Global Frequency

[summercomfort]

So I went over to http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/ to donate some money to the Katrina fund*, and saw the thing about Global Frequency. I suppose I've caught onto it a few months late, but apparently it's this pilot that never made it to air, but had managed to gather quite a fan gathering via BitTorrent. The author seemed surprised at the energy of fans, what with promises of fanclubs and stuff.

And I say... hah! Hollywood has gotten a whiff of Otaku Labor Power! Fans doing the advertising, figuring out information, writing character guides... it's how it's done, yo. Perhaps that's why BitTorrent works so well: because it's functioning on the same model. After all, we're donating our bandwidth to spreading something we (potentially) like. Just more of that otaku labor power thing. (Can you tell I really liked that talk?). I guess in a way it is more and more about what people do on the side. Small businesses, Google's 20% time, etc. More and more amateur professionals, yo! But, to get back onto the topic, can you not envision the new way to pilot shows? Release it on BitTorrent, and see the reaction. It's like, instant polling! Instant advertising without having to spend money on airtime. Instead, individuals contribute their own bandwith. Sure, the sample is heavily skewed, but it's like building a fanbase with no effort.

But how will advertising work in this world? We rely on ratings and reviews, but how to get the name out in the first place? Instead of before, where there was trouble finding one service, now it's the problem of having too many and not knowing which one's good.

I wish that information was free.

(or should that be is? Argh, grammar.)


-----
* my dear lil' bro mentioned during dinner that he'd give me $10 if I can use my oh-so-adult paypal to donate Katrina $$ for him. So I promised to match him, and then recalled reading earlier on limyaael's lj about this guy who would match funds. (happened to be reading one of her oh-so-wonderful rants about writing magical families. It keeps the random characters and plots in my head happy)

Comments

[callistoskye.livejournal.com]

You wish information *were* free. (Subjunctive).
:-)

[summercomfort]

<^^;; Thanks! I recognized it as subjunctive, but didn't know what to do with it.

[satyreyes.livejournal.com]

Mmm hmm, "were" is what your style manual will recommend. But "was" is gaining popularity, especially among young people, because the subjunctive is falling out of use in a lot of contexts. (For instance, did you notice I "should" have said "...what your style manual *would* recommend?") You can still count on the subjunctive being used in lexicalized phrases, though; for instance, unless you're a mobster, saying "If I was you" sounds tacky.

[summercomfort]

um, speak English, por favor?

1) what is the standard thing to do with subjunctives? (I know what to do in Spanish, but not in English)
2) what means "lexicalized phrases"?

I mean, we can say "I've got a question", instead of "I have a question". Sounds less snooty, imho

[satyreyes.livejournal.com]

Gomen gomen :) The standard thing to do with subjunctives is... a little tricky.

Generally, the idea is that you put the verb in the past tense. (It's a little-known fact that, in this way at least, "would" is the past tense of "will," and "should" is the past tense of "shall.") Hence:

Kusanagi shoots Batou; Batou will die --> If Kusanagi *shot* Batou, he *would* die.

You want me to cuddle with you; I will --> If you *wanted* me to cuddle with you, I *would*.

I shall fall in battle; give my son this haiku --> If I *should* fall in battle, give my son this haiku. (As you can see, imperatives don't get changed.)

/examples

A lexicalized phrase is a phrase that has become so ingrained in a language that people don't really analyze how the words in it relate to each other anymore; they just treat the whole thing like one big long word. (It's kind of like an idiomatic expression.) The words in a lexicalized phrase are resilient to change, even when the grammar that made them that way in the first place changes. "If I were you" in modern English is probably lexicalized; this is why it sounds okay to say "Chili, if you chase the squirrel I'm gonna hit you," but not "Chili, if I was you I wouldn't chase the squirrel." I'm not completely convinced of this analysis, however.

[summercomfort]

Ah, so my problem was that information is a plural noun?

Speaking of idioms, mom and I were trying to think of English idioms that have a similar structure to a certain Chinese type, whereupon there's 2 sections: the lead-in and the punchline/moral.

Chinese examples include: "clay buddha crossing the river -- can't even save itself" or "hitting dogs with meat buns -- nothing returns"

What are some English examples? I figure it'd be something like, "man, you're like the egg after Christmas -- cracked" Okay, so I just made that one up and it makes no sense, but surely there's some sort of idiomatic quips like that out there....

[satyreyes.livejournal.com]

Hmmm! Offhand, the best equivalents I can think of are certain kinds of jokes -- the ones that go "Did you hear about the kidnapping down the street?" "No, I haven't!" "Yeah, his mother woke him up." I don't know if this is the kind of formulation you're looking for, but...