[Northkeep] smiling.....

[lra at olp.net]

> understandably for millenia without them.  Now they are all to
> frequently a crutch to cover up lazy writing, or passive agressive
> attack ("I didn't mean it as a -real- insult, I was joking, seen the
> "smiley"?"  when some of the most viscious attacks I've ever seen were
> spoken by someone who was smiling).  Here, I tend to try to use them as
> a social lubricant only.


I'm just going to add a couple of points that hit my interest.

1. As to the part about lazy writing, I must agree, and it is one of my pet
peeves. However, it is not limited to the Internet. Unfortunately, I have
read a great deal of it in magazines, newspapers and books. For me, it's
really really tough: as a professional writer/editor, I have a hard time
not getting out my little red pen and just going to town like any
compulsive editor does. Now I know very few of you care one hoot about
that. But you see the real problem is that getting out my little red pen
for e-mail really makes a mess out of my computer screen. {grin}

2. As for smiling viciousness..... I submit to you the following written
several hundred years ago by someone's work I greatly admire: O villain,
villain, smiling, damned villain!

3.  Okay, now that we are on the topic of Shakespeare (Yes all of you Bard-
ophiles, that was from Hamlet), a very period topic...... when was the last
time you read Shakespeare? Personally I encourage it: -- really good stuff,
great turn of phrase, clever puns, wonderful way with words, jokes, fights,
the rise and downfall of kings, the villains usually get punished and the
good guys usually win. For those of you who are interested but do not have
your own copies of Shakespeare, the complete works of Shakespeare are
online and free to look at. There are also recordings of real live actors
(quite famous and good ones, too) performing the plays. Very nice for a
lazy afternoon or a car trip or for some just plain old entertainment and
enjoyment. I'm all for that stuff, the enjoyment part.

4. For those of you who have gotten this far in my rambling novelette, I
congratulate you. And you may be asking the point of my odd little note.
Maybe it's just to express my opinion. Maybe I just haven't posted for a
while and I thought all of you should see that I can do more than just ask
questions, although I am quite good at that. Perhaps I thought I would
interject some humor into our conversation. Maybe I am just encouraging
people to read more. Or could it be that I've run out of ink in my little
red pen and felt I should do something constructive? Then again, maybe I'm
just trying to change the subject. Of course it could be (G) All of the
Above. You decide.... it's okay to talk amongst yourselves.... it's not a
test. Well, there you have it.

Lynn the Inquisitive