Greetings all, Columbine. On the distinction between Good and Evil, I agree, there is none. But if somebody hurts someone I like, I'm gonna be severely pissed and I'm going to express that sense of self to the individuals concerned, regardless of how I would define their actions. >> and all of us sitting around in a circle saying "it's sad and let's hold on to our anger so it doesn't happen again" isn't going to save the world cos IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE THERE!!! << Nobody has to save *the* world, but I'm gonna save some little pieces of mine ... ------- 'A media circus' is no longer a term used to describe the phenomenon surrounding a passing but intense media interest. Today's media *is* a circus; with little bearded women feeding us yesterday's stale cliches' so that every news story must end with "The final chapter in this saga is yet to be written", or "The healing process has begun but it will be many years before life returns to normal in this sleepy town" or closing with "... only time will tell". What I'd give to hear some elephant-man presenter say "This story has been pleasantly resolved and we expect to hear no more of it in coming years..." ------- Thanks for the encouragement Camille. On the Salinger Campfire chat board at http://killdevilhill.com/salingerchat/wwwboard.html amongst posts advertising Viagra and students asking what Holden's sister's name is, someone provided instructions on connecting to the Pittsburgh Library and accessing various literary essays on Salinger. I've been through most of them, some are marvellous - if you like that kind of thing :) But the whole business can become all very ... unzenlike. I've been literally delighted by Salinger's earlier unpublishedish stories (thankyou those who should be thanked). I haven't read them all yet but of the 11 or so I've been through, I found none of them to be 'poor' - as the general populous seem to have suggested. They've instilled in me a new-found sense of wonder. I've been wallowing in Salinger all over again. I read The Inverted Forest for the first time this morning. I was sort of disturbed by it - that is to say, I slipped into a completely different sort of mental state. One that I can't really describe. As I finished it, suddenly started raining outside - there must have been a window open because it was suddenly very wet beneath my eyes :) The words 'Love and Squalor' suddenly felt relevant. I can't even say that I understand the story yet - the new terrain of a first reading is always concern enough. I hope that perhaps, when Will and Scottie return (if) we could maybe all maybe go through the various stories one at a time, and sort of well ... *dwell* on them. For a week or so. And the earlier incarnations of The Catcher. There's some insanely beautiful little nuggets in there that didn't make it into the novel, and perhaps they shouldn't have, but they work wonderfully within the context of the shorter stories. I was blown away: "I like girls I haven't met yet; girls that you can just see the backs of their heads, a few seats ahead of you on the train." - ! - Yesterday I read "Zooey", the novel, again. The single italicised 'o' in 'negotiable' on page 96! --Brad of the Colbourne. http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/dadd/92/index.html