Ooh, and there’s a film of The Dark is Rising in post-production. I wonder what it’ll be like? And I guess that means the books will be re-issued.

As a sign of how strange my life is sometimes, I present a list of the parcels on my desk when I got into the office on Monday:
a top from Lochers
a copy of the Newsletter of the * Research Society that had a paper I’d written in it
Susan Hill’s “The Dark is Rising” (a nostalgia kick hit me at the same time I was browsing Green Metropolis and I’m curious to see how I’d read it now I’ve been to places like Wales)
Shirley Hazzard’s “The Great Fire”.

An old but still amusing story: Rolf escapes accordion blaze.

I must be soppy because I was really touched by this: ‘I have never been better loved‘.

I have been greatly cheered by the fact that the building opposite contains the offices for ‘Beaver Management Services’.
Also, David Brent said hello to me.

I’m not sure I agree with the conclusion but it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I think the key word is ‘identities’ – it’s not ‘identity’. How do we manage our multiple identities when the barriers that kept them apart – the separation of work and home life, the discretion of friends who might meet family, the discretion of family who might meet friends – are falling? I have a ‘real name’ and an online name – a queer identity, and a neutral one (though it’s not hard to guess when you meet me, it’s not the first thing I want you to know about me if I’m presenting a conference paper) – a trashy side and a respectable one. I don’t want them all present for all people. But is that a 20th century idea? I could maintain two identities – a professional and a personal one, but that seems dishonest. But on the other hand, I can be a deeply private person and don’t fancy letting go of that.
Finding myself through online identities
“…the nature of my engagement with the online world is changing in a very significant way.
Until now my online presence has been carefully managed and controlled, and although you can find out anything you care to ask about my views, politics, lack of religious belief and opinions on technology and the internet the persona that emerges from the last twenty years of online activity keep as much hidden as it reveals.
I rarely talk about my personal life, and reveal few details of my family or close relationships.
…
With my calendar, my location, my friendships and my opinions all online to be read and remembered, there’s little of me left to expose.
…
Those of us living in the west, with cheap easy access to computers and the internet and a sophisticated technological infrastructure surrounding us, are increasingly living our lives online.
This is no more frightening than any other vast social change, but it will be resisted by many who see in the loss of privacy something threatening, who believe it is dangerous or dehumanising or somehow against nature.
But we should never forget that we make human nature, it is not given to us, and we can therefore remake it.
Our modern conception of privacy and of the nature of the individual is a product of the industrial age that is now passing, so it should not surprise us that we are finding new ways of constructing an identity online. ”

Oh, and the cleaner told me off for daring to try and use the toilet at the start of the lunch break.
She challenged me, “what do you want to do?” and I really meekly said, “use the toilet?” and she told me to bugger off.
Oh, and there’s a guy who looks like David Brent. Deadset.
I can’t access most of my email so feel free to leave comments to amuse, abuse or annoy me further.

I know it does, but why does it matter? I like this:
“By dealing with art we are forced to plounge profoundly into depth. All art of importance is born here, in the depths of slow, careful and conscious thinking, where we again and again attempt to approach the essence of our existence. In these realms bullshit and fakery is left behind. Art matters.
Art versus entertainment, is gaining insight, versus seeking experiences. The one does not necessarily exclude the other, and sometimes they even mingle.
…
A society which does not accept nor enable its artists and thinkers to be a counterpoint to all its bullshit and bullshiting is, I would say, a poor, unhealthy and vulnerable society. It is an uninterested and, thus, uninteresting society because it is self-satisfied and self-contained. When a society starts to ignore its own intellectuals it is a serious sign of possible decay.
…
Therefore, art is opposition and art is criticism, art serves as our mental digestive system.”

And speaking of women, wtf?
“British TV standards are deteriorating because the BBC is “run by women”, astronomer Sir Patrick Moore has said.” BBC

Does your e-mail make you sad?
“An e-mail has a way of making us impetuous. As S&S say, “It actually eggs us on. On e-mail, people aren’t quite themselves: they are angrier, less sympathetic, less aware. … E-mail has a tendency to encourage the lesser angels of our nature.”
…
Men and women seem to express themselves differently in email. According to Deborah Tannen, the Georgetown University linguist, women look for a personal element in any communication and expect a pleasantry or two before getting to the matter at hand. Men may use aggressive language because they find it funny. Women, not amused, can be offended. Men think teasing is funny. Women don’t. Men can get in trouble when using the style that comes naturally to them.”
I’m always interested in how online communications can be affected by seemingy unrelated things. I’m pretty sure I’ve startled, possibly even offended, people who expect me to use all the ‘womanly’ softeners and general fluffiness that can precede a request or statement, but if I’m in the middle of a long or on-going email conversation I’d rather skip all that.