tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post115155758607550267..comments2024-03-29T15:45:04.867+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Writer's blockheadsJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151943220987058102006-07-03T21:43:00.000+05:302006-07-03T21:43:00.000+05:30Oh, that's cool then! I aim to humour before anyth...Oh, that's cool then! I aim to humour before anything else (though Groucho Marx is my weapon of choice, Seinfeld being way after my time). <BR/><BR/>And of course everything has two sides - otherwise we'd all be living on Möbius strips, and what would that be like...Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151940478238302912006-07-03T20:57:00.000+05:302006-07-03T20:57:00.000+05:30* THAT issue has two sides to the story ... And th...* THAT issue has two sides to the story ... <BR/>And the unnecessary mention of the self in the third person sort of swings my vote the other way<BR/><BR/>* Of course she reads the front page. I'm sure she'd like a laugh at this Seinfeldish nitpickingColin Fernandeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03637469300406448839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151929114111460572006-07-03T17:48:00.000+05:302006-07-03T17:48:00.000+05:30Wha...? You mean your editor doesn't read the fron...Wha...? You mean your editor doesn't read the front page stories? Anyway, while you're at it, also ask him/her about that recent story (another front-pager - I think it was about manuscripts being rewritten) where an inane quote was attributed to Rana Dasgupta when the reporter hadn't even spoken to him.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151925332662600862006-07-03T16:45:00.000+05:302006-07-03T16:45:00.000+05:30Interesting.. very very interesting.. Jai: forward...Interesting.. very very interesting.. <BR/>Jai: forwarding this link to the edColin Fernandeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03637469300406448839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151762033034381492006-07-01T19:23:00.000+05:302006-07-01T19:23:00.000+05:30:) DD:) <BR/>DDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151729684165002302006-07-01T10:24:00.000+05:302006-07-01T10:24:00.000+05:30DD: I didn't have the welfare of the human species...DD: I didn't have the welfare of the human species in mind when I put up the post (or the comment to Swati), only my own. As someone who has to regularly deal with writers and books that come from the bottom of the pyramid (and you and NSR know what this is like), I'd prefer it if everyone just decided to become pizza-chomping CAs or thugging lawyers or evil doctors instead of flinging their packaged word-turds in my face. <BR/><BR/><I>...a repeat would be against all the canons of journalism</I><BR/><BR/>I'm assuming this was one of your tongue-in-cheek jokes. As you know, most journalism is nothing but recycled stories. So yes, I can still do the story and do it a lot better. But only when Wimbledon and this football thing are over.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151705558311157552006-07-01T03:42:00.000+05:302006-07-01T03:42:00.000+05:30Oi Jai, Hilarious as the HT piece was, ponder this...Oi Jai, <BR/>Hilarious as the HT piece was, ponder this; <BR/><BR/>There has indeed been a paradigm shift in that more people from unusual backgrounds are now attempting to write. <BR/><BR/>It's true that most of these random hordes say "ingenuity" when they mean flatulence or "sordid" when they mean "sardinic" (as in a facila expression that resembles that of Mr Schnellenheimer of the Perfecto Zizzbaum Corp.) <BR/> <BR/>But some few of these may actually turn out to be decent writers. You cannot have people at the top of a pyramid unless the pyramid itself exists. <BR/><BR/>So it's ultimately a good thing to have this trend for exactly the same reasons that it's good to have an academic system, which endures the churning out of gazillions of crappy papers. The really good stuff wouldn't happen without the random hordes of idiot PHD-seekers. <BR/><BR/>And, give HT credit for spotting the trend. Too bad they got an illiterate to do the story! But admit it, it's a story you should have thought of and done yourself. Now you can't because it's already done and a repeat would be against all the canons of journalism. <BR/>DDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151655819523024182006-06-30T13:53:00.000+05:302006-06-30T13:53:00.000+05:30I guess if articles like these can persuade Indian...<I>I guess if articles like these can persuade Indian parents to stop haranguing their kids about how their wasting their time becoming writers, well it's all good.</I><BR/><BR/>Swati: I’m completely against parents forbidding their kids from pursuing any (legally permissible) calling. But from my experiences working on the lit beat and being regularly bombarded with requests to review the most mediocre books, I have little sympathy for the thousands of people who delude themselves that they can write. The world has far too many terrible writers/wannabe writers as it is, and the blogosphere has made it worse - by turning nearly everyone into mini-celebs with their own idiot fan followings. (Btw, there’s the cue for my anonymous troll to post a comment here!)Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151653179291912642006-06-30T13:09:00.000+05:302006-06-30T13:09:00.000+05:30Ira Trivedi writing a book is obviously not out of...Ira Trivedi writing a book is obviously not out of "the blues" (though it might induce the blues in some), but out of Jazz, maybe?<BR/><BR/>HT has been leading the editorial bloopers stakes recently, second only the the unassailable leader, Mumbai Mirror. There was that "Wild wetty days" article, as you have no doubt read about. That was a masterpiece.Shanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04083544175413836627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151622244776161082006-06-30T04:34:00.000+05:302006-06-30T04:34:00.000+05:30Delicious, just delicious. Why are people complain...Delicious, just delicious. Why are people complaining? This is original writing. Julia Moore and Daisy Ashford have some serious competition...Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151609722811018662006-06-30T01:05:00.000+05:302006-06-30T01:05:00.000+05:30it is precisely writing of this sort, so candidly ...it is precisely writing of this sort, so candidly presented, almost proud of itself, that makes me want to drown myself in my little cup of morning coffee. sigh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151603756344090692006-06-29T23:25:00.000+05:302006-06-29T23:25:00.000+05:30Cut Trivedi some slack. After all Shobaa aunty sta...Cut Trivedi some slack. After all Shobaa aunty started with a sort of kiss-and-tell, albeit a fairly disappointing one with no real juicy bits. <BR/><BR/>Give her 10 years, they'd be putting her on poco and pomo syllabii from here to San Francisco. <BR/><BR/>I guess if articles like these can persuade Indian parents to stop haranguing their kids about how their wasting their time becoming writers, well it's all good.thalassa_mikrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01942716364297839680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151591490912162182006-06-29T20:01:00.000+05:302006-06-29T20:01:00.000+05:30I have a great idea. How about the moving and bril...I have a great idea. How about the moving and brilliant tale of someone gasping for air in the manner of goldfish out of their depths? It would only be writing what I know, for this is indeed how my face feels at the moment. Plus, it would totally justify my ingenuity.roswithahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05506297391055117723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151580007616738092006-06-29T16:50:00.000+05:302006-06-29T16:50:00.000+05:30I can just HEAR Ze Arora saying "Upamanyu" with a ...I can just HEAR Ze Arora saying "Upamanyu" with a Punjabi accent, hence the mis-spelling of UC's name. Of course the person who erote the article had never heard of UC before ...<BR/><BR/>J.A.P.J. Alfred Prufrockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446127543417759542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151578047975488392006-06-29T16:17:00.000+05:302006-06-29T16:17:00.000+05:30Upamanyu Chatterjee is an IAS office by day....Upamanyu Chatterjee is an IAS office by day....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151577424558732422006-06-29T16:07:00.000+05:302006-06-29T16:07:00.000+05:30Please tell me there was a picture of a writer spo...Please tell me there was a picture of a writer sporting a sordid expression. I'd like to know what one should look like the next time a sordid expression is called for.The ramblings of a shoe fiendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193183543700543479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151576016843630062006-06-29T15:43:00.000+05:302006-06-29T15:43:00.000+05:30This is a serious issue. The problem is most of th...This is a serious issue. The problem is most of these journalists come from Delhi, where the standard of education is really, really low, compared to a city like Bombay. So, when they come in as migrants desperate for work, they bring their inadequate degrees along, hence the shoddy work :( As for the writers from Bombay, they're too busy earning some serious money to bother about correcting copy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151572581156444162006-06-29T14:46:00.000+05:302006-06-29T14:46:00.000+05:30I saw an Ila Trivedi's quote and moved to more int...I saw an Ila Trivedi's quote and moved to more interesting things like the movie schedule!Janakihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06068622582534965333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151563944745129032006-06-29T12:22:00.000+05:302006-06-29T12:22:00.000+05:301) You carry a sordid expression on your face.2) C...1) You carry a sordid expression on your face.<BR/><BR/>2) Could that article be on blogging?<BR/><BR/>3) Please come to the defence of Indraprasth. It is under attack. I request and require your brilliant writing skills to counter those Western-Indian usurpers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1151562842148578402006-06-29T12:04:00.000+05:302006-06-29T12:04:00.000+05:30who carried a sordid expression on the face to jus...<I>who carried a sordid expression on the face to justify their ingenuity.</I><BR/><BR/>Hahaha... but what does it mean? did he/she got confused with what "ingenuity" means?<BR/><BR/>I have always wondered, do these city supplements have editors? or even writers? they sound as if they are auto-generated!!Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.com