Happy New Year, I agree with all you say here Cris. You are second to none
in working the internet - the emails, lists, etc. When Mairaed and I were
co-managing here, you'd previously advised me how to 'handle' the mass of
emails. Just three years ago there were masses of emails here and it was
like snow - and I was going through a tough time in life also...
Yes, it is important to discriminte; and yes, we must pursue any reading via
emails (spam and all) and all sides of the internet - from facebook to
websites; from soft sell to hard sell.
Until recently I'd constructed the internet in my mind as somekind of huge
global directory that somehow, like a library, you could find your way
around. Through my experiences on this List I thought discussion led to more
discussion.
These notions lead to a commonly heald view: the internet, for all its
capitalist want, has liberal elements within or thereby. It's a kind of
level playing field like the Royal Mail.
Weirdly, this List has become Royal Mail. Discussion like envelopes and
parcels falling to the well in numbers. Yet, I understand: notices here are
about the activity out there in the real world. Err, but links are
increasing about an internal internet world - of internet projects rather
than readings, events, happenings, interventions, etc.
There is a real world. On Saturday up to 100,000 people at short notice
rallied in London against the US/Israeli massacre of Gaza - the
Palestinians. UK riot police "kettled" demonstrators once again but the
biggest deom in UK history for Palestinians. In Norwich 400 marched -
brilliantly with 200 overseas students from the University of East Anglia
leading it! This is Norwich, town in a bog, England.
But, overnight hackers (unknown or MI6) had brought down the Stop The War
website. By March 31st all emails in/via UK will have to b held by service
providers for a year.
***
I think we're not creating enough fuss! We artists and poets, I don't know
how important we/me/you are without real life politics - THE SLUMP; WARS IN
GAZA, AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ; UTTER POVERTY IN THE THIRD WORLD; THE SHIT OF THIS
SYSTEM.
Rupert xxx
http://www.mallin.blogspot.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "cris cheek" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: To much information?
> HI all, happy new year looking forwards to us all.
>
> When i first got onto e-lists in 1994-5 there was a trickle. By the II
> end of 1995-6 i was receiving over 300 e-mails every day and probably
> sending somewhere in the region of 50 out each day myself. Sometimes they
> were substantial messages. I remember being involved with the spin-off
> "renga" (we quickly renamed ourselves "rangers") group from the poetics
> list out of SUNY Buffalo and we had extended a proliferating branching
> tree of versions to the extent that in one day i received over 100 new
> versions of the same poem from a participant friend in Hawaii.
>
> Every nite i would creep into bed to read lengthy new missives from
> Subcomandante Marcos of the EZLN sent out of the jungle in Chiapas via
> the cigarette lighter socket of a jeep.
>
> I HAVE found that since 1999 i read the traffic on lists far less
> completely. For a start i am on so many lists that i would have no time
> left if i did read everything closely. So i use subject headings and
> member names as some guide. I check new members when they post and keep
> an eye on topic developing. But i am way more random (sort of) in my
> participation. Now i have junk filters turned up so fiercely that i often
> find mail from people i would like to have read at the time of sending in
> my junk box (which i clear periodically and sometimes use as the stimulus
> for poems go figure).
>
> I read a lot though. Still read books, teach the proliferation of many
> excellent e-zines, am aprt of reading groups outside work interest and
> have 5 e-mail accounts bringing in far more than i can seriously lay
> claim to have an in-depth knowledge of. But then i read about 25 online
> news sources every day too from all parts of the political spectrum and
> not just within the west.
>
> reading is FUN!!! i like to play
>
> love and looking forwards
>
>
> cris
>
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