Respect TRP? Ignore Whineland.

[Bill Millard]

Foax, for my two pfennigs, I don't think it's a great idea to call 
a whole lot of attention to this recycled soap opera that Jules 
Siegel is foisting on the public -- of which I'll just highlight one 
dreary sample:

> She could only marry one of them, but no one would stop her from
> loving them both! 

(urgh, gack, barf... take this away, please, and dissolve it in the
Ocean of Delusionally Bad Promotional Prose) -- but amid whatever
ruckus it generates over intellectual-property questions, I think
it would help to pause and consider the crystal-clear preferences
expressed by the one person in whom we're all interested here.  

TRP has decided to keep his private life private, and we've all
expressed respect for that decision (assuming that the category "all
of us on the P-list" no longer includes Jules).  The Lineland project
is a direct intrusion on TRP's privacy -- and if it includes the
embarrassing "live interview" session in which Jules was transcribing
Chrissie's comments about TRP's habits and character, as it probably 
will, it includes at least one very ugly and bitter slur against him, 
uttered as the interview was degenerating. Do we want to dignify this 
by helping publicize it, through lawsuits or any other action?  From 
the quality of the promo copy on Lineland's website, I think it's 
likely to sink into oblivion of its own accord, provided it doesn't 
attract some perverse _succes de scandale_ effect.

Whatever the legalities may be about Jules's appropriation of
P-listers' words without the courtesy of a prepub quote check, his
appropriation of events from TRP's life is in god-awful taste, no
matter how cleverly he may do it (we all know Jules is an intelligent
guy and a wit, whatever anyone thinks of his work and his conduct).  
If Lineland attracts any degree of attention, I can't imagine any 
consequences but to make everyone involved look smaller than they are 
-- Jules most of all.  But whether or not you believe Jules deserves 
the ensuing contumely, I think doing anything to draw attention to 
Lineland would compound the pointless disservice done to TRP.

--Bill Millard

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Bill Millard, Editor
21stC: The World of Research at Columbia
millard at cuadmin.cis.columbia.edu
212/854-9474
fax 854-9476
online edition: www.21stC.org
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