User talk:Mrs. Ricardo

Memoirs et al
Hi, can you please explain to me why you have to keep inserting this material? I find it rather suspicious that your only contribution to wiki has been to push this POV and that you haven't even bothered to write anything on your profile page. John Smith&#39;s 09:19, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

1. Mr. Golden does not live with his children.

2. The information regarding his wife is incorrect/irrelevant.

3. OTher information is either not a NPOV or is wrong:

4. "Memoirs of a Geisha is loosely based on Mineko Iwasaki's life." Wrong. THe book is entirely a work of fiction and not based on anyone's life

5. For Golden's breach of contract in associating Iwasaki's name with his novel, Golden was sued by Iwasaki. Wrong. There was no contract, either oral or written.

6. The case was settled out of court, with Golden purportedly paying a large sum to Iwasaki in restitution. Wrong. Mr. Golden did not pay Ms. Iwasaki anything

7. Iwasaki was threatened with death after Golden's book was published and also briefly contemplated suicide. This is gossip and not a documented fact and not a relevant part of Mr. Golden's biography.

As for my personal profile - it's not required snd I do not wish to have personal information on the web. I am not an expert on many things so I have not felt the need to alter other entries. I have a personal association with Mr. Golden and knowledge of his life and "Memoirs of a Geisha". Therefore I felt compelled to correct innacuracies, especially when a negative opinion coukd be formed due to a non-neutral point of view. From what I've read, I'm not the only person to pick up on this.


 * 4. Have you actually read Mineko Iwasaki's biography? Because if you have, please tell me how the main characters (and events) of her life are nothing like those in MoaG.
 * 5. It doesn't matter whether there was one or not - that was what he was SUED for.
 * 6. It has been reported that way. If you can find a report that says no money was paid then please produce it. John Smith&#39;s 16:03, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


 * 4 Since Ms. Iwasaki wrote her book after Mr. Golden, how can it be proven that she didn't take the characters from his book? She could have made it all up and just claimed it was her life.


 * 5 Then it should be worded differently, Ms. Iwasaki alleges...


 * 6 There was a settlement. The amount has never been made public.  It is also not public knowledge WHO paid what.  Mr. Golden, personally, did not pay a cent.

Further the external link is just in reference to the book and not to Mr. Golden's life, or life as a writer. As such, it does not belong on this entry.


 * 4. If that was the case, Golden could have dismissed it very easily. I think you're clutching at straws.
 * 6. Do you mean that he did not pay because someone did on his behalf? I hope you're not alledging that Iwasaki paid him, as that would be completely barmy - and also clutching at straws again.


 * By the way you should sign when you write something.John Smith&#39;s 16:47, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


 * As a side-note, just because you say you know the guy doesn't mean you're automatically correct. I won't dispute the points you made about his personal life (make any changes you see fit), but you're not him. If he wants to make public statements to refute anything said here then please invite him to do so. Otherwise don't try to use such unverifiable links as "authority". John Smith&#39;s 16:56, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


 * You've missed my point, sir. Wikipedia claims to want to present a neutral point of view yet Wikipedia has chosen to champion Iwesaki's claims using nothing but gossip as the evidence.  Yes, a settlement was reached, but it was a mutual settlement.  Sometimes it easier (and more civilized) not to go to court over a matter.  Just because a settelment was reached does not mean there was an admission of guilt.  My wish is that either Wikipeida offers a fair an unbiased entry or no entry at all. Mrs. Ricardo


 * I believe that even the boss-man here has admitted the NPOV policy is an unachievable goal. Much like those people that say a good historian is a person who is unbiased. Wikipedia is biased just as people are. That said of course we shouldn't be jumping up-and-down on Golden, or anyone else, for a bit of fun. I don't think that is what is happening now. For example, you mentioned guilt - I do not see that word used with mention of the settlement.


 * If you supply me with specific sections of articles and why you think they are unfair, of course I'll see if they can be rephrased or whatever. But beforehand you were just making the same changes repeatedly, without discussing it. Now that there is a dialogue perhaps we can tidy things up.


 * By the way, if you want to sign something hit this key four time in a row ~ John Smith&#39;s 21:13, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


 * this article is a good reference.  Golden clearly states that the novel was not based on Iwasaki's life, not even "loosely" as in the Wikipedia entry.  That is why I have removed that part (because it is opinion and not fact).  I have entered a revision, which I hope will be sufficient.  Mrs. Ricardo 21:43, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

I see no problems with your edits. I had been wondering what to do with the "loosely" bit for a while - perhaps "related" would have been ok. But as it is, it's fine. If you make more changes on other pages, just drop me a note on my talk page - I'll give you some feedback. John Smith&#39;s 22:03, 25 April 2006 (UTC)