Two Cheers For Google
Jan. 21st, 2006 12:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloHey I'm 55.
I was going to write that I've now outlived Shakespeare, but I find I was wrong in thinking he died at 54. In fact he died at 52- so I've now outlived him by three years. I tried Googling "people who died at 54" in search of other celebs I could crow over, but I didn't get any usable results. Did I want to know about "Famous people who died in air crashes"?
Actually, no.
Google hasn't had a good day. Earlier I wanted it to tell me about Ausburg- the town in Bavaria (I'm thinking Purchas might drop by sometime) and it was very parsimonious. I was offered information on American citizens called Ausburg and some American towns called Ausburg and the diary of an American soldier who was once stationed in Ausburg. ("Beaucoup women hereabout" he tells us- what a lovely, perceptive man) but substantial inside dope on one of the loveliest cities in Southern Germany- No.
Gosh, I may be forced to consult those awkward, cumbersome, out-of-date things called "books".
But I do now know the Roman name. Augusta Vindelicum. It's better than nothing.
But we mustn't knock Google. They're standing up to Bush. They're not going to let him know I've been wanting to find out about Ausburg or people who kicked the bucket at 54.
My heroes! (Google, that is- not the middle-aged deaders.)
I was going to write that I've now outlived Shakespeare, but I find I was wrong in thinking he died at 54. In fact he died at 52- so I've now outlived him by three years. I tried Googling "people who died at 54" in search of other celebs I could crow over, but I didn't get any usable results. Did I want to know about "Famous people who died in air crashes"?
Actually, no.
Google hasn't had a good day. Earlier I wanted it to tell me about Ausburg- the town in Bavaria (I'm thinking Purchas might drop by sometime) and it was very parsimonious. I was offered information on American citizens called Ausburg and some American towns called Ausburg and the diary of an American soldier who was once stationed in Ausburg. ("Beaucoup women hereabout" he tells us- what a lovely, perceptive man) but substantial inside dope on one of the loveliest cities in Southern Germany- No.
Gosh, I may be forced to consult those awkward, cumbersome, out-of-date things called "books".
But I do now know the Roman name. Augusta Vindelicum. It's better than nothing.
But we mustn't knock Google. They're standing up to Bush. They're not going to let him know I've been wanting to find out about Ausburg or people who kicked the bucket at 54.
My heroes! (Google, that is- not the middle-aged deaders.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-01-21 01:26 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're enjoying Purchas.
Ideas? That's a difficult one. There are times when nothing but nothing comes into my head.
The idea for Purchas came out of nowhere. I wasn't planning to write a novel and then the germ came to me (from watching an unsatisfactory movie about immortals) and suddenly I was up and running. Pressure sometimes helps. The task I've set myself of writing Purchas as a serial means I have no choice but to sit down every morning and write something.
In the past I've found that being set a task can help. I had a friend once who would email me with requests like- write a poem about Shostakovitch. I knew next to nothing about Shostakovitch and cared very little, but somehow being expected to do it produced the necessary spark. Some of these commissioned poems were rubbish, but there were quite a few i was pleased with- the Shostakovitch poem among them.
So if I said, "write a poem about Shostakovitch!" do you think you could do it?