Hello, Bob;

26 Sep 04 11:33, Bob Lawrence wrote to Robert Bull:

 BL>  I have no problem with creating problems of Physics (to me that's
 BL> the whole point of SF), or other people with conflicting goals working
 BL> in opposition, or creating "coincidences" and
"mistakes". My problem
 BL> is characters who intentionally get into trouble, out of character..
 BL> in ordfer to create conflict. The conflict I prefer is unavoidable
 BL> (or perhaps avoidable 100 pages back). To me, thats the *right* way to
 BL> do it, and many authors do it right.

But how well do -you- know the characters to start with?  I mean, they 
might be accident-prone, this is the first time you've met them and seen 
it.  BTW, I once heard that Neil "One small step..." Armstrong was a bit 
accident-prone, his strong suite was coping with the problem and walking 
away.

 BL> boss. In that situation the only way to succeed is to do nothing much,
 BL> and shift responsibility upwards while attempting to collect more
 BL> people under *your* control. They used to plot takeovers!

Hence certain British comedies like The Men from the Ministry and Yes, 
Minister...

 BL> the only hit I've had was Nix and Meiville! I like weird (what else is
 BL> SF?), so long as it is well written.

If you get a chance, look up The Alien Online Web site
http://www.thealienonline.net/
which mentions British New Weird.

 RB>> Hmmm... sounds a bit strong for me. Have you read the "Ripley"
 RB>> books? Is there some similarity?

 BL>  Ahh... (I just worked out what you meant). Chopper is further out

Sorry, couldn't remember the author at the time.  Patricia Highsmith?  
(only just come to me).

 BL> Who ever came away from Carmen feeling totally stuffed, drunk and
 BL> disappoionted, when your team lost? Or elated that the bull won?
 BL> Everone needs a team, to feel despair and elation. Calssical music
 BL> just doesn't cut it, and Elton John doesn't even come close.

I have actually been in a bar in Spain where the guys were cheering for teh 
bull because the matador was so bad...

 BL>  Rubbish! Muisic is like Chess - there are billions of possible
 BL> tunes. Actually, my main objection to classical is the lack of poetry

But not all of them grab people.

 BL> that popular mucic provides. Fro some reason I have never understood,
 BL> the poeple who *love* classical, or poetry, never realise that the two

Some people think music should't stray too far from dance, which sounds odd 
to me as I'm dance-challenged.

 BL> together (words and music) can be a hundred-times more evocative. To

You should love opera  :-))  Oh, well, The Who's TOMMY, anyway, or that 
giant King Arthur thing Rick Wakeman and co. did.

 BL> me, Elton John's SORRY beats the hell out of Beethoven's da, da, da
 BL> daaaa... etc.

The first bit of Beethoven's Fifth  was a good call-sign for the BBC during 
the war.  Come to think of it, odd to use an Austro-German composer.

 BL>  But on the other hand, how much influence does the USSR have
 BL> today? Does zero sound about right?

They still have nukes, and that's worrying.

 BL> Beetle, and *he* wrote YESTERDAY.

 BL>  Hms.. yesterday, all my troubles were so far away... pure poetry!

Someone just suggested we might discuss something on topic.  As a sop to 
such a radical notion, Tim Powers has the time travellers in his 
masterpiece THE ANUBIS GATES whistling "Yesterday" as a call-sign on the 
streets of 18th century London...

 BL> in it. Sculthorpe? He's gotta be kidding. How about Elvis Thorpedo?

Well...  Elvis Costello is already taken...

 BL> PS: Excuse my flippancy. I'm trying a new wine, Verdelho, and it's
 BL> very nice...

Isn't that originally the "green" stuff from Portugal?

BTW, just finished Sarah Ash's PRISONER OF THE IRONSEA TOWER, vol. 2 of the 
current trilogy - excellent.  On her Web site she notes the music she was 
listening to at the time, all of it classical, much of it so obscure that 
I'd never heard of it.  Charles de Lint put something similar in one of his 
books, but in his case it was mostly folk, which sounds about right for 
fantasy based on traditional myths and legends.

     Regards,

              Robert.

CBIP:  GOING POSTAL  by  Terry Pratchett.
     "Good morning, sir.  My name is Daniel "One-Drop"
Trooper, and I am 
     your executioner for today."

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