In this issue: Re: CHAT: RE: Seeking Art Mysteries Re: CHAT: RE: Seeking Art Mysteries Chat: Vanderbilt Library RE: Chat: Vanderbilt Library The Passion of Augustus John Arsene Lupin _Gettysburg_ Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: Arsene Lupin Re: Arsene Lupin Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: _Gettysburg_ Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu Off-Topic: Storyteller's art Vexing violins <WAS: Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu> CHAT: Wild, wild waste RE: Vexing violins <WAS: Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu> Off-topic: Names for the Next Decade -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 16:06:46 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: CHAT: RE: Seeking Art Mysteries John S., many thanks for the Shiel title which sounds very interesting. I am unfamiliar with the story; do you know if the story is located on the internet? I appreciate the help! best regards, Patricia
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Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 19:57:59 -0500
From: "John D. Squires" <jdsbooks(at)ameritech.net>
Subject: Re: CHAT: RE: Seeking Art Mysteries
Patricia,
So far as I am aware, "Huguenin's Wife" is not on line,
but is available in _The Works of MPS_, Vol I, _Writings_
[original magazine text], and in _Xelcuha and Others_ [lightly
revised]. See details on line at:
http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/horror/jdsbooks.sht
Best in haste,
John Squires
Patricia Teter wrote:
> John S., many thanks for the Shiel title which sounds very
> interesting. I am unfamiliar with the story; do you know if
> the story is located on the internet?
>
> I appreciate the help!
> best regards,
> Patricia
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Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 08:21:38 -0500 From: "James E. Kearman" <jkearman(at)mindspring.com> Subject: Chat: Vanderbilt Library An article in the New York Times for March 11, 1999, describes the extensive library assembled by George Washington Vanderbilt, the intellectual grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. The library has remained intact since the former's death 85 years ago, and includes several rare 19th century works, including a first edition of poetry by Coleridge, with corrections to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner inked in and signed by Coleridge. The library is at G. W. Vanderbilt's estate, Biltmore, in Asheville, North Carolina. The estate is open to the public but the library has remained unavailable except to certain scholars. You can find the article on the NY Times website at this URL: http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/031199vanderbilt-collection.html If you can't access the article, send me an email at mailto:jkearman(at)iname.com and put 0311A in the Subject line, and nothing in the body of the message. My computer will automatically forward a text-only copy to you. Cheers, Jim
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Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 09:12:22 -0500 From: "Roberts, Leonard" <lroberts(at)email.uncc.edu> Subject: RE: Chat: Vanderbilt Library The library is there and is very impressive, I saw it when I visited the Biltmore Estate in 1978. But I am not sure it is completely intact. When I was there I asked one of those working there if there was a bibliography of the library. She gave me a strange look and a rather curt no. Less than a year later it was discovered that books from the library were being sold by three people who had charge of it. Of course an effort was made to recover the pilfered volumes but I did not hear if it was completely successful. Still, it was a wonderful library. My only cavil was that the chairs in front of the enormous fireplace did not look especially comfortable for settling in for a long read. But all those great books. . . Len Roberts > -----Original Message----- > From: James E. Kearman [SMTP:jkearman(at)mindspring.com] > Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 8:22 AM > To: Gaslight > Subject: Chat: Vanderbilt Library > > An article in the New York Times for March 11, 1999, describes the > extensive > library assembled by George Washington Vanderbilt, the intellectual > grandson > of Cornelius Vanderbilt. The library has remained intact since the > former's > death 85 years ago, and includes several rare 19th century works, > including > a first edition of poetry by Coleridge, with corrections to The Rime of > the > Ancient Mariner inked in and signed by Coleridge. > > The library is at G. W. Vanderbilt's estate, Biltmore, in Asheville, North > Carolina. The estate is open to the public but the library has remained > unavailable except to certain scholars. > > You can find the article on the NY Times website at this URL: > http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/031199vanderbilt-collection.html > > If you can't access the article, send me an email at > mailto:jkearman(at)iname.com and put 0311A in the Subject line, and nothing > in > the body of the message. My computer will automatically forward a > text-only > copy to you. > > Cheers, > > Jim >
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Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 09:41:19 +0300
From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop)
Subject: The Passion of Augustus John
Excerpt from William Rothenstein's memoirs:
When the summer [of 1900] came, we thought of bicycling
abroad; where should we go? As usual we were drawn to France.
I had seen an illustrated article by Pennell in one of the
American monthlies on a place, Le Puy, in which he suggested
Auvergne as a centre for work. [Augustus] John, too, had
heard of Le Puy, and we decided to meet there; John, with
Michael Salaman, a fellow student from the Slade and a patron
of John, going to LePuy by rail, while my wife and I, leaving
the train at Nevers, mounted our bicycles, stopping to draw
several places that attracted us on th way to Le Puy.
In a shop at Le Puy we saw a photograph which struck us;
it was taken, the shopman said, at Arlempdes, some miles away,
and we set out to find it, no easy task. 'There were evil
people at Arlempdes; better not go there,' we were told when
we inquired the way. But we persisted and at last drew near
it along a lonely bypath. A remarkable place, truly, this
small, rough hamlet, clustered round the ruins of a tiny
stronghold, set on a high rock sheer above the Loire, with,
nearby, the remains of a small, primitive chapel. While we
were looking around, the cure approached-- no strangers had ever
come to Arlempdes, he said. He had never heard English spoken,
nor indeed any foreign tongue. He rarely met intelligent
people, his parishioners were poor, ignorant folk, so this was
a great day for him. Every three years they acted a Passion-
play, he told us, but last year the fellow who played a Roman
soldier had taken too much wine, and had really stabbed 'Jesus'
in the side, and there was a scandal. And looking at John,
seeing his long hair and russet beard, he was struck with an
idea: 'But you would make a perfect Jesus,' he said; and the
good cure called to his sister as she came from the kitchen;
'Tell me, of whom does this gentleman remind you?' 'Mais --
de Notre Seigneur,' she answered in a matter-of-fact voice,
rubbing her greasy hands on her apron. And the cure leaning
back in his chair laughed till the tears came into his eyes.
'What did I tell you?' he said. 'You must stay with us and
play the part.' But John, though flattered, had no desire
to be martyred; and our friend, unruffled, again disappeared,
returning with two fresh bottles, heavily coated with dust.
William Rothenstein, MEN AND MEMORIES: Recollections,
1872-l938. Edited by Mary Lago. Columbia, Missouri:
U. of Missouri Press, 1978. pp. 126-127.
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Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 15:02:02 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Arsene Lupin Way back in April 1998 Stephen wrote: << We need a fresh set of Gentlemen thieves for discussion. We discussed the first two Raffles ages ago, and some Arsene Lupin. New stories about these gents would be very welcome.>> While browsing through the Getty library holdings categorized as "Art in Fiction" I ran across, of all things, a book of Arsen Lupin stories. What Lupin stories do we have in the Gaslight ftp archives? I was unable to locate any Lupin stories on the website. best regards, Patricia
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 00:38:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: _Gettysburg_
I don't know how I came to miss it when it first opened in 1993, but
tonight I saw for the first time Ronald Maxwell's film, _Gettysburg_, and
found it one of the most moving films I have ever experienced.
_Gettysburg_ started out as a tv miniseries, produced by Ted Turner for
his own network; it must have quickly become apparent, though, that the
material was much too extraordinary for television--and I mean here not
only the subject matter but the quality of the footage being shot and the
tremendous performances given by all the actors.
I don't have much belief in the ability of American filmmakers to produce
films about historical events that live up, to some degree, to the drama
of the original. But this film is different. Enormous care was taken
to get the physical details right--the film was even shot at Gettysburg.
More important, the characters struck me as true and believable. I could
imagine the soldiers of the battle speaking these lines, having these
feelings, doing these deeds. Furthermore, there was no hint that either
side in the conflict was being demonized. Decent and honorable and heroic
men fought for both North and South, and _Gettysburg_ portrays them in
that light.
_Gettysburg_ is unquestionably _the_ great Civil War film. It is based on
Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, _The Killer Angels_, and
stars Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Sam Elliot, Jeff Daniels, and Richard
Jordan. It follows the battle of Gettysburg from the early preparations
for the battle to the final terrible day. There is no plot beyond that
provided by the events of the battle, nor do the men have lives apart from
soldiering, save in their memories (and who can doubt that, after three
years of fighting, the actual men on both sides must have had a difficult
time remembering the time when they were not engaged in war). The film
has humor as well as horror, epic scope, a script that shows that there
are still people in this country who can write, and a musical score that
embodies the drama on the screen as few scores ever do.
If you haven't seen _Gettysburg_, please rent or buy it. You won't regret
it. Though it is four-and-a-half hours long, you will--if you are anything
like me--forget time and fall into the world that Maxwell and his actors,
writers, and crew so brilliantly recreate. _Gettysburg_ did not win any
Oscars, but that hardly makes a difference. It is, to my mind, as
powerful, even on a tv screen, as _Lawrence of Arabia_. Even if you
aren't a "Civil War buff," you will find a great deal to think about in
this production.
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy; meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 09:00:24 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: _Gettysburg_ Bob C. writes: <<......_Gettysburg_ did not win any Oscars, but that hardly makes a difference. It is, to my mind, as powerful, even on a tv screen, as _Lawrence of Arabia_. >> High praise indeed! Thanks for the review and recommendation, Bob, I will certainly rent the film.. Patricia
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 13:46:53 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Re: Arsene Lupin
To answer Patricia T.'s request about Arsene Lupin stories on Gaslight, we have
the first four, from _The exploits of Arsene Lupin_ (1907 ed.):
I. The arrest of Arsene Lupin
II. Arsene Lupin in prison
III. The escape of Arsene Lupin
IV. The mysterious railway passenger
These are now available on both the website and as an ASCII etexts
thru FTPmail.
To retrieve the plain ASCII files,
send to: ftpmail(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
with no subject heading and completely in lowercase:
open aftp.mtroyal.ab.ca
cd /gaslight
get lupinX01.sht
get lupinX02.sht
get lupinX03.sht
get lupinX04.sht
or visit the Gaslight website at:
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/lupnmenu.htm
Stephen
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 13:34:46 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: Arsene Lupin Stephen, you are an angel! Thank you! Gaslight's very own Arsene Lupin page illustrated with a Lupin stamp provided by our fellow Gaslighter, Peter Blau. Looks fantastic! When I receive the Getty copy of Arsene Lupin stories out of deep storage, I will compare titles and hopefully be able to provide a few new stories for Gaslight. best regards, Patricia
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 17:19:53 -0500 From: clementk(at)alink.com (Clement, Kevin) Subject: Re: _Gettysburg_ At 09:00 AM 3/12/99 -0800, Patricia Teter said: >Bob C. writes: <<......_Gettysburg_ did not win any >Oscars, but that hardly makes a difference. It is, to my mind, as >powerful, even on a tv screen, as _Lawrence of Arabia_. >> > >High praise indeed! Thanks for the review and >recommendation, Bob, I will certainly rent the film.. > >Patricia Another thing to mention on this film is the *huge* amount of ACW reenactors who participated in this film. Almost everyone in the film (except for the main characters) are reenactors, whole regiments of them. So a lot of the detail and equipment in this film looks very realistic, though most of the soldiers would have been younger in the actual battle. I saw this film in the theater with a cousin of mine who's a Civil War reenactor and we both loved it. (he even recognized some friends of his in the movie) We both thought it could have gone on longer, one problem with it being converted from a mini-series, it might have been longer if it hadn't been made into a movie for the big screen. After you're done watching the movie stay on for the credits and take a look at all the units/groups that were in the film. Also keep an eye out for Mr. Turner himself playing one of his relatives during Pickett's charge. I think he's in a "going over the wood fence and getting slaughtered by bullets and grapeshot" scene. Morgan Sheppard's scene with Lee is a personal favorite of mine, as well as right before and during the start of Pickett's charge. Also look for the British Advisor in Lee's army. (in the book there was a Prussian Advisior as well that I wish they'd included) IMO it's a very good film and I'm usually not a huge ACW fan. (a bit overdone in my area for my liking I guess) There are some nitpicky problems between it, the book, and history but the film goes a very good job considering its length and subject matter. I think it was also Richard Jordan's last major film. - - who's finally getting to watch his tapes of Les Vampires! "Well look at me, I'm all fuzzy." alt.Willow (Dopplegangland) Kevin Clement clementk(at)alink.com
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 18:52:58 -0500 (EST) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Re: _Gettysburg_ I'll add my applause to this one. Watched it when it was on tv and was enthralled. phoebe
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 16:11:55 -0800 (PST)
From: Jerry Drake <jrdrake(at)hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: _Gettysburg_
kevin clement wrote:
>Another thing to mention on this film is the *huge* amount of ACW
>reenactors who participated in this film. Almost everyone in the film
>(except for the main characters) are reenactors, whole regiments of
>them.
12,000 or so, all told, during the week when Pickett's Charge (or,
rather, "Longstreet's Attack," as it's supposed to be called now)
was filmed. As one of them, I can testify that the thing that really
doesn't show up on film is how hot it was.
>for Mr. Turner himself playing one of his relatives during Pickett's
>charge. I think he's in a "going over the wood fence and getting
>slaughtered by bullets and grapeshot" scene.
And you can't see his 20th century watch! (That was the photo that
showed up in "USA Today" afterwards, I believe.)
The main problem with the movie, and it's really the same with the
book as well, is that if you don't know anything about Gettysburg
and what went on there's no explaining done whatsoever. The film
and the novel are not history lessons, but pictures into the minds
of men in early July, 1863. If you need background information it
must be found somewhere else.
Jerry Drake
"Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents.
And the next day was Christmas."
-O. Henry, "Gifts of the Maji"
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 19:04:15 -0600 From: Marta Dawes <smdawes(at)home.com> Subject: Re: _Gettysburg_ Richard Jordan's climactic battle scene is reason alone to see "Gettyburg", as is Jeff Daniels quietly effective performance. I'm not much on battle movies, but I did like this one. I thought "Glory" was classier, though I can't watch "Glory" because it always makes me cry. It's so unendurably sad, since you know that most of the people will die in the end, and the music is so overpowering and emotional. I'm a sucker for all the Hollywood tricks. Marta "Clement, Kevin" wrote: > > At 09:00 AM 3/12/99 -0800, Patricia Teter said: > >Bob C. writes: <<......_Gettysburg_ did not win any > >Oscars, but that hardly makes a difference. It is, to my mind, as > >powerful, even on a tv screen, as _Lawrence of Arabia_. >> > > > >High praise indeed! Thanks for the review and > >recommendation, Bob, I will certainly rent the film.. > > > >Patricia > > Another thing to mention on this film is the *huge* amount of ACW > reenactors who participated in this film. Almost everyone in the film > (except for the main characters) are reenactors, whole regiments of them. > So a lot of the detail and equipment in this film looks very realistic, > though most of the soldiers would have been younger in the actual battle. I > saw this film in the theater with a cousin of mine who's a Civil War > reenactor and we both loved it. (he even recognized some friends of his in > the movie) We both thought it could have gone on longer, one problem with > it being converted from a mini-series, it might have been longer if it > hadn't been made into a movie for the big screen. > > After you're done watching the movie stay on for the credits and take a > look at all the units/groups that were in the film. Also keep an eye out > for Mr. Turner himself playing one of his relatives during Pickett's > charge. I think he's in a "going over the wood fence and getting > slaughtered by bullets and grapeshot" scene. Morgan Sheppard's scene with > Lee is a personal favorite of mine, as well as right before and during the > start of Pickett's charge. Also look for the British Advisor in Lee's army. > (in the book there was a Prussian Advisior as well that I wish they'd included) > > IMO it's a very good film and I'm usually not a huge ACW fan. (a bit > overdone in my area for my liking I guess) There are some nitpicky problems > between it, the book, and history but the film goes a very good job > considering its length and subject matter. I think it was also Richard > Jordan's last major film. > > - who's finally getting to watch his tapes of Les Vampires! > > "Well look at me, I'm all fuzzy." > alt.Willow (Dopplegangland) > > Kevin Clement > clementk(at)alink.com
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 23:28:41 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Re: _Gettysburg_
On Fri, 12 Mar 1999, Marta Dawes wrote:
> Richard Jordan's climactic battle scene is reason alone to see
> "Gettyburg", as is Jeff Daniels quietly effective performance. I'm not
> much on battle movies, but I did like this one.
I agree that Richard Jordan as General Armistead is magnficent. What
the film touches on superbly here is the friendship between Armistead
fighting for the South and General Hancock fighting for the South. There
are earlier scenes involving both in which the desire to see each other,
perhaps for the last time, is tempered by the possibility that they will
meet on the field of battle--ironic in that Armistead had sworn never to
fight his great friend. I was very touched, too, when Armistead, on
the night before the main fight, hands Longstreet (Tom Berenger) the
packet he wants the latter to deliver to Hancock's wife, a woman for
whom he obviously has much feeling. (It was also interesting to
discover, in the brief "What Happened To..." section at the end, that one
of the items in this packet was Armistead's personal Bible. The deeply
religious character of the men on both sides of the conflict is one of
the most realistic aspects of the film.)
_Gettysburg_, btw, is dedicated to Michael Shaara (author of _The Killer
Angels_) and Richard Jordan. Shaara had died before the film was made and
Jordan shortly before its release.
I also thought Jeff Daniels as Chamberlain (the Union defender of Little
Round Top) was exceptional. In a desperate situation, his character acts
with what many would call coolness under fire though his emotional
state is anything but cool. Daniels brings out as well as any actor in
the film the complex thoughts and feelings attendent on a commander who
must go into battle knowing that almost everything depends on his
action, knowing that there can be no retreat, and realizing that all his
men are looking to him for direction. (No wonder he asks a praying soldier
to include him in his prayers.) This part called on a great deal from the
actor, and Daniels delivers, as does the young actor who plays his
brother (sorry his name escapes me). The last scene between the two
brothers, both fighting in the same outfit, is as perfect an ending as any
I've seen.
I'm glad to see that other Gaslighters have seen this film and like it.
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy; meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 08:18:53 -0600 From: Marta Dawes <smdawes(at)home.com> Subject: Re: _Gettysburg_ The younger Chamberlain was played by C. Thomas Howell, who started out in the movies in "ET". Marta Robert Champ wrote: > > On Fri, 12 Mar 1999, Marta Dawes wrote: > > > Richard Jordan's climactic battle scene is reason alone to see > > "Gettyburg", as is Jeff Daniels quietly effective performance. I'm not > > much on battle movies, but I did like this one. > > I agree that Richard Jordan as General Armistead is magnficent. What > the film touches on superbly here is the friendship between Armistead > fighting for the South and General Hancock fighting for the South. There > are earlier scenes involving both in which the desire to see each other, > perhaps for the last time, is tempered by the possibility that they will > meet on the field of battle--ironic in that Armistead had sworn never to > fight his great friend. I was very touched, too, when Armistead, on > the night before the main fight, hands Longstreet (Tom Berenger) the > packet he wants the latter to deliver to Hancock's wife, a woman for > whom he obviously has much feeling. (It was also interesting to > discover, in the brief "What Happened To..." section at the end, that one > of the items in this packet was Armistead's personal Bible. The deeply > religious character of the men on both sides of the conflict is one of > the most realistic aspects of the film.) > > _Gettysburg_, btw, is dedicated to Michael Shaara (author of _The Killer > Angels_) and Richard Jordan. Shaara had died before the film was made and > Jordan shortly before its release. > > I also thought Jeff Daniels as Chamberlain (the Union defender of Little > Round Top) was exceptional. In a desperate situation, his character acts > with what many would call coolness under fire though his emotional > state is anything but cool. Daniels brings out as well as any actor in > the film the complex thoughts and feelings attendent on a commander who > must go into battle knowing that almost everything depends on his > action, knowing that there can be no retreat, and realizing that all his > men are looking to him for direction. (No wonder he asks a praying soldier > to include him in his prayers.) This part called on a great deal from the > actor, and Daniels delivers, as does the young actor who plays his > brother (sorry his name escapes me). The last scene between the two > brothers, both fighting in the same outfit, is as perfect an ending as any > I've seen. > > I'm glad to see that other Gaslighters have seen this film and like it. > > Bob C. > _________________________________________________ > @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ > > Robert L. Champ > rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu > Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity > > Whatever things are pure, whatever things are > lovely, whatever things are of good report, if > there is any virtue and if there is anything > praiseworthy; meditate on these things > Philippians 4:8 > > rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net > _________________________________________________ > @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 00:50:45 -0600 From: Jo Ann Hinkle <joann(at)piasanet.com> Subject: Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu Regarding the discussion of haunted instruments, namely violins, I have two titles that so far no one seems to have mentioned, unless I have overlooked a posting....A late Victorian novel (1896) by J. Meade Falkner--The Lost Stradivarius, reprinted by Dover, and a short story by Madame Blavatsky--The Ensouled Violin. My copy of that story is in The Nightmare Reader ed. by Peter Haining, published by Pan books in England. I like both tales, but The Lost Stradivarius is my personal favorite, a real Victorian delight. Jo Ann Hinkle joann(at)piasanet.com
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Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 21:44:23 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Off-Topic: Storyteller's art
I found the following on the rec.arts.books newsgroup and thought I'd
share it with the list. It comes from the preface to his _Collected
Stories_ by the great Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer.
"In the process of creating [these stories], I have become aware of the
many dangers that lurk behind the writer of fiction. The worst of them
are: 1. The idea that the writer must be a sociologist and a politician,
adjusting himself to what are called social dialectics. 2. Greed for
money and quick recognition. 3. Forced originality - namely, the
illusion that pretentious rhetoric, precious innovations in style, and
playing with artificial symbols can express the basic and ever-changing
nature of human relations, or reflect the combinations and complications
of heredity and environment. These verbal pitfalls of so-called
'experimental' writing have done damage even to genuine talent; they have
destroyed much of modern poetry by making it obscure, esoteric, and
charmless. Imagination is one thing, and the distortion of what Spinoza
called 'the order of things' is something else entirely. Literature can
very well describe the absurd, but it should never become absurd itself.
... Fiction in general should never become analytic. As a matter of
fact, the writer of fiction should never even try to dabble in psychology
and its various isms. Genuine literature informs while it entertains.
It manages to be both clear and profound. It has the magical power of
merging causality with purpose, doubt with faith, the passions of the
flesh with the yearnings of the soul. While it tolerates commentary by
others, it should never try to explain itself. These obvious truths must
be emphasized, because false criticism and pseudo-originality have
created a state of literary amnesia in our generation. The zeal for
messages has made many writers forget that storytelling is the raison
d'?tre of artistic prose."
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy; meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 08:45:30 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Vexing violins <WAS: Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu>
Jo Ann H. mentions two violin titles and their most recent reprints, which
I appreciate hearing about. I wish we could always promote the current
publishers of hardcopies of our stories.
Both stories are also available on Gaslight:
1: THE LOST STRADIVARIUS (1895) by John Meade Falkner
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/loststrd.htm
2: The ensouled violin (1892) by Mme. Blavatsky
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/ensoulvn.htm
Stephen
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 09:59:40 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: CHAT: Wild, wild waste
I'm probably behind in realizing this, but a recent movie promo mag shows the
upcoming movie _Wild, wild West_ (1999) is going to be a techno-bang movie
instead of a western.
It's possible to think of the movie as more of a Frank Reade Jr. tribute; that's
the pulp series which celebrated robots and other inventions, but this movie
also seems to focus more on noise and the grandness of the scale of destruction
rather than characters. The awe of inventing and discovering is far outscaled
by the evil fireworks at the heart of the movie.
Here's some links which tell more:
The official movie website contains what's called the SuperBowl promo:
http://www.wildwildwest.net/
Two movie review sites are full of opinions and gossip about the show:
http://www.cinescape.com/links/mvwwwestnr.html
http://upcomingmovies.com/wildwildwest.html
===0===
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 11:16:19 +1000
From: Craig Walker <cwalker(at)lto.nsw.gov.au>
Subject: RE: Vexing violins <WAS: Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu>
Dear All,
Are these 2 stories available as e-text?
Thanks
Craig
+----------------------------------------+
Craig Walker
(h) +612 9550-0815 (w) +612 9228-6698
(m) +614 1922-0013
(h) genre(at)tig.com.au
(w) cwalker(at)lto.nsw.gov.au
ICQ (h) 1053193
+---------------------------------------+
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA [mailto:sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA]
> Sent: Tuesday, 16 March 1999 02:46
> To: gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
> Subject: Vexing violins <WAS: Re: Music in Gothic/Sheridan LeFanu>
>
>
> Jo Ann H. mentions two violin titles and their most
> recent reprints, which
> I appreciate hearing about. I wish we could always promote
> the current
> publishers of hardcopies of our stories.
>
> Both stories are also available on Gaslight:
>
> 1: THE LOST STRADIVARIUS (1895) by John Meade Falkner
> http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/loststrd.htm
>
> 2: The ensouled violin (1892) by Mme. Blavatsky
> http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/ensoulvn.htm
>
> Stephen
> mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
>
>
===0===
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 00:19:43 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Off-topic: Names for the Next Decade
Some time back, there was an exchange about what the next decade
would be called. This is an apparent concern of many other people
besides, as the following article proves.
Question: what did folk from the period 1900-1910 call _their_
decade?
Bob C.
Clock Ticking on Naming Next Decade
By MICHELLE BOORSTEIN
.c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (March 15) - Forget, for a moment, the new century and the new
millennium. A new decade is about to dawn, and no one is sure just what to
call it.
We're ending the '90s. We're entering ... the ''goose eggs''? The ''orbs''?
The ''zippos''?
And what do we call the individual years? Two-thousand-and-three? Twenty-oh-
five? Oh-seven? The Year Eight?
Thankfully, people are already on the case. Bond traders who sold 30-year
bonds in 1980. Automakers marketing cars that will come out two, three, four
years from now. Television news anchors who are already stumbling over dates
that in decades past conjured images of spaceships and aliens in metallic
jumpsuits.
And people like Andrew Novick, who works in the Time and Frequency Division at
the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo. The
institute sets measures like the hour and the foot for the federal goverment.
''You wouldn't say ... let's see. You wouldn't say ... boy, I don't know,''
Novick stumbled. ''I think I've flip-flopped, from two-thousand-and-six to
twenty-oh-six. But that's more nerd language. There's definitely no
consensus.''
Neither is there a shortage of suggestions.
Among the monikers submitted to a ''Name That Decade'' contest held in October
by The Washington Post: The Ooze, The Millies (playing off millennium) and The
Naughties (playing off ''aught,'' the quaint term for zero).
Others spun off the news (The Second Ken Starr Decade), technology (Twenty
Bytes) or James Bond (Double 0s, or The James Bond Decade).
The paper settled on The Pre-Teens, with a caveat: ''We'll never know the real
winner until we get to 2000 and see what begins to trip off the tongues of
those commencement speakers.''
Voice of America provoked a more global discussion with its contest this
month. From the Philippines came the Empties, the Zippos and The Roly 0s. The
Zeroes from England. The Zoos from China. And this poem from the Czech
Republic:
''Now there's a task
To put a name
On something filled with nothing.
A decade filled with zips, and ohs and gooseeggs
and years with double nuttin's ...''
Bond traders refer to the years 2000-2009 in single digits:
oh-six, oh-seven. And while Wall Street isn't exactly known for rollicking
high humor, traders nicknamed the first decade long ago. Bonds that mature in
2005 are ''nickels.'' Those issued in the first quarter of 1980 and maturing
in February 2010 are ''Bo Dereks,'' for the sex symbol star of the movie
''10.'' Bonds issued the next quarter and expiring in May 2010 are ''DC-10s.''
David Jones, chief economist at Aubrey G. Lanston & Co., said he was recently
writing a forecast for the first decade when the Name Dilemma struck.
''I wrote the 2000s, but that doesn't sound right. I kept looking at it, and
you can't even hardly say it. It seems so awkward,'' Jones said. ''When I'm
asked about it, I'll probably just say 'the first decade of the new
century.'''
For carmakers, the vernacular so far is two-thousand-and-whatever, as in
General Motors' two-thousand-and-three Impala.
''You don't say oh-three, OK? You put the preface of 20 because it's going to
be new! A new millennium! A new car! The future's already here for us in the
automotive industry,'' said Vince Muniga, a GM spokesman in Detroit.
The jury is still out in the news industry, but CNN executive editor Ted Iliff
predicts people will say two-thousand-and-whatever.
''Everything sounds strange, that's the problem,'' he said. ''Reading it is
one thing, but having a CNN anchor say it is jarring - for an anchor to say,
'The Olympics of oh-four.'''
Gareth Branwyn tracks such issues for Jargon Watch, a column in the prominent
computer lifestyle magazine Wired. He has participated in several online
discussions on the topic and predicts people will opt for the brief.
''Everything we do is so accelerated and truncated, to have to say 'two
thousand and ...' - we're sort of wired to not expend that much time,'' he
said. ''I think people will just say '10' or '12' ... or maybe 'oh-six' or
'aught-six.' That might be geeky though.''
Looking backwards won't help. The first decade of the 1900s was called ''The
Progressive Era,'' according to Paul Boyer, who teaches American cultural
history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The first decade of the 1800s
was ''The Jeffersonian Era,'' he said.
''Maybe something dramatic will happen next year. It doesn't have to be
something bad - maybe it will be something wonderful,'' he said.
Boyer remembers his grandfather - who was born in 1871 - referring to
individual years of the first decade as ''the year four,'' or ''the year
one.''
''We kids used to laugh like it was the beginning of time,'' he said.
AP-NY-03-15-99 0216EST
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy; meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
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End of Gaslight Digest V1 #54
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