Plagiarism is a nasty subject....

There can be no doubt. Stealing words are like stealing cars, as when I stole former CIA Director James Schlesinger's "Galactic Star Cruiser" out a few galaxies from yonder. You all might know of that event as "Roswell" -- when I crashed, returning to Earth, with the overbearing alien highjackers from Zeta Reticuli (who boarded against my will for a purported "speeding violation" some 40 light-years out) in your familiar "Earth coordinates" (Earth Year 1947, July 3).

Such experiences should be the endorsed advertisements of the "Safety Belt Counsel", were there any intelligent life on this Planet. Yet, as we all know from present-day experience, there is no "intelligent life" anywhere.

Shakespeare, himself, was a Plagiarist -- stealing plots from his contemporaries and from antecedent Bards. Still, this doesn't excuse Michael Moore, who flies in the face of much literary tradition to use Bradbury's title without acknowledgment or compensation.

Someone with as 'slight' a talent as Michael Moore, using the title of a master like Bradbury, truly deserves to be punished. And, punished he will be. However, despite my sagacity, and the obviousness of the infringement, it may sadly devolve upon God to inflict the retribution (and not upon mere men).

If I could really resolve this issue, I would. But, since my 26th century time-travel-suit is somewhere else (where is that damn suit? Out! damn suit!) I can't help change the past.

My Great Expectations of ending this Vanity Fair of Waiting for Good Dough in a Cancer Ward are Failsafe, No Doubt. Still, Ulysses, in all his efforts to circumvent psychological Labyrinths, shall fail to emblematize our Republic. The Plague is upon us, and (I'm Ill, I add). This Brave New World will sort out our Sentimental Journey from a Paradise Lost (to an Honest Thief, Insulted and Injured, Proud and Prejudiced, Insensed and Insensible, or otherwise).

Chronicling my Martian inclinations (re: War and Peace), I still suspect that Western Civilization might not have the "Foundation" to control this obvious crime of the frivolous upstart Michael Moore.

Given a few 'moore' cycles of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Eternal Recurrence", it is possible that we will arrive at an appropriate solution to his 'incursions' on our homeland.

Chakk, chakk, chakk.

--Nicholas Meyler

My own take on Moore is that he's a lightweight who is fast and furious with the truth. I think he is a fine propogandist and does not have the temperment to be a documentarian.

Nevertheless, he is an excellent publicist for his own work, and is a very skilled and enthusiastic curmudgeon.

I have hated the political distractions, oversimplifications, distortions, and attacks that have swarmed over this site. While there was some of this political crap developing previously, the Moore onslaught has really hurt the board.

The good news is that the Moore-ites will eventually go away, and those who really want to deal with Bradbury and his works will be able to go back to our quiet appreciation and explication and sharing of Bradbury's work.

Many of the Moore-ites have already left. I think in part due to the fact that they were called upon to justify their positions and claims and found that aspect of posting troubling. Several, when asked to defend their positions with something other than adolescent pouting and accusations have simply stopped coming. The issue of a real discussion based on objective reasoning was simply too much for many of them.



[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 06-27-2004).]

I guess the main thing is that Michael offended Ray, so "tribute" or not, "Fahrenheit 911" backfired.

Did Bradbury plagiarize the name Fahrenheit? Probably not...but did Bradbury "borrow" from Shakespeare and others? Probably so.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" (William Shakespeare), "I Sing the Body Electric!" (Walt Whitman) and "Golden Apples of the Sun" (William Butler Yeats).

Hmm. Wonder if Ray threatened Elton John for his song tile borrowed from Ray Bradbury? Maybe you've heard of it before..it's called "Rocket man".

Mr. Bradbury has been already been compensated by getting his piece of the "action" (publicity) and that's just the name of the game