>>The wolves are taking pot shots, but not answering any of the questions.
--Maybe it's because of your sparkling personality?
>>I am very adept at grammer (sic), my find (sic) feathered friend's (sic), but we're not here to talk about me, but to talk about HE.
--Methinks you need to try "grammer" school again. That last sentence practically fried my synapses with its typographical absurdities.
>>The GOD like status of Ellison is kinda scary. Believe me, Ellison has made many a fan wallow in tears. He is very unkind to autograph seekers, and has yelled at people who even ask thoughtfull (sic) questions of him. Not everyone has his high minded intellect, so he should chill a bit on the unwashed masses.
--HE tends to only yell at people who deserve it. I'm sure if he were to read this, you'd get an appropriate tongue-lashing yourself.
>>To the Irish guy who belittled me. Go back to the pub, and crawl back into the bottle.
--I guess you aren't too "high minded" yourself with that pathetic attempt at a racial slur...
>>By the way, I am a published poet. Scary huh?
--The high school newspaper does *not* count!
--By the way, feel free to note my usage of the apostrophe. You may learn something!
Corey
--feed'n the troll
I really resent the racist (hic) comment. Believe it or not, lots of Irish people don't drink at all.
I am SOOOOO impressed that you are a published poet. I certainly will worship the ground that you walk on now. Lots of people that you see posting to this website are published. Very few of them think that gives them license to be rude and insulting for no apparent reason.
Sorry Rick -- I wasn't mad until the I saw the pub remark.
The wolves are taking pot shots, but not answering any of the questions. I am very adept at grammer, my find feathered friend's, but we're not here to talk about me, but to talk about HE. The GOD like status of Ellison is kinda scary. Believe me, Ellison has made many a fan wallow in tears. He is very unkind to autograph seekers, and has yelled at people who even ask thoughtfull questions of him. Not everyone has his high minded intellect, so he should chill a bit on the unwashed masses.
To the Irish guy who belittled me. Go back to the pub, and crawl back into the bottle.
By the way, I am a published poet. Scary huh?
Maybe to get back more on a relevant HE topic, I've always wondered why there was never a HE adapted script for the original Twilight Zone. Anybody know?
Thank you Peter for so exactly expressing the feeling of trying read the comments of tower of babel - Yikes. Steel wool clearly describes the discomfort involved.
As an Irish-American I am most offended by Los Babaler's misuse of the apostrophe.
This joker is either as bad as he seems, or some creative writing/literature student who doesn't think the rules of proper grammar apply to him. Whichever's the case, it's like taking a steel-wool scrubbing to the brain. It's so bad I can feel my brain cells doing lemming runs just to end the torture. Please, spare the sensibilities of the typographically inclined.
Oh and while I should probably heed my own advice, a word to the residents of Webderland: "Don't Feed the Trolls."
---Peter
furor scribendi
Dorman - no, that wasn't my comment about Prozac. Anyone willing to engage in a little deduction can probably FIND, ER, I mean figure out, who posted it.
Regardless, I'm not that easily baited.
RE. the POST BELOW: Before anyone points it out, I know I know: their, not there (or they're). Think I'll pack it in and call it a day. Out here, DTS,
TOWEROFBABAL (aka, Tower of Babel): I'm sure that the only thing Ellison expects of you is another run at remedial English. Everyone makes the ocassional typo, even yours truly (see below), but you've managed to butcher the language in ways which would make Ivana Trump and George Bush hang there heads in shame. By the way, you assumed that Rick Wyatt posted a response to you (the one about Prozac), but since he didn't sign his name to it (and he usually does) chances are you're wrong...just as you are about the United States being responsible for the starving people in Iraq...the folks responsible for that mess are Saddam Hussein and his minions. (Or perhaps you feel that Hitler & Co. weren't to blame for the deaths of millions of Jews). Out here, DTS.
I want Ellison to machine gun his autograph on my front door. It's the kind of punishment I deserve. I have always gotten a clyde barrow vibe from Ellison.
I do like Ellison quite alot. Maybe I expect more from Ellison than other human's. He sure does expect more from the rest of us. He just need's to say these simple words, "I am so thankfull to be where I'm at right now." He never seems thankfull. Book's are expensive man, give us more dap. That's street jargon Wyatt.
Lap's the mercury from the vapid cesspool.
Finder, you wanna swing, let's go baby. Name the leaps of logic, and we will go on from there. Haven't you ever heard of manic stream of consious? Read Henry Miller for that bend in the literary road. The great toad perches on his rock in waiting for the tasty, and oh so fat fly. Gulp.
Somebody coated this sucker's wing's with windex..Yuck.
My last posting was a bit harsh, but damnit, I want Ellison out of hiding. Noone answered my PI query. Maybe I have no idea what 'Peruse' means(haha). No, Wyatt, I am not on Prozak, but thanks for putting your low watt bulb to some use. When 500,000 Iraq citizen's die because of American sanction's, joke's become like hot tar sometime's.
You could of censored my posting, so for keeping my wild view's above water, I thank you. Now tell that sniveling rat, Ellison to get it together and take me on. See, I am not a sane man. The internet is at least fun for something.
Something in the water does not compute..Indeed.
PEPPER: Thanks for catching my typo...oh, by the way, clever response. -- DTS
'breif' should be 'brief'.
Here ends the spelling lesson.
PEPPER: Didn't want you to think you were being ignored, but most folks here (rightly) figured you mistakenly hit the wrong button (since, like George W, the majority of rightwingers cannot pronounce words much less spell them, and you thought you'd landed in some GOP rally site. Guess what? Wrong place. Better check your typing (Writing, now in breif sentences, 'cause that's the way you folks apparently like it). (And I wouldn't want you to think I'm inserting any "subliminables" -- George W's mornonic pronounciation). By the way (since I'm taking the time to "school ya"), if you're looking for state-run religion head to Iran or some similar country; and if you actually think a doctor would perform abortions at nine months you're more intellectually pathetic than your note makes you sound. If I seemed curt, rude even, it's only because purposeful ignorance raises my hackles. Have a nice day. -- DTS
Actually, Jerry, your best bet for a piece of signed Ellisonia outside of actually plunking your item in front of him in a signing line, is to join the Harlan Ellison Recording Collection (HERC). (Information on how to do that can be found elsewhere on this site). It's a great opportunity to fill in gaps in your collection, AND, Harlan signs everything you get through there, personalized even...
Goodness, but this is just looking to be such an interesting year then isn't it? First, I get some email from a guy I've never heard of telling me he's written a wonderful book and that I should just toddle off to the local book emporium and acquire it asap, and now, random political posts. Somehow, this bears a striking resemblance to the people endlessly circling an extremely busy intersection here yesterday. See, yesterday, the great state of MN had their primaries and as in MN, primaries are open, there was a lot of last minute stumping. It was just so odd to see these people with huge banners endlessly crossing streets in a circle around the intersection.
Somehow, I'm kinda getting that stumping feeling now.
So, let's just leap right out of that murky political pool and talk about something rather more on topic. A friend of mine contends that the rants of Dennis Miller bear a striking resemblance to the rants of our own beloved HE. As I have never seen a Miller rant, I couldn't say. Anybody?
my comments are about the presidential election., I want to thank mr Clinton and mrGore for changing the country giving us so many freedoms.. they are working very hard, women can now change their minds and have an abortion up to the 9th month of pregnancy... gays soon will be able to marry legally... prayer has been taken out of schools and soon out of all peoples lives.. we get to live our lives free. thank you mr gore and clinton..., a loyal democrat....
I am wondering if Mr. Ellison will be appearing in the Midwest at any time in the near future.
Also, I very much desire Mr. Ellison's autograph, if possible. I've been reading Mr. Ellison's work for years (since the late 70's, when I saw him at a reading in Murfreesboro, TN), and would love to have his signature inside one of my books. If acceptable to Mr. Ellison, I will mail a book to an address he specifies in a self-addressed return envelope with postage affixed. If there is a fee required, I will enclose a check with the book.
Thank you,
Jerry Mecaskey
T of b - Oooooooookay.
My big question (and I'll forego the little ones, though they are as plentiful as the fantastic leaps of topic in your post) is why should Harlan Ellison be expected to be the standard bearer and chief defender of the faith for a Nader bid for the White House? True, his commentaries typically demonstrate superlative social conscience and attempt to enlighten people as to the world around them and the way it is working (or falling apart, as the case may be). And in many cases of strong personal belief and interest, he has time and again fought the good fight. But he's also demonstrated that he knows how to pick his battles. I cannot imagine there's anything he'd want to spend less time, energy and emotional coin on (except perhaps surfing the 'net) than endorsements and rallies and political rhetoric in a system that will take much, much more than mere stumping by Harlan Ellison to produce positive change.
In other words, he's done his bit for king and country. It's time for others to storm the castle wielding reason, a sharp mind and a back pack full of whoop ass. And to sit back expectantly and wait for him, or anyone else for that matter, to "do something" is simple laziness. I don't mean that to sound gruff, but that's what it boils down to.
As for some of the more, um, incomprehensible (and downright odd) parts of your post , I can only scrunch my face in puzzlement and offer a bemused "huh?", with the added paraphrase from "The Princess Bride", I don't think "peruse" means what you think it means...
The preceeding post was brought to you by Prozac, the miracle drug for those moody moments. Get some today!
No, really. Get some today!
Harlan has been strangely absent from the television program, Politically Incorrect, as of late. Did Ellison have a falling out with Bill Mahar? Ellison would of made some of these election shows bearable. The only way to see Harlan on Teevee is to see this show. Tom Snyder where are you when we need thee?
I have a worry that Ellison's asshole status may have sacrificed him to a larger share of the book selling pot. Ellison kind of strays from his liberal roots with such lack of charactor. Arent Liberal's supposed to be more kinder to the blue collar mentality? He seems quite elitist, as of late. And when is Ellison gonna get off his fat ass and do something to get Ralph Nader elected. At least make an effort Ellison. We need a good Ellison rant about the horror known as Doctor. Laura!!
Harlan, your pad in the hollywood hills wont protect you from the war of race and class to come. not a threat mind you, just a word of caution. Fake 60's Liberal's better get their shit together and quick. Why do I even bother. Ellison will just call me a twit and go back to counting his money. Hah.
There's no way to peruse that I'm quite the Ellison fan..
Ha, ha, ha..
Harlan has been strangely absent from the television program, Politically Incorrect, as of late. Did Ellison have a falling out with Bill Mahar? Ellison would of made some of these election shows bearable. The only way to see Harlan on Teevee is to see this show. Tom Snyder where are you when we need thee?
I have a worry that Ellison's asshole status may have sacrificed him to a larger share of the book selling pot. Ellison kind of strays from his liberal roots with such lack of charactor. Arent Liberal's supposed to be more kinder to the blue collar mentality? He seems quite elitist, as of late. And when is Ellison gonna get off his fat ass and do something to get Ralph Nader elected. At least make an effort Ellison. We need a good Ellison rant about the horror known as Doctor. Laura!!
Harlan, your pad in the hollywood hills wont protect you from the war of race and class to come. not a threat mind you, just a word of caution. Fake 60's Liberal's better get their shit together and quick. Why do I even bother. Ellison will just call me a twit and go back to counting his money. Hah.
There's no way to peruse that I'm quite the Ellison fan..
Ha, ha, ha..
Yeah, but my question is: is the book any good? Besides, while I am usually anti spam, it does seem as if the guy made some kind of effort. Anyway, you can't begrudge a writer some amount of self promotion, especially these days.
Still, his letter said he "frequented" the board. Is this frequent as in posts occasionally (he ain't a regular, and I don't recognize the moniker) or is this frequent as in the way I frequent misc.writing (lurking: going on nine months)?
---Peter
furor scribendi
Well,I got the same e-mail, but I dunno. It actually seems as if the guy took the time to type each e-mail out (or at least cut-and-pasted names and such). And it's not as if he's pitching us The Watchtower.
I'll just delete it and not yell.
I just got an e-mail from some Christian horror writer (no lie) who used this website to make up an e-mailing list. Yikes! Save us, Saint Harlan (oh - you say he HASN'T been beatified, oh well, like the Nobel, I kinda' thought it might be EXPECTED)!
Hi, this is my virginal post on this board, though I've been a fan of Harlan's for many a...er, month (almost a year now). Anyway, this is a quick comment/question--I'm in my second year at Columbia University and recently noticed upon re-read of the intro to Essential Ellison that HE used to live at 611 West 114th street. So I laced up my hiking boots, loaded up the A-frame backpack and walked the lengthy block and a half to see if the place was still around (HE described it as old, IIRC, and that was in the fifties, but I figured it was still worth a shot). As it turns out, I couldn't find 611--there was a 609, and a 610 across the street, but wherever the entrance to 611 must have been was missing. The building appeared fairly new, so it's probably safe to say that the apartments that once stood there were combined into a larger building.
If anyone has any more information on this, please e-mail me or reply...maybe I wasn't looking hard enough.
~M
a-HA! I thought there was something familiar about the glint of light off Barney's shiny pate when I first met him - that reflected glow was the last thing I glimpsed before the plummet, before I was chased down the shaft by that mocking Ellison laugh - all because I asked about the secret code I discovered woven into "Doomsman" that predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Yugo, and the improbable success of Carrot Top. Fortunately, the steel plate already in place betwixt my ears absorbed most of the jolt from the sudden stop... still, as a result of the landing, I sometimes repeat things. And I can now see through solid rock. And there are those voices. And I sometimes repeat things.
For anyone travelling a great distance to Reading who isn't sure yet where they're going, directions are available over at http://www.bk.psu.edu/dirmap.html. It's the Berks Campus. You're on your own with finding the correct interstates to get there.
Barney:
I don't have the CBG number at hand but I can give you the pubication date: September 1, 2000. It's the one with The Spirit on the cover. I finally got my copy yesterday during my weekly visit to ye good olde comic shop.
Hey! A shout out to all of you. I've missed the old watering hole but have been WAY busy.
Historical footnote: That was FINDER who Harlan pushed down an elevator shaft. I knelt behind him for the assist. Landed on his head, the poor sod, which explains a few things.
Can somebody give me the number of the CBG that Harlan was in. I have David talking about the lawsuit and I don't know if I have the one before or after Harlan's guest shot. Also, Peter David mentions that he and Harlan were both slammed in a recent issue of Aquaman. Anybody got an issue number on that. Thanks and thanks.
Anybody who's going to the Reading [and briefly ALLENTOWN!] gig, don't be afraid to walk up and say high to the giant bald guy and the Nick Cave/Mike Nesmith lovechild. That would be Tim and myself. Finder and Perrianne and quite a few other members of the tribe will also be present.
For what it's worth, my wife has the feature article in this months Chile Pepper magazine with some great color photos and hellish recipes. Joe Bob Briggs sez checkitout!
This months SF Chronicle has a photo of Harlan getting his newest Stoker [for the Dove audio thingee] from his old buddy Ed Bryant.
OK - that catches me up. In the words of the late great Harry Nielson, "Vote Shmote!".
U.S. publishers have declined to publish Robert Sheckley's "Dimension of Miracles Revisited," the sequel to his classic novella. But if you go to Sheckley's webpage at www.sheckley.com, you can purchase a self-published, signed and numbered edition of the new book for $35. Sheckley also includes two new short stories.
HE has stated that the SFWA ought to delcare Sheckley a Grandmaster. And if you've ever read a Sheckley story, you don't need anyone to tell you how good he is. So buying a copy would be money well spent.
I've been a lurker on this board for a long time, and I've read many posts about how readers should support quality SF. As the saying goes, it's time to walk the walk.
Is Harlan Ellison still writing for Galaxy Online? If so, is there a URL?
KAREN: the answer is no -- White Wolf wont be publishing the Edgework series. But a message I read here (or on another bulletin board) advised that Ellison was in the process of making a deal with anothe publisher. In the meantime, Subterranean Press is going to reissue DEATHBIRD STORIES late this year or early next. So head to their website and get on the mailing list. -- DTS
Er, uh...fascinating. But I really don't care how tall Mr. Ellison is or what kind of pipe tobacco he prefers. I would just like to know if White Wolf is going to continue their reprints of
his works.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1883398479/qid=967462589/sr=1-29/002-8381481-387922
Have any of you--or Harlan for that matter--seen the message board for The Comics Journal? I was shocked by comments made about Harlan by the publisher of The Comics Journal and Fantagraphics Books(??).
In a post there basically this guy "Kim Thompson" states that he hopes that his publishing the infamous Chris Priest book about Harlan will lend godspeed to the final apoplectic stroke that inevitably claims Harlan's life. He then goes on to call Harlan a "shithead of galactic proportions" and amazingly offers up $50-worth of his publishing merchandise to anyone who has "the balls" to ask Harlan to autograph the Priest book when Harlan goes on the next benefit cruise to Mexico for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It's a truly deplorable showing. You can read for yourself at--
Industry News, Gossip, Rumors
Thread Title: Bugf**k
http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000206.html
Caitlin - I find it hard to look at the Washington Monument the same way since first reading installment 55 of “Edge...” ; there isn’t an element that contributed to the demise of Norman Mayer that isn’t alive and well today - and some, like the media, have only gotten less responsible (and I won’t even get into the gulf between Joe and Jane Average and the current political structure). I like that the book as a whole provides an wide, unvarnished view of the times it was written in part pop culture, part politics, part history and part Ellison biography. (Much like “The Harlan Ellison Hornbook” does for the early seventies.)
Now, if you want an even earlier slice of Harlan’s take on a major social issue, seek out “From Alabamy, With Hate” in “The Essential Ellison” for his first-hand account of the Freedom March on Montgomery in March of 1965.
And I have to say - dankforest.com? That can't be good for the computer.
Hey, NICOLE. Glad to hear you're voting for Nader, especially since the last time we spoke, you hadn't even heard of him :-) (Sorry, couldn't resist rubbing it in one more time). I'm voting for Ralphie again, too. Not because I dislike Gore, but because no matter how I vote, Utah will be a Republican landslide, and at least this way I might contribute the Greens' getting some federal funding in the 2004 election.-- Billy D.
I really would like to discuss HE's involvement in various social issues. I didn't realize this about him; I then read Edge in My Voice. I was blown away by his level-headed insight into American culture. No one around me is even minimally interested in reading HE, meanwhile discussing?
anyone want to talk?
Joseph:
I live at Clark and Deming and frequent Chicago Comics as well. TYhat is, as long as I don't have to cover a press screening or concert Wednesday night for my paper. If I have to work that evening, then I go to Graham Crackers downtown (at noon) to get my fix. My only complaint about Graham is that they don't carry enough independent comics. Mostly superhero stuff. Chicago Comics has by far the best selection. Perfect for impulse shopping which I like to do once in a blue moon. It's also women and children friendly.
Stars Our Destination is moving! NOOOOOO!!!!!!
Alejandro - it looks like we live in the same neighborhood (I live up at Clark & Sheffield). May I assume that you also get your comics at Chicago Comics on Clark?
By accident, I did notice the HE article in CBG (I don't usually read CBG, but I saw it in the checkout line at Chicago Comics). Picked it up, and thought it was a very interesting look at a side of science-fiction that I didn't know about.
Chris, Thanks. The synopsis help me understand HE's column better.
Charlie -- Tony Twist was a hockey player on the St. Louis Blues. Locally he is a very popular fellow who does a lot of charity work. On ice, his role is that of "enforcer".
T MacFarlane had a character in the Spawn series known first as Antonio Twistelli who shortened his name to Tony Twist. As I understand it, this character was very despicable and evil. The hockey playing Tony Twist found out from his Mom about the character and that Macfarlane, an admitted aports fanatic, had definitely known that he was using a name of an existing NHL player. Tony Twist sued him, saying that this character hurt his chances for endorsements on both a local and national level Twist won the lawsuit. MacFarlane said afterward that a St. Louis jury probably wasn'tsophisticated enough to understand the intricacies of the evidence. I thought that was pretty funny.
Yes, Charlie, Strange Attraction is out. Got my own copy yesterdar. Found out on the horror section of my local science-fiction/fantasy/horror bookstore The Stars our Destination which is now moving from their fine Belmont location to Evanston. It looks like rent prices in the Lakeview area have gone skyhigh. Although they may end up benefitting from their Evanston location: it's on Main Street, pretty close to the Northwestern University Evanston campus.
Alejandro- I picked up the CBG. Interesting article on "Tuckerisms". Don't know much about T MacFarlane's lawsuit, though and this hockey player. Can someone fill in the gap. Is Strange Attrac. in the bookstores? The on-line folks say it's unreleased.
Oh, almost forgot. Since I didn't see it posted here, I might as well let you guys know that the new issue of Interzone features an interview with Harlan. This may be old news for those of you who may have picked up a copy but for those of you who didn't…well, what are you waiting for?
Before I go, a little bit of belated self-promotion. I am now an occasional contributor to the Web exclusive portion of Scifinow.com (edited by our good friend and sometimes webderland lurker Paul Riddell). My first contribution -an interview with filmmaker George Romero- was posted two weeks ago. There will be more to come. Please visit the website at www.scifinow.com and besides reading my story, check out the rest of the Web Exclusive stuff Paul has secured for the site. It is tres-cool. And then drop Paul a kindly note and let him know what you think.
Thanks.
Boy, it's been mighty quite in this here forum. Well, let me be the first to break the code of silence with some good news. This week's Comic Buyer's Guide features a guest column by Unca Harlan himself. Turns out Peter David invited Harlan to comment on the whole Tony Twist-Todd McFarlane lawsuit. Am not too familiar with the issue and since I was running pretty low on cash when I went to my comics store this afternoon, was not able to buy a copy of the periodical. Will pick a copy up this Saturday.
Also out is Strange Attraction featuring an introduction by Harlan as well as original stories by Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury and Caitlin Kiernan among others. A beautiful book and it's only $29.95.
I believe Harlan made the same statement in one of his old SciFi Buzz commentaries.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Stan - Don't know about a non-fiction context, but there's an exchange in "Paladin of the Lost Hour" that matches your question; as Gaspar explains to Billy how he responded to people who inquired as to how much of his library he had read: ""So when they'd ask if I'd read all those books, I'd say, 'Hell, no. Who wants a library full of books you've already read?'""
I'm looking for a quote by Harlan, where someone asked
if he'd read every book in his library ... and he had
a great answer. If anybody can remember/point-to-it, I'd
appreciate it! thanks!
Peter: I'd have been disturbed by "fuzzly" little planets myself. I think I meant "fuzzy" little planets. Late night typos CAN be insulting. A compliment? Well, if you ARE from one of them planets I guess you'll take it as a compliment, but if you're still disturbed by it, take it up with the astronomers who released their findings several days ago.
Thanks for clarifying the Tipper Gore quash effort. I thought the ratings concept was her proposal not her compromise. I'd like to talk to her about that first amendmend stuff sometime. But I'll say this much for her, when she was really young she was a great looking lady - kinda like Elizabeth Montgomery - truly a gorgeous harpy, and for that I'll give Gore my vote. Might as well make my vote a profound one.
DTS: Don't sweat it. What disturbed me was the "nine fuzzly little planets" comment made by Rob. Unless that was really a compliment, in which case I'll have to remember that one next time I go out.
Rob: Oh, and the Tipper thing. I think her group was out to squash indecent lyrics and settled for the parental advisory label. However, she was probably the most liberal of that group of reactionary harpies. If it hadn't been for John Denver cleaning up the mess Dee Snider made in that senate hearing (chaired by Al), maybe the harpies would have won.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Peter & Nicole: Hope _I_ didn't come off like someone saying Nicole was wrong or stupid for her political beliefs. I was just pointing out that a Bush administration is a _definite_ step back into the dark ages. And that she sounds young and uncertain, and that it's always best to read up on these matters (figure out where these guys stand in every respect) before deciding who's gonna be better for the country in the long run, and if they really are political clones. It's important to vote, and it's important to be informed about what your vote will bring. That's all. Out here, DTS.
Hi. I hope I don't seem intrusive for barging in to the conversation here, but I've just come across this message board, and I wanted to share a story about Harlan Ellison with you guys. It's my all-time favorite story to tell, but unfortunately only fans of his writing really can enjoy it as much as it should be enjoyed. And as most of my friends enjoy his work, but aren't what I guess I would call "fans", I'm going to post it here, and hope you guys enjoy hearing it.
Ellison was in Minneapolis, MN (I live just outside Minneapolis) in 1993, I think, for the World Fantasy Convention. He was signing books at a Science Fiction/Role Playing game type store called "Dream Haven" books. If anyone recalls this was the trip that served as impetus for one of the stories he wrote as a companion to one of Jacek Yerka's paintings. It was an impossibly cold Minnesota winter day, and I had to wait outside for a while, as I got there ridiculously early. I had my dog-eared, worn copy of The Essential Ellison, which was my bible at the time, under my arm.
After they let us all in (the line had grown quite a bit, and even though I got there so early I was still second in line) we waited around for about and hour or so until Harlan Ellison showed up. He showed up early, in fact. His line was the longest, which was impressive because Peter Straub, Poppy Z. Brite, and Dan Simmons were going to be there that day as well.
He came blasting through the door (blasting is a sad word to describe what it was like when he entered the place) with all the sound and fury one wouldn't expect for 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning. It was amazing. He had the entire store in the palm of his hand.
He sat right down and got to business. The line by now was well over one hundred deep, which was amazing as the store was very tiny. The line snaked through every available spot in the store, so if you just happened to drop by for a book that Saturday morning, and didn't give a damn about what was going on, you were shit outta luck.
I was fifteen or sixteen at the time, and Ellison was the first writer who's work really "spoke" to me.. if that's not sounding too dramatic. I had always been a science fiction reader, but my interest, until Ellison, never went beyond the sort of shoot-em-up Battlestar Galactica stuff. It was ultimately through his work that I fell in love with Science Fiction.
I was in awe watching him sit there. The guy in front of me had about a dozen or so hardcover editions he wanted signed, which I assumed he was just going to turn around and sell. This wasn't a pilgrimage for him like it was for me. I was looking at the man who helped me unlock so much of my mind, that I was speechless. Ellison was mid conversation with one of the bookstore guys when I got up there, and he nodded and smiled at me as I handed him my book.
"It's an honor to meet you Mr. Ellison. You're writing means so much to me." is what I had rehearsed saying. But what came out I'll never know. I was impossibly awkward at the time, being overweight and having a face full of acne. I've always had stubborn, curly hair that grows every which way. And besides, talking's never really been my thing. Aside from that I had just completely interrupted him while he was speaking to someone else, and I had heard from another science fiction reader he had shoved a guy down an elevator shaft at Iguanacon '76 or something.
Anyhow, he turns to me, and says "Thanks." signs my book, and then pushes across the table back to me. After that he put out his hand. I could hardly believe it. His writing really truly had shaped the person I was to become, and I had the chance to shake his hand. I reached across the table and shook it. He had a firm grip (what else could one expect?)
"Stay outta trouble." he said.
Isn't that awesome? I'm sure there's plenty more stories floating around out there like this one, but I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Thanks for the attention.
And thanks, Harlan.
Do I think Nader has a chance of becoming president? No. Do I think he'll siphon off votes from Gore? Yes. Do I think he shouldn't run, lest he inadvertantly pave the way for Dubbya to become president? No.
I wish he wouldn't run, but truth be told, I don't want a system where the electoral process is the selection, not of the best man for the job, but of the one who'll eff up the least. I'll vote for Gore come this November, and I'll pray that Buchanan (should the reform party get its freakin' act together) will level out the playing field and siphon off enough votes from Bush to ensure an even fight. I will not, however, tell someone that they are stupid, or wrong, for their politcal choice unless they have no reasons. The only wrong choice is an uninformed choice.
People support Gore out of fear. They support Bush because he has been programmed to tell them what they want to hear. They support Nader because they are sick and tired of the two major parties who have become rusty machines too intent on keeping their gears oiled to pay attention to their purpose. People are people, and they will always make choices. We may not agree with everyone's choice, and we may try and change their viewpoint (though I hardly think disparaging a person because of thier viewpoint is very constructiive; not really gonna win any converts that way), but in the end we will always disagree. That's what keeps this system dynamic.
Okay, I'll step down now, this soapbox is starting to creak from wear.
---Peter
furor scribendi
To Nicole: Considering that all candidates have drawbacks as a given, the measure of potential in each comes by the extent of those drawbacks; to infer there'd be little difference between Bush and Gore in the consequences we'd have to pay in this country...well, Nicole, all I can say is you are clearly from one of them nine fuzzly little planets astronomers recently discovered circling Epsilon Eridani: The Republicans created an economic wasteland strewn with in-you-face greed, costly S&L scandals which we're all going to be paying for generations to come and religious fanaticism in the late 80's/early 90's (and that was just the tip of the iceberg); give the House back to them and we'll go back to that. In plain language that is NOT going to happen if Gore has the House. That ALONE is a significant difference. As for Tipper, wasn't she just for rating systems similar to the MPAA in movies (which was the solution to the odious problem of Hays code censorship)? Anyway, it doesn't matter because I'd trust even her over a brainless "snot-nosed rich kid" (my apologies to Bill Maher) like George Bush, Jr...AND after the Republicans' arrogant behavior over the last few years I'm stunned anyone is supporting those people to begin with. If the people of America are stupid enough to actually let creeps like the Republicans run the show again I've lost what little respect I have for them already.
Nicole: Whether or not Nader (that's N-A-D-E-R) gets 8 percent of the vote doesn't matter right now. Sure it's be great to see a third party succeed, but that wont happen in the near future (have you checked out happenings with the Reform Party lately? What a mess!). So, realistically, we are left with choosing from one of two parties, or reverting back to a chaotic society where whomever had the fastest gun had the last word. Since I have a young daughter (and prefer intelligent conversation and debate to brute force), I'm gonna go with the two party system this year. And though I know there are many issues on which the two candidates actually agree, there are enough separate issues on which they disagree to make me see the difference. With Bush, you can bet that fat cats and big-money corporations and interests groups will get plenty of tax breaks and hands-on consideration from the government. (Although the democrats can be just as prone to playing footsies with THOSE IN POWER, they tend to do it to a lesser extreme). With Bush, you can bet that the State sanctioned religion will be christianity -- school prayers, etc., etc. And Bush and his fundamentalist buddies will no doubt be imposing their "values" on the rest of us (another "Meese Commission," headed up by William Bennett, would be no surprise under a Bush administration). With Bush in power, women will no longer have an abortion -- the state will be telling them no (and any Supreme Court justices appointed by Bush will likely be conservative and "christian"). With Bush in the White House, the public school system will completely fall apart (it's in bad shape now), because he'll send any education funds to private (mostly religious, mostly christian) schools (and if you check out his education record in "Tejas," you'll find it leaves much to be desired). I could go on, but you've probably taken my point. A Bush in the White House aint worth the "bird" in your hand. And to say he is not much worse than Gore is like driving with blinders on: you can't see the forest for the trees. Before you vote, educate yourself, my dear. (Unless, of course, you're dyed-in-the-wool fundamentalist christian who attends "pro-life" rallies regularly. And in _that_ case, in the immortal words of a deceased, "Saturday Night" alumni, nevermind. Out here, DTS.
Maggie: I have found that while I wish desperately to have the ability to plot seemlessly in my head and transfer that into printed word, it doesn't always work like that. I've been getting better at it with the short stuff, but the novel still eludes me.
You might want to consider plotting out on paper. If you have a rough but recorded idea of what is going to happen, then you not only can tackle the novel in easy to chew morsels, you can also decide how you want to say something rather than just what you want to say.
giving advise is a lot easier than taking ones own, but this is something I've been tackling with all summer, and it makes much more sense now than in my brash youth of four years ago.
---Peter
furor scribendi (rage to write)
Hey all! I've got a wee bit of a problem and I'm rather hoping that somebody here will be willing and able to advise me. See, I've had this character and her story hopping about in my brain for years. And I do mean years. She first popped up back when I lived in Boulder, CO and that's been about 12 years ago now. I've got a lot of story snippets, but I've never been able to finish her story. Well, I was sitting here at work one day trying to figure out why the heck my stupid code wouldn't compile when, completely out of the blue, I realized that I have never been able to finish her story because I keep trying to write it as a short story, when it's not. This was kind of an omigod, of course moment, except for this - I *never* expected/planned on writing anything longer than a short story or a really long essay. I'm finding I'm a bit, um, discombobulated here on the topic of writing anything of novella length or longer.
So, any of you brave souls who've actually done that have any advice or suggestions for me? I have to get this woman and her story out of my head.
TIA
Maggie
as for Beyond 2000.
here in indy it IS on the PBS radio station but of course their web site has completely incorrect listings as to what is on when. You're almost better not getting it at all because you never know what will air til you hear it. I tried to get them to give me leads on the audio tapes and after much searching I believe audible.com may have them soon. who knows?
10-4
Regarding EDGEWORKS 5.
I wrote to White Wolf last week and was indeed told that HE had bought back the rights. They didn't know what HE was going to do with the series at this point. They were also surprised to find out that amazon.com had been sending out alerts proclaiming the books release around aug. 1 or so.
10-4
No offense, but Gore doesn't look that sunny either. Lack of charisma can be made up for, but have you looked into Tipper? She's no real prize on issues, either. From what I see, she wants to censor all forms of media she and her co-hags (the Parent's Counsel or somethinglikethat) would remove anything they find "inappropriate" (ie that would shock an 80 year old nun). As far as I see, the next four years are going to be hell one way or another. And why are you trying to talk people out of voting for Nadar? Remember, all he needs is 8% of the vote to be a major party. Okay, my political statement for the day. Thankyew.
BTW, I saw Harlan today on my afternoon walk, going the opposite direction. Scary that I'm starting to get used to seeing him around the neighborhood, eh?
The other day I pressed some Nader supporters about the risky timing of taking away votes from Gore. Normally, I'm a Nader supporter too. But I'm in stark blind panic over what should be absurd chances of Bush winning the House. For those who think the differences between Gore and Bush are negligible, well, ya gotta be from one of them nine fuzzly little planets astronomers recently discovered circling Epsilon Eridani. No, the differences are critical enough. Let Bush get the House and you can say adios to the economy and hola to grand theocratic dictates (and tougher times for students like me). It'll be a wasteland, man. As always we are left with the better of two evils (has it ever been otherwise?). If the race weren't this close I'd be up there backing Nader too. But he can't win anything right now, so get real. After Gore wins (hopefully), then I'd like to see Nader build a coalition, now that the public is starting to take him seriously. But for the immediate time, regrettably, it's too dangerous.
Having dished out the propaganda, what did everyone think of Lieberman and Gore's daughter at the Convention? Both speakers made Gore look truly human for the first time, and he didn't even have to be there (I hope that isn't the only way he CAN look human). Even though Lieberman is Orthodox (I'm an Athiest), he has a genuinely warm, animated trusting personality; I felt like I could trust anything he'd tell me. No car salesman quality to him whatsoever. He's easily the best ammo Gore has had in the entire campaign and should appease those who can't see substance over style.
So, remember folks - all those undecided - if you want to keep an economy growing STAY OUT OF THE BUSHES! (And remember, if you let Nader take away too many votes from Gore right now we're all going to be tossed into the Bushes, leaving only the dispassionate wealthy to boast about it).
(Delurking for a moment) Hi! I hadn't seen this mentioned, but I thought people might be interested. The latest Aboriginal Science Fiction, issue #64, has a story called "I have no blimp, and I must dream", by David Bischoff. It's about blimps, books and dreams, and mentions HE and several of his books. I think it's a wonderful story, and I just wanted to let people know about it. Thanks! (Going back into lurkdom)
As for Edgeworks, I wish the series could continue--I discovered HE's work right after vol. 1 was released and decided the proposed 20-volume set would be a super, well-paced way to acquire his backlist. This means I haven't been purchasing used copies of any of the books on the Edgeworks list, instead waiting patiently for the next installment. Being an avid DVD collector as well as a devoted follower of "Astro City", "Daredevil", "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", "Hellboy", and HE's own "Dream Corridor", I'm well-used to delays in the release of artistic material (for reasons artistic or not). I honestly don't care how long it takes for EW5 to be released. Despite all this, if the Edgeworks project indeed has been terminated, I'd like to start actively seeking used copies of HE's books.
Unless HE has other, non-White Wolf plans for these works. Does anyone else have any pertinent info?
And, Beyond 2000 doesn't air in my area either (though I dutifully, peacefully requested it). I'd much prefer CDs of the series though. Do plans exist for a CD edition? If not, to whom must I bitch?
Sorry Joseph, GVG is an editor for a top paying magazine, though I like your answer better. I was just venting my personal frustration.
---Peter
furor scribendi
In re to the future of the Edgeworks series; I spoke to a friend of mine who spoke to someone at Borders Books who called White Wolf. I don't know with whom he spoke, but was told that HE "bought" the titles back and WW will be concentrating on games not fiction. Any truth to this? I did get the HE issue of Collectors Glass News. Interesting essay. I'm glad that Beyond 2000 will be available on cassette as it is not on the Seattle NPR station.
David
Pardon me, but that is GVG? Can't say I was unable to find anything illuminating through a web search, though I did find this little tidbit:
GVG, or gamma vinyl-GABA, appears to prevent the biochemical and behavioral effects of nicotine and cocaine in much the same way it prevents an epileptic seizure: by altering the way brain cells talk to one another.
In the brain, chemicals called neurotransmitters constantly float between brain cells, sending messages that travel through the brain and into the body in a process similar to the child's game "Telephone."
Well, I was going to put up a smart ass remark about returning my EW3 and waiting for it and 5 to be finished... I won't. Lawd knows I typically type out the typos time and time again.
By the way. I just got my fifth form rejection letter from GVG. Two more and I complete the set!
---Peter
furor scribendi
Concerning EW3, as Harlan says, it will be finished when it's finished.
hey, this may be an old question... but what the hell is up with the delay of Edgeworks 5 ???
Concerned
hmm, the url didn't show up when i put it in brackets.
here it is again
www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/224/living/Fire_breathing_writer_vows_to_fry_Net_thieves+.shtml
I read that he did a story for a Matrix comic, but I never
saw it posted on the site. I should check my DVD.
The Boston Globe has a piece on Ellison today. The link
will probably only be good for a few days.
Fire-breathing writer vows to fry Net thieves
By his own estimation, writer Harlan Ellison exists in a state of smoldering animosity. He goes from zero to ballistic in about two seconds and threatens to put ''Harlan-sized holes'' in anyone who crosses him, especially folks who refer to him as a science fiction writer. (For the record: He prefers the term ''imaginative fiction.'')
He's had it with the greasy-thumbed adolescents, the demented fans, the human offal, the idiots, the morons, and, well, just about everyone else on the planet. In short, the man despises most of the human race. ''Any society that allows Pauly Shore to make a living doesn't deserve to exist,'' he says....
A query going out to the denizens of this board:
I was visiting the Matrix official site (whatisthematrix.com) recently and was browsing through their online comics.
For some reason, HE is listed as one of the contributing authors, or soon to be contributing authors, but none of the stories seem particularly...shall I say...ellisonesque.
Any leads would be great.
Actually, Nicole, in the true spirit of HE, I don't give a damn what HE thinks about me. :)
Naw, that'd be a lie. But seeing as how HE doesn't know me at all and is unlikely to ever know me, that hardly matters.
I hope my little post didn't sound like too much of an ass-kiss. I've been going through some heavy-duty therapy (no crisis just regular old therapy) and introspection and HE keeps figuring prominently in my thoughts (and even a few dreams - hey, watch it! - nothing kinky, sheesh, you dirty dogs) and I had to think about why he did and I realized that was why. And then I kinda needed to say it "out loud" to get it off my chest.
Charlie, I just put in a huge order with Borders.com (Turtledove, Robert J. Sawyer, Daryl Brock) and got 30 percent off on all my hardcovers and 20 percent off the trade paperbacks (Year's Best SF, Year's Best Fantasy & Horror). Maybe that won't last long if the other two have just raised prices, but check it out and enjoy it while you can. (I've been pretty happy with their service so far.)
--jeff r.
Has anyone else noticed that the on-line book sellers (amazon, bn)are now only giving a 20% discount for hb and 10% for pb. A few months back the brick & mortar stores rescinded their 10% discount on all hb books. It seems this does nothing except help boost the indie book stores if there are no savings at the bigger stores.
Todd - you think Centreville had townhouses in '91? The radius around the 28/29 intersection has been completely deforested, and now they're building 5 and 6 story office buildings in among the townhouses. Given my druthers, I'd take thirty acres of Wyoming wilderness...
Nader is up to 22,000 signatures on his on-line petition to be allowed into the debates. Personally, I think the top four or five parties' candidates should be included, if we really want a good cross sample of choices. Of course, this would be such a strong threat to the status quo, I don't see it happening.
Then again, in a system where the people making the laws aren't necessarily required to show up for votes, vacation on taxpayer money in the guise of 'business trips' and can pass bills giving themselves pay raises, I suppose just about anything that sounds crazy could have a chance of springing into being.
Me personally? Neither Bush (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree) nor Gore (who may seem to be from Disney's Hall of Presidents, but the way he carries himself is as close as he will get) for I trust neither as far as I could heave them; so I, for one, would like to see how Nader and Buchanan stack up against them in an open forum.
But I'd like to see Orson Welles' cut of "The Magnificent Ambersons", too, and wishing just don't make it so.
Yeah, I know what you mean about HE. It's more like a religious/adreniline boost/want this guy to like me and think I'm a good writer, damnit! thing for me.
Screw Bush and Gore. I'm voting for Nadar. (Harlan would be proud...;))
First, belated condolences to you, "Finder," for Centreville. As a former Fx and Arl Counties resident, I remember driving down 29 in 1984 and looking off toward C-ville and seeing mostly forest...by 1991 at latest, a similar glance would reveal a Vincent diFate-like sea of what turn out to be townhouses, stretching to the horizon. Scary.
Well, the convention came through, relatively few had their heads busted, local "news" folk roundly congratulated the local cops for not busting heads as if the police were oversized bullying children compelled to abuse their power (as some would claim they are, of course). A number of protestors still in jail.
This week's headchat political shows (FACE THE NATION, MEET THE PRESS...) had a serious round of Pat Buchanan, a dollop of Ralph Nader and even Jesse Ventura, and lots of GOP apologists with their correspondents from the other election machine here. While whining about the lack of news from the GOP festival of overstated diversity (I suspect PBS may even have had some second thoughts about devoting as much coverage to such a trivial display as much of it was), few pursued the fracas in the Reform Party wherein the old Perotistas were trying to rebuke Buke, claiming that many of his ballots were fraudulent (hilariously, John Hagelin, the perennial candidate of the Maharishi's Natural Law Party, presented himself as thus the only viable candidate in the Reform race, much as he made an attempt to also be nominated by the Greens; Lenora Fulani and the other major cult in presidential politics seem to be laying low, For Now). You know, the way some of the Perot votes probably were conveniently ruled more equal than others in the race against Colorado gov. Richard Lamm for the Reform pres nom in '96. No one sought out Harry Browne (Libertarian) nor David McReynolds (Socialist) nor the other small-party candidates to add a little color commentary, that I'm aware of. (You see, a vote for McReynolds is a vote thrown away that belonged to Nader, by the delightfully twisted logic of the big parties.) But at least, as compared to the big-network round of several weeks ago (FACE THE NATION had Nader and Buchanan, MEET THE PRESS had Gore, THIS WEEK had Bush), it was nice to notice that Nader has learned to close his mouth while waiting to speak. (That previous round was pretty impressive in terms of mere appearance, with Nader looking like he'd been hit over the head with his gaping mouth, Gore showing us why his teeth could use some work, Bush looking like the miscegenation between Pat Robertson and a spider monkey, and Buchanan, the tv talking head, unsurprisingly coming off best in this regard, remembering not to go into the full-face smile that makes him look almost as demonic as Andre Marrou.)
Hi, gang, long time, no post. I've been away for some time.
Pardon my pith but I have been thinking a lot about Harlan Ellison lately.
I had originally typed a long explanation of what I am about to say but I realize it is not necessary. So I will simply cut to the chase.
In thinking about Harlan Ellison so much lately, about his writing, about his beliefs, about Harlan, the man, I have come to a sudden realization. An epiphany, in fact.
Harlan Ellison makes me want to be a better person.
And for that I just want to say, "Thank you, Mr. Ellison, for being who you are."
I just checked in with Art- no wanted in Surgery, but he does have a huge stack of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream on tape as well as the video game (the absolute BEST!!! It blows every other computer game right out of the water- and that's HE's voice as AM!)and hintbooks.
Speaking of Wanted in Surgery: I just made a trip to the mountainous wilds of northern-Northern California and on the way back I stopped at a used bookstore that looked promising. It was. I picked up a first ed of Paingod and an Ace ed of Love Ain't Nothing...
---Peter
furor scribendi
Heard it Gunther- it's pretty decent quality. I also found a copy on tape at Borders here in Sherman Oaks, as well as (I believe), The Man Who Traveled In Elephants (I'm close, aren't I DragonCon 98 people?) in which HE had a part. I'm also sure that Dangerous Visions has a copy if you want to order it from there. Art is pretty good about getting things shipped out.
Don't know if you know, but Seeing Ear Theatre has a RealAudio production of Ellison's WANTED IN SURGERY starring the Man himself.
http://www.scifi.com/set/originals/wanted/
Peter: Thanks for your angle. Back to my more reliable independent bookseller.
While perusing some old Rabbit Holes the other day, I noticed an article in one of them that made reference to several Japanese laserdisc releases of episodes of CBS' eighties revival of "The Twilight Zone", complete with catalog numbers of said discs.
First I'd ever heard, so I've been through all my various resources trying to coroberate the announcement, and I keep coming up dry. Not even E-Bay has evidenced one for sale in the near past, even at an ungodly price. So as I continue to hunt and peck and pursue, does anybody know off the top of their head if these actually existed beyond an announcement - or am I just hunting digital snipe?
And on a related note, who actually directed TZ's "Paladin of the Lost Hour" segment? It's credited to Alan Smithee, which boggles since I always felt it was quite a fine presentation.
Gary: I ordered my dad some audiobooks through them for Father's Day, and have yet to see hide nor hair. I did call around mid to late June and they said that they were changing warehouses and that my order wouldn't be shipped until July 10th. I've called several times since July 10th and have had nothing but busy signals too. I even sent them an email and have yet to hear from them.
I think New Star Audio (who owns both audiouniverse and Dove Audio) is going under and trying to keep as quiet about it as possible. Going to www.doveaudio.com redirects you to audiouniverse, and the server for newstaraudio.com is always down.
I should have guessed something was up when I noticed that they still had St. Patrick's Day specials up in June. Alas, I was swayed by the apparent availability and the too good to be true prices of the audiobooks I wanted to get. Since they haven't charged me either, I'm considering writing them off as a lost cause.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Hello folks
Has anyone had any experience with Audio Universe? My wife placed an online order for the Voice from the Edge recordings over a month ago, intending them as a birthday gift to me. She got a confirmation and a notice that she would receive an e-mail when it was shipped. Since then, the birthday came and went, and nothing, and calls to their 800 number have all found busy signals. (They have our credit card info but have not charged it.) We're ready to write them off, but I thought I'd check with the good folk of Webderland: does anyone here have a perspective on them?
Many thanks.
And now, there are not one, but TWO 1982 Bing & Grondahl Explorer mugs on e-bay. I wonder if this is something else that comes in threes...
I was wondering if there was any news about the comic HE and Peter David were working on together. I think it was a Realworlds:Superman issue. Thanks for any info. Roger
Cripers.
That main page request was enough to get my brain hopping...
Rick, what is it you're trying to say?
---Peter
furor scribendi
DO NOT BID ON THE EXPLORER MUG!
DO NOT BID ON THE EXPLORER MUG!
DO NOT BID ON THE EXPLORER MUG!
There is a mug on ebay right now. DO NOT BID ON IT! Harlan has someone bidding on it. DO NOT BID ON IT! If you see other stuff like this on auction, tell me or Harlan. DO NOT BID ON IT!
DO NOT BID ON THE EXPLORER MUG!
DO NOT BID ON THE EXPLORER MUG!
DO NOT BID ON THE EXPLORER MUG!
Doh! I meant to respond to Nicole as well....
Scary Movie: I saw it, I laughed. Basically the writers plagiarized Scream and added a bunch of penis and pot jokes. What I couldn't understand was all the parents who brought their twelve and thirteen year-old children to see the film. Unless you're offended by penis and pot jokes, you'll at the very least chuckle. My advice: see it at a matinee. Don't pay ten bucks to see it.
As for X-Men. I read X-men until I was fourteen. I enjoyed the movie very much, simply because it captured the character dynamics that I enjoyed so much in my youth. Hugh Jackman was dead on as Wolverine and made me sigh with relief that Dougray Scott had to pass on the role. I also appreciated that the movie steered away from the over-the-top camp of the last two Batman movies. This one I definitely recommend.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Oh DTS, go easy on the lad. He is, by the way, from Oshkosh by... golly.
Still, a please or a thank you would probably make this person a whole lot less frustrating. At least he didn't ask us when LDV will be published! (I knew there was a bright side somewhere)
---Peter
furor scribendi
AHHHH! That's what I love about the internet. It highlights the forgotten attributes of generations which came before us -- like manners. What's wrong Jon -- your mama forget to send you to finishing school? -- DTS
What is the projected release of Edgeworks vol. 5? If you know anything let me know.
*blush* Um...my boyfriend doesn't mind...so I wear a bit too much black eyeliner...*blushes again*
I haven't gotton a chance to see many movies, so I'll have to take you guys' word for it...is Scary Movie any good? I might go see it with some of my Rocky friends.
I mean "its" ... pardon me, I'm Irish. We tend to put apostrophes in strange places.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Well sheesh Doc, no wonder you couldn't remember the little sprat's name. I went to the ever informative IMDB and looked up Bless the Child. The kid's name is Holliston Coleman. I've never hear the name Holliston before. I wonder at it's origins.
A Goth "Tammy Faye" print? That leaves an indelible impression on my brain ... and perhaps on your shirt.
---Peter
furor scribendi
As the discussion has taken a turn for the cinematic, I must put
my foot in it. As it were. Harrumph.
The other day, going in to see THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY & BULLWINKLE,
I noticed a poster for a flic I managed to see in a pre-screening
way back in early April. It's called BLESS THE CHILD, and stars
Kim Bassinger. On the *positive* side, it also stars Jimmy Smits
and has a very talented, capable supporting cast, including
Christina Ricci and Ian Holm, and a little girl who is the female
counterpart to Haley Joe Osment(sp?). If you must, catch it at
the bargain matinee. The effects are nice and don't dominate the
picture (which is perhaps unfortunate), Rufus Sewell (COLD
COMFORT FARM) is only slightly hammy, and it's an okay story, if
you're willing to go for sort of a reverse take on THE OMEN. But
the movie as a whole, as soon as I recall the presence and
dubious thespic talents of KB, I get all cranky and just
generally like a 5 year old who's been awake in a car in the
summer for about three hours too many. Yes, yes, I KNOW she got
an Oscar for L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, and I'm still convinced it was
because the director told her to stand there and say the lines
and DON'T DO ANYTHING. Perhaps a seconal or two in her Perrier
helped. In this one though, she does everything we actors were
told in film school to never ever do unless the director drives
you to it. Blah! Feh!
Well, anyhow. I don't think it would be fair to punish everyone
in the picture just on her account, so I won't beg you NOT to go
see it, but -- be advised: She's terrible in a mediocre film, in
which the rest of the cast handle themselves ably. And in the
case of the little girl whose name eludes me, she's terrific --
Kim Bassinger should be ashamed for having a wee moppet act
circles and loop-dee-loops around her.
I could also do a little pillory-ing of the screenwriter (not bad
but that doesn't automatically equal "good."), but as he's
working and I am not (YET), I'll save that for later. The name
again is BLESS THE CHILD. If you go you'll want it to be good,
and ultimately you'll be disappointed. Except for the girl --
MAN she's dynamite!
As an aside, for those of you who are unaware of the Screen
Actors Giuld strike, check out the details at their website at
SAG.com. It's important, and might even merit some discussion
around here.
NICOLE: You have my number now; call it. And for the interim,
I *am* your mother. Anyone who leaves a Goth "Tammy Faye" print
on my shirt after a large hug must pay the consequences. So eat.
Cheers, Doc
Also received a copy of "Harlan Ellison's Watching" over the weekend, from my lovely spouse, who dropped it into my lap with the comment "I was in the bookstore, and I don't think you have this one...," cut off by my giving her a hug like you wouldn't believe. Lovely book to dip into and come out with little morsels like reminding me just how bad "Young Sherlock Holmes" was, and how it could have been better (okay, maybe it couldn't have been better, but...).
Also saw "X-Men" over the weekend. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though they had to devote half the movie to setup (quite understandable). I like that they were able to toss in the younger squibs without going into all of their deals (Iceman, Colossus, etc). Usual sterling work by Stewart and McKellan. Nice ensemble work by the X-men actors.
Weird moment: hearing my best friend and his fiancee chortling on either side of me as Cyclops comes on screen wearing ruby-lenses Oakley sunglasses, and then looking a little closer and realizing that they guy bears a remarkable resemblance to me, especially since I wear Oakley's like those (but with black lenses). Similar hair, facial structure and lips. Very odd. Should I ask for royalties? ;)
As for how the movie will be received by non-fans, my wife (who has never read an X-men comic in her life) had no problem following the plot, so that's a good sign for anyone who was afraid that it would be too fannish. All in all, an enjoyable movie with more than half a brain in its head.
After all, I just hope it does well so that they'll hire a good creative staff for "Spider-Man."
Speaking of things Star Trek, I was purusing Grace Lee Whitney's autobiog. and there's a chapter about her and HE. Apparently they were seeing each other at one point, but it fizzled b/c of her use of illicit drugs.
From the Tentatively Tag your Daytimer File: The ICON website has been updated (as of 6/24) to reflect that Harlan will be in attendence (March 30 - April 1, 2001). On an interesting related note, their announced media Guest of Honor? Majel Barrett Roddenberry.
D'ja ever wonder if those who plan conventions LIKE to mix ingredients that simply don't blend?
Ooh, I love me some books.
Just had myself a little binge on Half.com--picked up STRANGE WINE and HARLAN ELLISON'S WATCHING at great prices, as well as CORTEZ ON JUPITER and HIGH AZTECH by Ernest Hogan, as seen downboard. Also got two books by some newsgroup friends (POINT OF HONOR by Dorothy J. Heydt and ANONYMOUS REX by Eric Garcia), some Sturgeon, some Willis, and some other stuff.
So what if I can't fit any more on my bookshelves (2000+ books, lining two walls)? These are BOOKS we're talking about! The staff of life! The wisdom of the ages! The beauty of the world! The paragon of anim--
Ahem.
I'm feeling much better now.
ALL: Although I was an avid comic book fan in my youth (and still like to watch Saturday a.m. cartoons with my daughter, always pick up anything Ellison does in the medium, and sometimes check out the "really hot" stuff -- like DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, an issue or two of SANDMAN and SIN CITY), I never got into comics enough to follow all of the Marvel lines. Still, I was familiar with the X-Men characters. So while I'm not a stone-cold fan, I'm familiar with them and took that to the box office when my daughtyer and I checked out the film yesterday. And despite some so-so reviews, I think it's a terrific show. We _both_ enjoyed it and highly recommend it (although she hid her eyes a few times when the action got wild -- nothing gory, just intense)! By the way, Barney. Take your daughter and friends to see _this_ kinda show next time (_not_ the "R" rated flicks, and especially not something as dumb as "Scary Movie"; hell, it wouldn't have taken the sex scenes to embarrass me; from what I've glommed from others, just the bad writing and jokes would've done it -- sheesh!). (No charge for the father-to-father advice, Barney). Out here, DTS.
I do still have some additional copies of the new Collector Glass News issue with the Harlan cover story. The cost is $3.00 each which includes postage. Send payment to CGN, PO Box 308, Slippery Rock, PA 16057. Please indicate that you are requesting the Ellison issue.
thanks
mark
The new issue of Collector Glass News (Aug/Sep) does indeed have the HE cover story. Contact Mark Chase at cgn@glassnews.com. Has photos of HE's glass collection and the new addition to his house. A MUST HAVE for you completists. Also, he mentions he's WRITING a new movie for Samuel L. Jackson. Is this the Mefisto in Onyx script or something new?
Well, Ernest, you got on my list based on two things: The BRAINPAN FALLOUT listed below, and the recommendation of some writer guy named Riddell (no, de Lint fans; not Christie).
And as for knowing crazy publishers, well, I'm looking at that very quandary myself.
But your post stirred the sleeping demons in my brain a bit: Yes, with his literary accomplishments and his efforts in the war for freedom of speech, Harlan truly is a "hero of the written (and even spoken) word".
So whom else would you people cite as the same? Following in his footsteps, I'd mark Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, and Maggie Thompson as such for their tireless efforts on behalf of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (http://www.cbldf.org).
For the mentions made in their works and the prominence given on their official websites to good causes like the "Don't!Buy!Thai!" boycott in protest of the Southeast Asian child sex industry (http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/8931/b2.html) and the CARE Act of 1999 (http://www.careact.org)--explanation below*--I would nominate Andrew Vachss and Charles de Lint, as well.
Your suggestions?
*The CARE Act is a bill introduced last year--now foundering in commitee--to change the way certain molestation cases are sentenced. See, in most states, if convicted of child molestation, you face twenty-plus years in stir, and good riddance.
However, there's a cute little caveat: You get those twenty years on the rock, UNLESS you happen to be related to your victim. In that case, you get charged with neither "child sex abuse" or "rape of a child", but rather with "incest", and get what usually amounts to a sentence of instant probation.
The CARE Act bill is aimed at making the charges and sentences uniformly harsh, to avoid the free ride given to those who grow their own victims.
Gosh! I'd like to thank Alex Jay Berman for mentioning me as an unsung hero of the written word. And on a site dedicated to one the written words true heroes, yet! That sort of thing makes the struggle seem worth it. I'm doing all I can to make my books available, (anybody know any crazy publishers out there?) meanwhile, magazine editors take pity on me now and then. My novel SMOKING MIRROR BLUES will be out in a special limited edition -- order yours now! -- from Wordcraft of Oregon in Spring of 2001. And, BRAINPAN FALLOUT, my "cybergonzo" serial is on the web, at , with silly clues about what the hell happened to me back in the Nineties sprinkled between the thrill-packed chapters. Now back to thanking Papa Legba for the day job that allows me continue with all this madness . . .
Susan pt2:
...nothing like hitting the wrong key. But to continue, go to Add/Remove Programs. Scroll till you find AOL and remove from there. This should be able to get you out of the "error" message problem.
mc
Hey Susan,
I don't know if you're still having tech problems, but if so, here's another way to help you out of computer hell.
You can generally reinstall the problem file (in this case, AOL). Try to install it on the same drive and path as much as possible as the original.
Once completed, reboot, go to Start>Settings>Control Panel>
Doc- Sheesh! You sound like my mother! BTW, haven't heard from you in a while. Harlan ever contact you about moving those books? Give me a call.
Got my first glimpse of Mind Fields today at DV. It's really amazing. I think the Dangerous Visions site is up and running- it's worth checking out since Art has some nice HE stuff there.
Peter -- depending on where you are, some would say Clifornia is
the MOLTEN state. Here in the Southland, late last month, folks
were wandering around in a trance with their tongues hanging out.
Having grown up in western Oklahoma and south Texas though, I
mostly just shrug at them, while tittering fecklessly. I KNOW
from heat.
NICOLE -- Have you eaten yet?
Cheers,
Doc
Nicole! Welcome to the molden state (as opposed to Floida which is the shun sign state). I'm going to have to agree with you on Card. I was trepidatious at first when Enders was recommended to me, but I picked it up and was pleasantly surprised. Very well wrought, I thought. I've since enjoyed his Alvin Maker series.
I just finished reading Millennium Rising by Jane Jensen. For the dabblers in computer games out there, she is the designer/writer of the Gabriel Knight games. I recommend this book, if not just because I found it cleverly written, I also enjoyed the characterizations.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Hey, I just preordered Edgeworks 5 on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565049683/o/qid%3D963074060/sr%3D2-3/103-8463128-5583006
Very strange since even White-Wolf has no listing for the book.
Hi everyone! Decided to stick my head in after Doc mentioned the site earlier this week. As you can see, I've decided I would rather reside in sunny CA than the Midwest. I'm really into Orson Scott Card myself (although I'm okay on the "Homecoming" series- after all, he based a bunch of it on the Book of Mormon- religion and science fiction *do not* mix!) I reccomend "Ender's Game" and "Lovelock"- my two faves. How odd- my two favorite writers, Ellison and Card, are exact opposites personally, but they are both d**n good writers.
JUST thought of another name to add to my list below: John Calvin Batchelor. His politics are all wrong, but having written novels like THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF HALLEY'S COMET, THE BIRTH OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANTARCTICA, AMERICAN FALLS, GORDON LIDDY IS MY MUSE by TOMMY "TIP" PAINE, WALKING THE CAT by TOMMY "TIP" PAINE, PETER NEVSKY AND THE TRUE STORY OF THE RUSSIAN MOON LANDING, and FATHER'S DAY, he can't be all bad. Out here, DTS
Doc - thanks for the suggestion about Pangborn. I'll try and find his stuff, as your description has intrigued me. I love finding new authors. I've started to get books on a subscription basis from Kenny's Bookstor in Galway, which has started to introduce me to Irish authors that haven't been published in the States yet,
Great but over-looked speculative fiction writers:
John Sladek (check out Sladek's RODERICK)
Karel Capek (at least in the US)
RE:UNSUNG HEROES of the written word: Have to dredge my memory for past (long dead) writers later on. But of those still living Steven R. Boyett (somebody, like Subterranean or Golden Gryphon, really _should_ collect his stories -- of the dozen or more published in the nineties, many in "Fantasy & Science Fiction," at least half were true classics), Michael Shea, Vicotr Pelevin (if you haven't already, go out and buy -- or find at your local library -- his 1998 collection of stories, A WEREWOLF PROBLEM IN CENTRAL RUSSIA [New Directions,$23.95, ISBN0-8112-1394-3). Those are the SF/fantasy/horror oriented writers. But I'd also like to mention Craig Nova, a great unsung writer who toils in the "mainstream" fields of literature. If I sat here for a few hours, I could think of hundreds more. Out here, DTS.
Hmm ... unsung heroes of the written word.
We'll gloss over Sturgeon and Bester and Kersh, as those who really follow good sf writing know them, and well.
Let's see ... Paul Di Filippo comes to mind--there hasn't been a thing I've read of his that hasn't blown me away.
Ernest Hogan's another one, even though I've never truly gotten into cyberpunk--though I've not been able to find his books for love nor money, the short works of his I've read show a terrible energy and a twisted imagination.
Two writers whose work I've loved and whom I've had lots of e-mail conversations with are Wm. Mark Simmons (ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE) and Mary Gentle (THE BOOK OF ASH)--I don't often read much contemporary fantasy, but their stuff is head and shoulders above most of what's selling today.
But perhaps my favorite unknown writer never even worked is sf; Derek Raymond (the pseudonym of Robert Cook), the author of the brilliant Factory novels, has a way of mixing brilliance into the slime in which his unnamed detective sergeant works. the "hero" of these books is a terribly effective member of A14, the Department of Unexplained Deaths, despite his total and complete burnout personality.
His musings bring to mind a British Travis McGee worn rough and cold by the constant deaths--of both people and of society itself--he slogs through.
I really can't do the man's work justice; it's simply brilliant.
DTS -- Clearly, you are unaware of the enormous rents "asked" in
San Francisco, the comparatively miniscule income of the disabled
and the result that I would be faced with an initial choice of,
"Hmm -- commute and 'blue-sky?' Or shall I pay rent and buy a
few morsels of food?" Granted, once the industry twigs to my
obvious genius and the level of quality inherent to every word,
nay, every letter I type, I can do that sort of thing at whim.
But you know how difficult it is to make even the painfully ob-
vious clear to some o' the Hollywood types.
Meanwhile, to soothe my jangled everything in the midst of apart-
ment hunting, I went out and got my library card. Ah, what
wonders await the weary traveler within the stacks of the LAPL!
Gerald Kersh right out there on the shelf! Works by Leiber,
Davidson, A. Merrit, Bester and a host of others held under close
guard under the guise of "reference material" at the SFPL! I'm
positively wallowing in riches -- I feel like Scrooge McDuck,
having a tumble in the cashdrifts of his main vault! At 36, I've
finally discovered the joys of Edgar Rice Burroughs and John
Carters adventures on Barsoom! And oh --
Let me take a moment to rant and rave about a writer who just
blows me away every time I pick him up, yet about whom I hear
precious little, even here at Webderland, where the tasteful and
esoterically appreciative hang out: Edgar Pangborn. If, sadly,
the name doesn't ring a bell, go IMMEDIATELY and find a copy of
DAVY, or A MIRROR FOR OBSERVERS, or THE TRIAL OF CALLISTA BLAKE,
or GOOD NEIGHBORS & OTHER STRANGERS, or STILL I PERSIST IN
WONDERING. There aren't, in honest, bare fact, that many writers
who do sho-nuff, no-foolin' magic. Harlan often does; Sturgeon
did it on a fairly regular basis, depending on whether The Block
was gnawing at him. Pangborn does it, though, with just about
every damn story he writes. When fans are listing the pantheon
of "Greats," "Immortals," and whathaveyou, they rush to mention
Heinlein, Asimov, yes, Sturgeon, HE, Silverberg, Leiber, ERB,
and just onandon. But terribly few get around to metnioning
Edgar Pangborn, which I find frustrating AND mystifying. I have
read many good s-f book and several beautiful s-f books; but I
have in my time come across very few that were *both*. Edgar
Pangborn is one of those few. Pangborn is so good that, when I
read his work, I feel so terribly out-classed I think of tossing
in the towel and finding a career in charter accountancy.
Anyone else out there with an unsung s-f hero? As we grind
toward the new century, we've lost a number of sorcerers, people
whose names we often recall, but whose work fewer and fewer of
us are personally familiar. So it is not only because politics
sit on my molars like glaciers of ice and tin foil, that I ask
the other contributers here to toot the horns of their unknown
faves. And I don't think Harlan would mind at all...
Cheers, Doc
It's also ON THIS WEBSITE. Click on "Online Works" above and go to the I WRITE archive.
Mr. RICE: the Story is "Susan," and although it was anthologized, the best place to get a copy of it is in MINDFIELDS, a collaboration between Ellison and Jacek Yerka, which features 33 stories by Ellison not seen in any of his other collections and illustrations by Yerka. (you can get it at most bookstores, and the chains usually have copies of it, at $24.95). -- DTS
Several years ago, heard Harlan reading a short story on the idiot tube. The story was actually quite lovely; I can't remember if it was written for his wife, or based on his wife; I remember it being very ethereal and very touching. (And not touching like "slam you over the head-tear your throat out.) I realize I've given you almost nothing to go on, but does this ring a bell for anyone???? I'd like to find a copy of that short story. Thanks!
A few years ago I mentioned to this group that I was planning to run an original story from Harlan in our glass collectibles publication. A number of you sent me money for that issue and I have not forgotten about you. It took me a little longer to get the story than I had originally anticipated (sorry, I didn't know Harlan very well at the time). Harlan has been completed the story, and it will be mailed by July 10th. It is entitled "Harlan's Folly, or Horrors of the House of Glass" (approx. 1600 words) and provides insight into his collecting addiction and his recent home construction.
There will be a few additional copies available at $3.00 each.
Thanks again for your patience!
Mark Chase, editor
Collector Glass News
www.glassnews.com
Well, I suspect I know where Allentown's Barney Dannelke might be that day. And perhaps a few Philadelphians. Not State College, but in Reading, eh?
Probably our last message. Although the information is going out to HERC members "in the neighborhood". Just to let you know...Harlan is speaking at Penn State University, Reading, PA on 13 September 2000 @ 7:00pm. The evening is free and open to the public. Although the event is free, seats are limited so the university would like people to pre-register. If you wish to go, please call Teddi/Penn Sate University @ (610) 396-6076.
Thanks everyone.--Susan
Alas, D, for me to vote for Gore Is to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick. To vote for a guy who, like Clinton, will presumably have no problem, say, executing a man incapable of understanding what's happening to him...and without even Clinton's vestigial populist noises. To vote for a man who encouraged his wife, one assumes, to affiliate with Christian Far-Rightists to form the PRMC. To, more importantly, support a man who will be blamed on the "left" for all his crimes and misdemeanors, just as the Tory Clinton is, he of the announcement of our understanding of "God's plan" when allowed to flack for the genome project. No thanks, man...I'm compromising enough just considering voting for Nader. (As a former Virginia resident, I had no better choice in '92 than Andre Marrou. ANDRE MARROU! Whose major achievement was to look so Satanic as to make Anton LaVey moan in envy...but the only alternatives on the ballot, with no potential to write in, were Clinton, Bush, Perot, Fulani, the Socialist Workers candidate, and possibly LaRouche....)
As Debs almost said, isn't it better to ask for what we want and not get it, than ask for what we don't want and get it?
Oddly enough, D, we're both in "battleground" states. But thanks to major party chest-thumping and how easily swayed by such claims of pragmatism so many folks who choose to vote are, I doubt the Greens nor Reformers will be likely to make 5%. The Libertarians will be lucky to make 1%.
DOC: Glad to hear you made it there alive (though I'm told few make it out in the same condition). Can't understand why you didn't just commute to L.A. for the ocassional "Blue-sky" session and screenplay pitch. After all, being a former Texan the drive from one city in California to another should be a piece of cake.
G' Luck. -- DTS.
This just in -- Doc is STILL ALIVE.
Yes, the move went off, with a number of hitches. I'll spare
you, though none spared me. Suffice to say, I am schlepping
for apartments, and schvitzing a lot. Gotta run. Cheers.
TODD: Great summation of the upcoming political race. I must admit that although the two "lead" candidates (Bore & Gush) don't differ in their political views for the most part, Bore _does_ allow women more freedom with their bodies and he isn't as beholden to the fundamentalists on the right (the last thing we need is _more_ conservative judges, etc -- living next door to only state in the Union -- Kansas -- which enforces an educational curriculum that advances their student's knowledge BACKWARDS, I can attest to the dangers of letting religion dip its hands in state matters). Yeah, I know, it's choosing the lesser of two evils, but since the Harlan Ellison/Robin Williams ticket isn't running this year, it's better than a poke in the eye. - DTS
Well, Charlie, glad you found it. Read the rest of the stories, too, if you haven't, and you probably won't be sorry. The 1999 BASS, with Amy Tan as guest ed, was one of the most fantasy-laden volumes in the series, with Melissa Hardy's "The Uncharted Heart" particularly worth anyone's attention (haven't scooped up the 2K issue yet). Perhaps it's best if we don't inquire why the out-and-out speculative fiction can only come from eclectic little magazines and, like "The Man...", from OMNI, RIP. Ex OMNI fiction editor Ellen Datlow is now choosing fiction for Skiffy Dot Com (or scifi.com as they would have it) including recently Kim Newman's typically engaging "Castle in the Desert--Anno Dracula 1977": simultaneously a sequel to his previous Anno Dracula stories and to POODLE SPRINGS, the fragment of a Philip Marlowe novel completed by Robert "SPENSER" Parker, except that Newman catches the flavor of Raymond Chandler's writing better than Parker did. Try it, it's free and you're likely to like it.
So, Ralph Nader managed to beat back the nominal challenge from Eric "Jello Biafra" Boucher (variously misdescribed as "leader" of the Dead Kennedys and "former punk rock singer") and Stephen Gaskin to get the Green Party presidential nod (favorite son Joel Kovel also got three votes and one abstention was all but heard from). Aboriginal activist Winona LaDuke is up for Veep. Nader has gotten over dismissing liberationist movements for homosexuals and abortion rights as "gonadal politics" (his too-often repeated phrase in '96), and I'm only sorry that I didn't get a chance to watch the C-SPAN coverage of the convention yesterday (or day before yesterday at this hour ET, to be pedantic). Among the four daily papers I've perused, only USA TODAY decided to accuse Nader of "spoilage" of what would've been a lovely campaign of Bore and Gush (not my joke, but too apt). Sadly, the Gannett McPaper's article was more thorough than the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER's; the NEW YORK TIMES's reporter seemed floored by Nader's critique of corporatism (but then, the virginal ears of NYT reporters are so infrequently despoiled by any criticism of status quo power--you mean, there could be something better than a world controlled by the collegial and occasionally thoughtful yet continually smug wealthy?). Not atypically, METRO PA's coverage was prominently placed and restricted to as value-neutral a single paragraph as possible (the shape of journalism to come). Should go dig up the WALL STREET JOURNAL's account; at least their pomposity about oligarchy is (usually) less blinkered.
Nader's demanding debate access, and surprisingly to me has been (in these early days) outpolling Pat the Beserk Buchanan. So, the five "leading" presidential candidates, six if we throw in the Maharishi's puppet, I mean serious candidate of the Natural Law Party, John Hegelin, will be middle-aged white guys of comfortable means...Bore, Gush, Nader, Bulldog, Harry Browne running again for the Libertarians, and the Karmic Flyer. I've managed to forget the name of the Socialist Party candidate this time out, the War Resisters' League cofounder--David McReynolds? He declined to be nominated by the Greens. He probably won't outpoll Howard Whatshisface, the founder of the US Taxpayer's Party, who almost had an elected member for his party when Sen. Bob "Hi, I'm an Idiot!" Smith (Stupid Party-NH) became the first person in the national spotlight to drop out of the GOP presidential race, whine that he thought the party was about Reagan Principles! (which, of course, it is: enriching "friends" of the administration at the expense of the public and its exchequer while throwing as many sops to the lunatic right as possible), drop out of the GOP, decide to run for president as a Taxpayer, be informed he would lose his committee leadership as a Taxpayer rather than as a Republican, decide to run as an Independent, be informed he'd still lose his chairmanship, and thus scratching the whole presidential thing and settling for continuing to embarrass the good people (all six hundred of them, at least in 1979--as a former resident, I know) of the Granite State.
But in Bore we have one of the few Democrats even more to the right than Clinton without sinking to Sam Nunn pathos (too sleazy for his state's GOP to accept...just think about that), nonetheless any serious vote totals achieved by Nader (I'm trying to get any enthusiasm going, much as I had to psyche myself up for Barry "Idiot Savant" Commoner back when he was the Citizens Party candidate--then as now, I'm voting for the platform) will be thoroughly denigrated as votes "stolen" from Bore, who's really Green, too, you know. Votes in the Balance, and all.
But this is the second run for Nader as a Green, second run for Browne as the Libertine (Mark Russell's weak pun), at least third spiritual run for Hegelin I believe...Gore's not new to this path, Bush hoping to Quincy dad's Adams, but at least JQ Adams had some experience beyond just coasting...Buke's third or fourth run...and Lenora Fulani and her cadre of heroes, formerly the New Alliance Cult, that is Rainbow Cult Lobby, I mean Social Therapist League of Power-Mad Hangers-On, have apparently abandoned the Buchista party and perhaps hope to infiltrate the flowering Greens (cult-watcher Chip Berlet has suggested an link back when between the New Alliance founder and Lyndon LaRouche, who at least back in the '80s was telling his thoughtslaves that the Greens were the collective AntiLaRouche, much much worse than a mere Satan. Well, I guess we were; none of us was likely to be fond of LL and his fantasies of world domination once a canal was dug across Africa and the British Royals' domination of the world's drug trade was finally smashed.
Nader will probably get my grudging vote, again more for the Green Party than for him; despite some decent lobbying for good causes, organizations claiming him are famous for clumsy heirarchy and exploitation of their workers (I've worked in a couple he's proud to have helped found, Clean Water Action and Citizen Action); and that "gonadal politics" crack Did Not Sit Well With Me, particularly the third time I heard him deliver it, even though I probably never would've been busted at the Stonewall Inn nor would ever need for myself a D&C.
But Sonia Johnson and Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas don't seem to be running any more.
Vote happy, if you want to...or as happy as you can. And don't pretend that if you're voting for Bore, you're saving us from...well, anything we wouldn't be getting anyway. Saddest thing is, even if Nader won, we'd still get most of it, one way or the other.
Ahh, I pulled out Slippage & found the answer - 1993.
In what annual did HE's story (I think it was The Man Who Rowed...) appear the in the Best American Short Stories? Thanks in advance.
A SECOND MESSAGE FROM SUSAN AND HARLAN.
SUSAN AND HARLAN NEED A FEW GOOD MEN!!! Sometime during the summer (no date yet but it will be during the weekday between 10:00am and 5:00pm) we will be moving four storage bins full of Harlan's books (if you get the Rabbit Hole newsletter, you'll understand) to a new site. We need a few good men to help move boxes and boxes and boxes of Ellison books.
All those who are interested will need to be strong, have a good back, should be able to drive (have a current license), have a car, and should live in the Los Angeles area. We may rent a small van. If not, we'll be using cars. Don't forget, it be during a weekday.
The pay will suck, but if you wish, you can get some signed Ellison books.
If you're interested in back breaking work in the heat of summer (and who wouldn't be) drop us a line at HERC, Post Office Box 55548, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413. Give us your telephone number and we'll contact you when the time comes. Don't e-mail us, we have to give the computer back tomorrow.
We estimate it will take about three days to move all four bins. If you can only make it for part of the time--that's fine. Thank you everyone.--Susan.
Thanks for the computer help. It's my fault the computer is having a fit. I had an AOL program on my computer and took it off the wrong, very bad, way. Now I get messages saying an error has occurred in whatever program I'm running and it shuts down, and everything I've done for the last 15 minutes is lost. I have a nasty feeling I'm going to have to wipe everything and start again. I can't even load Norton Utilities, it keeps telling me I don't have enough files or the right files. I think this is very, very, bad. Very, very bad!
--Susan
Here's an Old question, in response to a Dannelke post, that I couldn't post back when during the confused time of server migration....
>Not I, alas, Barney. But I did read most of
the text of Frank
>Robinson's (publisher-retitled) SF IN THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY last night,
>and I came across the excerpt from an
Ellison memoir of W. W. Scott,
>editor of SUPER-SCIENCE STORIES and of at
least one MANHUNT
>crime-fiction imitator, TRAPPED I think.
Scott was the fellow whom
>Ellison, with Robert Silverberg, tried to
out-lurid with a story title,
>and had to admit that they could not (no
matter how acidic a title they
>came up with, Scott would outbite them when
the story appeared in
>print). Did I first read this in the
HORNBOOK or where?
Susan,
What exactly are the symptoms you experience with your computer?
Cheers,
T
Ahh, to be a philosopher with technical skills...
Susan, if it really is a registry problem, 98 will likely flash up a message saying that "the registry is corrupted/damaged, do you wish to restore the registry?" If I knew the exact nature of the problem I could be of a little more help.
As for reinstalling 98: unless it is a clean install (meaning you wipe the hard drive and install fresh, which I don't think you want to do) you're not likely to solve the problem. You see, when reinstalling windows 98, it tries to be as non-destructive to the settings and preferences as possible, so problem areas are just as likely to be skipped over as corrected. It's a crap-shoot that may or may not have results.
---Peter
furor scribendi
SUSAN: I asked a friend (who isn't as well versed on the technical side of things as she used to be) and she advised that (without knowing all the particulars -- we weren't real sure what you meant by "registry problems") if you just installed new software which allows you to connect to the internet, _it_ could be causing the problem. So you might try reinstalling _that_ software before reinstalling WIndows '98 (also, I've heard that the middle of the day is apparently the busiest time for internet users, so that may be hosing things up for you). Not much help, I admit. But maybe reinstalling the internet software will help (or not). Perhaps I should leave you with a joke (to cheer things up): Two nuns are riding their bikes through the backstreets of Rome. The younger nun says, "I've never come this way before." The older nun leans toward her and whispers, "It's the cobblestones." Ciao, DTS.
Hi, Susan here. I need your computer technical help. I'm having registry problems (at least I think it is a registry problem) with my computer. If I install Windows 98 again will it cure the registry problem? Thanks for any help you can give. Yours, in computer ignorance. Susan.
P.S. Rabbit Hole #25 will be mailed out today.
Quick news, friends, foes and neighbors: The June issue of Interzone magazine features an interview with Unca Harlan. See you at the bookstore.
Several new reviews and new visitor contributions up. Got some more pictures and other stuff to add, but that will have to be later as I am *BEAT*. Share and enjoy!
Alex, I found that jingle program last night on hotfile.com, and while the typewriter sound is nice (what I was looking for in fact), It doesn't always keep up with my typing speed, and has some extremely annoying sounds embedded into the tab, backspace, escape, and various other buttons. Still, it might be something to use depending on my mood.
As for ICQ: that was where I got the idea. I was watching my roommate chat on the thing and heard that tick tick coming from his speakers. I won't use ICQ myself (security holes) but since I thought it might be neat, at least some of the time, to have that typewriter sound when I'm writing.
---Peter
furor scribendi
Oops.
That should be http://www.nonags.com/nonags/
Sorry.
PETER: The chat program ICQ does that automatically, and there's a shareware program to be had at http://www.JingleKeyboard.da.ru/ that'll do it (their server is down, but if you go to the excellent software site NONAGS [http://www.onags.com/nonags/] and do a search on the word "typewriter", it'll turn up the same program, at the bottom of the "Fun Toys--32 bit" page.
I'm downloading it, but I'm not sure if I'll use it.
Actually, Peter, I worked with somebody a couple years ago who set their system up to do that, but he never explained exactly how he got it to make the sound with every keystroke (nor did he have a bell or carriage return sound). It was an interesting effect - or perhaps a special effect, given his reluctance to explain.
Insert foot in mouth... that should be reason-a-bly clean.
---Peter
Doh!
I'm of two minds when it comes to the use of computers versus a typewriter. First off, while I am a reasonbly clean prose writer, I do make the occasional bonehead mistake, and I like the ability to cycle back and cleanly excise that mistake without a bunch of mucking about with white-out or pencil scribbles. On the other hand, I must tell you, there is nothing as pleasing to my ear as the continuous tick, tick, tick of a typewriter in action. It's a sound that reminds me of productivity and creativity rolled into one. It also sets off a nice rhythm for me that the dull, muted tap of a computer keyboard has only rarely accomplished. So now, I'm trying to figure out how to make it so that my computer keyboard is linked to sounds of a typewriter. Then maybe I'd be in business.
Otherwise, I envy the people who are able to write by hand. You know, the ones that can take a pad and paper, lounge in a chair with their feet up, and scribble away.
---Peter
furor scribendi
SUSAN: No problem, my dear. Say hello to Harlan for me. Info(Dor)man.
THANK YOU INFOMAN.
"To write this sort of thing you need a typewriter. To describe, to narrate, to make funny cracks, you need a typewriter. To fake along, to stall, to make light reading, to write a good piece, you need luck, two or more drinks and a typewriter. Gentlemen, we have no typewriter." -- Ernest Hemingway, "A.D. in Africa: A Tanganyika Letter."
DTS: I didn't express myself well in my last post. I agree with you that the writer and NOT the tool determines the overall quality of a piece of writing. But the experience of writing with a computer is different than the experience of writing with a typewriter or pen. And this difference, however subtle, affects the writing. I'm not saying that a story written with a computer is automatically better or worse than a story written with a different tool. But I think computers encourage a different style (not necessarily inferior) of writing, just as the typewriter encourages a different style of writing than does a pen. As an example, consider Dashiell Hammett: he would have been a great writer whether or not he wrote with a typewriter, but his stories have a precise, rapid-fire feel peculiar to the typewriter. You can write Dashiell Hammett-style prose with a crayon, but typewriters are more conducive to Hammett prose than other tools. Coincidence?
Another example: ancient Chinese is a remarkably terse language. Scholars believe the terseness of ancient Chinese stems from the fact that the ancient Chinese inscribed their writings character by character on strips of bamboo. Since writing took so long, brevity became important.
My question to everyone on this board is: how do computers affect writing? Once again, I'm NOT saying that any tool can make you a better or worse writer -- obviously, the invention of the typewriter didn't make everyone into Mark Twain. But I think a "computer style" of prose has emerged over the past decade, and I wonder what characterizes this style.
Paul "who likes to ask silly questions" Freeman
PS: For the record, I do most everything on a Packrd Bell computer thingee, but I also make notes and write passages on notebook paper (with a pen, pencil, crayon, whatever). And I'm finally gonna get my old Underwood Typewriter, circa 1930 or 40 something (which I've been dragging around with me since buying it for $15 in a garage sale in Texas during the 80's), repaired by a craftsman that knows what he (or she) is doing. After all, it's always nice to have an alternate method in case the power goes out and the lead on my pencil breaks. Out here, DTS.
COMPUTERS Vs. typerwriters, pencils or pens, or sandstone and chisel: I believe that any writer worth his or her salt can produce good work using whatever tool is at hand (this isn't a new idea -- Ellison has said basically the same thing while admiting that computers will never be for him). What makes all the difference, for MOST writers, is the ability to REWRITE. To go back at the end of the story (or chapter, or book), look over what you've done, and hone it down further. To edit out the pieces that don't work (no matter how beautifully written) or to sometimes add more "mortar" where needed. Like a good brick layer. For certain, there are some writers (or just some pieces written by any writer) that produce well in the heat of the moment. But even Ellison (I've noticed) sometimes goes back and touches up a story here and there after it's first appearance in a magazine. For my money, that touching up always makes the piece better (I noticed when he did it on "Midnight In the Sunken Cathedral," and "Darkness Upon the Face of the Deep" -- he may have done so other times, I was simply paying closer attention by then). John Irving (whose brilliant novel, THGE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP went through many stages of rewrite --at one point chapter one was chapter eleven, or something like that) has said the same thing I just said (albeit more eloquently). The ability to rewrite is what makes a good writer. It's not the tools, it's the person using them. Out here, DTS.
Computer vs. Typewriter (vs. Fountain Pen)
Most people would agree that it is _easier_ to write with a computer than with a typewriter. But how does the tool affect the product? For instance, William Gibson, who wrote NEUROMANCER on a manual typewriter, has admitted that his writing is sloppier now that he uses a computer. Of course, it all comes down to the writer's editorial abilities -- because of his years of experience, I'm sure that HE would write as well on a computer as on a typewriter -- but certainly, there's been a change (for the worse, I think) in the quality of writing over the past decade. Thus, while computers make it easier to write, they perhaps aren't the best tool to use to _learn_ how to write.
What do you guys think?
Paul
Hey Sue - I didn't have a car for 2 years - and let me tell you that after 4 hours a day on the bus getting to and from work, the idea of spending hours on the bus on the weekends trying to get to some of the more interesting garage sales was just sooooo not on. Finally got wheels again in February. The good thing about having 2 years off from garage sales and second hand stores is that it is *slightly* easier to just keep up avoidance. I'm really looking forward to going after I move, assuming that I do. Rents here are just out of sight. There was an article in the paper yesterday saying that rents in my area are up 20% from last year, and the vacancy rate here is 1.5%. So everybody please keep your fingers crossed for me in my hunt for a way out of the bat cave. Too bad it isn't the Bat Cave, if you know what I mean. I still wouldn't have any sunlight to speak of, but at least I'd have lots of cool gadgets!
On the manual typewriter front - I had begged everybody in sight for a portable typewriter when I was in college. Got the cutest little electric portable (it has oh I think a 36 character memory in it) for graduation. I've used it here and there, but it's been sitting abandoned since I got my home computer. And yet I just can't seem to get rid of the thing. If we're going to start dividing along the learned on a manual line, by a show of hands, how many here remember life before the computer card catalogue? Lived through the installation of a couple of computer card catalogues, which was ugly, but as far as I'm concerned, if the computer was only ever used for cataloguing libraries, it would have been enough! I must admit to wondering what HE thinks about that usage, considering his other opinions on computers!
Later