Re: Banana Fever
Malcolm Lawrence (malcolm@wolfenet.com)
Fri, 24 Apr 1998 00:31:15 -0700
Brendan McKennedy wrote:
> Well, folks, since I haven't seen Malcolm himself bragging about his
> incredible site, Tower of Babel, I thought I'd take this opporunity to
> brag for the both of us. Babel is a huge, brilliant site, and Malcolm
> has had the courage and graciousness to publish therein a rather
> amateur, large-eyed young writer--specifically me. I really encourage
> everyone to check it out, not only because I'm there :), but because it
> is truly a gorgeous, important site that deserves the attention of you
> gorgeous, important Bananafishers.
>
> With (sort of shame-faced) Hubris,
> Brendan
*Malcs steps forth from the wings sheepishly, all the while trying to
divert the attention away from himself and foist it on Brendan instead*I
haven't had the time, really. I've been too busy maintaining the site,
trying to solicit fresh content, trying to get the word out in some
newsgroups, and trying to find a job so I can afford to have a message
board that can handle heavy traffic for the site (not to mention being able
to afford to have a mailing list and hypermail archives set up too, ala the
Bananafish list). I feel like Poseidon inthat great proverb of Kafka's. You
know, the one where he gets wistful for the days when he ruled the seas,
trident in one hand, and now is simply stuck at a desk doing the paperwork
for the world's oceans. Sigh.
Those of you who check out the
soc.culture.korea/israel/south-africa/whatever newsgroups will have seen my
introductory posts already. It sure is weird spending the whole day getting
a hold of all of the countries of the world and saying "Yo yo yo, Edgar
Allen Poe." Still, never one to leave out the country of Bananafish, here's
what I've just spent the last day interrupting innumerable flame wars on
over a hundred newsgroups to post:
Babel needs stringers
Babel, the multilingual, multicultural online journal of arts and ideas
(http://www.towerofbabel.com) is looking for international stringers for
the Our Man In Havana section. No matter where you are on the planet, no
matter
what you do, we want to know what’s going on around you. So far we have
stringers in South Korea, Tokyo, Louisiana, San Francisco, Oakland, Hawaii,
Tacoma, prison and church. Their content is all in English, except for one
which has been translated into German and Tagalog as well.
Preferential consideration for any content submitted in more than just
English. No right wing or fascistic political agendas need apply. Gender,
race,
creed, and sexual orientation are not liabilities and are in fact given
preferential treatment. Pseudonyms are fine if you are in a delicate
situation where
discretion is of the utmost importance. Professional writing experience is
not necessary and since we can’t pay you yet, that should encourage fresh
new
undiscovered voices and discourage tired old greedy, expensive hacks. If
you have a keen eye for observation, a love of life and education, and a
knack
for having a deft turn of phrase, please send an email to
malcolm@wolfenet.com.
Thank you very much for your time.
Malcolm Lawrence
Editor-in-chief
Babel
http://www.towerofbabel.com