Unca Harlan's Art Deco Dining Pavilion

Discussion of the man and his work.

Important Info For Harlan
Letter mailed, tracking number is:

01038555749378495726

Can be tracked at www.usps.com

KOS

For the first time in years, I have some hope in this country.

Steve Dooner

More From Vancouver....re "Dreams".....


http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7ad6a13e-8f2a-40e5-97de-d36d0a536e63

"This isn't just a movie about Harlan Ellison - freakishly talented writer with a colourful past. This is a movie about the creative impulse and the artistic experience as a whole.

It's also about the experience of the artist as an individual, and the place he or she occupies in everyday society.

Thanks to Nelson's crafty piece of filmmaking, Ellison stands as a shining example of what being true to yourself, and being true to your craft, can bring you as a human being: It may not always be lucrative, but it's always rich."

Mail
Harlan:

Mailing a second letter tonight.

Which ever check arrives first, deposit it, and that which is second may be safely destroyed.

I am sending this second letter by Priority Mail in a Priority Mail package, so it ought to be there Saturday.

Politics:

I agree that any bounce from the convention will not come until after the convention. However, I think the lack of a bounce from Biden is worrisome to the Obama campaign. Howsomeever, that lack may be due to the fact that the Biden announcement was anti-climactic, coming as it did on the eve of the convention itself as well as on a weekend in August, which is about the worst time for news there is.

Anyway, as I said, I was and am talking out of my keester, as I am not privy to anything other than the basic facts as are available to all. Total barstool talk, but as I wrote, this is a spectator AND a participant sport. I lean to voting for Obama, with a sentimental and longing look at a Libertarian vote (though I KNOW they are loons and if I thought one would win I would get nervous, but then I get nervous EVERYtime someone new sits down in that Big White house).

As for McCain: not likely for me. Having said that, I am struck by the idea that McCain would be likely to tack to about the position on most things that Bill Clinton did. I think the major difference would be the courts, where McCain of course would nominate pro-life people. But McCain and a Dem. House/Senate would likely lead to the sort of domestic recovery we had under Clinton.

Despite the above, the choice between McCain and Obama is one of those rare times in presidential politics when the voters have a real and obvious choice, the first since 1972: Iraq, in or out?

Cynic that I am, I think Obama will be forced by the situation to move slowly on Iraq. McCain would be as hamstrung by "facts on the ground' as Obama, though much more likely to take adventuresome steps there than BHO, but also less fearful of a right wing backlash ("N-Word goes to China" Effect) if he retrenches from a maximalist position re: "victory".

Bottom line: I would bet money that no matter who takes the oath of office on January 20, 2009, that on January 20, 2010 there are about 50,000 American military members still on the ground in Iraq.

I don't like that idea at all, but I know how things like this have gone in the past. You know the drill, politics and sausage, etc?

I'm looking forward to the Big Speech tonight. I expect tomorrow the polls to show a five point bounce for BHO.

As for the idea that we are a Stupid and/or Racist Nation if BHO is not leading massively: As my first wife always told me when i said something like that, "Get A Grip!". We're an average nation. The average person is, well, really average. Stunning fact, that, right? Most people fear change, most people say they want change but really down deep fear it. They usually know when it is needed, but it's like going to the Doctor for a painful but necessary procedure: can we possibly do this tomorrow?

The truly amazing thing is that a Black, Freshman Senator whose only previous government experience was in a medium-sized midwestern state legislature, who allegedly has the most "liberal" voting record in the Senate, whose running mate is an Senator from a small Northeast state with the third most "liberal" voting record in the Senate is actually leading in the polls sixty-eight days before the election. Not to mention that someone such as myself, a self described conservative, might vote for them.

I lived in Alabama for a year and three months in the 1960s. I have seen real, unabashed racism up close. The country has changed. Not completely, not yet a sea change, but Damn Close.

Ain't this fun?

KOS

"Dreams . . ." in Vancouver


Dreams doc bares sharp-toothed sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison
By John Lucas

In a sense, Erik Nelson started making Dreams With Sharp Teeth, his 2007 documentary about American science-fiction legend and all-around cultural maverick Harlan Ellison, 27 years ago. . . .

http://www.straight.com/article-159260/emdreamsem-doc-bares-sharptoothed-ellison

E.C. Horrors
The fellow who steps in after Pelosi would be ex-Klansman pro-tem Byrd, currently the oldest seated Senator. He got the job by being elected to office. Unlike Ford, Rockefeller, Humphry and a few dozen (or hundred) others who were "appointed" some of these high offices - Like Bush, Jr. was appointed by a handful of people, lest we forget.

I hope you folks enjoy the Speech tonight HALF as much as I am going to.

Obama (with Biden) is going to run the map. I said it in February and I'm saying it again now. McCain maybe pulls four states. IF he can hang on to Arizona.

I have not been wrong about any aspect of this process since October 2006 and I'm not going to be wrong now.

- Barney Dannelke

To Alan Coil and others: The Electoral College (again)(groan)
I'll give this alarm one more try. As we learned (or should have) in 2000, the popular vote is only Part I. It's the dreaded Electoral College that decides the Presidency. As the situation stands right now, Obama holds a slight lead in the EC, even though McCain leads in more states. BUT... many (too many) of the states are photo-finish close; some flip back and forth on a daily basis. Remember, to win you have to put together a combo platter of states whose EVotes total 270. PVote totals... well, Gore beat GWB by better than 500,000 of those, and here we are eight years later. What we should have done was get rid of the EC years ago, but that requires amending the Constitution, like we did with the Equal Rights Amendment. Bottom line: we're stuck with this cockamamie system, and these are the rules we have to play by. Take nothing for granted, and assume nothing. Meantimes, here's a fun civics question for you all: Who is next in line of presidential succession after Speaker Pelosi? (And how did he or she get the job?) Enjoy...

ERIK - It's part of the "It Came From Schenectady" program? Cool. I'm probably not going to be able to make it up, though that's right in the middle of the old stomping grounds. Tempting.

That it's currently scheduled to screen after a Q&A with Barry Longyear and before the midnight showing of "Blade Runner - the Final Cut" is a nice slice of their 24 hour marathon to sit for. A big screen screening of "A Boy And His Dog" earlier in the day (4:15pm) is an added bonus.

HARLAN - Heads up - there's an envelope en route. Might be there tomorrow, maybe Saturday, could be Tuesday. Nothing that will change the course of mighty rivers, but it removes a line item from the Big List of Things To Run To Ground.

Anybody who has ever watched the wonderful Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny knows what a true tranny is.

==========

I went through the first 30 or so years of my life completely dense. Bone-stick-stone dense. (Not stupid, dense. I was never stupid.)

Life was so much easier then.

Obama should be at a minimum level of 60% of the vote. That he isn't just shows how many more bone-stick-stone dense people there are out there.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas??

In honor of the service that provides (and has provided for lo these many years) ALL of Harlan's ideas, the fair City of Schenectady is going to be showing "DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH" on September 13th, at a venue known as "Procters".

Schenectady Beer may or may not be served.

The Idea Service Staff may or may not be in attendance.

Best,
Erik Nelson

Bits and Pieces.....
Brian Siano: The term foodie covers a lot more that just liking food. A foodie is concerned about where the food comes from, is it grown sustainably and localy, stuff like that.


Mark Goldberg: You almost got me kicked outta the library dude. I saw you comment about HE in drag, and for some reason I immanaged the him in the kind of suit that Robin Williams wore in Mrs. Doubtfire. Took me a good 5 minutes to calm down from the laughter!

Anyone: Have any of you heard from David Silver? I know he collects antique cameras, and saw one in a junk shop, and would like to tell him about it.... Any contact info that can be shared would be great!

HERC
Hi Harlan/Susan,

Is membership of HERC the same price for overseas and more importantly do you have any of either 'The Glass Teat' or 'The Other Glass Teat' in stock.
Also, when paying, is cash ok or should it always be a cheque.

Many Thanks for your time, Iain.

Gee, thanks Josh, the image of Harlan dressed in drag was just what I needed. Good thing I am skipping lunch today...

Here is a mind-boggling interview with McCain conducted by Time:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1836909,00.html

If you introduced the McCain from 1999 to the McCain of today, would they even know each other?

On a completely different note, a very happy birthday to Jan Schliecker, frequent poster and master of the SPIDER realms...

I have a confession to make...

I'm stupid. It's true, yes, I'm sorry to have subjected all of you to my level of incompetence for so long, but what can I say? Young Jackanapes pointed out the truth but a few moments ago and I wanted to share it with you. Watch out, Harlan. You thought you could tell a good story...

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies from frozen pieces of cookie dough for the boys and my mother-in-law this morning, thinking they would have them as treats this weekend when Doug and I head out to reclaim our sanity. The timer dings, and I take them out of the oven to cool. Mmmmm....fresh cookies....

Upon returning to the kitchen a few minutes later, ready to plate the cooled cookies and set them aside, what to my wondering eyes does appear but a cresent shaped cookie amidst the round, a crescent bearing teeth marks and bits of crumbled cookie around the edges.

Knowing that my youngest didn't even realize I'd made cookies, I called Young jackanapes into the kitchen and said, "Hey, look at this. I wonder how that cookie got there."

And Young Jackanapes says to me (bless his pointed head): "That's becaue you took a bite of the frozen cookie dough before you set it down on the cookie sheet, and it made a cookie with a bite out of it. See? You can see your teeth marks."

"Really?" says I. "I don't remember eating cookie dough."

"You did," says he. "The bite of cookie dough turned into a bite out of the cookie."

"Crumbs and all, huh?"

"Yup."

"Ah." By this time, my eyebrow was cocked, loaded, and the safety was off.

What does the Young Jackanapes do? Why, he smiles, points to the cookie, and says, "Since it already has a bite out of it, can I have the rest?"

A+ for Effort, D for Execution....




shagin

JOSH, I'd wondered about that too....

(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

________________________________

See y'all on the flipside. Cris and I are headed to NYC for the long weekend.

Gonna see 'Wicked' for the second time and eat some real honest-to-gosh coal oven pizza.

Huh. I've been to Harlan's house more times than I can count. I thought I'd seen every freakin' thing in it, but I'll be damned if I've seen his tranny. There's no question that the lovely Mrs. is all woman, so I gotta ask:

Ellison, do you have some kind of Eddie Murphy-style double life going on that you want to tell us all about?

The aged street person


:: Weeeping piteously, Yr. Pal (the destitute, begging for alms
:: in the agora, I kiss the kerb of your kaftan, Sahib)
:: Ellison, the Poor Little Match Girl.


Don't forget the eye patch and the tin cup. Maybe Warner Brothers will lend you theirs. . . .

Change of pace for linguistic fun
I came across a reference to "foodies" today, and I found myself feeling a particular kind of irritation. Maybe you've experienced it, too: the sense that a word's been invented because people dislike the old word for some insubstantial reason.

In this case... the word "gourmet" would have worked. I mean, "foodies" sounds like a line of stuffed toys, like the Veggie Tales characters filled with kapok. What's wrong with _gourmet_? Is it because it's a litle old-fashioned or archaic? If you like food, you're a gourmand. If you like really fine food, you're a gourmet. Or an epicure. Or, at least, aspire to be a gourmet. Nothing wrong with that, as far as I can see. So maybe the original word seems archaic, old-fashioned, or even pretentious. What's wrong with using the word to re-invigorate it? Or re-claim it a little?

Look at it this way. Let's say you like to pay attention to the culture. You read, listen to music, watch TV and see movies. And maybe you like to think about these things long after you watch'em or listen to them. You compare'em to other things in the culture. You read what other people say about these things, and maybe form some opinions and bounce'em off of other people. Maybe you cultivate some insight into why you like one thing, and dislike another. All of that's perfectly fine to do. But if you call yourself an _intellectual_-- which is pretty much the word for this-- suddenly people get very suspicious and defensive.

Are there any words you can think of that seem, well, manufactured to _avoid_ using a better-but-unfashionable word?

:)

"my tranny slips more often, and if the overhead upholstery in the back seat keeps giving my passengers foam dandruff, well, we're all going to have to suck it up."

Foam dandruff? haha. Funny one my leige.

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

Dennis, I doubt that site is as politically agreeable as you say. Remember, the mainstream media serves its propaganda function by excluding progressive or radical voices.

Imagine the perfect world--to dream:

"Now on the PBS Newshour a different historical perspective on the Russia conflict, we are now joined by historian Chalmers Johnson..."

"This is Larry King Live--for the whole hour, Linguist, activist, Noam Chomsky is here. Will give his perspective on the election and everything political. Noam Chomsky, tonight on Larry King Live..."

"Tonight on Charlie Rose, activist, filmmaker, Tariq Ali is here. He will fill us in on the what is going on in the middle east and the world. Plus, underground artist Jello Biafra gives us his acerbic take on the political and social scene--tonight, on Charlie Rose..."

"On Washington Week, we have a new panelist, Janine Jackson, of Fairness And Accuracy In Media. She will tell us why the media is corporate, not liberal as some say..."

"Today on Meet The Press, Robert Fisk of the independent of London gives us his special take on the middle east and the world. On our round table, the progressive media, where from here? We will be joined by Jeff Cohen, Eric Alterman and Adolf Reed to discuss the progressive media and how it is shaping America..."

Ahhh, to dream.

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

Diane, not eating sausage in Chicago is like a New Yorker not eating a Nathan's hotdog. You must be one of those grass grazers.

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

I prefer the Marx brothers, because they sound like fellow Communists. teehee.

Harlan, I already worship you. But I am on the other side of the country. And I have not eaten sausage in many many years. Frank and Janisse, good points. I am going to see what things Professor Kirstein is involved in these days. I know Obama is not an answer, but he's so much better than the alternatives. Like a pimple is better than leprosy. I have a question; have any of you guys noticed that people don't smile any more? Ever. When I was downtown the other day, I was happy. Love downtown. Loved my carriage ride. So, I was grinning. Maybe one out of every twenty or thirty people of the street or in the buildings smiled back. Including the small children. I find this very disconcerting. Like an update of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Why I assume aliens don't smile, I don't know. Perhaps they miss their home planet. God knows, I miss mine. KOS, I can't tell you where I read this. (I'm old, I forget many things I read.) But it was several months ago. And it said that the middle and lower classes are worse off financially and in terms of opportunities to buy homes, keep their home, find meaningful jobs, etc. then they have been since well before the Depression of the 30s. This was mainstream media and a reputable social science type study. I wish I could remember what and who and where I read it. But I know, based on my friends and families that it's true. People are hurting, really hurting. Even people who were okay before the Georgie Jr. saga. The price of rat meat has gone up in Cambodia. Do we have to be reduced to eating rodents here before any body in power wakes up? Hope not. I have two pet rats. And two pet cats. But seriously, how have we come to this pass in this country?

Election
I talked to one Congressman here in California who said the polls will remain neck and neck until the first debate. We'll see.
I just remember that I personally thought Gore and Kerry won their debates handily, but that didn't matter in the least.

Anyway, one site I go to regularly is www.electoral-vote.com -- it keeps track of all the state polls daily, with an interactive map showing how the candidates are doing in each state.

Also worthwhile is www.realclearpolitics.com that is basically a clearing house for all the major news articles about politics in the country -- from all sides of the spectrum.

****************************************************************

And "Implacement" is a pretty good word, I think.

.............I REALLY like Joe Biden!

That should've been "implant" or "implementation" or or "insertion" or "emplacement" -- but not whatever the hell was, that I inputedly enjoindered. Or injoindered ...

-he

MEDICAL APPOINTMENT REPORT #10


We have to come to an understanding about this shit.

I went to see quite a different medical specialist early today.
The procedure turned out to be wallopingly more painful than I--with my inhumanly high pain threshold--expected. And we came home and I have been lying down all day, onaccounta the "anti-pain" pill they gave me knocked me loopy.

I am fine.

Not just blow-you-off "fine," but actually and really JES' FINE.

No, it wasn't heart, it wasn't cancer, it was something else that's been going on for about six-seven months and I never mentioned it because it was, well, just icky. And though we made the appointment for the actual procedure today, about 2 weeks ago, just after the stent implacement, I simply didn't feel like Putting Any More of My Business ...

In The Street ...

As we homies put it. There are all MANNER of weighty things going on with us, but I think it is time y'all stopped clucking over me like Yiddishe Mommas (that means you, too, Cindy, you li'l deitybutt-kisser, you) and understand that I KNOW you give a fuck, and I grin at the knowledge, but at age 74 we have all got to acknowledge that a lot more frequently now than in the 50-60 years past, my oil needs changing more often, my tranny slips more often, and if the overhead upholstery in the back seat keeps giving my passengers foam dandruff, well, we're all going to have to suck it up. Because there is little as doom-saying as An Olde Jewe kvetching about his guhderim. You could look it up (sp?) in Leo Rosten.

Thus: I am fine, jes' fine; it was icky; it should be a non-starter henceforth, worrywise; and I love you all.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

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