Slog - Comments on Lee Siegel Is a Fount of Positive Energy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy Jeff Bercovici, over at Portfolio, was supposed to interview Lee Siegel about his book, Against the Machine, a book that Ari Melber reviewed for us a couple weeks back. Before the interview could happen, though, and without warning, Bercovici got an e-mail from Siegel's publicist: Hi Jeff, I'm afraid I need to cancel this interview. I didn't realize that you had written negatively about Lee on your Portfolio blog. Sorry for the inconvenience. Lucy The 'negative' post is hardly a scathing diatribe; Bercovici noted that, in an appearance on The Daily Show to promote Against the Machine, Jon Stewart... Copyright 2008 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:48:42 -0800 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:22:40 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mr. Poe Lee Siegel is smart. Ask him.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000640 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000640 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:55:30 -0800 Comment by elenchos Smart indeed. These moves make it impossible to parody him.

I bet after a couple three drinks you could get The Stranger's older generation of writers to admit that they'd like this concrete wall back up too. Reinforced concrete, twenty feet high, with broken glass on top.

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000649 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000649 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:00:11 -0800 Comment by tsm Bercovici noted that, in an appearance on The Daily Show to promote Against the Machine, Jon Stewart didn’t ask Siegel at all about how he created a sock puppet persona to defend himself against negative attacks

Not only that, but he used that sock puppet to bash Jon Stewart - and I'm certain Jon Stewart knew that, yet didn't probe him on it.

What a weirdo. You're right - he clearly yearns for a world where the public dialogue is unidirectional, with him on the talking side. It's oddly quaint.

]]> tsm http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000654 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000654 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:02:50 -0800 Comment by brett i laughed, like everyone else, when he got busted with his sock puppet. i never would've believed he'd go on to write a book about how the internet is bad because it's full of anonymous meanies.

what a shameless asshole.

]]> brett http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000656 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000656 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:05:17 -0800 Comment by Paul Constant @4: At least his book about how evil the Internet is has only sold roughly 4,000 copies. That's small numbers, even in book terms.

]]> Paul Constant http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000679 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000679 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:19:25 -0800 Comment by inkweary This calls to mind the SLOG post yesterday about the author Deborah MacGillivray having negative reviews deleted from Amazon and writing intimidating replies to the posters of less than 4 star reviews. Is there a new trend in publishing to silence criticism and public discourse? If so it would make an interesting article.

]]> inkweary http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000714 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1000714 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:39:36 -0800 Comment by Chris in Tampa SHUTUP INKWEARY

]]> Chris in Tampa http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1001416 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1001416 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:14:02 -0800 Comment by Gigi Go F*** Yourself inkweary!

]]> Gigi http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1001420 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/lee_siegel_is_a_fount_of_positive_energy#c1001420 Books Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:22:40 -0800