tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post7246521095324008571..comments2024-03-14T04:07:39.792-07:00Comments on Earl Pomerantz: Just Thinking...: "Just Trying To Help"Earl Pomerantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16963705121297866334noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-57196033351095893622008-04-20T16:55:00.000-07:002008-04-20T16:55:00.000-07:00Perhaps Mr. Lahr's reaction was not as graceful as...Perhaps Mr. Lahr's reaction was not as graceful as it could have been, but it is understandable. I reacted in a similar fashion, the day after the first television program I had written premiered. I went on a victory lap to some of my old haunts, including the coffee shop where I worked during University. My former manager proceeded to tell me, in detail, all the problems with the episode from the night before. <BR/><BR/>I kept my reaction as neutral as possible -- he also thought my script's vocabulary was too advanced for an 'average' audience - but I came very close to losing my temper. Had I been a seasoned pro with years of experience, I would have even less tolerance for sideline criticisms.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17963735775183395028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-20116169901096976402008-04-04T00:47:00.000-07:002008-04-04T00:47:00.000-07:0096% ain't bad. And wow, 7 o'clock every morning, ...96% ain't bad. And wow, 7 o'clock every morning, amazing!growingupartistshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12399714569663568902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-55423781697758579132008-04-03T05:29:00.000-07:002008-04-03T05:29:00.000-07:00Dear Earl, your blog is terrific. I have told abo...Dear Earl, your blog is terrific. I have told about a gazillion people...Since I live in London, I can tell you that all of those words appear in the newspapers here. So Mr Lahr wasn't necessarily being a snob, but he MIGHT be. <BR/>There is a program called MASTERMIND (makes Jeopardy look like Wheel of Fortune) which has been on air for about 50 yrs...guess who has won it the most? No, not teahcers or librarians...TAXI CAB DRIVERS. The question is why? I think I know the answer but would love to hear your guess.conistonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291952041611959642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-59368044539352722972008-04-02T16:12:00.000-07:002008-04-02T16:12:00.000-07:00You guys are great. I don't need you to agree. W...You guys are great. I don't need you to agree. When people disagree with what I've written, it means there's at least two of you out there. <BR/><BR/>That's all I'm looking for. Something to build on. <BR/><BR/>More controversy to come.Earl Pomerantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16963705121297866334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-45524369940153331622008-04-02T14:13:00.000-07:002008-04-02T14:13:00.000-07:00Ah, Love and Death. -- That is so jejune. -- J...Ah, Love and Death.<BR/> -- That is so jejune.<BR/> -- Jejune? You're accusing me of jejunosity? I'm one of the most june people in all of Russia! <BR/><BR/>There's a moment in Woody Allen's film, Manhattan. Diane Keaton and WA are in a museum. She tells him about all the millions of facts and figures in her head. In fact, she can name all the moons of Saturn. She starts a few, and finally WA says to cool it, the names of the moons of Saturn never come up in normal conversation.<BR/><BR/>Did he use syzygy? You can't be a heavyweight without it.Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-7767039279152075142008-04-02T08:26:00.000-07:002008-04-02T08:26:00.000-07:00My,my, what idiosyncratic comments. It is not "dum...My,my, what idiosyncratic comments. It is not "dumbing down" to write so you will be understood. A writer using an unusual word is much the same as a director using an unusual camera angle. It shifts the reader's or audience's attention away from the story to the person telling the story. Anything that distracts from the story is wrong.<BR/><BR/>As for Mr. Lehr's reaction, who cares? What kind of real friend could not handle such a comment?<BR/>MichaelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-62193287677317269532008-04-02T06:44:00.000-07:002008-04-02T06:44:00.000-07:00Okay, here's my helpful comment: Instead of asking...Okay, here's my helpful comment: Instead of asking Lahr to dumb down his column (by the way, how do you fare with the rest of the magazine?), you could stop reading it, or just skip over the unfamiliar words.<BR/><BR/>Oh, you didn't find that comment helpful? Gosh. Maybe he didn't find yours helpful either. Maybe after having written that column for a couple of decades (I'm guessing), he didn't really think he needed your "How to Write Good" tips. Sure, maybe he's a snob and looks down on the sitcom scribe. But he's no neophyte, and your suggestion reminds me of all those people who object to Sondheim's music because they can't hum it.Jon88https://www.blogger.com/profile/16908049871851563389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-754695199522275772008-04-02T03:59:00.000-07:002008-04-02T03:59:00.000-07:00I don't know, maybe I'm an overeducated snob or so...I don't know, maybe I'm an overeducated snob or something, but none of those words are that obscure to me; I recognize them all and use most of them (maybe not "anodyne").<BR/><BR/>But my attitude is, when I'm reading and I encounter a word I don't know, I do look it up. The word exists to be used, it's my responsibility to know it if I already don't, not the writer's to dumb down to my level. My take is not that he's showing off when he uses these words, they're just the right ones for the sentences where he uses them.<BR/><BR/>I think Lahr could have reacted more graciously, but I was honestly surprised that this wasn't intended as a "dumb things I did once" story -- I thought that's where it was headed, and was caught up short that there was no such reversal at the end. <BR/><BR/>My apologies -- normally I find myself agreeing with your points, but apparently not today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-70862661823117149262008-04-02T03:50:00.000-07:002008-04-02T03:50:00.000-07:00Woody Allen used "jejune" in Love and Death for a ...Woody Allen used "jejune" in Love and Death for a comedic line. But it was because nobody knew what it meant that the line was funny.`Of course everyone ran home to look it up, then never used the word again and forgot what it meant.MikeThe Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17121638582388746309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-34365036401690011552008-04-02T03:46:00.000-07:002008-04-02T03:46:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.MikeThe Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17121638582388746309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-33659423879813171492008-04-02T01:05:00.000-07:002008-04-02T01:05:00.000-07:00I picked one of the words at random and looked it ...I picked one of the words at random and looked it up. "Recondite: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend." How ironic. (But hopefully not jejune!)Sally Rollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432583478826079603noreply@blogger.com