You stole my idea! =^_^=
You stole my idea! =^_^=
I agree whole-heartedly with the ideas contained within. I propse that th= e web site could be maintained on a free webspace provider, unless someone want= s to volunteer a hard drive. I use crosswinds but must say that the upload tim= es are slow. does anyone else use a free wbspace provider? Corsswinds allows=
unlimited space, and it would be easy to use I think. We can distribute t= he id and password on the list, or set up a maintenance crew and allow them to receive e-mails and to edit and post them. If we can get away with allowi= ng many people to post at will, then we can accumulate not only a lot of sun= ra lore but make this an experiment that perhaps the Creator himself would b= e proud of. This seems to me what the internet is made for, and if we wish = we can edit the contributions and comments into a picture book later. I fear= what excessive posting of pictures will do and strongly recommend a plain wh= ite background with black text and links to picture galleries.
Also, I think that it is a mistake to limit ourselves to choosing one alb= um, or one reviewer per album, or in any way at all. I will write my essays o= n a per track basis, and will limit myself to subjective emotional reactions = and the notes that I take as a musician when hearing each song. My historical=
knowledge on this subject is nil so I will be filler to you historians. I= f we keep each person's essays catalogued or cross-indexed together, then ever= yone who doesn't for example want to read about how Lights on a Satellite make= s me feel less alone can read one or two lines of my ramble and move on to a m= ore scientifc essayists' review. And then ignore the rest of my reviews, too.=
Therefore I propose not limits upon stylistic approaches and more catalog= uing than editing. Certainly I repeat my offer of editing experience to anyone= who worries that their enlgish isn't too good (think global!), and I extend a= n offer of limited HTML experience in setting up and maintaining the site.
Of course we are moving further away from the originator's idea of the pe= rfect Sun Ra book, but I think that this experience will enhance all of our understandings of the pieces, attract a wide audience of contibutors and celebrities alike :) and allow a good way to collect our thoughts and see= if we feel ready to create a book, and for example to see how certain writin= g styles and analytical approaches affect our appreciation of the Arkestra.= So I say, I think we have a number of nerds on board who should e-mail me personally with recommendations on a website host so that I can set it up= =2E I am very busy but would quit one of my jobs to do this part-time. I have probably the most to gain from this experience as I am trying to learn mo= re about Sun Ra and HTML at the same time anyway.
Also, this website must include a discussion board and be set up right aw= ay so I can have my mailbox back! I don't like getting a hundred e-mails that s= ays, "Me too I'll help!" every couple of days. This is no exaggeration let's m= ove on setting up a proper forum for those who want to contribute before we w= orry about the contents of the essays themselves! Or I will be forced to -unsubscribe chrispz@netscape.net
Chris
Quick! E-mail me for god's sake!
plonsey@SUNRA.BERKELEY.EDU wrote:
I agree with those who have argued for maximum flexibility, and no deadlines. To facilitate that, while at the same time encouraging people to get something done, I suggest that someone (I'm not volunteering!) set up a simple web site, coordinated with Joe's Saturn site,
with the following structure:
- A list of all albums in alphabetical order with title and recording date(s). Then for each would follow links:
- to entry in rlc's online discography
- to site of essay 1
- to site of essay 2 (if any)
- to site of essay N (etc., since for some albums we will ultimately = have several people writing essays)
- to image(s) of album cover, label, artwork
- Ideally, there would also be a second list of albums in chronological=
order, so users could search either way.
- Also, a list of individual songs, linking to each appearance on recor= d,
and to each essay on that record.
Then, when one of us finishes an essay he/she e-mails it as text or HTM= L to the webmaster - OR: simply sends a URL to the webmaster and maintains the essay on his/= her own site. This second option would allow people to put out incomplete results, an= d get feedback from others during the process. Also, it allows for those=
who want to include art, transcriptions, or audio or video clips to do =
so.
Dan
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