Constantly Connected

[Guest.Visitor]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Dave, Authors have been borrowing, re-writing and updating tales from predecessors for hundreds if not thousands of years. What are the origins of the dramatic productions "West Side Story", "Kiss Me Kate" (Shakespeare), famous TV episodes "The Trouble with Tribbles" (Robert A. Heinlein) or dozens of other "new" ideas or concepts. For that matter any software developer worth her/his salt should "borrow" code wherever possible and ethical rather than reinvent the wheel. Bringing the concepts up to date, as Joel has done, to make a point is no different. IMO Joel makes the important point that our society is changing because of the constant need of many individuals to fell connected. When it reaches the time when bosses, significant others or even casual acquaintances believe the have the right to intrude into other peoples lives to such a large degree we have demeaned the individuals to the point of treating them as property. At that point we are regressing to the level of near slavery (to our machines, anyone with our contact info or worse our government). It's easy to see how his article got "dark".

[bharder@nlrha.ab.ca]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
"Good artists borrow. Great artists steal". My understanding is that this is a direct quote from Pablo Picasso. The strange thing is that I'm not really sure what he meant by this. To me, it doesn't stand up to literal interpretation. No great artist would literally copy a prior work and represent it as their own. Therefore I prefer to interpret the remark metaphorically. I think he meant that great artists regularly use ideas contained in prior art and don't apologize for it. A sophisticated understanding of art acknowledges that most works are influenced by earlier works and may contain direct references. Great art is not diminished by the fact that it lifts ideas from others. At any rate, it's a great quote. I like the sly implications.

[Guest.Visitor]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Joel, No, as I recall, it was Ma Bell who was suppose to be implanting telephone devices. At the time I thought that our heads would have to be much larger to fit the phones in. And, what about the constant ringing? Talk about ringing in your ears! The film is actually a comedy farce with James Coburn. It's been described as James Bond meets Dr. Strangelove with dry comic wit and satire. He also starred in James Bond-like farces (isn't that redundant?) as Derek Flint in Our Man Flint and In Like Flint. The President's Analyst is very much like those movies. It even has 60's singer Barry McGuire (Eve of Destruction) as a member of a 60's rock band. All together now: "The eastern world, it is exlodin'..." Tom.

[Guest.Visitor]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
I was more a fan of Gene Roddenberry than Star Trek itself. Per Gene, there was a difference between Science Fiction and Science Fantasy. He used Sci-fi to express himself and say things he would not be allowed to say showing a normal world and normal times. None of Star Trek's characters, places, and events were original. They all repesented some part of our world. The species were part one of our race and part animal/insect. Vulcans are Budh-Shinto Japanese, Klingons Ghenghezkhani Mongols, Romulans Soviet era Russians, Cardassians as Sicilian Mafia chiefs. The same way Borg were politically like Spanish Inquisitors assimilating cultures and civilizations but were connected each other like ants. I dont know if you remember episodes like "Outcast" (problems of gay people shown in a world where all people were of one sex), "Hunted" (problems of Vietnam Vets showing a world where ex-soldiers are hunted down) and "Drumhead Trial" (civil rights violations in the name of security).

[Guest.Visitor]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Per Gene's lobby, Gene wanted to get away from Westerns to express himself better but found Bill taking over the stories and direction creating a space western where there would be a cowboy and his sidekicks, no team work! Kirk went on to spread his seeds all over the universe killing everyone he did not like (mostly machines). Something contrary to what Gene had in his mind. Bill did not tolerate the spotlight being anywhere but on him. For this reason we see a sharp contrast between TOS and TNG. In TNG Gene got rid of all TOS people and gave one episode each to Deforest, Leonard, and James Doohan (but none to Bill). I apologize if you are a TOS fan as TNG fans like me tend to offend the TOS fans.

[J.Klebanoff]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
For the record, I have heard of the movie "The President's Analyst", but I don't recall having seen it. I turned 13 near the end of 1965, so I doubt that I saw it when it first came out. I might have seen it on television since then, but I don't have any recollection of having done so. Therefore, while I would like to claim to be following the great artistic tradition of building on those who have come before you, I can't honestly say that's what I've done here. I do appreciate that some people think that my tirade columns can be talked about as art. I certainly want people to enjoy them, but I really don't take them that seriously. I just hope people will find them fun. Someone sent me a personal e-mail to say that my premise was not original because the members of the Borg race in Star Trek Next Generation were constantly connected. I was a Star Trek Next Generation fan, but I can honestly say that the Borg did not consciously enter my head when I wrote the column. The Borg did not occur to me until I received the e-mail from the reader this morning. I started writing this tirade probably more than two or three months ago. It then had a completely different and much more boring beginning. With that other beginning I wasn't able to carry the tirade forward for more than three or four paragraphs so I gave up on it and didn't open the file for a few weeks. Then, I think it was in the shower, although that's way more information than you need, the idea for this opening sprang into my head from no identifiable source. We are all influenced (victimized?) by our past experiences, so there probably was some source that the idea sprang from, but it wasn't a conscious one. If my ideas follow from someone else's work (usually a newspaper or magazine article) I do my best to identify the source. If I had been conscious of the source of this tirade's opening I would have given credit where credit is due, but I can honestly say that I was not aware of having been influenced by any other work in writing it.

[J.Klebanoff]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Dave, I'm now convinced that I didn't see the movie because the plot doesn't ring a bell and it sounds like one I would remember. Although I'm not a conspiracy theorist (he said foreshadowing next week's tirade), a movie about The Phone Company (I suspect from your use of quotes that it's not really the phone company, but please don't spoil if for me by confirming or denying my suspicion) is one that I'd enjoy. I guess I'll have to rent it one day.

[J.Klebanoff]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Mike said, <blockquote><tt>Why not add a "Forbidden Planet" twist into your novel as well. </tt></blockquote> I never saw Forbidden Planet, it sounds like a good idea. However, expectations may be a little higher than is warranted. My article said I had an idea for a short story, not a novel. And even that was a little white lie. I just used it as what was, in the context of my tirades, a novel (novel meaning different from what I've done before, not novel meaning a book of fiction) device for opening the tirade. In truth, I didn't really intend to write the short story. Then again, in addition to Mike's suggestion, I've also received a personal email that provided another good and creative idea to add to the story. Hopefully others will let their creative juices flow and add story line ideas to this forum. If so, maybe I will try to spin it out into a novel. However, I'm not sure that any publisher would want to pay to print all of the acknowledgment pages that would be necessary to give credit where credit is due.

[M.Savino]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Joel, Why not add a "Forbidden Planet" twist into your novel as well. Remember that one ?? Leslie Nielson with Black Hair and the debut of Robbie the Robot. Chances are that most of the Male population would never get the chance to be spammed-to-death. Once our wives or girlfreinds started receiving a few of the subliminal messages we've been sending our whole lives, there probably wouldn't be many of us left. Want proof that females are the most dangerous of the species ?? Picture the scene with a middle-aged couple on a crowded beach on a Holiday weekend. Husband sees a pretty girl in thong bikini, the Id goes into overdrive, Wife intercepts, relays message to every other 50-something year old woman on the beach. Gruesome..... It would make "Saving Private Ryan" look like a Disney flick. Mike

[MCWebsite.Staff]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
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[David Abramowitz]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Joel, If you're going to have an idea for a science fiction story it should be original. Check out the premise of the 1965 comedy "The President's Analyst." Your idea is about 40 years too late. Dave

[David Abramowitz]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Joel Wrote: <u>I</u> have an idea for a science fiction short story . You may be right, in that there is nothing or at least very little coming out of Hollywood these days that is not based on something else. I have no idea if Joel was familiar with <u>The President's Analyst</u> but Joel's idea expressed far more than a simple similarity. In most cases a remake is labeled a remake, a sequel is branded a sequel, and more often than not in our litigious society, a "based upon" credit will be stated in the small print. OTOH if Joel was familiar with the movie, he has very good taste. Dave

[David Abramowitz]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
Joel, The premise of "The President's Analyst" (which you don't discover until half way through the movie) is that "The Phone Company" is covertly trying to implant a device into the brains of the entire population that will allow an individual to reach another merely by thinking. By doing this, "The Phone Company" will control the thoughts of everybody and rule the world! For those familiar with the movie: Dizzy Gillespie for President! Dave

[David Abramowitz]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
This is most interesting commentary, and for the most part right on the mark. Roddenberry originally made his mark producing Westerns. According to several bios, Roddenberry originally conceived Star Trek as a Western in space. DeForest Kelley (a Roddenberry favorite) played second or bit characters in many westerns prior to Star Trek; some produced by Roddenberry. Dave

[David Abramowitz]

** This thread discusses the article: Constantly Connected (http://www.mcpressonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1990) **
No offense taken. I enjoyed both series. I have a different take on the failure of "Enterprise". IMO - mediocre writing, and a lack of a sense of humor. I generally enjoy science fiction, particularly when there is a good story. I can do without the gross out gore of many movies that simply use sci-fi as a backdrop. Side note: I used to perform with the "New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players" and participated in fund railsing events. A few of these occasions were attended by Isaac Asimov who (in addition to everything else) was a Gilbert and Sullivan afficianado. A marvelously humble man, he will surely be missed. Dave