Justin, I have also managed to get a copy of one of Kersh’s books - NIGHT IN THE CITY – although all I had to do was pay for it to ship from the USA for me. Looking forward to reading it.
I also envy you that you have a Library where you can get books like Kersh’s (even if it does take contortionist skills to get them). My library didn’t even have 1 book by Harlan. Didn’t I say, because after extracting a promise from the librarian that she would put it on the shelves, I donated a copy of THE ESSENTIAL ELLISON - A 50 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE.
Spreading HE’s words
Kerry
Chuck: Just heard "Let's Roll". Wow. I wonder how the families will take it.
Thanks for the info, Rob, I'll definitely check out ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN again (seen it, but not in many years).
I've been in this library all day, and I got determined about an hour ago not to leave without procuring something for myself, something to satisfy the inner Justin and make him coo. No more of this dull data cramming business, but something F-U-N to read. I suddenly recalled that Harlan's favorite author was some cat I'd never heard of, who's work I'd looked for at bookstores in the past but could never find, and if any place in Arizona would have any of his books it would be this library. Now what was his name? Jerry something. No! Gerald! Kersh!
So I've just spent a half hour wrestling with this "compact shelving" system down in the basement where they were hiding Kersh's books, and it's something right out of BLADE RUNNER for Heaven's sake. I finally figured out how to work the bloody thing, only to discover that the cluster of shelves Kersh's stuff was located in were the only cluster of shelves in the whole vast subterrainian network of compact shelves that DID NOT WORK. But I was able to kinda wedge myself into this little gap and kinda push back with my feet and out with my chest and kinda managed to sorta make a gap large enough for me to squeeze (and I mean SQUEEZE) into. Fortunately, Kersh's stuff wasn't too far in, and I was able to grab three volumes. I couldn't squeeze far enough in to get the others. The volumes I was able to nab were: THEY DIE WITH THEIR BOOTS CLEAN (which is possibly the best title I've heard all year), THE THOUSAND DEATHS OF MR. SMALL, and THE SONG OF THE FLEA, another title I'm quite fond of. I look forward to devouring them over Christmas.
J
To The Bag of Meat,
You could've told me that before, man; you should see the bill surgeons slapped on me for the lob I got. I was told girls would like me more if I'd had one.
Justin,
John Mitchell was Attorney General in Nixon's first term (of course, I'm assuming you already knew that; I'm not trying to sound condescending); he became campaign manager of the Committee to Re-Elect the President, which became known as CREEP. 2 years before Watergate Nixon authorized the formation of the White House 'Plumbers' in response to the Pentagon Papers having been published; the Plumbers would burglarize, wire tap and look for "dirt" on any potential "enemies" of the White House, including journalists, Democrats and people like Daniel Ellsberg. Anyway, it was Mitchell who would approve the Watergate break-in using the Plumbers. He seemed to be an incredible upstart who firmly believed in bypassing the law in Nixon's interests, and if I recall correctly he controlled the 'hush' money Nixon approved.
Assuming you haven't seen 'All the President's Men' with Redford check it out; it's a great film.
BTW, how'd you make out with your pad? Are you living in a safe area now?
Another note to all: Has anyone heard Neil Young's single, LET'S ROLL? It's about the people on flight 93 in Pennsylvania. He bypassed his record label, recorded it, burned it onto discs and sent it to various radio stations. I heard it here on KBCO. It has something of a retro sound to it. I kinda liked it.
Chuck
Oh, yes. Go, Endeavour!
Alright, so I didn't do it. Wussed out. Terned yeller. Came to my senses. What can I say? There are just certain primal urges that grip a man cooped up in a library studying for five hours without a break. Seriously, enough fooling around, I'm going back to studying now.
Applause to Jayne Hitchcock.
Justin
Yeah, Ashcroft makes my tail get all bushy. I'm all for lining up terrorists against a wall and splattering their guts out with Heckler and Koch MP5's, but "Patriot" Acts? Unlimited access of the feds to internet, e-mail, computer hard-drives and personal records of people against whom there is no evidence, and allows their arrest without due process protections? I may end up commiting to military service, but even so I don't trust the gubmint nearly enough to let that kind of thing go with nary a raised eyebrow.
Harlan, I must confess that I don't know enough about John Mitchell to really understand the comparison, but I know he was one of Nixon's guys, and helped set up the Watergate burglary. No history lesson necessary, I can be trusted to read up on it all at some point. Oddly enough, we never learned about Watergate in school ( or HUAC, and the Vietnam War was glossed over, etc.). Hmmm, could that be because it might plant some seed of doubt in a young mind about the unquestionable trustworthiness of the United States government? Nah, couldn't be. Couldn't be.
Returning dutifully to my studies,
J
p.s. Saaaay...that blonde in the body-hugging turtleneck at the U of A Library Information Desk sure is awful cute. I'm gonna go over there and I'm gonna say, "Hey sweet thang, howzabout you and me go into the bathroom and hump like a couple of rabbits?" You watch, I'm gonna do it.
First of all, congratulations to Jayne Hitchcock. I loves to see the nay-sayers proven wrong again! And, thanks for putting up the fight. It is most appreceated.
To all here, I would recommend checking out the SCIFI.COM site, first for the series EDWARD THE LESS, a lampoon of the Rings trilogy, done by the folks from MST3K. Whether you like Tolkien or not, I think you'll find it very funny. I'd also recommend the SCI FICTION section for Gregory Benford's short story BRINK. The characters in this short fiction reminded me a little of this group, and I wanted to let you know about it.
Chuck
HARLAN HERE:
FIRST: Congrats of a color and flow matched only by the Blue Nile to Jayne Hitchcock. Huzzah, my dear!!! One more bold example of the Power of the Determined Ethical Individual. All this "you can't make a difference" or "it's none of my business" or "there's no way to fight city hall, so pay the two bucks and shine it on" is refuted by the regularity of Wins by Determined
Ethical Individuals.
Ms. Hitchcock and I come from the same mold. When all around us are assuring us that we're farting into the wind, that it will all come a cropper, we draw on that well of experience and righteous indignation that has bubbled at the core of every whistle-blower and gadfly and social reformer and pain-in-the-ass monkeywrench nuisance snce the first Cro-Magnon wondered why he wasn't getting better mileage from such inexpensive dino coprolith fuel. We serve the commonweal.
Again, huzzah to you, Jaynie girl!!!!!
SECOND: The Edgeworks books WILL continue. Patience, Mr. Meat, I'm dancing as fast as I can.
THIRD: Today, via long distance between Ellison Wonderland and the London studios of BBC radio, I performed the voice of the evil computer AM in a soon-to-be-broadcast adaptation of "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" starring David Soul. Adaptation by Mike Walker, produced by Ned Chaillet, full cast and sound effects and special music. You're on your own tracking down when it'll be aired, and/or how to get a cassette/CD of the programme.
FOURTH: Last week I spent six hours in the recording booth of Audio Literature, performing about half of John Shirley's forthcoming horror novel, DEMONS. John himself will be reading the rest. Release, sometime early next year, I'm advised.
FIFTH: My List of 6 great "lost" modern fantasy novels appears in the current issue of THE WEEK. Most of you know how to get the publication. I'm pleased as punch, and hope you like the snippet. It ain't that long a piece, but I is proud of it.
SIXTH: Todd, I commend your pleasure at the "lack of terrorist atacks" since 9/11 (and no, I don't think the anthrax assaults are international in nature, but are as homegrown as Tim McVie and Waagner; demented opportunists as corruptly-empowered by fanatic religiosity as the al Quieda zealots), but I urge you, I PLEAD with you, to keep your antenna alert to Ashcroft and his doings. This is another John Mitchell, if his past endeavors are any touchstone. I argue not with you, neither Leftie nor Rightie, all I beg of you is: keep your fine tuned mind on what he DOES, not so much what he SAYS. I think disenchantment will ensue.
Imminent happy Channukah to you all. Also Kwanzaa, St. Swithin's Day, Whitsuntide, Ramadan, and Christmas . . . as long as you fuckers remember that I ABHOR getting greeting cards. Send them and be assured I will not love you for the erroneous assumed "kindness." And there isn't even a jot or tittle of the "bah humbug" about it. I just think you should send the card-money to the needy; and not clog up my mailbox.
Otherwise, cheerily, yr. pal, Harlan
Someone here was talking about "Lonelyache" a few days ago, something about the story not resonating for them. I haven't read the story for years, but I remember two things about it. First, that, yes, for some reason it fell short. After reading it I knew I probably wasn't going to read it again for some time. But what I remember the most is the first line which resonates like only the scraping-the-bone truth can:
"The form of the habit she had become still drove him to one side of the bed."
This is a sentence written by someone who knows loneliness. It's not fiction. And the word "lonelyache" hammers the nail in even deeper.
"To what things are readers---most readers, many readers---attuned? Why, to those things closest to the personal experience of each. And what are those things? Love, and pain, and greed, and laughter, and hope, and above all, loneliness." (Theodore Sturgeon)
That's it. See you next year.
Remember:
'Tis better to have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy...
Cheers, from the Meat
Frank,
I is sober? I? Frank: I...wuz...JOKIN'. I'm pretty sure Heather understands I'm the most intoxicated Joe in this here cyber-shantytown of ours and that I was ribbin' her in the lightest of spirits. I don't think we ALWAYS have to stamp our posts with a ;) just to make sure YOU understand it's a cheerful poke. So, don't be so slow, man: take a look at the non-sequitor quality of one or two of Heather's recent posts and you'll see why it might remind you of a tipsy affectionate soul.
Now, stop pissin' me off by not gittin' it - n' forcin' me to literalize everything.
Jayne: Cheers! A few less con artists out there. I hope that gives you a sense of peace and accomplishment.
Heather: I think you and I have been drinking the same firewater lately. I don't know what's going on with email, but that last reply was HUGE and took a bit to compose, so I'm a little chewed up about Hotmail. Either that, or Canadian email is still translated by little Terry-dactyls in stone computers pecking the binary onto papyrus.
What a week:
Low Lights this week: Learning the company is "downsizing" its "human assets" and facing the fact that better workers than I may be out of work for the holidays. Next week will be even better when it is decided who gets to drop the axe.
A few more bodies left The Site in Manhattan.
A lot of bodies were collected in southern Afghanistan.
Listened to Limp Bizkit destroy Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on the America: A Tribute to Heroes" DVD.
My son shared another "first" with his STEPfather...
John Ashcroft is an asshole.
Saying that may soon be illegal or subject me to a background check that would give Hoover an erection.
HIGHLIGHTS:
I still have a job, unlike thousands out there in the industry.
I can write about it.
Chatting with Heather about writing.
Another side writing gig that pays.
My son's letter to Santa that asked him to buy a "beter cha[i]r for Daddys computer."
That the rent's paid, Christmas is coming and I'm not sick.
And Frank's Right: Not everything needs to be a drama. Even Don Quixote took a look at some 'dragons' and said, "Ahh fuck it...let heem sleep today."
How was your week?
Heather: As you can tell by my last post, I've been pretty busy, LOL. But I got a chance to catch up with the board and thank you for the comments about my Okinawa pages!
There IS justice after all and if I can do it, so can Harlan!
"Woodside Literary Agency" was sentenced on Thursday.
The federal sentencing hearing began on Friday, November 30th, continued the following Monday and concluded Thursday, December 6th.
James Leonard aka John Lawrence (and other personas online) received the maximum allowed, 8 months in prison and 3 years probation
Ursula Sprachman received 3 years probation, due to her age and poor health.
They were also ordered to finish paying restituion of almost $2,000 to those writers they hadn't paid from the NY Attorney General's case (several of the writers received restitution this past summer).
My lawyer made a handshake deal in front of the magistrate to settle my suit against them, but I can't divulge particulars at this time.
Suffice to say, I am glad that it appears to be finally over.
December 21st would have been five years since the first e-mailbombs arrived in my e-mailbox.
This wasn't just a win for me, it's a win for all writers and all online victims.
If you're not familiar with what happened to me, please visit http://www.jahitchcock.com/cyberstalked
Now I have to go get a BIG bottle of White Star champagne to celebrate.
(please feel free to post this message elsewhere)
Rob, I would conjecture that if Heather drinks than Sir. you may be way too far on the sober side. Have fun with life man? Not everything is a drama of biblical proportions.
Heather,
I don't want you to take this the wrong way...you really ARE very charming and all that. But I mean...do you DRINK a lot?
In case you are thinking otherwise, this evening:
Harlan, you are one damn fine individual.
Heather
Rob: Glad the woman's okay.
I think there's a 'halfway up the street' rule somewhere. I can't make comparisons to what you just experienced but I swear the rowdies seem to pass and park in front of my place a bit too much for coincidence. Could it be something to do with, "I'm almost home; I'm halfway there; let's take a break and act like idiots." Go figure.
Only mentioning it in brief (as I don't want to really explain it and I think your piece was cool--let's give it the limelight.) But I was within striking distance of, let me see.. seven? emergency or firefighting vehicles last night. Is there a full moon? Yeesh.
And no, I'm not just talking about them passing by..or me not being 'involved' in a weird sorta way. But I could write an article on emergency procedure from what I was privy to last night.
Cosmic evening or what? Weird, weird, weirdness..
But hey!..great for a vacation item, right?
Anytime, Jim, anytime.
Andrew:
First, congratulations on your impending wedding. Let us know how it all goes down. Vegas, huh? At least the weather will be nice. It's definitely a dazzling city.
"The most glaring plot hole is the missing 5th replicant."
Didn't you think maybe Deckert was the 6th replicant? There's plenty of evidence for that. Also, on the other hand, in the original script the 6th replicant dies on the return shuttle trip when his time runs out. These possibilities negate the problematic "6th replicant" question for me.
"The missing replicant was actually scripted for and cast, but due to budget problems was cut."
Really? I read contrary information, but it doesn't matter much to me.
"Why is Rachael the only replicant that gets VK'd?"
Leon was VKed.
"If they know the identities of all the escapees, why bother VK'ing Leon?"
Just to make sure they don't retire a human?
"What's up with all the questions about animals?"
Measuring compassion. Again, I never had a problem with this.
"All plot problems (I think my use of the word "hole" is me overstating) could have been eased by a closer adherence to the original material."
The original material is a completely different story and I don't think adhering more closely to Dick's text would solve the plot issues you raise (which don't bother me at all and never have). The two are only loosely connected and are both interesting in their own rights.
"And no, we're not gonna be married by one of the many Elvi (yes Elvi, plural of Elvis) wandering around Vegas, so don't even..."
Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much.
Bermanator
Ch. 23; Amen, sister, amen.
As far as my comments regarding Asscroft (again, misspell intentional), I'm not saying that we should bury our heads in the sand and wait it out. All I'm saying is, if we're not carefull we may end up re-living the McCarthy era. Some of the darkest days we've known (with regards to civil liberties and free speech). Tread carefully, I for one, would not care to see the HUAC rise again.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress.
-Andrew
"They that can give up essential Liberty to obtain a little temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
~Benjamin Franklin
We now return you to reality, already in progress.
Jim,
The disconcerting thing is my neighborhood is among the safest, for LA. Most of the time NOTHING happens here. I often see girls, for instance, jogging by themselves pretty late at night in this area. It's just that occasionally fate decides to shit right in front of my building; and when it's a big one it's a BIG one.
A brief comment.
David: Much thanks. I really liked the concept and the format Edgeworks represented. The format saved undue wear and tear on my oft read paperbacks. Besides, the hardcovers were harder for others to steal.
Jim, Re: your comment regarding how Canada looks. You might wish to read our anti-terrorism act, bill C-36. In it, the government empowers the police to arrest and detain any person suspected of consorting with or engaging in terrorism, with little to no nod to the concept of probable cause. Suspects can be held for indeterminate periods without access to either a lawyer or due process or face summary extradition to the US without having the right to defend yourself against your accusers and any charges the accusers might infer.
Moreover, the bill gives police in Canada the right to declare security areas where they can suspend the protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (our constitution) for citizens who wish to demonstrate opposition to some form of policy. This is a weapon the police can use to undermine the rights of those who wish the freedom to assemble and protest, no matter if the protest is relevant to the issue of terrorism or not.
How nice, considering we didn't fly planes into buildings...
Of course there is a sunset clause, but this is entirely open to our government to renew. The problem is majority governments under our parlimentary system have political carte blanche for five years. We Canadians have one day of freedom to vote and we trade it in for what we hope will be five years of benevolent dictatorship.
Well, now, perhaps not quite so benevolent...
To be fair, there's still the Supreme Court here, and they're not as politically charged as yours is. I find myself wishing those jurists good health and sanity: Something tells me we will need their help before long.
Best from the Meat
Rob: Your story reminds me of a certain neighborood in DC where I lived--in one year, there were a dozen muggings, several murders, and the odd drug-turf shoot-out or two. It was like a bad joke, really: "In the past year in Washington, DC, there were 400 murders, 6000 muggings, and 200 rapes...and they all happened on the street where THIS man lived."
Oh, before I forget: I got my copy of the CD, ON THE ROAD WITH ELLISON: VOLUME ONE, in the mail this week, courtesy of the good folks at Deep Shag Records. How wonderful this item is in print again! Harlan, I had no idea you could sing so well! And the reading of the Norman Mayer piece almost had me in tears--as of 6:30 pm on Friday, December 7, 2001, it is my favorite non-fiction work of yours, hands down.
Todd: Well, what you say is only partially true--the anthrax mailings, though almost certainly domestic in origin, sure look like terrorist acts to me.
As for terrorism of a more global bent: Yes, I think it's wonderful that a 9/11 follow-up hasn't occurred...so far. Can you honestly say that a mass slaughter of American innocents will NEVER happen again? There is no lack of crazies willing to exhange their lives for ours, and though I'm sure some have been arrested in the days since the WTC attack, the more frightening possibility is that others are lying low, waiting for the hysteria to pass. Short of expelling every non-citizen from the US's shores, how can ANY legal agency completely guarantee our safety?
Look, I know in times of extreme conflict, SOME freedoms have to be sacrificed. Hey, the halcyon days of airline flight are over, and that's fine with me. The problem is when the government sacrifices the very democratic freedoms it claims it wants to preserve, all for some vague notion of personal security. Yes, I want the government to reasonably protect me from terrorist attacks; but I also recognize that there are some risks to living in an open society, and they can't be completly eliminated without fundamentally changing the very nature of American life for the worse.
And when citizens of good heart and sound mind who question the Patriot Act and Bush's executive order are openly INSULTED by someone who wasn't even ELECTED to public office...are basically called seditious abettors of the killers of 9/11...are made to feel that they are weirdos or fools for loving their country, and wanting to keep it safe from threats both foreign AND domestic...well, I get a little skeeved off, to put it mildly.
(And what the hell was going on with our stalwart Senators yesterday? Instead of asking Ashcroft the tough questions about the military tribunals, they kept harping on the gun ownership angle. Folks, WHO GIVES A SHIT!!! The fucking acts of 9/11 occurred without ONE GUN being used. God, THESE are the defenders of democracy? Heather, maybe I'll take you up on your offer, after all--Canada's looking pretty good, right now.)
Dwayne: I don't know who you're talking about, since I haven't pissed and moaned THAT much about the government's lack of prevention of 9/11. Yes, it was a security failure of massive proportions, but I don't know how ANYONE could have foreseen the use of passenger jets as weapons of mass destruction. And there have been other terrorist attacks that I know of that were successfully snuffed in the cradle--the ones timed to go off after the Millenium celebration, for example.
(And just to COMPLETELY confound you so-called "right-wingers": I'm no patchouli-wearin' peacenik--I support military action, albeit with the usual misgivings inherent to my left-leaning, skeptical mind.)
Jim
It is obvious that Ashcroft could legally be impeached for what he is doing, but it will never happen. I knew his demon claws would be reeking havoc with the Constitution when I first heard about his being nominated.
The Taliban is seeming more weak than first thought, but Sharon is just inflaming Islamic nuts in other places. Our blind support of Israel has to be checked.
The best place to find political thought is at Zmag.org, a subsidy of Z Magazine, the nations finest radical publication. Radical, dare I say it, of a righteous streak.
Politics and religion: brings out all the lurkers. Hi Gang!
-TODD
It’s kismet!
Late Monday I was ready to wrap things up and call it a night. Everyone else had crashed by now; the whole neighborhood was dormant. Suddenly I feel the building shake and hear the shatter of glass and metal on the street. A few seconds pause and a scream breaks out and I could hear neighbors rushing from their buildings. "What the flyin’ fuck is goin’ on?" I had to get out there.
RIGHT in front of my building there’s a Jeep Cherokee sitting there upside down. It looked like a crane had lifted it, flipped it and set it down gently on its roof. A girl was in there alone dangling upside down screaming her legs were trapped and she could smell leaking gas. Neighbors were trying to calm her down and just about everyone grabbed cell phones; in a few minutes cops and the fire department were all over. Using a chain saw they pulled her out and she rose to her feet looking fine, just thoroughly shaken.
HOW the hell did she manage it? She'd nearly flown into our building (I felt fortunate I was on the second floor). NO other vehicle was involved; the street was devoid of traffic. It was incredible. You have to be on some pretty narly chemicals to pull this off without help (either that or an al-Qaeda flunk-out). She may have even dosed at the wheel for a second. Who knows? I’m at midpoint of a steep hill; she had soared over the top, coming down banking off the curb, taking a small tree with her, and just BARELY missing the wall in front of our building. Debris covered the whole block, a great deal of it coming into our court yard. My bare foot almost came down on a shard of glass when I’d first come out. Anyway, it was a helluva feat and she walked away from it. Reminded me a little of my motorcycle days when one time I foolishly let myself get nailed by an oncoming car and saw my Nighthawk do triple somersaults; like her I walked away from it.
My building has some sort of arcane electromagnetic field that draws some bizarre moments always in the dead of night where nothing generally happens. About 5 years ago, again very late, a shoot-out between two punks and half the city police broke out, which had started in a chase miles away (as I would learn the next day). WHERE did it have to end - with 2 young people dead? RIGHT in front of MY place. I’d never heard mass gunfire before; it literally sounded like 4th of July. Now the clincher - what, I hate to tell you, really made this grotesquely amusing - is that I was right in the middle of watching an old Bonanza episode - around the moment a shoot-out with the Cartwrights opened up. It’s the damn truth. And when I realized what was happening outside, I’d actually gotten to the floor on the chance a bullet might come through...with my face upward still watching the tv! Hey! If I can’t see the show outside I might as well continue watching the one on the tube! Right?
Kismet, baby!
The real problem of the Executive Order is its vagueness and inconsistency, and the contrary arguments being made by its defenders. I would be OK with arguments that tribunals will only be used on foreign nationals accused of war crimes -- if it wasn't completely contradicted by the ACTUAL WORDS of the executive order.
I would be OK with arguments that these tribunals will look a lot like courts martial under the UCMJ (I like the UCMJ, it's one of the things that makes our military the best in the world) -- it they weren't completely contrary to the ACTUAL WORDS of the executive order. A court-martial allows for discovery of the evidence, full representation for the defendant, and judicial review up to and including the Supreme Court. The Bushcroft tribunals would limit discovery and flat out deny the right of appeal.
The NY Times columnists have done yeoman work pointing these things out, particularly Anthony Lewis from the left and William Safire from the right (who seems genuinely shocked to be lumped in with those who would aid terrorists and give pause to our friends).
Defenders of the new rules like to stress that we can trust this President and Attorney General to not abuse them, which flies in the face of our Founding Fathers belief, as explicitly stated by John Adams -- "we are a government of laws, not of men."
OK, back to my lurking. It's been fun posting here for the very first time and all.
Herb Helzer
P.S. Oh, I've also been interested in how the comics have responded to the 9/11 tragedy. My take is that, of the big two, Marvel finds itself in a serious box since they long ago decided to set most of their titles in New York City. A nice one-shot of Spidey working at Ground Zero doesn't change their continuity problems. In DC's world, NYC is the third most important city, way behind Metropolis and Gotham, which gives their writers the great luxury of time and distance to either acknowledge or ignore what happened. Pretty smart, in hindsight.
We nailed Clayton Waagner the other day...the guy who sent out the fake Anthrax letter to abortion clinics. I hope he's treated as a terrorist. I also hope the coworker who spotted him in the Cincinatti Kinko's gets the $50,000 reward.
Todd~ Here I am, stuck in the middle of the proverbial aisle again. I can see your point and I can see Andrew & Jim's point as well. Any civil liberties that are lost will not be regained at the end of the war. People that are not American citizens and haven't been duly diligent about keeping their immigration status up-to-date are *not* the same as citizens in my book, but that doesn't mean we can keep them indefinitely without allowing them access to a lawyer or even telling them why they've been detained. (Yes, immigration violations count. It's the law, not just a vague suggestion.)
But what Mr. Ashcroft hints at is that even the slightest bit of dissent (which is what the First Amendment of the Constitution is all about) is treasonous. And that sounds more dangerous than anything I've previously heard him say. Shall we go back to the days when anti-war or civil rights protesters were investigated by the FBI solely for disagreeing with the government? I was laboring under the impression that we'd *learned* from that era of history. How about we worry about the real criminals, Mr. Ashcroft, and not the monsters under your bed (or on your funding committee)? Quit with the racial profiling and watch for suspicious behavior REGARDLESS of it's ethnic origins. Quit making noises about federalizing airport security and putting in bomb sniffing machines*, and pay your security people enough money to do the job right THE FIRST TIME. Quit humping for the cameras and DO YOUR FUCKING JOB.
::sigh::
L.
*Did you know that chemical bomb sniffers only sniff for nitrogen based explosives? Do you know how many things out there that are potentially violent explosives that don't have nitrogen compounds in them? Feel safer now? Good.
Here's another reason why we've had no terrorist attacks since 9/11...
THE RATS ARE BACK IN THEIR HOLES. They know we're looking, pulling financial records. They will not meet us in battle. They will wait, and plan, and repair their battered bank accounts and disrupted networks, pray a lot, slowly simmer in the cooling climate that always follows a period of vigilance, find the weakest link 12-24-36 months from now and strike again. False alarms are going out. THREATS are being made. They try again and they know they're dead. Keep threatening, and we keep on edge.
Well, Todd, what's YOUR theory on the anthrax distribution, if it did not constitute a terrorist attack?
And Dwayne, why DIDN'T the government prevent the 9/11 attacks? If it was caught so flat-footed then, why do you think it's going to do such a great job with our civil liberties in the future?
Neither of you was one of those folks who until recently asserted the government was too much on our backs, and what this country needed most was less government regulation, I trust?
As for Bag of Meat, supposedly the Edgeworks project has been taken over by Ellison himself and his agent, Richard Curtis, who promise to reissue all the works under the imprint of "Edgeworks Abbey." But no sign of anything as yet....
Hello:
Just a new one here, a little curious to see what's going on. I've read a little of what others are saying and it sounds like I might stop by once in a while.
Jim Davis: Why be surprised? After all, the age old "if yer not fer us, yer agin us" has been a staple of political duress used in times of crisis to engender blind obedience in a frightened electorate for years. Still, you've as much to fear from the "Silent Majority" who will bask in the omnipotent glow of CNN and shake their heads in agreement with the Attorney General. Seems to me though nobody's taking the Attorney General, the FBI, the CIA or State to task for what was an incredible oversight which allowed these men to walk onto planes and cause massive damage to both property and the psyche of your nation. Yes, the terrorists fired the gun, but it appears obvious that these departments should have taken steps to make sure the dammed thing wasn't loaded and then left lying around. A screwup of global proportions (nothing personal all, but I'm left thinking of what I'd be like if one of my relatives was in one of the buildings.), and nobody gets called up on the carpet for this? Sorry, but it seems a bit beyond being excused with a shrug and a "Well, that's one on us".
Okay, that was the JAWBOM moment of political opining. Please note: the opinions expressed in the above posting aren't necessarily those of anyone who would consider themselves sane. Now to another matter.
I've been an Ellison reader for some time (have recently purchased both the 50th Essential Ellison and Troublemakers) but am left with a slow sense of emptiness resulting from the absence of the Edgeworks series. The devastation resulting from the discontinuance of this series has taken upon my being has changed me irrevocably, I fear. I've experienced massive hair loss (all over), crying jags, and a deepening neurosis resulting from repeated listening to Pia Zadora albums. God help me, please! Does anyone know if its been canned, or will it live on?
Heavy Thought: Marriage is an institution into which many a good man or woman has been involuntarily committed.
Divorce = Shock therapy
Best, All Meat
Joseph,
My husband and I rented "The Man who Cried" a while back. It was enjoyable but got a bit drawn out and slow towards the end. Good work as usual by Depp, Blanchett, and Ricci and I enjoyed the concept. (Sorry if this isn't much to go on, I'm not nearly the cinematic critic that others are).
Cheers
Peg
Todd,
There you go, making sense again. There are still people out there that just don’t get it. WE ARE AT WAR! Some of these fine folks are the very people who will be among the first to piss and moan, "Why didn’t the government prevent this!", the next time there’s a terrorist attack.
No terrorist attacks in U.S. since 9/11, even though we are bombing Afghanistan and Uncle Omar promised the death of the United States, even though we've declared a war on terrorism and are now refusing to reign in Israel. No terrorist attacks in U.S. since 9/11.
Could it be because we've detained a few hundred suspicious 'friends o' the U.S.' and some of those detainees might actually be terrorists?
Could it be that others whose rights have not been so horribly taken are a bit nervous and don't want to show themselves? (After all, Uncle Omar and Aunt Bin Laden consistently shout for their people to die for their cause....while they hide in holes and run away like cowards) ((and I call them cowards, not because they are afraid to die, but because they tell everyone else to die for the cause EXCEPT THEM)).
Anyway, that's you right wing response for the day. No need to expect a boring string of attack and respond. I'll lay back in my peaceful moment once again.
-TODD
Hey, has anyone seen a movie called "The Man Who Cried?" It supposedly came out over the summer, and yet I somehow missed it - very frustrating, as it has Cate Blanchett, an actress who's on my a-list.
Jim,
Why do I get the feeling that Asscroft (misspell intentional) was rooting for the HUAC.
Yours in grim despair,
-Andrew
Yesterday, at the Senate Judiciary Committee:
"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."
Fuck you, John Ashcroft.
Here, read instead:
http://www.mediamonitors.net/waseemshehzad1.html
And lest an Arab news source make you cringe, read from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,434655,00.html
And from Salon, how it might be said that Sharon is the reason behind the current flaring of violence that began a little over a year ago, just by showing his face in the wrong place, seemingly begging for the reaction he got.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/10/17/sharon/print.html
L.
Faisal~ The truly amazing thing is how few people outside of the region know about The Butcher of Beirut. I've deleted several sentences here because I can't seem to contain my disgust to a political commentary.
L.
Heather,
You can do well to read Robert Fisk's excellent 'Pity the as well as try and get a copy of the three part (UK) C4 doco 'From Beirut to Bosnia'. Pity the Nation has a horrible chapter where Fisk describes seeing Israeli planes throwing out flares over the refugee camps to facilitate the Phalangist's militia's searching out to find victims that they could butcher. Sharon knew what was going to happen and he helped in the slaughter.
As you can tell from the tone of my post, I loathe the man. He deliberately stoked up violence by winding up the Palestinians and is profiting from it.
FAQ
"...we had the big LA Roast with Robin Williams and Bill Rotsler and Stan Lee and Ray Bradbury and Paul Krassner and David Gerrold and Joe Straczynski "
Oi. A roast with those boys should put the Friar's to shame.
I'd trade my pet monkey for tickets to that one...if I HAD a pet monkey.
Harlan,
One More Thing (as the grandfather might say on the completely rocking "Jackie Chan Adventures"):
My copy of Mefisto In Onyx was rescued on Bibliofind from some schmuck who had it signed " To Steve! Harlan Ellison 11 Dec 93." I will not be sellling it off like that person, 'cause I love reading it. The second to last line always sticks with me: "I have always been one of those miserable guys who couldn't get out of his own way."
God, I love that line. Sorry to kiss up for a second, but it's so RIGHT.
Regards,
Joseph
Harlan,
Thanks for filling me in. I'll admit that I have seen neither Heroes of Hope nor the Repent Harlequin poster; I do have a copy of Mefisto with Frank Miller's cover, but that was significantly later, so I was curious. Lovely work, too - and a bitching intro by Miller.
Regards,
Joseph
Chuck,
As for Planet of the Apes, not only should you wait until it's out on video but you should wait until video becomes so outdated that you can't find a VCR anywhere. That way, you never run the risk of having to watch your VHS of Planet of the Apes.
Some of the worst movies of the year: (I think I blotted most of the bad ones from my mind.) Lucas' Thud and Blunder epic PHANTOM MENACE. No, I won't see the DVD, even if it has the missing footage from the MAGNIFICENT AMERSONS. Movies I will wait until they're out on video: PEARL HARBOR (WARNING! WARNING! JERRY BRUCKHEIMER AND MICHAEL BAY MOVIE! WARNING! DANGER! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!) PLANET OF THE APES. I think I'll wait until it's cheaper to rent.
Some favorites from the past year: ENEMY AT THE GATES, SHRECK, HARRY POTTER, THE OTHERS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, MONSTERS INC., AND, (DRUM ROLL) THE BIG EMPTY. The last film I saw on video, which was brought out on a program by Hollywood Video call First Rites. I've seen a couple of these movies, and THE BIG EMPTY blew me away. I guess it was the first few minutes where the main character tells about why he quit his job at the fast food joint and become a private detective. Very wry, mean sense of humor with a longing for something not dark and dirty in this world.
Books I'm reading: FROM THE SHADOWS by Robert M. Gates, MILES TO GO by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, THE ESSENTIAL ELLISON by You-Know-Who, THE CASE FOR MARS by Robert Zubrin, STARS AND STRIPES IN PERIL by Harry Harrison, DRAGONFLY by Bryan Burrough, THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS BY Caleb Carr, BERSERKERS: THE BEGINNING by Fred Saberhagen, FLU by Gina Kolata, which is about the spanish flu epidemic of 1918. 40 million dean in 3 months.
I've probably got a few more books laying around here I've yet to get to.
Chuck
As far as I'm concerned, the only four films that mattered in 2001 were "The Man Who Wasn't There," "Mulholland Drive," "Ghost World" and "Amelie." The rest of the bunch is either pleasantly amusing or about as fun-filled as a stroll through Sawny Beane's cave in which there is some guarantee of returning to the outside world alive. I'm still dying (fortunately, not in the bicuspid sense) to see the two Linklater films out ("Waking Life" and "Tape").
Heather: If you liked "The Ninth Gate," read the Perez-Reverte novel it was butchered from, which does cartwheels around Polanski's flaccid forays of late.
Faisal: The problem with filmmakers in general is that they are required to blab at press junkets and pontificate an image. I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment.
Hello Harlan,
My name is Chris Greenaway and I am a friend of Heather Lovatt's. I am writing because I would like to say hello and that I enjoy your website. I am travelling to Japan next week and leaving the truck stop known as Winnipeg, Manitoba behind! ^_^
I will continue to read what everyone has to say on this website while I am there because this is a facinating site that spans all boarders!
Sincerely,
Chris Greenaway
JOSEPH FINN: My "cameo" in Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns"
"came about" because Frank and I have been friends
for a long, long time. Or have you never seen the finest piece of art Frank ever produced . . . the dust jacket for the limited hardcover edition of MEFISTO IN ONYX? Or the "Heroes for Hope" pages we did for Marvel? Or the lovely poster Frank did of "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" for my legal defense benefit in the Fleisher case, when we had the big LA Roast with Robin Williams and Bill Rotsler and Stan Lee and Ray Bradbury and Paul Krassner and David Gerrold and Joe Straczynski
and Sergio Aragones and Robert Bloch and . . .
Frank and I are old friends.
Thus answered, I vanish yet again. Harlan.
Oh, almost forgot...
No I don't think it's bad. Just flawed. But, stunning all the same.
-A.
Bingo,
Plot holes:
The most glaring plot hole is the missing 5th replicant. You'll remember that Bryant tells Deckard that 6 replicants hijacked a shuttle yadda, yadda, yadda. Then we're told that a couple of them broke into the Tyrell building and one got fried. This and the retirement of the four we see Deckard take of, account for only five. The missing replicant was actually scripted for and cast, but due to budget problems was cut. Unfortunately the dialogue was never repaired. There are other things too, like, why is Rachael the only replicant that gets VK'd? If they know the identities of all the escapees, why bother VK'ing Leon? What's up with all the questions about animals?
All plot problems (I think my use of the word "hole" is me overstating) could have been eased by a closer adherence to the original material. I don't think that the original material needed to be strictly followed, but, I think, too many compromises were made (IMHO). Most of the trouble, admittedly, is due to budgetary constraints and not poor planning.
And yes 12/16 I'm getting (finally!) hitched. And no, we're not gonna be married by one of the many Elvi (yes Elvi, plural of Elvis) wandering around Vegas, so don't even...
oh, never mind.
-Andrew
Andrew: Are you getting married on 12/16?
I believe you that you like BLADE RUNNER. Is this one of those "I like it even though I know it's not good" deals? What do you see as "the plot holes you could drive a semi through"?
I agree that the soundtrack is bitchin. For some reason it reminds me of parts of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."
Bermanator
Heather,
Here's a fairly balanced short bio of Ariel Sharon, courtesy of us-israel.org. Not the most balanced of sources, but a decent bio. Note the paragraph about his tenure as Minister of Defense, which makes him un-fit to serve as Prime Minister, in my eyes:
Ariel Sharon was born at Kfar Malal in 1928. He joined the Haganah at the age of 14 in 1942. During the 1948 War of Independence, he commanded an infantry company in the Alexandroni Brigade. In 1953, he founded and led the "101" special commando unit which carried out retaliatory operations. Sharon was appointed commander of a Paratroop Corps in 1956 and fought in the Sinai Campaign. In 1957 he attended the Camberley Staff College in Great Britain.
During 1958-62, Sharon served as Infantry Brigade Commander and then Infantry School Commander, and attended Law School at Tel Aviv University. He was appointed Head of the Northern Command Staff in 1964 and Head of the Army Training Department in 1966. He participated in the 1967 Six Day War as commander of an armored division. In 1969 he was appointed Head of the Southern Command Staff. Sharon resigned from the army in June 1972, but was recalled to active military service in the 1973 Yom Kippur War to command an armored division that crossed the Suez Canal.
Ariel Sharon was elected to the Knesset in December 1973, but resigned a year later, serving as Security Adviser to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1975). He was elected to the Knesset in 1977 on the Shlomzion ticket. Following the elections, he joined the Herut party and was appointed Minister of Agriculture.
Sharon served as Minister of Defense from 1981-83, which position he held during the War in Lebanon. He resigned after a government commission found him indirectly responsible for the September 1982 massacre of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Lebanese Christians.
Sharon remained in the government as a minister without portfolio and then served as Minister of Industry and Trade from 1984-90 and as Minister of Housing and Construction from 1990-92. In the 13th Knesset, he served on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Sharon served as Minister of National Infrastructure from July 1996-July 1999, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from October 1998-July 1999.
Re-elected to the 15th Knesset in May 1999, he served as chairman of the Likud following the resignation of Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a special election for Prime Minister in February 2001, Sharon defeated incumbent Ehud Barak to become the 11th person to hold that position.
Sharon is widowed and has two sons.
Lynn,
If you've got the 1994 Vangelis soundtrack (not the New American Symphony abomination) then I'd add "Damask Rose" and "Rachael's Theme" (both composed for the movie, but replaced for some strange reason) to the kitty. Interesting little note BTW, "One More Kiss, Dear" was the second choice for that scene. The original workprint had the Inkspots, "If I Didn't Care" in it's place.
-Andrew
BTW wedding's to be in Vegas 12/16/01. You'll have to forgive us, but Catalina wasn't working out. Sigh...
Was reading a newspaper today. The Globe and Mail. (Don't do that very much. Lots of interesting stories in there, though. Good SOURCE of story ideas, actually--is THAT where you them?--oh.)
Got interested in this guy Prime Minister Sharon.
If you please.. anyone..tell me more about this guy. Good, bad, opinions, whatever. He sounds interesting. (Yes, I know, I know..never mind. My mind works in odd ways.) Thanks.
Chris:
Not belittling anyone's comments on the pros and cons of screenwriting school to 'reconnect' (hopefully with some females); I think that's a darn good idea and I'll give you an example as to why. (No, the person in this story is NOT being compared to you. My POINT is, it can happen to anyone, as long as they are willing to take a damn chance!)
I have a friend of a friend who decided, at age 30ish, to return to university to finish his degree. Personally, the guy's a nut case--I'm talking for real here--but it adds to the happy ending, so I'm tossing in this point for you.
He spent more time on campus, ogling the females than going to class. Most of them were ten years younger than him, of course, but he's a nut and he did it anyway. Used to accost females with chocolate cheesecake and in so many words would say, "You liked my cheesecake did you? Now, will you have sex with me?" (Like I said, Chris, I'm not making head to head comparisons here, what I'm saying is.. something came out of him, 'attempting'.. the way YOU sound like you want to.)
This guy got involved with a distant relative (very distant; no harm in two-headed children; I only mention it as it was the reason he met her--at a wedding or something.) while he was in town, doing the school thing.
They shacked up for a while--she was nuts about him--but I can't say he felt the same way (but no matter; he used to regale us with the sexual exploits. [sigh]). They went out west to visit a friend of hers and he met the "GIRL OF HIS DREAMS." I won't go into the details on THAT one--the guy REALLY was a nut. (But she really was gorgeous, for any of you who are keeping track here. Gorgeous and very bright and very athletic. She liked extreme hiking and snowboard. He had a hell of a time getting back into shape to follow her around.)
He had some very strange ideas about women, in general. This is a family show here. I won't get into it.
But the point is, it worked out. He sold his parent's house in the small town he'd been living in since he was a kid; moved to where she lives--she's a medical student--very bright; a 'crazy french chick' as one of my coworkers used to call girls from Quebec--and as far as I know, if he hasn't died, he's living with this woman.
So follow your dreams, Chris. You just never know what may happen.
And unless you are INTERESTED in English lit, don't bother with any other courses than what you are interested in. You want to be in an environment where you feel comfortable. That's why you're choosing screenwriting. And hey, some of your coworkers may turn out to be good connections, once you leave school.
Babes in the classroom; I wouldn't worry about that. Just check to be sure there are a good quantity of them on campus, that's all.
Luck to you.
Andrew~ Put Bladerunner Blues on repeat. Tear off the knob. What a great piece to write noir to.
L.
Señior Berman,
Like I said, I like the movie. One of my favorites. Just to show you that I've got nuttin' but love fer ya...
If you haven't read (or even heard of) it, here's a little reading tip. Check out "Future Noir : The Making of Blade Runner" by Paul M. Sammon. Interviews, background info and some juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits.
-Andrew
BTW, isn't the Vangelis-composed soundtrack just bitchen?
Okay, I'll be brief. (heh, you say)
Had a choice of left or right tonight. Left, to the Graham Post office for stamps (and other things) or right, to the Eaton Mall. (They have a post office too but maybe a place for snow boots. I needed snow boots--my VERY old Rockport right sole had come unstitched almost to my instep. Was collecting snow in it as I walked. What fun.)
Long line at Eaton Post Office but I managed to deal with it. Sent friend stuffies. Spent six dollars on postage. Dat's cool.)
Walked to Urban Trail shoe store. Saw nifty ski boot style boots. $250--give me a fucking break. (But wow, they were cool.)
Saw trail type boot--very light; very easy on the foot for walking inside or out. Only pair. Men's 8 1/2. Ninety bucks--still an ouch but I really want to walk in the snow so I NEED boots.
Tried them on. Damn, they FIT. Damn, they snuggled my ankle. Yum. Bought them. Coolness. (I hate shopping for shoes. Love when this happens. Always leave store quickly when this happens. Yum.)
At the checkout, salesman (Yum.) told me I could enter a draw for a Nissan Sentra. (I think that's what it is--I don't DO cars.) Car is parked in mall. (How do they get them in here? Always wondered that.) Said, what the hey, if I win will give car to KICK--I don't need a car. Shit, I live downtown. Harlan, you can have it if I win. (laugh)
Walked outside in new snow boots. Heaven with a flat heel. Having orgasms in my ankles as I stood on a corner waiting for the light to change on Graham.
Walked to other post office--Shopper's Drug mart, actually. Went in store. Saw nifty brand of Irish chocolates. (Never seen them before--I love trying new stuff.) What the hey. Bought them and a tiny box of Mrs. Field's Decadent Chocolates. (Haven't tried those either.)
Was gonna mention the body on the street and the firetruck but never mind. Let's wrap this puppy up.
Walked (in snuggly shoes. Did I mention they were snuggly? Hi, Jim.) to university. Came to library. Saw library woman (one of two.) Sat down at computer. Said, what the hey. Walked back to library lady with box of Irish handmade chocolates. She was sorting books. I said here.. Merry Christmas. She seemed please.
Ain't the universe cool?
[P.S. Am trying Mrs. Field's chocolates as we speak. No, you can't have any.]
Heather, sucking on nuts and fingering boots
What's with the Last Brian Aldiss story in Dangerous visions?? Is he kidding or does he really think he is the greatest science fiction writer ever? Did you like that story Harlan?
Very interesteding to hear about the Jack the Ripper stuff.
Here's some "reviews" I wrote on another board.
It started 2 or three weeks ago. Watched a Sherlock Holmes Vid with subject matter of Jack the Ripper. In the vid, Jack was none other than the Masons, killing for the queen, to save face. See the heir to the throne bagged this low life woman who was a prostituteslut type. She fell in love with him and thought he was going to save her from wretched street life of spred'm 24/10. he actually married her and impregged her. Too bad he quickly tired of her and ditched her. She birthed the child and hid it but couldn't keep the secret. She told some prositutes of the child and everyone she told got a touch of Jack. The mother ended up in the asylum(great asylum scene) and the masons never found her child.
My first roommate and best friend, Tronse, who last year killed himself alone in a Oregan hotel room, thought he was the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper. He would pace our living room with a giant knife, then come asking for a hug. I'd say no way, I'm not hugging you. He asked why and wouldn't understand how I didn't care for the knife pacing. That guy was always funny and interesting. Never knew when he was kidding.
In 1943, Robert Block published a story called, "yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" I never read the story. Later he wrote a story called "A Toy for Juliet" This is a brilliant story about a killer of the future, Julliet getting a boytoy plaything gift from the past, Jack the Ripper. Julliet has been a taught sadism from birth by her sicko grandfather who is also her lover, much like a farmer teaches his kids to butcher, "these are the tools you use to slaughter a cow, these are the shells you use to blow away a pheasant" Julliet has the Iron Maiden of Neurenburg and more torture instruments!
Harlan Ellison got so into Jack of the future that He wrote a continuation of Bloch's story called "The Prowler in the city at the edge of the world" What happens after Jack kills Julliet.
These stories are pretty violent and descriptive of gore. In the same way as Peter Sotos. I love this stuff becuase as I once told him waxing, "it lets the gouls of my soul deep come out, see the light of day and fly away like doves into the sky." REading's like therapy.
Andrew:
Hmmm, well, lessee, "[BLADE RUNNER} suffers from a poor script that rips out the heart of the original material (and has plot holes you could drive a Semi through)."
If that's not a dis, I'd hate to hear you actually dis something (said in good humor). I didn't think the script was poor at all. In fact, at times I found it very moving. "All these moments are lost in time like tears in rain." "I want more life, FUCKER." Yes, the seduction scene between Deckert and Rachel was flinchingly corny, but other than that, no problems.
Of course it's flawed. It's not the best movie I ever saw, only my favorite.
What makes an adaptation successful? That it's faithful to the original or that it's enjoyable in it's own right? IMO, especially if it has a different title, it should be judged on it's own merits. It's an adaptation, a reinterpretation.
Bermanator
no tattoos, no piercings
Frank,
Cynical answer, because Peter's always been that way.
Idealistic answer, because he's a classic character that exists in our hearts as a shining example of a real young man, with the foibles and triumphs of us all. Also, Peter has been different ages through the years. He started out as a teenager, but these days is in his mid-20's. Also, plenty of people have tried different ages for him. There's the current Ultimate line, for instance, which has him as a 15-year-old again; the Spider-Girl comic, on the other hand, is the story of his daughter and we see a good amount of Peter in his late 40's.
Regards,
Joseph
Question: Why doesn't Peter Parker ever grow old? lol.
Why is everyone so goofy about seeing the WTC? In a way it is a fitting tribute, to see the building before all the madness-before the Patriot Act and our loss of innocence and civil rights. We can only heal when we remember how it once was. The future is in our hands.
I believe that Origin #1 was or still is "reprinted" on the Marvel website as a webcomic. In any case, this week's comics from Marvel showed that they'll be reprinting it on CD cards, given as a bonus for whoever orders the Amazing Spider-man one. The Spidey one'll be a "moving" comic, with SFX, narration voiced-over, and extras. Dunno if the Origin one will be.
Todd & Charlie,
I believe that Origin will be re-printed by itself as a hardcover - whether it will have ASM #36, I have heard not a tickle. I'll check the new Previews catalog when I get home tonight and see if there is any mention.
Joseph
Sorry, sorry, sorry, guys! Last night my computer wouldn't confirm that the post went through, but kept giving me an error message. Now I know how Joseph felt.
I'll try to remember, the next time this happens, to open another window and check this page there -- to see whether the post has indeed gotten through.
(At this moment I'm listening to Ashcroft's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee re: the terrorism investigation and civil liberties on my Walkman ... what an asshole.)
Joke Time:
A traveling salesman visits a small town in the Midwest and sees a circus banner reading, "Don't Miss the Amazing Goldstein!" Curious, he buys a ticket and sits through the usual circus acts: animals, clowns,contortionists,etc.
Suddenly, trumpets blare and all eyes turn to the center ring.
There, in the middle of the ring, is a table with three walnuts on it. In comes a little old Jewish man, five feet five inches tall, and barely able to walk to the table. He unzips his pants, whips out an impressive prodigious member, grabs it in his hand, and proceeds to smash all three walnuts with three mighty swings!
The crowd erupts in thunderous applause as the elderly Goldstein
Is carried off on the shoulders of the clowns.
Ten years later, the same salesman visits the same little town
And sees the same circus being advertised with the same banner reading, "Don't Miss the Amazing Goldstein!"
The salesman can't believe the old guy is still alive, much less still doing his act! So, he buys a ticket and sits through
the Various acts, waiting for the big finale.
Finally, the center ring is illuminated. This time, instead of
walnuts, three coconuts are on the table. As before, old Goldstein takes forever to make it to the table. He unzips his fly and proceeds to smash the coconuts with three swings of his amazing schlong. The crowd goes wild!
The salesman requests a meeting with him after the show. In
Goldstein's dressing room, the salesman tells him he's never seen
anything like Goldstein's act. But, he wants to know why Goldstein, at his age, is now smashing large coconuts instead of the much smaller walnuts.
"Vell," says Goldstein, wearily, "My eyes aren't vhat they used to be!"
-TODD
Charlie, the Spider-Man WTC story is going to be reprinted soon in an anthology that will also reprint ORIGIN #1 (the first Wolverine Origin issue that sold out) and one or two other hard to find stories. I think I heard that it would be similar to an 80-page Giant comic book.
Look for it soon.
-TODD
So, someone here casually mentions, hey--go pick up Spiderman #36 by JMS, it's terrific, in so many words. I figure ok, I'll call my local comic store and have them hold one. Let me tell you, those suckers sold out before they hit the shelves (apparently nationwide) and they're now selling on ebay for $10 a copy. I'm told no reprint is scheduled. So, for those still waiting, DON'T. Act now. However, it looks like some comic stores never even shelved the comics and are seeing how much they can gouge out of people on ebay. The spirit that existed immediately after 9/11 has quickly evaporated.
Chris L.:
I saw "Sidewalks of New York" over the weekend. The WTC can still be seen in the movie, several times. It can be seen in the background during the Edward Burns character's talk to the camera scenes.
Oh, the movie as a whole? Warmed-over Woody Allen / romance-of-and-in-New-York story. Lovely cast, decent acting, okay script ... but the whole turns out to be less than the sum of its parts. If you can catch it on a cheap matinee or budget second run, that's the way to see it. Stanley Tucci is wonderful as a slimy womanizing dentist, cliches and all.
Chris L.:
I saw "Sidewalks of New York" over the weekend. The WTC can still be seen in the movie, several times. It can be seen in the background during the Edward Burns character's talk to the camera scenes.
Oh, the movie as a whole? Warmed-over Woody Allen romance-of-and-in-New-York story. Lovely cast, decent acting, okay script ... but the whole turns out to be less than the sum of the parts. If you can catch on a cheap matinee or budget second run, that's the way to see it. Stanley Tucci is wonderful as a slimy womanizing dentist, cliches and all.
Chris L.:
I saw "Sidewalks of New York" over the weekend. The WTC can still be seen in the movie, several times. It can be seen in the background during the Edward Burns character's talk to the camera scenes.
Oh, the movie as a whole? Warmed-over Woody Allen romance-of-and-in-New-York story. Lovely cast, decent acting, okay script ... but the whole turns out to be less than the sum of the parts. If you can catch on a cheap matinee or budget second run, that's the way to see it. Stanley Tucci is wonderful as a slimy womanizing dentist, cliches and all.
Matt,
Thanks for the advice but I think I'm in a place in life most people haven't been and wouldn't understand.
I don't give a flying fuck about learning the screenwriting business. I need to be around people. It's total isolation here. We're talking Castaway here - seriously, I really identify with the movie. Almost everyone I knew died in the last 8 years all one right after the other. The few living ones have dispersed to the four corners of the country. I am a tabula rasa and looking for a fresh start. School is nothing more than an excuse to find a social circle of some kind. I've already done film school and I liked it and I want to try again. This time on the other side of the country, just start life over. The old one's done with.
However, if you do know anything about Loyola Marymount or Chapman as well as where they are (Westchester section of LA or Orange, CA) I would appreciate any feedback. I've got a few contacts in L.A. but not many and I need more info than I can get at the websites.
(Reads Lynn's post)
Now THAT'S how you should do it, if do it you must. Three glyphs you created yourself, and a Clive Barker drawing. Cool! Definitely not cookie-cutter designs you just slapped on yourself.
Oh, and every time I see that DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR BRAIN book, I think to myself, "OH GOD! STOP IT! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!" (Yeah, I know, the brain can't actually feel pain, but work with me here...)
Chris L. -- Looking for love in all the wrong places? I can imagine worse places, but taking a screenwriting class at Loyola Marymount doesn't rank very high.
Additionally, you'll find that screenwriting classes at most colleges are filled with mostly guys. A lot of them are guys who feel like they are big shots in the industry because they do background work - when in reality they are more like paid props.
Do yourself a favor and learn the format and style of screenwriting by example (there are many screenplay databases online) and spend your hard earned money on a copy of Final Draft.
And looking for that special someone? Take a literature course at UCLA - you'll learn something useful and you'll find a much higher class of people than in a screenwriting class.
-Matt
Ok, hands up: How many people here are "South Park" fans? I thought tonight's episode on stem cell research was BRILLIANT. The best line, as always, belonged to Cartman: "Look, I'm just like these (aborted) fetuses: I wasn't born yesterday." Hey, I like the sick stuff, what can I say?
Heather/Jay/Joseph: I'm not sure I entirely "get" the whole tattoo thing. (Of course, to a Jew, tattoos have a negative rep, so maybe I'm just biased.) I think you guys will agree that most people don't seem to put a lot of thought into getting them. I mean, if someone wants a tattoo to be distinctive, well, we're ALL unique, aren't we?--you certainly don't need to get ink injected into your skin to make you different from everybody else.
And if you're going to get one, it should be a symbol or design that has a lot of personal meaning to you. Picking out, say, a Chinese character that you can't even READ because it looks "cool"--what's with that? Or a Celtic symbol, when you're of Italian descent? I dunno, it just seems to be another trendy affectation of "individualism" run amuck. (And I don't mean to insult you, Joseph. I'm sure you thought long and hard about your tattoo before you got it. Unless, of course, you didn't...)
Now, if I HAD to get a tattoo, it would be a full-body one. Of myself. Only, five inches taller.
Oh, and the strangest one I've ever seen? Joseph, you and Bermanator will like this: A full-color portrait of Tori Amos, completely covering a woman's back. Hell, she could have put it on the front, and passed herself off as the Cornflake Girl. Total lack of imagination, I tells ya.
Joseph~ Is it a Dead Man's Hand? (Aces & Eights and the Suicide Jack?)
Tattoos are very personal expressions of art. Sure, some people take them more lightly than others, adding to their personal art exhibition without much thought. I have a friend who has one full sleeve, one half sleeve and both calves done on both sides. Oh and the Tibetan prayer on the back of his neck. (Yes, I must spin him in his chair on occasion, just for the fun of it. It's not a prayer wheel, it's a prayer Craig! Everyone should have one.)
I got my first tattoos in a motorhome at a solstice festival, summer of 1990. Three glyphs that I crafted for three characters in a novel that never got written. The other is on my left shoulder. It's a pen sketch by Clive Barker. Even more, it's an exercise I drew when working from the book _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ (the exercise being to copy a drawing upside down), so it's been processed through my right brain. It represents a lot of things to me. Strength, beauty, holiness. All my mother could say was, "YOU GOT A TATTOO OF A NAKED MAN." ::sigh:: So one man's trash is another man's art. And yes it hurt but no worse than any trip you ever had to the dentist. And pain for something you want is a lot different than pain for something you don't. And tho' I'm not a pain freak, I won't deny the experience was pleasurable.
My next will be Morrocan knotwork over the back of my hips. I'm trying to figure out where the raven will be worked into it.
To each their own.
L.
Man, the whole self-mutilation thing freaks me out. Tattoos, piercings, etc. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it - to each his or her own and more power to you. But... yuck!
Heather,
I think I can learn something about screenwriting at school, just not how to be a writer. You don't learn that, you work at it. And some people (most who try?) won't get there even if they work hard.
As for my primary motivation, I simply want to reconnect with the world. I've lived here in the Fortress of Solitude for the last five years and counting. Since everyone around here was inconsiderate enough to die, they aren't very good company. So I think the idea of moving to a place where hopefully there will at least be a few interesting people with whom I share some common interests would be a constructive way of reentering society.
I also expect to significantly improve my chances of getting laid by going back to school. :)
Aw, shucks, who am I kidding? I'm a romantic. I'm looking for love, not sex. But it's been hard to find love on the walk from my bedroom to the bathroom. Or at the comic book store or the chess club or at the bowling alley. Geez, I can't believe all my hobbies are almost exclusively 'guy things.' Oh well, at least I'm a good bowler now.
Joseph:
Yes, this is true. But depending on where you are, that may be all you get; backwater flesh artists with a needle and a 'tude....
I once had a girlfriend who had extensive work done. One anaconda that started at her shoulder and neck and, over a period of three years, wound around her body to her leg. It was very pretty when seen in toto, but she spent $200 every 90 days on it. She said it was like being branded each time she did it. But then...she was into that sort of thing.
Re: Troublemakers
I downloaded the Adobe PDF Viewer version today as my big retail chains and Amazon.com could not ship me a hard copy with any definite deadline. As usual, my giddy pleasure came from the introduction to the book and stories.
Then I realized how important the main introduction is to me. I have a 13 year old nephew who is about six inches and 50 pounds too large for his maturity. I'm getting him a copy of this book for Christmas because he REALLY needs to read the introduction of this book if nothing else. I will review it later when I've had the chance to read through it all, but I wanted to put down my first two important impressions.
Mr. Ellison, please don't think this is sucking up, but THANKS for that introduction. He's one of those kids that could go either way in life. He reads a great deal, but that seems to be more comics and "young adult" fiction. What you say to identify yourself initially as a member of the "enemy" and how you manage to guide the reader to realize that we're the same people, just in different stages of life, is so well played. It helps to identify yourself with the kind of kid who could head over to the "downhill side" as you call it. The stories you chose will (I hope) help. They are not the solution, I know, but they are entertaining and straight enough to make an impact.
I'll let you know how it works, if you're interested.
Oh...I'd never heard the "mouse/horse/fox" parable. That was great.
I swear to God, I got a "connection failure" on my first post.
Heather,
Pardon the seemingly flip response, but:
THEY STUCK NEEDLES IN ME!
VERY FAST NEEDLES!
OF COURSE IT HURTS!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system...
Tattoos hurt more or less depending on what part of your body you receive them on. If the body part is fairly fleshy, like a shoulder, it's not so bad. The though ones are right over bone, such as a shoulder blade, where the vibrations can become very uncomfortable. Also, it depends on the type of tattoo. one that has large fields of one color can be very uncomfortable due to the long timespan. A Valium might not be a bad idea, but they don't like you to use anything that will have an effect on the blood.
Now, as for Jay's comment, that only relates to (a) trendy nitwits who get tattoos to be cool and (a) back of bar tattoo places that no one should go near. A reputable place with real artists will be clean as hell and use sterilized needles only once, torn out of a sealed bag and then disposed of in a medical waste container. At least, that's the basic procedure in states with reasonable laws.
Oh, and Jay? I talked myself into it.
Regards,
Joseph
Heather,
Pardon the seemingly flip response, but:
THEY STUCK NEEDLES IN ME!
VERY FAST NEEDLES!
OF COURSE IT HURTS!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system...
Tattoos hurt more or less depending on what part of your body you receive them on. If the body part is fairly fleshy, like a shoulder, it's not so bad. The though ones are right over bone, such as a shoulder blade, where the vibrations can become very uncomfortable. Also, it depends on the type of tattoo. one that has large fields of one color can be very uncomfortable due to the long timespan. A Valium might not be a bad idea, but they don't like you to use anything that will have an effect on the blood.
Now, as for Jay's comment, that only relates to (a) trendy nitwits who get tattoos to be cool and (a) back of bar tattoo places that no one should go near. A reputable place with real artists will be clean as hell and use sterilized needles only once, torn out of a sealed bag and then disposed of in a medical waste container. At least, that's the basic procedure in states with reasonable laws.
Oh, and Jay? I talked myself into it.
Regards,
Joseph
Heather: Yes it hurts. But it doesn't do anything for you except give you a backup topic of conversation. "Oh I had that done years ago...and it HURT...my friend Chloe talked me into it...we went down to the place near the mall where this skinny junior high kid was working and I was like 'omigod i'm not letting this kid poke me with a needle' and my friend Trish was all like 'but this kid did Jody's unicorn' so I went for it and...well, it SEEMED like a good idea at the time."
Joseph: Don't know what it might be..... but one question..does getting a tattoo hurt? Or does one get things to kill the pain?
Tattoos. One thing I've never considered. Just now laughed to recall a 'chick' from "Memos from Purgatory" (I THINK it was or else I'm just making this up--which is highly possible.) who had boyfriends names 'marked off' in some way and other ones added.
ow!
(And I STILL laugh to think I spent nearly 30 years or so feeling weird about having red hair--it's a very deep auburn now (tinged with grey); it was more bright red as a kid -- and NOW everybody and their CAT does red hair!)
Fashion, eh? Bet you look cool. I've seen a LOT of cool hairstyles at school. They must have to get up at three ayem to do their hair though, woof!
What's the current view on the director Roman Polanski? I'm so outta touch with current movies but I do remember some damn cool movies he did ages ago. This question comes out of reading the "Over the Edge" piece on Val Lewton, ("3 Faces of Fear", I believe) and other directors and the whole idea behind creating terror on film.
I liked that Johnny Depp movie he did. (Sigh. Cannot remember the name of the movie. Depp is so good in movies like that--it was a dark fiction kind of movie. I'm pretty sure it was Polanski.) Are there any other directors these days that are considered to be following in Lewton's footsteps? (Shoot me if this is an old subject. I am an old person asking new questions--for me.)
Chris, why are you considering school for screenwriting if you don't feel you'll learn 'screenwriting' at school?
Harlan, why didn't you ever just start a production company and produce your own films? Who the hell is gonna do "I, Robot" (okay, maybe someone is--I'm BEHIND on all this stuff, remember?) the way you'd want it done? Why didn't you just do this yourself? I bet you could have found backers.
Or was it just a "I wasn't thinking about such things at the time; had too many sticks in the fire, as it was."
I'm just asking, okay? Don't lay a cow on me, right, boyo?
(laugh)
Heather,
Strangely, the body modifications I have I pondered for a long time. My hair color? Thought about it, and then took the plunge. Now, I love trying different shades of red. Nothing too drastic, just different auburns and dark reds.
My most drastic modification, my shoulder tattoo, I considered for about two years until I decided exactly WHERE I was going to get it and WHAT I was going to get. Now I'm happy as a clam with what I chose.
Anyone want to guess what I got? Hint: it's on my right shoulder.
Regards,
Joseph
Hello fellow earthlings..
I'm staring at the screen through my hair--or what's left of it.
Rather odd. I just decided to cut it all off this afternoon. Was making weird pancakes (All food I make is 'weird.' It's merely a qualifier, not a negative one. It tastes good, I just do weird things to it) and grooving along; and I looked at myself in the front hall mirror and a kinda sorta very long bang I had cut a day or so ago (it looked rather cool) and went to the washroom (careful to watch the pancakes--with slices of sauteed apple), took scissors in hand and cut it all off. (Was casually tossing it into a bag as I did it--it weighed about 3 pounds easy. Yeesh!)
Haven't done that for a while. Went from longer than shoulder length--hadn't really looked lately; I've always had it tied back for work--to just under chin length--looks COOL--in about an hour.
Do you have moments in life where you just seem to 'groove' and do things--fairly drastic things that you weren't even pondering which is what makes it particularly strange--in this manner?
I hate hairdressers though I started back to them a few years ago for the standard "trim." Previous to that, I spent quite a few years cutting my hair.
...
Oh, and it was fine last night--I was out walking after midnight up to Osborne Village--started singing carols as I crossed the bridge (hmm..must be in a good mood or summat) and stared at the lizard eye almost full moon--but it's snowing like hell now. Coolness!
"Chesnuts roasting on an open fire"....I know you wanted to know what I was singing on the bridge. (Laugh) Then, when I went into the Shoppers Drug mart in Osborne Village, guess what the first song on the P.A. was? Weird, no? Ever feel like you're in some kind of cosmic slipstream or something? (No, don't believe in cosmic shit, but I gotta call it SOMETHING.)
"Bingo" Berman,
No dis on BLADE RUNNER was intended. Actually, it's one of my favorites too (the Directors Cut please). Unfortunately, it is flawed. The way I see it, BR suffers from some of the same problems many adaptations share (especially speculative fiction), it requires knowledge of the original source material to make any sense at all. Try to imagine seeing FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS with no previous exposure to the source and you'll see what I mean. However, I must admit that I hated TOTAL RECALL.
To each his (or her) own I suppose.
-Andrew
P.S. Just finished playing the BLADE RUNNER PC game. Interesting to say the least.-AR
Brian, defense of the marvelous, AI is no vice my friend. I too thought it a great film.
Ok, my own top picks:
The Man Who Wasn't There
Muholland Drive
AI
Training Day (Lynn, this movie boring??)
Hannibal (Scared me, what can I say?)
Bandits (Fun, entertaining escape)
Sexy Beast
Memento
Movie that everyone should look for in the video stores if you like smart movies: Your Friends And Neighbors. The film by director Neil Lebute of In A Company Of Men fame. This is one biting ass satire on yuppies gone bad. One scary performance by actor, Jason Patric. One note: The infamous steam room scene. wow.
Andrew: Total Recall is successful in my opinion because it's interesting and compelling, not because of box office. Could I have lived with out Ahnuld in that role? Yes. Otherwise, I liked it.
Wasn't going to respond tonight, but then my loyalty kicked in: Blade Runner is my favorite movie. Enough said.
Joseph: Did you realize that the first line of the Tori Amos song "Mother is a reference to T.S. Eliot? How did I discover this? I opened up Dangerous Visions, noticed the Sonya Dorman story "Go, Go, Go Said the Bird." Excited, I opened to the story and there was the Eliot quote. Cool.
Bermanator.
There aren't too many tweaks being done to Spider-Man The Movie. They were once considering placing the scene from the trailer into the movie somehow, but decided to obviously not do that now. Other than that there are a few swinging scenes which showed the WTC in the distance that they are digitally adjusting. I don't have an issue with this since the movie is opening in a year that there was no WTC. My issue would be with movies that have already been completed and released and will now be adjusted in future videos or teevee showings! Hopefully, they have had enough time to rethink such drastic moves. Why pretend it was never there? I just watched the final chapters of that Ric Burns New York documentary, and was very happy to see that they left it intact (and that he is now doing a final final chapter on NY and the attack).
What will Spielberg do with the A.I. video release? When they arrive in drowned NY, there are valuable seconds of the WTC all war damaged. Leave it alone, Steven! You can pretend that they just built a replica and that is what we are viewing!
The Men In Black II finale had to be totally refilmed recently because it all took place in front of WTC. No loss there.
-TODD
I didn't know Gangs was postponed but I'm not surprised. Even Sidewalks of New York got pushed back a month or so. Apparently, there is a scene where a character delivers a monologue with the Twin Tower in the background.
I wonder if they have decided to make any changes to the Spider-Man film yet. I know they pulled the trailer that featured the WTC prominently but I'm not aware if the WTC was visible in any shots in the film itself (the trailer was footage not in the film.)
But I expect Gangs will be well worth the wait and maybe it will be a bright spot in a usually slow spring new release season.
Justin, great story about the bees! The whole like about you and the .357 makes me think you and my friend Mike must be twins separated at birth. Good luck on your finals and when you get done there, we want the dolphins installment!
L.
Sorry to say, Chris, but Gangs Of New York was postponed until a later date...probably spring 2002. Why? NY. Violence. Gasp. It was one of those kneejerk "oh my gawd we can't show this because it will make people uncomfortable about the WTC attack".
Huh? Did they realize that the time period of this Scorsese movie was more than 100 years BEFORE THE WTC WAS EVEN BUILT?
Talk about yer jerkin' knee, huh?
-TODD
Justin,
If you liked Mark Waid's writing on "JLA," make sure to pick up the recent trade paperback of "JLA: Tower of Babel." Great story arc, and I'm not going to tell you any little detail, because it's such a delicious read.
Harlan,
Speaking of comics, and reminded by the new Dark Knight series starting today from Frank Miller, I have a question, if I may take a few moments of your time. How did your cameo in "The Dark Knight Returns" come about? I'm just curious if Miller asked ahead of time, or if he just stuck you in? Thanks!
Regards,
Joseph
Justin,
Sorry to hear about your misfortune though it is a great story. The image of you trying to shoot away killer bees reminds me of the finest of Irwin Allen's apocalyptic cinema.
But haven't you managed to get a extension for your exams because of this attack?
FAQ
Bermanator,
Regarding PK Dick adaptations:
While TOTAL RECALL may have been a box office success, I would hesitate to call it a successful adaptation. I've not seen SCREAMERS, so I can't say whether or not it was any good. BLADE RUNNER, a visually stunning movie, suffers from a poor script that rips out the heart of the original material (and has plot holes you could drive a Semi through).
I wonder, what other stories would make it onto the screen? "The Man in the High Castle", or god forbid "Oh, to be a Blobel". That said, I'm curious to see how MINORITY REPORT turns out.
-Andrew
Justin: Sorry about your hideous bee encounter. It's a great story, though. I just read something about how you can actually outrun killer bees because they don't fly very fast or pursue very far. Oh well.
Lynn: Yes, indeed, Shawshank Redemption is based on "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King. That also was a fine movie of an even finer story. King used to have his fabulous moments. I wish they'd make quality movies out of his Bachman books "Rage" and "The Long Walk," but both are too controversial in our post-Columbine age.
I'm sure I'll think of other short stories that were made into good movies, but the point is, it's possible. Some of Tanith Lee's short fiction would make excellent fantasy movies IMO.
Chris: I mentioned movies I'd seen in the last year. Since I go to a second-riun theatre, I don't get to see the films until they go into thr $1.99 cinema, months later. Yeah, I'm cheap, but I enjoy myself more if I still have money for a drink afterwards.
Bermanator
Guy Ritchie.
I met Guy Ritchie a few years ago. It was just before 'Lock, Stock...' and the Madonna wedding. I had been invited to MOMI in London as a short script I'd written got a bit of attention from a scheme Working Titles/Jerwood were running.
Ever since that day, I have never had any interest to watch the film. Mr Ritchie is an obnoxious bore who just came out with a lot of macho crap. Boasted a lot about his gangster mates (all of whom were convicted thugs who liked nothing better than grassing their mates while pulverising anyone with a jack hammer) and I made a snide comment mentioning this as Mr Ritchie held these individuals in the highest esteem. I was then asked to attend to another matter.
As to the script, it got universally rejected by the cream of British film makers... and the Coen brothers.
I shall have my day...
FAQ
Lynn: It was an adaptation of "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," from the collection DIFFERENT SEASONS. That book also included the novellas "Apt Pupil" and "The Body," both of which were later filmed. (No one's taken a crack at the fourth story, "The Breathing Method," yet.)
Oh, and Nicole Kidman was TERRIFIC in TO DIE FOR, so nyah, nyah, nyah. (Of course, she played an utter zero in that film, so I'm sure Kidman-haters like you will say, "She was ACTING in that movie?")
You Can Count on Me was a Year 2000 release also. Of course, you did preface it by listing as a movie you _saw_ this year so I can't get you there. Very lawyerly of you! :)
And I agree. It's a very good film. I was left with the question, "Why?" as in "Why make this? It's not about anything. Nothing happens." But so what? It was good.
Seems we have a lot of different reactions to Moulin Rouge and I kind of agree with all of them. My review of the film was simple: "I think I like it but I might hate it."
I'm still not sure but I think I liked it. Even though Kidman was awful.
MEMENTO was based on a short story as well. Ed Bryant recommends watching that movie for a lesson in plot structure, by the way.
I really enjoyed ENEMY AT THE GATES and PAPILLON, and APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX was great, as was the LAWRENCE OF ARABIA dvd, but I didn't see much this year that wowed me or moved me very much. I really want to see AMELIE very badly, but is it playing at a theater near me? Noooo, it has big scary subtitles, oh gasping horror. But enough of this movie talk. Hollywood is turning out even more deplorable shit than usual these days, and Paul Verhoeven hasn't even been helping lately (just kidding Paul, love ya babe). If we're going to be making silly ass retrospective 2001 lists let's do each other some good and list the best books we've read over the year. I vote for TROUBLEMAKERS, even though I haven't read it yet, cuz muh boy Harlan E wrote that muthafugga, and I also gotta give mad stoopid props to CLIMBING MOUNT IMPROBABLE by Richard Dawkins, THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES by Ray Kurzweil, THE DUBLINERS by James Joyce, and THE SIMULACRA by P.K. Dick. Best comic I read all year was probably JLA: YEAR ONE by Mark Waid. Unfortunately the last part of the year has been slow as far as reading for my own pesonal edification goes, but I'll try to fix that over Christmas with some Fritz Leiber and Franz Kafka and Schmitz Fifka and Schloofy Blanwitz.
Okay, so I said I'd tell you about being attacked by a ravening horde of rabid assault bees while I was in Mexico, just as soon as I could afford to stop studying for finals. I can't afford it but I'm taking a break anyway to dine on a glass of flat Pepsi and a hideous sandwich I just cobbled together out of moldy bread, charred oven crumbs and the remnants of what I think used to be either tuna salad or banana bread. And whilst I eat, I will tell you about just one part of my adventure in Mexico. I'd tell you about the dolphins and the sea turtles and the staggering beauty of the island and the most hideous poverty I've ever seen, but we'd all be here till 2002, knowing the way I tend to go on.
So I'm in Mexico, right? This is the day before we went back to the States. We spent the morning kayaking in the Sea of Cortez, heading back to the mainland after our stay on the protected island of Tiburon. We beached our kayaks and unloaded all of our gear, and we were getting ready to have lunch. I helped make breakfast, so I was excused from lunch preparations. As a result, I was just laying around on the beach, trying to spot more dolphins, just about as fat, dumb and happy as I could be. Out of nowhere I felt this sting on my back, as though I'd accidentally chosen to lie down on a sharp stick jutting up from the sand, and indeed that's what I thought had happened. I shot upright, swiping at my back, and my hands brushed over something airborne. It was hovering over my shoulder, and whatever it was felt disconcertingly plump. Plump and fuzzy. And buzzing.
I don't deal with insects very well. I scrambled to my feet and did the "oo akk arrgh help help for the love of God get it away from me I'm far too young and gorgeous to die" dance. The little bastiches retreated into the bushes behind our campsite, and I was left standing there, burning like New Mexico, once the sting juice kicked in. One of my comrades, Justine, alerted by my girlish high-pitched screams, ran over and took a look at my back, which was rotten with stings right beneath my left shoulder. My whole left side was burning, and my rib cage in particular felt like it was on fire. Justine said there were red, irritated-looking streaks running down my side. She called over the two biologists we had with us, as they seemed to know virtually everything about the area we were in, and asked them for their analysis.
Their horrified expressions were of little comfort. "Africanized bees. They get the name "killer bees" because they attack people who come into their territory. They've killed a few people in the U.S. over the past few years."
By now the pain had abated considerably and I was able to speak again. "WE'VE GOT TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, C'MON, QUICK, RUN!"
No, I'm fooling. I was still too paralyzed by the fact that a bug had stuck part of its ass into my body to speak. The biologists were looking at my back and telling me that Africanized bee venom is no more potent than that of regular honey bees, but that Africanized bees attack in far greater numbers and chase down perceived enemies for quite a long way. They were very concerned that I had been attacked, and suggested that we might want to move our camp. They said that if a larger attack happened, we would be basically defenseless. We couldn't even run into the sea and take shelter there, because these bees will hover over the water and wait for you to come up for air and sting the hell out of your face when you do. "What were you doing to upset the bees," they asked.
Oh, so now this was MY fault, was it? Hey, man, I was just sitting there minding my business. I had just put on some bug spray and-
"Bug spray? That might have upset them."
Great. I finally contributed something to the conversation, along the lines of, "Goddamn fuckin' bullshit bug spray, bee bastards, stings like a fuckin' fuck fuck."
Oddly enough, no one payed much attention to me, as they tried to figure out what to do. I staggered off to one side, as by now my side had begun to burn considerably once again. I looked over at the bushes and began vigorously to curse the bees for cowards, and that was about when one of the bees popped up to tell me what he thought of that by trying to sting my face. I swiped at him and he stung me in the finger.
I actually managed to bitch slap it before it buzzed away in a severely concussed manner that I found intensely satisfying to watch, as I cursed like a longshoreman in an Asian cathouse. This time I caught a stinger, and it was embedded deep in the side of my reddening index finger. I suddenly remembered a documentary I had seen a while ago about how bee stingers will continue to rhythmically pump venom into a victim from little yellow sacs on the top of the stinger, even once the stinger had been detached from the bee. I wept openly as Justine went off to get some tweezers.
Justine came back a second later with some tweezers, as everyone else watched from a safe distance, at least ten paces away from wherever I happened to be standing. Justine pulled out the stinger and almost immediately afterward, even before I got the chance to ask her for a Luke Skywalker band-aid and throw a hissy fit when she told me she didn't have any, the bushes behind us started to vibrate. BZZZZZZZZ. Justine took a few cautious steps away from me.
Within seconds, the air above our campsite was black with bees, zigzagging through the air in an enraged frenzy. I've gotten myself into some bad spots in the past, but I cannot recall any time in my life when I have been in such mortal terror. Some people stood there frozen, while the rest of us hit the deck. I pressed myself just as far down into the sand as I could, looking up the whole time at the swarm as it hovered above us. In a supremely odd and terrifying way it was kind of beautiful to watch them move, so furious and purposeful. Then, seconds later, they were gone, moved on down the beach.
If they had decided to attack, I really don't know what we would have done, particularly not if anyone was allergic to the stings. We were at least ninety minutes away from any medical facility, and anyway our van was broken down and Aaron hadn't finished fixing it yet. Anyone who panicked and tried fleeing into the water would have been in for a surprise as well, because not only do those bees wait for you, but when I went snorkeling earlier I quikly discovered that the sandy floor I was floating over was alive with an abundance of sting rays. We were just lucky.
I wish I'd brought my .357. I just enjoy the thought of myself flailing around in a cloud of bees, shooting at them wildly with a revolver, calling them motherfuckers and asking them if they want some more of this, while my travel buddies dive into the sand to avoid stray bullets.
And now I'm stuck here, in all this, this- civilization, eating bad food and studying for some bullshit test. ~sigh~ This is no kind of education. Mexico was an education.
J
PA Berman~ Wasn't THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION a Stephen King short story as well?
L.
Oh, and Chris? Just noting that I manage to have a movie from 1948 on my list. *ducks*
Chris,
Reasonable enough. Now go to bmw.com and see Guy Ritchie's short film. Sure, it's Ritchie. Sure, it's a commercial. But it's funny as hell. Also worth watching is the great Ang Lee short.
How, oh how, could I forget one of the best movies I saw this year? I completely forget to mention YOU CAN COUNT ON ME! Wonderful casting, great writing and direction, and Matthew Broderick being a complete dick. It's all there for'ya.
Regards,
Joseph
Chris, I took my list from the box office returns archive at IMDB. Yes these films may have been made in 2000, but they were still in the theatres in 2001. How's that for splittin' hairs?
::grin::
L.
Joseph,
Sure, I understand. My disinterest in seeing Snatch stems from the fact that it appears to copy the style of Lock, Stock... (based on both previews, reviews and conversations with friends) in addition to the fact that Guy Ritchie is doing it. Doesn't mean I'm saying Snatch is a bad movie. I haven't seen it. I don't know if it's good or bad. But just as I won't be lining up to buy John Grisham's next book, I won't be planning to see the next Guy Ritchie film - especially when it seems to be so similar to his last one.
Also, just for the record, just because I'm the type who likes to keep the record clear, a lot of the movies folks are mentioning as best or worst of 2001 are from 2000. Almost Famous, Finding Forrester, Crouching Tiger, Snatch, O Brother Where Art Thou, Erin Brockovich and others.
Just bein' anal. :)
As for my picks and pans, for some reason, I also haven't seen a lot of new films this year. I don't know why. Maybe I was so crushed by Planet of the Apes - I was really looking forward to it since I like Tim Burton and then had to suffer through that dreck!
I liked Memento but I think it substitutes gimmickry for plot and character development. It's a neat idea but just a so-so story.
Mulholland Drive never played around here. I will be seeing The Man Who Wasn't There in a few days. Otherwise, wow, I can't think of a single 2001 release I really thought was great but I assume that's because of my limited viewing. I can't wait to see The Man Who Wasn't There. And I'm looking forward to Ocean's 11, Gangs (not Sidewalks) of New York, Lord of the Rings and The Royal Tennenbaums.
Short stories successfully made into movies:
"The Body" by Stephen King into STAND BY ME (OK, it was a novella)
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick into TOTAL RECALL
Favorite movies last year:
Memento
Sexy Beast
Snatch
Shrek
Crouching Tiger
The Pledge (I was so twisted up after seeing that one)
I haven't yet seen Mulholland Drive, From Hell, Ghost World, or the Coen Bros film, but I will eventually.
Least favorite:
Phantom Menace (why oh why?)
Moulin Rouge (pretty trash w/excessive use of Elton John)
Evolution (sucked soooo bad)
I avoid any full-priced movie that even has the slightest whiff of being poor, but there's a $1.99 theatre so I took a few risks.
Interesting failures (enjoyed despite serious flaws)
The Others
The Princess and the Warrior
A.I.
Sleepy Hollow
What was the last really good, scary movie you saw? The Others was visually lush but did not scare me in the least. Ditto for Sleepy Hollow.
Bermanator
...nothing could ever be scarier than ALIEN
I usually listen to music as I go to bed--I have tinnitus, so the sound helps me to sleep. Last night I put on a CD by the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, the great Texas psychedelic garage band from the 60's (and the only group I know of that had an electric jug for an instrument). Well, after I fell asleep, the damned cd player decided to go on the blink, and ended up skipping ALL NIGHT like some Burroughs cut-up machine. I woke up eight hours later to *SKITCH* "YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME BABY--"*THUP* *THUP* "FIIIIRE ENGINE--" *SKITCH* *SKITCH* *THUP* *THUP* "WHOOAAAAA--" *SKITCHSKITCHSKITCHSKITCH...*
I don't even want to mention the nightmares I had. Let's just say, I don't feel dewy-fresh right now, ok?
I'd love to jump in with my own Best/Worst Movie list for 2001, but the sad truth is that I haven't seen many films this year. MEMENTO, THE OTHERS, and ALMOST FAMOUS were at the top of my cinematic experiences, but they had little competition. (Of course, that only applies to new releases. I've been buying/renting classic movies on Dvd like there's no tomorrow--and there really ISN'T a tomorrow, if you think about it...)
Oh, and just to be a TOTAL contrarian: I actually sorta liked HANNIBAL, and thought it did an admirable job of picking out the best parts of that seriously flawed novel. Have at me! Break my heart! Make me doubt my own aesthetic sense! (you punks...)
Lynn,
Well, here in Chicago it's currently a very Decemberish 66 degrees and sunny. It's vaguely creepy.
As for "Emperor," I go by the Ebert comment that it appeared to be made in a forgotten corner of the Disney lot where the animators just wanted to wear silly hats and joke around. Wonderful movie, and pointed out all the more that "Prince of Egypt" should have had the strength of it's convictions and gone with no songs. It didn't need any!
Regards,
Joseph
Joseph~ ::LOL:: What part of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia Cause Chicago Was TOO FREAKIN' COLD" did you not get? It's all of 56 degrees outside and I'm miserable cold today. Other than that well, it seems I'm already betrothed. (He liked both of those films too, if that counts for anything.)
EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE surprised the hell out of me with how good it was. And no singing! I love children's movies that don't talk down to children. I didn't like it then, and I don't particularly appreciate it anymore now. David Spade and John Goodman were at the top of their game in this flick. And Earth Kitt *made* the villainess. I have no idea how the animators got this one past the Disney studio execs, but I imagine it involved copious amounts of liquor and really expensive call girls.
Films I'm anxious to see: The Brotherhood of the Wolf. Anyone heard anything good about this film?
L.
Lynn, marry me. We can sit around and watch Ghost Dog and the Emperor's New Groove all day.
Anyhoo, another wonderful thing about Ghost Dog (besides the low-rent mobsters - notice how everything they had was for sale?) was the soundtrack. I'm not usually one that's down with the rap, but this music grabbed me and was a real boost to the movie. RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan did a faboo job there.
Regards,
Joseph
Joseph~ I actually saw GHOST DOG (when did all caps become the hungarian notation for movie titles?) in the theatre. Wow what a film. Forrest Whitaker as a selfmade samurai, a bunch of mafiosa that are even more pathetic than some of the guys on the Sopranos, a French Haitian guy who sells ice cream, and a kid. The scenes that stick in my head is where this massive guy moves through the crowds of people as if he were utterly invisible to them. Very subtle, very well done, I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. I've always wondered how Blockbuster would file this one. Mystery? Action? Drama?
L.
Well, films I've enjoyed this past year:
MEMENTO, EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE ("Why do we even have that lever?"), CHRISTMAS STORY, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, MOULIN ROGUE, ERIN BROKOVICH (Despite my non-admiration for Roberts, she was decent here and Albert Finney rocked), THE MAGIC TRICK (a fabulous & touching short I caught at a Chicago Community Cinema night), MY GIRL FRIDAY, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, SHREK (which deserves some kind of award just for the Gingerbread Man scene), HARRY POTTER, SEX LIES & VIDEOTAPE, IN THE COMPANY OF MEN (well, maybe not enjoyed - how about appreciated), A KINGHT'S TALE, GATTACA, GHOST DOG and some others I can't remember.
Movies I want my money back from: GIRL INTERRUPTED, BATMAN AND ROBIN (I'm keeping this one in trust), PLANET OF THE APES, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (okay, I saw this at 11:30 on a Saturday night on WGN, so it's all my fault - the kind of train wreck you can't look away from. Did have Jerry Orbach, and the lead actress in the movie was much better than the material).
Yeah, there's some older stuff on my list. So what?
Regards,
Joseph
David, I don't think anyone here is stating their movie 'bests' and 'worsts' as anything more than their opinion on movies that they saw. There is no need to advise them to consider a preamble (such as the ones in my lists) which states that these are just opinions and they are based only on movies that were viewed by the writer of the note.
Lists on this board are obviously 'favorites of what I know' and no more; unless it is a list of fact such as 'here are the top ten words in the 1998 edition of Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary under the letter Q'.
-TODD
Todd~ Re: Snatch, Ah well. To each his own.
Lynn's Personal Best Films of 2001 (In no particular order):
Oh Brother Where Art Thou (And not just for the music.)
Traffic (Again, not your normal movie fare. I especially liked all of the personal appearances.)
A Knight's Tale (If you've ever jousted or fought tourney - or squired in anyway - you know they were true to the feel of the lists. Hairstyles not withstanding.)
Emperor's New Groove (Not your typical Disney fare.)
Finding Forrester (No need to explain this one.)
Crouching Yadda Yadda Yadda (Hong Action with Fantasy. Gimme.)
Memento (Original stuff. Plot holes not withstanding.)
Shrek (One long Disney slam fest.)
AI (And the game leading up to it played a large part in my liking this film. A new era of interactive entertainment.)
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (Just for all the in jokes. I confess, I laughed my ass off at this one.)
Iron Monkey (Hong Kong Action, done to perfection.)
(spot reserved for LOTR - ::fingers crossed::)
Lynn's Personal Worst Films of 2001 (Again in no particular order):
Moulin Rouge (And not just because of Kidman, this film left me flat.)
Hannibal (On the list of all time unnecessary remakes)
Castaway (Ugh.)
The Mummy Returns (Why make this film? One word: Merchandise.)
The Musketeer (Hong Kong needs to learn how fencing physics work.)
Atlantis (One long Jules Verne ripoff)
The Score (Too much acting talent, not enough writing talent.)
Planet of the Apes (Tim, I'm so disappointed...)
From Hell (Johnny, I'm so disappointed...)
My two cents worth. I saw all of these films except Emperor's New Groove in the theatre, which makes me realize, I spent a *lot* of money on crrrap. ::sigh::
L.
Chris,
Actually, I base a film on whether I'd be interested in it. While I might be more predisposed to see a Coen brothers movie than a Guy Ritchie job, I know that film is such a collaborative process that I have to base my personal feelings about a film on a whole raft of factors: who wrote it, who's acting in it, is the subject matter something I give a rat's ass about, does it look like it was made by the kindergarteners on "Recess?" Director credit does come into play, of course, but to base my movie-wathcing solely on that (not that you're doing that) is incomplete to me. It all ties into the whole "the director is responsible for everything" auteur theory that's taken hold these past few decades. The "A Film By" blarney is another symptom.
Sorry, I'm rambling. I hope you see my point, and here's a hand in friendship, so that we're not sniping at each other.
Regards,
Joseph
Joseph,
Well, obviously that's true but how else to judge a director's works than based on... his works.
It's always possible the next Roland Emmerich film is going to be a gem but if I know a new film is directed by him, I have no interest in seeing it. Independence Day Two might be a matsterpiece but I wouldn't have any plans to see it.
You don't actually pretend that movies exist in a vacuum, do you? I mean, if you like the Coen Bros. and don't like Tom Green based on what you know of their works, would you be equally as eager to see Freddy got Fingered as you would The Man Who Wasn't There?
Again with the superlatives! I feel utterly unqualified to hold forth on which might be the "Best" and "Worst" movies of the year, because I simply haven't seen all the good movies, and I assiduously avoid most of the bad ones, so the most I can list are the ones I liked the best (and would advise the rest of you to consider doing the same, instead of adopting some sort of mock authority on the subject).
"Swordfish" was indeed a loser, though the first 10 minutes or so were pretty promising. "Moulin Rouge" was a fascinating failure.
I don't understand all the annoyance over "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," because I thoroughly enjoyed both. Not very deep, sort of ultra-violent farces ... "Sexy Beast" traveled something of the same vein, but with much greater characterization.
In the same way, the Harry Potter movie was satisfying, if not deeply so. Very much like the books, for me.
"Memento" was probably one of the best of the year; "Mulholland Dr.," "The Man Who Wasn't There," "The Princess and the Warrior," "The Road Home," "Waking Life," and "Ghost World" were definite must-sees, although I can't say they were definitely the Best; "The Closet," "The Dish," "Almost Famous," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and "Under the Sand" were all worthwhile, and while clearly not the Best, helped make the year memorable.
Lynn, no, I did not see IRON MONKEY, so I have no opinion on that one. As for SNATCH, my opinion has nothing to do with not understanding the language. I understood it all. I even understood every single word that Brad Pitt spoke, and I was far from impressed with that 'clever' mumbling routine. I just loathed this movie....it was forced and just plain boring. The little lady (or beauteous wife, if she's listening to me type) liked it.....but I refuse to buy her the DVD. On this one I'm standing strong....if she wants to bring that crap into our home, she will have to use her own hard earned money. Ick. If she does, I don't plan on filing it with my other 200 DVD's....I'll put it in a special pile so the smell does not rub off on our collection.
-TODD
Chris,
But by not saying why you had no plans to see "Snatch," you implied that it was because it was by the same director as "Lock," as you condemn the movie in the next breath. A quite reasonable supposition, based on what you wrote.
Joseph
Jim: I'm sure The State bought it because the town needed to make way for a coffee house or a funky-ass clothes store. Am I right? In Harrisburg, there were two attempts to bring back that kind of fun. There's a $5 million renovation going on to an old movie house that sits empty because no one can afford to pay the light bill during the renovations. The plan was to show classics, arthouse fare, along with vintage movietone clips, cartoons, shorts, etc...an evening affair. Now its in the hands of the idle rich and the bureaucrats. What was once a project to revive a dying art became an issue of "$500 a year per person membership" and exclusive receptions. We still have a drive-in somewhere in the rurals and three restored deco theaters within 40 minutes of Harrisburg. They only play third-run movies, though.
Short Stories as Feature Films: I think it depends on how it's handled. I've heard from two schools of thought on this - one that insists that film is obligated to be an extension of the source work and, therefore loyal to the story first, and another that says the source material is just the springboard for the visual medium and the film must have its own identity.
Is the Director accountable to the Author's vision any more than the Screenwriter's? Is the Director accountable for maintaining the vision of the Screenwriter in the first place?
Are we making a film, or filming a story?
Joseph,
With all due respect, my friend, you may need a little help in the reading comprehension department.
My comments were about Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, not Snatch. The only thing I said about Snatch is that I haven't seen it and don't plan to.
Oh, it's not that I don't think that short stories should be made into movies. Films like _The Dead_, _An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge_ and even _2001: A Space Odyssey_ were all derived from good short stories. My point was that the essence of "A Sound of Thunder" really is best suited for a shorter presentation-- say, a half-hour episode of _The Twilight Zone_.
Regarding Bradbury's "Sound of Thunder": I don't agree with Mitch that all short stories shouldn't be made into feature films (THE KILLERS---the Burt Lancaster one; not the later one with Ronald Reagan), but I will say this: Peter Hyams?? Of all people? Peter Hyams? Jesus Christ, keep that man away from science fiction.
And, much as it pains me, I'm going with Todd and Frank on some of the films on their "worst" list. Specifically, SNATCH and HARRY POTTER. I liked LOCK, STOCK, etc., though I didn't think it was any great shakes and it didn't exactly send me, but SNATCH was the same ol', same ol', and though there were a couple of sequences that were great (Farina's scenes when he was always flying and Pitt getting his clock cleaned and he falls into water--now that's a fuckin' metaphor) as a whole the movie was way more complicated than it needed to be.
HARRY POTTER just stunk. And--this is going to cause some ire, I believe--I would have to blame the source material. I have no idea why these books are causing the sensation that they are and am marking this one down to mass hysteria.
By the way, Jim Davis, you won't have to put any money down to help those Nigerians distribute their money (wonder if they use Tide while money laundering). All you have to do is give them your bank account. They'll take care of the rest.
DTS: While the word "scrotum" is not an obscenity, it is also not a word you would just bring up in casual conversation, is it? OK, maybe *you* would, but for me, imagining I see the word "SCROTUM" in 3 foot high letters on a huge highway sign seems a bit obscene. I makes me laugh my ass off every time I drive by it. I enjoy obscenity of all kinds.
Whatever that means about me, feel free to form your own judgement,
Bermanator
can't believe i'm justifying this...
I'm with Brian on this one. Short stories shouldn't be made into feature-length films. No matter how good the source material is, or whether the author approves. For those who disagree, I have two words:
'Johnny Mnemonic'
Mitch
CHRIS: I, too, am vastly uncomfortable in social situations. Meeting new people? Cool. More than three at a time? Uh-oh.
But I cover REALLY well. Used to be, I was either charming as hell or a gregarious asshole. I like to think I've gotten better at being less of an asshole. No matter how well I cover on these occasions, though, I still fear them.
BRIAN: You DON'T?!? The what the hell fun are you?
Bermanator: Marianne Faithfull IS God. You want some feminist song lyrics to teach? Hunt down a copy of her CD BROKEN ENGLISH, and listen to "Why'd Ya Do It?", the best song about sexual jealousy ever written, bar none. (On second thought, it's unbelievably dirty, so maybe Joni Mitchell might be a better candidate for that class...)
Jay: Thanks for the info on the Capitol Theater. I STILL can't believe it wasn't paved over, or something--that, unfortunately, was the fate of Delaware's OTHER great movie house, the State in Newark. Wonderful theater, the State was--the only place you could see foreign and art films without trekking into Philly. It was also the local home for THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, that universal safehouse for the freaks and outcasts of the world. The city tore it down the year after I graduated high school, and I STILL haven't forgiven the bastards. My best friend scored a brick from the ruins, and we're planning to toss it through the appropriate window at the first opportunity.
I actually kind of liked LOCK, STOCK, ETC. It was derivative, true, and the plot disintegrated under close scrutiny, but it had plenty of verve. I haven't seen SNATCH, so no comment there. Ms. Ciccione could do worse, in my opinion (I think she already HAS).
Lynn: Thanks for the heads up on the worm. I just checked my hotmail account, and nothing except a "Spanish Prisoner" scheme: "Hello, I am the director of operations of a reputable commercial bank in Nigeria. A Monsieur Jacques Claude opened a safe deposit account and made a deposit of US $21 million. Monsieur Claude was killed in a shoot out with rebels, and nobody has come forward as the next of kin to claim the money. I want you to stand in as the next of kin so we can claim the money--I will do the necessary documentation here in my bank as the chief Executive. I am prepared to give you 30% of the total sum at the end of the transaction. Contact me by email for more details."
Riiiight. Do you wanna bet that I'd have to make a security deposit of some kind to transfer the funds over here? Jesus H, do people really fall for this crap? (Let me guess...)
To Todd Cassell: Hey, I liked A.I., _especially_ the last twenty minutes! So THERE.
A feature film of "The Sound of Thunder?" As much as I love Bradbury, I can't see how that one'd make for a whole feature. It's a great story, with one of the great "stings" of literature, and it would've made a fine segment on the _Twilight Zone_. And _The Simpsons_ managed to turn it inside-out about four or five times in about ten minutes. (That line "This is gonna cost me" kills me every time I see it.) But stretching it to ninety minutes to reach the same sting? I just can't see it.
Chris,
So, you're condemming a movie ("Snatch") you haven't seen? By your criteria, I should avoid "Christmas Story"because it's directed by the same man who directed "Porky's." Let's try to be a little more realistic, okay?
Regards,
Joseph
Hi all. Found this over at SCI-FI.com. Hope noone minds me just cutting and pasting it here, but its both amusing and apalling and I think you will all like it.
From SCI-FI.com
Venerable SF author Ray Bradbury told SCI FI Wire that the feature-film version of his time-travel story "A Sound of Thunder" should begin production in Mexico's Yucatan in the spring. Pierce Brosnan is still starring--but director Renny Harlin has been fired because he wanted to alter a key element, Bradbury said in an interview.
"He's been on the project for more than a year, and he's a fine director," Bradbury said. "But then, about four weeks ago, quite suddenly, [he said,] 'Why don't we take the butterfly out of Sound of Thunder?' Can you believe that? When I heard it, I whooped with laughter. I said, 'Oh my God, ... if you wanted to be accurate about being stupid, this was it.' So they fired him, and we've got a new director now. I don't remember his name. They told me, but I didn't write it down." The Hollywood Reporter said that Peter Hyams (End of Days) was in talks for the job.
In the story, a time traveler journeys back to the past to observe dinosaurs, but inadvertently steps off a designated path onto a butterfly. When the traveler returns to the present, everything has changed. Of Harlin's comment, Bradbury said, "I think that's hilarious, don't you? It's the center of the story. It's been published in 80 anthologies. It's in every school in the country. And if you took out the butterfly, you wouldn't have a film. So, in the middle of all this, the Crusader [Entertainment] producers sent me a huge bouquet of inflated butterflies, six feet tall, beautiful butterflies. And I'm having a recording made by Frank Sinatra of the song Poor Butterfly right now."
HEATHER & P.A. BERMAN: I, too, see words that aren't there when reading (makes for an interesting experience...and a thorough read, since I have to go back over paragraphs). And ever since I got rabbit punched in the left ear by a lady friend's drunk and jealous boyfriend over twenty years ago (losing about 30-40 percent hearing), I also hear words that weren't said. Which causes me to laugh out loud or do double takes quite often (I don't mind anymore, because it makes conversations so much more interesting).
By the way, Berman -- you don't REALLY consider the word scrotum an "obscenity," do you? If so, THAT says yards more about you than anything else.
-- DTS
I didn't see Snatch and have no plans to.
I thought Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was infantile and asinine. Or, as I put it to my friend, right after viewing it: "Uniquely stupid."
So I guess I'll admit it was unique.
But what a piece o'crap.
>SNATCH - I never fell for that Guy Ritchie crap. The first one > was an english mess, and this one was moreso.
I found it absolutely hilarious. Laughed out loud repeatedly.
While my enjoyment of this film obiviously indicates a bias, I think, no matter how you may *feel* about the film, you have to admit that, unlike the others you put on the "worst" list, this was, at least an interesting and atypical film.
-Jon
Todd~ Pt.2: And you liked Training Day. Which I thought was the most boring, predictable, awkward performance with odd (nauseau inducing) camera angles and a way too much "head space" that did nothing to advance the plotline. Would have ranked it in the Worst Films of the Year except that Denzel can act even if no one else in the frame can (memories of Richochet).
Interesting. Did you see Iron Monkey? Just curious to know what your take on that was.
L.
Todd~ re: Snatch, Okay - you and I saw a different movie. I absolutely laughed my ass off at this comedy of errors. I liked it so much I went out and threatened my local Blockbuster geek with bodily harm until he coughed up his stashed copy of "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels." Snatch was quick, it was funny, it made you have to think to keep track of the blending plotlines. The timing with the simultaneous car accidents was a sublime piece of filmwork. In fact, it would probably be on my list of the Best of 2001. Something I'd want to own (and that doesn't usually happen unless Mr.Gilliam makes a costume piece). Please, if you have to, put on the subtitles to understand the dialogue (something most Americans are too proud to do - but hey - if it helps you understand what's going on then who does it hurt), but give it try again.
My two cents,
L.
"Do you know what 'nemesis' means? A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent. Personified in this instance by an 'orrible cunt... me!" Alan Ford as Brick Top Polford, Snatch
Worst movies of the year that I've seen and absolutely totally my opinion and not to be confused at attempts to state them as facts:
PEARL HARBOR - The best thing about this shit was the fantastic coming attraction that played with Hans Zimmer's THE THIN RED LINE score. Everything else about this shit was shit.
SNATCH - I never fell for that Guy Ritchie crap. The first one was an english mess, and this one was moreso.
EVOLUTION - Bad bad bad bad summer movie without a joke to offer those blinding themselves with their coke straws.
MOULIN ROUGE - Self indulgent crap trying to get by with one or two good songs and a lot of color and movement.
Best movies of the year so far that I saw and I thought were best and don't care what anyone else thinks because not many agree with me much anyway:
THE PLEDGE - Nicholson is superb in this terrific flick directed by Sean Penn.
MEMENTO - Truly fun...and beyond the backward story schtick is a nice, thoughtful them on memories and how we let them rule our lives.
A.I. - I liked it I liked it even the final 20 minutes so fuck you all I liked it! Nya ha ha ha ha!!!!!
THE OTHERS - Not many movies can scare the piss out of me these days. This one got a couple of trickles.
TRAINING DAY - A Denzel Tour De Force. Yowza!
MULHOLLAND DRIVE - Lynch at his best. Luv it!
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE - The Coens never disappoint me. Never. Much more to this than simple black and white noir.
-TODD
Ok, worst films of the year, so far:
1. Swordfish-A dead fish instead of an Oscar for Mr. Travolta, for being attracted to such tripe this year.
2. Domestic Disturbance-Ditto...Can we once and for all expel Vince Vaughn into another realm of reality. The boy just cannot act. Travolta's wooden dialogue was just plain silly, and the movie is so utterly boring. Steve Bushemi bit it near the beginning, because he was smart.
3. Harry Potter-Special effects taking place of a heartfelt story. Money grubbing instead of art. Some books just should not be movies.
4. The Last Castle-flag waving swill from Robert Redford. Are we sure he is a liberal? lol.
5. American Pie2-More teenage dick jokes. Lotsa fake breasts. A real bore.
Jes, YES! Thanks for the info. Anita, how did I not know that? She looks pretty different from the last time I'd seen a picture of her, but she suits the role of The Devil opposite Marianne perfectly.
Bermanator
Heather: I know exactly what you mean about "blue teeth." In my case, though, it's usually obscenities I see instead of the real word. This often makes me laugh out loud and people think I'm crazy. An example: there's a town in PA on the way to Bingo called "Scotrun." I always see it as "Scrotum." And a local mailbox that says "Ballard" I always think is "Bastard." What this says about me, I'd rather not speculate.
David/Chris/Brian: I hear you about not making friends easily. Could it be an age thing? I used to make & have tons of friends in my twenties, male, female, gay, straight, all shapes, sizes, colors. It was fun but tiring. I haven't made a new friend in 3+ years and I don't much care to. No one can live up to the friends I've had for 10+ years.
I also really don't think this is a gender issue. I share deep thoughts with male friends as well as female. I know my several female friends who feel lonely and alienated, and men friends who make new pals all the time. I think it's an issue more of temperment, situation in life, and possibly age.
As for depth of relationships, I observe my students' friendships and I don't think the girl friends are any closer to each other than the guy friends are. The girls complain of back-stabbing and shallowness (apparently this is a big issue among girls) while the boys largely seem at ease with their close buddies. Also, lots of cross-gender friendships.
I just never like to make sweeping generalizations about how the genders work. I mean, we are talking about several billion people, you know?
Bermanator
Brian,
I think I'm a lot like you. I am painfully awkward in social situations. It's easy for me to be alone in a room full of people. I never know what to say. Small talk is beyond me.
I do not make acquaintances easily - or at all.
But I do have several very close friends. They're almost the only people I know in the world but we're very close. That's why I said I didn't identify with the article which implied that it's these close relationships men have trouble with.
For me, it's the casual or superficial relationships. I don't know how to initiate those at all. I just smile and act polite.
Every year, a group of five male friends (including me)gets together for our annual fantasy baseball draft. We've done this since college. It's a weekend everyone looks forward to. We talk about it iwth rgeat anticipation for months ahead of time. And during the weekend, we are very expressive and unafraid to show our feelings. Of course, a lot of that manifests itself in the typical male bonding ("Fuck you, you fat piece of shit, you don't even know who the fuck Alfonso Soriano is, why the fuck are you bidding $10 on him.)
Also, counter to the argument in the article, I have never had any urge to rush into the next romantic relationship after a breakup. In fact, I find the very thought repellent. I wouldn't have been in the relationship if I wasn't deeply in love with the woman. How can I just walk away from that and jump right into another relationship? I never understood people who could jump around so easily from relationship to relationship. I'm not talking casual sex - that's understandable. But people who go from dating someone seriously to the breakup to the next serious relationship in the course of a month or two. It's beyond my capacity to understand.
Judd Omen - He was in Dune and played Jamis who Paul kills in a duel. His role was cut from the film and he only appears for five seconds during the ambush scene. The rest of the footage appears in the bastardised MCA TV cut.
FAQ
Oh, something else in Chris's note prompts another comment from, well, me. Chris said that he (she? I forget your gender, Chris-- sorry) didn't identify very much with the comments about men in the article because Chris has never had much difficulty in establishing friendships.
This reminded me of a point of contention with a girlfriend of mine a long time ago. She was, frankly, one of the most amazing people one could hope to know-- intelligent, pretty, funny, involved in social causes... sort of an anarchist, non-sports version of _There's Something About Mary_. I couldn't believe my good fortune in being her Significant Other.
There was this one little fly in the ointment. (No, it wasn't the reason we broke up-- her attentions drifted elsewhere, and I'm not a clinging or controlling type, so I said I understood so she could move on and enjoy her life.) She was one of those people that others immediately liked, had lots of friends, had no anxieties about social situations, lots of confidence... and after a while, I started to realize that she _could not understand_ why I had such a hard time in social situations.
Now, at the time, I was telling myself that it was my responsibility to soldier on, and try to cultivate a bit of confidence for myself. But it _was_ tough, and it would've been nice if she'd acknowledged the effort. Instead, at times, it was as though I was a poor kid dating a rich girl, who couldn't understand why I couldn't summer in Europe or winter in Aspen.
So, bringing this all back to Chris, may I suggest that maybe you're one of those unique and blessed people with a real knack for making friends?
I liked David's piece a lot, because I'm pretty much the opposite of Chris L in the friendship respect. I have trouble making friendships. Truth be told, I get the impression that I'm just not one of those people that others greatly desire to have around. (Note to Alex Berman: Relax, I don't crap on the carpets.) But, unlike the men David mentioned in his article, I don't rush out and find a quick substitute. Fact is, I'm getting a little _too_ used to being alone a lot of the time.
This is one of those topics which, if I dwelled on it for very long, it'd drive me into a pretty dark area. (I'm used to _that_, too; I've even managed to do some decorating down there.)
That was an interesting article, David, mostly because I can't say I identify with any of it. I know a lot about loneliness having seen a whole lot of people die in the past decade. But I have never had trouble making close friends and expressing my feelings to them. I have trouble making casual acquaintances - in fact, I hardly have any except on-line. But I have several best friends with whom I can and do share anything I want. Unfortunately for me, all but one of them lives a long way from me now but we make do.
I wonder if the key was my parents. Your article mentioned that a lot of men don't consider their parents friends. I don't know if that is true or not but, in my case, my mother was my best friend in the world. I had to work to break down some barriers with my dad but he grew to be my closest friend after my mother died. Is the relationship with the parents one of the main differentiating factors in future relationship with friends? Seems plausible.
Anyway, thanks for the link. I suppose it's further confirmation for me of just how out of touch with the norm I often tend to be. :)
Joseph: No doubt he gave a good performance, but like everything else in the movie, the character was cardboard. He was the family man who just happened to be a communist invader. The mattress tag thief was a more dynamic character. :) "Red Dawn" was a dull movie with a surprising number of promising actors who had nothing to do but hide, pout and shoot guns.
Jay,
Thanks for the help! Wasn't Micky the mattress-tag-cutting fugitive in "Pee-Wee?"
As for "Red Dawn," I actually thought that Judd Omen was the least stereotyped person in the movie. He was interestingly conflicted about his duty, and I really think is a well-written character that Judd Omen did some nice work with.
Regards,
Joseph
Marianne Faithfull as God, and Anita Pallenberg as the Devil? And I thought _I_ was good at lunatic casting.
I was just reminded of a nifty bit of parody casting from Saturday Night Live. On a Weekend Update segment, they had commentary from "Mick Jagger and Keith Richards." Mike Myers played Jagger, but the gag-- the only gag, actually-- was that _Mick Jagger_ played Keith Richards. Did a decent job, too.
Virus Alert, guys. I hate to do this but I know *I* appreciate the heads up when these things hit. If you receive an email with the attachment GONE.SCR, delete it without opening it. It's a worm and it's nasty. Read more here:
http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=99272&
>The Latin American Communist Stereotype<
How I miss them! Remember when they were all we had to "worry" about? Ah, bygone days....
The Latin American Communist Stereotype was...er, I believe it was... Judd Omen billed as "The Nicaraguan Captain" Same guy who was in Pee Wee's Big Adventure as Micky and (according to IMDB) he was in David Lynch's "Dune"
Heather:
Funny you should ask about men and friendship. I wrote a piece on the subject that was published some years ago in The Oregonian. Here's the text:
http://www.david-loftus.com/Misc/menfriends.html
That's hardly all I have to say on the subject, and it certainly says very little about how or why friendship among women (or even between men and women) might differ -- for a start on that, read the work of Nancy Chodorow and Carol Gilligan -- but it'll get ya started.
Greetings. Our thanks to all who participated in the artwork contest and congratulations to the winner, Grant Fuhst. On The Road With Ellison is now available and can be ordered at www.deepshag.com.
Best To You All,
Deep Shag Records
All,
A bit of trivia help, if I may. I noticed that the FIlm of the Day over at the IMDB is "Red Dawn." Now, while this is by no means a great film, I've always been struck by the performance of the actor playing the Cuban commander of the invasion force. Sadly, the IMDB cast listing was not much help, as I can't remember the character's name. Anyone remember who played him?
Thanks,
Joseph
I guess I did watch a lot of Twilight Zone, too. That was the first show I remember realizing, hey -- there was a time before these guys were famous? Recognizing noted actors in bit parts. And Hitchcock. I do remember spending Sunday afternoons at my grandparents watching Hitchcock Presents.
And Buck Rogers, yes. And Battlestar Galactica. Gimme a break, I was nine years old. Having not seen an episode in 20+ years, I can't imagine it would be any worse than say, Special Unit 2 or PsiFactor: Chronicles of the Paranormal.
L.
Hey Bermanator
The devil was played by none other than Anita Pallenberg.
Best,
Jes
Oh had I grown up with Twilight Zone instead of crap TV...
Favorite Villains: Mark Lenard as the severed head ex-lover of Wilma Deering; the potato-headed space vampire that sucked "life" with his fingers (some of the best woman-in-heat acting ever in that episode from Erin Gray as the slave of the vampire); GARY COLEMAN as President of the Universe (or whatever the hell he was); COUNT EBLIS from Battlestar Exlaxia...most were no brainer characters from a Sid and Marty Kroft show.
Favorite Supporting Character: Wolfman Jack from Exlaxia 1980.
Runner Up: Wilfred Hyde-White as Doctor Crotchity in that last season of when Buck Rogers became "Star Trek" and Wilma stopped wearing spandex catsuits.
But then, I look back fondly on Superfriends, so what the hell do I know?
All I can say is "Beedeebdeedeebeedee, Fuck you, Buck."
Hey, is anyone on here watching the new episodes of Absolutely Fabulous? If so, in last night's episode, who played the Devil? I know God was Marianne Faithfull in a recurring role. I recognized the Devil but couldn't quite place her.
Thanks,
Bermanator
*slaps Heather*
Only 'cause I love ya...
Mitch
Heather;
You're not alone in your minor hallucinations on the page. I mis-read stuff like that all the time. I could SWEAR I saw a different word from what was actually on the page. It's more common than you think. Human perception is nowhere near as reliable as we like to think.
Of course, I stopped smoking pot twenty years ago for two reasons. One was my bad lungs. The other was the realization that my mind was born altered, and I didn't need to ingest any chemicals to achieve that state.
Grain of salt. :^)
Chuck
Rob:
Glenn Larson. Yeah, I would say you're right, there. Both Cattlecar Galaxative and Duck Dodgers were pretty short of any creative...anything. I gave up on Galactica when I saw the episode that was a direct rip-off of SHANE. Not an adaptation. Not inspired by. Not even really a "sci-fi" version of. Apollo crash lands on a frontier planet, and is taken in by a family in a log cabin. Near a western town. The people ride horses. Of course, the horses had stripes painted on them and they growled, but they were horses. The western town had cowboys who wore fiberglass hats. The evil town boss owned a salloon where a synthesizer played Scott Joplin music. From THE STING. Yeesh.
The Jack Palance character, the local gunman, was a cylon with a dent in his head. Had amnesia, y'know. Apollo woudln't fight the bad guy (robot) but eventually he did, and he rode off in his viper as the kid yelled "Come back Apollo!".
I saw Richard Hatch at a convention once. He talked about how in one episode, he was tired of playing the straight-arrow Apollo. He wanted his character to be a rogue, at least once, like Starbuck. You know what the "writers" did? THEY SWAPPED THE NAMES!!! That's it! They gave Apollo's lines to Starbuck and vice versa.
What a crappy, crappy show. The second season of Duck Dodgers was even worse. It was fascinating, like watching the things that crawl under rocks. The production values were more like ROCKY JONES SPACE RANGER. The writing would make Bert I. Gordon blush. A friend of mine and I saw the now out-of-work actor who played the character Hawk. He waxed eloquent about his character and the relation to the birdman myth from Easter Island. During the question and answer session afterward, one of us -- I don't remember who -- asked him, "Excuse me, but isn't your character Tonto?" To his credit, he didn't try to kill us. We'd have whooped his ass anyway.
And, you know, I don't think Melies used split screen to show simultaneous action in a story. His films didn't tell a continuous story, rather they were done in a series of vignettes.
When filmmakers turned to episodic storytelling, Melies didn't adapt. His films became relics that stopped selling tickets. Poor Georges died broke. I think now it was Griffith that used split screen for storytelling purposes.
Chuck
Oh, and one more thing. Wondering if this has ever happened to anyone.
I was reading a book last night. I saw the words "grandmother's blue teeth." It was clear as day, on the page. (The light was good, I was not tired, I'd simply been doing a lot of .. I dunno.. I DUNNO.. I'll come back to that. *laugh*)
I looked at the page a moment later; and the phrase I saw was "grandmother's false teeth." Now, at first, when I FIRST saw the word 'false' I thought, "oh, well, you probably read it at such an angle that the letters fused and you thought you saw a different word."
Well, I tell ya, I tried to recreate that action.. and could not do it. I swear to god, I SAW the word "blue" teeth.
Hmm..
Gonna go lie down now. Yes, I'm in the library--doesn't matter--I see a nice spot over there by some plants. I won't even be in anyone's way.
Heather, failing rapidly...
I'm probably asking for trouble here, but I'm gonna ask.
Harlan, I seem to 'get' your stories. I remember reading "Repent Harlequin"..the first time and thinking "hmmm..n'okay..." Course, it may have been my frame of mind then--I'd been digging in anthologies trying to find your stuff and maybe I'd just had enough readin' that day. (I reread it recently, and it seemed to stick into me a lot more deeply, so.. nuf said.)
But I read "Lonelyache" not too long ago (Thank you, HE/Grim) and I didn't 'seem' to get the ending. And I know how important this one was to you...
Hmm..
I'll try this again later (you need not reply, as always--this is fanboy material) but I reread the ending twice that day..and maybe I was missing the symbolism..or something.
I don't know.
Maybe I don't 'completely' understand being lonely.
I'm not sure here. (Yes, I know the above statement sounds like crap.)
I was the only sister in the family. I felt like out man out with two brothers, but, well, I dunno, I guess I learned to deal with it early on. Being "me" seemed more important to me than 'fitting in' with groups at school. My dad taught me well, I guess, about self-esteem or summat and I couldn't see taking two steps back (most of the time) after taking one step forward, when it came to doing things I enjoyed and looking for friends that liked me the way I was--dunno.
So.. and maybe it's that 'guy thing' again, I just don't seem to understand it when guys talk about being lonely or longing for "something".. when they've GOT a pack of guy friends. Like.. having a woman friend.. is, somehow.. different.. more important.. more completing.
I dunno. Somebody slap me.
Correction on Jay's page:
www.zebrapix.com/rant/ not 'rants.'
Excuse me, if this is a duplicate. I didn't SEEM to see it anywhere.
ALL: I know lots of folks here enjoy the fiction of Dan Simmons. In addition to a new novel out in February (A WINTER HAUNTING, which is part of a loose grouping of novels featuring "Elm Haven" characters -- SUMMER OF NIGHT, CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, FIRES OF EDEN, DARWIN'S BLADE, and something of a sequel to SUMMER...), Simmons will be publishing a collection of novellas entitled WORLDS ENOUGH AND TIME (Subterranean Press -- $40 trade) in late March and a second book featuring Joe Kurtz (the anti-hero of his crime fiction novel HARDCASE) is due out by Summer of 2002. The novellas included in WORLD ENOUGH... will be: "Looking For Kelly Dahl"; "Orphans of the Helix"; "The Ninth of Av"; "On K2 With Kanakaredes"; and "The End of Gravity" (the third and fifth novellas are first publications).
By the way, if you subscribe to "Pages" magazine right now (www.ireadpages.com) you can start getting your issues just in time for the March/April issue (out in mid February) which will feature an article about Harlan Ellison's battle against AOL,Rem- arQ, and a handful of unnamed internet pirates.
-- DTS
Joe: I've decided to play Tori Amos' "Mother" and tie it in with the myth of the rape of Persephone. The song is rife with allusion to the myth and would reinforce my earlier lesson on Jungian archetypes.
I agree with Maltin/your feelings about the Carrey version of the Grinch. I just got the Karloff version today. Did anyone ever see the one narrated by Walter Matthau? I've seen it on eBay but never viewed it.
Jim: So what you're telling Frank is that what he saw was just a fart?
Bermanator
flatulence jokes never go out of style
Flashbulb Ghosts and Spectres:
Art Bell is a hilarious source of fever dreams and hallucinations. "These pictures PROVE the Loch Ness Monster was circumsized by the Archbishop of Nod in 1325 as my next guest states in his new book...'Nessie the Great: True Ruler of Brittania'
Jim:
Yes, indeed, the Capital Theater is undergoing a sort of revival as a historic landmark. According to a friend of mine who still lives there, its back to its stage-show roots and regarded as "high brow" for the local elite. Of course, when you compare it to the rest of Delaware, that's not saying much.
I learned that twice a year, the locals board up and leave to make way for the great unwashed hordes that crowd the highways to the speedway. I made the mistake of driving up home to Pennsylvania to visit my son on one of those days...literally took me three hours to leave town. Oh the stories - four police departments and not one open container arrest, guys driving up 13 open cans toasting the cops sitting on the median...
But anyway, the place is apparently also used to host film festivals, so I suspect you might enjoy a trip there.
Here's a more detailed account: http://www.artsdel.org/econimp/capitol.htm
Tangential thought on Ginger: Americans are overweight and indolent enough; is an invention that eliminates walking and bicycling really that beneficial to mankind in the long run?
Frank: Escaping gases from imperfectly sealed sewer lines create "strange vapors" like that all the time. You may have seen a ghost of a triple burrito deluxe from Toxic Hell, instead of a person...
Lynn, ewww, sounds scary. Closes eyes. Smile.
Joseph, ah, Radon eh? Good possibility. But ya never know. Boo.
Joseph~ You forgot any number of lens flares that can occur. Don't video lenses come with a protective film sometimes? I've actually considered experimenting with double flares off lens & mirrors to create such illusions.
Frank~ Recommend you don't do the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. The ghosts get IN the car with you. It's really cool!
:;wink::
L.
Thanks, David.
Frank,
Possible explanations for "unexplained mist?" Hmmmm....let's see:
Mist
Radon contaminated with water vapor to make it visible
Dry ice fumes from the sewer workers below unpacking their lunch
Fog
John Edwards' ego
Morlock fireplaces
Smoldering bags, garbage, etc getting ready to combust.
Saw a show about ghosts on the Travel Channel, and must say I was unglued by a video of a strange vapor that appeared in the basement of a supposed haunted house. That vapor could not have been anything but unexplainable. Don't think it was a ghost, but it sure was trippy.
Patty~ You're not nuts. What you saw was a rocket that had delivered its payload (satellites) re-entering the atmosphere. Read more below: (Courtesy www.spaceweather.com)
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast03dec_1.htm
Weekend Fireballs: Pieces of a Proton rocket disintegrated in Earth's atmosphere this weekend, startling sky watchers in western Europe and at least seven US states.
L.
It was a 1967. (See _An Edge In My Voice_, installment 16 or 29.)
Anybody happen to remember the model year of Harlan's Camaro?
Pointless meandering of the day, as I point out a succint and 100% correct review, Leanord Maltin on "How The Grinch Stole Christmas":
"Cheerless bastardization of the beloved childrens book by Dr. Seuss about a dastardly creature's attempt to rob Whoville of its yuletide holiday. Carrey is good, but the film is loud and cluttered, losing all the charm of the sweet, simple source material. Only good songs are two holdovers from the vastly superior 1966 animated TV special. Full title is DR. SEUSS HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. Bah, humbug!"
Bah, Humbug indeed!
>What exactly is considered as Sky Trash???<
Rocket parts, old satellites, rusty space stations, and any Big Mac wrappers tossed out of shuttle windows.
Oh, and maybe any hillbillies who have settled up there in orbiting trailer parks....
I just posted a message and I accidently put in the wrong date instead of December 02, 2001 @ 10:15PM it should have been on December 01, 2001 at 10:15PM. Sorry about the mistake. All of the other information that I stated is correct. Thank you again, Patty Nance
Ed -
My point about Leigh is that he used to inform people or create the impression that he was a 'working class' lad which goes against the facts. There are plenty of middle and upper class twits I've met who try to hide their true background in a bid to appear more 'artistically legitimate'.
In much the same way Guy Ritchie condescendely informed people how he admired and grew up with gangland figures and that he was a great a true working class 'cockney' folk who climbed out of the gutter. Maybe film makers should finally shut up and just release the damm thing.
FAQ
- Glad to come from a middle class background
And I still hate the 5th Element
On Saturday December 02, 2001 at 10:15PM in Parsons,KS 67357 my husband and I observed a strange siting in the Western sky. It looked like a series of lights double row, in a horizontal line traveling from southwest to northeast. It appeared to be around a city block long and seemed to be "burning out" so to speak, what can you tell me about these sitings? Our local news called it "sky trash" and that it had been sited from Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas. What exactly is considered as Sky Trash??? This sounded like an easy way out for the news media to us. Do you have any pictures that may be observed on the internet?? Please answer with any all information you may have. Thank you, Patty Nance
Chuck,
Just one more...'afterthought':
I thought I'd quibble with you over your grouping Glen Larson with Irwin Allen and Gerry Anderson. By comparison, Allen is a David Lean; Anderson, a British David O. Selznick.
There is nothing - not one goddamn thing - redeeming about Larson; not a single artery of creative passion exists in his being. No zeal can be found in any part of the embezzled heaps of shit he squeezed out of the tube. He can't write so he makes a living by lifting everything. 'Galactica' is the laziest cash-in on someone else's success I've ever seen. I'll put up with anything as an option to that show, in sf; I'll watch the mockery they made of 'The Starlost', which was utter defacement brought to a beautiful premise developed by Harlan and Edward Bryant (Phoenix Without Ashes), before I would ever watch Galactica. To group Larsen with 'schlockmeisters' is too high a praise.
At least Allen and Anderson were driven by personal childhood passions, even if they didn't care much about the substance. The former had an obsession with old ships at sea and an archetypal Verne-sense of adventure. Admittedly, when any of his shows rose above 'mediocre' it was because a writer he'd hired had a little more vision than he did; you have to climb through a jungle of crap to find them, but he did have some occasional high points. There's maybe one or two things he did that remain very, very close to my heart from my own childhood days. Apart from that he could be a very inventive technician; there was a genuine sense of fun coming out of his projects - whether they stunk or not to a viewer. As for Anderson, he came up with one of the most original concepts in the history of children's shows with that Supermarionation stuff. A very creative individual with an obvious love for what he does...WHETHER it stinks or not to a viewer.
Larsen is an unimaginative, impartial embezzler, strictly interested in the easiest possible dollar. Nothing in his output ever proved otherwise. He doesn't belong in the company of the other two at all.
Oh, and Brian...
Being crushed by a giantess's feet?!? Jesus Christ, don't people just have INTERCOURSE anymore?
Jay: The Capitol Theater is STILL around?!? Oh, that's wonderful news--I thought it had surely been torn down! I'm going to have to revisit it when I do my Journey Through The Past, Darkly Tour of the Northeast next year. I moved out of Delaware in the mid 80's, after graduating from Newark High School, and I currently reside in Tampa Bay, Florida. NASCAR and loads of Amish pretty much sums up my memories of Delaware--at least the southern portion of it, anyway (dubbed "slower Delaware" by the locals, as I recall). Still, the place had charm, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it a LITTLE. Do you still live in the First State?
Harlan- Please add my belated condolences to the ever-growing list. My grandmother (to whom I was very close) passed away this past March. I may not know exactly what you're going through, but from personal experience, I know that it's a painful process. You have my deepest sympathies for your loss.
Brian / Jim / Eric- "Ginger" (the Segway H.T.) is a pretty fascinating piece of machinery. Apparently, the US government, the Postal Service and the City of Atlanta are all interested in purchasing "It" in bulk. This is gonna be one of those things that may take off despite the media hype. If you want more info check out:
http://www.segway.com/
-Andrew
Todd,
I'll agree with you whole-heartedly. I'm going to miss Mark Waid (you did know this was his last issue, right?), if only because he wrote such good stuff for Plastic Man. The last 18 months have been a bonanza of quality Eel O'Brien, with nothing better than his monologue to Wayne about the sound of a pistol whip during the whole split-in-two story line..
On a similiar note, anyone want to place rank speculation bets on The Dark Knight Returns 2, which starts this week? I'm fascinated to see what Miller comes up with, now that he has over a decade more experience. Don't know how artisticaly successful it will be, but it's worth the try (and it's not like this is the most recent in a 15-year series). Oh, and if you haven't read Miller's "300," about the Battle of Thermypolae, you're really missing out. It's fantastic!
Regards,
Joseph, who sounds like a real fanboy in this post.
I caught the Justice Files last night, and after being filled in on all the pertinent details from the boyfriend (who was apparently lot more into comics than he'd ever like to admit), I have to say it was okay. I laughed especially hard at the comment, "That's how we solved our lawyer problem."
Catching up, from the last few days,
Eric~ Thanks for sharing your dream about Harrison's passing.
Todd~ Thanks for sharing the reminescences of your childhood movie memories. I remember running home from school to catch the 3'o'clock Million Dollar Movie on tv. My mom never let me watch the really scary stuff, so I didn't see my first genuine horror film until I was in high school (Nightmare on Elm Street). So mine was a steady diet of Greek myths done in stop motion animation and Vincent Price tales. The real horror was in the pages of Poe's stories. Yes, I was the geek child with her nose in the musty old books. Try to act surprised. I think the one movie memory of utter terror was from the original Blob, where the kitten was sitting on the steps caked in goo and just fell over. I still get nightmares about that one.
I guess I was mostly into the Japanese monster movies. And of course, anything with Vincent Price in it. Sweet memories.
L.
This Christmas posting comes to you from the local Jew:
For those comic book readers; remember the fun of your favorite comic book offering a special Christmas issue? Those 70's Batman books where somehow the spirit of Christmas and Santa is imbued in the dark knight's battle with dockside thugs? Sure, even this Jew enjoyed the better heroes-battle-at-Christmas issues (hey, I loved The Grinch Who Stole Christmas as well, though Charlie Brown's Christmas was always uncomfortably religious for me)!
I haven't seen a good holiday themed comic book in some time, until this week. If you like this stuff, if you enjoy sharing a comic book with your child, or your sibling's child, or some child walking past your window, then you should love this month's JLA. It's quite well done. Mark Waid wrote an extremely cute tale of Plastic Man ad-libbing for his nephew a tale of Santa joining the JLA and fighting Neron (DC heroes' Satan-like villain). There a cute touches throughout....I love those tossaway lines such as Neron referring to "Plastic Man's JLA".
It's quite fun, quite clever, and it even supplies the usual coup de grace (spelling?) of our protagonists looking out the window ....and what do they see? But with a twist.
Just a little Christmas spirit comic book stuff from your friendly Grinch.
-TODD
Jim: The Capitol Theater in Dover? Wow. There's a highlight of my 12 months in that backwater. That's on State Street, right? When I lived down there last year, there was a campaign to restore it. Right now its a playhouse and I think the HQ for the Dover reperatory company, getting back to its roots. Are you still in the area? I remember driving down Route 13 along this long strip of commercial NASCAR and tourist nonsense, turning right on Loockerman and >BAM< I'm in a small town. Beautiful little town that seems under seige by NASCAR and the Amish. :)
Jay
Another problem with Ginger (or the Smegway, or whatever it's called) besides the lack of means to carry your briefcase, coffee, music, etc is that unless it's at least 55 degrees outside, you're not gonna want to be on it for very long...
I can just see people lurching around these things in shopping malls, their parcels in backpacks (or some third-party basket accessory that throws off the gyros). Someone will no doubt take a header over a second-floor railing, and that will be that.
Eric
Jim,
You are, of course, correct. I could swear that something off that album is in 11/4, though not "Blue Rondo a la Turk" - that's in 9/8. Damn. Not having the album in front of me, I can't say for certain. Anyone?
(And yes, I know there is "Eleven Four" on Adventures of Time.)
Oh, and just to note that the brilliant Paul Desmond was the composer of "Take Five." Didn't mean to imply otherwise.
Regards,
Joseph
Joseph,
Yeah - well - I'm a grouchy son-of-a-bitch late at night. Too many burs up my ass at that hour...the Hour of the Bur.
Chuck, et al
An afterthought re: Melies and split screen.
Except for brief clips I never saw Griffith's films or any of Melies' fx pioneering bits at the turn-of-the-century; so, I want to be sure we're all talking about the same thing: there is the fx shot using the seamless split screen - which enables you, for instance, to see your double in the same setting - the sort of trick consistent with what Melies would've come up with; then there is the multiple split screen which I and others were discussing, wherein the screen is broken up 3 or 4 ways to show separate action. You may well have understood the latter is what I was talking about, but I wanted to make sure. Griffith did it in 1909 or 1910. Gance made it famous with 'Napolean'.
Brian,
Since you made a brief reference to the electric car - an environment-conscious issue - I thought I'd branch off from that to comment on alternative fuel sources - in the wake of the oil and fossil fuel debates. Back in the early 70's when they were collecting and studying material on the moon they discovered helium-3. H-3 was the MOST important discovery they made - most Americans either not understanding this or forgetting it - because it is the key alternative to fossil fuels as it is tested and developed in the course of this century. A light isotope of helium, it exists in massive quantities on the lunar surface.
I hope they hurry the hell up while our biosphere can still be salvaged. When that day does come it'll be interesting to see how the outcries and protests from the oil industry trigger off.
Joseph: "Take Five" is in 5/4, not 11/4 (hence the name). This correction has been brought to you by Frustrated Musicians' Local #593. Look for our colorful flier in the mail.
Yes, Michael Jackson's current persona, with its mix of infantilism, kitsch, and body mutilation, is HORRIBLY unsettling, to say the least. But the man DID make some great pop music once, and that shouldn't be forgotten--his album OFF THE WALL is a classic, and I always thought "Smooth Criminal," with its terse melodic structure and macabre lyrics, was one of the best singles of the 80's. (sigh) Whatever happened to that promising young BLACK man?
Todd: Nice post on the rediscovery of childhood treasures. You know, for a brainwashed right-wing wacko, you're all right! (Hey, I only know what I read here.) I'm reminded of a similar film experience from my childhood. My mother managed a movie theater called the Capitol in Dover, Delaware in the early 70's--it was an old vaudeville playhouse built in 1904, with a seating capacity of six hundred, or so. By the time she started her job there, it only showed movies, though you could still find vintage costumes, stage props, and other remnants of its theatrical past in the back stage. My mom would take me to work with her, and I'd play with my toys, or read, all day there. And I'd watch movies. LOTS of 'em. Not just the G-rated stuff, either--I dare say that I saw almost every movie Hollywood produced in the 70's at LEAST a dozen times. (I still have strange cinematic "flashbacks" when I watch certain films for what I think is the first time, and I realize that I first saw it at the Capitol, all those years ago.) And if you think that sounds like a wonderful way to grow up, you're absolutely right. The Capitol was a REAL movie theater, not like these dreary little pre-fab multiplexes you find everywhere these days, with their lilliputian screening rooms and hideous plastic-mold decor. That place ruined me for life for these ugly Matchbox Palaces, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. A true Citadel of Dreams, it was.
Anyway, there was a film in '71, or so, that was the first horror movie that I ever recall seeing, and damned if it didn't haunt me like a revenant for many years after. It was about a woman who, while recovering from a nervous breakdown, moves to a farmhouse in the country with her husband and a male friend. They find a mysterious young woman who is squatting there, and they invite her to stay with them. Many mysterious happenings ensue, and I'd always remember the ending scenes of a dead man's splayed body tied to a moving tractor, and the protagonist collapsing with fear in a rowboat in a lake, as the townspeople and the young woman stand silently on the shore. For almost twenty years I searched for this movie EVERYWHERE, with no luck--I couldn't recall its name at all, and no one else seemed to remember it. I had given up on ever seeing it again, when I flicked on the telly one day, and lo, there it was: LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH. It was WONDERFUL. You know, there's always the danger, in rediscovering something beloved from childhood, that it will look dated or banal to adult eyes. That was not the case, here--if anything, it was even better than I remembered. True, it was low-budget, and the male leads were wooden, but the film had a genuine eeriness worthy of Henry and M.R. James. Hell, to my eyes, it's one of the best horror movies of the last thirty years, and it did more to push me into the arms of the fantastic than anything else I can think of.
(A couple of years ago, I nailed a factory shrink-wrapped video of it on eBay for fifteen bucks, and now it's a Halloween tradition at the Davis manse. Hey, Harlan--the Internet IS good for something, after all...)
Brian: Ginger looks like a niche item--it will certainly replace many of those trendy razor scooters, but cars and bicycles? I really doubt it. Americans love speed and power, and Ginger is a little too twee for their tastes. (And years later, when Ginger has completely transformed the urban landscape, let's remember this post, and have a good laugh at my expense, ok?)
I TOLD you Batman was a psychopath: www.fortunecity.com/petparade/persian/158/
(And did I ever mention that Orson Welles was the Black Dahlia killer?)
Lorin~ If you're up to hunting for it, check here: http://judaism.about.com/cs/yiddish
L.
(Wondering if there is such a thing as too much sex.)
Just received this weeks edition of THE WEEK and there smack-dab on the cover, is a half-dollar size yellow dot with a quote from our favorite author. "THE WEEK is a mini-marvel of succinct journalism.", Harlan Ellison, writer.
Re: the last post - that should, of course, be "Yiddish WORD." I was just cutting/pasting my friend's message.
Also, to HARLAN AND SUSAN: Just wanted to add my words of sympathy to those posted here. Those cluster losses can be so tough to take, like the universe is just piling it on a little TOO thick. Like everyone else here, I'm sending warm thoughts your way.
Best,
Lorin O.
Received this question from a friend in my morning email. My Yiddish is extremely limited, but I thought perhaps one of the erudite peeps on this board might know.
"Do you know the Yiddish work for too much sex? Or fatigue from sex? It starts with a 'k'. Someone told me what it was the other day... maybe it was spanish, but I don't think. Not many words start with a 'k' in Spanish."
Anyone?
Thanks,
Lorin
I guess most of us have seen the news about the Ginger, that motorized-gyroscopic scooter thing that got a lot of mysterious press a few months back. I'm enough of a tech-fetishist to be interested, so here are my amazingly wonderful and insight-loaded opinions on the matter.
As a piece of engineering, the thing looks great. It seems very stable, users report that it takes only a few minutes to get the hang of it, and they seem to have built a lot of safety into the thing. So, until several thousand are in use, and the unforeseen problems start to become apparent, I can't fault it on that count.
I can see why it'd be really cool to use-- especially in places like warehouses or airports, where fast mobility across a large, controlled-traffic environment would be especially desirable. I can see it becoming widely used in suburban areas, and even on nature "walks." But in an actual city, with cars and buses zooming about... well, it's scary enough riding an ordinary _bicycle_. Unless they start limiting traffic in a huge way, I can't see this thing becoming a major force in urban transportation.
Now, I'm a urbanite, so I'd probably be a prime user of such a device. But what would be my advantage? Most of the places in town are accessible by bus, or just by plain, healthy walking. The only times I need an actual vehicle are when I have to go outside of the city, or when I do a lot of shopping, and I'll need to bring a lot of stuff back. Neither one of these are satisfied by this Ginger device. If I have to travel out of the city, well, I'm not going to be travelling the Schuykill Expressway or I-95 at 12 miles an hour on a small platform, no matter how stable. And if I buy a bandsaw or some paint thinner at the Home Depot, it'd be a real trick to hang onto those while steering a Ginger, won't it?
So this is the sort of device that's best used for short shopping trips, or getting about when you're in a city. How easily can it be locked up? It's supposed to have some sophisticated encryption-security built into it. Fine. And if people only stole things that they could use, that'd be just _ducky_. (And how long will it be before someone comes up with a way to bypass that security technology? I'd say about half an hour.)
I'm thinking of how I'd use this thing if I were to ride it to the local Barnes and Noble's. I wouldn't want to leave it outside, but I certainly couldn't ride it inside, either. I can't carry it, especially if I'm also carrying two or three books and a satchel. So what could this thing be used for?
Well, if you could disengage the wheels from their motors, and wheel it around like a small cart, then you could take it into the bookstore with you. That'd be a nice feature-- especially if you could pile books and your carrying bag on the platform. In fact, you wouldn't even need all that gyroscopic stabilization stuff-- you could have a simple frame and two wheels, sort of like those carts golfers use to trundle their bags across the fairways.
The Ginger looks like a really neat toy, and I suppose it'll sell well among _Wired_ subscribers. But I'd much rather have something like a small electric _car_, something with a seat and a roof and some storage space, that'll get me outside the city and back with a minimum of fuss and bother. The gyroscopic stuff is impressive as hell, but for a car, you can ditch that in favor of an older invention-- a third or fourth _wheel_.
Alex,
Thanks for the info. Still rubbing the back of my head (that smarted!).
Bill
Rob,
Oh, I didn't mean to quibble about Soderbergh having creative input, or being able to direct (hell, he managed to get a marginaly decent performance out of Julia Roberts). Those we are in complete agreement about.
Joseph
Chuck,
Ah. Excuse me, I mean 'Melies'. It's late. I's very tir'd.
Joseph,
Well, that COULD be true; on the other hand maybe he was a producer of the film because he liked the material so much. Neither of us know for sure if he had any creative input on Pleasantville. That was never my point, though. It's the kind of projects he'd associate himself with, I'm suggesting, that is part of his rep. So, for the last time: I was saying it was his creative input as director of The Limey that opened my hopes for 'Solaris'. I dunno WHY you're quibbling about this.
Chuck,
Yes, with the exception of a handful of UFO episodes Anderson shows certainly had scripts that sucked lemons.
Doppelganger, or as I know it, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, works very well as far as I'm concerned because of the Caligari twist at the end. We learn the whole movie was told in flashback, from a mind that is not whole. Once that is the case anything goes. If not for that ending none of the illogic would hold. What WAS compelling was that character - obsessed with his space program, fighting to the bitter end to raise the money from the European community and finally the U.S.; it was his dream, like a kid and his toy train or Orson Welles making Citizen Kane. He and Barry Gray's music were the reason I dug that film.
BTW, I did catch that correction about Milies.
Just got in after a couple of days. My condolences for Harlan and Susan, and the families of Don & Judi. It sounds like they were wonderful people to have in your life. I'm trying to write the appropriate words, but I just keep erasing them and starting over. I suppose sometimes speechlessness can say more than a long string of half-assed words. I did raise a glass to them, and your ailing friend. My best wished for whoever that is.
UFO: I try to keep an open mind when it comes to the work of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, but like Irwin Allen and Glenn Larson, most of their shows featured scripts that stunk like crap, but visually, they sure had some WONDERFUL toys. Actually, I'd put the Andersons a cut or two above Allen and Larson, as I did like some of their stuff. DOPPLEGANGER has holes in it's logic that you could drive a Saturn V through, but it's still an honest attempt at a truly speculative story. That's something Allen or Larson never seemed to try.
Rob: Many visual techniques such as closeups and intercutting were originated by Griffith as far as I know. However, for techniques such as split screen, the originator was George Melies. It was fitting that a professional magician was the one that originated many of the VFX techniques that are still in use today. By the way, there is an episode of the HBO miniseries FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE, which interposes the story of Apollo 17 with the story of the making of Melies' early masterpiece. A very original approach, in a series that was brimming with original ways to tell the story of each mission.
Chuck
Bill,
*-smack!-* Okay, that's out of the way...
The Week has a website at http://www.theweekmagazine.com but you can get a cheaper subscription to it at an independent magazine sub site. Try http://nbaf.com/subscriptions/n/tw.html We're talking major difference in bucks here. $74 for a year at the magazine's own site, and $38 for the same year from the independent site. I'd recommend it, but Harlan already has, so who needs input from me, eh?
--Alex
Alex--
You get THE WEEK, too? Is there a website for it, by any chance. Harlan mentioned it at his MIT lecture and when I came home, I tried to find it but can't. Any help thrown my way would be greatly appreciated.
(I hardly post but when I do it seems like I'm always asking for something. I must be selfish. Somebody smack me).
Thanks in advance.
Bill
Frank, that book of horror stories has already been written. It's called DEATHBIRD STORIES. There's an atmosphere of unease in that volume that has rarely been equaled.
Rob,
Er, not to disagree with you, but Producer doesn't mean Soderbergh had anything creative to do with the movie. Just that he helped get the bills paid (a necessary task, but c'mon, there's 12 producers on Pleasantville).
Joseph
Okay, I confess it. Though I noticed long ago that Vic doesn't eat the meat, I never appreciated the importance of it. Now I need to reread the story. Harumph.
And Harlan, do you get THE WEEK earlier than culturally blighted midwesterners? I haven't seen the issue with your comment on it yet. Faz baz.
On musicans dying, hey, I'm sorry that Harrison bought it, too. I look forward to the release of his final album. There are hints reaching the media now. But as to the wrong musicians dying, Frank, it's not the continuation of horrors like Michael Jackson that bothers me--it's the short time we have so many young musicians with incredible potential. Ah, what I'd give for ten more years of work from Pete Ham, Kevin Gilbert, Bix Biederbeck, Eric Dolphy--or Mozart, comes to that. At least we enjoyed Harrison's company well into his fifties. For a rock musician, that makes him an old fart (like the rest of us).
--Alex
Joseph,
Incidentally, I based my new-found hopes for SOLARIS on the directing style Soderbergh brought to THE LIMEY not what Ross did on PLEASANTVILLE (as much as I tout the latter). The SUBSTANCE is consistant with the kind of material Soderbergh can be involved with, either as director OR producer.
Joe,
Yeah, Soderbergh was one of 3 producers on PLEASANTVILLE.
Rob,
Soderbergh, as far as I can tell, was not involed with "Pleasentville." That movie was written and directed by Gary Ross, who also wrote "Dave" and "Big." Not the subtlest of writers, but there's a clarity of feeling that I enjoy about his work.
"Pleasantvile" does deserve credit for one thing especially - note that in the movie, before things change, there is one crucial note: the people in the town have television, but all the books are blank. The biggest turn for the town (and my favorite scene in the movie) is when the books start to fill in as Mary Sue & Bud tells the story of Huckleberry Finn. Great scene, wonderfully underscored by "Take Five," from the Dave Brubeck Qaurtet (a muslcal joke, as that was a groundbreaking song for it's use of time signature (11/4, I think)). Talk about a plug for the power of literature! The town has safe, comfortable and mind-sapping television, but they don't have literature until Bud and Mary Sue arrive!
Hmmm....maybe Gary Ross could pull off "Solaris." But Soderbergh would make me believe it might actually work.
Joseph
Dear Bud...
Sorry, we never met. Heard you kept a mutual friend happy for a long, long time. (This is good--I thank you.)
Why am I calling you 'Bud'? I have NO idea. Woke up this morning, composing this note. Thought you might like the prose/poems. Wrote them last night. Wasn't THINKING of you (and no, I'm not a ghoul or opportunist--I write; it's what I do). Hope you like them.
I don't drink. So instead of raising a glass (it seems), I raised a poem.
Hmm? Oh, okay.
Yer welcome.
This, Bud,'s for you:
____
At the risk of wanting to be loved, I offer this:
1) owed to a mousepad
2) I opened my eyes
3) A winter yellow tulip
____
owed to a mousepad
Behind my eyes, I'm feeling free.
Behind my eyes, I'm really me.
I'm looking now, outside your blue; [eyes]
are you true?
Do I believe in you?
I see your mouth, it's small and scared
I see your lips, you're unaware
I think I'd die if you
caught my stare.
Are you true?
Believe I in you?
Your brow is deep,
Your cheeks, they dimple
I call your name,
You reply: "It's simple."
You 'stand my 'tude. Your answer true:
"I believe in you.
Now, shall we kimple?"
____
I opened my eyes
I opened my eyes and caught the last
wing flit of the pigeon, a soft dove grey
bird with a backsplash of white, as he
loped across from the lumo-light fixture
near the slow slurring fan in the ceiling,
to the atrium's library roof. He twirl-tailed back
to the edge of the black metal and glass wall,
in that mechanical, stuttering birdwalk way of
his. Stopped; peered out and put a bead on me.
I stared back, a mind gone mute. I swore I
saw a grin creep the corners of his mouth
as he returned my gaze--his eyes bright and
blue. Then his stare went blank and he
looked out at the quad. He'd deny every
emotion I'd made--I just KNEW it.
_____
A winter yellow tulip
Enwombed and entombed in a bright Toronto
street winter window
w/ flocksam and jectsom covering
its tawny green knees,
that groped up and
hugged the view at
the corner of a street; no, two.
I recall when the time
I stared at its summer
beauty
It was my only duty.
Frank:
Re: Michael Jackson Moonwalking onto a landmine. Thank you for the image. It gives me a warm fuzzy. However, for the resulting six months following his death we would be blanketed with every single one of his songs played non-stop, every video, every crotch grab, every "hooooooooooooooo" and (shudder) Tribute shows featuring family members better left mute. Healdines, magazines, billboards, tribute concerts, memorial bathrobes, stuffed monkeys, and so much more.
For this reason alone I wish MJ a long, fruitful life or perhaps one in a prison or asylum cell.
Joseph,
I think we have a comparably calibrated skeeve-o-meter on this one. ; )
Portman was, indeed, brilliant.
Re: Predator
I was also particularly taken by Elpidia Carrillo this viewing. I lamented out loud that I couldn't think of anything else she's been in. (A trip to the imdb just now indicates she has been working just not where I've seen her.)
-Jon
To David, re "missing" lyrics. The George Harrison song "It's All Too Much" had an extra verse which is in the film _Yellow Submarine_. Strangely, this longer version has not turned up on the original soundtrack, the remastered soundtrack, or the _Anthology_ collections. Also, there are a lot of versions of McCartney's "Get Back" that have sneaked out on bootlegs-- one was a parody of British xenophobe Ian Paisley ranting about Pakistanis "taking people's jobs."
Aside from that, I think there are variant versions of a couple of Who "Lifehouse" songs that have turned up on _Who's Next_, Townshend's solo album _Who Came First_, and probably a few other releases, but I can't say for certain.
To Frank Church, re Thomas Friedman. I went back to some references I had on the Middle East-- specifically, two of Edward Said's books, and Chomsky's _Fateful Triangle_-- in case this ws going to turn into an argument. Chomsky doesn't mention Friedman very much in his book, but he does cite some of the Times's reporting on the Sabra and Shatila massacres-- where, apparently, Friedman did a decent job. Said faults Friedman for the sort of myopic Orientalism which runs through a lot of Middle East punditry. There's a very good critique of Friedman's book _The Lexus and the Olive Tree_ in Thomas Frank's book _One Market Under God_, and his comments on Friedman's gee-whiz reporting of global capitalism echo Said's comments fairly closely.
To Ed Champion, re artists who came from middle-class background who deal with people of the lower economic strata; The one example I'd hold above all wouldn't be Mencken or Kubrick or Mike Leigh, but Eric Blair-- George Orwell to the rest of us.
Reading, "A Boy And His Dog" is definetly preferable to the movie. Even though I know those classic last lines, I always seem to have a tear in my eye when I read them. I get a gait in my heart that starts to rev at maximum speed. If awards could be given out for classic last lines that one would be a shoe in. Killing the girl was an act of love for Vic, as well as survival. He loved the dog, and we seem to have symnpathy, even though killing the girl was barbaric. But the nessesity for the barbarism makes a lot of sense. Some knee jerk feminists dissagreed, but that is not important. The art always wins over hand wringing.
I like how Ellison never falls for the knee jerk approach in his fiction. "Croatoan" is a good fact of interest: The Story gives the impression of being anti-abortion but it could be interpreted in other ways. The main point being male responsibility in the making of unwanted babies. But we already know this. Every teen father should read this story at gunpoint.
Even though it is more entertainment than great artiface, "Flop Sweat" is one great chiller. I love the way that story was written. It would be cool to have Harlan write a book of all horror stories. He is quite good at the fear factory shit.
Harlan,
Thank you for the warm welcome, the insights about "A Boy and His Dog and for the 'more credit than I deserved'.
If Kari had asked me whether Vic had shared the meat I would *hope* I would have checked before answering but I wouldn't have known off the top of my head.
Your note prompted me to re-read the HE/Richard Corben comic (graphic novel may be the better term) "Vic and Blood:The Chronicles of a Boy and his Dog" and both the fact and the meaning were crystal clear. I'll also re-read the original story after I rescue my books from their 'semi-packed for a move next weekend' condition.
Thanks again,
-Jon
Extra-unused Lyrics:
The following is from when Cole Porter would give private performances of "You're the Top".
"You're the top!
You're Miss Pinkham's tonic.
You're the top!
You're a high colonic.
You're the burning heat
of a bridal suite in use,
You're the breasts of Venus,
You're King Kong's penis,
You're self-abuse. . . .
You're an arch
In the Rome collection.
You're the starch
In a groom's erection.
I'm a eunuch who
has just been through an op,
But if , Baby, I'm the "Bottom"
You're the "Top!"
Quick re-post:
Just trawled through some posts. Harlan and Susan - dreadful, my thoughts are with you.
Best again,
Jes
Oh, one other thing. Don't recall whether anyone cited "If I Needed Someone" among George Harrison's best songs, but I love that one.
The acoustic demo of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has an additional verse that's not on the album version ("I look from the wings of the play you are staging..."), which reminds me of the extra verse of "The Boxer" that turned up years after the single on a live Paul Simon recording ("...after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same").
Can anyone recall other "extra, less known" lyrics to otherwise famous songs?
Hi all
Well, it's been many a moon since I posted here, awash as I am with far too much work and sundry other time-munching nonsense. Be assured, however, that I lurk constantly, and am rapacious in my reading of the educated posts that appear, here, in this cosy corner of the electric interweb.
Anyhoo, I hope you're all fine; imagine my surprise at amazon.co.uk stocking Troublemakers AND The Essential Ellison (50th) - both hopefully winging their way to me as I speak. Treats indeed.
Harlan - a while back you responded to a query concerning any appearances in the UK; the answer alluded to David Twohy and Demon With A Glass Hand. Can I ask again if there are any plans to visit?
Also, an interesting note: several of my friends, having read American Gods, have borrowed (and devoured) my increasingly-tattered copy of Deathbird Stories, due to Mr. Gaiman's Acknowledgements. All have been duly impressed, this being their first taste of Ellisonia.
Again, hope you're all well. The UK remains wet but welcoming.
Best regards
Jes
Harlan and Susan -- my deepest sympathies for the loss of your friends. The only thing I know about Don Buday was that he was mentioned in Installments 16 and 20 of "An Edge In My Voice," in one case for once finger-writing "Ellison Wash This Disgrace" on your old beloved Camaro.
Aside from someone to love and to love you, friends are the only thing that really make it all (lastingly) worthwhile.
Geez, all this talk about Mike Leigh and not one mention of my two favorite films of his, "Secrets and Lies" and "Topsy-Turvy." The first includes some of the greatest acting I've ever seen: Brenda Blethyn plays a character I wouldn't ordinarily give the time of day in real life -- a simple, lower-class, middle-aged factory worker -- with incredible beauty and sympathy. Leigh did not allow the actresses who played the two principal characters to lay eyes on each other until the first scene where they meet, and then the camera watches Blethyn, unblinking, for long minutes while she registers complex emotional reactions.
"Topsy-Turvy" is his loving tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan, with some very dark streaks running through it. Just beautiful.
Saw "Gattaca" the other night. A few missteps, but on the whole, very nice, thought-provoking work.
In our recent discussion of male starts, I think Russell Crowe got short shrift because everybody thought so little of "Gladiator," but on the strength of his work in "L.A. Confidential" and "The Insider," I still have high hopes for him. He's teamed with the luscious and promising Jennifer Connelly (who was pretty astounding in "Requiem for a Dream") in the upcoming "A Beautiful Mind," which could be pretty good.
JON from BOSTON:
Welcome to the back fence. You were right on the money explaining "A Boy and His Dog" to Kari. One thing, however, that too often gets overlooked when explaining the denouement to others:
The boy was touched by the girl. He had never experienced love, merely sex or lust, and the only love he knew was for Blood, a dog. So he is confused, betwixt and between with this girl. And she is ruthless. Far more ruthless even than Vic, who isn't awfully bright (the dog is the smart one), but who knows that to stay alive, Blood must survive and thrive. Yes, in that blasted world of extremely hard choices and no sentimentality, he opts to keep the instrument of his survival alive, at the cost of losing a person who has betrayed him, shown callous disregard for Blood, manipulated him...but none of that matters. She could've been Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, the sweetest and bravest person who ever lived. Blood must take precedence. This isn't misogynistic, nor even--at this point--misanthropic; it is simple flat-out survival. What needs to be done MUST be done.
It is the emblematic exercise in understanding what happens to societies when they go down that road. It is the dramatization of the basic concept of cultural barbarism.
But...
And this is what gets left behind in the explanations...
The boy never touches the meat.
He carries some of it wrapped-up for Blood...but...THE BOY NEVER TOUCHES A BITE OF THE MEAT!!
It's not that subtle a coda. Yes, he's been reduced to a state where human and animal have exchanged places--where Blood represents culture and knowledge and memory and civilization and loyalty and bravery and ethical behavior--and Vic is one step up from a nose-picking, gun-toting, simplistic, thoughtless and vengeful, primordial foraging creature--but somehow, magically, somewhichway, inexplicably, that core of humanity within us, no matter how bludgeoned and insensate, that nubbin of love and glory and godlike grandeur that exists at the smoldering core of the human condition...that sensitive place has, for the first time outside of love for Blood, been touched. He has been changed. Conscience has been awakened in Vic.
And THAT is what "A Boy and His Dog" is all about.
It's what fiction is all about, in its most responsible form. Limning the change in a human being from the beginning of the story to its end. Vic is a different person. How much, remains to be seen; but his humanity has been touched, in a totally inhumane world. Vic DOES NOT EAT ANY OF THE MEAT! That is the
clue that leads the careful reader to "understanding" the story. And it's in the movie. It's there. Blood hobbles toward the horizon, his wounds bandaged with Quilla June's wedding dress rags...but he says to Vic, "You didn't touch the meat." Vic mumbles something. And then...THEN, dammit!...then comes that moronic, hateful chauvinist last line, which I despise, and which I urge audiences to ignore, the line I could never get LQ Jones to delete, because when he tested the film at colleges, that line was the biggest applause-getter from all the frat boys and jocks and asshole college wimps who were nothing better than Vics-in-waiting. The most important point, the insight, the raison d'etre of what has been, on the surface, nothing more than a violent action-adventure movie, is buried, immolated, crushed beneath the cheap manipulative demeaning and hateful smartass retort that Blood would NEVER NEVER NEVER have spoken. He is too decent and noble and sensitive to have made a bad pun at the expense of a human being's death. I despise it!
Ignore that last line, introduced by LQ; and read the story. The last line of the story is what one should carry away. That, and the point of the story/film...
THE BOY NEVER EATS THE MEAT!
For Kari, and a welcome to Jon from Boston,
Yr. pal, Harlan
Recently a couple of us were talking about the probably ludicrous propects of Hollywood doing a remake of Solaris. I said there are directors next to none I would trust with the project, as Tarkovsky had a very personal style stamped on his version. Yesterday I got info that ACTUALLY started opening my mind, seeing some promise: Steven Soderbergh, apparently, will be doing the remake. Don't no for sure if it means he'll strictly produce it or direct; if it's the latter he is one of those very, VERY few I WOULD trust. THE LIMEY turned me into a fan of his. He understands how time and pov can be interchanged in narrative structure. Those are the elements at the very heart of Solaris' ethereal storyline.
Soderbergh, producer of the monumental 'Pleasantville', I believe, is a guy with the talent and intelligence to bring good sf back to film - what people like Spielberg and Lucas and everyone else who jumped on the formula band wagon took away, once fantasy like Star Wars made us understand the unimportance of science.
KARI in HINCKLEY, MINNESOTA:
That's what's wrong with seeing a movie, but never having read the source material from which it was taken. You have missed the point of the ending of the story--and in fact missed the point of the title of the story--and your confusions are those of a generation that does not read, nor pays very close attention.
I mean no rudeness, but your lack of context is showing. Go read the story "A Boy and His Dog." It's available in many places, not the least of which is THE ESSENTIAL ELLISON.
For those of you who seem bewildered that the people of Topeka in the Downunder "wear makeup," and cannot understand why, let me ask you this: why do teenagers wear pants so baggy they fall down around their ankles? Why do genX fashion plates wear baseball caps backwards when the point of having a bill on a cap is to keep the sun off your face? Why do women wear uncomfortable spike heels or ugly clunky stack heels or push-up bras or dresses at thigh-height or ankle-height, or calf-height?
Why did the well-dressed in the courts of France wear lace and feathers and wigs? Why do crips wear blue and bloods wear red? Why does Kari put on lipstick? Why does Kari dress in a way that looks acceptable to her friends? Why am I answering a question, whose answer is so idiotically obvious?
Style, Kari. It may look weird to you, that they wore white makeup; but if you suddenly appeared in the middle of a Ubangi village in Africa, without a huge plate distending your lower lip, you'd look ridiculous to them. Get the explanation? It was that place's, and that time's, fad-of-the-moment; just as spats or zoot suits or kohl on the eyes or bow ties or tattoos are and have been the visual "group identity" code-passwords of every culture on Earth, from primordial times till today.
The director was trying, in a non-special effects, inexpensive way, to give you the feeling of an "alien" or "different" culture, using the time-honored trick of science fiction--arguing the point from the iconic smaller, to the implied greater. No airships, no rocket-paks, no BLADE RUNNER millions spent on ambience. It was a self-contained, buried culture, and they had developed their own tribal i.d.--in this case, the white makeup, much like the white makeup of the Japanese feudal era, or even the white chalk makeup of the Sun King's Versailles.
Go read the story.
Go read the story.
Go read the story.
Or...you could go read the story.
The gentle and grammatically-correct thrashing you've just been given is for your betterment, Kari. Don't take umbrage, take heed. You are ignorant in many areas, no matter how smart you think you are. You need to get smarter, if you have to ask what happens at the end of that movie, and why the people in Topeka were wearing clown-white. I'll bet you're not that old; but you've lucked out. You've stumbled in here, where the community REQUIRES everyone to be as smart as a whip. Hang out, make friends, and watch how your grades improve.
You'll toughen up, you'll learn oodles, and you'll discover that your BEST FRIENDS are not those who demand you look and think and sound just like them, but are the ones who DEMAND you become the cleverest individual Kari on the planet.
Geez, kiddo, did YOU luck out!
Yr. new pal, Harlan Ellison
The George Harrison death is quite sad. Too bad the wrong musicians are dying. If only Micheal Jackson would moonwalk onto a landmine and do us a favor.
Thomas Friedman: Chomsky mentions Friedman is almost every interview. Friedman is one of America's foremost propagandists, and agent of lies in the mainstream media. He is a state department huckster with no real savvy as to foreign policy. His is the vanguard view of most of corporate America. His books are pure piffle.
Brian, I would say Duke is far right, but he is right-or should I say wrong. Smile.
On the subject of artists who deal with the lower class and come from a decidedly not so lower class background, I whole-heartedly disagree with the idea that they should be discounted in some way. Shall we ignore Mencken's muckraking because he attended a private school? Or the visions of Kubrick because his parents' affluent background allowed him to tinker with photography at an early age? Mike Leigh's oeuvre and his unique improvisational approach are simply too important to dismiss the man simply because of who he is and where he's from. In an age where VH-1's Behind the Music is indicative of the importance of the musician rather than the banal music itself, I find the same idea applied to any field of art whole-heartedly distasteful. Certainly, biographical details are intriguing and they can sometimes help us to place a work of art into context. Coppola's private notion of family, for example, provides a fascinating pretext to study "The Godfather" films and "Tucker." But shouldn't the value of an artist stem from the artistic schematic itself?
I interviewed Leigh a few years ago and he was a mighty surly guy. I've read several horror stories about the demands he places on his actors. But his work is too important to dismiss it in such a cavalier manner. Whereas Ken Loach bathes his films in flagrant political propaganda (a fault, admittedly, that sometimes works to his advantage, as in "Riff Raff"), Leigh lets the details of his characters (which are sometimes admittedly cartoonish) speak for themselves. This is why "Naked" is one of the most seminal films of the 1990s and why Leigh is such an important filmmaker. He creates films that take chances, never asking you to sympathize for his characters. Leigh's films have a remarkable way of illustrating specific class-oriented millieus in the revelation of private lives.
Harlan: Very sorry to hear about the loss of your friends.
A QUICK HEADS-UP ON SOME IMMINENT PUBLICATIONS:
1) The cover of the current (December 7) issue of THE WEEK has a blurb-encomium by HE.
2) Next week's issue of THE WEEK has a new piece by HE: every week the newsmagazine selects some well-known person (Yo Yo Ma, Liz Smith, John Mortimer, Ted Koppel, Sara Paretsky, etc.) to list his/her six favorite books in one or another category--favorite biographies, favorite books about World War I, favorite classical romances, etc.--and in next week's issue, "The List" will be HE selecting 6 great "lost" modern fantasy novels.
3) In the next issue of COMPUTER SHOPPER magazine, in the well-known "Hard Edge" column, Bill O'Brien is doing a piece on the merits of the KICK Internet Piracy lawsuit, and he praises all of you.
4) The current issue of The Dramatists Guild Magazine has a long and positive piece on our AOL/RemarQ/internet pirates suit. The word is, at long last, spreading. The more who know, the more who can likewise defend themselves.
Yr. pal, Harlan
Mr. & Mrs. Ellison,
Condolonces for the loss of your friends. No words can take away the sting so just simple condolences.
Bill
Jon,
An interesting thought on Leon, but I think even for the French 12 is a little skeevy. Having said that, Natalie Portman is fantastic in that movie.
As for Predator, I strangely saw that again recently, and it does hold up very well. A strangely quiet movie at times, it has one of the best jungle locales in any movie, a damn good alien (gotta love Stan Winston), and a wonderfully understated performance by Elpidia Carrillo (who I'm happy to see is in Bread and Roses, a movie I can't wait to see).
Joseph
Firstly: Harlan. Susan. My condolences.
Secondly: You know what I like about you guys? You know what makes this place so much better than other websites? No matter how much we can argue about politics and movies and books and philosophies ad nauseum....sometimes getting downright rough about it.....no one here attacks people for not understanding things we would think obvious. No one calls anyone else stupid (they might call them wrong, or wrongheaded, or freaky, but not stupid) just because they don't know something the other guy knows. Case in point: Kari and her BOY AND HIS DOG questions. If this were any other website….especially the very popular AintItCoolNews….before answering Kari, all of the guys and gals would have a tossed out a “are you daft” or “stupid” comment. Everyone who knew exactly what the ending was about would have first belittled the questioner for not deserving to view movies if they can’t interpret the girl’s destiny. Not here. That’s why you guys are cool.
Thirdly: Just sharing – when I was a young-un I was a big Creature Features Saturday afternoon fan. We’re talking late 60’s early 70’s. I would return from the synagogue with my dad, Rabbi Louis A Cassel (I like to keep his name from scattering to the wind….which is why, when my mom gave me his Newsweek subscription when he passed, I kept it going and never changed the name on the address label…to this day, 20.5 years after his death, my Newsweek subscription still arrives each week with Rabbi Louis A Cassel on the label)….I would return from synagogue, dad would go out on the hammock in the backyard (if summer) or his office upstairs (if winter) pretending to read but really falling fast asleep, and I would plop in front of the tube and watch black and white monster movies. Universal monsters. Giant insects. Big Japanese men in lizard and turtle suits. Everything. I could watch these movies from noon until about 4pm, when the monsters went back into their caves and crypts and spaceships for another week (unless it was monster-week on the afternoon 4:30 movie).
There were always two more-or-less obscure movies that always scared the dickens out of my and that my friends never seemed to catch. No matter how many times I mentioned them, they would look at me odd and wonder if I were making them up. But I wasn’t. They scared the piss out of me. The first is now more well known thanks to the ALIEN franchise: IT, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. The second one I thought was long lost to my memories. I knew it was there…..hey, it’s in my Leonard Maltin movie book for cripes sake, but I did not count on ever seeing it again. I movie was one of my favorite titles ever!
Then yesterday, doing the ole Chanukah/Christmas/metoometoo shopping at Best Buy, my Saturday afternoons came back to me…leapt off the DVD rack and smacked me in the face. Was I imagining it? Yegads, there it was!
I BURY THE LIVING. Hoo boy. I picked it up, showed it to my wife like a man who just won the lottery, and after she patted me on the head with her usual “good boy, you buy your little nostalgia toy and be happy with it” roll of the eyes I danced to one of the two open cash registers (why do these super stores always have 12-20 cash register lines, but never more than two open and never one that is not having a problem with a return or an incorrect price scan?) and bought myself I BURY THE LIVING.
Watched it with the missus last night. And you know what? She loved it. You know what else? For once in a very long time an old memory of a B-Movie that always affected DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Gawd, I love this movie, and it’s just as damn creepy as I remember. It was the concept that got me as a kid! Richard Boone is forced to manage a local cemetery whose large office map of the grounds consists of all the plots with either black pins (for occupied graves) or white pins (for family plots not yet occupied) poking all about. When Boone accidently places black pins in a young couples’ newly purchased plot, they die. The movie goes from there….black pins on the plots of the living result in their death. Boone sweats. Boone goes nuts. The office map grows and shrinks and wavers like heat in the desert and lights up bright as the sign and dims down into the shadows and, of course, there comes the time when Boone decides to try some white pins in the gravesites of the dead.
This movie surprised me last night. A childhood memory just as damn good as I remember. I BURY THE LIVING. Now my friends will finally believe me….because when they mock me when we list favorite category movies and I toss out I BURY THE LIVING in my top ten scary movies…..anyone who mocks me will be brought over to my home for a viewing. On a Saturday afternoon. A cloudy afternoon with a chill in the air.
-TODD
Joseph,
If I understand you correctly, I don't find your reason odd at all and I have mixed feelings as well....
I've seen at least two different cuts of the professional. One the American release and the other the 'International' release and the age of Natalie Portman is an even more disturbing a factor in the "International' version. The romantic/sexual aspects of the Leon/Matilda relationship are much less evident in the American cut though not by any means explicit or overtly eroticised in either.
While I have some unease about Matilda's age and *any* romance with the much older Leon, I think it's critical to understanding both characters. The excess emotional 'maturity' or tragic excess life-experience of Matilda is contrasted against the immaturity and emotional stunting that Leon suffered from the childhood he endured. In a way, Leon is made the man-child while Matilda is the girl-woman.
Ultimately, to me, there isn't a 'pedophile' vibe but an interesting and story-critical sort of troubling 'wrong love' a la Lolita or American Beauty but in a different context.. The 'romantic overtones' in The Professional are not, to me, the pivot point of the story but rather a way of revealing character.
Having said all that, I have to say that whenever I get a little skeeved out by it I reassure myself by saying; "Besson is French and they're just not as sexually repressed as we are."
Re: The Messenger
I'll try and give it another chance. I must confess that my negative reaction is probably based in part on my inate inclination to bristle at the whole "Message From 'God'" thing... In addition, there were a few too many full screen close-ups on Miss Jovovich's lovely face for me not to feel like I was being amateurishly manipulated. (Having said that....it may again be a cultural difference in film making. A different visual grammar. I am not by the wildest leap an expert in French film.)
The trebuchet was very well done. If you're interested in medieval 'seige engines' check out: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/index.html
-Jon who saw Predator for the first time in a long time last night and was surprised at how well it holds up.
While I am not a big fan of "The Fifth Element" and couldn't work up enough enthusiasm to go see "The Messenger" I did enjoy "Kiss of the Dragon". It was interesting to see the team up of Luc Besson and Jet Li. Did anyone else who saw it think it felt like a 70's action film?
Dennis
Harlan: My condolences on the loss of your friends. I hope Susan and yourself can take comfort in the memories of the time you spent with those who are now gone.
Dennis
Jon,
I wouldn't call "The Messenger" a career-ending movie (that's the Joan of Arc movie you're trying to remember). It's not entirely successful, but it's a damn good try. Some good acting, great production design (c'mon, how many movies use a trebuchet?), and an interesting attempt to show what a prophet would feel like when a message from God gets downloaded into her brain.
As for "Leon," it doesn't work as well for me because of what you might consider an odd reason. Natalie Portman's character is just too young. If she had been 14 or 15, fine. But a 12 year old It seemed a little too...wrong. Besides that, fine movie with the usual brilliant Jean Reno performance (by the way, a friend of mine insists that "Just Visiting" is worth seeing for Reno along).
Regards,
Joseph
Faisal
Actually, Zardoz is a patchwork of cliches, platitudes, and banalities. Boorman has had a checkered career; you do have to approach each of his films with some scrutiny. When he hits a homerun it's really out of the ball park; when he strikes out he REALLLY strikes out. This one runs more like a spoof of big-budget, overblown epics: the dumb dialogue forces Sean Connery to spit out lots of lines like, "where the sea meets the land", it's filled with cheap-looking props, it hasn't one likeable character (if they all want to die it's fine with me), and over-all direction is just plain clumsy.
Jon
I read the reasons for UFO's campy elements and most of them have two parameters: a tight budget (the reason for hilariously effective interceptors each carrying one rocket) and Gerry Anderson's wife who designed the costumes, hair styles, etc. Depending on who you are you either come to like the art direction or you don't. They originally had bigger, more convincing ideas on the drawing board before they realized how much money they had to mess with. That was always the case with tv. The redeeming points of the show are when it focuses on adult themes like Straker's shattered marriage, the episode I cited (easily the best of the series), subversion, and so on. Situations where a moral dilemma was created. That's what I base my whole pro-UFO argument on.
Kari
Um, yeah. Someone else already gave you most of the rundown on 'A Boy and his Dog'; the girl was indeed food for America's favorite telepathic canine.
My most sincere condolences to Harlan and Susan.
---[pausing and unable to find a way to make an appropriately gentle transition in a message board post]---
re: A Boy and His Dog
I had always assumed the 'marriages' were a way to preserve or create the illusion of preserving an 'Our Town' morality. No kids outside the sanctity of marriage even if the whole thing is a sick, sad sham.
I also always interpreted the makeup as an attempt to simulate a healthy complexion and rosy cheeked innocence that had been corrupted by time and fading memory of what the real thing looked like.
Yes, she was dogfood....and apparently less than ideally flavored dogfood at that.
Dark humor aside, it was a matter of survival for Blood and Vic and the point that the world had been reduced to such uncivilized behavior was, to me driven home very hard. What can we be reduced to when the trappings of civilization are destroyed (above ground) or reduced to a pathetic enforced simulation below. In the absence of order, society decays to 'solo' savagery. In the presence of excess order it decays to organized societal savagery.
At least that's what I thought....
Re: The Fifth Element
At some peril I'll say (particularly perilous given my abrupt de-lurking) that t's one of my favorite movies. Not because I think it i carries a deep or powerful message about good and evil (a laughable notion) but because it appeals to me in a "Princess Bride meets Blade Runner on Crystal Meth" sort of way.
It's childlike good fun with beautiful imagery, some interesting presentation of 'speculative fiction' ideas; Beaurocratic world government, the devolution of the presidential debrief to a sound bite (you have 20 seconds), the integration of old and new (the flying Junk Chinese food delivery) the bizarre evolution of pop-culture to include a merged opera and disco.... There's a lot of texture in there.
Basically, a sweet if over-simple love story and fairy tale with amazing production design, more than serviceable and appropriately cartoon-like acting, a ***fantastic*** sound track, high octane action and texture for days!
Luc besson made a remarkable film with The Professional, a really fun movie in The Fifth Element and career ending (or at least damaging) bombast in Joan of Arc (or whatever the title was of the Joan of Arc 'epic' her directed after The Fifth Element.
Re: UFO. I always liked that show as 'ultra-camp with flashes of brilliance' and I even enjoy the VHS from Laserdisc dubs I have now .
*BUT* the show was always a letdown after the title sequence.
Re: Star Wars
I saw Episode i again last weekend and was reminded of two things:
1) It's a horrible movie that's almost bad enough to preculde any further interest in the next one and taint my appreciation for the previous three.
2) I remember being 12 years old when I first saw a preview for the first one (Star Wars) and was REALLY pumped because it looked like it might be dark and intense and the first on-the-big-screen presentation of the kind of worlds I'd seen in my head reading science fiction magazines and my dads 'science finction' collection and being somewhat disappointed with the 'softness' of the movie when I finally saw it a few months later. Sure I loved it but i wasn't unsettled by it the way I'd been by the War of The Worlds, The Trifids and even some Star Trek episodes. [I remember thinking, at the tender age of 10 or so that The City On The Edge Of Forever was one of the best Star Treks before I knew who Harlan was and *long* before I knew the back story that makes me pine for what that GREAT episode *could* have been. ]
So, even then, I was disappointed by Star Wars. Ewoks, of course, made me a rather ill a couple of years later because they sruck me as cloying despite my being squarely in the "Mommy please buy me all the toys" demographic.
Years later, Phantom Menace, despite advanced age and hopefully maturity, carefully managed and limited expectations aside, really irked me.
Beyond the "ten minute plot in a 2 hour movie"...
Beyond the "if the effects looked as good as they sounded boy would this be cool" bad compositing and bad lighting...
Beyond the "I wonder why they chose actors so wooden as to kill any spark even from Liam Neeson and whatshisname, beyond my dismay that they managed to have Sam Jackson come off as a complete wus for the first time in his career ...
Beyond the "pander to the kiddies by letting the kid save the day *twice*, a la Wesley 'I should have been the one killed by the oil-spill monster" Crusher...
Beyond all that we had Jar Jar Binks...
No words exist to fully describe how loathsome that character is.
Re: Good Books:
I have been reading Dashiell Hammett for the first time and enjoying the heck out of it.
Re: Atheism.... Nope.... I think maybe I'd better leave this one alone for my debut post...
With no intruduction and a "can I join in" look on his face,
-Jon
Harlan & Susan,
My condolences to you and to the families of your friends.
--Tony
To Faisal, re recent SF movies. I haven't seen Zardoz, but I usually enjoy Boorman's films, so maybe it'll be on my list when I buy a DVD player.
I can't get as worked up over _The Fifth Element_ as you are, tho. I didn't think it was all that great, generally-- and Chris Tucker is a one-man argument for rolling back civil rights laws. But I liked it because it did remind me of the way _Heavy Metal_ magazine was in the mid-1970s-- one could sense the influence of Moebius, at least.
What bothered me about the _movie_ of _Heavy Metal_ was that they didn't use anything from the French artists they'd been publishing. No Moebius, no Druillet, not even Caza. Instead, the few good stories were truncated and shortened (that sequence you mentioned), dumbed down (Corben's story) or forced into that dopey green-orb stuff. And they capped it off with a terrible tits-and-ass swordplay story that seemed geared more towards a demographic than an intelligent audience.
Oh, and Faisal, about that dolphin steak... you've heard Chris Morris's parody of REM, where they sing the joys of whale meat? (It can be heard at http://hot.virtual-pc.com/illogik/phuture/cookd/realaudio/notrem.ram)
To Kari; Vic has fed the girl _to_ the dog. Not only does he realize that he loves the dog more, he's made the realization that, without the dog, and with this very unexperienced and demanding woman hanging onto him, he'd never survive. The marriages were a convention that the downunder-people imposed to satisfy their dopey religious family values. (I have no idea why they wore makeup.)
Regarding Harry Potter:
I remember going to see Star Wars in 1977 as a boy who really had no other interest than being entertained. Sure, now at 30 its being marketed as some melodramatic spirituality/morality play to keep us interested, but it all breaks down to the same cowboys and lasers, spaceships and explosions, monsters and wizards and magic... just fun stuff I still love to this day.
Harry Potter is the same thing with 25 years more special effects evolution. My six year old enjoyed it. He didn't look at it with anything more than a fresh, idealistic and playful mind and he absolutely loved it. The magic, the monsters, the spells, the explosions...with a hero who seems to be pure, courageous and decent despite adversity. It's a fun story translated into a vivid tapestry of effects and images.
It was fun. It was just fun.
Is it high art? Nah. But it is sparking young imaginations (like the book) in the same way Lucas sparked my generation's. Say what you like about Star Wars or Potter, they both have and will inspire the youth on a different level than we could ever understand at our ripe old age. :)
And if it gets kids to pick up books and turn off the frigging television, then bloody brilliant for it. If it gets them to think and dream, even better.
I just recently watched a Boy and His Dog for the first time. I am confused on what happened to the girl in the end. We know that he chose to get the dog food and water, but it never says what becomes of the girl. DOes she go back underground? Also, what is the point of the girls marrying the man if they are just going to use him for artificial insemination? In addition, why did the people that were underground have to have makeup on? Were they all trying to look the same?
Heavy Metal vs. The Fifth Element? Sheesh, at least Fifth Element was somewhat entertaining. Heavy Metal is animatic masturbation - animation for the purpose of animating stuff that no one else would animate at the time. Too bad they forgot to put a decent story in there. It's especially trite when you put it up against anything that's come after and before. I'll take the darkness of Dumbo over Heavy Metal anyday.
Regards,
Joseph
Susan and I thank you for the condolences and good thoughts.
Harlan
Matthew:
Leigh claims (or did a few times, I doubt he does it now) that he was from working class roots. An account I found total balderdash as he went to Manchester Grammer School and his father was a Doctor. Struck me as one of those people who try and find some sort of artistic credibility by claiming to have climbed out of the gutter of working class existence. I like Abagail's Party and High Hopes but this kind of attitude used to be quite common in arty circles. In fact, I think it still is. How many people did I disappoint by not going 'gangsta' on them in parties.
Rob:
Zardoz has high points, the issues of static evolution, eugenics and the use of religion as a method of control are just some of the gems that Boorman throws in his flick. Its outrageous, dated but utterly compelling. There's also some wonderful supporting performances as well as a wicked sense of black humour from Arthur Frayn. I can forgive the fashion and hippy commune enviroment, its a film that needs to be re-examined. I also bought it on DVD with directors commentary.
Fifth Element - If you loathe it as much as I do, use those cheap fares to fly over here. Then, I'll cash in my 8000 Sainsbury Points and we'll cross over to Paris and verbally assult assho-, sorry autuer, Luc Besson for throwing this piece of cinematic celluloid crap onto the consumer. While we're at it, lets strap him to a chair and force him to watch the Harry Canyon sketch in Heavy Metal and ask which film is the greater piece of art. Not only that, lets burn the negative to that pretencious piece of rubbish 'The Big Blue', the film whose poster decorates a thousand student rooms as its seen as some spiritual journey. Do I sound pissed! I certainly hope so.
FAQ
P.S. On the other hand, lets forget burning the negs to The Big Blue. Chances are once that happens, the film will be elevated to even greater heights than it already, undeservedly, occupies.
I'll be in London, Table 5 of the Fujioka resturant in Soho eating a Dolphin meat steak. Rare and bloody.
The earliest user of split screen I think is Georges Melies in the late 19th century. The most dramatic use I can think of Split screen is Abel Gance’s “Napoleon” from the mid-20s.
FAQ:
Who ever called Mike Leigh a working class hero. He’s a nice suburban jewish boy, which is why is middle-class characters are such caricatures.. And his “Grown Ups” made me laugh until I was almost physically ill. I was rolling around in my seat until I almost fell off but caught myself very hard in the abdomen. It was worth it.
Faisal,
UFO has high points; Zardoz does not. And if you mention Fifth Element again I'll come after you, even if I have to go to the UK to do it. I might as well take some sort of advantage of these new low flight rates.
Joseph,
Griffith pretty much came up with split screen along with every other basic camera technique we've ever heard of. I think it was as early as 1910, thereabouts, when the ss was first used, though I never saw it.
The earliest movie I recall seeing myself making use of it was Mamoullian's 1932 Jekyll and Hyde, with Fredric March. But I remember more vividly a variation of it he applied, in the slowest dissolve I've ever seen anywhere - maybe about 40 seconds, maybe more; after the good Doctor helps a prostitute to her room, as he's leaving she pulls the blanket all the way up her naked body swinging her leg with a sparkle in her eye; the soon-to-be-doomed girl continues with a chant, "come back to me, come back to me..." And we see this go on WHILE he heads down the stairs with his colleague, into the streets talking. The two simultaneous images are clear with the intent to show what was burning, unbeknownst to him, in the good doctor's unconscious. FINALLY, as he continues his conversation outside, the image of the girls's leg vaporizes completely, as though forever imbedded in the doctor's mind. Temptation will come back to destroy both of them. A really remarkable scene. No Jekyll and Hyde film surpassed this version. (March, incidentally, won the oscar for this one). That whole set-up was extremely cool.
Anyway, the point is the split screen actually goes a long way back. It became the IN thing in the 60's the way wipes were in the 20's and 30's. Once it became standard use in titles I think it ruined the effect it had at first; that's why some like Chris, I think, couldn't accept it. It's my contention had it never been applied to the latter Chris and others would be more open to it. So, I think the 'titles' were the death knell of its artistic pliability.
Xanadu,
No, I don't quite agree that ingenious set-up in Rear Window qualifies as a split screen, technically. Its psychological intent is comparable. But the full shots were arranged for us to see what Stewart was seeing, exploiting his voyeuristic subconscious, as you already know; and other times the camera constantly panned. When we DID have simultaneous action, like when Grace Kelly is snooping around in Burr's apartment just as he's returning, it all happens in the SAME frame. Thus, split screen is really to show simulateanous action and PLACE (even if it's occasionally just a reverse shot so we can see both faces counterposed); if this scene were defined by the split screen plan we would have seen Stewart's face at the same time Burr discovers Kelly inside. But the shots kept reversing. Therein lies the subtle psychological difference between the split screen and what Hitchcock was doing in Rear Window.
Interestingly, I don't think he EVER used the technique; he may not have believed in it, and subjective set-ups were his forte (take a look at Frenzy, if you haven't seen it already; I never forgot that fucking brilliant scene where the tie-strangler is about to victimize another lady; they head up the stairs, and close the apartment door. Slowly and silently the camera pulls back, down the stairs, back out the door, and into the noisy street. We don't need to see the action).
Harlan - Condolences on the loss of both your friends. I hope their families manage to pull through their personal tragedies.
On another note, I went to a informal talk from literary agent Lesley Shaw on Thursday. Her agency represents Helen Fielding and Pat Barker. During the meeting she mentioned that all publisher's have an internet section but they are very suspicious about the net and piracy. I told her about your case, which she knews nothing about and gave her details to where to find out more. Hopefully, the news might filter down to more writers over here.
Brian - David Thewlis in Dr Moreau. A misfire of a film but I still liked some of it, though other sections are utterly laughable. Its a pity that Richard Stanley was sacked as his script was written by the great Michael Herr (Dispatches, FMJ) which Frankenheimer had to junk.
Rob - I'll give UFO another chance if you go and hire out the under rated Sean Connery classic Zardoz. I'm not kidding, this film is a SF gem and has got more substance to it than the trash coming out now i.e. The Fifth Element.
FAQ
Dear Mr. Ellison,
I'll lift a glass to Don and Judi (and your ailing friend) tonight and think thoughts of comfort for you and Susan.
My sympathies,
Bermanator
Oh, and one more thing:
Remember, the light is pretty damn good in here. That's ANOTHER reason why you're seeing these neysayers, whoever they are and whatever their motives. And this lawsuit's a LONG WAY from over, yanno. It's gonna heat up quite a bit before it cools down or resolves itself. (And this IS part of a not too tiny Internet issue--whether it's being paid attention to, right now, or not.)
And..per Ellison's comments, in his books, about sometimes sharpening his brain on reader mail--dealing with dangos in here helps HIM TOO, ya know. Maybe the lawyers are picking up cues; but then, so is Ellison; so IS Ellison.
I've heard... just a rumor, might be true.. the boy's KINDA smart, yanno.
Who's Reading Harlan?
http://www.harlanellison.com/kick
Xanadu,
At first, I wasn't sure what you meant, but after running it through my head, I think you're onto something with split-screen and Rear Window. The silmultaneous action in different windows certainly bears an interesting relationship to split-screen action (and makes for some of the tensest moments on screen). Since I'm not a film historian, does anyone know when split-screen first became available?
Joseph
Some people are posting -- to you they look like newcomers, but they're not -- because Ellison is online; some, as per random acts in the universe, are simply passing through like any forum or list. These people are out there -- ask Jayne about that -- and Harlan is an easy target; in more ways than one.
But the conversations from the neysayers? I wouldn't worry. Harlan been talking to matzoheads like these for years. You're just reading over his shoulder, for a change, that's all.
No, don't be concerned about new eyeballs. What we've had in here over the last while are a pretty standard average for an open forum like this one.
And god thank Rick because he'll sweep up the spider poop, if need be.
Harlan and Susan:
Let me pass on my belated condolences on the passing away of your two good friends. Good friends are indeed hard to find in this day and age. And when not one but two leave this world at the same time…then the pain becomes so unbearable that words are not enough to express the loss. Yet, the memories are there, will always be there and as long as you and the dozens of friends and close acquaintances of theirs are still around, they will not be forgotten. They may not be replaced at all, but the new friends that you made along the way, and the companions that you met in this here forum, will always be there to share those memories with you and pass them along to a new generation. Hope that made some sense.
I may not have a bottle of wine tonight to drink a good healthy toast to the memory of your two friends. But, hell, as long as we are around, they sure as hell won't be forgotten..
Yours respectfully in this hour of pain and sadness,
Alejandro
Harlan & Susan: I'm sorry to hear of your loss, my heart goes out to all involved. It sucks, it blows, it's a great big gaping hole in your life. These words won't bring 'em back, won't make you feel particularly better or even put a shine on chrome - but pain shared is sometimes pain eased and I offer whatever little touch I can through this medium.
Peg: My thoughts exactly - There seemed a little too much "opposition" lately, and it seemed interesting to me that each "attacker" presented the case in a slightly different frame of reference, as though testing various "motives". I decided during the last to direct the folk to the archives here and nothing more. (I thought about going through the archives myself and creating a FAQ (no relation to Faisal), but figured why the hell would I want to do the work for the overpriced suits on the other side?) In any case - my recommendation for everyone is to simply not discuss this case on this board.
Movie Note: Just caught Rear Window (the original) on cable recently and wondered - would the setting of the other apartment house qualify as a highly limited/stylized version of split screen? It seems to me like it would.
Harlan: As someone who received comfort in your words in a time of great loss, I can only wish the same for you in some form or another. I know you will help the families of your friends recover by being there with and for them.
Eric Martin: No one, and I mean NO ONE reads Ellison like Ellison. :) Jeffty was a good one to start off with. The story didn't truly click for me until I listened to it. I'm confident you'll enjoy the other tracks as much.
Jay
Firstly, my condolences to the families of both Don and Judi, and to Harlan and Susan, on their loss.
Secondly, pure speculation here. Could the evidence Harlan refers to be the appearance of various folks on the board in the last couple of months who post views decidely in opposition or in critism of the board's namesake? I'm not implicating any particular individual - truly - but the number of new folks posting in that vein has gone up tremendously of late. I have to wonder if that's coincidence or not.
Sir Harland the Ellisential:
Do me ONE favor?
"Hang on, Harlan." (Susan, a hug for monsieur, would you please?)
I'm in the library and I smell popcorn. Do you remember popcorn--the real stuff done on the stove, slathered in butter and excessive salt?
Here, I send you this memory for your files--to be opened in case of sad.
Heather loves you. Pat, pat, pat.
Firstly, my condolences to the families of Don and Judy, and to Harlan and Susan.
Okay...(not saying these are great; I simply came across 'em in a library book sale)...
Any offers on the following books, once I've finished reading em? Let's try to cover the cost of shipping and I'll send the money I get to HE.
(Again, this was JUST a book sale, I'm not working miracles here; I wanted to read em but have no plan to start a library, okay?--I'm travelling light these days.)
"The Understudy" - Elia Kazan -- hardcover 1975
"Writing Down the Bones" - Natalie Goldberg - paperback 1991
"27" - William Diehl - hardcover 1990
"Of Love and other demons" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - hardcover 1995
Ah, jeez...losing friends sucks no matter what way you look at it. I keep telling myself that those fine people who have left my life still live in my heart and memory...but that's not the same as having them close by. My deepest condolences, Harlan and Susan.
Michael
Harlan,
Having spent a full Friday feeling dispirited over Harrison’s passing - not that I can compare that to your last couple of days - I want to offer my condolences along with others here. I’m truly sorry you had to lose that chunk of the world - one that goes so far back.
Jim, the Wacky Guy:
I have to tell you that acoustic version of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ used to blow me away even on my best days. It stuck with me all yesterday. Had me thinking about Lennon a lot too.
Someone once said that one of the saddest things of growing older is that you can't make _new_ old friends. Which makes losing the old friends you have that much harder.
I'm not very good at words of comfort. My own attitude is that life has a lot of loss and pain, and as long as one can find some happiness without resorting to infantile fantasy or cruelty, life can be bearable.
The fact that you've had good friendships that have lasted thirty, forty, or even fifty years is a terrific blessing. You may miss the ones who've gone, but you have decades of memories to draw from. It's a crime and an outrage that they _did_ die, and they won't share the future with you-- but that future has been shaped by the past they gave you. There's joy in that.
And remember; if you'd passed away and they'd lived on, they'd have enjoyed the same memories, the same joys, the same riches that they've given you. Good friendships that last that long are as good as it gets.
Harlan, I'm very sorry for your loss, and I will certainly lift a glass to Don this evening.
Justin
Just received an audio package from Amazon, of Ellison reading his work. Excellent stuff. The first one I put on was "Jefty is Five," since I had never read that story, and even my fourtenn-year old son was entranced. And he nevers reads fiction.
I have lots of good hours to look forward to during the morning commutes.
Eric Martin
And in a bit of good news, Crown Princess Masako of Japan has finally had her first child, a daughter, after years of trying and at least one miscarriage. I wouldn't ordinarily care about such a thing, but I'm just glad that she finally had a successful pregnancy.
Well, okay, I'm selfish about one thing. Japan's constitution prohibits a female heir to the Chrysanthemum throne,so I'm going to be watching amusedly while that constitutional crisis plays out, as the Japanese royal family hasn't had a male birth since 1965. God, I love politics some times...
Harlan: I am so sorry about the recent passing of your two friends--my deepest sympathies to you and Susan, and their families. If I could think of something that would make sense of the senseless, I'd write it here for you. What a rotten week, indeed.
As for the recent snooping of our pork-suit wearing friends...Rick, know this: If you see a post of mine that might hinder Harlan in his fight in any way, you have my blessing to edit or delete it, no questions asked. (Though an e-mail notice of said activity would be nice.) I don't want to hear, somewhere down the line, that one of my dumb little jottings changed the course of the KICK lawsuit for the worse. I'm going to think thrice, not just twice, before posting anything directly concerned with Harlan and/or KICK again, and I suggest everyone else do so, as well.
Brian: I have mixed thoughts about Mike Leigh's oeuvre, but David Thewlis's performance in NAKED is definitely one for the ages. It also has a particular significance for me, since, well, I WAS that character for a brief period in my life. There's a strange kind of exhiliration in seeing yourself perfectly captured on screen, I must say...
Susan & Harlan~ Our thoughts and our hearts are with you in your time of loss. Deepest condolences.
With deepest sympathy,
L.
Found it on the web, by gum. The film's called "Lost." If it's the same Don Buday, he also did a flick with Kiss, the theatrical rock group from the seventies.
Harlan,
Don BuDay? Screen and TV writer, wasn't he? I dimly recall a nice little flick about a lost kid and a dog that my daughters enjoy (I've probably got the sucker on tape somewhere, but I can't recall the title). In any case, my condolences.
And, folks, to heck with "Harry Potter." "Monsters Inc" is a better flick by far. There's more art in the subtly applied final line of "Monsters" than in the whole Chris Columbus mishmosh about the boy sorcerer.
--Alex
Well, the only Mike Leigh I've seen was _Life is Sweet_, but now I have two reasont to rent _Naked_. One, because thinking of _Life is Sweet_ prompts me, and two, because I just watched a bit of _The Island of Dr. Moreau_ and it'd be nice to see David Thewlis in something _good_ for a change.
Okay, who else here thinks it's a bit strange to hope for a "director's cut" of a Chris Columbus movie? Okay, in this case, the added stuff'd be more of J.K. Rowling, but _still_....
I wouldn't agree that Harry's so passive in the early part of the book. After all, most of the story's told through his eyes, so we get a sense of what's going on in his head-- what he's thinking, what questions are going through his mind, etc. And it's not impossible to convey that in a movie.
Harlan and Susan,
My deepest sorrows for your loss, and my deepest sympathies to both families on their loss.
Regards and best wishes,
Joseph
Brian,
Re: Your well thought comments on Harry Potter.
First off, I totally agree on the Oliver Wood scene, which I thought was a real high-point. The actor was excellent, and the whole scene was just a wonderful take on sports (excellent design of the box, by the way - looked like a well-used box should, with little nicks and worn leather straps).
As for the Quidditch match, I thought it was a GOOD thing that it was a little hard to follow, since so much of it was from the perspecitve of the players. It's like being a fighter pilot - until you do it, you can't quite feel how difficult it is to be keeping track of so many moving objects in three dimensions while you're moving at insanely high speeds. Oh, and if I had the cash and it ever came up for auction, I'd but Madame Hooch's referee uniform in a second. Fantastic piece of costuming.
I agree that certain scenes were a little flat (though I think you're selling the Dursley scenes short - they're not especially evil people, but Muggles with a very strong and boring sense of what's normal). I did love the little touch of Dudley running down the stairs and then taking a second to jump one more time on the step above Harry's alcove. As I've said before, it's all worth it for Aunt Petunia's monologue, which managed to give me more of a feel for her character's feelings than the book did.
Oh, and whoever did the paintings effects deserves every bit of adulation they can get. Incredibly smooth, and non-faky looking.
On another subject, I'm watching the opening of the World Cup from Korea/Japan (literally - they're joint hosts), and can I say it's a fascinating mix of Oriental customs and the European/South American make-up of FIFA. Also, it's really interesting to watch one of the hosts, a Japanese woman in traditional ceremonial kimono, speaking flawless Spanish, Japanese and English. That, and one of the heads of the Japanese soccer organization appears to be an Aikido master.
God, I love this century sometimes.
Regards,
Joseph
P.S. People surf in Seoul? God bless 'em.
SATURDAY MORNING. HARLAN HERE.
It's been a few terrible days. You won't know who he was, but my friend DON BUDAY had a sudden, massive heart attack, without warning or previous coronary problems, and dropped dead in the arms of his wife, Annie, last Sunday. I didn't learn of it till Thursday late. He was a close friend, and in fact the very first friend I made in Los Angeles when I arrived here in 1962. We knew each other for forty years, and I am desolated by his death. We are, were, the same age; and it is a chunk of the world I cannot replace. You would've liked him a lot. He was cool.
Then, yesterday, Susan and I learned that a woman we very much admired and liked, who lived around the block from us, who had been valiantly fighting cancer for five years . . . died. Her name was JUDI BROKAW. Every morning, for years, Judi and her husband Michael would do their walking/jogging past our house, and (maybe not every morning, but hundreds of mornings over the years) we would have pleasant conversations about our lives, events of the day, things that bothered us in everyday life . . . whatever. And she was a remarkable, beautiful woman of high intelligence, wit, and questing intellect. Too young, too goodhearted, too valuable to have passed so untimely.
Don and Judi. And another good friend of mine, who is possibly very ill. Waiting for Kaiser Medical to move at something more than the speed of a blancmange oozing downhill, for new tests and a necessary reevaluation.
No need to mention his name. He wouldn't want it.
But I'm distraught at his prognosis. And Don. And Judi.
Today, I'll go, in about four hours, to Don's house, to see Annie, and Don's other friends, including Shain, whom I met through Buday, and have known almost as long as I knew The Gypsy
himself.
I mention his name, only because I don't want the wind to take it away. I knew him a long time. We were friends.
It is a rotten week.
------------------------ pause --------------------------------
HEATHER: You're absolutely right. Prying eyes ARE on this site, 24-7. More evidence of that last week. One of the reasons I've absented myself here, and will continue to do so, for the near future.
JAYNE HITCHCOCK: I don't have e-mail. Get your phone number to Rick Wyatt, the webmaster on this site, and I'll call you.
ABOUT THAT MONTH-END ANNOUNCEMENT: It's coming. Be patient. All good things at their own pace, in their own appointed time. Be, as I say, patient. And if it's no bother, lift a glass to Don Buday, the Gypsy, sometime today. On my behalf.
Wistfully, Harlan
Brian,
From what I know of HP, a lot of stuff was cut out of the film. I think the rough cut was something like three and a half hours and that a lot of it was character development that was just slashed. I presume a lot of this material will be appearing in a future DVD release.
I haven't seen the film myself, I was on a date and we decided to catch Spy Game instead. An interesting film, quite enjoyable and I liked the portrayal of the CIA HQ as a giant call centre with office politics galore.
It wouldn't surprise me though if the Beirut section was the one that was re-written the most. A lot of great acting (especially from the Doctor character) that is left in a really confused section which is trying so hard not to offend anyone (well apart from Hezbullah sympathisers). From what remains in this section, I wouldn't be surprised if the original intention was to actually use real life events (i.e. CIA/Saudi bombing attempt of a certain sheik that left 80 people dead) and tie them in with the two characters. Otherwise, still worth checking out as it does try to deal with the moral vaccum that is the intelligence services and not as bad as 'Enemy of the State' (or as Film Threat nicknamed it 'Conversation 2: Electric Bugaloo').
FAQ
P.S. Mike Leigh... Mike Leigh... have I ever told you how much I despise that self styled 'working class hero'? Apparently, the director in Hanif Kureshi's novel (and good TV series) 'The Buddah of Suburbia' is a veiled attack on the man.
Rob/Andrew: I don't mind being called wacky--it's better than my usual moniker of "Is this the guy you called 911 about?" (I prefer the name "Ineffable Spirit of Mordant Wit," personally.)
Lynn: I will never watch the Macy's Parade again without wondering if some balloon-pervo is getting his rocks off in the crowd. Another preserve of childhood innocence goes up in flames.
Brian: I have quite a bit to say about some of the stranger hunts for "the lineaments of gratified desire," but I really need to do my weekly sleep thing now, so it will just have to wait.
Oh, and I need to mention another favorite George Harrison recording: The lovely acoustic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The Beatles Anthology 3. It easily trumps the White Album version (which was pretty great to begin with).
Harrison was more than just a sweet songwriter. Without him, we may not have seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "The Life of Brian" or Terry Gilliam's first movies. A truly sad day indeed. My thinking is that the maniac who stabbed him helped to seal the man's cancerous fate.
Heather:
Done as you requested. I'll be posting them to my website after I finish my George Harrison eulogy. Which, if you're interested, will be posted along with a bunch of winded rants as www.zebrapix.com/rants/. Mostly terror/war related, but still from-the-heart type stuff.
Jay
I agree that the beginning of Harry Potter was rushed and you get little sense of his misery with the Dursleys. The scenes were treated as a nuisance that got in the way of the real story.
However, I think the rest of the film captured the book very well, perhaps to a fault. You really don't get much of a sense of Harry as a character in the first book. Harry is very passive and he tends to win his way through the obstacles in his path more by merit of who he is than anything he does.
I think this works well for kids though. Children do tend to experience the world much more than they bend it to their will (though I am sure some harried parents will tell me otherwise.) But Harry's pretty flat in the first book and gets fleshed out later, especially in Prisoner of Azkaban (easily the best book) when he seems to have grown up enough to start doing things for himself instead of just watching what's going on around him.
I thought the movie was pretty darn good and far exceeded my expectations. I would have liked to see more on the train to Hogwart's but, hey, they weren't going to let it run at three hours.
Just came back from seeing the Harry Potter movie. I wouldn't call it a bad movie, but I kept thinking that they could have done a hell of a lot better if they'd just taken their time a little. I can appeciate how they managed to trim bits and pieces here, combining scenes and shuffling plot points here and there.
But individual scenes had a feeling of having been rushed, almost as if the actors were told to say their lines quickly so they could fit more of the book into the running time. So we don't get a sense of Harry as a character. We don't even get a sense of how miserable he is with the Dursleys; he's treated badly, of course, but the filmmakers don't make how he _feels_ a terribly high priority during most of the film.
In fact, the speed of the film kind of brings one of the problems of the book into relief. Within a few chapters, Harry goes from being a modern-day Dickensian orphan to being a) a wizard, b) a special wizard who survived an attack by Voldemort, c) an especially skilled Quidditch player, and d) the hero of the day. In a book, there's space to meander, to dwell on the little events that lead up to such revelations, and to show what other people are doing with their lives. In a movie... well, it's as quick as one-two-three. And it's seems a bit empty without having given us a better sense of Harry's inner life.
There's a scene when he meets Ron Weasley on the train, and in the book, it's a gem because the dialogue is so _good_ at capturing that moment when you make your best friend. In the movie, it's surprisingly short, and seems played only for the sake of the chocolate frog gag. Even the scene with Dumbledore and the Mirror of Erised plays flat-- it winds up being a monologue for Richard Harris, who doesn't do very much with his role.
There were a lot of things I liked. The action in the background paintings was stunningly nice. Some changes from the book were nice-- for example, a vanishing glass _returns_ for a really funny gag about Dudley, and there's a coda to a swarm of flying keys that was _very_ clever. The Quidditch match was a way too _Star Wars_ey for me, with concussive zooms as the brooms went past, but unlike many complaining reviewers, I didn't have much trouble following the game.
There's one scene which sticks in my mind-- not for its own qualioty, but because it indicated how good this movie could have been. It's the scene where Oliver Wood teaches Harry about Quidditch. The scene itself is noisily Chris Columbus-like, but the kid playing Wood was very good. He didn't seem like one of the Goonies, but like a teenage footballer who was taking the adult responsibility of mentoring a young talent. In that moment, I wished they'd have let someone like Mike Leigh direct the movie.
'Now and Again' had some real potential. Interesting premise, solid cast...too bad the scripts were kinda hokey.
Mitch
Lynn,
I'm curious, what cells would you have the most interest in?
I have to admit, the image in the following link made me chuckle.
http://vegalleries.com/heavy/Heavy14.jpg
My aunt (a freelance commercial illustrator) often complains that women drawn in this manner are too "head-lampy" and bring to mind the front end of an old Buick (I don't see this as a bad thing myself).
Your Buddy, Dagmar ;)
Here's what I'd like to collect. Maybe after the wedding...
http://vegalleries.com/heavy.html
L.
Well, Joseph, ONCE will be cancelled, I fear, sooner rather than later, NOW was cancelled quickly, and NOT is what we usually get...
Jim, re: Balloon fetishists. I don't even want to contemplate what you were surfing for when you stumbled on that. At least I have the excuse that a friend sent me this link:
http://www.ifoundaduck.com
Happy weekend,
L.
Apologies. Make that JAYNE. I'd been reading "J.A." so many times I lost track of the spelling of your first name--and I see you were learning a little Japanese while there. The travel pieces in Okinawa are cool. The pics are excellent.
Todd,
As my wife once put it:
"Once And Again, Now and Again, Not This Shit Again...."
I ask:
Any more of you got online prose/articles you want to post your links here for, on the forum? I've heard the word 'screenplay' a few times lately; how about those or anything else "in progress"?
Jason, if you don't mind, would you go find Rick's addy and send him those two pieces you showed me. (I'd be worried about sending attachments from Yahoo--don't ask.)
I think the writing is exceptional, most particularly, the second piece. I sat here in the library and read them both aloud--much to the strange stares of nearby occupants, I would imagine. Some of the twists and turns of 'fate' are perfection, Jason. Thank you.
And I second Loftus' comment on "where's that old Ellison piece from the 'writers collection' he sent you?" (I remember reading that piece. Ellison soared in that one. It's a beaut! Anyone who hasn't read it will be truly inspired.)
Jane, do you have any other fiction online? I've read what stuff you have thus far. Do you SPEAK Japanese?
And HE, it's month's end. Where's that news bulletin?
DTS--still looking in around here? ABC's superlative serial ONCE AND AGAIN, no doubt cancelled soon, gained many points in the episode transmitting now on the East Coast/CT...by having characters discuss their memories of the board game CAMELOT. For a game in print for thirty years or so, a lot of people seem to forgotten it...(a Parker Bros. game that somewhat resembled "Chinese checkers", STRATEGO, and a wildly simplified Chess simultaneously...)...
Todd and others of the GOP Webderlanders: The Republican party needs more like you. Where are the Barry Goldwaters or Everett Dirksens? Now THOSE were some goddamn Republicans. True 20th century American conservatives. I didn't agree with everything they believed, except for their belief in the democratic ideals of the U.S.
I also respect the fact that you have enough sand to stay here and argue with the rest of us rather that take the tried and true method used by so many these days and run off whining, "Those bad people were mean to me! Waaahh!"
In case you didn't guess, my party affiliation is as follows:
"I do not belong to an organized political party. I am a Democrat." --Will Rogers
As for talk radio hosts, there was someone in our office who listened to them all day long. I was far enough away so that I couldn't make out any words. Their endless harangues sounded like the hooting of angry simians. Which did inspire this song:
Ninety-nine brain-dead babboons are screeching in my living room,
This one's Rush, this one's Joe, this one's Desi, this one's Flo,
They're all on my radio as ninety-nine brain-dead babboons go by.
It helped me survive those endless Ricola commercials. I was hearing "Riiicolaaa" in my sleep. I hope Rush has since switched sponsors. Then again, it may explain his hearing problems.
Chuck
Heather:
I take it you liked it? :) Thanks. You're welcome to forward them. I just remembered the PDFs I sent were sans front cover. I gave them out as Christmas presents a few years back. Sometimes managing a Kinko's has its advantages. :)
I'd enjoy any feedback you have for the next draft. Take care.
Jay
It would be a sad thing if there was no more !nissassa. (Nudges from all over.) (!snissassa?)
JASON ANDREW SMITH:
(Pardon my french but)...
Holy fucking Christ! YOU WROTE THAT STUFF?
Jeesus!
Show this to Rick Wyatt, I IMPLORE you. (I think he'll like it, is my point.)
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I loved it.
H
Rich: What a big nightstand you must have.
Joe: I was thinking "Silent All These Years," "Winter," or "Mother." Or maybe the last two together for a whole parental theme.
Lorin: I like Ani but I love Tori. I could probably put "Out of Range" in there with "Mother" for a double shot of Mommy!Angst.
Bermanator
Tony Soprano: What is that?
Irina: "Chicken Soup for the Soul."
Tony: You should read "Tomato Sauce for Your Ass."
Lynn,
BTW, I meant to respond earlier here:
I've actually met my backside lots of times. And each event made my lumbar and dorsal ever sturdier.
Actually, outside my jaw-hanging consternation over the Rightists reading Ellison (and managing to stay in their "morass") I enumerated facts - not mere leftist gripes - which, you could surely understand, piss me off. Particularly on the domestic scene, ranging from med insurance issues to fed tax and universities(every time they've run the show financial aid would become more difficult - unreasonably so).
And you already know my 'tude about imposing religious factions; you don't have to be very left at all to understand how their Puritanistic reach can stifle our social growth (the Scopes controversy, for instance, still lives on, though in a modified form). It's a presence in the Republican party comparable to toe-nail fungus.
Andrew,
'ey! You don't be callin' Jim no whacky guy! No one who gets off on Syd Barrett is whacky, see?
Oh, yeah, the balloon fetishists. Maybe it's me, but I think they've got a long way to go to count as a really wei`rd sexual interest-- as compared to, say, the furry fans, pony fetishists, body inflation fans, and being-crushed-by-a-giantess's-feet crowds.
About two years ago, I picked up a book called _Deviant Desires_ by one Katharine Gates. It was published by an offshoot of the RESearch people, those trendy kids in San Fran who've done some decent books on strange films, pranks, J.G. Ballard, and that sort of thing. Sadly, after they'd published books like _Bob Flanagan: Supermasochist_, they seem to have exhausted their imaginations, so this book falls far short of its "incredibly strange sex" subtitle.
What's really funny about the book is this. The first section, devoted to the pony fans (people who dress and act like ponies, complete with bridles and saddles), is by far the longest chunk of the book. It's also the only one where the author herself decided to "give it a try." None of the other sections-- on balloon fetishists, fat fans, furry fans, giantess fans, clown fetishists, sloppy-wet-wallowing-in-food sex-- are nearly as long, and the author seems to keep her distance on these.
A few years ago, I was hanging at Philcon with a friend of mine who did a fanzine devoted to furry art. He and I were walking through a restaurant when he spotted an artist he was dealing with, so we sat down and began chatting. After a few minutes of their trading stories about the _real_ strange-os among that crowd, I had to ask a question that had been dancing at the back of my mind.
"I gotta ask. Has anyone in this furry fan stuff ever actually tried to _do_ this stuff with a real animal? I mean, they could go down to the local pound, pick up a nice spaniel for maybe fifty bucks, and with some ether and some mail-order bags of silicone, they'd have an instant Furry Companion to keep around the house. Anyone tried that yet?"
My friend told me later that he'd never seen his artist friend shocked into speechlessness.
Hey gang:
Today's Chicago Tribune published this story on how comics are trying to make sense of the September 11 events and at the same time gain mainstream acceptance:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0111300002nov30.story?coll=chi%2Dleisuretempo%2Dhed
Thought this might be of interest.
Quickie to Bermanator, re: feminist poetry/music. Have you considered using something from Ani DiFranco? I find her lyrics a bit more artful and a LOT more coherent than most of Tori Amos's.
Two cents for free!
Lorin
Jim,
I don't know what's more strange and inexplicable. The folks at baloonapallooza, you for mentioning it, or me for getting suckered into looking at the site. You're a wacky guy, but I think you're okay (despite what everyone else may think). ;-P
-Andrew
I was thoroughly devastated this a.m. when I read of Harrison's passing. I mean we're all scheduled to kick it at some point; but 58, by today's standards, is just too damn young. Sometimes I just can't believe how problematic cancer can be. I hope some real breakthroughs are made in the med research over the decade.
Anyway, I'll really miss this guy. It absolutely sucks.
I only share this with you to demonstrate that the male libido can take many strange and inexplicable forms: http://www.balloonapalooza.com/
And, NO, I am NOT thinking of ordering the "Sydney's Huff & Puff" Cd (you buncha preverts)...
Jim
I have a request of my southern California friends on this fine board or of anyone else who has information on the subject. I'm applying to MFA screenwriting programs (yes, yes - I know you don't learn to write in school - I have different motivations) but, of course, there aren't many choices. I have already applied to USC but I'm hardly counting on acceptance there.
I'm planning to apply to Chapman and to Loyola Marymount but would like to get input from any locals on both those schools. Do you know anything about them and their respective locations (Orange ,CA and the Westchester section of LA.) I am disturbed by the frequent mention of God on the Loyola website but I already went to one Jesuit school where I barely even noticed the religious nonsense so I need a more personal an unbiased opinion.
If the board isn't the right place for such info, please respond by e-mail at the above e-address and thank you in advance for your kindness.
Also, any further suggestions on other schools to apply to (I'm not going to New York and I already did BU film school so they're all out) for screenwriting would be appreciated. Thanks.
Brian,
Er, you do know Friedman earned a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Sabra and Chatilla Massacre, performed by Phalangist militia under the eye of the Israeli Defense Ministry, don't you? If that makes him unreliably pro-Israeli in your eyes, so be it. Hell, I never expect a journalist to be totally objective - just correct. Murrow was never objective - just fair and correct. While Friedman may not be in the same class, he has never let his pro-Israeli leanings get in the way of his reporting the truth.
By the by, you might note that the man Friedman help get kicked out of the Defense Ministiry, Ariel Sharon, is now big in Israeli Politics again. Sheesh. Nitwits in their parties have shorter memories than the voters here.
Joseph
A tale from the subconscious:
I was having a series of weird dreams last night, one of which talking dinosaurs were taking over the earth, and at one point, I was walking down a London street with George Harrison and his dog. He stopped and tried to climb into a barred window of this building, and there was this blinding white light. I knew the building was heaven, but George fell back on the sidewalk and said, "no luck this time." We walked a little farther, and my dreams shifted into something else.
Later I woke up five minutes before my alarm, like I always do. I laid there in semi-sleep, waiting for it to go off. It did, and the news guy said, "it's 6:00." Then a Harrison tune started up, and I immediately knew that Harrison had died.
I thought it was weird...I of course had read that his illness was becoming critical earlier this week, but there was nothing on the Net or the news in the previous day that might have spurred my dream that night. Feeling a little blue, I went to the basement and hunted down my Traveling Wilburys tape to listen to on the way to work, since I didn't really want to play Beatles, and I have no solo Harrison albums. The Wilburys were as much his band as anyone's, and I always liked that first album, which I bought the day after Roy Orbison died.
I listened to the first song, "Handle with Care," which George sings, and then picked up the case to see what the next song was that he sang (they all sing about two each on the album.) It was on the second side. It was called "Heading for the Light."
--Eric
Twenty-one years ago, I woke up with the radio playing Beatles songs, and figured maybe the day would be all right. Then the deejay came on and said John Lennon was dead. It's a bitch when history repeats itself, isn't it?
(My favorite Harrison songs? "Here Comes the Sun" is about as perfect a gem one could hope for. And I love his version of Dylan's "If Not For You" on the _All Things Must Pass_ album. Only two of many, of course.)
I'm not keen on Thomas Friedman; the guy's reporting on the Middle East has always been one-sidedly pro-Israeli, and _The Lexus and the Olive Tree_ struck me as a pretty silly exercise in cheerleading. Thing is, ever since September 11th, the guy looks sane compared to some of the maniacs writing opinion here in the States.
You know, I can't get this picture out of my head of Shaq sitting behind the desk of a small Alabama county jail with his feet up on the desk and his hat pushed back on his eyes as he reads the latest Field and Stream while waiting for Deputy Dale to come back from the Piggly Wiggly with his lunch.
"We don't take kindly to Bulls fans down here in Alabamy, son!"
Okay, I think the head cold is now infecting my brain...
Regards,
Joseph
PA Berman,
Some Tori suggestions that would be suitable for Mormon high school seniors (Tori music with no swearing or overt sexual references - that's a little difficult). Anyway, here you go, with album title:
Winter (Little Earthquakes)
God (Under The Pink)
Talula (Boys For Pele)
Jackie's Strength (Songs From The Choirgirl Hotel)
If you want really good stuff for adults:
Icicle (Under the Pink) - creepy song about the combined shame and thrill of masturbating in church
Raspberry Swirl (Choirgirl Hotel) - let's just say that the chorus goes:
"If you want inside, well/
Better make with raspberry swirl."
Interpret as you will...
Hope my serious suggestions help!
Regards,
Joseph
(sigh)
58 years old. I wish I could say it was a shock, but he was very ill for a long time, and I know from personal experience how hard the fight with The Crab can be. My favorite Harrison song? "Long, Long, Long." And, as I've mentioned here before, he was a helluva guitarist. He seemed, like Syd Barrett, to turn his back on the music biz in his later years, and who can blame him? Though it's hard to be sympathetic to stars who piss and moan about fame, he was a *BEATLE*, after all, and I doubt any of us can imagine the near-cataclysmic changes that level of celebrity can ring in a person's life. Again, always, forever: What a shame.
Lynn,
Here's the link to Sheriff Kazaam: http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2001/1129/1286574.html
As far as what's on my bedside table: a slightly sticky copy of Penthouse, Chicken Soup for the Soul (all of them, but I especially like the one for pederasts), Art of War (of course), Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, a couple of biographies--Ho Chi Minh, A Life and The Life and Work of Harold Pinter (they both have similiarities as strategists; one uses words and the other uses pungi sticks), a Justin from N'Sync bobblehead doll (I find myself glancing at the bobblehead doll while perusing the Penthouse and I don't know why), Hieronymus Bosch: The Complete Paintings and Drawings, The California Pop-Up Book, Fox in Socks (also in French), two dog-eared copies of Entertainment Weekly because I ran out of toilet paper a few days back (Tom Cruise is on one cover and Harry Potter on the other), a candy cane striped dildo (not mine; I'm holding it for a friend--and I'm not literally holding it, I'm...never mind), a box of Kleenex, one Garfield alarm clock, one Harley Davidson phone (and I imagine I keep burning myself on the chrome exhaust; especially when calling the 1-900 numbers), the NIV Study Bible and the Essential Koran since I'm also into mythology, and last but not least, a Fred Flintstone Pez dispenser that I keep my Prozac in instead of the little candies. It might be eclectic, but I call it mine.
Trust me, you don't want to know what's in my CD player. And it ain't a CD.
Harlan: Please contact me via e-mail. I have a question to ask that can't be put on the board. Thanks!
Thanks, George.
Sunrise doesn't last all morning
A cloudburst doesn't last all day
Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning
It's not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
Sunset doesn't last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this, my love is up and must be leaving
It's not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
None of life's strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day
Now the darkness only stays the night-time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It's not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
All things must pass away
Joseph,
My question re: Tori was... I am going to be teaching a week-long unit on feminist poetry and wanted to use one Tori song. It has to be clean (no swear words, no overt sexual references) and not too cryptic for seniors. Should also appeal to boys as well as girls.
Any ideas? Also, if you can think of poems that might related to a particular song, that would be helpful too.
Thanks,
Bermanator
Brian,
Your book recommendations are superb, and I'd like to add one just for a slightly different perspective (hey,you wouldn't think I would agree 100% with any book, would ya?): Thomas Friedman's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree." It's an atempt to look at what globalization actually is, and both the good and bad sides of it. Friedman tries to be as balanced as possible (which is a nice counterpoint to Grieder, who though he's a brilliant journalist, can be a bit hysterical to me), and it really is quite a good overview and examination of the issues involved.
I'm also pleased to see, though unhappy with the reason why, that Friedman's "From Beirut To Jerusalem" is back on the charts (though the thought of trying to understand Afghanistan by looking at Lebanon and Israel in 1988 is kind of ludicrous). Fine historical document.
Regards,
Joseph
Some sad news: CNN and Reuters are reporting George Harrison dead at the age of 58.
December's a bad month for Beatles.
Just one last note before I go off to bed. The books on my nightstand are _Positively 4th Street_, by David Hajdu, which is an enjoyable book about the relationships between Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mimi Farina and Richard Farina. Nicely written, and one of the book's surprises is that Hajdu managed to get Thomas Pynchon to answer a few questions about his friendships with the four above.
The other is _Jihad Vs. McWorld_ by Benjamin Barber. The title sounds like one of those smugly-confident pieces you'd see in _Slate_, where the writer gets all coming-doom over a conflict between us Good Christian Capitalists and those Backwards Unwashed Towelheaded Maniacs. (Samuel Huntingdon's got one out titled _The Clash of Civilizations_, and it's 100% grade-A bullshit.) But Barber's not that dumb, and the book's worth chekcing out.
Barber's thesis is that democracy could become a casualty of two trends in global politics. The first, as you may have guessed from the title, is a resurgence of tribalism, religious fanaticism, and nativist ideology that he loosely terms "Jihad." (Barber stresses that he doesn't confine the sketch to Islam, and that similar trends are seen in Christian, Hindu, and Jewish cultures, tho it's obvious that people will take it as another reason to bitch about Mohammed.) "McWorld," on the other hand, is the spread of a corporate monoculture, where the determinants of our lives have been taken away from democratic institutions and placed in the hands of corporations-- the end result of which is less public participation in decisions of policy, and more and more power going to fewer and fewer organizations that are less and less subject to democratic control.
It's also worth reading Thomas Frank's _One Market Under God_ and William Greider's _One World, Ready or Not_ as well.
Hey, Todd:
You're not the only Republican who enjoys Harlan's work. I'm one too. And I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few more of us who don't bother mentioning it because they just don't see any point in drawing fire from some of the other folks on the board.
Some people apparently don't understand that you don't have to be of any particular political persuasion to enjoy the display of intelligence and craft to be found in Harlan's work. Nor does enjoying his work (or the work of any other writer) mean you necessarily have to agree with his political positions.
-- tr
Jim,
Great load of info on Barrett. I wasn't even aware he was still alive! Christ, he makes Kurdt Cobain look like the Great American Success Story by comparison.
I'll listen to his stuff soon.
Brian and Faisal,
Re: UFO.
David Gerrold and I dug it (I already explained why). So fuck off. Now I see why it's good to have a bankable name in your back pocket. ;)
I'm with Faisal on the UFO series. I saw it when it was aired here in the States, in the early 1970s, and I thought it was just dreadful. Silly idea, uninspired production design, and not worth watching. And this was when I could still enjoy an episode of _Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons_, so it's not as though I was being a anob or anything.
On a brighter note, I finally settled on a design scheme for my website. Nice thing is, the style'll work well as a letterhead, too. Suggestions are welcome: http://www.briansiano.com
Current Reading: I've just started reading Proust (yeah yeah, I'm sure many of you around here have already been through the Rememberance; just never got around to it on this end) and I find myself traveling on the subway, perusing a particular descent into smell, sight and detail and completely losing track of my senses. This is a lovely feeling.
Jay,
Strange you should ask. Nothing for the runner-ups, buy everyone should look ak the horribly funny stuff that Wells does at:
http://news.wizardworld.com/Comics/CB112901-Wells.asp
Damn. We're going to have to work REAL hard to beat this guy, aren't we?
Regards,
Joseph
Joseph - Is there a site that features any of the runners-up from that contest, or last years? Is yours online? My big regret is not making it to Chicago for last year's con. My gang of mutants produced a music video, but it didn't get cut before the deadline. I am looking forward to another shot at the title.
Imagine getting a writing gig at Marvel with the stuff Zeb did. Wow. Talk about a golden ticket to the chocolate factory. Now that we all have a benchmark and an idea what the judges want, next year will be a fun race.
David - Thanks for making the dubs. I'll send you my mailing and let me know how much for them.
Gunther - Did you hear if "Battle Royale" was going to be released domestically? I can't imagine mainstream audiences getting it, of course, but I'd love to see it in a theatre, even an art theater... properly subtitled.
On my nightstand - "Wilhelm Reich in Hell" by Robert Wilson, "The Devil's Dictionary" which I try to keep in my back pocket, the Ops Manual for my store, and a tape set of golden age radio shows, Maxim and Wizard magazine. I keep a copy of "Slippage" nearby.
I'm a big fan of Floyd WITH Roger Waters and continue to baffle my friends with my appreciation of Waters' solo work. I thought Amused to Death was a great album, but I hope its the last "war sucks and my daddy was killed in one" therapy session. Radio KAOS is a guilty pleasure of mine because its cheesy, dated yet brilliant. "The Tide Is Turning" is a great bit. Not sure what the big connection is between the post-Waters Floyd/the late Douglas Adams and Stephen Hawking. Neither Adams nor Hawking could help provide better lyrics or concepts for the crap they've been churning out since 'Momentary Lapse...'
Not sure why Waters and Warren Zevon aren't more popular than they are. Love them both. Warren Zevon gives a great small-club concert.
Time for a margartia...its birthday/vacation time! Be well everyone.
P.(Eh?) Berman:
..a... ..a.. ..a.. Haiku!
Bless you!
================
New product idea (Come close; we wouldn't want someone STEALING this one.):
SLUSH BAG BABIES (TM) -- "When you're feeling hot / they can't be beat / but you sure can LICK em."
1) Sell SLUSH BAG BABIES at 7-11 quirky marts--ideal, as they have the distribution network and the slush machines.
2) Hire some of those deadhead teens who work for minimum wage in all those OTHER fucking induvidually-run jobs (and pay them MORE! What a concept!)
3) Rent computerized sewing machines to create SLUSH BAG BABY coverings/characters.(Bean bag baby = size of SLUSH BAG BABY) Talk to Ellison about rights to "FURRY BANANA" SLUSH BAG BABY. (TM)
4) Have teens run operation. (You think I'm kidding? I'm not. Most teens are not "jaded/indoctrinated/socialized/lacking that sense of wonder" enough yet to be REAL assholes. Think about it. Every one of you wishes you still believed the way you did when you were younger--even if it was only last Thursday at 1:38 p.m.)
Customers can enter store, choose SLUSH BAG BABY of their choice (available versions include: waterproof-lined; with/without swirly straw), fill it with the slush flavor of their choice (PAB flavors WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE pending Berman negotiations), seal that sucker, take it home and ENJOY!
Collect 'em, Trade em, reFREEZE em, leave them by the dog dish for a tasty surprise for Rover, fill 'em with grape jelly and put 'em on a SLUSH BAG BABY glass display (coupon available at 7-11. See manager named Ahm Sing Eng for more details.)
I'm buying the domain, "slushbaby.com" as we speak.
*lurk off*
Heather,
re: stupid folks
- there is a study supporting your observations -
http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html
*lurk on*
PA Berman,
What's scary is that the '45 of Baltimore is worth about $800 these days....
Hey, what was the Tori question you had, anyway? Even if it did get answered, you piqued my curiousity.
Joseph
Joseph,
I generally read Nietzsche in the can and listen to Tori in the car. I try not to combine those two activities.
Back atcha,
Bermanator
PA Berman,.
C'mon, reading Nietzsche while listening to Tori's "Baltimore?" Is there anything better than that?
Hee hee,
Joseph
Careful with that axe
You might wind up hacking off
Something important
Bermanator
You guys have time to read?!?
I have, on the nightstand The Portable Nietzsche, The Essential Lenny Bruce, The Essential Ellison, a copy of Maxim, and a copy of Harper's. I read little pieces of whichever strikes my fancy before bed.
Anyone read The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin? I was just flipping through "A Clash of Kings" and longing for the 4th book to come out.
In my CD player is George Carlin's "What Am I Doing in NJ?" Also just listened to Tori Amos' "Precious Little Diamonds" b-side collection, Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast," and William S. Burrough's "Spare Ass Annie."
Bermanator
am I eclectic or just a freak?
Syd Barrett is gone;
Puttering in his garden
He hums "Arnold Layne"
Darkside of The Moon
Wizard of Oz, my buttocks!
Smoke some more you nut
floyd and ellison
not in kansas anymore
dark side of the moon
Left----> Center ----> Right ----> Wackos ----> :|| (loop)
Reminds me of Ca's Central Coast politics, before anyone knew Arianna Huffington as anything other than Michael Huffington's wife (or as that lady with the hair).
L.
UFO - Gerry Anderson show
UFO is a good show!?! I'll give it another chance but I hated the dammed thing and it was because of its terrible decor, the acting mostly stunk and the stiff upper lip syndrome. I'm not a big Anderson fan, I still can't watch stuff like Captain Scarlet or Thunderbirds without going 'CUT IT! CUT THE FUCKING SHOT! ITS TOO FUCKING MUCH! ITS ONLY A FUCKING MODEL!'.
But if people are saying its worth re-examining, well...
The Hitcher - Great film (another Eric Red classic is 'Near Dark'). Its a mean pulpy yarn which dispenses with all character building screenwriting manual pretensions to tell a story that scared the crap out of me. I was surprised about how subtle it was in that most of the violence occurs off screen (even, yuck, Jennifer Jason Leigh's death - a hideous breaking of convention). I'll have to see that movie again as well.
Got my free DVD's today and had a look at Bakshi's Lord of the Ring. God its dated badly now. I loved it a few years ago but now... just a mess. Rotoscoping could only accomplish so much. A I remember reading a lecture from Saul Zaentz where he commented that this project he lost control on as he couldn't tell how flawed the film would be as they didn't have animation dailies.
The other DVD was 'Natural Born Killers'. Thats not a film I like either.
FAQ
Fronk, you're going to have to learn to read things _carefully_ before responding. I wrote that "the lunatic racist ideas of clowns like Leonard Jeffries were _widely derided_ in the news media as "political correctness run amok," typical of the Left."
But the fact is this. Lunatics like Jeffries and Dworkin have had a following among people who otherwise claim liberal or leftist ideas. They don't speak for me, they certainly aren't typical of the better minds on the Left, and in truth, their ideas are the same kind of nativist fascist bullshit that the Left should set itself against. But they clothe their ideas in the language of liberation and justice, and there are quite a number of people who've been suckered by this.
(I remember attending a meeting of a student socialist group at Penn, and dropping my opinion that the Nation of Islam was a fascist organization. Boy, did THAT piss some people off.)
And I'd like to ask you this. We agree that crackpots like Jeffries and Dworkin aren't of "the left." Fine. But would you extend that same courtesy, and agree that crackpots like David Duke or Richard Butler are equally not of "the Right?"
When was Leonard Jeffries ever a legitimate member of the left,Brian? He is more of a fascist/black nationalist. Nothing mainstream about that. Some say Chomsky makes stuff up, but his fact checking is amazing.
People used to say Farrakhan was on the left, but most of his views could easily be incorperated to the right. Coarse there are always nuts who get boxed in with groups they don't belong with. They say Andrea Dworkin is a leftist, but her views are looked down upon by most mainstream leftists. She is more of a cultural fascist, who uses leftist ideas as a smokescreen.
Coarse the terms "left" and "right" rarely have any viable meaning anymore. You are either for "truth" or "lies."
Rob:
stranger and stranger. Just today I thought about some horrible remake of a classic by some horrible director, but couldn't for my life remember what and who was involved.
Now I remember.
Simon "Tomb Raider" West is rumored to be the director of a Prisoner movie, if they ever do make one. What can I possibly say about this, other than a quote from Coming Attractions:
"McGoohan has said that Kevin Costner will not play Number 6 if those involved want McGoohan to take part in the film at all."
( http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/prisoner.html )
That's two things today this message board has reminded me of. You people rock.
Hi all
I know Mr. Ellison changed his mind about appearing on Politically Incorrect recently, and will most likely appear on PI in December. I will be out of town for two weeks in Dec. and I bet I'll miss the show. Anyone know when he will be on? Or, would someone be kind enough to tape it and send me a copy? I am in L.A., if this helps.
Thanks
Mike
And yes, I can spell "victorious" by the way...
Harrumph...
-A.
Lynn,
Open a can-o-worms willya?
Currently in heavy rotation in my house: theThe, "NakedSelf", and "Hanky Panky". XTC, "Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2)". The Clash, "Clash on Broadway (discs 2&3)". Peter Gabriel, "US". Inkuyo, "Double Headed Serpent". Paul Weller, "Paul Weller". Primal Scream "Screamadelica". St. Etienne, "Foxbase Alpha". Portishead, "Dummy". And last, but not least, Jaz Coleman and Anne Dudley, "Songs From the Victorius City".
Okay, okay, so it's a slightly eclectic mix.
Sigh...
-Andrew
P.S. Favorite Floyd albums? "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Welcome to the Machine". Goofy, ain't I?-AR
Never was much of a Pink Floyd fan. There are a few cuts I like, like "One of these Days." But when they'd done _Dark Side of the Moon_ and _The Wall_, it was at a time when every waterhead in my school thought they were The Shit, and that left a very bad taste in my mouth. Imagine, if you can, when completely average thugs of high-school age were rhapsodizing about madness and genius, and shouting out "We don't need no education" like it was a goddamn football chant. (Education? Fuck, I would've been happy to send'em to a fucking _gulag_. Good for them I wasn't Barry Ween.)
Todd: No, liking Rush Limbaugh doesn't make you a Satan worshipper. But, since Rush's listeners are more likely to include the humorless but energetic protectors of such conventional faiths as Jesus-worship, you can probably understand why many of us might not be inclined to, say, let you know where our meeting-places are.
To Frank Church; I hate to break this to you, but I've run across lots of times when people on the liberal and left ends of the spectrum rely on litle more than heresay, bald assertion, and popular myth. I will grant, however, that the right-wing has a LOT more cash to fund, nurture, and publish their particular propaganda. And this does make a difference: for example, the lunatic racist ideas of clowns like Leonard Jeffries were widely derided in the news media as "political correctness run amok," typical of the Left, yet the equally crackpot schemes of creationists and Charles Murray are treated with respect and careful consideration by the mainstream media.
As for Harlan's writing, well, it doesn't surprise me that he'd have fans among conservatives. Many of them like to adopt a strong individualist stance, and that's clearly a major theme in Harlan's work. This doesn't mean that their beliefs are consistent with anything I'd regard as wise or intelligent, and there are lots of people of utterly conventional outlook who think of themselves as radical or transgressive-- but that _appeal_ is certainly there.
Pink Floyd bore the hell out of me. Any band that takes 3 months just to record one guitar solo can't be that great. I do believe that music should be a bit more spontanious.
Actually they do say that people become more conservative as they grow old, but I do think that is bunk. It really matters what kind of information you feed your brain, and that the info is from well researched sources. The big flaw in Conservatism is that lack of facts. Conservative's usually make up the facts, or recieve them from base sources. Read, The National Review and you can drive trucks through many of their facts. There are well meaning Conservatives, but their views just plain stink.
Lynn,
Though much of that type of music bores me to tears, I'll second the Enigma reccomendation. Fine album. SOmething else I've been listening to a lot is "The In Sound From Way Out," a French import of a Beastie Boys instrumental rock/jazz CD. Damn good stuff.
Regards,
Joseph
That'd be: "Le Roi Est Mort COMMA Vive Le Roi"
::sigh:: pesky punctuation.
L.
Jim~ Just got done reading P&T "How To Play In Traffic". Great book. My favorite is the chapter on NASA's quantifying comedic timing. And the last chapter is painfully pre-Sept 11th.
re: Floyd: Waters is a whiner, but I still love Radio KAOS. Jim Ladd is a god. "I don't care. Shut up! Play the record!" (Something I often scream at my radio.) Much rather have my Moody Blues or Yes, thank you very much. I confess the major gaps in my listening collection are Clapton and Knopfler(sp?). I find myself craving Stevie Ray. Not enough blues. Must get more blues.
What's in your CD player? Dave Matthews Band, "Everyday." Waterbone, "Tibet." Cirque Du Soleil, "Dralion." Red Elvises, "I Wanna See You Bellydance." Enigma, "Le Roi Est, Mort Vive Le Roi."
::sigh:: Back to work,
L.
THINK! THINK! IT AIN'T ILLEGAL YET!
FRIED ICE CREAM IS A REALITY!
(I just love P-Funk...)
Gunther,
Incidentally, (since I now stand in a rain of 'warnings' ;)) to buttress your argument about the 'dystopic' threads in UFO, they lie not only in the objectives of the enemy but the courses our secret institutions like SHADO take in the name of security. One great line from Straker in an another episode I caught summed it up: "We're not in the business or morality..."
That's why they occasionally subvert other law enforcement agencies and that kind of commitment is the reason Straker had to let his son die.
Honest cynicism like that isn't easily found in American shows. Esp. in sf.
Current Reading: I'm just finishing the second volume of THE ARABIAN NIGHTS; after that, I plan to read Bradbury's DARK CARNIVAL, Penn and Teller's HOW TO PLAY IN TRAFFIC, and the BFI Film Classics volume on THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER.
Rob: Syd Barrett...where to start? In the 60's, as far as most people were concerned, Syd Barrett WAS Pink Floyd. When he quit/was fired at decade's end, the band was considered to be OVER. After all, Barrett was the lead singer, wrote most of their material, and played an awesome psychedelic guitar. Gilmour hadn't joined the group yet, and Waters was just beginning to write songs, so the Floyd's future looked very bleak. To go on to write and record classics like MEDDLE and DARK SIDE OF THE MOON was a triumph of the will undreamt of in Nietzsche's philosophy, and one of the great musical comebacks of all time, to be sure.
Barrett's work with the band was relatively brief, and is found on their debut album, PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN, and some early singles. He recorded one song, "Jugland Blues," on the second LP, SAUCER FULL OF SECRETS, but he was pretty much finished as a band member by that time, laid low by mental illness and his massive acid intake. He released a few solo albums, but his fragile state of mind made recording them a nightmare, and he eventually quit the music business in the early 70's. He is currently confined to his mother's house, and is supported by songwriting royalties, friends, and family. Every now and then, you'll see a magazine photo of him puttering in his garden, looking like any other fat, bald, middle-aged punter, but that's it. It seems extremely unlikely he will ever record music again, and he seems to be content with that. What a shame. He made some of the wooliest, most paisley-drenched pychedelic rock of the 60's, and his 70's output had a spooky, sepulchral vibe that was compelling in its emotional honesty. There's a new BEST OF compilation of his solo work that I recommend checking out, although his album THE MADCAP LAUGHS stands on its own very well, thirty years on.
Todd: Some of my best friends are Republicans. (And some of my best jokes are friends...)
Jim
>I do enjoy listening to Rush Limbaugh whenever I get the chance. I find him funny. Whoopdeedoo, that doesn't make me a satan worshipper<
Yes it does.
Remember, you made the comparison.
--Eric
Oh, and Rob, another scary thing we have in common: Pink Floyd. I can't get enough of the Waters era, and Waters solo efforts as well. AMUSED TO DEATH is one of my favorite 'rock' albums (after his FLOYD work, of course), and seeing Waters live two years ago was one of my favorite 'rock concert' experiences.
I loathe their 60's jingle jangle shit, though, and I think they put too much of that on their recent BEST OF album.
-TODD
Joseph~ re: current reading fare:
Troublemakers, savoring with small bites. Gibson's Idoru, just finished. Not quite as much tooth as I would have preferred, but still a good read. And the last HP book, Goblet of Fire.
L.
Rich~ re: Officer Shaq, Where did you read this? Link please?
Rob~ re: Right-leaning individuals "getting" anything out of Ellison, please consider the other half of HE's body of work -- FICTION -- which while tending left, can be read without any real political bias at all.
And be careful, Rob. You're gonna go so far left you meet yourself comin' round the backside.
Decidedly centrist,
L.
Jay,
Thanks for bringing up the Well's winning shorts for Wizard World (even if the bastard did beat me out - I'll be back next year with my Damage Control commercial). I love the Northstar - guy cracks me up.
All,
So, what'cha reading these days? I just finished a history of the 1959 White Sox, so I decided to go with some actual literature and re-read the stories of Flannery O'Connor.
Regards,
Joseph
Rob, I was a reader of Ellison long before I was a Republican. I started reading Harlan's work when I was 12-13. I was also heavily into Hunter Thompson in my mid-teens. Just because you enjoy the writing of certain authors, doesn't mean you change yourself to agree with every opinion they may speak.
I am not a Republican if your definition means I must support every single solitary platform spoken by Republican majority members. But then again, I would hope you are not a (Democrat? Liberal? Socialist?) that supports every tiny thing spouted by those folks as well. I'm a human being that knows how to read wonderful writing and say to myself "though I may not agree with the politics behind this essay, I sure as shit enjoyed it."
Your response appears to categorize Harlan and his politics/social commentary. I would say you are absolutely wrong in that respect. Harlan cannot be categorized.....his thoughts are his thoughs; his writings are his writings; and I don't think he puts pen to paper with the thought of "oh, waitaminnute, if I rage over this topic then I am taking the side of someone who had the same opinion but once said Ronald Reagan was the greatest president ever".....he's saying "this is what I have to say and if someone else agrees with me all power to 'em."
I'm a Republican. I do not agree with the abortion platform, or the religious platform, or the Creationist platform, or other things as well.....you have to stop pigeonholing people just because they voted for Bush.
And loving Harlan's work does not mean I have to agree with everything he says. Why would I? Why would anyone? He is my favorite author....ever. Even though I'm, gasp, a Republican (if we must use labels). Let me shock you with something else too....something that will really get you frothing at the mouth: I enjoy listening to talk radio when I get the chance....and guess what....I do enjoy listening to Rush Limbaugh whenever I get the chance. I find him funny. Whoopdeedoo, that doesn't make me a satan worshipper....and that doesn't make me a "dittohead" either.
Republicans are people too...I swear to God. When you prick us, do we not bleed?
-TODD
Todd,
Nah. There was no vitriol here. I was merely showing my grenade amounted to more than a lob, 'liberally' condemning - and for your OWN good, y'must remember that - the Republicans and most of what they stand for. (Most? Most? I'm trying to think of ANYTHING redeeming. Had this remained the party it started as in the 19th century, when the Democrats were the butt-fuck conservatives - pro-South - who set back Reconstruction by a delightful 100 years - it took till FDR before policies between the two parties reversed - sentiments would, indeed, be different. Keep in mind, the bare resentment I convey toward the Republican party is not a clean splice; people like Strom Thurman - who became a 'Dixiecrat' to represent the pro-segregationists of the South - and George Wallace once ran as Democrats. By contrast, there were Republicans, like, God help us, Heston - who even did one or two films with a left wing voice - who participated in the civil rights movement of the 60's. Yet, as 20th-Century socio-political positions came to define themselves in the wake of change the Democrats - more of a mixed bag - would, on the whole, clearly represent the Progressives' plight).
I'll confess this: before venturing through the erratic gates of Webderland I never thought Harlan had avid readers my equivalent coming from the Right; never even knew it. I mean one would think they became so because he woke them up. How could they remain 'pro-Right' while ingesting not just the sense of alarm in his passions but the reasoning behind it and the supporting facts (the asshole pro-Creationists, for example, and what they do to the education system in this country - baring in mind a huge contingent of the Republicans reinforced the engine work of their movement; and dogma of dipshits like Limbaugh and Helms)? I mean, what are you guys doing when you read Ellison? Just filtering what appeals to you and closing your minds to the areas you don't want to hear about? Otherwise, how can you understand what he's saying without conceding his point? Seems to me SOME change in your psyche would have to take place. I guess paradoxes exist everywhere.
OK, Todd. Now you can help me with that newsletter.
Gunther,
Re: UFO. I wouldn't say those aliens were TOO far ahead of us considering how easily those single-mounted interceptors took 'em out when they came within lunar tracking. Their red-diaper space suits would break me up too. But tv is about compromise and I learned to accept the inexplicable when a show has really important high points (same certainly goes for 'Trek').
I HATE the idea of efforts to do a movie-version of 'The Prisoner'. It's a brilliant metaphoric show with objectives likely to be overlooked by Holler-wood filmmakers. It was already done anyway with 'The Truman Show'.
Ed,
Conrad Hall is one of my all-time favorite cinematographers. The original 'Outer Limits', nearly my favorite series of all, was a tour de force of his photography.
Jim,
I'm a long-time Pink Floyd fan; but I've never heard their stuff from the Syd Barrett days. I have no idea if I'd like it as much as the Waters/Gilmour collaboration (and I dug 'The Wall' film quite a lot, though I s'pose you better be in the mood for it; great animation that took me off guard) but I really wanna hear it some time.
For the geeks out there into indy film and comic books, here is a link to WizardWorld Convention winner Zeb Wells' collection of superhero-themed shorts. Some funny stuff here.
news.wizardworld.com/Comics/CB112901-Wells.asp
Everybody have a good weekend.
Rick Wyatt:
It just occurred to me: several months ago I emailed you the text of a piece Ellison originally wrote for "Writer's Digest" in 1960, a statement of purposed, republished with an update note several decades later.
It belongs on Webdlerland, but I don't see it on the site. Did you receive the file all right? Having a problem obtaining permissions?
Jim: I take it I came in late on a really long and in depth discussion of atheism...gotta check that out in the archives.
Now that J.W.'s brought it up...
Rendezvous With Rama does have a lot going for it, not the least of which, "Moebius" is involved with the project. On the down side, the marketing wizards have some truly awful plans. Check out the website at:
http://www.rendezvouswithrama.com/
Slide 11 is the one that troubles me.
-Andrew
Good news for those living in the Los Angeles area. Officer Shaquille O'Neal is helping out as part of the police reserve force. I believe he's working with harbor patrol. He wants to be sheriff someday.
Now, that muthafucka gonna keep the peace.
Rob wrote: "...let's forget about movies and talk about Atheism again."
I think I speak for (almost) everyone when I say:
Dear God (who may or may not exist),
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo... *HACK* *HACK* *HACK* *KOFF* *KOFF*
*WHEEZE*
Oh MAN, did that hurt...
Jay Smith:
Yes! I've heard about this movie on TV and I was looking for the name or any reference to it since! Thanks a lot.
J.W.:
Sounds complicated enough. I hope they don't fuck it up like virtually every remake out there.
Peg~ This month a devoted DNRC member came up with another name for the followers of Osama Bin Ladin.
Al-Qai-DUH.
I'm so easily amused.
L.
PS. The other side splitter was the guy whose boss told them that the rules for manual labor didn't apply to them because? They don't use manuals.
Lynn - DNRC? Absolutely. I believe my registered title was "Peggy, Goddess of Process Simulation"...if the website didn't lose it. (That was in the early days). Glad I wasn't the only one who made that connection with Heather's post.
Heather - the people you are describing, who seem to be fairly inept, have the lovely label of an "in-duh-vidual" in the world of Dilbert and DNRC. Check out the dilbert website for more detail.
Peg
Anyone see the Japanese dark-satire "Battle Royale"? It's a take on Japanese/American reality television in a world where juvenile crime has become so unmanageable that the answer is (and this is too weird to make sense) to randomly select a junior high class from somewhere in the country, gas them on the last day of school and transport them to this hidden island.
30-odd kids are each given a knapsack with some supplies and a random weapon (anything from a candlestick to a handgun with one clip of ammo) They are set out on an island with booby traps and a time limit and forced to eliminate each other. The winner is returned to the world for prizes, celebrity and, I'll bet, lots and lots of therapy.
The characters are a little flat for a "slice of life" take on schoolkids and the dark graphic subject matter is quite disturbing, but it is an interesting flick from a social/political perspective.
"...let's forget about movies and talk about Atheism again."
Rob, why don't you just chop off my other finger instead? It would be less painful.
I wanted to talk about actresses. Anyone see the French movie Ponette? That 3 year old is probably the best actress I've ever seen. She was also in Chocolat: Victoire Thivisol. If you haven't seen Ponette, try to.
Bermanator
saw Ponette after I lost my mother and cried like a baby
Woa Nilly, Rob, where did that bit of vitriole come from? Yikes, you scare me bucko. Here we are, innocently talking about movies, and then I'm suddenly hit with a "TITANIC is good for Republicans" and then wooooooooosh.
Wow, this must be some leftover anger from our political debating a coupla weeks ago. Yes, I am a Republican. Doesn't mean that everything I say and do is politically motivated.
I just wanted to talk about movies....sob.....I didn't mean to get you going on arguments that have been made for years and years.
Oh, and I don't need to be told to read about Nixon. I've read plenty and watched plenty. I was 13 when he left office and wise beyond my years because I was already intrigued by what all the fuss was about....and I did my research even at that early age. I don't have any more time in my life to read about Nixon. Got a news flash for ya.....I know that you here a lot of extremist talk on radio shows and television.....but in the normal world Republicans are just people like you and me. Just because they vote one way or come down differently on certain issues, doesn't mean that Republicans are all marching around with Nixon medallions seared into their flesh.
Take a walk. Smell the roses. Calllllllm down, that's good, breathe in and breathe out. Gooooooood. Now picture Todd The Evil Republican .....look at how he is watching movies and television and reading books and not marching around to the beat of his politics.....look.....he's just a guy. Just a guy who likes to talk about stuff. Just a guyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
-TODD
Gunther, Solaris will be directed by Steven Soderbergh (director of Traffic and Ocean Eleven), it will be produced by James and by a productionteam involving David Fincher and Spike Jonze.
For Under Suspicion, I kinda loved the movie, although I thought the proces of Hackman becoming fucked up, could have been more convincing.
For any interested: the team behind Under Suspicion will produce the adaptation of Rendezvous With Rama. Morgan Freeman will star as captain Norton, while David Fincher (Seven, FightClub) will direct.
I'm a serious David Fincher addict, so if you want more information about him or the production of RWR just ask (or better mail me)
Regards,
Jo
Rob -
Funny, that's exactly what the data on that post said - no spreadsheet required.
Rob:
Yeah, I didn't mean it was all campy; it had several excellent episodes. The good thing about UFO is, in my opinion, that it's dystopian rather than utopian: the aliens, who- and whatever they are, can do basically whatever they want since they're much more powerful than us humans, and they even win some of the time... unlike Star Trek's "can't we all just get along" whinyness. But then, it's not a Hollywood production, so some intelligent content is to be expected.
I'd actually first heard that James Cameron was going to be re-doing Solaris, which would've been worse, I guess. If they give it to Michael "Pearl Harbor" Bay, I'll have to kill someone.
Jim:
Excellent news. The only copy I'd been able to locate so far was by some obscure french company and cost $40, so a Criterion release is the best one could hope for.
Scott Bakula: 'Tis a shame what's happening to this underrated actor with "Enterprise." His Everyman humiliity is being transformed into yet another Shatner clone from the episodes I've seen. The best thing I saw him in was an indie film named "Luminarias" in which he (and the entire male cast, but in one of the most remarkable casting snafus I've seen, strangely not the females) was absolutely spot on as a romantic lead with misconceptions about Latin American culture.
"Gladiator": Commodus died far more interestingly in the history books, of which the screenwriters failed to consult. Pietro Scalia's editing is incoherent, the result of a mad Ginsu enthusiast permitted to run amuck in the factory. Why it continues to be lavished with praise, courtesy of a shoddy, bloated, play-it-safe measure in which "Oliver" wins over "2001" is a mystery.
Film critics: Even though he offered one of the most bizarre takes on Verhoeven in his "Hollow Man" review, Jonathan Rosenbaum is still the most reliable in my book.
Eric Martin: Concerning the "Star Trek" films, crap is crap. Can it truly be measured against itself when the stench still drifts across the room?
"American Beauty": So much ink has been wasted on this (my own included) that I have little to add except that I was wowed the first time, primarily by Conrad Hall's photography and Spacey's performance, but that upon a second viewing, I couldn't believe that I had lauded the film as much as I had. It's not godawful, but shortly after AB's release, "Panic" covered the same subruban middle class suburban ground and did it with craftier characterization. And speaking of Harlan's Macy-Cook connection, Steve Buscemi is, to my mind, the Peter Lorre of our time. Will we see Buscemi followup his directorial outing "Trees Lounge" with his own take on "Stranger on the Third Floor" with Macy in a supporting role?
Rob: You're kidding. Which dimwitted dilletante is remaking "Solaris?" And here I was merely dreading Simon "Con Air"/"Tomb Raider" West's upcoming remake/plunder of Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner." Will the madness of mining old material and recycling it into flaccid films without so much as a Vegas entertainer's subtlety ever stop?
I'm not sure I can sanction the "Dead Man" soundtrack. It is largely the same guitar chords played over and over and over ("Will this work for you, Jim? I've got a plane to catch for my next gig." / "Yeah, Neil, whatever."). But it does work quite well as solid texture for a great movie.
Seconding Rob's motion for a move away from movies,
Ed
Gunther: Ask, and ye shall receive. A Criterion DVD of SOLARIS is slated for release next year. If it's done with the usual care that Criterion lavishes on its projects, then it should be amazing. (Their ANDREI RUBLEV disc is one of the best DVDs I own.)
And has anyone else noticed that some INSANE stuff is appearing on DVD? I saw a disc entitled SYD BARRETT'S FIRST TRIP tonight; apparently, it contains the 16mm film of Mr. Pink's first eating of the sugar cube. Even though I'm a Barrett fan, I passed it up for the DVD of "The Andy Kaufman Show," his Soundstage TV special which I NEVER expected to see for sale in the shops...
Rich: I'm with your roommate 100% on THE HITCHER. It was nonsensical, and not in a good way; gruesome and sadistic, without a trace of style or wit; and it starred C. Thomas Howell, whom I've dubbed NOT-C. Thomas Howell for his poor choice of film projects. If he's in a movie, then I can safely pass it up without worrying that I'm missing a future classic of the cinema.
Egads, I'm becoming too snarky on here. I'm starting to sound like a regular on AICN. Point me to the hillside where the rabbits will be, and blow my brains out now...
Chris,
I think you done sunk the bar to Titanic depths. They're probably vying with each other for the coffers and antiques strewn all over the ocean floor even as we speak. The movie made US scowl, not cry. (And remember, I was with my girl when I saw it). You're too weak, Chris; too weak, I say. Now, turning off yer brain - yes, that it does. There I'm with ya.
...let's forget about movies and talk about Atheism again.
Just read the intro to TROUBLEMAKERS. Now that's what I wait for! Harlan at the top of his form. Snappy! Just great stuff!
Made my day.
Thanks Harlan,
Mutti
Jay,
According to my Excel spreadsheet exactly 45% of your list is absolute bullshit. Data I thought you could use.
Star Trek Five? Proved Shatner had no concept of his character, even after 20 years and that he couldn't direct.
Titanic? How can you get both men and women together for a three hours + movie? Put a "forbidden" romance on a romantic cruise, throw in dashing personalities and the promise that thousands will die before the last reel in very, very cool special effects.
Apocalypse Now? Maybe later.
Seven Samuri/Magnificent Seven Former is better than the latter, but both were damn good films.
Carnival of Souls - proof that a maker of educational films can scare the hell out of people. Basis for my as-yet-unfinished craptacular opus "Mankiller 2: The Revenge of Ringo" (www.zebrapix.com)
Monty Python & the Holy Grail - Great satire. The DVD Special Edition is FANTASTIC.
Night of the Living Dead - Great Cold War parable.
Harry Potter - Any movie that sparks in my six year old a look and sense of wonder is brilliant in my book. Star Wars? He didn't see the appeal. Star Trek? Stupid. Blue's Clues? Interesting. Wild Thornberrys... neat... but Harry Potter on the big screen. He doesn't want to be a witch. He wants to create. That floored me. Now my mission as a single father is to get Ms Rowling to go out with me.
ET - Special Edition - It'll be nice to see it on screen again, but it wasn't necessary to digitally remove the guns, IMHO.
Donnie Darko - Be sure to bring a note pad for this one so you can put the data into an Excel spreadsheet...if you're really that interested to figure out what went on.
Of course, there are several Bill Murray movies on my list, but that's a little too biased.
Heather: I feel your pain. The older I get the more I realize people just don't have a clue. The holidays just bring out the worst in people who believe the lack of material things pose a great threat to their security and/or happiness. Sometimes I wish I could bury myself back in the warm, snuggly blanket of the university. I work in retail. But then, I shake it off and go to customerssuck.com to put it all into perspective.
Michael: Congrats on your audio "big time" debut. It's God's work you're doing....
Lynn,
Er...I'm a member of the ACLU and the CBLDF. Does that count?
Joseph
Michael,
Congratulations!
As movie soundtracks, I can only reccomend the Dead Man soundtrack when the movie is playing. Otherwise, it's a bunch of Neil Young music, which is comprehensible to me as Sanskrit.
A much preferable soundtrack to a Jarmusch movie, for me, is the incredible music for Ghost Dog, the most ignored movie of 2000. RZA, one of the members of the Wu-Tang Clan, put together a soundtrack that was a beautiful part and parcel to that odd movie. Warning, though; if you don't consider any rap at all to be worthwhile, you're screwed on this movie. Cruely ignored for score and soundtrack honors by the Academy and the two-bit nitwits at the Grammys.
Regards,
Joseph
Alright. Fess up. Who's a member of the DNRC?
L.
Hey gang,
Speaking of audio books, my very first commercial work has just been released. You can see it at www.americanabooks.com, it's the first thing that pops up on the front page, along with a tribute album for the people of NYC, on which I have a couple of readings. Wish I could recommend both of these to you all, but in truth...the book isn't all that great. Oh, the READING is impeccable, but the story and writing are not. And the tribute album? I was all for it, even donated my time and voice...and then I found out that Robert Schuller was on it. Jeez.
Oh well....at least my name is out there!
Michael
Gunther,
I am a Tarkovsky-lover. I became very enamored of Solaris; I've yet to see Stalker and I'm anxious to do so. The American version will doubtlessly be literalized. Tarkovsky had his own personal vision and style, his own statement which he channeled through the language of film. For me, to take a remake seriously would strictly depend on the director attached to the project; there is next to none I would trust. The greater likelihood is a hack will be handling it. Hell, if we're lucky it'll be Chris Columbus; with 'Potter' under his belt now, they'll hand to him anything that once had potential.
I actually became really interested in Anderson's UFO this last year. It's campy, as you point out, but it had a couple of brilliant high points (which talked with David Gerrold about). Case in point, in this episode I rented last February, because of red alert security concerns of SHADO, Commander Straker - quite pain-racked - must forfeit the life of his seriously injured 12-year-old son (to do so would risk security; BUT it would not have been impossible. It just might have meant a great price for the rest of the world); it created a terrific, unexpected moral dilemma. No punches were pulled. His ex-wife had finally learned to despise him. And all he could do was watch helplessly as she left the hospital crying. In a high shot the scene fades with him standing there completely alone. He had no one to turn to for consoling, no shoulders to cry on. Unlike some Capt. Kirk, he was not always a winner. And he grew cynical. HELL of an episode. It was probably the best thing Anderson ever did for tv. This and a couple of other episodes from that show I would like to have on tape some time very much.
Gerrold, for the record, told me he was actually jealous of the show because it allowed writers to get away with that episode when Star Trek refused to take any real risks.
Rob:
The Billy Zane character in Titanic was ridiculous - we agree on that. I am also not defending Titanic as a great or even particularly good film. But I think it is a good example of what it is - a soap opera tear jerker. It makes you cry. That's all it's going for. And it does it.
Of course, I don't want that to get extended to the notion that if a film sets the bar low and manages to stumble over it, that means it's good. Not at all. But I think if you want a good cry and want to shut your brain off, Titanic fits the bill. I also think DiCaprio did a fine job in that film but I know a lot of people disagree.
Mr. Berman:
Wow, we get to agree on something! :)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Dead Man Soundtrack.
One of the most sublime moments in my life came earlier this year as I watched the sun set behind a ridge in Badlands National Park. I was all alone leaning against my car and playing Track 14 from the Dead Man soundtrack. I could feel the vibrations seeping into my body. It was a magical moment, one of those small epiphanies you mentioned in regards to American Beauty. But mine wasn't so damn cheesy. :)
I'm trying to think of a way to tell you about this, without going on at great length. Let's see how I do...
Some of the people at the university where I work..AMAZE me as to how stupid or unintelligent or slacker they are.
Why I mention it, I guess, is because in the last day or so I've had so many examples of it, I guess. And I guess it falls into a category (as well) where I'm having an epiphany about it..about realizing how UNLIKE me a lot of people are. You'd think I'd truly understand this.. you'd THINK...
I think it's been an issue that's aided my downfall on number of occasions--is what I'm saying here.
And I'm better..no..let's say..OKAY with it. It doesn't leave me so pissed off at them because I really, really REALIZE..just how stupid they truly are.
They can't help it -- I guess. But it simply makes me realize just how much crap I've put up with people about.. due to this sort of issue. I realize reading the stories Ellison writes about stuff this -- common, everyday events -- is partly what set me off.. but.. it's just as much me.. and where _I_ am, at the moment.
I'm not sure if you'll really 'get' this. As you may be still dealing with people on that old level too.
It's rather freeing.. is what it is...To have this realization.. I mean TRULY have this realization.
These people are stupid. And nothing they say or do can REALLY affect me. Not unless I let it.
There was this woman who was putting the wraps--sandwiches in tortilla shells, like Badass Jacks subs and wraps shop--in the frig for the customers but for whatever fucking reason, PUTTING them with the labels facing upside down. (I mean, she PUTS the regular sandwiches label side out, why wouldn't she think to do the same with the wraps--does she figure people can read upside down or something?)
So anyway, I caught her at the frig today (she's been doing it from the start; no really earthshaking thing; I tend to turn them around when I get to straightening that frig).. and I mentioned it..kindly, politely.. you know.. "it's no big deal but you know the person looking at your wraps will have to open the sliding frig door to read the sandwich; you MIGHT want to put them right side up."
(and I tell you something, I've SEEN her do this, okay? She comes out of the kitchen with a pile of assorted sandwiches and such and puts this kind of sandwich in the frig.. all of them (you gotta hand it to her for her consistency on this) upside down.)
So she turns to me; seems to understand what I said.. and she says, "Are THEY? They SHOULDN'T be. I put them in right. I don't know HOW they'd get that way."
*laugh* (rereading to this point just made me laugh. This woman has a voice like a nine-year old. An Einstein, if you know what I mean--not. *grin*)
I started to converse with her further; but realized..
What bullshit. She's either THAT stupid.. or THAT stupid to think she can bullshit me.
Can you imagine this?
I know this sounds small. It's minor. But it's indicative of the kind of thinking these people do.
It, simply, amazed me, is all.
And like I said, in the last day or so, I've seemed to have a lot of similar incidents. And it WASN'T just coworkers; it was customers too.
Like; I'm standing there thinking, "these are adults I'm talking to; late teens, early twenties, teachers and office staff.
And the stuff they believe and do.
Christ.
You know what you never hear about? A bunch of Jews being hit my a tornado.
Next time you see Bing Crosby playing a priest in a movie, Imagine him beating his children in real life.
Next time they give you all that civic shit about voting, remember that Hitler was elected in a completely free election.
Instead of warning pregnant woman not to drink, They should tell Alcoholic woman not to fuck.
If lobsters looked like puppies, people could never drop them into boiling water while they're still alive. But instead, they look like science fiction monsters, so it's ok. Restaurants that allow patrons to select live lobsters from a tank should be made to paint names on their shells: "Happy", "Baby Doll", "Junior." I defty anyone to drop a living thing called, "happy" into rapidly boiling water.
Rarely does a loose woman have a tight pussy.
Some see the glass as half-empty, some see the glass as half-full, I see the glass as too fucking big!
--George Carlin
And now for a completely unrelated thing:
Man, I love DVD.
They released the original 1930s "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" serials on DVD. I remember seeing those on TV when I was very young, and loving them. Now I get the chance to see them again.
More stuff needs to be released. I want U.F.O, campy as it is. I want Tarkovsky's brilliant "Stalker" and "Solaris" (the latter of which, incidentally, is apparently being re-made by Stephen Sonderberg with George Clooney as Snaut. Tarkovsky's probably already at 10.000 RPM, and Lem would be if he were dead).
Now, Todd:
What did I just post? ..."'Apocalypse Now' is easily my favorite war film". What genre does the Deer Hunter belong to? Gangster rap?
No, of a matter of fact I never cared much for Deer Hunter.
And, btw, my grenade was not a lob; you'll find out it landed on the target when your dreams come back to haunt your guilty conscience for being a Republican. I hope you do read about Nixon; he was the closest thing to a mobster we ever had in the White House (Brookings, Ellsberg, anti-semitism, secret Cambodia bombings, two solid years using his 'Plumbers' before Watergate came along, and so on). And then you have your detached dipshits like Reagan who hurled the economy into decades of deficit, which doesn't even include the S&Ls. If you don't know where deregulation works and where it doesn't - just supporting a blanket argument against its crucial need - then, like all Republicans, you're absolutely fulla shit. (As one with a history of med problems - though I do keep in shape - proper insurance coverage eluded me for years because of its goddamn expense, so's I'm pretty twitchy on that subject; when Clinton was running the show I wanted something to pass. He'd been the first to try anything, besides kissing up to insurance lobbyists. That alone is more than I could ever say for the business-sector simians you associate with. Then there's the addle-brained fundamentalist and 'faith-based' drives they push. And the stupid moralistic laws they support. And how they can be against a welfare system for the poor but not against one for mega-zillion corporations. Oh, yeah: and then there's the brainless stand against abortion and cloning experiments, which will be conducted somewhere overseas, anyway; at least there seemed to be an adequate division on the recent brain stem work; anyone against that just needs...well, I won't say it. Oh, yeah, and then there's the fucked-up dismissal of environment so characteristic of those bozos.
Todd...SNAP out of it!
Lemme know if you'd like to hear more on my views about this topic. Maybe you can help me start a newsletter.
Todd,
I couldn't buy into the fact that they were even talking. Granted, I enjoyed the dialog between Freeman and Hackman and liked the idea of the "play" (though I couldn't understand the credits: based on a story by what seemed to be about five people and also based on a novel called Brainwash if memory serves and then screenplay by numerous folks). Hackman, who played a lawyer, should've kept his mouth shut as soon as he realized where Freeman was going. I just couldn't suspend that disbelief and it just seemed like laziness that a better scenario to get Hackman talking couldn't have been thought up. After all, they knew each other and had history.
Best soundtrack music: Neil Young, Dead Man. Gabriel's Last Temptation would be second.
David: I agree with you about American Beauty. I enjoyed it a great deal and I love Baba O'Riley. You just can't please all of the people all of the time, right?
Two notes:
1. Mendes did not recreate the plastic bag scene. Apparently that snippet was taken from an archived film by someone else. I also don't understand why people must pillory that moment. Of course the circulatory system is more complexthan a dancing bag. That is sooo not the point. The point is, sometimes a completely odd, random, self-contained moment can move you and lead to an epiphany. If you haven't experienced a moment like that, I can't explain it to you.
2. I don't see any homophobia in the direction or writing of AB. The only well-adjusted people in that movies were the gay jogging couple.
AB is a movie about small epiphanies with huge, rippling consequences. Of course the characters are fucked up and often despicable. You don't have to like the hero to appreciate his journey.
Bermanator
Oh, have no regrets. You're right, Trek V is in many ways a stupid, boring movie. (but then, most movies are stupid or boring at one point or another.)
But I maintain that Trek V stupidity and tedium does not compare to the overwrought angst of Generations or the simply awful story and acting of Insurrection.
Chris,
Well, you n' I wrastled it out over 'Carrie' and we both survived the skirmish. So, I'll reinforce my original thrashing of 'Titanic' by adding when my girlfriend and I saw it (this was, I believe, the 2nd day after its release) we were constantly rolling our eyes in dismay at some FUCKING stupid scenes, including the moronic mustache-twitching villainy of Billy Zane and the climactic chase through the sinking ship. Interestingly, we could hear the rest of the audience reacting with the same incredulity.
Nah, I hate that flick.
Lynn,
Interestingly, Harlan proposed an early treatment when they were planning the first Trek movie which involved an alternate universe wherein reptilian beings had evolved as Earth's dominant intelligence instead of mammalian. If this is what worked its way into V either they moved far enough from Harlan's material to avoid legal wrath or the rights to the idea had been purchased so they could do as they like. I can't say the outcome justified much.
Eric,
Most film critics are pretty fucking bad to begin with; given that I liked Leonard more than many. John Powers is an example of a much better reviewer. I have to confess too, I've always been kind of comfortable with star ratings because, unlike 'thumbs-up' they provide a sense of scale (***, ***1/2, etc.). Any rating system is going to obscure the difference between good films and classics, anyway. But I pretty much got used to 'stars' when I was a kid so that's a major reason I'm so accepting of it.
HE~ Saw this. Thought of you.
"Bless those who challenge us to grow, to stretch, to move beyond the knowable, to come back home to our elemental and essential nature. Bless those who challenge us for they remind us of doors we have closed and doors we have yet to open."
-- Navajo saying
L.
PS. Yes, Jim, go and get the gauze out to drape over your monitor. Blame it on the 'pods.
Rob, your lobbed grenade at my Republican heart was a dud. I wasn't really defending TITANIC in my little tirade....I enjoyed my viewing when it came out, but mainly for the sinking and the priest talking about spouting out some little speech as he goes down that had something to do with accepting the modern world and omygawsh look at what it's doing to us (my memory can often go the way of another Republican we all know and love who currently sits around his ranch and, um, sits around his ranch)....I was just using it as an example of a movie that really did get some good buzz for awhile before becoming hated. Glad you like APOCALYPSE.....please don't ruin this warm feeling in my heart for you by saying you like DEER HUNTER over APOCALYPSE, though. A test I give many (and even my wife fails!!!!!but I love her just the same).
Rich, ok, what did you hate about UNDER SUSPICION? I am a Hackman addict (second only to Nicholson) and I caught this little playlet on cable about two months ago. I enjoyed it so much, moreso for the back and forth between Hackman and Freeman than anything else, that I went out and bought the DVD (previously viewed for $10). I even like the ending SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
in that he doesn't accept his wife back when she shuffles on over to him to make amends.
-TODD
Ah, fuck. I mean, 'Apocalypse Now'.
Saw another dangling typo too: SUR-prise, not SU-prise.
There. A suprisingly good piece of professional editing.
As I understand it, the storyline for V was originally supposed to be the first ST movie, but it got canned. I believe it was because the plotline was summed up as, "Kirk fights God....and wins."
L.
Oh, I know I'm going to regret this....
Eric,
Star Trek V fails as a film because it's boring with a capital BORING. The only remotely interesting part is DeForrest Kelley's little deal with his character's helping his father commit suicide. Besides that, it's a stupid movie (perfect example: the ridiculousness of Klingons playing sharpshooting with a Pioneer/Voyager type probe, when it would MAYBE be a light-year from Earth and would probably be tagged as a historical artifact (or retrieved in a museum) - stupid idea, and just set the tone for the rest of the movie).
>To this day Leonard Maltin gives 'Blade Runner' 1 1/2 stars <
Leonard Maltin is not a good critic. Blade Runner was a great movie. His was one of the first "all-in-one" review books, and since his reviews are generaally comfortable and inoffensive, he sells them in droves.
Giving movies "stars" is a precarious activity, expecially when the movies are not criticized in the proper context. By way of example (and this might be a loathsome example given the sponsor of this board), if you are going to rank a Star Trek movie, you really can only rank them in comparison to each other, and maybe a few limited guidelines that are applicable to science fiction serials.
Everyone loves to slam Trek V, which played out as an overlong episode of the classic series, but it is still a better film (and yes, better directed by pompous Shat), than Generations or the truly miserable Insurrection. Yet Trek V consistently gets fewer "stars" than any other Trek film, because the effects are weak at the end. Lucasfilm has made it impossible for anyone to make a science fiction movie without blowing millions on effects, or else they get fewer "stars" in their ratings. So today's sci-fi movies are long on spectacle, and short on story, since the kind of people who might make a thinking person's movie get no funding.
I like crappy effects, myself...makes me think I could almost do them. Viva Ed Wood.
--Eric
Come to think of it, the last Best Picture winner which I thought was a great film was Unforgiven. I haven't even liked most of the subsequent winners. I thought Shakespeare in Love was a lot of fun but seems rather insubstantial for a Best Picture winner. Of course, put it in the same company as Gladiator or Titanic and I guess that criticisms doesn't hold up either.
I think Titanic has been unfairly pilloried by its detractors.
It is not a great film. It is, however, one of the best-written and best-acted soap operas I can recall seeing.
It's cheesy. It contains no profound insights into human nature.
But it's a good love story and an effective tear jerker.
Todd,
BTW, to be fair to you, after closing my last post with a cheap though heart-felt shot, I'm glad you liked APOCOLYPSE NOW so much; it's one of my favorite films too. Easily my favorite war film.
Occasionally, you suprise me.
"Incognita, Inc." by Harlan is the lead story in this year's
Best Fantasy anthology edited by Ellen Datlow... grabbed it
at the local Media Play... alas they had no "Troublemakers."
David,
I tend to believe that. Particularly with the sense of independence growing among women; they began feeling they no longer had to stay married in social role-playing. Yet, while mate-swapping and orgiastic recreation probably had absolutely nothing to do with divorce rates (after all it was probably a very small splice of the population trying it), I wonder if some aspects of the hippie consciousness did somehow factor in; after all, it lent to the concept of independence and mobility for many parts of the population. (And, for women, that was still growing in the 60's; the ERA itself was still stalled in the mid-70's conservative backlashes led by a lady named Phylis Schafly, who believed women's lib was an assault on God and country). It's a fascinating era because it was a culmination of so many movements, many of which had begun decades earlier (and violently suppressed).
So, I still tend to wonder, if I wanted to consult Mazursky's film as historical reference, was BOB AND CAROL distorting what was really happening with 'free association' psychology and youth inspired promiscuity ("that's beautiful, man; we all love each other"). Even if the movie does misrepresent the movement by an outsider it does so making an interesting point; I liked the ending very much (you can tell I just saw the flick). But I have an information gap about the era I'm trying to fill in.
Peace 'n love, man.
Todd,
To this day Leonard Maltin gives 'Blade Runner' 1 1/2 stars - which I think is outrageous; totally absurd. It left me completely disillusioned with film critics. Not even Ebert draws more than a glance from me these days. Yet, it is largely the director's cut that draws most of the accolades; the original cut is still largely received with mixed reactions because of the dumb studio-imposed narration. But I do agree, it built a solid following.
However, many, along with myself, understand how stupid and insipid 'Titanic' is; a half-assed script, cliche characters and some painfully dumb scenes it really only got recognition for its technical effects. Now, even that isn't holding up in increased-ratio screenings because the people on deck are revealing themselves to be the computer generated cartoons they really are. A number of people came back to me saying so. I haven't watched the Oscars since that ludicrous night they gave this schlock flick so much attention; the whole thing is a joke.
''Titanic' is certainly a good movie for Republicans, though.
Chris,
Interestingly, we agree on the filming of Gladiator. Though much of it was very well made, the computer generated crowds and walls in the Colisseum were surprising crappy (say what you will about Star Wars I, the crowds for the pod racing stuff were much better). I regard the movie as incomplete, with a lot of great sstuff leading to a muddled product (specifically, a good Crowe performance, a Phoenix performance that is really growing on me, good work by Richard Harris, and a movie-stealing role for Oliver Platt - also, the opening battle is fantastic, a great use of opposing schools of tactics and some great blues and blacks on the screen).
However, Scott Bakula is still da'bomb in American Beauty. *ducks*
Regards,
Joseph
I must admit, Todd, that I do have a warm place in my heart for The Hitcher. Admittedly, I wanted to see Rutger Hauer kick C. Thomas Howell's ass, but probably the main reason I liked the movie was its cheesiness and the reaction of one of my roommates at certain scenes
DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE UNLESS YOU DON'T GIVE A SHIT AND COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THAT FINE ACTOR C. THOMAS HOWELL OF SCHOOL AFLOAT FAME AND THAT MOVIE WAS ONLY OK BECAUSE IT SHOWED KELLY PRESTON'S TITS
when the cops get shot while Howell's in the back seat of the police car and my roommate was incensed at Howell's reaction since "ballistics would prove he didn't shoot them", and Jennifer Jason Leigh's dilemma at the truck stop. My roommate cried for two days after that, "Aww, c'mon. She didn't deserve that. That sucked. That movie sucked."
Yes, it's a bad movie and my reaction upon seeing it for a second time was the same as when I saw Star Wars on cable a few years after it came out: I actually liked that at one time?
Again, nostaligia or whatever, I can still watch The Hitcher whereas I won't sit through, say, Under Suspicion even though it has arguably two of the finest actors on the planet. (The reason is that the whole premise of the movie is flawed. Trust me on this one.)
Forget I asked about the auction. I tend to forget that there are prying eyes.
L.
Susan & Harlan~ The package arrived today. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Mere gratitude seems pale. Thank you.
Do we have a final total on how much the auction at LOSCON raised?
L.
Todd,
I hear what you're saying about the predictable counter-reaction people have to the loved movies. IMHO, this is what happened with Blair Witch. Out of Cannes, it had great buzz. And early on, everyone loved it. A couple weeks later, it became cool to make fun of it and a lot of people fell in line.
I remember American Beauty differently. It came out with mixed but generally positive reviews early on. There was no Oscar buzz at all in the early-going. Slowly it built up momentum and steamrolled its way through the Oscars.
I don't remember Gladiator being well received by critics either though it was very popular with filmgoers. I think it's an OK movie but surprisingly poorly filmed for such a high budget affair.
Notice how so many hated movies start off with raves. The pattern is so predictable. Sure, there are people who will always have hated a movie from the start.....but in general, I see many huzzahs turning to tomato tossing in predictable fashion(BLADE RUNNER being one example of going from hated to loved).
GLADIATOR came out to many bravos. Had a lot of yawn reviews, and Roger Eberts sure hated it, but it had more raves than not. Suddenly, it is now considered the worst Oscar pick ever (and, not really giving a shit about Oscar, is a pretty bad pick....though it was a pretty bad movie year).
FORREST GUMP.....looooooooved by all when it first appeared. Now, even if you love it you usually only admit it if you find another GUMP fan. I can take it or leave it. Does nothing for me. Loved PULP FICTION that year.
TITANIC. Huzzahs supreme. Ooops, the script sucks. Ooops, the whole movie sucks. How dare you call this good cinema!
AMERICAN BEAUTY. Big time positive buzz. Comes out, mucho mucho positive buzz and hey even the public likes it. Grabs that Oscar and boy does this movie suck.
Now, don't go nitpicking me to death on how you all saw shit coming a mile away and you always hated this or that movie that everyone else has now learned to hate.....I'm talking in a general sense (the gang on this board is much more honest and intelligent with their opinions.....not led like a directionless wave by the blowing wind of popular opinion; that's for damn sure).
By the way.....I like THE HITCHER. Really. I do. For what it is, a piece of schlock stalker movie, it works for me thanks to Rutger and some of the director tricks.
By the by the way, just watched my APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX dvd last night. This is my favorite movie ever. Ever. I can watch this over and over and over and I have. Not sure how comfortable I am with the added scenes...maybe they'll grow on me....but it seems like Coppola's original cutting of the sloppy tits and ass scene with the playboy bunnies was wise (though I do love the rainy visuals before they are discovered), and that plantation dinner scene just felt really forced (and look, more tits and ass!). The rest of the added stuff was fine, but those two major scenes make me glad that I held onto my original-cut DVD.
-TODD
Jim: I'm with you on the running-a-studio idea. (Since I'm out of work, it might even be a step _up_.) Still, I thought Keaton was fine as Batman-- not my first choice, but he wasn't the shallow pretty-boy Val Kilmer was. (George Clooney had a definite gravitas that could have worked, but by the time he got the role Joel Schumacher was turning the films into a rubber fetishist's fantasy.)
I know the 'worst ever' rhetoric bugs me, too. I think I mentioned how it crops up over at Harry Knowles' site. But I think there's a difference here. Most of the time, fanboys are talking about bullshit fantasy movies that, by and large, are disposable product that were made to push toys and fill the seats. So when such movies are sweatily denonced as abortions, worst-evers, SUCKS, and so on, yeah, we know it's empty hyperbole.
But when we talk about movies like _Forrest Gump_ or _American Beauty_, I think the hyperbole may be warranted. Remember, these weren't films that were written according to merchandising templates. These were supposedly high-minded attempts at creating an important film or a serious drama, to make a serious comment about American life, and to be regarded as something more profound and intelligent than _Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back_.
And in most ways, these _were_ taken in exactly that spirit. The innalect-yall press ran dozens of essays, editorials, re-appraisals, and the like about these movies, reading them as diagnostics of the culture. And let's not forget that both won Oscars for Best Picture. When a film is taken _that_ seriously, then I think that people who dislike it for good reasons also have good reasons for resorting to such terms as "mendacious," "evil," "corrupt," "revolting," and worse. After all, they're going against approved opinion.
Oh, and the best comment on that plastic-bag scene came from the show _Family Guy_. At one point, Peter Griffin is taping Stewey. Suddenly he veers away to track a plastic bag in the wind, and rhapsodizes about how God made it happen to show him how much beauty there is in the world.
Then the camera pans up, and there's GOD, shouting, "It's just a GARBAGE BAG, dummy! Do you know how complicated your CIRCULATORY SYSTEM is?"
Saw SPY GAMES this weekend. The Diet Coke was ok, if not a tad flat and uninspiring, but the popcorn was the worst popcorn I ever ate.
-TODD
Poor Harlan...
Lynn: Hee, hee. A day without a blown mind in my wake is like a day without sunshine.
Brian: There are so many instances of unimaginative casting in Hollywood, I don't even know where to start. The problem is that too many directors and producers use looks and past roles, rather than the actor's ESSENCE, as the basis for casting. Take our example of Morgan Freeman. Except for STREET SMARTS, he has traditionally played good-guy parts. It's certainly easy to see why; he projects a quiet strength and a dignified surety, and these traits are very desirable in a screen hero. But these same qualities make the most horrifying villains--isn't it true that the most intimidating people aren't those who bellow at the top of their lungs, but the ones who talk in quiet, measured tones? The reason Freeman is so successful in heroic roles is that the audience is subconsciously GRATEFUL that he's on the side of the angels--they don't even want to IMAGINE Freeman as a baddie, it scares them so. Brian, I tell ya, we need to run a studio. Freeman as Lector would make Hopkins (who is an excellent actor) seem like a pale (so to speak) memory. Hell, they replaced Jodie Foster with Julianne Moore, so why stop there?
And when will they ever properly cast an actor in the part of Batman? The other part of the casting equation is discerning a CHARACTER'S essence, as well. Batman isn't a stoical pretty-boy (like Val Kilmer or George Clooney); he's a brilliant detective who, nonetheless, is genuinely DISTURBED. After all, this is a man who saw his parents being murdered in front of him, and decided to dress up as a bat and hunt criminals. Although Michael Keaton is a fine actor with a definite dark side (lamp his villainous turn in PACIFIC HEIGHTS), he kind of falls down in the brilliant detective department; he's a little too "regular guy" to properly portray the greatest ratiocinative mind since Sherlock Holmes. (He would have made a terrific Joker, however.) My choice for Batman? Montgomery Clift, honey...
Alejandro: And we need villains to fight Harlan, as well. How about some Christopher Priest and Charles Platt action figures?
Enough of this AMERICAN BEAUTY-hatin'. Why not save some of that bile for films that REALLY deserve it, like THE HITCHER, or anything directed by the anti-Orson Welles, Eric Schaeffer? (He helmed the cinematic abortions IF LUCY FELL, MY LIFE'S IN TURNAROUND, and FALL. Supremely dopey, all of 'em, and made unnecessarily icky by Schaeffer's unbelievable hubris. This guy genuinely thinks he is The Shit, and why he STILL gets the budgets to make movies is one of the Great Mysteries of Our Time...)
And I would like to state, for the record, that Bud Powell's recording of "It Never Entered My Mind" is simply the most beautiful thing I've heard in many a moon. What a genius of the keyboard...
Jim
I also understand Todd's dislike of my use of a term like "Most dishonest movie ever made" but I didn't write that off-handedly. I mean it. Though I should be more precise and say "Most dishonest movie I have ever seen."
I've thought about the film a lot and discussed it (ranted against it) a great deal. I don't like to throw around superlatives and try to avoid enaging in needles hyperbole. But I'll stand by that statement. There is not one single true moment in this movie until near the end when Lester's moment of clarity when he stops short of having sex with his lolita.
The characters are just... I still don't know what they are. Are they human? They remind me of the woman in The Cage. The aliens had never seen a human before so didn't know how to reconstruct her and thus rebuilt her as a homonculus. It's as if the filmmakers had never observed humans before and so created these bizarre caricatures of caricatures of caricatures that bear no resemblance to any real persons either living or dead.
I don't blame Chris Cooper for it but his character has got to be in contention for the most ridiculous character ever to appear on film.
There I go with the hyperbole again. What can I say? This film inspires it.
Oh yeah and the popcorn did stink.
Just as a small note on Annette Bening's character in American Beauty, I note that people have been seeeing her character as needlessly shrill and grasping. Having worked with many a Realtor, I can assure you that someone who hasn't had a sale in a while can become more and more crazed by it (I thought the whole real estate deal in the movie was shown perfectly - only Glengarry has caught the desperation better). Knowing that, her character made perfect sense to me (and the whole cleaning her house in her slip to keep her dress clean was dead on).
Also, I understand the popcorn Chris got at the movie was oversalted and devoid of any real soul.
Rob:
Wife swapping was surely not the primary cause of divorce in the 60s and 70s. Give Friedan's _The Feminine Mystique_ a look; consider the effects of Title IX and greater numbers of women moving into the workforce, thus achieving the level of economic and psychic strength to make it on their own. A lot of people got divorced simply because they could, because they saw other people doing it and surviving okay. I think an awful lot of couples before that time would have liked to get divorced, did in fact live separate lives as best they could while married, but the economic and social pressures were too strong against it.
Jay Smith:
Give me a mailing address, here or via private email, and I'll get to work making some tapes.
I can see there is indeed little point in trying to discuss "American Beauty" here; the vitriol is simply too over the top. Todd is right: "the most dishonest film ever made, etc." isn't measurable and isn't worth trying to tackle.
The enemies of the film seem to see it as peddling archetypes rather than telling a story about specific people. (Not much more subtle than the young woman I tried to reason with on AllWatchers.com some months back when she expressed horror that the film would offer a "child molester" as its hero.) It's just a story, fercrissake.
I agree the story is rather hamfisted in its handling of the Bening and Cooper characters (it's especially odd because Alan Ball is himself gay), but that's hardly all there is to the film. I heard an interview with Ball in which he said he himself saw a plastic bag flying around on its own one time, and was deeply moved -- it may even have been at the World Trade Center(!) -- and he was flabbergasted at how well Mendes was able to recreate that event.
No, Brian, I don't believe the movie said anything new or earth-shattering (other than being at least somewhat open about having a sympathetic married protagonist who -- gasp -- actually masturbates!), but HOW it said them was often refreshing and delightful to me.
To Peter: Enjoy the book, but try to look up those web sites I listed with critiques of the book. I'd also recommend reading Ralph Nader's book _No Contest_ for another p.o.v.
Chris L: We may be one in our dislike for _American Beauty_, but I guess we have different foxholes foxhole on the music front. I, for one, like "Baba O'Reilly" a lot, and it was pretty revolting to hear it in this movie. (The rest of the soundtrack was pretty dire, including Thomas Newman's music. If you want to hear a _great_ movie score, listen to Peter Gabriel's soundtrack for _The Last Temptation of Christ_. Or most of Howard Shore's work.)
Re Orson Scott Card; Sometimes I agreed, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I thought he was trying to sound like Michael Medved, who is beneath contempt.
Wow, talk about synchronicity. A couple weeks ago Harlan referred us all to THE LOST ART OF DRAWING THE LINE by Philip K. Howard. I came by my department yesterday between classes and found that a faculty member had received a complimentary copy he did not want. Something about them changing the name and would he like to buy more at a discounted rate. In any case, he didn't want it and let me have it. I started reading it, and it makes sense. I'd encourage anyone who happens to find a copy to at least give it a chance before decrying it as right-wing propaganda bullcaca of the Nth order.
Must get back to papers and studies. Me go lurk now.
---Peter
Actually, I think the music in American Beauty is positively dreadful too with the sole exception of the excellent Annie Lennox's excellent cover of Don't Let It Bring You Down. In fact, the choice of Baba O'Riley as the theme just shows how far on the other side of the planet the filmmakers were from me - I've always thought that was a candidate for single most overrated/worst classic rock song of all-time. And the score - yawn.
In all seriousness, EVERYTHING about the movie was awful. Script, direction, acting, sound, look, feel, stench - everything. There are worse films. But I have never in my life come out of a theater feeling so completely disgusted with what I had just seen. Planet of the Apes was close though.
I disagree with those that did not like American Beauty--but, the music...at least tell me you liked the music. And I'm not just talking about the songs inserted in various places that take the place of acting or writing because writers/directors don't know how to transition from one point to another without some song by his or her favorite band to relieve them of their laziness and/or incompetence. Shit. Where was I? Oh, yeah. The score by Thomas Newman. Good stuff. Anyway...as I was saying about disagreement over American Beauty's worth as a movie, I checked out Orson Scott Card's website (thanks, Lynn) and am amazed at the idiocy that pours from this man's pen (or, typewriter or keyboard as the case may be). I have never read anything by Card before and am not inclined to do so again after perusing his website. His diatribes against Pleasantville and Amistad are particularly befuddling as the movies, in my opinion, are not great film, but the stretches in logic to belittle liberalism, Clinton, and "Negroes" giving their opinion on whether they like segregation or not from a couple of films that MAY be worth renting on a dreary Sunday night (and then only with a rent one, get one free coupon) defy credulity.
By the way, since I'm obliquely referencing politics, it's nice to see that George Bush is finally reverting back to form. It was scaring me a bit there when he seemed to be doing the right thing and not getting in the way of his advisors and cabinet in the beginning of this "crisis" or "retaliation" or whatever the key word is that CNN or MSNBC is using to describe this "war". But now I can breathe a sigh of relief as he lets his attack dog Ashcroft round up the usual suspects for "interviews" and he okayed the secret military tribunals. We only need due process to those that deserve due process and not those terrorists, you know. Or, even those that look like terrorists. Sure, they may not have committed crimes, but they might have been thinking about it, though. You think this is a democracy or something?
Re: HE Action Figure Selection
...how about that super-special-limited-Wizard-magazine-exclusive-edition original series "Drug-Dealing Scotty" action figure signed by Gene Roddenberry?
My vote is for the "Warp Drive" Harley Davidson with ejection seat and exploding Bill Shatner figure! It comes with chaps and a super-small copy of the "COTEOF" teleplay complete with Shatner's line counts.
Collections? I have a cute little condom collection. Really. It's fun. A few years ago I noticed that I was often giggling at the variety of condom packages floating around typical stores. Always found myself grabbing that package of ROUGH RIDERS from the squeeky wheelie display at the boardwalk drugstore and looking imploringly at the wife (to no avail).
I used to talk about trying to create the next big mall store that would become a major chain....the Condom Store which featured not only every size and shape imaginable, but a trough of used condoms for a dime. Of course, having just read UNDERWORLD by Don Delillo, I guess my idea is no longer special (except for the river of used condoms, of course).
Anyway, I decided to start a little collection of the funnest condoms.....the oddest names, most interesting packages, etc. I just wanted a cute display in our bedroom and I truly enjoy it. My favorite is the set showing a little cartoon condom man (a very excited cartoon condom man....bursting with joy if you know what I mean) saying "LOOKING TO GET LUCKY WITH DEBBIE TONIGHT IN ATLANTIC CITY" and "LOOKING TO GET LUCKY WITH TODD TONIGHT IN ATLANTIC CITY". Of course, ROUGH RIDERS is proudly displayed as well.
Living so close to NYC and it's *ahem* eclectic shops, it is no longer a challenge to find interesting additions to the collection; but it's still fun.
As for the American Beauty discussion.....what I find most irritating in these types of arguments is how often a popular movie is described with such dramatic venom by the naysayers: "the most dishonest film ever made". You know what I mean....like The Simpson's comic book shop owner spouting "the worst comic book EVER" every week. I tend to wave off many of those comments as the simple anger expressed by moviegoers who simply must debase a film that attains some form of popularity. Happens way too often to not be a trend. First the acclaim, then the "it wasn't that good" then the "it was the worst movie EVER." "Most dishonest film ever made": That's a lot of movies to sift through to make such a statement.
By the way, I loved American Beauty. It was the one odd year that I actually applauded the Academy for a Best Picture decision, even though the movie I loved even more that year was not even nominated.....a movie that by mere mention will often result in the dismissive wave of "Oh fuck, why did I just waste my time reading this asshole's movie opinion": Loved Magnolia. Best picture I've seen in the past 2 years.
-TODD
Jim:
Ditto on the Harlan Ellison action figure. But make mine a Talking-Kung-Fu grip-G.I. Joe-sized (the 12" figurines from the late 60s, early 70s, thank-you-very-much, not the plastic crap Hasbro is manufacturing today), Tonka-truck-driving (the steel ones, again from the 70s, not the namby-pamby plastic crap) action-figure. The Talking part is essential you see.
And while we are at it, let's have a whole line of them. The Jeffty-is-Five Harlan action figure, the Repent-Harlequin action-figure, etc.
Okay, tirn fanboy-ish mode off…NOW!
Chuck,
A-HAAAAAHHHHHH. 'Tell It To The Marines'. I'll have to look at that. Yeah, there's a bunch of Chaney's I should see. I looked at four of his films; last one was 7 or 8 years ago. I didn't know about 'Marines'. And biographically I know more about his son.
His death - as you know - was a royal drag for many reasons, one being Universal had him set up to be their grand superstar for the new sound era starting with Dracula. He was already starting make-up tests for the film when he died (so, of course, Lugosi, who'd been doing the stage version for so long, was brought in; he may be memorable but I don't think he could do nearly as much as Chaney). Still, for the decade to follow Karloff was a damn brilliant bargain in the loss.
To Jim Davis: The same night I got pulled to _American Beauty_, the dinner discussion turned to casting in movies. I mentioned that I like to think of actors who would have done equally terrific jobs in roles that others made famous. For example, I said, if you couldn't get Jack Nicholson to play the Joker in _Batman_, James Woods would have been a great choice.
Then the friend-of-the-friends, one of those hyperactive-stoner types who hadn't quite outgrown the teenager fascination with serial killers, decided to get cute and say, "Okay, fine. But nobody could have done a better job as Hannibal Lecter than Anthony Hopkins."
I smiled. "Morgan Freeman," I said. (The fact that everyone could _NOT_ see Freeman in that role was a good indication that, maybe, I was hanging with the wrong crowd.) Jim, you should be a casting director.
To Chuck: _Tell it to the Marines_ is NO LONGER LOST. It's not on video, but it has been broadcast on Turner Classic Movies every so often-- usually in October, when they rebroadcast the exceptionally fine bio of Chaney narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
More on Actresses; I'd like to make mention of Jane Horrocks, who's done astounding dramatic work in _Little Voice_ and _Life is Sweet_ as well as her role as Bubble in _Absolutely Fabulous_.
Okay, I won't knock Kevin Spacey. He's done terrific work so far-- I'm very fond of his Jack Vincennes in _L.A. Confidential_-- but when an actor of his caliber starts taking roles as benevolent aliens, I worry about the man's judgement.
Jim: re: Hello Cthulhu!
I have one and only one thing to say to you...
MY EYES!!!! MY EYES!!!!!
::melting back into my component amino acids::
L.
Heather: Yes.
Stuff I collect: Books, bad relationships, and plaque in my arteries.
I got my copy of DARK CARNIVAL yesterday. Oh. My. God. The guys at Gauntlet press really outdid themselves this time. The luminously beautiful dust jacket artwork is by Bradbury himself, and is reproduced on the leather slipcase. There's a cornucopia of supplementary materials, including a foreward by Ray to each story, and a few "lost" tales that never made it to publication. The whole shebang is signed by Ray and Clive Barker, too. (AND it came with a chapbook of a new story, with artwork by William F. Nolan.) Guys, get this little bastard while you still can--you will NOT regret it. Truly the publishing event of the year. Er, after TROUBLEMAKERS, of course (he says, nervously looking around).
Cookie: Norman Granz is dead? What a shame. It says something about our society's priorities that I only found out about his passing HERE, and not from the TV or radio. The recordings on his Verve label have provided me with many, many hours of enjoyment. (And I own a few Pablo albums, too, with those distinctive black-and-white covers.) He Will Be Missed.
Bermanator: I LOVE IT!!!!
"Q: What ultimately happens to Harlequin?
A: He is brainwashed to be one of the government's bitches and do as they say. I think that is not good. Everyone should be able to have fun and live a little."
I think the kid will be all right...
As for the thread on modern actresses of worth...the problem, as I see it, is that there are little or no women in film today. I know, "What the hell is he talking about? There are plenty of women in movies, just look around." Well, sure, there are plenty of giggly little girls to be found, but actual adult WOMEN are rarer than radium. For example, I think Heather Graham is just darlin' to look at, and certainly charming in limited roles, but she has never transcended the schoolyard in emotional terms onscreen. And she's damn-near thirty years old! Compare her to 19-year old Lauren Bacall, who was confidently trading fours with Humphrey Bogart in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, and you'll weep.
The problem isn't just with Ms. Graham, it's EVERYWHERE in Hollywood. There's almost a complete lack of gravitas to the performances by young actresses today, and I think it's the natural result of a system that prizes youth and immaturity over age and experience. I heard a rumor that Famke Jannsen (Jean Grey in X-MEN) was rejected for a romantic role opposite Keanu Reeves because she was considered TOO OLD for the part. She's in her mid-thirties, for chrissakes! (AND she's a year younger than Reeves, to boot.) If a woman isn't dewy-fresh, then there's no place for her in Hollywood, and that's a goddamn shame. It's no wonder that most of the female thespians are emotionally stunted; why bother growing up, when there's no incentive to do so?
Now, I'm not saying there are NO actresses of maturity and depth in film today, just that they're in the minority. A woman who qualifies for the title of "Female DeNiro", in my opinion, is Jennifer Jason Leigh. Now, I haven't always loved everything she's done, but she consistently takes on challenging roles with dedication and verve. Another woman I like is Angelina Jolie. Yes, her lips are creepy, yes, she's out of her mind, but she is supremely ALIVE onscreen, in a way that the other Stepford Schoolgirls of today are not. Again, I may not always like her cinematic choices, but nine times out of ten, she's one of the most compelling elements of any movie she's in.
Ashey Judd has done some astounding work in films like NORMAL LIFE and RUBY IN PARADISE, though her choice of projects lately has been lacking, to say the least. (DOUBLE JEOPARDY? SOMEONE LIKE YOU? SIMON BIRCH?!?!?!?!?) Emily Watson is another woman who started off strong (BREAKING THE WAVES), but whose recent work has been unimpressive. TRIXIE was an abomination, and is frequently cited by Atheists as proof that God does not exist. (Alan Rudolph hasn't done a good movie since CHOOSE ME, and should be beaten with hammers for foisting crap movie after crap movie on the public.) I'm REALLY impressed by the work of Cate Blanchett, who is the rare modern actress to handle dramatic AND comedic roles with equal facility. Plus, I've always had a thing for redheads...
As for the men, my favorite living actors are Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. They consistently do the most amazing work, while making it look easy. I just wish that Freeman would do some villanous roles, as a favor to those of us who remember his turn as an evil pimp in STREET SMARTS. (I think he would make a PERFECT Hannibal Lector.)
Oh, and as far as Models-turned-actresses are concerned, a recent one with some promise is Saffron Barrows. She played the lead in Mike Figgis's screen adaptation of MISS JULIE, and did a very nice job in what has always seemed to me to be a very thankless role.
And no one had better talk any trash about Kevin Spacey, here. Knock AMERICAN BEAUTY all you want (I thought it was so-so), but leave the Spaceman alone. I've been a fan of his since his appearance as Mel Proffit in the Eighties TV drama "Wiseguy", and his work in THE USUAL SUSPECTS is as good as screen acting gets. He deserved the Oscar, just not for AMERICAN BEAUTY...
Lynn mentioned Cthulhu plush toys. Well, how about these apples: http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~kimuchi/cthulhu.html
And I want my Harlan Ellison action figure, now!
Jim
Tom: D'oh, poopie! I mean Fred WARD, not Fred Willard. Though that choice would have been quite funny. Still, it wouldn't have worked as well when he said, "I vote for outer space. No way these are local boys."
Rob: As has already been mentioned, Lon Chaney was in TELL IT TO THE MARINES. His last silent movie (a lost classic) oh, I can't remember the title, but he played a locomotive engineer. He bought a used pair of overalls from a real engineer so that the clothes would look and feel right. He just came across completely authentic in the few scenes that survive. The scene where he strokes and caresses the last remaining scraps of his old engine are touching.
Jude Law has been metioned here. I have a question. Is he related to John Phillip Law? The American actor who was world famous in Italy for playing the jewel thief Diabolik? The facial structure of the two men are very similar. Though Jude seems to have more talent that John.
Chuck
Dave,
Thanks for the information on recordings for the blind. Yes, the State Library and local colleges have a large number of recordings which, as I said, sounded like they were handed out to unprepared readers who read them like the newspaper. It's great. I'm a big fan of Frank Mueller, who reads many of Stephen King's stories, because of his range and dramatic talent. I picked up his reading of "The Body" for my dad and it blew me away. On the other hand, I picked up a compilation called "Tales of the Occult" which included stories like "The Tarn" and "The Yellow Sign" which were less than stellar. It seems the more obscure the work, the more uneasy the read.
Let me know what your cost is for those readings.
Jay
Brian,
RE: American Beauty
I think I love you!
Not in that way, I mean.
But the sentiment is the same.
Well, not in that way, I mean.
:)
Harlan,
Since the Chicago Seven came up I have a question pertaining to the same era...for a very brief answer, so as not to take up your time. As both a participant in several movements in the 60’s and a former film critic could you tell me in a couple of words if Paul Mazursky had an accurate take on the ‘free love’ trend and free association in his satire ‘BOB AND CAROL AND TED AND ALICE’? Two historical questions actually hinge on the inquiry: one, divorce rates rocketed between 1965 and the mid-seventies. Was that at all attributable to married couples putting mate-swapping to the test in some wave of disillusionment? Two, is Mazursky’s pov on the material subjective or was he an outsider capitalizing on the hippie trend (thereby distorting what it was all about)? In short, is the film historically accurate in terms of how the movement affected older couples?
If you could take a sec to enlighten me in any way here I’ll buy you a bialy.
What is Lalique glass? It's the work of glassmaker and artisan Rene Lalique, who create stunningly beautiful works straddling the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras. A decent Google search out to get you some sample pictures.
When I saw American Neauty, it was in the company of some friends who were ten years younger than I. They thought it was a wonderful movie. I thought it was a hokey, contrived, shallow piece of garbage. I thought, "This is the kind of movie Hollywood filmmakers love, because it reassures _them_ that middle-class Americans are shallow, repressed, wrapped-too-tight, and lacking in proper New Age spirituality." They gushed about how cool it was that Spacey's character could chuck it all and stick it to the man; I, ten years older, thought that Spacey's blackmailing his boos was an unrealistic plot device designed to let him off the hook from endangering his fragile family's finances. Annette Bening, whose character was now stuck with the responsibility of being the breadwinner, was presented as a shrieking fraud fit only for scorn and ridicule. And when they introduced that bullying next-door father, my _immediate_ thought was "This guy'll turn out to be a violent closet-case who'll kill Spacey over a crush." (The point was that all homophobes are actually secretly gay themselves, _get it?_ It's just a form of homophobia that disguises itself as sophistication.) If, as Joseph claims, the film treated them with pity, then I submit that it's the same self-important pity Christians have for us unsaved heathen.
And my friends insisted that I was being closed-minded and unreceptive to the film's sophisticated satire and subtle characterization. That's probably why I hate it so much-- there are so many people who actually believe that it said something new and interesting and profound. I thought it was one of the most unsubtle, cliched, manufactured-and-preprocessed piece of Hollywood cheese outside of Garry Marshall's movies, and surpassed in dishonesty only by the genuinely evil _Forrest Gump_.
Do you ever have one of those days -- I wouldn't quite call it an epiphanous situation but it comes close -- when you realize JUST how..stupid people really are? It wasn't any one person; it wasn't any one situation--kinda of a cumulative effect.
I have a hard time with this word elitist (though I understand your all use of it) but..
*sigh*
Are people REALLY that stupid?
I guess..they are.
And for your collecting convenience, each soap comes individually sealed in pristine cellophane or plastic wrapped, for easy dusting! As an alternative for you *avid* soap collectors, who wish to view their spectacular charges in their au naturale, al fresco state, please consider our new and improved hermetically sealed viewing cabinet! This stately viewing cabinet comes in oak or maple, and is vacuum sealable with its own HEPA filter! Yours for only three easy payments of $99.99! Call Now! 1-888-WASH-YOUR-MOUTH-OUT
Alex K: This is not a facetious question-- doesn't your wife's soap collection get dusty? If so, how does she clean it?
Harlan: Here are Freddie's words about Repent! I inserted periods and corrected spelling errors for readability and to save some personal dignity. The words, however, are his.
Q: What is the theme of Repent!
A: That people are not people, they do exactly what they are told to do. They don't live. They don't do as they please to make themself happy because they fear the consequences.
Q: What is Harlequin's motivation?
A: He is trying to make people have fun again, live their lives for themselves and not the government. He is trying to do this by creating disorder and ruining their schedules.
Q: What ultimately happens to Harlequin?
A: He is brainwashed to be one of the government's bitches and do as they say. I think that is not good. Everyone should be able to have fun and live a little.
Q: Did you enjoy this story? Why or why not?
A: Yes, I liked the story once it got going. The beginning was so long and slow but the story was good because it brought on disorder.
Not sure what to make of this, but I think he got your message.
Bermanator
hoping Fred doesn't wind up like Harlequin
Actually, the only people in American Beauty who seemed to have it together at all (besides the drug dealer next door) were the openly gay neighbors. Everyone else in the movie was a screwup. The attitude of Alan Ball & company seemed to be that middle America is simply a bunch of repressed hypocrites. Heard it before. Nothing new here. The only scene I thought really worked was that long sequence watching the paper kept dancing in the wind, endlessly it seemed. To spend that much screen time on that scene seemed braver to me than anything in the movie's deathless message to the masses.
But what do I know? I'm the guy who liked Temple of Gold more than I liked Catcher in the Rye...
--tr
Tony:
Thanks for that, yup that was the name of the flick and a very good one it was too. I haven't found any of Sayle's written work here apart from his script and diary for 'Matewan'. Well, at least Sayle's can get his films a video release. Still can't believe that nearly all of Pontecorvo's and Peter Watkin's work is still unavailable.
Joe:
I haven't read OSC's review of American Beauty. I thought the film was reasonable but a few friends of mine loathe it as they believe its homophobic. I can't remember too much of their arguements but it was something to do with the way homosexual sterotypes were used to get certain negative results (i.e. blackmailing the boss, the fact that Chris Cooper killed Spacey's character as he rejected his advances were two examples). Don't ask me to justify it as I can't remember all the arguement so can't possibly argue for them.
FAQ
Chris,
*laugh*
You do have a point about the film getting a rise out of you. It's something, isn't it?
Anyhoo, two last points about Card's reviews. (A), I don't particularly care about his religious aspect - I just pass over it, and (B) I don't think American Beauty has the contempt for it's characters that Card is implying. If anything, it feels sorry for these sad sacks.
Regards,
Joseph
I also agree that Card's movie reviews are often something less than profound. His dismissal of Citizen Kane as a "vanity piece" is inexplicable. However, I agree with his sentiment regarding American Beauty. I agree with anything bad anyone says about American Beauty. :) As someone once pointed out to me, though, the film must have accomplished _something_ if it arouses such intense hatred in me and I suppose that's true. Contrast that with a film like the recent Planet of the Apes which I thought was horrible. I do not despise it or feel any resentment towards it - I think it is just boring, inept and forgettable.
Faisal,
The Sayles title lost in the brain *ppphhhhhhffffffttttt* is BABY, IT'S YOU.
He's also done some nice fiction (probably all out of print now, but haven't checked lately). If you get a chance, scrounge up his short story collection THE ANARCHIST'S CONVENTION, and his novels UNION DUES and PRIDE OF THE BIMBOS. Have heard nice things about another novel of his, LOS GUSANOS, but haven't gotten around to reading it.
--tr
Collections? My wife has an unusual collection. She's filled two curio cabinets with soaps. Soaps of seashells, soaps of Mickey and Donald and Pluto, soaps of dinosaurs and dairy products and small children. Soaps of every shape except what one might expect to wash with. Sorta neat, really.
I'm like most around here--I collect books. And like many here, I started out not so much collecting books as searching for books I wanted to read. So, yeah, I tracked down Crocket Johnson's "Barnaby" books---because I fell in love with the strip after reading The Smithsoneon Collection of Comic Strips. I have the original Kurtzman "Mad" comic books because, until Russ Cochran produced the EC Library, that was the only way to read them properly. For the same reason, I have a large collection of first- and/or early edition Phil Dick, Harlan Ellison (hiya, hiya, hiya), Fred Pohl, Avram Davidson, Wodehouse, Thurber, H. Allan Smith, Philip Wylie, et cetera ad nauseum. But if you get them because you just want to be able to read them, does that count as "collecting?" Seems, I dunno, a little impure of motive. Y'know what I mean?
--Alex
If you want to read the review Chris is referring to, check here:
http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/alltimefilmlist/despise.shtml
Please note that I am not *intentionally* flame-baiting, but I have to agree with Joseph's opinion of OSC as a film reviewer. Was he even seeing the same films I was? And boy howdy, can we get any higher on that horse about religion?!
::sigh::
L.
Jay Smith asked about my "audiobooks."
I don't really do audiobooks. I record books on CD-minidiscs which are broadcast locally once and then recycled. It's a very small, hole-in-the-wall, local operation. If you're interested in copies of the cassette versions I made simultaneously of _Something Wicked This Way Comes_, _The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury_, or the Sherlock Holmes selections I'm doing now, just for myself, I could make them for you at cost. But this is not high-tech, hi-fi stuff, I'm warning you.
If your father has been certified legally blind and has a tape machine that plays cassettes made for blind people (15/16 ips as opposed to the standard cassette player speed of 1-5/8 ips), then you/he might be able to get copies of some of the books I recorded for the Massachusetts Association for the Blind. They're on Ivy Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts, although it looked like the recording studio was closed down when I swung by there last June. If that's the case, I'd be curious to know whether the masters ended up anywhere else safe.
For them I recorded John Kennedy Toole's _Confederacy of Dunces_, Ken Follett's _The Man From St. Petersburg_, John Jakes's _North and South_ (what a bear that was!), Le Carre's _The Little Drummer Girl_, and Julian Jaynes's _The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind_. A little book by Grant Tracy Saxon called _The Happy Hustler_ was also requested by a client, and I avidly volunteered to record it but was bored out of my mind after 50 pages. Live and learn. The director told me they got a lot of requests for the recording, though; word must have gotten out....
Much as I respect Orson Scott Card, I can't help but find some of his reviews incomprehensible, American Beauty being one of them. Same deal with one of the folks here in Chicago, Jonathon Rosenbaum, who makes me scratch my head at least 50% of the time and wonder if we saw the same movie (characterizing Strictly Ballroom as "one of the more horrific and unpleasant movies in quite some time" and a "disgusting first feature"? Huh?).
Of course, I regard Fargo as one of the great everyday crime dramas, so whadda I know?
Regards,
Joseph
David,
If I say anything much about American Beauty, it'll wind up being another protracted discussion here and I'll get all wound up and I don't want to do that. I have vented my spleen copiously regarding this film and have no interest in rehashing it.
My one-sentence summary: It's the most dishonest film ever made.
I think it's the single worst critically acclaimed film of all-time. I agree with Orson Scott Card's review of the film if you want to check it out at his website. I hate it even more than he does, though.
Another review which sums up some of my feelings about the film can be found here:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/9937/hoberman.php
John Sayles is one of those talents that we don't have in the UK. A genuinely politically aware, visually talented storyteller that doesn't have a snobbish bone in his body (the man wrote the scripts for Battle beyond the Stars and The Howling). Oh, if only Ken Loach could take that on board maybe I'd enjoy more of his movies...
Men with Guns and Alaska didn't get much of a distribution here which is quite unusual as Lone Star was a little art house success. His best film though was City of Hope and a nice little romance flick starring Rosanna Artquette whose title I've forgotten in a brain fart.
Just found out that I won the cartoon Lord of the Rings DVD from Radio 1. Well, saved myself 20 quid. Quite enjoyable but looking forward to the New Zealand trilogy.
Harlan - I've given up collecting stuff, I used to buy comics but durability make me now go for graphic novel re-prints when I can. Same for books, I'm more interested in the contents than what edition it is. My room is literally filling to the ceilings with all sorts of books (mostly non-fiction). So no room for old toys anymore.
BTW - Did you catch the Marquez article in the UK Guardian on Saturday? It should still be on their website.
FAQ
*** Joseph *** If you like to lick glass and you have a speech impediment...
*** Hey groupmind *** Can somebody [not Harlan] tell me what Glass Teat column [s?] or page #'s Harlan wrote about the Chicago Seven? I'm hammered for time or I would just skim the suckers myself. And if Glen Haumann [sp] is reading this, yes, I know the on-line computer version was searchable, but I no longer have those files. Why the Chicago Seven? Well, I saw "Steal This Movie" over the weekend with my daughter and I sort of wanted to bring her up to speed with some extra curricular reading. Any help would be appreciated. And what's the statute of limitations for harbouring a felon? Beuller??
Brian,
What's Lalique glass?
Joseph
Of course, that trick only works IMMEDIATELY after losing the text, so if you've typed anything else since, then you're out of luck...
To Harlan, re collections: I'm sort of a half-collector, myself. If I had the bux to shell out for the stuff I'd love to collect-- Lalique glass is on the list, as are editions of _Barnaby_ by Crockett Johnson, one of those limited-edition models of the Nautilus from Disney's _20,000 Leagues_, patent-medicine bottles and ads and labels, and if I could ever have the green to blow on a piece of Hector Guimard furniture, well, consider it blown.
But for a lot of popculture effuvia that I _need_, I usually wait until it's available in a form that doesn't require a lot of labor. _Toxic High_ trading cards? Great-- complete sets can be had on Ebay. _Barry Ween, Boy Genius_? Just got the collections yesterday. Neil Gaiman's got a new series out? Fine-- I'll buy it when it's perfectbound together on solid-stock paper.
About the only real collection I have that took work was my nearly-complete set of the _National Lampoon's_ first five years. (I know you sold such a set on Ebay, but I couldn't have afforded your set-- anyway, I was only three or four issues away from Complete at that point anyway.)
But those, I can read and enjoy. Hummels? I used to get the feeling that the only creatures on earth who might find them compelling are the zombies from George Romero's movies.
Harlan: I don't know if this will help you, but if you accidentally erased your text after highlighting it, you can retrieve it by tapping the right-hand button on your mouse and selecting "undo" from the pop-up menu.
Been gone for a week. Lots to catch up on. Hope everyone's holiday was cool. Will check in later tonight. May even use personal pronouns in sentences. May not.
Jim
Can't believe I forgot to mention Gene Hackman. He's The Man. Also, Bill Murray is Most Underrated, so much so that I forgot him. Ed Harris too.
I didn't mention classic actors from the past b/c my criteria was "actors working today in film." TV actors and old favorites would be two completely different categories.
re: Reese Witherspoon-- I didn't scoff at her. I don't dislike her. I simply cannot understand why she would be singled out for excessive praise while Gwyneth Paltrow is heaped with scorn, Thora Birch and Sarah Polley aren't mentioned (my own fault there), etc. She's OK, she may be as great as you say, but I'm not impressed enough yet.
Bermanator
Shit! I just lost a two-hour-long post to you.
Shit!
Alejandro,
Thanks for the suggestion on Lone Star, which I'm ashamed to say as a John Sayles worshipper I've yet to see. Now I'm going to have to watcht Matewan again to refresh my memory on Cooper in that....
Hmmm...Sayles. Ah, Joe Morton! The Brother From Another Planet! There's an actor who can lift crummy material (hell, he's the only reason to watch the excerable Blues Brothers 2000 - his two songs are in permanent rotation on my hard drive). I also love his X-Files episode, and especially love him as Dyson in Terminator 2 (he just has the perfect demeanor for someone who's just been told that he will be responsible for the death of 5 billion humans).
Ooooh! My new coffee cup came today! It's a comic art one, using art from 9 Chickweed Lane (which you can see at comics.com). Guy does some very nice black and white block panel art.
Geez, Chris L, what was so awful about "American Beauty"? (Or Spacey in it?)
Sounds to me like a case of unrealistic expectations; you didn't see the film long after it was released, perhaps even after the Motion Picture Academy honored it?
If not, I'd especially like to hear about your objections in detail, but I'd like to hear 'em in any case. I saw it very early in the run, before the buzz got so heated and of course long before the Academy showered it with awards. Don't you think they did a lot better in that case than with "Forrest Gump," "Braveheart," "Titanic" or "Gladiator"?
Lynn - the plush Cthulhu rules; I have one that keeps watch over my abode. The guy at the Another Universe store I picked it up at last year felt vindicated when I walked up to the register with a big, stupid grin on my face. We never spoke the name - no names were necessary, just nods and glances weighty with ancient knowledge.
With the exception of that time the boys from the Trilateral Commission dangled me over the side of the Hoover Dam (in a shameful display of poor sportsmanship) I've never felt so much a part of a secret society...
While the discussion of "favorite" actors is largely personal opinion and therefore subject to much debate which will lead absolutely nowhere (much like other "favorite" lists), it can be a lot of fun. So, I shall add my two cents on Chris Cooper.
I enjoyed him most in "Lone Star" as did many others. However, he and Ethan Hawke in "Great Expectations" from 1999 really made that movie a little more than just the sum of its parts. Overlooked, in my opinion.
Additionally, since some of the "old" (hey - I'm only 25) actors have been overlooked - I love Jimmy Stewart in anything.
And George C. Scott. And Omar Sharif...
I also loved Rod Steiger in "Dr. Zhivago" - he was a force of nature in that one, though I haven't seen him in much of anything else...
I could go on, so I will stop.
I would just like to add that Harlan's introductions to his stories in "Troublemakers" are awesome and worth the price of the book alone. I especially loved and appreciated the one for "On The Downward Side."
-Matt
I liked Kevin Spacey up until American Beauty.
I detest that movie so much I now refuse to acknowledge the posisbility that anyone associated with that movie is competent in any field.
Unfair and illogical but somebody has to pay for the pain I had to endure watching that travesty.
Joseph:
Re: Chris Cooper. May I suggest John Sayles' Lone Star and Matewan, two extraordinary films. Lone Star has the breadth and scope of a novel and it features some of the most acute observations, a true understanding, of Latino culture in the United States. It was one of my favorite films of a few years back. (And Puerto Rican actress Miriam Colon really shines in her role as the racist anti-immigrant Mexican owner of a Texas restaurant.)
Alejandro
Cartoon bandaids are the best thing you can put in an aid kit, especially if you have to treat kids. Nothing but nothing makes a boo-boo better than a Taz or a Bugs bandaid. Even when all they are is scared and need "mending", especially little kids, these things give them something familar to focus on. Having been a first responder on a horrific car accident, I can't tell you how far those little things go. If you keep a first aid kit (or first responder bag) like I do, I highly recommend getting a couple of beanie baby toys. (Currently I have Sonic from a Denny's promotion in my kit). If you have room, put in a blanket with cartoon characters on it or a plush toy. Someone will thank you for it later. (And yes, I keep a stash, because it's just bad form to ask for them back once they been given.)
As for collecting, when I was growing up I collected unicorn art. And stuffed toys and posters, but quite a few collectible figurines and books. I think they're probably still in my mom's attic. The only other thing I could honestly say I collect is weird beanies (or similar sized stuffed toys). The really odd or out there ones, like Sting (scorpion), Scorch (the little crispied dragon - no really, he's this mottled brown shag like he's been singed), Swoop (the pteradactyl), Scurry (the scarab), and my recent edition, from Monsters Inc: The CDA Agent. He's this little guy with four arms and six eyes in a hazmat suit. (As we joke around here, he's from the Chernobyl Janitorial Crew). And my crowning glory is my emerald green plush Cthulhu doll, which I should really post a pic of, because he has to be seen to be believed. I just love to see the look on my coworker's face as it blends from "Ah isn't that cute" to "What the hell is it?!"
::sigh::
I live to freak the mundanes.
L.
David/Joseph,
If you like Laura Linney, I might suggest (although you've probably seen it already), the PBS miniseries based on Armistad Maupin's "Tales of the City". The series also features Olympia Dukakis(sp?) in a rather interesting role.
-Andrew
David,
Actually, I was talking with a pediatric friend of mine, and he said that he was very happy about "character" bandages, in that made the kids want to be treated when they cut themselves, helping to cut down on larger problems like infection and blood poisining. He cheerfully admitted that he had no hard evidence on this, but it seemed to be borne out by the kids who came into his office.
And hey, who wouldn't want a Hulk Band-Aid?
We'll see about Linney versus Dern, but I think Linney's a ways to go to beat a resume that includes Mask, Rambling Rose, Citizen Ruth and October Sky.
Oh, hey! Chris Cooper! The father in October Sky and the next-door-homophobe in American Beauty. An interesting actor I'm trying to get around to looking into his previous work.
Though nice to see my favorites like Robbie Coltrane, John Cusack, Kevin Spacey and Ed Harris get recognition, I'm rather surprised that no one has put up for greatness Bob Hoskins or Albert Finney. And how about Ellen Burstyn or Kathy Bates? I want to nominate Robert Downey, Jr., but he's not getting much of a chance to really act--unless he's acting contrite in front of a judge--not like he did in CHAPLIN.
ALEX K.: "The Rough Boys" was anthologized, after a fashion, in the DREAM CORRIDOR comic, with Gahan Wilson providing the art.
As for Fred Willard, I have trouble thinking of him, because I always think of the OTHER Fred Willard, an Atlanta crime photographer who has written two of the funniest caper novels this side of Westlake: DOWN ON PONCE and PRINCESS NAUGHTY AND THE VOODOO CADILLAC.
Joseph:
You're right about Linney. I think she's a better-looking Laura Dern (and I think better acting). We just haven't seen enough of her.
You were the one who asked about what people collect, right?
I collect a variety of things, but not rabidly. Books by Ellison, of course, as well as John Fowles and Jules Feiffer.
I don't expressly collect mugs, but I have a few doozies: One that says "LOVE ME NOW!" on the outside, and "Avoid the rush" inside the lip; one that pictures an old prospector saying "I spent most of my money on beer and women. The rest I just wasted."
This is the first I'd heard that Harlan collects first day covers(!) How did that come about, guy? I had a stamp collection as a kid and a teen, but let it go by the wayside. Now I just trade mint US stamps with a retired engineer in Tallinn who sends me Estonian and Soviet stamps and FDC's in return. Now and then I buy a sheet or FDC that captures my fancy, but it's purely an aesthetic thing at this point.
HE said he would seemingly collect used Band-Aids if they intrigued him. Has anyone else seen the Harry Potter Band-Aids yet? I notice them at a local variety store alongside Harry Potter toothbrushes and shampoo. Now, really....
David,
Ya know where I really love Spacey? Glengarry Glenn Ross. He reminded me and everyone I've ever talked to of the one asshole office manager that everyone's worked under at some point. Brilliant performance, especially considering the just incredible cast he was working with (and anyone in that movie makes my list - including Baldwin, who's inconsistent, but rules his scene here with an iron fist). Gotta love a movie with Jack Lemmon, Jonathon Pryce, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin.
Don't know why, but Laura Linney just popped to mind. I've only seen her in The Truman Show and the incomparable You Can Count On Me (which is fun to watch another Matthew Broderick role as a less-than-sympathetic guy). The lass has some chops.
Speaking of Truman Show (and by extension Gattaca), no one has yet mentioned Jude Law, an actor with a lot of potential (especially well used in The Talented Mr. Ripley).
I approve of the citations of John Cusack, Billy Crudup (he made a decent Prefontaine, too!), and especially Spacey. I adored him LONG before "American Beauty."
Dustin Hoffman HAS been great, but he seems to have gone a little over the hill the past decade. I haven't seen "Sphere," "Sleepers," "American Buffalo," "Outbreak," "Hero," or "Billy Bathgate," but stuff like "Wag the Dog" and "Hook" seemed little more than charming set pieces. I'm not inclined to go to something just because it has Hoffman in it, these days.
Hackman, on the other hand, is still going VERY strong (and dang it, he's entitled: he was already 37 when he first achieved notice in a supporting role in "Bonnie and Clyde" -- which I was a little too young to get into, so I perked up when I saw him two years later in "Marooned"), and without any cosmetic surgery.
Holly Hunter is always interesting. Loved seeing her turn up in "Timecode" and "Crash."
Scot loved Jennifer Connelly in "Waking the Dead." Haven't seen it, but she was incredibly courageous (and incidentally HOT) in "Requiem for a Dream." I'll be watching for more of her.
PAB said Buscemi was underrated, which I might have disagreed with, since he played such similar characters for a long time ... and then came "Ghost World." Agree that Helen Hunt is severely overrated; I wouldn't have given any Oscars to the ironically titled (in SO many ways) "As Good As It Gets."
PAB scoffed at Reese Witherspoon. I haven't seen a lot of her fluffier comic hits, including "Legally Blonde," but I can't see any of the blow-dried blondes doing what she did in "Election" and "American Psycho," on top of "Pleasantville." Her upcoming projects are "Sweet Home Alabama" (which sounds like another "Legally Blonde" vehicle) and "The Importance of Being Earnest" by you know who (which definitely does NOT; she's reportedly acting opposite Rupert Everett and Colin Firth, with Tom Wilkinson, Edward Fox, and Judi Dench in the mix!). I don't expect to see Sarah Michelle Gellar doing Wilde or any British plays soon.
Frank: I'm not apeshit over "Fargo" or "Pulp Fiction" either. Admirable stuff in both, but Tarantino especially is looking more and more like a flash in the pan -- the American version of Alex Cox -- with each passing year.
I'm guessing the "actress" HE slammed in the new "Planet of the Apes" (I didn't bother to see it) is Estella Warren. She did indeed start out as a model (an SI swimsuit girl as well), so acting was presumably not her goal, let alone training. The IMDb helpfully says she was a "very talented synchronized swimmer" with Olympic potential on the Canadian team, though....
With all the praise for Macy, I'm surprised that no one's mentioned a guy I often think of in the same class and even style: Dylan Baker. He was the pivot of "Happiness," and for all his weirdness, he did a terrific if brief turn as Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in "Thirteen Days" as well as a sympathetic priest just this month on "CSI." Like Macy, he's a little oddball and will probably never be a star, but he's ALWAYS interesting and worthwhile.
...though Fred Willard in Tremors would have been funny. Replace Kevin Bacon with Christopher Guest and you'd have an interesting buddy flick.
On the subject of Atheism: I don't know if I'm trying to have it both ways, but I do believe in a "God", but I don't buy the idea that He or She or They put a hand down every time we feel mistreated by the world or when Grampa Harry goes in for surgery or when Fluffy shakes his leash and heads into the crowded intersection. I don't think they really have any more direct interest in us than the researcher has in his petrie dish. If there's an afterworld that looks like Medieval Europe and is populated by the self-proclaimed "virtuous" of Judeo-Christian morality, I know I won't make it past the bouncer, anyway.
Sorry if I'm misquoting, but Arthur Clarke said that 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' I think of God in those terms - and as an abstract. If ANYTHING, I believe in an observing superior race/being is checking out how we work, live, think and play collectively and MAYBE, every once and a while, dropping a random bit of weirdness to see how we react. I know that sounds like a bad bit of speculative fiction, but what about any major religion (or a few modern ones) doesn't have that vibe at its core?
I'd love to think of God as a friendly old grandpa, but I think I have that particular phantasm slot filled by Santa Claus.
Jay
Heads-up for all you Ellison compleatists. I just recieved a reviewer copy of Lawrence Block's "Opening Shots, volume II." The Opening Shots books collect writers' first mystery/crime stories. It includes an early Ellison tale called "The Rough Boys," a neat little yarn that has not, I think, been anthologised before (Harlan, if that's not the case, please correct this poor sinner). Lots of other good stuff, too, mind you, including stories by Peter Straub, Joe Gores, Joyce Carol Oates, u.s.w. But I was particularly delighted with this early "Memoes from Purgatory"-scented tale from HE.
Nick,
Telepathy - the dogs were bred to be Rovers in war. It's all in the story (unless, of course, you've only seen the movie).
Joseph
Regarding a boy and his dog.
How exactly is it that the boy and dog can speak to each other? I don't remember it ever truly being adressed. It just is. Also how would you see religion fitting into this movies framework?
Delurking for a moment, shaking sands from his pants, acquired from the electronic sandbox, and standing forth from the shadows:
An item of interest, following, especially for Harlan:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25451
Back to the shadows, back to writing.
Until next time. . .
Harlan re: Your explanation for "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore", I have to shake my head and smile. I never imagined how great the gulf between the intent of the author and the perception of the reader could be. This is also one of my favorite tales, but for reasons in utter opposition to the ones you stated. Perhaps I am guilty of deifying the universe or giving a voice, a face, a sense of humor to Entropy, but those are the faults that make up who I am.
A quick question for you: Before the current troubles with internet piracy, did you have a previous issue regarding copyright that inspired your meticulous record keeping, or is that just the way you've always done it?
Warmest regards,
L.
Fred Willard is the actor who stole "Best in Show" last year, as the cheerfully vague play-by-play man for a dog show. Wonderful improv from Willard.
Chuck,
I believe Fred Ward was in Tremors, not Fred Willard.
Excellent summation of atheism, Mr. Ellison. I'm glad someone out there is still willing to go the mats for it. I'm not sure I can shake the notion of guided design, but yours is a fine existential credo in these days of irresponsibility.
Eric
Thanks Kerry!
Philip Hoffman was great in Happines, he really is the best actor on this moment!
For actresses, I kinda love Juliette Lewis and Natalie Portman.
There are so many good actors and actresses but there are just a few which are exeptional.
Rob: Lon Chaney played Marine Sergeant O'Hara in "Tell It To The Marines" in 1926.
Dennis
Harlan: Thanks for the background. I used your template as part of personal writing exercise in how a specific character would respond in various situations given the same kind of power. While the rationale you described sounds very dark and cynical, that doesn't make it any less true. God isn't sifting through the bloody rubble in Manhattan and didn't charge the cabin of Flight 93 to retake the plane. No rosary or mantra or incantation..just human guts, muscle and spirit.
Joseph: You are correct - I have blasphemed against the Murray. He was a trip in "Ed Wood". "Rushmore" was an excellent performance (though to be honest, I wasn't all that fond of the movie) and his role in "Wild Things" was great. Of course, "Wild Things" was so full of unhealthy but nummy ingredients like a half-eaten box of chockies left after a party. But then, there's "Charlie's Angels" (a SNL sketch gone on too long) "Larger Than Life" (Of Mice and Men meets Cannonball Run II.) Bill in Hamlet? Hmmm...not sure about that one. I think what it comes down to is I'm biased. I miss the youthful and cocky "Peter Venkman"/"John Winger" characters I grew up with. But, the man turned me on to Somerset Maugham, too.
J.W. - Troublemakers contents;
Introduction: "That Kids Gonna End Up in Jail!"; On the Downhill Side; A Lot of Saucers; Soldier; Rain, Rain Go Away; Night Vigil; The Voice in the Garden; Deeper than the Darkness; Never Send to Know for Whom the Lettuce Wilts; Sensible City; Djinn, No Chaser; "Repent Harlequin!" said the Ticktockman; Invasion Footnote; Gnomebody; Tracking Level; Jeffty is Five; Free with this Box.
Cheers,
Kerry
Chuck,
Where did Lon Chaney ever play a marine?
My favorite actors not mentioned or mentioned little are, Fred Willard, who made a great team with Kevin Bacon in TREMORS. He just plays a low-rent kind of guy so well.
How's about Robbie Coltrane? Elliot Gould. Dustin Hoffman. Al Pachino (When he's not doing that all-purpose accent, ala SCENT OF A WOMAN. What the hell IS that?)
Kevin Costner needs to GET OVER HIMSELF. And, he should never produce or direct a movie ever again, on pain of death. The man is terminally earnest.
Sidney Poitier, who has always given a sense of dignity and grace to any movie he's ever done, even when the films themselves weren't that good.
Ian McKellan. I own the video of RICHARD III. It is absolutely electric. Another Shakespearean, Kenneth Braunagh. (Spelling?) When he's not being self-indulgent, he's outstanding. (Frankenstein, anyone?)
Elisha Cook Jr., who could turn in a sensitive performance, but usually played THE GUY WHO GETS KILLED. When I see Cook in something, I say to myself, "well, his character isn't going to last very long".
Here are some actors from another era: Boris Karloff. Lon Cheyney, who could play anything. The man INHABITED a role. He was so convincing that when he played a marine, That when the throat cancer got him, the marines gave him a military funeral.
James Cagney, who could menace and dance equally well.
Humphrey Bogart. Lauren Bacall. The indestructible Barbara Stanwick.
And, Finally: Peter O'Toole. Not only can the man act, sometimes in chancy roles, but he can write. I read autobiography, LOITERING WITH INTENT and I thought his use of language was quite tasty. His description of the rabbit warren of an industrial village he grew up in was stark and vivid. My only problem was that for my yankee tastes, he used the modifier "had" too much. Perhaps it came from growing up in the British Empire.
Chuck
Re: actors...
Two of the greatest American actors (in my opinion, natch) seem to have been overlooked entirely around here; Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. Rarely do they offer a single false note, even in the worst of scripts.
David: if you truly wish to pursue the whole audiobook thing, there are a number of companies to whom you can send demo tapes or CD's. Contact me via email and I'll give a shot at locating addresses and names. It can be quite lucrative, I'm discovering.
Jay,
Bill Murray in "Ed Wood" or "Rushmore" - brilliant performances. But do ya know what I strangely love him in?
"Wild Things."
Now, that's a great trash movie. Makes me howl everytime I see it, and I'm laughing with the movie. It's so wonderfully, deliberately over the top, that you can sense the great delicious feeling of the entire cast trying not to crack up as they perform at the sensation of getting away with it. Matt Dillon, always fantastic (and whoever was getting down on Nicole Kidman, go rent "To Die For" and watch her brilliant parodic performance, along with Dillon, Illeana Douglas and Dan Hedaya). Kevin Bacon, dry and with an agenda of his own. Denise Richard and Neve Campbell, rising above their usual faceless performances. Robert Wagner, somehow managing to be better than usual (though amuses me in Austin Powers). And Bill Murray. Oh, Bill Murray, as a hurricane of a shyster lawyer. God, what a great tongue-in-cheek movie. Yeah, I love it. Laugh at me as ya will, you bastards!
Actually, I don't think anyone's given Matt Dillon his due. He obviously is very discriminating in his roles, and deserves due praise for his work (wonder if "My Bodyguard" is out on DVD yet....).
Regards,
Joseph
TO MR. JAY SMITH IN AMISH COUNTRY
The "inspiration" for "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore" lies passim the story. Shirley Jackson. And...
Simply put, it is my unabashed philosophy of Atheism.
What the story says, simply put, is this:
There is no governing intelligence. The universe is neither malign nor benign. There is no luck, no "ultimate categorizable purpose," no predestination. There is utter randomness, thus utter potentiality for everyone. No limits, no rules, no godhood short of that which we take upon ourselves to manifest.
The universe doesn't even know we're here. It's a great free-for-all and you can win as big a pot as you desire, or bust out as forlornly as your inadequacies predestine. Don't look for gods, because sublime creation lies within you already.
Conversely, don't piss and moan about not getting the "breaks."
There are none. However, there are no cabals out to stymie you, either. Pasteur said: "Chance favors the prepared mind."
That, as the story suggests--Levendis--is as close to The Great Maker of Random Experience as you'll ever get.
Or, simply put, God doesn't give a shit WHO makes the touchdown, no matter HOW many times you drop to one knee and cross yourself in the endzone. No "god" watching, so do it on your own.
You asked, remember?
Respectfully, Harlan Ellison
Joseph,
You don't have to apologize for anything. Mine was a blunt but honest closing response (aiding my point with a scene from 'Cool Hand Luke') on a subject I'm not going to get started again; the irony is the way you referred to the argument you can't remember: 'God!'
David,
Are your audiobooks locally or nationally broadcast/distributed? I'm always looking for new material for my father who is an avid reader but with failing vision. I have to say many of the "Books for the Blind" I've picked up from the library locally have been read by orators from the school of Ben Stein.
I see your point about Macy, though.
Also, everybody... silly question. Is there a FAQ for "What was your inspiration for...?" type questions? I'm really interested in learning about "The Man Who Rowed..." but I didn't see anything on the site. Anybody have a line on that? It read like a great detailed exercise in free form journalism. Is it recorded anywhere?
Oh, and just to inject my personal bias on great actors...my personal favorites (outside the list) are - Bill Murray (pre-Larger Than Life), Jeremy Piven (in general), John Cusak (Grosse Pointe Blank), Minnie Driver (anything), Jason Lee (anything), Ewan MacGregor (trainspotting), William Macy (Magnolia), Sam Waterston (Gatsby), Gary Oldman (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern), Ian McKellen (Richard III).
Rob & Dennis.
Thanks, both, for reminding me about both of those fine actors. They're part of that great rainbow of fine actors who trigger an immediate "hey, it's that guy!" in my mind. Sad, I know, but I'm geting better.
God, which argument were we having that I called YOU condescending, Rob? I try to reserve that for the ocassional thickhead like the M**ked B**hip. Whatever, I apologize for being rude.
Oh, and I forget to mention Linda Fiorentino (hey, another fine actor giving good work in a Kevin Smith movie! Imagine that!). From fine work in the minor Vision Quest to the major The Last Seduction (stupid Academy rules, stiffing her of an award) to Dogma (c'mon, look at her wonderful lake scene with Alan Rickman and tell me that's not acting magic), she's dependable as hell.
Even in Gotcha! *ducks*
Regards,
Joseph
Joseph,
"What we have hea is...FAIL-EA t’COMMUNICATE". As the one you once charged as being condescending I felt obligated to let you know it’s Strother Martin who uttered them immortal words as the metaphoric prison warden in COOL HAND LUKE.
Actors are a pretty wide category. As Brian said, men do have it easier in Hollywood. The most popular film categories, action/adventure and crime/cops/mafia, rarely feature women (that's why I love Sigourney). Ditto for science fiction/fantasy. And older women do sorta get phased out of mainstream younger than men. I for one am interested in watching movies about women, and not just the young, hot, blonde ones.
Interesting how quickly we all switched to talking about men...
But I'm game. This is a long list. Sorry.
Actors:
The Greats
Robert DeNiro (obviously)
Al Pacino (descending into self-parody these days, hoo ahh)
Robert Duvall
Jack Nicholson (see The Pledge if you think he's washed up)
Anthony Hopkins (too cool for words)
Morgan Freeman
Harvey Keitel
New Greats
Tom Hanks
Denzel Washington
Kevin Spacey
Samuel L. Jackson
Gary Oldman
Jeff Bridges (The Dude)
Tim Robbins
Soon to be Greats
Edward Norton
Johnny Depp
Brad Pitt
John Cusack
William H. Macy
Sean Penn
Underrated
Bruce Willis
Clint Eastwood
Leonardo DiCaprio (he did work before Titanic, and it was good)
Ian McKellan (can't wait to see him as Galdalf)
Steve Buscemi
Overrated
Harrison Ford (I used to love him, but I had to kill him)
Kevin Costner (ewwww)
Sean Connery (lots of people disagree I'm sure)
Ben Stiller (the ugliest man in Hollywood)
I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch, but it's enough.
Bermanator
PS-- Helen Hunt is as ubiquitous as she is overrated. Holly Hunter, however, is awesome.
Harlan:
I realize these might be considered geeky fanboy type questions--if you don't wanna answer them, that's okay.
I haven't stayed up late reading lately--a good thing, as it interferes with staying awake at work. But I was up til two last night reading portions of "Over the Edge." I'm getting into this book, in a certain way. (Not important why, as it borders on one of those writing-type issues)
Two things: You wrote that this book, when first published, was sucked up by the first printing quantity of fans and then, that was that. This is a very impressive book. Maybe it's just my mood or my level of understanding of what you do, but I think the stories are really something else. Was it perhaps the cultural climate at the time that led to not much 'reaction' to this book?
I realize that reading these books, years after they were first published can often be confusing to one trying to understand why a book is picked or panned.
Were you 'ahead of your time' or your culture, when this first came out? (I sense you've done this, a LOT. Sturgeon (I think; or it might have been Spinrad) commented on how you've travelled, a lot, without any real roadmap, in terms of how you've tried to write.)
Second: "The Three Faces of Fear" (Incredible piece. You make concepts so clear.) (I'm gonna get the words wrong but...) Something hit me in an odd sort of way when I got to this concept of a person's reaction to fear--this response of "hiding one's eyes; yet peeking."
Could this psychological reaction of a person faced with fright be sidled up alongside another response you've alluded to in "...Whipped Dogs" (or another story where the female character was silently egging on a man, ready to jump off a roof)?
Could these people, so full of fright or fe