Weblog on the Internet and public policy, journalism, virtual community, and more from David Brake, a Canadian academic, consultant and journalist

Archive forFebruary, 2002 | back to home

8 February 2002
Filed under:Online media,Virtual Communities at9:45 am

A heartening tale of how two business models that aren’t supposed to be profitable on the Internet – self-publishing using e-books and virtual community – have turned out to work profitably together for at least one person – a publisher of fantasy books.

It’s the sort of thing I would have said ought to work but in the last few years a lot of things that seemed as if they would work have proven unprofitable. Glad to see this actually does work. It may be that the particular audience of fantasy readers he is addressing is fanatical enough that they represent a special case…

7 February 2002
Filed under:Uncategorized at12:11 pm

A perceptive review of J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
by Tom Shippey – it points out some of Tolkein’s skills but also skilfully dissects the authors weaknesses (some of which I remarked on myself after viewing the film). In particular, “If one is to regard The Lord of the Rings as a book for adults, what disturbs is not so much the absence of women, perhaps explicable in an adventure story of this kind, as the absence of desire. In this work that presents itself as the representation of a whole world, there is hardly any awareness that we are sexual beings.”

5 February 2002
Filed under:Uncategorized at6:45 pm

A somewhat amusing bit of satire based on this:

In Speech, Bush Calls Iraq, Iran and North Korea ‘Axis of Evil” — N.Y. Times, 1/30/02

Angered By Snubbing, Libya, China, Syria Form Axis of Just As Evil
Cuba, Sudan, Serbia Form Axis of Somewhat Evil; Other Nations Start Own Clubs

4 February 2002
Filed under:Uncategorized at9:56 am

Could it be that British Telecom will finally bring properly-priced broadband to Britain? BT’s new chief exec apparently plans to dramatically reduce its wholesale and retail charges for broadband access. Incomprehensibly, Oftel may actually oppose this.
By coincidence, Bill Gates has jumped into the fray in the US complaining broadband costs too much there as well.movies sapphic contentdbz 13 moviemovies ebony xxxmovies sex extrememovie fleshlightmovies free adult onlinefree adult movies blackmovie hardcore free clips Map

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