Dale Peck on Rick Moody’s The Black Veil
Comments: 6
Let’s face it; everybody loves a good hatchet job. It seems like every summer we get a good dust-up (must be the heat) and this year it’s Dale Peck slapping around Rick Moody.
Ignore the obvious throwaway opening paragraph – Rick Moody is the worst writer of his generation. – and keep reading for a couple of quite funny moments of pure spleen. Not a great review by any means (Salon has a story on reactions to it), but good for a chuckle. Now doubt it will all be forgotten in a week or two.
The Moody Blues
Dale Peck, The New RepublicStop reading here if you are looking for a calm dissection of the work of Hiram Frederick Moody III. At this point, the use of the diminutive “Rick” is about the only wise decision that I am willing to give him credit for. The plain truth is that I have stared at pages and pages of Moody’s prose and they remain as meaningless to me as the Korean characters that paper the wall of a local restaurant. Actually, the comparison is not particularly apt, because I know that the Korean writing means something, but I am not convinced that Moody’s books are about anything at all.
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Posted to Books • 2002.07.24 (Wed) • 23:45
Comments
Posted by zork.. 2002.07.30, 17:44
say again…fuck microsoft..The Satan Of Computing
Posted by Steve 2002.08.01, 08:45
As we all know, intellectual property is more than just Hollywierd…it’s yours and mine, and should one of us choose to develop our own software, put out our own cd, movie, or whatever, then it’s WE that would be concerned, so let’s not be cavaleer about individual rights, but rather, join in agreement that something must be done to protect it, but at the same time, also ackowledge Micro$oft’s legacy of nararious and monopolistic business practices. Me thinks that better than allowing the treacherous M.$. to become our keeper, why not, instead, encourage enterprising developers to create their OWN anti-piracy software, which would enable a NEW company to be born? My guess is that M.$. wants it all for themselves, and their famous (infamous?) nemesis Intel, and this is a ploy on the part of M.$. and Intel to garner all the proceedings. Again, it’s in my personal belief that it would be far better for all of us, that a COMPLETELY INDEPENDANT DEVELOPER CREATE THIS VITALLY NEEDED SOFTWARE. The very last thing that any of us should want, is for M.$. to achieve it’s final grab, and seize the Internet for their own, meaning that they, Micro$oft, and they alone, along with Intel, can set prices, conditions, and so forth, which is a road that we had not go down. I don’t trust M.$. to do the right thing, given what I’ve learned about them, and that many fine individuals have warned us about. No less that Ralph Nader has produced scathing comments about the greedy M.$….and I’ll take Mr. Nader’s word over Bill Gates’ any old time. Good Day, Steve
Posted by Steve 2002.08.01, 19:51
Well, I was thinking…something that I’m known for doin’ ev’ry so often, and I’ll reassert that I’m in full agreement with Bill Gates’ stand on copyrights, as my previous posting clearly states, and it seems to me that Mr. Gates stole Apple’s then-current O.S., right, so shouldn’t Bill do the honourable thing by returning Apple’s property? What Mr. Jobs can do, is award Windows to those fine and honest gals at Endrun….lol that’s Enron, as those Lady Execs have demonstrated to my satisfaction that they possess the kind of character and ethical fortitude required to handle Palladium, so that it won’t become another parasitic Micro$oft venture…just a thought! Best Wishes, Steve
Posted by jh 2002.08.01, 23:11
Hi, Steve.
I ought to say that I’m completely in favour of intellectual property protection and, in principle, DRM. I’ve had work my work (photographs and writing) ripped off a number of times both here and in Australia and I can tell you that it really sucks.
What scares me about Palladium is the potential it has to allow Miccrosoft — an illegal monopolist convicted on appeal — to further monopolise it’s platform. The possibility of it acting as gatekeeper for all kinds of software and services in addition to ‘intellectual property’ also gives me the heebie jeebies in a big way.
Posted by Steve 2002.08.02, 07:06
Jh, there’s no question about the fact that, in order for media producers to to maintain their rights, DRM must be enforcable. Right of this moment, the only outfit that’s both willing and capable is Micro$oft, which is like the fox guarding the chicken coop ( remember, that this is very same M.$. that literally STOLE Apple’s original Macintosh O.S., from which Windows was fashioned, and also the same M.$. that has coerced numerous other companies in order to gain leverage, so somehow, M.$. is NOT a worthy candidate for the honours! If I had my way, M.$. would have to return Windows to it’s rightful owners, Apple Computers, and then Apple would preside over Palladium, which would be just fine and dandy to me, as the essence of Palladium isn’t bad at all, but in the greedy controll of M.$., it will become a nightmare, owing to what we know of M.$.’s legacy in regards to business ethics, so let me reassert this, and Bill Gates, if you’re reading this, GIVE WINDOWS BACK TO APPLE! As a ‘Maccie’, I recieve the rind, while Windows users get the freakin’ watermelon, so Apple, who has lost countless bucks because of their pirated O.S. knows better than most the loss suffered by by companies that have their rightfull property stolen, but not only that, but also Apple knows the evil of Micro$oft, and as far as I’m concerned, Apple, and not Micro$oft should preside over DRM, cuz Apple has been a major victim all along. C’mon, Steve Jobs, please relent, and take over the helm…otherwise, the guys that took that O.S. that you at Apple spent so much time devising will do it…that’s it, jh, the solution is for Apple to join the fray; it’s either that, or M.$. will go through with their plans, and the small guy/gal won’t recieve much, cuz in the collective mind of M.$., taking eveything in everyway possible is a policy, so that will mean that folks such as you won’t recieve much return on your efforts, as M.$. will garner virtually everything, leaving you a mere pittance. That’s the bottom line: ALL FOR MICRO$OFT…LITTLE THE SMALL GUY/GAL….JUST COGS IN THE GREAT MICROWHEEL. :-( Warm Wishes, Steve
Posted by Steve 2002.08.04, 17:06
I’m going to propose an idea, and I’m cetain that on first glance, it’ll seem crazy, which is par for my course, but let’s say that we create a parallel Inter- net, consisting of Palladium, occupying one half, and then Mac/Linux in the other, and having the means to pass between both. Perhaps Macs/Linux will be equipped with ‘fritz chips’ to enable their journey into M.$.Land, and, conversely, Windows will be able to disable their ‘fritzes’ when joining MacLinuxville, resulting in the option to engage in either the free and open-source world that some favour, or conforming to the other…this way, folk can participate in the Internet as they please. As we all know, there are both software creators that enjoy not only sharing their accomplishments, but also welcome others to embellish opon them, and yet others that prefer a ‘hands-off’ approach. Bottom line is that we must have interpersonal respect on the Web, and value the wishes of those that choose to make their wares available. Now I’m sure that I’ve come up with the zaniest sol- ution, but it may be worth some consideration. One thing that I DON’T want, and that’s for Micro$oft to take over, and rule ev’rything, as I’m certain that they intend to. Also, I want to rant here for a moment, ( Bitch and Moan Time for Steve) about the fact that M.$.stole Apple’s Macintosh O.S., and yet M.$. has become the de facto system. Do any of you know that Mac folks are continually marginalized, as in not being able to gain support for goodies such as Pal Talk, or ANY ‘voice’ with Yahoo, be it chat, Messenger, or P.C.- To-Phone…like ev’rytime I, or someone else wants to make a phone call, I have to either shut down, or go into ‘sleep’ mode, and then reboot to get back onto the Web? Well, it’s a real drag, and these ridiculous and hurtfull limitations just go on and on and *in’ on, and it aint fair.*, M.$. stole OUR O.S. Is it right that the users of the REAL Mac O.S. have to defer to the ripped-off version? Thanx for indulging me. Warm Wishes, Steve
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