Comments on: The Road to science

By: Sapper

Sapper — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:58:37 +0000

Carbon paper? I’ve got an office full of it; a government office, your tax dollars at work, outside of which you should all be brandishing torches and pitchforks.

By: Jud

Jud — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:20:07 +0000

Toiski said: “Could of”? Is the error also present in the original text?

Huckleberry Finn, generally considered the greatest novel ever written by an author from the United States, is full of such “errors.” It is no more than a faithful rendering of the way characters of a particular background would speak.

Does no one writing in your native language do the same?

By: per

per — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:47:47 +0000

Rushdie at the level of McCarthy? My God.

By: Aadam Aziz Ansari

Aadam Aziz Ansari — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:17:56 +0000

Salman Rushdie is nowhere near the level of Cormac McCarthy. Not even close, and I say this as a person that likes Rushdie very much.

Also, the “could of” is dialectical, appearing within dialogue. McCarthy correctly spells couldve, wouldve, [sic] etc. throughout the narrative. Faulkner, for one, wrote using “of” similarly.

By: Robert Frost

Robert Frost — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:12:05 +0000

Just for balance, I add my personal opinions.

The prose by Cormac McCarthy was good from a literary point of view, and fascinating from a philosophical point of view.

It is not surprising that many will find the “monster’s” philosophy very upsetting.

Not for everyone.

Thanks very much, Daniel.

By: coolstar

coolstar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:49:35 +0000

I’m afraid I have to second JD and capitalistimperialistpig on this one. Surely the line ” In some ways, this is an opportunity akin to owning Shakespeare’s quill” will live on as the most absurd hyperbole ever to see the light of day here.

By: capitalistimperialistpig

capitalistimperialistpig — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:02:42 +0000

The most unpleasant garbage I’ve read on CV.

By: The Ridger

The Ridger — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:16:54 +0000

“Could of” is just eye dialect, like “wont”. In a first person narrative, it’s pretty effective.

McCarthy writes well, but I can’t bear him. I’ve read two things of his, and I doubt I’ll ever put myself though that again.

By: Jane C Adams

Jane C Adams — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:13:42 +0000

Music: Elton John
Lyrics: Bernie Taupin
Electic piano and flute mellotron: Elton John
Bass: Dee Murray
Drums and maraccas: Nigel Olsson
ARP synthesizer: Ken Scott
Acoustic guitar and banjo: Davey Johnstone

Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
They say Spain is pretty though I’ve never been
Well Daniel says it’s the best place that he’s ever seen
Oh and he should know, he’s been there enough
Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much
Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky
Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

By: ChicagoMolly

ChicagoMolly — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:50:30 +0000

He can use the quarter-million to track down fully inked typewriter ribbons and carbon paper.

By: JD

JD — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:38:34 +0000

Meh, Cormac has resorted to emotional Christian parables and pious symbolism in The Road. The talent he has seems to be deliquescing into C.S. Lewisophilia.

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:15:20 +0000

“Could of”, when spoken, is actually “could’ve”, which is perfectly grammatical. Perhaps it was spelled that way to indicate that the speaker is uneducated.

By: Just Learning

Just Learning — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:03:33 +0000

The best song for fundraisers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkje4FiH9Qc

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:22:28 +0000

$254,500!
That’s like ten grand per working letter…

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:57:45 +0000

They did a lot better than $15k…$250k for a nearly broken typewriter!

By: Toiski

Toiski — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:45:16 +0000

“Could of”? Is the error also present in the original text?
In any case, as a non-native English writer… *sigh*. Well, I guess it’s not the people’s fault the language is so difficult.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:00:35 +0000

You rock, daniel.

SFI sounds like an interesting place. I’d love to visit it someday.

By: Guy

Guy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:20:08 +0000

He’s one of my favorites too.

McCarthy gets a lot of criticism for his writing style. It’s like some people just can’t see past that.

If you haven’t read the The Road yet, I recommend reading it before seeing the movie.