Harlan Ellison's Art Deco Dining Pavillion RSS

Ebooks and '50s classics

Phil Nichols — Tue, 07 Feb 12 00:50:59 -0500

I agree with Jack: that e-book site is one of the worst. Most of the other sites I have seen are 'just' idiots who share what they have. This site is out to make money from stolen property.

I didn't check out Harlan's works in their catalogue, but I looked up Bradbury because I happen to know that until very recently NONE of Bradbury's works were authorised for e-book publication. Naturally, these thieves have a complete set of Bradbury for sale. Curiously, some works in their list have a symbol next to them signifiying "verified" or "validated" or some such - some indication that these pirated works have been cross-checked against the genuine work. If they were trading in legit e-books, they would have no need for such a system.

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

'50s SF classics: you have to feel sorry for Gary K.Wolfe (or anyone who seeks to do good by making 'forgotten' works available again in high quality editions. He's (they're) never going to win, because all of us have a list of favourites that he (they) can't fit in.

The Martian Chronicles
Fahrenheit 451
The Body Snatchers
Childhood's End
The Midwich Cuckoos
The Space Merchants
Foundation

...and all of the others previously mentioned!

- Phil

More Ebook ripoffs

Jack Skillingstead — Mon, 06 Feb 12 19:59:24 -0500

These guys are the worst yet, for brazen disregard of copyright. They offer a paid subscription and then allow you unlimited downloads, including all of Harlan's titles, from the looks of it.

http://www.ebookr.com/search/

Abel Gance's NAPOLEON

FinderDoug — Mon, 06 Feb 12 18:24:08 -0500

For anyone interested, I have a pair of tickets for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's screening of Abel Gance's NAPOLEON on March 31 that are looking for a home due to changes in my travel plans. Details are on the bulletin board side of the house (in the Pop Culture threads.)

Library of America

Robert Nason — Mon, 06 Feb 12 13:50:56 -0500

I assume the editors feel that FAHRENHEIT 451 is already easily available in every bookstore and library as it is. But what about Asimov's END OF ETERNITY or even THE CAVES OF STEEL? And Fredric Brown's fabulous WHAT MAD UNIVERSE? Or A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ? Or to be really daring, Mordecai Roshwald's LEVEL 7? Or Hal Clement's MISSION OF GRAVITY? That's the trouble with these anthology volumes.....there's always something great that (by necessity, alas) gets left out. *Sigh*

1950s SF novels

Michael Rapoport — Mon, 06 Feb 12 12:09:56 -0500

Isn't FAHRENHEIT 451 from the 50s?

And I would put in a plug for one of my personal favorites, Kurt Vonnegut's THE SIRENS OF TITAN.

American Science Fiction Novels of the 1950s

Ezra — Mon, 06 Feb 12 10:24:46 -0500

Real real hard to argue with ANY of these choices. I've been trying to think of novels that were excluded. One that seems a real shame to have left out is Ward Moore's BRING THE JUBILEE from 1953. The alternative history novel has become a major sub-genre over the years and that's the original classic. (It's also a personal favorite and that may have something to do with it.)

At first glance I thought, No Asimov? No Bradbury? What about EARTH ABIDES? (But that's from 1949.) Wasn't THE LOVERS a 50s novel? Anyway I'm sure Mr Wolfe will get second and third guessed. But not I suspect for what he inlcuded but for what got left out. Can anybody think of a major 50s SF novel that should have been included?

American Science Fiction
Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s (two volumes)
Gary K. Wolfe, editor

Volume 1: 19531956

Frederick Pohl & C. M. Kornbluth, The Space Merchants
Theodore Sturgeon, More Than Human
Leigh Brackett, The Long Tomorrow
Richard Matheson, The Shrinking Man

Volume 2: 19561958

Robert Heinlein, Double Star
Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
James Blish, A Case of Conscience
Algis Budrys, Who?
Fritz Leiber, Big Time
October / Library of America #227 & #228

Attn: Susan Elllison

Judith Stevens — Mon, 06 Feb 12 09:38:12 -0500

Dear Susan,

I mailed a check on Dec 7 that still has not been cashed. I'm worried that it may have been mislaid (I know it was received because you responded).

Please let me know if you need me to write a new check.

Thanks.

Judy
(check #7563-Amt. $15)

An Observation About Harlan's Scooby-Doo Episode

Adam-Troy Castro — Mon, 06 Feb 12 08:38:47 -0500

Chris Sims, pretty spiffy comics blogger, here tackles the new SCOOBY-DOO series, noting something about Harlan's appearance as himself that is rather startling (and appropriate): all season long, he's the only adult authority figure who doesn't lie to "those meddling kids."

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/01/25/best-scooby-doo/

No title.

Frank Church — Mon, 06 Feb 12 07:09:03 -0500

Sorry, guys, but losing Amy Winehouse was a big deal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un-dR0WBW1E&feature=fvst

oh my

Shatterday Hardcover

Iain Aitken — Mon, 06 Feb 12 05:58:56 -0500

Dear Susan and Harlan

The book arrived safely. Thank you very much indeed, it is a beauty and I am sure Bob will be most pleased when he gets it, and more than a little shocked I am sure.

Hope you managed to get the payment moneygram I sent. Sorry its not an ideal way to get funds to you, but it was the only way I could do it without involving other people and putting them at risk.

If there have been any problems I still have my receipt from paying for it. It has all the details and I can post it to you to clear up possible problem.

Once again, thank you. I am in your debt for all eternity.

Iain Aitken

Ben and Zal

Phil Nichols — Mon, 06 Feb 12 05:34:57 -0500

Scholar of TV history Steven Bowie has blogged an obit essay on Ben Gazzara and Zalman King, and mentions Harlan a few times (in connection with "Memo from Purgatory" and "Whimper of Whipped Dogs"):

http://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/ben-and-zal/

- Phil

No title.

Jan — Mon, 06 Feb 12 05:21:31 -0500

Acknowledged. As planned, I'll send precise "Make your own bill" instructions since I currently can't access the relevant files. All you need are my last two notes and the upcoming one. (Can compare with my files once they're restored.)

Sorry about the recent bad news.

No title.

Robert Nason — Sun, 05 Feb 12 21:13:30 -0500

Wow -- The Library of America science fiction volumes look terrific! It's about time. SF's come a long way from the days when Mike Wallace interviewed Rod Serling on his 1950s TV show (see, I DID watch the clip) and in his smarmy way referred to Serling's "new show" dealing with fantasy and science fiction themes, said "So does this mean you've given up on trying to writing about anythign important for television, Rod?"

The show, of course, was THE TWILIGHT ZONE, about which no greater praise needs to be added by me. But Wallace's entire interview had a smarmy, 'gotcha' quality -- he repeatedly chastises Serling for trying to write serious material for a commerical medium dependent on sponsors, then switches tactics and upbraids Serling for having "sold out." I think it bothered Wallace at some level, being a TV creature himself, to think that a man could work in a mass medium and produce top-quality work without sacrificing his principles. At the end of the program, Wallace declares, "Rod Serling, a man whose road had led to three Emmy awards -- and a big swimming pool in his back yard!" The smack of the lips and expression on Wallace's face seem to say "You phoney, you!"

Nevertheless, Serling quietly indicates that he knows THE TWILIGHT ZONE is good, damned good, and will long outlast Mike Wallace, who at this date is still alive, while poor Rod died back in 1975 from complications resulting from a heart condition that could easily have been treated today.

Coming soon from Library of America:

Alejandro Riera — Sun, 05 Feb 12 20:54:59 -0500

A two-volume set titled: "American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s" featuring Alfred Bester "The Stars My Destination", Fritz Leiber's "Big Time" and Leigh Brackett's "The Long Tomorrow."

http://blog.loa.org/2012/02/forthcoming-from-library-of-america.html?spref=fb

The Artist

David Loftus — Sun, 05 Feb 12 17:00:38 -0500

Finally got around to seeing "The Artist" this afternoon. Like "Hugo," it wasn't as mind-blowingly perfect and wonderful as everyone had led me to expect it would be, but it was awfully damn good and I was very glad someone took a chance on the story/approach and I got to see it.

Had a question for you Angelenos, though; there's a scene early in the film where he's walking down the stairs and she's climbing them with two young fellas and stops to chat with him (and, it just occurred to me, just the way movie posters in frame comment on the plot developments just before, during, or after their appearance, the stairway scene offers a visual metaphor for her career on the ascent while his is about to take the plunge) . . . isn't that the stairway in the Bradbury Building, where "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Blade Runner" were shot, and I hung out with a few of you wonderful folks when we gathered for the premiere screening of "Dreams With Sharp Teeth"?

The IMDb is silent on this issue, and I didn't catch the location in the end credits.

No title.

Grayson — Sun, 05 Feb 12 16:32:47 -0500

I just saw an ad during the Super Bowl for the film DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX and they, of course, pronounced his name wrong.

The Game Informer article about "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream" from last year is now online:
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/02/03/classic-gi-i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream.aspx

So we are adding a leap second this June! Here is a really cool explanation why (No mention of Paladin, though!):
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/01/23/wait-just-a-leap-second/#more-43417

FINDING TED E. WHITE

HARLAN ELLISON — Sun, 05 Feb 12 13:05:57 -0500

STOP! CEASE! DESIST!

Thanks to all of you who offered to help locate Ted. The indefatigable Bud Webster found him for me toot sweet, and I've already talked to Ted. My search is completed.

So...waste no more noble efforts, and...my thanks for your efforts heretofore.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

No title.

jimmy — Sun, 05 Feb 12 12:37:07 -0500

LE -

In addition to the Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds LP, I also used to listen to the Rick Wakeman version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Similar presentations, a la - read from the book, play a tune, repeat, and the story progresses.

And getting back to John Christopher, I also enjoyed very much the BBC adaptation of THE TRIPODS back in the 80's.

jimmy

No title.

Michael Rapoport — Sun, 05 Feb 12 12:32:19 -0500

I think John Christopher's Tripods books (which I always thought of, and which may in fact have been called, the White Mountains trilogy) may have been the very first science fiction I ever read, back in fifth grade or so. I finished the first two books before the third had been published, and I was so excited to read THE POOL OF FIRE that I nagged our poor school librarian every day about when it would arrive. "Do you have it yet? Is it in yet?"

RIP, Mr. Christopher, and thank you for helping to set a young boy on a very interesting path.

No title.

Frank Church — Sun, 05 Feb 12 12:05:38 -0500

The primaries don't matter a lick, guys. Elections are bought, it's as simple as that. Wall Street decides who they will allow to run and they sabotage any underlings who think they may pass through the mass check-points.

Thomas Ferguson is my source.

Wall Street has to be undermined before any meaningful election ever matters.

JAN IN THE EU

SUSAN ELLISON — Sun, 05 Feb 12 11:43:43 -0500

Jan: Latest messeage received. We really do think it's time for you to send us a bill. Please, please do so at once. Make sure you include the total cost of postage. And, we'll toss in a little extra for your time and trouble.

Many thanks--Susan

No title.

Rob — Sun, 05 Feb 12 11:27:38 -0500

Where did I assess Paddy Chayefsky? Because I liked Altered States, I assessed Paddy?

I'll straighten you out later on this matter, someone is rushng me off the computer.

For typewriter lovers

Brian Siano — Sun, 05 Feb 12 09:18:47 -0500

CBS News has a wonderful segment on a "typewriter renaissance," viewable at http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7397608n&tag=contentMain%3BcontentBody

A portion of this report was shot at 30th Street Station here in Philly: it's the part where they interview Michael McGettigan. I was there that day, shooting a video to promote the _next_ TypeIn; a draft of that video's at http://youtu.be/HjZ0RKqRfkc.

I might as well note that a Hermes typewriter turned up at the Philly event as well. Its owner, a bright 17-year-old named Matt, is also a serious Harlan Ellison fan.

Oh, and a typewriter's become a major part of the "Drowning Girl" promo we're readying for Caitlin Kiernan. Watch this space.

Re: John Christopher

Le — Sun, 05 Feb 12 09:14:43 -0500

I read his TRIPODS trilogy (THE WHITE MOUNTAINS, THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD, and THE POOL OF FIRE) in the 6th grade, and then went on to read all of his all other books.

I loved the writing. Those books were wonderful escape during those miserable years when I had to live in rural Texas.

Coincidentally, it was also a little later in 1978, when Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds was released. The singer was Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues. There was a pop radio station that played the entire version once. But mostly the song they played the most was the achingly beautiful "Forever Autumn." I can remember how excited I used to get every time I heard the bell of Big Ben tolling at the start of the song. Then the unmistakable voice of Richard Burton (who provided the voice of the Journalist/Narrator) would deliver that unforgettable introduction:

"For three days I fought my way along roads packed with refugeesthe homeless burdened with boxes and bundles containing their valuables. All that was of value to me was in London. By the time I reached their little red-brick house, Carrie--and her father--were gone."

I still have that double LP.

Weekend Update

Steven Barber — Sun, 05 Feb 12 08:58:14 -0500

Watching a DVR of the five episodes of TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH. It was excellent, intelligent and intense when spread across five days, it's downright stunning when seen back to back in a single weekend.

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

Having my first truly "healthy" feeling day in a week. Of course, then I read "Thin, tonight, heroes; very very thin tonight." and am concerned.

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

In addition to Mr Loftus' most excellent blog, I offer up a double dose of mine. My niece and her husband, both biology professors at LaVerne University, recently led a research expedition to the Galapagos Islands and the Upper Amazon. The brief first entry on MY Blog is a link to one they and their students kept while on adventure.

The second much larger entry is a commentary on my philosophy when it comes to my photographic work and how I select the shots for my permanent portfolio. Unlike most other forms of art, photography -- with the digital age -- let's the artist make any number of attempts to get the exact image they want. Doesn't always happen, but the tools of the digital age provide for an interesting flexibility when it comes to the finished product.

Thumbnail traveler.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoy...

RIP John Christopher

Phil Nichols — Sun, 05 Feb 12 06:31:10 -0500

The British SF writer John Christopher (real name Samuel Youd) has died at the age of 89. His best known works were THE DEATH OF GRASS (filmed as NO BLADE OF GRASS) and the TRIPODS series.

I understand that he wrote a story for THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS.

Info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Youd

- Phil

Oops, the link is. . . .

David Loftus — Sun, 05 Feb 12 00:22:10 -0500

http://www.americancurrents.com/

signpost to a report

David Loftus — Sun, 05 Feb 12 00:21:11 -0500

Friends:

My latest "American Currents" blog post will catch up anybody who's interested in knowing what I've been up to -- my new talk show on politics at BlogTalkRadio.com and links to clips from my recent video and film work. If you're not a Facebook friend of mine, you probably haven't seen most of these.

Once again, I'm going to be in the Salt Lake City/Orem area next week, Feb. 7-12, to present at the midwinter convention of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival on the BYU campus, if anyone wants to get together.

Ted White

Jason Michelitch — Sat, 04 Feb 12 22:30:57 -0500

Harlan,

I may be able to help you out getting in touch with Ted. Let me make sure my contact info for him is current, and I'll check back in tomorrow and let you know for sure. That is, if you haven't already made landfall by some other more efficient means.

Jason

No title.

Robert Nason — Sat, 04 Feb 12 19:26:18 -0500

HARLAN -- You might be able to locate Ted White through Moshe Feder, who was an assistant editor at AMAZING and FANTASTIC in the early 1970s, and who I worked with when I was at the Doubleday Book Clubs in the late 1980s -- he seemed to know Ted pretty well. Moshe is on Facebook and has a Twitter account and all that jazz, but he's also listed in the online White Pages -- he lives in Flushing, NY. Having said all that, I hasten to add that we haven't spoken in many years. We were colleagues, but not friends. But I bet he can help you find Ted.

ZALMAN and BENNY

HARLAN ELLISON — Sat, 04 Feb 12 19:08:35 -0500

Both Zally and Ben died yesterday. Annie recently. In my backyard is a magnificent sculpture done for me by Zally's famous wife, Pat Knopp. Benny and I were a frequent foursome with Lee Pogostin and Sam Peckinpah. We spent long evenings at Sam's Malibu house. Flamenco guitarist playing. Bobby Culp talking about SUMMER SOLDIERS. I was dating the most famous Playmate of the Month at the time. Zally and I had frequent dinners and hung out when we did THE YOUNG LAWYERS. Brassy sense of humor. Oh so good a guy. We both hated Lee J. Cobb because he ratted on the HUAC writers. Pat was one of the wittiest people I ever met and a gargantuanly talented sculptor. Both in one day doesn't leave breath between mourning even to stop crying.
----------------------------------------------------------------
P.S.: I am trying to get in touch with Ted E.White, if anyone can help with data for a hook-up. Personal business.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Thin, tonight, heroes; very very thin tonight.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

No title.

Robert Nason — Sat, 04 Feb 12 12:55:23 -0500

FRANK -- Nobody has to teach you how to enjoy films; it's presumed that you already enjoy them when you arrive at film school. Then you learn other things that you might not have noticed on your own.

SAINT JACK is one of the great underrated films of the late 1970s (and Paul Theroux's novel is pretty damn good, too); Ben Gazzara brings his immense talent to a film that should have been Peter Bogdanovich's comeback, but it was largely ignored. He also brough great charm and warmth to Bogdanovich's THEY ALL LAUGHED, a more minor film, but anything with Audrey Hepburn is worth watching. And the country music that marinates the soundtrack makes New York City look and feel different than you've ever experienced it before.

No title.

Jan — Sat, 04 Feb 12 12:42:18 -0500

The Game Informer background story on the IHNM&IMS game is now online
www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/02/03/1668150.aspx

Coming to Poland in April: Rakietowe szlaki tom 5, featuring Harlan's brilliant "Chłopiec i jego pies"
http://rakietoweszlaki.pl/?cat=16
(This is not the same as volume 4, Harlan, which you will have in a few weeks.)

The Polish "Masters of SF" BluRay has become part of an odd triple pack
www.lideria.pl/7-Man-Army-Re-cycle-Mistrzowie-science-fiction-blu-ray-zestaw-3-filmow/sklep/opis?nr=303337

To Mr. Dooner

James Levy — Sat, 04 Feb 12 12:37:55 -0500

You are absolutely right about Ben Gazzara. I'd also mention his role in Cassavete's "Opening Night" as superb.

Mentioning Keitel brought up the only time I've seen him perform live, in Clooney's version of "Fail Safe". He was awful. In fact, that whole exercise was an eye-opening revelation to me of how good the character actors of a bygone era really were. Frank Overton and Fritz Weaver were head-and-shoulders better than Brian Dennehy and John Deihl (and I like Dennehy very much). Dan O'Herlihy was orders of magnitude better than Harvey Keitel. Clooney was about as good as Edward Binns, and to his credit I thought Dreyfus gave Fonda a run for his money. The big surprise for me was Noah Wiley, who was very good as Buck (although Larry Hagman had also done well in that role). Hank Azaria may be a swell man who loves his mom and is kind to dogs and little children, but he couldn't hold a candle to Matthau on the best day of his life.

Bottom line: for me, many actors of today lack the energy, the force, and the presence of actors before the 1970s. What Gazzara, Stieger, and Falk had in spades is hard to find these days.

No title.

Frank Church — Sat, 04 Feb 12 12:17:41 -0500

Louis CK has a bit where he is in first class on a plane and notices that soldiers always ride in coach with the fat fucks who don't have their backs. Louis says that he feels bad for the soldier, but doesn't give him his seat because the reason he is in first class is because he is an professional asshole!

-----------

Wes Moore said something on Maher that is sure to make Harlan's teeth hurt: he said that Facebook is one of the greatest democratizing tools ever! Giggle.

----------

Forgive him, Rob went to film school. They teach you zero about actual enjoyment of films.

Harlan mentions

Dennis C — Sat, 04 Feb 12 08:18:35 -0500

Harlan is mentioned by pal Patton Oswalt in this GQ interview:

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2012-02/03/patton-oswalt-young-adult-interview

And he's also mentioned in this obit for Zalman King:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/rip-zalman-king-king-of-softcore-cinema,68811/

No title.

Steven Dooner — Sat, 04 Feb 12 05:42:09 -0500

He originated Tennessee William's OTHER iconic male role (the first being Stanley Kowalski, as played by Brando), Brick in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and in the days before microphones, people said they had never heard a voice with such power coupled with such reality on stage. He trained under Lee Strassberg, just as Brando, Steiger, Deniro, and Pacino. But Ben Gazzara was always the one who they said had been given the greatest vocal gift anyone had ever heard. 15 years later, he made a string of films with John Cassavetes, where he partly improvised dramatic performances with a living quality that would put guys like Keitel and Deniro to school in a heartbeat. Don't believe me? Go watch "Husbands" or "Killing of a Chinese Bookie!" I grieve that a lot of younger theater people don't know this man's importance in theater history!
-----

Rob, you should reassess your reassessment of Paddy Chayefsky.

Rob, you goofball....!

Tim Raven — Sat, 04 Feb 12 02:43:02 -0500

Rob Paddy Chayefsky is spinning in his grave! Wizz, Wizz, Wizz!!!

The promise of his story was shat upon by Ken Russell.

According to Paddy.

Anyway, I still liked it when I was a sullen, callow teenager. At the time, I also thought Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie was a cutting and significant commentary. It made me weep sixteen year old crocodile tears.

Im not sure who I dislike the most here.Ken Russell, Paddy or the cunt that wrote that execrable song. Or myself for buying it.

I wrote the bones of a new poem tonight in the sky of Los Angeles. It cost me two hundred bucks for the privilege. Hey, me and my girl like the Martinis!

Yippee Kai Yea Mutherfuckers, the goddamn weekend is here!

Tim Raven

Good Bye Zalman King

jimmy — Sat, 04 Feb 12 00:31:44 -0500

One of my first jobs in Los Angeles was on RED SHOES DIARIES. I didn't know Zalman King very well, but he always struck me as someone who was bored with doing things the same old way and was always looking to create his own art. I had just come from Chicago, and at that time the unions had separate jurisdictions so I was basically starting from scratch. RED SHOES DIARIES was non-union, and if I could get 90 days non-union work I could join the LA union and work on studio films. When I made those days and told Zalman that I was leaving for a studio film, his reaction was "Why would you want to work on that?" To him, that was so much less. I feel that he was privileged, in that he really got to do the things he was interested in doing and in the way he wanted to do them. Not many people get that. I remember that when he and the producer (who was Israeli), wanted to talk in the cutting room without anyone understanding, they would speak in hebrew. My post supervisor, who understood every word, got lot of enjoyment out of that.

Anyway, although my time at 10db was brief, I remember it fondly. So, good bye Zalman King, and thanks.

jimmy

No title.

Robert Nason — Fri, 03 Feb 12 22:38:32 -0500

Happy birthday to Ted White! I truly think he ranks as one of the three greatest science fiction magazine editors of all time. Now go argue with me.

No title.

Martens — Fri, 03 Feb 12 18:48:38 -0500

All I know is that after seeing THE ISLAND (Michael Bay director), I realized it's true that good actors can't save a turkey. That film immediately raised ROBOT MONSTER higher from the bilge of the 10 worst. Any more suggestions for the bottom 10 Sci-Fi Turkey Pot?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Very nice interview from 1959 with the uncompromising Rod Serling by Mike Wallace (just before THE TWILIGHT ZONE hit the airwaves) here at Internet Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/The_Mike_Wallace_Interview___Rod_Serling
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ben Gazzara and Zalman King, aw man...

Now it looks to be a SAINT JACK and TRIP WITH THE TEACHER weekend.

RIP Ben Gazzara

Dennis C — Fri, 03 Feb 12 18:39:23 -0500

Ben Gazzara and Zalman King in the same day -- it's too much. Both great guys (I never met them, but that seems to be the consensus from what I've read) and both major talents who didn't take BS from anyone.

No title.

Rob — Fri, 03 Feb 12 18:00:42 -0500

I too remain a stout fan of SECONDS and BRAZIL, with a BIG leaning to the former!

I find, however, that I need to be in the right mood for SECONDS. For myself, it's emotionally intense; images of the old Arthur Hamilton watching his "life" pass by, and the hollowness he feels when he's with his wife, seem to draw tears every time I watch this movie. I HAVE to be in the mood. It's quite incredible.
==========================================================

ALTERED STATES

I used to talk about this one all the time. I think I used to overrate it, simply because it's more intelligent than most of the shit out there, but I still like it a lot. Its cast is perfect for the film, the score is REALLY good, and the premise is fun. And I DO like Ken Russel's visual trademarks. As much as like Arthur Penn, who was originally to direct, handing it to Russel I really feel helped serve the subject matter; the tension between science and religious iconography makes the movie uniquely unsettling.

Oh, yeah: and it has lots of hyped-up "pre-Mamet" profanity spackling the dialog.

"...zis guy's a fooking gorilla!"
=================================================================

Here is a bit of minutia that I'm sure NO one here will find very interesting, which, alone, gives me good reason to bring it up:

MIDNIGHT COWBOY features some old b&w sci-fi space flick playing in a theater in which Jon Voight gets "distended" by a gay Bob Balaban (who plays the colleague in the later Altered States). The movie they're watching finds the requisite juxtaposing between its rockets and Voight's orgasm.

Well, I always wondered where Schlesinger dug up that cheapo flick. I could never figure out if he created it specifically for MC, or if it was from a studio's storage room. I recognized the actor in the footage. I tracked him through the movie database, and found a 1950's sci fi show called MEN INTO SPACE. I think it was one of those episodes the director used for Voight's late night movie of midnight madness.

I know: this revelation changed your life. Well, it changed mine, too!

No title.

Kenny Noor — Fri, 03 Feb 12 17:29:07 -0500

Well in regard to SF movies, how about
Charly.
The movie was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

Lets see how Will Smith wrecks this one (reports are he may be make a new version of Flowers for Algernon).

No title.

Robert Nason — Fri, 03 Feb 12 16:34:45 -0500

Hey Phil (Latalee?) -- Haven't you heard? You don't have to lick the backs of stamps anymore -- they're self-adhesive! Which sounds vaguely perverse, but that's another matter. I believe somebody has to cash in his or her proverbial chips before getting a U.S. stamp dedicated to them, so let's enjoy Harlan in the flesh before stamping him out (you're not the only one who makes bad puns, Phil).

But I do hope the government is wise enough to issue a sheet of Ellison stamps using the covers of all those wonderful Pyramid paperbacks I eagerly collected back when I was discovering Harlan's multifaceted oeuvre. This year marks -- yikes -- the 40th anniversary of my discovery of Unca Harlan's published works -- I first read "Corpse" and "Basilisk" in F&SF, then moved on to the second edition of the I HAVE NO MOUTH AN I MUST SCREAM anthology, then deeper into the heart of darkness and light to the 11 or 12 volume run of the Dillon-covered paperbacks, each one lovingly numbered and with a different dashing photo of Harlan on the back. They're still the heart of my Ellison collection, no matter how many fancier volumes of his I add to it.

Speaking of anniversaries, today is former ASIMOV'S editor Shawna McCarthy's birthday. Happy birthday, Shawna!

Zalman King

Tony Rabig — Fri, 03 Feb 12 13:58:20 -0500

And you might want to check out King's performance in one of the two pilot films for David Janssen's series Harry O. King played the villain in the Howard Rodman-scripted TV movie "Smile, Jenny, You're Dead," and he was chilling in it.

No title.

Brad Stevens — Fri, 03 Feb 12 13:38:56 -0500

Just heard the sad news that Zalman King has passed away. He was in two H.E.-scripted televison works (the "Memo from Purgatory" episode of THE ALFRED HICTCHCOCK HOUR and an episode of THE YOUNG LAWYERS), and was, I believe, a friend of Harlan's.

The most excellent Joe Wehrle, Jr.

Steve Barr — Fri, 03 Feb 12 05:43:34 -0500

Thanks Joe! Your are a font of knowledge. The quest has begun! (I feel so Quixotic. Where's Dulcinea when you need her.)
S

Harlan on a stamp

Phil Nichols — Fri, 03 Feb 12 01:36:41 -0500

While I would delight at the idea of seeing Harlan Ellison on a stamp, is this honour not reserved for those folks who have shuffled off this mortal coil?

And on a lighter note, do you think Unca Harlan wants the back of his head licked by the tongues of the great unwashed?

The artists for such a hypothetical piece of stampwork would naturally have to be the Dillons, as they are inextricably linked with HE's work.

But remember what they say, folks: philately gets you nowhere.

- Phil

(Exits rapidly stage left, pelted by rotten fruit.)

One Stamp is Not Enough

jimmy — Thu, 02 Feb 12 23:02:54 -0500

ROBERT-

I would like to see a sheet of stamps. All of the images of Harlan Ellison from those Leo and Diane Dillon Covers.

Kind of makes you want to write a letter, huh? Or purchase some nice stationary.

jimmy

No title.

Don Hilliard — Thu, 02 Feb 12 19:25:24 -0500

HE: Your comment that you wrote the part of Billy in the "Paladin" screenplay specifically for Glynn Turman, and a previous note that you wrote Gaspar for Jack Gilford, raises the question: Did you have an alternate set of actors in mind were the black and white roles to be reversed?

James Levy: McKellen and Loncraine's RICHARD III has a science-fictional feel to it, I think, only for two reasons. First, the conscious use of Empire and Nazi imagery gives the inevitable feel that one is watching an alternate history; second, the technical surrealism of transplanting various British landmarks to different locales and purposes puts the story firmly into an alternate universe. Beyond that, Shakespeare is Shakespeare. (I do occasionally wonder if anyone has ever, or will ever, mount THE TEMPEST with straight text but with the imagery of FORBIDDEN PLANET, even including Robby as Caliban.)

Bob Homeyer: You put your finger directly on the best and the worst of JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN: it's technically brilliant and beautifully filmed, but it's so driven by its plot and its look that it's ultimately pointless...though it almost makes up for that with the enigmatic final scene. (I have to admit that pop-culture contamination has taken its toll: watching it as an adult, I couldn't help snickering when the movie's one "name" star, Herbert Lom, gets killed before the opening credits a' la every episode of POLICE SQUAD!)

No title.

Robert — Thu, 02 Feb 12 18:51:20 -0500

Someday there will be a Harlan Ellison stamp -- and instead of it being a mere "Forever" stamp," it will of course be a "City on the Edge of Forever" stamp. Any suggestions as to who should draw or paint it? Perhaps an artist yet unborn.....

No title.

Dave Clarke — Thu, 02 Feb 12 18:21:47 -0500

There's an Edgar Rice Burroughs stamp coming out in August of this year. See it here:

http://www.beyondtheperf.com/stamp-releases/edgar-rice-burroughs

How about a Lovecraft stamp? As if Grandpa didn't make good use of the postal service...

THE NEW 52

Christopher Stout — Thu, 02 Feb 12 15:59:01 -0500

Evening. I'm just nuts over what DC is doing with the new line. I think it's some of the best writing and art I've come across in some time. I mean BATMAN and The Court of Owls!!! Red Hood and The Outlaws!! Swamp Thing and Animal Man!! HOLEEEE SHIT!! I just had to drop a note in hopes of somebody, anybody, being as knocked out as I am and as big a dork who wants to say, "Yeah, Chris, it fucking rocks."

Harlan, you're the best. The four new books gave me a soaring feeling, like a flight of angels in my chest. Thanks for all the great stories. They've shown me what imagination really is and what it can do.

World Book NIght

Lori Koonce — Thu, 02 Feb 12 14:13:58 -0500

We all know that the hard copy book reader is becoming an endangered species. And I'm sure someone out there has wondered what they can do to change this.

Well my friends I have a way. Sign up for World Book Night. It's a good way to get out and do something for your community! They have a list of books for you to choose from, and all you have to do is promise to give away the twenty copies they give you.

Now if this sounds good to you, check out the following website and sign up:

http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/

Journey to the Far Side of the Sun

Bob Homeyer — Thu, 02 Feb 12 12:31:42 -0500

Not at the top of my list, but this 1969 film starring Roy Thinnes has one of the best individual moments in any science fiction/speculative film in my opinion. Two versions of the lead character are briefly having the same conversation on two different Earths -- and are merged into the same scene. Brief but brilliant.

No title.

Frank Church — Thu, 02 Feb 12 11:35:53 -0500

Thomas Frank tells us how the right wing keeps winning:

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/153973/why_we_got_ayn_rand_instead_of_fdr%3A_thomas_frank_on_how_tea_party_%27populism%27_derailed_a_new_new_deal/

-----------

I wipe my ass on the groundhog. I'd skin the bastard and make his hide a toilet cozy. I'd make sliders with his greasy flesh. I'd put his eyeballs into Newt's soup.

It's fucking 60 degrees today on febuary 2--in Cincinnati!!

Who listens to a varmint who can't even tend to his stank. We will have a shorter winter. You have the Frank Church science gold star.

---------

Speaking of which, the film Groundhog Day is great science fiction.

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Thu, 02 Feb 12 11:10:40 -0500

Jimmy- My deep appreciation for your Groundhog Day wishes!

Steve Barr- If you are really looking for another quest, do you have DRAGONS AND NIGHTMARES, four short novels by Robert Bloch, Mirage Press 1968, edition of 1000 copies? (mine says it's no. 00431) Illustrated by Dave Prosser. I went on a road trip to see Dave Prosser many years ago, in the company of a fanzine editor whom I now believe was not totally sane. But Dave was great. I eventually lost touch with him, tried to reconnect when I got online, only to find he was gone, like so many of the people who were active at that time.

Steve Jones- I once heard Harlan tell a very funny story about John W. Campbell, concerning whether a writer should preach to his audience. There's a reference to it in his intro to Life Hutch, in FROM THE LAND OF FEAR, if he doesn't feel like telling it again after so many years. But if we're lucky, maybe he'll tell us a different story about John.

True Science Fiction

Ezra — Thu, 02 Feb 12 11:10:17 -0500

SECONDS? Well I suppose if you're willing to settle for good writing, good acting and fine production values, then such a movie might be satisfying. But some of us, well, we need a little bit more than that.

We need a theremin on the soundtrack (or at least an organ with the tremelo stop yanked out full tilt boogie).

We need to see Morris Ankrum have his brains sucked out by the Alien Death Ray.

We need to hear Whit Bissell explain why the robot is made of an alloy NOT OF THIS EARTH.

We need to hear Richard Carlson rhapsodize about the wonders and terrors of outer space and hear Faith Domergue scream and fall down and twist her ankle while the rubber ant/crab/mu-TANT shuffles relentlessly on.

Taste and quality are fine for some people but there are a few who demand a little more...

Altered States

Tim Raven — Thu, 02 Feb 12 09:47:39 -0500

That was an interesting flick. Ive read about the production, and apparently Ken Russell and the writer Paddy Chayefsky were at war during the filming. You should Google it!

Tim

Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction Movies

Joe B. — Thu, 02 Feb 12 06:27:15 -0500

Some greats mentioned through this thread on Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction flicks. There is one movie I haven't seen anyone mention (perhaps I simply missed it): ALTERED STATES.

I consider this science fiction/speculative fiction. Anyone else agree or disagree? Harlan mentions Ken Russell and his flicks within the Watching column, which lead me to it.

Best to You and Yours,
Joe

No title.

Steve Jones — Thu, 02 Feb 12 03:39:30 -0500

Well hello Harlan and I hope you are safe and well. I first read you as a young man in the mid 60s and, strangely, two of your works out of the hundreds I have read and re-read have stuck in my mind. Strange Wine, and its take on the hoary old saying "the grass is greener on the other side" (but it is much more than that!)and a story, the title of which I can't for the life of me recall, which has in part a reference to a frozen Heer soldier on the outskirts of Stalingrad (amongst many, many more allusions). In any case, I just wanted to greet you without pretence and tell you I am glad you are still alive and I have the opportunity thanks to the internet to say, and mean, hello to you. Oh yes, another thing, did you ever in your career meet with John W Campbell Jr? He happens to be very special to me (I have a letter from him to my father when Astounding was metamorphosing into Analog)and I would so like to hear that, apart from him undoubtedly seeing you as a reactionary, you and he were friends.

No title.

Robert Nason — Thu, 02 Feb 12 00:56:03 -0500

I'm honored to find that I'm on the same page as Harlan when it comes to admiring the eerie brilliance of SECONDS. And I'm humbled to admit I forgot Terry Gilliam's amazing BRAZIL. But Unca Harlan, what's so bad about playing with oneself? If there's one thing as good as someone who "plays well with others," it's someone who plays well with him- or herself.

Frank -- I'll have to take a pass on visiting the Forum for the time being. I've learned through long and painful experience that the only fruitful political conversations are with people who disagree with you on strategy and tactics but agree on fundamental principles. So I'll keep walking by. "The dogs bark, and the caravan passes on."

Primer

Laurent Queyssi — Thu, 02 Feb 12 00:41:59 -0500

Has anyone seen the movie "Primer" ?
A micro budget time travel story which convey a feeling of actual lab work. The movie becomes a complex labyrinth but his oddness is actually enjoyable.
One of my favorite in the last 10 years (along with Children of men).

Happy Birthday Steve Barber

jimmy — Wed, 01 Feb 12 23:58:56 -0500

Steve Barber's birthday? Well bust my buttons. Hope it was a great one. (thank you to Volde-Mark Goldberg)

And now that it is February 2nd, I would also like to wish a very happy Groundhog's Day to Joe Wehrle.

You know, it seems like it's always a party here at the Pavillion.

Bravo.

jimmy

Tết + 9

Le — Wed, 01 Feb 12 22:27:28 -0500

My signed/limited/boxed edition (#674) containing both THE HARLAN ELLISON HORNBOOK and HARLAN ELLISON"S MOVIE arrived this week, and I am loving it.

I want to start collecting Ellison books in earnest again. In my desire to help make sure Harlan and Susan Ellison have a roof over their heads plus three square meals a day, I have decided to join HERC and order what I can first through The Kilimanjaro Corporation from now on. There are a couple of items I want to purchase and will mail off the forms and checks tomorrow.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I saw the reference to Arlene Martel and DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND earlier.I thought she was wonderful in it. I get the chills every time during that scene where she is kneeling down next to Robert Culp's body and starts praying, "Im so frightenedDear MaryPlease help me. Im so frightened. Please save me, please."

This activates the computer hand, which solemnly intones back, "You. Can. Save. Your. Self."

Whoa! It is such a stirring moment for me because it reflects Harlan Ellison's atheism with his strong humanism. What an empowering moment!

There is a lovely Bach aria called "Liebster Gott, erbarme dich"(from his Cantata BWV 179, addressing hypocrisy) which this scene reminds me of. The singer is beseeching God to help her ("Hilf mir, Jesu, Gottes Lamm"). I have played excerpts of this aria during this scene, and I think the two work quite well togther (even though the aria is Lutheran, whereas Consuelo is Catholic).

Of all the modern (read: "historically informed") recordings I have heard of this beautiful aria, I don't think any have surpassed the one sung live by Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena here. What phrasing! What expression!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iNdh3oUZ2g

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

With all this talk of sf films, it's worth going back to HARLAN ELLISON'S WATCHING and reading what he thought of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (I thought he was a little rough on that film) and BRAZIL, etc.

I was 9 years old when TAX DRIVER first premiered, and I remember sneaking (there was zero chance my mother was going to take me to an R-rated movie) into the theatre to watch it. Back in the September/October issue of Film Comment, Paul Schrader wrote the now-famous/infamous extended essay called "Canon Fodder," his attempt at formulating a film canon. He lists and explains the 7 criteria with which he chose the 60 films for his canon, and decided that his list should be elitist. It is worth reading. Schrader is erudite and eloquent as always, even if you may disagree with his choices. Below is a link the complete (and long) essay.

http://paulschrader.org/articles/pdf/2006-FilmComment_Schrader.pdf

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Not that anybody *cares*, but...

LIfe is good. Been vegan over two months now. It is true that I must do a lot more cooking at home than ever before, but I have adjusted with the help of a bunch of vegan cookbooks I purchased. Love making my protein shakes of almond milk, protein powder, and fruit first thing every morning. I feel great.

Excited about hiking up to the summit of Mt. Whitney again in the fall. It's funny; what I feared the most--altitude sickness--about hiking it the first time last September, never materialized...although I did see plenty of hikers get sick. It was surreal seeing a couple of them vomiting on the trail at about 13,000 ft. A few could not complete the ascent, and one turned back with only 2.5 miles left to the summit. It is my dream within the next couple of years to backpack through the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney. 220 miles or so, and I would give myself three to complete it. Lots of planning and training to do till then.

Am thankful for everyday I am granted. Still so happy and grateful that I got to meet Harlan Ellison again....

REPLY TO MARK GOLDBERG

HARLAN ELLISON — Wed, 01 Feb 12 21:08:45 -0500

No, I changed it myownself. Sorry, Doctor Knowitall.

"Dogfight on 101" (which is the Hollywood/Ventura Freeway near my home) was its original magazine title. But as time progressed, I got more of an ironic kick from thinking of it as "Along the Scenic Route," so when I included it in my hardcover collection, I amused myself aesthetically by changing it; and so it remains; for all time.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Goldberg: Funny strange

Dr. Know(itall) — Wed, 01 Feb 12 19:37:36 -0500

Yo, Goldberg: I tink dat dere title youse mentioned -- "Dogfight on 101" -- was a moniker slapped onna story by some editor, with funny taste like yers. Funny, strange. Not funny ha-ha. Capish? Could be wrong. Maybe not. Bada-bing.

United States

Mark Goldberg — Wed, 01 Feb 12 18:53:13 -0500

Harlan, a question for you: when I was at the Dreamhaven event this past weekend, Manzo, Stilwell, and I were talking and the subject of the story "Along the Scenic Route" came up. I had no idea that the title was originally "Dogfight on 101". Just curious, why the name change (as I think the first title was a great one)

A very happy birthday to Mr. Steve Barber

Speaking of Barber, a bit of a clarification on something he mentioned in his posting. I have been having a great deal of trouble with my ex lately, to the point where she told my kids that she does not want my name mentioned in her house. My oldest, who is a Harry Potter fan, decided that I should be referred to as He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. When I told Barber this, he christened me with the name Volde-Mark. Just what I need, another nickname....

Thanks again to everyone for their kind words and support,

Mark

Reply to Harlan

Phil Nichols — Wed, 01 Feb 12 15:18:01 -0500

Satisfactory indeed, sir. In the full interview Mr Turman, Billy Kinetta himself, answered "Good cat", and I concur with his judgment!

- Phil

PS: I attended a conference in France last week at which another scholar was discussing I, ROBOT in both its Ellisonian screenplay form and its lesser incarnation as a Will Smith vehicle. (I was there to talk about Bradbury's screenwriting.) I'm trying to get an English copy of the I,ROBOT paper for you. It was read in French, so I only understood a small amount of it.

travel plans

David Loftus — Wed, 01 Feb 12 14:45:10 -0500

Hey, Gang:

Is anybody here based in the Salt Lake City/Orem area? Just thought I'd ask, since I'm going to be there next week (Feb. 7-12) to do some workshop presentations at the midwinter Timpanogos Storytelling Convention at BYU. The actual time I'm committed is fairly small, and I have no idea how much else I'll want to be doing there.

Not trying to get anybody to turn out for my workshops, because I doubt they'd be of interest, but I'm certainly up for socializing or even being shown a little of the neighborhood. I've been through the area a couple times, but only passing through, really. Don't know it at all.

And damn, Harlan, sorry I mis-recalled Stefko's role in the band. Dual drummers are not unprecedented in rock, though.

I can sing backup lead.

No title.

Frank Church — Wed, 01 Feb 12 14:40:15 -0500

Nason, ya scaredy cat, come to the forums. I do battle all the time. Shhh, don't tell them but they think they are winning. Wink.

-----------

Mefisto would make a fascinating film, that's all I know. We certainly need more black actors. Hollywood these days looks like Jim Crow west.

-----------

Don't be in a good mood when you see Brazil. Sad ending.

2001, obviously. If I ever get what it means.

Seconds

Kris Nelson — Wed, 01 Feb 12 14:34:17 -0500

Wow! Seconds! A movie not many of my friends know about - directed by the late great John Frankenheimer, who directed a movie I was in called "Andersonville", (based on the book about the civil war camp.)

Great stuff! I believe this was the movie that drove Brian Wilson over the edge and made him abandon his SMILE album until 2004!!!

Always thought it might be the inspiration for Stephen Kings "Quitter's Inc".

REPLY TO PHIL NICHOLS

HARLAN ELLISON — Wed, 01 Feb 12 13:46:50 -0500

Discuss.

Answer: Both.

Depends on the brain-power of my opponent, the situation, the circumstances, what's at stake, and my being without fear of repercussions. I can be as ferocious as you, or as gentle as you. I am you.

Satisfactory response?

Yr. Pal, Harlan

GLYNN TURMAN and SECONDS

HARLAN ELLISON — Wed, 01 Feb 12 13:39:59 -0500

I haven't seen the Glynn Turman interview in THE ONION, but if anyone can get my phone number to Glynn, I ache to speak to him again. He is one of the most accomplished serious actors of Our Time, and I literally had a fist-fight with the pimple-brain casting director on The Twilight Zone to get him that part...the schmuck kept suggesting one after another gentleman of color because he didn't know Glynn's work. I wrote it for him, specifically for him, no one else, never considered, even CONSIDERED, anyone else, because I was so impressed by the power of his work in THE RIVER NIGER, which is a marvellous film. I'd love to have Glynn and his lovely wife over for dinner or somesuch, again, years later now, if we could make the link-up. Any help will be deeply appreicated.
----------------------------------------------------------------
As for actual SCIENCE fiction films, the best one ever made is SECONDS, based on the David Ely novel, written by Lewis John Carlino, directed by John Frankenheimer, and spectacularly, eerily filmed by the great James Wong Howe.

Second, I guess, would be BRAZIL.

After that, you're on your own.

But SECONDS is magnificent AND pure science fiction. BRAZIL is astonishing. The U.K. version of 1984 is rather imperial, as an aftertought. All the rest, you're playing with yourselves.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Captain Obvious

DTS — Wed, 01 Feb 12 12:46:54 -0500

Hey Cynic,
50 Seconds into the movie should've given you the answer to _why_ you dig the flick so much (I'm still watching it, just started): it was written by Kurt-friggin-Siodmak! (Or Curt, if the Americanized spelling was used). And EVERYone knows the five star classic _he_ wrote -- right? (Er, right?).

If not, if you don't know (without consulting the intermess), well...Duh vay you volk iss torny, my son, tru no fault uff your own...

so sorry

oops — Wed, 01 Feb 12 12:28:34 -0500

if only i had watched 2 more minutes of THE TUNNEL...
i would have told you before, the film also has hot nuns.

The Transatlantic Tunnel 1935

cynic — Wed, 01 Feb 12 12:19:02 -0500

available at the internet archive
http://www.archive.org/details/TheTransatlanticTunnel1935
only 30 minutes in, and left only at that, it is quite a gem.
(paraphrasing)"what ARE you smoking ?"
"oh, that's rope." (this, only a few minutes in)
inventions that go back to da vinci, the reality of politics and import of public opinion...cool.

SF lists, etc

Ezra — Wed, 01 Feb 12 10:16:23 -0500

Not really snarling I hope Adam-Troy but it is better to say "my favorites" rather than "the best of".

Steve Barber I am glad you are ok and appreciate the recommmendation. Sounds like my cup of Romulan Ale.

Steven Dooner I took your point but I'm not sure the Intended Recipient did. We'll see.

Janet Gamache, your occasional bursts of poesy certainly do brighten up the joint, thank you very much.

And speaking of Science Fiction films, the American Film Institute, located at their wonderful Art Deco movie palace up the road a bit here in Silver Spring, as part of their upcoming series THINGS TO COME: THE CITY ON FILM, has the following movies on tap over the next couple of months:

JUST IMAGINE
TRANSATLANTIC TUNNEL
THINGS TO COME
METROPOLIS w/ live accompaniment (this is the newly restored print)
BRAZIL
PLAY TIME
THE TRIAL
GATTACA
THX 1138
LOGANS RUN

No ticket info yet but if you are interested you can check here-
http://www.afi.com/silver/

Ira Levin -Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, Boys from Brazil

Steve Barr — Wed, 01 Feb 12 09:59:51 -0500

Adam-Troy Castro Thanks for the chance to mention him.

Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei,
Led us to this perfect day.
Marx, Wood, Wei and Christ,
All but Wei were sacrificed.
Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx,
Gave us lovely schools and parks.
Wei, Christ, Marx and Wood,
Made us humble, made us good.

This Perfect Day... One of my favorites!!

S

That Turman Interview In Brief

Phil Nichols — Wed, 01 Feb 12 08:36:00 -0500

Harlan Ellison. Prickly pear or good cat? Discuss.

- Phil

To be a poem

Janet Gamache — Wed, 01 Feb 12 08:28:05 -0500

Did/Was
you/he
write/sent
a letter to
accompany
the slipper?
I/He
would/might
have
sworn/judged
otherwise
had he assayed
the former
rather than
the latter:
Hold the accordion.

J.

On Crappy Lists

Adam-Troy Castro — Wed, 01 Feb 12 07:55:24 -0500

Called to your attention because I had complained about it elsewhere, and somebody here was just snarling about how much he hated best-of lists:

Here's a list of "the best horror writers of all time" that includes John Saul and Richard Laymon but not Mary Shelley or Bram Stoker; that also foregoes the likes of Shirley Jackson; that cannot be bothered to list the author of DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE; that doesn't even mention the authors of ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE EXORCIST; There are authors I *like* and even a number I love on this list whose presence I find appalling when it also omits the author of SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

http://www.mania.com/top-20-greatest-horror-writers-alltime_article_113153.html

No title.

Steve Barber — Wed, 01 Feb 12 06:24:03 -0500

A little late to this Science Fiction film party...had a bit of a medical scare but I'm okay...and I have to toss in one of my personal "little" film favorites for candidacy of exactly what GOOD science fiction is when it comes to the movies.

Jerome Bixby's MAN FROM EARTH.

It's a little film, made in the desert on a shoestring budget featuring character actors from the world of SF. You'll recognize the entire cast. Not because they're famous, because you're a geek like I am.

The story takes place in a single afternoon, in a small house. It betrays nothing if I tell you nothing will leap out at you, no portals through time and space mysteriously appear, nothing tries to eat anyone's face.

At the core of this film are human values, of people and relationships. And yes, it's one of the best science fiction films of the last decade, IMHO.

http://www.manfromearth.com/index2.html

As Unca Harlan would undoubtedly agree, it doesn't have to be about spaceships whizzing through the ether. Science fiction, at its best, is about people.

(And yes, remove the McGuffin from this film and you've got a bunch of people with nothing to do for the better part of two hours.)
_______________________________________________

I belatedly congratulated VoldeMark Goldberg for his recent engagement yesterday, but lemme do it again for posterity's sake: Hooray for Mark and Karen!!!! Two great people who deserve to be happy and who, I think, have found that certain someone.

(Let this be an abject lesson to those of you bemoaning your lack of a life partner. Sometimes it takes several tries before you find your "Susan".)
_______________________________________________

Apologies for the lack of pics from Pink's last week. I've been derailed for a few days and am just getting "back on track" (to continue the metaphor).

Stay tuned.

No title.

Robert Nason — Wed, 01 Feb 12 02:12:09 -0500

Ezra -- Don't forget, DESTINATION MOON was written by Robert Heinlein, and that ain't bean bag. But I came "this" close to adding THE TIME MACHINE, though I could live with such other great George Pal films as WAR OF THE WORLDS and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. George seemed to have a thing about worlds.

Chuck -- HOWARD THE DUCK is one of the films that falls into the category of So Bad It's Perversely Fascinating. I mean, how can you not love the scene where the duck is about to make it with the gorgeous singer (until those annoying cops break in)?

Does anyone here think the first two Whale FRANKENSTEIN films qualify as SF? Or KING KONG? Or is the latter more fantasy/adventure/horror? Whatever the hell it is, it's pure magic.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Wed, 01 Feb 12 01:30:38 -0500

No sweat, Robert. Hell, I'm a fan of ERNEST GOES TO JAIL. The other Ernest pictures you can have. Except for THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST. Sure was different from them other pictures, boyitellyouwhat.

I thought perhaps you were kidding. At least I hoped so.

Chuck

Andrew & Ezra

jimmy — Wed, 01 Feb 12 00:17:01 -0500

I'm sure that I am displaying my talent for the bloody obvious when I point out that 12 Monkeys is based on La jetée. Sometimes I just can't help myself.

jimmy

Three comments for three guys

Robert Nason — Tue, 31 Jan 12 21:51:00 -0500

Chuck -- I knew I'd get a rise out of SOMEONE with my "Howard the Duck" mention.

Andrew -- I'm glad it made you laugh, as I intended it to.

Frank -- We'd better not talk politics anymore!

Glynn Turman gives Harlan a nice shout-out

Brian Siano — Tue, 31 Jan 12 21:03:16 -0500

The Onion's AV Club interviews Turman about some of his more notable roles.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/glynn-turman,68497/

"The Twilight Zone (1985)Billy Kinetta
GT: Oh, that was Harlan Ellison. Paladin Of The Lost Hour. And Gilbert Cates, my good friend who just passed away, directed it. Harlan wrote that part for me, and it was working with Danny Kaye. In fact, it was Danny Kayes last performance before he died. I was with such icons on so many different levels. It was great working with all those guys. But Harlan Ellisonhe invited us to dinner, and his house was as bizarre as his writing. (Laughs.) I mean, he had all these secret panels, all these different ways in and out of rooms, stuff like that. Tall doors, short doors, oh, it was amazing. I was just, like, Wow He was a very intriguing guy.

AVC: You must have gotten along with Ellison pretty well, since he wrote the part for you. He has a reputation as a bit of a prickly pear.

GT: Ive heard that, too. (Laughs.) But, no, I absolutely got along with him. He was always a good cat to me. "

No title.

Frank Church — Tue, 31 Jan 12 17:53:29 -0500

Nason, Suharto had the velvet glove when it came to the markets. He got the golden hammer for it as well.

Pinochet, another good capitalist.

Margaret Thatcher? Elsa bootlicker? Seig yo.

Gurgled yogurt on the fruited plain.

-----------

Gore Vidal once said that Airplane was one of the greatest films ever made. Maybe he is right.

Sometimes real dumb is genius.

Congratulations!

Mary — Tue, 31 Jan 12 17:47:01 -0500

I know I'm a bit late, but congratulations to Mark Goldberg!!

WHOO HOO!!

Response to Robert Nason and Ezra

Andrew J. Wilson — Tue, 31 Jan 12 17:12:20 -0500

First, you made me laugh, Robert -- and in a good way (e.g. "Howard the Duck") -- I appreciate it -- but my self-limiting list (which was filled with typos -- damn, I should stop posting when the sun goes down!) was predicated on ONE film from each decade -- and films that by my -- questionable? -- definition were truly SF... You cheated by including more than one movie from each individual decade. (It's only a game, good sir.)

Secondly, dear Ezra (who I think I owe a long-overdue reply about far-future conceits), Gilliam gets into a silly and arbitrary list of TRULY speculative fiction flicks with "12 Monkeys" -- "Brazil", as much as I love it, is a dystopian fantasy...

None of this MEANS anything.

BTW: I wouldn't dare do this for TV SF, but ... Unca Harlan would own the 1960s ... for a start...

Take care, everybody.

Science Fiction

Ezra — Tue, 31 Jan 12 15:35:15 -0500

I think the distinction between Science Fiction and Fantasy is more apparent than real. MONSTERS FROM THE ID or WARPDRIVE are no more plausible concepts than rabbit holes to WONDERLAND or busting out the back of the wardrobe into NARNIA. It's all imagination.

No kidding...DESTINATION MOON? Yep it's definitely SF all right, albeit in a corncob-up-your-ass-don't-forget-to-pack-the- magnetic-boots kind of way. Hey I like Woody Woodpecker too but THE TIME MACHINE is Pal's enduring masterpiece.

I suppose 2001 will be on everybody's list. A great movie no doubt about it. Personally I take every opportunity that presents itself to see it when it's projected on the big screen. But be honest. If I come over to your house is that really goning to be the DVD on top of the pile? Isn't it more likely, unless you're a film student who studies films rather than enjoys them, that the disks with the fingerprints will be THEM! or WAR OF THE WORLDS or ALIEN?

And a top ten list without La jetée or VIDEODROME or BRAZIL?

Truth is, I detest top ten lists. They reach for a consensus and objectivity that is neither possible or really desirable. I have my own favorites of course which would probably skew towards the 30s and the 50s because, well, hell, they just knew how to do it better back then , that's all.

But every generation can requite itself honorably. Recent favortites include WALL-E, DISTRICT 9 and MOON.

From the Bluebeard's Closet Department:

Steven Dooner — Tue, 31 Jan 12 13:33:50 -0500

If I tell you not to think of a pink gorilla, you will think of one every time. And from now till Doomsday, the Riddler must leave his clues for the Batman--it's his pathology after all. Yes, for all eternity, Pandora must open her box, and Eve must eat her apple!

But if I had two friends who couldn't stand each other, I wouldn't take that as an irresistable challenge to get them together at cocktail parties and soirees. Sometimes, we must leave things alone, and recognize that separate parts of our lives should stay separate.

The shade can't help it...

the Shadow — Tue, 31 Jan 12 13:08:56 -0500

I KNOW Oliver Stone already covered this ground ("Natural Born Killers"), and I know I should probably hate myself for enjoying lowest common denominator-type entertainment, but...I REALLY enjoyed this trailer (might have something to do with my mood and attitude regarding most humans at this point in time):

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/01/31/god-bless-america-trailer/#more-60480

Enduring a stressful situation (two and a half more weeks!) can lower a being's aesthetic meter (it sits right next to the bullshit meter); or so I've heard. Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

The shade can't help it (with apologies to Bobby Troup, Frank Tashlin, Jayne Mansfield, etc.).

No title.

Mark Goldberg — Tue, 31 Jan 12 07:05:37 -0500

Thank you to everyone for their kind words and congratulatory notes

I do have a slight mea culpa, I identified MuseumGuy as Steve Swanson when his last name is Stillwell. While he has requested bowing and scraping to correct my error, hopefully this will suffice.

All the best,

Mark

Impertinent note on Joe Stefko and the Turtles

Brian Phillips — Tue, 31 Jan 12 06:16:48 -0500

Harlan said, "...Joe Stefko plays drums for Flo & Eddie (formerly, the 3 original mambers of The Turtles)"

Granted, Joe Stefko is not a bassist, but as best as I am able to find out, The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie (which was then shortened to Flo and Eddie) along with Joe Stefko would be two original members (Mark Kaylan and Eddie Volman) of the Turtles and a later member of the Turtles. Don Murray, who dates back to the days that the Turtles were called the Crossfires and John Barbata, who replaced Murray, preceded him. From the Turtles' website, it reads, "It's now going on 20 years that Joe has been with The Turtles.", which would be well after their days on White Whale Records in the 1960's.

If you'd like to hear Stefko with the band, he is featured on "The Turtles Captured Live" from 1992. Joe Stefko can also be heard on "Bat Out of Hell" by Meat Loaf from 1977.

Brian Phillips

P.S. I met Miriam Linna when she was playing with the A-Bones. Not only does Norton have great taste in books, but they also have done some wonderful musical reissues.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Tue, 31 Jan 12 02:31:32 -0500

HOWARD THE DUCK?

not on iTunes

jimmy — Tue, 31 Jan 12 02:03:05 -0500

Let me get this straight:

There is a new album called "The Bon Jovi Variations" by THE VELVET MIASMA featuring their new hit single "Cockamamie". And the percussion section is really hot.

Cool!

(Chew on that one Dave Barry and Stephen King)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ps - My best wishes to Mr Mark Goldberg and his wife to be.

jimmy

KICKING THE SOAPBOX

Rob — Mon, 30 Jan 12 22:05:05 -0500

Luis Borges:

I really love this writer. It would not be difficult to call him the greatest writer ever, and I will be immersing myself in Borges throughout the year. His ironic symbolism has SO much multiplicity in meanings. Recently, I read 'The Circular Ruins', whose profound twist ending rather resembles a metaphysical version of the MATRIX movies, where subjective reality is turned inside out. I'll be diving into his stories with great scrutiny. I share his point-of-view.

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

Now...without belaboring the subject further, I've no intention of starting another tiresome thread, Id like to take one final quick but INNOCENT look at Alfreds Hitchcock.

Just last year, I think, the remnants of a 1923 film called THE WHITE SHADOW were unearthed by the National Film Preservation Foundation, New Zealand. It bore the credits of a young Hitchcock as writer, assistant director, editor and art director.

In the years that followed, Hitchcock wrote a great deal on his films, once he was given the job to direct. THE PLEASURE GARDEN, THE RING, NUMBER 13, THE FARMERS WIFE um, anotherCHAMPAGNE, all served the themes with which Hitchcock would become synonymous: lost identity, voyeurism (the man admitted questioning his own sexuality), religious guilt, repression, entrapment, all sewn together by whimsical humor. Thereafter, anyone to work with Hitchcock would have to know this would be a HITCHCOCK movie.

For this reason, I feel that artistically Hitchcock was at his best and most autonomous in his early British years, before being dragged into Hollywoods cut-throat milieu (my OWN notion, admittedly). He remains my favorite because of the SUBJECTIVE camera; few, even today, really understand the power of this cinematic trick and how to make it work. I cant think of anyone better than Hitchcock at putting the viewer into the shoes of the lone protagonist confronted by judgment and uncertainty.

The subjective eye of the camera, in films like SECRET AGENT with Peter Lorre and John Gielgud (recall the scene where Gielgud is looking through the telescope as Lorre assassinates his victim in the snowy distance), 39 STEPS, LADY VANISHES, the original MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, and BLACKMAIL. And with every cross-cut in image and sound, a multitude of thoughts, emotions, and instincts fly through your cortex. I dont think anyone understood the language of subjective film narrative better than Hitch. The subjective point-of-view: THATS what makes him my personal favorite, because I connect with it so viscerally.

Now, about writers who collaborated in the course from Noel Coward to Evan Hunter: over the last couple of days I went through a good number of interviews with Hitchcock in print and in audio, to hear about the construction of the script and the writers hed brought in to work it. He was very generous about the writers, and, whether he accepted or rejected or altered their contributions he was very emphatic about their value.

Ray Bradbury went on the record praising Hitchcock's push on the writers. And when it came to his tv shows, of course, like the one you worked on, Hitchcock made it clear to viewers that hed play no role in the writing on the show, instead choosing to take all those hilarious pot-shots at his own annoying sponsors.

If there ARE indeed accounts where Hitchcock ripped off someone without crediting the source, there is another artist the greatest of the 20th century who, in fact, made much of his living lifting from other artists without crediting them: Picasso. Somewhere out there exists a book cataloging Picassos paintings juxtaposed against their sources. Yet, this doesnt diminish Picasso as a great artist. I suspect lots of times exorbitant celebrity brings on these transgressions. Ya get pampered, ya get spoiled.

BTW, I saw photocopies of production notes by Hitchcock, as well as script pages hed written (these were from his British films), script outlines, written instructions about the script, early storyboards hed drawn, and even his own set design sketches for NOTORIOUS.

As for PSYCHO: He not only purchased the rights to the book out of his own pocket, as he did with all his films when they werent Sezlnicks, then worked closely with the writer in putting together the script, and planned out every shot before filming began, but, because the studio execs refused to back the movie, he also FINANCED it out of his OWN pocket! His personal SAVINGS! Sothis was HIS flickall the way!

(Hey! With REAR WINDOW, Hitchcock personally pulled the movie off the market to increase its eventual value to his estate, before its legal resurrection and re-release in the 1980s. In other wordsit was HIS film!)

I hasten to add, Im fond of the screenplay choices Hitchcock and Stefano made the themes about our personal traps, our moments of personal madness which we all face now and then, Marions desperate, decision to get out of the trap she just created for herself, and the point-of-view shifts from the ill-fated Marion to Norman.

I think Joe Stefano understood people, what makes our brain tick in those subliminal labyrinths, and how we cope or fail to cope as individuals. I think Hitchcock recognized this quality in Stefano to during the interviews and thats why he hired him.

I do not deny anything about Hitchcocks execrable behavior in the course of his Hollywood years. I went on about this over on the board, citing his disgusting and twisted treatment of Tippi Hedron; I think that episode was demonstrative of the power Hitch had gorged on for so long. I wonder if he became that way in the day of the locust tides of Hollywood or if he already had this terrible ego before he came to the states. Id have hated Hitchcock personally if Id met him knowing about that. Yet, his artistry will never cease blowing my fucking mind!

Whatever the case, Lets face it: anyone hired to work with Hitchcock was going to be writing a Hitchcock movie, designed to tie together his trademark themes, his subjective eye, and his humor.

BTW, I dont like TOPAZ, but I DO like MARNIE, after having seen it several times and feeling it had been underrated.

FRENZY was the one, though: the first time I saw it when I was a kid (on tv, unfortunately)...I SALIVATED during that sequence of the second tie-murder, when the camera tracks back quietly, down the stairs, and outside the building where all we hear is the routine sounds of another busy day. It told the viewer everything he needed to know, engaging both the primal and the cognitive in perfect synchrony.

It's reasons like this Francois Truffaut loved him so much.

OK. That should get the obsessive ooze out of my system.

Hey:

When I see Harlan Ellison trivialized I see red.
When I see Michael Moore trivialized I see red.
When I see Picasso trivialized I see red.
When I see Hitchcock trivialized I see red.

Call it brain damage or passionate zeal, I'm not so sure there is a difference.

The Way That List SHOULD Be:

Robert Nason — Mon, 30 Jan 12 21:21:01 -0500

1) METROPOLIS
2) THINGS TO COME
3) DESTINATION MOON
4) THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD
5) FORBIDDEN PLANET
6) INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
7) SECONDS
8) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
9) BLADE RUNNER
10) HOWARD THE DUCK

Harlan in LA Weekly

Dennis C — Mon, 30 Jan 12 21:10:57 -0500

The LA Weekly has posted some of the CineFamily Event on its site -- and they call our host 'brilliant' and 'irascible':

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/01/harlan_ellison_patton_oswalt_jar.php

House Band

Tim Raven — Mon, 30 Jan 12 21:08:46 -0500

I think Harlan could do a passible rendition of "Human Fly" or "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns". After all, he is The Velvet Miasma! I would lend my Strat and Twin Reverb to that project...

Tim

THE COCKAMAMIE "HARLAN ELLISON'S PUBLISHERS' BAND"

HARLAN ELLISON — Mon, 30 Jan 12 19:23:15 -0500

The only problem, doofuses, is that you're not paying attention. Miriam Linna played drums for The Cramps, but Joe Stefko plays drums for Flo & Eddie (formerly, the 3 original mambers of The Turtles). That's a hot percussion section, but even if we were doing Holst's "The Planets" (the Bon Jovi Variations), it's a pretty thin ensemble.

Jeezus, you people!

Yr. Pal, Lead Vocalist, Harlan "The Velvet Miasma" Ellison

Actual science-fiction films

Andrew J. Wilson — Mon, 30 Jan 12 18:24:08 -0500

For what it's worth, here's my top ten, by decade over the past century (remember, new decades begin AFTER the zero...);

(1) "The Lost World" (dir: Harry Hoyt, 19257)
(1) "Things to Come" (dir: William Cameron Menzies, 1936)
(2) "Destination Moon" (dir: Irving Pichel, 1950)
(3) "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (dir: Don Siegel, 1957)
(4) "2001: a Space Odyssey" (dir: Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
(5) "Solaris" (dir: Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
(6) "The Thing" (dir: John Carpenter, 1982)
(7) "12 Monkeys" (dir: Terry Gilliam, 1995)
(8) "Inception" (dir: Christopher Nolan, 2010)
(9) "Attack the Block" (dir: Joe Cornish, 2011)

Notice, if you will, how many of these films were based on already-published works...

No title.

lonegungirl — Mon, 30 Jan 12 17:00:00 -0500

Eddie Izzard at the Largo tonight!

"Do you know who I am?"
"Do you know who _I_ am?"
"This is not a game of 'Who The Fuck Are You?' For I am Vader. Darth Vader. Lord Vader. I can kill you with a single thought."
"You'll still need a tray."

Nothing wrong with science fiction or science fantasy

James Levy — Mon, 30 Jan 12 16:24:55 -0500

The issue for me is not better or worse, but how few science fiction films, if we take Asimov's definition seriously, have been made. I could argue that "Forbidden Planet", "2001", "THX", "Silent Running", "Soylent Green", and Bob Wise's "The Andromeda Strain" are all science fiction films. I'm sure there are many more, but those popped into my mind. I like these films, and in general think much more highly of them than of any of the "Star Wars" films, but that's just me. I can't agree that science in these films is just a McGuffin, but I can see that in many films it is.

BTW, has anyone here seen Loncraine's "Richard III" set in a mythical 1930s, with Ian McKellen in the title role? Roger Ebert compared that to a science fiction film. Does anyone think he was on to something?

Revolutionary Ethics 101

Robert Nason — Mon, 30 Jan 12 15:53:27 -0500

Gee, Frank, it's a good thing that Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, and Pol Pot didn't go to business school -- just IMAGINE how amoral they would have been if they had!

No title.

Frank Church — Mon, 30 Jan 12 14:41:57 -0500

According to the exciting Social Science Quarterly people who go to business school tend to be more amoral. Do tell.

Skype Coaching

Mon, 30 Jan 12 12:14:37 -0500

DAVID: I wouldn't say I'm a whiz at skype but I've used it to both teach and take music lessons.

Clearly you have some facility with skype. I'm guessing you already have the gear to run it: I have a MacBook Pro with a built-in i-Sight camera. More important, of course, is a good, healthy internet connection. As long as you have a fast connection to the 'net, skype addresses of the necessary people, I can't think of a reason why you couldn't use it remotely.

I have taught a lesson from a hotel room before.

There is a forum for more information or to connect with those who know more than I: http://community.skype.com/t5/English/ct-p/English

RE the Harlan Ellison Publishers Band, I volunteer vocals (lead or harmony) and mandolin, my particular fortes, with clawhammer banjo coming soon. Not sure if that fits the genre ;)...

No title.

Jan — Mon, 30 Jan 12 11:59:02 -0500

Out in Italy: Millennium Thriller (The Best American Noir of the Century) including "Mefisto in onice".
www.lafeltrinelli.it/products/9788854132047/Millennium_thriller/Jeffery_Deaver.html
---
Harlan, we hope you're better now.
---
Congrats to Goldberg!

Skype coaching?

David Loftus — Mon, 30 Jan 12 11:46:54 -0500

Hey, gang:

Is anybody here a whiz at using Skype? Reason I ask is, this past week I launched a political talk show on BlogTalkRadio.com called "Pop2Politics" . . . somebody else's idea; he already had a pop culture talk show going on the site and thought I might have something interesting to say now and then about national and local politics. The first show, a little less than an hour about the Florida primary, Gingrich and Romney, the Occupy movement, and a little on Ron Paul and the moon base idea, if you're curious, "aired" last night, and is archived here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pop2reality/2012/01/30/pop2politics-gop-primary-in-florida

The producers also did a preview of "my" show the week before on their pop culture edition, during which I was introduced with some chatting about my acting, writing, Occupy Portland activities, and my 2001 appearance on "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" (you'll find all that roughly between 15 and 33 minutes at this link):

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pop2reality/2012/01/25/oscar-nominations-real-housewives-finale-and-david-loftus

ANYHOO . . . we've been doing the show via Skype (just airing and archiving the audio), which is a very new program for me. Early in February I will be on the road for the better part of the week, and I assume it's possible to Skype from a remote site, but I haven't the foggiest idea how. If someone could give me quick and easy instructions at the address above, I'd be much obliged.

Cheers to Mark and Karen!

That's cool about Miriam Linna. With Joe Stefko on bass, we have a rhythm section for the Harlan Ellison Publishers Band. Who can we get on vocals and lead guitar?

Science in Science Fiction

Kris Nelson — Mon, 30 Jan 12 11:28:07 -0500

I have always thought that Issac Asimov (I recall it being in an interview by Gene Rodenberry for the Inside Star Trek record) defined the science in science fiction as the "plausible projection of existing science into the future". Josh Olson a while back said that this isn't true, and that Science Fiction merely means that without the scientific-ish McGuffin, the plot would fall apart. Writer Terrance Dicks can be quoted as saying that he also tried to make things "plausible", which later Who writers have gotten away from. Supposedly one of the reasons science-fiction fans enjoyed the original Star Trek was all of the massive amounts of trouble that went into making and designing the future and it's technology, and being more about cerebral and human issues than bug-eyed monsters. Now, as we all know - this wasn't always closely adhered to, especially since many of the writers weren't "hard" science-fiction writers at the time. I think that people who aren't fans, but perhaps casual viewers/readers of science-fiction don't care about such divisions, and see science-fiction movies in the same vein as fantasy movies, shown by the fact that the two categories have been combined in video stores since there have been video stores. Tom Baker always referred to Doctor Who as science-fantasy. This is one of my disappointments with the latest Star Trek flick, is that when you veer into the realm of Star Wars, which J.J. Abrams said he always liked better than Star Trek (great reason to choose him as a director) you end up with more magical elements. If you don't give a plausible explanation of "red-matter", it becomes Harry Potter magic. In the old days, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver undid screws - now it's waved about and does everything - a magic wand. I think the general viewing audience's tastes have centered around more science-fantasy than science-ficton. Kids grow up today thinking that because there's little action in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it's boring - completely (in my opinion) missing the point. I like a lot of the "science" in Ghost in the Shell, for instance, because the attention to technologicall detail makes the whole premise seem as if it's eerily right around the corner...

Huh?

steve Perry — Mon, 30 Jan 12 11:04:53 -0500

Isn't "science in Star Trek" an oxymoron?

Perry

"City" at Carnegie-Mellon

Alex Krislov — Mon, 30 Jan 12 10:24:46 -0500

Harlan, I just got a text message from my daughter, who is taking a "Science in Science Fiction" course at Carnegie-Mellon. The prof used a segment of "City on the Edge of Forever" in teaching about space-time issues. I was pleased to see your name involved. FWIW, the course seems to be centered on TV science-fiction only; Larry Krause's book "The Science of Star Trek" is one of the required texts.

No title.

Diane Bartels — Mon, 30 Jan 12 08:26:19 -0500

Mark and Karen, Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials and much love to you both.

(I predicted both of our recent engagements way back at MadCon. Not psychic, just recognize really true love when I sees it.)

No title.

John E Williams — Mon, 30 Jan 12 08:05:49 -0500

Mark Goldberg, congrats to you and your lady!

No title.

Alejandro Riera — Mon, 30 Jan 12 07:06:00 -0500

Just a quick stop to congratulate Mark and his wife-to-be on the glorious news. Here's wishing you many, many, many, many decades of wedded bliss.

No title.

Mark W. Tiedemann — Mon, 30 Jan 12 06:52:23 -0500

The last movie house of my youth has fallen to the wrecking ball. I wrote a little piece about it here:

http://marktiedemann.com/wordpress/?p=956

Just in case anyone is interested. This crowd, I thought a few might be.

Thanks

No title.

Alex Jay Berman — Sun, 29 Jan 12 23:14:58 -0500

MARK GOLDBERG: Kayn ayn harah!

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Sun, 29 Jan 12 20:31:08 -0500

DTS: Marcel Ayme actually had at least three stories published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF). The Ubiquitous Wife appeared in the Feb. 1961 issue, and the intro reads, "(Ayme) turns his special attention to the fairer sex, telling of a woman who acquired the ability to multiply herself, and to be at the same time in as many places as she wished. A rich gift indeed, but not, as she discovered, entirely free of thorns..."

No title.

Chuck Messer — Sun, 29 Jan 12 20:21:54 -0500

Congratulations to Mark and Karen. Nice to read some good news.

Chuck

Harlan's Punk Publisher!

Clipping Service — Sun, 29 Jan 12 20:21:26 -0500

Who knew she was the orginal drummer of the The Cramps??

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/miriam_linna_obsessions_from_the_flipside_of_kicksville

Key graf:

"Real music will always be made by real people for real people. Real records will be made so long as they can be manufactured. Should the day come when all manufacturing ceases, well, we have countless great existing shellac and PVC discs of various sizes spinning at various speeds to discover and thrill to. And if they stop making phonographs, then they will become a commodity, but those who need them will be able to maintain them. Maybe some enterprising individual can reinvent the wind-up pre-electricity phonograph for when the power grids go down and even the download monsters and children of the damned Internet can wallow in silence while the analogue minions crank up wax by candlelight. Now theres an Escape From New York for you!"

!

ATC — Sun, 29 Jan 12 19:58:27 -0500

Mark Goldberg: hearty and delighted congratulations!

Marcel Ayme

DTS — Sun, 29 Jan 12 19:38:24 -0500

Now that someone has (I hope) put a damper on a previous topic being run into the ground, with an interesting post on Borges (see below), here's another writer-related question: Anyone here ever read anything by Marcel Ayme? He was praised by Georges Simenon apparently called him "The Greatest French writer of the day". His breakout book, THE GREEN MARE, published in 1933, is purported to be a dark satire on sexuality. And his collection, THE MAN WHO WALKED THROUGH WALLS, will be reissued in July, in paperback, by the Pushkin Press. I've never run across his name or heard of him mentioned in circles that admire fiction of the fantastic.

Anyone here read or know of his work?

Cheers,
DTS

Jorge Luis Borges news

Brian Siano — Sun, 29 Jan 12 16:46:29 -0500

http://therumpus.net/2009/08/searching-the-library-of-babel/

"About six months ago, as I was nearing the end of Jorge Luis Borges Selected Non-Fictions, I came across the chapter titled Prologues to The Library of Babel. The chapter began with a list of authors whose works were selected to fill 33 volumes in The Library of Babel, a 1979 Spanish language anthology of fantastic literature edited by Borges, named after his earlier story by the same name. Each volume contained a number of short storiesor, in a few instances, a novellaby one author of speculative fiction (ex. Vol. 1: Jack London, Vol. 11: H.G. Wells, etc.). Unfortunately, the editor of Selected Non-Fictions failed to list the specific stories that Borges selected for each volume; instead, he only provided a handful of the prologues Borges had written as introductions to the authors work. Intrigued, I was pretty eager to find out what particular works Borges had tapped."

He eventually compiled a full list, available at the link above.

No title.

David Ray — Sun, 29 Jan 12 10:28:34 -0500

Mark Goldberg, Mazal Tov to you and Karen!!!

David

Some good news to share

Mark Goldberg — Sun, 29 Jan 12 10:15:42 -0500

Please allow me to share some exciting news from my life. A number of you met me and my girlfriend Karen at MadCon in 2010. Yesterday, Karen accepted my proposal of marriage and we will be married in about a month. I thank everyone here for their support through various life changes of mine over the years.

In other news, last night a friend of Harlan's, Greg Ketter, had a closing party of sorts for his wonderful store, Dreamhaven. Greg will be transitioning to doing mostly mail order sales and sales through conventions, so the store will only be open to the public on a special basis. I had the good fortune to spend some time talking with Jon Manzo at the gathering when we hear this voice that sounds like it is being scraped from the bottom of a bourbon bottle saying "Goldberg, Manzo, get outta the way. You're blocking the aisle for customers!" It was Steve Swanson (aka Museumguy), whose voice, once heard is unforgettable.

It was a bittersweet occasion, but it is always fun to spend time with good people like Jon & Steve

Mark

No title.

Mark W. Tiedemann — Sun, 29 Jan 12 08:54:46 -0500

Newt Gingrich has always been a big space advocate. I actually met him (briefly) in 1986 in Atlanta, where he appeared as a guest speaker at the worldcon, Confederation, that year, based entirely on his boosterism of NASA.

(Later, during a grip-n-grin event, he was confronted by a gay Baptist minister dressed in a bright red devil's costume who started listing Newt's anti-gay legislative history and challenging him on it. The scene was surreal and Gingrich, for the only time I ever saw it, was caught flatfooted and speechless and his handlers had to get him out of there.)

Because of his history, I don't for a second doubt his sincerity over a moonbase. I just wish it were someone else pushing it just now.

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress

Sun, 29 Jan 12 08:18:13 -0500

I believe Robert Heinlein's work is the best and most realistic future history on the subject of colonizing the moon. We must be cautious of the long term while boldly braving the near term perils.

"We choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard." - JFK, 1962

and this, from the lunarcc.org website:
Too long has Man hesitated on the threshold of the greater
world. It is within our power to take the irrevocable step, to
plant our feet firmly in the celestial sphere. It will not be
an easy step ; it will mean long, hard work, and danger ; but
if we do not shrink from the peril, if we do not stumble under
the load, success is certain. The technology is ready. The
worlds are waiting. All that is wanting is the act.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Sun, 29 Jan 12 03:19:48 -0500

Since this discussion of a lunar base (no mention of a colony just yet) got started with Newt's statement in Florida, I thought I'd link to Phil Plait's musings on the matter:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/01/27/the-gingrich-who-stole-the-news-cycle/

I'm all for the manned exploration and exploitation of space. I just don't think gutting other NASA programs to accomplish that goal is the way to do it. The sending of robot probes to the planets has been one of the most unsordid acts of the modern age. It looks like Newt would scrap a lot of these programs, which would be a kind of scientific vandalism. I think human exploration can be equally unsordid, but not Newt's way.

A space race (let's beat them commie boogers) tends to kill any lunar or space exploration program as soon as the finish line is crossed. Crossing the finihs line pretty much killed Apollo. People started asking, "Why are we going back? We did it already, didn't we?" Never mind that the program really brought back useful geological information from Apollo 15 onward. What was a way to beat the Russians became a valuble scientific legacy. We've only scratched the surface with both humans and robots, yet we've managed to come up with the first really viable theory of the Moon's origin, and by extension, Earth's.

That's no small thing. And it's only the beginning. But it has to be done right.

Chuck

DANGEROUS VISIONS REDUX

Robert Nason — Sat, 28 Jan 12 21:10:24 -0500

From the opening lines of Isaac Asimov's Introduction to DANGEROUS VISIONS:

Todayon the very day that I write thisI received a phone call from the New York Times. They are taking an article I mailed them three days ago. Subject: the colonization of the Moon.

And they THANKED me!

Leaping Luna, how times have changed!

If the Good Doctor were alive to write a brand new introduction to DANGEROUS VISIONS now, it might read something like this:

Todayon the very day that I write thisI received text message from the New York Times. They are taking an article I e-mailed them three days ago. Subject: the colonization of the Moon.

And they MOCKED me!

Leaping Luna, how times have changed!

No title.

Michael Rapoport — Sat, 28 Jan 12 19:18:09 -0500

Tim Raven, you can dislike the homeless all you want, but chances are the "goddamn brain challenged muttering asshole lunatics" you cite can't help being that way. The federal government estimates that 20-25% of homeless people have some form of serious mental illness. In fact, mental illness is one of the leading causes OF homelessness.

I think the whole "should we explore space or spend our money here on earth" question is a false dichotomy, propagated by people on both sides who want to do one but not the other and are looking for a reason to support their position. When Kennedy challenged us to go to the moon, I don't recall him saying "because it's more important than helping the poor." He knew it was important to do both.

These digressions make me nervous

Rick Ollerman — Sat, 28 Jan 12 17:32:17 -0500

But according to Jerry Pournelle, his friend Gingrich is a fan of his "prize" method of innovation. Rather than the government invest in research, etc. for a moon base or whatnot, Pournelle suggests the government offers large cash prizes for the first folks to make these things happen. It ends up being cheaper for the federal government and sparks private innovation and entrepreneurship. There's the theory, anyway.

Anyway, it's an interesting thought and nothing to do with Harlan so I'll slink away.

Let's Learn Math Before We Conquer Space!

Steve Dooner — Sat, 28 Jan 12 15:48:56 -0500

Yes, let's take all the money we don't spend on the homeless, the arts, and the environment and now spend it on the exploration of space and on a brand new Moon Base!

Have we ever considered that this is a false dichotomy and that humanitarian deeds are never done at the expense of creative ones? or that both might be necessary for the human race to survive?

Steve Dooner

Patton Oswalt tweets for the snubbed actors and actresses

Kenny Noor — Sat, 28 Jan 12 11:58:02 -0500

In case you missed it, Patton Oswalt's tweets are getting press in the National Post and in the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/oscars-patton-oswalt-tweets-for-the-snubbed-actors-and-actresses/2012/01/24/gIQAq4H4NQ_blog.html

No title.

Josh Olson — Sat, 28 Jan 12 09:06:33 -0500

Jason,

"More or less inconsequential question here, but...Hey, Josh Olson - is that your picture on imdb purporting to be a shot of Daniel Waters?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914058/

Did I just call you guys out on a decades-long con of some sort?"

We just go to the same hairdresser.

Hell of a good looking guy, that Dan Waters.

Henry Miller Writing Commandments

Dennis C — Sat, 28 Jan 12 08:52:35 -0500

Just wanted to share these Henry Miller Writing Commandments that he put down in 1932-33. Aside from the reference to his one work, they're wonderful advice to those of us who write:

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.
2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to Black Spring.
3. Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
5. When you can't create you can work.
6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
8. Don't be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
9. Discard the Program when you feel like it--but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

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

Alan -- I know Harlan dislikes political discussions on this board, so I don't want to get into a my candidate vs. your candidate battle. This is America. You vote for whomever you want. I'm sure you have good reasons for voting for that person. I actually agree with Obama's policies, and I also like the man. I want Obamacare, I need Obamacare. And I agree with him on many other issues. That's why I'm voting for him. But let's agree to disagree and we'll just watch what happens in the coming election.

Myrddin3

Stephen Barr — Sat, 28 Jan 12 08:44:34 -0500

Mr. Wehrle!

I thank you sir for your most expert direction. (Also a WIKI site of which I was unaware.)
Delighted to hear Mr. Bloch speak..... now I need a new QUEST!
(I have just ordered a copy of Once Around the Bloch.)
Thank you again for taking the time.
S

No title.

Frank Church — Sat, 28 Jan 12 07:26:08 -0500

Tim Raven, no, you are not a neo-con. No, Sir. You are the reason I gave up on liberals years ago.

Radicals tell the truth. We get killed, censored and pilloried for it, but thems the shakes.

Actors roundtable -- good stuff!

the Shadow — Sat, 28 Jan 12 02:31:35 -0500

Ignore the dumbshit article (written by an idiot journalist looking for attention), and check out the fffffffascinating -- and funny! -- roundtable with Oscar nominated actors, including George Clooney, Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Christopher Plummer, Charlize Theron and Viola Davis. Topics range from women in films and the quality of films, to Clooney's jobs selling shoes and why Christopher Plummer won't work with Terrence Malick again (long story short: "He needs a writer"). Good stuff!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/24/what-charlize-theron-doesn-t-get-about-black-hollywood.html

No title.

Michael S. — Fri, 27 Jan 12 23:25:44 -0500

You're quite welcome, Christopher! I would note, however, that Thomas M. Disch it is, not Tom Dish. (Tom Disch was his nom de poète.) And do check out the other three "Minnesota" novels if you haven't already.

And it's worth emphasizing that even in the lamest of Sturgeon's books (I'd have cited, oh, "Pruzy's Pot"), one can still find, more often than not, passages of transcendental beauty. I'd argue that's the case with "Godbody".

An answer to Robert Nason

Tim Raven — Fri, 27 Jan 12 22:50:59 -0500

There will always be homeless people. When I was younger and stupider, I tried my best to help a few from that particular subset of America. With that selfless experience in mind, I will confidently say Fuck The Homeless! We should not shrink our efforts of exploration of the Solar System because of goddamn brain challenged muttering asshole lunatics who fucking stink and brandish a fucking cardboard sign and a Starbucks cup. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! All the while talking on a cell phone!!!

Really? Hold back an entire civilization because a bunch of MUTTERING IDIOTS cant get their fucking shit together?

Nope. I dont fucking think so.

And Frank, I am not a damned neocon. Im as liberal as they get.

Rattling along,
Tim Raven

My defiance has become limited

Tim Raven — Fri, 27 Jan 12 22:01:03 -0500

rubber rollers
have been worn to the point
of no return
no manner of fucking chemical
can bring these puppies back.

Metal joints no longer squeak
Because they are that loose
Rattling along

Battery is thrashed
used to last days
but now
ten uninterrupted minutes
is a joyous occasion.

And in One Surprising Moment
I find
That my defiance
has become
limited.

Tim Raven

I kid neither thee nor me

Robert Nason — Fri, 27 Jan 12 21:09:17 -0500

I wasn't being imperial in the least, Ezra. I was simply following Unca Harlan's advice (quoted from his 1984 interview) to "be a bit of a desperado."

Ah, hell -- where's John Campbell when you really need him?

Moonbase Alpha

Ezra — Fri, 27 Jan 12 20:45:07 -0500

What would be the point in spending trillions of dollars to establish a military base (and don't kid yourself it would be military) on the moon? Like the International space station it would cost so much to simply maintain it that it would have no scientific value at all.

Far better for NASA to spend its limited resources on what has really been cost effective and scientifically rewarding. Namely the long succession of robot probes with which we are trully exploring our solar system.

You want to go to the planets and the stars? Then let's invest in energy research, not fruitless imperial chest thumping

No title.

Chuck Messer — Fri, 27 Jan 12 19:46:46 -0500

Happy double nickels to David!

In other news: Have you looked at the night sky lately? It may be a bit late this evening, but tomorrow night you can see Venus, a crescent Moon and Jupiter all in the same sky. That's what can be seen with the naked eye. Uranus and Neptune are there, too, but you need a decent telescope to see them.

Sometimes, all you need to do is look up and wonder.

Chuck

Moon vs. moan colonies

Robert Nason — Fri, 27 Jan 12 19:44:57 -0500

Whatever happned to the forward-looking liberals who rallied behind JFK's challenge to America "to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth before this decade is out"? All the pundits in the mainstream media are mocking Newt Gingrich for stating that as president he'd work to put colonies on the moon." Ha ha, chuckle chuckle, snort snort. How "zany" and "clueless" that Newt is! But Kennedy issues his challenge more than 50 years ago, and within a few years it was accomplished; is it so "zany" to strive to have a moon colony lo these many decades later? Yes, there were liberals back then who said "why put a man on the moon when we should spend all that money feeding the poor, housing the homeless," etc. But those seem to be the ONLY liberals around today. The kind of liberals who will never take a step into the future if it means a penny taken from the poor, who seem to always be with us. In fact, the benefits of space travel have been explored and explained by everyone from Ray Bradbury to Ben Bova and just about the entire SF community, )leaving aside charming curmudgeons like Barry Malzberg). Are liberals going to allow conservatives to carry the banner of space exploration from now on? And puh-LEEZE, don't tell me that "the only reason we went to the moon was to beat the Russians to it" -- you're right, but not entirely. And if you tell me the moon program was all a hoax, I'll suggest you take a nice warm swim in a lake of liquid manure. Hey, Ray, Ray Bradbury -- help me out here!

No title.

Saul Trabal — Fri, 27 Jan 12 19:40:07 -0500

Hi,

Does anyone here know where I could find the full interview Mr. Ellison did for the show Sunday: A Special Edition-where he talked with the host about George Orwell's 1984? I only managed to see the incomplete version off of YouTube, and I haven't been able to find the full interview. It was very interesting.

I loved Susan's review writings,why no stories published?

alan — Fri, 27 Jan 12 18:29:01 -0500

Dennis C.,I can understand your support for Prez. Obama,when it was revealed that Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner wrote his speeches and scripted his appearances down to olympia columns and actors fainting in masses at his new thunk logic of all people of the world coming together and discussing our differrences and then just sorting them out,well,hasn't worked very well for us has it;Arab Summer,Muslim Brotherhood are catch terms that have yet to fully reveal their nature,some shutter,others like yourself BELIEVE. I can understand,RNC has again dragged the swamp and intends again to reach out to players instead of shakers.HPL lived in much stranger times and politics and their parties were talked about much different than now,RNC was trully about Lincoln's dream of equation opportunities,HPL spoke often of this,but to revert his descriptions to todays parties and their politics is useless and not correct.If one goes back 70 or so years the Parties were host to far different nature of politics and Social thunk.Just thought I'd bring up HPL because there was alot of criticism of his words which described the Parties many decades ago when both were very religious in their moderation and unions were the big rallying point.Maybe,Jewish resentment driven by Henry Ford's anti-semite rants to anyone who would publish them.

FFE and Teats

Tom Morgan — Fri, 27 Jan 12 18:21:04 -0500

Susan,
I offered my usual service to Iain, but he found that his local Post Office offered international money orders so he went that route. You should be receiving a check from him shortly.

I missed round 2 at the Cinefamily, as I had a certification exam coming up that Saturday and as usual put off finishing the final project and studying. Glad to hear it went well. I did manage to pass the exam and so am a Certified Labview Associate Developer (CLAD). It may sound impressive, but in the Labview world it means I am qualified to ride with training wheels (and an adult present). These days any feather in the cap of the resume helps.

Since Harlan decided to attend the event to help sell the Glass Teat collection I will add that though I was the one who posted here with "Holy Crap, those are the 2 prices? I'll stick with my paperbacks", you guys just kept chipping away. "Oh, I got mine and it feels so good", "Oh, look at the fancy silk, my daughter says that costs a fortune", "I got mine today and all my hair grew back"... OK, OK, I got the message, sent my check, and am the proud owner of copy #51. Thank you all for talking my cheap ass into it. It is the pride of my book collection.

A good day to all here.

Hey Josh

Jason Michelitch — Fri, 27 Jan 12 18:14:12 -0500

More or less inconsequential question here, but...Hey, Josh Olson - is that your picture on imdb purporting to be a shot of Daniel Waters?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914058/

Did I just call you guys out on a decades-long con of some sort?

No title.

John Sasser — Fri, 27 Jan 12 16:38:14 -0500

Mr Ellison, I am a friend of Arlene and I will call you with her phone number. We've been meaning to call you and set up a lunch or dinner, so looking forward!

No title.

Dave Clarke — Fri, 27 Jan 12 16:35:21 -0500

Harlan, I've read of your deep appreciation for Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy. A lot of people (including me) struggled with Titus Alone, the final novel in the series. Did you also find Titus Alone to be the weakest of the three?

THANK YOU TO HARLAN AND MICHAEL

Christopher Stout — Fri, 27 Jan 12 16:00:09 -0500

Tom Dish it is. I sing a song to you both.

Arlene Martel contact info

a member of the flying blue monkey squadron — Fri, 27 Jan 12 15:51:55 -0500

For information regarding guest appearances, interviews, etc.
Contact Terry Martin at starwebsites@aol.com or 509-525-4387.

Contact Arlene directly at tashawinsnow@gmail.com

Mailing Contact: 2109 S. Wilbur Ave. Walla Walla, WA 99362
E-mail: Time Machine Collectibles order@timem.com
Fax: 509-525-0393

A Magical Mogo's Meal.

Joel Cotter — Fri, 27 Jan 12 15:27:30 -0500

Hi Harlan and Susan,

Longtime reader, first time poster. Many, many thanks for hosting last night's gathering. Fabulous food and sparkling conversation. Tales and times to be cherished. A swell time was had by all. It was a night that I will never forget. Until we meet again, my friends!

Joel

Arlene Martel

Phil Nichols — Fri, 27 Jan 12 15:17:27 -0500

Susan,

I don't know Ms Martel's number, but maybe our mutual acquaintance John Sasser can help. (He accompanied Arlene to the first Cinefamily event, and I believe he contacted Harlan about it before the event.) I've messaged him on Facebook in the hope he will be able to assist.

- Phil

No title.

SUSAN ELLISON — Fri, 27 Jan 12 14:16:07 -0500

We're trying to find a telephone number for the actress Arlene Martel (DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND). Anyone know???

Thanks--Susan

No title.

SUSAN ELLISON — Fri, 27 Jan 12 13:44:42 -0500

Iain--While you work out the finances with the fab Tom, the book has been signed and is on the way to you.

Keith C.--Did you want your copy of SHATTERDAY personalized? Do I have an up-to-date address? Please advise: I have a copy waiting for you.

With kindness--Susan

LAST NIGHT

HARLAN ELLISON — Fri, 27 Jan 12 13:30:42 -0500

Had a really spiffy peachykeen nifty dinner at Mogo's Mongolian Barbeque with Dave Mitchell, Joel Cotter, Erin, and Steve O'Connell (and Steve's friend, Tom) as well as the two brilliant raconteurs Kay Reindl and Nat Segaloff, and, of course, the Most Excellent Susan Ellison, to pay off the bonus dinners that came when they bought Joe Stefko's COMPLEAT GLASS TEAT at the CineFamily event last Thursday. Everyone stuffed his/her gob, and a fine time was had by all. Dave gave me a superior gift, first day covers with errors on them, and we chatted and laughed, and it was a superb get-together.

Thank you, my friends.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

REPLY TO CHRISTOPHER STOUT

HARLAN ELLISON — Fri, 27 Jan 12 12:58:14 -0500

Read the Disch. GODBODY was Ted's lamest book. Disch was always at the top of his form. I've read both, take my nudge on this one.

-he

First World Fantasy Convention recording

mtc — Fri, 27 Jan 12 12:12:19 -0500

the internet archive
http://www.archive.org/details/FirstWorldFantasyConvention1975
"First panel with fantasy & horror authors about how they came to write fantasy and supernatural fiction. Moderated by cartoonist Gahan Wilson, authors include Joseph Payne Brennan, Robert Bloch, Frank Belknap Long and Manly Wade Wellman (speaking in that order). "
"The second and third files are from another panel discussion at the convention, this time about fantasy and supernatural horror publishing. Again moderated by artist & cartoonist Gahan Wilson, the speakers include publisher Donald A. Wollheim and author Robert Bloch."

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Fri, 27 Jan 12 11:48:40 -0500

STEVE at Overland Park, KS- After you said that issue was impossible to find, I Googled Myrddin. Under the title MYRDDIN- ZineWiki- The History and Culture of Zines, there was a short article about the issue, and at the bottom it said, "The master tapes used to produce the Myrddin flexible disc can be accessed at this link." and they give you a symbol to click on. If that still works, presumably you can listen to the Bloch address!

No title.

Bill Mulligan — Fri, 27 Jan 12 06:06:32 -0500

Dennis C says: "But a CBS news poll conducted after the State of the Union last night said that 91% of those polled -- which included Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Democrats -- approved of the proposals Obama recommended in the speech."

I think you are referring to this:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20029581-503544.html

Which is for LAST YEAR'S speech. I'm seeing this mistake all over the web. (And clearly the high marks for that speech did not signal any great uptick in his overall popularity, if one takes the polls seriously.)

On the larger point though, you are correct, never count him out.However mMuch is really out of his control. Should Europe collapse in a big ball of default and recriminations the economic fallout will be brutal and there's little he or anyone can do about it.

Bloch Recording

Steve — Fri, 27 Jan 12 05:53:30 -0500

Joe Wehrle,

I was perfectly happy this morning until I read your post. That recording of Robert Bloch appears to be all but IMPOSIBLE to find. I never knew I wanted it until....

Thanks a lot... No seriously, you have given me a quest. Apparently the issue also centers around Lovecraft. I SHALL find this!!
S

Torn between two masters

Michael S. — Fri, 27 Jan 12 01:33:38 -0500

Christopher Stout:

The answer is clear: read both! Oh, you wanted to know which to read FIRST? That's trickier. You realize "The Priest" is the 3rd of Disch's four-volume "Supernatural Minnesota" series, right? Have you read the first two yet? (My own favorite is the preceding volume, "The M.D.") True, it's not particularly cohesive as a series; one might just as well regard each volume as a stand-alone novel. Still, the pleasures of chronologically following a writer's progress are not to be underestimated. So if you haven't yet begun the series, "Godbody" might be the better choice. An interesting note on that work: within the past year or so, someone writing in "The New York Review of Science Fiction" alluded to a "well-known" rumor that Robert A. Heinlein had "ghost-completed" the novel (as opposed to having merely provided an introduction). Not well known to me, alas, and I haven't been able to uncover anything else on it.

But this, surely, is a knowledgeable crowd....

Harlan mention

Dennis C — Thu, 26 Jan 12 22:37:13 -0500

A mention in the L.A. Times of Harlan's CineFamily Evening:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/01/americas-most-literate-cities-book-news.html

No title.

Diane Bartels — Thu, 26 Jan 12 21:58:19 -0500

Chris, break the stalemate and read more Ellison. Angry Candy is always a good bedtime book. (Diabololical laugh out loud)

Torn Between Sturgeon and Disch. Help!

Christopher Stout — Thu, 26 Jan 12 21:44:26 -0500

Howdy. I'm all knotted up and bitchy because I can't decide what to read. Godbody by Ted Sturgeon or The Priest by Tom Disch. A nudge here or there would be really boss. Thank ya.

Maurice Sendak on The Colbert Report

Robert Morales — Thu, 26 Jan 12 20:38:02 -0500

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406796/january-24-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--1

and

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406902/january-25-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--2

No title.

Steve Barber — Thu, 26 Jan 12 20:00:53 -0500

Congrats on the double nickels, David! May your film never spoil, your camera never jam, and your memory card remain filled with pictures of a life worth living!

My Robert Bloch Encounter

Robert Nason — Thu, 26 Jan 12 14:40:54 -0500

This may sound like small beer, but it meant a lot to me. I was (and am) crazy about Robert Bloch's books, including his underappreciated SF novel SNEAK PREVIEW and chillers like FIREBUG and THE DEADBEAT. I finally met the Master at the 1973 World SF Convention in Toronto. Bloch was exceedingly friendly, gentle, and always funny. He was wearing a dapper white jacket when I approached him and mentioned that my mother had such a revulsion for the movie PSYCHO that she cringed when she saw me reading the novel, so I had to read it under the covers at night with a flashlight. Without missing a beat (dead or otherwise), Bloch replied, "Of course, you could always stuff her and lock her in the fruit-cellar and then read all my books to your heart's content."

No title.

Ezra — Thu, 26 Jan 12 14:29:59 -0500

Two old classics are scheduled to be published in new editions this spring.

There will be a 50th anniversary edition of one of J. G. Ballard's early novels, THE DROWNED WORLD, with an introduction by Martin Amis.

And most exciting of all, a new translation of the Strugatsky brothers' great novel ROADSIDE PICNIC will be issued with an intro from Ursula Le Guin. This was the source material for Andrei Tarkovsky's film STALKER from the Strugatsky's own script.

Really folks sorry to preach but it is one of the scandals of our time that this novel has been out of print for damn near 30 years! In fact all of the Strugatsky's works are impossible to find. I think there's a new movie version coming out which may not be a bad thing because if you read the book you'll find that Tarkovsky's movie is almost a complete revision. We can hope for the best.

Then maybe wonderful books like HARD TO BE A GOD, FAR RAINBOW and DEFINITELY MAYBE will find their way back in print.

REPLY TO DAVID SILVER

HARLAN ELLISON — Thu, 26 Jan 12 13:53:04 -0500

Dear Sparky:

Joyous, sumptuous 55 to you, Sonny. I kvell with unalloyed joy at the uptick in your worldly affairs. And I await patiently the advent of the Great Silver Storyline.

I await.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

No title.

Frank Church — Thu, 26 Jan 12 13:17:45 -0500

David Silver, the cast of Day of the Dead will cater your party, with hot pockets and warm yoohoo. Then a belly dancer that looks like Eve Arden will roll a quarter on her hairy belly and a small rodent will play bugel next to a squirrel playing bongos.

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Thu, 26 Jan 12 12:45:00 -0500

David Silver: I SORT of remember 55. I'll wish you all the best, and maybe somebody will send wishes my way NEXT month. My daughter, my aunt and I all have birthdays within the same 11-day period.
Robert Bloch fans: A very nicely printed little journal, Myrddin Three (from 1976) included a floppy 33rpm vinyl of Bloch's address at the first World Fantasy Convention. The reverse side has a talk by Frank Belknap Long. It says there were a thousand copies printed, all presumably with the record attached, so it shouldn't be impossible to find a copy.

"They say it's yer birthday..."

David Silver — Thu, 26 Jan 12 11:37:35 -0500

Hey, 55 today! Somebody blow me a kiss or reach out for a long range hand shake!

I've been purposefully absent from here for some time. Life is suddenly and remarkably good, for which I an immensely grateful. How long it may last is anybody's guess, but for the past two months I've had more work than I've had in any full year for the past decade. Signs of an economic recovery? Hardly. Just a bit of good luck that I used to my advantage to start a small domino effect of more opportunities. Pushing, pushing, pushing...

Harlan, I'm aware you graciously noted you were on "David Silver time" regarding your commitment to me on that certain project, but I wanted to let you know that I've been striking hard here while the iron is so incredibly hot, so there's been little time for much else. I've planned some much needed R&R for next month, and during that break I'll finish the dirty deed to pass along to you. No problems. I'm excited at the adventure, good, bad, or ugly.

Until then, everybody be good.

Remember, the ugliest man in science fiction is watching...

No title.

Billy Ray Olsen — Wed, 25 Jan 12 19:38:53 -0500

Gee Thanks, Unca Harlan!

For the permission, and for the very kind $10 words.

Like my silver-haired Pop always said; "All you gotta do is ask. The worst thing I'll say is No."

Between you, Seka, and the cast of 'Day of the Dead', we're getting one helluva cheering section...

Hope you're feeling better. Dobbs bless.

(I miss 'Dinosaurs', too.)

No title.

Tony Ravenscroft — Wed, 25 Jan 12 19:13:50 -0500

I'm also fighting the Martian Death Flu, though desperately pushing back the worst battle for the weekend when I'm able to properly feel sorry for myself. I swiped the name from a long-ago Dave Barry piece that I've probably read a couple hunnerd times, & ALWAYS makes me laugh.

http://www.radford.edu/~ibarland/Public/Humor/DaveBarry/flu

"Earnest is our dog. She senses instantly that something is wrong, and guided by that timeless and unerring nurturing instinct that all female dogs have, she tries to lick my ears off."

There must be life on other planets, because one civilization is living in my sinuses & rapidly approaching their Industrial Age....

State of the Union

Dennis C — Wed, 25 Jan 12 19:12:53 -0500

Don't want to start a whole political discussion on Harlan's site.
But a CBS news poll conducted after the State of the Union last night said that 91% of those polled -- which included Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Democrats -- approved of the proposals Obama recommended in the speech.
Don't count him out. I know a ton of people who are voting for him and I'm one of 'em.

No title.

DC5 — Wed, 25 Jan 12 18:18:28 -0500

Alan, Robert Bloch and H.P. Lovecraft never met in person. Lovecraft also never met Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, nor most of the rest of his rather large group of correspondents.

No title.

Diane Bartels — Wed, 25 Jan 12 18:04:50 -0500

Alan, just out of the idles curiousity, what flavor of alcohol do you imbibe on such a regular basis?

No title.

Rob — Wed, 25 Jan 12 17:54:46 -0500

Since the subject of the great Carroll O'Conner popped up the other day, these gems are some of my favorite Archie Bunker quotes:

Archie: "...That's why ya' cave women had short legs and fat butts, so that they couldnt run fast and the cavemen could catch em and hit em on the head wit a club."
Mike: "uh huh ... weren't there any women with long legs and skinny butts?"
Archie: "Yes, dem ya' had to bring down wit a rock."
Mike: "Weren't there any men with short legs and fat butts back then? What became of them?"
Archie: "Well, dems was probly yer foist fags."

Men gets these here, waddya call, surges, where the chromostones are burlin' over.

Lemme give ya a little history lesson, perfessor. Ya don't know nuttin' about Lady Liberty standin' dere in da harbor, wit' her torch on high, callin' out to alla nations of da woild: 'Send us ya poor, ya deadbeats, ya filthy'. An' dey all come over hear, dey come swarmin' in like ants. Ya Spanish P.R.s, from da Cariboo-in dere, ya Japs an' ya Chinamen, ya Krauts an' ya Hebes an' ya English fags. An' dey're all here, where dey're all free to live in deir own separate sections, where dey feel safe an' dey bust ya head if ya go in dere. Dat's what makes America great, buddy!

If God gets sore enough at you, he could turn your jawbone into an ass.

It ain't supposed to make sense; it's faith. Faith is something that you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe.

I'm gonna be incrimated when I die....they're gonna keep the ashes around the house in one of them silver urinals.

Homo sapiens....that's a killer fag!

California is the home of where is gonna occur the world's worst cat-a-strofe....sittin' on a shelf out there.....3 states on that shelf, California, Oregon & Missouri. The day of the biggest earthquake....those 3 states are gonna be shoved right offa that shelf there. They call that the "Continental Divide" ...The Pope knew about this years ago. He said it was St. Andrew's fault.

Penny for your thoughts.

alan — Wed, 25 Jan 12 17:09:00 -0500

Yes Rob,it was a good speech;the best money can buy. This is a man who has the most sought after tweeter accounts.He has no chance of winning again,his words are just that now,words.No emotional impact will register again,no more Black teens and young adults are going to believe there will no longer be car and house payments for the poor,the only overwhelmed and out of breath attendee at an Obama speech is the security guard having to listen to yet another excuse as to why Obama couldn't make compromise and bring the parties together.I can only remember one Prez. in my lifetime who took more vacations back to back,that was Reagan during Iran/Contra hearings.Obama has only one chance,and that is to replace Biden with Oprah or Hillary. Even to accept the fact he didn't create this economy,no rational person can deduct Obama has put efforts of introducing ideas outside the realm of ballooning further the national debt.

Steve,yes it was a blast to meet Robert Bloch god,for a second a vision came into my mind of a obit. Harlan wrote of Mr.Bloch for Lotus Magazine,wow,gotta shake it off. There was a bootlegger in NYC about ten years ago,I saw the list of recordings,they had dozens of Bloch radio shows,never knew he did so many,didn't buy any and can't remember their name,sorry.

I am rather curious if anyone here has read anywhere whether Mr. Bloch has ever met H.P. Lovecraft? I know they wrote to each other late in Lovecrafts life,but curious if they ever visited each other.

Tết + 2

Le — Wed, 25 Jan 12 13:47:04 -0500

"The Tet offensive had begun and Saigon was burning."

Still celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Got to read (and re-read) a bunch of graphic novels since Monday. I finally read ALMIGHTY (recommended by Patton Oswalt). Also read DAYTRIPPER and REVOLVER, both of which I loved, and DAYTRIPPER especially so.

And I re-read these ABANDONED CARS (not really a graphic novel by a collection of thematically-linked "Illustories") and GHOST WORLD.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Went to see A SEPARATION for the third time. I am Farsi-challenged, and I am sure I missed some of the nuances and puns by having to rely on the English subtitles; however, I think they were probably are very close approximation of the original meanings. One heck of a screenplay. Great acting. Great, complex story. Even though the filmmakers were very even-handed in presenting all sides, I discovered how strong my class and (anti-) religious prejudices were while watching this film. That open-ended final scene still affects me deeply. It reminds me of that Elvis (who is also lovingly remembered in one of the "Illustories" ion ABANDONED CARS mentioned earlier) song called "Separate Ways," where he sings the following near the end:

Some day when she's older, maybe she will understand
Why her mom and dad are not together
The tears that she will cry when I have to say goodbye
Will tear at my heart forever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgCAteSu-IU

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the Tarkovsky fans out there, there is a book next month coming out examining ZONA / STALKER. It's called ZONA; A BOOK ABOUT A FILM ABOUT A JOURNEY TO A ROOM by Geoff Dyer. It's been getting a lot of advance praise, and I already pre-ordered my copy.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I finally got to watch the 10-part mini-series called THE PACIFIC over the last couple of days. I personally found it a lot more involving and intimate that BAND OF BROTHERS, which was also produced bv HBO, $pielberg & Co. The casting was excellent, and I really liked the choice of Joseph Mazzello to play Eugene B. Sledge (November 4, 1923 March 3, 2001). Sledge's wartime memoir, WITH THE OLD BREED; AT PELELIU AND OKINAWA, on which this mini-series was partly based, is a masterpiece, a book I have read several times.

I really liked the Peleliu landing sequence. As the men are in their amphibious LVTs, this incredible white light floods the space as the bow ramp of the LCI opens and goes down into the water. The camera assumes their point of view, and slowly fading into view within the white space in front of them is the chaotic scene bombing and bullets ripping through the ai during this landing sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqnqLblyNa4

One thing I did not like is how the changed one aspect of the harvesting of gold teeth from the dead -- and dying -- Japanese by the Marines. In Sledge's book, he is originally horrified and sickened by it. Then later, he finds himself wanting to participate in the same trophy collecting, when a medic stops him and says he should want no part of it. The "artistic license" used by the makers of this mini-series in altering this scene I do not feel contributed to it in a meaningful way, and I can understand now why writers get pissed when people muck around with their words.

The ending of the series is beautifully done, very poignant. Sledge is back in the US, lying in the grass and holding a flower as he looks up at it against the blue sky and blazing sun above. Han's Zimmer's stirring, moving score fills the scene. Sledge gets up and walks up the grassy hill and the screen fades to white before he is out of frame...The lovely score continues into the end credits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8dfJy6h30

BLOCH

Steve — Wed, 25 Jan 12 12:50:58 -0500

Alan, Me too!
Bloch is one of those writers (like our esteemed host) that I read, re-read, read again and then think about the stories for days. I am green with envy that you actually got to meet the man. I started reading him fairly late in his carrer and have been working my way back to the beginning. (Fear Planet was AWESOME.) Absolutely one of my favorite writers. Hope I am not out of line posting this un-official website
http://mgpfeff.home.sprynet.com/bloch.html

S
Harlan, hope you kicked that Martian Flu!!!

No title.

Frank Church — Wed, 25 Jan 12 09:50:14 -0500

Sargeant Carter just slapped Pyle in the puss so hard that Pyle did a perfect slam dance agin one of dem San Diego palm trees--you know, the ones that are always sickly and brown.

Billy Ray, you got skills.

Shatterday, Hard Cover.

Iain Aitken — Wed, 25 Jan 12 07:31:42 -0500

Dear Harlan or Susan,

I have sent a MoneyGram to you for the sum of $27, with a little luck you should receive it in the very near future. It was about the only way I could find to get funds to you and I hope that it will be satisfactory. I should also say that I had a very kind offer from a very kind chap by the name of Tom Morgan to use Paypal and his personal bank account to get the funds to you. That man is a true gentleman.

As I stated earlier, the book is not for me, but is in fact for my boss, who is leaving to pastures new. If it would be possible, could it have a small dedication in it to Bob McFarlane, wishing him the best for the future. He is a really terrific chap and has been a huge influence on me professionally in the short time I have known him.

The delivery address is as follows.

Iain Aitken
49 Georgetown Road
Dumfries DG1 4DD
Scotland

Once again, I hope this all goes smoothly, as sending a money order seems to have become a real pain in the backside in recent years. Undoubtedly this is due to the all-encompassing power of the dreaded internet and Paypal.

If there are any problems at all, please post here. I visit just about every day as part of my daily routine.

Thank you.

Iain Aitken

REPLY TO BILLY RAY

HARLAN ELLISON — Tue, 24 Jan 12 21:14:06 -0500

Dear Hand-Up-Me:

Knock yerself out, Sport. I thought your troupe was fresh-faced, charmingly impertinent, indefatigable and just yank mah teeth wunnerful. You can tell the world, if you so desire.

Yr. amused fan, Harlan

pen twitch

Dr. Kildare — Tue, 24 Jan 12 21:11:29 -0500

Remember Mucho Grande bedrest, chicken soup, Vitamin C and zinc, Unk. Didn't autograph receivers supply their own pens? Those scribes may have been the culprits, even after who-knows-what-contact-points at Pink's. What a night!
Pink's still has the best dogs, though...

No title.

Rob — Tue, 24 Jan 12 19:12:55 -0500

Alan: it happens to be a damn good speech!

I just sent the White House a message imploring Obama to stick to the message in his speech and not roll over to the Right anymore, whose interest is solely in dismembering all those things so many fought and died for since 1900, from regulation and forming unions to the civil rights legislation of the 1960's. We need to believe in our president so that we can believe in ourselves. Obama has to bolster and maintain his credibility.

Just saw something a bit off

alan — Tue, 24 Jan 12 19:06:02 -0500

Before the Prez. started blabbering;on the ticker tape below,almost lightning fast,a report,have found it no where else;it read..."Scientist working with cryogenics are close to introducing to Health clinics a method of sustaining and reviving stem cell and eggs from female ovary for transplant into another individual"

I sat up,shook my head,it really is going to happen.

A request from one of the unwashed masses

Billy Ray Olsen — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

First time caller, long time lurker here.

(And I hope you're feeling better real soon, Unca Harlan.)

My pals and I have a little puppet troupe called Angry Young Men Ltd; our claim to fame (or a reasonable facsimile of) is a humble production called 'Night of the Living Dead - the Puppet Show'. So far, we do an annual Halloween extravaganza here in town. We also perform at Horror conventions in the region. Our show KILLS with that crowd, and the good folks we meet from the Romero films treat us as if we're doing the Lord's Own Work.

(I'm digressing, but there's an eventual point. And only one shot a day to do this)

Fall of 2010, we were able to meet the HE, hisself, at MadCon. I got the chance to shake the hand of my Favorite Living Author and thank him for all the swell stories. In the process my mates and I even managed to have a few cheap laughs with the man. Heckuva guy, helluva day.Later, on this exact same site (9/28,just did the research), we were referred to by Mr. Ellison as "enormously witty and engaging". It makes for a great story, and segues to me here, hat in hand.

Anyways, my point...our little puppet posse is beginning to get some attention (and/or assorted sniffing around) from Big Showbiz. I'd like to be able to name drop/quote said Favorite Living Author in any interviews or articles that'll come up. (And they're beginning to come up - I can't say more 'bout that due to non-disclosure hoopla)I know how this works. So I am here to ask permission, knowing that "No" means No, and no-answer-at-all also means No.

Fair 'nuff.

No title.

Michael Rapoport — Tue, 24 Jan 12 17:06:51 -0500

I too think Patton Oswalt was robbed when he was denied an Oscar nomination, but at least he's putting the snub to good use. He had a very funny series of tweets earlier today, riffing on trying to drown his sorrows along with other snub-ees:

http://twitter.com/PattonOswalt

No title.

C. Cooper — Tue, 24 Jan 12 16:31:43 -0500

I thought Harlan might find this recent quote from Leonard Cohen about his own struggles against clinical depression of interest. It is from an interview in The Guardian, occasioned by the release this month of Cohen's latest album "Old Ideas":

"When I speak of depression," Cohen says carefully, "I speak of a clinical depression that is the background of your entire life, a background of anguish and anxiety, a sense that nothing goes well, that pleasure is unavailable and all your strategies collapse. I'm happy to report that, by imperceptible degrees and by the grace of good teachers and good luck, that depression slowly dissolved and has never returned with the same ferocity that prevailed for most of my life."

No title.

lonegungirl — Tue, 24 Jan 12 12:02:30 -0500

Saw this up on Facebook today, and thought of HE:

‎"If you're good at something, never do it for free." - The Joker in Legendary Entertainment's Batman: The Dark Knight

So sorry you're down with the plague--I haven't come down with anything...yet...so at least I know I wasn't Patient Zero. Feel better!

No title.

Frank Church — Tue, 24 Jan 12 10:57:19 -0500

Harlan, will you quit getting sick! Why do you worry me so!

Clear snot in excess my leige.

----------

I plead ignorance on the Hitchcock vibe. I just like his movies.

The art is more important than the artist.

I trusted Rob's expertise, which he has none.

Patton Oswalt

Dennis C — Tue, 24 Jan 12 10:20:25 -0500

Patton will be hosting the Annie Awards (for animation):

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/patton-oswalt-annie-awards-host-284058

He did not, however, get an Oscar nomination. Damn the Academy!

RIF

the Shadow — Tue, 24 Jan 12 02:45:39 -0500

Further proof that ReadingIsFundamental (RIF):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/30/humans-hardwired-read-books?INTCMP=SRCH

Martian Death Flu

Phil Nichols — Tue, 24 Jan 12 00:32:06 -0500

Get well soon, HE. Perhaps watching the live stream on the web was the best thing to do, given the spread of the dreaded lurgy at the real event.

- Phil

No title.

Chuck Messer — Mon, 23 Jan 12 21:28:00 -0500

So I'm watching a rerun of Criminal Minds while pre-sorting the night's paperwork and I hear this: "Author Harlan Ellison wrote, The minute people fall in love, they become liars."

Nothing Earth-shaking. Nothing profound. Just an instance where someone found Harlan quotable on national TV.

Perhaps a little Vick's Vap-O-Rub for the soul of someone who's a little under the weather.

Chuck

Shatterday

Keith Cramer — Mon, 23 Jan 12 20:24:47 -0500

Susan,

Can you put me down for a Shatterday? Will send check as soon as I hear confirmation.

Harlan, feel better soon.

-Keith

No title.

Tony Rabig — Mon, 23 Jan 12 20:14:17 -0500

Never had the pleasure of meeting Robert Bloch, but loved his work for some time before I started taking note of the names on tv and movie scripts.

It was Thriller that did it for me; watched that series when it first aired -- I'd have been 11 or 12 at the time, and the episodes from Bloch's stories (among them "The Hungry Glass," "The Weird Tailor," and "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper") stayed with me for good. When the series was finally released on DVD I bought it immediately; those episodes still hold up nicely. Wonderfully creepy stuff. And Thriller's adaptations of stories by Woolrich, Fredric Brown, and Robert E. Howard aren't too dusty either.

Bests to all,
--tr

My love for Robert Bloch,in tears.

alan — Mon, 23 Jan 12 20:00:34 -0500

I met him once and had gotten three postcards from this american treasure.I had met him in Los Angeles at a horror convention and I must have been 17 and he had this long cigarette holder sticking out of his mouth,menacing persona I imagined after reading all those short stories.Turned out to to be kinda humble and when looking you straight in the eye,almost studied every word you chose to convey.I shook his hand and said to him I thought many of his stories would induce greater terror in his readers if he made them into novellas.He just said thank you and asked me if I would like to read a story he started that morning,two pages were typed,don't remember if there was a heading,never saw it published,as I read it.He will always be my favorite writer.

No title.

Rob — Mon, 23 Jan 12 19:51:04 -0500

Hey, Harlan - I didn't mean to toss that postscript in your face so abruptly! I scrolled fast past your comments, only picking up a few sentences, MISSING where you said you were sick! I'd have held off till much later. Sorry about that. But at least I'm done with the subject, anyway.

FEEL better, PLEASE!

No title.

Rob — Mon, 23 Jan 12 18:48:36 -0500

And don't forget, Hitchcock also did The Lodger, The Ring, Champagne, Murder!, and Blackmail. Inquam haud magis!

I'M MUCH CALMER NOW

HARLAN ELLISON — Mon, 23 Jan 12 18:42:18 -0500

....and I apologize for overreactions. (Precisely, that's an impossibility of subjective verbality. One can only "react." One reading such fulmination may not like it; but it cannot--specifically, truly--be such a thing as an "overreaction." That which is, is. It ain't "over" anything.)

Ohgawwwwwd, I feel akin to a desert-trapped prairie dawg, yawnked untimely from his soggy siesta, hung up by the tail with a clothespin from a hemp line, and beaten with a basting implement till his piss runs scarlet. The Martian Death Flu.

Ask your local retailer. Discuss with your medical basting implement dispenser if symptoms continue.

Thank you all for your swell compliments on the Evening. Len Wein, Josh Olson, Patton Oswalt, Jordan and the CineFamily Crew were spectacular. I was happy as a clam in a bucket of fresh buttered steamers.

Yr. Pal, Aaaaaaaaaarghhhhh.

No title.

Robert Nason — Mon, 23 Jan 12 17:30:27 -0500

Harlan -- The word which leapt off the screen at me in your latest posting was: Mucinex! That's what I've been guzzling the past few days. Believe it or not, I also caught a nasty cold on Friday and I'm still suffering. And I wasn't even shaking hands with anyone. I'm already sick of the tea, juice, chicken soup, and constant fatigue, but not too sick to appreciate the knowledge and hard-won wisdom of your observations about he-who-will-remain-unmentioned. You were also funny as hell, as you invariably are when you're blood is up. Indignation and hilarity is your speciality, in addition to being toally right about those two films whose names we will not mention either. I'm gonna go rent a Kurosawa film.

No title.

JohnEWilliams — Mon, 23 Jan 12 17:29:23 -0500

Dear Harlan,

I am sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I will tread as carefully as I can. That said:

My Carroll O' Connor comment was a JOKE, a WISECRACK, and a GOOF. It was meant as a wry response to all the oh-so-serious Hitchcock arguing going on hereabouts. I picked O'Connor because of Patton's hilarious description of THE GLASS TEAT, and because I assumed said reference would be enough of a non sequitur to engender a small chuckle or two. I was dead wrong, and sorry about that, I will work forthwith on my material. But I ain't on no horse, white or otherwise. I loved ALL IN THE FAMILY and HEAT OF THE NIGHT and I understand Mr. O'Connor was a terrific guy. And frankly, I probably would have forgotten I even made that dopey post, is how much I took it seriously. I sure as hell wish I could forget I made it now.

RE: SHATTERDAY

SUSAN ELLISON — Mon, 23 Jan 12 17:06:26 -0500

Apologies for a very late posting.

Regarding SHATTERDAY.

We do have them for sale. Mint. Hardcover. Houghton Mifflin. 3rd printing. 1980. $22.00.
Plus CA tax and shipping ($5.00).

Address:
The Kilimanjaro Corporation
Post Office Box 55548
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413.

If you need a catalogue. Send SASE to the above address.

Again, my apologies.

Susan

REPLY TO PAUL ANDERSON

HARLAN ELLISON — Mon, 23 Jan 12 16:50:46 -0500

Paul:

If you use the stuff, please use tha following:

Material supplied by Harlan Ellison. Copyright c 2012 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation. All rights reserved.

If you use my name in the acknowledgments, no Trademark r (inside a bullet) is necessary. If used in a "display" manner, yes, please, if you would be so kind.

Send whatever you wish to send. My words. They go right into the archive, if you send me the pub date of said items reaching you.

Gld I could be of some small assistance in this crue-ell world.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

GEEZUS KEEERIST!!!!!! calm down!!!!!!!!

HARLAN ELLISON — Mon, 23 Jan 12 16:20:56 -0500

Listen: I'm sick as a dog. At least one or more of the 500-600 people I shook hand with, and got sneezed upon by, gave me the Martian Death Flu last Thursday late-day/night. I was squiffy by Friday; Saturday coughing, on m y backside, and in serious pain; yesterday out so completely--backed up in fear by the paranoia of my actual illness--that I spent half the day in tears and thought I was gonna die. Just plotz. Boom. Gone, at last. I'm better today, thank you very much. Today I comehere and read what precedes. Boy, I am pissed, visitors to my drawing-room. P.I.S.S.E.D.O.F.F. to the max. I'll get to you in a minute, John E. Williams.

Majorly cut the crap about Hitchcock. I WORKED that show, remember?

The brains was Norman Lloyd, not fatso. Joan Harrison was the other lobe of the brain. Not...oh, fuckit!

I will not defend saying that Hitchcock used a bogus stalking-horse company to get PSYCHO from Bob Bloch (who, at the time, was writing ad copy for a pittance in Wisconsin to put food on the table for his kid and his desperately ill first wife) for under a thousand bucks. Hitchcock did it, not Universal, not all the thieves who used PSYCHO for shitty sequels, it was HITCHCOCK himself!!! He set up a stalking-horse phony judasgoat production company for one purpose only, to GET THAT BOOK which Joe fuckin' Stefano took all the credit for--so don't start chirpimg about Joe Stefano to me, NOT HERE YOU DON'T -- that hack sonofabitch's son married my ex-fourth wife--don't tell me how much I'm supposed to love the first year of OUTER LIMITS--Stefano hated me because his year got shit on and damn-near canceled by ABC, and MY scripts kept it on a year longer! Hitchcock fuckin' STOLE IT, and Bob didn't like it, never liked it, but was too fine a gentleman to grouse about it, and Norman Lloyd didn't like it, and no amount of work that Joan and dear Norman gave Bob--because he was GOOD, you ass-kissing Hitchcock obsessives--not because Hitchcock felt remorse--because he was GOOD--one of the finest suspense writers in the goddam world--none of what Bob clawed out with both hands without another feature assignment from fatface made up for the fact that Mr. Great Director Of The Universal sold PSYCHO to Universal for millions, which MADE BILLIONS, and even had the chutzpah to let that shithead Gus Van Sant remake it, shot for shot shot shot, not to mention all the sequels...from which Bob never got a penny.....awwww, fuckit!

I will not apologize, and if you ever wanna see my words here again, you'll stop exonerating a bloviating gasbag thief on this site, who screwed one of the greatest men who ever lived to burnissh his own iconography, just because YOU like goin' tuh thuh moom pitchuhz.

There is truth, and there is internet bullshit from faraway opinionaters.

That's you.

I have sat long and close and spoken about Hitchcock to his daughter Pat, to Joan, to Norman, and even to Ernie Lehman who wrote NORTH BY NORTHWEST for "the great creator." I've even had long talks with Robert Ellenstein, whom I knew as far back as when I was a child actor at the Cleveland Playhouse...who appears as one of James Mason's side-boys, who kidnaps Cary Grant in the film, about working for Hitchcock. Universal loved him but he was not, was NOT universally loved by many people who worked with him, including Tippi, who had trouble keeping his sausage fingers out of her underpants!

So don't not even BE at the evening, NOT hear what I said, and start all this shitheaded apologia for Hitchcock. Not here, muthuhfuggahs, NOT HERE! Go to fuckin' Cahiers du Cinema where they pray to his buddhalike flatulence, but NOT HERE! Not in my face. You've got the entire internet to cum all over, don't beat it off here. NOT HERE!

And...

John E. Williams:

Get down off your white horse. Carroll O'Connor, a friend of mine, was not dissed. At all. By anyone. He was mentioned once, in passing, along with thousands of other reference names from the period of his show. No dissing. What you got third hand is a pain in the ass, and just plain WRONG.

Thank you all for the compliments, but compared to Robert Bloch, Hitchcock was a brigand. It was, indeed, a golden hoot of a night, but what I found here preceding, has raised both my ire and my temperature.

Now, I go back to the Kleenex, the Mucinex, and certain death.

Walk softly around me for a few days, mates, I will brook no more of this ooooooohitchcock-is-my-blood-and-butter. Bite me, you ignormamuses. Remember he also made TOPAZ and MARNIE.

Cheerily, Yr. Sick Pal, Harlan

A HOLLER TO HARLAN (Rejection Letters)

Paul Anderson — Mon, 23 Jan 12 16:06:33 -0500

Harlan,

Got the letters today in the mail...then promptly read them to my wife. They're perfect. Thank you.

When I'm writing the acknowledgements page, I wish to mention you. Now, I know you registered your name with the Kilimanjaro Corporation--do I need to mention this on the copyright page--which I've seen other publications do, when reprinting or publishing a story of yours?

Actually--that's putting the cart before the horse; MAY I put your name in the acknowledgements over these templates?

Further, would you like a copy of TORN REALITIES when finished?

Thanks again, Harlan.

Cheers,

Paul

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Walken-style

Jerry Seward — Mon, 23 Jan 12 15:59:43 -0500

An actor friend (NOT Walken) did this... wanted to share and see what everyone thinks:

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

Jerry

Hitchcock vs.Writers

Mike Doran — Mon, 23 Jan 12 14:58:02 -0500

Just wondering ...

With all the hue and cry about what Hitchcock did to Chandler's writing on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, I wonder why nobody said anything about SOAT's original author, Patricia Highsmith?
My understanding (possibly mistaken - I'll have to recheck my books at home) was that Ms. Highsmith didn't particularly care for Chandler's version of her work, or of Hitchcock's either for that matter.

Anyway, if you're really interested about how Hitchcock worked with writers, see if you can find a copy of HITCH AND ME, a chapbook by Evan Hunter in which he recounts his experiences on THE BIRDS and MARNIE.

As to the TV series, Hitchcock left that entirely in the hands of a chain of command led by Joan Harrison, later by Norman Lloyd. Harlan's episode came during the show's last season. meaning he would have worked with Mr. Lloyd, of whom I've never heard or read a negative word.

I recall reading an interview with Robert Bloch recounting his work on the Hitchcock TV series, giving full credit for its quality to that chain of command, with a nod to Hitchcock for giving them free rein.

No title.

Rob — Mon, 23 Jan 12 11:20:25 -0500

Charlie: "I can see how these internet rumors get started."

Absolutely. Thanks for the clarification.

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Le — Mon, 23 Jan 12 10:39:18 -0500

In Vietnam, it is called "Tết." In FULL METAL JACKET, at that editorial meeting, someone said, "The Tet holiday's like the Fourth of July, Christmas and New Year all rolled into one."

It's pouring and cold now. After getting off from work this morning, it would have been lovely to have stopped at that incredible vegan Vietnamese restaurant out here in the Valley, but it is closed today like most Vietnamese businesses are.

Instead, I am celebrating at home and just poured myself a snifter of "Akhtamar" Armeninan brandy (aged 10 years), and letting it work its magic over me while listening to some of my favorite music.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Still feeling the high from last Thursday night at CineFamily. I have been having moments here and there since where I am overcome with emotion at the thought that I got to meet Harlan Ellison in person again after so many years....

No title.

Dave Martens — Mon, 23 Jan 12 09:59:39 -0500

Charlie just nailed it. My take is that Carroll O'Connor's name was dropped by Patton Oswalt as an icon of the Teat columns' time period (but "analysis of comedy" by me is certainly a goon's game). Other names quickly bubbled up as well -- yet more importantly were those of authors Gerald Kersh and Paul Di Filippo.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Watched THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS over the weekend and enjoyed it. Good supplemental materials. I'm not one for overdriven CGI, as in I, ROBOT and VAN HELSING (both from 2004 -- ah ha!), but in this film most everything seemed to work.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Patton Oswalt's "It Was That Goddamned Eye Roll"

From a newsboard across the pond in King Crimson Land, I just picked up on the link to Patton Oswalt's well-written take on "culture jammers" here, those humanoids with disruptive recording handhelds. Spot on, Thursday night as he approached the Cinefamily stage! Harlan's "Xenogenesis" is mentioned for suggested reading:

http://www.pattonoswalt.com/

Carroll O'Connor

Charlie — Mon, 23 Jan 12 07:34:31 -0500

Unclear if the two COC concerns came from my earlier post. Just to be clear, neither Harlan nor Patton (nor Josh) dissed on COC. Patton was just joking when he said something to the effect that he didn't want to dish out 1500 bucks to read about Harlan bitching about COC. Patton was just joking, joshing, making a funny. In fact, the one and only place I found in TGT where Harlan mentions COC, p. 123 (7 March 1969 installment), he PRAISES his performance. I can see how these internet rumors get started. Sorry for any confusion.

Ten Bits of Advice Writers Should Stop Giving Aspiring Writers

Scott Levin — Mon, 23 Jan 12 05:35:17 -0500

Nick Mamatas nails it: http://nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com/1732344.html

Mister We Could Use A Man

JohnEWilliams — Mon, 23 Jan 12 04:40:15 -0500

Enough about Hitchcock. I'm still mad about Carroll O'Connor getting dissed.

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Sun, 22 Jan 12 18:31:47 -0500

Robert Ervin Howard was born 106 years ago today, people. Let us, with a mighty oath, raise a foaming tankard to his memory!

No title.

Saul Trabal — Sun, 22 Jan 12 17:30:59 -0500

Robert Nason:

"I urge everyone to listen to Stephen Wyatt's superb BBC radio play STRANGERS ON A FILM, with Patrick Stewart playing Chandler."

I did indeed listen to it-a kind person "across the pond" sent me links to her personal web page for me to download this BBC podcast among others that I missed. Excellent. Simply excellent. I was listening to it this evening while house-cleaning.

I wish I could have joined everyone at Harlan's get-together, but I'm on the other side of the country-nor was I able to view the webcast. Ah well.

No title.

Steven Dooner — Sun, 22 Jan 12 14:05:56 -0500

Without thinking, I violated the two posts rule. My apologies to Harlan, Rick and everyone here. I will absent myself from your felicity for a few days.

No title.

Steven Dooner — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

Brad,

Have I ever seen LIFEBOAT? Yes. Have you ever read Steinbeck's objections to what Hitchcock did to it? Even the quote you use from Robin Wood calls the character a "Nazi." It's just not what Steinbeck intended. As a matter of fact, I happen to like Slezak's performance very much. I even like Canada Lee's performance, though I recognize that the dialogue was not what it could have been.

I think of LIFEBOAT as a very good movie, but I entertain the possibility that it might have been much more, if Hitch had listened to Steinbeck's suggestions. But the original idea for the screenplay was Hitchcock's after all, and Steinbeck was the man he hired to write it. So, we get what we get.

Second, though I might not choose to watch BLUE DAHLIA over STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, I would watch DOUBLE INDEMNITY over both. In your zeal to religiously defend Hitchcock on all his actions everywhere, why do you need to dis a great writer like Chandler, a man who Faulkner and many others admired?

In both my posts, I have gone out of my way to say that Hitchcock created many great films. But he also collaborated with many writers and artists who were, perhaps, occasionally treated poorly. I offer you only how he was perceived by two very famous writers who worked with him. I don't think you can entirely discount these writer's objections when considering these films. But he could collaborate, you know. He seemed to work well enough with Bernard Herrmann, until their famous break up over the score for THE TORN CURTAIN.

THE REVENGER'S TRAGEDY and THE HECATOMMITHI were so famous that Shakespeare was undoubtedly imping his wing on those earlier deceased writers. But Shakespeare, in the end, did the heavy lifting when it came to writing the thousands of lines of blank verse or conceiving of a character like Hamlet (as far from Kyd's Hieronymo as can be imagined). He did not need to borrow his verse from his source stories. But, in your comparison, I would think Bloch closer to Shakespeare as he delved into the source reports on Ed Gein to create an entirely original play. Hitchcock, who needed to rely on screenwriters, cinematographers, editors, set designers, and composers would come off more as Hemmings or Condell. But such a comparison is obviously flawed, because it would deny Hitchcock's unquestioned talent for scenic rhythm, cutting and tension that make his movies unique.

Steve Dooner

Hitch without the cock

Robert Nason — Sun, 22 Jan 12 12:51:45 -0500

I'm delighted that I managed to instigate such a lively discussion about Hitchcock and the roles of the director and writer in filmmaking. In any event, I never claimed that Hitchcock was a nice guy; just read Donald Spoto's Hitch bio "THE DARK SIDE OF GENIUS" to see just what a nasty piece of work he could be (though some of Spoto's claims have been disputed). As for Hitchcock's work with Raymond Chandler, I urge everyone to listen to Stephen Wyatt's superb BBC radio play STRANGERS ON A FILM, with Patrick Stewart playing Chandler. (It's no longer available on the BBC Radio 4 website, but I'm sure the resourceful folks here can find it somewhere.) Hitchcock and Chandler profoundly disagreed about certain key elements of the characters and story, so they ultimately parted ways. It's not unusual in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter.

Frank -- I'm still trembling at the thought we're on the same page!

Gentlemen Broncos

Evan John — Sun, 22 Jan 12 12:28:58 -0500

Harlan,

Just watched the movie "Gentlemen Broncos" last night. It's a bizarre story about a teen that writes science fiction fantasy and has one of his books plagiarized by a popular author.

Anyway, the the red jellyfish and centaur cover of "Medea: Harlan's World" appears in the beginning credits as the backdrop for the title of the movie--I actually stopped the movie and rewound it because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Just curious if you had seen the movie or if you had anything to do with the inclusion of that cover.

Yr. Fan, Evan

No title.

Ben Winfield — Sun, 22 Jan 12 11:12:45 -0500

"So, I suppose it is not natural that the great director, who had already dismantled the screenplays of two legendary writers, should care about the fair treatment of a third, Robert Bloch. However, after all the accolades Hitch accepted in respect to that PSYCHO, one wonders if he was a complete sociopath or if he had nights of fitful sleep about the man who actually wrote the script for his great film."

Perhaps there's a depressing truth at the core of this; only a complete sociopath can be a world-class director. (Heck, Hitch felt the scene of Sean Connery raping Tippi Hedren in MARNIE wouldn't alienate audiences from Connery's character at all, simply because...uhm, he's Sean Connery.)

Nevertheless, I don't feel inclined to believe that being a dickhead is always necessarily a prerequisite to being a good director. Hell, Jonathan Frakes was able to coax commendable performances out of Brian Dennehy and John Hurt in THE DISCARDED without "treating them like cattle".

Maybe it all depends on the scale of your project. Only a raving egomaniac like James Cameron would have the unhinged self-confidence and gung-ho machismo to plant a flag at the top of the usual mountain of chaos that surrounds a gargantuan film production, although I always prefer Terry Gilliam's brand of insanity to Cameron's. AVATAR was in and out of my head after twenty-four hours; THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS has lingered for years.

No title.

Brad Stevens — Sun, 22 Jan 12 10:51:52 -0500

Steven Dooner -

"Steinbeck had also written the part of a strong German for Walter Slezak, and Hitch changed him into a psychotic, evil Nazi"

Have you ever actually seen LIFEBOAT?! Hitchcock's whole point is that Slezak's character isn't a psychotic, evil Nazi, but, on the contrary, the most calmly reasonable person on the lifeboat, as well as the most practically useful (he is the only one capable of amputating Joe's gangrenous leg), his sheer reasonableness being the most terrifying thing about him. Indeed, he has a seductive charm that is characteristic of Hitchcock's villains (such as Bruno in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, Uncle Harry in SHADOW OF A DOUBT, Rusk in FRENZY, and even Norman in PSYCHO). As Robin Wood pointed out in HITCHCOCK'S FILMS, "The Nazi is dangerous (as so many film Nazis are not) because there is so much to be said for him". I'm not sure if you missed all this, didn't understand it, or (as I strongly suspect) simply didn't bother to watch the film, preferring to rely on 'behind the scenes' anecdotes about the writing of the screenplay.

As for Chandler's comments about Hitchcock's changes to his screenplay, do you really think that "a flabby mass of cliches, a group of faceless characters, and the kind of dialogue every screen writer is taught not to writethe kind that says everything twice and leaves nothing to be implied by the actor or the camera" accurately describes STRANGERS ON A TRAIN? Would you really rather watch THE BLUE DAHLIA (over which Chandler had more control)? Wouldn't it be a good idea to check the claims of disgruntled screenwriters against the evidence of the films that ended up being made?

"So, I suppose it is not natural that the great director, who had already dismantled the screenplays of two legendary writers, should care about the fair treatment of a third, Robert Bloch. However, after all the accolades Hitch accepted in respect to that PSYCHO, one wonders if he was a complete sociopath or if he had nights of fitful sleep about the man who actually wrote the script for his great film."

I would imagine that Hitchcock spent as much time worrying about taking credit from Robert Bloch or Joseph Stefano as William Shakespeare did worrying about taking credit from Thomas Kyd and Cynthio, or as Mozart did worrying about taking credit from Emanuel Schikaneder. Of course, nobody would claim that the real credit for THE MAGIC FLUTE should go to the man who came up with the story, characters and dialogue, rather than to the man who composed the music, but it seems quite acceptable to make similar claims where film is concerned.

To put it as simply as possible, the person whom it makes sense to see as the 'author' in any given art form is the person who has the most control over the most important aspect of that art form: in theatre the most important aspect is the word (controlled by the writer), in opera it is the music (controlled by the composer), and in cinema it is the image (controlled by the director). And yes, of course you can claim that the word is more important than the image where films are concerned. But in doing that, you are really admitting that you don't want cinema to be cinema at all; you want it to be something else (namely theatre or literature). Even if, like Ezra, you believe that "literature is the superior art form", you are certainly not going to do cinema any favours by either trying to turn it into literature, or judging it by the very different standards of literature.

No title.

Tony Ravenscroft — Sun, 22 Jan 12 10:36:15 -0500

JON WINOKUR: greatly enjoying _The Garner Files_.

ROBERT NASON et al.: Hitchcock & Jimmy Stewart (dba Patron Inc.) also "screwed over" Cornell Woolrich. The latter once told Barry Malzberg that film rights to that story ("It Had to Be Murder") & two others were sold for like $850 or some such pittance, & he never saw another dime. The mess eventually went before SCOTUS as Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990) -- another "pay the writer" moment, albeit 22 years after Woolrich's impoverished death. Hitch remains a genius, inarguably, but that doesn't make him a pleasant businessman.

PAUL ANDERSON: you are a noble fool, & I applaud you. I intended a long-winded similar story, but others have already done better, so I'll leave it at "BTDT."

No title.

Frank Church — Sun, 22 Jan 12 10:21:25 -0500

I live in the church of Hitchcock, I eat the bread, get drunk on the wine, overturn the baptismal. I am on his cross and I bare his visage on my heart.

You and I are on the same page Robert. Live with that.

No title.

Steve Barber — Sun, 22 Jan 12 08:07:20 -0500

Okay, a different kind of picture. I wasn't able to get this loaded at my home website, so put it up on Facebook for y'all to enjoy.

This is the screenshot of Harlan and Josh from the Cinefamily streaming event on Thursday.

(I had to leave early because of an ailing esposa, my own very bad hip, and a 5am wake-up call, so I watched the last twenty minutes or so on the stream.)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150505256292205.380469.593857204&type=3&l=3a5ba03586

I'll be adding additional shots today and tomorrow.)

Better?

Ezra — Sun, 22 Jan 12 07:39:45 -0500

Perhaps because literature is the superior art form? After all, one word is worth a thousand pictures.

For example,

love

death

pain

memory

And most remarkably, even though we use the same word your thousand pictures will be different than mine.

Apples and oranges? Cessnas and starships.

Betters

Steven Dooner — Sun, 22 Jan 12 05:35:03 -0500

Rob,

Here's what I mean by "better." In the screenplay, Steinbeck had written a ground-breaking role for Canada Lee and Hitch put a little "shine" back in the role and dumbed down the dialogue for the great black actor. Steinbeck had also written the part of a strong German for Walter Slezak, and Hitch changed him into a psychotic, evil Nazi, which conveniently fed into the propaganda of that time. Steinbeck could not go on working on the script after these changes.

In regard to Chandler, Hitchcock held his nose and tossed Chandler's two draft screenplay in a trash can in front of Chandler, causing Chandler to call him a "fat bastard." And because Chandler wrote the following about Hitchcock's rewrites:

"What I cannot understand is your permitting a script which after all had some life and vitality to be reduced to such a flabby mass of cliches, a group of faceless characters, and the kind of dialogue every screen writer is taught not to writethe kind that says everything twice and leaves nothing to be implied by the actor or the camera. Of course you must have had your reasons but, to use a phrase once coined by Max Beerbohm, it would take a 'far less brilliant mind than mine' to guess what they were."

"Regardless of whether or not my name appears on the screen among the credits, I'm not afraid that anybody will think I wrote this stuff. They'll know damn well I didn't. I shouldn't have minded in the least if you had produced a better scriptbelieve me. I shouldn't. But if you wanted something written in skim milk, why on earth did you bother to come to me in the first place?"

So, I suppose it is not natural that the great director, who had already dismantled the screenplays of two legendary writers, should care about the fair treatment of a third, Robert Bloch. However, after all the accolades Hitch accepted in respect to that PSYCHO, one wonders if he was a complete sociopath or if he had nights of fitful sleep about the man who actually wrote the script for his great film.

In my original post, Rob, I went out of my way to say that Hitch's contribution to cinema is indelible. I listed those films that I think will be held as classics. However, it is not just a matter of a man working in one medium and another working in a different one. Chandler understood cinema and Steinbeck understood stage very well. They were not exactly newbies who Hicthcock needed to show the ropes to. When LIFEBOAT was made, OF MICE AND MEN had already been adapted for stage and film. George S. Kaufman, the great screenwriter, had said that Steinbeck's play for "OF MICE AND MEN" was one of the most perfect works of art of the 20th century. By that time, Steinbeck had already had GRAPES OF WRATH made by a minor director named John Ford and TORTILLA FLAT was shot by an an "up and comer" named Victor Flemming (who had only made small films like GONE WITH THE WIND and WIZARD OF OZ by that time). Granted this was Steinbeck's first foray into a fictional screenplay, but he had written the screenplay for the documentary called the FORGOTTEN VILLAGE in 1941.

Chandler had already written two Academy Award nominated screenplays (DOUBLE INDEMNITY with Billy Wilder and THE BLUE DAHLIA).

Hitchcock was also well known. He had made The 39 STEPS, REBECCA, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, THE LADY VANISHES and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, but the general quality of these films do not indicate that he needed to put Steinbeck and Chandler to school on how to write character and dialogue for cinema.

That is the sense in which I mean "better."

Steve Dooner

Video

Jan — Sun, 22 Jan 12 02:34:47 -0500

This is 8.5 minutes of Patton Oswalt replacing Josh on the stage, from a private camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KDx5z60nU
Looks like the rumors are true, must have been a great show.

No title.

Rob — Sun, 22 Jan 12 01:01:01 -0500

Michael Miller comment re: Hitchcock

"Style over substance"?????

This is the silliest, most unenlightened comment I've seen on the board in a long time; WAY up there on the Frank-meter, man!

You don't even know what you're talking about: Hitchcock WAS a writer on his own movies. The genesis of his films invariably began and ended with him, except for the stuff he did in his Selznick period.

I detect that you - and a few others here - are unfamiliar with the early 20th century Magic Realist art movement, which, in conjunction with German Expressionism, had a radical influence on Hithcock; the painter Giorgio de Chirico in particular remained a key visual reference for the director.

Let me recap:

"Since Hitchcock personally purchased the rights to the stories that interested him (in the beginning of his career he wrote his movies entirely on his own), generally lured by little beyond the core of the story around which he saw fit to build his own themes, he had EVERY right - every NECESSITY, in fact - to alter the script whenever it came back to him (and his wife, Alma Reville, who was practically his perennial writing partner), or fire someone whod been working for him. Thus, while Bloch should have been paid more for HIS story to be sure, Hitchcock did NOT shaft Steinbeck on LIFEBOAT or Chandler on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. These were Hitchcocks properties, having bought them himself; and like a draftsman, he planned every shot, every dark cloud from his own psyche, every thematic motif before any filming begun."

Imagine if I bought a short story by Daphne du Maurier, one I saw fit to accommodate themes that were very personal to me. I write a detailed script outline, dispensing with all but the core of the story. On my own, I work out the motifs I wish to develop in the plot, and the main characters; I write key scenes that will demand a specific structure, perhaps I even storyboard them.

THEN, knowing a certain author has a knack for dialog that could fit the story perfectly, I hire him, and work closely with him throughout that phase. When his part of the commitment is done, I polish or retool the elements, then I storyboard the whole damn thing. I plan out everything in advance.

Since the project and the vision and the voice belong to me, the film is mine.

Funny you should refer to the writer as the "architect": Hitchcock was originally trained as an engineer and an artist.

Hitchcock WAS the architect!

And if you guys go on about how "unfair" Hitch was to writers, take a look at Ray Bradbury's praise for this great artist, and Raold Dahl's, too, for that matter. Indeeed, considering the ample work Hitchcock did throughout the writing phase of his films, he was EXTREMELY generous about the writer's credits, keeping moot about his own role in that capacity. His, name, after all, was above the title...exactly where it belonged!

Hitchcock never forgot the jail cell into which his dad had tossed him when he was five. He took that anxiety, along with his ingenious humor, and turned it into a career. Themes about entrapment, lost identity, and Catholic guilt were his to fashion in his own unique way.

Hitchcock was a virtuoso, and a great humorist. One of my artistic heroes.

Got mine, and..."graffiti, with punctuation..."

DTS — Sat, 21 Jan 12 23:24:00 -0500

Hey, ALL: Got mine -- my subscription for "Funny Times", featuring Harlan's column. I asked the folks at the paper to start my sub with the first issue featuring Harlan's column, and the editor told me the Feburary issue will feature the first appearance of, "I Had a Thought Today".
Time for the rest of you guys to break open the piggybanks!

On the subject of movies: I watched "Contagion" on DVD today. It's a terrific (and unnerving)film about viruses, etc. But even with the scary subject, I found myself laughing out loud at (and still do when I think of) the line Elliot Gould's character says to the self-made, blogging, "online journalist" played by Jude Law, after Law proclaims himself a writer: "Blogging isn't writing, it's graffiti with punctuation." I only LOVE that line. (And I know truly talented _writers_, like Neil Gaiman, have what are called "blogs", but I perfer to think of them as open journals.

For me, blogs, most of put together by not-so-talented people, will alwasy be "graffiti, with punctuation" (but not always, unfortunately, proper punctuation...or grammar...etc, etc.).

Cheers,
DTS

A Boy and His Dog movie

Dennis C — Sat, 21 Jan 12 22:41:43 -0500

I was at the Cinematheque in Hollywood tonight where they showed a triple bill of the MAD MAX movies with Mel Gibson in attendance for a Q+A. (Mel was a bit nervous but the crowd was supportive and he talked for half an hour about his career, George Miller and upcoming projects.)

Anyway, the host said this was part of an Apocalyptic film series that will run throughout the year -- and that one of the other films they'd be showing is A BOY AND HIS DOG. Since they always try to have guests, I hope they at least extend the invite to Harlan to appear.

They usually do get the best prints available, so I'll keep you posted about the screening -- so anyone in the LA area can check it out.

Harlan Ellison's Flying Tigers blood chit (more)

Le — Sat, 21 Jan 12 21:46:16 -0500

Forgot to also include this link in my previous post.

http://www.warbirdforum.com/bloodchi.htm

The blood chit on the back of Harlan Ellison's leather vest

Le — Sat, 21 Jan 12 21:40:14 -0500

Below is the link to the Flying Tigers blood chit that was on the back of his leather vest that he wore at the CineFamily event and which he also wore in that PSI Factor episode as "Grifter."

Again, he looked like the epitome of cool in it.

http://www.uswings.com/bloodchits.asp

No title.

Chuck Messer — Sat, 21 Jan 12 16:36:50 -0500

The last time I saw Seconds (it was a DVD from the library), I listened to the commentary track. John Frankenheimer, who of course, got top billing over David Ely (who wrote the novel) and Lewis John Carlino (screenplay) said something extraordinary, especially given some of his comments in the past.

He said that he preferred to have the writer on the set to "defend the integrity of his narrative", since the director and cameraman could end up making so many improvisations when filming that they completely have then completely left the script and now the movie would need a re-write or a re-shoot. That pretty much is what Michael Miller wrote about below. You need the architect on site to make sure the carpenters don't screw things up. It was just strange to hear Mr. Frankenheimer say that.

Chuck

No title.

Frank Church — Sat, 21 Jan 12 12:02:36 -0500

Americans hate big government, but they also really hate big business. Guess what years they started to respond big?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/152096/Americans-Anti-Big-Business-Big-Gov.aspx

Cinefamily Event

Joe B. — Sat, 21 Jan 12 11:19:54 -0500

Unfortunately, I could not attend the event in the flesh but I did watch the live stream despite my having to get up 4 hours after it ended.

But I wanted to thank you Harlan, for you signed a copy of Mind Fields that my best pal, Ali, purchased. I believe you both spoke about Edward Bryant and Mile High Futures, etc.

Also, Ali is in a midst of a tough time having an unfortunate situation happen just days prior to the event. He expressed to me that the event lifted his spirits and gave him even a few hours to forget his troubles and enjoy himself. So I wanted to thank you, Patton, Josh, and everyone for helping out a dear, dear friend -- even indirectly.

Thank You, Again,
Joe B.

No title.

Brad Stevens — Sat, 21 Jan 12 10:55:01 -0500

Michael Miller. I'd like to thank you for your useful and informative post. I was especially grateful to learn that "Hitchcock was just an example (or scapegoat) for how we often reward style over substance". In my ignorance, I had always assumed that the only way one could gain access to the substance of a work of art was by examining its style. But apparently that is not the case. Sadly, you neglected to mention exactly where one does find the substance of artworks. Perhaps you could elaborate.

It is not, strictly speaking, true to say that theatre is the last place where a writer is actually acknowledged as the architect. I think you will find that both the novel and the short story share this distinction. But the problem you hint at is certainly widespread. Indeed, there is an annoying tendency in our culture to regard composers as the authors of operas, thus totally ignoring the important architectural contribution of the librettist. How sad that our obsession with style over substance prevents us from realizing that THE MAGIC FLUTE is actually an opera by Emanuel Schikaneder.

But if you are going to comment specifically about Hitchcock's contribution to the films he directed, you might want to learn something about how he worked with his screenwriters. Here's Stirling Silliphant's account of writing a television short for Hitchcock (from BACKSTORY 3: INTERVIEWS WITH SCREENWRITERS OF THE 60S, edited by Patrick McGiligan): "Hitch was charming...personally made me a scotch and soda and sat me down with my yellow pad. I wouldn't trade the hour that followed for anything...The man was BRILLIANT. He fucking dictated the script to me - shot by shot, including the camera movements and opticals. He actually had already SEEN the finished film. He'd say, for example, 'The camera's in the boat with the boy and the girl. The move in is very, very slow - while we see the mossy side of the wrecked schooner. Bump. Now the boy climbs the ladder. I tilt up, and I cut to the boy exploring the deck. I'm shooting through the foreground of - of stuff - and I'm panning him to the cabin door. Something there makes him freeze. He waits. Now the camera's over here, and I see the girl come to him. Give me about this much dialogue, Stirling". He holds up his hand, thumb and forefinger two inches apart. I jot down - "Dialogue, two inches". As I say, the whole goddamned film - shot by shot, no dialogue - just the measurements of how much dialogue and where he wanted it".

Hitchcock - H.E. offered the truth (as always).

Michael Miller — Sat, 21 Jan 12 09:13:55 -0500

In support of Mr. Ellison's truthful remark about Alfred Hitchcock (I write support instead of defense as the claim needs no more defense than the gold in Fort Knox) it seems some are forgetting the context - that somehow the director is more important than the writer.

The writer is the architect and the director is one of the builders. That's it. Hitchcock was a great builder - and handled many hats in the construction but to claim the term "director" the way so many people do these days "A Michael Bay Film" etc, is ego. I agree with Mr. Ellison - after critical analysis - that there really are only a few true directors or "auteurs." (And Kurosawa is ten of them - Rashoman alone proves that.)

When Brunelleschi CREATED the dome of the Cathedral of Florence and invented the blueprint - power shifted from the builder to the architect. Without the architect - the writer - builders have nothing. He called in sick one day and let Ghiberi (a builder) run the show. Everything was mucked up and B had to change the everything back to the plan. Same thing happens to scripts. Except the writer doesn't often have the chance for the Brunelleschi moment. When most people think of Psycho it's usually the same thing - the shower scene - oh, how brilliant! Rarely do they discuss the complexity of character, the movement of the story, and the deep-subconscious horror the film and story achieve and that is Robert Bloch.

The theatre is the last place where a writer is actually acknowledged as the architect. Arthur Miller's "Death Of A Salesman" not the director's name over everything, regardless of how great they may be. It's William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" not Julie Tamor's.

I think Hitchcock was just an example (or scapegoat) for how we often reward style over substance.

M

It Truly Must Be Said

Brad Haupt — Sat, 21 Jan 12 08:07:32 -0500

You ain't nobody until somebody eats a piece of meat with your name on it.

Harlan Ellison Live(s)!

Brian Phillips — Sat, 21 Jan 12 06:18:41 -0500

What a great way to end my two vacations. I went to Memphis with a friend of mine and then I got to see Harlan and Susan Ellison and I shook hands and conversed with both! Coupled with seeing my brother Stephen, what more could a junior boy ranger want?

A pleasure meeting everyone on the Pavilion: lonegungirl, Duane, Keith (winner of the "Distance Traveled to see Harlan Award", but I silvered in the event) and Rob. I even got to meet two members of the Pink family.

Thanks to everyone that made this event possible, thanks to Mark Palko (that's PALKO, not Paltrow) for being a truly upstanding guy and as always, thank you, Harlan.

For anyone that would like a lengthier account of that night, email me on my gmail account, my username is ototwab. That stands for "On Top Of The World and Blessed".

Which I am.

Brian Phillips

No title.

Rob — Sat, 21 Jan 12 03:35:27 -0500

I did not attend the CineFamily event, so I cannot weigh in on Harlans comments about Hitchcock and Bloch.

However, I suspect it was not over aesthetic issues but rather over tactics used by the director to purchase the rights to PSYCHO:

Hitchcock bought the rights from Bloch anonymously. Had Bloch known it was a near-legend who wanted his story surely hed have asked for a better price!

Having cited that, I never detected resentment in Blochs interviews (which means nothing, of course; he could have vented privately to his friends), and it IS conceivable that Hitch somewhat made reparations when he gave Bloch so much great stuff to do on the Hitchcock Hour. Hitchcock screened the film for Bloch, and the author said to him after the lights went on: this will be either your biggest hit or your greatest failure.

------------------------------------------------------
Hitchcocks PSYCHO is a goddam masterpiece, WHATEVER the grievances. I watched and studied this film from ass to toe, till my eyes fell from their humble sockets, and I can tell you every shot was geodynamically perfect, every neurotic twitch mapped out by the director to the last frame; and it was masterfully bolstered by the brilliant dialog and structural strategies contributed by Joe Stefano.
--------------------------------------------------------

A word about Hitchcock and his history with the writers he recruited for his projects.

Dont trivialize one artists talent in behalf of another: Chandler was not Hitchcocks better; Steinbeck was not Hitchcocks better. Its like saying Dali was Bunuels better. Two different mediums, ¿entiendes?

Since Hitchcock personally purchased the rights to the stories that interested him, generally lured by little beyond the core of the story around which he saw fit to build his own themes, he had EVERY right to alter the script whenever it came back to him (and his wife, who was practically his perennial writing partner), or fire someone whod been working for him. Thus, while Bloch should have been paid more for HIS story to be sure, Hitchcock did NOT shaft Steinbeck on LIFEBOAT or Chandler on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. These were Hitchcocks properties, having bought them himself; and like a draftsman, he planned every shot, every dark cloud from his own psyche, every thematic motif before any filming begun.
----------------------------------------------------------

I am always a bit ill-at-ease when two craftsmen I admire SO much disdain each other:

I think Joe Stefano was a damn good writer. I never agreed with Harlan about Stefano, or the first season of the OL. Its one of the rare cases where I REALLY part (and with all the world's real problems, who gives a shit?). And while Stefano was a fine craftsman, whereas Harlan is a great artist, I admire both, I gained something from both - obviously to different degrees - and I therefore hate the enmity that seemed to grow between them (or at least from Stefanos quarters!).

Ah. What is IS. (Unless you're confused by the definition like Clinton was)
-------------------------------------------------------------

WAIT-a-minnut!! Harlan ragged on Carroll O'Conner, TOO???

I'd like to know what THAT was about! The actor is stuff out of legends! I loved O'Conner SO much!

Hitchcock

Steven Dooner — Sat, 21 Jan 12 00:29:19 -0500

Robert,

No one would deny that Hitchcock made an overwhelming contribution to cinematic history, but he didn't just screw over Robert Bloch. He also screwed over Raymond Chandler and John Steinbeck and a host of his betters. And never forget that he is legendary for treating his leading ladies reprehensibly.

He knew his maguffins and he knew how to use cutting, camera angles and the Kuleshov effect. But he also damaged many screenplays written by great authors. Consider how good those films might have been without him adding his unique touch of conservative philistinism.

That being said, Vertigo is a masterpiece. Bergman, Grant and Rains are brilliant in Notorious. The 39 Steps and The original Man Who Knew Too Much are classics. He was a great filmmaker in spite of himself.

Steve Dooner

Pictures

Jan — Fri, 20 Jan 12 23:04:31 -0500

"Everyone who had an interest viewed it live or streamed." - Uh, yeah Tim, thanks to the new time zone neutralizer by Sony.
---
Harlan & Patton
http://www.whosay.com/pattonoswalt/photos/119136
Harlan at Pink's (by Chris Ryall)
http://p.twimg.com/AjnrivaCAAA1_sB.jpg:large
http://p.twimg.com/AjnrSo8CIAILtOZ.jpg:large

No title.

Robert Nason — Fri, 20 Jan 12 22:10:31 -0500

Harlan -- I loved the show, but did you HAVE to rag on old Alfred Hitchcock? Sure, he screwed poor Robert Bloch on the PSYCHO deal, but think of all the work he gave Bloch on his TV show. And c'mon, you have to give "props" (as the kids say) to the man who directed REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, NOTORIOUS, and THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS. He usually worked closely with the screenwriter (okay, some might say TOO closely) but no other director could possibly have made those films so unique. Yeah, Kurosawa and Resnia are great (WILD GRASS was probably the best film of 2010, but Hitch knew how to do more than just flick on and off the lights. (And a hand for Orson Welles while we're at it, please. And writer-director greats such as Billy Wilder, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, Ingmar you-know-who, Charles Chaplin, et al.....)

No title.

Michael Rapoport — Fri, 20 Jan 12 21:07:34 -0500

Damn, but that was a blast to watch last night. Worth every minute of lost sleep. Thanks, Harlan, Josh and Patton.

In a better world, we'd be talking about an Ellison-Oswalt-Olson "I'm Not Gonna TOUCH Your Popcorn" World Tour. I can dream, can't I?

re: Yuri Rasovsky

jimmy — Fri, 20 Jan 12 20:27:50 -0500

Phil Nichols,

As someone from Chicago, I am especially saddened by the news of Yuri Rasovsky's passing. But here is a youtube link to a humorous piece he did for WFMT in the early 70's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U4ctUHWFOk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I wish that 2000x was easier to get, but I believe used copies are still available on Amazon.

----------------------------------------------------------------
And to Harlan Ellison for his kind words to me, you have made me most happy, sir.

jimmy

Dear Uncka Harlan

Lori Koonce — Fri, 20 Jan 12 18:20:53 -0500

Please consider doing this again in six months. Maybe by then I save up and get to this one!

Jacek Yerka

dm — Fri, 20 Jan 12 17:50:07 -0500

Jacek Yerka, that is. Oops! Okay, back to shoveling and the fond memories of last night!

Cinefamily 2

Dave Martens — Fri, 20 Jan 12 17:30:19 -0500

Last night's event at Cinefamily was indeed "family," an indoor fireworks display, a veritable who's who.

The hard-to-find excerpt from RIPCORD was neat. I found myself initially asking, "Who is that guy?" upon seeing Bruce Willis in "Shatterday," before recalling he did have hair follicles for a while. That teaser for ABC's THE SURVIVORS came out of nowhere like an alien spacecraft! That was a nice curve ball.

What kismet that Harlan was wearing the very same bomber jacket vest that he was seen wearing in that special exterior scene as Grifter from PSI FACTOR. The lighting was so unique towards the end of that scene when the camera pans right.

Popcorn break and a whiz in a potted palm -- maybe yet another "con"? Proof of his inquisitive nature, Harlan turned the tables for a while and asked Patton questions. You don't see that too often on tv, but it always adds a surprise to the goings on. Mic in hand, Harlan's pipes were carrying some melodies quite well. For a brief moment he seemed poised to do some singing towards the end of the evening, bringing everything full circle from his childhood minstrel singing days.

Harlan, Josh Olson and Patton Oswalt -- cheers to you! You navigated the space time continuum and eagerly anticipated digressions effortlessly and with good humor. You three (and those behind the scenes) lassoed Joe Stefko, The Turtles, Robin Williams, Robert Bloch, Marlon Brando, Norman Lear, Carroll O'Connor, Matt Frewer, Carson Van Osten, The Nazz, The Clash, Mucinex tablets & Hydrox cookies, The Seaview, stamp collecting, Nimoy and Shatner, ABC, HUAC, Spiro Agnew, Lee J. Cobb, Alfred Hitchcock, Alain Renais, Art Kunkin, Robert Culp, Louise Brooks, Susan Ellison, Yacek Yerka and numerophobia, all whose surfaces didn't go untickled at last evening's event.

Yes, there was a "plethora / myriad" of topics covered, and wares to promote. Three hours was barely enough to contain anything -- in reality everything was unleashed! That was a fun-filled party. Thank you all.

No title.

lonegungirl — Fri, 20 Jan 12 17:11:42 -0500

Such a fun evening! HE and Josh were terrific--I've never seen Patton in person before, and he was just hysterical. I loved all the clips as well...are the earlier ones available on DVD somewhere?

Great to see/meet so many people at Pink's, as well. Brian and Keith--hope you enjoyed your brief trips out here!

BTW: Never been to Pink's before, and wasn't that hungry yesterday due to a late lunch, but I warmed up the chili cheese fries today and they are AWESOME. It's a good thing it's such a pain to drive into Hollywood, or I would probably just establish a standing order for them. HE--thank you so much for the Pink's souvenir! I'll be sure to carry it next time!

CineFamily

Jon C. Manzo — Fri, 20 Jan 12 15:13:49 -0500

And so, on a bitter cold night I went back to my office to be there in time for the live-streaming of the CineFamily event.

Definitely worth the effort. I wish I had the finances (not to mention the time)to be able to head west for the event. Everybody was in great form, but my favorite was watching Harlan with Patton Oswalt; there's a comedy team if ever I saw one.

(slaps head with realization that he should have invited Patton Oswalt to MadCon 2010; jots down reminder to do that after he invents time machine)

Contrary to Harlan's assertions at the end of the evening, I truly hope that Josh Olsen can get him back out there in six months. I might have to cash in some frequent flyer miles if that happens.

My favorite quote of the evening (somebody please correct me if I have it wrong): "There have only been six real directors in filmmaking, and four of them are Kurosawa!"

Good stuff.

Jon C. Manzo

The Event

Tim Raven — Fri, 20 Jan 12 13:51:50 -0500

Everyone who had an interest viewed it live or streamed. Im not going to comment on the content but as a quote mad idiot, Ill indulge in just one lagniappe:

Sir, I am five foot five. IM a little person. You are a midget.

I was present at the first Cinefamily event and would like to comment on the tone between last night and the previous.

The first one seemed a bit edgy, the way you feel when youre on unfamiliar ground. Enjoyable, but I kept waiting for the big boot to drop. And it did, slightly

But

Last night the tone was spot on. Harlan seemed comfortable as well as Josh and Patton. It was a night of anti-political correctness in room full of diversity that only Los Angeles can consistently boast. Everyone with a brain (which included all present) ate popcorn, had fun and laughed, giggled and belly guffawed at Harlans infinite well of inspiration and experience. Gatherings of intelligent people like this make it worth paying past the shitty parts of our lives that soak up most of our energy.

In my opinion.

And this part is important

Harlan, Chief, please do another one. Recharge your batteries and give it another go in six months.

Because we all really like you a lot. Im not making this up. Just ask any one of us.

Tim Raven

p.s. Josh excellent job putting the night together. Ive had experience as a projectionist in the past, does Cinefamily need volunteers for that? Ive done 16MM and 35MM, old school, using a razor blade and splicing tape! Change-overs with seven reels, no pussy fucking platter systems! As an extra aside, I lost my virginity in the projection room at the Hoff Theater at UMCP, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm! It was during a showing of Eqqus.
Whoa, Nelly!

No title.

Rob — Fri, 20 Jan 12 13:38:02 -0500

In all honesty, few things could be more pleasureable than sitting at that table with Harlan, Susan, and all you guys as we did list night at Pink's. Another hour or so firing spitballs at each other would have been fine with me!

Alas, we had to cut it short and ride the dark train out!

'Was great meeting you, Brian Phillips and Keith; and nice seeing Lonegun again.

No title.

Fri, 20 Jan 12 11:12:25 -0500

PS. Brian Phillips, Rod Searcey, pleased to make your acquaintance. A few others were pointed out to me who I'd like to make sure I meet next time: Tim Raven and Rob (we met back in 2008, I believe). Next time!

No title.

Duane — Fri, 20 Jan 12 11:07:54 -0500

WOW.

What a wonderful evening! Thank you Josh, Harlan and Patton for throwing this together. Harlan seemed a little tired (or perhaps merely subdued) early on, but when Josh, and later Mr. Oswalt, began pressing his buttons, he sprang right back to life.

And Patton Oswalt, you didn't merely KILL, as one would say of a successful stint in front of an audience. You flat-out MURDERED.

(Keith, do you have $1500 I can borrow? Don't look at me like that; I know you do!)

Cinefamily Event

Keith Cramer — Fri, 20 Jan 12 10:07:20 -0500

I am tired. What a great evening. I'm trying to stay on East Coast time, and I got back to the hotel last night at 1pm (4am EST). I am failing. Today I head to the Getty museum with another friend of mine, and try to stay awake.

It was nice to see some old pals, and meet some webderlanders I had never met before in person. I am warmed by the irony that while Harlan isn't keen on the Internet, he has amassed a significant following on it, and he and his friends have used it to great advantage in what Harlan calls his "Third Act."

----

Josh, words cannot express my gratitude for your influence in this area. Your efforts have exposed Harlan to a new audience: I saw a greater percentage of young people at the Cinefamily last night than I did at Madison. Also, by organizing this event you gave me a great excuse to come out here and visit with some old friends, and see Harlan again. Thank you.

You always do a great job as Harlan's straight man.

----

Harlan, thank you for another memorable evening. I'm glad the Madison miasma is behind you.

-Keith

Well, here's my story for yesterday

Wade Chitwood — Fri, 20 Jan 12 09:48:57 -0500

I spent fourteen hours at the Seattle Airport yesterday trying to fly to LA for the Cinefamily Event. Five cancellations, six transfers, and finally out to the runway - only to be turned around as we're about to take off. Runway was shut down - no more flights.

I canceled my MadCon trip a few years ago, went to Riverside, the Science Fiction Museum induction, and now this. I'm beginning to think there's something fishy going on - or, maybe, as the bear said, "You're not really here for the hunting, are you?"

Sounds like it all went well - next time for sure.

All the best

Wade

Jacket Sighting

James Levy — Fri, 20 Jan 12 07:55:31 -0500

Dear Harlan,

Was that jacket you have been reported to have been wearing last night the Flying Tigers jacket presented to you at ICON many years back when you were warming up to read "Paladin of the Lost Hour"? I was in that audience, and it was quite unforgettable.

Yours aye,

James Levy

An Extraordinary Night!

Steven Dooner — Fri, 20 Jan 12 07:51:43 -0500

I caught the stream and was laughing myself silly till 2AM here on the East coast. You guys had some fun! Wish I could have been there.

Steve Dooner

A small request and enquiry

Iain Aitken — Fri, 20 Jan 12 05:58:08 -0500

Dear Harlan or Susan

I know it is possible to buy copies of Harlan's books from yourselves, direct and have them signed/dedicated. I was wondering if you perhaps has a hard cover edition of Shatterday?

You see, as I have mentioned, my boos is leaving his post. It probably wont be until some time in March, which at least gives me a little time, but I want to get him something as a leaving present. Being a reader of diverse tastes, though mostly fantasy and science fiction, I hit upon the idea of a signed Ellison. And Shatterday being the book that got the hooks into me I thought it might be a good one to give to him.

Bear in mind this is a man for whom I have gained a massive amount of respect for in the short time he has been in Dumfries. I am planning on getting him a few of the list of books that I would say are "Must Reads". With luck I can get him Perdido Street Station signed at the SFX Weekender as well. Perhaps even Rivers of London by Ben Aaranovich as well.

The biggest problem for me is how to get payment to you. I know that you will not have a Paypal account, so I am reliant upon the post office, or the worrying prospect of sending cash. I know enough postmen to know that they can smell money in an envelope and some will happily steal it.

Any advice you can give, or indeed that other fans from the UK who may have used the service, will be gratefully recieved.

Thanks

Iain

Funny Times

Tony Isabella — Fri, 20 Jan 12 05:36:24 -0500

I used to subscribe. Dropped it as a cost-saving measure a few years back. Subscribed once more today.

Because I could use more "funny" in my life.

Especially "Harlan funny."

Anyone watching Justified on F/X? Anyone other than me giggle whenever someone refers to "Harlan County" in the show? Maybe it's because I get this silly image in my head whenever they mention "Harlan County."

Back to work.

Congrats, and some sad news

Phil Nichols — Fri, 20 Jan 12 00:44:19 -0500

I saw most of the live stream, and enjoyed every minute. Thanks to all involved, and particular thanks to Cinefamily for putting the whole thing on the web. I missed the last one, but wasn't going to miss this one for the world.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the great audio dramatist and director Yuri Rasovsky has passed away. For several decades, Yuri WAS dramatic audio in the US, and he will leave a big gap in that creative field. We should be grateful for the wonders he leaves us with, including the classic anthology series 2000X, which was hosted by Harlan.

There is a tribute to Yuri here:

http://blog.blackstoneaudio.com/archives/8193

I wore a green bomber jacket in his honor

Le — Fri, 20 Jan 12 00:44:01 -0500

I had the best time!

I arrived at 5:45 and was the first one in line. He was the epitome of cool in that shirt with the P-38 on it, and the vest he wore over it, with the Taiwan flag on the back, looked great on him.

After the event, I stood in line to get my books signed. I was so excited...I was so excited. And when I cam up, he looked at me up down and said, "MY GOD! YOU'RE SHAKING!" And I said, "My Ellison, it's a pleasure and an honor!" and reached out and shook his hand. He complimented me on my "grip"(just as he did when I first met him one spring evening back in 1985 when I got lost on Ventura Blvd and had to go into Dangerous Visions Bookstore to ask for directions and there he was, chatting with the owners), which seemed to take him by surprise. And then he asked me what I did for a living, and I told him, and then he taught me a defensive grip. And then after he signed my books, I shook his hand firmly again and looked him in the eyes and just said, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"

The evening meant so much to me. I consider myself so fortunate for being able to meet him not only once, not only twice, but three times in my life (this last time most likely will be the last time).

MR ELLISON -- THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SIGNING MY BOOKS!

THANK YOU FOR BEING ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU ARE!

CineFamily Rocked

Dennis C — Thu, 19 Jan 12 23:22:56 -0500

Hey all -- hope you enjoyed the streaming. We were there at CineFamily and it was the night of nights. Truly joyful. And Patton Oswalt is a rock star. I wish Josh could have gotten to show more of the clips -- but we would have been there all night. We were in tears with the shtick.

We did a drive-by at Pink's before -- sorry if I didn't say hello to everyone but we were running a tad late. The wife said hi to Harlan and Susan. We gulped chili dogs and ran.

But the performance at CineFamily was truly epic. And damn it, Josh, you've got to get him out there again! Thanks so much for making this one happen!

Urine was clearly one of the key themes of the evening

Robert Nason — Thu, 19 Jan 12 22:59:11 -0500

Great show tonight -- Harlan & Co. were in top-form. My only complaint is that it didn't continue for several more hours. Believe me, I would have clenched for it.

No title.

Charlie — Thu, 19 Jan 12 22:58:26 -0500

The triumvirate of Ellison, Olson, and Oswalt hit a home run tonight. Oswalt killed with his one-liners: "Harlan McUrine hands" and "I ain't dishing out a grand and a half to read you bitching about Carroll O'Connor." Great job everyone!

No title.

Christine — Thu, 19 Jan 12 22:52:39 -0500

Wish I could've been there, but the video feed was worth staying up 'til the witching hour...great fun!

ADDENDUM

JohnEWilliams — Thu, 19 Jan 12 19:48:57 -0500

Subscription form on the right, not on the bottom. It's late here out East.

Funny Times Online

JohnEWilliams — Thu, 19 Jan 12 19:47:26 -0500

You can't read Funny Times or Harlan's column online, but here is a link to the site and a table of contents for this month's issue.

http://www.funnytimes.com/issue.php?issue_id=201202#.TxjjQORAKCd

Subscription form right there at the bottom if you like doing things the newfangled way.

Congrats on the column Harlan, and have a good time this evening.

No title.

Michael Rapoport — Thu, 19 Jan 12 19:23:52 -0500

Computer: fired up. Adult beverage: poured and at the ready. Sleep: ready to be lost, here on the East Coast.

Can't wait. Break a leg, guys.

The Sunshine Boys

Robert Nason — Thu, 19 Jan 12 18:27:10 -0500

Hey, everyone -- while you're busy streaming and dreaming, take a moment to give a nod to the ghosts of Edgar Allan Poe and Alexander Woollcott, because today's both their birthdays. Talk about an odd couple.

Cine Family Event

Rod Williams — Thu, 19 Jan 12 17:32:34 -0500

Will anyone outside the USA be streaming tonight's session?

I'm leaving the corporate antfarm early this afternoon in order to watch the live video broadcast at home. I missed the first event.

For the record, I'll be sitting in front of my computer dressed only in underwear (freshly ironed for this occasion), with an army-surplus gas mask covering my face, and Frank Zappa playing on the stereo.

Just a small favour: Harlan, if could you sign the camera lens, we can then do a screen capture and print it out later. Remember...write your signature in 'reverse'. Thanks.

Hope it goes well!

Cheers to all,
Rod W.

Waiting for Harlan at Pink's

Brian Phillips — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

He said he would be here.
Without fail.

Oh, look.

Laurel and Hardy.

Kinda.

I'll be the Black guy in the Leather Jacket, at the outside table behind Harlan's.
Vlad...Didi...I mean Brian Phillips

Part-tee

steve Perry — Thu, 19 Jan 12 16:01:02 -0500

Break a leg.

Perry

No title.

Chuck Messer — Thu, 19 Jan 12 15:35:22 -0500

Just wanted to duck my head in and wish everyone a wonderful time at Pink's and Cinefamily tonight.

Lucky, lucky bastards.

Chuck

No title.

Steve Barber — Thu, 19 Jan 12 15:20:00 -0500

HARLAN - Congrats on the new column. Nice to see you "branching out".

(You see? See what I did there? TREE OF LIFE? "Branching out"? Yeah, yeah?)

See you tonight.
__________________________________________

Sad news. My chicksinger is under the weather for tonight and with all the gooky stuff flying around she's staying in and not exposing anyone (but me, apparently).
__________________________________________

Once. Just once. I would LOVE to see someone use a different geography. Americans who love rhetoric always seem to position "Us" as "versus (fill in Perceived Oppressive Dictators -- "PODs" -- of your choice) "Us versus hollywood", "Us versus Wall Street". "Us versus Washington".

How about "Us versus Omaha", or "Us versus Texas" or "Us versus South Carolina". The people who are doing the loudest "poor me, it's the boogeyman" bitching. How 'bout Us versus THEM for a change?

Once. Just once.

(I feel all better now. Thanks.)
__________________________________________

1:40 minutes to Pink's

No title.

Frank Church — Thu, 19 Jan 12 14:54:01 -0500

Wow, I'm on the same side as Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham when it comes to SOPA. This time it's hollywood vs all of us.

----------

Whew, we get the Funny Times at thee library. Will look for the tummy tickle.

Cinefamily gig

Phil Nichols — Thu, 19 Jan 12 14:53:33 -0500

Meant purely in the traditional, theatrical sense in re of tonight's event:

Josh, Harlan, break a leg.

It's past our bedtime here in Western Europe, but I shall be arising from my slumbers in the wee small hours in expectation of a good stream. Live videostream, that is.

- Phil

No title.

Tim Walker — Thu, 19 Jan 12 13:50:26 -0500

I haven't seen THE TREE OF LIFE, but I was driving in the car today and listened again to the audio version of SOFT MONKEY, read by Harlan himself. I listened to it twice, back to back, and I have to tell you -- wow. It knocks my socks off, every single time. I'm sure many of you have heard it, but if you haven't, do yourself a favor and pick it up.

Streaming Link

jimmy — Thu, 19 Jan 12 13:39:58 -0500

Here's what I've found for streaming tonight's event:
http://www.cinefamily.org/blog/

Happy viewing.

jimmy

I HAD A THOUGHT TODAY: The New Ellison column!!

the Shadow — Thu, 19 Jan 12 13:33:01 -0500

Ah, shoot: Just when I was trying to change the subject, Ellison does me one (or two or even three!) better!!!

Breaking open MY piggybank right now, to start up my subscription to "FUNNY TIMES", as suggested by Harlan just below! Hope the rest of you are doing the same, so you can read "I Had a Thought Today" before I do (and before I start another prolonged debate with le about tghe merits of columns). :)

Fading off into exile land, now, for the extra post.
New colum!
Way to go Ellison!

Change of subject!

the Shadow — Thu, 19 Jan 12 13:27:45 -0500

Hey Le,
How about a change of subject, before this (long, LONG, ongoing discussion bores everyone else, too -- I'm already there)? By the way, even though we'll agree, I think, to disagree about the Film That Shall No Longer Be Named, I think you oughta read THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", and "The Great Lover". All of them do a MUCH better take on what's it all mean, while still trumpeting the joy of...well, enJOYing life and every last sandwich. :)
(I kinda feel bad for that girl who wrote the essay on that film -- she doesn't sound like one who enjoys life very much).

CHANGE OF SUBJECT! CHANGE OF SUBJECT! CHANGE OF SUBJECT!

First, music: Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucee! Springsteen's new album, "Wrecking Ball", out in March, with the first single, "We Take Care of Our Own", already available on itunes (and even youtube).

Second, maybe it's just the masochist in me, but I LOVED watching this trailer for "Casa de mi Padre" (and I only like about two or three movies that had Will Ferrel in them):

http://au.eonline.com/news/casa_de_mi_padre_trailer_will_ferrell/287296?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

Ya gotta hit the button that allows the trailer to go "fullscreen, so it can truly enjoyed (subtitles! slo-mo! a promise that the film will be "in color"! and, "introducing, Will Fair-Al"!). Shades of Robert Rodriguez!

No title.

Rob — Thu, 19 Jan 12 13:10:03 -0500

I, for one, prefer to climb Ellison's tree in FUNNY TIMES!

I'll be reaching for it!

DEBUT OF MY NEW COLUMN

HARLAN ELLISON — Thu, 19 Jan 12 13:06:02 -0500

This has nothing to do with THE TREE OF LIFE, so I'll probably lose some of you, but if "something" Ellisonian might interest you:

I've begun writing a new mordantly humorous monthly column in the newspaper FUNNY TIMES (subscriptions: $25 a year; PO Box 18530 / Dept. 4TG / Cleveland Heights, Ohio / 44118). If you like THE ONION, you'll love FUNNY TIMES, with Dave Berry, The Borowitz Report, Winokur's Curmudgeon, lots of laughs, lots of cartoons, lots of political satire, and now...every month..."I Had a Thought Today" by yr. host. Try it. You'll like it.

Now you can go back to our fucking treetalk.

Respectfully, Yr. Pal, Harlan

Re: Movies That Matter--cont'd

Le — Thu, 19 Jan 12 11:18:08 -0500

Ezra -

Thank you for your recommendation of Agel's book. I have always wanted to read it, but never got a chance to; but thanks to your mention, I will look for it at the library--it's sooooooooooooooo expen$ive!

But Piers Bizony's book ain't exactly chopped liver, either; and if you have not read it, I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, like the Agel book, it is also out of print. And to purchase a used copy in good condition will set you back about $100 or so. But it is also available at your library.

Thank you for the link to the Jordan Belson DVD. I went ahead and purchased a copy. I have always loved the work of Stan Brakhage, too, and I am so glad Terrence Malick included Thomas Wilfred's OPUS 161.

One great thing Ioved about Sean Penn's fleeting appearance(s) in THE TREE OF LIFE was when we see him talking on the cell phone and with his father and we hear Penn refer to hims as "Dad." This contrasts with the scene where Brad Pitt sternly corrects hims and commands him to call him "Father." It was just a word uttered casually in passing by Penn, but it said so much about how their relationship, so strained when he was growing up, had changed. (This was so reminiscent of the different expressions of kinship in THE THIN RED LINE, and of the power relations those expressions express. I am reminded at the end of that film when Bosche arrives and sternly establishes his authority. "We are a family. A family can only have one head, and that is ME; I am the father...." And earlier, after the capture of the bunker atop Hill 210, Tall tries to manipulate his protege, Capt. John Gaff into not stopping momentum of the offensive when the latter wants to pause to look for water for his men: "John, you're like a son to me." Most movingly--and sincerely-- was when Captain Staros had to say goodbye to his men after being relieved of his command. He shares a bit of his heritage by saying something in Greek. When asked what it means, his eyes moisten with emotion and replies, "It means you have all been like my sons...You *are* my sons...My dear sons...You live inside me now...I'll carry you wherever I go....")

I can't forget that scene near the end, in Penn's fever dream: Framed by the doorway is the RL just as he looked as a young boy, standing in the blinding white expanse of the salt flat, underneath the blazing sun and the bluest sky. On the "inside," is the mother with Penn standing behind her, stroking her hair and back to console her, as she bids goodbye to her departed son.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jimmy -

Thanks for recommending the story by Gerald Kersh. I will look for it. I have read only PRELUDE TO A CERTAIN MIDNIGHT so far, and I loved it. The next thing I will read by him is NIGHT AND THE CITY, which I have in a nice hardcover edition.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jeff H-

The Ebert review is interesting, but I think his blog post on the film even more so. Reading the now-almost 200 comments that follows was very interesting, too.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dave Martens-

Thank you for your comments.

It's like that scene in the diner where Brad Pitt gives the definition of "subjective" to his sons.

Or, to quote a line from another Malick film:

"One man looks at a dying bird and thinks there's nothing but unanswered pain...That death's got the final word...It's laughing at him. Another man sees that same bird and...feels the Glory...feels something smiling through it."

Or, to quote poet/engraver/visionary William Blake:

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself."

Below, you might be interested to read the *wildly divergent* opinions on the film by professional movie critics all over the world, collected here in a two-part exhaustive digest. My reaction after reading through it all, including the links contained therein, was: WOW!

Critical reception for THE TREE OF LIFE, Round 1
http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/cannes-2011-terrence-malicks-the-tree-of-life

Critical reception for THE TREE OF LIFE, Round 2
http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-tree-of-life-round-2

Nestor Almendros wrote a great memoir called MAN WITH A CAMERA. There is a chapter devoted exclusively to his work on DAYS OF HEAVEN. This same chapter is reproduced in the liner notes of the special Criterion Collection edition of the film. There is also a brief interview with him in the documentary called VISIONS OF LIGHT: THE ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY.

Yeah, I love Lubezki's work. I think his contribution to THE TREE OF LIFE is superior to what he did in THE NEW WORLD. I loved John Toll's work for THE THIN RED LINE. John Toll has a great commentary track in the special Criterion Collection edition for that film. And there is a great 4-page interview in the February 1999 edition of American Cinematographer, which you can read online at the link below.

http://www.theasc.com/magazine/feb99/war/index.htm

Lastly, I would like to share incredibly beautiful beginning of a long, stirring, eloquent essay called "The Thin Red Line -- Who's It For?" by a Malick aficionado named Joan Barger, whom I had the great pleasure to have many an online chat with shortly after the release of THE THIN RED LINE. Of course, those lovely words she wrote in her remarkable essay can be applied to Malick's work as a whole:

"It is a movie for anyone who has ever loved deeply, lost love or
loved ones, feared dying or Death's power, struggled to comprehend
how the world and rituals of childhood could be so deeply betrayed by
life, and how the truths that seemed so clear as children could turn
so murky and horrific has ever been struck mute with wonder at the
beauty of sunset gleaming on a broken bottle, or mute with horror
that rape could happen on a day that the world is silver-pure with
snowwho has tried and failed and tried again to make some sense of
what is happening within and without, in the world at large and in
the secret heartwho has asked questions that have no answers, or has
gotten answers that failed to healwho has learned terrible truths
about the past, about Dachau and Katyn Forest and Prague Spring and
Andersonville, and about the present as wellwho has known love of
family and friends and welcome and happiness, and has seen all these
things fade who has tried to explain or sought explanation from
one's peers, and received only blank incomprending stares in
answer . . . who has been beaten down by the certainty of evil, and
yet refused to give up utterly that spark of hope that there is
meaning, there is love, there is truth in these things still --"

And the end of her beautiful essay, she concludes,"--Is it for you? It is for anyone who has been in hell and longed for heaven."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THE TREE OF LIFE is a film for the ages....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVxIXdE0y4A

Brother of the Cult and Holder of the Line,

LVL

CineFamily Tonight

Fred Keller — Thu, 19 Jan 12 08:00:50 -0500

If I didn't have my own gig to play I'd hitch a ride, a flight, a freight, a wagon train, or just march out to be there. The first one was nonpareil, an absolute bucket-list-item that I'll treasure the rest of my days. To say I'm jealous of those attending merely scratches the surface.

No title.

Diane Bartels — Thu, 19 Jan 12 07:36:08 -0500

Harlan, have a great show and a good time tonite. Everyone have fun; wish I could be there. Next time.
Josh or other powers that be, could repost the link to the broadcast if possible. please. Thank you.
Harlan, when u r done with tonite, there was something I wanted to ask you.
Have fun, everybody. Steve, tons of pics please. Tim, looking forward to your account.

No title.

Ezra — Thu, 19 Jan 12 07:24:02 -0500

Shadow,

What's more "inexperienced" and "sophomoric" than assuming that your own subjective opinions are synonymous with the laws of the universe?

Typo!! Proof your work!

Steve Barr — Thu, 19 Jan 12 05:03:19 -0500

Ackk!

Its NOT It's

Garp!

Steve Barr — Thu, 19 Jan 12 05:01:19 -0500

Shadow,
Thanks for reminding me of The World According to Garp! which I also have not re-visited it in a decade, but remember it well as great read. It is now next on my list. (Reading Neal Stevenson's REAMDE and digging it greatly.)
Your post reminded me of the olde adage..."You can't judge a book by it's movie."
I enjoyed the TWAG movie with Robin Williams and Glen Close, but the book is an entirely different, exponentially better experience.

P.S. Having read most of John Irving's books I am usually haunted by a nagging question.

What's with all the bears and penises???!

Trees, and taking a piss on 'em

the Shadow — Wed, 18 Jan 12 22:15:48 -0500

Hey, JEFF R, if you read my note and think I think what you think I thought...then...YOU missed the part in my quickie review about navel-gazing and "what does it all MEAN!?!" and the inherent sarcasm in that aside...and the part about sophomoric despair, and how the film only appeals to inexperienced minds and young film students. In your twenties, it's okay to go on and on and on (and on) about it all, because being self-centered, and wanting everyone to think you're not self-centered but very deep, even though you are asking the same question(s) in a not so original way, is, well, sophomoric. And if you're still doing it by Malick's age, and calling it "art", you're doing little more than trying to pass off a five-finger exercise as procreation, and the two ain't the same thing.

There are some trees that make you think they might be Yggdrasil; and there are others that are only worth the time it takes to take a piss on. Guess which one "Tree of Life" is? (Okay, that might've been over-the-top criticism, but -- I couldn't resist).

Roger Ebert is a nice man, and he has made some great calls, but...he also gave a rave review to "Knowing", and considers it to be a great film. Great my achin' nutsack. 'Nuff said.

different strokes for different folks

Dave Martens — Wed, 18 Jan 12 21:07:59 -0500

Now I'm really fired up for seeing THE TREE OF LIFE in the home setting. For the correct record, Terrence Malick's cinematographer for the film was Emmanuel Lubezki. Yes, The Shadow/DTS, Mr. Malick collaborates with excellent cinematographers. Lubezki's other credits are THE NEW WORLD, CHILDREN OF MEN and THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON (another goody with Sean Penn), to name drop but a few.

Like pizzas and beverages, not everyone will dig the same thing. THE TREE OF LIFE still strongly resonates with me, however, even after only one viewing. Once and finally again, I don't perceive the superficial "plot" as all this _artwork_ is entirely about. After seeing the film in a theater, I also found myself wanting to see more of character Jack O'Brien (Penn) as an adult. This seemed unbalanced, yet I feel what we've seen is fragmented, as is life. And MOBY DICK was only about a guy chasin' a whale?

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow night's festivities at CineFamily via a computer screen. Perhaps we will be enlightened to some of the nature of The Freep during those days of Harlan's column installments. I believe this is where the internet far exceeds the "spoon-feeding" and "limited-choice" nature of television.

The Tree of Life

Jeff R. — Wed, 18 Jan 12 16:35:27 -0500

Hey, Shadow, as a huge Tree of Life fan I say this without any rancor or snobbism whatsoever, but if you left the theater thinking it was about "the loss of a child, the loss of a sibling," no wonder you didn't like it.

The Tree of Life focuses on this one '50s Texas family to ask why, in the context of our entire universe and the creation and death of our planet, why are they still significant to God? (Or why do they wish think they are?) It is a deeply spiritual movie, I think.

Roger Ebert wrote a very positive review you might want to check sometime, he likened it to "2001: A Space Odyssey" for its scope and ambition. Not for a moment do I think you should change your opinion -- if you didn't like it, you didn't like it -- but like several others who've posted comments on the movie here, it was tremendously moving to me.

No title.

Mike Jacka — Wed, 18 Jan 12 15:44:10 -0500

Thanks Josh. Knew it was going to be rather ad hoc. (How could it be any other way?) But that fills in the blanks.

Mike

No title.

Frank Church — Wed, 18 Jan 12 15:29:12 -0500

Chris Dodd is defending the beast--the Online Piracy Act, which could kill the internet as we know it.

Conservatives kill you from the front while liberals kill you from the back.

---------

Hey, if Patton is there ask him about rock music. I want to see him and Harlan spar. hehe.

REPLY TO HARLAN

Paul Anderson — Wed, 18 Jan 12 14:32:17 -0500

Wonderful, sir. I started writing rejection notes this afternoon, during my free period at work, then held off, thinking, "No, let's wait to see what Harlan has up his sleeve."

I look forward to receiving your notes. I hope to put them to good use.

I tip my hat to you, sir.

Cheers,

Paul

Books & movies

the Shadow — Wed, 18 Jan 12 12:44:07 -0500

Books:
Upon talking to an agent who was facillitating the rental of a house, I mentioned having to pack up all my books and schlep them, again, to another abode. She looked at me quizzically and asked, "Why?" To her way of thinking, I should sell them all instead haning onto them. Aside from the fact that she wasn't a book person (she couldn't have been), I knew I couldn't explain to her convenience of having reference books of one's own on hand. I knew that because she came across the same as a bunch of people who posted in fear, dismay -- and fury! -- over the loss of wikipedia for one day. Aside from the laughable idea of "wiki" being a bastion of information, these days, the idea of looking for information anywhere else other than the internet or TV is alien to the majority of humans inhabiting the planet. Books, and libraries that house them, are, indeed, gonna go the way of the Mountain Gorilla.

I was rereading THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (after not rereading, continously, for over a decade) and found it still holds up as a classic. It still pulls me in, immediately, and the story and characters are as engaging now as they were the first time (and it's amazing to find that Irving was writing not only about feminism, but about single mothers, etc. well before they would become a hot topic in politics). Even though A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY is apparently his most popular novel, and even though there are other novels of his that are more complicated (A SON OF THE CIRCUS) and, probably better (A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR), in a technical sense, "Garp" will always be my favorite. To paraphrase the protagonist in "Midnight in Paris" -- who is bowled over upon meeting T.S. Eliot, raving about "Prufrock": THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP is my mantra!

Movies:
Malick's "Days of Heaven" is definitely his best film thus far, followed closely by "The Thin Red Line" and "Badlands". His worst film thus far is definitely "Tree of Life". It started out promisingly, addressing an issue -- the loss of a child; the loss of a sibling -- but took that story so far into the realm of Sophomoria, that it was lost in a rush of navel-gazing and sophomoric despair (What does it all MEAN!?!). The inner monologue device was used to perfection in "Thin Red Line", but in "Tree of Life" it becomes an annoying tic. And the sequence in space seemed like something that would only appeal to those who had never heard of (nor seen footage from) Hubble; thus, as as symbolism, it became a hammer on the head. All of which is sad, because Malick is clearly talented, and the subject matter was clearly dear to him. But the film doesn't come across as the end product of a focused, mature mind. Nice cinematography, though.

whooop out to PAUL ANDERSON

HARLAN ELLISON — Wed, 18 Jan 12 12:41:46 -0500

us

SASE received, stuffed, reposted this morning.

Find two I've used. One on white paper serves for 99% of everybody, first time reply. Good taste, makes point, makes smile.

One on blue paper is if they reply back to #1. Have had to use that one only six, eight times in 50 years. But all one hears back, if used, is sweet silence. Mean, but eversoeffective.

In good health you should use them. Yr. Pal, Harlan

No title.

Josh Olson — Wed, 18 Jan 12 08:39:28 -0500

Mike,

"Noticed that Patton Oswalt dropped off most of the mentions about tomorrow's event. Did I miss something official about him not being able to attend?"

Here's how it goes.

Patton, in casual chat with Harlan: Hey, you're thing is on Thursday? I might be able to swing by for that.

Harlan, ten seconds later, on the internet: PATTON OSWALT WILL BE PERFORMING A FIRE EATER ACT LIVE WITH ME AT CINEFAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Josh, to Harlan, ten minutes later: Hey, maybe we ought to hold off on announcing things before we really know they're happening.

Who can really say WHAT will happen tomorrow night?

No title.

Steve Barber — Wed, 18 Jan 12 08:19:52 -0500

Blog regarding the online piracy acts now before Congress.

I'm agin 'em.

http://thumbnailtraveler.blogspot.com/2012/01/so.html

No title.

Tim Richmond — Wed, 18 Jan 12 08:10:23 -0500

Harlan
Sorry I haven't gotten back to you. Between gigs, exorcisms and Andrea's mother's recurring illness I've been rather sleepless. However, I am in the process of formulating a solid direction which I'll share with you on Friday. Have a great gig tomorrow night - wish I could be there. I'll be watching the live stream. Cheers to you both. Tim and Andrea

Harlan reference on Cracked.Com

Adam-Troy Castro — Wed, 18 Jan 12 06:57:18 -0500

Harlan gets name-checked in today'sCRACKED article about the bizarre logic of Bollywood movies.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-you-can-learn-about-india-from-their-action-movies/

If you don't wanna check it out yourself, the reference has to do a robot in one of those movies that attempts rape, even though it possesses no genitalia; the article concludes that said robot thus lives in a kind of Harlan Ellison nightmare where it must fuck, but has no...well, you get the idea.

Thanks for the Links

jimmy — Tue, 17 Jan 12 23:50:13 -0500

Le and Ezra -

I will definitely check out those links you posted. Thank you very much. I also wanted to point out that Jordan Belson made the visual effects for THE RIGHT STUFF.

Lastly, when watching HUGO today, the automatron put me in mind of the Gerald Kersh story THE KING WHO COLLECTED CLOCKS. Check it out.

jimmy

ATC news

Michael Mayhew — Tue, 17 Jan 12 23:20:19 -0500

Bravo!

I look forward to hearing the third Cort novel.

(audio books, I have discovered, are the one thing that can get me to take long healthy walks - I only allow myself to listen to the story if I'm walking)

Best,

MM

Books Arrived!!!

Mary — Tue, 17 Jan 12 17:48:09 -0500

Many thanks, Susan! You are the uber Electric Baby and then some!

Gonna start with the Harlan Ellison Hornbook and just keep on going...

My day has just been made :).

No title.

Kenny Noor — Tue, 17 Jan 12 17:24:32 -0500

Brad Smith, a former roofer and the author of the novel "One-Eyed Jacks" on writing:

"Anybody who tells you that writing is fun is probably a liar or an idiot. Writing is like shingling a roof you lay X number of shingles a day until youre finished. I used to be a roofer and anybody who tells you that shingling is fun is definitely an idiot.
However
Discovering characters can be enjoyable from time to time. "

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/01/11/brad-smith-character-witness/

LOST HERC MEMBER

SUSAN ELLISON — Tue, 17 Jan 12 16:13:45 -0500

Dear All:

Lost HERC member. Moved-Unknown address.

MURRAY R. WARD. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Thanks--Susan

Le

Ezra — Tue, 17 Jan 12 16:01:43 -0500

I wanted more of Sean Penn's character and thought the childhood episodes went on too long. But then I'm the only remaining person who doesn't believe our childhood experiences completely determine our adulthood.

The best book about 2001 is Jerome Agel's THE MAKING OF KUBRICK'S 2001 which came out a year or so after the movie release. It was a palm sized mass market paperback and contained interviews with the principals both during and after production, and tons of contemporary reviews and articles, including the Playboy interview with Stanley Kubrick.

Appreciate the mention of American visual artist JORDAN BELSON who died late last year. For a long time it was difficult to see his work and demonstrate to other people what afficianados were raving about but now you can view his work on DVD from the Center for Visual Music at this link-

http://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/JBDVD.htm

Detest "best of" lists but some fine movies from last year include

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

TAKE SHELTER

13 ASSASSINS

GET LOW (Believe it or not Bill Murray steals the movie from Robert Duvall)

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES

ATTACK THE BLOCK

A danger to the author

mtc — Tue, 17 Jan 12 15:13:08 -0500

not likely what Mr. Schaffer needs but;
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you."
Don Marquis

No title.

Frank Church — Tue, 17 Jan 12 14:37:06 -0500

Thought of the day: It is the sin of adultery to lust in your heart, or so says the Bible. But if you lust in your heart to murder someone why then isn't it murder? Isn't the thought of death a bit more blackened then thoughts of nookie?

No title.

Mike Jacka — Tue, 17 Jan 12 14:29:59 -0500

Noticed that Patton Oswalt dropped off most of the mentions about tomorrow's event. Did I miss something official about him not being able to attend?

(I will be there nonetheless.)

Mike

OFF TOPIC: Movies That Matter

Le — Tue, 17 Jan 12 14:29:48 -0500

I finally got to go see A SEPARATION yesterday afternoon. It was so beautifully written and actedso moving. Of the many themes it probes, my favorite was the one the conflict between personal happiness and personal responsibility/duty. There is a heart-tugging scene where we see Nader bathing his elderly father who has Alzheimers and shown seated in a wheelchair in the bathroom and whose back is facing the camera. Nader is scrubbing his fathers back with a towel in one hand; with the other, he is spraying water on his father with a handheld showerhead. As he is scrubbing away at his fathers back, we begin to hear and see him cry and then he leans on his father and then breaks down in an uncontrollable sob, the water from the showerhead mirroring his torrent of tears. The movie is full of such wordless scenes of quiet intimacy and heartbreak. That last heartcrushing scene with Naders daughter will haunt me for years to come. It is the best foreign film I have seen since LET THE RIGHT ONE IN from a few years back, and I think the second best film of 2011.

The best film of 2011 I saw was Terrence Malicks THE TREE OF LIFE (a tree that keeps on giving). Speaking of which....

Jimmy-

I dont know if youre still around, but I am glad you liked that extended exegesis by Niles Schwartz on Malicks film. (http://nilesfilmfiles.blogspot.com/2011/06/song-of-himself-terrence-malicks-tree.html) I was amazed that he came up with all that after just two or three viewings. It was screened again at two LA-area Laemmle theatres, and I got to see it again four more times at the one in Encino (each time also treating myself to the amazing *vegan* Vietnamese restaurant after the shows). It probably has the most beautiful opening of any movie I have ever seenI cannot express the power of those opening minutes.

I was surprised how autobiographical it was. Malick, too, had two younger brothers, and one aspired to be a great classical guitar player and traveled to Spain to pursue his dreams. After realizing that hed never be the kind of guitarist hed hope to be, he broke both his hands and then later killed himself. Malicks father had asked that Malick come with him to console his depressed younger brother. But Malick never did. I think Malick never got over his failure to be at his brothers side when he most needed him, and on one level this film is a moving tribute to his dead brother. Playing over part of the end credits is Sors famous classical guitar Study in b minor, Op. 35, No. 22:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTtqL9LcaEA&fmt=18

I will never forget that scene inside the church at the funeral service. Its just the minister and Chastain, but we dont see their faces. We just see the minister taking both the hands of Chastains and trying to console her by saying, Hes in Gods hands now. She then withdraws her hands then says, He was in Gods hands the whole time, her voice so full of sadness and disappointment, as she turns her back on minister and walks away.

You might like Matt Zoller Seitzs excellent 2-part video essay on the film, produced for the Museum of the Moving Image and is found at the link below:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/VIDEO_ESSAY_All_Things_Shining_The_Films_of_Terrence_Malick_Chapter_5_T

Having seen the film four times now, I definitely agree with his argument that there was definitely something Oedipal going on with Jack. And the video essay gets really interesting when it shows clips from other films when it discusses the influences on the THE TREE OF LIFEAndrei Tarkovskys THE MIRROR, Terence Davies THE LONG DAY CLOSES, and especially in the nonobjective cinema of Jordan Belson, whose experimental films influenced Douglas Trumballs special effects work in both 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (and a must-read is Piers Bizonys lavishly illustrated and indispensable book entitled 2001: FILMING THE FUTURE. The cover of the first edition is super cool: It is black, and the lettering is white Helvetica. In the horizontal frame is the tight close up of Dave Bowman staring at the camera, the lights from the space pods control panel reflected in the face shield of his helmet) and in THE TREE OF LIFE. One of my favorite moments was the nebulas (done by macro-photography of chemical reactions filmed in slow motion) at the beginning of the creation sequence. Then everything is black, and then all those myriad white galaxies slowly fade in to view, appearing like luminous jellyfish in the blackest depths of the oceanIncredible.

It reminded me how small we are. I remember during Carl Sagans last appearance on NIGHTLINE. He was dying of cancer, bald, and haggard. When asked to give some parting thoughts he had to share before leaving this world, he said the following:

We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy which is one of billions of other galaxies which make up a universe which may be one of a very large number, perhaps an infinite number, of other universes. That is a perspective on human life and our culture that is well worth pondering.

I am also reminded of Arthur Clarkes short story called The Star, wherein the Jesuit narrator and astrophysicist has a crisis of faith after making the discovery that the super nova that wiped this highly advanced and cultured alien race, was also the same star that shone over Bethlehem.

In THE TREE OF LIFE, I will never forget that scene inside the church at the funeral service. Its just a 2-shot of the minister and Chastain, but we dont see their faces. We just see the minister taking both the hands of Chastains and trying to console her by saying, Hes in Gods hands now. She then withdraws her hands then says, He was in Gods hands the whole time, her voice so full of sadness and disappointment, as she turns her back on minister and walks away.
Is the universe random? Or is everything, including the deaths of your most cherished loved ones, part of Gods plan(if there is a god)? I will never know. But one of the most beautiful passages making a positive spin for the latter I have ever read comes from John Donnes Meditation 17. It may not be as famous as that other passage from the same work, but to me the prose is superior, especially in the eloquence with which he uses the book as a Metaphysical conceit as only he can:

All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and His hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to another.

Anyway, below is where I feel THE TREE OF LIFE measures up against Malicks other films:

1. The Thin Red Line (This is not only my favorite Malick film; it is my favorite film, period. I saw this over 80 times-- in the theatre, when it first came out.)
2. The Tree of Life
3. Days of Heaven
4. Badlands
5. The New World (the Extended Cut)

Correction

Phil Nichols — Tue, 17 Jan 12 12:38:05 -0500

I meant ' not ;

!

Cinefamily

Phil Nichols — Tue, 17 Jan 12 12:36:50 -0500

I don;t have tickets, but I have set an alarm for 3.30am UK time... to get up and, bleary eyed, watch the live stream of HE in action.

All you Californians, please spare a thought for us in other time zones as you relax into your evening's entertainment!

- Phil

No title.

Steven Barber — Tue, 17 Jan 12 11:46:24 -0500

ADAM-TROY -- Utterly brilliant news!!! Congratulations. For those of you who have not yet read the Andrea Cort novels please indulge yourself. I will be first in line for the third book, even if I can only listen to it!
____________________________________________

REICH -- Please observe the one post per 24 hours rule hereabouts. Only exception is if Rick or Harlan ask you a direct question. A few lapses here and there are permitted if news is breaking or other extenuating circumstance. Thanks!
____________________________________________

Two days to Cinefamily. If you haven't gotten your tickets it's highly recommended you do so immediately.

Nison.....COPS happened, MTV happened, 24 news channels

Reich Benasutti — Tue, 17 Jan 12 11:23:34 -0500

happened, Reagan happened, and all this unnessary technology mixed into a massive coctail of dumb and dumber, needing the latest gadget. Big difference between want and need there. HE said it himself: highest rated series going for 20 years that costs nothing to produce, no need to pay actors or writers or directors.....COPS. (one of the first reality shows, that and MTV's The real world.) There are glimmers of hope. Ron Moore's Galactica reboot, JJ.Abrams Fringe. But even when those shows get on the air, you notice that the dopey network heads have no idea what they have and keep moving it around to nights when no one is at home. My grandmother marion was a published writer (no steady job for pappa) so i always reveared the written word and writers no matter what medium they work in. For instance you mention Alfred Hitchcock Presents. How many people realize that a guy namned Robert C. Dennis wrote alot of the best episodes and that he also wrote one episode of the 60s Outer Limits: Cry of Silence? Probably not many. My interest in reality programming extends to the game show jeapardy and maybe the people's court and that's it. Well done fantasy and Sf series are very difficult to do these days when confronted with those other mindless divisions and quality sf/fantasy television anthology series that go beyond like six episodes are unheard of. I think the last series that sustained into seasons was Tales of the Darkness (what was that, the 80s?) Sad really....

Whopping Huge News

Adam-Troy Castro — Tue, 17 Jan 12 11:11:56 -0500

I don't think Harlan will object to me sharing my big news here.

A while back I alluded to major news that would cheer the hearts of Andrea Cort fans. Here 'tis.

Audible.com has purchased the rights. I sign the contracts today. As soon as the books can pass through the pipeline of production and scheduling, Andrea Cort will be available online, as audiobooks.

The big news...the whopping huge news...is that this doesn't *just* include EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD and THE THIRD CLAW OF GOD. It includes the third novel, heretofore only available in German, WAR OF THE MARIONETTES. Those of you who have been upset that you didn't get to read the third book in the series will be able to listen to it.

I don't know who's performing the books, or when they'll be available. More details when I have them.

No title.

Robert Nason — Tue, 17 Jan 12 09:41:29 -0500

Reich -- All excellent books! Speaking of writers -- and what else do we usually speak of here? -- I caught an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" on the Antenna cable network last night called "The Ikon of Elijah." It was based on a short story by the great late Avram Davidson and starred the unforgettable Oscar Homolka. Needless to say, the show was great and unforgettable (and on pretty late). Amazing how many top SF writers had a hand in the Hitchcock show -- Bradbury, Bloch, and our esteemed host, Harlan Ellison, to name just three. Those old shows hold up remarkably well. TV knew how to TELL STORIES in those days. Wha' happened?

Update on Resistance Front Paperback

Bernard Schaffer — Tue, 17 Jan 12 09:08:52 -0500

Unca Harlan:

Have been working hard on the paperback edition of Resistance Front and just approved the cover art. I should (SHOULD) have the files by Wednesday, and the book in my hands shortly thereafter. Once it is approved, I will be making good on our discussion.

Quick question: I have been wracking my brain trying to remember a quote of yours regarding dangerous writing. I believe it was something akin to the only writing that is of any value is that which is dangerous to the author. It was either in Shatterday, or the story about your dad in the Essential Ellison, but I cannot find the damn thing.

Can anyone here quote it for me?

For Susan

Tony — Tue, 17 Jan 12 08:58:48 -0500

Hello,
Just checking to see if my change of address made it to you.
Thanks,
Tony Adams

Praise Queries & Fannish Folderol (sorry)

Elbee. Jackson — Tue, 17 Jan 12 02:50:14 -0500

I have been a fan for years. Like most folks I love your work but writers are never as promoted as the performers, I guess that's the Hollywood way. Anyway this morning I came to and caught the Outer Limits episode Soldier. I had never seen it and I was glued to the story. I instantly recognized the great Michael Ansara. Wonderful. I'm not in" the business ", but that story Should be adapted for film in the here and now. Do you know Will Smith?
Anyway your feel for temporal storytelling is awesome. I will look for more.
Best wishes,
Elbee Jackson

Robert Nassan

Reich Benasutti — Tue, 17 Jan 12 02:18:38 -0500

The Stars, My Destination, Asimov's Robot novels and Foundation Trilogy, any Bradbury. Gotta ton of SF, just on a graphic novel/comic book collection reading kick right now. Second childhood i guess (or maybe i haven't gotten over the first.) Just read Creepy Vol. 1 from Darkhorse. I do have the Repairman Jack novels so i'd like to give those a go as well as Lee Child's books (although those are action, not SF) When Borders was closing i went nuts and hit a lot of stores to get the good stuff heavily discounted, before anyone else got em (sneaky me.)

No title.

Robert Nason — Mon, 16 Jan 12 17:12:16 -0500

Reich -- Just curious. Any classic SF novel you could get into?

Dune minseries (with Ellison commentary)

Reich Benasutti — Mon, 16 Jan 12 13:57:33 -0500

For no reason whatsoever, i was watching deleted scenes of Lynch's Dune on youtube wondering when Lynch would finally get off his ass and release Dune-the director's cut (you know you guys want it as i do) when it made me remember that i have the scifi mini-series Dune and how I was never able to see the round robin with Ellison cause I could never get it to play. Now i'm thinking of getting another of same off Amazon (i know, i should have returned the other at the time but i didn't.) Do any of you guys have the same problem? Surely all copies can't have the same feature control problems can they? Guess there is only one way to find out. (guess i'll get the children of dude mini too.) Oh, and i enjoyed Lynch's version except for the disgusting heart-plugs which according to my sister had nothing to do with the book. Call me a dumbo but i could never get into that novel for some reason. Found it to be a bit of a snooze...maybe i need to give it another go. (i was young at the time.)

No title.

Jim Argendeli — Mon, 16 Jan 12 13:02:09 -0500

Just heard that Garth Ennis (of Preacher fame) will be writing a new on-going Shadow comic for Dynamite Entertainment. This is to launch in April.

No title.

Frank Church — Mon, 16 Jan 12 12:35:43 -0500

" Get a day job, make your money from that, and write to please yourself. And dont be a whore. Dont be a whore! Everybody works for the dollar. You work for the dollar, I work for the dollar. Everybody works for the Man..."

I agree somewhat, but why not be your own man? Overthrow the man is what I say.

No title.

Jon Winokur — Mon, 16 Jan 12 10:47:15 -0500

DAVID LOFTUS:

Yes, I do remember our conversation, and your recommendation of Dahlberg, but I "discovered" Harlan in around 1969 in the form of his "Glass Teat" column in the L.A. Free Press.

Glad you liked The Garner Files. When I asked Garner if McQueen was difficult, he said, "He was difficult when you invited him for breakfast."

Loved your Reading-while-walking piece (walking-while-reading, more like it) and will tweet about it (@AdviceToWriters).

All best,

Jon

No title.

Diane Bartels — Mon, 16 Jan 12 09:26:39 -0500

Harlan will you please bring yourself Susan and the Barbers back to the Midwest soon? Doesnt have to be Chicago, Im game for Madison Milwaulkee, Minnie, Pleeeesssseee!

No title.

Rob — Sun, 15 Jan 12 20:41:36 -0500

Yeesh! In case that "ass" quip is taken the wrong way, it's
infensus procul nemo tamen myself!

No title.

Rob — Sun, 15 Jan 12 19:09:30 -0500

S. Barber counsels: "Yeah. So don't wear the bunny suit this time."

Well...if you'd told Harlan that was ME in the bunny suit I'd have been there to apply myself to yon uncooperative vehicle single-handedly!

Anyway, I plan to wear a different suit this time round - a giant one-piece rubber ass - so that Harlan will have no trouble at all recognizing me!

...As you can tell, I don't like being a non-entity!

SEASONS GREETINGS

STAN, THE MAN FROM ALOHA — Sun, 15 Jan 12 17:20:09 -0500

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO HARLAN AND SUSAN

I haven't been on here for a long time, think my last post was in November last year not sure...anyway...I have been busy WRITING...did 133 poems in less than a year...finished four short film scripts (trying to sell them) and several short stories...been very busy..anyway...you and Susan have a wonderful year...Being a die hard Conservative Republican I
know our views differ politically...but my admiration of your writing over the last fifty years for me, inspired me to some degree in my own writing. I will soon be sixty six years old...still not published or produced big time, still will try until things are suppossed to upchuck on December 21st this year. I am on a wait-and-see attitude on that one. Anyway...I want to thank you for your writing, your inspiration to me and to thousands of others like me. Have a good and healthful year...peace to you both..STAN, THE MAN FROM ALOHA, OREGON

No title.

Robert Nason — Sun, 15 Jan 12 16:25:36 -0500

I hope the rest of the Pavilion will join me in wishing Robert Silverberg, an old pal of Harlan's and a damn good writer himself, a very happy birthday. So happy birthday, Bob!

Hey Finder Douglas...

Lori Koonce — Sun, 15 Jan 12 15:56:53 -0500

How much money would it take to get you to part with those tickets?

I mean it would be a shame to have 'em go to waste.

THAT OLD GANG OF MINE

FinderDoug — Sun, 15 Jan 12 15:32:24 -0500

Steve - I so hate to disappoint you, but I couldn't make it even if Unca Harlan himself sent a turboprop to Houston, left a hot dog for me on the counter at Pink's and a ticket at the door of the event. Not only will I be freshly returned from the other side of the pond on the day before, but the day OF the event I'm the taxi service retrieving my lovely bride-to-be from HER return flight from Merry Olde; and then I get to do laundry, repack, and schlep for four days of trade show hell in Chicago for my company. So - yeah.

It kills me to miss it - in much the same way that the friends and family wedding schedule for 2012 (four so far, one probable, one possible, and NOT INCLUDING my own still-unscheduled walk down the aisle) is going to force the cancellation of a planned trip to see Abel Gance's NAPOLEON at the end of March (screening in Oakland as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival) for which I already have a pair of tickets in hand. Such is the care for kith and kin. (BTW, if anyone is interested in acquiring said NAPOLEON tickets, I'll have more details in the forums when I'm back on my side of the planet. Interesting trades entertained.)

But DO have a good time. Ask a smart question for me. Don't feed Cramer after midnight. Be good. Or at least don't get caught.

Loftus reports in

David Loftus — Sun, 15 Jan 12 13:38:47 -0500

Guys,

Real sorry I can't come down there for the reunion, but Carole and I are working hard to make ends meet. Things are far from desperate up here, but they are a bit lean and dispiriting. Our apartment building just sold last month for $55 million to some California pension fund who promptly fired the entire management and maintenance staff that had done a great job for us, so we're picking up the odor of an inevitable rent hike and possibly having to move in the coming months. Not pleasant.

JON WINOKUR: Terrific interview. It's probably been far too many years for you to remember, but I'm wondering whether I might be the one who turned you on to Harlan Ellison. I'm fairly certain I dropped you a letter back in the early 1990s after I read _The Portable Curmudgeon_, and I think we had a phone conversation or two thereafter. I distinctly remember urging you to check out Edward Dahlberg, one of the great curmudgeon/aphorists of the 20th century (he referred to himself as "the most hated man in American literature") but I can't remember whether I lobbied for Harlan as well. I bought and enjoyed the Garner autobio last month, too. (Garner had unflattering things to say about Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, and I noticed when I read Roger Ebert's delightful memoir, _Life Itself_, that he was not terribly impressed with McQueen's work, either.)

Here's my latest piece, everybody; an essay in today's Portland Oregonian about my longtime, oddball practice of reading while walking the city:

http://www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2012/01/the_peripatetic_bibliolater_or.html

No title.

Chuck Messer — Sun, 15 Jan 12 11:27:52 -0500

I wish.

Someday, perhaps. Until then, scarf a Pink's strictly kosher nifty in my name and enjoy the hell out of the evening!

Chuck

No title.

Steve Barber — Sun, 15 Jan 12 10:53:54 -0500

TIM - No harm, no foul. No amends need be made if Harlan and Rick are whole. Would love to meet you at Pink's. I'm just the security guard around these parts... ;-)
_____________________________________________

Off to the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show (in Long Beach) today -- blog about it later.

If anyone has interest, I'm restoring two of my public galleries on Facebook (anyone can look in). A lot more to come on the second...

Travels - http://tinyurl.com/78e3fvm

Friends - http://tinyurl.com/6s969oz
_________________________________

See you at Pink's!!

My Saturday Night

Robert Nason — Sat, 14 Jan 12 22:42:41 -0500

I had a lovely dinner tonight at a little French restaurant not far from Lincoln Center with a charming woman who's had a life as fascinating as anyone I've ever met -- I'd list some of her accomplishments, but that would be giving away her identity. She was beautiful, articulate, gentle, and witty, and signed her latest book for me while we drank wine and dined on superbly prepared chicken (me) and calf liver (her -- I wouldn't touch the stuff). The conversation was lively, the meal most satisfying -- so why did I keep thinking that Harlan's presence (alnog with his wife, natch) would have made it perfect? Does that make me -- strange?

Correction

Jon Winokur — Sat, 14 Jan 12 12:03:48 -0500

Thanks, Rick. 81 is indeed a lot, even for Harlan. I've corrected it to read "8 1/2."

Jon Winokur

Rick Ollerman — Sat, 14 Jan 12 11:30:30 -0500

I enjoyed the interview but near the bottom it says that Harlan won 81 Hugos. Which is a lot.

No title.

Kenny Noor — Sat, 14 Jan 12 10:37:53 -0500

Reuters reports that thing are so bad in HOLLYWOOD they are LOOKING for ORIGINAL IDEAS!
More than 130 specs were snapped up in 2011, the highest level since before the writer's strike.

More at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/idUS367893385820120112

New Ellison Interview

Jon Winokur — Sat, 14 Jan 12 08:57:19 -0500

My recent interview with Harlan, in which he talks about the writers who have influenced him, his work habits, his current state of mind, and more, in now posted at: http://www.advicetowriters.com/interviews/.

I survived Friday the 13TH did you?

John Pickett — Sat, 14 Jan 12 04:47:05 -0500

First off Tim thanks for your kind Email. I apologize for sounding upset. Sometimes I get a little cranky but then old farts like me do sometimes over react. I re-read your post this morning & laughed MAO at the list. I guess from a fresh prospective that list is hilarious.
On another more broad note When you get to Pink's try a hot dog with Salsa, Deli mustard, & Cole Slaw. That's the way I like mine Give Unc Harlan & everyone there my best! Wish I could make the trip from this coast but time & money right now are tight! I'm still waiting on Social Security to make a final ruling on my disability and a settlement check from the Cardiac ICD lead that failed & shocked me to arrive
Susan & Harlan ... Rest assured I'm making a list of Herc books to order soon!

To Steve Barber

Tim Raven — Sat, 14 Jan 12 00:24:11 -0500

Steve, I welcomed your nudge regarding my double posts from last night. It seems that you are willing to talk to me again. You were an advocate for me for quite a while and I certainly let you down, especially with my craven anonymous violent diatribe towards Steve Perry. Ive made amends to him, and I would like to make amends to you.

I have a ticket to the event next week and would be pleased to meet you in person at Pinks before the show. I was at the first event and hesitated to engage anyone. I sat at the bar and talked to Antonio after saying hello to Susan and asking Josh about parking at the theater.

Im feeling a bit weird about this and would like an indication from you and your crew that this would be welcome. I have a strong disconnect between my public life and my writing life. In my public life, Im a bit shy.

Thanks,
Tim

p.s. as a computer dude, Im of the opinion that posts should be timed by the striking of the midnight clock. By time zone, obviously.

As I post, after midnight,

Tim

To Josh Olson, Paul Anderson & Harlan

Mark Barsotti — Fri, 13 Jan 12 21:17:07 -0500

Mr. Anderson:

In re your commitment to write personal rejection letter: bless you, bless you, from all us semi-pro scribblers. And thanks for sharing the tale of the follow-up screed from the rejected a-hole "artist." Here's hoping you make it through at least the first anthology before declaring, "Fuck this!" and switching for form rejections.

To Josh Olson:

I spoke to Harlan and he has some interest in using the streaming version of the Cinefamily appearance and/or filming it for a possible ON THE ROAD WITH ELLISON DVD for a future HERC offering (with Cinefamily possibly getting a cut), with the details of course being left to others. Consider this ball volleyed into your court. Maybe the streaming version can be used, or I'm sure someone knows someone with a decent digital camcorder to preserve next week's sure-fire hilarity for posterity. Once a copy is secure, the nuts & bolts of any DVD can be hashed out at leisure.

Harlan:

Ed will be calling you to discuss dinner possibilities next Saturday at Corrientes (or anywhere else you like).

Oh, I noticed you didn't mention the CD in your letter. It wasn't pirated off the internet; all artists have been paid. Giving it a listen is required for the free meal. And, yes, there will be a quiz...

Mark

No title.

Kenny Noor — Fri, 13 Jan 12 18:33:43 -0500

Tony Rabig

Thanks for the kindle tip. There is website available to find discounts on ebooks:

http://www.ereaderiq.com/

Odds n Ends

Steve Barber — Fri, 13 Jan 12 16:58:43 -0500

28 years ago this month Cris and I met at the Hollywood Dance Center up in, well, Hollywood. She was a professional ballroom dance competitor and teacher, I was an amateur competitor.

Tonight Cris and I are taking the first of a series of ballroom classes with an old friend we recently re-found on Facebook. (He used to be the masculine half of the Latin national champions back in da '80s.) We made the resolution this year to get off our duff and do something together.

It's gonna be like old times!
________________________________

JOSH - Were there problems, and can some of us be enlisted to help tame the crowd?
________________________________

PSSST, TIM - One per day, unless being addressed by Harlan.
________________________________

Kramer is gonna be here, Kramer is gonna be here!!! Now all we need are Loftus and FinderDoug....
________________________________

I have to ditto the praise of Adam-Troy. Anything that drives one more of those thieving asses off the web deserves the highest of kudos.

REPLY TO HARLAN AND RICK

Paul Anderson — Fri, 13 Jan 12 14:04:10 -0500

(Hope this doesn't break the one-post-per-day rule)

Harlan,

I'll send it through HERC, since that's the address I have for you, complete with SASE. And my many thanks ahead of time.

Rick,

That is an awesome idea; the next anthology I edit--if this anthology does well enough to allow me the chance--that's what I'm going to do. All dead people. I'll even call the anthology that--ALL DEAD GUYS.

Cheers.

HARLAN TO BARNEY

HARLAN ELLISON — Fri, 13 Jan 12 13:49:05 -0500

THRILLING WONDER STORIES arrived today as promised, splendid condition. It's already in "The Sleeve" archive. Tried the usual home and cell numbers to set up a phone interview with you. Neither one worked. One was some other guy; t'other said the home phone was disconnected. Whussup, Ole Chum?

You'll have to call me with new numbers. Or whatever. Ready when you are. After five my time is best. We'll do this; have your queries ready...and answerable modestly.

Thanks for the deal.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

PAUL ANDERSON

HARLAN ELLISON — Fri, 13 Jan 12 13:42:11 -0500

Sirrah:

I have the all-time best answer, most perfect solution, to your rejection note problem. Send me a reminder with your address thereon, and I shall ease away all your conundra. Where and from whom you get my address--home or HERC--is your problem.

But I can make you golden. That's a promise.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Any 87th Precinct fans out there...

Tony Rabig — Fri, 13 Jan 12 13:09:49 -0500

If you read Kindle ebooks and you're a fan of Ed McBain, you'll want to check Amazon today; they're doing a one-day sale on 35 of the 87th Precinct novels. Good stuff, gang, and only 99 cents each today. Who said Friday the 13th ain't lucky?

Bests to all,

--tr

No title.

Frank Church — Fri, 13 Jan 12 12:47:13 -0500

I am not a bi-polar crack addict! Only freak with meth on particular days and scrunch those plastic bubbles they put in packing crates.

-----------

Suzy Orman has a great idea: make it possible to link debit card purchases to credit scores. Right now poor people cannot get credit scores because they don't have credit cards.

Credit scores are a leading cause of poverty. Ick.

Paul's pain

Rick Ollerman — Fri, 13 Jan 12 12:15:36 -0500

Paul, I feel your pain. You take your rejection letter and run away with it to your favorite corner. Arguing with the editor will get you nowhere and demonstrates your lack of readiness to be a professional. Unless, of course, you can, through the power of your verbiage, talk a left-winger into a right-winger or vise versa, you're just pissing people off. Probably not a good goal.

I'm working on an anthology as well, but most of our stories are by dead guys/gals. Estates tend not to argue, they just want their checks.

Editor Rant

Paul Anderson — Fri, 13 Jan 12 12:04:33 -0500

Lemme rant a minute, if you please.

I'm editing an upcoming anthology for Post Mortem Press, a small publisher located in Ohio, called TORN REALITIES. Google it if you want--it's on the writer's search engine Duotrope--but I'm not here to pimp my first anthology; just laying down the scene.

Folks, lemme tell you about rejections notes.

I'm a writer and I hate getting them. I don't think anyone LOVES them, but there are some that are easier to handle than others, I think we can all agree.

So, when I signed the contract to edit this anthology, I thought, "You know what? Fuck it. No matter how many subs I get for this, I'm going to personally respond to every single one with reasons why, if this is the case, it didn't work for me." Now, to illustrate why this might've been more than a little stupid on my part, Post Mortem Press has grown greatly since first hitting the scene in November of 2011; their last anthology--DARK DOORWAYS, which featured stories by me, Jack Ketchum, F Paul Wilson, and Jonathan Maberry--was on the recommendation list for a Bram Stoker Award nomination. A pittance, you say, but hard-ass work for a little nothing publisher.

In any event, whenever Post Mortem opens up an antho for subs, they get between 200 and 400 subs. Still, not massive--some magazines do that a month--but a lot for a small press and a lot for a first-time editor who's mentally vowed to give personal notes to every rejection.

If there are writers on here, you understand. An actual personal note, while not dulling the blow, at least give you a clue of where the editor's head is at (sometimes up his ass, but not always) and where you went off the rails writing your story. A GOOD one shows you how to clean it up before sending your story off somewhere else.

That was/is my goal.

I've read 36 stories thus far since the antho opened two weeks ago, with another 10 in the kitty. I've rejected 32 of them, all with personal notes of why and how they can fix it for the next market.

Now, no editor wants responses back. No "thanks for your time," no "thanks for the advice," no goddam "good luck with the anthology." It clutters their Inbox and mailbox. If you do this, stop it. It's obnoxious. I did it earlier in my career, I'll admit, and now cringe when I think about it.

Yes--you saw this coming--I'm getting responses back.

Most are the annoying variety I just mentioned, which I do, on some level, understand. Like I said, I used to do it myself.

But yesterday...I had this fucker respond. I rejected his story because, really, it made no sense and had a "horror" ending tacked on to the end of the five pages because MY guidelines said I wanted horror. I told him this and explained why he should fix it if he sends it to another market. I said this nicely because, like I said, a nice, detailed rejection note is better than a "Sorry, we decided to pass on (INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE)" form.

He then proceeds to respond with a message longer than his fucking story or my fucking note, deconstructing why I'M wrong and his story is the fucking masterpiece that's gonna save western civilization. What the hell?

Now, at our core--and we can all admit this--writers can be and sometimes are (some writers thrive on this) insecure yet oddly arrogant pricks who are convinced that no one "gets it". It's not WORK...it's ART and you must appreciate ART and if you just don't, well then, sucks to be you.

Most of us control this because we know that writing is both work AND art and you can't have one without the other (well, you can have work without art, but, in this context, that ends up reading like something by Tom Clancy or that guy who wrote The DaVinci Code).

Someone hasn't taught that bastard yet. I didn't even finish it. I'm annoyed, but I really found it funny, mostly because my publisher added a P.S. to me and said, "I bet you're feeling really good right about now."

In any event...that was fun.

Cheers.

No title.

Josh Olson — Fri, 13 Jan 12 09:27:59 -0500

Martens,

The Cinefamily event will be streamed across the net. Your memory is faulty, however - I didn't field questions from the net, and there probably won't be an audience Q&A session. To be honest, those are usually a losing proposition. Some day, I'll compile a list of the ten most asked questions at ANY audience Q&A session, but few things kill a good discussion more than letting random strangers stand up for ten minutes and ramble on about how much someone's work changed their life, influenced their own work, or caused them to realize that aliens had taken possession of the US government in 1943.

And as long as I'm waxing cranky....

Most of you folks are lovely beyond compare, and it's always a pleasure to meet a fellow Ellison fan.

But a small handful of you fuckers have all the social graces of a bipolar crack addict. Please understand something - the folks who work at Cinefamily are not in it for the money. Cinefamily is a non-profit organization, and has become one of the most respected film programs in the world in the past few years. Some of these folks are volunteers, working there because they love what the organization does. (Hell, so do I. That's why I'm on the board of directors.)

If an employee asks you to slide over to make room for more patrons, or to step aside so people can get to the bathroom, or any other goddam reasonable thing, don't get in their face. Just fucking do it, okay? You have NO idea how hard it is to organize an event like this, and to make it run smoothly. Your ticket entitles you to a seat in the audience and nothing more.

The night will be a sell out. It will be packed. Every seat must be filled. It will almost certainly start a bit late. NONE of these things entitle you to make the life of some hard working kid more difficult. Be nice. Be cool. And if you can't, stay home, watch it on the internet, and berate someone who knows you and loves you, if such people exist.

PS: The internet feed will look and sound a lot better than the last one.

Nu

ATC — Fri, 13 Jan 12 09:25:03 -0500

If I'm wrong about the specifics of the case I remember, then at least I got him to understand the important lesson: legal consequences. Nu?

No title.

Tony Isabella — Fri, 13 Jan 12 09:22:39 -0500

Adam-Troy Castro is my hero of the week. I hereby nominate him for membership in the Super Friends.

No title.

Charlie — Fri, 13 Jan 12 08:47:43 -0500

ATC, Your homestead is a protected asset in Florida and a normal judgment creditor can not execute against it. (Limited exceptions, of course, e.g., you don't pay your mortgage, construction liens, very limited fraud situations.)

OhOK.

Tim Raven — Fri, 13 Jan 12 08:31:30 -0500

Im removing colostomy bag from the list. As a preemptive strike, Im also removing numbers eleven, sixteen and seventeen. I wouldnt want to offend the thriving whale, klingon and hillbilly communities that I know frequent this board.

Remember, ya gotta get real high before ya read em!

Tim

My activities this morning

Adam-Troy Castro — Fri, 13 Jan 12 08:29:31 -0500

I sent a cease-and-desist order to a guy whose website is not only offering a pdf scan of EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD, but *charging for it*. He agreed to take it down, but also said, "I don't like your attitude." And also wanted to know why I've "made the mistake" of not getting the third volume published in America.

I let him know it was because of people like him.

He said, "I am sorry about your troubles but I have my own.I am within a inch of not being able to pay my bills."

I responded, "If you're that poverty-stricken, I'm not your big problem, because so am I. Your big worry, running a site like that, should be paying your legal bills when somebody like Stephen King tracks you down. I know of a guy from Florida whose house was taken. This is no joke, or threat. WHat you are doing is not only harmful to writers, but profoundly dangerous to yourself."

End result: he looked up the law, saw the phrase "20 years," offered a frightened apology and gutted his site. There's only public-domain stuff there now.

I have been a source for good in our time.

Dear Tim

John Pickett — Fri, 13 Jan 12 05:30:12 -0500

Colostomy Bags are hilarious! Especially getting up at all hours of the night to empty or replace a loose wafer before getting wasted all over yourself! I know this for a fact as I have had one for about seven years now.
I'm not upset at being #1 on your list but I can think of a lot more funny phrases like "Liberal Republican"

No title.

Chuck Messer — Fri, 13 Jan 12 04:25:42 -0500

"5. a duck"

Why a duck? Why-a no chicken?

Chuck

For Tim Raven

Michael S. — Thu, 12 Jan 12 23:07:59 -0500

This may help: snood, dumbwaiter, thoracic, rutabaga, gherkin, hippocampus, instant milk, polliwog, modesty panel, mushmellon, perturbed, carbuncle, buncombe, ipsissimus, syrup of ipecac, wonky, hadron, Arlen Specter, Newt Gingrich, and OF COURSE Rick Santorum.

And, although I realize this is not the sort of thing you're after, I've always been fond of "Alas, poor Col. Breen!"

Haaaaaa!!!!!!

Tim Raven — Thu, 12 Jan 12 22:16:08 -0500

YESSSSSS!!!!!!

Tim

No title.

Robert Nason — Thu, 12 Jan 12 21:58:44 -0500

Tim --

You left out "brown rice."

Funniest words / phrases in the English language

Tim Raven — Thu, 12 Jan 12 21:43:54 -0500

Im compiling a list:

1. colostomy bag
2. chin strap
3. corn kernels
4. skid mark
5. a duck
6. peanuts
7. zebra hoofs
8. slapping nipples with a ruler
9. nipples
10. construction hat
11. hillbillies
12. banjoes
13. cheese mobile
14. buzz aldrin
15. Uranus
16. klingons
17. whale farts

Well, I guess you gotta be kind of high to get it.

Tim

No title.

Roger Gjovig — Thu, 12 Jan 12 18:22:41 -0500

Hi Harlan. While repositioning my collection of your books yesterday I ran across a copy of Amazing 1968 with the story Power Of The Nail you wrote with Samuel R. Delaney. If you could use this copy for your archives it has been in a box for many years and is in very good condition, but with yellowed pages with its age. It only cost me 50 cents when I bought it so no great expense on my end.

No title.

Christine — Thu, 12 Jan 12 17:41:16 -0500

I almost never regret moving to the Middle-of-Nowhere-Southwest...or becoming a vegetarian a couple of decades ago...but I suspect I'd throw both over to join all of you at Pink's and the event to follow. *Sigh*.

Ah, well. I shall continue to live vicariously!

CineFamily 2 Q&A

Martens — Thu, 12 Jan 12 14:23:13 -0500

Any clues to whether or not there will be a question and answer session at the CineFamily event? Will it be streamed across The World Wide Web (as the previous event was)?
If I recall, Josh was able to field questions from all across the globe from his laptop -- or maybe I just imagined that, being an AV kinda guy. I'm going to re-immerse myself into "Soldier" and "Demon With A Glass Hand" on dvd anyhow.

I have fond memories of reading THE GLASS TEAT and its follow-up, proudly carrying them with me in high school as if they were badges of honor. I was "in the know." Those tomes had me me thinking about my own "installments," besides many other things. Quite enjoying the beautifully formatted HARLAN 101 ENCOUNTERING ELLISON. Marvelous!

No title.

Robert Nason — Thu, 12 Jan 12 13:39:30 -0500

Frank -- I neglected to mention Rosie O'Donnell. She can certainly scarf down enough Ho-Ho's to keep Ho-Hostess afloat.

Thrilling Wonder Stories June 1952

Barney Dannelke — Thu, 12 Jan 12 11:03:35 -0500

***Harlan*** That ended up not going into the mail until yesterday. Stuff happens. In any case it's a USPS Priority Mail with tracking and I suspect you'll have it by Saturday. MAYBE tomorrow.

I also sent color copies of the cover and the two relevant pages (and a printout of our exchange so far) so that you wouldn't have to stress the spine for reference and so that you would have a file or markup copy. No rush on when we do the call at all. I can set my iPhone to speaker phone and I have a recording device Lenora uses. All I will need is a 5 minutes heads up.

I'll make a transcript of whatever we get. *IF* it's something that YOU can use (a paying market) just let me know.

Sorry I can't make the upcoming event. At least these West coast jobbers will be recorded eight ways to Sunday. I'm happier to have been at the ones that otherwise might have been lost.

Hugs to Susan. Hang tough - B

ps - Boy howdy, that Auden sure could write a poem.

Rick Ollerman

Kenneth Stevens — Thu, 12 Jan 12 10:29:55 -0500

"A very nice publisher has decided to publish my first book so I have become a professional novelist of some sort."

Congratulations, sir! Well done!

Shut yer SaraLee Hole

Keith Cramer — Thu, 12 Jan 12 10:08:58 -0500

Barber!

I'm gonna be there. At the Cinefamily. Man, you don't know how much I've turned over in my personal and business life to get these days off, and I'll never bring it up again. Looking forward to pushing Harlan's jalopy from Pinks to the theater one more time. Harlan's lost some weight, so it might be easier. But I got Conan legs, baby! CONAN!

Lining up hotel now. What a great lunch break. (and yes, I already lined up tickets: did that when this thing was first announced).

-Keith

For Mr Tim Raven

Janet Gamache — Thu, 12 Jan 12 09:15:17 -0500

Thank you, sir.

I will look up Mr Bukowski.

J.

Small notables

Rick Ollerman — Thu, 12 Jan 12 08:47:33 -0500

This morning I sent in the final payment for the Charnel House Glass Teat Omnibus with money I got from proofreading a Leigh Brackett collection for Haffner Press. "Will proofread for books."

With more of the money, I ordered the latter three CafePress Ellison books.

I also ordered the fourth Captain Marvel "Marvel Maseterworks" collection.

A very nice publisher has decided to publish my first book so I have become a professional novelist of some sort.

My introduction to a pair of James Hadley Chase books will appear with said volume in April from Stark House Press.

My dog has to go out in the blowing snow and I will go make him happy.

Sometimes you just want to talk about stuff.

No title.

Mike Jacka — Thu, 12 Jan 12 08:06:43 -0500

First, thanks to all who helped me find the information on Sompun Thai.

Second, it completely lived up to my expectations.

I first saw Harlans recommendation on this site a few years ago. A few of us travel to LA for work quite often, and I had suggested we try it out, but it just didnt work out until yesterday. One co-worker in particular and I (the more adventurous) had been trying to get this done for all those years.

Last night, he and I (along with three others) finally made it. Now, two of those individuals were not really into the event. One kept asking things like What is the Brown Sauce? It is like an oyster sauce. Whats that? Does it taste fishy? She had rice. The other went for something that reminded me of PF Changs. But for the rest of us

Exquisite. We started with the Thai Sticks and something that started O-M (I dont think it was the O-Lua, but I could be wrong.) After that, I lost track of what we had. I just know I will be back soon with another of the more adventurous co-workers when Im back in town in two weeks.

All this really meant to be just one more recommendation for Sompun Thai.

Again, thanks to all for the help.

Mike

No title.

Frank Church — Thu, 12 Jan 12 06:27:33 -0500

Nason, I'd love to see a Gordon Ramsey show where he tries American food products, disses them to the ceo's faces. ha.

----------

Kaftahead, did you know that in Brazil they talk a different brand of Portugese?

I know you want to romp and find sin in RIO, kid. Wink.

Absence and Pulp Legends

Kafkahead — Thu, 12 Jan 12 04:01:52 -0500

Hail, Pavilion, victorious in thy glorious weeds!
Lo, as the bark that hath discharged her fraught
Returns with precious lading to the bay
From whence she wheigh'd her anchorage,
Cometh Kafkahead, bound with laurel boughs,
Come to resolute this land with news,
News of true joy for his triumph in tasks Academic!

It's been a time of reports and Exams for me in the past months, so my posting rate has been a bit low, although I haven't stopped coming here every once in a while. With that said, in the November of my last year, I've managed to get a hold of a copy of "OS ANOS DE OURO DA PULP FICTION PORTUGUESA" (That is, "The Golden Years of Portuguese Pulp Fiction"), an anthology that gathers the work of many pulp writers from the early 30s to the late 50s of my country (which was still under a fascist rule, something that made me wonder how they survived for so long). The Prologue, as written by the editor, is a wonderful stroll in the History of this medium and how much influence we received from American writers, as well of how a lucky few managed to be published in the U.S.
So I ask, to everyone in the Pavilion, and specifically to Harlan, if you've ever heard of Edgar Mason (the Pseudonym of one Orlando Moreira, inventor of the adventurous Sentinel) and of Arthur V. Oaks, the author of the adventures of Beowulf the Barbarian (admittedly, one of the many Robert E. Howard copycats of his time, but one of decent writing quality, from what I've read in the Anthology).

*****

Finally, another question to Harlan: I've heard the "just do it" advice several times, not only from you, but from other good männer und Frauen of the trade. However, I've found a particular question when it comes to dreams: having a vivid dream, and remembering most of the motions, sceneries and colors of those particular settings, how does one interpret them as a story? We imagine something from them, yes, and we add a sense of logic to the more disjointed imagery that flows in our sleep, so as to make a tale. But is there any sort of analysis to it? Any Freudian or Jungian interpretation of them, any meaning beneath the surface that creeps into the story?

A fellow from Portugal

K.

Repetition o.

Tim Raven — Wed, 11 Jan 12 23:32:47 -0500

Weary. Weary.
waiting for the release
nothing quite so interesting as a suicide
just a desperate wish
for a good nights sleep.

Weary.
Too weary.
Far gone to abate
my heart beating loudly
as
you intentionally lose that race.

And clearly
desperately
Im waiting for that nod
so that I can disengage
and be lonely with this thought

as I kill.
I wanna kill.
I wanna kill
that
repeating thought.

YOUR CALL

Mark Barsotti — Wed, 11 Jan 12 22:13:35 -0500

Harlan,

Saw your v-mail on my laptop, but couldn't return the call as the remaining cat and I have been encamped at a motel for two days since they are termite-bombing my building. Ed is in town NEXT weekend. I'll call you after work tomorrow when the quarantine is lifted.

My Best,

Mark

Various

Mark Barsotti — Wed, 11 Jan 12 19:59:00 -0500

Harlan:

Thanks for your letter and the condolences about Beard. I hoped the letter would open with you contentedly patting your belly, post-feast, but I expected your response, since the intended yum-yum check hadn't been cashed. No offense take here, but you and Susan PAID LAST TIME. So you leave me, still beholden. Ed will be in town with a one day window for a possible L.A, jaunt, which would be next Sat. Call him or me if there's an interest and/or opening in your schedule.

Since I can't get to L.A. for Live Glass Teat II next week, here's an idea so obvious I'd be surprised if someone hasn't already floated it. I don't know if the appearance will be streamed live again, but since several folks were filming last time and I assume will be again, you should do a DVD dub for sale through HERC, maybe with a profit sharing deal with the Cine-Art folks. Everyone would win, not the least us fans who can't attend the show. DVD dubbing is so simple anymore, even I can do it, simply by having one player/burner hooked to another.
More ON THE ROAD WITH ELLISON, with viddy.
Just a thought...

No title.

Roger Gjovig — Wed, 11 Jan 12 19:23:55 -0500

I finished Brain Movies Volume 2 today. I am on to A Touch Of Infinity next. I had to rearrange my book shelves today, I had not taken time to properly put them away for awhile. After cleaning out a few books from other authors I now have four shelves of Ellison of all sorts and still have a couple to put away I haven't read yet. With a few more titles still on the horizon I'm glad I made some more space.

Pink's and other thinks

Steve Barber — Wed, 11 Jan 12 16:46:09 -0500

Got home today to find a bright yellow envelope (large) stuffed with catalogs for old radio show recordings.

The funny thing is that I wanted to phone today and tell Harlan abut a terrific old Phil Harris New Years Day routine I heard on RadioClassics...but forgot the details and so didn't call.

There's a message in there somewhere. Thanks for the catalogs, Unc.

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

"I'm actually going to try and drift by if my day is open. This time, I don't want to be chased off like a jack rabbit in the dust bowl!"

Yeah. So don't wear the bunny suit this time.

I will note, for posterity, that three of the five "shoving the car down La Brea and through the Melrose intersection" (Harlan, Searcey and myself) participants will be in attendance at Pink's. However, Sans Loftus and Kramer I'll be damned if there's a repeat performance.

Looking forward to a 'dog, some friends and a truly memorable Cinefamily event.

... with the Mostest

Steve Perry — Wed, 11 Jan 12 15:49:55 -0500

Don't worry about Twinkies. The ones that are on the shelves will last at least until the roaches take over. At least.

Perry

Ding Dong & Me

Robert Nason — Wed, 11 Jan 12 15:23:19 -0500

FRANK --

Michael Moore all by himself would have saved Hostess -- and gotten a film out of it, to boot. *wink*

Angry Candy

Bob Adler — Wed, 11 Jan 12 14:12:11 -0500

In the intro to this book, you describe the sudden death of a dear friend, your reaction to that and speaking your truth at the funeral. I had been dealing with death on many levels and began writing about that. Reading that piece completely allowed me to express my own rage about the deaths of dear friends in the same way; that is, to honor most profoundly the lives of my friends and to rage at the simplistic and inane conversations around death and dying.
Thank you, Harlan, and I'm glad you're with us. Whenever you leave us, it will be too soon.

No title.

Rob — Wed, 11 Jan 12 13:42:19 -0500

Pink's on the 19th, between 5 and 7 in the PM:

I'm actually going to try and drift by if my day is open. This time, I don't want to be chased off like a jack rabbit in the dust bowl!

No title.

Frank Church — Wed, 11 Jan 12 12:11:28 -0500

You would think Rush Limbaugh and Chris Christie alone would have saved Hostess.

More on Bradbury Tribute Volume (feat. H.Ellison)

Phil Nichols — Wed, 11 Jan 12 09:50:49 -0500

It's been mentioned a few times here, but here's a bit more info on different limited edition versions of that Bradbury tribute volume (edited by Weller and Castle, and featuring a story and essay by Harlan):

http://www.gauntletpress.com/cgi-bin/gauntletpress/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=template&thispage=ShadowShow&ORDER_ID=280139400

Note the info on signatures attached to each edition.

I understand there will be a trade edition, too, for those of us on a tighter budget.

- Phil

No title.

Paul Hull — Wed, 11 Jan 12 09:40:54 -0500

RE: T. Isabella

"I shouldn't blame myself. Hostess started losing market share when super-heroes stopped using its products to defeat criminals."

I remember that, I laughed out loud, and, literally, coffee through the nose.
I have officially learned my lesson.
Stop it, you. *with a wink*

Twinkies in Crisis

Tony Isabella — Wed, 11 Jan 12 09:11:17 -0500

Hostess Brands is seeking bankruptcy protection. I was afraid something like this would happen when I ended my relationship with Twinkies.

I shouldn't blame myself. Hostess started losing market share when super-heroes stopped using its products to defeat criminals.

Correction

Tim Raven — Wed, 11 Jan 12 08:41:39 -0500

Correction - Harlan's resturant is THAI, mine was SUSHI.
Whoops!

Tim

Sompun Thai

Dennis C — Wed, 11 Jan 12 08:40:41 -0500

Mike:
It's Sompun Thai -- here's the site with the address:

http://sompunthairestaurant.com/

I've been there -- it's delish!

Sushi

Tim Raven — Wed, 11 Jan 12 08:39:56 -0500

Im not familiar with the Sushi place Harlan suggested, but here is the address:
Sompun Thai Restaurant
12051 Ventura Pl
Studio City, CA 91604
818) 762-7861
sompunthairestaurant.com/
Menu

This one is close to SomPun, and is my favorite:
KATSU-YA
11680 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604
Phone:
818-985-6976

Note, this is the Katsu-ya in STUDIO CITY, not the Hollywood boulevard Katsuya, where reality show douche bags hang out!

Tim

No title.

Mike Jacka — Wed, 11 Jan 12 08:03:24 -0500

A question for anyone looking to help. Im in LA this week and the group is looking for somewhere to go tonight. Ive suggested Harlans recommendation for Thai, and want to make sure Ive got it right.

1) Sompon Thai, correct?
2) Address (I can look it up on Goggle, but would like to make sure Ive got the right one)
3) What should we try

Thanks for the help.

Mike

My ever failing career.

Iain Aitken — Wed, 11 Jan 12 05:42:05 -0500

Hi folks,

I feel the need to get this off my chest, and have a good old rant.

At the beginning of November last year, for reasons personal, my boss decided that he was giving up the job. He being the chap who beat me to the job last year. So it came to pass that the job was advertised and I dutifully applied, reasoning that I have worked in the railway for nearly 21 years and it is maybe my time to move up.

Well as it happens, I was the only applicant. Can you believe that? Me and no-one else of the 900 odd drivers in Scotland wanted the job. "Well this is looking promising" I thought. After all, if there is only one applicant there is only one choice. Or so I thought.

Today I phoned the bog boss fella in Ayr to find out what was happening, as its now been 5 weeks since the vacancy closed. I know, the holiday season has held things up, which is only natural. He informed me that I am NOT getting an interview. The reasons being as follows.

1. They interviewed me last year for the same job.
2. The job itself is under review. After all I would have been the third person in a year to do it. There must be something wrong with it.
3. Realistically the job in Dumfries is in fact 4 jobs. Conductor, driver, station and depot managers.

Now apart from my own anger about this, the chap doing the job needs to have moved on by March. His situation will not be feasible after then. In the meantime, he will have to train whoever replaces him, assuming there even is anyone. The job being hugely complex and underpaid for what they expect of it.

All of which leaves me thinking that I couldn't win an arse kicking contest with a one legged man.

I am NOT amused.

Oh and Harlan, hope the Sci-fi Now magazine arrived safely. There was nothing to indicate who it was from, just in case you were wondering what random fool was sending you a mag.

All the best

Iain

No title.

William J. Wright — Wed, 11 Jan 12 00:21:39 -0500

Harlan,
Thanks for responding to my post about the Pep buttons. I just thought I would share a little piece of synchronicity with the board. Having said that, it's a shame that there are so few people around who collect things out of sheer love and affection. Sadly, my generation has branded everything a "collectible" and thus made what was once plain fun, a commodity.
"Free With This Box!" has always been one of my favorites--especially the ending. There were so many maudlin, moralizing and obvious ways out of that story. Thanks for doing the hard thing and telling the truth.

Take care and all my best to you and Susan.

--William

CineFamily Event Question

Dennis C — Tue, 10 Jan 12 19:09:19 -0500

The CineFamily calendar states that Harlan's event starts at 8:00pm -- but I recall last time we moved it earlier.
So can anyone say for certain when it's supposed to start this time?

http://www.cinefamily.org/

No title.

Chuck Messer — Tue, 10 Jan 12 17:58:35 -0500

Happy Birthday to Josh Olson, and may you write more cinematic tomes in the years to come. And may you provide pithy commentary on Trailers From Hell for as long as you can stand it.

Chuck

No title.

Steve Jarrett — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

For those who get the Encore Suspense Channel via cable, satellite, or carrier pigeon, they are scheduled to show the "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" based on "Memos From Purgatory" tonight at 11:00 (ET/PT).

http://www.starz.com/series/TheAlfredHitchcockHour/ep/EP74MemoFromPurgatory

Steve J.

No title.

Frank Church — Tue, 10 Jan 12 14:57:36 -0500

Harlan, I thought so. His name was just too complex. I heard Todd Rundgren was a mess.

-----------

Josh, happy birthday cat daddy. Hope to see some new movie scripture in the near future.

---------

I want pictures, Barber. I wanna see Lori, Diane, Rob hopefully. I bet he is goofy lookin. Runz.

No title.

Jan — Tue, 10 Jan 12 12:30:41 -0500

Happy birthday, kid.
Good luck with "Tabloid" and your other projects.

Trailer commentary on "Cross of Iron" - http://trailersfromhell.com/trailers/809
"Fuzz" - http://trailersfromhell.com/trailers/457

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Dennis C — Tue, 10 Jan 12 08:41:10 -0500

Have a great birthday, Josh Olson! Since you're eight, you can order anything you want from the Pink's menu, but you do have to wear the bib.

What I'd like to know is: what movie will you choose for your birthday viewing pleasure (if you do indeed view a movie today)?

Viva TAL and why Harlan does not do sequels

Brian Phillips — Tue, 10 Jan 12 07:57:31 -0500

I concur that the amazing "This American Life" did a great job on the Foxconn story.

So, our esteemed host can (and should) wait for it to be broadcast, since he and others do not have broadband access, or you can read a related article here:

http://bit.ly/yzwroA

Also, given Harlan's disdain for writing a sequel to anything he's written, I would like to direct all of you to this article:

http://bit.ly/o3DMub

Brian "See you at Pink's, NOT drinking anything made by Mitz" Phillips

No title.

Diane Bartels — Tue, 10 Jan 12 06:50:01 -0500

Adam-Troy, you did what to a canary? For shame.

Upon Belatedly Listening To the Madcon Madness

Adam-Troy Castro — Tue, 10 Jan 12 06:28:56 -0500

EVERYBODY:

(sigh) I find myself needing to once again debunk a canard spread in innocence by my good and valued friend, that splendid teller of anecdotes Harlan Ellison: I am not a "stone claustrophobe," did in fact do a little light spelunking in my younger days, and was on the day in the trapped Manhattan elevator not freaking out any more visibly than anybody else.

I was yelling for help and getting angry at the incompetence of the hotel staff, like everybody else; we were ALL shouting, and as the husband of a wife who has heart attacks in her past I was shouting with special concern for the two heart patients in that cramped space.

I was yelling and occasionally passing remarks on the seriousness of our situation, like everybody else, but I was also leavening the tone with humor, like everybody else; I was sweating like a pig, but only as much as any other fat guy in a 110 degree elevator with eight others; and in fact, when we finally climbed out, Harlan and I had a little testy to-do where we each tried to gallantly get the other to leave first. (He won, but at least I offered.)In recounting the tale at Madcon and for all I know elsewhere, Harlan left out that part and made me only the helpless panicking guy in a disaster movie. My wife, and anybody else but Harlan who was there, can tell you it wasn't quite as cartoonish as he paints.

Since Harlan introduces me, in the tale, with an otherwise sterling appraisal of my character that makes me feel squishy inside, and since allegations of helpless crippling claustrophobia are not going to affect any interactions I have with anybody personally or professionally, I'm inclined to do what a writer and one-time standup comic does and just shrug, "Well, it makes a better story that way, so what?" I'm not hurt or inconvenienced or at all upset, and am inclined to let it be.

Judi, however, is my wife and considerably more protective of any tiny credit I might be given for manliness. Upon listening to the performance, she wasn't really mad at Harlan either, just a little vocally dismayed that the ferrous content of my gonads have been besmirched.

So it is with respect for her feelings that I repeat this important advice: when enjoying a tale being told for comic effect, listen with a grain of salt.

Yea. Thanks for that.

Semi-Writer — Tue, 10 Jan 12 05:13:18 -0500

"...sweet mooches who dropped by for a drink and to clean up other peoples' leftovers..."

Wow. And here, I'd have thought Harlan would've had more of an attitude about the bennied-out limo driver and his whinings and insults. http://solitarypoverty.blogspot.com/2012/01/self-esteem.html

------------------
As a side note, RIP to a fellow stand-up comedian named Angelo Bowers--killed by a drunk driver who did a hit-and-run not five minutes before doing it again, this time with tragic results. I've been hanging out with Angelo and Josh since 2006 or so. Angelo was a good guy that didn't deserve to go out that way.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/la-stand-up-comic-killed-by-suspected-drunk-driver.html

No title.

Diane Bartels — Tue, 10 Jan 12 04:03:01 -0500

For Buddha's sake, would ya'll wake the \ up already. This insomnia bites big time, my head hurts and a drowsy numbness... No wait that's Keats. Flashback to college, happens sometimes. They put terrible things into the minds of the young in higher learning places. Sometimes it takes decades to get that crap outta there, decades I tell ya. And now for the creme de la creme, the icing on the cake, the nipple on the.... bottle so to speak. Ahem hmmmm do re do re me. hmmmm Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear Josh, my fellow wise and temperate Capricornian person, Happy Birthday to you. Make the heavens reign down cake and ice cream and presents on your head until your happieness fills you near to but not the other side of bursting. Have a good one Josh.
So back to the sheep I go. counting them. Dont want youse to get the wrong idea

l

Worth Your Time

Michael Mayhew — Tue, 10 Jan 12 00:19:18 -0500

If you didn't already catch it, Sunday's edition of This American Life (a public radio show) featured Mike Daisey, who is a fascinating, gifted storyteller.

You can download his performance (or live stream it) from their web page: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory

It's a powerful piece of work.

Like the subject line says - worth your time.

MM

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec

the Shadow — Mon, 09 Jan 12 23:21:05 -0500

Based on a comic book by Jaacques Tardi and adapted and directed by Luc Besson -- "Nikita", "Leon: the Professional", "Fifth Element", "Angel A" -- this movie, mentioned in an earlier posting, is only available on DVD through Amazon UK, for the English-speaking, at the moment, but it's well worth nabbing a copy.

Set in the Belle-Époque, and featuring a woman author/adventuress (in the modern sense of that word), sort of a French version of Joan Wilder, it's a fun "no brainer" that brings to mind films like "The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen", the best parts, I know, there weren't many, of "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" and even "The Mummy" and "Romancing the Stone". But it's all put together in an original and definitely fresh, and entertaining, way. And it's filled with lots of cool stuff: a preternaturally psychic/telekinetic older man, an Indiana Jones-style bit of action set in Egypt, a pterodactyl flying around Paris, a deadly hatpin, a revivified Egyptian astrologist, a funny little routine involving disguises that seemed like a nod to Charlie Chaplin (or some other early comedian or comedians), inept government officials -- ala Herge, or, more aptly, the films of Terry Gilliam -- very civilized mummies sight-seeing as they walk into the Cour Napoléon, the main court in front of the louvre (and yes, Ramses II gets to utter a funny line), and so on. There's even a dilly of an ending.

Just a lotta fun.
And hey, anyone who can't make it to the latest Ellison dinner & show will need some cheering up: order your copy now!

Josh Olson Encomiums in Figure Eight

jimmy — Mon, 09 Jan 12 22:00:50 -0500

It being January 10th in my neck of the woods, I wish to offer birthday greetings to Mr Josh Olson on reaching the fine age of eight. You do seem a bit tall for your age, but then I guess that's how they grow em in behemia.

jimmy

WHERE THE ELLISONS WILL EAT BEFORE THE EVENT

HARLAN ELLISON — Mon, 09 Jan 12 19:29:28 -0500

PRONUNCIAMENTO -- ATTENCIONI!!!!!!

Rather than have the madhouse we had a month ago, when more than 40 people showed up to dine and chat with us prior to the (announced, but delayed) CineFamily Theater event (7:00 start, in actuality closer to 7:30) at Antonio's, where the absolutely scrumptious and unbelievable beef mole-A drove everyone outta their meso-po-tam-i-an minds, and the Ellisons got stiffed by hangers-on and sweet mooches who dropped by for a drink and to clean up other peoples' leftovers, to the off-key tune of about 200 bucks...we, in self-defense, have decided that THIS time we shall proceed safely but deliciously, as follows:

Date: Thursday 19 January 2012
Time: We'll be there around 5-ish till 7-ish
Where: Pink's Hot Dogs on La Brea

You're all welcome to come, stand in line, get your Olympian viands--better than Nathan's, I continue to contend--pay the nice mans, and drift toward the right rear of the indoor dining area, where a signed, framed copy of "Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish," my hommmmmmage to the Celestial Dogporium that has fed my gustatorial lusts for going on 50+ years, hangs on the wall among encomia from Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Bruce Springsteen and hundreds of others, far more famous or worthy than I. Josh and Susan and Rod Searcy and other close friends will be there scarffing our chili cheese fries, et al...and we're there to say howdy to as many others as pay their way at the counter and decide to partake of a plop'a palaver before we bolt for the CineFamily Theater, where Josh (and possibly Patton Oswalt) will be helping us sell Joe Stefko's astounding COMPLEAT GLASS TEAT OMNIBUS, however few copies there are left for mucho-money purchase, personally defaced by the by-then dog-engorged host of this website.
---------------------------------------------------------------
And tomorrow being Josh's birthday, you can wish the behemoth...well...you know what. He'll be eight, I believe.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jocularly, Yr. Pal, Harlan

REPLY TO WILLIAM WRIGHT

HARLAN ELLISON — Mon, 09 Jan 12 18:44:28 -0500

Yes, there are 86 Pep butttons; and I have them all. But, in fact, the company that made those 86 for Kellogg's Pep, also did them--with additional characters and even "doubles," which have two characters thereon--for something called Comic Togs.

I have 92 Pep/Comic Togs buttons. Plus the entire Fawcett Captain Marvel and company buttons; and several other complete sets. I miss a few of the ones generally known as "the copyright button set" (no other identification), about 11 I've never seen, but apart from those few, the events of that story happened seventy years ago. But thank you for coming to The Party...just a tad late.

Yr. Pal, Harlan
----------------------------------------------------------------
P.S.: When I am unbollixed sufficiently to summon up the chops to reply to Carson Van Osten--and the guy who played with the Nazz, and MY Carson Van Osten, Frank, are one and the same--I'll
mumble somedamnthing or other. Unhappily, this laptop, as I've remarked occasionally, was manufactured in Phoenicia, sometime around the year 6, and when I went to Mr. Van Osten's site, all I could get was the home page with the Nubian warrior. All the rest of you are rewardees of a munificence denied poor ole Luddite I.

But you see what I mean about his work.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Book Orders and Other Things...

Mary — Mon, 09 Jan 12 17:55:23 -0500

That's the happiest post I've seen in a long time, Harlan...congratulations to you! I'm looking forward to learning more about Carson Van Osten...

I've also sent my order in for my belated Christmas books today.

Color me happy!

The best of days is none too good for our host

driftglass — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

So very glad this one came your way.

No title.

William J. Wright — Mon, 09 Jan 12 11:55:25 -0500

I reread "Free With This Box!" last week and, in a supreme coincidence, stumbled upon this on a memorabilia and Americana auction site:

http://www.hakes.com/images.asp?ItemNo=106866&ImageNo=001

Unfortunately, the auction has ended, but there they all are including the elusive Dick Tracy!

No title.

Frank Church — Mon, 09 Jan 12 07:48:26 -0500

Here's what is amazing, is that there are two Carson Van Ostens--one is Harlan's new friend and another was the lead bass player for the Nazz and an inker of Disney comics.

Good to meet someone with a unique name. You seem like a really sweet guy. The miniatures I saw were amazing. Good show when dealing with true artistry.

No title.

Rob — Sun, 08 Jan 12 22:28:23 -0500

Harlan, looking for uploaded interview clips with Jack Kirby, I stumbled on the one you introduced from a long out-of-print documentary, The Masters Of Comic Book Art. I never knew about this piece, and it was a blast hearing Kirby speak.

Jack Kirby's eye and story-telling philosophy are what I so sorely miss in the generally middling film adaptations. His characterizations, his subjective pov, his mythic visual references, his Lower East Side sensibility - ALL missing, all the things that make his showcase unique.

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

**BTW, like you, I hate it when athletes attribute their game victories to God. Fortunately, Einstein, parting from the endlessly cited "dice" quote, also said , "I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."
--------------------------------------------------

***Harlan, I am exploring the pulp era a bit - from the penny dreadfuls to the slicks. Was Hugh Cave a good writer?
---------------------------------------------------

****SHATTERED LIKE A GLASS GOBLIN REDUX:

Harlan, I just want to pinch your left cheek a little: I always feel you give marijuana a tad too much of a "reefer-madness" knock. As a life-long non-smoker, non-drinker, with an OCCASIONAL weed stoke (tallying less than 50, last having some around 2000), I get a knee-jerk reaction to users (or prior users, which I believe is YOUR case) of chemically addictive "legal substances", like tobacco, who exploit the Hell-spawn myths about pot.

Hey, pot's a carcinogen, and carcinogens are bad for every plow boy! But this "gateway" characterization is right out of a Roger Corman movie. While everyone's metabolism is different, I, myself, have never gotten much off a joint; hashish a bit, which feels a little like caffeine, but that's the most I can declare for it.

Here's the science, as I have it: Marijuana smokers do not smoke anywhere near the amount that cigarette smokers do, because it isn't chemically addictive. After a joint or two, theyre good to go for a few hours, and many people dont really smoke more than once a day. Cigarette smokers on the other hand smoke up to a pack a day, at least one cigarette every 2 hours, and if theyre stressed out, they can REALLY go nuts. One girl in her thirties I knew for 5 years FLEW through these packs, and already she was getting warnings from the doctors; when I saw her last, she was unable SO FAR to even cut back!

Metabolically, marijuana does not cause any narrowing of the small air passageways in the lungs. Tobacco has that effect on lungs because the higher radioactive elements lead and polonium attached to the lungs. Tobacco smoke constricts the bronchi for long periods of time, thus reducing the lungs ability to clear itself of those radioactive elements.

Demonstratively - again, speaking for myself - I get asthmatic reactions to 2nd-hand cigarette smoke while I get NONE to 2nd-hand pot smoke.

As we are a chemical-consuming species, easily addicted to so many things, chemically or psychologically, which, regardless of the transitory taboos, will ALWAYS be the case, the topic can get downright simplistic (and therefore easy to parody) in dramaturgy.

Having said THAT, my favorite spin on the "floating head" symptom is in the Simpsons "medicinal marijuana" episode, where Homer is so fucked up he unwittingly signs a petition bringing back laws against pot, after he had just achieved getting it legal! Oh, yeah...and then there's OTTO - spelled backward!

No title.

Diane Bartels — Sun, 08 Jan 12 22:05:20 -0500

Harlan, it was grand to hear of your great day. I too love minatures, although more dolls and dollhouse furniture. While waiting to hear back on more volunteer job opportunity which is to lead, I'm hoping, to a real job, I have way too much time on my hands. I read Mr. Van Osten's post, and googled him, hoping I would find instead a page on the Web showing his work. (Chuck, looks like you found it) Instead I found the page of the society and an interview they did with him. He said the one item he cannot find is "seagrass". After a search that netted several beautiful pictures of underwater flowering plants, I found CR Crafts. They are a place where one can order supplies for all kinds of crafting and modeling ect. I didn't notice that particular item, but they may have it.Sadly, I am not computer savvy enuff to do the HRL or whatever but a google search of CR Crafts should turn up the site itself. Hope it helps your new friend.
My aunt Dolores, whom I've spoken of here, is the one that nutured my love of minatures. So I understand the passion. If you and Susan or any here are in Chicago, check out the minature rooms in the Art Institute. They were in the basement last time I went on display, but they are truly exquisite.
Be well all

No title.

Chuck Messer — Sun, 08 Jan 12 18:17:21 -0500

If you want a small sample of Mr. Van Osten's artistry, follow this link:

http://outoppie-scalemodelling.blogspot.com/2009/08/amazing-figures.html

Click on the Roman figure, second down on the right, and marvel. I wish I could paint figures that well.

Chuck

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Harlan!

Carson Van Osten — Sun, 08 Jan 12 17:35:27 -0500

I am so grateful for the lovely and amazing things you said about me. Your kind words are a gift that I will always treasure. Yesterday was a great day for me too. I'm still in a daze. I hope this is just the beginning of a great correspondence. Painting figures is my passion and I really look forward to sharing more of my work with you.

very best wishes,

CARSON

No title.

John E. Williams — Sun, 08 Jan 12 17:33:17 -0500

Harlan, what a fantastic day. Makes me want to come over and play.

Joy Shared

Tony Isabella — Sun, 08 Jan 12 13:03:50 -0500

Harlan...I am so happy for you...and for me. Because you are one of that rare breed of authors who can express joy so vividly that it becomes joy shared. I was grinning after reading your post. Love you madly.

ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE DAYS OF MY LIFE

HARLAN ELLISON — Sun, 08 Jan 12 12:54:06 -0500

Yesterday, Saturday 7 January 2012 became, very quickly, a day I shall never forget. A most WONDERFUL day. Imperially joyful!

In my wanderings, in my life, I have been thrown together with, have spent time with, have worked with, have even made friends with: the great and the near-great!

Comedians: from Victor Borge to Henny Youngman to Lenny Bruce to George Carlin to Lewis Black to Patton Oswalt and Robin Williams, to name a few. Writers: from Isaac Asimov to James Ellroy to Stanley Ellin to Will & Ariel Durant to Joyce Carol Oates to Gerald Kersh to Stephen King to Octavia Estelle Butler, to name the most minuscule of the giant roster. Atletes: Bob Feller, Minnie Minoso, Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabar to Mickey Mantle to Lou Groza to Olympians whose names escape me. Actors from Robert Duvall to Robert Blake to Danny Kaye to John Hurt to James Caan to Lee J. Cobb, Newsmakers: from Newt Gingrich to Martin Luther King, Jr. to Hugh Hefner Brandy to Dalton Trumbo to Dorothy Parker to Mick Jagger to Josh Olson to Leigh Brackett to Dan Simmons to Stuart Whitman to Rita Hayworth to Jacqueline Susann to Cesar Chavez and on and on and on. Werner Herzog. Andy Warhol. Theodore Sturgeon. My dearest Susan for 26 years. Criminals, cowboys, coloratura sopranos, cads and clevermen. There isn't time, space or memory!

But I almost never meet THEM, the men or women who truly, famously, unabashedly, humblingly, throat-constrictingly, are my idols.

Those who chill me with awe, who fall me silent. Who live on the frozen mountaintops and, like the yeti, are never seen at closeup.

Yesterday! Saturday!

Yesterday, I met with, sat with, talked to, discussed snow and Celts and Hannibal's mercenary Generals with the one, the only, the magnificent, 'way out of my reach

CARSON VAN OSTEN!

Perhaps, of all of you reading this, the only on who will draw in his breath and mumble ohmigawd, you're kidding, will be Robin, who, as am I, is as slavishly dedicated a collector of historical miniatures, "toy soldiers," exquisite hand-painted artifacts so fine and impossible to create that in old St. Petersberg, Russia, ancient round-shouldered Renaissance-artmen with glass magnifying visors as big as their heads paint with brushes of only one bristle, figures from the past that rival Cellini and Michelangelo and Rodin.

One of the greatest, most divine of these artists is Carson Van Osten (whose work you can marvel at, in in issue after issue of HM, the historical miniature magazine). Or maybe there's a website, I don't know.

He is the Monet of Moslem scimitar-wielders.
He is the Gutzon Borglum of barbarian Gaelic wanderers
He is the Picasso of pikemen; the Beethoven of British legionnaires; the Kafka of Knights in armor, of Chasseur Troopers, of Mamelukes and Continental Marines. His artistry stuns. Mesmerizes.

He is, in short, CARSON VAN OSTEN!

Whose work I've worshipped for decades, who has never SOLD one of his pieces (he's donated many to museums), with whom I spent the early part of yesterday through the auspices of (himself) the extraordinary miniaturist, Peter Ferk, who made my circa 1917 German machine gun nest sculpture in breathtaking minute acuracy (and you'll find HIS award-winning painting in this year's SPECTRUM 18), my dear friends Peter and Annick Ferk....they took me as a guest to the LA Miniaturist Club meeting, and there...

There...

Sitting right beside me was CARSON VAN OSTEN.

He allowed me to purchase a circa 1840s Red Rock Canyon, Utah, mountain man. I am his first customer!!!

You may jump up and down when you see one of the tots from Twilight on the street, when some semi-tween from "Glee" is in the grocery line behind you...but Carson Van Osten is a god, and I own a signed Carson Van Osten.

Yesterday was a FINE day!

Burbling with unrestrained joy, Yr. Pal, Harlan

Sex life titles, and real life tie-in

Passerby — Sun, 08 Jan 12 11:50:50 -0500

"Would You Do It For A Penny?"

http://tinyurl.com/757bsll

Thanks for the reply, Mr. Ellison!

Andrew Laubacher — Sun, 08 Jan 12 09:39:20 -0500

I was hoping that you had at least been asked to contribute to one of the HELLBOY anthologies, even if you had had to decline.

I'm still hoping that you can do something with the SIMPSONS crew--either for the show or the comic.

Some shameless promotion of self and others

Brian Siano — Sun, 08 Jan 12 09:15:07 -0500

This past October, photographer Kyle Cassidy recruited me to be the cameraperson and editor on a small project: making a promotional video for Caitlin R. Kiernan's upcoming novel, _The Drowning Girl_. The weekend we spent shooting was one of my happiest.

This past Friday, Caitlin's put the teaser version of the trailer up on her website. Have a look at it at http://www.caitlinrkiernan.com/, and yes, you can watch it in HD if you want.

The book's due out in March. It's excellent.

I fear those big words, Stephen said, which make us so unhappy.

Ezra — Sun, 08 Jan 12 06:57:40 -0500

Interesting article in the online INDEPENDENT about the literary estate of JAMES JOYCE and the passing of his work out of copyright on December 31st. Fortunately not ever author is cursed with a Griswold but it seems our friends can be just as destructive as our enemies.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/an-end-to-bad-heir-days-the-posthumous-power-of-the-literary-estate-6285277.html

The destruction of those letters from Lucia seems well nigh unforgiveable. Was he protecting her or silencing her?

Shagin

Tim Raven — Sun, 08 Jan 12 05:05:49 -0500

I cant sleep.

Its 4:20 AM and the Santa Ana winds are rolling across the valley here in California. The full moon is a bright angry eye in the sky, blazing through my window. A group of wild parrots descend upon our tree and create a riot during the day, I wonder how they are faring on a night like tonight?

My breath stinks, this room stinks, and not even the restless winds can fix that.

Shagin, I sympathize with your plight, and hope that you find an answer regarding your uncle.

Truth be told, I envy him.

Tim

eat your cake and have it too

jimmy — Sun, 08 Jan 12 04:25:32 -0500

I also wish to extend birthday greetings to Mr Goldberg. It's you, Elvis, David Bowie and Stephen Hawking. What a party.

jimmy

Oh, and before I forget...

shagin — Sun, 08 Jan 12 02:00:23 -0500

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK GOLDBERG!

No title.

shagin — Sun, 08 Jan 12 01:44:26 -0500

Feeling every one of my 44 years tonight, and I can't sleep. Yeah, okay, so it's not THAT old, but still...

Can't find my uncle, tried all of the assisted living complexes and hospitals in his county of residence. The cell phone company is of no help, polite, but no help, so I'm going to let things sit for a bit and see what happens.

The good news, of a sort, is that I sat vigil for a friend this week and she died this evening. Good news for her; she was ready, had voluntarily stopped chemo, and said her good-byes. Not so good for her husband and children. A local quarterly fundraiser has a succinct slogan: "Fuck Cancer".

The other half of that good news is that I've finished two older stories while here, one very personal (damn near crippling to write), and one much lighter fare with a happy ending. I'll clean them both up in the next couple of weeks and get them out.

I don't have anu written Ellison to keep me company now, but if you will allow me to log, I'm going to indulge in some time On The Road With Ellison and see what that does for the nerves.

shagin

Ellison Sex Title

Joe — Sat, 07 Jan 12 18:13:24 -0500

Ellison Sex Title:

BLEEDING STONES

REPLY TO ANDREW LAUBACHER

HARLAN ELLISON — Sat, 07 Jan 12 15:23:40 -0500

No, though I am friends with Mike Mignola and everybody else who works on HELLBOY and its offshoots B.P.etc., I've never done anything for the character save read every issue, graphic compilation, sub-genre offshoot, mini-series and one-shot; and enjoy the hell out of the movies and animateds. Mignola and the crew are splendiferous. Favorites, favorites, favorites!

Yr. Pal, Harlan

The Joy of Belated Christmas Gifts

Mary — Sat, 07 Jan 12 15:02:05 -0500

My mother told me today to get together the list of books I wanted for Christmas:

Harlan Ellison Hornbook
I Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay
Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman (Illustrated)

I'll be sending the money either today or Monday

It's been a good Saturday :) :) :).

A (Hellboy) question for our host

Andrew Laubacher — Sat, 07 Jan 12 13:26:56 -0500

Unca' Harlan, I'm reading the HELLBOY short-story anthology, ODDEST JOBS, which I received as a Christmas gift (two--two--copies!). I was wondering if you were ever asked to contribute to any of the three volumes (ODD JOBS, ODDER JOBS and ODDEST JOBS)? I would think that they would be right up your alley.

21st Century Mantra

Tim Raven — Sat, 07 Jan 12 12:41:33 -0500

My freedom of choice is my absolute right
Your freedom of choice is your absolute right
Our absolute rights
end
at the surface of our skins
anything beyond that
IS COMPROMISE

Dont tread on my body
Dont tread on my mind

I take responsibility for my actions outside of my body.
I expect the same from you.

So pass the sugar, please.

p.s. Janet Gameche It is worth it, isnt it, that siren sweet note of promise? Bukowski mentioned keeping that ember burning, no matter what. No matter what they do to you, attend to that precious ember in your gut. Set aside special effort to make it burn brighter!

Tim Raven

No title.

Frank Church — Sat, 07 Jan 12 11:21:10 -0500

Glow Worm. I blame the nuclear industry.

--------

Kudos to Montana. Sanity in Montana, who would'a thunk it. There's gold in them thar hills.

--------

Listened to an interview today with Harry Belefonte and he talked about how art today is about corporate distraction. His aim was that art needs to have moral social relavance. Amen.

No title.

John E. Williams — Sat, 07 Jan 12 11:06:01 -0500

And to get myself in the mood, of course: THE HARLAN ELLISON HORNBOOK.

At the risk of sounding unoriginal...

Ben Winfield — Sat, 07 Jan 12 08:02:10 -0500

The Lingering Scent of Woodsmoke.

Sex life stories

Phil Nichols — Sat, 07 Jan 12 02:09:15 -0500

S.R.O.

!

Harlan mentions

Dennis C — Fri, 06 Jan 12 21:30:03 -0500

A blogger giving some good advice on writing quotes Harlan:

http://www.ayoungertheatre.com/want-to-write-five-steps-to-better-writing/

And this photographer says Harlan's his favorite writer (get in line, bub!):

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/61503/Interview_with_photographer_Oscar_Benjamin_aka_Compassionate_Wolf

Love Ain't Nothin But Ellison Titles Misspelled

jimmy — Fri, 06 Jan 12 21:29:16 -0500

After reading the long list of postings on this here board about that there topic in which includes the recitation of Ellison sex titles from one's life I have come to the conclusion that they all are. Cheeky monkey. Heaven help us when we get to Pulling a Train.

I once asked here if Harlan Ellison had ever gotten you laid. From these responses I can only gather - EVERY TIME.

Happy Reading (or whatever you call it).

jimmy

SON OF EVEN MORE ELLISON SEX TITLES.....

Robert Nason — Fri, 06 Jan 12 21:04:43 -0500

Midnight in the Sunken Cathedral

Attack at Dawn

The Man with the Golden Tongue

Stuffing

Flop Sweat

Memory of a Muted Trumpet

....and the list goes on and on....

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Fri, 06 Jan 12 20:34:23 -0500

Maybe this'll get some nervous laughs-

Your sex life in an Ellison title:
HARLAN ELLISON'S WATCHING

The Future Conversation

Tim Raven — Fri, 06 Jan 12 19:39:15 -0500

Damn.

To be a fly on that wall. Or perched upon a bust of Pallas above that chamber door.

Tim

No title.

Barney Dannelke — Fri, 06 Jan 12 19:38:15 -0500

"- and I know some of those stories can be."

SHOULD READ "- and I know how ugly some of those stories can be."

Challenge happily accepted

Barney Dannelke — Fri, 06 Jan 12 19:05:41 -0500

*** Harlan *** Done and done and done. I'm going to make a scan for myself of the two pages and the cover for my files (no, I wont mess up the spine) and I will send the original Van Hise mag to you MONDAY via USPS Priority mail with tracking. You should have it in your hands by Wed./Thur. of next week.

Once you have it and have a chance to read it we can do this as a phone time thing at your convenience. I need to talk to Lenora about her device for recording phone calls for magazine interviews as I have learned from hard experience over the years that I can't take proper notes nearly as fast as you can talk once you've got up a head of steam and I suspect this may be a real keeper.

This does beg ONE SIMPLE sidebar question, which has occurred to me a few times over the last decade as I have watched you acquire or re-acquire pre-1957 items you've made appearances in. Did you by any chance LOSE your first library in all of the bouncing around between Cleveland/OSU/NYC/Army/NYC/OH/IL/...CA? I know you missed some stuff while in the Army but some of these holes speak to an unwanted or unplanned purge - and I know some of those stories can be.

Anyway, when we do this by phone a week or so from now, THAT would be my "Columbo as he walks out the door" question.

You can let go of my short and curlies now Harlan? Harlan?

Susan! Susan, make him stop! Susan. Stop laughing. This isn't funny. Susan - hey, put down that camera phone. No Susan, I DON'T WANT TO BE FAMOUS!!!

- Barney

Photoshopped, PA.

REPLY & CHALLENGE TO DANNELKE

HARLAN ELLISON — Fri, 06 Jan 12 16:33:27 -0500

Lets us'n jes see how large be yer cojones, mate.

Deal proffered: in exchange for that copy of THRILLING WONDER STORIES, I will not only flesh out (to the best of my recollection, naturally) not only the Missing Biographical Conundra passim your recent post, but I will relate to you at least FIVE (count 'em) 5 additional (you can share 'em or not)
Amazing Anecdotes filled with action, danger, sex,famous personages, secret data, and communicable diseases.

Is it do-able? Well, we shall see, Mr. Snoopyface.

Gloating, holding short hairs gingerly, Yr. Pal, Harlan

In case June of 1952 is fresher in Harlan's mind than breakfast.

Barney Dannelke — Fri, 06 Jan 12 15:30:32 -0500

Time was, I was getting something Ellison related in the mail about three times a week. But that has tapered off to a point where after the first few thousand Ellison items (anthology appearances, men's magazines, fanzines, etc.) there just isn't much new under the sun. Not that Harlan didn't TRY HIS VERY BEST to break my will to collect him in ALL of his variant and lettered editions and translations into Esperanto and what not - but after 36 years I thought I had the problem more or less surrounded.

But this week I acquired from James Van Hise (a dealer collector I will endorse as never once having a single problem with - who is a tough grader and a wonderful packer/shipper who never over charges for shipping) a VG+/Fine copy of the June 1952 issue of THRILLING WONDER STORIES edited by Samuel Mines and including (but it could not be said, featuring as it is tucked away on pages 134-135) a longish 2 page double columned letter titled CAME THE DAWN (not the letter column, JUST the letter) by a then enfant terrible by the name of Harlan Ellison - who would have been 17 when this was typed. In it, he details and recounts and rebuts Samuel's version of one stop on what was apparently a 1951 summer vacation tour of the New York offices of the prominent (and not so prominent) science fiction and fantasy magazines of the time. THRILLING WONDER STORIES and Samuel Mines offices were just a part of this grand tour.

In any case, it's a helluva letter and I hope to see it in a COLLECTED LETTERS OF HARLAN ELLISON someday. If not, now that I have *my* copy feel free to bid the bejaysus out of any and all subsequent issues that come up on eBay. "Semper Fi, Mac" and all that.

This is (just like Jesus) an odd and somewhat undocumented time in Harlan's life. Last year of High School, the old 12701 Shaker Blvd. address, older sister moved out, pre-O.S.U. mayhem and just about to begin editing his own 'zine(s). But already announcing his presence. Not unlike James Ellroy 20 years later similarly announcing to Otto Penzler that HE (Ellroy) was the Next Big Thing.

Thrilling Wonder Stories has never much been on my radar - but I see something in the wiki entry, mostly cribbed from Mike Ashley's TRANSFORMATIONS: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970 that makes me think I should have paid more attention. Namely, this;

"Samuel Mines took over from Merwin at the end of 1951, both at Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder. He argued against restrictions in science fiction themes, and in 1952 published Philip José Farmer's "The Lovers", a ground-breaking story about inter-species sex, in Startling. He followed this in 1953 with another taboo-breaking story from Farmer, "Mother", in Thrilling Wonder, in which a spaceman makes his home in an alien womb. In the December 1952 Thrilling Wonder, Mines published Edmond Hamilton's "What's It Like Out There?", a downbeat story about the realities of space exploration that had been considered too bleak for publication when it had originally been written in the 1930s. Sherwood Springer's "No Land of Nod", in the same issue, dealt with incest between a father and his daughter in a world in which they are the only two survivors. These stories were all well-received by the readership.

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

So, it was a good week for new/old Ellison crap hoarding AND a good week for associative Ellison biographical details. I won't blame Harlan one bit if he gives the rest of this all a pass but I'd be a bad amateur scholar if I didn't make the effort. So;

You took Serita? Excuse me. MRS. Ellison. How did you sell her on this? Was there stuff for her to do? Relatives? Broadway shows? What was the inducement? I can't quite see her as a chaperon/guardian at that point with you making your first escapes once you could reach the doorknob.

I don't think you ever wrote of the original John W. Campbell meeting. Maybe you did. I remember some remarks about some possible antisemitism and ASTOUNDING/ANALOG being a bit of an un-crackable market prior to the Bova era. And there is some not very memorable line or two about you in the Campbell collected letters but that's about it. Yet in your "Came the Dawn" letter you hint that you and he talked about (or, perhaps argued about) Dianetics. So, yes, more please.

Thirdly, is there a direct influence line leading from the Mines TWS "era" to 1966 and DANGEROUS VISIONS? With TABOO and a few other links. Or, is that me over-reaching?

And finally, what WAS Sam Mines secretary's name? And do you still have her number?

Hugs - B

No title.

Chuck Messer — Fri, 06 Jan 12 15:27:51 -0500

Allright, I'll play:

Twilight in the Cupboard.

I've got to get off the goddamn graveyard shift.

Chuck

No title.

Steve Barber — Fri, 06 Jan 12 14:45:16 -0500

Okay, I'll play the game and go for the big prize. It's not my current sex life, but thinking back thirty years I'd pick

'Repent, Harlequin,' said the Ticktockman. You might say I was Over the Edge, often engaging Partners in Wonder. But, as in any life, it was Back to the Drawing Boards when I heard The Voice in the Garden.

I started dating my soon-to-be wife, which became a Commuter's Problem, but all I needed to do was look into those Bright Eyes, let Sleeping Dogs lie, and realize what I was Seeing.

There were Promises of Laughter, a feeling of The Children's Hour. A Kiss of Fire.

But now I'm a Tired Old Man.

At best -- and you knew this was coming -- my sex life as a story of Harlan Ellison's, can be found Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W.

Harlan! I will see you on the 19th.

Brian Phillips — Fri, 06 Jan 12 14:33:47 -0500

...well, all the other kids were doin' it.

As for a story that would...FRANK, EWWW!...sorry, as for a story that would describe my vespertine gaiety, I would suppose, "Express Delivery" if one were to ask my wife, however, I chose that one because it is in what Harlan calls his favorite collection of stories ("Mind Fields") and if I am talking about the good lady wife, it would be among my favorite subjects.

So there.

Hey Frank

Lori Koonce — Fri, 06 Jan 12 14:28:27 -0500

I'll see your different and raise you a strange.

After 2 days of thinking about it I'd say that my title would have to be

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs.

Try that on for size!!

No title.

Frank Church — Fri, 06 Jan 12 13:19:40 -0500

To prove I am different: Angry Candy!

Spearmint, I'm told.

I know, ewww.

----------

Mitt Romney reminds me of Heime from Get Smart. Heime had more personality.

Beguiled

Janet Gamache — Fri, 06 Jan 12 12:45:15 -0500

Granted.
But why toil
in the dreamtime
-terrain
unknown-
if not for that
zephyr-sent
siren-sweet
note
of
promise?

#

Mr Ellisons The Sound of a Scythe
is dazzling/triumphant.
One must conclude that
while Mr Ellison may have
got older
felt weary
he has
truly
stayed perfect.

J.

Ellison Sex Titles

driftglass — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

For the refractory period, "Phoenix without Ashes" :-)

YET MORE ELLISON TITLES ABOUT SEX

Robert Nason — Fri, 06 Jan 12 12:08:06 -0500

How could I possibly have forgotten these:

The man on the Juice Wagon

The Other Eye of Polyphemus

Down in the Dark

Soft Monkey

Cold Friend

Tired Old Man

Goodbye to All That

My Sex Life As An Ellison Title

ATC — Fri, 06 Jan 12 09:07:38 -0500

Used to be "Lonelyache," once upon a time. Now it's "Partners In Wonder."

(I'm cheating, of course; for the big fat geek wedding of Judi and myself, we used as table names the titles of various works of sf/fantasy that could double as commentary on weddings. "Partners In Wonder" was one. So were "Ringworld," "Grow Old Along With Me," "A New Hope," "The Stars My Destination," "Time Enough For Love," and so on. Corny as hell, but we had fun with it.)

Sex Titles

Tim Raven — Fri, 06 Jan 12 08:19:00 -0500

Obviously, you guys never use lube.

Slippage

Tim Raven

My Sex Life in Ellison Titles

Steve — Fri, 06 Jan 12 04:38:47 -0500

.....Okay someone has to say it....

How Interesting: A Tiny Man

My sex life as a Harlan Ellison story

Tony Isabella — Thu, 05 Jan 12 23:54:58 -0500

The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair

R.E.

D. W. Pareis — Thu, 05 Jan 12 23:12:08 -0500

Harlan,
Thank you very much.
No problem atribution or photos.
I assume you want actual photos not digital.
Will contact when ready for further instruction.
Thank you
D. W. Pareis

My sex life in an Ellison title

Dave in Maryland — Thu, 05 Jan 12 22:29:12 -0500

On the Slab.

Yes, I'm married...

Damn, virtually EVERY fershluginner Ellison title describes sex!

Robert Nason — Thu, 05 Jan 12 21:19:45 -0500

To wit:

Anywhere but Here, with Anybody but You

Deal from the Bottom

The Forces that Crush

Enter the Fanatic, Stage Center

Rock God

The Hour That Stretches

White on White

Deeper Than Darkness

Tiny Ally

Riding the Dark Train Out

The Goddess in the Ice

Gopher in the Gilly

Are You Listening?

All the Sounds of Fear

Back to the Drawing Boards

Pulling Hard Time

Final Schtick

-- Ya see?

eye spy

Dave Martens — Thu, 05 Jan 12 21:01:58 -0500

Roger Ebert embeds the trailer for Hammer's THE SNORKEL, rising from the depths:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert-club/trailer-for-the-terrifying-the.html

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Harlan Ellison reads the_full text_of the shiny disc element within Charnel House's THE GLASS TEAT & THE OTHER GLASS TEAT OMNIBUS here:

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

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Diversifying and fractaling-out for 2012, given these times. Happy New Year to all!

My sex life in Ellison Titles...

Jordan Owen — Thu, 05 Jan 12 20:37:07 -0500

What else but...

I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM!

...which could also describe my golf game.

ANOTHER ELLISON TITLE DESCRIBING MY SEX LIFE

Robert Nason — Thu, 05 Jan 12 18:17:51 -0500

Again, Dangerous Visions

Sex life title

Rick Ollerman — Thu, 05 Jan 12 15:25:04 -0500

I can't help it, I feel compelled to type:

A Boy and His Dog

But that was a long time ago when I was still in college....

My Sex Life in Ellison Titles

Steve — Thu, 05 Jan 12 14:37:53 -0500

The Sleeper with Still Hands

No title.

Frank Church — Thu, 05 Jan 12 12:34:54 -0500

Crestline Ca? Used to dwell in Running Springs: Little gingerbread cottages, snowmen waving at the mailmen, etc.

You can say you live in Cali but it might as well be Colorado.

REPLY TO D.W. PAREIS

HARLAN ELLISON — Thu, 05 Jan 12 11:31:07 -0500

I would be honored to have you use my phraseology as the title of your sculpture.

I ask only, as "recompense," that you credit the line, and that you send me a nice photo for my archives. Goodest luck, from me and Auguste Rodin and Benny Cellini.

Graciously, I thank you. Yr. Pal, Harlan

No title.

Jan — Thu, 05 Jan 12 10:08:40 -0500

"This is me, with Mr Ellison, getting to see an advanced copy of Encountering Ellison, for which I wrote the foreword (you can buy it at http://www.cafepress.com/harlanellison yourself.)"
www.whosay.com/neilgaiman/photos/113094

Blurb and cover for Shadow Show
http://booktionary.blogspot.com/2012/01/news-more-on-ray-bradbury-tribute.html

No title.

Ezra — Thu, 05 Jan 12 06:17:59 -0500

Wait a minute! Are you saying I shouldn't have wired Koya the five grand?

Koya Syrup

Martens — Wed, 04 Jan 12 20:18:01 -0500

Is Koya a beknighted administer for a beneficent Nigerian Warlord? If so ... Koya is sooo 2011.

No title.

alexander in phoenix — Wed, 04 Jan 12 19:49:29 -0500

I got a koya as well. Ignored it .

But hey, lookie here! http://www.whosay.com/neilgaiman/photos/113094?code=ung1dMR it's Unca Harlan hanging out with Neil Gaiman. Looking quite dapper Mr. Ellison. Downright Cheery!

Hah! I sense no ennui tonight

Tim Raven — Wed, 04 Jan 12 19:44:14 -0500

That was a good tree shakin.

By the way, every time I see a fucking couch on the side of the road, I do a triple take! Its going to take a few weeks to shake off this weirdly honed instinct. Im looking forward to January 19th. Hell, I even took the day off on Friday.

Take it easy, Chief!

Tim

REPLY TO SVEN-HENDRICK IN GERMANY

HARLAN ELLISON — Wed, 04 Jan 12 18:28:23 -0500

Hey, kiddo:

You're a smart enough guy to understand why in this FUCK YOU, YOU AIN'T GOT NO PRIVACY BECAUSE I OWN A COMPUTER AND IT GOT ITSELF A SNOOPY BRAIN & I AIN'T GOT NO BRAIN ATALL age of GoogleEarth I crossed out the information. C'mon, YOU know very well why I did it. It's called self-preservation and GET THE FUCK OFF'N MY PROPERTY, GOOGLESNOOP, OR I'LL DEFENESTRATE YOU AND KILL YOU SO DEAD YER GREAT-GREAT GRANDMOTHER'LL GET A NOSEBLEED.

As for the DAREDEVIL, I plotted and wrote that issue all by myself. A dear friend then (though I haven't heard from him since he moved to Crestline and went underground), and still a pal (though the motherfugger could call once in a while, send a postcard, remember a gray-haired old man, say Happy Channukah, somedamnthing), whose name is Arthur Byron Cover...one of the best writers I ever Clarion-taught, and later published...find yourself a copy of his novel AUTUMN ANGELS, it is just this shy of magnificent...well, ABC wanted to get a credit in comics, so I added his name to the two issues of DAREDEVIL we did. I co-plotted the following issue, though Arthur wrote it himself. But his name on MY SOLO issue (at this stage of My Life) is a business-twaddle lost in the murky swirling mists of Comicdom Past, and nowadays...

I cross out Arthur's name on that one issue.

But the other thing, aw, come ONNNNN, you have got to know why I did that. Or maybe YOU should start dating "Koya."

Yr. Pal, Harlan

MANY THANKS TO SUSAN & HARLAN

PAUL ANDERSON — Wed, 04 Jan 12 15:17:51 -0500

Just quickly bopping in to say thanks to Susan for sending me the lovely HERC stuff (Harlan's right--The Rabbit Hole's wonderful ) and the little note, and also to thank Harlan for yelling at me to send them a SASE in the first place after I'd posted--proudly--about finding paperback copies of DANGEROUS VISIONS in a used bookstore. (Which you, ahem, don't have in your catalogue, Harlan. You're killing me, here. Although, hell, I've read my copy of SLIPPAGE to tatters and you have hardcopies.)

For years, after listening to someone talk about whatever it was that they were talking about, I would, at some point, saying, "Your views interest me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter."

I never actually thought I'd say that and have it be relevant.

So, again, muchas gracias to Susan and Harlan.

Cheers,

PAUL

United States

Stephen Barr — Wed, 04 Jan 12 11:23:16 -0500

Unca Harlan

Let me say this. This forum has been a boon to my well being! Hearing your words (Yes, hearing them, NOT reading them. Your voice has been in my memory since I first heard you speak at the AtlantaCon...) I have been enriched and enthralled, and this is not hyperbole. I once sent a note to Spider Robinson about his latest book because it floored me. A life long reader, that was the first time that I had the temerity to actually attempt to express my appreciation for anyone's work. He responded immediately and with grace and insight. I really appreciated it!
You also surprise and delight me with your willingness no interact with your readers. Know this... There are a multitude of readers who cherish and admire you, not only for your work, but that you also PERSIST.
I am reminded of a discussion that I had with my sister many years ago, in which I was off on a rant about your amazing writing and imagination. Her response was that she had trouble reading your stories.
"What is is he so pissed off about?", she asked.
My response..."Have you SEEN the world?"
Be well my friend. With all sincerity and admiration.
- Steve

No title.

Frank Church — Wed, 04 Jan 12 09:30:30 -0500

I never read emails from people I don't recognize. If they want to reach me they know where my bat lair be.

Deletin spam is my life.

--------

Nason, I'd suggest a bottle of good wine, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, dim lighting and soft music, preferably something with strings and a sad oboe.

Emails from Koya

Rick — Wed, 04 Jan 12 09:17:57 -0500

I got one of those Koya emails as well. Please delete any that you get, folks.

I wouldn't worry too much about this, aside from making sure people know. All that happened there was some joker with a websurfing bot put in harlanellison.com as one of his target sites. Every long-running site on the internet is going to get hit by that eventually. Naturally, you should always be suspicious of unsolicited emails regardless of the content.

I could modify the site to direct search robots away from the pavilion or forums. But email-harvesting robots ignore those directives anyway, so I'd be making the contents unavailable to legitimate search engines to no real benefit.

Thanks to Susan and a question for Harlan

Sven-Hendrik Magotsch — Wed, 04 Jan 12 04:57:37 -0500

Hi from Germany,

first a big thanks to Susan.
The ordered books have just arrived in great packaging and pristine condition.
Thanks as well to Tom Morgan for the FFE-help in enabling a secure Paypal payment (instead of sending cash in an envelope).
Now a question to Harlan if he has the time:
I ordered the book "Alone against Tomorrow" (Macmillan) and on page 159 you blacked/crossed out some words.
The paragraph starts with: My name is Harlan Jay Ellison. To the United States Army i was *******. To the Diners Club I am *****.....and so on.
Can you tell me the background why you did this?
And on the Daredevil issue 208 comic, you blacked/crossed out "by Harlan Ellison ******" which i think read "..and Arthur Byron Cover".
Thanks from a curious german fan.
All the best,

Sven-Hendrik

No title.

shagin — Wed, 04 Jan 12 02:38:51 -0500

HARLAN: As you have reminded us many times, you are not alone. Be safe.

shagin

The Bradbury Tribute

Phil Nichols — Wed, 04 Jan 12 00:23:18 -0500

It's been mentioned here a couple of times, but here is the latest on the Bradbury tribute volume containing contributions from Harlan; info is from co-editor Sam Weller:

-----
On July 17, Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury will be published by HarperPerennial in trade paperback. I am co-editing this book with my friend and partner, Mort Castle. For the first time, here is the complete list of contributors, in the tentative running order from the book:

Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Jay Bonansinga, Sam Weller, David Morrell, Thomas F. Monteleone, Lee Martin, Joe Hill, Dan Chaon, John McNally, Joe Meno, Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, Mort Castle, Alice Hoffman, John Maclay, Jacqueline Mitchard, Gary Braunbeck, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Audrey Niffenegger, Charles Yu, Julia Keller, Dave Eggers, Bayo Ojikutu, Kelly Link, Harlan Ellison.

Sam Weller
http://listentotheechoes.com/?p=494
-----

Amazon page for pre-ordering is here: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Show-All-New-Celebration-Bradbury/dp/0062122681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325665304&sr=8-1

- Phil

AN ELLISON TITLE THAT DESCRIBES MY SEX LIFE

Robert Nason — Wed, 04 Jan 12 00:15:41 -0500

"Do-It-Yourself"

Responsibility wars with ennui and depression

D. W. Pareis — Wed, 04 Jan 12 00:05:02 -0500

Harlan,
Would it be alright if used that quote for a title of a sculpture?
Thank you
D. W. Pareis

Harlan...

Mark Barsotti — Tue, 03 Jan 12 23:02:11 -0500

A letter from you is always welcome, but certainly not necessary. Simply wanted to make sure what started out to be a Corrientes gift certificate had in fact arrived. Feel better and your only mission, should you decide to accept it, is to go have some delectables with the EB, on me.

Mark

Ennui and depression

Semi-Writer — Tue, 03 Jan 12 19:59:37 -0500

That's been my week. Apathy fell on a Tuesday, and I've spent the majority of my time since then asleep or horizontal, surfing the internet in between constant attempts to go back to sleep and run from the two-headed beast. It's difficult to remember to do simple things like, oh, well... eat or bathe. Harder still to bear things in mind that your teeth need brushing and getting dressed in real clothes is only an option for Hugh Hefner. Lucky bastard.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Tue, 03 Jan 12 19:45:38 -0500

"Responsibility wars with ennui and depression."

Harlan, there are those of us who know exactly what you're going through. Keep your friends and Susan close and your enemies on the far side of the Moon.

Chuck

No title.

Andrew Rogers — Tue, 03 Jan 12 18:48:51 -0500

"Guess who's missing from this list of 12 writers who still refuse to use computers?"

Funny thing this. Everyone expects artists to use the latest and greatest tools available, which is kind of laughable. Artists of all stripes, from writers to painters (and everything in between), use the tools that work best for them.

As a photographer I see the same sort of silliness take place. Other photographers look on in amusement/disbelief when I haul out one of my film cameras. I create my art with the tools and materials that work best for me and best facilitate my art. Ease of use or convenience are of no concern to me in this regard. I do use digital tools for my commercial clients, but my art is a (mostly) digital free zone.

-Andrew
P.S. Webderland folk in the San Diego Area are warmly invited to my curatorial debut at Art & Light Gallery/Studio in the Village of La Mesa. I'd enjoy the opportunity to grasp claws with y'all. https://www.facebook.com/events/290467877643793/

MARK BARSOTTI

HARLAN ELLISON — Tue, 03 Jan 12 18:48:30 -0500

Received. Letter coming your way. Pressed for time and energy.
I feel guilty not having goten to acknowledging, nor even cleaning up the paperwork on my desk. The days are long, but not long enough. Responsibility wars with ennui and depression.

Letter on its way. Be patient with me.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

MARK BARSOTTI

HARLAN ELLISON — Tue, 03 Jan 12 18:48:29 -0500

No title.

Rob — Tue, 03 Jan 12 18:32:21 -0500

I ain't been operatin' no machinery.

...Just lookin' fer muh ho!

Well...that was LAST night's dream, anyway!

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

THE INVADERS...I rented it a whole season a year ago. I was suckered by SOME of it - the feel and the look, Dominic Frontiere's score, by FAR the best element - otherwise, yeah, not only tedious, but silly (every time the supposedly superior aliens captured Roy Thinnes they never offed him!). Still, the description of Samish gave light to Harlan's own confrontation with the guy; I'd have done the same thing - but I WOULDN'T have stumbled on the table like Harlan did! No, I'd have tossed the table and all its YES men out of the way to get to him!

No title.

Kenny Noor — Tue, 03 Jan 12 16:00:29 -0500

That Lorelei King is funny. On her twitter the question was, "Describe your sex life with a movie title"

He responses:

How Green was my Valley

Duck Soup (Typo, surely? -ed.)

Clueless

Missing

The Searchers

12 Angry Men

As Good as it Gets

Notorious

The Day the Earth Stood Still

It Happened One Night
********
Could you do the same thing with Harlan story titles?

No title.

Frank Church — Tue, 03 Jan 12 15:26:32 -0500

Oh, shucks, miss mary, Steve King said the f-word on FACEBOOK, oh my, jeepers.

He also has a dandy new graphic novel that you can download. See, the damned computer is good for something:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/stephen-king-swears-facebook_n_1181489.html

possible scam using harlanellison.com tie in

Gary Clark — Tue, 03 Jan 12 13:18:28 -0500

Hi folks, just wanted to share the quoted message below which I showed up in my email. Pretty sure it's a scam and thought others out there in Weberland might also be affected. Tip off was the Koya's email address was used twice, from and to, the later of course should have been my email address. Anyway, take care. Happy New Year all.

"Hello
My name is Koya, I saw your email here at harlanellisoncom i was very interested to this,please get back to me so,i will send you my photo and tell you more about me."

Such a small thing, really...

Steve Barber — Tue, 03 Jan 12 13:04:09 -0500

"Guess who's missing from this list of 12 writers who still refuse to use computers?"

Point of order: If this refers to our illustrious patron, he DOES use the computer. Evidence of this may be found every few days.

He refuses to use a computer to pursue his trade because, as he has noted many, many (many) times, it simply doesn't allow him to write in the way he is both most comfortable and most effective.

Does he LIKE computers? No. Does he USE them? Yepper, just pay attention. Every once in a while he proves it right'cheer on the Pavvy.

(I don't Twit. This doesn't mean that I'm not a damned good technologist in other ways.)
________________________________________

17 shopping days left until Round Two of Ellison Versus Olson onstage at the Silent Theater.

353 shopping days until the Apocalypse.
________________________________________

End of the year blog.
thumbnailtraveler.blogspot.com
________________________________________

EZRA - Yes, but the white-out was a bitch to apply.

No title.

Jan — Tue, 03 Jan 12 12:51:03 -0500

The PorPor Books Blog: The Illustrated Harlan Ellison (goes a bit far with the reproductions)
http://theporporbooksblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/illustrated-harlan-ellison-edited-by.html
In the comments section there's a link to a 2010 article about Steranko's "Repent" illustrations
www.thedrawingsofsteranko.com/REPENT/repent_article_.html

No title.

Mark W. Tiedemann — Tue, 03 Jan 12 11:28:43 -0500

---"Everything went to shit after folks stopped using cuneiform. Papyrus, my ass! So what if a big ole piece of burnt clay is heavy? When you pounded a pictograph into clay by the gods it stayed pounded! People want letters and King's Lists you can wrap your arms around! None of this mummy loving chicken scratch."

Those were the days when writer's block meant the piece of material on which you worked. When a typo meant starting entirely over...or a broken finger. When instead of carpal tunnel you suffered torn rotater cuffs. When sweating over your prose meant salt in your eyes and instead of being paid by the word you were paid by the calorie. When a first draft became part of the temple...or the tomb. When after several years at it and you told someone you wrote for a living, they stepped back. And the only reason to do it was to make an impression.

A weighty tome was not necessarily deep, only solid, and a body of work back then meant something.

(I use a computer. I also use a fountain pen. And I still have my first typewriter---a Remington Noiseless, which was not.)

No title.

Brad Stevens — Tue, 03 Jan 12 10:59:20 -0500

"Guess who's missing from this list of 12 writers who still refuse to use computers?"

Coincidentally, I just watched an interview with Paul Auster in which he talked about refusing to use a computer.

No title.

John E. Williams — Tue, 03 Jan 12 10:57:45 -0500

Thought this was a perfect exercise for Ellison's denizens.

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/12/23/english-pronunciation/

"If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said hed prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud."

No title.

Ezra — Tue, 03 Jan 12 10:02:14 -0500

Writing devices?

Everything went to shit after folks stopped using cuneiform. Papyrus, my ass! So what if a big ole piece of burnt clay is heavy? When you pounded a pictograph into clay by the gods it stayed pounded! People want letters and King's Lists you can wrap your arms around! None of this mummy loving chicken scratch.

And what are they going to do when the effing Hittites come screaming over the hill and burn down the palace? Fire just bakes a clay slab even harder and more durable. Your scrolls that don't get torched will wind up wiping barbarian ass.

Think about it.

Starting the new year right...

Brenda Balin — Tue, 03 Jan 12 07:30:00 -0500

First and foremost, wishing Harlan and Susan and all the Webderlanders a year of health, the right kind of excitement (creative), enough serenity to be comforting, but not stultifying, and an abundance of love.

I also want to warn you that this site is being mined again as a spam source. I got an email from something called Koya Konan, suggesting it would like to send me its photo. It cited this page as where it "saw" me. Bah.

Writers and their writing devices

Alejandro Riera — Tue, 03 Jan 12 07:21:16 -0500

Guess who's missing from this list of 12 writers who still refuse to use computers?:

http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org/blog/2012/12-writers-who-still-refuse-to-use-computers/

No title.

lonegungirl — Tue, 03 Jan 12 02:40:03 -0500

Ha. The Cinefamily ticket, she is mine. Did I miss the part where someone explained why their TV Tuesday is on a Thursday?

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and celebrated to the limits of your beliefs/laws/moral turpitude...

POSTAL SNAFU?

Mark Barsotti — Mon, 02 Jan 12 20:18:03 -0500

Harlan and Susan:

I sent you two a little something for the holidays a couple weeks back and want to make sure it wasn't lost in the holiday postal maze. Please advise...

And Happy 2012 to all!

Mark Barsotti

Typewriter Repairman

Martin Evans — Mon, 02 Jan 12 18:25:20 -0500

Happy New Year everybody!

When I saw this story here about a typewriter repairman I thought it prudent to post the link to that story here http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Third-Ward-typewriter-repairman-keeping-busy-2436269.php

Take care everyone!

A wonderful and Happy New Years cheer to all here.

alan — Mon, 02 Jan 12 14:45:34 -0500

I'd throw a kiss but Frank gave me Mono!!

No title.

Frank Church — Mon, 02 Jan 12 11:01:52 -0500

Happy new years. May this journey be less weird. Interesting, but less weird.

--------

Let me just say that I find politics erotic and exciting. Politics is life itself. I'd much rather see a Chomsky speech than go to some CGI garbage movie. We cannot all agree on every facit of life.

Much love to Harlan, Susan, Lil kiteflyin Rickie Wyatt and the toast burners and butter churners of this forum.

I'd kiss you all but I have mono.

No title.

Ben Winfield — Mon, 02 Jan 12 09:34:41 -0500

Baby New Year had BETTER come with some good news for a change, otherwise I'm kicking its diapered ass out the door with Old Man '11.

No title.

Reich Benasutti — Mon, 02 Jan 12 09:29:42 -0500

Smash Adrian Samesh and HE did! (had to be said).
oh, and The Invaders was one tedious tv series.

Rob's Dream

Matthew L. Schaffer — Mon, 02 Jan 12 07:14:50 -0500

Rob,

I read the accounts of your dreams and my conclusion is that you must refrain from operating heavy machinery.

You pal,

Matt

No title.

Jan — Mon, 02 Jan 12 07:04:27 -0500

I heard that rumor about the female anatomy too, but I didn't know there is proof!
I'm every bit as excited as Rob!
If I come across a female today, I'll check. It sounds so ridiculous!

No title.

Rob — Sun, 01 Jan 12 20:40:58 -0500

Title correction: That was, WESTWARD THE WOMEN!

No title.

Rob — Sun, 01 Jan 12 20:33:00 -0500

With cautious optimism, a Happy 2012! Hey, today's J.D. Salinger's birthday - what-the-hell!

-------------------------------------
New recent glistening filmic discoveries I'd like to shout about:

William Wellman's WESTWARD HO THE WOMEN, and Jean Harlow's naked breast bouncing right out of the pre-Hays movie, RED-HEADED WOMAN.

-------------------------------------
Harlan, very soon I will be sending you a book order...for an ELLISON book!

**Y'know, just yesterday I read an interview in the (I, believe, to my utter regret) now defunct Filmfax magazine, with a producer who'd worked on the archetypal 1960's series THE FUGITIVE; your old buddy Adrian Samish popped up in the discussion, and from this anecdote, I see why you sunk him with a submarine! As a front for the network, Samish was apparently bad news for ANY series he walked in on (in this case, it was THE INVADERS they were citing).

The one thing that makes me laugh like hell: the image of you jumping up on a conference table, spazzing out like a headless chicken on roller skates, and takin' a Chaplin-like skeed into your ponderous target! Bro, I wish I'd been there to see it!

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

How mimetic can our DREAMS get?

Last week I had some REM trips that could have lined me up for a straight-jacket:

One night it was Captain America dukin' it out with Jesus!

Another night, Lee Marvin was assuring me that he was going to kick my ass, and that I couldn't evade him no matter where I might run, and that he was VERY capable of doing it! Since I felt futility in running, I said "fuck it! I'm going to confront this guy! If I have to take him on, I WILL - even if it means I'm killed. I'm not gonna let this guy intimidate me. I confronted in a bar and told him this. He said he was going to keep his promise, whether I run or not. I guess I woke then, but still reassured myself that I could handle that guy if I had to!

A few nights 'fore that, however, was a GEM:

I was walkin' the city, and, it seemed, for whatever reason, I was the prime suspect in a wave of serial killings: the corpses of actor, George Wendt (Norm Peterson), and Clint Eastwood had been discovered. Wendt's body was floating fetus-like inside the big plastic jug of a water cooler - at the bottom of an abyss right in the center of the city; Eastwood's body was found in another part of town, likewise inside a water cooler!

Well, knowing I'd nothing to do with this, I avoided the police until something might break. While walking the streets, I actually MET Clint Eastwood, who was now serving in the official capacity of a police investigator! He and I joined forces, and, together, we raised the water cooler holding Wendt's body from the mysterious chasm. We broke it open, and the body tumbled out. We discovered that the "body" was, after all, nothing but a clutter of wire and rubber tubing (like in Bradbury's Hitch show, "The Jar"!).

With my deductive mind at its SHARPEST, I readily concluded from this that the body in the OTHER cooler must also be a hoax, and, therefore, the real Clint Eastwood wasn't dead at all!

Yeah: it's reassuring when your own dream is telling you you're a retard! That it required my looking at the body in the water cooler to figure out Eastwood wasn't dead, even though I'd been hanging out with him the whole time.

...I don't appreciate being insulted by my own dreams!

No title.

Colleen — Sun, 01 Jan 12 13:49:42 -0500

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou everyone!
Cheers, Colleen

Top Ten

Phil Nichols — Sun, 01 Jan 12 12:40:18 -0500

Happy new year, all. As for the departed year, SF fan site File 770 lists Unca Harlan at number three in a top ten of the most newsworthy SF folk of 2011:

http://file770.com/?p=7860

No title.

Cindy — Sun, 01 Jan 12 11:52:23 -0500

Happy New Year, Harlan and Susan and all of y'all.

May 2012 be the best year so far for ALL of us!
God Bless us-- every one.
:)
Cindy

HAPPY NEW YEAR...

Keeney — Sun, 01 Jan 12 10:09:58 -0500

...and especially to you, Rick Wyatt. Thanks a great deal for keeping this raft afloat.

And:

peace,
Rick

Stood up on a New Years Date, it's just me and Val Lewton

Reich — Sat, 31 Dec 11 22:18:38 -0500

Happy New Year to Mr.& Mrs. and thanks for all the ellison goodies i recently received from edgeworks abbey. Got a ton of great stuff to read! Speaking of HE, i was watching my Val Lewton collection tonight and hadn't even realized that the box set had two docs with it, not just Man in the Shadows but Shadows in the Dark with peeps like Gaiman and HE. Pleasant surprise! (or just me being unobservant with my box sets.) Watched I Walked with a Zombie, The Body Snatcher and 7th Victim. Loved em all. Man this guy was ahead of his time. The irony is the guy wanted to make boring mainstream pictures at some point. Glad he did not because these are just wonderful pieces of art. I almost thought that 7th victim was a david lynch movie before lynch was born! (and without the cursing.) I'll finish up the last four movies in a few days but when it's over, i'll be sad that there's no more...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Mary — Sat, 31 Dec 11 19:54:34 -0500

I've already enjoyed celebrations with the family at Joe's Crab Shack, and now it's time to watch New Yorkers party and smooch in Times Square.

Have a Happy and safe New Year's, y'all. See you in 2012!

Happy New Year

Alejandro Riera — Sat, 31 Dec 11 17:57:55 -0500

Read Neil Gaiman's New Year Wish(es), and he, no doubt, can express in far better words what I would. For me, 2011 was a transitional year, an interesting yearand in terms of what was/is happening in the world, a far shittier year than 2009 and 2010. I don't expect much from the world and its leaders (and their followers) in 2012, either. But I do think that, in the end, 2012 will be what we make of it. So, to all of you, my fair Webderlanders (and you Harlan and Susan and your closest friends, allies and co-conspirators), regardless of what happens in the world, may 2012 be a magical year, a wondrous year, a year where you try new things and kick orthodoxy in the arse. May 2012 be all of what Neil wishes for and more, MUCH MORE.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Sat, 31 Dec 11 17:46:56 -0500

I just wanted to pop in and wish everyone here a Happy New Year. May the ticktock men lose you on their radar and say, "Aw, fuggit!" and call off the search.

(Giving the Village salute) Be seeing you. In 2012.

Chuck

2011: The Year of Harlan Ellison

Le — Sat, 31 Dec 11 17:45:44 -0500

He's like the Energizer bunny...He keeps going and going and going....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I had a great dream about him. In it, his back was turned toward my vantage point, and he was wearing a dark bathrobe and making coffee in his kitchen while listening to the Bill Evans recording of Michel Legrand's "You Must Believe in Spring." The kitchen slowly faded and disappeared and became a just a white limbo background. Only he remained and kept going on making his coffee with an invisible pot, cup, and spoon, like some mime artist, as if nothing was wrong.

No title.

Mark Goldberg — Sat, 31 Dec 11 16:19:01 -0500

A very happy new year to all my friends on this wonderful site

Diane, while a visit to Chicago would certainly be possible, I don't see a move there as a viable option any time in the next decade, unfortunately

My New Year's Eve will be exciting, I plan on diving into Daniel Suarez's second book, Freedom. If it is anywhere near as good as his first, Daemon, I will be up half the night reading

All the best,

Mark

'APPY NOO YEER

Ken 'Owes — Sat, 31 Dec 11 16:18:55 -0500

To all the Happy Harlanophiles here, may I be the first from abroad to wish y'all a pleasant and productive 2012 and let's hope we've left the boring shit of the year gone by in the bottom of the dustbin.

Now excuse me while I go out and punch some fucker in the gob for setting off celebratory fireworks when I wanna go noddy blinkums.

(Christ, 2012 has started ALREADY . . . .!!)

Pissed off and bleary-eyed, that Cockney Sparra 'Owes

No title.

Steve Barber — Sat, 31 Dec 11 15:51:55 -0500

Everyone have a very safe, sane and above all enjoyable New Year's Eve.

Only 356 shopping days until The Apocalypse.

The opposite of boring and a smattering of politics

Tim Raven — Sat, 31 Dec 11 15:11:32 -0500

A young guy that I work with is leaving, and they decided to give him a send-off last night. Its been years since Ive been on an honest to god bar crawl...AND me being the alcoholic fuck up of the century, I agreed with some hesitation. Please note that the five other swinging dicks in our group are about half my age, in their early twenties.

Soooooo

Amidst the whirling kaleidoscope of loud music, pussy hunting, beer drinking, Jaeger shots and games of nine-ball, this joke came to mind:

An old man walks into a bar; he waddles to the quiet end and wearily plops his wide ass onto the bar stool.

Waddaya have? says the bartender.

The old man reaches into his coat pocket, pulls out a frog and gently sets it onto the bar.

Ahhhh, gimme a Guinness

The barkeep grabs a pint glass and begins to draw the beer. He notices that the frog, while clearly alive remains motionless, staring at the old man. The foam settles, he tops off the pint and sets it down in front of the geezer. The frog suddenly whirls about and says Hey, tell this guy to give me a kiss. If he does, Ill transform into a beautiful princess!

Holy Fuck! says the bartender. This goddamn frog talks!

The old man looks up and squints.

Ahhhh, yeah, its a special frog, talking frog. As he speaks, the frog hippity twiddles itself back and continues the silent stare at the old man.

The barkeep throws his towel onto the bar. I cant believe this shit! he says. Have you tried kissing it? The frog twirls around and leaps one foot into the air!

Tell him that if he kisses me, I promise to screw his brains out every day! I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise!

The old man grunts, grabs the frog and shoves it back into his coat pocket.

Jeezus! says the bartender, You gotta kiss that thing right now! Itll turn into a sexy princess and fuck you silly, you old coot!

Seconds go by, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. Finally, the old man shakes his head.

Ahhhh, no. At my age, Id rather have a talking frog.

And for the politically minded folks, here is YOUR version of the joke.

A Roast Beef Sandwich walks into a bar. He waddles to the quiet end and wearily plops his wide ass onto the bar stool, waiting politely, gazing expectantly at the bartender. The bartender strides to the end, gently places both palms onto the surface of the bar in front of this patron and says

Im sorry sir, but we dont serve food here.

Happy New Year everyone, with many happy returns! In spite of rumors to the contrary, 2012 is shaping up to be a good one!

Tim

Holiday Felicitations

Steve Perry — Sat, 31 Dec 11 14:44:13 -0500

And remember Hoyt Axton's lyrics:

Work your fingers to the bone, whaddya get?
Boney fingers ...

Perry

No title.

Robert Nason — Sat, 31 Dec 11 14:44:03 -0500

Happy New Year, Harlan and Susan! Thanks for all the great books, films, inspiration, and the niftiest website in the universe! May 2012 be a year of renewal and rejuvenation for all of us.

No title.

Michael Rapoport — Sat, 31 Dec 11 13:24:59 -0500

In wishing you all a good 2012, I cannot improve upon the words of Harlan's friend Neil Gaiman, who among his seemingly endless talents writes simply the best New Year's benedictions:

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes."

"Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. ... Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life."

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/12/my-new-year-wish.html

Happy New Year to Harlan, Susan and everyone who visits here.

Happy New Year

Mark W. Tiedemann — Sat, 31 Dec 11 12:45:26 -0500

Moving into 2012...be safe, everyone.

Happy New Year to all!

Brian Phillips — Sat, 31 Dec 11 11:45:39 -0500

Shagin - My prayers go out to you and you Uncle.

May the New Year be bright for all and to DTS, my special "Bowfinger" salute! Kindly send the crisp wooden two and ha'penny piece to my McDonough address. Just tell the postal service to send it to the guy with the bow-shaped fingers.

Note to Harlan:
I was looking up "Chef!", the BBC series with Lenny Henry. An actor from the third series, Lorelei King says that her favorite author is Gerald Kersh and she mentions "Nightshades and Damnations" in her blog:
http://bit.ly/sFeWsA

Masters of Comic Book Art

Matthew L. Schaffer — Sat, 31 Dec 11 11:38:01 -0500

Dear Harlan,

Back in 1988, you wrote and hosted a video, "Masters of Comic Book Art", as well as penned an article for Playboy that coincided with the release of the video. You were fantastic in the video and the article was brilliantly written. Are there any plans to re-release the video and reprint the article in an anthology?

Happy New Year,

Matt

No title.

Jan — Sat, 31 Dec 11 11:29:44 -0500

Happy New Year, Harlan and Susan, and good luck with upcoming and continuing projects.

No title.

Jamie Ford — Sat, 31 Dec 11 11:20:29 -0500

Dear Harlan & Susan,

Thanks for the typewriter ornament. Lovely, lovely surprise.

Happy New Year and all that good stuff.

Cheers,

J

Happy New Year

Dennis C — Sat, 31 Dec 11 10:04:31 -0500

Happy New Year, everyone!
My resolution is to always ask WWHD and act accordingly.

No title.

Saul Trabal — Sat, 31 Dec 11 08:28:40 -0500

Mr. Ellison,

Firstly, I wish you and Susan a very Happy New Year.

Secondly...I am curious about how you've been storing typewriter ribbons in the refrigerator. How has that worked out? What are your thoughts on electric typewriters? Apparently, you can still get ribbons for them, and there still appear to be sales of electric typewriters.

I just came across this now, by the way-if you're still looking for ribbons:

http://mytypewriter.com/ribbons.aspx

Have a good one!

Happy New Year!

Tony Isabella — Sat, 31 Dec 11 05:48:08 -0500

Just a quick note to wish the fine folks here - and especially Harlan and Susan - the happiest of new years!

All the best and thanks for your friendship!

periscope up / HARLAN 101 ENCOUNTERING ELLISON

Martens — Fri, 30 Dec 11 23:12:37 -0500

In agreement with DTS about this new Tactile Title. You can certainly judge this book by its cover. A classy construction, the grey zone, print selections ~ all superb. "Mouthless in Gaza: A Literary Memoir" oh so sweet. Resubmerging .... gurgle ....

A non-boring post

Robert Nason — Fri, 30 Dec 11 22:46:37 -0500

HARLAN -- I KNEW you'd get bored -- so that's why I dropped the political stuff. And today I bought a spanking new copy of BUGF#CK and took it with me to The Silver Spurs restaurant and kept reading choice bits to my best friend Rich while we both savored possibly the best hamburgers to be found in the city of New York. He was grinning from ear to proverbial ear as I read him your comparison of Trekk-ers and -ies to the Branch Davidians. BUGF#CK goes quite well with onion rings and Sam Adams and a waitress who looked a lot like a brunette Cameron Diaz.

Oh, just for the record -- I think Washington and Lincoln were our two best presidents. Not very original, I know, but it's hard to beat the drums for William Henry Harrison. The schmuck made a two hour inaugural speech in the freezing cold without a coat and died a month later!

No title.

Diane Bartels — Fri, 30 Dec 11 21:48:57 -0500

Mark and Rick, what's going on up there in the wild North? Are they putting something in the snowflakes? Still think you two should trundle the ladies and the kids into an SUV and move to Chicago. The music is better, the weather is better, the food is to die, and we can have weekly HE worship meetings where we sit in circles and solemnly intone "Jefty is five, Jefty is five." Or not. Ok, probably not.
Harlan, not sure if anyone has ever told you this or not, but you write well. Pithy, precise and to the point. Just thought someone should mention that.
DTS, to truly appreciate our Frankie, one most come to the Forums where he posts in the fullness of his wonder and splendor. To whence I now rebanish myself, subsequent to going to have some wine. Happy New Year, y'all, specially HE and Lady Susan.

No title.

Steve Barber — Fri, 30 Dec 11 21:37:05 -0500

As a doff of the cap to our gracious host, might I suggest the politico adjourn to the nearby Forum Shoppes, where you can editorialize to your hearts' content.
_________________________________

We have returned, as have Finder and his soon to be Missus, from the Easternmost Seaboard. We had a wonderful time amongst family, though I will admit my folks are appearing disturbingly aged. More than disturbingly, in some cases. It's a good thing we spent this Christmas with them. Further, the deponent would just as soon say naught.

Pitchers of New York and Annapolis to follow this weekend...accompanied by an end of the year blog entry. Still...disturbed am I.
_________________________________

Sincere wishes to our friends Harlan, Susan, Rick, and the rest a y'all for a suitably wonderful and safe New Years' Eve. May 2012 prove to be one for the record books -- the good and fruitful kind.

Steve (and Cris).

You weren't the only one who was bored!

DTS — Fri, 30 Dec 11 21:36:39 -0500

HARLAN: You weren't the only one who was bored! Especially with my own post (kept wishing this board had a "delete post" application, so I could erase that looooooooong post I made). I was already there with ya, buddy. Sorry for my part in boring your (any one else's) socks off.

In an attempt to right that situation, I recommend, in a fun, no brainer way (the way you once recommended "Big Trouble in Little China" to the masses): "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec". It's a french film by Luc Besson. A goofy, no-holes barred, fantasy/action/adventure with ties to Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle (in Professor Challenger mode).
Check it out, you'll enjoy it.

Also, to anyone and everyone else: best science fiction film ever? Two words: "Chubby Rain".
Excuse me, now, because I have to go watch for the Federal Express deliveryman. (A wooden nickel to the first person who -- without using "google" knows from which film those two, semi-obscure references come from). (And _I_ was the first person who declared it a bit of comedy genius -- long before the Johnny-come-latelys!)

Cheers,
DTS

To quote Miranda Hart from "Would I Lie To You?"...

Semi-Writer — Fri, 30 Dec 11 19:07:48 -0500

"I LOVE this man!"

PUT AN END TO IT ------- NOW !!

HARLAN ELLISON — Fri, 30 Dec 11 17:42:11 -0500

YOU will, you WILL, hear this....loud & clear:

If I want to be bored by political bullshit, I can turn on tv. I do NOT want to be bored by political bullshit, and just because I smile in a friendly manner as y'all gambol, and let Frank Church do his endless repetitive B O R I N G anti-Zionist bullshit, at least Frank has grown wise enough to know I have no interest in the matter, and I like him...so he keeps it short. Too often, perhaps; but at least short squibs of Frank's own particular Johnny One-Note politicolooniness.

The rest of you...

Including Dorman, who is a good friend, whom I actually adore, have become a boring endlessly boring B O R I N G goddam annoying, time- space-wasting chittering melange that has, at last,stretched my tolerance not only to 'way past the snapping point, but also all the way down to the Plimsoll, out to the horizons, over to the Prime Meridian, up to the ionosphere and
right up to my meniscus layer. You are boring me in my own livingroom, and you've overstayed your welcome. So that's it. You want to continue Free Speechifying each other into dolor and delirium, be my guest. There's oodles of band-width here in the separate talk threads. Use them.

But stop this political gabbledegobble right thie second; not even a shamefaced bore's apology to me for making everyone else run away just so you could vent your pre-election-jive. STOP!

Exasperatedly, Yr. Annoyed Host, Harlan Ellison

No title.

Joe Wehrle, Jr. — Fri, 30 Dec 11 11:01:12 -0500

Shagin-
I'm also 70, have been the art field for decades (started with Galaxy and If magazines in 1968), and lost my wife of almost 44 years in 2010. Unless your uncle is particularly prone to despair and depression, I think he will probably surface again in his own time. When one of my father's sisters died, her husband signed on to a tramp steamer for a while, just to get away from the familiar. It's obvious that you are ready and willing to be there for him if and when he may need you, so, unless and until, I would advise, don't drive yourself to distraction over this. From what little I know of you, you probably have enough to deal with already. It may be hard, but try to be at peace for now, and just see what happens. I'm sure he didn't disappear to make you unhappy; he has his own agenda.

To Mike Miller

SUSAN ELLISON — Fri, 30 Dec 11 10:57:31 -0500

Re: "Rock God" in Creepy #32. We have one copy of the magazine @ $100.00 plus s/h. Or, if you want to read the story, it's in DEATHBIRD STORIES. We have a hardcover DS for $20.00 in our catalogue. Just a thought.

With kindness for 2012. --Susan

No title.

Frank Church — Fri, 30 Dec 11 08:59:50 -0500

There were also two forms of Zionists back then--Zionists who were against a Jewish state, the way we would be against a Christian state here, and Zionists who supported the state, who actually went along with support for keeping Jews from coming into America, so that they would come to Israel instead. Rightly Jews would rather be here than there, with a dustbowl all around and lots of angry arabs.

Chomsky was an anti-state Zionist in the 50s. He supported a federal society--let arabs and Jews live in one full state.

The bantustan shit just will not work.

Golden Apple Comics for sale on Ebay!

Mike Miller — Fri, 30 Dec 11 08:54:01 -0500

http://www.digitalspy.com/comics/news/a357556/golden-apple-comic-store-for-sale-on-ebay.html

FDR

Earl Wells — Fri, 30 Dec 11 05:49:05 -0500

Robert Nason wrote: 1) FDR wasn't perfect either -- he persistently refused to allow planes to bomb the railraod tracks bringing Jews to Auschwitz, even though it would have been easy for the planes to do so, and thereby save countless lives; he even turned back a ship filled with Jews escaping from Nazi Germany, refusing to allow them into the country. I don't think Roosevelt was anti-Semitic (though he and Eleanor did have a "genteel" dislike of Jews in their younger days) -- he was just echoing the sentiments of a country that didn't particularly care about saving European Jews.

I missed it if anyone said FDR was perfect or even close to it, which of course he was not. But he was, in my opinion, by far our greatest president, and though his record on the European Jews had room for improvement, it was better than this.

A key fact to remember is that the Nazi extermination policy did not go into effect until after the war began. Before the war, Jews in Germany were able to leave, because the Nazis wanted them out. The passengers on the St. Louis, the ship Nason referred to, were originally bound for Cuba in May of 1939. Cuba reneged on the deal, but the passengers didnt go back to Germany, they went to various safe European countries for what was expected to be a temporary stay until they could find a permanent haven; for many, that was going to be the U.S., once the red tape was worked out. Tragically, some of those countries in which the passengers found refuge were later conquered by Germany.

After the war started, emigration was a dwindling option for Jews, because the Nazis wanted to eliminate them in Germany and in the conquered countries. Using air power to disrupt the Holocaust by bombing railroad tracks would NOT have been easy and, even if the losses were acceptable and the bombing was accurate enough to work, the effects probably wouldnt have lasted for long; the Nazis were resourceful about repairing bomb damage, and they were fanatically determined to carry out their extermination policy. At the time, some outside the government advocated bombing Auschwitz itself. According to one top aide, FDR was opposed to this because it would have pointlessly killed the innocent inmates. The Nazis would only move it down the road a little way and claim the Allies were the mass murderers. See p. 66 of The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman, and the Destruction of Hitlers Germany by Michael Beschloss, which has a lot of good material on this subject. I also recommend two more books: Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust by Robert N. Rosen, and The Myth of Rescue by William D. Rubinstein.

2012

John Pickett — Fri, 30 Dec 11 05:33:33 -0500

May the New Year be a happy and prosperous one for Everyone here!
Especially for Harlan & Susan! Here's hoping that all is joyous calm & Happy where ever you are & have a safe year!

Recent Russian editions

Jan — Fri, 30 Dec 11 04:39:57 -0500

Best New Horror 2 (incl. Jane Doe #112) - 2011
www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/6095697/
The Living Dead (incl. The Song the Zombie Sang) - 2009
www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/239693/
Pulp Fiction: The Villains - 2008
www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/3981024/
The full list: www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/239693/

Sherlockian Moments

shagin — Thu, 29 Dec 11 21:47:25 -0500

Just returned from the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first RDJ/JL Holmes outing, but I also didn't find it as much an adventure movie as others described. I will say there were too many slow motion capture sequences for my tastes. Jude Law as Watson did quite well, and I applaud how they referenced Holmes's cocaine use without outright saying it.

###

A long time friend and small business owner is being run out of her business by a landlord who admits she hopes to attract a larger corporate market. It's difficult watching a small business go under, not only because my hubby owns a small business but because local businesses are the backbone of a community. I think of my husband, of Barney, of writers, of any number of small businesses. Buy local, folks. Keep the jobs and the dignity close to home.

###

Earlier today I drove down to Olympia, WA, in the hopes of finding my uncle, Chris "Jan" Brown. His wife died in late October, early November. He called to let me know just before Thanksgiving, gave me a new telephone number (which has no voice mail, and he does not answer), and we discovered today that his house is being gutted for a remodel. The neighbors and mobile home park manager have no idea where he is. His artist studio, Loft Studios, has been abandoned.

Mind you, he is in his early 70s, and has a solid run at life. He's been a professional artist for well on 55 years, run his own art studio, published books, you name it. And now his house is empty. His mother and sister gone, and his commentary to me during our last visit when his wife was in the hospital: "When she's gone, Sandra, I'm gong to sell the house, buy a boat, and sail out to the middle of nowhere and just fucking die."

I respect anyone's wishes, but I'm struggling with how hard I try to look for him. Dammit, I don't need this.

###

New Year is coming up, and with it another go around the sun. May it find each of us happy, whole, and looking forward instead of back. Be safe, everyone.

shagin

What do Churchill and Gene Roddenberry have in common? NOTHIN'!

Robert Nason — Thu, 29 Dec 11 19:43:43 -0500

DTS -- I know that Harlan doesn't particularly like political discussions, so I'm going to gracefully bow out of the current fracas by just adding two simple observations: 1) FDR wasn't perfect either -- he persistently refused to allow planes to bomb the railraod tracks bringing Jews to Auschwitz, even though it would have been easy for the planes to do so, and thereby save countless lives; he even turned back a ship filled with Jews escaping from Nazi Germany, refusing to allow them into the country. I don't think Roosevelt was anti-Semitic (though he and Eleanor did have a "genteel" dislike of Jews in their younger days) -- he was just echoing the sentiments of a country that didn't particularly care about saving European Jews. 2) Churchill too had his flaws, alas -- but most of them can be forgiven considering that he saved Western Civilization. What have you or I done lately?

On another note entirely, last night I watched the "documentary" TREK NATION on the Science Channel (which also brings us such brilliant explorations of science as FINDING BIGFOOT). The show was billed as Gene Rodenberry, Jr.'s "quest to learn about his father, and what made STAR TREK so great," but it was disheartening after all these years to see yet another official celebration of the STAR TREK franchise. No new insights here, about the show, the fans, or Roddenberry himself. The shots of poor Gene Junior talking to someone off-camera about his "voyage of discovery" reminded me of those videos of hostages who are captured by terrorists and forced to recite their "change of heart." He's probably a nice kid, but Stephen Bogart's "In Search of My Father" book and film offered more to chew on. (But then, Roddenberry was no Bogart.) I happen to like STAR TREK, warts and all, but it would have been refreshing to have someone like Harlan on screen for a few minutes offering a more, ah, nuanced view of the series. The Trekkers wouldn't have been able to get HIM to say anything at gunpoint, that's fer sure. I guess Gene Junior just needs the money -- but then, so do we all.

No title.

John E. Williams — Thu, 29 Dec 11 19:37:21 -0500

Oy gevalt, I am ibbledick. Can we maybe cut out all this political narishkeit, nu?

Concerning Frank -- and port vs. starboard

DTS — Thu, 29 Dec 11 19:12:39 -0500

ROBERT (Nason): Hope this doesn't seem rude of me, but I feel compelled to use your post to comment on the idea that people who still think similarly to the way they thought when they were younger are failures (of one sort or another -- you mentioned as political thinkers). A lot of that sort of thinking, I believe, comes from an iconic quote by Winston Churchill: "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."

As for reading Irving Kristol and learning from him -- it's possible Kristol didn't learn much from Roosevelt. Because Roosevelt's plans were interrupted by WWII, and then cut short by his death. There are, after all, signs that point toward Roosevelt wanting to implement healthcare of some sort. And while I don't know you well enough to comment on your political leanings, a writer I once befriended used to tell me he was a Kennedy Democrat. That basically translated to moderate (because JFK was, at best, a moderate -- who was only starting to lean to the left when he was assassinated). And while it first surprised me (after 2001) to see this same writer start commenting (on his site) in a manner befitting an conservative (and often an ultraconservative), as well as find his books suddenly reflecting this new, hard right, direction, I now see that was merely the logical direction in which he would lean (politically, socially, etc.), because he began his life as moderate. Thing is, from what I could discern, HE thought of himself as more of liberal, or a moderate that leaned to the left, when he was younger. And, at the moment, he now thinks of himself as moderate -- middle of the road -- with only a few conservative leanings. It's strange, because one would think he would see the obvious, and scary, starboard list of his particular "vessel", but he's like the Captain of the Titanic --unwilling to believe anything until it is too late to change course. It's weird, because that phenomenon -- people with decidely conservative viewpoints who believe themselves to be moderates -- is a phenomenon I've noticed in a LOT of Americans in the past ten, fifteen, even twenty years. Maybe it's because America has never really been a liberal nation. The closest we got was during Roosevelt's time (but that was stopped dead by war, and then by his death), and during the early to mid 1960s (but that was sort of smothered -- first by hard-right politcos -- Nixon, Agnew, Mayor Daely -- one doesn't have to be a Republican to conservative). But since we've mostly been a moderate-leaning nation, I think it's always been easier for the majority of folks to adopt a right-leaning (or, sometimes, far-right) mindset, than to ever take on a truly liberal, left-leaning state of mind.

While everything Churchill did and thought used to be beyond reproach, history has taught us he was as fallible as the next man. And since Churchill was never anything like a liberal, he had no business trying to pontificating about that mindset. It IS odd that only moderates and conservatives (or rightwingers) tend to believe that anyone who doesn't think like them in their later years is just too thick to know better. After all, modern-day American conservative politicians include George W. Bush, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin: certinaly NOT amongst the worlds greatest minds.

I think Churchill's quote (above) was -- and is -- one of his dumbest. It paints everyone in black and white (liberals and conservatives), and while we, in America, are certainly experiencing a time (largely driven by religiosity) in which the majority of people do think largely in only one shade or the other, very few people are completely conservative or completely liberal in their thinking or political leanings (hell, even Frank admits to believing in a god, and that is at least a moderate, if not conservative, viewpoint). Not only that, but the quote doesn't take into consideration the possibility that a _man of conviction_ might actually stick to his liberal beliefs as he gets older. Besides, I haven't yet seen a conservative (especially one who has wielded the quote) that ever stood anywhere near the left-leaning political groups when they were younger (which means either guys like Churchill had no heart when they were young, or they never learned anything, since they were conservative when younger and conservative when older).

CONCERNING FRANK:
I have to admit to being baffled by the amount of barely veiled hatred of Frank around here, based solely on the things he says (or, more properly, posts). I'll admit to not reading _everything_ he posts (nor do I always read everything, at least not entirely, that others post), but it doesn't seem like he's rushing around, calling people motherfuckers, assholes, and dickheads (or kikes, spics, wops, wogs, niggers, krauts, taco-benders, boogerpickers or butt-scratchers). He is, I believe, mostly commenting about world politics and various political situations. One of the countries he comments most about, Israel, happens to be in a geographical spot where fights, wars and otherwise have been ongoing since Christ came out of the chute. So there is always a LOT to comment on where Israel and the surrounding nations are concerned. And anyone paying attention should _know_ that a number of Israelites -- not all of them, but enough of them (just as enough Americans in our country) -- are often complicit and/or responsible for a lot of the trouble going on over there. Hell, I just read about Haredi Jews (fundamentalists, again -- yet another great reason for doing away with religions -- NOT spirituality) that have been harrassing, assaulting and battering young Jewish girls who don't dress in the _specific_ manner that they, the fundamentalist Haredis, believe they should dress. And the girls being harrassed not only _are't_ part of the Haredi religious off-shoot, they don't even live in the same apartment or housing complexes. The nutbag Haredis are going out of their way, whether it be in crossing the street, or whatever, to torment and terrify these young women. All in the name of THEIR religion -- and THEIR view of what a "loving" god wants of them (and of others, apparently).

It's a fucked up world, made more so by the man-made religions and such which people use to justify their intolerance. Wouldn't it behoove all of us -- I include myself, since I'm at least a peripheral part of the community -- to be more tolerant of views not shared by the majority (as long as they DON'T result in physical violence and/or loss of anyone's freedoms)?

Just a belated thought about tolerance and togetherness, coming to you on the heels of a holiday that professes to be all about that.

When I return, I promise to go back to normal and say/write something that will cause someone to say/write,
"Fuck you!" -- DTS

tim raven tim raven TIM RAVEN TIM RAVEN

harlan ellison — Thu, 29 Dec 11 17:38:03 -0500

Tim!!!!!!!

Cease all sofa activity. Pick up N O T H I N G !!!!!!!

Call me, or send me your number....I'll explain all!

Geezuspeezusholygadzoleybettyspaghettigoddamclusterf#ck!!!!!!!!!!harlan!

Occupy far from dead...

Kris Nelson — Thu, 29 Dec 11 13:17:09 -0500

Robert and Frank,

I cannot make a statement about the whole Israel/Palestine issue because I do not know enough about it to be truly informed enough according to my standards.

I CAN comment on the military, though. Through thousands of articles and years gone by I have learned that war IS a racket. The industry of death is shameful. There hasn't been a war with a clear and present danger since World War II, and we as a country seem to have this nasty habit of destablising areas in the middle east by arming them with our old weapons, which of course drives the R&D for better weapons so that we can "stay ahead", even though we are so far ahead of most nations they will never catch up with us - unless we spend 10 years worth of Americans' tax money looking for one man who ends up hiding in a completely different country. The people we have to worry about the most are not some army of dissidents who are merely jealous of our great and prosperous country, but all the people we have legitimately pissed off through crappy foriegn policy and thinly disguised expansionism, not to mention the exploitation of people and resources through corporate outsourcing. I don't agree with their methods, but I think some of the reasons these "terrorists" are pissed off are quite real.

So - get rid of the military all together? No. I would love to disarm every person in the whole world and make them fight out their grievances in hand-to-hand combat so that they actually have to face their opponent - the only honorable method of warfare if you ask me. But I know this is a dream that I will never see in my life time if it ever happened at all. But I do think that there is too much money spent on them and emphasis on the supposed necessity of that spending. Want to defend the position of needed security? Start a false flag phenomena, get in a pissing contest with Iran, try to impose your values on another soveriegn nation. Easy peasy. But utterly wrong. What you end up defending the country from are all the people you pissed off in the first place.

So no - I think the Occupy movement is more than just 15 minutes of fame. It is a propaganda machine of it's own as a needed shot in the arm to the propaganda machine of our politically owned and bought media. They continue to point out the problem of getting money out of politics (read Lester Lessings "Republic Lost) which is something that is a non-partisan issue - it affects EVRYBODY. So argue left-right all you want, and in the end the banking corporations that produce nothing will laugh at you the whole time.

Happy Holidays to you both and everyone here in the Pavillion including our esteemed host!

-Kris

What a way to end the year

Robert Nason — Thu, 29 Dec 11 12:31:36 -0500

FRANK -- Tribal unity may be a thing of the past, but I hope that Jewish suicide (like the ones who killed themselves on top of Masada to keep from being enslaved by the Romans) is a thing of the past, too. You take your own safe, comfortable (perhaps too comfortable?) life for granted because there's an American military that's been defending you for so long you don't see any need for one. The Occupy Wall Street people have already wound up in the dustbin of history. If you read Irving Kristol a bit more carefully, you might learn why.

I used to be an ultra-leftist myself, of the Marcusean-Sartrean-Dissent Magazine kind, but even then I was a firm supporter of the State of Israel. (And thankfully, even Marcuse and Sartre were.) But since then I've read about a thousand more books and thousand of articles and experienced a bit more of life, so my political views have changed as a result. I'm dismayed when I meet people from college who now have the exact same political views that they had when they were 18. I guess the least you can say for them is that they're not flip-floppers. But as political thinkers, they're flops. Read more Kristol, Frank. It'll make you uncomfortable.

Yahoo Censorship

Keenan — Thu, 29 Dec 11 12:23:07 -0500

Not to revive a hugely dead issue but...My posting here wasn't about the math equation it was about the censorship. And in turn my posting on yahoo answers wasn't about asserting ANYTHING, it was about seeking help and asking a question. I've gotten the same feedback you mentioned from math forums since.

In regards to yahoo, the fact that it was a new idea or that I had spelling errors isn't a justification for them censoring me after zero seconds.

Yahoo answers is a public forum and yahoo must handle the questions as if they are the poster's property not yahoo's.

It really looks like yahoo is farming intellectual property, not serving the public.

My censorship in this case proves that they read every post and approve them before allowing them(maybe in a quick meta manner as there are tons of posts). They don't contact you giving reasons for any censorship done. The moderators themselves are said to be users so they can both report and ban the same post...However really a second moderator should make the banning decision, as moderators are not the community of users. And any mention of yahoo or the moderators also gets an instant ban. (i requested information as to why my post never appeared, and was ignored and banned)

The issue here really isn't my post here but that yahoo has betrayed the public's trust given in us allowing their corporation to have this so called forum. It's not a forum if the overseers are beating the guests.

Like I said I was looking for input, not asserting anything.

Thank you for your time, Happy Holidays :))) and God bless,
Keenan

No title.

Jim Thomas — Thu, 29 Dec 11 09:20:44 -0500

Derp. That should be KeenEY, obviously.

Boring Brad

Mike — Thu, 29 Dec 11 09:01:09 -0500

Mr. Stevens,

Your pedantry is tedious. I begin to dread coming to this forum.

No title.

Jim Thomas — Thu, 29 Dec 11 08:35:28 -0500

Keener--

The only appropriate follow-up to that is, of course: So, can we then assume that your butt is now minty fresh?

Goldberg

Keeney — Thu, 29 Dec 11 07:59:23 -0500

Fetching little locked-out-of-the-house story you tell, my bruh.

Top this:

Half dark still at 7a&m in Minneapolis. And I, vision-impaired, mistakenly brush my teeth with the Preparation H. (The other white tube.)

Staci sez toward me: "Why you talkin' funny, Bunchy-bunch?"

Me, then, fully realizing my tongue has shriveled to a mere nub, and I am sounding much like Lou Holtz.

Top that.

mmmmmmmmrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

peath,
wick

No title.

Frank Church — Thu, 29 Dec 11 07:00:22 -0500

Nason, Irving Kristol? The neo-con bum who thought IF Stone was a commie? No, I'll pass. Crack is not my thing.

Let's turn this around--let's say being truly Muslim/arab/Islamic is to defend everything they do, even the Osama wing of brutalizers. A pretty easy answer surfaces through the muck: "Where are the moderates?" In Israel it's "bring me more extremists, please!"

Just as Jews marched with Doctor King, real human rights types care about the oppressed everywhere and mark the oppressor, even if that is their own Parent. Tribal unity is a thing of the past. Time to break away from that blackened shitstorm and find some dry land. Radicals critics of Israel are the true defenders, because they are saving Israel from their own destruction.

The Occupy movement pretty much gets that. Nason, dear Sir, break off from your self serving loyalties and join us.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Thu, 29 Dec 11 06:29:40 -0500

Brad, you might want to click on the link to the more specific rules:
"The intent is to give the less frequent posters and new people room to be heard, so try to wait as close as possible to 24 hours before posting again. Please do not try to be clever and post late at night then early in the morning, then say "but it was different DAYS!"

You're new here, I think, so this is just f.y.i.

The problem when a discussion gets down to personalities is that it soon devolves into variations of, "I know you are, but what am I?" That process has already begun and is now in full swing. I'm just going to tune this one out, and maybe the discussion can move into the forums where one can argue the subject until the horse is beaten into hamburger and bonemeal.

Chuck

No title.

Jan — Thu, 29 Dec 11 04:17:31 -0500

Uh, I'm still here Brad. Don't cry if we don't play ball with you but your mom told us not to let you out of your baby carriage. She'll be back with your lollipops any minute now.

No title.

Brad Stevens — Thu, 29 Dec 11 03:21:28 -0500

The Shadow - You may know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but your reading skills would seem to be stuck at a rather rudimentary level. Read what I actually wrote (as opposed to what you think I wrote), and you will see that the attitude I suggested you had adopted was summed up not by the Johnson quote, but rather by the phrase 'I'm taking my ball and going home', in support of which I quoted you as saying "I'll quit trying to make you see the light". Incidentally, a missive is a written message or letter.

Eyes wide shut

the Shadow — Wed, 28 Dec 11 19:13:30 -0500

Brad, by saying I adopted Johnson's missive in as my motto, you're showing your true colors. Clearly, you either didn't read my post, didn't understand it, or chose to ignore most of it. Eyes wide shut. No surprise.

No title.

Brad Stevens — Wed, 28 Dec 11 16:47:02 -0500

Chuck - "PAY THE GODDAMN WRITER. It doesn't matter if Etxebarria is a sinner or a saint"

It kind of does matter if one of her sins is plagiarism. Shouldn't Etxebarria pay the goddamn writers whose work she stole?

And yes, of course the issues being raised here are of real concern to all writers (I've had experience of my work being stolen and made available for free on the internet). I just don't believe that these issues are best addressed by adopting a petulant 'I'm taking my ball and going home' attitude, an attitude which - however many quotations from Samuel Johnson you can dig up in support of it - is fundamentally incompatible with any genuine creative impulse: though I note with interest that it has also been adopted by two of Etxebarria's supporters, Jan ("Either way, my contributions to the topic end with this posting.") and The Shadow ("That's about as clear as I can make it, so I'll quit trying to make you see the light if you continue to insist on shutting your eyes.").

P.S. to Jan - "As for evidence, are you familiar with the maxim: The necessity of proof always lies with the person who lays charges? Well then get familiar with it."

What proof has Etxebarria offered to support her claim that the poor sales of her latest book are due to illegal downloading?

No title.

Tony Isabella — Wed, 28 Dec 11 14:36:05 -0500

Harlan...

I will correct my churlish assumption. May I quote you?

We should talk soon. I'm going through some shit. I would ask for your guidance, but, big wise guy that I am, I think I figured out my best course of action. When in doubt, I go to one of two questions:

WWHD?

WWGD?

What would Harlan do?

What would Godzilla do?

Love to you and the lovely Susan.

Tony

Stuck In Newark

FinderDoug — Wed, 28 Dec 11 13:11:48 -0500

Apparently, the metro NY area loves Peggy and me so much, it won't let us go. Flight delayed 90 minutes, which we learned after we arrived (was showing on time throughout the ride over from Manhattan). Terminal A at Newark is like purgatory for the living. Laptop has suffered a fatal seizure (all stories in progress were backed up before we left - a big plus). Lost a hat. Nearly drowned in the rain last night looking for a Creme Brûlée Stout for my ailing honey (who caught the creeping crud from one of the neices). But everything leading up to the last 24 hours was very nice, and a bagel with smoked sable and salmon with a schmeer and a slice of onion from Russ & Daughters on Houston for breakfast is still the best use of the F line stop on 2nd Avenue. And thus, the family engagement gauntlet run, we wait for our chariot, coming from Baltimore, delayed by WIND of all effing things. And how were your holidays?

Sorry to interrupt the holiday cheer again....

Robert Nason — Wed, 28 Dec 11 12:53:40 -0500

Frank -- Sad to say, many of the most vicious enemies of Israel have been Jews; some out of self-hatred, some out of a misguided belief that "true" Judaism means standing up for the oppressed all over the world and joining every "humanitarian" cause -- except one that helps fellow Jews. Because that would be parochial, you see, not "universal" the way these "non-Jewish Jews" (Isaac Deutscher's famous phrase) want to be. These are Jews who want to be be loved by the gentiles, and regrettably there are still all too many who like dead Jews, but condemn Jews who have the chutzpah to stand up for themselves. (French saying: "Watch out for that animal, he is very wicked: He defends himself when attacked.") For further enlightenment see, the essay by Irving Kristol (yes, a Jew, but not of the Chomsky school), "On the Political Stupidity of the Jews."

But now I wonder if the Iranians are even more stupid. They're threatening to cut off passage of Western nations through the Strait of Hormuz, which would cause oil prices to double in the U.S. Are they really handing us an excuse the proverbial silver platter to take out their nuclear facilities? Are they looking to incite World War III (which will be the last World War, as Einstein said). This is what we should really be worrying about now. Enjoy the holidays.

REPLY TO TONY ISABELLA

harlan ellison — Wed, 28 Dec 11 12:25:14 -0500

You malign me, sir.

I have no problem with "Christmas," a holiday honoring The Christ Child.My furiousisness, ferociousness and ferocity at the manque hustle known as "Xmas." I have NEVER liked Xmas, and have written about this odious tsunami of buybuybuybuy that is slavishly attended by one and all. Holidays are good; Xmas is not a holiday.

Peace on Earth, good will to all...otherwise.

Wise guy.

-H. Ellison (no relation to Scrooge)

No title.

Don Hilliard — Wed, 28 Dec 11 11:15:14 -0500

Brent: The Dr. Strange story mooted by Romita had actually already appeared, sorta, before he mentoned it: it was adapted as the episode "Antibody" of Marvel's short-lived SILVER SURFER animated series, with Galactus replacing Dormammu as the dying demigod and the Surfer and Nova standing in for the Doc.

Harlan received a "Story By" credit on the episode,which was one of the standouts in a very good series.

No title.

Frank Church — Wed, 28 Dec 11 11:10:53 -0500

Nason, ah, um, you do know that Chomsky and Finkelstein are jews, right?

Israel Shahak was a jew, as is Ilan Pappe, Schlomo Sand, Neve Gordon, Amira Hass.

What do these stellar Jewish intellects have in common? Yes, they don't have selective morality. They see the forest for the trees and the Owls who spit moonslime.

Mr. Nason, best to find your humanity in the scriblings of these noble warriors.

David Irving? Nah, I'd puke on him. As I said Finkelstein's latest rave is harsh, very harsh. Write him, throw rocks at his door, not mine.

----------

Barney, Happy New Year.

No title.

Mark W. Tiedemann — Wed, 28 Dec 11 09:45:47 -0500

I met Rusty at the very first convention I attended, Archon 6 in St. Louis. Stephen King was the GoH, so it was a much inflated Archon, completely distorting my idea of what these things were like in "normal" years. Rusty was there and presented a panel with Gay Haldeman on attending your first con. A good guy.

It's the end of the year and I do a little piece about my reading for the last 12 months. If anyone is interested,

http://marktiedemann.com/wordpress/?p=897

Have a fine and SAFE New Year, everyone.

No title.

Tony Ravenscroft — Wed, 28 Dec 11 08:37:00 -0500

I actually met Rusty Hevelin many times. Not the usual glad-handing BNF, just a nice guy, willing to help out.
_______________

Jan: for my writing on polyamory & group marriage, I'm cited in the German Wikipedia article, but NOT the English. Since I discovered this, I've chatted with a few regular Wikipedia users, all of whom were blissfully unaware of ANY differences between the various editions, apparently assuming that there's some massive cross-translation effort afoot.
_______________

Apropos of nothing, I'm setting up some books for sale, & happened to start with _Star Trek 2_, which contains the James Blish version of "The City on the Edge of Forever." The story begins with a foot-note that says, in part: "It was a poetic and brilliant piece to begin with; if it is a botch now, the fault is entirely mine."

What a mensch. Now I might have to go back & reread his "William Atheling" essays.

A matter which may be of some interest to our host

driftglass — Wed, 31 Dec 69 19:00:00 -0500

Dalton Trumbos screenwriting credit for Roman Holiday has finally been restored.

Which is a small, good thing about which I would not have known had Lawrence O'Donnell not mentioned it on tv last night.

Which is why more writers should have more creative control over more of our media.

Here is the link.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/dalton-trumbos-screenwriting-credit-restored-to-roman-holiday/

Also, the blogger "Batocchio" has once again compile a wonderful feast of the "Best of..." writing to be found in the smaller, lesser-known blogs in 2011. He does this in honor of the late blogger Al Weisel (aka Jon Swift): a man who may have shared a last name with the villain of Harlan's "The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge", but was otherwise as unlike him as anyone could be.

Here is the link:

http://vagabondscholar.blogspot.com/2011/12/jon-swift-memorial-roundup-2011.html

My best to one and all.

Rusty Hevelin R.I.P.

Alex Krislov — Wed, 28 Dec 11 06:47:01 -0500

I see no one else has mentioned this, so I suppose it's my sad duty. Rusty Hevelin, one of the grand old men of science fiction fandom, passed away yesterday. Rusty was a WorldCon GOH (back in the 1980s), a founder of Pulpcon...and he actually saved my life once, in my callow youth. One of the finest men I've ever known. R.I.P., Rusty.

No title.

Chuck Messer — Wed, 28 Dec 11 05:50:04 -0500

All of which misses the fundamental issue:

PAY THE GODDAMN WRITER.

It doesn't matter if Etxebarria is a sinner or a saint (and aren't we all a little of both?) or if her farts smell like roses or spoiled brocolli. The same applies to her critics.

It still comes down to one thing:

PAY THE GODDAMN WRITER.

She doesn't want to write as a slave (which I think is probably what she meant), but as a paid artist or craftsman (woman, person, etc.).

PAY THE GODDAMN WRITER.

Everything else is just bubbles in a bathtub.

Chuck

No title.

Brad Stevens — Wed, 28 Dec 11 03:48:41 -0500

Jan - "The Spanish Wikipedia has a different version. Apparently you can't read properly or you don't understand Spanish. The American Wikipedia (which tends to be much inferior to the Spanish one where Spanish subjects are concerned - sorry if this shocks you) has a false translation"

Yes, there are errors in the translation (notably the final sentence, and the absence of information about Etxebarria's 'intertextuality' claim), but the substance of the piece does appear to be accurate: Etxebarria was accused of plagiarism, and these accusations were upheld by a court.

"The SOURCE you are giving me on the Amazon ranking is Kathryn Hughes' moronic and ignorant Guardian opinion piece? Hey, it's on the internet, so it must be true!"

THE GUARDIAN is actually a newspaper. I first encountered this piece in the print edition. But hey, it also appeared on the internet, so it must be untrue!

I should point out that Hughes is a distinguished author who, for reasons which remain mysterious, somehow still manages to make a living through her writing - her views on this subject are hardly ignorant - and that throwing words such as 'moronic' at anyone whose opinions don't happen to correspond with your own is simply bad manners.

By the way, while reading the message Etxebarria posted on her Facebook page, I found that she explained her decision to give up writing by insisting "A mi no me apetece pasarme tres anos trabajando como una negra para esto", which translates as "I do not want to spend three years working like a negro for this". Now that's class!

Reply to Jes Bickham

Phil Nichols — Wed, 28 Dec 11 03:07:09 -0500

All's well with me, Jes, and thanks for your concern. Xmas hols are an oasis of calm before the early-January funeral.

- Phil

Not in rhe face, Harlan! Not in the face!

Tony Isabella — Wed, 28 Dec 11 01:37:58 -0500

Today in Tony Isabella's Bloggy Thing...wonderful pillows, a Harlan Ellison-inspired nightmare, and more:

http://tonyisabella.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-after-christmas.html

AN ETA FOR TIM

harlan ellison — Tue, 27 Dec 11 23:11:50 -0500

I'm workin' on it, baby; I'm workin' on it. With luck, a date for transferance outta your grasp. Word sometime tomorrow. I'll try and explain PUPOSES and PLANS as soon as possible...surely by the weekend. I'm being Eero Saarinen at the moment, then Charles Eames, and byt he time the dust settles, who know, even Mies van der Roh.

Thanks for the storage help, compadre. Still looking for other old, overstuffed, Vicortioran-style junkers people want rid of.

Yr. Pl, Harlan

A TOAST TO FRANK

Robert Nason — Tue, 27 Dec 11 22:59:46 -0500

Frank -- you, Norman Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky, and David Irving should all get together on New Year's Eve, become blissfuly plastered, and then go over to AIPAC's Washington headquarters and soap their front-door with soap made from actual Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, then deny that both the Holocaust and the door desecration ever happened. After that you can ward off the hangovers by counting how many people Hamas killed this year and how many they're planning to kill this year, and call up old pal Ahmajinedad and ask him what's taking so long to get those Iranian nukes over to the beastly Settlements. But above all, remember to have a Happy New Year!

No title.

Paul Hull — Tue, 27 Dec 11 21:23:50 -0500

That's okay Paul, there were some wacky times in the early 1990s when I wasn't sure if I was myself or not, either. No worries.

Cheers,
PH

Frank Church vs. a higher power

Barney Dannelke — Tue, 27 Dec 11 18:57:49 -0500

One of the many MANY reasons I take my vitamins and BP meds, go for four mile walks, weather permitting, hit the gym whenever I can and gave up drinking as a full contact sport is that I hope that if I am VERY good and play all my cards right that I might someday do for Frank Church in a few hundred (better written) words what I see Finkelstein has decided to do for Hitchens.

Would that I could but count the days.

- Barney Dannelke

Inspiration Point, PA.

To Harlan as he beats the tsunami-riding wombats

PAUL A — Tue, 27 Dec 11 18:15:49 -0500

And I was feeling so proud of myself for finding those paperbacks, Harlan.

No, I'm not Paul Hull and I've never been Paul Hull (that I recall, though there were some wacky times in the late 1990s). Sorry for the confusion.

In any event, I'll be honest and admit that I wasn't aware of you selling your wares personally. I'll be further honest and admit that I only discovered the Art Deco Dining Pavillion via REALMS OF FANTASY's website and was completely bowled over to see messages by you here (also by the fact that, in my first reading, I totally misinterpreted some of your comments and thought, "Harlan's giving out a free story?!?! WHAT?"). Everyone knows your...antipathy?...towards computers and the Internet and some of the general comments by various fans make you out to be a...well...Luddite.

In any event, flashback to the "Why not get my damn books from ME" topic. I'll be sending out a SASE post-haste, to HERC so Susan can send me back a catalogue and then, maybe--just maybe--I'll be able to join HERC fully (you accept me; you really, really accept me). Stupid question--I imagine catalogues as these kind of Sears & Roebucks bricks that can kill toddlers and cripple the strongest of men. Will a regular business envelope suffice for the HERC catalogue?

Good luck with the fires and tsunami-riding wombats. Let me know how a Ted Williams Louie fares against such foes as opposed to, say, a 9-iron golf club.

Cheers,

PAUL A.