The Ellison Bulletin Board

Comments Archive - 11/05/1995 to 12/04/95

the faerie Mon Dec 4 22:43:57 1995
As of HE's DC #6, Dark Horse will issue the comic in book print..supposedly to cash in on the Ellison name, and to make it more appealing to wider audience.
Also, I like Star Wars. I DO NOT consider it Science Fiction. but, remember I was nine months old when STARS WARS premiered, four w/ EMPIRE and 7 with JEDI..so I look at it as a fond childhood memory, like Harlan does with The Shadow and other radio programs. Alas, though, I only had Leia as a role model, and she taught me that, if you wanted to be accepted as a power, those with breasts must be whiny queen bitches, who eventually must be rescued anyway..Gee, do I sound a little bitter? Come on, even the Afro-Americans had the strong-willed, autonomous Blacula (played by a marvelous Shakespearian actor whose name escapes me..Wllm. Marshall, perhaps?) But, to see a great film (and comic book, the original, not the crap they're peddling now) with a STRONG, female main protagonist, I suggest TANK GIRL, a film where, thankfully, no one ever says, GEE, YOU"RE A CHICK..They just go on, drawing no attention to it whatsoever. Yes, we've not come a long way, baby, from the "our little miss" pagaents (for that, see THE ESSENTIAL ELLISON, pg 333. Gee, am I ranting?

Anakin O'Hara (None, yet.) Mon Dec 4 15:41:41 1995
I haven't seen Harlan's Dream Corridor Number Six, when will it be out or has it been out? Oh, and does Harlan still hate Star Wars?

The Dryad (rhiestan@utcvm.utc.edu) Mon Dec 4 12:08:47 1995
Hi, remember me? Anyway, I sent an e-mail to Shelly and it think it got through. She says down there that her thingy has been down. Ours has been, too, this week. I'd send you an e-mail, Rick but I'm too shy-yii.

Jomma (nknigh@foreverknight2000) Mon Dec 4 01:23:09 1995
I have a question, what are Harlan's all-time favorite tv shows?
Do they (he and susan) have any pets?
Love your homepage.

Sun Dec 3 22:48:12 1995
By the way, if any of you send me anything and it gets sent back, just send it again and again until it gets here. Don't ask me why, I only work here.
Signed...
Shelley, because everything else is just a low-grade, STAR TREK-style clone..

driddle@cdc.net Sun Dec 3 22:44:24 1995
Oops. Sorry about the way I edited my comment. That should be "CDC has been DOWN for long per. of time.." Ugh. I'm just too nervous to type (I may be getting a job, soon..you know that rent is due..)
Rick, don't be a stranger!

Sun Dec 3 22:41:13 1995
Firstly, Rick, CDC has been doing for long periods of time this past week. But, I got E-mail from Lauri, Seth, Sylphen and Fido, my long-time buddy who just got "online" (you can read his simpering remarks on the comments page). Rick, I will, if you want, e-mail you a couple of things I find interesting about the poll. There is one thing everyone who responded has in common, The rest of you will have to wait until I feel like there is enough data to post.
Anyway, thanks a bunch to you guys who have already sent me stuff.

Yours,
Shelley

P.S. Rick, please feel free to e-mail me stuff, now. Hopefully, it will get through. driddle@cdc.net. By the way, did you get my rant about what a big booger you are to yourself? I guess not, since you haven't e-mailed to say that you will have my head on a plate..:)

Rick Sun Dec 3 00:47:30 1995
Two notes of interest:

First, I would definitely be interested in the Ellison mentions info: I have a just-started page of Ellison Quotes (both words BY Ellison and quotes he uses) and Anecdotes, and I could easily add a section for Seth's stuff. Also, if anyone would like to submit material for any of these, please e-mail me.

Second, if Shelley wants to really do up this poll I can make a page with a form that will automatically send your info to her. This should work even for people who don't have access to e-mail. If there is interest in this, Shelley, let me know and give me an expanded list of questions. My e-mail to driddle@cdc.net hasn't come back yet so I am assuming your e-mail problems are now of the past.

Seth Johnson (sjohns14@students.wisc.edu) Sat Dec 2 23:59:49 1995
Okay, here's something that interests me: obviously HE has a lot of fans among SF writers, as he keeps popping up in various novels and short stories. A couple examples:

-"The Merchant of Stratford" by Frank Ramirez, where Shakespeare, via visiting time travellers, is an Ellison (among other SF authors) fan and collector -"The Curse of Mhondoro Nkabele" by Eric Norden, where the second half of the story consists of an exchange of letters between Edward Ferman, a ficticious editor at F&SF, and HE, discussing a mysterious neophyte writer, Oginga Nkabele.

These two stories are actually what made me realize how ubiquitous Ellison was; both are in the anthology "Inside the Funhouse" (edited by Mike Resnick) and were within a few stories of each other. So I started paying attention, and started noticing more Ellison cameos:

-"Magic Net" by John DeChancie, where the main characters, on the run, visit Ellison at Ellison Wonderland (interesting reading just for tantilizing hints at what the inside of Ellison's house is like)
-"Murder at the ABA" by Issac Asimov, where the main character, author Darius Just, seems an awful lot like a certain author....(Asimov does admit, in his autobiography "I. Asimov" as well as other places, that Just is based on Ellison)

Sp I want to start collecting these "Ellison cameos". Either send them to me via email or post them here. I'll send a list to Rick to be put up for general inspection once I've gotten enough.

Lauri (look around;its here someplace) Sat Dec 2 21:09:40 1995
Shelley-
Well, I took the bait and encourage others to do the same. Confession is good for the soul and all that. Thanks for doing this-it could be quite interesting (I often wonder if any of us HE freaks have anything in common besides DA MAN).

Rick (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Sat Dec 2 21:08:13 1995
Shelley, the only reason you haven't heard from me is that every e-mail I've ever sent to any of the sources of the e-mails you have sent me has been rejected. driddle@cdc.net doesn't work, neither does sd@cdc.net nor ShelleyDraven@cdc.net or any of the others. I would be happy to respond to you if you would only leave me a reliable address by which to do so...

Would-be responders are hereby warned. If anyone gets an e-mail through, please let me know...

Sat Dec 2 17:26:28 1995
By the way, the age and gender will be held in the strictest of confidence. God knows Lauri Keegan wouldn't want you to know that she is really a seventy year-old man..
Much love
Shelley, who is really an 8 yr-old boy who is a chess prodigy..so much for our InterNet affair, huh, Rick. :)
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!

Sat Dec 2 17:12:01 1995
Oh, by the way, 11. age 12. gender..if you guys don't mind. Did I miss anything? Lauri? Rick?
Well, after I'm through with this one, i'll do another survey: your favourite HE story, why you like him, etc. Give me your input.
Shelley

ps Rick, are you even more pissed @ me, or are you just thanking God that I didn't send you any poetry or rants?

Shelley Draven (driddle@cdc.net) Sat Dec 2 16:49:55 1995
I haven't been able to get a hold of Rick through e-mail (either that or I pissed him off too badly with the second one I sent him), so, I would like to take a survey of Ellison fans. So, please send me your answers and I will compile them and send them to Rick, or I will just throw them here, on the Comments Page.
By the way, please be nice to Rick, as he is ONE man, doing us all a HUGE favour by putting up with us and doing this incredible website!

The Questions
1. Favourite kind of music
2. writer (other than HE..or, GASP..is there someone you like better???)
3. television programme
4. your hobby
5. your occupation
6. favourite magazine
7. favourite genre of literature
8. favourite films
9. what do you like best about Webderland?
10. What do you like least about Webderland?

Feel free to answer in the form of essays.
I will compile the results of this poll, and, will eventually publish it, with Rick's blessing.
When do you think I should, y'all?
Remember: DO NOT SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO RICK..HE HAS ENOUGH OF A JOB TO LOOK AFTER THIS PLACE!!!!!:)

Write to me soon,
Shelley
ps
are there any questions I missed? I need YOUR input! Call now, our operators are standing by..

pps..a Shameless plug..don't forget to see Terry Gilliam's newest film, "12 Monkeys".....

Fri Dec 1 13:47:34 1995
To: Rick
Re: Eudora

I, too, have nuked loads of stuff using Eudora. I just got through nuking some Ellison stuff I had typed for a guy. Ugh!! I'll get the hang of this computer thing soon.
Lots of love,
S.D.,the one and only..there are only cheap imitations..

George T Mac (gtm29159@marauder.millersv.edu) Fri Dec 1 12:03:35 1995
How I discovered HE, as told to Mr. Wyatt, and rerecorded here for your reading pleasure.
I discovered HE in a used book shop just down the PA turnpike an exit from my home here in rustic AMISH country (which can be viewed in its entirety in WITNESS, with Harrison Ford). I bought DEATHBIRD STORIES for a few bucks out of pure curiosity (I think I must have heard HE's name enough times to figure HE was worth checking out).
I was back at the store a week later spending a helluva lot more than a few bucks on some other stuff the store had in stock (the GENTLEMEN JUNKIE collection, DANGEROUS VISIONS, and a couple old fantasy and science fiction mags with his stories or essays in 'em.)
Since then I've searched hi and lo for his stuff, slowly building my collection, though with few funds and a sparse supply that's no easy task.
I began to discover that HE had influenced me for years without my knowledge. I can still remember being scared fecalless as a kid watching the TWILIGHT ZONE, the episode GRAMMA, in the dark, my parents gone for the night, my very own gramma (who was growing more and more senile by the day and freaking everyone out) asleep upstairs.
I remember wathcing PALADIN OF THE LOST HOUR on that series as well, and being amazed at the impact it had on me.
HE is the finest writer I've run across. I could go on about some sentimental stuff about the emotional, intellectual, gut-driven feelings his work repeatedly stirs in me here, but I don't wanna sound cliche. I could also mention the inspiration in my own writing HE provides, and the discouragement in knowing I'll never be as good.
I suppose I could make it real tear-jerker stuff.
That's it.

Seth Johnson (sjohns14@students.wisc.edu) Fri Dec 1 01:47:49 1995
Hey, Harlan can't dead--at least not until he's written WORKING WITHOUT A NET, and hopefully long after. The thing on the radio was probably just a report that the comments page on Webderland was down for a while. That was how I knew that there was new News (hmmm, there's an oxymoron there somewhere) on Webderland--I heard it on NPR. By the way, Rick--the Webderland cafe menu had me laughing so loud that I woke up my roommate.

In any case, after months of lurking, I thought I'd finally actually put something up here on the page, so that when the human race dies out there will be, somewhere on a hard drive deep in the Greater Atlanta Underground Shielded Data Banks, evidence that there was at least one more footsoldier in the ranks of the Ellison army. (Not that we're lining up for a march against Topeka or anything--it's just a metaphor, ya know?) I only discovered Harlan's work about two years ago, thanks to the suggestion of a coworker who lent me his copy of "The Essential Ellison". After two weeks of sleepless nights unable to stop reading the darn thing, I went out and bought my own copy. Within a few weeks it looked even worse from wear than the one I had borrowed, especially the pages around "Jefty is Five" (still my favorite story).

So imagine my delight when I heard from a friend that Harlan was going to be the Guest of Honor at the Chicago Comicon that year, only a couple hours' drive away! I packed up "The Essential Ellison" (and a few bucks for comics), and with said friend headed for Chicago on the appointed day. I spent a few hours looking around the con, not buying much and hoping I'd get a chance to see him (for reasons I can't remember I couldn't--or didn't--go to any of the events he was supposed to be in. Nerves probably.). But when I heard it announced over the public address system that Harlan Ellison was going to be doing a signing, I ran off to get in line.

Hang on friends, we're getting near a point here...

An "S.R.O", a "Jefty is Five", and a "Free With This Box!" later, I was approaching the line, after waiting crowds of comics fans who had bought a brand new copy of "Mephisto in Onyx" from Susan and the HERC for the Frank Miller cover and had Harlan sign it just because he was there, some of the twelve-year olds in line probably not even knowing who he was. Then there was another hold up as a man two people in front of me produced a book for Harlan to sign, one that had been stolen from Harlan's personal library years before (I see how long this is getting, and I'll save the details of the exchange for another time, but I did get to see Harlan in action. Wow.) Finally, wanting to buy another book but not having enough cash, I was at the front of the line and set my ragged, dog-eared copy of "The Essential Ellison" in front of him.

Harlan looked at me.

He looked back down at the book.

He looked back up at me. Then he said "Finally, a book that's been _read_," signed it, and I moved on, not having said a word.

Hopefully, if I ever get a chance to speak to Harlan again, first of all I'll actually speak, but secondly, I'll get the chance to thank him for producing fabulous work, work that showed me the magic that can be woven from words and inspired me at a time I was just beginning to write work of my own. C.S. Lewis said "Anything worth reading only once is barely worth reading at all." I've read some of Harlan's stories ten, twenty times and I get something new from them every time. I just wanted to take a moment to thank Rick for putting up this page, so I can share my feelings with others who understand, and so I can put it on the permanent record that I am, and probably will always be, one of Ellison's fans.

Thanks Harlan.

Thu Nov 30 22:07:57 1995
New news entry is up with full information on _Slippage_ and Harlan's non-demise.

Phillip Cairns (x95tel@juliet.stfx.ca) Thu Nov 30 20:45:05 1995
For those hearing rumours about SLIPPAGE, and maybe to save the HERC some stamps:

I read somewhere on the net that Harlan's new collection, SLIPPAGE, was coming out next month. I even heard one guy say that he had his order in already. So: I wrote to the HERC and said, ``What's the scoop?'' And the HERC (a.k.a. Susan Ellison) wrote back on November 2nd, 1995, and said (exactly as follows):

DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET! "SLIPPAGE" WILL NOT BE OUT UNTIL NEXT YEAR. HARLAN IS ADDING MORE STORIES TO THE BOOK. THE BOOK WHICH PEOPLE HAVE ORDERED IS PROBABLY THE LIMITED EDITION OF "THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER" WHICH HAS JUST BEEN PUBLISHED...

Then she told me how I could order THE CITY ON THE EDGE if I wanted to. Anyhow, there's it is for those who were a wonderin'.

Rick Wyatt (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Thu Nov 30 18:21:00 1995
HARLAN IS NOT DEAD.

Let me say that again.

HARLAN ELLISON IS NOT DEAD.

He's not even breathing hard. I just spoke to Harlan's wife, Susan, who assures me that if she is any judge HE is alive and well and working on a deadline, so please don't call and ask where to send the flowers...

In other news: (1) Yes, the comments page went down today, from about 9:18AM to 5:45PM CST. Sorry. I'm looking into it.
(2) Shelly Draven, I have received messages from five different e-mail accounts and none of them work! Please send me an e-mail with your correct address and I will respond.
(3) Due to my ignorance of Eudora, I nuked some messages I was saving for the e-mail file. If your e-mail does not appear this weekend when I update the file, please resend it (if you got it) and I will correct this.
(4) I am most amenable to a contest or poll of any sort. I will try to start work an a suitable program to achieve this over the next week. E-mail me suggestions if you have any.

keegan Thu Nov 30 06:21:17 1995
thanks for looking around, Scott. I hope this is a case of "no news is good news".

Scott Jennings (wirehead@tce.snider.net) Wed Nov 29 23:27:47 1995
I suspect not; I just did a quick search of a few wire services and didn't come up with anything. I'm fairly certain his passing would rate at least a squib.

Janis Wed Nov 29 18:12:53 1995
I'm writing this through tears. tell me what I haerd on the radio was not so. they just said that Harlan is gone. the at he is nol onger with us. Please somebody write soon and tell me it's not true. My heart is sisck.

Wed Nov 29 12:31:13 1995
Once upon a time, in future not so far away, the earth's population suffered from a
terrible disease. They had evolved huge eyes (for seeing Computer screens and
keyboards in the dark) and their nutrition was bad (from only drinking Jolt cola and
shoving down pretzels and chocolates). They lived without seeing other people.
Confined to dark rooms where anything and everything could be done, ordered, send,
talked to, etc. for a small device called a computer. The population was drastically
cut..who could procreate when there is such a deluge of information..actual
life..eminating for the "real world" of the blazing computer monitor??? Anyway, the
moral of the story is, don't get so far gone your children have to do a linguistical history
to find to origin of the word, "scifi".

Rick (who'll tell you wC's address is wirehead@snider.net) (ask wC, he usually knows 'em) Tue Nov 28 23:55:07 1995
Yes, of course Lauri lives here. After all her limbs and the bottom 40 feet of her large intestine were removed in an unfortunate harvester accident, we found the only place we could keep her warm and dry was inside the spacious case of a 10-rack Compaq WebServer(tm), and snider.net just happened to have one. We throw scraps behind the monitor every now and again and she's doing very well, thank you.

Note: this is satire. Last I checked, Lauri was a wonderful woman with a wonderful family who spends her life in the noble profession of teaching, introducing young people to that most beautiful language of music. This, of course, is nothing compared to the vastly important and fulfilling work of taking anonymous and ugly potshots at people, but there you have it. And thanks, wC, for the poem, and I hope you're working on that guest rant, it's due in three days.

Finally, whoever called up Ellison Webderland through the Canadianizer, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, eh?

wC (ask Rick, he usually knows 'em.) Tue Nov 28 14:27:49 1995
TEACHING THE PIG TO SING

Itime to rise
sons and daughters
shake off your chains
time to awaken
praise this hell that made you

fight for your right
to exist in this
pathetic majestic realm

sing gloria
sing gloria
we are all coming
all coming
home

and in the cracks
we'll slip through
never let them catch us
again

salute your betters
sing our brutal song
for the pigs
are coming
home to roost
the bloody sword
your shard of fall
all our lives
are struggle and pain

till that day
our stress and strain
will reap
its true reward
revolution
made for all of you
screws tightened
until they break

until that day
our lives have meaning
and will reap
their true reward
revolution
in our desert
screws fall out
onto the ground

until that day
until that death
we will march
over whomever we may
until that day
until death
we will take
of whatever we need

till that day
we'll scream our song
and whisper
our cries of shame
revolution
our only home
till that day
until death...

II
down on that street
i looked down at my feet
a cover for my life
a suit and a tie
a happy attitude
new shoes and a word

i looked in my reflection
and looked back without a word
a word to you or to me

got in the car and
drove onward
into another night
laundry needs cleaning
memory needs forgetting
new shoes and a word

and someday
that pig will learn to sing

down in the room
i park
and wonder
what i will
i said it's no thing
no song worth a breath

progressions of fantasy
concessions to reality
no new shoes this world

but empty bottles
are much closer
then i
would
like
still not worth a breath

and someday
that pig will learn to sing

i collected a fortune
gave it all to you
and finally decided
nothing left to do
nothing at all
left to do

except to sit down
and teach that pig to sing

(thanks be to Ellison, Squeeze, the Rickmeister, and the Academy)

Fido (If I had one I'd be happier) Mon Nov 27 19:43:06 1995
Hi. I'm new to this superhighway and I'd like to say that I'm an Ellison freak. This gal I been after for a year and six months just turned me on to your um, what do you call these? Anyway--it's coool, man. Yeah. As for the rants. You should get my pal to do one about her loser boyfriend and her sucky life. Everybody treats her like crap but me, and she won't go out with me cause of Mr. Wonderful who thinks she's a workout doll for boxers. If I had a way to email I would send you her address. She's a pretty cool chic and she has some provacative, ooky poetry straight outta Ellison wonderful. Damn, the kid can write! Anyway, hope I get my old man to set up his stuff so I can you y'all doggies her email. Drop her a line, or whatever you call it, tell her you want some poetry. She'll make you want to stand up and do something about this shitty little world. Then, you'll cry over your loneliness and need for a hug and some love in this depraved, sick, twisted sewer we call the TWENTIETH CENTURY. I'm for real, man, let me get you some of her poetry. I'll type some in here when I find some.
Have a Tarantino day,
Lava Ass

lauri Mon Nov 27 19:42:01 1995
Yes, I have a rather full life and yes, I enjoy it here. Is it really necessary to be so publically unkind? I can take it, but it wastes space. Yes, I stop by Webderland on a regular basis, often for seconds at a time on my way to other areas of the web. How does that injure anyone?

Mon Nov 27 19:10:22 1995
lauri, don't you have a fucking life? What do you do, live here?

lauri (keegan@lightlink.com) Mon Nov 27 17:38:18 1995
Yeah, Rick....a contest could be fun. How about new "recipes" for the "menu"? Try "The Meat with No Name" (Webderland's version of that perennial cafeteria staple Mystery Meat: a burger made of freshly scraped roadkill and possibly the guts of some suffering Prometheus. You can never tell with the Meat with no Name! Afficiandos say it tastes just like chicken!)

Mon Nov 27 16:46:41 1995
Mr. Wyatt,
I think this page needs a little something extra to help bind together us wEIrdo HarlAn Ellison nuts..how bout an informal contest...which stories are the favourites, our top ten reasons for LOVING mr. Ellison..etc. Anybody else?
Thanks for listening to me rant..
Your muse,
The Goblin Queen

Rick (it's around here somewhere) Mon Nov 27 16:31:47 1995
Thanks, but I didn't write that thing about Star Trek.
Oh, you meant the thing about the Fidgety Guy? Color me embarassed!

Mon Nov 27 16:24:05 1995
Rick, the sound you hear is my hands clapping..your newest rant is perhaps your best. Keep up the good work.

Mon Nov 27 16:02:25 1995
Peter, you ARE floating round in space...

Mon Nov 27 14:09:04 1995
hmmmmmmm......I like Trek too, but methinks you might be missing something. Is this about politics for you? Harlan never "told" me through his work how to vote. This is not a put-down on your comment, but I really don't understand what you're talking about. I hope you'll take a step back, a deep breath and try to explain what has you so riled up. It seems to me you're more pissed at his "fans" (and I remind everyone that "fan" finds its roots in the word "fanatic") than you are fed up with Ellison's WORK. Why can't you enjoy the Art and let the personalities slide?

Peter Mon Nov 27 11:46:17 1995
This is it. I have decided that I no longer like Harlin Ellison. He has pissed me off because he makes fun on Mr. Roddenberry all the time. That's all you "fan"s of him do. You make fun of Star Trek. Star Trek is better than anything he has ever written. See, I don't have to go out and be one of those Environmentally correct protesters who care more about dolphins than unborn babies. Well, Star trek lets me know its okay to be me and that somedaay we will all be happier out in space. There, lets see if any of you "Ellison" wierdos have anything to say about that! This will be the last time I come here, or anywhere his name is spoken accept in a eulogy. Down with Ellison! I wish I were floating around in space with the Great Bird of the Galaxy!

Sat Nov 25 11:57:38 1995
Please make checks/money order (US FUNDS ONLY) payable to:
THE KILIMANJARO CORPORATION

*Send to: The Harlan Ellison Recording Collection/BOOK SALES P.O. Box 55548
***********Sherman Oaks, CA 91413-0548***********
BUYBUYBUYBUYBUYBUYBUYBUYBUYNOWNOOWNOWNOWNOWNOW.....

Shelley Draven, nee, Toth (driddle@cdc.net) Sat Nov 25 11:52:23 1995
First, to get things cleared up, Mermaiderina (or whatever), I asked The Man, and HE said his vasectomy was around November 1974..I think he said November. Anyway, just got THE CITY ON THE EDGE... and I hope it bursts the bubbles of all of those poor unfortunates who treat Gene Rottenbelly like a "fucking Prometheus".
By the by, a have a message from the Great Wonder himself: Harlan has told me to BEG each and every one of you to ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY DO NOT SEND HIM (OR THROUGH MISS SUSAN) ANY MORE FUCKING HOLIDAY CARDS!!!!!!!! I will get the list of those of you that commit this heinous act, and I promised Harlan that I will come and SLOWLY murder each of you by way of paper cuts by the same things you drive him crazy with. So, let me reiterate...NO CARDS!!! And I KNOW you guys remember Sandor and the Pecan Shop, the limping waitress, etc...but that (and how my guru Harlan got the Donny Osmond stationary) are stories reserved for those of us who love him more than life itself and would ride through fire to the boneyard for that great teddy bear of a guy (yes, Susan...me too...)
So, I have nothing else to report. But, Susan has been doing the annual begging for gifts again, so PLEASE, you know you LOVE H. E. , so BUY I HAVE NO MOUTH & I MUST SCREAM (even if you don't have a cd rom..it's got a cute ellison mouse pad..), SLIPPAGE, and, of course, THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER (borderlands press)..
Oh, by the by, for good holiday reading, Harlan suggests the first 4 Borderlands paperbacks...and let's not forget those cool dudes from Atlanta who brought us those wonderfully tragically hip role-playing games, VAMPIRE, WEREWOLF, MAGE AND WRAITH,...yes, White Wolf is releasing not one, not twenty, but THIRTY-ONE books in April by The Master...so, renew your subscription to the HE recording collection ..the address is elsewhere on this website...and buy, buy, BUY!!!
See you gargoyles later,
Rick's little muse...(who shall remain nameless)

Jon Scott Hall (hall@virtu.sar.usf.edu) Wed Nov 22 20:50:17 1995
Rick,

I agree with everything you said, regarding how reality is viewed down in Latin America.

I have done some research on the subject, however, in er, "literary criticism" there is still some concern about the term.
Magic realism was originally used as a term for a specific type of art in Germany, I believe. Another term, (it may have been "hyperreal") got more acceptance, and the term wasn't used again until the Latin American "Boom".

I see Magic Realism as this fine line between fantasy and reality, when fantastic things seem commomnplace and what passes for real takes on stranger tones.
There's a book by this guy Todorov that describes the Fantastic as a meeting place between the supernatural explained and the supernatural not explained. (the uncanny and the marvelous).

He claims that a story is only in this realm for a short time, and by the end the reader decides if the unknown falls into the uncanny or marvelous realms. There are a few stories that keep this balance until the end: A Turn of the Screw is the best example.
I argue that Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 is another.

I believe that magic realism stays on this line more often than other tales, and in Latin America they may be viewed more as uncanny; outside of Latin America would see it as the marvelous.

(This gets into a lot of Reader-Response criticism that i'm not touching now).

I would like to think of Harlan Ellison as a magic realist at times. However, there is an argument that one needs to have come form an enviroment like Latin America to truly write (and possibly even to *understand*) this writing. I decided to "step back" a little and explore this area od writing from a slightly earlier moment. Read: Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges. I am now reading Alain Robbe-Grillet (france), Italo Calvino (Italy), and Robert Coover (America).
I'm comparing/contrasting them as examples of "postmodernism," another term I'm not comfortable with but Hell, I didn't coin it.

Anyways, I've done some work and still doing some related work. However, I can use other perspectives, and if anyone has some recommended reading for me, drop me a line.

BTW, I *love* the new menu. Hope it stays.

Baxt,
Jon Scott Hall "ravenskana"

Rick Wyatt (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Wed Nov 22 18:24:44 1995
re: Magic Realism
I can't help TOO much with this, but I did just finish re-reading _100 Years of Solitude_ and I know a trifling amount about the culture. It seems to me that the term is used because this body of people does not have the same barriers between the conscious and the unconscious mind that we do up north. Talk of ghosts, trances, and other supernatural occurences and extreme behaviors is not considered to be fantastic or incredible.
For this reason, perhaps the term "magic realism" means that the writing is very grounded, very solid, very REAL writing, but contains many elements other cultures consider "magic" or fantastic. The magic does not play a central role as it does in classic fantasy, it is merely an unavoidable part of the background, and the writers think no more of including it than I would of having someone drive car in one of my stories.
That's about all I have to offer. I'd ask Harlan, but after the way he reacted to being asked who Dick Bong was (the answer to that when I am able to decipher my latest conversation with him), I'm inclined to say he would ask me why the hell I didn't do some research on the matter...
In other news, the brave amongst you might check out http://www.snider.net/ellison/elliabou.htm. I may use this page as my new entry point, although I don't think I should do so without HE's permission. Let me know if you think it is too over the top.

Happy Un-Politically Correct Thanksgiving to all, too! I'm heading home, but I *will* be checking the page as time permits.

keegan Wed Nov 22 09:41:47 1995
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Webderland. Some of you may be finding more time to read this weekend. May I suggest "Soft Monkey" from Angry Candy? It may put you in a genuinely thankful mood-if not for what YOU have, then at least for Harlan's gift of storytelling......

(and a hearty "Thanks" with a warm round of applause to Rick for putting up with all of us and doing his best to feed our H.E. jones!)

Blessings to all!

Jon Scott Hall (hall@virtu.sar.usf.edu) Tue Nov 21 01:11:39 1995
Well, another visit to Webderland concluded, and I'm glad to see that the roaches of the world haven't carried it off.
I just don't trust roaches. They've been around too long.
Anyway, that ain't why I'm writing.

Let's talk about Magic Realism.

It all goes back to Jorge Luis Borges, if you ask me. This is a man who has never been truly recognized for his talent. This is changing now, but it has been so long...

I think that part of the reason he it took so long was he wrote SHORT STORIES. This remind you of anyone? There is also Garcia-Marquez, Fuentes, Carpentier, etc. but I just have to ask one question. What makes magic realism...MAGIC REALISM?? One of the arguments makes a special point to notice that a work has to be from Latin America or it ain't it. Now, that doesn't sound ...exactly right.... to me. I respect the writers of Latin America, but not all Latin American fiction is magic realism.

Or is it? I want to know what YOU think...please SEND me your comments and thoughts to me at hall@virtu.sar.usf.edu and let me know what you consider magic realism.

Don't even get me started on "postmodern"...

Why do I care you ask...well, I just do. Seriously, if people use terms like "magic realism" then I expect them to know what it means.

And I'll admit that maybe I'm just not really sure, ya know.

So help me out, OK? ThankyakindlyIdo'preciateit.

Jon

Rick (again) Mon Nov 20 22:29:02 1995
Update is online. Good Night and God Bless.

Rick Wyatt (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Mon Nov 20 18:26:26 1995
I am presently awaiting only a fax from Unca Harlan to complete my update. It will be up tonight. Sorry, but the creek rose.

As for other people doing rants, I would be HAPPY to accept rants from other people. Since I only do one rant a month, I could alternate with the best one I receive and put the rest on a separate page. If you would like to sign up to do one, send me e-mail at webmaster@harlanellison.com.

Mon Nov 20 13:44:40 1995
"We all must THINK about what Harlan is saying.
Here is a man who has been living on his own for almost fifty years. He spends the
vast majority of his time LEARNING and reading things about issues other than,
"Was Nurse Chapel a better dresser than Princess Leia". Please, I IMPLORE
anyone who reads this to look beyond his acidic, grumpy exterior. This man lobbied
to keep Trek on the air. He now continues to lobby so that Kate Wilhelm, AE van
Vogt, etc. will receive the Grandmaster award. Please, if you are science fiction
fans, you must feel at least slightly intellectual. Our common ground is that science
fiction calls us to care about important issues and bettering ourselves and our world.
Please, WAKE UP..do it before it is too late! Don't condemn the messenger, even
if you don't like or agree with him...take the time to REALLY listen and think on
what he's said. Which do you care more for, the 1233435th STAR TREK novel, or
making sure you'll be able to wake up every morning in a good, decent, livable
world. Think on this before you turn away from him."
---found out on the net...just thought you'd like to see it.

A Mon Nov 20 13:13:23 1995
http://www.scifi.com/cgi-bin/rbox/bboard.pl
And there you go, you big hunk o' man...

Namaste Mon Nov 20 13:00:07 1995
Rick,
I just went to Langerhans..I believe your page is MUCH better..all Zuzel's stuff is pictures of books...
When are you doing another rant? Why don't you get other people to do rants, like maybe take turns..
are you going to do something else with this page any time soon??

the gnome alaskan Fri Nov 17 13:28:48 1995
Rick, luv yer page...hell, I luv u, buddy. Harlan is DA MAN wi' da plan!!!!!

keegan (@lightlink.com) Thu Nov 16 15:12:38 1995
Hey all-

Just returned from "The Islets of Langerhan" (URL listed in Rick's message below) and I want to report that it is FAB! (oh, no! is the ABeatleC campaign getting to me? I watch far much tv.)
Anyway, it's a meaty site. If you stop in, be sure to bring a hunk of cake to pacify Cerberus.

Rick Wyatt (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Thu Nov 16 00:50:20 1995
Folks, I will have a full update on this on my links page and in the news, but for now, please check out:
http://www.teleport.com/~mzuzel

It is an excellent page devoted to a full bibliography of Ellison's work, with critical commentary and a biography. It is meticulously researched and well written. I was working on my own version of this song, but after seeing this I may drop back ten and punt...

In other news, I have been bad and lazy lately and promise a full update, including a new rant, this weekend. Honest injun, or as HE would say "God willing and the creek don't rise"...

Bob (somewhere YOU'LL never be, with a cute lady you'll never be with) Wed Nov 15 14:50:53 1995
In the pics of Ellison, I think you need to label the one where he's looking off to the right, wearing a white button-down ? shirt, HARLAN LEAVING THE BETTY FORD CLINIC AFTER GIVING BIRTH TO RUSH LIMBERGER....

Well, I just got back from the Sci Fi Channel Bulletin Board..there is a chat dedicated to the story "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs"...there is also a plea for genre fans to wake up and DO SOMETHING about the general state of things in the world.

lk (oops) Wed Nov 15 12:54:12 1995
I wanted to aplogize for poor spelling in my previous post. Drives me nuts to see that!

Wed Nov 15 12:35:44 1995
P.S.
Mr. Wyatt, when are you going to do a new rant? I really enjoy reading your perspective on the world.
By the way, I have going across the internet spreading the word of your web page. Today, I'm going to take that person's advice and try the Sci Fi Channel bulletin board..hopefully we'll see more accesses here.

Thanks,

a friend..

Rick Wyatt Tue Nov 14 16:35:07 1995
I checked with Darkest Heart, they verify the preceding comment. So if you're having trouble getting in touch with them, keep trying....

da9ve (BBS: 812-466-4222, e-mail "da9ve") Tue Nov 14 14:26:51 1995
DOH!!! Ignore that last message from me, re the address for Darkest Heart Books. The address is still correct; the message on their answering machine was unclear on this. Apparently, they've only moved part of their mail-order operations to another state. Do call their number for clarifications, and have yourself added to their mailing list while you're at it.

John Carrigan (johnc@ebicom.net) Tue Nov 14 11:22:30 1995
Re: Photo of Harlan typing sans cigarette.

What I want to know is: If the condom industry offered enough, would he put a rubber in his mouth ?

John

Rick Wyatt (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Mon Nov 13 17:47:30 1995
Is this thing on?

Rick Wyatt (webmaster@harlanellison.com) Thu Nov 9 23:42:11 1995
What gets edited out of this comments page?
Well, to start off, anything which I consider to be a personal attack on Harlan will be summarily nuked, as will any comment I find to be deliberately inciting. This is of course purely my call, and if you think I made a mistake my e-mail is always available.
I also will usually nuke spamming of the page, and will also remove the whole thread of responses and complaints generated by any of the above.
Questions, complaints, off-topic posting, and mild spams will usually be left alone, as will negative comments or borderline cases such as the vasectomy question. I do this page only with Harlan's continuing approval, and the question I ask myself is: "Would Harlan want this on his web page"? If you think I got the answer wrong, then please e-mail me, I'm more than happy to listen to constructive criticism.

In other news: I took the week off from working on the page, and I am also giving Harlan a much-deserved break. Look for some new links this weekend and a new rant next week. I apologize for the recent unpleasantries on this page, and ask that those who complained remember that the problem was dealt with within 8 hours of its occurence...

Scott (wirehead@tce.snider.net) Thu Nov 9 17:38:22 1995
Actually it's Leiber. Muahahahaha. You are ALL wrong.

I love it when that happens.

Thu Nov 9 12:37:31 1995
Even those of you who don't get the Sci-Fi Channel should look into their web page. Their bulletin board section is great. There is a ton of stuff on Ellison if you know where to look. A lot of interest in him has been expressed. Also, call it a well-informed hunch that the sci-fi channel pays A LOT of attention to the stuff people are posting...I really think they listen to the comments and interests of their viewers. Thanks.
Stuff to look for Ellison under:
authors, A BOY AND HIS DOG, THE STAR LOST, etc.
Some groovy person has also put a chat section dedicated to the writings of Harlan Ellison. So, I implore you check it out!!!

Mesmerina Thu Nov 9 11:17:47 1995
Question for the person keeping this web page: you have an odd sense of which comments to edit, what is the criteria you use for doing so?

And, you don't know how much I appreciate this page. I've been a fan since I was introduced to HE in Hollywood by someone he knows Very well. By the way, Mr. Ellison, my friend would like to tell you that you left something important behind when you dumped her. What year was that vasectomy, anyway???

Thu Nov 9 11:13:13 1995
18004comedy is not the number to call for the politically incorrect videotape...they don't carry it.
and, Mr. Julius Schwartz tells me that Ms. Toth and Mr. Ellison have only been married a couple of years...they've been only LIVING TOGETHER for almost a decade...
THat's info from Mr. Schwartz..not me. By the by, I would like to know exactly how Susan and Harlan met, Julie told me, but I get the feeling it was a little, um, exaggerated.
A correction for the FAQ list: as Mr. Schwartz jumped all over me about the last time I saw him, one cannot say "reverted BACK"...this is redundant. Actually, it is correct to say simply "reverted to".
Also, Mr. Wyatt, several of the authors mentioned in this faq has incorrectly spelled names..Fritz LieBUR? I believe it is Lieber..Anyway, great page, wish there could be more RANTS and info about the, uh, cryptkeeper, shall I say, but, oh well..
Cheers,
A F.O.E...

Chuck McGeever (cmcgeev@cosi.stockton.edu) Wed Nov 8 20:28:51 1995
Hi,

A reference help, please: in HE's TTMan, the narrator writes:

" . . . he was considerd a Bolivar; a Napolean: a Robin Hood;
a Dick Bong (Ace of Aces)."

My question: Who's Dick Bong?


Just below that: " . . .like socially-attuned Shipwreck Kellys."

My question: What's a Shipwreck Kelly's ?

Love You All

Chuck

da9ve (I dunno) Wed Nov 8 13:30:48 1995
Just a warning: The address for Darkest Heart Books in Crystal Lake, IL, given in the resources page is no longer correct. I know this because my girlfriend and I just about drove ourselves crazy last weekend (4 Nov 95) trying to find it, finally gave up and called the number. There's a message on their answering machine that says they've moved, but it doesn't say where. Arg.

P>
c.h. Tue Nov 7 14:15:41 1995
i was born EXACTLY 51 minutes after his mother's death. I hope this is why i feel so pseudo maternal towards him...

C.H. (chattanooga) Mon Nov 6 12:39:22 1995
Dear Harlan,
This is an open letter to you in hopes you will see it (I don't have your address).
I thought, "If Harlan died tomorrow, what would I regret never having said to him?"
You are a wonderful person. You seem to love humanity. You are like the unofficial Guardian of Humankind. You have the wit and education to scoff the PC m'vt, and the sophistication to realise that 99% of the world are sheep who would rather follow their television sets to oblivion than to be sentient.
I know I'm babbling and sounding like a damned fanatical weirdo, but it is all true. You are a very special person. I could never have imagined a mind like yours. You are a hope in the depressiveness of this twisted, apathetic world.
The first story I read of yours was "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs"..having been in a potentially similar situation as Catherine Genovese, the story touched me in a way I can only wonder if you could imagine. There were ten or so people standing around, doing nothing to help me, in spite of my screams. Two years later, when there were no witnesses, the same thing almost happened. It was like in the story. I gave myself over to something almost supernatural. This time, the guy went through a window (it was opened, and he wasn't hurt.)
Anyhow, when I have a child, I feel the necessity to name it (male OR female) in honour of someone as influential to me as yourself. I hope you don't mind, as I feel this would be the right thing to do.

Much love and Affection to you and your beautiful Wife,

Sorry, but that's it!

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