tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post1475724366265290528..comments2024-03-29T05:33:43.878-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: The good old days of spies - Required readingOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-24995499029180041302014-08-06T07:34:14.894-04:002014-08-06T07:34:14.894-04:00Absolutely fascinating, Cara. I am currently in t...Absolutely fascinating, Cara. I am currently in the thrall of the great Joseph Kanon's post WWII Istanbul Passage, where spies change identities by having false passports. Those DNA a sniffers that EvKa describes would know that, regardless of the name and picture on the passport, Mr. X is Mr. X.<br />Your last paragraph is most telling to a writer a "period pieces" like me. It is the humanity of the characters that makes any story riveting whenever it takes place--past, present, or future. But verisimilitude is going to be a challenge, if people losing themselves is part of the plot.Annamaria Alfierihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12311596277267789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-61360548526742597442014-08-05T18:28:28.998-04:002014-08-05T18:28:28.998-04:00Your bet your bippy there is. Otherwise, why would...Your bet your bippy there is. Otherwise, why would I be here?Jeffrey Sigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718317707555064653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-14022909225914011882014-08-05T14:20:58.074-04:002014-08-05T14:20:58.074-04:00My CIA contacts tell me the same thing - much of t...My CIA contacts tell me the same thing - much of today's operations haven't changed in their methods.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-28847772170117830062014-08-05T14:03:06.541-04:002014-08-05T14:03:06.541-04:00In ALL things? I know you live in the den of iniq...In ALL things? I know you live in the den of iniquity, but SURELY in the much of the rest of Greece there is phone sex, on-line pornography, and even the occasional cell phone, no?Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-827751349598723482014-08-05T13:39:35.420-04:002014-08-05T13:39:35.420-04:00I'm so happy I place my novels in Greece, wher...I'm so happy I place my novels in Greece, where ancient ways still prevail in all things.<br />Jeffrey Sigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718317707555064653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-42345865731065384622014-08-05T13:23:30.673-04:002014-08-05T13:23:30.673-04:00A friend of mine in the 70s, who had worked at Hug...A friend of mine in the 70s, who had worked at Hughes Aircraft, told me how they discovered that by pointing a laser at a glass window a distance away, they could hear what was being said inside. An unexpected consequence of something else they were doing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-60895711209738170952014-08-05T13:16:40.143-04:002014-08-05T13:16:40.143-04:00Wow Everett! This has fascinated me since our Leig...Wow Everett! This has fascinated me since our Leighton Gage introduced me to his son-in-law years ago in Paris who was in the 'shadow world' (he's not now so I can say this). His son-in-law never used his computer or cell phone to make contacts - it was all dead letter boxes, chalk marks, messages passed and destroyed. Old school. But this was going on in the 2000's. Cara Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14592098418515886674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-65212929505448420602014-08-05T12:44:46.696-04:002014-08-05T12:44:46.696-04:00And then, just this morning, I happened upon an ar...And then, just this morning, I happened upon an article detailing how scientists can now use a high-speed camera to record sound from 15 feet away through sound-proof glass... by analyzing the motion of potato chip bags, tin foil, and other materials, converting their minute movements into sound sufficient to understand a conversation and identify the speakers:<br /><br />http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140804100559.htm<br />Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-73543060959300019332014-08-05T11:57:50.466-04:002014-08-05T11:57:50.466-04:00Excellent study, Cara. I first noticed the change...Excellent study, Cara. I first noticed the change in TV/movie story-telling about 15 years ago (give or take a decade...), when suddenly characters didn't have to "get back to the office" to exchange information or notify each other of events, they were reachable anywhere, anytime (even, snort, in the depths of the wilderness), and that dramatically changed the structure of the story-telling. Remember the cute sight-gag in the original Christopher Reeves Superman when Kent Clark dashes down the sidewalk looking for a place to change into Superman, spots a "phone booth" hanging on a light-pole, shakes his head, and heads into the nearest alley?<br /><br />But science fiction authors have been dealing with this kind of thing forever, only from the other direction and at 90-degree angles (take your pick... :-). And it's only accelerating. The changes wrought by cell phones and on-line data trails are small compared with what's to come. For example, think about DNA. It was first discovered in 1869 by Miescher, it's structure decoded in 1953 by Watson and Crick, the first draft of the human genome (90% complete) was released in 2001 at a cost of $100 million. By 2007 the cost had dropped to $10 million, by 2011 it was less than $10,000, and is expected to hit $1,000 in not too many years. We leave a trail of our DNA behind us, everywhere we go. How many decades will it be before DNA 'sniffers' exist that can quickly and cheaply not only find and instantly analyze DNA at a crime scene, but which can be used to trail the miscreant (at least for a while). Probably sooner than we think. And imagine how THAT will change your average murder mystery!<br />Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.com