Liar, liar, pants on fire!

Book snobbery in BritainTuesday 23 January 2007
A third of British adults have lied about reading a book to appear more intelligent according to a new survey.
A cunning 33 per cent of adults have confessed to reading challenging literature to appear well-read, when in fact they haven’t a clue what the book is about.
But 40 per cent of people said they lied about reading certain books just so they could join in with conversation.
One in ten men said they would fib about reading a certain book to impress the opposite sex according to the poll of over 4000 bookworms conducted by the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council (MLA).
Most people expand on their literary repertoire to impress a new date, 15 per cent have lied about the books they have read to a new colleague and five per cent have told porkies about their reading habits to their employer.
The younger generation is out to impress the most – with more than half of 19 – 21 year olds expanding the truth about the books they read.
But they are also most likely to get caught out – with one in ten 19 – 21 year olds tripping up when quizzed about a book they lied about reading.
But the book we all lie about reading is the bestselling Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien.
The epic trilogy took 11 years to complete and 14 per cent of those who started the book with good intentions never managed to finish it.
John Dolan, Head of Library Policy at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council said: ”It’s fascinating to see that so many people are trying to impress others with the books they haven’t actually read.
‘’Talking about books and literature is an obvious conversation starter and certain authors and titles often get strangers chatting. Some titles do have a certain kudos and it’s often nice to drop into conversation our knowledge of well-known writers and books.’’
‘’For those wanting to expand their knowledge, libraries offer lots of different ways to engage with books. You can listen to the audio book or explore titles and authors online. Many libraries offer reading recommendations, run author events and other activities, and most have a cosy relaxation area perfect for catching up with the classics. Or you could join a reading group and discover new books in the company of others. Libraries make it easy to read those books you’ve always meant to get around to reading.’’
One in twenty men who took part in the poll said they would lie about reading Harry Potter to give the illusion they’re in touch with the latest trends.
And almost half of respondents said that reading classic titles like Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice makes you appear more intelligent.
Top ten books we lie about reading
1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien2. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy3. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 4. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – John Gray5. 1984 – George Orwell6. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone – J.K Rowling7. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens8. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte9. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown10. Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank
Ends
Notes to Editors
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and the nine regional agencies work in partnership to provide strategic direction and leadership for museums, libraries and archives across England. Together we work to improve people’s lives by building knowledge, supporting learning, inspiring creativity and celebrating identity. The Partnership acts collectively for the benefit of the sector and the public, leading the transformation of museums, libraries and archives for the future. Visit: www.mla.gov.uk

Thing 8

SomeTHING under the bed is drooling and someTHING in the closet is trying to get out. After struggling with Thing 8, I am imaginging little wiggling wild THINGS with numbers on their T-shirts. Thing 8 was a devil, so I hope that it really was the worst of the 23. Let's move on.

On Technology or why I love radio on Sunday nights

I look forward to Sunday evenings. Whenever I’m at home I listen to old time radio on WAMU. I am transported to the first half of the twentieth century—Johnny Diamond, better than Guy Noir, Joe Friday on the streets of LA and Marshall Dillon enlivened by Robert Conrad. A few weeks ago, some friends from out of town visited. Since it was a Sunday and they were house sitting near by, I suggested that they might like listening to 88.5FM. When I explained about the old radio programs they told me that they’d installed one of the new subscription radio services in their car and home, so they can listen to these programs all day long, any day of the week.

I suppose that some people see this as a great thing—it means that my friends can have what they want at the moment they want it. Isn’t that an underlying motif of most consumer technology? There seems to be a general belief in the life improving qualities of having our own way, now. The most plugged in people I see do not have smiles on their faces. So, what is it that we need? I think it’s the week long anticipation of hearing a voice roll out the words “Hi ho, Silver, away.”

RetrievR-Sounds like a big yellow dog!

I've been intrigued by RetrieveR. I made a few scribbles and now I'm trying a systematic approach to determine how this tool works. This is the one in which you can draw a little something and similar images from Flicker will be found. Obviously color is the first filter, but after that, what's going on? With apologies to Albers, Rothko and Newman, I colored the bottom half of the rectangle hot pink and then switched the composition-pink on top and white on the bottom. Next I colored a flamingo square in the middle of a white ground and again, I reversed it. Finally I used black to draw on top of the colored areas. From my "research" there are three filters or indexes--color, placement and shape which includes line.

Some retrieved images leave the viewer wondering, "Why in the world..." With other retrieved images it's possible to see that placement matters. They contain an area on the side or top or bottom that matches the drawn image. The addition of lines on top of the colored areas appears to read more as a change of color and as a shape in the retrieved photographs. I am left wondering whether there is a strict order in which the attributes of the drawn image are evaluated or if the sequence of evaluation changes. I question, too, whether the images are evaluated from a few select spots or from the entire image. A fairly amusing half hour, although, I can't yet envision a use for this tool.

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SIX
Originally uploaded by helen.2007.

Fantastic photo-wish it were mine. Apparently, some folks play "where is it?" with their photos.