tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15891885303480350042024-03-13T12:12:23.724-07:00One Geek's MindChimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-925647386491910842024-03-13T12:12:00.000-07:002024-03-13T12:12:21.968-07:00Olympus Has Fallen/White House Down<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpSIHC8FhMMZ5vNaEKMhGyz7sB_EAP9sPmO4O0iG94XfKB1ubARH220RyJ1ZtdmXBB63A6PT6RajpVedzECOYufdanwgo-EzFQIrg6gffQP9vkw3QaSb5SbtwIXVq_r7z20D7_7aZHL3G999UxDBVYRjDaXkefioP173EdXUIlK18OIT3yM9UYMyUrpdZ/s558/white%20house.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="558" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpSIHC8FhMMZ5vNaEKMhGyz7sB_EAP9sPmO4O0iG94XfKB1ubARH220RyJ1ZtdmXBB63A6PT6RajpVedzECOYufdanwgo-EzFQIrg6gffQP9vkw3QaSb5SbtwIXVq_r7z20D7_7aZHL3G999UxDBVYRjDaXkefioP173EdXUIlK18OIT3yM9UYMyUrpdZ/s320/white%20house.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I was recently reminded of the concept of Twin Films, that’s
when two film studios come out with really similar movies in the same year,
like in ‘97 when both Dante’s Peak and Volcano came out or ‘98 when Antz and A
Bug’s Life came out. But what I didn’t realize is pretty much this happens at
least once EVERY year going back to the 1950s and it happened more sporadically
before that. The very first example is there were two versions of Ivanhoe that
came out in 1913!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So anyway, I’m going to watch twin movies from any
given year and give my opinion on which ones worked for me and which didn’t and why.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>2013 Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down.</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">White House Down starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx is more
of a light hearted action movie. Foxx plays the president and the humor comes
from the buddy cop feel of the non-combat ready president running around
with the action guy Tatum. One sequence that is really memorable is Tatum
driving around in one of the president’s cars while under heavy fire and Foxx leaning
out of the window and firing a rocket launcher and then dropping it. There is a
lot of action, but it never feels heavy, it just feels fun.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Olympus Has Fallen is the opposite. It is so completely void
of fun that it feels more like a funeral than a movie. And the action feels
much more gratuitous. I felt like why am I watching this as a seemingly endless
number of secret service agents in the White House are mowed down by the
villains, or the cabinet members are tortured for their codes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t feel anything for any of the
characters because you are never given any reason to. I liked the First Lady
played by Ashley Judd but she dies at the beginning of the movie. But Gerard
Butler as the secret service agent and Aaron Eckhart as the President are both
really flat characters. Morgan Freeman does a great job as the Speaker of the
House, but isn’t in it that much. The bright spot of the movie is some cool action
sequences with fighter jets and helicopters around Washington D.C.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am really surprised that Olympus Has Fallen has had two
sequels over the years and White House Down hasn’t. Maybe I’m the only one that
didn’t like the flat characters and mindless action. <o:p></o:p></p>Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-81189544556446875112024-02-05T11:44:00.000-08:002024-02-05T11:44:24.414-08:00Interview about Fritz Leiber<p> </p><p class="Default"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Science Fiction Book Club<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="Default"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Interview with David Read
(Jan. 2024)</span></b></p>
<p class="Default"><i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Our expert is David Read who
created and runs LANKHMAR The Fritz Leiber Home Page http://lankhmar.co.uk/<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><b>David </b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Hipschman: Any background on how his story I think it was called “Gonna Roll
Dem Bones” came about? It was about playing craps with the devil or god. I came
across it about 50 years ago or more.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Leiber began to write this story in the early sixties before revising
it for Ellison’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Dangerous Visions</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not the best place in
his life, both he and Jonquil (his wife) were drinking and using barbiturates
and were living with his ageing mother. The three of them, monstrously
distorted, were the prototypes for Joe, his wife and his mother.<br />
<br />
Fritz was well aware he was dicing with death given the mixture of sleeping
tablets and alcohol he was consuming. The phrase ‘Gonna roll the bones with
death’ was something that used to rattle around inside his skull (as the dice
rattle in the skull in the story).<br />
<br />
It’s a story Fritz was very happy with, and it’s worth looking on YouTube where
you can hear a recording of Fritz reading the story, which was released on
vinyl. It was well received and got him a Nebula and Hugo award.<br />
<br />
Fritz never played craps, but the story gave him a love for dice in the form of
backgammon.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tom Portegys: A couple of years ago I ran across a
quirky movie called "The Hill and the Hole", made in 2019. I was
surprised later to find that it was based on a Leiber story from 1942 published
in Unknown Worlds. Co-directed and co-written by Bill Darmon. So weird to have
a movie pop up more than half a century later than the story. Do you know
anything about that?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I’ve not seen the film, it seems to be a very low
budget film, and knowing the story well, it would have to be stretched somewhat
to fit 80 mins, though it obviously shares the starting point of the surveyor.<br />
<br />
The story itself is a cracker, one of his earlier tales, did indeed appear in
Unknown Worlds and his first collection, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Night’s
Black Agents</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
very much fits into his early period of horror stories, in that it used a
modern setting, albeit a farm as opposed to a city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if Fritz had read of gravity hills,
where cars appear to roll uphill as a seed for the story.<span style="color: red;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Michael Compton: His father, Fritz Leiber, Sr, was
a great actor of stage and film. Fritz, Jr, also did some acting. Wondering how
his theatrical background influenced his writing.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />
</span>Shakespeare was hugely influential on his writing, most obvious in
stories like </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Big Time, No
Great Magic </span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">and</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Four Ghosts in
Hamlet,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> where theatre, and Shakesperean theatre
itself, takes center stage. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Big Time</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is
essentially a play</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. A Spectre is Haunting
Texas</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">‘ title character is an actor from the moon. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Snow Women</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> sees a
theatrical troupe arrived at Fafhrd’s cold waste.<br />
<br />
As Fritz Points out in ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Stage in My
Stories’</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, later stories such as the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Secret Songs</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">237 Talking Statue</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">s, are
written as plays, with stage directions.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Leiber himself cites Shakespeare as one of his main influences. He also writes
about Shakespeare in the form of essays, such as a great article on King Lear
in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Book of Fritz Leiber</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, which has the great line on Lear </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“…A
victim of exhaustion, grief, and too much character development too late in
life.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I think it does
influence his writing more generally, I can’t help thinking his sublime tale <i>Lean
Times in Lankhmar</i>, feels like a Shakespearean morality tale, full of humour
and large characters. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
<br />
He writes with affection on growing up the son of actors, the backstage
excitement, born into </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“A world
where he could watch fantasy being created… where the need for make believe is
never questioned”</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <sup>1</sup><br />
<br />
Fritz only worked and toured with his parents company for a short while (as
Francis Lathrop) but enjoyed the backstage camaraderie and the chance to travel
and see new places.<br />
<br />
His flirtation with Hollywood (</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Camille</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Great Garrick</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">) was
less rewarding, and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bazaar of the
Bizarre</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(one of the more famous Fafhrd and Mouser
stories, where a shop vendor sells trash to the hoodwinked citizens of Lankhmar)
was written with his dislike of Hollywood in mind </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.”The Shittier the Junk, the Higher the Price…”</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <sup>1<o:p></o:p></sup></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Also of importance was the effect of a successful, competitive, and somewhat
egotistical father had on Fritz. He grew in in a house increasingly surrounded
by sculptures and painting of his father, by his father.<br />
<br />
Upon Fritz learning chess, his father proceeded to learn it and beat him, which
also happened with golf and tennis. His father literally built the house they
lived in by hand. When Fritz started to be published, his father began to write
stories too </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“I shudder to
think how I would have felt if he had sold one”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <sup>1<br />
<br />
</sup>By the fifties and sixties Fritz became increasingly experimental and
weaved Jungian elements into his fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The effect of his relationship with his father, his animus, is amusingly,
and poignantly skewered in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">‘237 Talking
Statues etc</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. published in 1963.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Gerald Greg Lutkenhaus: Was he a chess player? I
enjoyed the “64 Square Madhouse” and “Midnight by the Morphy Watch”. As a chess
player myself, he seems to know the game pretty well!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fritz took chess
very seriously and effectively stopped playing it early in his life, so it
didn’t interfere with his writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only
later, when he had recovered from a bout of alcoholism did he allow himself to
really start playing, studying, and entering tournaments.<span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fritz became a very good chess
player, winning the Santa Monica open in 1958, and his USCF mark was over 2000,
rating him as expert, or in the top 3 or 4% of the USA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He played for most of his life, only really
stopping in the late sixties. </span>In January 1961, Samuel Reshevsky the USA
Grandmaster, gave a simultaneous exhibition against 44 opponents at the Santa
Monica Bay Chess Club. Reshevsky won 33, drew 10, and only lost one game — to
Fritz Leiber.<br />
<br />
Chess appearances in his tales are too numerous to mention, but he did write
several stories where chess was a central theme.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The 64 Square
Madhouse</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (1962) sees the introduction of a chess machine, but is it just a
Mechanical Turk, or something genuine?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This story would have been relevant to Fritz as in 1957 IBM introduced a
chess computer. The story is both amusing and still relevant as it shows the
tics and idiosyncrasies of chess players.<br />
<br />
<i>The Moriarty Gambit</i> sees a young Sherlock take on his nemesis as at
chess tournament in London<br />
<br />
<i>Knight to Move</i>, is one of his Changewar stories, but uses a chess
tournament as it’s setting.<br />
<br />
Worth seeking out is <i>The Dreams of Albert Moreland</i>, a more horror, or
cosmic horror themed tale about a chess player in New York who simply HAS to
play chess…<br />
<br />
You mentioned <i>Midnight by The Morphy Watch</i>, which is a great story,
weaving fact and fiction into an irresistible mixture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also has fun with the name, Stirf Ritter.
This could be seen as a version of his own name Fritz Reuter (Leiber), but he
makes it more fun when one realises Ritter is Knight in German.<br />
<br />
Fritz had stopped playing chess by the late sixties, as he fell into alcoholism
again (for the last time) following the death of his wife Jonquil. He had moved
to San Francisco when he entered his last tournament, which he refers to as a
rather slapdash affair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took place at
Paoli’s on Commercial Street, and many of the characters in <i>Midnight by the
Morphy Watch</i> are taken from this tournament. He didn’t win it! The
obsession of chess which began to take over Fritz again gave us this great
story though.<br />
<br />
One other obvious point of the importance of chess is that the cover of Night’s
Black Agents is a Knight…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Michael Swanwick said, “Leiber was
one of those Olympians whose work I admired, studied, and assiduously tried to
emulate.” Who are some other writers that credit him as an influence? Is Leiber
as widely read today as he used to be, and why?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fritz was influential, I suspect his influence on
writers is larger than his popularity with readers, almost like a cult pop band
all the other bands admire.<br />
<br />
Amongst the Lovercraft circle, his first introduction to writing, he was very
highly rated, Lovecraft thought Leiber was a very good writer indeed.<br />
<br />
I had a lovely email from Michael Moorcock many years ago saying how important
Fritz had been, and one from Terry Pratchett saying how he included Bravd and
the Weasel in the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Colour of Magic</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> as a nod to Leiber, as Lankhmar was an obvious progenitor for
Ankh-Morpork.<br />
<br />
Neil Gaiman has written wonderful introductions to the Lankhmar tales, his
introduction in particular for Swords of Lankhmar shows the joy and esteem in
which he held him.<br />
<br />
Michael Chabon is fulsome in his praise, and authors such as </span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">C.J. Cherryh, Tanith Lee, George R.R. Martin
and Roger Zelazny mention him as an influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Looking at much modern fantasy, I feel a lot have more to do with Leiber
and Vance than the more vaunted Tolkien despite their over arching <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">epic fantasy themes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you read Stephen King’s Danse Macabre from 1981, King asks Harlan
Ellison “who are the important writers in the fantasy field” and he responds
Fritz Leiber. <br />
<br />
Ellison mentioned Leiber in several of his forewards and maintains if he was
struggling, he would read some of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our Lady of Darkness</span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> to remind him
how to write well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“Fritz was the shining light toward which one strode”</span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> Harlan Ellison <sup>2<o:p></o:p></sup></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In the horror field he was hugely influential, and Ramsey Campbell (influenced
by Leiber himself) always champions stories like </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Smoke
Ghost</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> as being seminal in the evolution of the
ghost story in the 20<sup>th</sup> century.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Fritz was most crucial in showing me where I</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">wanted to take the field </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">–</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> into areas where urban
psychology and the spectral meet and merge.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">”</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <sup>3<o:p></o:p></sup></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Was Leiber ahead of his time as far
as his portrayal of women? Michael Swanwick said “I’d have to mention the
strong and convincing women of Conjure Wife, written at a time when men by and
large wrote women who were neither.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fritz was largely brought up by women, his two Aunts, as his parents
were travelling with their theatre company. The women Fritz did come to know,
often other writers, were clearly women of considerable intelligence (as was
his wife Jonquil).<br />
<br />
More generally Fritz was a liberal, his politics were by US standards, left,
and in his own way, Fritz grappled with the place women have in men’s lives, and
the emergence of feminism.<br />
<br />
I think one key point people can see in Leiber’s fiction is how happy he is to
undercut masculinity and male superiority, and while he is happy to eroticise
the female in novels and short stories, he is also happy to poke fun at the
shallowness of these attitudes.<br />
<br />
His classic a </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Deskfull of Girls</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is well worth reading, as is </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Dr.
Adams Garden of Evil </span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">which both follow this
line in different ways.<br />
<br />
His two bedhopping heroes Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser are put through the
wringer by all their ex-lovers in ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Under the Thumbs
of the Gods’</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, a very funny story (much like </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lean Time in Lankhmar</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, I cannot imagine happening to any other established fantasy heroes).<br />
<br />
Strong female characters always appeared in his Lankhmar tales stories. Hisvet
dominates much of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Swords of
Lankhmar,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> and Ahura is a key character in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Adepts Gambit</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, by the
time we reach </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Rime Ilse</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, Fafhrd and the Mouser settle down with partners.<br />
<br />
The strongly feminist Joanna Russ obviously found Leiber palatable, as Fafhrd
appears as one of Alyx’s lovers in ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bluestocking’, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">whilst Alyx appears in Fritz’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The
Two Best Thieves in Lankhmar</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (surprise.. it’s not
Fafhrd and the Mouser) and the afore mentioned ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Thumbs’</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.<br />
<br />
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Big Time</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">No Great Magic</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> feature a
strong female central character in Greta Forzane (apparently inspired by Judith
Merrill), as does </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Green
Millenium.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Conjure Wife</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is
endlessly interesting from a feminist point of view, and I should add I am not
really qualified to comment on this, the summary of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Conjure
Wife</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, as ‘Man discovers his wife and all women are
witches’ hugely over simplifies the novel.<br />
<br />
Our hero Norman Saylor is invariably undercut and shown to be in error at
numerous points throughout the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only
when he shakes off the arrogance, that only he alone could have risen to the
position he has, can he finally accept the influence his wife has had on his
career and life and more importantly her own intrinsic value and importance.<br />
<br />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Michael Swanwick said, “He (Leiber) may or may not be as someone has
claimed, the man who brought the reality of urban landscapes to three genres.
And his NY Times obituary said “The most interesting side of Leiber’s fiction
is his pre-occupation with the threat of modern urban horror, city life and its
web of terrors gradually corrupting the psyche.” Why did Leiber see cities this
way and why did it often feature in his writing?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I
think it is widely regarded that Fritz was crucial in the development of urban
horror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fritz was obviously influenced
by Lovecraft (though he never wrote in the Cthulhu Mythos til much later in
life, for a while he was unimpressed with Derleth and the rigid description of
the mythos), he also read Machen, Blackwood and James, so was well aware of the
structure of a good ghost story.<br />
<br />
I think the key difference is that whereas writers before tended to have an
intrusion from some other force (the elder gods, the past or nature) for Leiber
it was the very environment we lived in, the city (in his seminal <i>Smoke
Ghost </i>and <i>Out Lady of Darkness</i>, or even oil<i>, in The Black
Gondolier). </i>It is difficult to put oneself in the mind of a 1941 reader,
but I suspect Smoke Ghost would have had the charge of William Gibson in
1984.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gothic trappings are gone, as
are the somewhat scholarly wrappings of James and Lovecraft in their different
ways. Leiber gives us a grey, grimy modern Chicago, that is very much our own, even
today the journey the character takes on the overground train looking over the
rooftops is remarkably effective due it’s very relatability.<br />
<br />
After a long absence Fritz went back to his own brand of quiet horror when he
moved to San Fransisco, giving us <i>Our Lady of Darkness</i>, which in some
ways allows Fritz’s manifestations from the city join into a structure with
more than a hint of James about it.<br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, stories included more self-analysis
and more autobiography, <i>The Ghost Light, The Button Moulder</i> and strange
terrifying tales akin to a David Lynch film like <i>Horrible Imaginings</i> which
really communicates the horror of being alone, and old and vulnerable, in an
increasingly noisy and busy city.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: David Hartwell said about Leiber, “Early on he chose the fantasy
fiction field as his home, and proceeded to transform it by creating, first, a
new form of sword and sorcery fiction; second, by assisting in creating
contemporary urban horror fiction; and third, by writing pivotal science
fiction stories in the sf revolution in the early 50s.” Did Leiber prefer one
genre over the others? What did he like about each of them?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I
think overall, like many writers following the trends of pulp magazines, he
wrote what he could get published.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
horror output dried up for many years and he submitted mostly speculative
fiction and fantasy only arriving back in horror in the seventies, when the
market had returned.<br />
<br />
I think Fritz mainly loved writing, and he loved his science fiction, fantasy,
and horror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is probably one of his
problems that he didn’t stick to a genre or style, it probably would have
helped his career if he had!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Leiber said in a 1973 interview “My sf stories have tended to be of
the warning, prophetic, ‘If this goes on…’ variety, rather than the
problem-solving sort. My Change-War stories, such as ‘The Big Time’ and ‘No
Great Magic’ are essentially pessimistic since they picture an apparently
pointless cosmic war.” Why did Leiber tell these kinds of stories?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Well Fritz was a
lifelong pacifist and was also deeply cynical about the way our countries are
run and the way we are advertised at and consume! I always felt Fritz liked
people and places, and this comes over in his stories, but was far more
pessimistic about the forces around them. He also tended to write in some way
as an outsider, or at least an observer who sees things from a counter view.
The protagonist of <i>Our Lady of Darkness</i> sees the world too clearly as he
reconnects following alcoholism, <i>America the Beautiful</i> is just seen by a
visitor, a British one at that. In <i>You’re All Alone</i>, being outside the
norm has possibilities that are wonderful, but invariably it is that darker
side that is seeming to dominate.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<i>A Spectre is Haunting Texas</i>, despite its satire and humour, is pretty
grim towards the end, and paints a dark picture of Texan toxic masculinity and
racism. <i>The Silver Eggheads</i>, whilst much lighter in tone, speaks of the
standardization, and from that intellectual deadening of people through the
wordmills.<br />
<br />
<i>The Green Millenium</i> I find a rich novel, it clearly starts from a place
of McCarthyism but inverts male and female stereotypes and really has a dig at
the culture that abounded in fifties America.<br />
<br />
Much of his fiction through the fifties and sixties was speculative fiction, he
drifted at times into more traditional SF (and Fantasy of course) but mostly he
speculated on people and society and where they might go. With the views he
had, which I always felt were firmly on the side of counterculture (see <i>Bread
Overhead</i> or <i>The Beat Generation</i>) it is not surprising many of his
stories ended up with a less than optimistic view of the future.<br />
<br />
That said, <i>The Wanderer</i>, despite its cataclysmic events and deaths, is
an optimistic novel. It positively breezes along, maybe it took the near destruction
of Earth for Fritz to see what he loved about it!<br />
<br />
I remember saying to Fritz’s son that his Father’s last story (<i>Thrice the
Brinded Cat</i>) seemed very melancholy, and Justin told me he remembered
speaking to his Father on the phone just as he had finished the tale, and how
excited and happy he was!<br />
<br />
So whatever demons Fritz had fluttering around, maybe writing was his exorcism!<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Leiber’s obituary in the Independent said, “The friendship of the
gullible Nordic Fafhrd with the trickster like Mouser provided the field with a
convincing model of [friendship] and their adventures, hilarious and secular
and sly, influenced generations of imitators.” Another place talked about how
the heroes were allowed to grow as characters, get married, and grow older. What
made Leiber return to the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series so often?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I
think he really loved the characters, and of course they started with his friend
Harry Fischer at university, so they really were a lifelong companion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fritz had enjoyed Fantasy, Dunsany, Cabell
and Eddison, and of course R.E Howard, hence his allocation of the words Swords
and Sorcery.<br />
<br />
</span><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">“Howardian fantasy-adventure
is … a field which I feel more certain that ever should be called the
sword-and-sorcery story. This accurately describes the points of culture-level
and supernatural element and also immediately distinguishes it from the cloak-and-sword
(historical adventure) story — and (quite incidentally) from the
cloak-and-dagger (international espionage) story, too! The word sorcery implies
something more and other than historical human witchcraft, so even the element
of an alien-yet-human world background is hinted at. … At any rate, I’ll use
sword-and-sorcery as a good popular catchphrase for the field”</span></i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <sup>4<o:p></o:p></sup></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There was some commercial reason at work here, as Fritz emerged from a
bout of alcoholism, he had a great opportunity as Michael Moorcock explains:<span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">Cele Goldsmith (later
Lalli) is one of the great editors of science fantasy and, with Judith Merril,
godmother to the American sf New Wave of the 1960s. She published all the Young
Turks, most of them for the first time, in the magazines she edited … Lalli had
a liking for what one of her contributors had christened ‘Sword and Sorcery’
and she commissioned a young John Jakes to write her a series of Conan-like
adventures, </span></i><em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Brak the
Barabarian</span></em><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">. She
published an early fantasy of mine called ‘Earl Aubec and the Golem’, which she
retitled ‘Master of Chaos’. She published the first Roger Zelazny story — and
published many more. She published Thomas M. Disch and J. G. Ballard and Samuel
R. Delany and all the exciting talents which helped create that wonderful sea-change
of the 1960s. She also liked Philip K. Dick and Keith Laumer, but I think her
favourite writer, whose talent stood so far above the majority of his more
financially successful peers, was Fritz Leiber.</span></i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <sup>5<br />
<br />
</sup></span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The
stories proved popular, and Fritz was then offered the chance by Ace books to
consolidate and expand he stories into the Swords collections we know.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As in his other work, Fritz was able to use all of his styles in these
stories, with the stories often combining adventure, horror and humour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also got to enjoy world building in the
form of Nehwon, in particular it’s various gods and guilds were a huge
influence on fantasy gaming, and on Pratchett’s <i>Small Gods</i>!<br />
<br />
The other real pleasure is the stories evolve, from the very pulpy style of rich
adventure such as <i>The Jewels in the Forest</i> and <i>Thieves’ House</i>,
through to more humourous and complex tales Fritz took hold of the world and
give Nehwon a real sense of being.<br />
<br />
As you mentioned the marriage, Fritz was able to use the characters themselves
to slyly comment on the genre and age, which in these stories, catches up with
everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: “Gather Darkness” charted the social and political events in a
theocracy in which the state uses science to instill fear in a peasant like
populace and thus control them. I consider it a classic dystopian work on the
level of “1984” and “Brave New World.” Why isn’t this novel better known?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span>I suspect the same reason so much of Fritz’s work is relatively unknown,
as I mentioned earlier his wide spread of writing probably didn’t help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it is probably a bit too early in the
genesis of SF too and isn’t really marketed as such. It predates Harrison’s <i>Captive
Universe</i> and Heinlein’s <i>Orphans of the Sky</i> which mine some of the ideas
Fritz uses here.<br />
<br />
Fritz of course had a brief period training as an Episcopal Priest, which
certainly would have given him pause to think about organized religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fritz of course was concerned that his lack
of belief in God may present a handicap, but was told ‘<i>Think of it as a
social service’</i> <sup>1</sup><br />
<br />
I do agree that it’s surprising it is not better known, it is very readable, it
still has the rich weird tales flavour of his early writing whilst raising and
discussing some serious issues.<br />
<br />
There is also the other level to the story that the people pulling the strings
are not religious fundamentalists.. but nominally rational scientists.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: “The Big Time” follows the idea of the spiders and the snakes
battling across time (the Changewar) trying to subvert the future for their own
ends. Was this the first example of a time war? Is this Leiber’s best-known
work? And why? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I would suggest
by some distance the <i>Swords</i> series is his best-known work, but I agree <i>The
Big Time</i> often appears when Fritz is discussed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One somewhat sad reason for its appearance,
is it is often flagged up in the kind of ‘How on earth did this get as Hugo’
type discussions.<br />
<br />
It is so far outside the norm of SF, and with its play structure, it is easy to
dismiss compare to other weighty tomes.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
I have always loved the book, I like Greta, I think the idea of time that Fritz
explores (and continued to explore in several stories, including a favourite of
mine,<i> When the Change Winds Blow</i>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>is very interesting<span style="color: red;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>I love the place, which let’s be
honest, or more honest than Fritz could be in 1958, is a brothel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s bawdy, it’s loud, it’s soaked in alcohol.
The characters may be writ large, but running through it are so many
subtleties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the place is cut off
from the world, cut off from time, and more importantly cut off from the
ongoing war, in which people seem unsure which side they are on, then people
come alive and the action starts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
change winds may blow and blow away your life, but then so may a bomb. As I
said earlier, Fritz was an avowed pacifist, so for his contemplation on war,
and the moral weariness that comes with it, he created this strange, wonderful
little novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like any good play, at the
end, perceptions have changed, truths have been told, but the stage remains the
same.<br />
<br />
I genuinely understand why people don’t like it, it’s very unusual and doesn’t
really fit any normal novel type, but it’s a shame to dismiss it.<br />
<br />
But lastly, as with all his work, it is the language. He just knows how to draw
you in!<br />
<br />
</span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Jubilat Book";">“Have you ever
worried about your memory, because it doesn’t seem to be bringing you exactly
the same picture of the past from one day to the next? Have you ever been
afraid that your personality was changing because of forces beyond your
knowledge or control? Have you ever felt sure that sudden death was about to
jump you from nowhere? Have you ever been scared of Ghosts—not the story-book
kind, but the billions of beings who were once so real and strong it’s hard to
believe they’ll just sleep harmlessly forever? Have you ever wondered about
those things you may call devils or Demons—spirits able to range through all
time and space, through the hot hearts of stars and the cold skeleton of space
between the galaxies? Have you ever thought that the whole universe might be a
crazy, mixed-up dream? If you have, you’ve had hints of the Change War.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
I should also add its coda so to speak, <i>No Great Magic</i> is a more
traditional tale, but a very thoughtful one at that.<span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John Grayshaw: In “The Wanderer,” an artificial planet
materializes from hyperspace within earth's orbit, its gravitational field
captures the moon and shatters it. Meanwhile, on Earth, the Wanderer's gravity
well triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, and tidal phenomena. This novel won the
Hugo for Best Novel in 1964 and yet I don’t often hear about it today. How was
it received at the time and why isn’t it better remembered today?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The
Wanderer</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (with the caveat that it has cats, and alien cat sex) is a very
straightforward read, featuring some great characters. It also prefigures the
disaster films of the 1970s with it’s multiple viewpoints and narratives
stretching over the novel.<br />
<br />
These days, like <i>The Big Time</i>, it is a sadly maligned award winner. It
is probably about as straight as Fritz did SF, it bubbles with ideas, language,
dialogue and very enjoyable characters. That said, as someone who has read so
much of his work, perhaps I am akin to Rasputin and immune to finding his
stories and style unusual! I suspect for a lot of people expecting something
akin to a Niven / Pournelle <i>Footfall </i>or <i>Lucifer’s Hammer</i> would be
very disappointed! <span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John Grayshaw: What makes Leiber interesting from a critical
perspective? What first drew you to his work?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">My
discovery I tend to think of it as an accident, but I suspect it was an
accident waiting to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a young
teen I was reading the genre fiction of the time, Larry Niven, Stephen King, David
Eddings, Stephen Donaldson, Harry Harrison etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whatever I could find in the bookshop on the market.<br />
<br />
For some reason, on our bookshelf at home, was a copy of Clark Ashton Smith’s ‘<i>Lost
Worlds Vol II</i>’ with its stunning Bruce Pennington cover. It was electric
for me, exotic language and places suddenly flooded into my mind, truth be
told, the other tales I had read, seemed so normal in comparison.<br />
<br />
There were various writers on the book saying how good the book was, so I
eagerly sought out Ray Bradbury, H P Lovecraft and, Fritz Leiber.<br />
<br />
Bradbury was easy to find, as was Lovecraft, and I devoured their work, but
Leiber, he was a little trickier.<br />
<br />
To be fair I grew up in a provincial town, and Leiber was always a little rarer
in the UK, but I eventually found a battered copy of the original red Ace <i>Swords
Against Death,</i> and I was hooked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
I slowly discovered more and more of Fritz’ s writing, the more I came to enjoy
his work. Fritz is a lovely writer, and reading a lot of his work can make
other writing seem very vanilla at times. He is also so very varied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like many people, especially as one grows
older, you get less Catholic about your reading. I still love horror, SF and fantasy,
but also crime, spy, humour and what might be called literature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But reading Fritz, you never quite know where
you will be taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His Lankhmar tales,
his most approachable and popular works can still take you to strange places
you would not expect to find in the genre.<br />
<br />
It is a passion which has never faltered, and one of my proudest moments was
supplying some rarer stories for John Pelan to include in a couple of the
lovely collections he produced for Midnight House. Having my name in the
credits of a Fritz Leiber book was all I could ever hope for!<br />
<br />
On the question of what makes Leiber interesting critically, I am not best
placed to answer, but Tom Staircar, and in particular Bruce Byfield and
Benjamin Szumskyj have written fascinating observations on Leiber, as has
Ramsey Campbell. What I would say is that his impact on fantasy and horror in
particular are huge, SF, probably less so, as he wrote what in the old days
might be called science fantasy, and the space bound SF that came to dominate
was not a place where Fritz ventured.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: What do you feel are Leiber’s most significant works? Do you have
personal favorites of his work? And why?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For
me, I think one has to look to <i>Smoke Ghost,</i> such a great horror story
and easily sits alongside Lovecraft and James as a key story in 20<sup>th</sup>
century horror development, to that I would also add <i>Conjure Wife</i> and his
later <i>Our Lady of Darkness</i>. Those things alone make him a seminal horror
writer.<br />
<br />
The influence of his <i>Swords</i> series is difficult to underestimate and its
impact on the world of roleplaying and Dungeons and Dragons cannot be
overstated.<br />
<br />
The much maligned <i>Big Time</i> is a great tale, and as Aldiss notes in <i>Trillion
Year Spree,</i> it prefigures the New Wave in its approach to SF, and Fritz
continued to be championed by New Wave writers who dismissed my of Leiber’s
contemporaries who made their name with more traditional space operas.<br />
<br />
A personal favourite is <i>You’re All Alone / The Sinful Ones.</i><br />
<br />
It kind of bridges his work as he moves from pulps to his later more self-analytical
style, but the underlying premise, which he examined in <i>the Big Engine</i>,
and some of the strange unsettling imagery and suggestions in it are so
memorable and engaging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of it akin
to The Adjustment Bureau, but a 1000 times better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: What are some of Leiber’s works that you feel should be better known
than they are?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Obviously
the answer is all of it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am saddened
that Leiber’s fantasy tales have been crowded out by Lord of the Rings and it’s
lingering influence on epic fantasy, here I agree with Moorcock<br />
<br />
</span><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">“J. R. R. Tolkien was ‘an
obscure academic’ who ‘published a peculiar trilogy with a William
Morris/Anglo-Saxon ring to it [that] became the core of a somewhat unhealthy
cult’, Leiber was, simply, ‘the best living Fantasy writer’.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><br />
<br />
It is well worth reading Moorcock’s essay “<i>Epic Pooh</i>”. One has to have
some sympathy with Moorcock’s world view, which I have, but I think it is
difficult to argue about the inherent conservatism and lack of women in <i>Lord
of the Rings</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read the <i>Hobbit</i>
as a young teen and thoroughly enjoyed it, but never LOTR. In all honesty,
after reading Leiber’s <i>Swords</i> series, which being a series of
unconnected tales might seem slight, <i>Lord of the Rings</i> seemed stodgy,
slow and strangely unable to articulate the true horrors it was grappling with.
But I realise here I am the outlier, it has outsold and out influenced Fritz a
thousand times over, but it still strikes me as odd!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the very least his tales of Lankhmar are
just such great fun and easy to read (on the whole).<span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Who were some of the writers Leiber grew up reading?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span>Fritz himself always cites Shakespeare and Lovecraft, but he was clearly
influenced by Robert Graves (<i>Adepts Gambit</i> was originally set in Rome,
as were the fragments that became <i>Swords of Lankhmar</i>) and Thomas Mann,
who he went to visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cabell and Eddison
were a clear influence on his Lankhmar tales, and Leiber also sites Ibsen.<br />
<br />
He was well read in horror, from Poe, through Machen, Blackwood and James and
he devoured the pulps, reading Doc Smith, van Vogt and of course Lovecraft and
particular Clark Ashton Smith who eventually took a ‘pilgrimage’ to meet. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: H.P. Lovecraft was an early mentor
and role model for Leiber. How did this mentorship, and Lovecraft’s writing in
general, influence Leiber?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Luckily, we can see the influence in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fritz Leiber and H.P. Lovecraft: Writers of the Dark
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">which came out in 2005 and 2014’s</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Adepts Gambit, the Original Version. </span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lovecraft gave so much time and advice to his aspiring acolyte and it
was advice Fritz largely took.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
correspondence was intense, if sadly curtailed by Lovecraft’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it is difficult to underestimate how
much these interactions helped Fritz in focusing on becoming a professional
writer. Lovecraft picks apart any inconsistencies, but he is also fulsome in
his praise, which for a young writer who only recently had been excitedly
reading </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Mountain of Madness</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at university, must have been a huge boost to his confidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, Fritz never really went down the
Lovecraft Mythos route, the only real exception being </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Terror from the Depths</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, which having abandoned it in 1937 after Lovecraft’s death, he wrote
in 1975. There is also </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To Arkham and the
Stars</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, which is not really a mythos story, so much
as a gentle look at its origins when someone visits Arkham.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Who are some writers that were Leiber’s contemporaries that he
enjoyed/admired?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Heinlein is my
Favorite SF writer by several lengths, with real goodies like Wells, [Oswald]
Herbert Best, Joanna Russ, Stapledon, Sturgeon, and Kornbluth trailing. At
least, judging by the number of times I reread books, Heinlein is way in the
lead. I even found ‘I Will Fear No Evil’ better than practically everyone else
in SF-though it is surely his poorest book. ”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><sup>7</sup><br />
<br />
Fritz wrote SF reviews for various publications and it is the one area I would
like to look at more as it is a rich vein to mine as Fritz wrote so very many
words on other authors.<br />
<br />
He clearly didn’t rate L Ron Hubbard (Fritz being present at ‘<i>The monstrous
birth of Dianetics’ <sup>6</sup></i>) and as early as 1951 was having a pop at
him with <i>Poor Superman.</i><span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John Grayshaw: Did Leiber have favorites of his own works?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fritz
would comment on a favourite story here and there, but Fritz was always very
critical of his own work, and happy to play up the value of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would always champion Harry Fischer as the
originator of the Lankhmar tales, but the stories are all Fritz’s creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading his thoughts on his writing it is
much more about why and how he wrote it, rather than it’s final value, or not.<br />
<br />
He was though, very disappointed with <i>Destiny Times Three</i>, which he had
to gut to guarantee a pulp serialisation, this was something that always
disappointed him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Who are some of the science fiction writers he had
correspondence/friendships with?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span>He corresponded with Bloch, DeCamp and Anderson, Sheckley and Russ. What
Fritz does mention was attending a convention for the first time in the late
40s was important as he suddenly found a connection to this whole group of
other likeminded writers and a number of friendships were formed<span style="color: red;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: L Sprague de Camp told a story that at Discon II in 1974 he and
Leiber, pretended to quarrel furiously, and fought a make-believe duel with
sabers. Are there other stories about Leiber at conventions or otherwise
corresponding/meeting with fans?<br />
</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">From
all the articles and commentary I have read over the years, mainly that Fritz
was a kind and generous guest, who entertained and indeed tolerated the
strangeness of SF fandom with great joy and charm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: What are some of the most interesting things you’ve found in your
research of Leiber?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I
cannot really claim to have done academic research on Leiber, and whilst I have
expressed my opinion in these answers, I fear I am only standing on the
shoulder of giants, and I mention these in a few notes at the end! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Are any of Leiber’s works under option for movies or TV?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I
have no real idea, Lankhmar adaptations were dangled under Fritz’s nose, but
they finally went nowhere, though of all his work, it’s episodic nature would
make them the most likely adaption.<br />
<br />
Conjure Wife was filmed twice and a couple of his short stories were adapted
for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, but given the theatricality of his work it has
always surprised me we never saw any adaptations on film or TV.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: Did Leiber have any particular writing habits or routines he stuck
with?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span>Fritz worked very hard to develop a routine, with daybooks full of notes
and ideas and routine that saw him to try to write at least 500 words every
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of all, he always wanted to
improve, and I believe he worked hard to develop an outline before he started
any writing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: What were some of Leiber’s hobbies other than writing?</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I
think it’s safe to say, writing dominated his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did at times try acting, he could fence
and of course at times dedicated a great deal of time to chess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cats remain a constant, and toward the end of
his life he became enthused about astronomy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sadly, the hobby that took over his life was alcohol.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John
Grayshaw: I heard that in the 70s Leiber lived in a very tiny apartment in a
bad neighborhood. Was money an issue for him at this time? How did this
influence his writing at the time?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span>That is a tricky one to answer, Fritz was not well off, but he would
have had money. His room in Geary Street where he recovered and wrote after
Jonquil’s death was certainly, from my reading, pretty grim. He had to write
sitting on the bed, with his typewriter propped on a chair. The neighbourhood
was not great and his friends were worried about him, and did intervene. The
intervention included Harlan Ellison, who in a three-way conversation with
Leiber and Clarke at a convention is unusually modest about it <sup>8</sup>,
and in another interview is audibly unable to talk for a few seconds recalling Fritz’s
life during a time in the 70s.<sup>2 </sup>So eventually Fritz was moved to a
better apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, Fritz
enjoyed the area, the textures and people he saw, he was never bored and the
range of lives he saw worked their way into his fiction, which as he recovered
from his grief became very productive and produced some of his best work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am of the opinion, that when he went to San
Francisco to escape the grief, and on some levels, guilt of Jonquils death. He
lived, for a while at least, like a drunken monk, seeing his reduced standard
of life as part of his penance so to speak, and only when he fully emerged from
this period was he able to reengage fully and start to look after himself
again.<span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">John Grayshaw: I’ve heard that royalty checks from TSR, Inc
(the makers of Dungeons and Dragons who had licensed the mythos of the Fafhrd
and Gray Mouser series) were enough to ensure that Leiber lived comfortably in
his later years. Was this a big change from his life in that tiny apartment?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><br />
<br />
</span>The TSR checks, and the Ace editions of Swords certainly made Fritz
final years financially comfortable, especially given that Fritz was not an
extravagant man. He could work, travel, eat out and enjoy his health while it
lasted. He remained productive, despite his increasingly deteriorating eyesight,
til the very end of his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bruce
Byfield writes movingly of how when Fritz lay dying in his hospital bed (which
for a strange set of reasons Bruce was witness to), during moments of
coherence, Fritz said he wanted to stay to ’Write more stories…’ <sup>9<o:p></o:p></sup></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">John Grayshaw: What is Leiber’s legacy? Why was his
work significant at the time? And why is it still important today?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I think in horror,
whilst not having the position of James or Lovecraft, most critical studies
would reference Leiber in moving horror into the more modern era.<br />
<br />
For Fantasy, his legacy is huge, but somewhat hidden by Tolkien, who is seen as
the defining fantasy author. Many of the tropes we rely on in picaresque
fantasy come from the pulp introduction of fantasy, for which Fritz (along with
Robert E. Howard) was critical the development of, and as I mentioned before,
these tropes are even more evident in D&D which has Leiber stamped all over
it.<br />
<br />
His SF legacy is slight, partly is that the kind of speculative fiction he was
critically appreciated for is not in vogue, and hasn’t been for some time, much
as the short story seems to have faded from relevance.<br />
<br />
Fritz’s significance at the time, and remember that was from 1940 to 1990, was
that he never stood still, never churned out the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was happy to comment on the state of the
USA and its societal mores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think his
interest in psychology is relevant, because in his writing it was never a lazy
‘Freudian motivation’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fritz was
interested in what made him, and others, feel the way they did, and that gives
great depth to his writing.<br />
<br />
It is important today for the simple reason it was important then. The fact so
many of today’s important writers viewed his as an inspiration, or even hero,
means looking at his work, is looking at some of the best and most forward-thinking
fiction being produced.<br />
<br />
As a last comment, the reality is that without a franchise like LOTR, Dune,
Blade Runner or Cthulhu, lots of important writers do not cut though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no doubt if a Lankhmar series appears
on Netflix there will be quite a few people suddenly talking about his ‘legacy’,
and many more experts for you to choose from John!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Final
Notes.<br />
<br />
I have a few sources here incase people wish to read more. I have absorbed so
much Fritz information over the years, but I have tried to check and mention where
I get the thoughts and information. But it goes without saying that anyone
wishing to know more about Fritz should seek out Bruce Byfield, S T Joshi, Benjamin
Szumskyj or Ramsey Campbell.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Not so Much Disorder and Not so Early Sex: an
Autobiographical Essay” The Ghost Light, 1984<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">TalkCast 36 – Fritz Leiber Retrospective with Guest
Harlan Ellison<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Weird Fiction
review<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></em><!--[endif]--><em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ancalagon 1961<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></em><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">‘Introduction’,
<em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ill Met In Lanhkmar 1995<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></em></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></em><!--[endif]--><em><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Book of Fritz Leiber<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Speaking
of Science Fiction: The Paul Walker Interviews 1978<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book";">SCIENCE
FICTION REVIEW #40 <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Jubilat Book";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://brucebyfield.com/2007/07/05/the-last-days-of-fritz/"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">https://brucebyfield.com/2007/07/05/the-last-days-of-fritz/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Jubilat Book"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-77548173554538045012023-12-18T13:59:00.000-08:002023-12-18T13:59:55.723-08:00Interview About Ray Bradbury 2...<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Science Fiction Book Club<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Interview with Phil Nichols (October 2023)</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Phil Nichols is the
editor of the New Ray Bradbury Review, a consultant to the Ray Bradbury Center
at Indiana University, and produces the Bradbury 100 podcast.<span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kevin Kuhn: Do
you know if Bradbury was ultimately happy his with the Ray Bradbury Theater TV
program? His stories are so reliant on theme, atmosphere, and nostalgia which
are all so hard to translate to a short television program.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, he was
generally very happy with it, because he had a lot of input into it. He not
only wrote the scripts, but he was consulted throughout the production process.
There were some instances where things didn’t work out the way he would have
liked, resulting in episodes which he referred to as “clunkers”. He
specifically named “The Dwarf” as one he wasn’t happy with, and at first he
wasn’t pleased with “Black Ferris” – but with Ray’s input there were some
changes made to that episode, which improved it. None of the episodes were
filmed in the US, so there were some frustrations over staying in touch with
the production team in the early days. Everything changed substantially when
Tom Cotter came on board as a producer. He became Ray’s eyes and ears, as he
travelled with the productions as they shifted from Canada to France to New
Zealand – and he made sure that each script was filmable in whichever country
or studio was slated to produce it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Where things went
wrong, it was usually in the shooting, and Ray wouldn’t know about this until
he received the first cut of each episode. This was before broadband, so
videotapes had to be shipped to Ray, so there was an inevitable delay. Fixing
anything at that point would be costly, so Ray was always mindful to suggest
fixes that could be made just by re-editing. But in the worst cases, he would
point out the need to re-shoot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bill Rogers:
Phil, did Bradbury write other stage plays in addition to ‘Leviathan ‘99’ and
if so, are they available in a single collection? Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bradbury wrote a
lot of stage plays, especially one-act plays based on his stories. If you want
a single collection, the closest you’ll find is the book </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ray Bradbury On Stage: A Chrestomathy Of His
Plays</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. It’s essentially two of his
earlier play collections merged into one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">If you’re
interested in longer works, he did adaptations of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit 451, Dandelion Wine</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something Wicked This Way Comes</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. These can all be obtained from Dramatic Publishing, each one in a
separate book (</span><a href="http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">www.dramaticpublishing.com</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">is arguably the best play, but it’s
different than the book (not a problem for me, but some people want the play to
be the same as the book). </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dandelion
Wine</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> also differs from the book,
by introducing a visitor to Green Town which allows the stories to bind
together better. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Martian
Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is very similar to the
book, but condensed. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something
Wicked</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is almost identical to the
book – it’s one of Ray’s later plays, and by the time he wrote it he had
convinced himself that what people wanted was a straightforward translation to
the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Damo Mac
Choiligh: Am I right in my recollection that Bradbury withdrew 'Way up in the
Air', the story about racism in the US, from later editions of 'The Martian
Chronicles'? If this is true, was it really because he thought it was no longer
relevant? I hope it's not true, as it would mean that he missed one of the
profound messages of his own story, that racism is more than just
discrimination, preconceived ideas or plain dislike, but about entitlement,
systematic or embedded systems and aggression or violence.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, it is true
that he withdrew “Way in the Middle of the Air” himself. And yes, it’s because
he thought it was no longer relevant – but probably not in the way that you’re
thinking. (I know you didn’t say this, but some people think he took it out
because it has some racist characters and language in it. But this isn’t the
reason.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">For anyone who
isn’t familiar with it, “Way in the Middle of the Air” (1950) has all of the Black
folks in the US heading off to Mars to get away from bigotry. By the mid-1970s,
Ray thought that real life had overtaken this story, as he believed that the
CAR had actually enabled black people to move away from the most toxically
racist areas, and to settle elsewhere – essentially to drive away from the
southern states and head to Chicago, New York, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The great irony
here is that Ray was very anti-car, because of the sheer number of people who
get killed in road traffic accidents. And yet here he is, recognizing that the
car, historically speaking, was a great social liberator.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Of course, he was
over-exaggerating the impact of cheap cars, and overlooking the fact that the
poorest people couldn’t even afford a car. But he truly believed that his story
of Black people escaping to Mars was rendered obsolete by technology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith: I've
been to Epcot and I've riden the spaceship earth ride. What drove Bradbury to
develop the storyline for this?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He was commissioned
to do it! He became personal friends with Walt Disney – apparently after
bumping into him one day while out shopping – and it became apparent that Ray
believed that Disneyland was some kind of perfect model of how real towns
should be built. So it was natural that Disney would get him involved in the
designs for Epcot. Prior to this, in the early 1960s, Ray had contributed ideas
and scripts to Worlds Fairs, so he had some experience of devising and
scripting visitor attractions. And he carried on with this line of work,
contributing scripts and ideas to a number of rides, including one for
Disneyland Paris. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith:
Bradbury chose his own epitaph – “Author of Fahrenheit 451.” Of all his work,
why chose this one in particular?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He thought it was
his most significant book, and therefore the one which would survive into the
future long after his other works had been forgotten. This was due to several
factors. First, it was far and away his best-selling book, so his royalty
payments would have shown him how popular it was. Second, it was widely taught
in schools and colleges – so that when Ray lectured in colleges, he would
frequently get into conversation with students about it. Third, it received
more critical attention than his other books. To this day, if you do a Google
Scholar search for papers written about Bradbury’s works, you will find F451
outnumbers the other books by about ten to one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I don’t know
precisely when he settled on this as his epitaph, but he had the gravemarker
prepared and reserved for his graveyard plot at the time of his wife’s funeral.
Many years earlier, in an interview in 1967, Ray said something different, but
with his tongue in his cheek:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2Da_XHst0kv0bCD1PLvJRPE8tzUf9KmhAW0WQxpk1BFpLlnl9T4fjUxwQNzLedybNp2-pBugGevcb161L-YIzvZM-p614DXBDvAaR0UQ0omfchs6Hkvd3H5HNx51Fi_Jnb_TuzCyyHblNoO7P0QiZO1I7ELmy0w4zGYVadWi28mR8OhZoeUKMRojVE4c/s444/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="444" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2Da_XHst0kv0bCD1PLvJRPE8tzUf9KmhAW0WQxpk1BFpLlnl9T4fjUxwQNzLedybNp2-pBugGevcb161L-YIzvZM-p614DXBDvAaR0UQ0omfchs6Hkvd3H5HNx51Fi_Jnb_TuzCyyHblNoO7P0QiZO1I7ELmy0w4zGYVadWi28mR8OhZoeUKMRojVE4c/w446-h236/Picture1.png" width="446" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ray Bradbury,
interviewed by Frank Filosa in 1967. From Bill Strickland (ed.), </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On Being A Writer</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, Writers Digest Books, 1989.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith: Did
Bradbury feel his love of magic influenced his literary works?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, he did. For
him, magic and carnivals were interconnected, and he saw much of his writing as
being either ABOUT magic or as being inspired by magic. His very first book was
called </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark Carnival</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, and was full of fantasy and horror
stories, dark magical tales. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Illustrated Man</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> was mostly a
collection of science fiction stories, and yet he used the carnival framing
story to bind it together, the story of a man with magical tattoos. And </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something Wicked This Way Comes</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is built around carnivals and sideshows, an
illustrated man, a “Mister Electrico” act, a “bullet trick” act, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And in various
interviews, he referred to himself as a magician. Meaning that he knew how to
do some magic tricks (he’d practiced a magic act as a child), but also that he
considered his writing to be a form of sleight of hand. And don’t forget his
introduction to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ray Bradbury
Theatre</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, where he refers to his
cluttered office as “my magician’s toyshop”!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith: Given
he spent best part of a decade writing for a film magazine (Script), how much
of a voice did Bradbury have in the movie adaptations? And did Bradbury feel
the experience working on Script helped in any of the film adaptations?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Although he
appeared in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Script</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> quite a few times, he didn’t actually spend
much time writing for it. After his first contribution was accepted, he sent
the editor a handful of other pieces, and these were slotted in as and when
there was space. For the most part, his contributions weren’t particularly to
do with film. So I don’t think his writing for </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Script</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> had much impact on
his involvement with film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But that still
leaves the question of how much voice did he have in the movie adaptations of
his work. And the answer is: it depends! There are two basic situations he
found himself in, and he treated them very differently:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The first is when
he was contracted to work on a script. In these situations, he was generally
very protective of his script, and would fight for control where necessary –
but he was generally very open to suggestions, and allowed his scripts to
“breathe”. This is what happened with his work in the 1960s on a proposed film
version of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian Chronicles,
</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">where his engagement with
producer/directors Alan Pakula and Robert Mulligan led to some very creative
variations in the plotting of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">MC.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The second
situation was where he had simply sold the rights to one of his books/stories,
and wasn’t contracted to write the script. In this situation, he believed that
he shouldn’t interfere, but should let the filmmakers do what they
wanted/needed to do. A classic example here is </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Illustrated Man</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, which
he had no involvement with. One day he just happened to be walking across a
movie studio (Warners?) and got invited in to see Rod Steiger being made up as
the film’s title character. Ray didn’t even know that the film was being made
at that point. He wasn’t involved, and didn’t want to be. Because the studio
had bought the book outright and were doing it their way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith: Whilst
most of Bradbury’s movies had critical acclaim, even winning Emma's and Peabody
awards, Illustrated Man significantly bucked the trend. How did Bradbury see
this and did it effect his later work?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I believe that
correspondence from the time shows that Ray was initially fairly impressed with
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Illustrated Man</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, but that various friends told him he
should take a second look, as they didn’t think it was as good as he thought it
was. Once he’d begun studying it, he was of the view that the framing narrative
with the tattooed man was fine, but that the short stories were nearly all
compromised in some way. He always said that the script was written by a real
estate agent, not a script writer – but I’ve never been able to find out if
that is true, or just a Bradbury joke.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Illustrated Man</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> got mixed reviews, but I suspect the strong
imagery – which did genuinely reflect the character of Ray’s book – helped
solidify the viewing public’s idea of what this Bradbury fellow must be about.
(Always bear in mind that more people will have seen the movie than ever read
the book!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I’m not sure that
he was particularly concerned about the success or failure of the film, but if
it could be said to have affected his later work in any way, it would be in his
determination to do those same stories better. So a couple of them did get a
re-do in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ray Bradbury Theatre </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(“The long Rains” and “The Veldt”). And he
also wrote his own </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Illustrated Man</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> screenplay later on, but it wasn’t filmed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith: I
remember reading that Bradbury was an avid reader. Who was his favourite author
and which authors did he feel influenced him the most?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He mentioned
different authors at different times. He loved the works of Willa Cather and
Eudora Welty. He always said that Dickens’ </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Christmas Carol</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> was his
favourite <u>story</u>. From at least the 1960s onwards he said that he admired
George Bernard Shaw (he liked the plays and Shaw’s essays). And in terms of
direct influences on his writing, he specifically cited Poe, Hemingway, Wells,
Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs – and I think these are probably the influences
we most often notice across his body of work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He also admired
Steinbeck (an influence on </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), Sherwood
Anderson (an influence on </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">MC</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dandelion Wine</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">). And he
commended the short stories of John Collier and Nigel Kneale.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kev Smith: Bradbury
wrote sci-fi books and stories, some with a heavy emphasis on technology and
yet he was reportedly unsure about the Internet and even was resistant to
publishing his work as ebooks. How did he juxtapose these diametrically
opposing positions?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I put it down mainly
to his being a bit of a curmudgeon in his later years! He was never the most
scientific or technological of writers, and tended to concentrate on <u>consequences</u>
rather than on technologies themselves. So in a story like “The Veldt” (which
essentially “invents” virtual reality), he does enough to convince you that the
technology might be possible, but he then uses it to basically satirise
television, in an era when parents were starting to use the TV as a babysitter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He never owned a
computer, so he didn’t really understand what they could do. He saw early
computers (or word processors) as glorified typewriters, and he didn’t have a
need for such a thing, as he was a very fast and adept typist. I suspect a
wordprocessor would only have slowed him down, and he would have hated that, as
he believed that he needed to get his ideas out of his head an onto the page
with as rapid a flow as possible. And when the internet came along, he famously
said in an interview that we had “too many internets”!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Like many authors
in the 1990s, he was concerned about piracy. He knew a number of his friends
had had their works illegally spread across the internet, so he wanted nothing
to do with that. And that is why he had an aversion to e-books.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What changed his
mind was a simple conversation with his publisher (or editor) who explained
that it was time to allow his books to be sold as e-books. Publishers’
contracts were including e-book options as standard for all writers, and he
probably shouldn’t hold out against this, or he would lose a potentially
lucrative revenue stream.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Damo Mac
Choiligh: For anyone who came to Bradbury via his SF from the so-called golden
age (which he left in the dust in terms of quality and depth of vision) how
would you advise them to re-acquaint themselves with his later work. In other
words, where should they start with his middle and later career, if that isn't
a contradiction?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What a great
question. For some readers, I think this may be an impossible task, because the
golden age stuff they love almost certainly isn’t the stuff he was writing in
the later period. Someone who admires, say, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">F451 </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> just isn’t going to find much to interest
them in the murder mystery novel </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Death
is a Lonely Business</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think the answer
would be to point such readers to very specific short stories. I’m a great
advocate of Ray’s 1980s story “The Toynbee Convector”, which is a science
fiction story about the power of storytelling (or of prophecy). In the same
collection that that story is in (</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Toynbee Convector, </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">1988) there is
another great story called “A Touch of Petulance”, about a man who meets his
younger self. Each of these tales is a story which has echoes of the “golden
age” Bradbury. Once you’ve got someone interested in those two stories, they
might be willing to read the rest of the book!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And once they’ve
experienced this late-career Bradbury, then they might be amenable to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Death is a Lonely Business</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and its two sequels (</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Graveyard for Lunatics</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let’s All Kill Constance</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ed Newsom: To
what extent did his real workspace look like that portrayed in Ray Bradbury
Theater?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">100% - because that
WAS his actual workspace. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Ray kept an office
in an office building in LA’s Wilshire Boulevard. And that’s the actual office
you see on screen in the introductions to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ray Bradbury Theatre</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. No
doubt they tidied it up for filming, but if you look for photos of Ray’s office
from around this time, you’ll find it’s identical.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Later on, Ray gave
up this office and returned to the basement office of his own house. All of the
stuff from Wilshire Boulevard was crammed into this basement, and so at this
point his office was even more cluttered than you ever saw it on TV. By the
way, most of the contents of his basement office were gifted to the Ray
Bradbury Center in Indianapolis after he died, and the Center has
re-constructed the office to give visitors a sense of Ray’s working
environment. (But the reconstruction is much tidier than the actual office ever
was!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Nestor Enrique
Ramos: Was he afraid of the implications of the discovery of nuclear power
either for war or civilian use?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes. In a newspaper
article he wrote a few years after Hiroshima, he talked about the two terrible
“machineries” from science fiction, the rocket and the bomb, and how they had
been combined. He pointed out that science fiction had got there first, but
that real life had caught up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8Pl4T3lIZE73JSrYtUq232F1lTB8ib0zkoEu82-cdEq9P_LiWvERF77WzyWVTakGmoQZYOFp2lYb0BLB9ywF2ZcsUDNycqvZOiBIJ3Ywm0IqoDVkmZuUxklRg7S8108jteO5Ja9AIhMFW3ManYPml54mXO5OuZKoOxaJ5rKQzoU4F2luC-U6LCzYASNL/s473/Picture2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="473" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8Pl4T3lIZE73JSrYtUq232F1lTB8ib0zkoEu82-cdEq9P_LiWvERF77WzyWVTakGmoQZYOFp2lYb0BLB9ywF2ZcsUDNycqvZOiBIJ3Ywm0IqoDVkmZuUxklRg7S8108jteO5Ja9AIhMFW3ManYPml54mXO5OuZKoOxaJ5rKQzoU4F2luC-U6LCzYASNL/w469-h123/Picture2.png" width="469" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bradbury, <i>Los Angeles Times</i>, 20 Jan 1960<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Two of his best
books use the fear of nuclear war: in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,
colonists on Mars watch in horror as they see the Earth destroyed in a colossal
nuclear war; and in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit 451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, the threat of nuclear war is ever present,
with bombers flying overhead periodically, and war breaking out in the final
chapter. In both books, there are a handful of survivors, who are faced with
somehow rebuilding civilization.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But Ray was well aware that any technology can be used for good or
evil. In 1962, he wrote “The atomic power which can cure our cancer can also
broil us up in cauliflower clouds of radioactive chaff. […] The rocket that can
lift us to the greatest freedom since Creation can also blow us to kingdom
come” (Bradbury, “Cry the Cosmos”, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Life</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> magazine, 1962).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My own sense is that the Ray Bradbury who had grown up with the joyous
idea of space travel was determined to redeem the rocket, to wrest it away from
military uses, and promote its use as a potential saviour of humankind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Damo Mac
Choiligh: I understand Bradbury is on school curricula in the US and some other
countries, which may be a good or a bad thing in terms of how younger folks
react to him. Do you think children or younger people still like Bradbury's
work? Do they still find him, so to speak?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I don’t have
anything evidence-based on this, only my own gut feelings. On the one hand,
Bradbury has been read by a couple of generations of readers at this point, and
he remains a popular author. But I’ve always felt that schoolkids dislike
anything they are “forced” to read. So although it’s good to expose a new
generation to Ray’s work, it can easily backfire. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I’m also acutely
aware that the current Bradbury audience is an aging (or aged!) audience. When
I do Bradbury events, whether in the UK or in the US, the audience sways older
rather than younger. The same with my podcast audience, which is skewed to an
older demographic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Personally, I’d
like to see more young people reading Ray, but I’d prefer a different approach:
let’s have some new films or TV shows based on Ray’s work, and then put out new
tie-in editions of his books.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Jan van den Berg:
I read "Dandelion Wine" a long time ago and was wondering at the time
where he got the inspiration for this book.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dandelion Wine<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">is
nearly all inspired by Ray’s real childhood in Waukegan, Illinois. While he
fictionalized all of the characters, he was writing very much about the things
that scared him or excited him when he was a child. The geography of “Green
Town” has a very direct correspondence with that of the real-life Waukegan,
including things like the shortcut to town through the Ravine (see my blog
post, here: </span><a href="https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2006/10/green-town-illinois.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2006/10/green-town-illinois.html</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">). Even the frightening, barely-glimpsed
character of “the Lonely One” is inspired by a real-life petty criminal in
Waukegan who went by that nickname (</span><a href="https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/revealed-lonely-one.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/revealed-lonely-one.html</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">SFBC Member: Did
Bradbury have advanced discussions with his great friend Ray Harryhausen about
collaborating on the making of a movie for which he would have written the
screenplay while Harryhausen would have produced the special effects?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Alas, no. They
always talked about it having been their ambition to work together, but I know
of no evidence of them taking serious steps towards it once they had each
established their professional careers. They did stay in touch for decades, and
would occasionally share suggestions, but nothing ever developed. In any case,
I think they were both too busy. Bradbury was attached to a number of film
projects in the late 1950s and early 1960s (most of which didn’t end up getting
made), while at the same time Harryhausen was busily establishing his working
partnership with producer Charles H. Schneer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The last (fairly
casual) attempt to work together was when Bradbury wanted to adapt his story
“Tyrannosaurus Rex” for the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ray
Bradbury Theatre</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> TV series, and he
suggested to his producers that Harryhausen might be the man to animate the
creature. But the budget of the show was so incredibly low, that they would
never have been able to afford Harryhausen. (Instead the work was done by a
French animator. And looked terrible!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I go into more
detail of the two Rays in this blog post: </span><a href="https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-two-rays.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-two-rays.html</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Stacie Lara: Did
Bradbury write Science Fiction? Which of his works, if any, would you consider
to be SF?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bradbury saw
himself as someone who wrote science fiction, and fantasy, and horror and
mystery stories, and… Of his major books, he believed that only </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit 451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> was true science fiction – and his reasoning was based on his personal
definition of science fiction: science fiction is possible, whereas fantasy is
impossible. By this definition, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is fantasy, but
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">F451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is science fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I take a broader
view of what counts as science fiction. For me, if a work of fiction makes
intelligent use of science fictional <u>settings</u> and <u>tropes</u>, it’s
science fiction. (This is the “if it walks like a duck” approach to defining
the genre.) Using this definition, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is most
definitely science fiction. So is </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">F451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. So is much of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Illustrated Man</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. So is
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Leviathan ’99</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. And so are maybe 75-100 of his short
stories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In 1962, Ray wrote
“</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Any society where the family structure has been fragmentized and
dispersed, where morality has been given a severe shake and brought to a
re-focus in drive-in theatres as the result of one idea in motion, the
automobile, is a science-fiction society. Any society where natural man, the
pedestrian, becomes the intruder and unnatural man, encased in a steel shell,
becomes his molester is a civilisation of science-fiction nightmares” (“Cry the
Cosmos”, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Life</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> magazine, 1962). He
appears to be referencing his short story “The Pedestrian” here, as well as </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Fahrenheit 451. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Even though, by 1962, he wasn’t writing much
new science fiction, he was still proud to engage in the rhetoric of science
fiction, and was happy to serve as a spokesman for the field.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw:
Can you expand on Bradbury’s quote about his college being the library and how
he educated himself. He said, “I’m completely library educated. I’ve never been
to college….I discovered that the library is the real school.” Because as a
librarian that’s our dream to make that kind of a difference in people’s lives.
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It’s literally true
that Ray never went to college. And it’s true he spent a lot of time in
libraries, because he loved books, and he was intensely curious about all sorts
of subjects – but he was also from a fairly poor family, and therefore couldn’t
afford to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">buy</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> many books.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Put those elements
together, and you get Bradbury the autodidact.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">You get the best
sense of what the library means to Ray when you read </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something Wicked This Way Comes</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, which is partly set in the library of
Green Town. That fictional library is modelled on the real Carnegie Library of
Ray’s hometown, Waukegan, Illinois. Ray mainly details that library through the
eyes and ears of his child protagonists, Jim and Will. You get a sense of the
books talking to the kids, making sounds as they walk through the aisles of
books. There’s a scene where the boys have to hide themselves among the books,
and another where they join with Will’s father to research the “Autumn People”
who have come to town to do evil over many years. The library, here, isn’t just
a place filled with books. It’s a whole other world you can lose yourself in,
full of tomes you can defend yourself with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There’s a beautiful
short story set in a library (again based on the Waukegan Carnegie library) in
Ray’s collection </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quicker Than The
Eye</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">: “Exchange”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Because of Ray’s firm
belief in the value of public libraries, he did a lot of work with libraries in
and around Los Angeles (and elsewhere).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Neil
Gaiman said a friend told him that when he was 12 he met Bradbury and that when
Bradbury found out he wanted to be a writer he invited him to his office and
spoke to him for half a day about how to become a writer. What other acts of
kindness/charity/ and mentorship is Bradbury known for? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ray was very
generous with his time and advice. He tried to answer every fan letter he received.
Who knows, he might have written more books if he hadn’t “wasted” so much time
on those letters!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There are quite a
few writers who considered Ray to be their mentor, including William F. Nolan,
Richard Matheson, Greg Bear. I did a podcast episode where I interviewed
Gregory Miller, one of Ray’s last mentees. Worth checking out if you haven’t
already heard it. (</span><a href="https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2020/11/bradbury-100-episode-16.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">https://bradburymedia.blogspot.com/2020/11/bradbury-100-episode-16.html</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Bradbury
said “Those writers who merely dwell on despair without offering solutions, are
preying mantises without jaws. I’m busy making babies and they’re telling me
everyone is dead.“ What do you think Bradbury meant here and how can an author
make sure they don’t merely dwell on despair?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think it’s fairly
clear that Ray’s own stories underwent a shift around the time that he got
married and became a family man. His earliest stories of note were published in
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weird Tales</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> magazine (and collected in his first book, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark Carnival</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), and many of these were very dark fantasies. Ray himself said that a
story like “The October Game” is something he couldn’t and wouldn’t have
written once he became a parent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think the key part
of your quote isn’t “dwell on despair”, it’s “dwell on despair </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>without offering solutions</u></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">”. Ray knew enough about drama to know that
you might have to take your hero to a dark place – but the key is to then
rescue them, or provide hope for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit 451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is bleak. It’s a dystopia, after all. A
loss of literacy, followed by the destruction of cities in a global nuclear
war. But the last page or so of the book has his book people stop fleeing the
city, and turning round to go back and rebuild. Similarly, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> ends with the destruction of Earth and the
survival of just a handful of colonists on Mars. That’s pretty grim. But the
last chapter has one of the last families realise that </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they are the Martians now</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">: it’s time to start anew, and rebuild.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So from Ray’s works
we can take the lesson that it’s okay to show despair, but it’s probably best
to provide answers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Bradbury
said “A writer writes about those things that he can’t do. His hang ups. Now I
was afraid of the dark until I was twenty-one, twenty-two years old. Perhaps
some of that is still in me. So, my first books are excursions in darkness,
trying to make do with my fears. And out of these weaknesses I made strengths.”
How did Bradbury channel this negative energy into something positive? And how
can other writers do the same?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">See previous
answer!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Also:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think Ray was a
bit harsh on his younger self. Those early stories, inspired by his fears, are
among his best precisely because he is actually expressing <u>universal</u>
fears. We’re </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> afraid of the dark, of dying, of loss. As
he matured, I think he became afraid of going to those dark places, so he was
in a sense overcome by (a different) fear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On a practical
level, one of the things Ray did was move the focus of his stories to younger
protagonists. Think </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dandelion Wine</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, with its twelve-year-old protagonist who
discovers what death is. Or </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something
Wicked</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> with its twelve-year-old
pair or protagonists who have to confront pure evil. Or </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Halloween Tree</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, with… There’s something of a pattern here.
He’s still taking those characters to some dark places, but he’s bringing them
back up to the light. Being the narrator of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">stories, he takes a
parental distance to the events shown. Maybe this makes these stories more
comforting to read. (Compared to the early </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weird Tales</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> stories, where
he is usually narrating a tale about an adult male very similar to himself.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Bradbury
said “If you’re fortunate, you can lose your innocence in one way, but still
retain a childlike vision,” How did Bradbury keep a childlike aspect in his writing?
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think the most
obvious way he did this was by recalling his own childhood. Many of the
situations and events of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dandelion
Wine, Farewell Summer</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something Wicked</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> are based on actual memories (but obviously enhanced for dramatic
effect). It’s probably significant that most of his stories set in childhood
feature characters between ten and thirteen. He rarely if ever writes about
older teens. But he did once write a story about a murderous baby (“The Small
Assassin”).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Other than stories
with younger protagonists, he also kept a childlike aspect in many of his other
stories. There seems to be an underlying optimism to much of his later work,
and much of his poetry is full of bright-eyed optimism for where we (as a
species) can go in the future. Maybe these stories are wish fulfilment for him
as an author. But I think he had a strong belief that we can talk ourselves
into (or out of) despair. This is best expressed in his short story “The
Toynbee Convector”, which is about a man who claims to have visited the future
and seen a gloriously wonderful future world. People believe him, and end up
creating such a world. And then it turns out he was lying the whole time; he
never was a time-traveller. But given a credible view of a glorious future, we
can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw:
Speaking of maintaining that childhood. I’ve always been amused by this
Bradbury quote, “I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in
space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs
and leave the room.” Is there a story behind this quote? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I don’t think there
is a particular story behind this quote, but Ray did often talk about a time in
his childhood where he tore up his old comics, because his friends or family
had convinced him that they were childish nonsense, and he was too old for that
stuff. It was an action he regretted, and he spent the rest of his life
surrounding himself with comics and toys, to show that he was right to have
treasured those childhood fantasies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Bradbury
was said to have a “pomegranate mind.” What does this mean? And how did it make
Bradbury more unique? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Well of course a
pomegranate is a fruit that looks a bit like an apple - until you peel your way
into it, and find it is bursting with hundred of little juicy seeds. So there’s
your pomegranate mind: bursting with hundreds of tiny ideas!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As far as I know,
it was Bradbury himself who talked about having such a mind – but he may not be
the only person to have one!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One of the writing
techniques that Ray firmly believed in was free-writing. This is where you sit
at the keyboard and just let the ideas flow. Sometimes this will generate
nonsense, but other times it will surprise the writer with ideas they didn’t
even know they had. I think this is probably where the pomegranate is most
appropriate for describing Ray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He also had a
little sign on his typewriter, which said “don’t think!” Meaning: don’t let the
intellect (or anything else) get in the way of that free-flow of ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(Whenever I talk
about this approach of Ray’s, I always feel compelled to add a vital corollary.
He never took those first drafts of free-flow writing as finished compositions.
He did firmly believe in applying the intellect to his writing – but he did this
in a second stage, that of editing and re-writing.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Did
Bradbury have favorite episodes from the Bradbury Theater?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He had quite a few
favourites. I know he was fond of “The Haunting of the New”, and of the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> stories that he re-did (“Mars is Heaven”,
“And The Moon Be Still As Bright”, for example; the 1980 </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Martian Chronicles</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> miniseries had disappointed him, so he
desperately wanted to rescue the source material by showing how to adapt them
correctly.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Bradbury
said “I’d like to come back every 50 years and see how we can use certain
technological advantages to our advantage, say in education” What sort of
technological improvements do you think he imagined/expected?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He was fascinated
by the idea of robots, and probably inspired by the animatronic Abraham Lincoln
at Disneyland, he foresaw a time where we would learn from robot versions of
Plato and Aristotle! In his fiction, of course, the robots Ray wrote about were
ultra-real: think of the short stories “Marionettes, Inc” and “I Sing The Body
Electric”. He was never into Asimovian nuts&bolts robots; he was only
interested in robots which were indistinguishable from real people. And let’s
not forget the apparently ludicrous “mechanical hound” from </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit 451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> – which is now rendered highly plausible by the real life robotic
“dogs” made by Boston Dynamics!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Similarly, he
imagined virtual reality to be a part of our future – see “The Veldt”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And he very much
believed in the Disney method of education: of producing educational but
entertaining visitor attractions. When he worked on these, he concerned himself
only with the story that he wanted to tell, and left it to engineers (or
Disney’s “imagineers”) to find a way of executing them. Not many people know
that he worked with Douglas Trumbull on a couple of ride concepts. Although
these didn’t come to fruition, like all of Trumbull’s projects these would have
been executed with cutting edge technology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: What
did Bradbury mean by “It’s not going to do any good to land on Mars, if we’re
stupid?” How did Bradbury believe we could protect future generations from
stupidity?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This all goes back
to his belief that everyone needs to educate themselves. Don’t just stop
learning because you’ve finished school. He clearly believed that libraries –
free, public ones – were key to this, as they take away barriers to learning
and curiosity. He also believed that literacy was vital, for without the
ability to read, you can’t educate yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The bit about
landing on Mars reflects his firm belief that we should (or must) move out from
Earth into the Solar System.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">John Grayshaw: Bradbury
said in his Coda to Fahrenheit 451, “There is more than one way to burn a book.
And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.” Today there is
a trend of so-called well-intentioned censorship where stories with
“problematic language” are being edited? How would Bradbury have combatted
this?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ray would have
resisted any attempt at censorship, I’m certain. When he discovered cases where
his own books had been tampered with, he was livid, and insisted that the text
be reinstated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think it’s clear
from </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit 451</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> that the value of books lies not so much in
their information content, but in the way they allow intellects to connect
across vast gulfs of space and time. This is why </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fahrenheit</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> has so many
quotations in it. I don’t think Ray ever said this, but if you went through the
books from the past and removed the “problematic language”, you would sever
that vital connection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: Did he
have a particular favorite among his stories?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I don’t know that he
had an absolute favourite, but he often referred to <i>Something Wicked</i> as
the book that most moved him – because he discovered (many years after writing
it) that he had been writing about his own father.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: Were
there any science fiction writers he had correspondence/friendships with?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Yes, lots. He knew
all the major SF authors of his lifetime. Robert Heinlein was one of his early
mentors, as were Leigh Brackett, Edmond Hamilton, Henry Kuttner, and Catherine
L. Moore. He in turn mentored Richard Matheson, William F Nolan, George Clayton
Johnson, Greg Bear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he was good
friends with Charles Beaumont, Harlan Ellison, Arthur C. Clarke, Gene
Roddenberry, … the list goes on and on. Just about the only writer he didn’t
get on with was Rod Serling of <i>Twilight Zone</i> fame, although they started
out on good terms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: Are
there any examples of Bradbury corresponding/meeting with fans?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Every single person
I know who ever wrote Bradbury a fan letter got a reply. And rarely were these
form letters. He usually wrote a personalized reply. There’s a beautiful
correspondence between British writer Brian Sibley which has been quite widely
published, where Sibley (who was just a 24-year-old fan at the time) innocently
asked Ray about Disney’s animatronics, and Ray wrote back with a long letter.
(Brian and Ray became good friends. That initial correspondence is detailed
here: </span><a href="https://briansibleysblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/farewell-to-martian-chronicler.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">https://briansibleysblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/farewell-to-martian-chronicler.html</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: What
are some of the most interesting/surprising things you’ve learned about Bradbury
over the years?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The main one has got
to be the sheer number of famous people Ray interacted with. It’s a real joy to
discover that he wrote film scripts for Carol Reed (director of <i>The Third
Man</i>). And plays for Charles Laughton. And met the philosopher Bertrand
Russell, and considered the actress Bo Derek among his best friends, and knew
and corresponded with Fellini, Kurosawa, Christopher Lee, Katharine Hepburn,
Carl Sagan,… the list goes on and on. This again relates to his “pomegranate
mind”: he was interested in every subject under the sun. And it also relates to
his love of receiving fan letters: because <u>he</u> was a person who wrote fan
letters to famous people, and was overjoyed when he got replies from them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The other is that
Ray, indirectly, is responsible for the modern shopping mall! For a time in the
1980s, he worked with the famous architect Jon Jerde on conceptual designs for
shopping malls. Bradbury’s ideas were presented in the form of essays, and
Jerde then took those ideas and used them as the basis for the architectural
designs. Among Ray’s key contributions were to put the food court at the heart
of the mall, and to build in corridors where you can’t see what’s round the
next corner, or build in dead-ends (Ray’s concept was “the aesthetic of
lostness”, the idea that we like to get a bit lost and confused so we can
retrace our steps.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Visit any shopping
mall built since about 1990, and you will find most of Bradbury’s concepts are
implemented, because Jerde’s award-winning designs were copied around the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: What
were some of Bradbury’s hobbies other than writing?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">He did a bit of
painting. If you check out the book <i>Ray Bradbury: An Illustrated Life </i>(by
Jerry Weist), you’ll find lots of examples of preliminary art designs he did
for some of his own books. And in the early 1960s documentary “Portrait of
Writer” (which you can usually find on YouTube), you’ll see him practicing this
hobby, painting a picture of a Halloween Tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And I gather that he
loved eating and drinking. He wasn’t a particularly sophisticated gourmet – he
preferred what most people called junk food. It’s no coincidence that when he
was working with Jon Jerde on designs for town centres, he said some thing like
“people don’t go out to shop, they go out to eat; and while they’re out, they
shop.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: Did Bradbury
have a writing routine he stuck to?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It undoubtedly
changed and evolved over the years, but the basic routine he always talked
about was this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In your first waking
moments of the day (when you’re half asleep), you get your best ideas (what he
called his “morning theatre”), so you need to capture those. Then spend the
morning free-writing (getting the ideas down on the page with minimum intellectual
tought). Then in the afternoon, take out something you drafted on the previous
day and give it another draft. In a 1967 interview, he said that this
re-drafting wasn’t him re-writing the story, it was him “re-living” the story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When his daughters
were young, he said he wrote Monday to Friday, but kept the weekends clear for
family time. I imagine this is what motivated him to rent an office away from
his house, so he could keep a clear separation between work and home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Looking at his files
from later in his life, alongside the typewritten pages you find many
handwritten manuscript pages, usually written in large block capitals with
something like a Sharpie. These come from when he was writing while travelling,
either in the back of a car, or on a train, or on Concorde while flying to
Paris. He was very busy with non-writing activities in the 1980s and 1990s, and
fitted in the writing where he could.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Grayshaw: What
is Bradbury’s legacy? Why was his work significant at the time? And why is it
still important today?<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the very least, Bradbury’s legacy is <i>Fahrenheit 451</i>
– a dystopian novel which is usually placed alongside <i>Brave New World,
Nineteen Eighty-Four </i>and <i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Less tangibly, Bradbury’s legacy is in how he helped shape
the fields of imaginative fiction: by showing that popular fiction could be
poetic; by showing that the boundaries of genres are illusory; and by showing
that good storytelling could transcend any given medium. Today there are many
writers who operate across media and across genres, but Bradbury paved the way
for them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His work was significant at the time because it was so
damned good, and he did it all so fast! He was writing for these cheap pulp
magazines, but he was writing fine literature. Between 1941 and 1953, he had
written most of the ground-breaking work of his career. As he slipped from
horror stories to science fiction to fantasy to “mainstream”, he showed how
permeable all the barriers to writing are. He was one of the first science
fiction writers to appear in hardcover from a major publisher. He was one of
the first pulp writers to break out into the so-called “slick” magazines. He
led where others would follow.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The reason his work is so important today is that he
pioneered so many things and influenced so many people. If you’re looking for
the perfect example of a short story, look at his earliest ones collected in <i>Dark
Carnival </i>(a book which is out of print, but which is being re-published in
2024). And while you marvel at the perfection of “The Crowd”, for example, tell
me if you don’t see Stephen King (and any number of lesser writers)
foreshadowed in that story’s tone, structure and pace. King himself has said
“Without Ray Bradbury, there is no Stephen King” – and without King, there is
no modern horror. You can extrapolate this to other areas of fantasy, science
fiction, film and television.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the same time, Bradbury is an important bridge between
today’s imaginative literature and the writers who predated him. “The Crowd”
(for example, once again) is clearly inspired by Poe. <i>The Martian Chronicles</i>
is clearly inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs. There’s a long chain linking early
literature of the fantastic to the present-day equivalents. Bradbury is, at the
very least, a highly significant link in that chain. And at the very most, he
is the writer who brought those earlier forms into our modern world.<o:p></o:p></p>Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-44808042395996259202015-07-24T13:28:00.000-07:002015-07-24T13:28:13.655-07:00Pandorica- Doctor Who Cafe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJP5_xqJuRiWGMPCBnFNjmCb_Qeva7ovDzL4BCeG88mr4PvJH4kzvydewILmICi7zWN1rT4SkyfTSzZFZdzanb6Y0x2yhpSqP3m8UZo1sZBrq0K1MNuZxTuHeKwk48HEV4t3t0c02mSyDi/s1600/2015-07-23+22.43.45.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJP5_xqJuRiWGMPCBnFNjmCb_Qeva7ovDzL4BCeG88mr4PvJH4kzvydewILmICi7zWN1rT4SkyfTSzZFZdzanb6Y0x2yhpSqP3m8UZo1sZBrq0K1MNuZxTuHeKwk48HEV4t3t0c02mSyDi/s640/2015-07-23+22.43.45.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro-lhfNse03QRZC55Mza91yzWlnpZaNAkyum_kiP9wGr3lIrVe3UnvkiRfI5IM0gUyK3C4iKTsRJ3Yj5562KjU2s8ct7Llybo8k-cX3u7V1sq5uTY91XEfw9risVz4e7qX6wa2jipqUQo/s1600/2015-07-23+12.00.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
On our way home from our vacation we made a detour and stopped in Beacon, NY at "Pandorica" a Doctor Who themed cafe. You can see The painting "the Pandorica Opens" behind us.<br />
<br />
The menu features lots of Doctor Who inspired appetizers which they call "spoilers" like Fish Fingers and Custard (French Toast and Custard), K9s (Mini hotdogs and mustard), and Big Bang (Bangers/Sausages flamed with Stroh's Rum). And on the kid's menu Henry got the Bowties are Cool (Mac and Cheese with bowtie pasta). And they have a great selection of teas!<br />
<br />
And of course they play Doctor Who at the restaurant while you eat. We watched "Night Terrors." <br />
<br />
They have some original Doctor Who inspired art for sale, that I wasn't allowed to take pictures of.<br />
<br />
And they have some props from the show like River's journal, Tardis keys, and a gas mask from "The Empty Child."<br />
<br />
The door to the bathroom is the TARDIS.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJ4OrTpdFtIavatleebAJMp2VqcQ7Z6p485VqfY6_aUhrRHxIUu2LgcouVBle0QjGaV1HPOL7xUW_D6hbQHFQ9P_0O34lsEhXUF4SL-IYw_Bxb5TwyIx04yDe9Wj8CVy7c4QimstaPY_x/s1600/2015-07-23+12.10.40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJ4OrTpdFtIavatleebAJMp2VqcQ7Z6p485VqfY6_aUhrRHxIUu2LgcouVBle0QjGaV1HPOL7xUW_D6hbQHFQ9P_0O34lsEhXUF4SL-IYw_Bxb5TwyIx04yDe9Wj8CVy7c4QimstaPY_x/s640/2015-07-23+12.10.40.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxtXTdDMLj9ZOFf-eVs7Ue9yABPFkX53xwFNXm4PGSAC6Uahw8IJ8P8nhb5_RkRHaE3Xg_cTNuesCa78jTuIG9lXwD-RjYDYcbhaxQ6MpTkxaVe4VlcozR0zEMnkb-rzXiPasImySzMXP/s1600/2015-07-23+12.10.21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxtXTdDMLj9ZOFf-eVs7Ue9yABPFkX53xwFNXm4PGSAC6Uahw8IJ8P8nhb5_RkRHaE3Xg_cTNuesCa78jTuIG9lXwD-RjYDYcbhaxQ6MpTkxaVe4VlcozR0zEMnkb-rzXiPasImySzMXP/s640/2015-07-23+12.10.21.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro-lhfNse03QRZC55Mza91yzWlnpZaNAkyum_kiP9wGr3lIrVe3UnvkiRfI5IM0gUyK3C4iKTsRJ3Yj5562KjU2s8ct7Llybo8k-cX3u7V1sq5uTY91XEfw9risVz4e7qX6wa2jipqUQo/s1600/2015-07-23+12.00.33.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro-lhfNse03QRZC55Mza91yzWlnpZaNAkyum_kiP9wGr3lIrVe3UnvkiRfI5IM0gUyK3C4iKTsRJ3Yj5562KjU2s8ct7Llybo8k-cX3u7V1sq5uTY91XEfw9risVz4e7qX6wa2jipqUQo/s640/2015-07-23+12.00.33.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFfHaIiRxnOUxO-5I_ipWezVI_EZynsNDzsc-izq1Ni1faZn25odZTTCntjK1Gry4O70ERll_ZRVeKrIRjf6X5nsEcH5thvXRzQwRqjIh6ADbvyZ6OLDPb2tXgIJuv2qZ2LA17IZE5AgB/s1600/2015-07-23+12.11.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFfHaIiRxnOUxO-5I_ipWezVI_EZynsNDzsc-izq1Ni1faZn25odZTTCntjK1Gry4O70ERll_ZRVeKrIRjf6X5nsEcH5thvXRzQwRqjIh6ADbvyZ6OLDPb2tXgIJuv2qZ2LA17IZE5AgB/s640/2015-07-23+12.11.21.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsnpAS37tpT8ZOkfs08UIlDD2H0bAISZkNCeQ-aQ7cc4BfsjIrFzcFISqyAJ5VHWJMuZ6SEi8u8doHA8TnQneDKIexFNz4WlWzRr9sVvydt1eUG65zp-Tzb2EDrgKEqTgOhPgKhK4H-I6/s1600/2015-07-23+12.12.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsnpAS37tpT8ZOkfs08UIlDD2H0bAISZkNCeQ-aQ7cc4BfsjIrFzcFISqyAJ5VHWJMuZ6SEi8u8doHA8TnQneDKIexFNz4WlWzRr9sVvydt1eUG65zp-Tzb2EDrgKEqTgOhPgKhK4H-I6/s640/2015-07-23+12.12.36.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJP5_xqJuRiWGMPCBnFNjmCb_Qeva7ovDzL4BCeG88mr4PvJH4kzvydewILmICi7zWN1rT4SkyfTSzZFZdzanb6Y0x2yhpSqP3m8UZo1sZBrq0K1MNuZxTuHeKwk48HEV4t3t0c02mSyDi/s1600/2015-07-23+22.43.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0oPFO0bCNL5lAoBLo1eCV3j90K5CiYfHl9KkHwTMRBRx54nxOVpv88RaPJvUYJhz34DJWlflLyCPFr3QMGEvr7m3DJLG7IszxqTEZGeiPFtWyd-l3TKm3nVeekIo4H2gQYoVwhanAQ9s/s1600/2015-07-23+12.16.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0oPFO0bCNL5lAoBLo1eCV3j90K5CiYfHl9KkHwTMRBRx54nxOVpv88RaPJvUYJhz34DJWlflLyCPFr3QMGEvr7m3DJLG7IszxqTEZGeiPFtWyd-l3TKm3nVeekIo4H2gQYoVwhanAQ9s/s640/2015-07-23+12.16.23.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1GOSdIFctXEn6zGLipAKKQ85qFIBNgIFTIQUStovWQEO43BUYvGWaUQ-mhtGOZuDVp6-UnD87FFI28COmDsN1yOQMGJs9oHc9O8JhEgshk2bR5Ut5oHEyJs33-thWMc3p4o20fI9NQdy/s1600/2015-07-23+12.57.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1GOSdIFctXEn6zGLipAKKQ85qFIBNgIFTIQUStovWQEO43BUYvGWaUQ-mhtGOZuDVp6-UnD87FFI28COmDsN1yOQMGJs9oHc9O8JhEgshk2bR5Ut5oHEyJs33-thWMc3p4o20fI9NQdy/s640/2015-07-23+12.57.34.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEox79mXfSzuV5-eNHWmI4Caa747jgu7nLmrGGX7ifuqKMaEns_3YSB50DkDbotyoeLYyT7pBUk8tUveOEGDw-WPsCzC0SYLN_fAuz6XL3VixvZfM0rIYOU5mPWbgCNHU70_HDfA-WEf6/s1600/2015-07-23+12.22.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEox79mXfSzuV5-eNHWmI4Caa747jgu7nLmrGGX7ifuqKMaEns_3YSB50DkDbotyoeLYyT7pBUk8tUveOEGDw-WPsCzC0SYLN_fAuz6XL3VixvZfM0rIYOU5mPWbgCNHU70_HDfA-WEf6/s640/2015-07-23+12.22.01.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-41824822942002609982014-12-08T23:32:00.000-08:002017-12-10T19:49:15.289-08:00Baby, It’s Cold Outside<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYn9w4jOK0T_qgfdm3rZLIpXW12KlBRtJXaXT3vWB_UBeQLC-Cm3Y_gosSWRf0pRusdaxwJuptSP2D_M4yh_BZjiXq2IHWCwczuMaqJsvexOzeKGCIqyooiVb1M-H_oVhBW9DU5ySNckI/s1600/50533016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="564" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYn9w4jOK0T_qgfdm3rZLIpXW12KlBRtJXaXT3vWB_UBeQLC-Cm3Y_gosSWRf0pRusdaxwJuptSP2D_M4yh_BZjiXq2IHWCwczuMaqJsvexOzeKGCIqyooiVb1M-H_oVhBW9DU5ySNckI/s320/50533016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> Frank Loesser and Lynn Garland</i></div>
<br />
The older I get Christmas is less and less about presents
and more about, family, friends, a long road trip home, that hopeful feeling
which accompanies the season, the cold winter weather, snow, hot chocolate, and
of course Christmas music.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christmas music means different things to different people.
For me the only kind of Christmas music is old Christmas music. Give me some
Bing Crosby or Perry Como or Burl Ives. I don’t want to hear any of the new
stuff. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Pandora, I’ve got a station called White Christmas Radio
and I can put that on and hear great Christmas tunes whenever I want. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Baby, It’s Cold
Outside.” There is just something about it that I find irresistible. Maybe it’s
because it sounds like something out of an old musical or maybe it’s because of
the “innocence” of the seduction. It’s a song from a simpler time, untouched by
modern sensibilities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The score of the music lists the two people in this duet as
Wolf and Mouse. The Wolf, usually the male part, wants the woman to stay
overnight while the Mouse, usually the female part, despite partly wanting to
stay worries what people would think of her if she stayed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mean let’s all be adults here the Wolf is trying to sleep
with the Mouse, but we know that he isn’t going to push her, but merely tempt
her. Like I said simpler times. Today the sequel to the song might be “Baby,
What’s With This Restraining Order?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Baby it’s Cold Outside” was written by Frank Loesser, who
wrote the music and lyrics for such Broadway shows as “Guys and Doll” and “How
to Succeed at Business Without Really Trying.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Loesser wrote “Baby It’s Cold Outside” in 1944 and performed
it at his parties with his wife, Lynn Garland. She considered it “their song”
and was furious with him when he sold the rights of the song to MGM in 1949.
That year it was featured in the movie “Neptune’s Daughter.” The song won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to the version of the song in the movie, 7 other
renditions of the song were recorded in 1949. 5 of those versions charted on
Billboard that year. Ironically the film version didn’t chart. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So which version of the song is the definitive version?
Well, that’s the real question, isn’t it? Lots of versions of the song are
great for different reasons. Some versions of the song are not so great. Here’s
a look at several versions, but it is definitely not an attempt to look at
every version just the ones that interested me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/H7jzsKd6Cf8">Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting’s</a> 1949 version is
probably one of the first versions people think of. I think Whiting sounds
excellent her voice has a youthful innocence, but Mercer sounds a bit too
rehearsed and his crying during the line “How can you do this to me” is really
awkwardly bad.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/4XTDzgKdHAY">Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark</a> (1949) this is one of the best
versions the singers sound really good together. Shore lacks the innocence she
instead sounds commanding and sure of herself, but it works for her. And Clark
meshes with her well. The only thing is the song's pace seems really quick.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/oU1zcCwtneg">Don Cornell and Laura Leslie’s</a> version (1949) has the
backing of the Sammy Kaye Orchestra. Which make it feel more like a piece in a
musical rather than the versions of the song with less instruments that feel
more intimate, like we are looking in on a couple’s private moments. But I
think this version works well. However instead of the normally ambiguous ending
this version end with the Mouse telling the Wolf that she’s staying. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/tuCO7Kq744U">Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan</a> (1949) is sort of unbalance
because Fitzgerald is one of the greatest singers of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century and Jordan just can’t begin to compete with her so I just keep
wondering why she’d be at all interested in this guy that can’t sing as well as
her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/8hQ3HYyEBrY">June Carter</a> made a parody version of the song with a comedy
duo Homer and Jethro (1949). This version is a humorous country western version
of the song that is played for laughs and over 60 years later the humor is hit
and miss. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The versions in <a href="http://youtu.be/7MFJ7ie_yGU">“Neptune’s Daughter”</a> itself are quite good.
Richardo Montalban and Esther Williams give a fantastic performance and then
Red Skelton and Betty Garrat do a hilarious role reversal in their version of
the song in which Skelton is the Mouse trying to get away and Garrat is the
Wolf. I don’t understand how the Montalban/Williams version wasn’t ever on the
Billboard chart. I guess it was somehow ignored because of all the other
versions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/Bgi9aRLwxdg">The Pearl Bailey and Hot Lips Page</a> version (1949) just
doesn’t sound right to my ear. I can hear in their voices that these two don’t
think much of the material. To them this is a corny song, so they just sort of
try to get through it. They also change the ending, in this version Bailey sees
another woman out there and she says Page wants her to leave cause he’s got
another woman coming over and Page admits it’s true so Bailey stays just to
spite him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/0ZBFk-Y-4Jo">Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton</a> did a hilarious version
of the song in 1949, but their version quickly goes off the rails and becomes more
of a comedy routine than a real version of the song. It’s really amusing to
listen to though. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is also other 1949 version that I haven’t been able to
find. Bing Crosby sang the song with Jimmy Stewart on Bing’s radio show. I’m
sure it was either hilarious or painfully awkward. I’d love to hear it though. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/Tu0l54D2DLU">Sammy Davis, Jr. and Carmen McRae</a> did a great version of the
song in 1957 on their duet album Boy Meets Girl. This is my personal
favorite version. Davis does some funny ad-libs and McRae is clearly laughing
sometimes, but it doesn’t detract from the song. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/crFQpOCDfEc">Dean Martin</a> did a version of the song in 1959. In this
version the Mouse part is played by a chorus of women. Leave it to Dino to up
the ante and seduce not one woman but a whole chorus. Despite that one bit of
strangeness, I like this version, maybe because Martin is really believable in
his role of the Wolf.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/tmiWm9CsLBU">James Taylor and Natalie Cole</a> did a version in 2006 and <a href="http://youtu.be/9frFggnz4P0">Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton</a> did a version in 2004. I’m lumping these versions
together because they are both horrible for the same reason. They forgot or
didn’t care that the beauty of the song is the battle of wills that the couple
is having. In addition to being a song it’s a scene. In these versions the song
is just a duet. I mean the Wolf is not much of a Wolf if he’s more interested
in hitting his notes than seducing the Mouse. But the very worst version I’ve
heard is<a href="http://youtu.be/2_-XMZjWGF4"> Norah Jones and Willie Nelson</a>. Luckily they sing the song like a
duet too, so we are spared the truly horrifying mental picture of Nelson
attempting to seduce Jones. But their voices are like oil and water or more
accurately water and sandpaper. They just don’t mesh in any way that is
pleasing to the ears. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-50112196221576759392013-11-05T20:05:00.000-08:002013-11-05T20:05:40.431-08:00Going the Distance ( 90's Music Fun 001)<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2852444_15027202_lz_zps1f7ece38.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2852444_15027202_lz_zps1f7ece38.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2852444_15027202_lz_zps1f7ece38.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This is the first of a new series where I am going to share music that I like organized by decade.<br />
<br />
<b>Cake</b><br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/0pSlu2okpqM">The Distance</a><br />
<br />
<b>The Toadies</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/EkwD5rQ-_d4">Possum Kingdom</a><br />
<br />
<b>Harvey Danger</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/jJo0MT3wDBs">Flagpole Sitta</a><br />
<br />
<b>Cracker</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/uIhymn208f8">Movie Star</a><br />
<br />
<b>Blur</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/Wc18xt5wQnk">Song 2</a><br />
<br />
<b>Smashing Pumpkins</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/8-r-V0uK4u0">Bullet With Butterfly Wings</a><br />
<br />
<b>Silverchair</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/k2d6iwOSAfQ"> Israel’s Son</a>Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-80250298496841460402013-10-23T19:44:00.000-07:002013-11-03T16:04:34.970-08:00Time Flies When You're Having Fun...<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoAug2932817PM_zpsece01f1e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoAug2932817PM_zpsece01f1e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoAug2932817PM_zpsece01f1e.jpg" /></a><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<br />
Wow, I can't believe it's been four months since I last did one of these
Henry blogs. I assure you I wasn't consciously being lazy or anything. It's
just like the cliché title of the article says, times flies when you're having
fun. Henry is getting older and he's a lot of fun to just hang out with.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/ece57a89-1ede-4580-bfde-4a944fad44d8_zps3025e933.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo ece57a89-1ede-4580-bfde-4a944fad44d8_zps3025e933.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/ece57a89-1ede-4580-bfde-4a944fad44d8_zps3025e933.jpg" /></a><br />
<i>I think Henry might have a future in modeling just look at how he naturally strikes a pose in the picture on the left. </i><br />
<br />
There’s a park about 5 blocks away. On the weekends if I feel like I need a
little exercise I put him the stroller and take him over there. Or if I’m lazy
I’ll drive him over there. The park has swings and two big play areas with lots
of slides (see the lead picture of this article), some of them are double
slides and Henry constantly wants me to slide next to him. Must be a funny
sight, me going down a kid’s slide.<br />
<br />
When he’s not on the playground, Henry likes to play with his Duplos. He’s
got this set for making car and he’s got a set for making animals so naturally
he combines the two and makes an elephant-car. Or, I just put random blocks
together on the car piece and stick an animal head-piece on it and let him play
with some sort of horse with a sheep’s head that has a gas tank hump. The other
thing he loves to do with his Duplos (or Mega Blocks) is to stack them.
He’ll find every single piece that’s the same size and just start stacking them
on top of each other and when it gets so large that it falls over and breaks
apart all over the room, he just laughs and starts over again.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/e86f2ea5-b602-41c4-a05a-4fce42c5fc4f_zpsb775db77.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo e86f2ea5-b602-41c4-a05a-4fce42c5fc4f_zpsb775db77.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/e86f2ea5-b602-41c4-a05a-4fce42c5fc4f_zpsb775db77.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Henry is also a big fan of rock music. I’ll put on Pandora and rock out to
some Rolling Stones or some Led Zeppelin, some Queen, STP, Credence, or
whatever, Henry isn’t picky. If he’s digging it he’ll start dancing or he’ll go
get his “drums.” He’s got two empty formula tubs that make a great pair of
drums or he’ll grab the guitar-hero guitar-controller and start “jamming” with
that. One time we were listening to the Beatle’s “Get Back” and Carol and I
shouted “Get back Jo Jo.” Well, Henry thought this was hilarious, so to this
day if you shout, “Get Back Jo Jo” Henry will shout it too. And it’s only rock
music he likes, try to play anything else like classical music or something and
he’ll just say “no that” until you turn it off.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/CerealboxesHenryOctobercopy_zps94ae125d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo CerealboxesHenryOctobercopy_zps94ae125d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/CerealboxesHenryOctobercopy_zps94ae125d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Henry does a lot of running around, I’ve chased him around the living room
over and over again until I think to myself, “What am I doing I’ve got to pace
myself”. Taking care of him is a marathon not a sprint. So sometime while he’s
doing laps, I’ll just get a pillow and lay down on the living room floor.
Sometimes Henry will stop running too and say “Night, night” and get another
pillow and lay down next to me. Of course he can only stay down for a couple of
seconds before he wants to run around again. But he’ll sometimes turn it into a
game and he’ll say “down” and lay down and then say “up” and sit up and then if
I don’t play along he’ll say “Daddy up” over and over again until I sit up then
we’ll go up and down until he gets tired of it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2d5727ee-731e-4e35-a4f8-2f69c4cec349_zps62f47c27.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2d5727ee-731e-4e35-a4f8-2f69c4cec349_zps62f47c27.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2d5727ee-731e-4e35-a4f8-2f69c4cec349_zps62f47c27.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
We moved at the end of July so a swanky loft apartment a couple of exits
north of where we were living. It is a great apartment. It has a beautiful
spiral staircase and Henry can walk up it just fine with one of us behind him,
but we always carry him down the steps. Anyway when he’s going up the stairs
for “bath, bottle, book, and bed time” he shouts to whoever is still downstairs
through the spiral staircase “Bye, bye Mommy,” step, “Bye, bye Mommy” step.
It’s cute, but I’m always thinking just get up the steps kids. I made up a
couple of rhymes like “less squawking and more walking” and “less
chitter-chatter and more pitter-patter.” I know they must be good because Carol
started using them now too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoSep2570032PM_zpsdafb0fd3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoSep2570032PM_zpsdafb0fd3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoSep2570032PM_zpsdafb0fd3.jpg" /></a> <i> </i><br />
<i>He's still a messy eater! </i><br />
<br />
We have a morning routine where Carol wakes him up gets him dressed and
brings him into the bathroom and I help him brush his teeth and then he
follows me back into our bedroom and he plays with exercise balls and an empty
tool box while I get dressed. Then it’s downstairs and he sits in his highchair
and has some toast while I make sure Carol and I have some lunch while Carol
fixes Henry’s lunch. Then it’s off to work. Henry used to be able to have a
bottle of milk or juice in the car, but after the 3rd time he poured the juice
all over himself instead of drinking it he lost that privilege, but he stills
says “my juice” or “my cup” every time you get him in his car seat<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/CalmandScreamingOctobercopy_zps999c2f0e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo CalmandScreamingOctobercopy_zps999c2f0e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/CalmandScreamingOctobercopy_zps999c2f0e.jpg" /></a><i> </i><br />
<i>Daddies are like cars, they have to go from zero (calm) to 60 (screaming) in 3 seconds. </i><br />
<br />
In the Henry is a genius department, Henry already has a
job. Every evening he gets the cat bowls from off the floor and brings them to
me across the room and I dish out the cat’s kibbles and Henry carefully carries
the full bowls back across the room and puts them down by the cat’s water dish
so the cats can eat. Every once in a while he’ll dump some kibbles out by
accident. But Henry is so thorough when he does this that he will not stop
cleaning up the kibbles until the job is done. I was in a hurry to get him
upstairs and change his diaper or something and he spilled some kibbles and I
was like “come on forget it.” But he was picking all the stray kibbles up and
putting them back in Stella’s bowl. And he had spilled them as he was putting
the bowl down so Stella is right there trying to eat her dinner and Henry is
like stepping on top of her trying to get the loose kibbles. And I’m trying to
pick the kid up, but he is wriggling around and shouting “No, Daddy. No,
Daddy.” And Spock is about a foot away eating his food and not having any
trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryJulytoOctobercopy_zpsd071e7ab.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryJulytoOctobercopy_zpsd071e7ab.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryJulytoOctobercopy_zpsd071e7ab.jpg" /></a>
<i> </i><br />
<i>These two pictures help you see how Henry has grown in four months. The left one is from July 8th and the right photo is October 7th.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryWithTrucksOctobercopy_zps570800c3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryWithTrucksOctobercopy_zps570800c3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryWithTrucksOctobercopy_zps570800c3.jpg" /></a> <i> </i><br />
<i>You can see how Henry has grown with these pictures too. The first photo is from July 30th, the middle one is September 25th and the last one is October 16th</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/KarenandDadandHenryOctobercopy_zps64f5a5b3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo KarenandDadandHenryOctobercopy_zps64f5a5b3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/KarenandDadandHenryOctobercopy_zps64f5a5b3.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/MomandDadOctobercopy_zpsc40d5259.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo MomandDadOctobercopy_zpsc40d5259.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/MomandDadOctobercopy_zpsc40d5259.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Henry loves to see both sets of his grandparents in person. But in-between visits he likes to talk to them on skype. Whenever I get a phone call it is hard to pay attention because Henry will start shouting "Pop-Pop! Pop-Pop!" (that's what he calls all four of his grandparents right now). But he is used to video chatting. He doesn't know what to make of regular phone calls. He usually stares at the phone and wonders were the picture went. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2013-09-14114242_zpsea980e90.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2013-09-14114242_zpsea980e90.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2013-09-14114242_zpsea980e90.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>It's hard to explain this photo so I'll just say there's an alternate dimension where Henry is the 15th Doctor and I'm his bumbling but loveable companion and we'll leave it at that. </i><br />
<br />
<i> </i><a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2013-09-08170908_zps678d8e7a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2013-09-08170908_zps678d8e7a.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2013-09-08170908_zps678d8e7a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<i>Henry and his Momma. I'm partial, but I think Carol looks great in this picture. :)</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/0b4e382d-8959-4179-91ee-ef56ba794b19_zpsf7ea19a0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 0b4e382d-8959-4179-91ee-ef56ba794b19_zpsf7ea19a0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/0b4e382d-8959-4179-91ee-ef56ba794b19_zpsf7ea19a0.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Four months ago Henry (July 11th to be exact). It's funny but when I look at this picture today it almost looks like it's a picture of a different kid already. That kid was July-Henry of little resemblance to the older and wiser October-Henry. And I know February-Henry will be different too, but hopefully I'll do a blog or two before we get there. Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-83876085641546254042013-06-27T21:46:00.000-07:002013-11-03T16:04:21.188-08:00Caution: Genius at Play<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoJun1233139PM_zps7157456d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoJun1233139PM_zps7157456d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoJun1233139PM_zps7157456d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Henry is thinking "why won't this train go?" </i></div>
<br />
Henry is getting older so quickly. I know I've been saying he's a genius from day 1, but he really is amazing. He can follow directions if you tell him to clean up your books or throw that tissue in the trash. In fact sometimes you don't even have to tell him. I've seen him clean up his books of his own volition and one time after ripping a tissue into a million pieces he started picking all the pieces up and throwing them in the trash can without me even asking!<br />
<br />
Henry's vocabulary is improving. Sometimes he still points at things and says "Daddy, daddy" and we say no, Henry that's a wall or that's a potted plant, that isn't Daddy. But he also says "Mommy," "No!" (his favorite word), "Beep, Beep!", "seat," which unfortunately often sounds like something else, "cat," "nana" (as in banana one of his favorite foods) and just the other day he learned an important one, "eat" which he now says over and over again when he's hungry and like me, he is always hungry.<br />
<br />
But what is even more impressive is the number of words he understands. Sometimes he'll just start pointing to things around the room or in his books. He is asking what things are called. He is learning! So eventually, I start quizzing him. He has a book with various farm animals and some of the pages have many different animals on them so I say "which one is the pig?" and he'll point to it, "which one is the cow?" and so on. He's getting really good at this. <br />
<br />
One of his books has very simple text about a yellow car, but it also has a lot of various things in the background, so one day I start pointing out everything in the book. I say there's the bicycle, there's the gardenhose, there's the dog, there's the dry cleaning, there's the sky, there's the clouds. And I'm thinking he's going to end up not learning any of this because I bombarded him with too much, but the very next day when I took him outside he was pointing up at the sky and the clouds when he's never been interested in them before. I think the part about the sky and clouds had sunk in.<br />
<br />
The other thing that makes me think that Henry is a genius is that often times you only have to teach him about something or show him something once before he gets it. We've taken Henry to a playground with a toddler play area a couple of times. My brother and my parents were with me the last time. And in one part of the playground there is this beam that is sticking out and it is at just the right height that Henry could have run right into it and hit his head. But I showed Henry that he had to duck, I pushed his head down and guided him under it. Well, the next time I let him run by it and sure enough he ducked under the thing all by himself. And I have my brother as a witness. :)<br />
<br />
I'm still taking pictures of Henry at his daycare every day. Here are some of the best ones.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryinTroubleJunecopy_zpsed618151.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryinTroubleJunecopy_zpsed618151.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryinTroubleJunecopy_zpsed618151.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
These three are Henry getting into trouble. In the first one he's going behind a cabinet he's not supposed to and he's roping his friend into it too. In the second one he's backing up against the cubbies like a criminal trying to get out of the spotlight. And in the third one he's reaching up onto the white board to get something the teacher was trying to put out of reach.<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryeatingJunecopy_zps8a87d611.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryeatingJunecopy_zps8a87d611.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryeatingJunecopy_zps8a87d611.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Whenever I try and take a picture of Henry it seems like it's meal time. Either I end up taking the picture at the same times each day or they feed this kid a lot! But no matterwhat Henry's doing, I try and get a fun shot. I love how happy the kid is in the above center shot and I love his hair on the upper right one. But of course my favorite is the one below center. It wasn't taken at school but it's still hilarious. It reminds me of one of those shots of a celeb trying to grab the camera.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Henryeating2Junecopy_zpsa820cec5.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Henryeating2Junecopy_zpsa820cec5.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Henryeating2Junecopy_zpsa820cec5.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryReadingJunecopy_zps393c9fe4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryReadingJunecopy_zps393c9fe4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryReadingJunecopy_zps393c9fe4.jpg" /></a> <i> </i><br />
<i>I definitely think Henry is going to be a bookworm. I guess there was never really a doubt with two bookworms for parents. </i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryplayinginstrumentsJunecopy_zps4e23ff51.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryplayinginstrumentsJunecopy_zps4e23ff51.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryplayinginstrumentsJunecopy_zps4e23ff51.jpg" /></a> <i> </i><br />
<i>He is also going to be musically inclined</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryhappyJunecopy_zpsce1c63aa.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryhappyJunecopy_zpsce1c63aa.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryhappyJunecopy_zpsce1c63aa.jpg" /></a> <i> </i><br />
<i>Henry really is a happy kid he is constantly excited and screaming "Yeah!!"</i><br />
<i> </i><a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryonplaygroundJunecopy_zpsfc3a49b0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryonplaygroundJunecopy_zpsfc3a49b0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryonplaygroundJunecopy_zpsfc3a49b0.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Henryonplayground2Junecopy_zps1a22704e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Henryonplayground2Junecopy_zps1a22704e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Henryonplayground2Junecopy_zps1a22704e.jpg" /></a> <i> </i><br />
<i>The proud parents and the Kiddo</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoMay1361224PM_zpse9d5df49.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoMay1361224PM_zpse9d5df49.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoMay1361224PM_zpse9d5df49.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>An empty diaper genie ring makes a great crown doesn't it?</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/f6291393-a195-4f06-912b-dcb8ca1ac93a_zps33ea8c53.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo f6291393-a195-4f06-912b-dcb8ca1ac93a_zps33ea8c53.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/f6291393-a195-4f06-912b-dcb8ca1ac93a_zps33ea8c53.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Henry had a bad cold this month but his hair was always perfect!</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/f58bffaf-faad-4559-89b2-f00ba771fded_zps7d9ef489.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo f58bffaf-faad-4559-89b2-f00ba771fded_zps7d9ef489.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/f58bffaf-faad-4559-89b2-f00ba771fded_zps7d9ef489.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Carol's mom sent Henry some clothes so I put them all on the boy at once so we could show her right away how grateful we were. I think he looks like a new superhero Raincoat Man.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoJun1464602PM_zps1264e425.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoJun1464602PM_zps1264e425.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoJun1464602PM_zps1264e425.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Carol taught Henry how to take "Selfies" with my i-phone. I think technically Henry might have taken this picture himself. He's a pretty good photographer isn't he?</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/86d0981d-7f88-43f9-9cad-516789408894_zpsca5941e7.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 86d0981d-7f88-43f9-9cad-516789408894_zpsca5941e7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/86d0981d-7f88-43f9-9cad-516789408894_zpsca5941e7.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Looking at the ponies with mommy. Henry loves going to the zoo!</i><br />
<i> </i>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoMay0331319PM_zps2a5341ec.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoMay0331319PM_zps2a5341ec.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoMay0331319PM_zps2a5341ec.jpg" /></a><i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Sometimes you just need to take a good nap.
</i></div>
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-6347884803021969372013-06-07T18:06:00.000-07:002013-11-03T16:04:06.019-08:00Short Story of the Week (June 2013)<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/06dd4655-66e1-469c-8647-50e85cf79452_zps6c6a156c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 06dd4655-66e1-469c-8647-50e85cf79452_zps6c6a156c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/06dd4655-66e1-469c-8647-50e85cf79452_zps6c6a156c.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Hi! Most of you probably already know who I am and are aware that I am a
lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy who blogs regularly over at <a href="http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/">Stainless Steel Droppings</a>.<br />
<br />
This is not the first time I've had the
pleasure of being featured here on John's blog as host of the Short
Story selections for a month. If you have not taken advantage of the
chance to volunteer to pick our weekly short stories, I highly recommend
you sign up now. Slots are open and it is a great deal of fun.<br />
<br />
Rather than rehash information from previous posts, let's hit the
highlights. The picture of my wife, Mary, and I posted above was taken
last weekend by my future son-in-law while we were out celebrating my
daughter's 21st birthday. A few weeks prior to this Mary and I took a
week off to stay in two of our favorite Inns located in Missouri's wine
country to celebrate our 24th anniversary. I know the words "Missouri's
wine country" probably sound like an oxymoron, but trust me on this,
the landscape is beautiful and the wine is very good. <br />
<br />
In addition to celebrating our anniversary, May 2013 was a big month
for me on the fan-boy front. I was able to spend two weekends in a row
with Hugo-winning artist John Picacio at conventions he was attending
here in Kansas City. I had the opportunity to have one-on-one
conversations with some of my long-time idols including Michael Whelan,
Gregory Manchess and Charles Vess. I had the pleasure of interviewing
Charles Vess live on stage on the final day of the <a href="http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/">Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2</a> event. I also was able to visit with
Cathie and Arnie Fenner, editors of the outstanding, award-winning
annual, <b>Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic
Art</b>. It is a memorable experience to be able to have more
than just a few minutes with creative people who are a source of
inspiration.<br />
<br />
I am a big fan of short stories. I think there is something special
about this particular form of storytelling and when done well the
temptation arises to resort to hyperbole and describe them as having a
certain sort of "magic"--I know, heresy in a Science Fiction book club.
When an author can use a very limited word count to evoke emotion,
inspire debate, provoke deeper thought or simply entertain I believe it
is worth celebrating. It is my pleasure to bring to you the short
stories for June 2013. In an ideal world you would enjoy each and every
one. But this is the real world and we all have different tastes. At
the very least I hope you find something that compels you to offer your
thoughts and opinions. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Week #1- <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/deus-ex-arca/">Deus Ex Arcana</a> by Desirina Boskovich. It was featured in the
April issue of <i>Lightspeed</i>. I reviewed it for SF
Signal and wrote:<br />
<br />
“This work of original fiction”...is a story the author wrote “that
reflects the essential absurdity of humans interacting with alien
technology” and she does this with great aplomb by juxtaposing her own
visually absurd images against some that are truly horrific. The
protagonist is Jackson Smith who is seven when the story begins though
the reader also spends time with him as an adolescent. It was an
ordinary June morning when the box arrived in Springfield, Missouri and
from the moment Jackson spies, and then touches, it, the town and the
people who inhabit it will never be ordinary again. Boskovich writes in
an engaging style that compels you to enjoy the words themselves as well
as the images they conjure. Jackson is a very likeable character and in
the midst of all the chaos he grounds the reader and keeps the story
from becoming silly. I couldn’t help but feel that the story reads like a
very serious <i>Outer Limits</i> or <i>Twilight
Zone</i> episode. Recommended.<br />
<br />
Week #2- <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/mono-no-aware/">Mono no aware</a> by Ken Liu<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
I'm very excited about this week's short story, the 2013 Hugo and Locus award nominated story "Mono no aware" by Ken Liu. Without giving away too much detail, this is the story of a generation ship bound for a new home which focuses on one particular Japanese boy who is part of the crew. The story was first published early last year in the anthology, The Future is Japanese, and it was one of my favorite short fiction reads of the year. The story's vibe reminds me of a popular classic work of short fiction that many of us have read and discussed in the past. I won't spoil the story by revealing which classic work that is here, we can talk about it in the discussion posts. Don't miss the <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/author-spotlight-ken-liu-5/">author spotlight</a> which talks about his inspirations for the story.<br />
<br />
Week #3- <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/yu_06_13/">The Urashima Effect </a>by E. Lily Yu <br />
<br />
E. Lily Yu is one of the hot up and coming authors and I've enjoyed the few stories of hers that I've read. For those interested she was the guest on the latest episode of <a href="http://jonathanstrahan.podbean.com/2013/06/15/episode-146-live-with-e-lily-yu/">The Coode Street Podcast.</a> I cannot say much about "The Urashima Effect" without spoiling it. A man wakes up after three years of stasis to continue the rest of his journey to the planet Ryugu-jo where he is to establish a base. As part of an effort to combat loneliness and isolation, his ship contains recordings from family and friends, one of which is his wife telling him the story of Urashima Taro. I like the 'story within a story' element in this short as well as the fact that it is a fantasy story/fairy tale embedded in a science fiction story.<br />
<br />
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-24059754716849703532013-05-06T22:25:00.002-07:002013-05-08T08:32:53.866-07:00Watching All the Cars Go By...<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/pics2062_zpsc94ad6e8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo pics2062_zpsc94ad6e8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/pics2062_zpsc94ad6e8.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Since the weather has been warmer, Henry and I have been going outside every evening before dinner. Most kids would probably run around in the grass or throw a ball around, but do you know what Henry likes to do? He likes to sit on the grass at the edge of the parking lot a wave at the cars as people get home from work. He doesn't often wave at the same people when they get out of their cars. In person he gets a little shy I guess. But, he really enjoys waving at cars. When we read books to him he even waves at pictures of cars. When we take him to get ice cream he barely eats it because the shop is on a main road so Henry gets transfixed with watching all the cars that go by.<br />
<br />
The other thing that Henry likes to do is run on the sidewalk around our apartment complex. He likes the sidewalk a lot better than grass, the grass is too uneven and he ends up tripping in each and every divot. There are a lot of kids in the apartment complex and sometimes if they are playing outside Henry will just stand and watch them. He's just soaking it all in.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryAprilOutsidecopy_zps45547539.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryAprilOutsidecopy_zps45547539.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryAprilOutsidecopy_zps45547539.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoApr04104611AM_zps0f2dd5dd.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoApr04104611AM_zps0f2dd5dd.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoApr04104611AM_zps0f2dd5dd.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This picture was taken by one of Henry's school teachers. And I think she really caught his essence. Henry is looking out a window at who knows what, but he sure seems to be deep in thought.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryAprilSchoolcopy_zps20269ec0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryAprilSchoolcopy_zps20269ec0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryAprilSchoolcopy_zps20269ec0.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I continue to take pictures of Henry everyday at school. In the third one above, Henry has another kid's shoe, but he was in the process of taking it over to the other kid and helping him get it on. Of course Henry can't seem to keep his own shoes on anymore. He's learned how to take them off and he loves to practice things. The embarrassing part is when he takes them off in the car and I don't notice until I'm already at a store or something. I had to stand in a long line at the post office right around tax day. I was the dad whose kid was walking around with one shoe. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryAprilSchool2copy_zpscf57d472.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryAprilSchool2copy_zpscf57d472.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryAprilSchool2copy_zpscf57d472.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
So what new tricks has Henry learned in the last month? He recognizes a lot of words. I say Henry where does your hat go and he pats his head. He can point out his nose, ears, eyes and mouth. And sometimes he'll just randomly want to touch my nose and then he has to touch Carol's nose too.<br />
<br />
Every night before Henry's bath time we have clean up time and we clean up his toys and books and Henry has to help us. One night he started cleaning up of his own accord. We're sitting there and he just starts putting his books back on the shelf.<br />
<br />
He's very affectionate. Sometimes he hugs Carol and then runs over and hugs me and then goes back and starts over again.<br />
<br />
In the last couple of days he's started to really enjoy clapping. He has this toy dog that will talk if you squeeze the paws or feet and if you squeeze a certain paw a couple of times it says "yeah!" and you hear clapping. Well he'll squeeze the paw over and over again because he wants to hear the clapping and join in. But now he doesn't even need the dog because if I say "yeah!" he'll start clapping. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryAprilhikingcopy_zps0c8ba2b2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryAprilhikingcopy_zps0c8ba2b2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryAprilhikingcopy_zps0c8ba2b2.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Henry loves walking through the woods mostly because he can play with big sticks and try to eat leaves. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/PhotoApr1444645PM_zps3c5eea0f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PhotoApr1444645PM_zps3c5eea0f.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoApr1444645PM_zps3c5eea0f.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Isn't this a great scenic local. I mean it's so pretty with the creek and the bridge. I think I'd have used it as a Christmas card or something, well except that Henry is screaming! <br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/pics2026_zps2079d303.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo pics2026_zps2079d303.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/pics2026_zps2079d303.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Carol set the track up for Henry and then took a series of pictures as he took it apart piece by piece. But when you look at the pictures backwards it looks like he's putting it together himself. Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-63331286567290686732013-05-05T18:20:00.000-07:002013-06-02T06:06:15.052-07:00Short Story of the Week (May 2013) Women in Science Fiction Literature<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/c07ce863-2143-43ac-aaf3-b5f25482ab8a_zps9f586304.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo c07ce863-2143-43ac-aaf3-b5f25482ab8a_zps9f586304.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/c07ce863-2143-43ac-aaf3-b5f25482ab8a_zps9f586304.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Each week at the Classic Science Fiction Message Board we read a short science fiction piece (short story, novelette or novella). These stories are always available for FREE online so that anyone can participate in the discussion. The stories are chosen by a different member every month, so that we get to read a variety of stories. May's stories are being picked by Melanie. </b><br />
<br />
<i>I'm 36 and have lived in Nashville, TN for 13 years now, which is
about 11 years longer than I thought I would be here! I grew up all
over the southeast US, spending time in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia
and finally Louisiana. I moved here after I graduated from LSU to live
with a friend of mine and just never left. My husband and I got
married this past summer and then bought a house. I'm also just
finishing my 3rd semester of my Library/Information Science Masters
program at UT, so life is pretty busy. That's pretty much why the
majority of our books are still in boxes! </i><br />
<br />
<i>I got my love
of reading from my parents and my preference for sci-fi and fantasy from
my father. I can't remember the first science fiction I read but I
read things like the Hitchhiker's series, Piers Anthony's Apprentice
Adept series, Michael Crichton and lots of short stories as my dad
always got the big end of year compilation books. Now, my favorite
modern sci-fi tends to be things by guys like Neal Stephenson and China
Mieville. Classic authors: Ursula K. LeGuin, Bradbury, Asimov. I also
read a lot of science non-fiction and by favorites are by Neil deGrasse
Tyson, Carl Sagan, Mary Roach and Michio Kaku. Unfortunately, there are
just too many books to read! </i><br />
<br />
<i>------------------------------------------------</i><br />
<br />
<b>Women in Science Fiction Literature</b><i> </i><br />
<br />
Melanie- There's been a bit of discussion around the group regarding women in
sci-fi. Personally, I've been thinking about sex/gender, equality, and
human interaction in general. As I was looking over the short stories
we've read in the last year, it appears men wrote 37 and women wrote 13. And when you factor in all the short stories we've read, less then 30% were by women.
I think there are a few reasons for the skew; the stories have to be
available free online which leads to choosing older or public domain
stories. The more popular an author is, the more likely some of their
short stories will be available free online, and the biggest names in
science fiction, historically, are male. For the next few weeks, I want
to concentrate on female authors and see what the group's thoughts are.
I hope to spark some conversation and to keep figuring out my own
thoughts on all these subjects. Enjoy! <br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Week # 1 <a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/11/hello-moto">Hello, Moto</a> by Nnedi Okorafor<br />
<br />
Melanie- Okorafor is an American author who's parents were from Nigeria. She's won a few awards and had some honor/finalists works as well.<br />
<br />
This story is a take on an old theme: person creates technology, technology used for evil, person tries to right the wrongs. here's a quote "There is witchcraft in science and a science to witchcraft. Both will conspire against you eventually."
What do you think? Do you like the ending?<br />
<br />
Week # 2 <a href="http://hell.pl/szymon/Baen/The%20best%20of%20Jim%20Baens%20Universe/Vol%201%20Num%201/1932093001___5.htm">What Would Sam Spade Do?</a> by Jo Walton<br />
<br />
Melanie-It doesn't appear that we've read any short fiction by Jo Walton before, though we will be reading her novel "Among Others" in October. <br />
<br />
I mentioned in the comments of last week's story that I thought it was "ok" but that it felt very much like a woman wrote it. For this week, I like the story much more, but it doesn't feel particularly female. Hard-boiled crime doesn't usually. I feel like there are a lot of ethical/philosophical questions that can be unpacked from this story; let me know what you think!<br />
<br />
Week # 3 <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/after-the-days-of-dead-eye-dee/">After the Days of Dead Eye 'Dee</a> by Pat Cadigan <br />
<br />
Melanie-Jim posted an article about Top Women Science Fiction Writers earlier this week and, while I know we all disagree with various parts of the list, the article did send me off to read several really good stories. This week's is one of my favorites. What happens when aliens make contact with a helpless old lady, alone in the woods?<br />
<br />
Week # 4 <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/nonstop-to-portales/">Nonstop to Portales</a> by Connie Willis <br />
<br />
Melanie-A fun Connie Willis story this week! Can't say too much or it will give stuff away but it's about a guy stuck in nowhere, NM with some time to kill, so he joins up with a tour group for an outing. <br />
<br />
Week # 5 <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7178/full/451604a.html">Annie Webber</a> by Elizabeth Bear<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
It's been interesting picking these short stories this month. I've read so many it seems! There were several that had striking images or disturbing plots but I decided to go with another fun story. It has coffee in it!Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-23900829674424697622013-04-07T21:17:00.000-07:002013-04-26T20:22:26.461-07:00Short Story of the Week (April 2013) <b>Each week at <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">the Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a> we read a short science fiction piece (short story, novelette or novella). These stories are always available for FREE online so that anyone can participate in the discussion. The stories are chosen by a different member every month, so that we get to read a variety of stories. April's stories are being picked by Neil.</b><br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Week #1- <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19362">In the Year 2889</a> by Michel Verne <br />
<br />
Neil-It was quite boring. It really never got beyond the hmmmm that's interesting as a story.<br />
<br />
<i>John- I think this story is only really interesting as an oddity. It's fun to see what Michael Verne imagined the future would hold. Newspapers being spoken to people. Visual telephone calls over thousands of miles through the use of mirrors. Scientists recommending they melt the polar ice caps. Human hibernation through death and mummification. And indoor plumbing! </i><br />
<br />
<i>This story was too funny. Unfortunately it was mostly unintentional laughs. </i><br />
<br />
<i>I wish he hadn't called it 2889. I wish he'd only made it a couple hundred years in the future.</i><br />
<br />
Week #2- <a href="http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/9781625791153/9781625791153___2.htm">Blood Music</a> by Greg Bear<br />
<br />
Neil- The novel is one of my favorite books so hopefully this works out for everyone.<br />
<br />
<i>John- This was a great story. Of course now because of this story in addition to being worried about killer robots and killer viruses I am now also worried about killer robot viruses. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Week #3- <a href="http://www.theedge.abelgratis.co.uk/cheeringfortherockets.htm">Cheering For The Rockets</a> by Michael Moorcock<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <b> </b>(Sorry, it seems this link is no longer working)</span><br />
<br />
Neil- Alright a bit of a risk this again I have not read it but I have enjoyed Moorcock since the first time I ended up in Melnibone. I seem to have spent most of the eighties reading him and Jerry Cornelius was my favorite. This may be a case of style over substance.<br />
<br />
Week #4-<a href="http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/crossroadsblues.htm">Cross Roads Blues</a> by Paul McAuley<br /><br />
Neil- Music and time travel, what more could you need.<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-41780496168923501502013-03-31T20:50:00.002-07:002013-03-31T20:55:19.043-07:00The Night of March 31st!It being a holiday and all, I couldn't resist posting this story. It's pretty silly, but it really makes me laugh. Hope you enjoy it!
It first appeared in Superman 145 (1961)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/c23cd0fd-cf8e-4360-84ab-5012524df159_zps27845223.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo c23cd0fd-cf8e-4360-84ab-5012524df159_zps27845223.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/c23cd0fd-cf8e-4360-84ab-5012524df159_zps27845223.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/b49bbb6a-3e17-4bdb-bd05-a68adf71eba4_zpsa5e14718.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo b49bbb6a-3e17-4bdb-bd05-a68adf71eba4_zpsa5e14718.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/b49bbb6a-3e17-4bdb-bd05-a68adf71eba4_zpsa5e14718.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/df01f465-2195-4f68-bc01-9dc0fab26da4_zpsc2f09c3c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo df01f465-2195-4f68-bc01-9dc0fab26da4_zpsc2f09c3c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/df01f465-2195-4f68-bc01-9dc0fab26da4_zpsc2f09c3c.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/89901fd8-6dd1-4189-8ff1-fdd7d6350c8f_zpsd01d0323.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 89901fd8-6dd1-4189-8ff1-fdd7d6350c8f_zpsd01d0323.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/89901fd8-6dd1-4189-8ff1-fdd7d6350c8f_zpsd01d0323.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/3b774e47-ce83-4b99-8900-9a75ec3d7a02_zps50272ab3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 3b774e47-ce83-4b99-8900-9a75ec3d7a02_zps50272ab3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/3b774e47-ce83-4b99-8900-9a75ec3d7a02_zps50272ab3.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/5a565883-da96-4fd8-a992-8546390fa434_zpsaca1d8c9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 5a565883-da96-4fd8-a992-8546390fa434_zpsaca1d8c9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/5a565883-da96-4fd8-a992-8546390fa434_zpsaca1d8c9.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/a73e810c-28f1-4006-a36a-d2652893ea41_zpsda77d850.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo a73e810c-28f1-4006-a36a-d2652893ea41_zpsda77d850.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/a73e810c-28f1-4006-a36a-d2652893ea41_zpsda77d850.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/1f8e137f-3874-42a2-8844-aa3e677bfa1c_zps5019235f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 1f8e137f-3874-42a2-8844-aa3e677bfa1c_zps5019235f.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/1f8e137f-3874-42a2-8844-aa3e677bfa1c_zps5019235f.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Happy April Fools Day!</b></span>Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-43746332747545134222013-03-28T20:15:00.000-07:002013-03-28T20:15:08.314-07:00School Days...<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/4d68e38a-30cf-411c-b9a5-c11d546ebb49_zpsb5249f37.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 4d68e38a-30cf-411c-b9a5-c11d546ebb49_zpsb5249f37.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/4d68e38a-30cf-411c-b9a5-c11d546ebb49_zpsb5249f37.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I am very grateful that all of Henry's teachers at his daycare indulge me by letting me pop in on Henry to say hi at any time of the day. I mean the fact that I happen to work at the Church means I'm right there, but I'd understand it if they preferred to not have me distracting him at any time. Not to mention I keep the teachers on their toes because they never know when I'm coming. :)<br />
<br />
There are days where I say hi for a couple of minutes and Henry wants me to stay longer and I hear him screaming after I leave. And forget about popping in late in the afternoon. Henry assumes I'm there to pick him up. After all, other kids have started to be picked up, why not him too? So if he sees me in the afternoon and I don't take him home, we are definitely looking at a probable melt down type situation.<br />
<br />
Other than getting to see him throughout the day the best part of Henry being in daycare right where I work is getting to take his picture everyday and send it to Carol. And if I don't send a picture by 4 pm boy does she notice. I start getting texts, "where is my Henry picture?" at 4 sharp or sometimes 3:30 depending on how her day is going.<br />
<br />
Here are some of the best pictures taken from his nursery days this month. Followed by some of Henry's other adventures.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2238818e-3cf3-4e56-9785-630cdb5bcc8f_zps4a1739c2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2238818e-3cf3-4e56-9785-630cdb5bcc8f_zps4a1739c2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2238818e-3cf3-4e56-9785-630cdb5bcc8f_zps4a1739c2.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/7c2d830f-4eb2-45f5-b987-7b1c1434f48e_zps00d8ef29.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 7c2d830f-4eb2-45f5-b987-7b1c1434f48e_zps00d8ef29.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/7c2d830f-4eb2-45f5-b987-7b1c1434f48e_zps00d8ef29.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/766bbf7b-db81-4cd3-b213-ccb0e0a1f61e_zps4c58b1eb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 766bbf7b-db81-4cd3-b213-ccb0e0a1f61e_zps4c58b1eb.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/766bbf7b-db81-4cd3-b213-ccb0e0a1f61e_zps4c58b1eb.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
We didn't put Cheetos in Henry's lunch. But one of his classmates had them and Henry always find a way to score some of his friends snacks. Today I caught him drinking out of his classmate's sippy cup. The kid is incorrigible.<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Henryeatingmarch2013copy_zps6eae7bc0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Henryeatingmarch2013copy_zps6eae7bc0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Henryeatingmarch2013copy_zps6eae7bc0.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I love the face Henry is making in that second picture. I think he looks like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Henry is already carrying a stuff dog we call Ralph around everywhere. Well, if he gets to be as difficult as Calvin, I hope he's also as smart too. That would be a good trade off in my opinion. You never got to see 20 years later in that strip when Calvin buys his parents a new house with some of the money Calvin made from starting his own dotcom while he was still in college.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryLookingMarch2013copy_zps9e8686f9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryLookingMarch2013copy_zps9e8686f9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryLookingMarch2013copy_zps9e8686f9.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/4e405804-d8dd-4635-a655-1a7210ea9fe1_zpsefc4dbb8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 4e405804-d8dd-4635-a655-1a7210ea9fe1_zpsefc4dbb8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/4e405804-d8dd-4635-a655-1a7210ea9fe1_zpsefc4dbb8.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Looks like he's already inherited my ability to sleep through anything. Here he is at the tail end of nap time. the lights are on and the other kids are running around and he's still out cold. Of course this is after he woke up in the middle of nap time and wanted a snack.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/76e82933-f7cc-4b41-9156-6d8b130def59_zps72901668.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 76e82933-f7cc-4b41-9156-6d8b130def59_zps72901668.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/76e82933-f7cc-4b41-9156-6d8b130def59_zps72901668.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Is it too early to say that Henry might be ambidextrous? This was him playing with some crayons at a restaurant. Carol and I were pleasantly surprised to find that Henry behaves well at restaurants. Or at least he has the couple of times we've taken him to one. It nice to know we can go out and not have to deal with a screaming kid and dirty looks from the other restaurant patrons.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/9dd9b787-3e12-4e42-8b99-571e06e4556a_zps5e413a69.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 9dd9b787-3e12-4e42-8b99-571e06e4556a_zps5e413a69.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/9dd9b787-3e12-4e42-8b99-571e06e4556a_zps5e413a69.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
More proof he's ambidextrous, he's got a puppet on each arm. The kid's a genius! (Okay, I might have helped him put the puppets on).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/4ca2247c-cae0-4cba-8602-1e67c5381515_zps7761354c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 4ca2247c-cae0-4cba-8602-1e67c5381515_zps7761354c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/4ca2247c-cae0-4cba-8602-1e67c5381515_zps7761354c.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Yes, Henry is chewing on his sock. No, I didn't tell him to "put a sock in it."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/5a82d040-6e93-4381-83eb-b86454bd3b5f_zps81b2ae28.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 5a82d040-6e93-4381-83eb-b86454bd3b5f_zps81b2ae28.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/5a82d040-6e93-4381-83eb-b86454bd3b5f_zps81b2ae28.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Henry you got a little something on you...oh forget it...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenrytolietMarch2013copy_zpseac9abb7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenrytolietMarch2013copy_zpseac9abb7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenrytolietMarch2013copy_zpseac9abb7.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Here's a fun one. Henry's already figured out the toilet....Well...he's figured out how to flush, he'll do that over and over again because he likes the noise. But he is convinced that the toilet is a table. Why not it's at a good height for him to read a book on, so of course it's a table. I just hope he never catches it when we've left the seat up, I'm not drying that wet book!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/HenryHikingMarch2013copy_zps708f6887.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo HenryHikingMarch2013copy_zps708f6887.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryHikingMarch2013copy_zps708f6887.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Here is Henry on his very first nature hike. He'd carried a piece of pickle all the way into the woods and that's what he's eating in that first picture. And as you can see Henry instantly discovered how fun it is to carry sticks and the bigger the better!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/514a6484-8751-4433-8608-3f5e91d399d8_zps326ea383.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 514a6484-8751-4433-8608-3f5e91d399d8_zps326ea383.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/514a6484-8751-4433-8608-3f5e91d399d8_zps326ea383.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/c8531aae-6046-49d9-a308-1bce5a9c5a88_zpsb0fa42ff.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo c8531aae-6046-49d9-a308-1bce5a9c5a88_zpsb0fa42ff.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/c8531aae-6046-49d9-a308-1bce5a9c5a88_zpsb0fa42ff.jpg" /></a> <br />
Carol took both of these shots on our first trip to the Please Touch Museum, a local museum designed with children in mind. If you're local, it's a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/MomandHenryMarch2013copy_zps5d93ef1e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo MomandHenryMarch2013copy_zps5d93ef1e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/MomandHenryMarch2013copy_zps5d93ef1e.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
But Henry doesn't always need a fancy kids museum to have fun sometimes all you need is a camera and your mommy. :)
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-8907803151475766982013-03-22T20:52:00.000-07:002013-03-22T20:52:27.169-07:002012 Banners Made from Book CoversComicbook banners aren't the only kind of banners I've been making. I also make banners for the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a> and I use the same ones on Facebook. These banners are usually pretty simple. When I first started making them I'd take four of my own books off the shelf and snap a picture of them. That's why on a lot of these you can see a tan border. That's the wall to wall carpet in my apartment! But eventually I grew out of using my own books and started to arrange images I'd find online.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/P009-1-1_zps45b4161e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo P009-1-1_zps45b4161e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/P009-1-1_zps45b4161e.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Picture029-1copy_zpsec750e84.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Picture029-1copy_zpsec750e84.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Picture029-1copy_zpsec750e84.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Picture017-1copy_zpscb67ba33.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Picture017-1copy_zpscb67ba33.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Picture017-1copy_zpscb67ba33.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/P015-1-1_zpseb7adb35.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo P015-1-1_zpseb7adb35.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/P015-1-1_zpseb7adb35.jpg" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/harryHarrisoncopy1-1_zpse6cccb39.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo harryHarrisoncopy1-1_zpse6cccb39.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/harryHarrisoncopy1-1_zpse6cccb39.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/philipkdickcopy-1_zps4ff9c0ad.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo philipkdickcopy-1_zps4ff9c0ad.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/philipkdickcopy-1_zps4ff9c0ad.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Picture022-1-1copy_zps1aa717ba.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Picture022-1-1copy_zps1aa717ba.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Picture022-1-1copy_zps1aa717ba.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Picture025-1_zps425784f2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Picture025-1_zps425784f2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Picture025-1_zps425784f2.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/P004-1_zps60ab667b.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo P004-1_zps60ab667b.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/P004-1_zps60ab667b.jpg" /></a> <br />
<img alt=" photo AceDouble3copy-1_zpsb27e60ef.jpg" border="0" br="" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/AceDouble3copy-1_zpsb27e60ef.jpg" /><br />
<br />
These are the first theme banners I did rather than author banners. as I
run out of authors I'll probably start doing more and more of these
theme banners. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/ConnieWilliscopy-1_zpsc5cf4d20.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo ConnieWilliscopy-1_zpsc5cf4d20.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/ConnieWilliscopy-1_zpsc5cf4d20.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/LoisMcMasterBujoldcopy-1_zps9e753c0a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo LoisMcMasterBujoldcopy-1_zps9e753c0a.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/LoisMcMasterBujoldcopy-1_zps9e753c0a.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Picture027-1_zps684e0a5e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Picture027-1_zps684e0a5e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Picture027-1_zps684e0a5e.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Just the other dad my dad gave me a bunch of Heinlein paperbacks with this style art. I've got to figure out if I have all of these covers now. Thanks Dad! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/AceDouble2copy-1_zps41396434.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo AceDouble2copy-1_zps41396434.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/AceDouble2copy-1_zps41396434.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/hgwells_zps87c107c8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo hgwells_zps87c107c8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/hgwells_zps87c107c8.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Ellisoncopy_zps70daa8da.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Ellisoncopy_zps70daa8da.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Ellisoncopy_zps70daa8da.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Picture023-2copy_zpsfc8a064c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Picture023-2copy_zpsfc8a064c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Picture023-2copy_zpsfc8a064c.jpg" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Halclementcopy_zpsb145865b.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Halclementcopy_zpsb145865b.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Halclementcopy_zpsb145865b.jpg" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/vernecopy_zps37b8eb2b.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo vernecopy_zps37b8eb2b.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/vernecopy_zps37b8eb2b.jpg" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Completed%20Banners/Aldisscopy_zps8da9b796.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Aldisscopy_zps8da9b796.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Completed%20Banners/Aldisscopy_zps8da9b796.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I've still have even more banners to share. When I get a chance I'll post all of the comedic banners I've made in the last year.
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-51524086613190792722013-03-22T18:26:00.000-07:002013-03-24T08:52:48.118-07:00Seinfeld Missed his Chance with Supergirl...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/59364211-8222-4e5e-a4a3-aa780d419c70_zps8d2fc3ca.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 59364211-8222-4e5e-a4a3-aa780d419c70_zps8d2fc3ca.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/59364211-8222-4e5e-a4a3-aa780d419c70_zps8d2fc3ca.jpg" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
“The Good Samaritan” is remembered today as a middle of the
road episode of Seinfeld, if it’s remembered at all. Probably the most
memorable plotline is George saying “God bless you” to a married woman when she
sneezes, which pisses off her husband for some reason. But, what surprised me
about the episode when I re-watched it the other day, was that they missed a
major opportunity to exploit a guest appearance by Helen Slater, best known for
her role in “Supergirl” (1984). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mean this is the show that many people have claimed
contains a reference to Superman in every single episode. I don’t think that’s
true, but both Jerry Seinfeld the character and the real guy have a love for
all things comicbooks, especially Superman. So he must have been familiar with
Slater and the role that made her famous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a side note look at the episode “the Race” which does
have a lot of comicbook references. In that episode Jerry is dating a girl
named Lois and just her name makes him feel as if he is Superman, saying lines
like “Excuse me, Lois. Stand back, Lois. Jimmy’s in trouble, Lois.” At the
climax of the episode Jerry and an old school rival have a rematch of a
legendary race that they had in High School and as they run the John William’s
“Superman” theme is played. And at the end of the episode Jerry tells Lois,
“Maybe I will Lois, maybe I will” and he winks at the camera like George Reeves
did in “Adventures of Superman.” And all of that was for no reason but that his
girlfriend happened to be named Lois. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet in an episode where one of the guest stars played
Supergirl the only reference to Superman is a poster of the JLA hanging over
George’s bed in one scene.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/Screenshot2012-07-05at20433PM_zps78809140.png.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Screenshot2012-07-05at20433PM_zps78809140.png" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Screenshot2012-07-05at20433PM_zps78809140.png" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jerry says he’s had a crush on Slater’s blue sweatpants
wearing character, Becky Gelke for a year because “she looks like she belongs on one of those hallmark cards.” But what he should have said is, “I don’t know there
is just something about her that is so super. She just makes be want to leap
tall building at a single bound.” I mean, if they wanted to keep it subtle they
could have had her wear a tee-shirt with a superman logo. Surely that wouldn’t
have clashed with the sweatpants look.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jerry’s plotline involved him following someone that hit a parked car and didn't even stop. Jerry is determined to confront him. But when the driver turns out to be a beautiful
woman Angela, Jerry switches tactics and flirts with her and ends up dating
her. However later in the episode he finds out from Krammer that it was Becky’s
car that Angela had hit and Jerry decides he’d rather make a play for Becky who
he’s had a crush on for two years, but hasn’t ever talked to. Jerry confronts
Angela and she turns into a femme fatale like Ann Savage in “Detour” only worse
if that’s possible. She tells him, “You<span style="color: black;"> tell
anybody anything and I will carve my initials on your brain tissue. I'll bash
your skull into a vegematic like a bad cabbage, and I'll have a party on your
head.” </span>Since Angela had refused to pay. Jerry decides to pay to fix
Becky’s car, but she is convinced that it must have been Jerry that hit her car
and that he’s not man enough to admit it so she rejects Jerry when he asks her
out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then at the end of the episode we find out that Krammer has
a date with Becky. But the date doesn’t go well because Krammer has a seizure
when he goes to pick her up because he hears Mary Hart’s (“Entertainment
Tonight”) voice (Don’t ask).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now with Becky the victim of a hit and run and Jerry
determined to give her justice, doesn’t that sound like a job for Superman?
They could have played up the damsel in distress angle of this episode and had
Jerry feel like he was rescuing her. Call me crazy but I think this is one time
Seinfeld really whiffed it!</div>
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-18571758293862975042013-03-12T20:10:00.000-07:002013-03-31T05:38:33.261-07:00Short Story of the Week (March 2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WVeIOr3ymc5y_0gS4FtAnpLAN8mSzSuTRtA88y6bldg-2a8F3dBB3Em_iiZcgiPt83OLC_EmMz840fFsaF3691Iz8Ereq-c3bsJxg1ibPVJRN9RHEBZ0DthV2WVRSQXBK3-PjCjO8JIq/s1600/nebula-awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WVeIOr3ymc5y_0gS4FtAnpLAN8mSzSuTRtA88y6bldg-2a8F3dBB3Em_iiZcgiPt83OLC_EmMz840fFsaF3691Iz8Ereq-c3bsJxg1ibPVJRN9RHEBZ0DthV2WVRSQXBK3-PjCjO8JIq/s320/nebula-awards.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Each week at the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a> we read a short science fiction piece (short story,
novelette or novella). These stories are always available for FREE online so
that anyone can participate in the discussion. The stories are chosen by a
different member every month, so that we get to read a variety of
stories. March's stories are being picked by Rusty.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Rusty shared a <a href="http://chimeradave.blogspot.com/2012/06/short-story-of-week-june-2012.html">biography</a> with us the last time he picked the stories last June. Here is what he said about his short fiction picks this month,</b> "Becky did a wonderful job picking some great classic stories last
month, so I thought I would go the other direction and choose some very
recent modern stories for this month. With all the science fiction
awards coming up this year, several of the nominees have their stories
freely available online, so I figured we could take a look at some of
those."<br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Week #1- <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/debodard_06_12/">Immersion</a> by Aliette de Bodard.<br />
<br />
We'll start off this week with a story that has been
nominated for both the Nebula and the British Science Fiction
Association award. It is about 2 women in the far future who use technological devices to alter their appearances. <b>A review by Rusty can be found <a href="http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2013/03/04/immersion-by-aliette-de-bodard/">here</a>.</b><br />
<br />
Week #2- <a href="http://dailysciencefiction.com/fantasy/other-worlds-fantasy/bruce-boston/surrounded-by-the-mutant-rain-forest">Surrounded by the Mutant Rain Forest</a> by
Bruce Boston.<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
This week I thought we could read a SF contender for the Bram
Stoker Award - a yearly award for superior achievement presented by the
Horror Writer's Association and named after the famed author of
Dracula. I know this isn't a horror reading group, but this short story
is from a science fiction zine - so I figured we could give it a try.<br />
<br />
Week #3- <a href="http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2012/12/24/five-ways-to-fall-in-love-on-planet-porcelain/">"Five Ways to Fall In Love on Planet Porcelain"</a> by Cat Rambo.<br />
<br />
John's Thoughts- <i>Read this story on my lunch today and was blown away! It packs the emotion punch of a 16 ton weight in the gut! Cat Rambo, I hope this wasn't from the heart because if it was somebody hurt you really bad. Great story A+. </i></div>
<div>
<br />
Rusty- I also liked the porcelain people, and thought that a world populated
with them was a very cool idea! I thought it was a good story told well
- and I hope it does well in the Nebula Awards.<br />
<br />
Week # 4- <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/bell_09_12/">Robot</a> by Helena Bell.
<br />
<br />
Rusty- At first I was kind of turned off that it was one long monologue, but as
it went on I realized that we were being given glimpses of this woman's
life and thought processes. That part was cool, but I still would have
liked more action and explanations in the story.<br />
<br />
John's thoughts- <i>What a bizarre and yet fantastic story! I have no concept of what disease this woman has, but that doesn't detract from the story, if anything it just enhances the overall wonderful weirdness. The woman is such an unreliable narrator due to what appears to be dementia and therefore I feel like we know almost nothing for sure.</i><br />
<br />
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
Week #5 <a href="http://www.leahcypess.com/short-stories/free-story/">Nanny's Day</a> by Leah Cypess.<br />
<br />
John's Thoughts-<i> You work hard at your job so that you can put food on your family's table. You regret that your nanny sees your children more than you do. What if that Nanny decides she wanted to take your children away from you? And what if the courts sided with her? </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I found this to be the weakest of the stories this month. </i> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-51722111314253216292013-02-28T20:53:00.000-08:002013-02-28T20:54:03.676-08:00A Year's Worth of Comic Book BannersLast May I started making banners for a comic book message board that I'm a member of <a href="http://www.comicboards.com/gsmb/">the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages Message Board.</a> I'm a co-moderator there. :)<br />
<br />
Anyway, as you will see, at first I didn't know what I was doing and could barely use Photoshop. But I am slowly learning. <br />
<br />
The message board displays two banners each week, but because a number of other folks make banners too, I usually only get one banner up every other week. And, I tend to make a lot of banners so there is sometime a long gap in-between me making a banner and having it be seen. <br />
<br />
Oh, the other thing that needs to be understood is that I post under the nickname of Paste Pot Pete. Why? I don't know. I've posted on comic book message board with that name for more than 12 years. If you know Marvel comics, Paste Pot Pete is a Fantastic Four villain from the early days so he invokes some of that Silver Age magic. And it's a silly name because well it sounds silly, but also because poor Pete, who changed his name to The Trapster, just got to be a lamer and a lamer villain until he hit rock bottom and became the only super-villain in history to be defeated by the Baxter Buildings security systems when the FF was out of town.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=FFbannercopy_zps98565a0d.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/FFbannercopy_zps98565a0d.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
This is one of the first banners I made. Of course I would start with my own namesake. And this is sort of an important banner because I was so proud of the fact that the text from the cover had the second meaning of serving as a signature. And I haven’t been able to stop signing ever since!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.beta.photobucket.com/user/graysh07/media/fantastic-four-041-1copy_zps7d0ac990.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fantastic-four-041-1copy_zps7d0ac990.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/fantastic-four-041-1copy_zps7d0ac990.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=valkyriecopy_zpsd6577774.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/valkyriecopy_zpsd6577774.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I’ve always wondered if this joke was too mean. I’m sure Gernot has no problems with the ladies. :) Gernot is my co-moderator and the guy who decides which banners go up each week.<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=jack-kirby-fantastic-four-1copy_zps0ca20b1d.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/jack-kirby-fantastic-four-1copy_zps0ca20b1d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Shane, a fellow banner maker, did a better take on the same image. My joke kind of falls flat. And I hate that font I was using on these early banners. I should pull a George Lucas and do special editions of the banners with a better font.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=BMFa_2_95-1copy_zps8f5e4fa3.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/BMFa_2_95-1copy_zps8f5e4fa3.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I really like this one, but again every time I look at it I want to change the font.<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=Av6-GluedontheRun-1copy_zps8e54f10a.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/Av6-GluedontheRun-1copy_zps8e54f10a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I think this is the first of my dialogue change banners so it’s a little primitive. I always love it when I can leave in some original dialogue. I think that makes it better somehow.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.beta.photobucket.com/user/graysh07/media/gsa1groupshot-1copy_zpsc5255cfa.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo gsa1groupshot-1copy_zpsc5255cfa.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/gsa1groupshot-1copy_zpsc5255cfa.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This one I did when the Avengers movie came out but unfortunately it didn't make it onto the message board until the movie was old news.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=Avengers118-01-2copy_zps5ecb1416.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/Avengers118-01-2copy_zps5ecb1416.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I think the first thing I had them saying was Avengers Assemble! And then I was like “but they aren’t all Avengers?” so I changed it to Avengers and Defenders Assemble. But then I was like “But I don’t think they really ever call themselves the Defenders” And Avengers and No-Team Members Assemble was definitely not going to work so I just went with the name of the message board. Gernot yells at me if I send him a banner without GSBAMB on it and makes me redo it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.beta.photobucket.com/user/graysh07/media/BacktotheFuture2copy_zpse9d61f0c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo BacktotheFuture2copy_zpse9d61f0c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/BacktotheFuture2copy_zpse9d61f0c.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This is a Special Edition of this banner. Originally it didn't have the cool green background, but I couldn't resist doing a little tweaking on some of the older banners as my skills improve. This banner has a mate that still hasn't been put on the message board.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.beta.photobucket.com/user/graysh07/media/Ditko-Red-and-Black-Spidey-TV-1copy_zpsdeec69cf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Ditko-Red-and-Black-Spidey-TV-1copy_zpsdeec69cf.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/Ditko-Red-and-Black-Spidey-TV-1copy_zpsdeec69cf.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s1272.beta.photobucket.com/user/graysh07/media/il_fullxfull315324837-1copy_zps2712e251.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo il_fullxfull315324837-1copy_zps2712e251.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/il_fullxfull315324837-1copy_zps2712e251.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I still think this one is hilarious, but I might be the only one who does.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=spiderman1copy_zpsd7af2efa.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/spiderman1copy_zpsd7af2efa.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Splish Splash was written as a challenge. Murray the K said there was no way Bobby Darin could write a hit song that started “Splish Splash I was taking a bath,” so I couldn’t resist the challenge of getting the song on these panels. In the last panel I originally had Flash saying they were drunk but I toned it down to dizzy.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=FFspiderman36copy_zps10730892.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/FFspiderman36copy_zps10730892.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I don’t know if they come across but I put a couple of in jokes in this one. Ben talks about turning 50 that’s partially about the FF’s 50th birthday but also a dig against “Marvel Time” which keeps the heroes from aging. Then Spiderman claims he was under a rock for weeks. This is a reference to something I heard one time about if Spiderman’s powers were scientifically accurate one of his only powers would be to be able to go for weeks without eating. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=spider-manbeetlepage005-1copy_zpsa5afeebd.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/spider-manbeetlepage005-1copy_zpsa5afeebd.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This one is definitely my favorite. (And it ended up being voted the GSBAMB 2012 Banner of the Year) I think this one’s got it all! And I even incorporated some of the original dialogue.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=monty-python-image-1copy_zps9020589b.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/monty-python-image-1copy_zps9020589b.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This banner is part of a set. Maybe Gernot will use it’s mate one of these weeks. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=welcome-back-kotter-8-1_zps9e624288.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/welcome-back-kotter-8-1_zps9e624288.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=4copy-2-1_zpsfea220c7.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/4copy-2-1_zpsfea220c7.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
The first of my commentary banners, it’s fun to riff on the current goings on in comic books<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/?action=view&current=amazing_zps76baffee.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y386/graysh07/amazing_zps76baffee.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I learned how to use the clone tool, but other than hurting my neck when I crane it to look at this thing vertically, it also drives me nuts that I didn’t completely blend the yellows together better on this one.<br />
<br />
There are about another 20 banners I've made since then but a lot of them haven't hit the message board yet. So it might be a while before I have enough to make another post about them.<br />
<br />
But never fear, I've also been making banners for <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">The Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a>, its Facebook page, and my own Facebook page. Sounds like a lot, but I always use the same banners in all three places. So I'll be putting those up on the blog too.Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-37466672280487676132013-02-27T20:47:00.000-08:002013-02-27T20:47:59.680-08:00Mr. Independent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/78d1813a-3e03-42ed-9cf4-704b35a6071f_zpsdc69c2b2.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 78d1813a-3e03-42ed-9cf4-704b35a6071f_zpsdc69c2b2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/78d1813a-3e03-42ed-9cf4-704b35a6071f_zpsdc69c2b2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Henry is getting more and more independent. He doesn't like to be fed anymore he likes to feed himself and he gets the food all over his face and clothes. We got him smocks the we use instead of bibs we call them "Straight-jackets." </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Henry is still just starting to talk, but he understands a lot. I can tell him to go get Ralph his stuffed animal or go get a puzzle piece or go get your blocks, or go get a book and he'll do it. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Part of his morning routine is to watch <i>Sesame Street</i> while we get ready for work. We put him in his bouncer so he can't get into any trouble and now he doesn't want to watch TV unless he's in his bouncer. In the evening one time, Carol asked him if he wanted to see Murray (one of the characters from the show) and he went right over to his bouncer and started dragging it over to the TV. Like I said, he seems to understand everything.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here's some of the best pictures I took of Henry this month. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/d39de5d2-cce0-4568-a3e4-f2f94f8b455e_zps66fc7812.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo d39de5d2-cce0-4568-a3e4-f2f94f8b455e_zps66fc7812.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/d39de5d2-cce0-4568-a3e4-f2f94f8b455e_zps66fc7812.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/fad89905-54fd-46e2-b718-d643c4ccacd7_zps383df102.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fad89905-54fd-46e2-b718-d643c4ccacd7_zps383df102.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/fad89905-54fd-46e2-b718-d643c4ccacd7_zps383df102.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2dd4d50b-7ea2-493e-9f6a-e453ebe6cab9_zpsb76b5403.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2dd4d50b-7ea2-493e-9f6a-e453ebe6cab9_zpsb76b5403.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2dd4d50b-7ea2-493e-9f6a-e453ebe6cab9_zpsb76b5403.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That's the sticker off of a banana, it says "Place sticker on forehead and smile." There's also some pictures of me with the sticker on my forehead. Back when I was a kid my brother would put those stickers on my forehead or his forehead. We were trendsetters. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/bcc28493-fa9c-4cb2-9796-9c340ac9c85c_zps4489fba8.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo bcc28493-fa9c-4cb2-9796-9c340ac9c85c_zps4489fba8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/bcc28493-fa9c-4cb2-9796-9c340ac9c85c_zps4489fba8.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/19d2a524-2188-475c-a6e0-0ad7af2457c8_zps8dd6838e.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 19d2a524-2188-475c-a6e0-0ad7af2457c8_zps8dd6838e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/19d2a524-2188-475c-a6e0-0ad7af2457c8_zps8dd6838e.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/8327d044-7acc-4591-b027-9733e4a3314f_zps5709bd58.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 8327d044-7acc-4591-b027-9733e4a3314f_zps5709bd58.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/8327d044-7acc-4591-b027-9733e4a3314f_zps5709bd58.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/e8c6e010-c83b-4f47-82a1-a141b9d9981e_zps44fa2937.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo e8c6e010-c83b-4f47-82a1-a141b9d9981e_zps44fa2937.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/e8c6e010-c83b-4f47-82a1-a141b9d9981e_zps44fa2937.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Two toys are always better than one, right?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/dfcd3548-3aab-435d-9845-48e6d79a6228_zps5e410f86.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo dfcd3548-3aab-435d-9845-48e6d79a6228_zps5e410f86.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/dfcd3548-3aab-435d-9845-48e6d79a6228_zps5e410f86.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/9dde34f7-857c-4230-aaf7-e23165d6a724_zps506f8aef.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 9dde34f7-857c-4230-aaf7-e23165d6a724_zps506f8aef.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/9dde34f7-857c-4230-aaf7-e23165d6a724_zps506f8aef.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It looks like he's doing some sort of "<u>l</u>ittle stinker" face but what he's really doing is smelling. We play a game with him where we stiff his neck like we were dogs and so he goes to school and does that and probably confuses the heck out of his teachers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/2763779d-3955-4ea2-abf0-941bdf4e4e2c_zpsd48b2b10.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2763779d-3955-4ea2-abf0-941bdf4e4e2c_zpsd48b2b10.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/2763779d-3955-4ea2-abf0-941bdf4e4e2c_zpsd48b2b10.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/34a5e589-60fa-441a-b4b8-34d97f7b5553_zps11418ecc.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 34a5e589-60fa-441a-b4b8-34d97f7b5553_zps11418ecc.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/34a5e589-60fa-441a-b4b8-34d97f7b5553_zps11418ecc.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/3e75fd09-d10c-407a-8b33-99503b3a9c5b_zps4ef71b0e.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 3e75fd09-d10c-407a-8b33-99503b3a9c5b_zps4ef71b0e.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/3e75fd09-d10c-407a-8b33-99503b3a9c5b_zps4ef71b0e.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Henry has his very first fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie all over his face. I found chocolate around the apartment for the rest of the day, he seemed to have touched everything with those chocolate fingers before we got a chance to clean him up. Never giving him a cookie like that again unless he's in his high chair</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
.
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/73a0e36c-4352-43b2-bb97-8e521e57eff1_zps03f36f85.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 73a0e36c-4352-43b2-bb97-8e521e57eff1_zps03f36f85.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/73a0e36c-4352-43b2-bb97-8e521e57eff1_zps03f36f85.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/a67845ef-0332-443d-a495-93d680c1dc08_zps43e4b930.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo a67845ef-0332-443d-a495-93d680c1dc08_zps43e4b930.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/a67845ef-0332-443d-a495-93d680c1dc08_zps43e4b930.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This is the cheese from raviolis all over his face in these last two shots. In the second one it looks like he's about to pay some of our bills. How long is it before he can get a job?
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-47804604286314611682013-02-05T23:11:00.000-08:002013-02-05T23:13:42.927-08:00Thoughts on "Imzadi"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.beta.photobucket.com/user/chimeradave/media/9c0d6376-cba0-4c85-a92d-c74394c3d5b9_zpsff804442.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 9c0d6376-cba0-4c85-a92d-c74394c3d5b9_zpsff804442.jpg" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/9c0d6376-cba0-4c85-a92d-c74394c3d5b9_zpsff804442.jpg" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
"Imzadi" by Peter David is a novel that explores the complex
relationship between Star Trek: The Next Generation characters Will Riker and
Deanna Troi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was written while TNG was still on so it contradicts some
of the facts we learn as the series progresses. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For TNG fans one of the big questions has always been what
exactly happened between Troi and Riker? I mean we know they had a romance on
Betazed when they were young, but we never learn any of the details. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
David makes a great attempt at filling in the details, but
unfortunately in a way he never really had a chance, did he? I mean after so
many years of wondering TNG fans have inevitably come up with their own version
of Riker and Troi’s romance and no two people’s ideas will be exactly the same.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
David portrays Riker the young officer as a smart up and
comer, moving up through the ranks quickly. He is a skirt-chaser, but he
respects everyone he is with. He doesn’t want to be tied down because his
primary goal is his career. By the end of their romance, Troi has taught Will
to appreciate the spiritual and emotional side of romance instead of just the
physical. David’s portrayal of Riker seems to have hit the nail on the head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other hand, David’s portrayal of Troi seemed way off
the mark. Troi is portrayed as an over-intellectualized psychology major who
has never had a relationship with a man because of the Catch-22 of expecting a
deep spiritual and emotional connection with a lover, but feeling that any man
is out to get one thing. In the romance department she is on her way to being
an old maid librarian. She is also wrapped around her mother Lwaxana’s little
finger. Lwaxana has prepared her all her life to be her successor in the
aristocratic realm of Betazed. Troi basically has never even considered doing
anything else. Riker asks her what she’ll do with her psychology degree and she
says nothing, that she’s the heir to the Fifth House of Betazed and that her
life is mapped out. Troi is changed a lot by her relationship with Riker. She
learns that romance isn’t this perfect storybook thing and that having the
spiritual, emotional and physical connection is best, but that even just having
the physical connection has it’s merits. She also gains the courage to defy her
mother and starts down the path that will later lead her to go into Starfleet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought it was kind of cliché that Troi is portrayed as
this schoolmarm type who only finds herself through her relationship with
Riker. I’ll be the first to admit that Troi isn’t the greatest TNG character.
One of the worst stigmas a TNG episode can have is that it’s a “Troi-episode.”
But I do like a couple of things about Troi. One, I like that she is a
Starfleet officer, that she went through all the same training as everyone else
and yet she is still always able to give an outsider’s perspective. You might
say she never drank the Starfleet Kool-aid. And the second thing that I like
about Troi is that she understands herself. She is comfortable in her own skin.
She is comfortable with her body. Comfortable with how others perceive her. If
she encounters a man she likes, she pursues him. She is confident in her
abilities and confident that if she puts herself out there emotionally and
physically that she can handle herself even if things go bad. Why is it that
David felt the need to say that it was Riker who gave Troi this confidence?
That it wasn’t present already when they met?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think it would have been a more effective novel if both
characters had met each other as fully formed personalities. Or, the converse
would have been that both characters were unformed and were formed by each
other. This would have been more even. Will’s growth could have been that his
career wasn’t going well and Troi gave him more confidence. But to write that
Troi is the only one changed by the relationship is really sexist!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, the romance they shared in the novel was too short
lived. Basically, they meet, court each other, have an adventure, consummate
the relationship, and then break up soon afterwards. The novel suggests they
are both deeply changed by the romance, but it seems like too short an affair
to change two people so much and bind them together for the rest of their
lives. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Spoilers…</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a great debate in the novel about whether it is
right to travel back in time and save Troi. Riker who has been haunted by
Troi’s death for 40 years believes his actions are justified because Troi was
killed by a poison that hadn’t been developed at the time of her death.
Evidence that time travel may have already been involved. Data argues that
history must be preserved or it would undo the last 40 years. Data goes so far
as attempting to kill Troi in the past himself to correct history. Stirring
stuff!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>…End of Spoilers</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also felt like the book suffers because of its complete
focus on Riker and Troi. There are supporting roles for Data, Wesley as an
adult, and Lwaxana, but the rest of the cast only comes in the novel at the
end. When I got to read about Picard, Worf and briefly Geordi, it was a treat
and I felt like even though it would have further complicated the story, it
could have benefited from being framed by a typical TNG story. The framework
was already there as the novel’s climax takes place during the peace conference
on the Enterprise. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wanted to briefly mention the creation of Riker and Troi’s
characters and how it’s always fascinated me that they were modeled after
Willard Decker and Ilia from Star Trek the Motion Picture. Gene Roddenberry
apparently liked the characters so much he was originally going to use them in
Star Trek Phase II (The show in between Original Trek and TNG that never got
through the planning stages) and then they were used in Star Trek the Motion
Picture, and then when TNG was being developed he slipped the characters in
again. I guess we should be happy he didn’t try to get Marina Sirtis to shave
her head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve often wondered how close Troi came to being dropped as
a character. She wasn’t in 4 episodes in a row during the first season. The
writers thought she was the hardest character to write for, but she managed to
hang on. Maybe it had something to do with Denise Crosby leaving the show
halfway through the season and the other female cast member Gates McFadden also
on the way out. I mean can you imagine TNG with Diana Muldaur’s Dr. Pulaski as
the only female lead? The show never would have made it past the second season!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Riker always seemed redundant. Picard, after all, was
sort of a diplomat, but still was an effective fighter of both space battles
and fist cuffs when pushed. So he didn’t really need Riker. The only area where
he needed Riker was to manage the crew since Picard had a sort of stand-offish
approach to being the Captain. But as much as the series didn’t need a second
hero, there is just something about Jonathan Frake’s portrayal that is so
charming. You can’t help but like Riker, so you don’t mind that he’s just
window dressing, just another warm body filling a chair and speaking technobabble.
To prove he is redundant, name a situation where Picard and Riker would captain
the Enterprise differently? They are practically interchangeable! Contrast that
to Kirk and Spock who never looked at a single situation the same way.</div>
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-10606819632106112582013-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:002013-01-30T21:38:37.047-08:00Henry's a Year Old Already<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoDec2595041AM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoDec2595041AM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoDec2595041AM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Wow, I feel like I blinked once and turned around and suddenly Henry is a year old. I can't believe it. And it really doesn't help that the kid changes so much everyday. Take today for instance. Henry sat and played with his mega blocks by himself for about ten minutes and he was actually stacking them about 5 high. Before this he'd only break up structures that we made. And I was also surprised by how long he focused on it. Later, Henry learned how to open and close plastic food containers. Then, I took one of the baby gates down and he ran back and forth down the hallway in our apartment. [Oh yeah, he's walking. Like I said time flies and I only do these posts once a month. He figured out the whole walking thing about a week before his birthday. I hate to admit it, but technically Carol and I missed those first steps everyone always talks about. Carol was on the computer and I was watching some cartoons and Carol says, "Um..this is new" and I look at Henry and he's stopped playing on the floor and is walking across the room.] Anyway back to today, After he was done running up and down the hallway I taught Henry how to close the door to his bedroom. Unfortunately (or maybe it's fortunate) he can't open the doors because he isn't tall enough to grab the door knob. But once he had the hang of closing it Carol went in the bedroom with him and he closed the door over and over again. And then Carol would help him open it and I was right on the other side of the door making funny faces. Henry laughed every time he saw me. It was like peekaboo, only better!<br />
<br />
The whole time Carol and I were whispering to each other "I think he might be too smart for his own good." I mean I know I use the term genius all the time, but what if he really is?... It's all part of the adventure I guess.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoDec2422128PM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoDec2422128PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoDec2422128PM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I'd like to take a moment to thank our family and friends. We keep telling you Henry doesn't need anything and you keep buying us stuff or giving us hand-me-downs. And you know what? We end up using the majority of what we get! And because of everyone's generosity we've rarely ever had to buy Henry any clothes. So we've had the luxury of being able to buy him are fun shirts like this Spider-man one or the super hero is training shirt up above, which has a cape in the back. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=HenryFirstBirthday076-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="HenryFirstBirthday076" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/HenryFirstBirthday076-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
We had some friends and family over to the apartment for Henry's birthday and the highlight of the festivities was Henry having his first piece of cake. He was hesitant at first like he always is with new foods. But then he really went to town!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoJan0234444PM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoJan0234444PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoJan0234444PM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Instead of recovering from enjoying some New Years cheer, Henry and I rang in the New Year by both being sick with a virus. We both ran a temperature. I probably should have been in bed, but I couldn't sleep when my kid's temp was 102! They say it's not as dangerous for kids to get a temperature like that, but I still worried. I kept doing a cold compress on Henry's head (along with children's Tylenol) to bring the fever down. He crawled around with that towel on his head for two days. At first he kept trying to take it off. But I told him to leave it and he did. He really is amazing!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoDec23105618PM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoDec23105618PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoDec23105618PM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm all out of chronological order but I don't care, we got Henry one big Christmas gift, it's a radio flyer that he can ride in right now but as he gets older you turn it into a tricycle he can tool around in by himself.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoDec2473922AM-1-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoDec2473922AM-1" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoDec2473922AM-1-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
He's not always perfect. Here he is after getting into one of the trash cans and pulling all the tissues out of it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=77-1-1-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="77-1-1" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/77-1-1-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Carol taught Henry how to stick out his tongue. One of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. At least he looks super cute! And no, he wasn't drinking ice tea, he was just playing with the bottle.<br />
<br />
I work at the same church where Henry goes to daycare so I get to peek in on him several times a day. Thankfully Maxine who teaches him is happy to let me pop in whenever I want. And everyday around 3 pm I take some pictures of Henry and send one to Carol. It is such a routine now that if she doesn't get the picture by 3:30, she's is texting me "Where's my picture?" Here are some of the daily shots.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoJan1432326PM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoJan1432326PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoJan1432326PM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoDec2611810PM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoDec2611810PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoDec2611810PM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoJan2360509PM-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoJan2360509PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoJan2360509PM-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Henry is framed! For the most part he is so good-natured. Always laughing and smiling. It's been a good year, but the next one will only be better, right?
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-33545007965934444012013-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:002013-02-24T21:07:08.214-08:00Short Story of the Week (February 2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=Beckyin3D-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Beckyin3D" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/Beckyin3D-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Here I am embracing the “tech” of that celebrated year, 1984 – coincidentally, the year I became a “classic” myself.- Becky. </i><br />
<i><b> </b></i><br />
<b>Each week at the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a> we read a short science fiction piece (short story,
novelette or novella). These stories are always available for FREE online so
that anyone can participate in the discussion. The stories are chosen by a
different member every month, so that we get to read a variety of
stories. February's stories are being picked by Becky.</b><br />
<br />
As a contrast to last month's modern stories (thanks, Tinkoo!), I'll be focusing on my first love, the Golden Age of science fiction (generally, the 1930s to 1960). These stories often have a twist or a laugh at the end. I note the year of each story, because it's fun to read about the author's imagined future of 30 or more years ahead, which is now our past, and compare it to what came to pass - many were remarkably correct predictions... but had a different vision of how we would respond to the changes.<br />
<br />
I got my love of reading, and senses of curiosity and imagination, from my teacher-parents, and older sister who also became a teacher. I followed her lead into the world of science fiction, beginning at about age 12. My high school also featured some SF in the curriculum, but they were the “thought pieces” such as <i>Fahrenheit 451</i> and <i>1984</i>, rather than explorations of where science might take us. Just as the Cold War was winding down, it was the Age of Warnings from the SF community. Nuclear winter, overpopulation, and of course first contact, were some typical themes.<br />
<br />
Rather than accumulating a library, I've used the public ones, buying primarily reference books. Now I have a Kindle, which I didn't think I'd like. The advantages I've found include increased font sizes available (if you don't need them now, you will!), built-in dictionary, tons of free books available, and no storage space worries - or dusting.<br />
<br />
My other interests include needlework for charity, gardening, and tracing my family tree.<br />
<br />
-Becky<br />
<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Week #1 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23799/23799-h/23799-h.htm">Cry From a Far Planet</a> (1958), by Tom Godwin<br />
<br />
This week's story focuses on communication, something often ignored or
easily explained away, in order to get on with other aspects of a story.
However, if we're ever contacted by aliens, this is something we will
most likely have to face.<br />
<br />
Week #2 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23164/23164-h/23164-h.htm">The Creature from Cleveland Depths</a>, by Fritz Leiber - 1962<br />
<br />
This novella concerns how quickly technology can get out of hand – long favorite theme for SF. You'll find this an easy read that moves right along.<br />
<br />
Week #3 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23930/23930-h/23930-h.htm">Beyond Pandora</a>, by Robert T. Martin, 1962<br />
<br />
Here's a super-short story, which looks at part of our everyday world from a completely different angle. Great food for thought.<br />
<br />
Week #4 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25078/25078-h/25078-h.htm">No Moving Parts</a>, by Murray F. Yago, 1960<br />
<br />
Science fiction sometimes presents us with puzzles designed to get us thinking "outside the box". This puzzle story is about lost technology (and is of average short story length!) I will warn you that not all SF puzzle stories supply the answer... Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-38651751249739902622013-01-04T19:45:00.000-08:002013-01-30T19:21:18.771-08:00Short Story of the Week (January 2013) <a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=final_fantasy_6___arrowny_by_tigerfog-d3fjjez-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="final_fantasy_6___arrowny_by_tigerfog-d3fjjez" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/final_fantasy_6___arrowny_by_tigerfog-d3fjjez-1.jpg" /></a>
<b> </b><br />
<br />
(Tinkoo declined giving me a picture so he is being represented by one of my favorite video game characters Shadow (center) from Final Fantasy VI (called Final Fantasy III here in America). Also pictured are Strago on the left and Relm on the right. The artwork comes from Tigerfog <b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Each week at the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a> we read a short science fiction piece (short story,
novelette or novella). These stories are always available for FREE online so
that anyone can participate in the discussion. The stories are chosen by a
different member every month, so that we get to read a variety of
stories. January's stories are being picked by Tinkoo Valia. Tinkoo, an engineer by education and a programmer by vocation, runs <a href="http://variety-sf.blogspot.com/">Variety SF</a> (a science fiction short story blog) as a hobby and lives in Bombay, India.</b><br />
<br />
Week #1 <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/12/24/121224fi_fiction_pierce?cur\%20rentPage=all">Shirley Temple Three</a> by Thomas Pierce <br />
<br />
I will be choosing short fiction this month. Even though I read more older short stories than recent ones, I will attempt to choose relatively recent stories - there are only 4 to be chosen this month. But only stories that worked for me, at some level.<br />
<br />
This one appeared in The New Yorker on 24 December 2012. When "mawmaw" got a cute resurrected prehistoric animal as a pet...<br />
<br />
Week #2<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v485/n7396/full/485142a.html"> Loyalty Beyond Seasons</a> by Mohsen H Darabi<br />
<br />
A very unusual romance...<br />
<br />
Week #3 <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7385/full/482434a.html">Picnic With Ants</a> by Mark W Moffett<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
First published: Nature, 16 February 2012. Funny diary of an insect researcher's field work... I'm including it because if I were to make a list of "my best of 2012", this story will certainly make it to the list.<br />
<br />
Week # 4 <a href="http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/6196/full%3E">Stumpy</a> by Sheila Adamson <br />
<br />
First published: Cosmos, November 2012. Don't cry wolf in jest...<br />
<br />
This one reminded me of Piers Anthony's classic "Toaster". It's not quite in Toaster's class, but I was amused.<br />
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-81306511774236213532012-12-16T08:28:00.000-08:002012-12-16T19:18:43.024-08:00Daddy Day<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoNov24114816AM-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoNov24114816AM-1" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoNov24114816AM-1-1.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Every Saturday, since Carol went back to work 8 months ago,
has been a “daddy day.” It’s the one day of the week that I take care of Henry
by myself for the entire day. And no I don’t think I should get a prize for
that. There are single parents who take care of multiple children and I have
absolutely no idea how they do it. My philosophy with “daddy day” has always
been “Okay, let’s just get through this.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t usually try to get much of anything done. I don’t do
the laundry or the food shopping or try and do any writing. Carol usually has
goals when she takes care of Henry; she always wants to do a million errands.
And I love her for it, that kind of can do attitude is probably what keeps this
operation going. But the flip side of that is that I’ve come home after work on
some of her “Henry days” to find her in a state of defeated exhaustion because
Henry won’t nap the way she wanted him to and try as she might, she couldn’t
get her errands done. If you have no goals, no matter how the day unfolds, you won’t
be disappointed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pre-Henry, one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday was
to laze around the apartment for the entire day. There was nothing I enjoyed
more than staying in my comfy pajamas, reading, watching TV, catching up on my
sleep, and surfing the web. It was of course rare that I could be that lazy all
day as Carol was usually there to remind me that the laundry, the food
shopping, and the house cleaning needed to get done during the weekend too.
However, since Henry has been born and the majority of my Saturday is spent
sitting on the floor with Henry and watching as he pushes his trucks back and
forth across the living room over, and over, and over again, I am
understandably much more interested in getting out and about a bit more and doing
something with my day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To wit, I started a tradition of taking Henry to a local
bagel shop every Saturday around his lunchtime. I’d bring him inside in his
stroller and the staff there would start to fawn over him and I’d get some food
and some coffee. I’d sit as close as I could to the counter where people
ordered and I’d eat it while Henry sat in his stroller and watched the people
ordering. Henry loves to watch people. I think he enjoys trying to figure them
out. Then when I was done eating I’d put Henry in a high chair and give him
some food I’d prepared at home and brought and then we’d be on our way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week we didn’t make it over to the bagel shop, but I
did take Henry on a long walk in his stroller at a park that’s near our house.
This park happens to have a ¼ mile long hill with a 60% grade. It’s a monster
of a hill, but it’s really the only thing to do if you want anything more than
a short walk. And so reluctantly I took Henry down the hill in his stroller,
knowing that every step down I took I would have to repeat by going back up.
The path was empty that day except for the occasional cyclist so I sang camp
songs from my youth and talked to Henry about whatever it was that was on my
mind that afternoon. Henry is a good listener. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This past Saturday morning I had to go to the post office
and mail some Christmas packages. The closest post office that’s open on Sat.
is in the next town over. Henry and I waited in line for more than a half hour
to send the packages. Then I had to go across town to my bank to put a check
in. Well, by this time. Henry was asleep in his car seat. While I waited in
line at the drive thru ATM at my bank, I’d put the car into park and turn
around and look at Henry in the car seat. He was sleeping with his head pitched
forward. This always seems like a painful way to sleep and I imagine Henry
waking up with a stiff neck or something so I try and push his head back
against his seat’s headrest but he just pitches forward again. So, then I got
out a blanket and I tried to put it in-between his head on the headrest and get
him to lean on the blanket, but that didn’t work either. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile, after all these errands I was thinking about
breakfast, but I didn’t want to wake Henry up so I went through a drive thru
and got some food and drove back to the apartment. Henry was still asleep in
his seat so I parked the car, left the ELO cd on, and ate my food. I was
prepared to sit in the car and read “Wool” on my I-phone, but Henry woke up. He
had only been asleep for about a half hour. I foolishly thought maybe he’d
sleep better if I took him up to the apartment, but when we got inside and he
saw his toys and the cats all thoughts of sleeping were forgotten.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t worry about it too much, I figured he’d go down for
another nap in an hour or two. But I ended up spending most of the afternoon
trying every 45 minutes or so to get him to take that nap. He was so cranky,
but he just won’t go to sleep. That afternoon I tried 5 times to get him to
take a nap and he actually went down the 5<sup>th</sup> time and he slept for
an hour. Carol got home right after he was asleep and the two of us were able
to eat our dinner without a kid throwing his food on the floor. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t want you to think that we had an awful day. It
really wasn’t that bad. We also had a lots of fun. I stretched a blanket over
my head like it was a big cape and chased Henry around the room saying I was
the blanket monster and then I’d hug and kiss him and cover him with the
blanket. He thought this game was a lot of fun. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Henry is getting older so fast though; his new thing is that
he pushes the computer chair around like it’s one of his toys. At first I had
to stand behind him and help him push, but the other day he grabbed my hand
while it was on the chair and pushed it away as if to this, “let me do it
myself dad.” So I let go and Henry pushed the thing around by himself. It
really seems like Henry is starting to understand how to communicate. In
addition to pushing me away he’s reached for my hand when he’s wanted me to help
him with something. The other new thing he did this week is he noticed the 10”
by 13” framed picture of him that we have in the living room from when we got
his picture taken at a portrait place for the holidays. He went over near it
and started pointing to it. I picked him up and started telling him “that’s
you, and you’re making your patented smirk,” and he reached for the picture and
laughed. He definitely recognized himself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=PhotoDec0825128PM-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PhotoDec0825128PM" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/PhotoDec0825128PM-2.jpg" /></a></div>
Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589188530348035004.post-61179356573452940322012-12-07T18:25:00.000-08:002012-12-29T12:39:43.430-08:00Short Story of the Week (December 2012) <a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/?action=view&current=meandbooks-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="meandbooks" border="0" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/chimeradave/meandbooks-1.jpg" /></a>
<b> </b><br />
<b>Each week at the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicScienceFiction/">Classic Science Fiction Message Board</a> we read a short science fiction piece (short story,
novelette or novella). These stories are always available for FREE online so
that anyone can participate in the discussion. The stories are chosen by a
different member every month, so that we get to read a variety of
stories. December's stories are being picked by Melanie Ivanoff. </b><br />
<br />
I'm 36 and have lived in Nashville, TN for 13 years now, which is about
11 years longer than I thought I would be here! I grew up all over the
southeast US, spending time in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and
finally Louisiana. I moved here after I graduated from LSU to live with a
friend of mine and just never left. My husband and I got married this
past summer and then bought a house. I'm also just finishing my 3rd
semester of my Library/Information Science Masters program at UT, so
life is pretty busy. That's pretty much why the majority of our books
are still in boxes!<br />
<br />
I got my love of reading from my parents and my preference for
sci-fi and fantasy from my father. I can't remember the first science
fiction I read but I read things like the Hitchhiker's series, Piers
Anthony's Apprentice Adept series, Michael Crichton and lots of short
stories as my dad always got the big end of year compilation books.
Now, my favorite modern sci-fi tends to be things by guys like Neal
Stephenson and China Mieville. Classic authors: Ursula K. LeGuin,
Bradbury, Asimov. I also read a lot of science non-fiction and by
favorites are by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Carl Sagan, Mary Roach and Michio
Kaku. Unfortunately, there are just too many books to read! <br />
<br clear="all" />
<br />
-----------------------------------<br />
<br clear="all" />
<br />
Week # 1 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wool-ebook/dp/B005FC52L0/ref=la_B002RX4S5Q_1_11_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354851838&sr=1-11">Wool</a> by Hugh Howey<br />
<br />
For my first choice, I
picked the first installment of Wool by Hugh Howey. It is free on
Kindle right now. My
husband has been trying to get me to read it for several months now. Having read several self-published books I was a bit skeptical that it
would be any good. I was presently surprised. Set in a dystopian
future where everyone in the society lives their entire lives inside a
silo, this first section details what happens when one man decides he
wants to go outside.<br />
<br />
Week #2 <a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/11/how-to-make-a-triffid">How to Make a Triffid</a> by Kelly Lagor <br />
<br />
We (well some of you, I didn't get to it) read Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham earlier this year. This week's short story is inspired by the novel. It's about a young scientist who is working to create a real Triffid. Or it's about love and loss and death. I think I liked it but I am not sure. There's a melancholy atmosphere to it and a lot of anger; the first I don't mind, but the second often puts me off a story. Let me know what you think!<br />
<br />
Week #3 <a href="http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9150">'Tis the Season</a> by China Mieville<br />
<br />
Happy Christmas, Merry Hanukkah, Joyful Festivus, and a Pleasant Solstice to all! <br />
<br />
One thing that I've found searching for short stories is that LOTS AND LOTS of them are downers. I've read through plenty where it's the end of the world or a depressing dystopia. Or everybody dies. I did a last minute swap of last week's story because it had gun violence and I just didn't want to put that out there. So I looked really hard to find a happy story and even managed to get a Christmas one: 'Tis the Season by China Mieville. <br />
<br />
In the future, Christmas has been privatized, trademarked and copyrighted. If you want a Christmas tree, or to sing a carol, or send a letter to Santa, you better have a license! Our narrator wins passes to take his daughter to the licensed YuleCo party and can't believe his luck. However, they run into trouble on the way to the party....<br />
<br />
SPOILERS: No one dies in the end!<br />
<br />
Week #4 <a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/06/loco">Loco</a> by Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling <br /><br />So, I got busy reading and playing a new video game and posting the story just slipped my mind! I have had a good time picking these stories out but I must admit that it was a bit harder than I had thought it would be. I read a bunch of stories and so many just weren't right; as I mentioned last week plenty are just depressing! I found a weird one that has a throwaway reference to another monthly read, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.<br /><br />
<br />Chimeradavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.com0