13 October 2015
This book is better than any other zombie story because it gives you the bigger picture while still being able to enjoy highly personal stories. In other zombie stories, we follow one or a small group of people around a single area. There may be news or radio broadcasts mentioned or in the background, but never so many fascinating stories and takes on the problem. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the zombie thing.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations - Craig Nelson
8 October 2015
As I have come to notice, many of the people who are now famous as artists, great thinkers and patriots, in their own lifetime, were treated like crap. I believe the case of Thomas Paine may be the best example of this. (I'm excluding Aaron Burr because his story is simply too crazy.) Thomas Paine is often single-handedly cited as the reason the American Revolution was able to gain the necessary momentum needed from the common people. He convinced the nation to sacrifice its short-term happiness for long-term gain. His pamphlets are required reading for high school students. Yet, during his own life, he struggled endlessly with debt.
The early part of his financial woes was his own fault. He was, as seems to be very common, a horrible businessman. But after his famous publications, he thought he deserved some compensation, and I must agree. Another fascinating thing was that during this time, there was no such thing as copyright laws in the US. It was something the English were big on, and consequently, the Americans abhorred the idea. Writers hoped for a good deal from publishers, but most money was kept by the publisher and once a manuscript was in the publisher's hands, they could do with it whatever they pleased while the author had no power. This seems extreme to me and I do approve of keeping artistic power in the hands of the creator. I believe artists should be compensated for their work. I do not believe that their venue, platform, or distributors should get most of the money (I'm specifically thinking of record labels needing to die).
On to more crazy things, Mr. Paine was in France during the insanity that was the French Revolution. Shortly after the French royal family tried to run away but was caught and returned to the palace in Paris, there was a mass gathering outside the building. Thomas Paine was watching the spectacle when a layman from the crowd noticed he didn't have his tricolour cockade, the symbol of the revolution. The French mob then tried to lynch Thomas Paine from a street lamp until someone who recognized him yelled out who he was, and that he was, by proxy, the father of the French Revolution. The French had lost their minds so much that they nearly killed the man famous for the best writings to support their cause.
As I have come to notice, many of the people who are now famous as artists, great thinkers and patriots, in their own lifetime, were treated like crap. I believe the case of Thomas Paine may be the best example of this. (I'm excluding Aaron Burr because his story is simply too crazy.) Thomas Paine is often single-handedly cited as the reason the American Revolution was able to gain the necessary momentum needed from the common people. He convinced the nation to sacrifice its short-term happiness for long-term gain. His pamphlets are required reading for high school students. Yet, during his own life, he struggled endlessly with debt.
The early part of his financial woes was his own fault. He was, as seems to be very common, a horrible businessman. But after his famous publications, he thought he deserved some compensation, and I must agree. Another fascinating thing was that during this time, there was no such thing as copyright laws in the US. It was something the English were big on, and consequently, the Americans abhorred the idea. Writers hoped for a good deal from publishers, but most money was kept by the publisher and once a manuscript was in the publisher's hands, they could do with it whatever they pleased while the author had no power. This seems extreme to me and I do approve of keeping artistic power in the hands of the creator. I believe artists should be compensated for their work. I do not believe that their venue, platform, or distributors should get most of the money (I'm specifically thinking of record labels needing to die).
On to more crazy things, Mr. Paine was in France during the insanity that was the French Revolution. Shortly after the French royal family tried to run away but was caught and returned to the palace in Paris, there was a mass gathering outside the building. Thomas Paine was watching the spectacle when a layman from the crowd noticed he didn't have his tricolour cockade, the symbol of the revolution. The French mob then tried to lynch Thomas Paine from a street lamp until someone who recognized him yelled out who he was, and that he was, by proxy, the father of the French Revolution. The French had lost their minds so much that they nearly killed the man famous for the best writings to support their cause.
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