To Thomas Ligotti and the members of the Nightmare Network,
This will be a two-part commentary. This first part will be a list of typographical errors noted during the first reading of the PDF file of TCATHR. The second part, which I hope to post before 6/22/07 will be a commentary on the substantive, not grammatical, aspects of TCATHR. First, thank you so much for allowing us to read and comment on this much anticipated work before it even hits the presses. It is very much appreciated. Thank you!
Concerning this commentary, the edits I made were to the PDF file, not the HTML file. Also, I have not had time to read any of the other comments by any of the other members of the Nightmare Network, and so many of these typographical errors may have been caught already by you or them. My apologies to them and you if I am repeating what has already been said. Then again, it may be that these are not typo’s and I am just unclear in my reading of the book. If that is the case, I would take no offense to those particular comments being ignored. Lastly, I originally wrote this message on a Word document, and as I rarely do posts, I do not know how the formatting may change when I paste it to the post. That being said, here are the comments.
1. p.12 – 7th line from bottom, should the phrase “what it natural” be “what is natural”???
2. p.20 – 4th line from the top, capitalize “against” in the title “The Conspiracy against the Human Race”
3. p.37 – Footnote 5, 11th line from the top, should the sentence “Millions of copies Peale’s book and its spawn . . .” read “Millions of copies of Peale’s book and its spawn . . .”??? (i.e., add “of” between “copies” and “Peale’s”)
4. p.37 – Footnote 6, 18th line from the bottom, replace the word “certainly” with “certainty” in the line “. . . someday we will be able to suffocate every cell on earth with reasonable [certainly] using . . .”
5. p.41 – Footnote 14, third line in that footnote, replace the word “deicide” with “suicide” in the line “. . . own quietus. His plan to commit [deicide] could not work, though, while he existed as a . . .”
6. p.43 – Footnote 17, 19th line from the bottom, replace the word “been” with “have” in the line “. . . faithful must naturally [been] met with a counterpoint. See ‘William James on Cognitivity . . .”
7. p.52 – 19th line from the bottom, replace the word “shambles” with “shamble” in the line “. . . accede, but for human beings it is a bloody [shambles]. We do not even dream of wanting . . .”
8. p.60 – 12th line from the top, delete the word “it” in the line “. . . recommendation be classified as a worldview? If so, then it will be kicked [it] aside as . . .”
9. p.62 – 10th line from the top, replace the word “Alheimer’s” with “Alzheimer’s” in the line “. . . down while in the stupor of [Alheimer’s] disease, doomed like Harry Haller in Hermann . . .”
10. p.67 – 19th line from the bottom, might want to change the phrase “super retarded” to either “severely retarded” or “profoundly retarded” as the latter indicate specific technical terms of greater accuracy, with severe MR being IQ level 20-25 to 25-40, and profoundly MR being IQ level below 20 to 25. Either term would be consistent and provide greater accuracy to your point regarding human beings that exist and are not conscious of existence.
11. On p.73, Footnote 10, the font switches back to a 12pt font that has a centered format for the remainder of the footnote. Didn’t know if there was a reason for this.
12. p.76 – 5th line from the top. The superscript for footnote number 1 has the number 11 instead. This continues throughout the rest of the footnotes for the chapter “Consuming Horror” (e.g., footnote #4 is numbered footnote #14)
13. p.77 – 18th and continuing to 17th line from the bottom, the sentence “Nuland’s fellow surgeons would have viewed a decision not to operate as his patient’s rather his own.” seems awkwardly phrased. Perhaps, add the word “than” between “rather” and “his”?
14. p.85 – 1st line at the top. Add “that” in between “way” and “puts” in the line “. . . middle-, or even high-brow readers, or they handle them in a way puts off most people . . .”
15. p.95 – 17th line from the bottom. Change “‘atypical’ depression” to “major depression.” The Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision uses the term “major depressive disorder,” but “major depression” is usually used for short in most mental health facilities. “Atypical depression” is usually used in the context of depression with mood reactivity (i.e., mood gets better in presence or anticipation of positive events) and two or more of the following: significant weight gain or increase in appetite, increased sleeping, “leaden paralysis” (i.e., the person’s arms and legs feel heavy, like there is lead in them), and/or a pattern of “interpersonal rejection sensitivity” (i.e., the person is VERY sensitive, and reacts intensely, to actual or perceived rejection in interpersonal relationships). “Atypical depression” is also commonly (and incorrectly) used when atypical features (e.g., hallucinations or vegetative states) co-occur with the major depressive episode. This is probably a LOT more than you wanted to know about technical terms for depression, but to avoid any confusion, the statistically prevailing form of the disease, as you state, is “major depressive disorder,” with the terms “major depressive disorder” and “major depression” being used interchangeably in the mental health community.
16. p.97 – 9th line from the top, last sentence of the paragraph. Add “with” between “Up” and “Conspiracy” in the sentence, “Our shibboleth: “Up the Conspiracy and down with Consciousness.”
17. p.100 – 1st line at the top, 1st word. Change “bedazing” to “bedazzling”???
18. p. 108 – 12th line from the bottom in footnote 5, the word “ambit”. Unclear if this is supposed to be “ambition”.
19. p.115 – 17th line from the top delete the space between “nor” and “can” in the line “. . . omnipresent horror or anchor himself in the lies of his civilization, nor can he distract . . .”
20. p.115 – 7th line from the bottom. I’m not sure if Eliot’s poem is “The Waste Land,” or “The Wasteland.” In the edition containing his facsimile, he spells it as two separate words, “The Waste Land.” However, I know Eliot was copious in his addition of footnotes and commentary to his editions and as I have not read through the entirety of his commentaries (or commentaries on his works by other authors who edited them, such as Pound) there may be a passage in there that indicated his preferred spelling. Or, maybe I’m just talking way too much right now and it really, when one considers the foundational meaninglessness of human existence, doesn’t freakin’ matter whether it’s one word or two words.
21. p.117 – Last line at the bottom. The word “affectingly” seemed to be awkward. I’ll reread it again, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to fit with the message you were trying to convey.
22. p.120 – Last line at the bottom. Delete the word “in” from “status in quo” in the line “. . . ourselves with all that is the status [in] quo for the sake of the future.’ This is more or less . . .”
23. p.125 – 6th line from the bottom. Add the word “of” between “end” and “the” in the line “. . . end, that would be the end the story. That would be the end of us. Without this . . .”
24. p.126 – 5th line from the bottom. Change the word “career” to “careen” in the line “. . . careening toward who knows where. You are not filled with horror, not yet, as you [career] . . .”
That was the last one. Once again, I have only been through the manuscript once and I may have missed the meaning of a particular term or passage and mistook it for a typo. If this is the case, please ignore that comment. I will be sending out a second commentary on the substantive aspects of TCATHR, hopefully before 6/22. Thank you, once again, for allowing us to read this very brilliant work. I have much to say about it and can hardly wait to discuss it with you and the forum. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Michael
This will be a two-part commentary. This first part will be a list of typographical errors noted during the first reading of the PDF file of TCATHR. The second part, which I hope to post before 6/22/07 will be a commentary on the substantive, not grammatical, aspects of TCATHR. First, thank you so much for allowing us to read and comment on this much anticipated work before it even hits the presses. It is very much appreciated. Thank you!
Concerning this commentary, the edits I made were to the PDF file, not the HTML file. Also, I have not had time to read any of the other comments by any of the other members of the Nightmare Network, and so many of these typographical errors may have been caught already by you or them. My apologies to them and you if I am repeating what has already been said. Then again, it may be that these are not typo’s and I am just unclear in my reading of the book. If that is the case, I would take no offense to those particular comments being ignored. Lastly, I originally wrote this message on a Word document, and as I rarely do posts, I do not know how the formatting may change when I paste it to the post. That being said, here are the comments.
1. p.12 – 7th line from bottom, should the phrase “what it natural” be “what is natural”???
2. p.20 – 4th line from the top, capitalize “against” in the title “The Conspiracy against the Human Race”
3. p.37 – Footnote 5, 11th line from the top, should the sentence “Millions of copies Peale’s book and its spawn . . .” read “Millions of copies of Peale’s book and its spawn . . .”??? (i.e., add “of” between “copies” and “Peale’s”)
4. p.37 – Footnote 6, 18th line from the bottom, replace the word “certainly” with “certainty” in the line “. . . someday we will be able to suffocate every cell on earth with reasonable [certainly] using . . .”
5. p.41 – Footnote 14, third line in that footnote, replace the word “deicide” with “suicide” in the line “. . . own quietus. His plan to commit [deicide] could not work, though, while he existed as a . . .”
6. p.43 – Footnote 17, 19th line from the bottom, replace the word “been” with “have” in the line “. . . faithful must naturally [been] met with a counterpoint. See ‘William James on Cognitivity . . .”
7. p.52 – 19th line from the bottom, replace the word “shambles” with “shamble” in the line “. . . accede, but for human beings it is a bloody [shambles]. We do not even dream of wanting . . .”
8. p.60 – 12th line from the top, delete the word “it” in the line “. . . recommendation be classified as a worldview? If so, then it will be kicked [it] aside as . . .”
9. p.62 – 10th line from the top, replace the word “Alheimer’s” with “Alzheimer’s” in the line “. . . down while in the stupor of [Alheimer’s] disease, doomed like Harry Haller in Hermann . . .”
10. p.67 – 19th line from the bottom, might want to change the phrase “super retarded” to either “severely retarded” or “profoundly retarded” as the latter indicate specific technical terms of greater accuracy, with severe MR being IQ level 20-25 to 25-40, and profoundly MR being IQ level below 20 to 25. Either term would be consistent and provide greater accuracy to your point regarding human beings that exist and are not conscious of existence.
11. On p.73, Footnote 10, the font switches back to a 12pt font that has a centered format for the remainder of the footnote. Didn’t know if there was a reason for this.
12. p.76 – 5th line from the top. The superscript for footnote number 1 has the number 11 instead. This continues throughout the rest of the footnotes for the chapter “Consuming Horror” (e.g., footnote #4 is numbered footnote #14)
13. p.77 – 18th and continuing to 17th line from the bottom, the sentence “Nuland’s fellow surgeons would have viewed a decision not to operate as his patient’s rather his own.” seems awkwardly phrased. Perhaps, add the word “than” between “rather” and “his”?
14. p.85 – 1st line at the top. Add “that” in between “way” and “puts” in the line “. . . middle-, or even high-brow readers, or they handle them in a way puts off most people . . .”
15. p.95 – 17th line from the bottom. Change “‘atypical’ depression” to “major depression.” The Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision uses the term “major depressive disorder,” but “major depression” is usually used for short in most mental health facilities. “Atypical depression” is usually used in the context of depression with mood reactivity (i.e., mood gets better in presence or anticipation of positive events) and two or more of the following: significant weight gain or increase in appetite, increased sleeping, “leaden paralysis” (i.e., the person’s arms and legs feel heavy, like there is lead in them), and/or a pattern of “interpersonal rejection sensitivity” (i.e., the person is VERY sensitive, and reacts intensely, to actual or perceived rejection in interpersonal relationships). “Atypical depression” is also commonly (and incorrectly) used when atypical features (e.g., hallucinations or vegetative states) co-occur with the major depressive episode. This is probably a LOT more than you wanted to know about technical terms for depression, but to avoid any confusion, the statistically prevailing form of the disease, as you state, is “major depressive disorder,” with the terms “major depressive disorder” and “major depression” being used interchangeably in the mental health community.
16. p.97 – 9th line from the top, last sentence of the paragraph. Add “with” between “Up” and “Conspiracy” in the sentence, “Our shibboleth: “Up the Conspiracy and down with Consciousness.”
17. p.100 – 1st line at the top, 1st word. Change “bedazing” to “bedazzling”???
18. p. 108 – 12th line from the bottom in footnote 5, the word “ambit”. Unclear if this is supposed to be “ambition”.
19. p.115 – 17th line from the top delete the space between “nor” and “can” in the line “. . . omnipresent horror or anchor himself in the lies of his civilization, nor can he distract . . .”
20. p.115 – 7th line from the bottom. I’m not sure if Eliot’s poem is “The Waste Land,” or “The Wasteland.” In the edition containing his facsimile, he spells it as two separate words, “The Waste Land.” However, I know Eliot was copious in his addition of footnotes and commentary to his editions and as I have not read through the entirety of his commentaries (or commentaries on his works by other authors who edited them, such as Pound) there may be a passage in there that indicated his preferred spelling. Or, maybe I’m just talking way too much right now and it really, when one considers the foundational meaninglessness of human existence, doesn’t freakin’ matter whether it’s one word or two words.
21. p.117 – Last line at the bottom. The word “affectingly” seemed to be awkward. I’ll reread it again, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to fit with the message you were trying to convey.
22. p.120 – Last line at the bottom. Delete the word “in” from “status in quo” in the line “. . . ourselves with all that is the status [in] quo for the sake of the future.’ This is more or less . . .”
23. p.125 – 6th line from the bottom. Add the word “of” between “end” and “the” in the line “. . . end, that would be the end the story. That would be the end of us. Without this . . .”
24. p.126 – 5th line from the bottom. Change the word “career” to “careen” in the line “. . . careening toward who knows where. You are not filled with horror, not yet, as you [career] . . .”
That was the last one. Once again, I have only been through the manuscript once and I may have missed the meaning of a particular term or passage and mistook it for a typo. If this is the case, please ignore that comment. I will be sending out a second commentary on the substantive aspects of TCATHR, hopefully before 6/22. Thank you, once again, for allowing us to read this very brilliant work. I have much to say about it and can hardly wait to discuss it with you and the forum. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Michael