Comments on: Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Blue Stone — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 05:32:31 -0800

Clive James on Scams and Hoaxes. "If the flim-flam man is sensible enough to offer you a return of only twice as much, the scam might even work. I was once defrauded of a heartbreakingly-large sum by a fellow writer who was smart enough to offer no return at all. True to her word, she didn't return my money either."

By: Blue Stone

Blue Stone — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 05:34:31 -0800

Link to the audio (Real Player/Windows Media Player) (Available only until April 12 2007)

By: DU

DU — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 05:38:01 -0800

The world runs on good faith, if all of us had to spend our whole time questioning the credentials of everyone we met, life would come to a halt. CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE WON THE FALSE-DICHOTOMY LOTTERY

By: Wolof

Wolof — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 05:49:06 -0800

Mine gwoodness me, this was awfuwwy dull. Mr James teeters alarmingly between the dead relevant and the super-fluffy; there is some terrifyingly bad poetry in the middle.

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:10:27 -0800

For some reason I was picturing Clive Anderson writing the article... perhaps leading up to a hoedown with Ryan Stiles and Josie Lawrence.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:14:38 -0800

I read that this morning before work, and mulled it over on the trip. God that was horrible writing.

But there could be no quarrelling with the name and rank of the official in charge, billed as Dr Antonio Gomez, vice president. The doctorate wasn't a bad touch and the vice presidency was masterly, calling him president would have been too much. Calling him vice president suggested the Ministry of Economics might actually have been engaged in this philanthropic activity as part of some incidental arm of government policy. The kind of thing a vice president would handle down there in Madrid, if not in Lagos or in a small basement flat somewhere beneath Brixton, with an old sofa in the garden for the ministers of economics to relax in with a beer on a spring day.

Two paragraphs about the "title" of the fictional minister. Gawd. who has time to read this garbage.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:20:58 -0800

Bad writing, bad reporting and a nonsensical link between scammers and those that trick without malice or to show the preposterousness of those in charge. I'm ashamed of you Mr James.

By: beagle

beagle — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:47:33 -0800

There is a difference between a true confidence scheme and simple deception. It would have been useful for James to explain the difference. In a confidence scheme, the perpetrator first works to gain the confidence of the target, and then puts out the bait. A con artist can not be successful unless there is some larceny in the soul of the sucker. The target of the scam is led to believe he or she can get something for nothing, and steps into the trap. The hail forest hoax described is simple deception, as he seems to have realized about halfway through. The Nigerian/Australian scams described are confidence schemes.

By: Gnostic Novelist

Gnostic Novelist — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:48:17 -0800

Exposing Cliver James

By: imperium

imperium — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 07:00:01 -0800

The father of a friend of mine was at Cambridge with Clive James and Germaine Greer. He told me one day, no doubt one of his favourite stories, that when he graduated he remembers thinking "thank Christ I'll never have to listen to either of those bloody Aussie loudmouths ever again". Sadly it didn't turn out like that.

By: A Thousand Baited Hooks

A Thousand Baited Hooks — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 07:03:11 -0800

Wolof writes: Mr James teeters alarmingly between the dead relevant and the super-fluffy; there is some terrifyingly bad poetry in the middle. And the novels... don't forget the novels (Oh how I wish I could forget the novels). And I say this as someone who grew up watching Saturday Night Clive on the ABC and actually quite likes a lot of what the man turns out. But this article, no.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 07:59:45 -0800

i'm with the haters. I was once defrauded of a heartbreakingly-large sum by a fellow writer who was smart enough to offer no return at all. True to her word, she didn't return my money either. That's the only reason I read the story. He should have wrote a few paragraphs about that and let it be. I'm guessing it's a story about an ex-wife or something, so I would have likely been just as disappointed by that lame tale.

By: johnny novak

johnny novak — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:32:39 -0800

Clive James is a bit of a conundrum. Unreliable Memoirs is excellent, yet the subsequent volumes are dull. His novels and poetry are truly execrable, yet his TV and literary criticism is very good. This is very poor, and I have no idea why the BBC have decided to publish it.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 10:24:54 -0800

Christ, that was terrible. Ponderous and rambling, with only a squib of interest, helpfully excerpted here, in a confused and confusing sub-Andy Rooney muddle of "Wouldn't it be nice?" Why did you post this?

By: athenian

athenian — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 10:44:16 -0800

Some of his other regular columns for the BBC have been better. But not so much better that I can be bothered to go and find them. Sorry.

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:34:35 -0800

I have no idea why the BBC have decided to publish it. Publish it? I listened to it on the usually top-notch Radio 4 as I sat in traffic a couple of days ago, marvelling at how fucking banal and pointless it was. The final lines were as ridiculous as any ever broadcast in the POV series, and the link reminding us that "that was the last in the current series from Clive James" was subtly terrifying. No more, please! No more.

By: scody

scody — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 13:51:57 -0800

Jesus, he's dreadful; all the critical slavering he's getting these days just boggles the mind. Also, every time I see his name my heart momentarily beats faster because I think it's going to be something involving Clive Owen, and then I realize it isn't and I hate him all the more.

By: griphus

griphus — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:18:19 -0800

Hoaxes are only funny if there is no offence caused or if it genuinely serves to reveal a person's darker side that they cover up. That's why the BBC spaghetti tree April fool isn't really that funny: spaghetti was an exotic food in 1957 and I'm not surprised that many people didn't know how it was made. Poor guy still can't get over that horrible affair with the Wallet Inspector.

By: Mocata

Mocata — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:49:48 -0800

Rampant egomania/megalomania seems to be the problem with C. James these days. His selected essays - which has some good stuff in it - is seriously marred/made weirdly entertaining by mini-prefaces to each piece where he says things like 'I don't want to brag, but I was really on great form when I wrote this one'.