# Eyeflash Miracles: WolfeWiki Content *The Urth list — 10 messages, 6 voices, 21 Jul 2007* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Matthew Groves *21 Jul 2007, 00:42* There's a set of essays in the old archives about Wizard of Oz references in "The Eyeflash Miracles." The essays are by William Ansley, and they are very thorough on the Oz connections as well as being a guide to interpretation. Here are the relevant posts: http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0046.shtml http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0050.shtml http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0052.shtml http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0054.shtml http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0057.shtml http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0059.shtml http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0072.shtml This is just the sort of thing I would like to see in the WolfeWiki. A lot of work went into these essays, and others like them. I wonder, first of all, what the WolfeWiki custodians think about the possibility of (upon obtaining Mr. Ansley's permission) editing these posts for inclusion on the Wiki. Second, I wonder about the feasibility of mining the archives for other gems like these and using them for the Wiki as well. The alternative is to create all such content from scratch, which, besides being an unnecessary duplication of effort, is a task that boggles my mind, considering Wolfe's complexity and the breadth of his intertextuality. Any thoughts? Matthew PS: Bill is a Vironese name. Just occurred to me. So is Slippery Dick. --- ### Dan'l Danehy-Oakes *21 Jul 2007, 02:37 · in reply to Matthew Groves* Assuming that William agreed, I'd be delighted to put it into some kind of usable form. Does anyone have a current eddress for him? > On 7/20/07, Matthew Groves wrote: > There's a set of essays in the old archives about Wizard of Oz > references in "The Eyeflash Miracles." The essays are by William > Ansley, and they are very thorough on the Oz connections as well as > being a guide to interpretation. Here are the relevant posts: > > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0046.shtml > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0050.shtml > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0052.shtml > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0054.shtml > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0057.shtml > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0059.shtml > http://www.urth.net/urth/archives/v0024/0072.shtml > > This is just the sort of thing I would like to see in the WolfeWiki. > A lot of work went into these essays, and others like them. I wonder, > first of all, what the WolfeWiki custodians think about the > possibility of (upon obtaining Mr. Ansley's permission) editing these > posts for inclusion on the Wiki. Second, I wonder about the > feasibility of mining the archives for other gems like these and using > them for the Wiki as well. The alternative is to create all such > content from scratch, which, besides being an unnecessary duplication > of effort, is a task that boggles my mind, considering Wolfe's > complexity and the breadth of his intertextuality. > > Any thoughts? > > Matthew > > PS: Bill is a Vironese name. Just occurred to me. So is Slippery Dick. > _______________________________________________ --- ### Mo Holkar / UKG *23 Jul 2007, 19:06 · in reply to Matthew Groves* Hi all, Just a quick update on how things are going over at WolfeWiki. I hope Dan'l won't mind me singling him out for having done some terrific work sorting, systematizing and writing. The pages are filling up gradually, but it'd be great to have some more voices contributing. Not just Wolfe experts, anyone who wants to help the project along will be very welcome as there's plenty of routine work still to do! A few of the pages that have been set up: Front page: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WolfeWiki.Introduction Contents: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WolfeWiki.Contents Page on the recent story Unrequited Love: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Stories.UnrequitedLove Page on Long Sun http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WolfeWiki.TheBookOfTheLongSun And to sign up as a contributor: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Admin.BecomingAnEditor best, Mo --- ### Recursive Loop *24 Jul 2007, 14:27 · in reply to Mo Holkar / UKG* Greetings: I'm working through "Shadow" for the first time since...ummm...mumble...looks up and whistles..can't be THAT LONG! Anyway, it is going to be a while before I feel confident enough to contribute to this, but the efforts are helping me on this go-round. (Sometimes I feel, as I'm reading, I should be carrying a notebook to jot down words and words and words...words that I want to learn, look up, start using. This time around I'm reading it less for a story than an appreciation for the craft). FPK3 --- ### Dan'l Danehy-Oakes *24 Jul 2007, 16:30 · in reply to Mo Holkar / UKG* > On 7/23/07, Mo Holkar / UKG wrote: > I hope Dan'l won't mind me singling him out for having done some > terrific work sorting, systematizing and writing. Why would I mind being singled out for compliments? I'm trying to systematically *start* pages. But a lot of what I am doing is *just* a start. This is a wiki, and the whole point is to mobsource content -- I'd really like people to take the stuff I've done and make it better. In some cases, *much* better. One thing that would help a lot is if you would go to the pages for books that have been started, look at you copies, and, if the edition you have isn't listed, add information about that edition (publisher, date, cover artist; if you're feeling ambitious, add the blurb at the bottom). The point is, it's a wiki, edit it! Add content! Don't worry about it not being "good enough," the whole point is tha someone else will take it as a starting point and make it better ... in a sense, this is the opposite of "pedant central," nobody's ego needs to be involved. ``` Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant ----- http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer http://www.danehyoakes.com Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful. ``` --- ### Paul B *24 Jul 2007, 17:48 · in reply to Dan'l Danehy-Oakes* I noticed that it's not a free-edit Wiki. How hard is it to obtain permissions? Furthermore, what is the spirit of this thing? From what I've seen there isn't a lot of consensus about the interpretation, so perhaps the sections pertaining to places and characters should focus on objective facts to avoid editorial battles. However, I would rather like to see an interpretive FAQ of sorts for the story also, perhaps in a separate section for each of the books. > On 7/24/07, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote: > > On 7/23/07, Mo Holkar / UKG wrote: >> I hope Dan'l won't mind me singling him out for having done some >> terrific work sorting, systematizing and writing. > Why would I mind being singled out for compliments? > > I'm trying to systematically *start* pages. But a lot of what I am > doing is *just* a start. This is a wiki, and the whole point is to > mobsource content -- I'd really like people to take the stuff I've > done and make it better. In some cases, *much* better. > > One thing that would help a lot is if you would go to the > pages for books that have been started, look at you copies, > and, if the edition you have isn't listed, add information about > that edition (publisher, date, cover artist; if you're feeling > ambitious, add the blurb at the bottom). > > The point is, it's a wiki, edit it! Add content! Don't worry > about it not being "good enough," the whole point is tha > someone else will take it as a starting point and make it > better ... in a sense, this is the opposite of "pedant > central," nobody's ego needs to be involved. > > -- > Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant > ----- > http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer > http://www.danehyoakes.com > Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, > inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire > salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards > reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful. > _______________________________________________ --- ### Dan'l Danehy-Oakes *24 Jul 2007, 19:48 · in reply to Paul B* Paul, Go to the bottom of the Contents page, and click the link for "Discussion of edits, structure, etc." We're working on that. I've created bogey templates for story and novel pages, but obviously they can be improved upon. Also, look at the page for "Unrequited Love" (via the "Stories Available Online" link). I'm not suggesting that this is THE WAY to do it, but it's a first-blush attempt -- this is a wiki, make it better! > On 7/24/07, Paul B wrote: > I noticed that it's not a free-edit Wiki. How hard is it to obtain > permissions? > > Furthermore, what is the spirit of this thing? From what I've seen there > isn't a lot of consensus about the interpretation, so perhaps the sections > pertaining to places and characters should focus on objective facts to avoid > editorial battles. > However, I would rather like to see an interpretive FAQ of sorts for the > story also, perhaps in a separate section for each of the books. > > > On 7/24/07, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote: >> On 7/23/07, Mo Holkar / UKG < lists at ukg.co.uk> wrote: >>> I hope Dan'l won't mind me singling him out for having done some >>> terrific work sorting, systematizing and writing. >> Why would I mind being singled out for compliments? >> >> I'm trying to systematically *start* pages. But a lot of what I am >> doing is *just* a start. This is a wiki, and the whole point is to >> mobsource content -- I'd really like people to take the stuff I've >> done and make it better. In some cases, *much* better. >> >> One thing that would help a lot is if you would go to the >> pages for books that have been started, look at you copies, >> and, if the edition you have isn't listed, add information about >> that edition (publisher, date, cover artist; if you're feeling >> ambitious, add the blurb at the bottom). >> >> The point is, it's a wiki, edit it! Add content! Don't worry >> about it not being "good enough," the whole point is tha >> someone else will take it as a starting point and make it >> better ... in a sense, this is the opposite of "pedant >> central," nobody's ego needs to be involved. >> >> -- >> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant >> ----- >> http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer >> http://www.danehyoakes.com >> Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, >> inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire >> salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards >> reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful. >> _______________________________________________ --- ### Mo Holkar / UKG *24 Jul 2007, 20:44 · in reply to Paul B* > At 18:48 24/07/2007, you wrote: > I noticed that it's not a free-edit Wiki. How hard is it to obtain > permissions? Not at all hard -- at the moment, while knowledge of the wiki is limited to members of this list, we're allowing anyone who wants to sign up as a contributor: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Admin.BecomingAnEditor If it continues to grow to the point where we observe "bad" contributor behaviour, then we'll tighten up on things. > Furthermore, what is the spirit of this thing? From what I've seen > there isn't a lot of consensus about the interpretation, so perhaps > the sections pertaining to places and characters should focus on > objective facts to avoid editorial battles. > However, I would rather like to see an interpretive FAQ of sorts for > the story also, perhaps in a separate section for each of the books. What we've tried to do so far is to create "rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty" (in the words of Douglas Adams) -- each work has a factual area and a separate interpretative area. Of course this is all up for grabs as the consensus of users evolves, but hopefully it's a workable starting situation. best wishes, Mo --- ### aaron *25 Jul 2007, 05:39 · in reply to Mo Holkar / UKG* I would love to contribute something. Let me know what section needs the most attention at the present and I will be happy to jump on it. My knowledge of Wolfe and his work is pretty thorough, and I am sure most who post here could say the same. I do not claim any knowledge about Letters Home and a couple of the other rare books, but for the most part, I am familiar with his body of work. Let me know. Thanks. Aaron Singleton --- ### Mo Holkar / UKG *25 Jul 2007, 17:12 · in reply to aaron* > At 06:39 25/07/2007, you wrote: > I would love to contribute something. Let me know what section > needs the most attention at the present and I will be happy to jump > on it. My knowledge of Wolfe and his work is pretty thorough, and I > am sure most who post here could say the same. I do not claim any > knowledge about Letters Home and a couple of the other rare books, > but for the most part, I am familiar with his body of work. Let me > know. Thanks. > > Aaron Singleton Hi Aaron (and anyoen else who's thinking the same), That's great! I guess a good place to dive in might be to start working through the individual stories and novels with which you're most familiar / have closest to hand, setting their pages up using the templates: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Templates.StoryTemplate http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Templates.NovelTemplate and filling those in with as much or as little detail as you feel happy to. Dan'l's examples: http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WolfeWiki.TheShadowOfTheTorturer http://www.holkar.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=OnlineStories.UnrequitedLove show how the templates are intended to be used. The templates themselves are only pro tem, of course, so if you think they could be improved upon, go right ahead. But apart from that, please do feel free to add, correct or improve anything else that you see as you wander around the site, best wishes, Mo ---