Unca Harlan's Art Deco Dining Pavilion

Archive - 12/18/2007 to 02/19/2008

Unca Harlan's Art Deco Dining Pavilion

Ellison & Pinkwater

Harlan: As always you leave me wondering if you are a genius or a complete nut, I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between.

Here's a link for us more lazy webderlanders to keep up with our host latest high jinks

http://www.pinkwater.com/pzone/forum/index.php

Best to All
Jarod Hitchcock

For those four of you who seemingly cannot sink far enough into depravity that you are incapable of turning away even summat the most minuscule opportunity to catch one of my rare and clangorous ectoplasmic p.a.s elsewhere...

Go over to Daniel Pinkwater.com and hie thyself into the forum called, I believe, The P-Zone. Dropped by for spot of tomfoolery the other day. Pinkwater has responded, in kind.

He is a major nifty guy, humorist, NPR columnist, novelist, and all-around charming witty dude. Like.

Yr. *al, Harlan

***John Z.***

Check your AOL email account. I re-sent you all the information you need and a counter proposal. My e-mail will be in there, but it's also to be found at the top of every one my posts to the Pavilion since its inception.

Also, as one or two of you merry pranksters already know, I am in the book. And since there are exactly four people named Dannelke in the United States and they all live under my roof, well, jackpot to you intrepid callers.

- Barney Dannelke

barney dannelke
Mr D. re: the Locuses ? Locii? oh hell, the magazines... in the midst of 3 writing projects I've misplaced your e-mail and the list of what you needed. Are you going into Philly anytime soon and can either meet in town or stop in Conshohocken, home once upon a time of Maria Bello, and pick up the whole batch (and the Warren Spirits). I'd hate to just toss them. If you feel a need for recompense I state right here I defer to your judgement. No rush on any of this. As always we at the Mercury Theatre remain obediently yours.

Hate, not have technology. ick.

Ok, let's get this straight one more time, a Luddite does not have technology, they only hate what technology can do to mankind, making people into machines. That was the usual concern. They were good peoples, amen.

----------------

KOS, good to see you being a good boy.

I will refrain from painting that target on your back.

-----------------

To hell with Vampira, someone mentioned Helen Hunt. Damn is that woman sexy. That's my type, yummers.

She has that girlish charm.

Boner time. Sexist? nah.

JOSH and Batman
Hey JOSH: Being almost as much of a Luddite Harlan is (never got my Guild card) and perhaps because I'm slightly dyslexic and very ADHD, I seemed to have missed the release date for "GOTHAM KNIGHTS" on that Youtube advertisement-type thingee. Do you know if a date has been set? (Looking forward to checking it out, and seeing one of your latest scripts played out on the screen).

Cheers,
DTS

Re: The lack of a Con statement in the WGA materials - the truth of the matters seems to be this: There wasn't time. Guild rules demand that any statements that go out with voting materials be endorsed by at least ten signatures. There WAS an attempt to gather Con statements, but by the time they started arriving, there wasn't time to gather signatures.

Patrick Meighan, who wrote the official one on the WGA site, has made it VERY clear that the fault in getting his statement into the Guild on time lays entirely at his feet. In that all this was put together VERY last minute, it makes sense.

the ire spreads
Unca Harlan-
United Hollywood and the Past Deadline sites seem to have you back on the Con statement. As a fellow writer, not worthy to carry your pencil shavings, I agree with you and revel in your gift of self-expression. Keep the faith, baby.

Wobblies forever....One Big Union. IWW member X352343.

HERC MEMBER CHANGE OF ADDRESS
Hi Susan,

Can you please update my address for future mailings of The Rabbit Hole?
Member #928
New address: 94 North Franklin St.
Apt. #5
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
Thank you!

The Lemur Stares Longingly At A Pinup of Harriet Myers
Various:

DIANE BARTELS: Yow. I'm glad you caught it. Take care of yourself and provide further updates. My wife found out, in preparation for gastric bypass surgery about six years ago, that she had already survived two heart attacks and didn't even know it, one reason we credit that procedure for saving her life. My own situation is odder: once in a great while, I get the SYMPTOMS of a heart attack, check it out, and discover that my heart is as strong as a drum. This goes back to my twenties. It seems to I'm prone to esophagal spasms, a disorder that causes tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, and even tingling down my right arm...and some four times in my life I have checked myself into the hospital and found out that there's no sign of heart ailment whatsoever. As a fat guy, I am not happy with having symptoms that mimic the kind of thing a fat guy should be worried about....again, take care of yourself. Get well.

ALEX JAY: Enjoy. I take it these would be the Spider-Man novels? Maybe Vossoff and Nimmitz?

JAROD HITCHCOCK: Yes, the creeping increase in the time taken up by commercials is a chief reason why I prefer watching series collected on DVD, or time-shifted with a hand on the remote control. (THE RICHES, just now out on DVD, is an example of a show that is probably ten times better watched without interruption. And deeply recommended, by the way.) I need to note that this is NOT true of shows broadcast on pay cable; such high-quality, commendable series as SIX FEET UNDER and THE WIRE give you the full hour. I have not been able to bring myself to investigate just what harm has been done to Showtime's ghoulish but oddly charming DEXTER, the series about the likeable serial killer, as the gory and often profane hour-long shows originally broadcast on Showtime are sliced to ribbons to accomodate not only the still more conservative standards of broadcast television, but also that forty-two minute time slot. My only interest is perverse fascination with the destruction of something I love.

EVERYBODY: Oh, to be in Miami today, with the last name Castro. Don't ask.

Shakespeare, Flying Blue Monkeys, and Captain Keith
Diane: If you go to www.unbox.com and set up their free software (this is through Amazon), you can download the RSC production of Romeo & Juliet for nuffin. They're doing one production per week for free, but if you miss it, you can get it for $1.99 later. But free is always better.

Add me to the list of people who contacted Mssrs. Coulton and/or Aboud. I emailed them around eleven or so last night, and they say they've taken care of it. Nice of them to respond to my email, especially since they were probably hit with an electronic tsunami.

Alex: There are so many pieces of Kruger's that I like. I was tempted by some of the Keith Richards prints, even though I'm not a huge Stones fan, simply because Kruger captures him so well. My other favorite is the Steve McQueen, because he looks so fearless and invincible. I need more wall space. And money. Lots of money. I also want a couple of giclees based on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, but I'm a geek that way. Loved the Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones. Bill Nighy is fabulous.

HARLAN: I'm surprised you haven't written in to, say, Variety, to express your anger that no "con" statement was included.

SXSW PEOPLE: If you go, do try to catch the film "In a Dream", about Philadelphia "outsider artist" Isaiah Zagar, whose "Magic garden is just about the neatest art object/installation in all of Philly, and whose mosaic murals help set the theme for most of South Street (yes; "the hippest street in town"). Our own darling Peg can attest to the "wow"-ness of his work.

You can look at some of his work at http://www.philadelphiasmagicgardens.org/history.html and http://www.isaiahzagar.org/

ADAM-TROY: Nothing big, but I just wanted to let you know I put a couple of your books on hold at the Philly Free Library. I'm expecting enjoyment, and I'm sure you won't let me down.

AMY: Though I'm a blueshound and like the Robert Johnson art (and his) stylized art reminds one very pleasantly of Ralph Steadman), the thing of Kruger's I REALLY like is the non-stylized Jimi Hendrix.

ROBERT: Just stop before you get to Goatse, 'kay? Harlan is far too young and innocent for such things.

Words out...
Unca Harlan:

I'm guessing I'm not the first, but I did find an email address camouflaged on the UH site, so I sent 'em a note to mention that you would like them to call. Hopefully it was a moot point.

Adding Michael Mayhew:

Finally gave my brother-in-law the page you sent me lo these many weeks ago; we finally got around to celebrating his birthday, so I printed out an edit of the thread dealing with the provenance of his gift. I just turned him on to Harlan last fall, so he's now triply tickled, owning a print from a Heavy Metal story adaptation of a Lovecraft tale that's been through Harlan's own hands. Hee! Thanks again for handling all the distribution of our generous host's largesse, and... Harlan... thanks again for everything you've done so far, and advance thanks for everything you've got in the pipeline. Wotta ride...

Alejandro:

Oooh! What fun! I had a paperback collection of Thinking Machine stories when I was a lad of 9 or so, and it very much affected my thinking for... well, my life so far. I can hardly imagine what my life would have been like without those stories behind my eyes. Now, I need to get down to the bookstore and get this tome ordered...

'Night, all. If my brother-in-law drops in, tell him I said "Hi".

HARLAN:

I sent off messages to Colton and Aboud: they should contact you at the usual number. I will call you tomorrow and (briefly) explain the internet to you. Kisses!

hi everyone. at my sister's house late again and i do not tonite have time to read all the posts i missed the last couple of weeks. But i do have a message for harlan, yet another thank you. This time I think you may have literally saved my life. From the intro to Shatterday, (which I enjoyed very much), I remember you saying with your heart attack, it was not just the pain, it was the pressure in the chest. Couple, three weeks ago, I started getting a pain right in the center of my chest, like the esophogus. My penchant for self-diagnosing led me to assume it was gastric, or my shunt acting up, or most anything but my heart. I put off going to er for days, ( I hate hospitals) but to make long story shorter, I started getting pressure with the pain, which never radiated down the left. Still i screwed around for a day or so, then finally I said well, Harlan's usually right about a lot of stuff, so I cabbed me down to Northwester Mem. They stuffed a nitro under my tongue, with baby aspirin, clapped on the oxygen, and did an ekg, which came back perfectly normal. Sadly, or luckily, they also did heart enzymes, which came back majorly fucked up. They kept going ; the docs did an angioplasty, and found I had a 90% block in coronary artery. They shot it out, and placed a stent. Next day, they told me I was a lucky little girl that I came in when I did, as in lucky to still be on planet. So, it was your ( written) voice, Harlan, that made me finally go. Thank you very much. On SXSW, I now believe life is short, and I've wanted to meet Harlan for 25 years. Somehow I will be there, maybe just for the film. I would love to see the panel too, but don't yet know if I can stay or afford the big pass. Paul, thanks for the info on the movie tickets at Waterloo Records. If a pass should become availabe for just the movie and panel next day, I will keep checking this site. In other things, I adore Shakespeare. That makes me sound pretetious, but I loved him when I was young, like a kid. Then in college, I had the most wonderful Shakespeare teacher, Mrs. Peg O'Connell; her class was a mind, heart and soul opening experience. Frank Chuch, I never had a problem with the thought of Jesus and Mary M. being intimate; thought it was their business. But if they did, the Lord did not F--- her; he gently, tenderly, passionately and attentively made loving love to the girl. LOL. Thanks Harlan again. Be well all. And if God doesn't strike me dead on the spot for that last comment, I will maybe see you all in Texas. PS. ATC, congrats on novel. That has to be a thrill and a half. I look forward to reading it. Diane

Happy 75th Birthday, Doc!

Doc Savage turned seventy-five yesterday!

My best to him and to his inestimable team: Renny, Long Tom, Johnny, Ham, Monk and Harlan.

Steve Dooner

The Thinking Machine
Harlan:

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am three quarters of the way through the Jacques Futrelle's "The Thinking Machine" collection of stories that you edited for The Modern Library and they are delightful. Futrelle may have been a one trick pony but boy, what a wonderful pony. I don't mind seeing it do its tricks over and over again.

It's been a long time since I've read stories like these. In fact, I haven't read anything like this since high school when, from my meager earnings delivering newspapers back home, I would pay for my monthly fix of The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Asimov's and read, with wonder and cheerful glee, each and every story. This collection has brought back those fond memories. It is rare these days to find stories that bring so much joy and wonder. And for that Futrelle fully deserves his place in The Modern Library.

AR

Hollywood Reporter....
....web site tumbles upon our esteemed host's WGA comments:

http://www.pastdeadline.com/2008/02/harlan-ellison.html#more

Further, deponent sayeth not.

Erik

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

A guy from the website UNITED HOLLYWOOD called me today. It was either Michael Colton or John Aboud. I have been trying for two (2) (fuckin toooooooooooo) hours to reach one of these guys, to have one or the other call me back for a loose end, and they want you to sign in with this, or log on with that, or view their videos, or looka their facebook, or looka their YouTube, or blahblahblah, with this password crap that makes them all feel like the CIA or James Bleeding Bond or Ashenden the Secret Agent, but is all gibberish to me, as opposed to a simple direct human-to-human communication by phone...WHICH APPARENTLY IS NOW VIEWED AS HORSE'N'BUGGY IN LIEU OF THIS GODDAM LABYRINTHINE LAOCOONIAN SKEIN...but NOWHERE is there a simple way simply to say to them, "Please call me back," without having to give them your life story and private information and enough roughage for them not to have to wander in consummate darkness!

In short, Flying Blue Monkey Squad, if you would...please...kindly...before I go even crazier than I am already...get in touch with one/both of these guys, and ask him/them to call me back, using the number they've used twice before. Thank you manyfold, in advance, Whomever.

Exhaustedly, and even crankier than ususally, Yr. Pal, Harlan

Re: Maila Nurmi. "Hot...Also, kinda creepy."

...appeals to my necrophiliac leanings.

Reply to Harlan & Josh re: The Discarded

Guys,

The show was run commercial free, total running time for the entire program was listed @ 100 minutes. But it finished 10-15 minutes early, it is possible that it was re-edited for Australian screens. Pretty sure Broadcast standards (so to speak) are different here than they are in the states.

But Josh is correct in saying that, shockingly an hour of TV is now only 42 minutes max. (this is somewhat of a pet peeve of mine) Back in the 60's when say Harlan "City on the Edge of Forever" was broadcast total running time was between 50-54 minutes. Then by the 80's we were down to around 45 minutes, now in 2008 we are down to 40-42 minutes. In the next 10 years will be down to half show, half commercials.

As for my rushed comment it was just a feeling & feelings are very strange things, Every time I see Jenna Bush on TV (we get a lot of U.S news down here & I have been watching a lot of it recently with respects to the upcoming elections. My money is on Obama) I can't help but wonder what she would look like wearing nothing but a cowboy hat & boots, not a very noble thought mind you but then what are you gonna do. Anyway after thinking about it for 10-20 minutes, All I can then think about is whether this makes me a bad liberal. Again Feelings are very strange things

Best to All
Jarod Hitchcock

PS: Sorry to violate the one a day rule, but there's a nifty little promotional trailer for Batman: Gotham Knights, a DVD-only project I wrote a story for that folks here might dig. The tone's a bit serious -the piece seems to be addressed to people who don't know who Batman is - but it gives a few nifty looks at the thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuSwj5ok24k

Paul--thanks for the info, though I knew it already--but there is NO way I'd go to an event Harlan's attending without seeing the man himself. Hence the 400. Well, make that 800, because I don't travel without my (according to Harlan) well-trained mate. If I could get into the movie AND panel for 70 a pop, hell, I'd fly down for the day. Helen Hunt may be a lovely person, but I have no interest in seeing her or anyone else. Southwest offers fantastic web fares, particularly from Love Field. This is KILLING me.

But I still love my Robert Johnson giclee. It's by Sebastian Kruger. If anyone else out there loves the man who sold his soul, you can check it out here:

http://www.artonfifth.com/kruger/johnson.htm

Harlan,

Horrifyingly enough, an hour of network TV in 2008 adds up to 42 minutes of programming, 18 minutes of commercials. So if they're running down under without ads, the damn thing wasn't an entire hour.

However, I DO wonder if maybe it was cut down in Autralia, because there was NO rushing involved in the telling of that story. We had plenty of time - if we hadn't, there'd have been no eye to plotz for.

Barney,

Kudos (and just what the damn is a 'kudo'?) go to my friend Paul Shiple, who pointed it out to me. I just thought others here would appreciate seeing a true Ellison collectible on eBay.

Tiny url address noted for the future.

Back to my place on the porch, now.

So close, and yet so far...
I am truly chagrined to say I am not likely to make it to SXSW, which bums me out more than I can say.

I had 2 offshore trips thrust upon me at short notice this month, my sis is coming to visit this week, and I just inheritied a project at work which will have me up to my ears through March. What with recent events in my life, and an even more recent relocation, I just can't do a weekend or more away in March. At best, I could look at doing a day trip out to see the film, but I wouldn't pay $70 for a pass for that.

When it's take your chances at the door, hardly seems worth the 6 hour 300+ mile RT haul from Houston, not considering the price of gas. If we were talking a full fledged interactive Harlan & Susan & Webderlanders event, it might be worth it. But just to see the film? Sorry, can't pass muster on that.

I'm now setting my sights on Icon in April, which should be past the immediate frenzy, and affords the same chance for film and fun with fine WedberFolks. (Already done booked my vacation days and bought tickets, so if this one gets canceled, it's on the company tab).

Paul, my virtual amigo, sorry to have to pass, but we'll catch each other another time....

Cheers
Peggy

Aaaarrrghh......!

I hate being this way, really. I do.

As some of you know, I am in the midst of funeral arrangements for my uncle. His partner is a terrific guy, but entirely too deferential to confront anyone openly (he just gets quietly frustrated, eventually exploding in a flash and then apologizing for it.)

The Neptune Society hasn't been as ... proactive ... as I'd like. This morning I had to get nasty on the phone with them, generally turning this into a true Monday for everyone involved (headaches, heartaches, the sort of day we all attribute to being a Monday). The coordinator I spoke with immediately called my uncle's partner and began working through the details.

I hate being the nasty call that no one wants to get, but sometimes it becomes necessary.

(Thank you. I feel better now.)
____________________________________________________

We know that Harlan opposed the deal, and Josh reconciled himself to it (if I don't mis-speak). I'm certain one or the both of you talked to J Michael Staczynksi about and I'm curous what his take was -- he hasn't posted anywhere yet, to my knowledge.

Entertainment Weekly has an item which mentions the three-week waiting period before online residuals kick in for the writers -- and that it takes a year for them to be paid -- but generally indicates the writers are walking away better for the ordeal rather than worse. This is, for good or bad, the impression the general public is being given.

Then again, if you don't get the checks, what the public thinks is pretty worthless when it comes to paying the creditors.
_______________________________________

Answer to David Loftus: The Sinclair dinosaur was a brontosaurus. Even though the bronto never existed, except in museums who couldn't read the fossil record assembly instructions properly, Sinclair's artwork was based on that now-mythological creature.

Hope this lets you sleep at night.

(And, for extra bonus points, I'll note that -- on the entirely too brief tv sitcom DINOSAURS -- the last name of the family was Sinclair. Earl, Fran Robbie Charlene and "The Baby")(Gotta love him.)

Sad news. Alain Robbe-Grillet has passed away.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jF0U80MBcLs2iYoWEHKB0VraQKPw

Colbert note
The Colbert bit was very nice, though I thought he was handing out cigars--pencils would be more appropriate, I guess. It should be noted that there was a sly bit of humor in that, while I'm sure most of the people who came trotting out were the show's actual writers, Tiki Barber and Kevin Bacon were also there for no apparent reason.

Various
Bill Maher acknowledged the writers last week, introducing "New Rules" (a regular segment of topical humor that has been absent during the strike). He said, "We have a lot of New Rules to catch up on, since..." and then he paused, looking stricken. "Not that anybody was WRITING THEM while they were gone..." I don't think this was a deliberate bit, but an actual moment of oh-shit-I-didn't-mean-to-say-that.

And, fwiw, Jon Stewart's THE DAILY SHOW was "A" DAILY SHOW for the duration of the strike. He returned it to THE DAILY SHOW with much fanfare. His best moment during the strike was when Mitt Romney made some comment about not voting for democrats because they want America to lose, and Stewart said, "You know, my writers would come up with something clever to say about that, but I don't have writers right now, so I'm going to have to wing it." Pause, as he deliberated. "Mr. Romney...FUCK YOU."

HARLAN: your best wishes brought a wide abashed grin to the sweetie's face. Wish you coulda seen it. Come to think of it, in April you will.

I'm hoping that the second of the THREE books I have coming out this year (it's small-press; the third is not), will also be out then, so I can give ya BOTH...!

SXSW, baby!

Amy Kostyn-Jenkins, and anyone else, actually, if you can make it down, there is a cheaper way to do it. There are $70 dollar film passes, available right now from Waterloo Records, here in Austin. The passes get you into all movies, no panels, though, sorry. Now, they do sell tix to the general public, (regular movie price, 7-9$ YMMV) about 20 min or so to show-time, but there is no guarantee the place won't be filled to capacity before that.

You can call Waterloo Records at 512) 4742525 and order your film passes by credit card, and they will hold them until you pick them up. Just need to show I.D. There is info on the other board, some good, some silly, about SXSW. Just in case you wanted to know.

The movie - http://2008.sxsw.com/film/screenings/film/F10122.html#trailer

The panel- http://2008.sxsw.com/film/conference/panels_schedule/?action=show&id=FP060181

Of course, Harlan's panel is slated in the exact same time slot as Helen Hunt, so there should be plenty of seats available. Tee. Hee. Of course, those with badges can get in to see all panels and movies. The film passes are not able to be used to see panels, and you cannot pay your way to hear the panels. So that means, unless Harlan is able to swing some extraordinary largesse to film pass people and/or personal friends, it's badge only kids. Sorry.

Now, as for trying to find a decent hotel for less than your firstborn anywhere NEAR downtown..........

One way to welcome back writers.
I apologize if I re-posting something that has been mentioned on the boards, but I have had a surfeit of life lately and haven't been keeping up.

During a bout of insomnia, I came in on the beginning of the "Colbert Report" and he not only announced the end of the writer's strike, which got a huge cheer from the audience, but he introduced each writer by name and handed them a pencil as they walked out on stage, one by one.

This being the "Colbert Report", the New York Mets' mascot, Mr. Met came out after the last writer was introduced and then Colbert joined the writers (and Mr. Met), who had been lining up on some bleachers after they got their pencils. I don't know what the technical term is for this, but I'm sure most of you have seen "snapshot take", where you hear the sound of a flashbulb and you then see a framed still of whatever you were watching.

Being an IT technician, I am acutely aware of working without compliment, being expected to stop, drop and tech anywhere, work for free, work overtime without recompense, etc., so, while I don't have intimate knowledge of the working conditions of the show, I did rather appreciate this public acknowledgement of the writers.

Was there anything similar on other shows?

Brian Phillips

PERPLEXIA INCOGNITA

JAROD:

I am confounded by your statement that "The Discarded"

"could have been an hour long."

Uh...

It WAS an hour long.

In America, an "hour long" means something like 52 minutes plus commercials. (51? 54? hell, something like that.) But it WAS a standard-length hourlong episode, as was "Watchbird" (which I've never seen), I presume.

Is it possible you're getting bowdlerized versions Down Under?

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Eat Your Heart Out, Michael Flatley
Harlan is actually Lord of the Lindy. I have photos of him dancing the Lindy with Pin-up babe and actress, June Wilkinson, in the kitchen of my old house in LA to the tune of Miss Petunia (vinyl supplied by Mr. E). June is taller than Harlan too.

Tiny URL
*** Alan *** Thank you for the heads up on that. Not that I'll be throwing $1,000.00 at that, but I did want to see some good photos of the thing. I had seen a rather grainy black and white photo in a catalog, but these are much better.

As for the URL - I'd like to recommend Tiny URL;

http://tinyurl.com/create.php

That page reduced your 3 line URL to this;

http://tinyurl.com/2qt5k9

and those shorter links last. I use Tiny URL on average about twice a day. One of the most useful tools on the net.

- Barney

Susan: No problem. Regarding payment, several German paperbacks are still on their way to Casa Ellison (mostly the Star Wars novels and Harlan's brilliantly accurate adaptations of Animated Star Trek), accompanied by a list of expenditures and killings committed in Harlan's name. For now don't send me money as I will be in L.A. for several weeks, where I hope I'll have some kind of address. I could drop off the comic books somewhere reachable by bus. We can think about the details next month.
Saludos,
Jan

Vampira musings
Not sure if it was mentioned, but "Vampira" passed away about a month ago (January 10, 2008). That is to say, the actress Maila Nurmi, who played "Vampira".

She had an eighteen inch waist when she played the character on late night Los Angeles TV in the Fifties.

A good friend and collaborator of mine produced a documentary on the life and career of Ed Wood. Maila Nurmi made her last filmic appearance in an interview for that production. She was apparently quite kind and gracious, according to him.

I've got a novel in the works, titled "Holy Wood". It involves the search for the stolen ashes of a silent screen actress of middle-rank. Think "Maltese Falcon" in modern Los Angeles with a "Song of Kali" sort of atmosphere.

A writerly sort of friend helped a bit when, after I described the scene of literal PanDemonium near the end, wherein every sort of demon, harpy and psychopomp rises from Hades to prowl the streets of L.A.: "Oh? This is Los Angeles. Why would anyone notice?"

This will obviously have to be made plausible. Fiction must be plausible. Life can be confusing and unbelievable. It better be. Not fiction. It better not be.

Good luck A-TC!

KOS

Masters of Science Fiction - Down Under
This Series has just aired in my neck of the woods & we got to see all six episodes.(I understand that in the states two were cut for some reason)

The two I watched this past weekend were Harlan & Mr Olson's “The Discarded" & "Watchbird" starring James Cromwell (great actor) & Sean Astin.

Funniest Line of the whole show was Harlan's: Oy you could plotz over a tukus like that. Enjoyed John Hurts performance, Harlan & Mr Olson's snappy dialogue made it a real treat.

Only negative comment was about both episodes really, they seemed slightly rushed in that the stories were over just as you were getting into them. I think both the above episodes could have been an hour or so long quite easily & been fleshed out more enjoying more character development & so fourth. But Then What Do I Know

Best Wishes to All
Jarod Hitchcock

Mefisto In Onyx collectable edition for sale on eBay
This is all one address. You'll have to piece it back together.

http://cgi.ebay.com/harlan-ellison-and-frank-miller-limited-edition_
W0QQitemZ270211690058QQihZ017QQcategoryZ29223QQss
PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

JUST JOHN:

In addition to getting wrong the source of the request for my panegyric (as Josh has quite properly advised you), I also neglected to mention that there WAS a "pro statement" signed by a busload of Prominent Authors attached to the ratification pamphlet and ballot. No "con" statement ofr any kind. Not a whisper. Yes, a "pro" shout, but not a "con" whisper.

-he

ADAM-TROY:

1) Give you-know-who a hug and a kiss from me, pre-Thursday, because I like her LOTS better than you.

2) I still haven't quite figured out how to solve that, uh, er, "problem" your Good Offices caused me. But I will. Have no fear. Have shpilkes, have angst, have guilt, but have no fear, you putz.

3) I will EXPECT a bountifully personalized warm-off-the-press copy of the First Castro Novel. I will not ask again.

Aloofly, Yr. Pal, Harlan

VAMPIRA & ME

It's true, Rob. It was at a World Science Fiction Convention (I am trying hard to recall correctly); and an actual photo of us dancing exists. We were jitterbugging -- what they useta call The Lindy -- and I'm spinning her out at arm's length.

She is considerably taller than I.

Yeah, as you put it, "hot." Also, kinda creepy.

Yr. Pal, the profligate Harlan

Upton Sinclair Lewis Oil!


Upton Sinclair authored Oil!

The one I have a problem keeping straight is Sinclair Oil: is it a brontosaurus, diplodocus, or apatosaurus who graced the logo?

On Sinclairs
'Tis very easy to confuse Upton Sinclair and Sinclair Lewis, but they were two different people; Upton Sinclair did THE JUNGLE, Sinclair Lewis did BABBIT, ELMER GANTRY, and IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, among others. I dunno which one did OIL!

Dear Jan:

We would like both the items you found. Many, many thanks. Just tell us how much money (inc. postage) and we'll send it. Do you want it in Dollars or Euros. Just advise.

With kindness--Susan

IaIn Banks. Iain. Not Ian.

And "it is" or "it's", not both. Take yer pick and discard the other.

A-TC -- Wincing best wishes to your wife. Been there, didn't enjoy that. Make sure she doesn't play the heroine and skip the pain meds -- you get them for a reason. (Not really pain, per se, but a whole lot of soreness going on.)

Looking forward to the new book. Love the cover, and very cool to see your name in bold print.

From the HarperCollins website: "Two murders have occurred on One One One, an artificial ecosystem created by the universe's dominant AIs to house several engineered species, including a violent, sentient race of sloth-like creatures."

So it's is about genetically-engineered Hollywood producers?

_______________________________

Jes: Suggestions for interviews?

How about Norman Spinrad, Alan Moore, Dan Simmons and Arthur C. Clarke?
_______________________________

And just to continue getting myself pointlessly in trouble, I love the cover artwork (British edition) on the new Ian M Banks novel MATTER. Very evocative.

Answering Harlan's question
Harlan, I may be wrong, but in all the collective bargaining I've done and been involved in, when the parties reach a Temporary Agreement, then it is a violation of fair bargaining parctices to officially stump for a "No" vote. Else why did you come to an agreement in the first place?

Typically, the contract comes before the Board of Directors, who then have first dibs on saying yay or nay to accepting the offer. That acceptance at the BOD meeting constitutes an acceptance of the offer from the other party. And if they accept, then the offer is sent out to the membership, and the BOD is expected to support the deal they accepted.

This is not the same as taking an advisory vote from the membership on whether or not to officially accept a specific proposal or specific particulars of that proposal. Usually, sunshine rules prevent either party from disclosing what is on the table until they have crafted a deal, so asking for an advisory vote on what is essentially classified material until it is officially accepted by both sides would be tricky business.

Now, including a con statement may not be the equivalent of opposing the deal, but it skates nearer the edge than presenting the deal with PRO sentiment attached. However, an organization also has every right to present the deal to its membership without a reccomendation either way, and let the members decide for themselves.

A-TC wrote:
"AND: Self-plug, we are now less than ten days from the release of my first original (i.e. not media-related) novel, EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD (Harper Collins). Do check it out.

AND: Think good thoughts for my sweetie, who's having TRIPLE (!) HERNIA surgery on Thursday...!"

Will definitely pick it up as soon as I can lay my sweaty little hands on it. Is there a market of choice in your eyes?

Warm fuzzies for your sweetie. Hubby had hernia surgery at the end of December; while he recovery was not his cup of tea, it certainly was less painful than the hernia itself. Remind your sweetie that the doctor's recommendation of "x amount of time before doing anything stupid that might mess up my work" is a sound one.


shagin

A-TC: I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of "There Will Be Blood". I am a HUGE p.t. anderson fan, so seeing it was a given, but it's a real departure from his normal hyperkinetic ensemble works. I picked up Upton Sinclair's "Oil," never having read it before. TWBB is supposed to be very loosely based on it, but this outstanding film piqued my interest. I haven't read anything of Sinclair's other than "The Jungle," and that was required reading in middle school.

Best to your poor suffering sweetie!

HARLAN:

Wish I could see you in Austin, but I just bought a Robert Johnson giclee that puts a $400 one-day (for me) pass out of my reach. Hope everything goes well, and I also hope to see you up in NY. Love to you and Susan from Ben and me.

Various
On JESUS SKYWALKER: by far the best volume in Harlan Ellison's three-trilogy-plus-epilogue decaology, published under the group title, "Triumph of the Whills, or Love Ain't Nothing But Jabba Misspelled," it establishes for the VERY FIRST TIME the nature of Ewok government and is most remarkable for the ten chapters written from an Ewok's point of view, and in the Ewok language. (There is also one chapter written from Chewbacca's point of view, complete with glossary establishing how many a's the "aaaaaaaarrrr" must have for each intended meaning.) My favorite Ellisonian moment in the whole thing is the plaint, "Jar-Jar has kneed us in the groin again."

OTHER ISSUES: For God's sake, see THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Please. Most memorable movie character since Michael Corleone and Hannibal Lecter.

AND: Self-plug, we are now less than ten days from the release of my first original (i.e. not media-related) novel, EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD (Harper Collins). Do check it out.

AND: Think good thoughts for my sweetie, who's having TRIPLE (!) HERNIA surgery on Thursday...!

Not Required Subject of the Post
This reminds me of an open content thread, only without the strict adherence to the topic.

HARLAN!!

YOU once danced with Maila Nurmi? MAILA NURMI?? As in...that beautiful, beatific, boner fide beau monde, VAMPIRA???????

Thanks to Tim Burton's film, Ed Wood, the Web is FLOODED with history about her; I've seen probably every photo shot during her peak days as the sexy icon.

...from what I could tell, she was HOT!!!!!!

Alright. The spikes. The whips. The screams. How good WAS it? And WHERE the hell did you do it?

Zack - No, that's the novelization for El Topo. The cover's a misprint.

Lies, Slander, and Lies!
No way, Harlan. There is no way you're going to tell me that you wrote JESUS SKYWALKER. It says right here on the cover: written by Cordwainer Bird. I may not be able to tell sarcasm from the opposite of sarcasm, but I can sure tell when something doesn't say that it was written by Harlan Ellison! I HAVE HALF A MIND to write this Mr. Bird and tell him that you're claiming his Star Wars novel as your own.

You know, I don't think any of you have even read JESUS SKYWALKER. Only connoisseurs of the fine Star Wars cannon, such as myself, would even be aware of such an obscure contribution as JS:TT. It's a pretty good read, if I do say so myself, even if the character of Assbacca is a tad unrealistic. But I digress...

Shame on you, Harlan. Shame on you.

Doc Savage's 75th birthday
Today, February 17th, is the 75th anniversary of the 1933 debut of the Man of Bronze in the first issue of DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE. Even if you forgot to send Clark Savage, Jr., a birthday card, you might consider sharing the day with him by rereading one of his classic pulp adventures.
Along with The Shadow's debut two years earlier, this publishing event pretty much launched the American superhero genre. Without Clark Savage, the Man of Bronze, we might not ever have had Clark Kent, the Man of Steel.

Excised portions of this script
as in " Our estimate of sales and advance to you based on that estimate was VERY close to what we actualy got. We even saw some new copies of the books we got from you in local book stores at the same prices we got. No problem at all on this end.

Chrestomathy House, Inc. Quarterly Report
Dear Harlan,offered at the very price, to the penny, we got. To the point that the "advance" on sales we forwarded to you was within five percent of actual sales to this point (with about ten paperback books left unsold, though they are still listed and likely will trickle out the door over the next few months, bring in a slight increse in everyones recompense.)

All to say: it has been and continues to be a worthwhile endeavor Yes, should you wish to repeat it as and when the book-midden reaches sufficient dimensions, then, please, forward it to the same address at your convenience.

As before, I'll offer "jus primae librii" to the local tribe.

KOS

Chrestomathy House, Inc. Quarterly Report
Dear Harlan,offered at the very price, to the penny, we got. To the point that the "advance" on sales we forwarded to you was within five percent of actual sales to this point (with about ten paperback books left unsold, though they are still listed and likely will trickle out the door over the next few months, bring in a slight increse in everyones recompense.)

All to say: it has been and continues to be a worthwhile endeavor Yes, should you wish to repeat it as and when the book-midden reaches sufficient dimensions, then, please, forward it to the same address at your convenience.

As before, I'll offer "jus primae librii" to the local tribe.

KOS

Chrestomathy House, Inc. Quarterly Report
Dear Harlan,offered at the very price, to the penny, we got. To the point that the "advance" on sales we forwarded to you was within five percent of actual sales to this point (with about ten paperback books left unsold, though they are still listed and likely will trickle out the door over the next few months, bring in a slight increse in everyones recompense.)

All to say: it has been and continues to be a worthwhile endeavor Yes, should you wish to repeat it as and when the book-midden reaches sufficient dimensions, then, please, forward it to the same address at your convenience.

As before, I'll offer "jus primae librii" to the local tribe.

KOS

Just to clarify - the request to make Harlan's statement the Con statement did not come from Guild. It came from a member who had read it, who thought it would make a great con statement. Unfortunately, for it to become official, it required ten signatures, and it needed them by noon that day. It was about 11:30 when she contacted me.

That isn't the issue. The issue is that there WAS an official Con statement, from a great guy, Patrick Meighan, who writes for Family Guy. It's up on the official WGA board, but is not, for some reason, contained in the documents we were all sent.

So Harlan's ire is completely appropriate, just slightly incorrect as far as the minor details go. Although, honestly, I like his version better - I WISH our Guild were hip enough that they'd request the use of a statement in which they were characterized as "Quislings, Turncoats, Hacks and Cowards."

HEADLESS IN GAZA (no connection to the Strip)

KOS: Fiduciarywise, how did you do with that chrestomathy clutch I sent? Ought I do it again?

-he

----------------------------------------------------------------
The "Eyeless in Gaza" part:

So Joe Straczynski's Kathryn had a birthday today, and my dear Susan, and Chris Valada, took her out for a day's gambol. And when Kathryn pulled up outside, to take on a load'a Susan, she smiled upon me and said gently, "Joe tells me you've put the cat among the pigeons again," to which I replied, suave as usual, "Huh? What'd I do THIS time?" And of course she was referring to the bilious post I jettisoned here a few days ago, anent the WGA strike; as I've said previously, because I'm an idiot dolt internetwise, I never considered anyone would even GIVE a shit, if they read it; and though Josh had relayed a query from the Guild earlier this week, did I mind if they used my post as the "Statement Against Ratification" in the mail packet being sent to the membership; and I said, hell go ahead, I don't care one way or the other, I'm not trying to convince ANYone of ANYthing, but if MY MY MY MY Guild wants it, I'm down with it. Next Tuesday we storm the Bastille. Wednesday, clam chowder.

So guess what? The packet comes in today and...

THERE IS NO "CON" STATEMENT BY

ANY
ANY
ANYbody.

I doth not give'a shit that they didn't use mine--which is apparently up on the Guild board, chat-room, jackoffURL, whatever--but not to have included a CON statement by

ANY
ANY
ANYbody?

Am I muddleheaded in thinking this is not condign? As the guy says at the end of "Jeffty is Five," won't somebody please tell me? Somebody?

Yr. Pal, Harlan

*Poof*
I appear! Harlan, I'll whack a bumper package of issues in the post for you on Monday. Apologies for being remiss in not sending any for you - ain't nothin' more than me being an unpardonably lazy bum. Hope you and Susan are well.
Steve, cheers for the shout out - it was a kick to get that letter in that you reference. But as you, me and everyone here knows, the reason that interview works is Harlan and Harlan alone; I just turned on the dictaphone and enjoyed the rollercoaster.
(Since Harlan we've interviewed Brian Aldiss, as Steve says, plus Terry Pratchett, Stephen Donaldson, and in the issue we've just finished - 11 - Iain (M) Banks. Any suggestions for future interviews from anyone?)
Erik Nelson - any more news on Dreams With Sharp Teeth? I don't think I've said, but it's gone down extreeeemely well with the other members of the Death Ray team. We'll be happy to report any more info.
While I'm here, anyone catching the new season of Lost? Personally, I think it's hitting new heights. Also, there's been some recent discussion about this, and Steve knows my thoughts on the book, but I've just finished Dan Simmons' The Terror, too. Absolutely crackerjack stuff. Drood can't come soon enough.
Chin-chin
Jes
Ps. Regarding the strike settlement; am I being a rank cretin in being perplexed that of 12,000 guild members, only 3,775 members cast ballots?

HEY! JES BICKHAM!

Where's my next issue of DEATH RAY?

Doncha love me no more?

Was it something I said?

Was it EVERYTHING I said?

Woefully bereft of all DRays past "my" issue, I remain, well, uh, woefully bereft, Yr. Pal, Harlan

Thanks Earl!

No appologies necessary Frank. This place is a looney bin, no denying. But it's my looney bin, and I'm somewhat attached to it.

Shakespere's the greatest. Did I mention that?

DeathRay #9

I picked up DR #9 yesterday at Border's Books. As usual, it's jammed with material, including a piece on Dr Who, fantasy artwork, and with Brian Aldiss as this month's interview subject.

In the "contact" segment is a lengthy letter from a Robert J. Hunt regarding issue #7, featuring a thoughtful commentary regarding Jes' interview with Harlan.

In particular: "Jes Bickham's interview provided many excellent examples of Harlan firing on all cylinders, a useful corrective to the apathetic."

and

"Crabby, curious or coruscating, Ellison is like no one else, his rigour, vigour and vituperative invention ring out like the clash of swords."

There's more. Harlan's modesty (and several copyright laws) prevents me from continuing, but I thought, particularly in light of his publicly stated problems with the WGA contract and corresponding nastiness from the trolls, these words were appropriate.

(Jes wouldn't forgive me if I didn't suggest you rush out to the nearest Border's and get a copy -- $10 and SUCH a deal at that price!)

Josh, you should listen to the Nardwuar interview with Harlan, where Harlan really goes after some cretins from Canada. Beyond the baby seal clubbers, there are some real kooks up in loving Canada.

Sorry Dylag.

--------------

Nardwuar: "Do you live in a house?"

Harlan: "No, I live in a cave."

Harlan's Star Wars opus.
I bought the first edition of it, in the original Urdu, no less. It's still in the same plain brown sleeve that's accompanied *all pornography since the days of Ed Meese.

MY "STAR WARS" PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

ZACK:

You aren't telling us you've never bought in multiple copies, read, and re-read, one of my best efforts

JESUS SKYWALKER: THAT DAMNED TATTOOWEENIE

are you?

-he

HEY! STACY kiddo pal DOOKS!

Thanks, Cookie. Truly, I'm okay. Passion is good for me. And anger may break my heart, but the rage to live transcends. What're tey gonna do to me, sue me, shoot me, throw me in jail?

Naaah.

So stop fretting, all of you. I do SWEAR I am down wit' this.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

JUST JOHN and WM. C. FRANCIS:

Your gracious words did precisely as you would've wished.

They made me feel more than a little better.

If I had the initiative, I'd call Harry and ask him to drop in a bold-type explanation at the start of my words, explaining that while this was not strictly speaking a "private" sub rosa post, that it was originally disseminated among my friends here because I was angry, heartbroken and frustrated; and though I said I didn't mind it being freely posted, I am not yet at the place in my comprehension of this internet madhouse to face the simple truth that ANYTHING one says, even to friends, can be presented as if the one speaking wishes to "convince" anyone of anything. I do not seek the approbation of monkeys, and to be bottom-line frank about it ... I didn't think anyone would pay any attention to it. D'uhh.

Nonetheless, I am grateful for your warmth. I'm okay. Honest.
Today has been a LOT better than yesterday, of which all the above was a minuscule part of multiple angsts, trainwrecks, heartbreaks and, sigh, the best that can be said of yesterday --which, if it wasn't in the 1st percentile of the most chasm-rife and ghastly days of my life, the ABSOLUTE BEST that could be said of it, was that I was arranging the deck-chairs on the Titanic.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

CHARLES EDWARD:

What an absolutely smashing, simply im-PEER-ial post!

Huzzah to you, my liege.

I, your friend, on t'other claw, seem once again to have plummeted into the porridge by way of mah big fat mouth.

Ah, me.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

You guys are really bucking to be smote by the thunderbolt of Zeus. Methinks it be not the wisest time to poke the bear.

Chief, I'm sorry the resolution has you down. I wish there was something I could do or say to cheer you up, but I don't think even as Pollyanna a nature as mine can really do the trick. I was proud of you though sir, so proud I thought I was going to burst to see you out there taking it to the streets. " That's my teacher. " I thought " My teacher and my friend. "

The good and bad of what these 100 days have wrought will become evident in the weeks and months to come, but for right here and now I want to say that you remain and will always be a giant in my eyes sir. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I realize you may not be of a mood to talk about much but that's cool. I'll sit here with my copy of Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life and read until you're ready to hang out again. No pressure. I got time.

A pal,

Stacy

Zack,

Of course he did!

Like an ant drawn to a sugar cube, Harlan groveled at Lucas' feet for the chance to do a Star Wars novel.

Ellison's near-religious sojourn to Modesto California was well-documented in every American tabloid. He even makes an annual pilgrimage in devotion to that day.

Harlan knows he owes to George Lucas what Hemingway and Faulkner owed to Sherwood Anderson.

Jeezus, Zack, get WITH it!

Star Wars?
You guys are kidding, right? HE didn't write any Star Wars novels; I think I would remember that. I used to be all over that stuff, back when I was slower than I be now. You guys are being sarcastic, but I can never tell for sure when I'm just looking at type. What kind of sick alternate reality have I stumbled upon?!

BTW, the JLA issue didn't appear as a standalone at all, in case you're wondering.

Susan:

Will you also need the German editions of Harlan's Star Wars novels? I liked some of them. To be honest, his Yoda was perhaps too angry and embittered, and I didn't enjoy the long introductions in which Harlan praised George Lucas' genius. I hope Lucas lets him write one more, though. There are still unanswered questions about the Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks, for example. With Harlan's permission, we could all write letters to Lucasfilm.

Susan, as far as I know, you have the original German edition of BATMAN Black and White (pictured in RH #41), so you must be talking about the new, remixed edition that is just out? Both ones easy to get, the new one costs $28, though, at the present exchange rate.

I found the JLA you need, it's in a collection with three other issues. That's about $18.

I posted Harlan's strike piece on a WGA members only web page, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. The few negatives were mostly from dingbats who clearly had no clue as to who our pal was - one mouth breather made a comment to the effect that if Ellison really cared about the WGA and getting his point across he'd use honey to catch the flies, or some such folderol. Short version is, it helped a lot of folks who had yet to find their voice speak out against the deal, and it helped draw out some of the more cretinous drones.

I have to be honest, I don't entirely agree with his take. I think there are some positive aspects to the deal, and I think the Guild pulled together during this strike in a way that bodes well for the future. But I do love to watch Harlan rant, and it's refreshing as hell to hear someone talk about this deal in less than glowing terms. I may not believe it's the stinking piece of sludge Harlan does, but it sure as hell isn't the win any of us hoped for.

As for the Aint It Cool comments, as moronic as most of them were, I have to admit that the young wag who stated that "Harlan Ellison is an asshole. That's what his (sic) famous for, that and writing some Star Wars novels" came as close to pinpointing the wonder that is Ellison as anyone I've ever heard.

Heh. I'm just two Star Wars novels away from being the next Harlan Ellison.

Had a feeling the WGA deal was shit; you have to figure that, knowing that unions have been dead from the neck up for many years. The only real answer is the one I always give: Revolution. An abolishment of the system as it currently stands. Non-violently, of course.

Harlan, guts don't get served up at the great soup kitchen, they get earned. Just keep sloggin, what else can I say.

Anarchism, oh joyous anarchism.

----------

Shakespeare is easily the best poet of all time, bar none, that's no mystery, there is a simple consensus on that issue, but are his plays really that great? Sure, they are really great, but there are narratives I prefer. Poetic wise, that man is the cat. Meow.

---------------

Speaking of Michael York, did you guys know that he is a born again Christian? Saw him on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the sewer of religious right television fun. Ick.

I still say Jesus fucked Mary M.

About the Ain't It Cool News thing.

It isn't any surprise. Just about any Ellison reference is going to bring out the crazies. It is their Viagra.

But, even if read in that context, the responses are both sad and amusing. Sad, because the lack of intelligence and/or education that is shown. Amusing, because sometimes what is said is entertaining, even if it is an old saying.

One that amused me was (paraphrasing) "Harlan angry; sky blue; film at 11." Amusing only because of context. (We all know that this isn't true. The sky is azure.)

One that was extremely sad said "Harlin is my hero...". Harlin. 3 times he wrote Harlin. It's right there on the screen in front of him, and he can't spell it correctly. And very telling on the state of the average internet poster. They can't read, they can't write, they can't spell, they can't type, they don't comprehend, and somebody should go slap their mommas for not teaching them respect for others. Such is the state of the internet. And therefore there is little need to pay attention to what most people say on the intenrnt.

Speaking of the Gorilla
Thank you for your quiet and considered take on the settlement of the WGA strike. It is as I feared.

Two quotations come to mind. One is from Charles Beaumont and I learned it from you (Shatterday intro):

Attaining success in Hollywood is like climbing a gigantic mountain of cow flop, in order to pluck one perfect rose from the summit. And you find when you've made that hideous climb . . . you've lost the sense of smell.


The other from the Genius curmudgeon of the 19th century Sam Clemens came to mind looking at the site we were warned against:

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Aint It Cool News
Harlan, I did a very quick and unscientific survey of opinions on the AICN website. Took about 5 minutes. I don't think it's nearly as bad as initially painted here on the Pavillion.

First of all, Harry agreed with you and said so: "Harlan and I discussed it just two days ago - and when this came across my desktop - I had to share. Cuz, well he's Harlan - and he's right..."

Now, the admittedly crudely, and subjectively, categorized numbers. Out of 101 comments posted:

28 agreed with you / 31 Neutral, off-topic or addressed to other posters rather than the topic at hand/42 disagreed with you.

Of those who disagreed, many simply disagreed with you that the deal was bad. There were a few assholes who got off on being insulting, and many of them posted multiple times, skewing the results. I don't think there were more than you would find in any other venue you might visit.

Summary: somewhat bell-curved, typical distribution of opinion, if you correct for multiple posts, and only a few true assholes who are insulting for reasons that have more to do with their own failings than anything legitimate.

Many of the posts were hard to categorize, since many contained both compliments and critical comments. Those I tended to put in the neutral column, unless they definitely leaned one way or the other. The most frequent critical comment was actually a fairly reasonable one: Harlan didn't tell us what they lost, so we could understand WHY they got screwed. Some requested that you post another commentary on AICN expaining why the deal is bad. By the way, Harry did not make clear that your original comments were aimed initially at an audience that largely udnerstood what was gained and lost, and that you were summarizing your feelings on the deal for the educated. They seemed to have the impression you wrote it specifically for AICN.

Why do I post this? Because I know that words DO hurt, contrary to the claims of that old saw about sticks and stones. And even though you truly don't care what the uninformed think, it's still not pleasant to have this vague feeling that there are masses of people on some forum spewing venom everywhere. There are not. There are a few assholes, just like anywhere else in the universe, probably no more than would crop up here if they weren't summarily dismissed by regular posters. And there were many people, and dare I say they were by far the more eloquent and intelligent posters, who supported what you had to say and were complimentary of you and your work and your fearless stand against the writer's getting screwed. Others might disagree a little with my numbers and categorization of the posts, if they're wiling to waste the time, but I tried to be objective and honest.

Have a great day, the world isn't completely filled with cretins, there are many, MANY supporters of you, your stand and your work.

Wild Billy Shakes
Before Screenwriting, I was a classical/Shakespearean actor, beginning my career at The Globe of the Great Southwest in Odessa, Texas, reputed to be the most accurate replica of Shakespeare's Globe. How anyone could claim this, given no one knew precisely what the Globe looked like and the fact that ours had a roof and seats, is beyond me (Still Sam Wanamaker came by to look at it several times, before getting built the one on London's South Bank).

But The Summer Shakespeare Festival at the Globe always played to capacity crowds and people came from a hundred miles around to see the shows (After all, what else was there to do in West Texas?...Scrawled on the bathroom wall of the theatre: "Suicide in Odessa is redundant."). We were playing Shakespeare to an appreciative audience of cowboys, oil roughnecks, and the tumbling tumbleweed. No vast intellectual crowd of theatre devotees or English professors.

I just finished appearing in a production of HAMLET, playing Claudius, at Actors Guild of Lexington (Kentucky), to full houses, great reviews, and the production got a spread in the January ish of AMERICAN THEATRE magazine, the national publication of TCG.

I've encountered the Bard and most of his plays in some form or another (stage, film, reading, recording, performing...Timon of Athens keeps eluding me -- or I it.), and I can tell you the Bard thrives and prospers.

Yes, there will always be slope-headed, slack-jawed, knucke-dragging cretins masquerading as students who will never appreciate or "get" Shakespeare. But then they rarely get anything that has real artistic worth. Their tough luck.

Practically every state has their summer Shakespeare Festival, sometimes several cities within states have their own Shakespeare Festivals. We have three in Kentucky currently and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, just across the Ohio River, does Shakespeare almost exclusively. Regional theatre companies frequently have Wild Bill slated in their seasons. I go to London every year...there are usually at least a couple of Shakespeares floating around the West End, to say nothing of the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the summer outdoor Shakespeare at Regency Park and The Globe on the South Bank. Countries the world over produce his plays. He ain't going anywhere. He's not being slighted or ignored in the world theatre repertory.

The language, when spoken properly with a healthy observance of the meter and verse, is actually quite clear, vivid, and precise as well as being evocatively beautiful. Yes, Shakespeare can be cut (judiciously, but often rigorously)...as there are plenty of references and passages that have no resonance or relevance to anything today. Still, everything you need to know about drama, writing, and life can be found in Shakespeare. Like most great writing, if you surrender to it and make an effort, it will enrich your life.

Thanks, Harlan
I'm in a situation where that Brother Theodore quote will be exquisitely appropriate.

I shall use it with proper credit, of course.

FOLLOW-UP:

1) Adam's and Barney's warnings are good enough for me. I will not be going to Harry's site (oddly enough, Harry and I spoke just the other day, slightly before all of this hit the net and the fan simultaneously). Whatever the know-nothings have said will not be paid even a scintilla of notice by me, so don't fret, folks. As my late friend, Brother Theodore, used to say: "To the fly on the shit-wagon, the shit-wagon is the cosmos."

2) Susan is asking for these FOREIGN EDITIONS of the DC Comics ONLY. No other versions. The specifically. You need neither seek for, worry about, ask about, surmise over ... any other, save these EXACT versions. (By the way, in France and Germany and Brazil and most other countries, these don't look like standard US comic books. They are very much like slim hardcover childrens' books, stiff board covers, spines, slightly larger than the standard US comic size. Thank you for helping us with this archival need.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

OMG.

Mrs Burke did not change her name to Mrs. Brown. Don't know where that came from. Like I said: "illiterate monkey". (Me.)

SHAKESPEARE.

I'm a little late to this party, but Adam_Troy's comment about "two great teachers" put me in mind to comment.

I can't profess to an over-riding love of Shakespeare growing up (though, as an adult, I enjoyed SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE a few years back), primarily because my own reading of the works tended to fall into standard rhythmical iambic pentameter as interpreted by an illiterate monkey.

In High School I was fortunate to take a two-year, two hour a day course called World Civilization -- and it was precisely as monumental an undertaking as the name would suggest.

The first hour was spent studying the evolution of language, beginning with the Rosetta Stone and cuneiform and proceeding up through the ages to early 20th Century literature (we ended year two with modern English and Hemingway). Obviously there was a large section devoted to Shakespeare.

The second hour was historical, following the progress of societies from early pre-Babylonian hunter-gathering, all the way through Hitler's Germany.

As I said, monumental.

The history teacher, Mrs. Brown, had a way of really engaging the students using what today would be unacceptably controversial topics and methods. (Two famous quotes seared into my brain: "Man created God in his own image" and "A lot of people today think the Inquisition was too lenient. These are your enemies.")

And the other -- Mr Furgeson -- was a part-time actor who managed to bring Shakespeare to life in a way I have never heard again. We UNDERSTOOD what was being said, and it MADE SENSE. (Remember, we were relatively run-of-the-mill sophomores in every sense of the word. My own core interests at the time ran more toward the cute brunette girl who sat behind me than TWELFTH NIGHT.)

Mrs. Burke and Mr. Furgeson MADE US THINK and weren't afraid of being beaten senseless by parents or the School Board.

Good teachers can make a world of difference with their students, but the more we strangle them with regulations and tests the less the value of formal education becomes. Without that freedom I seriously doubt I would ever have read the rest of Shakespeares plays or much of the rest of what qualifies as true literature.

Oh. And one last thing. Mr. Furgeson introduced me (and the class) to this writer named Harlan Ellison, even though his works appeared well after World Civ's historical window. Something about "good stuff is still out there, you just need to know where to look."

Now, if only we could teach it as well.
________________________________________

AICN - I haven't read the comments and won't bother at this point, but it intrigues me that when Harlan agreed with the majority he got largely positive reviews for "motivating the troops". And now, when he disagrees with the majority and feels the troops were sold out suddenly the posters go negative.

I believe the word I am thinking of is "mercurial".

(And I don't mean Harlan.)

*sigh*

FLYING BLUE MONKEY BATTALLION HQ ADVISORY #10621

Susan here:

We are sadly lacking 2 DC comic books with HE's work in them. If anyone can get us two copies of the titles below, we would appreciate it. We will, of course, reimburse the cost of comic and postage.

They are:

DC Comics Presents JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 (October 2004). "The Julie Schwartz Tribute."
Both German and Brazilian editions.

and

BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE 2. Hardcover. (Contains: "Funny Money"). German edition.

Anyone who can help will get 10 Karma points sent to them.

With much kindness,

Susan

Shakespeare
My first exposure to Shakespeare came in elementary school. One year we went on a field trip to see a performance of “Romeo and Juliet”; and in sixth grade, for our school play, we performed “MacBeth.” I had two parts: one of Duncan’s guards, and one of the “trees” advancing on MacBeth near the end.

I read “Hamlet” in high school, and took a Shakespeare course in college. There I hit upon a system, if you will, for getting the most out of the Bard. If I had to read, say, “Henry IV, Part 1”, I would first go to the library and find a book called _Master Plots_, which provided summaries of, among other things, Shakespeare’s plays. I’d read the summary so I’d know what the basic situation was about.

Then, I’d watch a videotape of a performance of the play (some college or university filmed stage productions and made them available to libraries) so I could watch the story unfold visually, the way Shakespeare intended (because otherwise he wouldn’t have written the story as a play).

And then, I would read the play in the book.

I found that three-tiered approach a very effective way of both understanding what was going on, and enjoying the particular plays we read. More effective than just reading the text of the play in a book.

One thing that might make Shakespeare more engaging for the general public is to have more performances in modern or relatively modern dress. Kenneth Branagh did it with his version of “Hamlet” (set, I believe in the 1920s); Sir Ian McKellen did it in his 1930s era version of “Richard III”; and Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre did it with a stage production of (if memory serves) “Julius Caesar.” My understanding is that when actors performed the plays in Shakespeare’s day, they wore what was then modern dress, for the most part, if not always. Over the centuries, actors continued to wear those increasingly outdated styles of clothing, because somehow the idea got established that those were the costumes actors should wear.

Rick

A-TC warned me not to look. Barney posted the link and admitted the original posting had generated a trail of intestinal mucus replete with the occasional meaty nugget. The intelligent posts were few and far between. I should have known better.

Where's the eye bleach?


shagin

Ain't It Cool link and...stuff
I'm not happy about posting a link to something with such a long trailing tail of mean-spirited and generally ill-informed remarks, but here it is;

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35629

To Harry's credit, he did have the first net notice of the Coen Brothers/Chabon project so I'm cutting his site huge slack this week.

Jan suggested I post something from the other boards here but it's way off topic. The two of you who enjoy my blather will now be as happy as Ren with a clean litter box to see my password for the back room is now working again. I'm doing a series on Obama one-sided media takes and links to examples will be appreciated.
I'm doing my own heavy lifting. I'm just saying you're welcome to play along at home as well.

- Barney Dannelke

One Head's Up (To Avoid)
Harlan's manifesto on the Writer's strike settlement has been reprinted on AINT IT COOL NEWS, a site I enjoy as long as I stay away from the truly poisonous Talkbacks; I need to note here that this is especially true in the case of the responses to Harlan's piece. You never saw such such a huge bunch of people who need a cowpie in the face in your life.

Shakespeare
I had the great fortune to be introduced to Shakespeare by two great teachers, the first of them my father, not a great reader, but a fellow with a passion for JULIUS CAESAR in particular, who took me through Marc Antony's eulogy scene on a line by line basis and explained the crowd manipulation that was going on between the lines. When I later took an intro to Shakespeare class in college, the teacher showed the same understanding and enthusiasm. And yeah, you do have to work for it, and yes, I understand it is becoming harder and harder to find folks who have the knack. I am not at all surprised that kids who grow up needing a DVD player in the back of the car, who must be given a handheld video game in order to sit quietly with their parents in a restaurant, who think a movie is boring if nothing blows up or nobody falls in a puddle of shit in the first thirty seconds, cannot parse it.

Musings on the Bard
My thoughts, for what they're worth, on the issue of Shakespeare:

The plays require work to be appreciated. I was fortunate enough to have come into a production of "the Scottish play" in college; it was a two-term production, and a true beautiful beast it was.

In my experience, the more you understand of the plays, the more you love 'em. A major hurdle is the language itself; idioms become lost to time, speeches are made in meter rather than natural rhythms, and some things sound one way to modern ears but meant something entirely different to Elizabethan audiences.

When I was in high school, we were force-fed "Romeo and Juliet", but with precious little in the way of context. The teacher tried, God bless 'er, but reading off a page in rows of desks is a world away from even a staged reading. Add in truly incompetent substitutes at just the wrong time, and old Bill had no chance at all.

Too often, problems come not from an inability to find an accepable answer, but from not asking the right question...

SOME people had a feel-good thing for Bush the Lesser, but I sure didn't.

I don't care how likable some people find a person, if that person can't put together a cogent thought, he shouldn't be allowed in a position of power.

I think many people voted for the Lesser because of the rejection of intellectualism. Now, they seem to be embracing it in Obama.

Shakespeare and instant gratification

STEVE DOONER:

Mah man! My resume isn't as deep as yours -- I've played Benvelio, Duke Senior/Corin, and Macduff on the live stage, and voiced Friar Lawrence and an array of characters from the two Henry IVs (Northumberland, Sir Richard Vernon, Sir Michael, a Carrier) for Speak-the-Speech.com -- but I bow to no one in my love for Shakespeare. I grew up listening to LPs of Maurice Evans, Donald Wolfit, Maggie Smith, and Michael Redgrave declaiming the Bard, and my folks took me to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival every year. I spent a semester of college researching and writing a 20-page paper on the sonnets.

I somewhat agree that there's plenty out there to love, and nobody is likely to know and love everything (I finally read Huck Finn only a year or two ago, and wasn't that enamored of it, frankly), but the tendency of many young folks not to care to make an effort at all, to insist on instant gratification, is not a happy development. It leads, in my mind, to consumption of whatever corporate America wants to sell you, whether that's goods and services or your next President. In other words, it's a passive stance that leads, ultimately, I think, to fascism.

I don't compare the men in themselves, but to me, a good part of the response to Obama is not all that different from the response for George W. seven years ago. It's a FEEL-GOOD response -- in the case of W., somebody who was reassuring and you thought you could have a beer with; in the case of Obama, someone who's thrilling and inspiring -- and though the effect is upon different segments of the country, I think they're equally beside the point. You don't necessarily choose a President on the basis of whether he or she makes you feel good. That's not, in itself, what makes for great leadership.

I'm still fuming, intellectually, about the young woman somebody mentioned as having said she wouldn't vote because it didn't make any difference. Maybe I'll manage to come up with an answer to that astoundingly EVIL attitude.

Shakespeare: Coda (Primarily)
Discussions here have headed different directions, but just a couple of other thoughts on this one.

Ezra

Interesting thought about the King James Bible. I was raised in a Bible church (in this case, a little more liberal than Baptist) where King James was the bible du jour – occasionally ASV and later The Living Bible – but a constant immersion in KJV. The melody of the language was not unknown to me. Yet it didn’t (for me) help that transition to Shakespeare. And I agree – my loss. I glimpse enough of the Promised Land to know that I have locked myself on the wrong side of the gates.

Steve Dooner

Based on your post (and your many other writings) I am not surprised by your agreement. The key to your story was that, in a situation where it would have been easy to quit/move on, you didn’t give up on your learners. I mentioned instant gratification and I hope no one thinks I was necessarily condoning instant epiphanies – just talking about a reality in the way we all approach growth. The journey is often as valuable as the destination. And I think the teaching you have provided helps another group of individuals learn how to dig deep for their revelations.

Harlan,

Thank you for your thoughts on the settlement. I know little of the details, but when I read and heard reports I found myself wondering what had been gained – it didn’t seem self-apparent. Apparently, there is less there than meets the eye.


Mike

Another useful book from Susan Jacoby
(who wrote WILD JUSTICE, my favorite book about revenge):

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/books/14dumb.html

Dancers tend to screw themselves in labor disputes too, because they have such short careers. Most are done in ten or so. Each season becomes precious, and you can’t take the thought of losing one. So you cave. The fat bellied IATSE stage hand waddling behind his broom made three times as much as me, because there were enough grey headed stage hands to keep the younger ones understanding that whatever else, it's also about the money.

When I was with American Ballet Theatre I served on the negotiating committee during two lock outs. The first time we caved, of course. But the second time, we had an older dancer that held us together. We stayed pissed. We did a huge party at Roseland Ballroom to raise cash. We lived lean and hung on. We won. Single rooms on tour, significant pay increase. Got everything we asked for and the next year they cut our weeks of work in half. No money in the budget. Couldn’t pay the bills. I spent six bitter months on unemployment, wondering if there would be a next contract.

As a youngster I could not foresee that over the next few years the management would find ways to raise more money. The weeks of work would grow back, and those wage increases would stick. In the end, all that uncertainty and misery was just a bunch dancers growing a better place in the arts world. I guess my point is that change is a long term thing, and whatever a younger person braces for, there is always more suffering than planned, from unexpected places and in unexpected ways.

Youngsters need to listen to a guy like Harlan. It’s a guy like him that knows what it REALLY takes to win.

Writer's Strike isn't completely over...
If I am wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me, but wasn't this initial vote only to end the strike? There's still the tiny, inconsequential, not yet settled, oh-it's-so-minor-it's-not-worth-mentioning issue of actually *approving* the MOU? The WGA West can STILL reject the contract.

From what I'm reading, that doesn't appear likely, but if enough writers think as Harlan does, or if enough can be persuaded by the arguments of Harlan and others who are unhappy to start thinking like them, then it's remotely possible that the agreement could be rejected.

So what happens in that situation? Does the WGA just fall apart, or do they authorize another strike, or is there yet another possible outcome?

I've recently stumbled across the United States Labor Party. It's pretty new, so I guess that could be a sign that some people are still willing to fight for a working man's rights.

The Outhouse Blues

Coincidentally, we've a thread over on the board that begins to touch on this issue.

This ain't exactly the era of Labor's rebirth.

No union in any market now - I suspect - has a shit's chance at sundown in cutting a fair deal in behalf of its members.

Thanks to many years of reckless deregulation (we are in the middle of debating Clinton's role in the 90's when he bent to Conservative policy - from the Telecommunications Reform Act to NAFTA - thereby contributing to this country's now steady deterioration, whose beginnings came from Reagan), guilds and unions are an endangered species. Harlan's summary of the writers strike resonates, but it offers few surprises. Members of the Writers Guild - these days - probably have about as much clout as Albertsons workers had in the supermarket strike years ago.

This is meltdown. And it's only the beginning.

AARRGGGHHH!!!!!
...something into which you...

(Sound of head banging on desk)

Harlan,
I'm sorry that something you into which put so much effort turned to shit. You walked the walk (on a sore foot), you patiently tried to explain what was going on to everyone who stuck a microphone in your face and to us on this board. You even seemed to allow yourself a small bit of optimism that this time it seemed like people were understanding the issues. "Getting it" I believe was your phrase. Alas it seems the ones who most needed to "get it", the ones representing the writers, did not. Or worse, they knew the score but didn't feel it was worth the fight.
You know and we know that you did what you could. And we are again reminded why you so doggedly maintain meticulous control over all contracts and business deals you enter into, and consistently urge all here to do the same. Keep looking out for number one, pal, 'cause there sure doesn't seem to be anyone else out there giving a damn about who put the words in Spock's mouth.

WGA strike regret
Harlan, I am so glad to read what you wrote about the WGA strike. I thought I was going out of my mind, seeing them approve it. I thought it was a rotten deal too.

Writers Guild Ends Strike. Regret Begins Now.
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/writers-guild-ends-strike-regret-begins-now/

And I reprinted your post:

Harlan Ellison: Writers Guild Got Screwed!
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/02/14/harlan-ellison-writers-guild-got-screwed/

You have been an inspiration to me. And still are. Thank you.

Exit, pursued by a bear
Ah Steve Dooner then I happily apologize for misunderstanding the true tenor of your Wednesday post.


The Ellisonian perspective is always an interesting one. Interesting in this case because the media I've seen are all characterizing the settlement as an unalloyed victory for the writers.

Not so apparently.

I have nothing intelligent to say about the writer's strike.

On another topic: If you don't care for Shakespeare (and also if you do), I suggest you try WRECKS AND OTHER PLAYS by Neil LaBute.

I read this collection of short plays last fall, and it knocked me out. I've read and re-read portions out loud, to myself, time and again ... just savoring the language.

Ignore LaBute's inexplicable and inexpiable remake of THE WICKER MAN. But do read his short plays. Fantastic stuff.

Harlan, Perhaps Erik or Josh could video you narrating your important, heartfelt response and post it on Youtube, if you all were so inclined. It would be a wonderful follow-up to your previous one, which has over 114,000 hits.

HARLAN ELLISON ON THE WRITERS STRIKE SETTLEMENT

YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO RE-POST THIS ANYWHERE:

Creds: got here in 1962, written for just about everybody, won the Writers Guild Award four times for solo work, sat on the WGAw Board twice, worked on negotiating committees, and was out on the picket lines with my NICK COUNTER SLEEPS WITH THE FISHE$$$ sign. You may have heard my name. I am a Union guy, I am a Guild guy, I am loyal. I fuckin' LOVE the Guild.

And I voted NO on accepting this deal.

My reasons are good, and they are plentiful; Patric Verrone will be saddened by what I am about to say; long-time friends will shake their heads; but this I say without equivocation...

THEY BEAT US LIKE A YELLOW DOG. IT IS A SHIT DEAL. We finally got a timorous generation that has never had to strike, to get their asses out there, and we had to put up with the usual cowardly spineless babbling horse's asses who kept mumbling "lessgo bac'ta work" over and over, as if it would make them one iota a better writer. But after months on the line, and them finally bouncing that pus-sucking diphthong Nick Counter, we rushed headlong into a shabby, scabrous, underfed shovelfulla shit clutched to the affections of toss-in-the-towel
summer soldiers trembling before the Awe of the Alliance.

My Guild did what it did in 1988. It trembled and sold us out. It gave away the EXACT co-terminus expiration date with SAG for some bullshit short-line substitute; it got us no more control of our words; it sneak-abandoned the animator and reality beanfield hands before anyone even forced it on them; it made nice so no one would think we were meanies; it let the Alliance play us like the village idiot. The WGAw folded like a Texaco Road Map from back in the day.

And I am ashamed of this Guild, as I was when Shavelson was the prexy, and we wasted our efforts and lost out on technology that we had to strike for THIS time. 17 days of streaming tv!!!????? Geezus, you bleating wimps, why not just turn over your old granny for gang-rape?

You deserve all the opprobrium you get. While this nutty festschrift of demented pleasure at being allowed to go back to work in the rice paddy is filling your cowardly hearts with joy and relief that the grips and the staff at the Ivy and street sweepers won't be saying nasty shit behind your back, remember this:

You are their bitches. They outslugged you, outthought you, outmaneuvered you; and in the end you ripped off your pants, painted yer asses blue, and said yes sir, may I have another.

Please excuse my temerity. I'm just a sad old man who has fallen among Quislings, Turncoats, Hacks and Cowards.

I must go now to whoops. My gorge has become buoyant.

Respectfully, Yr. Pal, Harlan Ellison

Teaching Ellison
I'm using some Ellison stories and particularly Introductions/Forewords to books as teaching material for a Year 12 (final year of High School) subject called "speculative Fiction". It has been absorbibng to re-read mamy of these over the last few weeks, having firstly read them years ago, and my students are really appreciating the style and the personality or attitude that comes through the introductions.
I think they like your style Mr Ellision.
Anyone else out there been using such things similarly?

EZRA: No loss for me. I am a bardolator through and through. I have directed Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar and MacBeth in semi-professional productions. I have also played Caliban, Brutus, Friar Lawrence, Bottom, Laertes, Petruchio and even Othello on stage. I am also known as a Shakespeare nut to my friends and can quote ya chapter and verse straight through Hamlet, King Lear, and a dozen others. There's lots more on my Shakespeare resume too, but that's enough.

Yikes. Let’s try that with spacing.

A few have natural proclivity for the fine arts, and naturally approach and acclimatize to them.

But by and large, the fine arts require an introduction.

SOMEBODY has to be the teacher.

When I was getting to the end of my ballet career I wanted a transitional discipline that could be practiced in a smaller space, so I began to study karate in a hard core East Cleveland dojo. The instructor’s background was in the “Three F’s” – which are, “Fighting, Farming and Fucking.” He had retired from full contact and married by the time I started training with him, but he remained, shall we say, a little rough around the edges.

He really liked teaching me, as I could closely imitate any position he could show and learn sequences of moves very quickly – that being what I had been practicing to do since I was twelve years old and what I had been paid to do full time since I was eighteen. When he finally asked what was going on and I told him I was a ballet dancer he was at once shocked, repulsed and curious.

I gave him tickets to a show featuring Agnes de Milles “Rodeo”, which is a love story set at a barn dance, and Kurt Joos’ “Green Table”, which is a post WWII masterpiece depicting the horrors of war. Sensei came out of that performance absolutely electrified, and never missed another show in the six years I knew him. Magic happens. When a 7th degree black belt says, “Hey man, let’s catch the ballet this weekend,” even really tough people that would rather die than be caught in the same building with men in tights say, “…What the … you’re serious? … well, I guess if I don’t have to pay…”

Sensei would bring bikers, repo men and other assorted characters to the ballet and we’d all go out after and talk things over. One of my most surreal memories is of a two-hundred and fifty pound biker in colors, with a beard forked and braided, sitting across from me in a coffee shop asking “what do you call that when the little skinny chick was up in the corner and started spinning down?”

This I know to a certainty: the Fine Arts – Opera, Ballet, Music, Painting and Literature – speak to everyone.

Nobody likes everything, and everyone likes something.

But a closed mind misses EVERYTHING.

What does a teacher do, but open minds? And each mind opens to a different knock.

A few have natural proclivity for the fine arts, and naturally approach and acclimatize to them.
But by and large, the fine arts require an introduction.
SOMEBODY has to be the teacher.
When I was getting to the end of my ballet career I wanted a transitional discipline that could be practiced in a smaller space, so I began to study karate in a hard core East Cleveland dojo. The instructor’s background was in the “Three F’s” – which are, “Fighting, Farming and Fucking.” He had retired from full contact and married by the time I started training with him, but he remained, shall we say, a little rough around the edges.
He really liked teaching me, as I could closely imitate any position he could show and learn sequences of moves very quickly – that being what I had been practicing to do since I was twelve years old and what I had been paid to do full time since I was eighteen. When he finally asked what was going on and I told him I was a ballet dancer he was at once shocked, repulsed and curious.
I gave him tickets to a show featuring Agnes de Milles “Rodeo”, which is a love story set at a barn dance, and Kurt Joos’ “Green Table”, which is a post WWII masterpiece depicting the horrors of war. Sensei came out of that performance absolutely electrified, and never missed another show in the six years I knew him. Magic happens. When a 7th degree black belt says, “Hey man, let’s catch the ballet this weekend,” even really tough people that would rather die than be caught in the same building with men in tights say, “…What the … you’re serious? … well, I guess if I don’t have to pay…”
Sensei would bring bikers, repo men and other assorted characters to the ballet and we’d all go out after and talk things over. One of my most surreal memories is of a two-hundred and fifty pound biker in colors, with a beard forked and braided, sitting across from me in a coffee shop asking “what do you call that when the little skinny chick was up in the corner and started spinning down?”
This I know to a certainty: the Fine Arts – Opera, Ballet, Music, Painting and Literature – speak to everyone.
Nobody likes everything, and everyone likes something.
But a closed mind misses EVERYTHING.
What does a teacher do, but open minds? And each mind opens to a different knock.

Congrats Writers (capital "W").

Nicely done.

Yeah Mike Jacka & Steve Dooner ok I see what you're saying but...

Suit yourselves of course, but remember the loss is yours.

I was lucky (and unlucky) I suppose. I was raised in a small southern fundamentalist christian community. The unlucky part is obvious but the lucky part was that I was immersed from birth in the rhythms and cadences of the King James Version of the Bible, probably the last environment where that happens any more. By the time I actually encountered Shakspere I had the music and was ready to eat it up.

Gerber News
Has anyone yet seen mention of Gerber's passing in any mainstream media? I haven't found a thing as yet.

Steve Gerber
Very sad to hear the news about Steve Gerber... I recently came across a couple of old letters from him responding to my questions at the time about the science of THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN... such a great talent that will be sorely missed. But yes, he does indeed live on in his work....

Mike Jacka,

No argument. I actually agree with you. No one is under any special obligation to like anything in the world of art, literature or music. One can hope that others will appreciate something you love, and one can try to lead people to the water, but that's about all. Shaw resisted liking Shakespeare, and T.S. Eliot disliked 'Hamlet' and loved 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' of all things. Great men can think in unusual ways, and that is a very good thing.

Steve Dooner

Last Minute Valentine's Day Gift
With all of the sad and serious news around here of late, I thought it a public service to provide a little levity.

A buddy of mine sent me a link to this product, a love-seat toilet. I would certainly recommend clicking on the images contained below the product description:

http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2007/01/31/love-seat-toilet/

That is just wrong on so many, many levels

leaving marks on the daily grind
On the passing of Steve Gerber and Roy Scheider.....
As long as there is paper to reprint their works and material with which to make DVDs...their works will continue on.

They left their mark for others to enjoy.
How many people in the world can say that?

Steve Gerber remembered in Tony's Online Tips
I wrote about Steve for today's column:

http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/back20080213.shtml

Tony

Another RIP, in case nobody had mentiond this one already
Barry Morse, Feb 2. Another good one gone.

--tr

Steve Evil,

As The Iliad is an epic tale of Troy, so Pope’s The Dunciad is an epic tale of dunces. (According to my Companion to Literature in English, the dunces were writers who had annoyed Pope.)

In using the phrase “Hardingesque dunciad” I think Conrad Black is alluding to Warren G. Harding's... intellectual limitations, shall we say. Black was writing about the 1940 election, and despite the fact that Willkie was no Harding and that FDR respected him, I think Black is saying that FDR feared that if the Republicans won in 1940, Willkie would not be able to prevent the triumph of the reactionaries, the isolationists, the greedy, and the Hardingesque dunces.

Shakespeare and So On
Personally, I think an epiphany that is struggled for and delayed and pursued and wrestled with is probably worth more than one that comes instantly. "Instant gratification" isn't something I necessarily associate with great art. I love Shakespeare and reread several of the plays on a fairly regular basis, and in fact I get more out of reading them than I usually do out of seeing them performed. It took me years to get to that point, though, and it also took the contributions of a few teachers who succeeded in conveying their own passion for the material. To me that journey make it all the more worthwhile.

Do I think that everyone needs to "get" Shakespeare? No; we each find our pleasures in different places. I'd prefer to live in a world, though, where everyone is at least prepared to put some effort into Shakespeare and be open to finding what so many others have found there.

That's what's missing, or at least seems to be missing, among many of today's young people. Sure, there are always going to be a few who read with passion, who have real intellectual curiosity, who want to learn and who bring real ideas and questions to the table. What horrified me about the vast majority of students when I was teaching, though, was not just that they lacked intellectual curiosity, but that they lacked any sense that intellectual curiosity was a good thing.

It's not just that they don't get it; they actively don't WANT to get it. In many of them, it goes beyond disinterest to active hostility. They resent being forced to try to think about something, especially something that happened before they were born which they see as having no bearing on their life or earning potential.

I treasure my memory of the students I did connect with, and some of the rich work they did. But I don't miss the classroom one little, tiny bit. I teach online classes now, and in the absence of compelled gatherings it's much easier to identify those students who really want to do the work and understand what they're reading. The others don't participate, don't care, take their Cs and Ds, and move on.

The Passing of Steve Gerber, R.I.P
Steve Gerber was among of the first professional writers I ever met…we encounter each other in a strange fashion; he, along with Harlan, were GoH’s at a 1976 sf/mixed media can called 4-D Con held at Kent State University.

I was new in fandom at that time. I was in the company of some new friends, a Pennsylvania sf writer writer named Betsy Curtis and her son Paul (who went on to do some notable work for Marvel Comics, I believe). I was dating Betsy’s daughter, Katy at the time…

Around midnight that Friday night, we were looking for a party to attend…failing to find Harlan around (who had sensibly gone to bed in a safe and undisclosed location) Besty, an ornery woman when she made up her mind to be, insisted we make our own party and began to randomly knock on doors around the hotel.

And wouldn’t you know that the first door she knocked on was Steve Gerber’s! I’ll always remember that look on his face when he answered the door in his pajamas, confronted by a little old lady, her skinny be-speckled son and a black dude the size of an average NFL running back at his door demanding a party…

I think some pot or alcohol may have been involved.

But Steve was gracious, kind, but very insistent that no party would be taking place in his room and bid us a fond farewell.

All these years later had wanted to see or write to him to see if he remembered this incident and now he’s gone. Forever.

Safe travels Steve, wherever you are. I’ll never forget you, that night and your joyous works of art…

Chris M. Barkley

No one is going to like what I say here, not even me. But I will now defend the literary troglodytes and climb in the mud with them. Let me start with this heresy – I can take or leave Shakespeare.

I read the works in high school and college and barely slogged through them. The language didn’t work for me and, because it did not work, I did not get the depth of the stories. Years have gone by and I have seen various versions of his works. Let’s talk about Hamlet. I have seen enough versions, gained enough understanding of the story, that I now look forward to seeing it performed. But I still struggle with that damned language. Other works are varyingly successful or unsuccessful based on my familiarity with the work. I need that familiarity/redundancy for these pieces to work for me. And, perhaps my worst sin, I can only approach Shakespeare if it is performed. I cannot read the plays; I cannot hear that music in my head.

But does that mean I (and other, may I humbly say, intelligent people) am an indication that the end of times is near and that civilization as we know it has come to a hideous termination when I acknowledge that Shakespeare does not work for me? Instead, it represents differences in experiences that make each of us respond differently. My experiences do not result in a connection with Shakespeare. On the other hand, I can listen to a well-interpreted Mahler symphony with tears in my eyes, but I do not expect everyone else to bring that to the performance.

And, how much of this is about instant gratification. (And I don’t mean that in a bad way.) If I am able to read something and gain an instant change in my life, why would I spend the time to wade my way through the Bard to hopefully have a delayed epiphany (maybe delayed 20 years)? If I can get instant “aha” moments, where is my motivation to work on a maybe “aha” moment? Somewhat rhetorical. I recognize that the joy and beauty is in the language. But, for every generation, it becomes harder. The words change their meaning, and Shakespeare works it readability index closer to that of Chaucer and, eventually, to Euripides. (And is Twain headed that way? I cannot answer. Another heresy, I have never read Huckleberry Finn. The discussion has made me realize I need to do so, and quickly.)

Years later, I can get something from Shakespeare. As I’ve mentioned, Hamlet is becoming a friend. And I would say it is worth the work. But I am not ready to instantly lament the end of the world if one in 20, or one in 100, or only one in 1,000 makes that connection instantly. In Alex’s story, at least one person got it (and congratulations to Rachel.) There is a bright spot in the world. However, in Dooner’s story I think the horror is not about each individual’s inability to understand, but rather that the entire mass did not get it. I don’t think any of us want everyone to convert; we just want someone out there to understand. (A few years ago I had an entire class of twenty of our company’s leaders of tomorrow go blank when I made a reference to Dr. Strangelove. What appalled me was that NO ONE got it.)

My apologies for the length (if you’ve actually read long enough to get here) and I hope these ramblings have made some sense. But I think it is important to remember that any one person’s inability to come to grips with Shakespeare or Twain or Mahler or Kubrick or Grappelli or anyone you think is a genius does not instantly mean they are worthless or that culture has climbed back in the sewer. Just as long as they don’t think fine culture is Paris (not the city) and as long as there are enough other people in the world to keep the aforementioned in print, we are still a noble group of mammals.

Mike

Mea Culpa!
OH GOD! WARREN HARDING WARREN HARDING WARREN HARDING!!!!!!!!!
I meant WARREN Harding!!!!!!! Not "Thomas Harding"
That's Thomas Hardy, HARDY with a Y! I've had a long day, you have no idea. I go flagelate myself before the gods now.

Anonymous.

. . .of Hardingesque dundiads.
Shakespeare is for those who can appreciate the deep mystery of life. Life, for most people, goes unexamined.

A question for more literate folk:

Currently reading" FDR: Champion of Freedom" by Lord Conrad Black of Crossharbour.
Forgive my ignorance and illiteracy, but could anyone out there explain to me what in nine hells Lord Black refers to when he writes that FDR feared a republican administration would produce a "Hardingesque dunciad"?

I understand it is a reference to Thomas Harding, and I am aware that a dunciad is a series of poems by Alexander Pope satirizing writers. What the hell do dunciads have to do with pre-Pearl Harbour isolationism?

Back to Mercer Meyer for me.

-Steve Evil

Harlan,
I still think about Colorado Mountain College when I see Dan's name--that workshop decades ago. All those people crying, leaning up against the walls after reading his story. Did I remember that right? Were they leaning up against the walls? That's the way my memory insists it happened. I do remember the look on his face when you spoke those amazing words of praise. The whole room hushed-- it was like witnessing prophecy. I think we all felt it when you pronounced it-- that his life was forever changed. Damn, did you call that one. I wonder how many moments you've had like that where you saw it in somebody before anyone else and proclaimed it with such fearless certainty. I can't imagine you bein' wrong--ever.

Cindy

Huck, Hamlet and my prosonal progeny
Steve Dooner, gonna tell you a story, which has some bearing.

When my daughter Rachel was being inducted into the Cum Laude Society last year, her best friend gave a speech that centered on Hamlet. Their class was reading the play, and best friend Rui used it to illustrate why Rachel was being inducted.

Every kid in the class was bored shiftless by the play. Bored by Shakespeare. Dull, dull, DULL, they all said. Except for Rachel, Rui explained. Rachel was driving the rest of the class nuts by raving about Shakespeare's brilliance between classes, during study periods, during lunch. Wouldn't stop talking about it.

What Rui forgot while giving this little speech was that the teacher was sitting in the audience. Suddenly, she refocussed. Saw the teacher glaring at her. Stopped dead in the middle of another remark about how "everybody but Rachel" just didn't understand what, um, ah, er...

"Busted!" yelled another teacher. The