tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post4893585663966929983..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Put Out Fewer Flags - Charlie ButlerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-89775327541574204062011-05-06T17:47:45.686+01:002011-05-06T17:47:45.686+01:00Thanks for dropping by, Terri - I hadn't reali...Thanks for dropping by, Terri - I hadn't realised you were an ABBA reader! And thanks to all for the fascinating comments - especially perhaps to sartorias, whom I know as one of the most interesting and thinky of US creators of fantasy kingdoms.Cathy Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838615971611193743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-17419604928583621312011-05-06T09:41:28.138+01:002011-05-06T09:41:28.138+01:00Thank you for this terrific post, Charles. I'm...Thank you for this terrific post, Charles. I'm an American living in the UK and a staunch Republican (in the British, not American, sense of the word); we fought an entire Revolution over there to throw off the yoke of royalty, after all. And, alas, I agree with you: Disney has a lot to answer for....Terri Windlinghttp://windling.typepad.com/blog/2011/02/on-blogging.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-21881944664971953652011-05-05T10:00:24.552+01:002011-05-05T10:00:24.552+01:00I loved your marinade metaphor!
Maybe the resaon ...I loved your marinade metaphor!<br /><br />Maybe the resaon people are attached to the idea of Kings is that they have the magickal power to save us all. If only.Veronica Milvusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-59056594052736006482011-05-04T22:38:10.431+01:002011-05-04T22:38:10.431+01:00Leslie, I too have dreamt - not of the Queen, but ...Leslie, I too have dreamt - not of the Queen, but of Prince Charles, who I suppose will have to do. A frightening percentage of Brits has done so, I understand.<br /><br />I'd heard rumours of the Hat, but your toilet-seat reference made me google, and then giggle. Am I alone in getting a bit of a carpet beater vibe, too? I know little of millinery.Cathy Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838615971611193743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-64055021899803246612011-05-04T19:42:42.860+01:002011-05-04T19:42:42.860+01:00Ika - no, I hadn't seen that. Thanks, I think....Ika - no, I hadn't seen that. Thanks, I think...Cathy Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838615971611193743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-23018451449383626832011-05-04T18:18:39.660+01:002011-05-04T18:18:39.660+01:00Hats, yes! Why did the Guardian applaud Princess E...Hats, yes! Why did the Guardian applaud Princess Eugenie for wearing a toilet seat?<br />I was in the aircraft lounge at Heathrow during the wedding, and saw the new Duchess waving her hand at the crowd ('Nothing for you, nothing for you' my father used to say.) Charlie, this is a fantastic post, and you are doubtless not at all surprised that I agree with you 100%. As for royals not getting involved in fiddles, what about the Duke of York? Never mind the Duchess. Mind you, it seems traditional for Yorks, as a previous D of Y was eagerly flogging army promotions via his mistress, Mary Ann Clarke. Anyway, the whole royal thing is a fiddle. The myth about the Queen's 'private fortune' for one thing. Where did it come from in the first place? It all should belong to us, really. And yet people are so keen to Lick the Boots. Why? Is it hard-wired into us? Even I sometimes dream of having tea with the Queen..But then, I also dream of appearing in public in my nightie, and many other things that I would not wish to see happen in daily life.Leslie Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105465949970430998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-47526518134570561372011-05-04T18:09:16.987+01:002011-05-04T18:09:16.987+01:00monarchy has survived in this country largely by p...<i>monarchy has survived in this country largely by pretending to be a fantasy</i><br /><br />Ooh, yes, that is <i>very</i> true. On the porousness between fantasy and reality, have you seen <a href="http://princess-prep.com/" rel="nofollow">this</a>?Ikahttp://nowandrome.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-21560009286426419212011-05-04T18:02:59.756+01:002011-05-04T18:02:59.756+01:00PS I have to admit I didn't watch any of the r...PS I have to admit I didn't watch any of the royal wedding as the Windsors seem to have carefully bred charisma out of the line, but now I wish I had, just for the parade of the Ugly Hats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-61520802771350966832011-05-04T18:00:52.025+01:002011-05-04T18:00:52.025+01:00I think the same urge is behind the crowds of mour...I think the same urge is behind the crowds of mourners outside Bin Ladin's compound in Pakistan, though he didn't do diddly for anyone but himself: the rich and powerful have a lure that is hardwired. We humans like our hierarchies. And one of the ways monarchy made itself acceptable was through display.<br /><br />So, yeah, those of us who write about such things are examining the effects (and the costs) of power, while having fun with all the trappings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-18160389131067435962011-05-04T14:37:43.865+01:002011-05-04T14:37:43.865+01:00Ebaying one's ex-husband, though? (Actually, I...Ebaying one's ex-husband, though? (Actually, I can see how some people might find that attractive...)<br /><br />Lest I be misunderstood, I'm not visiting the sins of those hackers of yore on the current crop, only explaining why I don't find the "Let's raise an army to restore the True King to the throne" plot a very appealing one.<br /><br />As for those pesky Pevensies being presented with their thrones simply for having opposable thumbs, don't get me started...Cathy Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838615971611193743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-16392540526846145352011-05-04T14:20:16.118+01:002011-05-04T14:20:16.118+01:00True, true Charlie, but I should not like to be he...True, true Charlie, but I should not like to be held accountable for my ancestors myself. Some of them were definite hackers.<br /><br />I think that was rather enterprising of the Duchess of York. Probably would have done the same myself. It's a small step obviously, from struggling children's author to ebaying the wedding ring, and who knows which of us will be forced to take it next?hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849132435509266651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-126367829320527432011-05-04T13:40:56.039+01:002011-05-04T13:40:56.039+01:00Thanks for the comments so far!
Two thoughts as w...Thanks for the comments so far!<br /><br />Two thoughts as we go. Stroppy, it's true that many MPs were caught with their hands in the till, but the comforting thing about democracy is that a good few were then punished at the ballot box. The royals, on the other hand - well, let's just say I don't particularly associate them with reasonable expenses claims... And then there's the Duchess of York, who is still Duchess of York despite her attempt to nab herself a cool £500,000 last year by selling access to Prince Andrew. I don't suppose the royals are any worse than politicians in this regard, but they're not noticeably better either.<br /><br />Hilary, you're right that human beings appear to be hackers by nature. I lean to pacifism myself, but even I would admit that some causes are more worth fighting over than others, though, and a rather anorakish genealogical dispute about whether the Earl of March is more closely related to Edward III than Henry Bolingbroke isn't high on my list of reasons to leave thousands weltering in their own gore.Cathy Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838615971611193743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-10086950148398562012011-05-04T10:46:39.197+01:002011-05-04T10:46:39.197+01:00I just regard the whole lot of them (The Royal Fam...I just regard the whole lot of them (The Royal Family) as one glorious soap opera whose plots (better ones than I can think of, for sure) unroll over the years. When I was nine, I watched the Coronation and cut pictures out of the Illustrated London News and stuck them in a scrapbook.Won't be doing that for the Diamond Jubilee but I do like to think of that last 60 years and all that's happened to that bunch of people on a narrative level, so to speak! Enjoyed every minute of the Royal Wedding coverage. The Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and their hats could have a whole chapter devoted to them! <br />But I have never in my life played at being a Princess and as far as I know, neither did either of my daughters.My granddaughter on the other hand.. Different strokes, etc.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-63137194887773289672011-05-04T10:23:40.695+01:002011-05-04T10:23:40.695+01:00I feel it is only fair to point out that the long ...I feel it is only fair to point out that the long standing tradition of hacking to pieces those who do not agree with our point of view seems to be endemic to our species. No pomp-and-swan-baggers (that should be a new title) in America, for instance, but it seems a very strong belief in the right to hack.hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849132435509266651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-13323595012503505472011-05-04T09:56:50.540+01:002011-05-04T09:56:50.540+01:00Oh help, just did a big comment and blogger failed...Oh help, just did a big comment and blogger failed to post it!<br /><br />In a nutshell though, I think just because you love reading about something, or watching it, doesn't mean you actually want to return to it. I love reading "Shogun" about feudal Japan, but I definitely DON'T want to live there, and equally I am fascinated by Ancient Greece, but that doesn't mean I want to live there (especially as a woman) or don't recognise that it relied on the horrible institution of slavery.<br /><br />I also love reading Tolkien, as do many, many people - he founded the fantasy genre almost. So it is not surprising that many writers use elements from his world - true-born kings and all. But it's fantasy. And the Royal Wedding is a kind of fantasy too for most - we don't know the individuals, but it is colourful and picturesque and a bit more fun than listening to a debate on AV. Maybe more a part of modern celebrity culture than any kind of harking back to the past.Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-3764499237343170862011-05-04T08:53:46.716+01:002011-05-04T08:53:46.716+01:00Every country needs a focal point to refer to as t...Every country needs a focal point to refer to as their centre and the essence whether it be an object of something or image or someone. The beauty of the Royal Family is that the condition remains the same but the image changes for each generation. We have a self-renewing cultural icon to unify us in hope or in condemnation. The Royal Family is a multi-layered, non-intrusive, money-spinning marvel.<br />The countryside - like football clubs - would be owned in even greater tracts by a different kind of rich. <br />At least crown lands aren't being sold off by our current government.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15459671422564355990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-67026785590656918642011-05-04T08:35:38.478+01:002011-05-04T08:35:38.478+01:00Good post about an illogical subjects. Is it that ...Good post about an illogical subjects. Is it that many of us would rather cheer a fantasy than Berlusconi? (Or others nearer home?)Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-73453599217351131772011-05-04T08:32:32.209+01:002011-05-04T08:32:32.209+01:00Given the behaviour of some of our MPs it would be...Given the behaviour of some of our MPs it would be a relief to have an unelected upper house. Then we could blame their genes (or something like that) instead of idiocy of those who voted them in. <br />Not sure what you do with our lower house. (System in Australia is made worse by compulsory attendance at ballot box and, if you want your vote to count, compulsory preferential voting.)catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-84067205793547642882011-05-04T07:57:15.339+01:002011-05-04T07:57:15.339+01:00Lots of food for thought here! I'm no royalist...Lots of food for thought here! I'm no royalist - but the disastrous showing of the corrupt fairly elected MPS over the last years doesn't do much to promote the cause of democracy over an accidental elite. The appeal of royals will not diminish while they are the only ones who are not fiddling their expenses and lying.<br /><br />Your point about Americans really liking all the princess-lit is a very pertinent one. Princess Diaries is such an American phenomenon. I guess because it's the American Dream come true without any hard work, same reason people buy lottery tickets.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-78456201356259879452011-05-04T07:51:01.948+01:002011-05-04T07:51:01.948+01:00Very interesting post - thanks, Charlie!Very interesting post - thanks, Charlie!Elen Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00445201005486291612noreply@blogger.com