Comments on: Ada Film Needs Your Support!

By: sydney

sydney — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:36:47 +0000

DG Lewis– ah, the perils of biography.. HOW CAN WE EVER KNOW THE TRUTH??!

Tealin– aw, I dug those chicks.. anyways, feel free to drop them a line, there’s no similar body here.

ubi– thank god, I’ve been worried sick.. ‘what if SHE takes it as hint to write a letter? Everything will be ruined!!’

RoseRed- aw, thanks.. who knows I may have invented a fearsome weapon so maybe it’s all to the good

Douglas– yeah, the organ grinder thing is funny right up until that point, where it becomes horrible.

Ceridwen and Max– yes indeed, THAT de Morgan.. he wrote a fascinating letter to Ada’s mother (he was a family friend, not a paid tutor)regarding the notes on the engine – I’ve put it up (with a few footnotes) here: -De Morgan on Lovelace.
Studying math to Ada’s level was extremely unusual for a woman of the time, because it was commonly believed– even by Mary Sommerville! that it physically damaged their bodies, particularly the womb. It was most obliging of Ada to contract uterine cancer. D:

By: DG Lewis

DG Lewis — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:48:59 +0000

Ah, but do you KNOW that Lovelace did not have super powers? Or that she just hid them VERY, VERY WELL?

By: Tealin

Tealin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:14:37 +0000

Has anyone contacted Women in Animation yet? I generally try to avoid them (hisss!) but I might reach out for a noble cause…

By: ubiquitouspitt

ubiquitouspitt — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:50:53 +0000

These people making this movie would surely be dissuaded if ever written a letter of support by someone such as myself. So I will stay silent to help the cause.

OO!! So you’ve decided to do the Organist XD So excited…

By: RoseRed

RoseRed — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:13:20 +0000

I strongly beg to differ that what you do is not worth a penny. Your work is insightful, interesting, intelligent and jolly good fun! With a little more experience you could become as widely read as Donna Barr here in the U.S. For more info her, a snapshot of her work and a passionate rant about how artists need to value themselves more click here http://donnabarr.blogspot.com/

There are many mathmaticians in the world but very few artists who can make math exciting and fun to a math hater such as myself. Looking forward to future breathless installments!

By: Max Battcher

Max Battcher — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:42:17 +0000

I too am surprised and astounded by the De Morgan connection. Although I realize I shouldn’t be, Mathematics has always been a small, tightly-connected world.

Also, now I wonder if anything of that play ever survived. I call for reenactments! Although it probably wasn’t anything of very much value (imaginary numbers are our friends now), it still would be extremely nerdy fun to find a script of such a mathematical propaganda play.

By: Douglas

Douglas — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:34:09 +0000

… a suggestion on a reference for your “Organist” character?

I may just be showing my age, but some many years ago Vincent Price did a movie ( actually, a series of movies, I think ) about a mad organist… “Dr. Phibes” ( “… Rhymes with “Vibes” “). So, maybe, some kind of a mutant cloned cross between the Price character, E.Power Biggs, and Virgil Fox, perhaps?

Yes… I read that bit about Babbage, in his deathbed with the unstoppable organ-grinders right outside his window… what a way to go.

By: Ceridwen

Ceridwen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:36:54 +0000

De Morgan? OMG, De Morgan! The author of
NOT (P OR Q) = (NOT P) AND (NOT Q)
NOT (P AND Q) = (NOT P) OR (NOT Q)
That’s as close as I’ll ever get to real math – all that abstract philosophy called “logic.” Our Ada moved in wider circles than I imagined!

By: John

John — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:57:27 +0000

Wait. Wasn’t the entire point of the exercise to ignore the all too real angst of their lives? Well, may all their angst be really, really funny angst, at least. More insane flamboyance than angst, basically.

Hm. Now, do I have letterhead around here…?

(Y’know, first comment a few posts in a row. I hope it’s just scheduling coincidence and my RSS feed isn’t cyberstalking you.)