Who would you write a fan letter to?

@aidan,

aidan wrote:

I do too and I think that secretly David would like to write POM a fan letter.
He certainly never tires of talking to her. I think I enjoy their exchanges almost as much as he must.

I feel guilty for stomping on Plain.

David

2 Replies

@OmSigDAVID,

Why would you feel guilty? You are so far from correct that what you say doesn't matter. You know nothing about me, and, frankly, I would not share any intimate thoughts with you. I hesitated to write what I wrote today because you might read it. I finally wrote it for practice. In fact, I post here rather than keep a journal mainly to practice and to keep in fighting trim.

1 Reply

@plainoldme,

plainoldme wrote:

Why would you feel guilty?

The way that I have written to U,
is very inconsistent with my usual politeness.

plainoldme wrote:

You are so far from correct that what you say doesn't matter.
You know nothing about me, and, frankly, I would not share any intimate thoughts with you.

Intimate enuf already; we don 't need intimater descriptions than what u 've already posted.

plainoldme wrote:

I hesitated to write what I wrote today because you might read it.

I might.

plainoldme wrote:

I finally wrote it for practice. In fact, I post here rather than keep a journal mainly to practice and to keep in fighting trim.

OK

David

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@plainoldme,

Quote:

Tina points out that when Will's women are "in their frocks" and try to speak the truth, the results are terrible. They generally end up dead. However, when they assume male dress, they are able to speak to people who listen to them. That's a powerful observation.

That is interesting - and certainly an astute observation.

Quote:

Then there is the matter of whether to add the insights I have. Tina points out that Ophelia is a woman in her frock. I watched three Hamlet films this summer and two offered rather masculine versions (Richard Briers and Bill Murray) of Polonius paired with actresses (Kate Winslet and Julia Stiles) who, while young when they played the role were not ingenues. Those portrayals changed how I feel about Ophelia . . . that it was not Hamlet that pushed her off the edge. Tina's insight reinforces mine. So, will writing about that sound just too "me, too!"

Or you could say, 'After reading your take on Ophelia, I watched three versions of Hamlet with that insight in mind, and with my thinking thus informed, this is what I observed...'.
I don't think that sound too 'me-too (ish)'. It credits her with the impetus and then allows you to write your own subsequent thoughts on the same subject.

She'd probably love to hear that her work had inspired you in yours.

Quote:

Did I put you to sleep?

No - this sounds like an interesting project. I'd love to see how it all turns out- which women you'll choose to include and how you'll have them interact. I think it's a very novel approach.

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@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

I feel guilty for stomping on Plain.

I don't think you CAN stomp on POM David. I don't see her as someone who'd allow herself to be stomped upon.

But I guess I'd say that if you feel guilty about some word or action, apologize and make sure you don't do it again. That's what I do whenever I do something that make me feel guilty.

1 Reply

@aidan,

aidan wrote:

David wrote:
I feel guilty for stomping on Plain.

I don't think you CAN stomp on POM David.
I don't see her as someone who'd allow herself to be stomped upon.

But I guess I'd say that if you feel guilty about some word or action, apologize and make sure you don't do it again. [ ?? ]
That's what I do whenever I do something that make me feel guilty.

I was hoping that I did not over-do it -- demoralize her too much.
I was hoping for no deleterious, enduring effects.
I don 't wanna be an Internet bully.

I 'm pretty sure that I 'll HAVE TO do it again.
I expect more brawls to break out.
I 'm skeptical that a treaty of civility is feasible or viable.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

See, you can't resist her. You should write her a fan letter saying:

Quote:

Dear POM - Knowing that you're here to say something that will get my gander up makes my time on A2K so much more interesting and I appreciate that !

Yours sincerely with kindest regards and no hard feelings or lasting deletrious effects - OmSigDAVID

*That's by me - not by David - just in case there's any confusion.

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@Sturgis,

I have really noticed an improvement already! Although I like a lot of your more original formulations. The meaning is always plain, either way.

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@sozobe,

Thank you, much appreciated.

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My friend Donna. She was someone I met when her daughter used to hang out with me and my son when he was little - he was two and she was five (Donna's daugher) and from the moment he could talk, he expressed that he had a crush on her (Donna's daughter).
I'll never forget his little three year old voice saying, 'Tanya - if you'll marry me, I'll invite you to my birthday party - and it's going to be a BATMAN party' - like that fact alone would entice her to marry him (sadly - she's married someone else).

Anyway - Donna struggled for many years. She was a single mom and attractive but always seemed to attract assholes who didn't deserve her. She was/is so smart and so creative - and deserved so much more.

Well the good news is - she persevered through all the **** and she's come into her own, at an age when so many women are feeling lost and overwhelmed.

I am So HAPPY for her and proud of her.

I've always loved her - and for a few years felt like she was my kindred spirit - though we (wo) manned opposite sides of the outsider divide - this Christmas in her Christmas card -I will write her a fan letter- she's a success story if there ever was one - AND she's funny as hell to boot.

1 Reply

@aidan,

I would also write Snow Patrol a fan letter for writing this song:

1 Reply

@aidan,

And I would write a fan letter to Townes Van Zandt for writing this song and to Lyle Lovett for his career in general - but specifically for his singing on this song:

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@plainoldme,

plainoldme wrote:

That and bill's statement that he is "too busy reading history"
and still endorses the fire bombing of Dresden.

Let the record indicate my condemnation of the bombing of Dresden.
It had no strategic military value
and this bombing was done ONLY to satisfy Stalin.

Keeping Stalin happy was never a good idea, Comrade Plain.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

David - I'm sorry - but I must insist that this is a POSITIVE place. You may write POM a fan letter if you like, but other than that, I request you take your disagreements or negativity elsewhere.

Honestly - I think you like her and respect her intelligence. Why not tell her that? It's Christmas - for goodness sakes! Express your positivity.

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I haven't looked in on this thread for awhile. However, today, on my drive home through the snow flurry, I was listening to Richard Thompson.

I put the song, "Wall of Death," on repeat. I adore Richard Thompson.

So, I was interesting to see your proposed fan letters to Snow Patrol, Townes Van Zandt and Lyle Lovett.

A friend of mine was a friend of Townes'. Both men are dead. Whenever I hear Townes, I think of my friend who named his dog Loretta after the woman in Townes' song.

1 Reply

@aidan,

I have written letters to many a politician (state senators, US congress persons, US Senators, mayors, and such) but I can't recall ever writing a fan letter to any celebrity.

If I ever got the courage, probably Joyce Carol Oates or Margaret Atwood. I would need an actual reason to do so other then to elaborate my love for the recipient's collected oeuvre.

It's easier to send an email or a tweet to someone. In fact, I tweeted to Ms. Atwood and got an unexpected reply 2 minutes later. But emails get buried or answered (if answered by assistants rather then the artist her or himself) and many celebrities don't man their own twitter accounts. Ms. Atwood is legendary for being such a tech frontiersman in the author world.

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@plainoldme,

plainoldme wrote:

A friend of mine was a friend of Townes'.

Prof. Plain: that shoud be ". . . a friend of Townes. . . . "
without the apostrophe.

This is a fan letter
that I 've been advised to send.
I 'm POSITIVE of that.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

This is a fan letter
that I 've been advised to send.
I 'm POSITIVE of that.

Much better - or at least a step in right direction. Laughing

POM - I don't know very much about Snow Patrol and in fact, had never listened to them at all - consciously- (I'd heard that song 'Chasing Cars but I never knew who it was by) until this summer when I was visiting Wales for the weekend with a friend and we went in a pub for lunch and there was this sign up that said a band called 'New Jersey' was going to be playing there that night.

Well, me being from New Jersey, I had to check them out. And they were GREAT! Just two guys doing covers - Ian sings and Richie plays the guitar- and I was sitting there and they started playing 'Run' by Snow Patrol.

I'd never heard that song before, I had no idea who it was by - but I was so struck by it - Ian has an incredible voice- I went up at the end of the set and asked, 'What is the name of that song with the chorus saying something about 'Light up, light up...' and that was not only the beginning of a great friendship (I go see New Jersey whenever I can make the gig now - this Saturday again, in fact) but also my introduction to this song which has been instrumental in helping me work through my grief for my father.

So, my letter to snow patrol will be thanking them for creating a piece that has been such a gift and so helpful to me in a way that they'd probably never have dreamed it would be received by or found helpful by someone.

I don't consider artists celebrities and I can't tweet or twitter. I have to have space to express myself and tell WHY and HOW, etc...none of this 140 character stuff for me. I get so frustrated on facebook when they want you to say all you have to say in 420 characters, so I never put anything in that little top box - I go down where I can write what I want without limits.
- I can't imagine trying to do anything meaningful or of value in 140 characters! Unless it's a line of a poem that been whittled and pared down to its purest essence.

Townes Van Zandt was SUCH a great writer. Sad that he died so young.

1 Reply

@aidan,

I don't know Snow Patrol at all. Right now, I am putting together a playlist devoted to Maddy Prior and June Tabor, who made one or two recordings together as The Silly Sisters. For women in their 60s, they still have strong voices.

What's wonderful about this project is seeing them through the decades and hearing all the great musicians who accompanied them, from the Oyster Band to Steeleye Span (of course!) to Martin Simpson.

I wrote a fan letter to Maddy, either in August of 2010 or 2009, just before her birthday.

1 Reply

@plainoldme,

Well, I went to the gig and it was so much fun and I was struck all over again by Ian's strong voice. Not only do I love the Snow Patrol song they do, but I also love their version of With or Without You by U2 - and I love that song by Bono - I like Bono and U2 - but I like the way Ian sings it better. That's really saying something...not that I'm a musical expert or anything but I can read music and sing and play so I don't like just anything...they've got talent.

And their gigs are a hell of a lot of fun.. I guess I'm officially a groupie now - I've gotten invited to the festival they're playing in July and someone suggested I sing a duet...I can do harmony- not really always off the cuff - but if I know the song and practice with the other person.

Anyway - this is my fan letter to New Jersey - they've made my life richer than it'd have been if I never met them. Look how much fun I had the other night. I want to say thank you for that. What's life about if it's not fun?

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k46/aidan_010/IMG_7595.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k46/aidan_010/IMG_7591.jpg

Oh yeah - I was going to ask you if you've ever heard of Richard and Linda's son - Teddy Thompson? He's a lot more pop-py than they are - but I like his voice and there are about six or seven songs on his album that I really love. Here's one:

0 Replies

Who would you write a fan letter to?

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