It looks to me as if poor Ray is unable to interpret his own book. If he wanted to write a book about the insidious effects of TV (which I agree with, and don't own one) he should have written a book about the insidious effects of TV. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) he wrote a book about the burning of books, and about government censorship. To speak of a man who has caused untold misery and death and destroyed an entire country with a war of aggression as "wonderful" somehow escapes me, unthinkable as it is.



Ray Bradbury: Real problem not censorship but television David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Monday June 4, 2007

Contrary to widespread critical and mass opinion accumulated over fifty years, author Ray Bradbury insists that his classic novel Fahrenheit 451, originally published in 1953 during the McCarthy era, isn't really about government censorship.

According to the renowned author, "We've never had censorship in this country and we've never burned books. There are temporary lapses." He says that when teachers or librarians tell him his books have been removed from the shelves, he simply tells them to put them back again.

Bradbury explains that when he wrote Fahrenheit 451, "I wasn't worried about freedom. I was worried about people being turned into morons by tv." He insists that the book was about "the proliferation of giant screens" and that we are now living in the period of history described in his novel.

In an August 2001 interview with Salon, Bradbury said of George W. Bush, "He's wonderful. We needed him. Clinton is a shithead and we're glad to be rid of him." In 2004, he became extremely upset over Michael Moore's use of the title "Fahrenheit 9/11" and was quoted by Swedish interviewers as saying, ""Michael Moore is a screwed asshole .... He is a horrible human being."

"...I was worried about people being turned into morons by tv."

Some folks can manage the transformation without tv!

Many more media these days forming (and malforming) public opinion.

Every President is hated. Truman dropped the A-Bomb and destroyed hundreds of thousand of people. Lincoln brought untold problems with his slavery issue. Wilson was mocked as having his mother run the White House and the plight caused with strained US relationships because of his 'unorthodox' personality! Well, you could start with Washington and go all the way down the list of the misery brought on by the US leadership. Today, if it was not for wire-taps and who knows what else, New York would likely be in flames this past weekend. A 40 mile fuel pipe line and a myriad of gas holdings would have killed many right here.

So, what? Bradbury running for public office now! You reading his stuff for the sheer marvel of his story telling or his politcal ideas? And what matters when you say that the writer who created Fahrenheit 451 doesn't live up to your pre-conceived idea of the whole reason why he wrote it?

Some say that Disney was a womanizer and a heavy drinker. If true, does that make any difference in how you enjoy Donald Duck and Mickey?

As a book collector and dealer I've had the same concerns as Mr Bradbury.
As a carpenter I have unusual access to hundreds of homes in my area. I specifically check for books in the homes I work in, since I do remodelling, renovations, and repairs, and have unlimited freedom by neccessity.
I can't tell you how many homes I work in, from the homes of clerks and salespeople to doctors, lawyers, and judges, that contain widescreen TVs and hundreds of VHS and/or DVDs and not a single book. Not one. Not in the living room, not in the den/family room, not in the bedrooms, not even the bathrooms.

30 miles from NYC, if you were wondering about the location.

Anecdotal perhaps. I don't know if they have library cards, or read books online, or do audiobooks. Nevertheless, the fact remains that a high percentage of the houses I work in do not hold any notable number of books, or none at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
"...I was worried about people being turned into morons by tv."

Some folks can manage the transformation without tv!

It's SO true!


And t-ham: I know what you mean. Not meaning to lambast my own kin, but my brother is a highly successful engineer in the auto industry. He can rebuild an engine by himself in a day (and I've seen him do it). Brilliant kind of guy. His wife is also an engineer. About two years ago I was in an unfortunate situation where I needed to take up residence with him for about 3 months before I could find a new place of my own. I was completely shocked there were no books whatsoever in the entire house! There were a few mags, but that's it! I had never been in a home without at least a FEW books. I was astonished.

They had a child together a year ago. Upon my niece's birth (and I'm proud of the beautiful little girl) I bought her a few toys. But in the coming year? It'll be all about books! Everything I can get my hands on and is appropriate for a young child she'll get! I've bought books for friends' kids and I'll do the same for my niece.

Our home has large screens in every room. When the front curtain is opened during the day, neighborhood folks passing by can probably see clearly the one in our main living room. The family room has one, as do each of the bedrooms - parents' and boys'.

The only catch is, you can only view one piece of the picture at a time. You must sit down, open a cover and "read" the mystery, adventure, comedy, history, sport, travel, or whatever the program is that happens to be selected. (Sorry, no remote controls allowed. We are fitess oriented and getting up from the couch is a great way to keep in shape.)

A well-kept secret: There are no cable bills, "must have" commercials, uninvited innuendo, twenty-minute cycles of marketed pabulum, nor foul language spewed by inane characters who have nothing to do with functioning brain cells.

Thanks, Mr. Bradbury, for your passion for books and reading. It really is infectious! Both of our youngsters have been exposed and will, no doubt, have chronic reading syndrome for many, many years to come.

t-ham,
"...a high percentage of the houses I work in do not hold any notable number of books, or none at all."
Nor do they have front porches, I'll wager!

Lord Shen,
Kudos for getting your neice books! I loved reading to my kids and now enjoy reading to my grandkids, when I see them!

Butch,
Keep up the good work, Pard!

Sundance, I've finagled my way into an honors 10 class in the fall. I know many of the kids from this year. (Top-notchers!) It should be the cat's pajamas!

(Mind if I send you a note in the coming days to gather some ideas for title selections and themes. Your spectrum of readings is always a highlight when I camp our here for a while.)

I'd imagine your big screen viewing walls must be really state of the art! http://www.convoyaudiovideo.com/images/image7.jpg

Nah! This: http://www.greendragonwoods.org.uk/images/books-on-shelves.jpg

"I love my MTV!"
-Dire Straits

Send me a note, Butch. The sooner the better.
Something between a B flat and an A sharp, maybe?

Indeed, I will send the note, for I sure can't carry one!

quote:

Originally posted by fjp451:
I'd imagine your big screen viewing walls must be really state of the art! http://www.convoyaudiovideo.com/images/image7.jpg
Nah! This: http://www.greendragonwoods.org.uk/images/books-on-shelves.jpg

That first photo is nice enough, but that second is pure beauty!

quote:

Originally posted by fjp451:
Indeed, I will send the note, for I sure can't carry one!

Your education was worth every penny!

quote:

Originally posted by t-ham:
I can't tell you how many homes I work in, from the homes of clerks and salespeople to doctors, lawyers, and judges, that contain widescreen TVs and hundreds of VHS and/or DVDs and not a single book. Not one. Not in the living room, not in the den/family room, not in the bedrooms, not even the bathrooms.

.

T Ham-- That is the scariest thing I've read in a while. My house has several areas that look like the second widescreen pic.

quote:

Originally posted by canadiankid:
To speak of a man who has caused untold misery and death and destroyed an entire country with a war of aggression as "wonderful" somehow escapes me, unthinkable as it is.

I must say, I agree with our Northern friend on this!

Let's play a game - who am I?

I attacked and took over 2 countries.

I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.

I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).

I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.

I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.

I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.

In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad's, but I did).

After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.

I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.

In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.

I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period

I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.

I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.

I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history.

I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

I cut health care benefits for war veterans.

I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.

Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.)

I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.

I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

I am the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.

I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security"(only one letter away from BS).

I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history (Ronnie was tough to beat, but I did it!!).

I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.

I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.

I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history

I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant. I withdrew from the World Court of Law.

I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions..

I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.

I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1).

I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.

I took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).

I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

I set the all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for government contracts.

I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.

I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES: I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).

I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.

I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use. (wink, wink)

All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

Who am I?

First person with the correct answer gets next turn.

Anybody out there remember Tokyo Rose?