Apple refuses short story collection of Charles Bukowski (and guitar talk that bores Gary Eisenberg) (1 Viewer)

Ponder

"So fuck Doubleday Doran"
RIP
Since today or yesterday this article appeared in many Dutch newspapers.

Sorry, if it's a poor translation, guys.


AMSTERDAM -

Apple refuses to sell the short story collection Fuck Machine and Other Stories of Ordinary Madness of the American writer Charles Bukowski as e-book.
The IBook Store of Apple has informed the Dutch publisher Lebowski that both the title and the picture on the front cover, the hairy lower body of a woman, has not been accepted.

Bukowski wrote the book in 1972 under the title Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions And General Tales Of Ordinary Madness. More than 40 years later the book is again a topic of controversy.

Publisher Oscar van Gelderen stated that Lebowski has summoned Apple to turn back the decision.
The publisher claims that the book should be uploaded at least march, 8.
If Apple has not respond on saturday, then Lebowski will consider legal steps. The American company Apple refused earlier publications, including a book of the Dutch writer Heleen van Rooyen, because of links to porn sites.
 
I've been reading books about The Beatles lately, so when I saw the subject line I thought, "That's funny, Apple never turned down anyone for anything," then I see it's the other Apple.

Who incidentally made an agreement with the Beatles version of Apple way back when to use the name only if they never got in to the business of selling music. "No problem," they said, "we sell computers." Guess someone forgot about that.
 
That's typical Apple. They also turned down a Danish book in two volumes about the hippies just because some of the pictures in the books were of naked hippies. That was 2-3 years ago. I guess Apple thinks pictures of naked hippies from 1970 is porn. It caused a lot of debate over here. The writer then tried to get around the problem by placing red apples over the offending body parts, but Apple did´nt accept that either. They could no doubt see that the red apples was an indirect way of criticizing Apple's censorship.
Here's two article about the case:

http://www.cultofmac.com/199930/apple-kicks-book-about-hippies-off-the-danish-ibookstore-for-using-apples-to-censor-genitals/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/06/apple_censors_apple_censored_naked_hippies/


Here's a couple of the pictures with and without the infamous apples:

Hippie..gif
Hippie.-3-2.jpg
 
Last edited:
That's typical Apple. They also turned down a Danish book in two volumes about the hippies just because some of the pictures in the books were of naked hippies.
Apple, Facebook...both have something in common that informs this whole issue: They are CORPORATE critters. As such, they conform to corporate cultural mores - this means whitebread pabulum for the lemmings, plain and simple. Which lemmings? Those who get in line and pay the piper. Which is why I HATE Apple. On the other hand, Bill Gates is not one iota better. So we're basically screwed. I need another drink. And, fortunately, I CAN partake of said drink, without any corporate crap to corrupt that experience. At least for the time being.
 
[...] Bukowski wrote the book in 1972 under the title Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions And General Tales Of Ordinary Madness. More than 40 years later the book is again a topic of controversy.
Maybe I just wasn't in the loop at the time, but I don't recall any controversy about the book when it was published as "Erections ...etc" back in 1972.
 
I need another drink. And, fortunately, I CAN partake of said drink, without any corporate crap to corrupt that experience.
You must make all your own liquor in your basement. Since the liquor you can go out and buy all comes from corporations. Some of the biggest in the world.
 
Good point, MJP. Although the liquor that I purchase comes from corporations in places like Belfast and Crakow. But still, it is imported and distributed by slimy US corporations. My primary tipple is Polish vodka (Luksusowa) and Irish Whiskey (Bushmills). As it happens, I've visited the Bushmill distillery in Northern Ireland; and several Polish distilleries, back in the '88 and '89. I met and spent time with the company leaders, distillery master, etc. The vibe was VERY different than the corporate vibe stateside. Of course, that was decades ago. Things may be different now, with all the globalization that has taken place. I did some writing...here's a link to some of my tasting notes...

http://www.polmoslancut.com.pl/nowa/eng/by_Gary_Eisenberg.htm
 
Bushmills is owned by Diageo. There's a few independent distilleries left in Scotland (although most aren't). Off the top of my head - William Grant and Sons, who own Glenfiddich and Balvenie; Springbank in Campbeltown; Bladnoch in the Lowlands; Isle of Arran and Erdradour near Pitlochry are all still in the hands of independent owners.
Anyway...

I like the wet hippie.
How do like them apples? ;)
 
Like I said, it was decades ago that I did my booze journalism stint and visited those distilleries. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that back in those days, there was no corporate "feel" to be felt. In any event, Bushmills and Polish vodka continue to be good solid tipple. At least three-times distilled, good flavor, and minimal hangover factor. I don't have to watch their commercials (although, I might add, I've never seen any).
 
Bushmills - that's Protestant whisky. But yes, it's nice stuff. I've had the 10 year old and the 14 year old single malt. For what little it's worth, I actually prefer the former. Both are lovely smooth drops though. The blended Bushmills is nice too, as is their slightly more expensive blend Black Bush (the latter is lovely and a cut above your run of the mill blended Scotch - I know it's technically not Scotch but you know what I mean). I'm not much of a vodka drinker although I have it now and again and there's a hell of a difference between the nice stuff and the cheap gut-rot shit you can get. I quite like the nice stuff neat over ice or straight out the freezer.
As for the corporate thing, if you visit the actual distilleries (not that I've been to the Bushmills one, despite working in Northern Ireland Mon-Fri for a few years) they still have a low key, traditional feel to them, but that doesn't get away from the fact most of them are owned by multi-nationals these days. It makes fuck all differnce if you ask me though, seeing as they're still made in pretty much the same way as they were years ago.
 
On occasion I have to deal with Diageo, and for a a giant player in the spirit world, they have a very (comparatively)
non-corporate style in their business dealings. Much more an old-school hand shake kind of thing, in my experience
at least.
 
I wasn't saying that the product is lesser or bad because there's a corporate connection. Just making the point that you can't buy a bottle of anything without one of a handful of very large companies getting some of your money.

But that goes for anything you buy in any store. In some places around the U.S. big food wholesalers set up stalls at farmer's markets, for christ's sake. That hallowed bastion of the crafty individual, Etsy, consists of 80% Chinese manufactured products being resold. Most of us live in a world that has a long established supply chain.

All of that doesn't necessarily mean the end product is worse than it was when there were a lot of smaller companies making our shit. You know, necessarily. But it's certainly a more difficult and expensive world for anyone who seeks out quality.

Musicians lost their minds when Fender started making guitars in Mexico years ago, but now that a big chunk of guitar manufacturing has moved to China and Indonesia, they talk about how "good" the Mexican Strats are. It's all subjective.
 
Musicians lost their minds when Fender started making guitars in Mexico years ago, but now that a big chunk of guitar manufacturing has moved to China and Indonesia, they talk about how "good" the Mexican Strats are. It's all subjective.
I have a MIM Jazz bass that kills it. But, if I were to sell it, I'd have a hard time because most bass players these days are complete and utter pussies who need their action so low that they can just look at the string and it frets itself. Having played double bass for 20+ years, I want my instrument to fight back. The action on all of my basses elicits a response of "you need to get someone to set this up properly." Ugggh.

Sorry, a digression. Do you know the difference between American made Fenders and Mexican made Fenders?

Mexican made Fenders are made in Mexico by Mexicans. American made Fenders are made in the U.S. by Mexicans.
 
To me the ingredients are more important than the chef, but it does hurt to see so many of our skilled trades washed down the sewer by outsourcing. At least you can still buy an American made Fender or Gibson (and Canada makes some good acoustic guitars).

But yeah, I had a Mexican Telecaster back in the late 80s, and it sounded pretty damn good to me. I think my band mate Trevy liked it too, since he borrowed it one night, but that night turned in to five years (then it was stolen). Funny thing, I had a dead mint completely stock 1960 Les Paul Junior at the time and I was always trying to get him to play it in the studio but he never would. "Nah man, I'm afraid a that thing!"

Pete Towsend likes high action too. So high that when most other guitar players pick up one of his guitars they just wince, shake their heads and put it right back down. I used to go for higher action but I've lowered it recently. The first time I set up a guitar to have low action (only a few years ago) I played it for about ten seconds and said, "Oh jesus christ, this is so easy! I've been a fool!"
 
To be fair, I have lowered the action on a couple of my basses in the past year or so, as age creeps up (and because I have various basses for different purposes - some to growl; some to have fingerboard buzz, or mwah in the case of fretless basses). But having played jazz, Mahler, and Beethoven, etc. on a double bass with piano cables 1/4" off the fingerboard at the octave (which really makes a difference in terms of projection), I've been painfully aware of how annoying it can be to have an instrument with stupidly low action. A real upside, having loaned out instruments when I was young and (more) stupid, and they came back with really noticeable dings, is that no one - no one indeed has ever asked to borrow a bass of mine in the past 20 years.
 
But having played jazz, Mahler, and Beethoven, etc. on a double bass...
I was just starting to get weary of all the guitar talk. But now I read that you play an ADULT TYPE bass as well! And stay with the Mahler, he was one of Buk's favorites (and happens to be one of mine as well, although I'm even crazier about Bruckner).
 
Those aren't dings, they are character!
Dings on the body are character; dings on the neck are insulting.

I was just starting to get weary of all the guitar talk. But now I read that you play an ADULT TYPE bass as well! And stay with the Mahler, he was one of Buk's favorites (and happens to be one of mine as well, although I'm even crazier about Bruckner).
I grow weary of music genres every six years +/-. I've reinvented myself too many times to count. But I always come back to Beatles, Dylan, and strong classical.
 
I grow weary of people that grow weary. Especially ADULT TYPES.

Alas it is you, verily you, that thou shalt, if thou shouldest, get over.
 
I don't recall anyone ever confusing me with an adult. But, m'lady hath been eating porridge is a veritable get over moment; not because I don't favor porridge, but because m'lady can't spell porridge unless she's getting over it.
 
Dings on the body are character; dings on the neck are insulting.
You're right. The only way to bang up the neck is carelessness and abuse.

"BWANNNNG - Jesus christ, what was that?"
"Looks like the bass fell."
"Oh, no biggie, it's not mine, I borrowed it! Ah ha ha!"
"Ha ha! LOL!"
 
Who knew Purple Stickpin played bass? :cool: You learn something new everyday. If you played classical you really know your shit. We knew mjp plays guitar from his many other post. I was once a musicain as well. I played the drums. I never took lessons and played like a mad man until my mid 30's until I literally destroyed my right shoulder. I was in a total of 4 bands and each band was better than the last. The last band I was in was really good. I miss those days.
 
I grow weary of music genres every six years +/-. I've reinvented myself too many times to count. But I always come back to Beatles, Dylan, and strong classical.
We are certainly a diverse lot, that's for sure. I never managed to find any resonance in Beatles or Dylan. For me, it's Bruckner, Wagner, various post-Romantic composers like Scriabin; and then hard bop and Afro-Caribbean music. Bukowski manages to bring us all under the same aesthetic roof, when it comes to literature.
 
Uh, wait a minute here...I just noticed the subject line on top ("and guitar talk that bores Gary Eisenberg")...LMFAO. I didn't add that rider! Guitar talk doesn't bore me at all. I was jes' startin' to a-gittin' WEARY. Actually, I don't have anything against guitar, per se. I just prefer the wooden upright bass for jazz, to the Fender bass. Just a matter of personal preference. But, I must confess, skiroomalum...I'm not sure that I grasp this post...maybe I need another wee dram...
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top