Go to THRAWN RICKLE
- Add a comment
- Go to TO GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE
and when I see a view that I KNOW to be a distortion of fact,
I admit my stupidity.
posted by
TARZANA
on October 31, 2003 at 7:39 AM
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Of course things written here can, do, and should influence...
On the other hand, SPIN, which is deliberate distortion of fact, someone else's statements, or happenings, is cheating and should not be tolerated. I do my level best to present information without purposeful spin. Yes, I have an agenda, but I present information honestly, and I do not hide facts that counter my point of view. I face them and either determine what the problem is that makes them appear to counter my viewpoint, OR I modify my point of view to incorporate them.
I have done this all my life, and is part of why my arguments hold up under the closest scrutiny.
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 4:06 PM
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DamonLeigh is right.
Everything written will either inform or influence. Even if one has no conscious intention of influencing, it can't be helped. Even the sequence that words or ideas are presented affect the influence on the reader. One can attempt to be totally objective, but that is rarely, if ever, possible.
posted by
HarveysAgain
on October 30, 2003 at 2:20 PM
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Anyone...
...who believes they just present 'facts' with no 'agenda' and no 'spin' is seriously deluding themselves.
And yes, that includes you, argee!
D
posted by
DamonLeigh
on October 30, 2003 at 1:39 PM
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argee,
Yeay! I did it! (as my two year old would say)
posted by
TARZANA
on October 30, 2003 at 1:32 PM
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Belle...
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 8:57 AM
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argee?
I think I'm going to try to do this later when my thoughts are not preoccupied. No, I don't use a Mac. But maybe I can get your instructions to work after I stop being frustrated. Thank you!
posted by
TARZANA
on October 30, 2003 at 8:49 AM
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Argee
I only remarked. No need to explain. Many people miss opportunities because they fail to promote themselves.
I often point this out in My So You Want to Be a Writer blog
posted by
beachbelle
on October 30, 2003 at 8:48 AM
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Belle...
Self promotion is not a sin, and so long as it is done in good taste, there is no harm. Yes, I do promote myself, not for self aggrandizement, but to further "my agenda." My agenda? (1) To help create a world where individual freedom is maximized—but NOT at the expense of that same freedom for others; (2) To earn a reasonable living; (3) To leave a legacy that says my having been here made a difference.
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 8:42 AM
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Do you use a Mac?
I think in the Mac version, the link icon is missing. If you can't find this link, then do the following:
Create the post (comment, blog, or whatever) in your word processor (MS Word, or whatever you use). Select the word you wish to carry the link, and go to your "Insert" menu. Somewhere in that menu (if your word processor has any sophistification at all) will be an item that allows you to insert a "Hyperlink". Select this, and in the window that appears, write or past your link URL. Make sure that the URL is complete. Some of these windows automatically insert the "http://", others do not. It should be obvious. THEN, copy your entire post, and paste it into the comment box or blog box on BN. When you paste it, be sure to use the paste icon (clipboard with a page) so the entire material on your "clipboard" will be pasted into the window. Your link will transfer intact, and it will work!
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 8:36 AM
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You are in the wrong menu box, If-you please...
In the comment I am writing right now, immediately above the box in which I am writing this comment, is a section that contains several icons. One is a scissors (for cutting), two little pages (cor copying). a clipboard and a page (for pasting), etc, and one is a small world with two chain links superimposed over it. THIS is the LIKN icon.
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 8:29 AM
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I have the other ones you mentioned, but not the world.
And I think I'm going to cry because this is too hard.
posted by
TARZANA
on October 30, 2003 at 8:28 AM
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Thank goodness that I am not a spinner.
I thought you might have been speaking to someone else, but since your remark was in my comments, it did not occur to me immediately.
As for the link instructions, I see a world up there on the tool bar, but it says "search" and has what looks like a magnifying glass on it.
posted by
TARZANA
on October 30, 2003 at 8:15 AM
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Argee
you never miss a chance to promote yourself do you?
posted by
beachbelle
on October 30, 2003 at 8:10 AM
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Amen, Harvey...
...BUT beyond this, space travel is of itself the ultimate salvation of the human race. Once we exist elsewhere, off our planet, and more especially away from our solar system, nothing that ever happens "here" can totally destroy our species.
Yes, I know this is not immediately pertinent, but somehow, this long view really matters to me!
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 8:02 AM
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Thanks, Belle...
..over the years, I have discovered that I seem to have a knack for making complex things simple. In fact, I have a book appearing soon that really is a lot of such things appropriately linked together. When it comes out, I will let the members of BN know.
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 7:59 AM
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Without space travel,
would any of us be writing on the Internet, or watching satellite television? When I think of the advantages of communicating instantly with anybody anywhere in the world, I think space exploration is worth it.
posted by
HarveysAgain
on October 30, 2003 at 7:58 AM
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Argee
that is the best description of the linking procedure I have seen in a while
posted by
beachbelle
on October 30, 2003 at 7:49 AM
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One more thing...
If you wish to link to an item on BN, at the bottom of each item is the word "(
link)". If you click on this link, you will be presented with just that item, with its specific URL in the address line. This makes it very easy to link to anything on BN.
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 7:43 AM
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Thanks, Ifyou-please, for the info...
1. To do a link, first go to the item to which you wish to link so its URL address is in the address bar of your browser. Select and copy all BUT the "http://" part. Then go to your comment or post (whatever you are writing) and select a word in your text that you want to carry the link (so that it is highlighted). Then click on the menu icon that looks like a world with a chain link superimposed over it. This will open a window where you can paste the URL address you copied earlier. That's it! Of course, you can always simply type the URL address of your link directly into the lnk window, but this is VERY prone to mistakes. Better to copy and paste.
2. So far as I can tell, you are not a person who spins. Everything of yours I have read appears to be sincere and from the heart. I was speaking to the DamonLeighs and ShawnMichaels of the world who spin so frequently that they must be perpetually dizzy.
posted by
arGee
on October 30, 2003 at 7:39 AM
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Actually, you didn't say that you abhored my comment.
You said that you abhore all spin. I don't know how to work this link stuff. Do you want to fill me in?
posted by
TARZANA
on October 29, 2003 at 10:50 PM
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I'm a bit slow tonight...
...because I am not making the connection. I really don't remember ever telling you that I "abhore" your writing. I don't remember implying this either. Can you link me to the original comment, or whatever it is? Thanks.
posted by
arGee
on October 29, 2003 at 10:07 PM
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Here it is argee -
"I don't think the concept is really all that difficult. If you try to influence the other side or just other people by choosing words and spinning ideas, then you are dishonest." I was talking about abortion and I guess you might have been answering someone else's comment here. It did make me wonder though, why I was considered trying to influence the other side. Who is the other side? It's me. If I don't know the answer to something, and then I find out, I try to go back and tell myself, so to speak, because, if nobody else was able to communicate it to me, I'd better look out for myself. That's the only other side I know I'll influence in life. Other people will make their choices according to what they learn or know. I don't think it's good to keep people in the dark about important social issues that they might face. Like, if I went to a certain school and everybody kept telling me that cheerleading would be great, but neglected to inform me that the school has a tradition of severe hazing, and once somebody got killed, I might be a little pissed off to find out when it's too late. Or if I turned on the traffic news on the way to work and the announcer told me that Hwy 35 was clear all the way from Waco to downtown, and it was wall to wall traffic instead, would that be just his way of not trying to influence me? No thanks. Go ahead and influence me - I can take an honest opinion or even a fact.
posted by
TARZANA
on October 29, 2003 at 7:47 PM
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Spin is...
...deliberately distorting a comment, fact, or situation, so that it no longer represents whatever the originator intended, or the fact as it really is, or the situation as it really happened.
posted by
arGee
on October 29, 2003 at 4:16 PM
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Help me out, Ifyou-please...
Please give me a live link to that comment so I can reread it and offer you a proper explanation.
posted by
arGee
on October 29, 2003 at 4:11 PM
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Could you please explain to me
what you mean by "spin"? I've never heard this term used before. I began to read more of your writing and I began to feel like you are a giant-size reflection of me. So, being interested in studying more of this phenomenon, I was a little disappointed to see that one of your only comments to me seemed to say you "abhore" what I wrote. Please explain before I cry.
posted by
TARZANA
on October 29, 2003 at 1:12 PM
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No turnaround at all...
...just a bit better understanding on your part of my point of view.
posted by
arGee
on October 29, 2003 at 11:50 AM
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This is Something...
...of a turnaround for you, is it not?
"Today we are genuinely concerned that our presence on this planet may be altering it for the worse."
I thought you were a climate-change denier and anti-green? Is this a reral change of heart, or are you just espousing the view of the masses, and not one that you necessarily agree with?
On a broader point, I'd have to say that spending resources on our not-inconsiderable Earth-bound problems is infinitely more sensible than pursuing such hare-brained schemes as the space station and space-based weaponry.
But, I guess if you prioritise broadening the horizons of mankind over feeding a child in Sierra Leone, or providing fresh water for a family in India, then I guess we'll once more be polarised in our world views.
D
posted by
DamonLeigh
on October 29, 2003 at 4:56 AM
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