It is always great when one has a bit of knowledge and then can gain much more from those with whom he/she converses. It has been just short of a year since first finding this RB site. How much I have learned. Also, the numerous related off site contacts with so many friendly and generous Mr. Bradbury's fans have been too great to estimate (from all parts of the world!)

In view of recent vulgar and slanderous posts, maybe it is time to get the old "soap" out once again and wash out some mouths! The site managers need to do some cyber-checking and contact the schools from which these might be originating. I am sure the administrators of those locations would be very displeased with what they find coming from their computer labs!



[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 09-24-2002).]

excellent suggestion.

FJP and Mr. Dark::::

My comments yesterday (Monday) to the "Junk-Posters" was deleted by the Moderator because ...of something she termed ...a 3 AM judgment call.

Well, news to her, Dearest Dandelion...I was deliberately pushing "their" buttons to get a response, and stop them in their tracks with their own intentions.

I guess it has something to do with troublesome neighbors I recently acquired. It's better to be diplomatic on some scale, then none at all.


[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-24-2002).]

What bothers me is that I see no reason why the string represented above is allowed to remain on here. This board is being used by children to do senseless Instant Messaging (IM'ing). These kind of juvenile antics -- irrelevant to Bradbury -- should just be deleted. They have no business being here.

This is not censorship. This is just following the purposes of the site -- which I believe to be furthering (and I mean that in an adult way) discussion, interest and understanding of and about Ray Bradbury, his works, and directly related items (film, literature, philosophy -- themes and ideas that can be directly extrapolated out of the works of Bradbury), and to promoting news about what he is up to these days. The childish I/M'ing just doesn't belong here.

How does asking someone what they do besides sticking their hand up a turkey advance -- in any general way -- the mission of using this site to celebrate Ray Bradbury's contributions to our lives? Does an understanding of someone else's taste in chocolate corn flakes advance the site? I just don't see how.

If someone wants to present an alternate view of his work, or wants to try to make the argument that he's a hack compared to Hermann Hesse, fine. But do it in the spirit of scholarship, fairness, and an intellectual grasp of language and the issues that has exceeded that of a ten-year old just getting a little hair in his armpit.

There are thousands of sites where they can play. Let them play there. When we let them play here, we diminish the site.

Sorry. I feel strongly about this.



[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-25-2002).]

*Sigh.* It seems, no matter how I try to maintain a nice...neat...orderly site, I delete too much or too little. I don't want to become an Aunt Rose here. Y'know, I even feel guilty when I dig dandelions in the garden, because I LIKE dandelions, but certain ones, in certain places, just gotta go. I suppose if posts like the above became as plentiful as dandelions, some weedkiller would be called for, but right now I don't see it as posing a huge problem. Think of it as a little dentrifice among lilies, and then consider the lilies. I know I think of Ray whenever I see the dandelions, but I think of him whenever I see the lilies too. I hope that's profound enough.

Okay, I'll take more Paxil and try to settle down.

stress!

Mr Dark
Get a life! stop pickin on kids they're only havin a laugh.Dont u remember bein a kid?

That's the issue, Milly....we do....! Do you?

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-28-2002).]

Thank God I do have a life . . . and it consists of far more than useless, meaningless discussions about corn flakes.

In fact, it's because I have a life that I find these useless entries to be so annoying. They add no value to anything. They are a waste of air. When you get a life, you'll discover that each moment matters and that life marches on whether you make good use of it or not. Find something to do that adds value -- to yourself and to others. Sometimes trivia is just fun and harmless. So enjoy that, also. But when you have a life, you resent uninvited intrusions on your time. It's kind of like spam. I come here to learn about Bradbury -- not to wallow in adolescent trivia. When I have to wade through this kind of stuff it's kind of a waste of time (like this "rant" I suppose!).

By the way, I do remember being a kid. I had a wonderful childhood with very fond memories. We did lots of cool stuff. With the focus on the word "did". I'm not sure you'll be able to say the same when your childhood thrills consist of useless time IM'ing about corn flakes.

Skim-boarding at sunset at Laguna Beach, CA.
White Water rafting in northern Utah.
Hiking through the Sierra Nevadas.
Hiking to Mt Whitney several times.
Camping in the high deserts in CA.
Midnight swims in the ocean.
Helping put out fires on Indian Reservations in North Dakota.
Movie premieres in Hollywood when I lived out there.
Dates with girls who were wonderful persons.
Developing talents like photography and writing.
Day long bike rides to the beach with friends.
Pick-up football games at the park with friends.
Avacado and orange fights in the rain with friends in open orchards.
Building and defending tree houses.
Hiking through the water systems under LA (stupid, as it turns out, but fun!).
Talks about the meaning of life late into the night with good friends.
Discovering Sci-fi, literature, philosophy, and theology.
Wrestling and swimming in HS.
The lifelong friendship of brothers and sisters who are great people that I love and admire.

I'm 47 and have weekly email and phone conversations with HS friends. Will your trivial postings on temporary sites about cornflakes develop into lifelong friendships? Maybe. But it seems far too shallow a basis on which to build a real life or real relationships. Did I do a lot of trivial stuff as a kid? Yes. I just hope that what you've put out here is only a PART of yourself and does not reflect the depth and scope of the life you are building.

Read Bradbury, first hand, with an open mind and heart, and you may find that life is more than vacuous postings about nothing. It is quite true that Seinfeld created a show about nothing; but the writing was full of genuine wit and originality.

Be well.


[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-28-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-28-2002).]

Bravo, Mr. Dark!

Sitting on a cornflake...okay, definitely not the Beatles here. Here, it seems, cornflakes represent the lowest common denominator. It's like the portrayal of television in "Fahrenheit 451"--it could be used to entertain and enlighten, but all too often is used to reinforce the lowest common denominator and keep as many as possible of the masses down to that level. I can sympathize with Mr. Dark not wanting to see the message board go the way of soggy cereal--down the drain.

So why do we gravitate toward the lowest common denominator?

In F451 the focus on the lowest common denominator (represented, as Dandelion points out, by television), is a kind of unspoken collusion between government (who wanted censorship to control the masses) and the individuals (who didn't want to investigate life's issues because it involved real commitment, work and responsibility).

At some level, several characters in F451 do not require government censorship in order to limit their own grasp of real life. Laziness, fear, ignorance, complacency . . . these all play a role in living a life that is shallow, other-defined, and meaningless. Montag is not a bad guy, but it takes a Clarisse and a willingness to begin thinking and taking responsibility for his own life, to get him to get escape from his own limited life experiences.

There are helpers out there, but a person would have to be "open" to them in order to benefit from what they have to offer. For me, there were several factors. Parents who were readers. A friend who talked me into reading F451. And the power of Bradbury's writing to make me realize that ideas mattered.




[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-29-2002).]

Mr. Dark u say dat u hav a life but look @ all da essays and crap dat u write dat must tk ages! du actually hav a life apart from Ray?

Obviously, you didn't read my above "essays" with any kind of comprehension. I have had a great life and continue to have a life that involves both intellectual, social and physical activities that provide meaning to both my friends, my family and myself. I sincerely hope that someday you can say the same thing.

I'm definitely not going to apologize for my love of Bradbury and other great writers. If you're hoping to suggest that my focus on a "life of the mind" somehow repesents a shallow life, you will be dissappointed to know that it has added great value to my life.

I don't know how old you are, but in High School I was reading the great literary figures and philosophical masters, and I include Ray Bradbury's works among them. It was the late sixties and we studied philosophies, religions, political systems, psychology, etc., and engaged in interesting and challenging debates over them. We read widely and thought about a lot of stuff. I'll admit some of it was self-indulgent and naive; but at least it was meaningful.

When you look back at your adolescence, what will you remember? Are the postings you leave here the peak of your life?

On a final note: Since writing comes easily to me, it does not take ages for me to do these postings. All I can say is that when I do them, at least they are not gibberish.



[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 10-08-2002).]