In this issue: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant" Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant" Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft (p.s.) Etext avail offlist: Futrelle's "Mystery of Room 666" How many Stone Age stories by H.G. Wells? Re: Etext avail offlist: Futrelle's "Mystery of Room 666" RE: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant" Yipes! Apologies to the list RE: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant" Today in History - March 29 Re: Vulgar Tongue Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft (p.s.) Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Re: Vulgar Tongue Re: Vulgar Tongue "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Re: Today in History - March 29 WWW etext avail: Robert Barr's "Finley McGillis", "Canadian literature" Re: "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" RE: Today in History - March 29 Re: "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Today in History - March 30 <FWD> _Modern Eloquence_ and its current value Today in History - March 31 Re: Today in History - Boxing Lovecraft and Cleaver?! -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 09:19:12 -0600 From: Moudry <Moudry(at)uab.edu> Subject: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" At 21:38 26-03-99 -0700, Peter Wood wrote (in part): ><snip!> >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. ><snip!> >Peter Wood Here, I think, Peter has brought out an essential component of HPL's style and philosophy of the construction of the weird tale. "Show, don't tell" is diametrically opposite to his dictum that one shouldn't show too much of the horror, for fear of someone noticing the guy in the rubber suit. By using so florid a vocabulary, as adjective ridden as some of us would believe it to be, Lovecraft was able not to shine the spotlight on the central horror and detract from the impact it would have on the (first time) reader of the tale. Unofrtunately, his "lack of precision" in dealing with his mind-blasting horrors allowed herecies, such as August Derleth's and Robert E. Howrd's, to demean his vision into a look-alike Christian mythology of aliens in white hats and the bad ones in hats the colour out of space, but that's another rant.... Back to lurker 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
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 08:53:30 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft
Jo Ann H. writes:
>I have a fascination with archaic and arcane vocabulary and
>enjoy dredging up old words.
I know very little about Lovecraft, but I will always identify him with the
word "ululant". I searched the Internet and only found the word in Latin texts
and in the very modern writing of those pretending to be Medieval. Is this
word, in its English context, and invention of Lovecraft's?
Stephen
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 09:25:28 -0700 (MST) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant" See Chambers' 20C Dictionary and the OCD. It is certainly in the OED under "Ululate", and presumably, then, in all reputable dictionaries. Has anyone ever come across a disreputable dictionary, by the way? Peter Wood On Mon, 29 Mar 1999 sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA wrote: > Jo Ann H. writes: >>.... archaic and arcane vocabulary and enjoy dredging up old words. > I know very little about Lovecraft, but I will always identify him with > the word "ululant". I searched the Internet and only found the word in > Latin texts and in the very modern writing of those pretending to be > Medieval. Is this word, in its English context, an invention of > Lovecraft's? > Stephen > mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 09:42:18 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant"
Dr. P. asks if there is a disreputable dictionary out there. I'm not aware of
one outside of translating dictionaries. The best book for our purpose would
called something like _Mrs. Byrne's book of words_ (197?) in which a pre-Miss
Manners erudite explains the obscure and archaic words which Jo Ann appreciates.
I have a copy somewhere under the rubble at home and will dig it out when the
renovations are finished.
Stephen
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 12:55:50 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft >Jo Ann H. writes: > >>I have a fascination with archaic and arcane vocabulary and >>enjoy dredging up old words. > > I know very little about Lovecraft, but I will always identify him >with the >word "ululant". I searched the Internet and only found the word in Latin texts >and in the very modern writing of those pretending to be Medieval. Is this >word, in its English context, and invention of Lovecraft's? > > Stephen > mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca Ulalume! Ulalume! 'Tis the grave of my lost Ulalume! Before I go to the dictionary, I associate it with that thing they do in Africa and the Near East, where they make a hell of a noise with their soft palates? -- used in howling grief, but also other occasions. Or is that another word? ...BACK FROM OXFORD CONCISE: Hey, that's it! ululate. v.i. Howl, wail, give prolonged cdry of joy; hoot; so ~ant a., ~ation, n. from L. ululare (imit.) + -ate. Carroll
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 13:05:24 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft (p.s.) Ulalume! Ulalume! 'Tis the grave of my lost Ulalume! Before I go to the dictionary, I associate it with that thing they do in Africa and the Near East, where they make a hell of a noise with their soft palates? -- used in howling grief, but also other occasions. Or is that another word? ...BACK FROM OXFORD CONCISE: Hey, that's it! ululate. v.i. Howl, wail, give prolonged cdry of joy; hoot; so ~ant a., ~ation, n. from L. ululare (imit.) + -ate. - ---- p.s. Oh I see, I mixed up ululate and uvula --that always sounded very sexy to me, uvula, and perhaps uvulation is orgasm of the throat? no wonder people like to sing, and howl! -- And leads to uvulation, rather than ovulation. Musically yours, Carroll
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 11:36:05 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Etext avail offlist: Futrelle's "Mystery of Room 666"
We talked recently about Jacques Futrelle's "Mystery of Room 666", but I
couldn't produce an etext of it because a) I haven't a copy of the original
publication and b) I have had very little opportunity to scan this year so far.
I have produced a workable etext of the story which I am prepared to circulate
offlist to anyone who writes me asking for it.
Stephen
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 11:39:31 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: How many Stone Age stories by H.G. Wells?
We had very little discussion about Wells' 5 "Stone age stories" in December,
and I was never able to determine whether I had actually got all the stories in
this series. My copies came from the _Idler_ (1897). These stories were
afterwards reprinted in _Tales of space and time_ (1899) as the novella "A story
of the stone age", sometimes called "The story of Ugh-lomi".
Can anyone tell me how many chapters there are in the novella or how many
stories were carried in the _Idler_?
Stephen D
mailto:sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 10:58:37 -0800
From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu>
Subject: Re: Etext avail offlist: Futrelle's "Mystery of Room 666"
Stephen,
I would like to read Futrelle's story. Thanks!
If you need more scanned stories, you are welcome to
use more of the Napoleonic group if you wish. There is
Heyse's Mid-Day Magic, which is a sad ghost story, or
Maxwell's Major's Story, which is a lover's murder tale
set in Ireland, or Tolstoy's Two Hussars, which is long,
but could be spread over 2 weeks. Just a thought...
don't feel obligated! <g>
Patricia
>>> <sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA> 3/29/99 10:36:05 AM >>>
We talked recently about Jacques Futrelle's "Mystery of Room 666", but I
couldn't produce an etext of it because a) I haven't a copy of the original
publication and b) I have had very little opportunity to scan this year so far.
I have produced a workable etext of the story which I am prepared to circulate
offlist to anyone who writes me asking for it.
Stephen
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 13:58:47 -0500 From: "Roberts, Leonard" <lroberts(at)email.uncc.edu> Subject: RE: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant" Someone has probably already responded to this but I will do so anyway. The full title is _Mrs.. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words_ by Josefa Heifetz Byrne. My copy is copyrighted 1974 and the ISBN is 0-8065-0498-6. I enjoy the book a great deal and recommend it highly. I just hope I can refrain from spending the rest of the afternoon reading it instead of working. Len Roberts > Dr. P. asks if there is a disreputable dictionary out there. I'm not > aware of > one outside of translating dictionaries. The best book for our purpose > would > called something like _Mrs. Byrne's book of words_ (197?) in which a > pre-Miss > Manners erudite explains the obscure and archaic words which Jo Ann > appreciates. > I have a copy somewhere under the rubble at home and will dig it out when > the > renovations are finished. > Stephen >
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 11:16:06 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Yipes! Apologies to the list After all this time, I actually responded to the list with a private email. Sorry! mortified, Patricia
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 16:19:18 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: RE: Imprisoned with Lovecraft: "Ululant"
Of course, there is the well-known _Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue_
(1811), which is made up of canting terms in common use among thieves,
prostitutes, and the like in the London of that period. The most
interesting aspect of this book, which has been mentioned before
on Gaslight, is the number of terms that have survived intact, and
those that have survived but with the meanings changed.
Bob C.
> > Dr. P. asks if there is a disreputable dictionary out there. I'm not
> > aware of
> > one outside of translating dictionaries. The best book for our purpose
> > would
> > called something like _Mrs. Byrne's book of words_ (197?) in which a
> > pre-Miss
> > Manners erudite explains the obscure and archaic words which Jo Ann
> > appreciates.
> > I have a copy somewhere under the rubble at home and will dig it out when
> > the
> > renovations are finished.
> > Stephen
> >
>
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 14:48:34 -0700
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - March 29
1847
U.S. troops under General Winfield Scott take possession of
the Mexican
stronghold at Vera Cruz.
1867
The United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2
million dollars.
1879
British troops of the 90th Light Infantry Regiment repulse
a major attack by Zulu
tribesmen in northwest Zululand.
1903
A regular news service begins between New York and London
on Marconi's
wireless.
1913
The German government announces a raise in taxes in order
to finance the new
military budget.
1916
The Italians call off the fifth attack on Isonzo.
Born on March 29
1790
John Tyler, 10th president of the United States and first
vice-president to succeed
to office on the death of a president.
1819
Edwin Drake, drilled the first productive oil well
1835
Elihu Thomson, the English-born American inventor of
electric welding and arc
lighting.
1867
Cy Young, major league baseball pitcher with the most wins
(509 total).
1875
Lou Henry Hoover, first lady President Herbert Hoover.
1888
James E. Casey, founder of the United Parcel Service
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 13:56:28 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: Vulgar Tongue Bob C. wrote: <<< Of course, there is the well-known _Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue_ (1811), which is made up of canting terms in common use among thieves, prostitutes, and the like in the London of that period. The most interesting aspect of this book, which has been mentioned before on Gaslight, is the number of terms that have survived intact, and those that have survived but with the meanings changed.>> This dictionary is a delight! My copy is frayed about the edges from long hours of browsing, most often accompanied by peels of laughter. If you have an interest in late 18th or early 19th century literature, I highly recommend this dictionary. A few years ago I picked up a copy at, of all places, Barnes and Noble, for a few bucks, straight off the sale table. Patricia (who is still amazed at the early meaning of nincompoop, not to mention the slang usage of monosyllable, which if I remember correctly was described as a prostitute's public parts and a lady's private parts.... what a way with words! <grin>)
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 16:04:05 -0600 From: athan chilton <ayc(at)UIUC.EDU> Subject: Re: Imprisoned with Lovecraft (p.s.) >Before I go to the dictionary, I associate it with that thing they do >in Africa and the Near East, where they make a hell of a noise with >their soft palates? -- used in howling grief, but also other occasions. >Or is that another word? Gaslight's own American-style Middle Eastern dancer sez: You're referring to the 'zaghareet'--made by rapid trilling of the tongue against the palate. It's tough to do well if you haven't heard the real thing. But if you go to a Middle Eastern dance performance, you'll hear it sure enough, because dancers let loose with it as a sign of appreciation for another dancer's performance... Athan ayc(at)uiuc.edu
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 15:10:20 -0700 (MST) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Adjectivitis, or "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Moudry wrote in reply to my posting, which ran, in part: >>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. >>Peter Wood as follows: > Here, I think, Peter has brought out an essential component of HPL's style > and philosophy of the construction of the weird tale. "Show, don't tell" is > diametrically opposite to his dictum that one shouldn't show too much of > the horror, for fear of someone noticing the guy in the rubber suit. By > using so florid a vocabulary, as adjective ridden as some of us would > believe it to be, Lovecraft was able not to shine the spotlight on the > central horror and detract from the impact it would have on the (first > time) reader of the tale. > Unfortunately, his "lack of precision" in dealing with his mind-blasting > horrors allowed heretics, such as August Derleth and Robert E. Howard, > to demean his vision into a look-alike Christian mythology of aliens in > white hats and the bad ones in hats the colour out of space, but that's > another rant.... > Joe Moudry Thanks for the kind words! I'd agree on Derleth, who was, I believe, a lapsed Catholic, and might have some idea of the Manichaean heresy, but not on R. E. Howard; according to what I know, "The Black Stone" is the only Lovecraftian story he wrote, as he preferred the Conanical type of tale. I'll have a look at Lovecraft's "Supernatural Horror in Literature" and see if he states his opinions more explicitly than his famous remark about "...the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown", but I do not think he does so. Where, incidentally, does HPL advance this argument about "one shouldn't show too much of the horror, for fear of someone noticing the guy in the rubber suit " (or words to that effect)? It doesn't sound consistent with those of his works I've read, which is practically everything including his Selected Correspondence. I'd have said quite the opposite was his real view on achieving a horrific effect in story writing. I may be incorrect, but I'm happy to be demonstrated so. Peter Wood ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 15:15:03 -0700 (MST) From: "p.h.wood" <woodph(at)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Vulgar Tongue I believe that "nincompoop" was an abbreviation of "non compos mentis" (Latin, "not of sound mind"). Is this in fact so according to the disreputable source you cite? Peter Wood On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Patricia Teter wrote, re the "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue": > This dictionary is a delight! My copy is frayed about the edges > from long hours of browsing, most often accompanied by peals > of laughter. If you have an interest in late 18th or early 19th > century literature, I highly recommend this dictionary. > Patricia (who is still amazed at the early meaning of nincompoop, > not to mention the slang usage of monosyllable, which if I > remember correctly was described as a prostitute's public parts > and a lady's private parts.... what a way with words! <grin>)
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 14:54:33 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: Vulgar Tongue Peter W. writes: <<I believe that "nincompoop" was an abbreviation of "non compos mentis" (Latin, "not of sound mind"). Is this in fact so according to the disreputable source you cite?>> In essence, yes, the term is based on the Latin, however, there is an emphasis upon the "fool" as cuckold, with various derogatory variations and spellings, once again referring to female anatomy. I do not have my copy at hand, so am unable to quote the entry, although I'm not sure I would for fear of offending some of the group. It is not called Vulgar Tongue for nothing! <g> Patricia
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 15:56:00 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" >I'd agree on Derleth, but not on R. E. Howard I'd add Lin Carter to the list with Derleth and maybe L. Sprague. I tended to avoid their additions. Brian Lumley--too heavy handed (except his wonderful the "Caller of the Black"). I also agree that Howard wasn't really one of the followers except in spirit. It was primarily Derleth who both saved Lovecraft's work from obscurity (one likes to think) and who also, in his own way, subverted that vision. >Where, incidentally, does HPL advance this argument about "one shouldn't >show too much of the horror, I swear I have read this from Lovecraft's own words, too--I've read all the letters and correspondence as well. It seems like it was in something in his rewrites though. Without going through everything (which I'm sorry, I won't) I couldn't give you a positive quote. But I don't get that impression that he did reveal too much, Peter...? We must be reading things differently. All you have to do is read the modern pastiches to get the 'too much' aspect, too much gore, too much graphic violence, too much grisly detail which is really not in Lovecraft's work itself. I could tell a kid to read Lovecraft but not the new stuff. (Okay...a special kind of kid, a kid like...most of us?) Deborah (PS: I recommended a movie about R.E. Howard around Xmas, and still do, though now I can't remember the title!) Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 19:48:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Re: Today in History - March 29
On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Jerry Carlson wrote:
> 1819
> Edwin Drake, drilled the first productive oil well
Perhaps there are some engineers among our number--or at least some
historian of engineering--who could answer three questions I have
about this drilling. Of what material was the bit made, how deep
was the shaft at completion, and how long did the drilling take?
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
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
===0===
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 20:44:39 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: WWW etext avail: Robert Barr's "Finley McGillis", "Canadian literature"
From: Stephen Davies(at)MRC on 03/29/99 08:44 PM
To: Gaslight-announce(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
cc:
Subject: WWW etext avail: Robert Barr's "Finley McGillis", "Canadian
literature"
(MCGILLIS.HTM) (Fiction, Chronos)
Robert Barr's "How Finley McGillis Held the Pier" (1914)
(CANLIT.HTM) (Nonfict, Chronos)
Robert Barr's "Canadian literature" (1899)
Robert Barr recalls a humourous incident of the Fenian raids into
Ontario in "How Finley McGillis held the pier" (1914), published
posthumously.
Barr had previously criticized Canadians for not making enough
fuss over their native literature in "Canadian literature" (1899).
These etexts have previously been released in plain ASCII.
To retrieve all 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 mcgillis.hum
get canlit.non
or visit the Gaslight website at:
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/mcgillis.htm
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/canlit.htm
Stephen D
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
===0===
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 11:00:28 -0500 From: Connie Hirsch <Connie_Hirsch(at)HMCO.COM> Subject: Re: "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" Deborah writes: >(PS: I recommended a movie about R.E. Howard around Xmas, and still do, >though now I can't remember the title!) That would be _The Whole Wide World_ with Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellwager, which I also have to thoroughly recommend to the list! The film was low-budget, so the producers could not get rights to portray any of the "Conan" material, which is actually to the film's benefit, since we then rely on only a bit of Howard's prose read aloud by the author to give us a taste of what fabulous images his imagination produced. It's really worth a rental. - -connie. connie_hirsch(at)hmco.com
===0===
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:55:16 -0600 From: Mattingly Conner <muse(at)iland.net> Subject: RE: Today in History - March 29 > On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Jerry Carlson wrote: > 1819 > Edwin Drake, drilled the first productive oil well > Bob Champ asked: Of what material was the bit made, how deep was the shaft at completion, and how long did the drilling take? See: http://www.oilhistory.com/drakewell.html With heart, D Mattingly Conner muse(at)iland.net http://www.iland.net/~muse "....poetry springs from divine frenzy, frenzy from the Muses, and the Muses from Jove. The followers of Plato repeatedly call the soul of the whole universe Jove, who inwardly nourishes heaven and earth, the moving seas, the moon's shining orb, the stars and sun. Permeating every limb, he moves the whole mass and mingles with its vast substance." ~ Marsilio Ficino
===0===
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:06:44 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: "Imprisoned with Lovecraft" >_The Whole Wide World_ with Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellwager, Thanks--it was bothering me! >the producers could not get rights to portray any of the "Conan" material, >which is actually to the film's benefit, since we then rely on only a bit of >Howard's prose read aloud by the author to give us a taste of what fabulous >images his imagination produced. I found that to it's benefit as well--nice way to put it. It was well portrayed. I'd love to see something on Lovecraft done this tastefully.... Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
===0===
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:15:26 -0700
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - March 30
1840
"Beau" Brummell, the English dandy and former favorite of
the prince regent, dies in
a French lunatic asylum for paupers.
1858
Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patents the pencil.
1867
Alaska is purchased by the U.S. from Russia for two cents
an acre.
1870
The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote
regardless of race, passes.
Texas is the last Confederate state readmitted to the Union.
1885
In Afghanistan, Russian troops inflict a crushing defeat on
Afghan forces Ak Teppe
despite orders not to fight.
1909
The Queensboro Bridge in New York opens. It is the first
double decker bridge
and links Manhattan and Queens.
1916
Mexican bandit Pancho Villa kills 172 at the Guerrero
garrison in Mexico.
Born on March 30
1820
Anna Sewell, English novelist who's Black Beauty has become
the classic story
about horses.
1853
Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch impressionist artist.
1883
Jo Davidson, American sculptor.
===0===
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 09:09:35 -0700
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: <FWD> _Modern Eloquence_ and its current value
I received the following request for information. Is there anyone who can help
Nick determine the value of his set?
Stephen D
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
- ---------------------- Forwarded by Stephen Davies/Academic/MRC on 03/31/99
09:07 AM ---------------------------
To: Gaslight-Safe(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
cc: (bcc: Stephen Davies/Academic/MRC)
Subject: Modern Eloquence
I would appreciate your feedback.
I own a 10 volume set of Modern Eloquence from 1900 by John D Morris and
Company. It is in very good condition. Any idea of its value?
Thanks.
Nick
mailto:McCallionN(at)aol.com
===0===
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 12:10:49 -0700
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - March 31
1862
Skirmishing between Rebels and Union forces takes place at
Island 10 on the
Mississippi River.
1880
The first electric street lights ever installed by a
municipality are turned on in
Wabash, Ind.
1889
The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opens.
1916
General John Pershing and his army rout Pancho Villa's army
in Mexico.
1917
The United States purchases the Virgin Islands from Denmark
for $25 million.
1918
Daylight Savings Time goes into effect throughout the
United States for the first
time.
Born on March 31
1809
Edward Fitzgerald, American writer famous for Rubiayat of
Omar Khayyam
1811
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen burner.
1854
Sir Dugald Clerk, inventor of the two-stroke motorcycle
engine
1878
Jack Johnson, first Africa-American boxer to become the
world heavyweight
champion.
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Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 12:09:15 -0800 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: Today in History - Boxing <<1878 Jack Johnson, first Africa-American boxer to become the world heavyweight champion. >> From what I have read about one of the Molineaux and Cribb fights, Molineaux, an ex-slave from America, should have been declared the English Champion in the early 19th century. An interesting article on this subject appeared in the Times Literary Supplement some time ago, in a review of Fraser's book _Black Ajax_. Speaking of early boxing, I have been reading a number of boxing stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, which are really very good. I'm certainly not a boxing fan, but Doyle captures the essence of boxing in the Regency era, during the days of Tom Cribb and Jem Belcher. _Rodney Stone_ is a coming of age novel set within the era, which revolves around an important boxing match. "Croxley Master" is a humorous novella concerning a medical student who finds himself in a boxing match to pay his schooling. Other short stories set within the world of boxing and the regency era include: "End of Devil Hawker", "The Fall of Lord Barrymore" and "Lord of Falconbridge." best regards, Patricia
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Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 12:15:15 -0800 From: Alan Gullette <alang(at)creative.net> Subject: Lovecraft and Cleaver?! Deborah McMillion Nering wrote: >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. In my lengthy interview with S.T. Joshi, the Lovecraft scholar agreed that there was a contradiction in HPL concerning the "art for art's sake" pose that his gentlemanly stature required he assume toward his writing. A quote may be of interest here: AG: Oates said that, "Like Poe, Lovecraft died believing himself an ignominious failure." Is that true? STJ: Oh, yes. Absolutely. I am sure he would have never realized the extent to which his work is now popular, and would have been astounded that his friends -- and, quite honestly, complete strangers like myself and others --- would have taken the effort to resurrect his work and pay so much attention to it. AG: Isn't there an inconsistency here. He relied so much on the approval of his friends, other writers and the reading public, and yet he was always faithful to his own aesthetics of "art for art's sake." STJ: Oh, there is a clear contradiction, and I don't think Lovecraft either realized it or understood it emotionally. There is no reason why he should have needed this kind of reassurance form others -- especially from others whose opinion he didn't really respect that much, like the pulp readership or the pulp editors. Early in his life he said that "there are only seven people who really understand my work, and they're enough, and I would continue writing even if I were the only reader of my work." But he didn't seem to practice that principle. I think emotionally he needed this reassurance. I think he was maybe insecure or had some sort of inferiority complex. AG: Always, or did that become more a part of his character? STJ: Oh, I think it was always the case. AG: It wasn't a matter of running out of steam or getting too depressed by the rejections? STJ: No, because I think he got that assurance earlier on in his amateur years when he was a Titan in this extremely tiny little realm of amateur journalism, and initially he was the big fish in the pulp field as well. But as time went on and his time went on and his own work became simply too vast and complex for the pulp market that reassurance wasn't there. AG: So he never had a sense that he was writing for the future? STJ: It doesn't appear so. I don't think he expected his work to last. Maybe in some deep recess of his imagination he hoped that it might, but I think he was pretty convinced that it wouldn't -- simply because of all the failures that he had in getting his books and his work published during his lifetime. Peter Wood wrote: >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). That would be Eldridge Cleaver; this from Microsoft Bookshelf: Literature 1968 -- Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver flees to Cuba in November 1968 to avoid going to prison for parole violations. Cleaver begins a 7-year exile. "If a man like Malcolm X could change and repudiate racism, if I myself and other former Muslims can change, if young whites can change, then there is hope for America." Eldridge Cleaver (b. 1935), U.S. black leader, writer. Soul on Ice, "The White Race and Its Heroes" (1968). I only bother to quote because he was a California writer!! By the way, besides "parole violations" he fled to Cuba following a shootout with Oakland police... That devil in those details... ------------------------------ End of Gaslight Digest V1 #59 *****************************