borrowed a drag to take Dad home. Going back to fence, then, all of us. They give us full day's meat at Widow's Dump. And Reckman Bessup, he were their connection man. He brung the compensation—what we called 'dead man's iron'— and he carried it on his back.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>We wer going out thru the gate when there gone up behynt us the death wail loud and strong it musve ben 40 peopl at leas. All them voyces going up black and sharp and falling a way in a groan: AIYEEEEE.</td><td>We were going out through the gate when there gone up behind us the death wail, loud and strong. It must've been 40 people at least. All them voices going up black and sharp and falling away in a groan: AIYEEEEE.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said to Reckman Bessup, "That cant be for my dad he wernt nothing to them."</td><td>I said to Reckman Bessup, 'That can't be for my dad. He weren't nothing to them.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He said, "Its a babby dead beartht. That babby come in to the worl dead same time as your dad gone with Aunty."</td><td>He said, 'Its a baby dead-born. That baby come into the world dead same time as your dad gone with Aunty.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Is there a connexion?"</td><td>I said, 'Is there a connection?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He said, "Not 1 as Iwl make."</td><td>He said, 'Not one as I'll make.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Going back slow then there come dogs follering on our track we hadnt seen none that day til then. Shapit black is how I think of them tho mos of them are patchy colourt. Its the hy leggitness of them. Ther thick necks and littl heads and littl ears. It wer the Bernt Arse pack with ther black and red spottit leader. All of them head down and slumping on behynt us jus out of bow shot. I wer looking at the leader and waiting for some thing I cud feal it in my froat. He dint have his head down he had it up and looking tords us.</td><td>Going back slow, then, there come dogs following on our track. We hadn't seen none that day till then. Shaped black is how I think of them, though most of them are patchy colored. It's the high-leggedness of them. Their thick necks and little heads and little ears. It were the Burnt Arse pack with their black-and-red spotted leader. All of them head down and slumping on behind us, just out of bow shot. I were looking at the leader and waiting for something. I could feel it in my throat. He didn't have his head down. He had it up and looking towards us.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>There begun to be some rowling and yipping and yapping from the other dogs then crowding the leader and him terning. Grooling and smarling he wer but the others crowdit on him then the leader he come running tords us. The other dogs dint foller they hung back and he come oansome.</td><td>There begun to be some growling and yipping and yapping from the other dogs, then crowding the leader and him turning. Drooling and snarling he were, but the others crowded on him. Then the leader, he come running towards us. The other dogs didn't follow. They hung back and he come lonesome.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>All of us stoppt then and looking at the dog. Not 1 of us put arrer to string we all knowit wernt that kynd of thing. I steppt out a littl way from the others and they all movit a way from me it wer like some thing you do in a dream. Straiter Empy said, "Riddley hes offering and hes favering you."</td><td>All of us stopped then and looking at the dog. Not one of us put arrow to string. We all knowed it weren't that kind of thing. I stepped out a little way from the others and they all moved away from me. It were like something you do in a dream. Straiter Empy said, 'Riddley, he's offering and he's favoring you.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I stood there and holding ready with my spear. Nothing like it never happent befor but it wer like it all ways ben there happening. The dog getting bigger bigger unner the grey sky and me waiting with the spear. It dint seam like the running brung him on tho he wer moving fas. It wer mor like he ben running for ever in 1 place not moving on jus getting bigger bigger til he wer big a nuff to be in front of me with his face all rinkelt back from his teef. Jus in that fraction of a minim the dogs face and the boars face from my naming day they flickert to gether with my dads face all smasht. I helt the spear and he run on to it. Lying there and kicking with his yeller eyes on me and I finisht him with my knife.</td><td>I stood there and holding ready with my spear. Nothing like it never happened before, but it were like it always been there happening. The dog getting bigger bigger under the grey sky and me waiting with the spear. It didn't seem like the running brung him on, though he were moving fast. It were more like he been running forever in one place, not moving on just getting bigger. Bigger till he were big enough to be in front of me with his face all wrinkled back from his teeth. Just in that fraction of a minute, the dog's face and the boar's face from my naming day, they flickered together with my dad's face all smashed. I held the spear and he run on to it. Lying there and kicking with his yellow eyes on me. And I finished him with my knife.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Straiter Empy said, "Look how his teefs woar down and hes all girzelt. A old leader come to his time and crowdit out come back to us to dy. Ive heard of it but I never seen it befor. Its Luck to you Riddley."</td><td>Straiter Empy said, 'Look how his teeth wore down and he's all grizzled. A old leader come to his time and crowded out come back to us to die. I've heard of it, but I never seen it before. It's Luck to you Riddley.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>We laid the dog acrost Dads legs. Reckman Bessup said to me, "This dogs offert his self to your dad. Made his Plomercy and now theywl boath look at the nite to gether."</td><td>We laid the dog across Dad's legs. Reckman Bessup said to me, 'This dog's offered himself to your dad. Made his Plomercy and now they'll both look at the night together.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said to Reckman Bessup, "Heres my dad dead and this dog and that babby at Widders Dump all on the same day. Be there a connexion?"</td><td>I said to Reckman Bessup, 'Here's my dad dead and this dog and that baby at Widow's Dump all on the same day. Be there a connection?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He said, "Whynt you stop asking me that. What I connect is shows I aint no tel woman nor I dont know nothing about blips nor syns."</td><td>He said, 'Why not you stop asking me that? What I connect is shows I ain't no tell woman. Nor I don't know nothing about blips nor signs.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Thats as may be but youre stanning here and seen what happent plus you ben at Widders Dump this morning."</td><td>I said, 'That's as may be, but you're standing here and seen what happened. Plus, you been at Widow's Dump this morning.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He thot on it a littl then. A sour man but cudnt help getting a littl interstit. He said, "I wunt try no tel but you can tel your oan self. Every 1 knows if you get blipful things to gether you take the farthes out 1 for the nindicater. Whats the farthes out 1 of the 3 youve namit?"</td><td>He thought on it a little then. A sour man, but couldn't help getting a little interested. He said, 'I won't try no tell, but you can tell your own self. Everyone knows if you get blipful things together you take the farthest out one for the indicator. What's the farthest out one of the three you've named?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "The dog."</td><td>I said, 'The dog.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He said, "Whats a dog? Its some-thing you cant get close to. They keap ther farness nor you cant trap them nyther theyre too clevver. Plus theyre a danger theywl eat you if they catch you oansome and they go mad at Ful of the Moon. So here youve got a far thing come close and a danger thing as cudnt be trappt offers its self. How old myt you be?"</td><td>He said, 'What's a dog? Its something you can't get close to. They keep their farness, nor you can't trap them neither. They're too clever. Plus, they're a danger. They'll eat you if they catch you lonesome. And they go mad at Full of the Moon. So here you've got a far thing come close and a danger thing as couldn't be trapped offers itself. How old might you be?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "I jus come 12 at Ful of the Moon."</td><td>I said, 'I just come twelve at Full of the Moon.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He said, "Heres a old woar out leader took by a boy what aint a boy no mor hes come 12 and a man. You hearing any tel?" I said, "The far come close took by the littl come big."</td><td>He said, 'Here's a old wore out leader took by a boy what ain't a boy no more. He's come twelve and a man. You hearing any tell?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>He said, "You said it I dint. I dont say no farther you bes tel your oan self on from there. No use asking other peopl they dont know no moren you do. Now your dads gone youwl be connexion man at How Fents peopl wil be asking you in stead of you asking them. You bes start putting things to gether for your self you aint a kid no mor."</td><td>I said, 'The far come close took by the little come big.'<br />
He said, 'You said it, I didn't. I don't say no farther, you best tell your own self on from there. No use asking other people. They don't know no more than you do. Now your dad's gone, you'll be connection man at How Fence. People will be asking you instead of you asking them. You best start putting things together for yourself. You ain't a kid no more.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>When we movit on the dogs they slumpt off back to Bernt Arse Dead Town it wer like they only come out that day for that 1 thing. Smoak coming up in Bernt Arse from the out poast there wer all ways hevvys there on rota from the Ram. Every day we gone the same way to and from and every day we seen that smoak nor I never give it no thot. This day tho every thing begun to look diffrent. Like I never seen it befor. You know that kynd of playsy kids have some times. Its a funny face paintit on a flat peace of wood and theres 2 hoals to roal the eyes in to. Clay ball eyes and you slant the face 1 way and the other til they roal in to the hoals. Wel this day it seamt like the worl begun to roal. The worl begun to seam like 1 big crazy eye and roaling. I wer afeart it myt roal right off the face and dispear.</td><td>When we moved on, the dogs, they slumped off back to Burnt Arse. Dead Town it were, like they only come out that day for that one thing. Smoke coming up in Burnt Arse from the outpost. There were always heavies there on rota from the Ram. Every day, we gone the same way to and from and every day we seen that smoke. Nor I never give it no thought. This day, though, everything begun to look different. Like I never seen it before. You know that kind of playsy kids have some times. It's a funny face painted on a flat piece of wood. And there's two holes to roll the eyes into. Clay ball eyes and you slant the face one way and the other till they roll into the holes. Well, this day it seemed like the world begun to roll. The world begun to seem like one big crazy eye and rolling. I were afeared it might roll right off the face and disappear.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Looking at that smoak coming up in the dead town and my mynd stil running on the dogs. There ben the dead towns all them years. Ram out poasts in 1 part of them and dogs hoalt up in other parts. And all them years you heard storys of dog peopl. Peopl with dogs heads and dogs with peopls heads. Some said come Ful of the Moon they all run to gether in the Black Pack. Dogs and dog peopl to gether. The Ram dint allow no 1 in the dead towns but when I ben littl we use to sly in when ever we got the chance and kids a nuff for crowd. Trying if we cud see dog peopl. Fork Stoan it ben befor we livet near Bernt Arse. We never seen nothing only the hevvys and they all ways seen us off qwick. We heard things tho some times. Singing or howling or crying, or larfing you cudnt qwite say what it wer or what it wernt.</td><td>Looking at that smoke coming up in the dead town, and my mind still running on the dogs. There been the dead towns all them years. Ram outposts in one part of them and dogs holed up in other parts. And all them years, you heard stories of dog people. People with dogs' heads and dogs with people's heads. Some said, come Full of the Moon, they all run together in the Black Pack. Dogs and dog people together. The Ram didn't allow no one in the dead towns, but when I been little, we used to sly in whenever we got the chance and kids enough for crowd. Trying if we could see dog people. Fork Stone it been before we lived near Burnt Arse. We never seen nothing, only the heavies. And they always seen us off quick. We heard things though sometimes. Singing or howling or crying, or laughing. You couldn't quite say what it were or what it weren't.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>My dad use to say all that about the dog peopl wer jus so much cow shit. He said hewd give odds it wer plittical and no dogs heads to it at all. Wel this aint the place to say no mor about it Iwl tel that part when I come to it. Ive only wrote this down here becaws my mynd ben running on it that day and if itd run farther I mytve knowit mor. There aint that many sir prizes in life if you take noatis of every thing. Every time wil have its happenings out and every place the same. What ever eats mus shit.</td><td>My dad used to say all that about the dog people were just so much cow shit. He said he'd give odds it were political and no dogs' heads to it at all. Well, this ain't the place to say no more about it. I'll tell that part when I come to it. I've only wrote this down here because my mind been running on it that day, and if it'd run farther, I might've known it more. There ain't that many surprises in life if you take notice of everything. Every time will have its happenings out and every place the same. Whatever eats must shit.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>We got back to fents and then the death wail gone for Brooder Walker. We done comping station then. Reckman Bessup he said, "1 of yours is dead with us. I have it on me wil you take it off me?"</td><td>We got back to fence and then the death wail gone for Brooder Walker. We done compensation then. Reckman Bessup, he said, 'One of yours is dead with us. I have it on me. Will you take it off me?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Yes Iwl take it off." I took the iron off his back then. That wer the onlyes iron I ever seen out of all them years jobbing at Widders Dump. 5 10wts of iron for Brooder Walker.</td><td>I said, 'Yes, I'll take it off.' I took the iron off his back then. That were the only iron I ever seen out of all them years jobbing at Widow's Dump. Five ten-weights of iron for Brooder Walker.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>My dad he wer 33 when he dyd. My mum she dyd of the coffing sickness when I wer 5. This what Ive ben writing down here it happent when I ben with How Fents. On the Bundel Downs near the Rivver Sour about 4 faggers Norf and Eas of Bernt Arse Dead Town and about 15 faggers Souf and Wes of Cambry.</td><td>My dad, he were 33 when he died. My mum, she died of the coughing sickness when I were five. This what I've been writing down here. It happened when I been with How Fence. On the Bundle Downs near the River Sour, about four faggers North and East of Burnt Arse Dead Town and about 15 faggers South and West of Cambry.</td></tr>
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<table border="1" style="width: 100%;">
<caption><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 3</span></b></caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Original</th>
<th>Revised</th>
</tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>This is stil that same day Im writing down here. The day my dad got kilt. We put the dogs head on the poal on top of the gate house. Lorna Elswint up there with it. Littl Kids zanting down be low. Playing Black Pack and singing:</td><td>This is still that same day I'm writing down here. The day my dad got killed. We put the dog's head on the pole on top of the gate house. Lorna Elswint up there with it. Little Kids zanting down below. Playing Black Pack and singing:</td></tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Ful of the Moon Ful of the Moon<br />
Ful of the Moon nor dont look back<br />
Folleree Folleroo on your track<br />
Oo hoo hoo Yoop yaroo<br />
Folleree Folleroo follering you<br />
If they catch you in the darga<br />
Arga warga</td>
<td>Full of the Moon Full of the Moon<br />
Full of the Moon nor don't look back<br />
Folleree Folleroo on your track<br />
Oo hoo hoo Yoop yaroo<br />
Folleree Folleroo following you<br />
If they catch you in the darga<br />
Arga warga
</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Lorna she lookit oven the side she said to the kids, "There aint no Ful Moon this nite there aint no Black Pack running. Its 2 days pas the Ful."</td><td>Lorna, she looked oven the side. She said to the kids, 'There ain't no Full Moon this night. There ain't no Black Pack running. Its two days past the Full.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Littl Nimbel Potter he said, "3rd of the Ful and stil shewl pul. My dad he seen Riddley Walker kil that dog and my dad he said that dog wil fetch."</td><td>Little Nimble Potter, he said, 'third of the Full and still she'll pull. My dad, he seen Riddley Walker kill that dog. And my dad, he said that dog will fetch.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Lorna said, "Fetch what?"</td><td>Lorna said, 'Fetch what?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Nimbel said, "Fetch some 1 over to the dog peopl." He laid his head over on 1 side to show his neck and he showit his teef like he wer a dog and going to bite.</td><td>Nimble said, 'Fetch someone over to the dog people.' He laid his head over on one side to show his neck and he showed his teeth like he were a dog and going to bite.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Lorna said, "Nimbel you ever seen any dog peopl?"</td><td>Lorna said, 'Nimble, you ever seen any dog people?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Nimbel said, "O yes Ive seen them times a nuff."</td><td>Nimbel said, 'Oh, yes. I've seen them times enough.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Lorna said, "Whatd they look like then?"</td><td>Lorna said, 'What'd they look like, then?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Nimbel said, "They throw a wite shadder dont they. Every body knows that." He ternt his self roun then and gone back to playing with the others. Singing:</td><td>Nimble said, 'They throw a white shadow, don't they? Everybody knows that.' He turned himself round then and gone back to playing with the others. Singing:</td></tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Gennl men wil do it front to back<br />
When they do it with the ladys of the Ful Moon pack<br />
All the ladys do it back to front<br />
When they drop ther nickers and they show ther<br />
Moony in the holler moony on the hil<br />
If you wont do it then your sister wil</td>
<td>Gentlemen will do it front to back<br />
When they do it with the ladies of the Full Moon pack<br />
All the ladies do it back to front<br />
When they drop their knickers and they show their<br />
Moony in the hollow moony on the hill<br />
If you won't do it, then your sister will</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I gone up on the gate house and looking at the head. The day gone colder. The muddling from the rains froze hard and the calling of the crows col on the air. Looking at that old leaders woar down teef.</td><td>I gone up on the gate house and looking at the head. The day gone colder. The muddling from the rains froze hard and the calling of the crows cold on the air. Looking at that old leaders wore-down teeth.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Lorna said to me, "You heard the story of why the dog wont show its eyes?"</td><td>Lorna said to me, 'You heard the story of why the dog won't show its eyes?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "No I never."</td><td>I said, 'No, I never.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "Thats what happens with peopl on the way down from what they ben. The storys go." She tol me the story then. This is it wrote down the same:</td><td>She said, 'That's what happens with people on the way down from what they been, the stories go.' She told me the story then. This is it wrote down the same:</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Why the Dog Wont Show Its Eyes</i></td><td><i>Why the Dog Wont Show Its Eyes</i></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Time back way way back befor peopl got clevver they had the 1st knowing. They los it when they got the clevverness and now the clevverness is gone as wel.</td><td>Time back way, way back before people got clever, they had the first knowing. They lost it when they got the cleverness. And now the cleverness is gone as well.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Every thing has a shape and so does the nite only you cant see the shape of nite nor you cant think it. If you put your self right you can know it. Not with knowing in your head but with the 1st knowing. Where the number creaper grows on the dead stoans and the groun is sour for 3 days digging the nite stil knows the shape of its self tho we dont. Some times the nite is the shape of a ear only it aint a ear we know the shape of. Lissening back for all the souns whatre gone from us. The hummering of the dead towns and the voyces befor the towns ben there. Befor the iron ben and fire ben only littl. Lissening for whats coming as wel.</td><td>Everything has a shape and so does the night. Only you can't see the shape of night, nor you can't think it. If you put yourself right, you can know it. Not with knowing in your head, but with the first knowing. Where the number creeper grows on the dead stones and the ground is sour for three days digging, the night still knows the shape of itself, though we don't. Sometimes the night is the shape of a ear, only it ain't a ear we know the shape of. Listening back for all the sounds what're gone from us. The hummering of the dead towns and the voices before the towns been there. Before the iron been, and fire been only little. Listening for what's coming as well.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Time back way way back 1 time it wer Ful of the Moon and a man and woman sqwatting by then littl fire. Sqwatting by ther littl fire and afeart of the nite. The dog wer in the nite and looking tords the fire. It wernt howling it wer jus looking at the fire. The man and woman seen the fire shyning in the dogs eyes. The man throwit meat to the dog and the dog come in to them by the fire. Brung its eyes in out of the nite then they all lookit at the nite to gether. The man and the woman seen the nite in the dogs eyes and thats when they got the 1st knowing of it. They knowit the nite the same as the dog knowit.</td><td>Time back way, way back, one time it were Full of the Moon and a man and woman squatting by then little fire. Squatting by their little fire and afeared of the night. The dog were in the night and looking towards the fire. It weren't howling, it were just looking at the fire. The man and woman seen the fire shining in the dog's eyes. The man threw meat to the dog and the dog come in to them by the fire. Brung its eyes in out of the night. Then they all looked at the night together. The man and the woman seen the night in the dogs eyes, and that's when they got the first knowing of it. They knowed the night the same as the dog knowed it.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>You know what they got 1st knowing of. She has diffrent ways she shows her self. Shes that same 1 shows her moon self or she jus shows her old old nite and no moon. Shes that same 1 every thing and all of us come out of. Shes what she is. Shes a woman when shes Nite and shes a woman when shes Death. The nite bearths the day. Every day has the shape of the nite what it come out of. The man as knows that shape can go in to the nite in the nite and the nite in the day time. The woman as knows that shape can be the nite and take the day in her and bearth the new day.</td><td>You know what they got first knowing of. She has different ways she shows herself. She's that same one shows her moon self or she just shows her old, old night and no moon. She's that same one everything and all of us come out of. She's what she is. She's a woman when she's Night and she's a woman when she's Death. The night births the day. Every day has the shape of the night what it comes out of. The man as knows that shape can go into the night in the night and the night in the daytime. The woman as knows that shape can be the night and take the day in her and birth the new day.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Wel they got that 1st knowing they got it looking in the dogs eyes in the Ful of the Moon. When the man and woman got that 1st knowing from the dog they made a contrack with the dog in the Ful of the Moon. They roadit on to gether with the dog and foraging to gether. Dint have no mor fear in the nite they put ther self right day and nite that wer the good time. Then they begun to think on it a littl. They said, "If the 1st knowing is this good what myt the 2nd knowing and the 3rd be and so on?"</td><td>Well they got that first knowing. They got it looking in the dog's eyes in the Full of the Moon. When the man and woman got that first knowing from the dog, they made a contract with the dog in the Full of the Moon. They roaded on together with the dog and foraging together. Didn't have no more fear in the night. They put themselves right day and night. That were the good time. Then they begun to think on it a little. They said, 'If the first knowing is this good, what might the second knowing and the third be, and so on?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>They cawt a goat and lookit in its eye. You know what eye the goat has its the clevver eye. The man and woman looking in that clevver eye and they thot: Why shud we be foraging the woal time? They cawt other goats they made a fents and pent them up. They gethert weat and barly they had bread and beer then they wernt moving on the lan no mor they startit in to form it. Stoppit in 1 place then with sheds and stock and growings. They wernt outside in the nite no mor they wer inside looking out. The nite jus lookit dark to them they dint see nothing else to it no mor. They los out of memberment the shapes of nite and worrit for ther parpety they myt get snuck and raidit. They made the dog keap look out for ther parpety.</td><td>They caught a goat and looked it in its eye. You know what eye the goat has. It's the clever eye. The man and woman looking in that clever eye and they thought: Why should we be foraging the whole time? They caught other goats. They made a fence and pent them up. They gathered wheat and barley. They had bread and beer. Then they weren't moving on the land no more. They started into farm it. Stopped in one place, then with sheds and stock and growings. They weren't outside in the night no more. They were inside looking out. The night just looked dark to them. They didn't see nothing else to it no more. They lost out of memberment the shapes of night and worried for their property. They might get snuck and raided. They made the dog keep look out for their property.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Every morning they were counting every thing to see if any thing ben took off in the nite. How many goats how many cows how many measurs weat and barly. Cudnt stop ther counting which wer clevverness and making mor the same. They said, "Them as counts counts moren them as dont count."</td><td>Every morning, they were counting everything to see if anything been took off in the night. How many goats, how many cows, how many measures wheat and barley? Couldn't stop their counting, which were cleverness and making more the same. They said, 'Them as counts, counts more than them as don't count.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Counting counting they wer all the time. They had iron then and big fire they had towns of parpety. They had machines et numbers up. They fed them numbers and they fractiont out the Power of things. They had the Nos. of the rain bow and the Power of the air all workit out with counting which is how they got boats in the air and picters on the wind. Counting clevverness is what it wer.</td><td>Counting, counting they were all the time. They had iron then and big fire. They had towns of property. They had machines ate numbers up. They fed them numbers and they fractioned out the Power of things. They had the numbers of the rainbow and the Power of the air all worked out with counting, which is how they got boats in the air and pictures on the wind. Counting cleverness is what it were.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>When they had all them things and marvelsome they cudnt sleap realy they dint have no res. They wer stressing ther self and straining all the time with counting. They said, "What good is nite its only dark time it aint no good for nothing only them as want to sly and sneak and take our parpety a way." They los out of memberment who nite wer. They jus wantit day time all the time and they wer going to do it with the Master Chaynjis.</td><td>When they had all them things and marvelsome, they couldn't sleep, really. They didn't have no rest. They were stressing themselves and straining all the time with counting. They said, 'What good is night? It's only dark time. It ain't no good for nothing. Only them as want to sly and sneak and take our property a ay.' They lost out of memberment who night were. They just wanted daytime all the time and they were going to do it with the Master Changes.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>They had the Nos. of the sun and moon all fractiont out and fed to the machines. They said, "Wewl put all the Nos. in to 1 Big 1 and that wil be the No. of the Master Chaynjis." They bilt the Power Ring thats where you see the Ring Ditch now. They put in the 1 Big 1 and woosht it roun there come a flash of lite then bigger nor the woal worl and it ternt the nite to day. Then every thing gone black. Nothing only nite for years on end. Playgs kilt peopl off and naminals nor there wernt nothing growit in the groun. Man and woman starveling in the blackness looking for the dog to eat it and the dog out looking to eat them the same. Finely there come day agen then nite and day regler but never like it ben befor. Day beartht crookit out of crookit nite and sickness in them boath.</td><td>They had the numbers of the sun and moon all fractioned out and fed to the machines. They said, 'We'll put all the numbers into one Big One and that will be the number of the Master Changes.' They built the Power Ring. That's where you see the Ring Ditch now. They put in the one Big one and whooshed it round. There come a flash of light then bigger nor the whole world. And it turned the night to day. Then everything gone black. Nothing, only night for years on end. Plagues killed people off. And animals. Nor there weren't nothing grown in the ground. Man and woman starving in the blackness, looking for the dog to eat it. And the dog out looking to eat them the same. Finally, there come day again, then night and day regular. But never like it been before. Day birthed crooked out of crooked night, and sickness in them both.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Now man and woman go afeart by nite afeart by day. The dog all lorn and wishful it keaps howling for the nites whatre gone for ever. It wont show its eyes no mor it wont show the man and woman no 1st knowing. Come Ful of the Moon the sadness gets too much the dog goes mad. It follers on the man and womans track and arga warga if it catches them.</td><td>Now man and woman go afeared by night, afeared by day. The dog all forlorn and wishful, it keeps howling for the nights what're gone forever. It won't show its eyes no more. It won't show the man and woman no first knowing. Come Full of the Moon, the sadness gets too much. The dog goes mad. It follows on the man and woman's track and arga warga if it catches them.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>The fires col<br />
My storys tol </td><td>The fire's cold<br />
My story's told </td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said to Lorna, "I thot it ben Eusa made the 1 Big 1."</td><td>I said to Lorna, 'I thought it been Eusa made the one Big One.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Lorna said, "I never said he dint."</td><td>Lorna said, 'I never said he didn't.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Wel you jus tol in this story it ben that man and woman done it plus they bilt the Power Ring and all."</td><td>I said, 'Well, you just told in this story it been that man and woman done it. Plus they built the Power Ring and all.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "You hear diffrent things in all them way back storys but it dont make no diffrents. Mosly they aint strait storys any how. What they are is diffrent ways of telling what happent."</td><td>She said, 'You hear different things in all them way back stories. But it don't make no difference. Mostly they ain't straight stories anyhow. What they are is different ways of telling what happened.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Ben there a strait story past down amongst the tel women?"</td><td>I said, 'Been there a straight story passed down amongst the tell women?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "There bint no tel women time back way back. Nor there aint never ben no strait story I ever heard. Bint no writing for 100s and 100s of years til it begun agen nor you wunt never get a strait story past down by mouf over that long. Onlyes writing I know of is the Eusa Story which that aint nothing strait but at leas its stayd the same. All them other storys tol by mouf they ben put to and took from and changit so much thru the years theyre all bits and blips and all mixt up."</td><td>She said, 'There been no tell women time back way back. Nor there ain't never been no straight story I ever heard. Been no writing for hundreds and hundreds of years till it begun again. Nor you won't never get a straight story passed down by mouth over that long. Only writing I know of is the Eusa Story, which that ain't nothing straight. But at least its stayed the same. All them other stories told by mouth, they been put to and took from and changed so much through the years, they're all bits and blips and all mixed up.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "That about the 1st knowing in the story. How they got it looking in the dogs eyes. Be that blip or jus a way of saying or what?"</td><td>I said, 'That about the first knowing in the story—bhow they got it looking in the dog's eyes—be that blip or just a way of saying or what?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "Why you asking?"</td><td>She said, 'Why you asking?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Wel that old dog I kilt I lookit in its eyes dint I. Nor I never got no 1st knowing out of it did I."</td><td>I said, 'Well that old dog I kilt, I looked in its eyes, didn't I? Nor I never got no first knowing out of it, did I?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "May be you got it only you dont know it yet."</td><td>She said, 'Maybe you got it, only you don't know it yet.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Have you got it?"</td><td>I said, 'Have you got it?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "Every bodys got it its in every 1 of us only we cant get to it til it comes to us 1 way or a nother."</td><td>She said, 'Everybody's got it. It's in every one of us. Only we can't get to it till it comes to us one way or another.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>I said, "Its come to you aint it."</td><td>I said, 'It's come to you ain't it?'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>She said, "Yes its come to me nor there aint no use asking what it is becaws its what there aint no words for."</td><td>She said, 'Yes. It's come to me. Nor there ain't no use asking what it is, because it's what there ain't no words for.'</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Wel any way thats the story of why the dog wont show its eyes.</td><td>Well anyway, that's the story of why the dog won't show its eyes.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Back then in this time I ben writing of I never knowit any 1 ben dog kilt only a kid it wer Follery Digman he got dog et years back. It wer Ful of the Moon and he staggelt behynt a trade crowd coming back. Some times other times of mooning it lookit to me like the dogs ben near ready to come frendy only it never happent. Nor I never heard of no 1 tame a pup. Heard of some 1 got 1 1ce I dont know how they done it. They never tamit tho. Soons it got big a nuff it dug unner the fents and gone.</td><td>Back then, in this time I been writing of, I never knowed anyone been dog killed. Only a kid. It were Follery Digman. He got dog eaten years back. It were Full of the Moon and he straggled behind a trade crowd coming back. Sometimes, other times of mooning, it looked to me like the dogs been near ready to come friendly, only it never happened. Nor I never heard of no one tame a pup. Heard of someone got one once. I don't know how they done it. They never tamed, though. Soon as it got big enough, it dug under the fence and gone.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Theres dogs in the Eusa Story. Folleree & Folleroo. Theyre mor blip dogs nor real 1s tho.</td><td>There's dogs in the Eusa Story. Folleree and Folleroo. They're more blip dogs, nor real ones, though.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td>Theres dogs in the Eusa Story. Folleree & Folleroo. Theyre mor blip dogs nor real 1s tho.</td><td>There's dogs in the Eusa Story. Folleree and Folleroo. They're more blip dogs, nor real ones, though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-57733171996037640042014-04-22T16:38:00.000-07:002016-08-25T18:38:16.490-07:00The Language of Cat's Cradle<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I recently finished Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, a novel about religion, science, and global annihilation. A fun read for the whole family, which will not be spoiled in any way by my post today because I am going to talk about the fictional language haphazardly presented throughout the book. You see, the narrator of <i>Cat’s Cradle</i> has
converted to a religion (Bokononism) that originated from the fictional Caribbean
island of San Larenzo and sprinkles the narrative with terms coined from its
founder, Bokonon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These seem at
first like nonce words (<i>foma</i>, <i>karass</i>, <i>granfalloon</i>) but it is implied that they
come from the creole language spoken on San Lorenzo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, I’ll be sharing the process by which I figured out some of these words and how you can help.</span><br />
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To clarify a little for the reader,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_language" target="_blank">creole </a>(not <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_peoples" target="_blank">Creole</a>, that’s something completely different) is a special
category of languages that arise in certain contact situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the known creoles arose in the
Atlantic Slave Trade and European colonization of the Western Hemisphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Creoles are special because they seem to
share certain grammatical characteristics with each other (characteristics not necessarily present in any of their source languages) and because of the sudden nature of their formation. </span><br />
<br />
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Returning to <i>Cat’s Cradle</i>, the narrator
gives only a handful of clues to the phonological and grammatical features of
San Lorenzan, but it’s clear that it is influenced enough by English that some
speakers of English (the narrator included) can understand it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example San Lorenzan is given in chapter
49:</span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Tsvent-kiul,
tsvent-kiul, lett-pool store,</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ko
jy tsvantoor bat voo yore.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Put-shinik
on lo shee zo brath,</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Kam
oon teetron on lo nath,</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Tsvent-kiul,
tsvent-kiul, lett-pool store,</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ko
jy tsvantoor bat voo yore.</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,”
a song familiar to everyone but for the omission of “up above the world so
high/like a diamond in the sky.” This has been replaced by “shining in the sky
so bright/like a tea tray in the night” lines originating from Lewis
Carroll of <i>Alice in Wonderland </i>fame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This verse, along with the phrase <i>hun-yera mora-toorz</i> ('hundred martyrs'), is the most we get of a Rosetta Stone for San Lorenzan, but
it’s enough for the linguist to get enough of an idea about the San Lorenzan
creole to begin figuring out the source for Bokononist terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Below is a table documenting the phonological analysis of the words in
this song (mouseover the red superscript numbers for more details):</span><br />
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">San Lorenzan</th>
<th colspan="2">Am. English</th>
<th rowspan="2">P-rules</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>written </th>
<th>phonetic</th>
<th>written</th>
<th>phonetic</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>tsvent-kiul</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tsvenkjəl</span></td>
<td><i>twinkle</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ˈtwɪŋkəl</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tw > tsv,<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="The move from [w] to [v] is a well-established change occurring in the development of most Romance languages from Vulgar Latin. [v] is also a common choice when words are borrowed into languages missing [w]. The affrication of the t is already kind of there in American English.">1</span></sup></span> ɪ > e<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="Vulgar Latin short i became e in a number of contexts (e.g. Latin mollis, 'soft', became Spanish mole). A number of American varieties do this before the velar nasal, leading to the colloquial spelling pronunciation of thang for thing">2</span></sup></span> ŋk > nk,<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="I've never seen this as a historical change. Usually, it's the other way around. The closest thing to this is Russian and Polish, which have a productive contrast between several coronal nasals that prompts a resistance to place of articulation assimilation, though there seems to be some wiggle room with loanwords (e.g. функция, 'function', has a velar н while банк, 'bank', has a coronal one.">3</span></sup></span> kəl > kjəl<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="The closest thing to this is the creole spoken in Jamaica, which takes a word like guard and pronounces the first sound as a palatal (or advanced velar) stop instead of a velar one.">4</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>lett-pool</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">leppul</span></td>
<td><i>little</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ˈlɪɾəl</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɾəl > ppʊl<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="The closest to this is the way some consonant clusters of Vulgar Latin became geminate consonants in Italian. It's not quite clear if the source dialect of English pronounced 'little' with a [t] or a flap. I'm also only guessing that it's a geminate [p] and not [tp], which would be even weirder.">5</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>store</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">stor</span></td>
<td><i>star</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">stɑr</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɑ > o<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="This happened a couple of times in Germanic and earlier forms of English. It also occurred in the formation of proto-Slavic from Proto-Indo-European">6</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>tsvantoor</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tsvantur</span></td>
<td><i>wonder</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ˈwʌndər</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">w > tsv,<span style="color: red;"><span title="mergers don't normally happen this way. You would expect to see /w/ and /tw/ become the simpler of the two. "><sup>7</sup></span></span> ʌ > a,<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="This is a pretty intuitive change from an accoustic standpoint, since the two vowels are very close to each other. In addition to occurring in some English dialects (such as Australian English), English words borrowed into other languages can have this change provided they aren't unduly influenced by the spelling; for example, Sinhala 'baṭar' comes from English 'butter' but 'dusima' comes from 'dozen'.">8</span></sup></span> ntV > ndV,<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="this is called progressive voicing assimilation. It sort of happens with the word 'internet' in American English. It may have also happened in the development of Hmong. It is also apparent in the history of Indo-Iranian (compare Spanish 'dientes', teeth, with Persian 'dandân'">9</span></sup></span> ər > ʊr<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="When language is simplified and vowel phonemes are reduced, there is a tendency to maximize contrasts so that vowels are further apart from each other. That makes schwa an easy target if San Lorenzan is to have fewer vowels than English.">10</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>bat</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">bat</span></td>
<td><i>what</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">w(h)ʌt</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">wh > b<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="This is the only indication that the source English dialect for San Lorenzan contrasted whine and wine. While the move from a voiceless labiovelar approximant to a voiced bilabial stop is an unusual one, it's a little less strange if we consider that an intermediate stage may have been a bilabial fricative... assuming that it isn't still one now.">11</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>yore</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">jor</span></td>
<td><i>are</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɑr</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">#or > #jor<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="Russan had a similar change with /e/, which palatalized preceding consonants; in such instances, a following unpalatalized consonant would turn the [e] to [o]. The crosslinguistic tendency to have words or syllables begin in consonants may also be at play here">12</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>put-shinik</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">putʃinik</span></td>
<td><i>shining</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ˈʃainɪŋ</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ainV > inV,<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="this is kind of an ad-hoc rule that I'm unsure of, since other instances of English /ai/ turn to [a]. It could be the following nasal, or it could even be some sort of strange vowel harmony thing with the following gerund. I'm also not sure what to make of the [pu] addition; is it a new morpheme? What does it mean? It's a mystery">13</span></sup></span> ɪŋ(g)# > ik#<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="Despite the spelling, English -ing is not pronounced with a final g, though it was in older varieties of English. I can't think offhand of any examples of denasalizing a prenasalized stop.">14</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>shee</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ʃi</span></td>
<td><i>sky/ciel</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">?<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="If the source word is French 'ciel' then there would be a rule turning [s] to [ʃ] before [i] (which happens a lot crosslinguistically) and another rule that deletes final [l] (which happens from time to time, but normally with some sort of offglide). If the source word is English 'sky' then there would be a rule that turns [sk] to [ʃ], which happened in Old English, and a really complicated rule related to /ai/ that I don't want to believe.">15</span></sup></span></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>brath</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">braθ</span></td>
<td><i>bright</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">braɪt</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">aɪ > a,<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="This happened in the American South. Interestingly, this vowel was /i/ in Old English, which makes the shift parallel a similar change in Ancient Sanskrit">16</span></sup></span> t# > θ#<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="Not only did this happen in Ancient Hebrew, but the lenition of voiced stops occurred in a number of Iberian Romance languages (most notably Spanish). It is possible, however, that the sound is actually a dental laminal stop (such as in Arabic), which native English are liable to perceive as a dental fricative.">17</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>teetron</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ti tron</span></td>
<td><i>tea tray</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ti treɪ</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eɪ > on<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="This is a little shaky of a rule, and it's possible that the second vowel could be a schwa, but then why the /n/? ">18</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>nath</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">naθ</span></td>
<td><i>night</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">naɪt</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>ko</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ko</span></td>
<td><i>comment</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">komɑ̃ </span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>ji</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ʒi</span></td>
<td><i>je</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ʒə</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ə# > i#<span style="color: red;"><sup><span title="This goes back to the peripherilization I mentioned above. It might seem like schwa would become [a], though French schwa is more front (and rounded) than our normal, American schwa.">19</span></sup></span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>lo</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lo</span></td>
<td><i>la</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">la</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a > o</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>vu</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">vu</span></td>
<td><i>vous</i></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">vu</span></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The first column lists each word in the song, the second my
best guess at a rough phonetic transcription.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The third column lists what seems to be the source term and the fourth a
phonetic transcription of that term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The final column lists the derivational rules (or the relationship
between the sounds of the source language and those of the creole) that the San
Lorenzan term establishes. Presumably, these rules should be applied consistently across the entire lexicon. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For example, </span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">tsvent-kiul</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, comes from
English <i>twinkle</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should
expect from this that other instances of English /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tw</span>/ become [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tsv</span>] in San
Lorenzan cognates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also learn from <i>tsvantoor</i>
that instances of English /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">w</span>/ become [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tsv</span>] so San Lorenzan exhibits a
phonological merger between /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tw</span>/ and /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">w</span>/, making word pairs like <i>twin</i>/<i>win</i>
and <i>twit</i>/<i>wit</i> homophonous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We also learn from <i>tsvent-kiul</i> that English short /</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɪ</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">/ becomes a mid
vowel (which for simplicity we’ll just transcribe as [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e</span>]).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because <i>what</i> becomes <i>bat</i>, it’s
likely that San Lorenzan got its lexicon from a variety of English that
maintained the distinction between <i>which</i> and <i>witch</i>, something
most American speakers have lost. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My interpretation that ⟨nt-k⟩ represents [</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nk</span>] <span style="font-family: "times new roman";">warrants some explanation: In American English (of which the author and narrator are native speakers), a word that ends in /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nt</span>/ is not normally pronounced with an
actual [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t</span>].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, it manifests as
glottalization in various forms, which we could put simply as [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nʔ</span>], although it
may be pronounced as a nasalized vowel followed by a glottal stop (e.g. <i>want</i>
> [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">wʌ̃ʔ</span>]).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To such a speaker,
hearing a nasal that does not assimilate to a following velar might sound like
there is an interfering /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t</span>/.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a
stretch, but it makes a little more sense than assuming a rule that a /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t</span>/ is
inserted between /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n</span>/ and /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">k</span>/. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Important for the understanding of Bokononist terms is the realization that some San
Lorenzan words come from French.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Ji</i> likely comes from French <i>je</i>, as there doesn’t seem to be a smooth way of getting from English /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɪ</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">/ to
[<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">dʒi</span>] or [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ʒi</span>] (the story of /<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɪ</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">/<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>looks really complicated, especially if we
are going to consider <i>shee</i> to be from <i>sky</i>, which I am uncertain
of).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, <i>voo</i> surely comes
from French <i>vouz</i>.</span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The understanding of San Lorenzan’s French influence
can also help get at the origin of the word <i>lo</i>, which means 'the.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An important part of creole languages is how
they lose the morphological complexity of their source languages so that things
like grammatical gender and number are lost; this can also result in a sort of crystallization of formerly morphological markers into what amounts to the basic root of a word (for example, Haitian Creole <i>zwazo</i>, 'bird', comes from French <i>oiseaux</i>, a word preceded by words ending in /z/ so often that the /z/ was tagged onto the beginning. If that sounds dumb, don't worry, it's a pretty irregular kind of change) .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Presumably, then, there is one word in San
Lorenzan that means 'the' but it’s not clear which of French’s three the’s
– <i>la, le, </i>and<i> les</i>— is the source; determining the determiner
helps us determine which derivational rule formed the San Lorenzan
determiner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are three
possibilities:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">a > o</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">ə > o</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">e > o </span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If <i>je</i> > <i>ji</i> is any guide, then <i>le</i>
is not a likely source of <i>lo</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
can also see from <i>star</i> > <i>store</i> and <i>are</i> > <i>yore</i>
that something similar to<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> a > o</span> is already in effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only indication of something similar to
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e > o</span> is <i>tea tray</i>/<i>teetron</i>, though how that [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n</span>] got there is a mystery
to me (crystallization of an overgeneralized liason rule?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I’d say, tentatively for now, that the
source term is <i>la</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Bokononist terms</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I won't bother listing all the Bokononist terms, that's been done <a href="http://bernd.wechner.info/Bokononism/dictionary.html" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>. Below are a handful that I thought were the most important and, for our etymological purposes today, interesting.
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Foma</i> – harmless untruths</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Karass
</i>– A group of people whose lives are cosmically intertwined</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>granfalloon
</i>– a false karass</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>duprass
</i>– a karass of two.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>wampeter
</i>– the theme around a karass
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span class="null"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The first term, <i>foma</i>, probably comes from
<i>faux mots</i> ('false words').<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s simple enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And <i>granfalloon</i>
probably comes from <i>grande faux lien</i> ('great false link') with [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nd</span>]
becoming [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n</span>] and [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ljɛ]̃</span> changing to [<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lun</span>].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Things start to get tricky, with <i>duprass</i> possibly coming from
French <i>deux près</i> ('two near'); if this is so, then we can feel more
confident that French <i>la</i> is the source of San Lorenzan <i>lo</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> However, it makes <i>tea tray </i>> <i>teetron</i> less likely.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="null"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="null"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I'm still confused by <i>karass</i> and <i>wampeter</i>, though. What could the source words be? Plug in your thoughts in the comments section. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this.</span></span></span><br />
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Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1142243106255084482006-03-13T02:39:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:31:52.559-07:00Can Nibble is mmm<span style="color: red;">I was in Gilroy a few weeks ago and I came upon a sheet of paper on my car's winshield wiper. Expecting some sort of advertisement, I instead found an essay titled "Cannibalism Today":</span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
A middle-aged man watched hiding in northeastern Congo as rebel soldiers turned from killers into cannibals. His 6-year old nephew was a victim.<br />
Is this the Democratic Republic of Congo or the Republic of Congo?<br />
Human-rights activists and investigators from the United Nations say rebels cooked and ate at least a dozen Pygmies and an undetermined number of people from other tribes when tribal fighting returns in the region with Europeans out of power.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Europeans have been out of power for nearly 40 years. The author makes it seem as though this has happened recently with use of the present tense in “returns”</span><br />
<br />
Pygmies have no calendar, so Mr Nzoli can’t say exactly when the rebels from the Congolese Liberation Movement invaded his forest camp and slaughtered the dozen persons found at the camp.<br />
As Mr. Nzoli returned from hunting, he saw the rebel fighters butcher his nephew, Kebe Musika. They roasted his body parts over an open fire, grabbing pieces from the smoldering embers.<br />
“They even sprinkled salt on the flesh as they ate, as if cannibalism was all very natural to them,” Mr. Nzoli said.<br />
<span style="color: red;">Does no one see the irony here? Mr. Nzoli is out hunting, slaughtering animals as if it is all natural to him and then comes home to karma.</span> <br />
<br />
“I don’t remember any of their faces, but the one thing that I won’t ever forget is the sight of their eyes as they ate,” Mr Nzoli said. “They looked wild, evil and unlike any I have ever seen.”<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">I think Mr. Nzoli is out on a limb here. Couldn’t it be that the experience of having his nephew eaten bias his evaluation of their eyes? I mean, nobody’s going to say Hitler had “warm, brown eyes.” They’re going to say that he had small, dark, beady eyes. I’ve seen pictures of Hitler. His pupils are as big as silver dollars, but every history book says “beady.” It’s a fact.</span><br />
It is not the first time cannibalism has been reported. It generally comes to public view during great upheavals such as the Simba rebellion in 1964.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Ahh, the Simba rebellion occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But I recall earlier accounts of cannibalism. In 1064, an eight-year famine in Egypt resulted in occasional acts of cannibalism. There’s also the Donner party in the pioneer age. The word cannibal itself dates back to Columbus.</span><br />
<br />
The latest upheaval is the country’s 4-year civil war, which has left an estimated 2.5 million people dead, the vast majority from starvation. Know that one reason the colonists created national borders in the way they are was to prevent war by breaking up the old tribal boundaries.<br />
<br />
The cannibalistic attacks are fueled by a mix of tribal animosities, a desire to spread fear in the region and the ancient belief that eating one’s foes is a source of gaining their soul/power.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />Couldn’t it also be that these rebels simply have no food? There are a lot of people dying from starvation. </span><br />
The rebels used cannibalism “to provoke terrible fear in their foes and pave the way to dramatic success in the battlefield,” said the Rev. Apollinaire Kighoma, a Roman Catholic priest in Mangina, 19 miles northwest of Beni.<br />
The priest has heard accounts about the practice from hundreds of people displaced by fighting who took refuge at his church.<br />
Most of the acts of cannibalism reported were observed when the Congolese Liberation Movement began a successful offensive to retake Mambasa, a town about 70 miles northwest of Beni.<br />
The group had previously lost the town to a rival rebel group, the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement, which was allied with Mai-Mai tribal fighters. The Mai-Mai realize that through witchcraft, spirits can endow humans with supernatural powers.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">So there’s the Congolee Liberation Movement and the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement… can’t these people come up with more contrasting names?</span> <br />
<br />
Witch doctors reportedly told troops from the Congolese Liberation Movement that the Mai-Mai were vulnerable to bullets fired by people who had eaten the hearts of young men, said a coordinator of the Program for Assistance to Pygmies in Congo.<br />
The rebels also killed several members of Nande, a tribe from which most of the cannibal soldiers of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement is drawn.<br />
Many in northeastern Congo--a still fertile and resource-rich region of the vast Central African country--regard Pygmies as less than human. Among the original inhabitants, Pygmies live deep in the forests, eking out an existence by hunting and gathering food from small nomadic base camps.<br />
The Pygmy race was all over Africa before the Negro race seized the entire continent. A massive genocide resulted in the population of today. Few Pygmies survive. According to ancient Negro and Pygmy teachings, the first Africans were an extinct white race who built the great pyramids and most certainly the Pygmies with few survivors by retreating deep into the jungles. But don't blame just the Negro. Every continent in the world has a similar ancient history. Make it stop and refrain from blaming Europeans for Africa's problems.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">I’m sorry, where did this history come from? Was the point of all this to stop blaming people for Africa’s problem and fix it? If we take the author’s first and last lines, we get the idea that people are eating Pygmies and it’s not the fault of European countries.<br />I think it’s important to figure out the root of a problem in order to fix it. Sure, Europeans may have been the catalyst for the problems in Africa, but there are other factors continuing them. Climate is one of them. I blame the climate. </span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Anyway, this person didn't sign their essay, so I can just as easily take credit for it. I'm sure the people in the Gilroy Outlet Mall are much more aware of cannibalism now.</span><br />
<br />
<br />Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1141076450257658162006-02-27T14:08:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:32:08.293-07:00Soviet Mexicans<span style="color: red;">So I got to reading about Russian phonology, because that's what I do for fun. Anyway, I had this idea. What if I took a broad transcription of another language, say Spanish, and then applied narrow phonetic detail from Russian? And then, if you read such an IPA transcription to a Spanish speaker, they would say</span> "Ay Dios mío, es un acento ruso" <span style="color: red;">which roughly translates as</span> "Oh my god, it's a Russian accent, run for the hills!" <span style="color: red;">(inevitably, any rough translation of Spanish will end in "run for the hills;" they really put the panic in <em>Hispanic</em>).</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: red;"><br />So I took this phrase from Don Quixote (because</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language">Wikipedia </a><span style="color: red;">did):</span><br />
<br />
<em>En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme,<br />no ha mucho tiempo que vivía un hidalgo de los<br />de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y galgo corredor</em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">The meaning isn't important for what we're doing, but it roughly translates as</span> "In some village in La Mancha, whose name I do not care to recall, there dwelt not so long ago a gentleman of the type wont to keep an unused lance, an old shield, a greyhound for racing, and a skinny old horse. Run for the hills!"<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">With my knowledge of Spanish, I first made a broad transcription:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">/en un luˈgar de laˈmantʃa de ˈkuʝo ˈnombre no kjero akorˈdarme no a mutʃo ˈtjempo kebiˈbia un iˈdalgo de los de ˈlansa en astiˈʝero aˈdarga anˈtigwa, roˈsin ˈflako i ˈgalgo korːeˈdor/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"></span><br />
<span style="color: red;">You can click on the Wikipedia link and look at the bottom of the page to see the narrow transcription. It's too much work for me to put it here. As I indicated before, I applied Russian phonological processes to the broad transcription.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">[ɪ.nʊn.lʊˈgar.dɨ̞.lɐˈman.tɕə.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";">dɨ̞ˈku.jɐˈnom.brɨ̞.nɐˈkʲɛ̝.rə.ə.kɐrˈdar.mɨ̞.<br />nɐ.ɐˈmu.tɕɐˈtʲɛ̝m.pə.kɨ̞.bʲɪˈbʲi.ə.<br />ʊ.nɨ̞ˈdɑ̟l.gə.dɨ̞.ləz.dɨ̞ˈlan.sə.<br />ɪ.nə.sʲtʲɪˈjɛ̝.rə.ɐˈdar.gə.ɐnʲˈtʲigʊ.ə.<br />rɐˈsʲin.fla.kə.ɪˈgal.gə.kər.rɨ̞ˈdor] </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms";"></span>
<span style="color: red;">Presumably, because of vowel reduction processes, these two transcriptions into Cyrillic script should read the same for any Russian speakers reading it aloud:</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span><br />
Эн ун лугар дэ ла Манча де куё номбрэ но керо акордармэ но а мучо темпо кэ бибиа ун идалго дэ лос дэ ланса ен астыеро адарга антыгуа росин флако и галго коррэдор.<br />
<br />
Ин ун лугар ды ло Манча ды кую номвры но кера окордармы но о муча темпа кы бибиа ун идалга ды лас ды ланса ин астиера одарга онтигуа росин флака и галга коррыдор.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">The first is a letter-for-letter correspondance. I omitted silent h's and considered <span style="color: black;"><em>ll</em> </span>to be exactly like <em><span style="color: black;">y</span></em> since they are the same in many dialects and I'd imagine that Russian speakers wouldn't be able to tell the difference (I also assumed they would hear the Castilian dental fricative <span style="color: black;">/θ/</span> as <span style="color: black;">/s/</span> anyway) so I pretty much nullified the major dialectal distinctions. I also transcribed any <span style="color: black;">v</span> as <span style="color: black;">б</span>, the Cyrillic equivalent of <span style="color: black;">b</span>, since <span style="color: black;">v <span style="color: red;">and</span> b</span> indicate the same phoneme in Spanish.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span><br />
<span style="color: red;">The second is more closely related to the phonetic detail. Although it was arbitrary, because unstressed <span style="color: black;">/a/</span> and <span style="color: black;">/o/</span> are the same, I figured I'd have some variety and put <span style="color: black;">a</span> at the end of a word and <span style="color: black;">о</span> right before the stress. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">All right, back to work</span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com2Fresno, CA, USA36.785091795976946 -119.750976562536.581604295976945 -120.0737000625 36.988579295976947 -119.4282530625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1129696474795898252005-10-18T21:35:00.000-07:002016-08-24T19:05:05.455-07:00Hyperlinking<span style="color: red;">So, I've come to the conclusion that hyperlinking text in a sentence</span> <a href="http://www.yahoo.com/">makes it seem more authoritative</a>. <span style="color: red;">Even when you're B.S.ing or citing an</span> <a href="http://www.opinions.com/">opinion</a>. <span style="color: red;">For example<a href="http://www.catch.com/comments/42076_0_17_0_C/">:</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Arianna Huffington suggests that </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/judy-miller-do-we-want-_b_4791.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Miller may have been the source of Valerie Plame's identity</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">, and certainly Scooter Libby's weird letter to Miller, granting her a waiver to testify, hints even at a first read to Miller's intimate relationship with Cheney's office.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">A more responsible and less manipulative method would be the term paper form, as such:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Arianna Huffington suggests that Miller may have been the source of Valerie Plame's identity (</span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/judy-miller-do-we-want-_b_4791.html"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-size: 85%;">link</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">), and certainly Scooter Libby's weird letter to Miller, granting her a waiver to testify, hints even at a first read to Miller's intimate relationship with Cheney's office.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">I hate manipulation. Here's a cat with extra toes. I'm so excited about my new digital camera. Thanks brother of mine who will never read this!</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span><img alt="" border="0" src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4062/546/320/Catfingers1.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" />Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1129323831463974962005-10-14T13:51:00.000-07:002016-08-20T18:50:46.505-07:00Would Mouse make a 6-fingered cat?<a href="http://www.suitedisney.com/id552.htm">Magic Kingdom in the Sky</a> by Da Vinci's Notebook<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">All my life I have been searching for that fabled promised land<br />With my sisters and my brothers we shall walk there hand-in-hand<br />Through the trials and tribulations and the devils cruel temptations<br />I know that we'll all get there one day<br /><br />After years and years of wandering, oh that kingdom we shall find<br />And the doors might not be open but we'll gather in the line<br />And our hearts will swell with pride the day those gates swing open wide<br />And we take a walk down Main Street USA<br /><br />Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br />We will all be there together by and by<br />We will all drink from the fountain and go riding on Space Mountain<br />When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br /><br />Where Mother Minnie, Father Dopey and Saint Tinkerbell abide<br />There'll be no more cares or sorrows on that heavenly teacup ride<br />I will lay down all my fears when I put on those big black ears<br />And join the choir to sing in harmony<br /><br />We will sing the songs of aimless souls who once had gone astray<br />Who were lost but now are found in the Electric Light Parade<br />Singing Hakuna Matata, growing mouseketeers stigmata<br />In the only club that's made for you and me<br /><br />Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br />We will all be there together by and by<br />All God's children shall be free in Pirates of the Caribbean<br />When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br /><br />Oh, the meekest and the poorest their inheritance shall see<br />And a zillion Japanese tourists all will join the jamboree<br />They will ride that holy monorail into sweet providence<br />When they know that their redeemer is a mouse in short red pants (nice pants)<br /><br />Won't you take me to Orlando where the sun is shining bright<br />All the angels are clean shaven and the people snowy white<br />Where your problems all are hidden and unhappiness forbidden<br />You'll find salvation for a modest fee<br />Climb into my Winnebago and if you help with the gas<br />Then we maybe can finagle you a five or six day pass<br />May your afterlife be blessed, just American Express it<br />Let MasterCard and VISA set you free<br /><br />Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br />We will all be there together by and by<br />All religions may be practiced there except for Southern Baptist<br />When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br /><br />Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky<br />Manufactured by that awesome Walter guy (he is my Walter guy)<br />We'll give thanks to that old geezer and we'll keep him in the freezer<br />When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the sky</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;">This is relevant to the discussions about the link between Disney and religious experiences. I've heard Disneyland compared to Mecca, which is part of the reason why Saudi Arabia wants to retransliterate مكة المكرمة as Makkah.</span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1128495219753827612005-10-05T13:36:00.000-07:002016-08-25T18:39:02.830-07:00There aren't enough Monomyths to go around<div align="left">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">So I just finished two books. Joseph Campbell’s </span><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces">the Hero With a Thousand Faces</a> </em><span style="color: red;">and</span> the</span><a href="http://www.americansuperhero.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Myth of the American Superhero</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <span style="color: red;">by</span> </span><a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/myths_americana/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">(leave a comment or two in their blog, they're looking a little lonely over there). The former book has been much better circulated and even has several Wikipedia articles devoted to it while the latter, being published in 2002, has not made as much of an impact yet. I had to special-order the book, and it was $27.<br />So, as a service to you, I’m going to share a summary as well as my criticism of the book.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;"><br />The authors describe how American pop culture has taken the classical monomyth (described by Campbell as a tale of initiation) and reshaped it into a redemptive monomyth that goes as follows:</span><br /><span style="color: red;">1.) Harmonious community (city on a hill)<br />2.) Threatened by external evil<br />3.) Normal institutions fail to contend with this threat<br />4.) Selfless superhero emerges<br />. a.) Renounces temptations<br />. b.) Carries out redemptive task<br />. c.) Aided by fate<br />5.) Decisive victory restores paradise<br />6.) Superhero recedes into obscurity.<br />(p 6)</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">They add further details such as the tendencies towards the hero acting outside of the law, being reluctant to use an ultimate power, and the depiction of complex social problems into black-and-white judgments. What is most significant, however, is that this myth arose in a fully democratic society yet the heroes act contrary to democratic institutions and the rule of law:</span><span style="font-size: 85%;">“Given its elitism, irrationalism, zealous stereotyping, and appetite for total solutions instead of compromise, it is difficult to find any democratic emphasis in the myth, except perhaps in its convention of the ordinary person who develops extraordinary powers” <span style="color: red;">(</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: red;">p</span> 338).</span><br /><span style="color: red;">Audiences don’t notice it, though, because it’s ingrained into our subconscious so that it</span> “persuasively disarms both the intellect and the emotional stance of peacefulness” <span style="color: red;">(</span><span style="color: red;">p97). Those who would normally disapprove of anti-democratic depictions are blinded by its effects. As an example, the authors cite Jimmy Carter (a man who championed peaceful solutions) in his praise of John Wayne as</span> “a symbol of many of the qualities that made America great” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">despite the Duke’s perpetual emphasis on using a gun to solve problems.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">So what are the causes?<br /><strong>Mythic selectivity</strong> – an artifact defines the factual realities in a given situation. So bad guys have poor aim and a group of 15 ninjas will attack you one at a time.<br /><strong>Mythic massage</strong> – assurance that the gap between myth and reality can be bridged.<br /><strong>Invitations to emulate</strong> – effective even without being overt.</span><br /><span style="color: red;">Basically, people like the monomythic stories because they depict situations in which there is redemption from life’s</span> “endless series of difficulties” <span style="color: red;">and</span> “the requirements of order and justice in tension with individual needs and desires… nostalgia combines with a yearning for easy solutions to bring off the massage” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">(p 117).</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">Because of invitations to emulate, the monomyth ceases to be just a form of entertainment. An audience member is exposed to a work of fantasy that helps to shape their sense of what is real and desirable so that they take actions consistent with that inspired vision (p 10).<br /><br />Thus, depictions of violence solving problems is bad because it invites audiences to partake in violence to solve their problems; domestic “Heidi-redeemers,” or those who save the community through miracles and manipulation invite audience members to emulate their feats in real life only to find</span> “… that targets of redemption are not as easy to change as one might expect… cheerful Heidis do not generally succeed in reconciling alienated oldsters to church and community” <span style="color: red;">(p83); and those waiting for a Christ-like redemptive hero (or the calling to become one) to arise have</span> “no patience for working with institutions or working on social justice as a way of improving the world” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">(p 332).</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">That seems fair enough, being hopeful makes you neglect the world around you. However, the authors further elaborate on the unrealistic aspects of the monomyth:</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 85%;">“The myth teaches those seeking to emulate superheroes not to place their cards on the table, not to admit their own emotional needs, and hence always to assume the attitude of the injured servant when thwarted. When the stance of the innocent savior proves futile, explosions of indignation are imminent. Frustrating reality can turn domestic manipulators into male and female bitches. Massaged by the myth to believe that they require no growth or adjustment to adversity, would-be superheroes and –heroines have a disconcerting tendency to withdraw from sustained encounters with reality” <span style="color: red;">(p84).</span></span><br /><span style="color: red;">I know</span><span style="color: red;"> what you’re thinking. Prove it! We could all think of examples of the four claims, but they would be anecdotal at best and false projection in all likelihood. The point stands, though, that attempts at answering the call of the superhero is more likely to end in failure. Sound reasonable.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 120%;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">After detailing the motivations behind non-sexual cartoons, they claim that <em>the Lion King</em> is one of many examples of Disney-fascism because it demonstrates that</span> “the most powerful, provided they show a little compassion, shall rule the rest; and the ruled shall be happiest when they festively celebrate their oppressors.” <span style="color: red;">Because the animals are anthropomorphic, the explanation of the Circle of Life is really a </span>“model for human interaction that sanctifies domination and violence.” (p196)<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Now, I can see how projecting human qualities on animals can easily conjure up notions of Social Darwinism, but eliminating the primal nature of… well, nature makes it into some sort of utopianized <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemono">kemono </a>cartoon. Furthermore, I hate it when people throw pejoratives like “fascist” out there (I’ll get into this in just a moment, but I’m pretty sure that the authors have misconceptions about fascism even when demonstrating knowledge about actual historical fascism).</span><br /><span style="color: red;">So after going into great detail about the antidemocratic nature of the Disney enterprise, the authors then account how they visited</span> <a href="http://www.disney.com/">disney.com </a><span style="color: red;">and looked for any sort of appeal or promotion of democratic ideals by searching for the word “democracy” and implying that the meager results are reminiscent of Disney’s lack of celebrating democracy. But since (according to page 350) there’s a correlation between democracy and “social capital<span style="color: black;">”—“mutual support, cooperation, trust, and institutional effectiveness”</span>— they could have searched for those sorts of things, and done a more thorough examination than just a keyword search.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><strong><span style="font-size: 120%;">Video Games</span></strong></span><br /><span style="color: red;">Naturally, video games are another form of mythic socialization, allowing overt identification and control of the hero. However, the authors assert that the Will Wright simulation games are the best-known democratic titles because they</span> “never let the player forget the complexities of the real world and the severe difficulty of finding a heroic solution that everyone will applaud” <span style="color: red;">(p223). Let’s</span><span style="color: red;"> look at some prime examples of democracy on your computer</span><span style="color: red;"><strong>SimCity </strong>- zone, destroy buildings, eliminate funding for the police, approve of plans to allow gambling in the city, raise taxes, and control the forces of nature to create disasters. All without consulting anyone, running elections, or involving subordinates.<br /><strong>SimEarth</strong> – like SimCity but with just the controlling nature part. You’re God.<br /><strong>The Sims</strong> - build relationships, provide for your family, talk with little pictures, and decorate.<br /><strong>SimTower</strong> – build and manage a tower. Add stories even as people are living there. Name someone “Clark Kent” and giggle when you get the message that “Clark Kent is not in the building right now.”</span><br /><span style="color: red;">Of course, no one can tell you what the end sequence to this game is, or that they got the highest score. There is no score, there is no end sequence and the point is just to fool around. So I guess democracy is pointless. This is especially so with the Sims. I’m surprised the authors didn’t add <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_paint">Mario Paint </a>to the list.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 120%;"><b>“Fascist Faith in the <em>Star Wars</em> Universe.”</b></span><br /><span style="color: red;">That’s the name of the chapter about <em>Star Wars</em>. The point they want to make is that the indigenous American tradition of violent redemption that surfaces in <em>Star Wars</em> runs parallel to European philosophies like Fascism.<br /><br />However, the treatment of fascism by the authors is vague. How would you characterize fascist ideology? How does this sound?:</span><br /><span style="color: red;">* Nationalism<br />*Corporatism<br />*Anti-<br />. *Socialism<br />. *Laissez-faire capitalism<br />. *Communism<br />. *Trade unions<br /><br />That’s how I’d characterize fascist ideology. While the leaders may have had undercurrents of totalitarianism and warmongering, the undercurrent in its formation and promulgation was fear that the Great Depression would strengthen Communist movements. Fascism was an alternative to Communism that addressed some Marxist concerns while at the same time saving capitalism (and private ownership) through regulation. However, according to Lawrence and Jewett, these are some fundamental aspects of fascism:</span><br /><br />*A natural aristocracy of Martial heroes<br />*Spiritual in nature (and churches fail to identify the threat)<br />*Existing in a Republic that has been corrupted by its foes (Betrayal theory),<br />*Redemption through war<br />*Individuals find identity in fighting for the people/state.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">And since <em>Star Wars</em> has these in common with fascism, as well as the final scene in Episode IV that purposefully draws imagery from the Nazi propaganda film <em>Triumph des Willens</em>, <em>Star Wars</em> and fascism are</span> “spiritual cousins.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /><br /><span style="color: red;">I get that <em>Star Wars</em> and <em>Star Trek</em> and lots of other popular shows an<a href="http://i.imgur.com/Cbw32T4l.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="416" src="https://i.imgur.com/Cbw32T4l.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 294px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 206px;" /></a>d movies follow this archetype (Lucas had <em>Star Wars</em> deliberately follow the classical archetype as well) and I understand how the invitatiosn to emulate the monomyth as well as a cultural preoccupation with salvation can encourage a <span style="color: black;">“spectator democracy”</span> where the people choose to not get involved in a civic system that depends on them to do so. But calling it fascism, reminding us of fascism, implying fascist themes… that’s intellectually dishonest. There are more rational and honest ways of evaluating a myth’s attributes and it isn’t necessary to scare the audience with Nazis to get them concerned. In addition, the authors had previously detailed the deleterious connection between the American monomyth and such figures as Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Goetz">Bernard Go</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Goetz">etz</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 120%;"><strong>Disaster films, Oliver North, and superpresidents</strong>.</span><br />After this, though, the authors redeemed themselves by describing how disaster films draw on “Tertullian ecstasy” where the righteous feel that they can enjoy watching sinners suffer. In movies like <em>Jaws</em> and <em>Earthquake</em>, Nature is a retributive force.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 85%;">“Unlike sexual ecstasy, which is potentially communal and creative, at its best involving love and mutual respect, Tertullian ecstasy can be achieved privately. It demands no creative effort, only that someone suffer for the pleasure of others. Tertullian ecstasy works towards its climactic visceral gratification by a kind of inverted foreplay. Whereas sexual love begins with attraction, the preparation for retributive ecstasy requires revulsion triggered by negative stereotypes… de-identification of interest, an inversion of mutual respect and attraction, blocks any sympathetic response that the audience might have when the wicked suffer their punishment.” <span style="color: red;">(p325)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: red;">But, before you feel bad about enjoying movies like <em>Deep Impact</em> and <em>Volcano</em>, keep in mind that these movies allow the innocent to escape and only the wicked to be punished, just like how it happens in real life.<br /><br />The authors also point out an interesting and emerging trend to have presidents forego their political roles to become the superhero. In <em>Air Force One</em> President Harrison Ford kills terrorists with his bare hands and in <em>Independence Day</em> President Bill Pullman foregoes his strategic role as commander-in-chief to fly in a tactical missile raid. The authors speculate that this, along with images of presidents as corrupt and/or incompetent could be a cause of the decline of young voters.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">The most interesting part of the later chapters of the book was the account of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_North">Oliver North</a>’s testimony in the Iran-Contra affair. Even though he admitted to lying and shredding documents in his part to sell arms to terrorists and use the money to fund an insurgency against a democratically elected government in Nicaragua, he was immensely popular because he characterized his efforts as a patriotic attempt to save lives, fight bureaucracy, and prevent communism from spreading. If you’ve forgotten by now, he got away with it all.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">So, in conclusion, go see the movie <em>Chicken Run</em>. Apparently it’s the only salvation movie where the archetype is violated because the chickens realize that</span> “freedom will be possible only through their cooperation and assigned responsibilities” <span style="color: red;">(p14).</span> <br />
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Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-10720738812481900632005-06-26T18:25:00.001-07:002016-08-22T22:34:11.684-07:00And the Lord Said Unto Me: "Just tell 'em I said 'hi'"<span style="color: red;">Now, if you’ve seen <em>Pee Wee’s Big Adventure</em>, you may be vaguely familiar with the</span> <a href="http://www.cabazondinosaurs.com/">Cabazon Dinosaurs </a><span style="color: red;">that worked as a symbol of Pee Wee’s subconscious anxieties. I went with my parents to pick up my niece and nephew in Indio and we stopped by the Cabazon dinosaurs. I hadn’t been there in years, and when I entered the gift shop, I was presented with a little display of a knight and dinosaur with a sign noting how dinosaurs lived alongside human beings. A few feet up the stairs and there’s a plate tectonics map with a nearby note:</span><br />
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Exciting new research by geophysicist and creationist <a href="http://www.ideacenter.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/774">John Baumgardner</a> shows how plate tectonics works better rapidly. Dr. Baumgardner supercomputer model Terra was developed when he was a researcher at Los Alamos Laboratories. His computer model, which is <a href="http://nsmserver2.fullerton.edu/departments/chemistry/evolution_creation/web/567__miracles_in_creationism_out_12_30_1899.asp">highly regarded in the scientific community</a>, has continents moving at meters per second instead of inches per year and the sea floor crust diving under the continents. In this model, the sea floor would also warp up and the continents would warp down, flooding the land with water. This sprint of the continents would have caused a line of geysers along the boundaries of the plates creating global rainfall. Global rainfall, fast moving continents and rapidly laid down sediments are the major parts of a Creationist flood model for the 21st century.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">It’s been my experience that if someone wants to point out that something is accepted by scientists, it probably isn’t. But continuing up to the gift shop, I found some rather interesting books that had lots to do with dinosaurs, like</span> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0890512027/qid=1119834253/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-7721140-9220616?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Starlight and Time</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0830826661/qid=1119834336/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7721140-9220616?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Moral Darwinism</a><span style="color: red;">, and</span> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0890512388/qid=1119834281/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-7721140-9220616?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Buried Alive</a>. <span style="color: red;">It was then that I noticed the television in the background was playing an evangelical program:<br /><br />I was bewildered; I turned to my mother and asked, “when did this place get so… Creationist?” She assured me that it had always been like that, but I couldn’t help noticing the dawn-of-man bust-on-the-wall series that showed “Peking Man” “Neanderthal Man” “Cro-Magnon Man” and “Suzzie” (Suzie, a domesticated gorilla). I thought to myself, surely if Claude Bell, the builder of the original apatasaurus, was a hardcore creationist, he wouldn’t have put those busts there.<br /><br />Here’s my point though</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">,</span><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yN2y7LL.jpg" /><br />
<span style="color: red;">Even if dinosaurs and humans did live together once, I don’t think either could read or write at the time.</span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1119414812077227202005-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:34:23.256-07:00Art in Government Documents<div align="left">
<span style="color: red;">So, as some of you may know, I am a graduate now. While I plan on continuing my education, the degree I have certainly benefits me in my path to self improvement. But it can also help me on the job. Now what, may you ask, could a BA in English possibly do me in the business world? Well, I'm glad you asked, because not too recently I was put in the position of alerting the top brass at my workplace of an illigitimate policy. I had to do it in writing. As my work largely consists of processing documents, my manager agreed with the policy, and I had already taken my scheduled breaks, the longer it took me, the poorer my performance rates would be for that day so I had to work quickly. Luckily, I had just graduated the week before, so I knew I could do it. Now, keep in mind that the sensitive information had to be censored out (I do work for the government) but I believe my writing shines through the censorship: </span></div>
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<img src="https://i.imgur.com/agN8n4N.jpg" />Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1119252626519834442005-06-20T00:03:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:34:40.333-07:00Sim Peanut Butter<span style="color: red;">Since I like to cheat at games frequently, I was reading a</span> <a href="http://www.gamestats.com/objects/481/481429/help.html">walkthrough</a> <span style="color: red;">for Simcity 4. Apparantly there's something the author calls the "peanut butter point" where things are going fine but there's no growth. The way to deal with such circumstances sounded eerily familiar:</span><br />
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A common phrase in comedy and the entertainment industry in general is "Leave your audience wanting more." Concentrate on what is RIGHT in your town... I hate saying this, but for the sims' own good, the best way to make your city get out of its sticky trap is to <a href="http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,15669265%5E1702,00.html">piss everyone off</a>.<br />
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Before starting, make sure you have plenty of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/10/27/clinton.surplus/">cash</a>. This method can get a bit expensive.<br />
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Find the best part of town ... Call this place "<a href="http://www.cgpix.com/images/World_Trade_Center2/World_Trade_Center_cgpixj.jpg">Ground Zero</a>."... Grab the keys to your trusty bulldozer, start that MF'er up, and give the kiddies a permanent <a href="http://www.democrats.org/education/bushrecord.html">vacation from school </a>break open the jails too, while you're at it.<br />
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I know it sounds crazy, but trust me. Let the city be <a href="http://www.lisarein.com/meetthepress/9-14-03-mtp-saddampoll.jpg">confused</a> for awhile. They'll complain and yell about how crappy the town is, but believe it or not, that's what you want temporarily. Take some money (in your coffers, if you can, NOT a loan), and go to a new <a href="http://www.under.betaland.net/images/04/iraq-map.jpg">section of town</a>. Start a "new city" over in that corner. Pretend you're starting a new game, just with an inflated bank account... Meanwhile, head back to Ground Zero and <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/10/10_207.html">take out a few dozen parks or so</a>...<br />
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After a few months, the city aura and value in Ground Zero will just absolutely plummet. However, your sims ... see that new little area you've got developing in the corner of the map, and they'll take interest. While they're <a href="http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=783&ArticleID=25494&TM=60441.34">thinking of the good ol' days</a>, <a href="http://www.democrats.senate.gov/~dpc/pubs/107-1-110.html">cut off their water</a>.<br />
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Back at the new colony, start giving the basic services... just ignore that big mess of people on the other side of the river....<br />
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So, to fill the rest of that demand, you need to restore Ground Zero. Work backwards: give them back water, then parks, then their services. Do it slowly enough that the area doesn't get flooded, but work fast enough that everyone forgets the place exists. I find that restoring one part of Ground Zero every three to four months works the best…<br />
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Once Ground Zero is <a href="http://www.kiat.net/images/miss-it/freedomtower.jpg">restored</a>, start <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/elections/">upgrading the colony</a> to make it a full-fledged suburb, or maybe a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=844691">large city of its own</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">I suppose this may just be a case of life imitating art. But it's rather uplifting to think that maybe one day we'll wake up and find that someone has selected "undo." </span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">But now to the point, choosy moms may choose Jif, but picky moms pick premaid pastrami on pumpernickel.</span><br />
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<img src="https://www.gardengrocer.com/attachments/photos/big/1840.jpg" />Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1115075765975171762005-05-02T16:17:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:34:51.406-07:00Kandahar<span style="color: red;">So I was thinking about graduation, mostly because it’s less than a month away. See, the last time I graduated it was from high school and it was pretty fun participating because I was one of the speakers. But it feels inappropriate now, especially since I’d really rather continue my education and making a big hubbub about it is reminiscent of that SNL sketch where everybody’s dancing and singing about the</span> <a href="http://snltranscripts.jt.org/01/01fwarparty.phtml">fall of Kandahar</a>:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;">Gee, golly wow</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Boy, </span><span style="font-size: 85%;">we've got 'em now</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br />Say, Taliban</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Move your minivans</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br />That's happy news</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">No more bearded dudes</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br />I'm telling you</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">That's no pretty suit</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br />Forget my bike</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">I'm gonna ride a trike</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br />Who needs a suit</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">I'm skinny dipping in</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br />I've got a date</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">With my future mate</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Kandahar!<br />Kandahar!<br /><br /><strong>Tracy Morgan</strong>: Kandahar? Huh? [ music pots up, lights go low ] What's that? A bag of beans. An old sock. Sand.. sifting through our hands. Oh, you foolish people, when will you learn? You cannot temper hot steel with lilacs and lilies. For you, the flames of war are but a magpie of sullen tar. But nay.. this war.. this festering agon which threatens the ages will not be won in Afghan cities. But in the very bosom of all man's all too fettered being. So, rejoice not. 'Tis but a pauper's doorknob. This Kandahar.<br /><br /><strong>Will Ferrell</strong>: Wow. Wow. Hey, guys, I've gotta tell you, even though a lot of the words this wise man used are not real, he's right. Just because some cities have been taken in Afghanistan, it doesn't mean the war on terrorism is over. We can't forget now is not the time to celebrate. We've got to show some patience.<br /><br /><strong>Horatio Sanz</strong>: [ rushes back in ] They've taken Jalalabad!<br /><br />It's over now</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">I'm gonna have a cow</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Jalalabad!<br />Jalalabad!</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">In addition, it feels rather redundant to do the ceremony again. Plus I save money.<br /><br />However, a graduation <em>gift</em> is certainly not redundant. I mean, the last time I graduated I got a car and another car would be redundant so that’s out of the picture but some other gift would certainly be appropriate. Now I’ve been racking my brain on this, and I’m thinking that the best gift would somehow be related to travel. Like maybe a trip to Washington, D.C. or Montana, or some European country; I hear they’ve got Europeans in Europe. I suppose something computer related would be neat as well, but that’s sort of like giving a heroin-addicted graduate a large quantity of heroin. Not that I inject computer stuff in my bloodstream and I’m not addicted to computers. No, it’s not like that.<br /><br />So those are my main ideas, and I figure a graduation gift’s gotta be larger than birthday gifts since, you know, birthdays come every year but you only graduate three or four times in your lifetime. </span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1110570668827087602005-03-11T12:51:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:35:41.999-07:00What's Wrong with Neoconservatives?<span style="color: red;">Do you remember the first day you heard the word “neoconservative”? I do. I remember it like it was a good 6 or 7 months ago. As with any new word, once I heard it I started hearing it over and over again. Neoconservative this, neoconservative that. If you’re like me, you ascertained the meaning by its context. Initially I knew it had something to do with George Bush’s administration and republicans in general, and the “neo” part (meaning new) had me thinking that these conservatives were somehow different from regular conservatives, perhaps even irrepresentative of the body of people that voted Bush in office in either election. As with any word, more experience should allow one to accurately refine its meaning; unfortunately for me, because of my exposure to biased sources (such as the internet), I suspected that when I heard someone say “neoconservative” they really meant “Republican I hate.” I did a bit of research to get an objective explanation and here’s what I found:</span><br />
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-The United States is founded on universal principles<br />
-The United States is and should be the greatest nation in the world<br />
-Democracy and capitalism are so good, that they can and should be installed by conquest<br />
-Nothing is worse than communism.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">We can see that this surface look of neoconservatism is not very controversial. Democracy, capitalism, and the goodness of the United States are certainly well-accepted core beliefs of Americans and both the political power of the United States and good deeds done internationally certainly seems to exhibit the appropriateness in such a power. However, these core beliefs take mainstream American values and skew them so that a neoconservative reality is a highly distorted picture from the truth.<br /><br />Let’s begin with the first belief. There are certain founding principles that are universal; civil rights, due process, even spirituality in government to some extent. However, some are not universal: democracy, western thought, 18th century philosophy, capitalism, limits to government, and merit-based class are all things that we Americans value and hold esteem to but are not valued, embraced, or even recognized by many people outside of our borders. In fact, it could be argued that for a good 1500 years the whole world didn’t reflect many of these values, so already the neoconservatives are standing on shaky ground. Since there is variance between the world’s nations in regards to democracy and capitalism (probably the principles they’re focusing on), this would mean that the nations that are undemocratic and/or communist are illegitimate.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />This also ties in with the second belief to create a major catch-22 for one main reason: when you believe that you are the best, you act like an arrogant jerk. The belief, even if originally true (such as with the founding principles), can be reinforced by blind faith even after the goodness has long disappeared; a sort of momentum that means the United States can act very similar to “bad” or “corrupt” nations but draw on the memory of its benevolent past as an excuse. This wouldn’t make the United States great at all. Believing that the United States should be the greatest nation (another word for superpower) also violates democratic principles, because the implication that our interests and our lives are more important than the rest of the world means that we would have to ignore a good 99.5% of the nations of the Earth and 95% of the population.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />The idea that democracy should be installed by conquest if necessary also violates democratic principles. The status quo is a huge indicator of what the majority prefers, if this is a bad or corrupt situation it’s possible that the people prefer it because they don’t realize the truth and no amount of democracy can fix that; democracy is also inherently about a government being (in the very least) accountable to the governed and (in some situations) even being composed of the governed themselves, the idea that a less than perfect government should be rejected or abolished only involves those outside of the governed when there is great difficulty in rebelling alone. Inherently, democracy only exists and lasts when the people of a nation act for themselves in the spirit of maintaining the democracy and simply installing it does nothing to change the attitudes of these people. Also, believing that conquest is appropriate means that America-the-Superpower has the right to act out this conquest by itself. It doesn’t.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />Finally, the idea that communism is bad stems from the idea that democracy and capitalism are always good. While I myself am not a communist, I recognize the positive aspects of Marxism, especially the idea that capitalist societies have a difficult time with true democracy because of the political power associated with wealth (remember, democracy and communism are not mutually exclusive). In keeping with their extremism, neoconservatives err in supporting unregulated laissez-faire capitalism. Once again turning to history, it could be said that the unregulated laissez-faire capitalism was so detrimental to workers and even government that it took the idea of regulating capitalism (from the fascists) to save it from The Revolution. Marxism also addresses issues about worker health and rights, poverty reduction, and social equality whereas neoconservatives neglect many domestic issues. In practice, the idea that communism is bad has meant that policymakers have chosen to support right-wing dictatorships over left-wing governments (whether democratic or not). This last element points to a great problem with neoconservatives: when exposed, they’re not popular. If we reformatted their beliefs to what they really mean, the merit of their positions would shrink:</span><br />
<br />
-United States interests trump international law<br />
-Imperialism is appropriate<br />
-Any right-wing government is better than a left-leaning one<br />
-Everyone wants to be an American<br />
-Unregulated capitalism is best<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Because of these values and because a yield from creating democracy is not as immediate as a yield from creating unregulated capitalism, it’s likely that neoconservatives tend to be warhawks, actors of corporate interests, and possibly power-hungry politicians—although the latter is probably not uncommon in any politician—but I concede that it’s also possible that some are truly acting on principle. </span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;">In essence, although true neoconservativism is not reflective of mainstream American belief, it is inherently American. Widespread acceptance of American exceptionalism, the common hostility to communism, and basic neglect of both international concerns and the affects of US foreign policy are all appealed to by neoconservative thought. If Democrats and Republicans were a husband and wife respectively, neoconservatives would be the mentally challenged offspring: the Democrats would’ve preferred an abortion, but the Republicans would see that as a cop-out and now that the Republicans have birthed the neoconservatives, the Democrats have to pay child support since they’re just as responsible for the creation of neoconservatives as Republicans are. Meanwhile everyone says “what a cute kid” and the Democrats roll their eyes and mumble something about speech therapy.</span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1108582670085583342005-02-16T12:40:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:35:53.030-07:0056 million<span style="color: red;">I found a rather poignent statement that reminds me of those ads for something that is $x.99 or $x.95 (x being any number, not porn) as if putting it up one or five cents will make a customer less likely to buy the product "No, sweetie, we can't afford that car, it's price is a bit steep at $30,000 but this one is pretty sweet and it's only $29,999.99." So here's the quote, from</span> "<a href="http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/gunsorxp.htm">Which Has Killed More People, Christianity or Gun Control?"</a><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
"After all, 56 million is without a doubt the perfect random number. Since a million doesn't mean much anymore, you'll want to crank it up the next level and accuse your enemies of something in the ten millions. Of course, it would be even better to accuse them of a hundred million, but usually, that's out of reach. A number as high as that needs a lot of buttressing, so you'll have to settle for a number a tad lower and lot more accessible. Fortunately, if you can push your number up over the halfway mark, you can imply a hundred million without actually having it. Anything over 50 million will do. Well, truthfully, 51 isn't enough. Your first instinct upon seeing 51 is to round it down to 50, so you need to tack on a second digit large enough to resist the rounding-down. You need to push it at least as close to 60 as to 50 -- let's say 55. Of course, numbers ending in 0s and 5s always look like ballpark guesstimates, so let's add 1 to it, and it'll look more precise."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">That's all I have for today's blog. Someone else's words. I started work Monday and turned in my MFA application yesterday. Thanks for all your help Limechip.</span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1105922884506518952005-01-16T17:50:00.000-07:002016-08-25T18:39:51.945-07:00Backmasking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cM0ZYJLvOPNE7-Zg99RroKfI7Z7vrbgxU1Zbia1YbzuEi6wV052o9cU0jDkap5ICuNbh4PwBUU7LNz9hdHhksnrcgiV_usTF_mfudiZfQ2yCIyGkLmloWacPs3G0EvCZDc0p/s1600/Backmasking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cM0ZYJLvOPNE7-Zg99RroKfI7Z7vrbgxU1Zbia1YbzuEi6wV052o9cU0jDkap5ICuNbh4PwBUU7LNz9hdHhksnrcgiV_usTF_mfudiZfQ2yCIyGkLmloWacPs3G0EvCZDc0p/s200/Backmasking.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red;">All right. Some people may be familiar with the Led Zeppelin Song "Stairway to Heaven" enough to have heard about backwards satanic messages in the song.</span> <a href="http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/stairway.php">Here's </a><span style="color: red;">a webpage that demonstrates it. The verse that most people point to as having backwards lyrics go as followed:
</span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">if there's a bustle in your hedgerow </span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">don't be alarmed now
<br />it's just a spring clean for the may queen
<br />yes there are two paths you can go by
<br />but in the long run
<br />there's still time to change the road you're on</span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Upon listening to it myself backwards, the lyrics seem fairly clear and go as follows</span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Here's to my sweet Satan
<br />The one whose little path would make me sad whose power is Satan
<br />He'll give-He'll give you 666
<br />There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer sad Satan.</span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">That's a pretty long string of words (not just a "Satan" here and a "Satan" there that could've been generated randomly) that make sense. And if it were intentional, it would be pretty impressive, especially in the time it was written since technology was not as sophisticated as it is now. I naturally assumed that it was intentional because of its length and because of the way he pronounces his words (covers don't usually get it right and the message doesn't sound as satanic) But I thought to myself: is it really intentional? Why don't I use my knowledge of linguistics to find out? Keep in mind that, if you don't know much about linguistics, you might want to check out how to understand the symbols and how to get IPA fonts <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_in_Unicode">here</a>, because from here on, I'm going to assume that you know what the heck I'm talking about.</span>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<strong>Preparation</strong>
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Someone once told me that, when played backwards on any recorder, <em>plants</em></span> (/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">plænts</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span>) <span style="color: red;">sounds like <em>snails</em></span> (/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">sneɪlz</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span>) <span style="color: red;">backwards and vice versa. I tried this out and it was true (you can check it out on your computer, just go into your friendly windows sound recorde program, record it and then reverse it). Now there are some very important elements in why this is so. Firstly, English does a very good job of making voiced sounds like</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">z</span>/ /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">d</span>/ <span style="color: red;">and</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">b</span>/ <span style="color: red;">into voiceless sounds like</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s</span>/ /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t</span>/ <span style="color: red;">and</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">p</span>/. <span style="color: red;">We don't think of them as such because of methods like aspiration and length of sound segments that cue speakers and listeners into which one it is. Secondly, not only are</span> <span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode unicode ms" , sans-serif;">æ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="color: red;">and</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e</span>/ <span style="color: red;">similar, but, in this example, both words would have the vowels nasalized. Although</span> <span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eɪ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span> <span style="color: red;">is technically a diphthong, it's possible that either a)</span> <span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">[</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">plɪænts</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">]</span> <span style="color: red;">doesn't sound too different from the way plants is normally said or b) the word snails has a more rapidly articulated I in the diphthong. Some phonologists prefer to omit the <em>i</em> in transcribing English since</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e</span>/ <span style="color: red;">rarely is seen by itself in American English utterances. The most important factor, though, is the human tendency to find patterns. </span><br />
<span style="color: red;">So I thought to myself, maybe certain sounds sound like something slightly different backwards. Really, though, the only sounds that would sound different would be stops and diphthongs. So I recorded the stops that we have in English and found that, in general, aspirated stops like</span> <span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">[</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">p</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode unicode ms" , sans-serif;">ʰ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">]</span> <span style="color: red;">and</span> [<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">k</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode unicode ms" , sans-serif;">ʰ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">]</span> <span style="color: red;">sound like fricatives of the same place of articulation--</span> <span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">[</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɸ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">]</span> <span style="color: red;">and</span> [<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">x]</span> <span style="color: red;">respectively. Unaspirated and voiced stops sound like unreleased stops, and could be interpreted as both voiced and voiceless. The glottal stop still sounds like a glottal stop. I also took a look at a palatal nasal, since it always seemed like it was followed by an epinthetical </span>[<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">j</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">]</span><span style="color: red;">; to my ears, it sounded either like</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in</span>/ <span style="color: red;">or</span> <span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">i</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode unicode ms" , sans-serif;">ŋ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">I concentrated on diphthongs of rhotic English, since that seems to be the predominant dialect of the song's vocalist. They go as followed:</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eɪ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span> <span style="color: red;">becomes </span>/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">je</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">oʊ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span> <span style="color: red;">becomes </span>/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">wə</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ɔɪ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span> <span style="color: red;">becomes </span>/<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">jo</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ʊ</span><span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";">/</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">becomes /</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">w</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">æ</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">/ or /</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">wɑ</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">/</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">As a side note, I'd like to point out that since Russian orthography has letters that represent the</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">jo</span>/ /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">je</span>/ <span style="color: red;">and</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ja</span>/ <span style="color: red;">sounds (they also function as palatization markers) that I would imagine these sounds are common in the language. In addition to the language's inclusion of a velar fricative</span> /<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">x</span>/ <span style="color: red;">that to us sounds like they're bringing up some phlem, I would imagine that a lot of backwards music might sound a bit like Russian. Maybe Russian music sounds like English backwards. That puts a whole new perspective on the Cold War.</span>
<br />
<br />
<strong>Data</strong>
<br />
<span style="color: red;">So, with all that in mind, I first transcribed the entire song forwards using IPA. Then I both listened to the song backwards and applied my rules that I had established above to transcribe it backwards. It was a long vacation, so I had time.
<br />Here is the first verse forwards as an example:
</span>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[ðeɹ.z</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ə</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">ˈleɪ.di.huz.ʃʊə]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[ɑl.ðaʔ.glɪ.tʰɹ̩.zɪz.gold]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.ʃiz.bɑː.jĩ.ŋə.steə.weɪ.tʰə.hɛ.və̃]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[wɛ̃n.ʃi.gɛts.ðɛɹ.ʃi.nowz]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[ɪf.ðə.stoɹz.ɑː.ɹɔʟ.kl̥owz]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[wɪ.ðə.wəːd.tʃi.kʰɛ̃n.gɛʔ]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[wʌʔ.ʃˑi.kʰeɪ̃m.foː]</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , sans-serif;">[uː.ə̃n.ʃiz.bɑː.jĩŋ.ə.steə.weɪ.hɛvə̃]</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Note that there are some elements of rhotic and non-rhotic dialect intermingled (see first verse)
<br />Now here it is backwards (the order is backwards too so if you want to compare you've got to go bottom up):
</span>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ə̃vɛ.hjew.əets.ə.ŋĩj.ɑːb.ziʃ.nə̃.uː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[oːf.mjẽx.iˑʃ.ʔʌw]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[zwən.iʃ.dəːw.əð.ɪw] </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[zwəl̥k.ʟɔɹɑː.zɹots.əð.fɪ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[zwən.iʃ.ɹɛð.stɛg.iʃ.nɛ̃w]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ə̃v.ɛh.əs.jew.əets.əŋ.ĩj.ɑːb.ziʃ.næ̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[dlog.ziz.ɹ̩s.ɪlgʔað.lɑ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[owʃ.zuh.id.jel.əz.ɹeð]</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">Fairly regular. Keep in mind that I've made the transcription fairly narrow, mostly because I don't know what's obvious with backwards phonetics. Now here's the juicy verse
</span>
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Forwards:
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeɹ.z</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ə</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ˈleɪ.di.huz.ʃʊə]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɑl.ðaʔ.glɪ.tʰɹ̩.zɪz.gold]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.ʃiz.bɑː.jĩ.ŋə.steə.weɪ.tʰə.hɛ.və̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wɛ̃n.ʃi.gɛts.ðɛɹ.ʃi.nowz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪf.ðə.stoɹz.ɑː.ɹɔʟ.kl̥owz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wɪ.ðə.wəːd.tʃi.kʰɛ̃n.gɛʔ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wʌʔ.ʃˑi.kʰeɪ̃m.foː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[uː.ə̃n.ʃiz.bɑː.jĩŋ.ə.steə.weɪ.hɛvə̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ə̃vɛ.hjew.əets.ə.ŋĩj.ɑːb.ziʃ.nə̃.uː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[oːf.mjẽx.iˑʃ.ʔʌw]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[zwən.iʃ.dəːw.əð.ɪw]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[zwəl̥k.ʟɔɹɑː.zɹots.əð.fɪ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[zwən.iʃ.ɹɛð.stɛg.iʃ.nɛ̃w]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ə̃v.ɛh.əs.jew.əets.əŋ.ĩj.ɑːb.ziʃ.næ̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[dlog.ziz.ɹ̩s.ɪlgʔað.lɑ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[owʃ.zuh.id.jel.əz.ɹeð]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪf.ðeə.zə.bʌ.sl̩.ɪ̃.ɲjə.hɛdʒ.how]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[dow̃ʔ.bi.ə.lɑ̃ːŋ.næ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪts.dʒʌst.ei.spɹ̥ɪ̃ŋ.kl̥ĩn.foɻ.ðə.meɪ.kw̥i]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[jɛs.ðe.ɹaː.tʰu.pæz.ju.kɛ̃n.gow.ba]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[bʌɾ.ɪ̃n.ðə.lɔ̃.ŋɹə̃n]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeəz.stɪl.tãm.tə.tʃeɪ̃ndʒ.ðə.ɹowʔ.jɹ̩.ɔ̃n]</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Backwards:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[nɔ̃.ɹ̩j.ʔwəɹ.əð.ʒnjẽʃ.ət.mãt.lɪts.zəeð]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[nə̃ɹŋ.ɔ̃l.əð.nɪ̃.ɾʌb]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ab.wəg.ŋɛ̃k.uj.zæp.us.aːɹ.eð.sɛj]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[iwk.jem.əð.ɻof.nĩl̥k.ŋɪ̃ɹ̥ps.je.tsʌʒ.stɪ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æn.ŋɑ̃ːl.ə.ib.ʔw̃əd]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wəh.ʒɛ.həjn.ɪ̃.l̩s.ʌb.əz.əeð.fɪ]</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'SILDoulos IPA93';">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: red;">Conclusion: </span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Well, I guess it wasn't done on purpose. I mean the guy couldn't have done it the way I thought he did it. I would expect the backwards message to be more like this:
</span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ieʒtəmaswiʔseʔn̩]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðowɔ̃nuzlɪɾowʔ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ab.wəd.meɪx.jʊ.zæv.uz.pawɹ̩ɪzeɪʔ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[jugɪvzɹ̩ʔŋixniɹsɪksəʒsɪk]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ænwɔzl̩ɪʔwəz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wəʃeɪ.ə.ineɪdʌsəfə.sæd.seɪʔ]</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'SILDoulos IPA93';">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Now <strong>that </strong>would be convincing and that's how it sounds at first. Especially when you see the similar features of the segments in what it sounds like and how the words they seem to represent are actually pronounced in real forwards speech. So it's really the devil within us.
<br />For enjoyment's sake. Here's the whole song in IPA:</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "sildoulos ipa93";"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeɹ.z</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ə</span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ˈleɪ.di.huz.ʃʊə]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɑl.ðaʔ.glɪ.tʰɹ̩.zɪz.gold]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.ʃiz.bɑː.jĩ.ŋə.steə.weɪ.tʰə.hɛ.və̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wɛ̃n.ʃi.gɛts.ðɛɹ.ʃi.nowz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪf.ðə.stoɹz.ɑː.ɹɔʟ.kl̥owz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wɪ.ðə.wəːd.tʃi.kʰɛ̃n.gɛʔ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wʌʔ.ʃˑi.kʰeɪ̃m.foː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[uː.ə̃n.ʃiz.bɑː.jĩŋ.ə.steə.weɪ.hɛvə̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeə.zə.saɪ̃n.ʔɑ̃n.ðə.wɔʟ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[bʌ.tʃi.wʌ̃nts.tʰə.bi.ʃʊə]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[kʰʌ.ʒju.now.sʌ̃m.tʰãmz.wəːdz.hæv.tʰu.mĩnĩŋ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪ̃.nə.tʃɹi.baɪ.ðə.bɹʊk]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðɛ.zə.sɔ̃ŋ.bɹ̩d.hu.sĩŋz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[sʌ̃m.tʰaɪ̃mz.ɔː.ləv.ɑː.θɔts.ɑː.mɪs.givə̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[uː.ɪʔ.meɪks.mi.wʌ̃n.dəː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[uː.ɪʔ.meɪks.mɪ.wʌ̃n.dəː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeə.zə.fi.lɪ̃.na.gɛʔ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wɪ̃.na.lukʰ.tʰʊ.ðə.wɛst]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.maɪ.spi.ɹɪʔ.iz.kɹa.jĩŋ.foɹ.li.vĩŋ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪ̃n.maɪ.θɔts.aɪ.hæv.sĩn]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɹĩŋ.zəv.smowkʰ.θɹu.ðə.tʃɹiz]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.ðə.vɔi.sə.zəv.ðowz.hu.stæ̃n.lʊ.kʰĩŋ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[uː.ɪʔ.meɪks.mi.wʌ̃n.dɹ̩]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[uː.ɪʔ.ɹɪ.li.meɪks.mi.wʌ̃n.dəː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.dɪts.wɪ.spɹ̩.ðaʔ.tsũn]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪf.wi.ɔʟ.kʰɔl.ðə.tʰjũn]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðɛ̃n.ðə.paɪ.pɹ̩.wɪ.liɾ.əs.tʰʊ.ɹi.zə̃]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.də.nju.deɪ.wɪl.dɔ̃n]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[fə.ðowz.hu.stæ̃n.lɔ̃ŋ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.də.fɔɹɪsts.wɪl.ɛ.kʰə.wɪð.læf.tɹ̩]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪf.ðeə.zə.bʌ.sl̩.ɪ̃.ɲjə.hɛdʒ.how]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[dow̃ʔ.bi.ə.lɑ̃ːŋ.næ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪts.dʒʌst.ei.spɹ̥ɪ̃ŋ.kl̥ĩn.foɻ.ðə.meɪ.kw̥i]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[jɛs.ðe.ɹaː.tʰu.pæz.ju.kɛ̃n.gow.ba]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[bʌɾ.ɪ̃n.ðə.lɔ̃.ŋɹə̃n]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeəz.stɪl.tãm.tə.tʃeɪ̃ndʒ.ðə.ɹowʔ.jɹ̩.ɔ̃n]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɑ̃n.ɪʔ.meɪks.mi.wʌ̃n.dɹ̩]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[jɔ.hɛ.dɪz.hʌ̃.mĩn.ʔæ̃n.ɪʔ.wow̃ʔŋ.gow]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɪ̃ŋ.kʰeɪ.ʃju.dow̃.now]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðə.paɪpɹ̩z.kʰɑ.lɪ̃n.ju.ɾə.dʒɔɪ̃n.hɪ̃m]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[diɹ.leɪ.di.kʰæ̃.ɲu.hiɹ.ðə.wɪ̃n.blow]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.dɪ.dʒju.now]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[jɔ.steɹ.weɪ.laz.ɔ̃n.ðə.wɪ.spɹ̩.ĩŋ.wɪ̃ːə̃ː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.dæ.zwi.waɪ̃n.dɔ̃n.daw̃n.ðə.ɹowd]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ɑː.ʃæ.dowz.tʰɔ.lə.ðɛ̃.nɑː.sowl]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðeɹ.wɑʟk.sə.leɪ.di.wi.ɑl.nəːw]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[hu.ʃaɪ̃n.zwaɪʔ.laɪɾ.æ̃n.wʌ̃nts.əv.ʃow]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[haw.ɛv.ɹi.θĩŋ.stɪl.tɹ̩̃nz.tʰə.gow]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[æ̃n.dɪ.fju.lɪs.ə̃n.vɛ.ɹi.hɑːɹ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ðə.tʃɹu.wɪʟ.kʌ̃m.tə.ju.æʔ.lɑs]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[wɛ̃.nɑ̃l.əɹ.wʌ̃n.æ̃n.wʌ̃.nɪ.zɑː.ʎæ]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[tʰʊ.bi.ʔə.ɹɔkʰ.æ̃.nɔ.tʰə.ɹəːʊː]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[ə̃n.ʃiːz.bɑː.jĩ.ŋə.steə.weɪ.tʰu.hɛ.və̃]</span>Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217060.post-1100050996012818122004-11-09T18:13:00.000-07:002016-08-22T22:36:35.851-07:00Rock the Homophobia<span style="color: red;">Okay, finally get to post after the election.
<br />As some have asked me in the past couple of days: "Um... what happened?"
<br />Short of covert elections fraud, the best election seems to be: homophobia. </span><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: red;"><br />You see, in eleven states (Oregon, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, and Georgia) there were ballot measures proposing to ban gay marriage. They all passed overwhelmingly. In addition, all but Oregon voted for Bush. Essentially, since hatred and fear is more mobilizing than tolerance and compassion, and gay haters hate gays much more passionately than rational people tolerate them (how can you be passionately tolerant?) the gay-hating conservatives (and I'm prone to believe there is a lot of homophobia in this country) were mobilized to vote no on gay, and while they were there they voted for president.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />Now I'm not an extremist, I'm not saying they moved the guy in office single-handedly, nor am I implying that they, added with big businesses, extreme fundamentalists, the wealthy, or the devil helped George Bush get the presidency. These groups just helped tip the balance in an election that shouldn't have been close. Not because John Kerry was all that great, but because it shouldn't have been difficult to pick someone better than John Kerry as the democratic nominee.
<br />But that's my rant.
<br />
<br />Here's a little map I thought of making for this rant.
</span><img src="" />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">See how Georgia's all a flip-flopping?</span>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"></span>
<span style="color: red;">So I haven't mentioned anyone's name in a while in regards to my comments project. Mostly because I've given up on everyone except for Tom </span><a href="http://ironmonkey.blogspot.com/">Ironmonkey</a>. <span style="color: red;">I guess cartoon people are the really only good ones.</span>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"></span>
<span style="color: red;">So my roommate likes hanging out with me, which is great because I like hanging out with her. But when I do, I'm not doing homework and so I procrastinate and binge it all on the weekend. But then she's left feeling bored because she wants to hang out with me. To make it all worse, she gets rather pissy about it like I'm being some sort of jerk for doing my homework. So my friend Hélène in Malaysia suggested to me that she get a hobby. But she does have a hobby. It's really a matter of preference. So much love and I don't even know what to do with it. </span>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"></span>
<span style="color: red;">The previous pictures have skewed my blog. Does anyone know how to fix it? How do I archive my blog?</span>
<br />
<br />
<br />Ƶ§œš¹http://www.blogger.com/profile/13324731014829877532noreply@blogger.com1