Feb 19, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
When I read this story in the Daily Sceptic today my mind immediately jumped to 1984!! How weak minded do you have to be to be mortally hurt by words in a book???? A children’s book at that!!!!! I feel sorry for kids - life is going to be painful with these woke bed wetters in charge!!!
Feb 19, 2023·edited Feb 19, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
Buy old books, buy old cars, buy brick Nokia phones. Use pirated versions of old software to circumvent always-online DRM (you will own nothing and be happy already exists for Adobe products).
Yeah, screw this. I'm going to live in the woods and be that crazy angry guy who shouts at the sun every day.
Feb 19, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
You know, funny thing. I've been reading British authors for most of my life, and some of my absolute top faves occasionally make an egregiously snide or nasty reference to Jews, and I'll feel a moment's irritation that sometimes even people we really like can be absolute wretched morons about something or other, and I've never felt the need to either fling myself sobbing on my couch of pain or to set off all the smoke detectors by frying a paperback in revenge.
Dahl--quite the all-around schmuck, in every possible way, and the only book of his that ever moved me was his autobiography, and thinking of that little kid in that boarding school, turning his face, at night, towards home--you forgive a lot in the adult creature when you understand its childhood. The crushed and damaged parts weren't fixable, and there's a savage ugliness in his work that might make a healthier person recoil in pretty profound distaste.
But censorship? Withdrawing from circulation? Explanatory notes and slimy squirming apologies from the heirs? Spare us. Let us teach our kids to deal with life and people as they are; what's wise to improve on and what's not; that taking offense is one's individual reaction but not the benchmark for what is or isn't acceptable. Don't impoverish us any further; we lost too much already.
Feb 19, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
Don't throw out your books!
To me the changing of language in Roald Dahl (and all literature) is arrogant, dangerous and made entirely possible by electronic storage. It could be done within hours for the whole of English literature, with the aid of chatGPT and the control of the information highway by Google. We are (or is that "once were"?) told to believe in diverse biological ecosystems but not (it seems) diverse cultural ones. Foolhardy. They have no idea of the repercussions. This is why I am scared.
Feb 20, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
This is why I've supplied my children with real books, lots of them with hardcovers. They learned early that the "kindle" or the "cloud" means someone elses property. This Ministry of truth is truly insane.
Feb 20, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
Goes waaaaay back, this suppression of authors, books and ideas does. It's just that with digitalization it's a thousand times easier to implement...don't even have to burn books now, all you have to do is erase the words, the file, the entire offensive thing...those who control the platforms and the publishing houses can do whatever they want...and they call that freedom.
Feb 19, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
This is scary.
I’m currently reading East of Eden by Steinbeck. It’s full of words, images and concepts that would be verboten nowadays. And it’s giving me a wonderful view into how people thought and spoke at the time of its writing, even if I cringe a little when I read parts of it.
Feb 20, 2023Liked by NE - nakedemperor.substack.com
ah they are Wille-Wankers indeed with this masturbatory exercise in self-harm!!!! (an' harm to GREAT BOOKS) but they are NOT Willy Wonkas--no no no siree. Willy Wonkas are confectioners of deliciousness and nobody indeed can screw around with their PRISTINE recipe (words!) 'else they contaminate the entire batch like GLOOP (who wants gloopy in yer marvelous chocolate?). Gloop is sent down the shoot fer alterin' (contaminatin') Wonka's recipe. Much like the works of a great author, Wonka (like Dahl) would prefer someone to carry on his work unadulterated--clearly those mindin' his estate do NOT understand Charlie. Wonka chooses his ingredients carefully, so we are told. They are rare and carefully mixed (by Oompa loompas who are exotic themselves!). So Wonka's message is that we LET THE HONEST TRUE TO HIS NATURE CHILD be REWARDED for Candor (with Candy!--and lord knows the cavity-prone Dahl was a fan of sweeties....)...but the true, frank, honest (even if cheeky) child like Charlie, like Matilda....are the ones Wonka the Wonderful rewards-- NOT those who mess with his inventions. So doin' this to Dahl's perfected recipes--gives ME the willies!
Thankfully I have all my ol' hardcopies from the 1970s with all the politically incorrect illustrations to boot, much enjoyed by my own cheeky (teen/young adult) children. Ain't partin' with these--would NEVER buy anything "censored" (not for sensitivity, not fer all the tea in China--an' them censors kin stick THAT in their opium pipe n' smoke it!) Long live Dahl (an' all his deliciously devious verse!)
When I read this story in the Daily Sceptic today my mind immediately jumped to 1984!! How weak minded do you have to be to be mortally hurt by words in a book???? A children’s book at that!!!!! I feel sorry for kids - life is going to be painful with these woke bed wetters in charge!!!
Buy old books, buy old cars, buy brick Nokia phones. Use pirated versions of old software to circumvent always-online DRM (you will own nothing and be happy already exists for Adobe products).
Yeah, screw this. I'm going to live in the woods and be that crazy angry guy who shouts at the sun every day.
You know, funny thing. I've been reading British authors for most of my life, and some of my absolute top faves occasionally make an egregiously snide or nasty reference to Jews, and I'll feel a moment's irritation that sometimes even people we really like can be absolute wretched morons about something or other, and I've never felt the need to either fling myself sobbing on my couch of pain or to set off all the smoke detectors by frying a paperback in revenge.
Dahl--quite the all-around schmuck, in every possible way, and the only book of his that ever moved me was his autobiography, and thinking of that little kid in that boarding school, turning his face, at night, towards home--you forgive a lot in the adult creature when you understand its childhood. The crushed and damaged parts weren't fixable, and there's a savage ugliness in his work that might make a healthier person recoil in pretty profound distaste.
But censorship? Withdrawing from circulation? Explanatory notes and slimy squirming apologies from the heirs? Spare us. Let us teach our kids to deal with life and people as they are; what's wise to improve on and what's not; that taking offense is one's individual reaction but not the benchmark for what is or isn't acceptable. Don't impoverish us any further; we lost too much already.
Don't throw out your books!
To me the changing of language in Roald Dahl (and all literature) is arrogant, dangerous and made entirely possible by electronic storage. It could be done within hours for the whole of English literature, with the aid of chatGPT and the control of the information highway by Google. We are (or is that "once were"?) told to believe in diverse biological ecosystems but not (it seems) diverse cultural ones. Foolhardy. They have no idea of the repercussions. This is why I am scared.
What do you think?
The UK is toast...
I think I'm going to be ill 🤢
Willy wonkers in the consent factory’s. Who needs ‘em.
This is why I've supplied my children with real books, lots of them with hardcovers. They learned early that the "kindle" or the "cloud" means someone elses property. This Ministry of truth is truly insane.
It seems to me that there are a lot of people without enough meaningful work to do.
Goes waaaaay back, this suppression of authors, books and ideas does. It's just that with digitalization it's a thousand times easier to implement...don't even have to burn books now, all you have to do is erase the words, the file, the entire offensive thing...those who control the platforms and the publishing houses can do whatever they want...and they call that freedom.
This is scary.
I’m currently reading East of Eden by Steinbeck. It’s full of words, images and concepts that would be verboten nowadays. And it’s giving me a wonderful view into how people thought and spoke at the time of its writing, even if I cringe a little when I read parts of it.
Dahl was a very funny writer. Sensitivity readers? not so much. (PS I've got some uncensored copies of Noddy books if anyone is interested!)
Those fucking bastards. Nothing is sacred. I am nearly in tears. I feel like a precious piece of my childhood is being desecrated.
ah they are Wille-Wankers indeed with this masturbatory exercise in self-harm!!!! (an' harm to GREAT BOOKS) but they are NOT Willy Wonkas--no no no siree. Willy Wonkas are confectioners of deliciousness and nobody indeed can screw around with their PRISTINE recipe (words!) 'else they contaminate the entire batch like GLOOP (who wants gloopy in yer marvelous chocolate?). Gloop is sent down the shoot fer alterin' (contaminatin') Wonka's recipe. Much like the works of a great author, Wonka (like Dahl) would prefer someone to carry on his work unadulterated--clearly those mindin' his estate do NOT understand Charlie. Wonka chooses his ingredients carefully, so we are told. They are rare and carefully mixed (by Oompa loompas who are exotic themselves!). So Wonka's message is that we LET THE HONEST TRUE TO HIS NATURE CHILD be REWARDED for Candor (with Candy!--and lord knows the cavity-prone Dahl was a fan of sweeties....)...but the true, frank, honest (even if cheeky) child like Charlie, like Matilda....are the ones Wonka the Wonderful rewards-- NOT those who mess with his inventions. So doin' this to Dahl's perfected recipes--gives ME the willies!
Thankfully I have all my ol' hardcopies from the 1970s with all the politically incorrect illustrations to boot, much enjoyed by my own cheeky (teen/young adult) children. Ain't partin' with these--would NEVER buy anything "censored" (not for sensitivity, not fer all the tea in China--an' them censors kin stick THAT in their opium pipe n' smoke it!) Long live Dahl (an' all his deliciously devious verse!)
Oh my gosh, wow. 😳
If I remember right... Noam Chomsky said that when a civilization is ending one of the ways you know is the language starts disappearing.