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Post by mummifiedstalin on Feb 23, 2009 22:53:11 GMT -5
I liked reading that, well done sir. With Lovecraft the horror feels. Oh, intangible, so it doesn’t really get inside of me and scare or creep me out. Modern example would be Stephen King’s “It”, the scary clown was eerie… that I can wrap my mind around. But at the end there’s this long, amorphous otherworldly unnamable, unknowable creature and it lost me. The horror no longer had solid mass. Maybe I have a simple mind? If it gets too vague then it doesn’t scare me. Maybe Lovecraft knew that and that’s why he tried to name it - as a way of giving the horror real weight? But your right, sometimes not knowing, while frustrating, is more effective (ala Peter Weirs film, “Picnic at Hanging Rock”) It goes without saying then that Poe resonated more strongly with me. And a guy like Gaiman would be someone who straddles both areas, right/wrong? I don't know if Gaiman really counts as horror. Some of his stuff is "grotesque," but I consider him a myth-making fantastist more than anything (if I have to categorize him at all, that is). He usually operates somewhere on the border between outright wonder-invoking fantasy and the edge of deep, almost Jungian myth areas...with his own unique spin. When he uses horror, it's there for a larger purpose, I think, rather than to explore that feeling of terror itself, which is what I think both Poe and Lovecraft were doing. They were artists of dark stuff. Gaiman just uses darkness when it suits his bigger purposes, if that makes any sense.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 24, 2009 2:32:34 GMT -5
Yeah your probably right. It might be that when I think horror, or the kind of horror I like - it's the creepy, eerie stuff - and Gaiman evokes those feelings in me in much of his work. Coraline gave me more chills than Freddie or Jason or any of these recent "Horror" mainstays as an example, though I don't think it would be classified as a straight horror film.
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Post by Crowfan on Mar 1, 2009 10:40:54 GMT -5
I'm sorry that I've come in late to this horror discussion....I don't come into this thread a whole lot, so I'm behind the curve a bit.
That being said, I prefer Poe to Lovecraft. Maybe it's because as a kid I saw all those Corman movies with Vincent Price as all Poe's characters. Maybe it's because I visited Poe's house in Baltimore(in a bad neighborhood, so if you go, be careful). Maybe I just don't "get" Lovecraft. Entirely possible, knowing me.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 11, 2009 13:09:23 GMT -5
A surfing dilemma - 3/11/09
I'm having a truly lethargic day. I'm home with a sick baby who keeps sleeping/waking up. So I can't really do anything that requires consistent concentration.
So I keep clicking refresh and waiting for tiny responses on the board as well as surfing YouTube.
I wonder what the differences between channel surfing and web surfing are? With TV, you're restricted to what's on at the moment. But eventually, you usually settle on something and stay with it for awhile.
Web surfing gives you more choice and control, but it seems to foster even more short-attention-span-theater. Granted, I've learned some random trivia this morning, but I haven't really concentrated on anything for long in the last few hours. If I channel surf on TV, though, eventually I settle onto something.
So which is better?
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Post by siamesesin on Mar 11, 2009 13:19:40 GMT -5
Depends on what you settle on either way. If you're learning something, either works. If you're just popping up the soaps or eyeballing porn, I'd say you're screwed either way.
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Post by Donna SadCat Lady on Mar 12, 2009 14:23:32 GMT -5
In my experience, Web surfing is better. Much of what I can find just randomly surfing on TV is stuff that's so junky that I feel yucky for watching it too long. Web surfing, on the other hand, offers so much more variety that my chances of finding something worthwhile are greater. The downside of that is when I can't find anything I want to look at or do, then I've kinda only got myself to blame. At least TV provides a nice built-in scapegoat. "It's not my fault that I watched CSI: New York re-runs for three hours! There wasn't anything else on! It's those stupid station programmers!" Hope your sick baby gets better very soon, Mumms.
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Post by abomb on Mar 15, 2009 18:12:43 GMT -5
I also hope the baby is doing better.
I'd also like to thank you for opening this section. I'm learning a lot about some of our members that it's hard to imagine I would have otherwise.
On an earlier topic, I don't think I've ever read a word of Lovecraft, but reading your piece contrasting him with Poe had me thinking of Solaris. I wouldn't class Lem's genre as horror, but that novel's theme of the unconscious grappling with the ungraspable seems to merge the two approaches you describe.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 16, 2009 12:29:26 GMT -5
I also hope the baby is doing better. I'd also like to thank you for opening this section. I'm learning a lot about some of our members that it's hard to imagine I would have otherwise. On an earlier topic, I don't think I've ever read a word of Lovecraft, but reading your piece contrasting him with Poe had me thinking of Solaris. I wouldn't class Lem's genre as horror, but that novel's theme of the unconscious grappling with the ungraspable seems to merge the two approaches you describe. That definitely seems right. Lem is always more concerned with more than the technology or the alien itself. In fact, the whole point of _Solaris_ is that we can't get past ourselves to see a real alien. All we end up doing is projecting onto it. (Granted, in this case, the "alien" is a big projection thing, but you get the point.) You could also probably make a similar kind of distinction among science fiction writers. Or, rather, you could point to the one that's already been done. There's "hard" sf, which is tech-based. Greg Bear and Gregory Benford are perfect examples. There's "speculative" sf, which looks at technological changes as ways to explore psychological and sociological problems. This is pretty much, well, anyone worth reading, even "hard" sci-fi guys. But Vernor Vinge and Charles Stross are two of my current favorites who deal with "singularity" stuff. "Hard" sf, like Lovecraft, deals with the strange or the new for its own sake, and the effect on humans, while real, is usually a reaction to the "other." But speculative fiction, like Poe, has the human (or social) on its mind from the beginning and uses the strange or the new as an occasion to reflect on us. But I'm glad you found it interesting enough to reply!
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 18, 2009 12:21:07 GMT -5
Yet another day of a sick baby. Reflux...my older son had it too...better than genetic <insert terminal disorder here>, I suppose. But the "urp" smell starts to spread after awhile.
So I'm back to clicking refresh and typing with one hand while he naps on my lap. Poor thing.
How about another question: If you went to college looking back would you rather have worked and taken online courses or gone the full campus experience? Is the latter increasingly outdated and unrealistic?
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Mar 18, 2009 12:31:46 GMT -5
I'm pretty dedicated to learning, and even for myself I don't think that online courses are a real substitute for being physically present in a class. I can't even imagine trying one without really being motivated to study on my own. I'm sure there are exceptions, and online classes are much better than no classes, but I think the interaction with the instructor and classmates can be just as important to learning the material as the textbook and notes.
I actually did my freshman and sophomore undergrad years at a community college. I had a daily commute to class, and I worked during most semesters. Then, with a lot of gen-eds and general math and science out of the way, I finished the degree at Valpo without having to work during the semesters. I think that was a better compromise in terms of cost, job-holding, and overall education, rather than going the full four years of classes or working and taking classes online.
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Post by siamesesin on Mar 18, 2009 15:20:42 GMT -5
With my original field of study (tech theatre), it had to be a campus education. It's a contact sport and requires other humans.
But if I go back to school, I think I will go online. My method of learning is much more individualized, and I'm also a nester. It is easier for me to focus at home. The idea of saving the money on boarding and transport is a big plus too.
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colemanfrancisfan
Moderator Emeritus
Open wide, Lady Liberty. Because CFF is coming to America! Today!
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Post by colemanfrancisfan on Mar 18, 2009 17:11:34 GMT -5
Reflux sucks mumms. Is the baby getting some Omeprazole solution to help (him/her) out?
And if I had to go back I'd do online. The only caveat is sudden internet downage which happens to me all too often. I hated classes and I always sat closest to the door to get the hell out of there as soon as class was done. And it's much quieter at home. Also, it may seem insensitive, but there's no chance of a school killing spree. You just have to look at all the pros and cons.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 18, 2009 22:43:21 GMT -5
Also, it may seem insensitive, but there's no chance of a school killing spree. You just have to look at all the pros and cons. Seems like a future army boy would jump at the chance to defend his fellow citizens from a domestic terrorist! YOU'RE GONNA FAIL BASIC! heh And, yeah, he's on that at the moment. Problem is he pukes it up before it has a chance to really get in there...go figure.
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colemanfrancisfan
Moderator Emeritus
Open wide, Lady Liberty. Because CFF is coming to America! Today!
Hey, ladies, I have all my teeth
Posts: 11,300
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Post by colemanfrancisfan on Mar 19, 2009 4:59:31 GMT -5
I know. We get a lot of people asking if it can be flavored to make it taste better, but it would throw off the efficacy if we did that. And I am not gonna fail BASIC!
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Mar 19, 2009 12:25:22 GMT -5
Oh, you're gonna fail basic, even if I have to sneak onto the base and inject you with near-lethal doses of laxatives night after night.
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