In this issue: Re: Today in History - March 24/William Morris Today in History - March 25 Re: Today in History - March 24/William Morris Re: Today in History - March 24/William Morris Submarinating <WAS: Today in History - March 25> Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft RE: Today in History - March 24/William Morris Re: RE: Today in History - March 24/William Morris Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Re: Submarinating <WAS: Today in History - March 25> Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Speaking of Houdini Re: Speaking of Houdini Re: Speaking of Houdini Today in History - March 26 Re: Speaking of Houdini Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" RE: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Strand article on Verne Napeague Emergency Alert - 3/27/99 Warning: Virus Alert RE: Warning: Virus Alert -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 08:56:06 -0600 From: Brian McMillan <brianbks(at)netins.net> Subject: Re: Today in History - March 24/William Morris > Born on March 24 > 1834 > William Morris, English craftsman, poet, socialist who revolutionized the art of > house decoration and furniture in England. Author of various influential fantasy stories. Are any of these on Gaslight? Brian McMillan brianbks(at)netins.net "Ahead, Behind, By A Nose" walt kelly
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 08:38:17 -0700
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - March 25
1807
British Parliament abolishes the slave trade.
1813
The frigate USS Essex flies the first U.S. flag in battle
in the Pacific.
1865
Confederate forces capture Fort Stedman, during the siege
of Petersburg, Va.
1879
Japan invades the kingdom of Liuqiu (Ryukyu) Islands,
formerly a vassal of China.
1905
Rebel battle flags that were captured during the American
Civil War are returned to
the South.
1915
The first submarine disaster occurs when a U.S. F-4 sinks
off the Hawaiian coast.
1919
The Paris Peace Commission adopts a plan to protect nations
from the influx of
foreign labor.
Born on March 25
1767
Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother in law who became king of
Naples in 1808.
1797
John Winebrenner, U.S. clergyman who founded the Church of
God.
1839
William Bell Wait, educator of the blind.
1906
Alan John Percivale Taylor, English historian who pioneered
the presentation of the
history lecture on British television.
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 10:22:42 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Re: Today in History - March 24/William Morris
Brian McM. writes of William Morris (the writer, not the dancer):
> Author of various influential fantasy stories. Are any of these on Gaslight?
So far, Morris has eluded us. I would be happy to prepare a story or novella of
his. Any suggestions?
Stephen D
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
P.K. (post-keyboarding)
I'm open to any suggestions about
any author, genre, etc. It's just a
matter of finding an original copy to
work from.
Satisfying mysteries are the hardest to
track down and put in the reading
schedule.
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 10:35:45 -0700 (MST) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Today in History - March 24/William Morris On Thu, 25 Mar 1999 sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA wrote: >> William Morris: >> Author of various influential fantasy stories. Are any of these on Gaslight? > So far, Morris has eluded us. I would be happy to prepare a story or novella > of his. Any suggestions? > Stephen D > mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca As I've just acquired a Morris arm-chair, built by a local furniture maker, and upholstered in Morris's "Compton"-pattern fabric, I suppose I'd better have a look for what I can find. Will report in due course. Peter Wood
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 10:37:05 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Submarinating <WAS: Today in History - March 25>
Jerry the C. informs us:
>1915 The first submarine disaster occurs when a U.S. F-4 sinks off the Hawaiian
coast.
This must be the first Hawaiian accident, not even the first WWI disaster. The
history of submarines must have been 50 years old by this time, with many, many
tragedies along the way. The progress of the submarine's development seems to
have been slowed down because the inventors kept killing themselves with their
experiments. I think it is an invention which was pursued solely for its war
applications, starting with the U.S. Civil War.
I have a page of the _Illustrated London News_ which shows diagrams of the
various models employed before 1899. I'd like to make a Submarine webpage, but
the historical aspect would be quite grim. Any ideas about what to include on
such a page?
Stephen D
mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 11:00:04 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Deborah Mc-N. writes: <<But die-hard fans of Lovecraft will always fight to the death (or the cross over to another threshold) his place in literature. Effusiveness can be laid at Poe's door as well but I would never do it.>> I hoped I would received a Lovecraft counter view from Deborah, if for nothing else, to give equal time to a positive view of the story. As you can tell from my earlier message, I am certainly not a die-hard fan, however, I do admire and recognize Lovecraft's influence. Actually, I enjoyed the first section of this story, which read like a Baedeker's guide to Egypt, however, the second section evolved into, what seemed to me, an unintentional comic farce, which when coupled with the Houdini element, far exceeded the Lovecraft florid norm. That said, I must admit to some enjoyment of the story; it certainly made me laugh. <grin> best regards, Patricia
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 13:00:07 -0600 From: Mattingly Conner <muse(at)iland.net> Subject: RE: Today in History - March 24/William Morris The William Morris Society has most of Morris on the web: http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/wmorris/writings.html By my soul, Deborah Mattingly Conner muse(at)iland.net http://www.iland.net/~muse . . . To gain access to what is in the symbols, one must take them into ones being, breathe them in, as it were, or allow oneself to resonate with the imagery. ~ Adam McLean - -
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 13:57:49 -0600
From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu>
Subject: Re: RE: Today in History - March 24/William Morris
>>> Mattingly Conner <muse(at)iland.net> 03/25/99 01:00PM >>>
The William Morris Society has most of Morris on the web:
http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/wmorris/writings.html
Oh, thanks!! They have The Well at the World's End, which
is too long, I think, for discussion on Gaslight, but is worth
reading. It also might irk some with what some good childrens'
author would call speaking "forsoothly" with words like
"ugsome" and "gossip" (for "good friend") sprinkled liberally.
They have Morris's translation of the Volsunga saga, and,
best of all, News From Nowhere, which isn't outrageously
long, and would make good Gaslight fare.
It's particularly interesting to read this story in juxtuposition
with Edith Nesbit's trip into the future in The Story of the
Amulet ("The Expelled Boy", I think it is), and see how the
Socialist/Fabian sensibility is expressed in both stories.
Kiwi Carlisle
carlislc(at)psychiatry.wustl.edu
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 15:23:15 -0600 From: athan chilton <ayc(at)UIUC.EDU> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft > That said, I must admit to some >enjoyment of the story; it certainly made me laugh. <grin> > >best regards, >Patricia I'm with you, Patricia--as I wrote a couple of days ago, I've read all of Lovecraft many times; he's one of my favorite authors when I don't want to have to think too hard about what I'm reading. Certain of his tales simply delight me, and this is one of them. The sheer ego projected by the Houdini character is different from most of Lovecraft's characters, and the visualization of the underground caverns & what happens there is certainly vividly described. I especially liked the touch of the endless rope--a clever device to make the reader share the sense of being stuck far underground. While we're on Lovecraft, I want to mention one short story of his that I've always liked, slender tale though it is: The Cats of Ulthar. Once you've read it, you'll never look at that tabby on the couch quite the same way again! athan ayc(at)uiuc.edu
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 18:05:43 -0500
From: "John D. Squires" <jdsbooks(at)ameritech.net>
Subject: Re: Submarinating <WAS: Today in History - March 25>
Stephen,
Are you aiming at a gaslight era submarine page, or more
expansively on submarines, per se? If you mean submarine
fiction, after Verne consider certainly:
George Griffith, "The Raid of 'Le Vengeur'", "Pearson's Magazine",
February, 1901, pp 158-68 [I assume the UK edition,
but there was another one published in NY with
sometimes overlapping contents.]
Arthur Conan Doyle, "Danger!", "Strand Magazine", July, 1914,
pp 1-22.
I am sure there are others listed in I. F. Clarke's various books on
future war fiction. If your interest is history, I have never looked into
submarines per se, though the CSS Hunley is much in the news since
it was located off Charleston. There is talk of raising her hulk, though
it would cost millions & I assume there will be the usual disputes over
who should own or control it.
Let me know if you want me to look in Clarke for other titles.
Best in haste,
John Squires
[Gee, I guess submarines are the ultimate lurkers.]
sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA wrote:
> Jerry the C. informs us:
>
> >1915 The first submarine disaster occurs when a U.S. F-4 sinks off the
Hawaiian
> coast.
>
> This must be the first Hawaiian accident, not even the first WWI disaster.
The
> history of submarines must have been 50 years old by this time, with many,
many
> tragedies along the way. The progress of the submarine's development seems to
> have been slowed down because the inventors kept killing themselves with their
> experiments. I think it is an invention which was pursued solely for its war
> applications, starting with the U.S. Civil War.
>
> I have a page of the _Illustrated London News_ which shows diagrams of the
> various models employed before 1899. I'd like to make a Submarine webpage,
but
> the historical aspect would be quite grim. Any ideas about what to include on
> such a page?
>
> Stephen D
> mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 11:42:35 -0600 From: Jo Ann Hinkle <joann(at)piasanet.com> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft While this tale is not my favorite Lovecraft, I'm an avid fan and have been since the 7th grade when I read everything of his I could get my hands on. Not until I was an adult did I realize what a long shadow HPL has cast over horror fiction since. While the quality of his work is uneven, the best of his tales have a power that remains long after the reading. The Colour Out of Space is one such tale. Colloquially speaking, this one rocks. What occurred to me during my recent rereading of 'Imprisoned With the Pharaohs' was the current rage for everything Egyptian and the controversial redating of the Sphinx and the origin of the ancient Egyptian civilization. All of this has taken on a rather fluffy new age cast, and I could only smile to myself while reading Lovecraft's claustrophobic tale. Hardly a picture most of the current Egyptomaniacs would embrace. I don't know if this is the appropriate place for me to do this or not, but I would like to recommend a couple of Lovecraft studies for those who are interested. The Weird Tale by S.T. Joshi (University of Texas Press, 1990) Lovecraft: A Study in the Fantastic by Maurice Levy (translated by S.T. Joshi, 1985. Author's original thesis, 1969) Jo Ann joann(at)piasanet.com
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 12:03:37 -0600 From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu> Subject: Speaking of Houdini Didn't he write at least one book on the detection of false mediums? Is it A Magician Among the Spirits? Kiwi Carlisle carlislc(at)psychiatry.wustl.edu
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 13:06:31 -0500 (EST) From: Ryan Jax <pinniped(at)patriot.net> Subject: Re: Speaking of Houdini On Fri, 26 Mar 1999, Chris Carlisle wrote: > Didn't he write at least one book on the detection of false mediums? > Is it A Magician Among the Spirits? > > Kiwi Carlisle > carlislc(at)psychiatry.wustl.edu That's the one, Kiwi. And it's a most entertaining read. Houdini's anti-Spiritualist papers are currently housed in the Special Collections division of the Library of Congress, available by special appointment. Both Lovecraft and Houdini were believed to have supernatural knowledge by their adoring public. And both spent a lifetime debunking such notions. HPL would be disgusted by the number of modern magickal practitioners who assume that there is a real Necronomicon, and Lovecraft had a copy. - -- Barbara Weitbrecht pinniped(at)patriot.net
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 12:16:07 -0600 From: Moudry <Moudry(at)uab.edu> Subject: Re: Speaking of Houdini At 12:03 26-03-99 -0600, Kiwi Carlisle wrote: >Didn't he write at least one book on the detection of false mediums? >Is it A Magician Among the Spirits? > >Kiwi Carlisle >carlislc(at)psychiatry.wustl.edu Yes, he did. Houdini is also associated with another favorite author of the weird from our period: William Hope Hodgson. Houdini appeared in Hodgson's home town, while WHH was still running a physical culture school, and made his usual offer of some fantastic amount to anyone who could bind him in a way from which he couldn't escape. WHH, knowing the muscle groups of human anatomy well, accepted the challenge and trussed Houdini so tightly that Harry H. finally had to ask for help, and railed at the audience about how WHH tied the ropes so tightly that Houdini was injured (sp??; it's one of those days...), and thus not able to perform the escape. Houdini threatened WHH with arrest, the crowd sided with Houdini, and, as far as has been determined, never paid WHH the reward for a successfull trussing up. Hodgson, needless to say, was no longer a fan of the famous magician and spook chaser. And not to return to lurkers mode. Saturnally, Joe Moudry Technical Training Specialist & SOE WebMaster Office of Academic Computing & Technology School of Education The University of Alabama (at) Birmingham E-Mail: Moudry(at)uab.edu MaBell: (205) 975-6631 Fax: (205) 975-7494 Snail Mail: 901 13th Street South 149 EB Birmingham AL 35205 USA Master of Saturn Web (Sun Ra, the Arkestra, & Free Jazz): <http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~moudry> Producer/Host of Classic Jazz (Armstrong -> Ayler ->)on Alabama Public Radio: WUAL 91.5FM Tuscaloosa/Birmingham WQPR 88.7FM Muscle Shoals/NW Alabama WAPR 88.3FM Selma/Montgomery/Southern Alabama
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 11:29:30 -0700
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - March 26
1804
Congress orders the removal of Indians east of the
Mississippi River to Louisiana.
1804
The territory of New Orleans is organized in the Louisiana
Purchase.
1827
German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven dies in Vienna. He had
been deaf for
the later part of his life, but said on his death bead "I
shall hear in heaven."
1832
Famed western artist George Catlin begins his voyage up the
Missouri River
aboard the American Fur Company steamship Yellowstone.
1885
Eastman Film Co. manufactures the first commercial motion
picture film.
1913
The Balkan allies take Adrianople.
1918
On the Western Front during World War I the Germans take
the French towns
Noyon, Roye and Lihons
Born on March 26
1819
Louise Otto, German feminist author
1874
Robert Frost, poet awarded the Pulitzer prize four times.
Best remembered for his
poem "Stopping by the Woods."
1880
Duncan Hines, U.S. restaurant guide author
1911
Tennessee Williams, American dramatist who wrote Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof and A
Streetcar Name Desire.
1914
William Westmoreland, U.S. army general and head of all
ground forces in South
Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 13:46:58 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: Speaking of Houdini Y'all saw Harvey Keitel as Houdini in that flic about the little girls who photographed fairies? Sorry if I'm repeating what's often been mentioned, it's that kind of day. Carroll
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 12:40:41 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft >I hoped I would received a Lovecraft counter view from >Deborah, if for nothing else, to give equal time to a positive >view of the story. Though Egypt is a favorite summer subject of mine, and I am a die-hard fan of Lovecraft's this is not my favorite of his 'collaborations' though I do remember having fun at the time. Mostly because I personally object to the Egyptian Gods being depicted as so consummately evil--they are not the Old Ones (not to be confused with the Elder Gods). For me, Lovecraft was best with his own material and his own devices. The NECRONOMICON was one of these--though it has been done before, inventing books, etc. I don't think anyone did it as well as Lovecraft did. This book 'lives'--though perhaps not in this reality, certainly in another. And despite all of his minions adding on to the book list none of them quite reached the horror of Al Hazared's tome. The warning is always implicit in all of Lovecraft's tales. DO NOT OPEN. Yet of all of us bibliophiles on this list--could we resist one little peek? Just one, just a teensy look inside? After all, Armitage did and survived...didn't he? I am always surprised at how Lovecraft fits into every day life, too. Just the other night we were driving by some new type headlights with an eerie under violet color and thinking, hey, that's just real Color Out Of Space weird! (didn't say eldritch!). Anyone for a glass of water from the TVA? Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 19:19:48 -0600 From: Jo Ann Hinkle <joann(at)piasanet.com> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft >I am always surprised at how Lovecraft fits into every day life, too. Just >the other night we were driving by some new type headlights with an eerie >under violet color and thinking, hey, that's just real Color Out Of Space >weird! (didn't say eldritch!). Anyone for a glass of water from the TVA? I know what you mean, Deborah. Funny how H.P. seems to permeate everything from books and films to ordinary everyday things. It seems that he has given us a whole new vocabulary with which to describe the strange and macabre. Personally, I don't know what I would do without the word Lovecraftian to describe certain moments, events or people even. I think this is partly due to the fact that I read Lovecraft at such a young, impressionable age that I was marked for life :-) or as my sister would say, warped for life... As a final note, much has been made of Lovecraft's over-descriptiveness which I agree he is guilty of, but I rather like the fact that he uses words no one has used in decades. As a former English instructor and a lover of words, I have a fascination with archaic and arcane vocabulary and enjoy dredging up old words. After years of disuse, they almost seem new again. But then, I'm probably in the minority. Jo Ann joann(at)piasanet.com
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 21:38:49 -0700 (MST) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" I've been reading the postings on HPL with considerable interest, as they clearly show the different views Gaslighters hold on this, as on most topics. Ms. Jo-ann Hinkle's posting seemed to be a good point of departure for a brief comment: >>As a final note, much has been made of Lovecraft's over-descriptiveness which I agree he is guilty of, but I rather like the fact that he uses words no one has used in decades. As a former English instructor and a lover of words, I have a fascination with archaic and arcane vocabulary and enjoy dredging up old words. After years of disuse, they almost seem new again. But then, I'm probably in the minority.<< My comment wasn't so much on the exotic nature of HPL's vocabulary, but his overuse of adjectives. I believe there is a rule in writing classes - "Show, don't tell", and too many adjectives seems to me to contravene this rule. HPL *definitely* overused certain adjectives and nouns, including someone's favourite, "eldritch", (which always sounds to me like the first name of a 1960's activist, but I have a free-associating mind, it seems). The same applies to his "archaic and arcane vocabulary". I, too am fasscinated by such words - "serendipitous" is a lovely example - but I try not to use them off-Gaslight, as do quite a few of us. I suppose this is an instance of trying to eat archaic and have it too, but surely we *are* among friends here. My point is that if HPL was writing for a public, then he should have taken them into account. Only amateurs like myself can indulge their personal whims fearlessly whilst writing. Peter Wood
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Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 23:34:48 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" > My point is that if HPL was writing for a public, then he should have >taken >them into account. Somehow, knowing about Lovecraft the person, I don't think he was taking the public into account at all. Maybe as a professional writer he should have, but on the other hand--he did have quite a loyal following (and still does). His unique little group of followers, Derleth, Bloch, etc, may have been who he was really writing for. Not what the tv writers aim at in their Lowest Common Denominator. And really, I admire him far more for that. Yes, in good writing he perhaps should have taken out a few of the adjectives (but never 'eldritch', and yes, it's my favorite word of his)--but I am minded of the advice given to artists. "Paint for yourself--not for what you think might please others--and you will come up with a truly unique vision." He did and you won't budge the loyalists. Bloch, himself, may not have followed suit in the supernumerary words--but it was that vision that got him caught in the web first place. I don't think we should dumb down for anything. Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999 08:54:31 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" >My comment wasn't so much on the exotic nature of HPL's vocabulary, but >his overuse of adjectives. I believe there is a rule in writing classes - >"Show, don't tell", and too many adjectives seems to me to contravene >this rule. HPL *definitely* overused certain adjectives and nouns, >including someone's favourite, "eldritch", (which always sounds to me >like the first name of a 1960's activist, but I have a free-associating >mind, it seems). Hi Peter and others. I can't comment on Lovecraft's style, though I've always loved "eldritch" -- as in an eldritch cry? -- which I always imagined as a high, hysterical noise created by an elderly bird (part ostrich, part emu.) I don't think adjectivitis is as bad as adverbitis which is Henry James's trademark -- those of us who love James have to sort of regard this as a Sleeping Beauty hedge trying to keep us away from the inner man/writer. As for writing classes, I remember one where I was told that readers wouldn't understand mythological references. There are all kinds of writers, and all kinds of styles, and fortunately, all kinds of readers. By the way, Lovecraft in Toronto is a sex shop! Carroll Bishop (cbishop(at)interlog.com)
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Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999 08:05:04 -0600 From: Mattingly Conner <muse(at)iland.net> Subject: RE: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Ah Peter! You are going to love William Morris. His page-long sentences always leave me agape. Yet -- even in our fast paced world, I have such affection for him. I think the use of ancient language evokes a feel of Malory -- or -- as in HPL, a dusty volume of magick. By my soul, D Mattingly Conner muse(at)iland.net http://www.iland.net/~muse . . . To gain access to what is in the symbols, one must take them into ones being, breathe them in, as it were, or allow oneself to resonate with the imagery. ~ Adam McLean
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Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999 13:08:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft"
I've loved the wordplay that this thread has touched off. Peter's
"eat archaic" and association of "eldritch" with a 60s activist
were wonderful, and now Carroll chimes in with a double-entendre.
Delicious. Thanks so much to our clever fellow Gaslighters!
Bob C.
On Sat, 27 Mar 1999, Carroll Bishop wrote:
>
> By the way, Lovecraft in Toronto is a sex shop!
>
> Carroll Bishop (cbishop(at)interlog.com)
>
>
>
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 02:03:07 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Strand article on Verne
Fans of Jules Verne, of whom there are many on this list, will find an
excellent article on him by Marie Belloc in the February 1895 edition of
_The Strand_. You can read it online at the following:
http://math.technion.ac.il/~rl/JulesVerne/belloc/
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: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 11:14:58 -0500 From: "James D. Hake" <jdh(at)apk.net> Subject: Napeague Emergency Alert - 3/27/99 Additional information in the New York Times this morning indicates that the attachment is named 'list.doc' and that Outlook95 & 98 may be at greater risk than other e-mail programs. > >. THE NAPEAGUE LETTER > Saturday, March 27, 1999 > >Editor: Bob Davis http://www.napeague.com > > EMERGENCY ALERT > >"E-Mail Virus Spreads on Internet, Could Tie Up Traffic if Unstopped", >reads the Wall street Journal headline this morning! > >Normally I ignore these warnings, but reportedly "Melissa" shut down e-mail >servers at Microsoft and Lucent yesterday afternoon. This one is dangerous! > >According to the WSJ article: > > "The virus enters a computer in an e-mail message labeled "Important > Message From." The message also includes the apparent sender's name." > > "Melissa replicates itself when a computer user opens the e-mail and a > Word-based attachment it contains. Once open and active, the virus > sends infected e-mail to 50 new recipients it finds in the computer > owner's address book." > >The entire Wall Street Journal article can be found at ><http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB922516918758109397.htm> > >If you get an e-mail with "Important Message From" as its subject, do not >open it until you confirm its contents by contacting the person who sent >it to you! > >Do not open any Word-based attachments in any messages until you confirm >the contents with the person who sent it to you, especially if the e-mail >message itself reads: "Here's the document you asked for. Don't show it >to anyone else." > >If your e-mail software includes an option to automatically open >attachments, turn it off now! > >Bob Davis >The Napeague Letter >http://www.napeague.com > >
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Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 08:31:12 -0500 From: "James E. Kearman" <jkearman(at)mindspring.com> Subject: Warning: Virus Alert In case anyone missed this: Super-Fast Computer Virus Heads Into the Workweek By MATT RICHTEL PALO ALTO, Calif. -- With tens of thousands of computers thought to be affected already, corporations and network security professionals said today that they were bracing for the continued spread of the "Melissa" computer virus with the beginning of the workweek on Monday. Over the weekend, computer security firms said they had received an unusually large number of calls for assistance from companies affected on Friday and Saturday. Melissa, which is carried by e-mail, appears to be one of the fastest replicating viruses ever detected. It automatically tries to mail itself from each recipient's machine to 50 other e-mail addresses, computer security experts said. "This message may be sitting in a lot of mailboxes, dormant," said Jeff Carpenter, the incident-response team leader from the Computer Emergency Response Team, an emergency security service at Carnegie Mellon University financed by the Department of Defense and now known simply as CERT. "When people go to work and open it up, a large number of organizations could be negatively affected." Carpenter said the response team had received 50 to 60 telephone calls on Friday and Saturday from organizations. Most of their mail servers were incapacitated by an overwhelming volume of mail. So far, it appears that the biggest threat from the virus is that it overwhelms networks because it reproduces so rapidly but it is not expected to otherwise attack the machines it infects. Also, the infection appears to become dormant after once using a recipient's computer as a platform to re-send itself. When a user opens the file labeled list.doc attached to the e-mail, it executes a Microsoft Word macro, a sort of rudimentary program that searches the recipient's hard drive for an address list produced by one of two Microsoft e-mail programs, Outlook or Outlook Express. It then copies the message to the first 50 names in the address book, giving it the appearance of having been sent by someone known to the recipient. Eric Allman, co-founder of Sendmail, the software company in Emeryville, Calif., which makes the Internet's most popular post-office program for directing e-mail, said, "Word macros are probably more powerful than they ought to be, but you do get something for that power." Since the virus appears to affect only computers that are loaded with both Word and either Outlook or Outlook Express, it seems designed to take advantage of three of the most popular programs on personal computers. Security experts said that computers loaded with Word and one of the two Microsoft e-mail programs are vulnerable even if the default e-mail program on the computer is a competing product like the Netscape Communications Corporation's Navigator mail or Qualcomm's Eudora. Generally, Allman said, consumers need to be more aware of what information they are accepting on their hard drives and other storage devices when they download an e-mail attachment. A setting within Microsoft Word cautions users when they are about to open an unknown document that contains a macro and asks if they would like to continue. One lasting impact from the attack of the virus is that it appears to alter the user's settings within Word so that the program no longer warns users if they are about to open a file with an unknown macro, Spafford said. The virus "turns the protections down on the machine to the lowest setting," he said. Users can tell if they have been infected by the virus by checking the Windows registry, which is a database that contains a list of programs downloaded onto the computer.
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Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 09:15:59 -0600 From: Mattingly Conner <muse(at)iland.net> Subject: RE: Warning: Virus Alert There's a patch fix for this nasty: http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-002.asp The download takes about a minute. By my soul, Deborah Mattingly Conner muse(at)iland.net http://www.iland.net/~muse . . . To gain access to what is in the symbols, one must take them into ones being, breathe them in, as it were, or allow oneself to resonate with the imagery. ~ Adam McLean - -----Original Message----- From: owner-gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA [mailto:owner-gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA]On Behalf Of James E. Kearman Sent: Monday, March 29, 1999 7:31 AM To: Gaslight Subject: Warning: Virus Alert In case anyone missed this: Super-Fast Computer Virus Heads Into the Workweek By MATT RICHTEL PALO ALTO, Calif. -- With tens of thousands of computers thought to be affected already, corporations and network security professionals said today that they were bracing for the continued spread of the "Melissa" computer virus with the beginning of the workweek on Monday. Over the weekend, computer security firms said they had received an unusually large number of calls for assistance from companies affected on Friday and Saturday. Melissa, which is carried by e-mail, appears to be one of the fastest replicating viruses ever detected. It automatically tries to mail itself from each recipient's machine to 50 other e-mail addresses, computer security experts said. "This message may be sitting in a lot of mailboxes, dormant," said Jeff Carpenter, the incident-response team leader from the Computer Emergency Response Team, an emergency security service at Carnegie Mellon University financed by the Department of Defense and now known simply as CERT. "When people go to work and open it up, a large number of organizations could be negatively affected." Carpenter said the response team had received 50 to 60 telephone calls on Friday and Saturday from organizations. Most of their mail servers were incapacitated by an overwhelming volume of mail. So far, it appears that the biggest threat from the virus is that it overwhelms networks because it reproduces so rapidly but it is not expected to otherwise attack the machines it infects. Also, the infection appears to become dormant after once using a recipient's computer as a platform to re-send itself. When a user opens the file labeled list.doc attached to the e-mail, it executes a Microsoft Word macro, a sort of rudimentary program that searches the recipient's hard drive for an address list produced by one of two Microsoft e-mail programs, Outlook or Outlook Express. It then copies the message to the first 50 names in the address book, giving it the appearance of having been sent by someone known to the recipient. Eric Allman, co-founder of Sendmail, the software company in Emeryville, Calif., which makes the Internet's most popular post-office program for directing e-mail, said, "Word macros are probably more powerful than they ought to be, but you do get something for that power." Since the virus appears to affect only computers that are loaded with both Word and either Outlook or Outlook Express, it seems designed to take advantage of three of the most popular programs on personal computers. Security experts said that computers loaded with Word and one of the two Microsoft e-mail programs are vulnerable even if the default e-mail program on the computer is a competing product like the Netscape Communications Corporation's Navigator mail or Qualcomm's Eudora. Generally, Allman said, consumers need to be more aware of what information they are accepting on their hard drives and other storage devices when they download an e-mail attachment. A setting within Microsoft Word cautions users when they are about to open an unknown document that contains a macro and asks if they would like to continue. One lasting impact from the attack of the virus is that it appears to alter the user's settings within Word so that the program no longer warns users if they are about to open a file with an unknown macro, Spafford said. The virus "turns the protections down on the machine to the lowest setting," he said. Users can tell if they have been infected by the virus by checking the Windows registry, which is a database that contains a list of programs downloaded onto the computer. ------------------------------ End of Gaslight Digest V1 #58 *****************************