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Ray Bradbury Dismisses Internet as "Distracting" and "Meaningless"
Something Demented this Way Comes.....
One of science fictions last surviving greats sounds off with controversial opinions about the internet

With the loss of Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton last year, the survivors of the elite group of twentieth century science fiction authors has dwindled. Such greats as George Orson Welles, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov had already passed away. One of the last surviving greats is Ray Bradbury, currently 88. Mr. Bradbury is known for such classics as Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man, and The Martian Chronicles.
Who in the name of Cthulhu is "George Orson Welles?"
Hgeorge Gorson Welles?
Recently Mr. Bradbury has taken his passion for books to new heights, campaigning for the Ventura County Public Libraries. He explains, "Libraries raised me. I don't believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years."
"You punks get off of my lawn, goddamit! Turn the TV down? Hell, I can barely hear it and where are my pants anyway?"
Perhaps out of concern that the internet is displacing printed works, he let loose some colorful comments about the internet and its worth in The New York Times this week. He comments, "The Internet is a big distraction. Yahoo called me eight weeks ago. They wanted to put a book of mine on Yahoo! You know what I told them? 'To hell with you. To hell with you and to hell with the Internet`. It's distracting. It's meaningless; it's not real. It's in the air somewhere."

A Yahoo spokesperson said they could not comment on the issue. They said they were unsure if Mr. Bradbury's account matched up to reality.
Oh dear.
Other science fiction greats such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke took a warmer stance on the internet, embracing its growing role in society.
Bradbury's own distracting and meaningless website.
I grew up in the public library, too. Between my three siblings and two parents we went through a laundry basket of books every week, which would have been unaffordable on my professor father's salary. I love real books, and I've been know to buy eccentric volumes at the second hand bookshop. Nonetheless, I'd bet a larger percentage of the Millennium Generation is literate than ever before in history, due to the internet... and texting. The key is acquiring the ability to read; learning facts and learning to think are follow-on skills. Oh, and since Mr. Wife can't sleep if I have my light on, reading Rantburg and free novels on-line may well have saved our marriage. ;-)

Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-06-26
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=272914