Iain has two I's
4) If Eve killed Adam, would it be murder?
3) If someone writes a blog, and no one-s there to read it, does it really exist? (Cos I'm writing this on a stand-alone computer right now, and uploading it later)
1) Production and distribution. Are the two separate? Is a production-centred viewoint out of date and meaningless?
2) Does an emphasis on distribution lead to a relative- rather than normative -view on economic relationships?
These were the questions that I realised that I couldn't answer after writing a blog last night....
This was that blog....
More in keeping with the essence of 'how to blog' by sir blogalot, I've removed a post of an incriminating and personal nature, and have uploaded the site with insightful and intelligent comments.
The extent to which I'm getting drawn towards blogging can be pretty well described by my current situation. I'm sat at home with a stand-alone PC, really quite bored, listening to Bjork, and writing this with the intention of uploading it from a floppy disc at work tomorrow (as paid for by a charity).
Now, this is neither witty, nor interesting, yet a decent example of my state of mind. What is interesting, is that I'm typing this on notepad. Mmmm... Notepad. I'm meant to be an amateur writer, which I am. I have words, and a means to write them: My hands and my brain and a pen and paper. So what I have here, is my own means of production, which is handy. I'm freeing myself from the shackles of labour right now. Alas, I'm writing a script, which means that I have to present it in such a way that it is a 'script'.
This doesn't doesn't mean that it has to involve dialogue and directions, which is what one might imagine. What it requires me to do, is provide such information, within a format that is amenable to people who give money to those who write scripts ('nobs'). I can't hand them the pages and pages of notepad words that I have. Why not? Because of the content? The quality? No, because it's not produced in a standard format, and anything that is not in the correct format will be thrown in the bin- at least, that's what all their websites say. With the exception of BBC talent. [insert your own BBC thought here, or even better, leave it as a comment. cos let's face it, they're shit and John Inverdale should accept his limits and become a trendy drama teacher].
What I'm getting at, is that I have lots and lot pages of stuff, that won't get running until I a)get Microsoft Word, cos it's the only format compatible with FREE script-writing software b) invest more time in writing a script, and less in writing a blog.
b) evidently, hasn't happened.
WHich leaves a). Why, if I own my own means of production, can I not get much further? [Meadway, your comment would be much appreciated]. I would like to say that it has far more to do with the means of distribution than the means of production. The two might be inseparable, to a Commie. But let's face it, they're not. I know what I produce, and can produce pleanty of stuff that has zero consequence on my situation. That is not, inherently, down to the quality of what I produce, but down to the way in which what I produce is disseminated. WHich means that it must be down to distribution.
It's only a difference of emphasis, I know, but it's a fucking important one. Everyone produces something, just some people produce with greater consequence than others. Forces of production, outsourced labour, Microsoft. These are all things which spring to mind. I went to the library today, and I assumed that there should be a copy of MS Word there, to get, install and use.
Why not? It's not gold, it's just a way of formatting what I write. The librarian let me borrow their pen to fill out a form, they let me get books on how to write, how to use Windows, but they don't have fucking Microsoft Word. It's fast becoming the bane of my life. How can something so ubiquitous not be free? It's got fuck-all to do with production, cos we could all rip one off the internet. And they're not producing my words. They're just producing a semantic maze of copyright law that no one will explain to me.
Damn Microsoft. They've made me go all alienated Marxist. Production happens. Yet Microsoft control how I produce how I distribute my word-wares. Is that it?
So, interesting essay questions that follow from my blog:
And that's where I wrote the questions at the top of the blog. See what happened there? It was like an episode of Columbo, only Iain’s got two eyes.
Round and round and round
the merry widow goes,
half sad for her past
half glad to kill her foe.
That's a Mandy Jordache tribute, which I'll probably take down very quickly. This is the last time I sit around drinking red wine by myself, and it is what led to the first question.
posted by Steve Harmison | 7:17 AM
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