tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post26897959853300257..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: Nightfall: Lord Byron, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Isaac Asimov, and Robert SilverbergFredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-73503212703857018712015-06-17T12:15:20.032-07:002015-06-17T12:15:20.032-07:00Sharon,
It's a small example, but who knows h...Sharon,<br /><br />It's a small example, but who knows how much was lost from the classical era of Greece and Rome when the Alexandria Library was lost, not to say anything about works from other Mediterranean cultures, as well as India and even possibly China.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-86615139164223116792015-06-17T11:47:43.729-07:002015-06-17T11:47:43.729-07:00As a matter of fact, that is what I was thinking a...As a matter of fact, that is what I was thinking about as well as other ancient civilizations.Sharon Wilfonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466621290140789056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-13181202237496228952015-06-16T17:35:09.528-07:002015-06-16T17:35:09.528-07:00Sharon,
I still read SF, but I haven't read a...Sharon,<br /><br />I still read SF, but I haven't read anything by Asimov in a long time. Now, it's usually only when an SF discussion group schedules something by him.<br /><br />I always wonder what was in the great Library in Alexandria before it was destroyed.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-4863458175229750412015-06-16T14:15:02.655-07:002015-06-16T14:15:02.655-07:00I had forgotten all about Asimov's story. I h...I had forgotten all about Asimov's story. I haven't read him in years, my interest in Science Fiction having waned, somewhat. It is fascinating to ponder how much knowledge and progress has been lost due to catastrophic circumstances and we've had to start over again.Sharon Wilfonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466621290140789056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-71797897149527653122015-06-15T06:56:31.851-07:002015-06-15T06:56:31.851-07:00R. T.,
Emerson's quotation is reassuring, but...R. T.,<br /><br />Emerson's quotation is reassuring, but I don't see that either Lord Byron's poem or Isaac Asimov's short story are positive or reassuring. Both are disturbing and frightening in their implication that what is strange can be destructive, not in itself, but through our fear of it.<br /><br />By the way, I am working on a post related to your six-pack, but I must follow the suggestion from that old chewing gum commercial: double your pleasure, double your fun. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-45551754371442205952015-06-15T06:38:42.078-07:002015-06-15T06:38:42.078-07:00Fred, your reference to my posting (now deleted be...Fred, your reference to my posting (now deleted because of my Swiss-cheese mental status) forced me to read and think again about the Byron poem. I think my earlier reaction to the poem was more positive (i.e., I found the poem reassuring), but now I react to the poem differently (i.e., I find the poem disturbing and frightening). This change in reaction has a lot to do with my unstable mind. With each passing week, I have -- I think -- a less confident grasp on realities. My memory wobbles and weakens, my cognition slips and falters, and my good sense often abandons me. But let me not be so negative about those changes. I can look at it this way instead: I will soon need only one book to read, and each rereading will be a new and different experience. The last sentence (idea) is the germ of my earlier posting about a six-pack of books; after all, why would I need more than a few books in the near future. So, you see, there are perhaps some blessings to Alzheimer's and the darkness of senescence. And so it goes. Now, though, I return to Lord Byron in an attempt to reconcile the darkness and the light of my two readings. R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-80496698124038901122015-06-14T10:08:04.507-07:002015-06-14T10:08:04.507-07:00R.T.,
No rush. It will be here for a while.
Th...R.T.,<br /><br />No rush. It will be here for a while. <br /><br />Thanks for the kind words. Connections always fascinate me. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-91976547100044069132015-06-14T08:41:06.084-07:002015-06-14T08:41:06.084-07:00Fred, your posting fascinates me, especially the i...Fred, your posting fascinates me, especially the intertextual connections, always fertile ground, but I have time now only for that brief statement. More will follow when I have some time later today or tomorrow or Tuesday.R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.com