I'm looking for a comprehensive database of movie reviews by Pauline
Kael. If unavailable, a link to her review of The Godfather Part II (the sequel,
not the original) will suffice.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 06 Aug 2004 08:30 PDT

positive --

Her review of Godfather. Part II, is contained in one of the many
collections of her reviews that have been published in book form. 
This collection is available from several online sellers of used books
for under $15. Would information on ordering the book would be a
sufficient answer to your question?

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by positive-ga on 06 Aug 2004 09:02 PDT

markj,

Since I live in the Middle East, I'd like to avoid ordering the book
(extremely long wait plus shipping charges). A simple link to her
reviews online (again particularly for GFII) would be much preferred.

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Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 06 Aug 2004 10:08 PDT

Positive --

You may be out of luck.  Kael, who died in 2001, wrote for The New
Yorker magazine, owned by Conde Nast.  Checking Infotrac, a fee-based
service available at many public libraries, The New Yorker archives
have index coverage back to Jan. 7, 1980 and full-text coverage after
Jan. 14, 2002.  I'm a subscriber and their website has only limited,
recent archives:
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/

If Kael's full review from 1974 were online, it would have to be with
the permission of Conde Nast.

The book's a better bet.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

positive --

Given that you live in the Middle East, I understand why an online
purchase might not suit your needs.  In case it turns out to be your
only alternative, the name of the Kael book that contains her review
of "Godfather, Part II" is "Reeling."  It is available from a number
of online booksellers.  For example, here is a link to a list of
available copies at the Bookfinder.com site:

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=WyEgmzywGo4l60cKR1P8OVcQNSc_2666070638_2:80:270

I also checked shipping costs at Alibris, and shipping costs to the
Middle East from the U.S. are generally $9 for delivery in 36-90
business days and $17.50 for delivery in 5-8 business days.  These
time frames are not guaranteed, however, and when customs clearance is
required, some delay can be expected.


markj-ga

Omnivorous/markj,

Thanks for the leads.

Since I'm new to this site, I can't say how much of an "answer" your
comments constitute.

Please bill my account if that's the normal practice.

Positive --

It's up to the customer to determine what constitutes an acceptable
answer.  As you can see, information often gets put together in a
collaborative fashion.

Since I seem to be in the business of making markj-ga richer lately,
I'd recommend accepting information that he's posted as an answer and
that will make things happen.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

positive --

I do thank omnivorous-ga for "making me richer lately" (although i
don't recall our last collaboration).  However, in this instance I
don't feel comfortable posting an answer, since I have not researched
for myself the possible availability of an online posting of this
particular review.

Since this is what you really want (and for good reason), I suggest
leaving the question open to see if another researcher might be able
to get it for you.  In other words, just sit tight and hope for the
best.  You won't be charged (except for the .50 question posting fee)
if an answer isn't posted.

markj-ga

Omnivorous/markj,

"Just sit tight and hope for the best" sounds fair enough to me.

You can imagine that Google-mania has yet to strike the Middle East.
But personally, I'm starting to understand why you guys are making
waves.

What I'm still trying to figure out is the economic justification
behind Google Answers. Here are some ballpark figures:

Total answered questions from t = 0 till about 10 minutes ago: Just over 34,000

Average price per answered question (based on 15 random pages): $20 - $25

Google Answers gross earnings since t = 0: $680,000 - $850,000

Researcher gross earnings since t = 0 after Google's 25%: $510,000 - $637,500.

So, assuming the statement "More than 500 carefully screened
Researchers are ready to answer your question" is not an outright
fabrication, the average Researcher has earned $1,020 - $1,275 since t
= 0.

I realize that a) the above calculations exclude the $0.50 listing
fees, for which the profit sharing with Google is unclear, b) Google
Answers might have 500 Researchers today, but started out with far
fewer (this would at most double or triple the take-home), and c) the
two of you alone account for over 2% of all answered questions.

Comments?

P.S. Given the ravings of a guy with too much time on his hands,
please only respond to this comment if you REALLY, REALLY want to. The
other possibility is that I could post all this as a new question.

positive,

Regarding your remark on the economic aspects of being a Google
Answers Researcher, while it may be true that the "average researcher"
has earned a bit more than a thousand dollars, it must be kept in mind
that not all GARs are equally active. If you read a few pages of
answers, you'll notice that the same Researchers' names crop up over
and over. For some of us, GA is our only source of income; for most,
it's a sideline. Only a few dozen Researchers have answered more than
100 questions. Only three of us have answered more than 1000. The
great majority of Google Answers Researchers post answers only
occasionally, and some never answer at all, yet continue to hold
Researcher status, as there is no quota.

~pinkfreud, Google Answers Researcher

pinkfreud,

Interesting. Thank you for the explanations.