tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post5090917434221985950..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: Writing on Baltasar Gracián’s WallMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-85388335166243064162012-01-03T09:15:18.277+00:002012-01-03T09:15:18.277+00:00Personally I dislike Facebook as a company - they ...Personally I dislike Facebook as a company - they are misogynistic and frequently close down pages that of breastfeeding women and supporters because they can't deal with breasts being for feeding babies. But I do find it a great resource for finding people and organisations that I'm interested in and pages such as the Analytical Armadillo do a great job in helping women breastfeed. For me it is cross between a newspaper, email and a group discussion. I also have friends that I keep in touch via it.KNormanhttp://katherine.teknohippy.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-83102243666698044472012-01-02T21:24:21.291+00:002012-01-02T21:24:21.291+00:00I enjoyed this post - I am on fb, but neglect it m...I enjoyed this post - I am on fb, but neglect it most of the time. Must find out more about Gracian - but not via Facebook! Thanks, Linda!Leslie Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105465949970430998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-62539796152613590522012-01-02T20:49:45.869+00:002012-01-02T20:49:45.869+00:00I am constantly amazed by how much heat Social Net...I am constantly amazed by how much heat Social Networking generates among people who don't use it!<br /><br />No-one is under any obligation to join Facebook, Twitter or any other site and I think it's a very bad idea for publishers to pressure writers to do that, or to blog.<br /><br />If you take to it, as I do, then do it and enjoy it, since it has many positive aspects. But if you don't, just leave it alone. It's not for you.<br /><br />There is no moral content in either stance.Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-69960269326977243642012-01-02T19:52:11.771+00:002012-01-02T19:52:11.771+00:00Such fascinating and perceptive comments, thank yo...Such fascinating and perceptive comments, thank you. Like Eleanor, Michelle and Adele I dare not get hooked on FB. Having the internet on your computer is like having a cake in the cupboard which you are perpetually having to resist. I tend not to despise it as much as Martha seems to but I do agree (with both Martha and Adele) that being asked to be someone's 'friend' in that way does pall. Cordelia (as in King L) would have been in big trouble. Good to hear Catherine and Creative's p.o.v. - I actually think the internet is miraculous and tried hard in my last book to figure out how a scholar from the 18th century would react to it. Harriet makes a very interesting point about the contrast between attitudes now and perhaps 50 years ago. I suspect, though, that much of what is said on FB conceals as much as it reveals. I love the 1984 precis and will certainly give Middlesex a go.Linda B-Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01599899073420595717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-8503794474250414622012-01-02T16:26:02.306+00:002012-01-02T16:26:02.306+00:00Wonderful stuff, Linda. Great words of wisdom to b...Wonderful stuff, Linda. Great words of wisdom to be cut out and pasted everywhere. <br />I too am anti Facebook, though I have never tried it, even though I'm told there is a page in my name (nothing to do with me). I might be the only person in the world who has never seen a tweet, either. <br />My reason for staying off both is mainly that I know my addictive personality would come to the fore, and I would never get any work done if I started clicking.<br />I dress this up in reasons of principle, of course. I hate the way acquaintances and businesses seem to bully you into signing up, and I worry about my children's generation spraying their personal details across the world. <br />I loved the definition that someone came up with on the radio the other day, when listeners were asked to sum up famous books in one sentence:<br />"1984: Facebook run by Stalin."<br />By the way, 'Middlesex' is terrific. Give it a go.Eleanorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12389904086449958277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-19420458411976403112012-01-02T15:45:15.804+00:002012-01-02T15:45:15.804+00:00Love Twitter, hate Facebook but do it anyway. My m...Love Twitter, hate Facebook but do it anyway. My main objection to FB isn't about what it does or doesn't do - it's actually mainly a good idea. But it is so counter-intutitive and they keep changing it. Not easy to read either. <br />Blogger is great, Word Press is okay, PayPal, Mailchimp all work so much better. <br />Don't buy the "Internet takes up too much time" argument at all. Internet actually speeds many things up - and it is our servant, not our master. Only one's own lack of disciplne makes it a problem.Gill Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-32462086256260118072012-01-02T14:10:50.868+00:002012-01-02T14:10:50.868+00:00I too do not facebook and for the reasons you give...I too do not facebook and for the reasons you give. Don't fancy it at all and HATED having to go in and say: yes, I'll be friends with you. I always ended up saying: email me instead, so deleted myself from the site within weeks of going on there about three years ago now. And lovely to see La R. mentioned. I think he's a very clever chap, as is B Gracian. Hope latter gets loads of friends on FB.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-34370445005093040202012-01-02T12:16:28.721+00:002012-01-02T12:16:28.721+00:00Lovely post. I am on FB and for someone with a hug...Lovely post. I am on FB and for someone with a huge family that bestrides the world it is terribly useful. Births and deaths can be announced, travel arrangements made. I am more in touch with my family now than I ever was and I love it. You can say hello without the formality of a one off letter, you can stay in touch at a distance which for me is great. Of course it wastes time. So does knitting and swimming and sitting in a caf drinking coffee. And btw I don't have a dishwasher :(.<br />Happy New Year and thanks again for a lovely read Linda xcCatherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14610226884546830879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-62447632137706050072012-01-02T11:16:13.399+00:002012-01-02T11:16:13.399+00:00I refuse to have anything to do with Facebook - fo...I refuse to have anything to do with Facebook - for the reasons you give and because I consider it an abomination. <br /><br />The facebook 'friends' are not friends in the sense that Gracián meant - this Wall is just a shallow way of wasting time, and keeping score. I don't believe you are missing anything by avoiding FB. The friends you make through your blog and in your work will have substance and weight and real value.Marthahttp://www.write-cook-eat-talk.eu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-67844316633328331012012-01-02T10:52:27.265+00:002012-01-02T10:52:27.265+00:00What a fantastic post. Very thought-provoking to c...What a fantastic post. Very thought-provoking to consider the contrast in cultures of personal behaviour that you highlight - Facebook encourages everyone to say 'What's on your mind?' every day (or every hour!), whereas the advice for surviving in the court is all about concealment of one's true feelings. Modern cultures vary on this of course ( as do individuals) but as a general trend - and, would I be right in saying a very recent one, of the last 50 years, say? - it marks a vast change, doesn't it.H.M. Castorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08716936870601385683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-74152860060850629112012-01-02T10:16:35.412+00:002012-01-02T10:16:35.412+00:00Wonderful post. I kept wondering how you were goin...Wonderful post. I kept wondering how you were going to bring it back to Facebook, and you did it with a beautiful flourish.<br /><br />I remain a Facebook Refusnik, for the same very good reasons that you do - in order to have more time to keep my face down in a real book.michelle lovrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01026972300195225090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-21318565666115228742012-01-02T08:40:11.739+00:002012-01-02T08:40:11.739+00:00What a fascinating post, Linda! I have duly made B...What a fascinating post, Linda! I have duly made Baltasar my "friend" on Facebook. It occurred to me that if the real Baltasar - the 17th century Jesuit - had been on Facebook and Twitter he might not have said, as he does in his tenth maxim: "Fame is earned. The desire for fame springs from man's best part." EEk!Caroline Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com