Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade
Keith, I don't find those words antiquated either. Many of them find their ways into my stories, and some even into my everyday conversations. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Date : Thu, 9 Jul 2009 03:32:17 + (UTC) From : Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Interesting. Like Howard, another guy who clung to his mother and was fearful and reclusive. I guess that's where the terror and primal fear of his tales (so I've heard, never having read them) originates. Stephen King, I recall, was said to be a very scary child. His friends used to enjoy terrifying him with ghost stories. I did find this passage from the entry interesting: His prose is somewhat antiquarian . Often he employed archaic vocabulary or spelling which had already by his time been replaced by contemporary coinages; examples including Esquimau , and Comanchian. He was given to heavy use of an esoteric lexicon including such words as eldritch , rugose , noisome , squamous , ichor , and cyclopean , and of attempts to transcribe dialect speech which have been criticized as clumsy, imprecise, and condescending. His works also featured British English (he was an admitted Anglophile ), and he sometimes made use of anachronistic spellings, such as compleat (for complete), shew (show), lanthorn (lantern), and phantasy (fantasy; also appearing as phantastic). Interesting because just about all of those words are fairly normal to me, especially words like shew, which are familiar to me from years of reading the King James Bible. And I wouldn't call eldritch, noisome, or ichor esoteric or antiquated at all, especially in the realms of scifi/fantasy/horror. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 8:53:17 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Keith, this might provide answers for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Date : Tue, 7 Jul 2009 20:38:44 + (UTC) From : Keith Johnson To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com I only know of Lovecraft through references in other works (such as, surprisingly, The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series), and, ironically, through a dude I knew back in middle school who loved him, and who was also the grandson of a Klansman. What's up with his racist views? - Original Message - From: B. Smith To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:57:03 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Lovecraft's racism have permanently soured me on his work. I know del Toro will knock it out of the park but it's a bittersweet feeling. Drood is an interesting novel but I couldn't plow through it. Dan Simmons has caught a case of the bloat. And the crazy but that's a whole different story. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Martin Baxter wrote: He's doing Lovecraft... (breaks out into the HappyHappyJoyJoy Dance) -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Date : Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:26:06 - From : ravenadal To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Del Toro co-writes vampire movie; wants to film Drood. (Check out the link for the pictures) http://oluik.notlong.com Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro decade: 'The Hobbit' director is just getting started One of the gentle souls in the movie business is Guillermo del Toro, and I always look forward to my interviews with him. This is a longer version of my latest story on Del Toro, which is scheduled to run Thursday on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Calender section. On the far side of the globe, in New Zealand, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is now in his seventh month of labor on The Hobbit, a $300-million epic that will be told over two films in 2011 and 2012. But you can also find the Guadalajara native on the shelf of your local bookstore with his just-released debut novel, The Strain, the opening installment of a vampire trilogy he already has mapped out. That's only the beginning. The 44-year-old Del Toro, who was nominated for an Oscar for the dark fairy tale Pan's Labyrinth and showed his crowd-pleasing sensibilities with the Hellboy films, also has plans to reanimate some musty and monstrous literary classics. He plans to make a Frankenstein film as well as an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's epic At the Mountains of Madness, a project he breathlessly refers to as my obsession. He would seem to be a full plate but, interviewed by phone recently, he chuckled and
Re: [scifinoir2] Man Pays Thousands for Obscure Video Game
You're right, Keith. I hadn't thought of that, either. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Man Pays Thousands for Obscure Video Game Date : Thu, 9 Jul 2009 03:16:46 + (UTC) From : Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com My assumption was that he wouldn't be playing it. It's only just some plastic around a primitive chip, but it could still go on the fritz one day, if subjected to the current needed to play it. I assumed he was just gonna keep it locked in a glass chamber filled with helium gas or something, and just admire it from there. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 8:17:37 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Man Pays Thousands for Obscure Video Game Lavendar, I hadn't even considered that! -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Man Pays Thousands for Obscure Video Game Date : Tue, 7 Jul 2009 21:24:31 -0400 From : To : Well, the question is does it still play and does his NES still play? --Lavender From: Martin Baxter Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 8:15 AM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Man Pays Thousands for Obscure Video Game Amen to that, Mr Worf! And I, a video-game fan since the day video games first entered my worldview over twenty-five years ago, have *never heard* of that game. Odds are, he can only get a reaction out of equally hyper-rabid fans by showing it off. And he'd better hope that none of them have sticky fingers. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Man Pays Thousands for Obscure Video Game Date : Mon, 6 Jul 2009 22:24:25 -0700 From : Mr. Worf To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com He could have bought the distribution rights for the game for less money. On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 9:00 PM, Keith Johnson wrote: Wow, talk about a fan. How many PS3's, Wii's, XBox 360's, Sega Genesis' (I still have that console, it's great), SNES' (ditto), and 3DO's --complete with full game libraries--could he have bought with that much dough? *** http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/the-17-500-video-game/1332488 The $17,500 video game by Mike Smith Buzz up! July 6 1:32 P.M. [image: $17000 Game] Would you pay $17,500 for this? Think $60 video games are too expensive? You won't hear any argument from us, but you might from JJ Hendricks, a collector who just paid a clinically insane $17,500for an obscure NES game from 1990. The game in question is an ultra-rare, gold-colored version of Nintendo World Championships, a cartridge specially produced for use in a Nintendo-sponsored gaming contest. According to Wikipedia only 26 were created, and Hendricks calls it the Holy Grail of video game collectors. The game itself has a time limit of just 6 minutes and 21 seconds and consists of three short segments from other NES games: Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Rad Racer. Players are scored according to their performance in each game, and their scores are totaled once the time limit expires. Doesn't sound too riveting to us, but then somehow we doubt Hendricks is in it for the gameplay. And while $17,500 might seem a bit much for a collection of ones and zeroes, Hendricks actually got a bargain: the game was originally listed on eBay for a cool $25,000. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds People may lie, but the evidence rarely does. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
[scifinoir2] Another sign of the apocalypse: Transformers shoots past $600 million
Optimus Prime and the other Transformers have vanquished another Hollywood milestone. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen shot past the $300 million mark domestically on Tuesday, after just 14 days in release. That makes it the second-fastest movie to top $300 million, behind 2008's The Dark Knight, which did so in 10 days. The Transformers sequel has topped $600 million worldwide. The first installment, released in 2007, took in $319 million in North America and $700 million worldwide.
[RE][scifinoir2] Another sign of the apocalypse: Transformers shoots past $600 million
Meaning that Transformers 3 is a go (if it wasn't already), and Optimus Prime gets a love interest in the form of a transforming A300. Martin (waiting for the chance to sue Bay when he swipes that one) -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] Another sign of the apocalypse: Transformers shoots past $600 million Date : Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:15:46 - From : ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Optimus Prime and the other Transformers have vanquished another Hollywood milestone. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen shot past the $300 million mark domestically on Tuesday, after just 14 days in release. That makes it the second-fastest movie to top $300 million, behind 2008's The Dark Knight, which did so in 10 days. The Transformers sequel has topped $600 million worldwide. The first installment, released in 2007, took in $319 million in North America and $700 million worldwide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
[RE][scifinoir2] Re: Warehouse 13 on Now
I know. But, sometimes, hope is all we have to live on. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] Re: Warehouse 13 on Now Date : Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:55:53 - From : B. Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Like that had a chance of happening. The shot of her headed up the stairs and then coyly looking backis it getting hot in here? I'll stop now. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter wrote: Dangit! Martin (really hoping that she'd gone unnoticed my the male masses) -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Warehouse 13 on Now Date : Wed, 8 Jul 2009 06:54:30 -0700 (PDT) From : Augustus Augustus To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com with you on this one B. the inn keeper was BANGING! i do hope that they give her more screen time. the premier ep was not that bad. i enjoyed how they built a nice little back story. i also enjoyed how CCH wanted them 2 WANT 2 be there. there is a lot of possibilities for the series. let's see how it goes. now i am waiting on EuREKA friday. Fate. --- On Wed, 7/8/09, B. Smith wrote: From: B. Smith Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Warehouse 13 on Now To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 9:29 AM I'll watch this show for it's full run if they give Genelle Williams (the innkeeper) gets more screentime. Homina, homina, homina!!! The first ep wasn't bad either. LOL! --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Martin Baxter wrote: Siffy aired it from time to time last year, if memory serves. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Date : Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:07:08 + From : efhaynes@ To : SciFiNoir2 mailing list I loved G vs. E. The cable channel Chiller used to show it. That's how I found out about it. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -Original Message- From: Martin Baxter Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:03:53 To: Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Hope you don't mind me weighing in here, Keith, to answer this for Fate. G vs E (aka Good vs Evil) was a USA series, about -- why don't I let IMdb do the explaining instead? http://www.imdb. com/title/ tt0195462/ -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Date : Tue, 7 Jul 2009 18:52:11 -0700 (PDT) From : Augustus Augustus To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Keith, think i missed that one. what was G v E? --- On Tue, 7/7/09, Keith Johnson wrote: From: Keith Johnson Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 9:37 PM Same here. I really enjoyed the Dresden Files. I really enjoyed G vs. E too, more's the pity. - Original Message - From: Augustus Augustus To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:22:20 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Keith I am watching it right now. on regular tv and not my dvr. sidebar: i really like the Dresden Files. Fate. --- On Tue, 7/7/09, Keith Johnson wrote: From: Keith Johnson Subject: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 9:14 PM Anyone watching Warehouse 13 on the--wait for it, Martin--all new SyFy? I'm just into the first ten minutes, so no way i can make a judgement, but wondered if anyone heard any early buzz on the show? I do recognize a couple of the actors. The lead actress played Jeremiah's traitorous lover on the show of the same name. And the mad scientist guy is memorable as Fajah (sp?), in the TNG ep about a rich dude who collects things, and tries to add Data to his collection. As always with Sci--er, SyFy, I'm divided. If the show sucks, it's another sorry show commissioned by the network. If it's good--and I must admit they've shown some good stuff here and there over the years--I fear it'll be canceled to soon. And when I see a show like this, I must confess it makes me wonder why the likes of Level 9, The Dresden Files, and others of this type were canceled. Throw in shows on other stations, like The Chronicle, John Doe, Jake 2.0, and G vs. E, and you wonder what this show's chances are. Maybe it'll catch on like Eureka?
[RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine.
Who's up for an exhumation and a kangaroo trial? -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Date : Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:36:52 - From : ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com http://www.slate.com/id/2221392/ The King of All Formulas The incredible true story of the man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. By Paul Collins Posted Monday, July 6, 2009, at 7:02 AM ET The Proposal is formulaic. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is formulaic. Imagine That is formulaic. Even Up is progressively more formulaic. But who came up with the formula? If you want the human embodiment of Hollywood predictability, you can't do better than Wycliffe A. Hill. A profoundly obscure writer of silent five-reelers, Hill is also the unheralded inventor of something more enduring: the attempt to engineer movies that will bring the most satisfaction to the largest number of peoplethe mob, in other words. It was a notion borne of failure. After a hard-knocks apprenticeship in a Manhattan literary agency, Hill went to Hollywood in 1915, where his first movie pitch was summarily shot down by Cecil B. DeMille. The problem? No plot. A dramatic plot, DeMille's brother patiently explained to Hill, is where someone wants something, something stands in the way of his getting it, he tries to get it and either does or does not. DeMille's prodding was perfectly timed; Hill wandered into a bookshop and found the new translation of French critic Georges Polti's Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. If you've ever endured a teacher bloviating on how there are only really X number of plots in literature, blame Polti. A theatre critic, he gamely ran with the claim that Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi had once succeeded in isolating 36 tragic situations that formed the building blocks of drama. (Naturally, Gozzi then lost his list.) Polti had a recent and lesser-known work that had not yet been translated, The Art of Inventing Characters, which handily presented 36 archetypes. While Polti's books were largely descriptive, Hill hit upon a notion: What if they were combined and made prescriptive? What if together they made a formula? Hill's Ten Million Photoplay Plots: The Master Key to All Dramatic Plots, a byzantine matrix of characters and conflicts designed to create endless plot combinations, was so novel when it debuted in 1919 that the slim guide sold for an eye-popping $5. Quietly lifting from Polti, Hill created mix-and-match lists of characters, settings, and dramatic situations. (An old man wrongfully accused of a mine explosion + seeks refuge from a band of outlaws + with a woman whose house he enters for a hiding place. + ) It was the perfect instrument for the silent movies being churned out on Hollywood lots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
Re: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine.
That's sick! When??? :o) Sent via BlackBerry by ATT -Original Message- From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com Date: Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:34:10 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Who's up for an exhumation and a kangaroo trial? -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Date : Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:36:52 - From : ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com http://www.slate.com/id/2221392/ The King of All Formulas The incredible true story of the man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. By Paul Collins Posted Monday, July 6, 2009, at 7:02 AM ET The Proposal is formulaic. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is formulaic. Imagine That is formulaic. Even Up is progressively more formulaic. But who came up with the formula? If you want the human embodiment of Hollywood predictability, you can't do better than Wycliffe A. Hill. A profoundly obscure writer of silent five-reelers, Hill is also the unheralded inventor of something more enduring: the attempt to engineer movies that will bring the most satisfaction to the largest number of peoplethe mob, in other words. It was a notion borne of failure. After a hard-knocks apprenticeship in a Manhattan literary agency, Hill went to Hollywood in 1915, where his first movie pitch was summarily shot down by Cecil B. DeMille. The problem? No plot. A dramatic plot, DeMille's brother patiently explained to Hill, is where someone wants something, something stands in the way of his getting it, he tries to get it and either does or does not. DeMille's prodding was perfectly timed; Hill wandered into a bookshop and found the new translation of French critic Georges Polti's Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. If you've ever endured a teacher bloviating on how there are only really X number of plots in literature, blame Polti. A theatre critic, he gamely ran with the claim that Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi had once succeeded in isolating 36 tragic situations that formed the building blocks of drama. (Naturally, Gozzi then lost his list.) Polti had a recent and lesser-known work that had not yet been translated, The Art of Inventing Characters, which handily presented 36 archetypes. While Polti's books were largely descriptive, Hill hit upon a notion: What if they were combined and made prescriptive? What if together they made a formula? Hill's Ten Million Photoplay Plots: The Master Key to All Dramatic Plots, a byzantine matrix of characters and conflicts designed to create endless plot combinations, was so novel when it debuted in 1919 that the slim guide sold for an eye-popping $5. Quietly lifting from Polti, Hill created mix-and-match lists of characters, settings, and dramatic situations. (An old man wrongfully accused of a mine explosion + seeks refuge from a band of outlaws + with a woman whose house he enters for a hiding place. + ) It was the perfect instrument for the silent movies being churned out on Hollywood lots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
[scifinoir2] Re: Warehouse 13 on Now
That's exactly why she needed more screentime. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: Funny. She was okay, but not enough by herself to keep me watching. About one and a half hours in, my wife turned to me and said Is this any good? It seems to be a bit slow. I had to admit it still hadn't engaged me. Something about the plotting and pacing seemed lackluster and plodding. The leads were both a bit of a blank to me: their personalities just didn't shine brightly enough to make up for the cliched storyline of the incredibly-talented-cops/agents/detectives-who-are-recruited-for-a-top-secret-job. The flow was oddly paced, with moments that seemed to want to make the show lighthearted (like the completely illogical pulley system the archivist used to go deep into the belly of the warehouse, or the cute-but-silly idea of using old tech for their weaponry and communications), then moments that tried to be really dramatic. I'm loathe to say this, but there wasn't enough action to offset the poor plot (you know I try to always defend a good scifi story that isn't relying solely on FX and action. By the climax, I wasn't engaged, amused, full of suspense, worried, or anything. It seemed to me like a show patched poorly together from elements from other shows. It reminds me in some ways of X-Files (man and woman team chasing dangerous mysteries in the shadows) but with leads not as good, and writing not as sharp...put me in mind of that series Friday the 13th (collecting items of power that need to be locked up), but not as macabre or full of horror elementshad little cutesy bits with gadgets and jokes and quirky characters a la Level 9, Reaper, G vs. E, The Chronicle, and even Eureka, but not as much fun as any of those, and unsure about whether to commit to the lighthearted angle in the first place. I also had time to notice the lack of a significant soundtrack to heighten the scenes. That's not a necessity by any means, as a soundtrack should enhance, not create, the mood, but here it was so weak I sorely felt the lack of a good score. Overall it was nearly as lacking to me as that series Seven Days, which just didn't pull together for me. Maybe it was just me being sleepy and tired, but honestly, I find Noah Wylie and Bob Newhart in those Librarian TV movies more fun. I'll give it another go, and I'll support it for as long as its on, unless it turns to truly awful. - Original Message - From: B. Smith daikaij...@... To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 9:29:01 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Warehouse 13 on Now I'll watch this show for it's full run if they give Genelle Williams (the innkeeper) gets more screentime. Homina, homina, homina!!! The first ep wasn't bad either. LOL! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ wrote: Siffy aired it from time to time last year, if memory serves. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Date : Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:07:08 + From : efhaynes@ To : SciFiNoir2 mailing list scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com I loved G vs. E. The cable channel Chiller used to show it. That's how I found out about it. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -Original Message- From: Martin Baxter Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:03:53 To: Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Hope you don't mind me weighing in here, Keith, to answer this for Fate. G vs E (aka Good vs Evil) was a USA series, about -- why don't I let IMdb do the explaining instead? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195462/ -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Date : Tue, 7 Jul 2009 18:52:11 -0700 (PDT) From : Augustus Augustus To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Keith, think i missed that one. what was G v E? --- On Tue, 7/7/09, Keith Johnson wrote: From: Keith Johnson Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 9:37 PM Same here. I really enjoyed the Dresden Files. I really enjoyed G vs. E too, more's the pity. - Original Message - From: Augustus Augustus To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:22:20 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now Keith I am watching it right now. on regular tv and not my dvr. sidebar: i really like the Dresden Files. Fate. --- On Tue, 7/7/09, Keith Johnson wrote: From: Keith Johnson Subject: [scifinoir2] Warehouse 13 on Now
[scifinoir2] OT: The black funeral of Michael Jackson
An icon who was rendered fully black in death. http://aizouqu.notlong.com
[scifinoir2] Fw: World Science: Monkeys live longer after eating lighter, study finds
ahar...@earthlink.net - Original Message - From: World Science To: emailn...@world-science.net Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:04 AM Subject: World Science: Monkeys live longer after eating lighter, study finds * Monkeys live longer after eating lighter: study Cutting calories by 30 percent seems to have remarkable effects, scientists say. http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/090709_caloric * A theory of everything is said to solve its first real-world problem: String theory, which postulates extra dimensions, has long been criticized for making promises that it failed to live up to. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090707_string * Could coffee reverse Alzheimer's?: Studies with mice are suggesting surprising new possibilities for treating the memory disorder, according to researchers. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090705_alzheimers * People only sometimes seek out opposing views, research finds: People tend to avoid ideas they disagree with -- but some factors can prompt them to seek out such points of view, scientists report. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090702_opinion.htm * Finding may help explain giant black holes: Astronomers are reporting that they have discovered a new class of black holes: mid-sized ones. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090701_blackhole * Scientists look to bat caves for fountains of youth: Scientists are batty over a finding they say could lead to a breakthrough -- significantly longer lifespans. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090701_tadarida * Scientists report capturing first image of memories being made: Biologists say they have captured the first image of a mechanism underlying long-term memory formation. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090625_memory * Flute said to be oldest handcrafted musical instrument: Early modern humans may have been dancing to bird-bone flutes as early as 35,000 years ago, archaeologists say. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090625_flute * Oceans in Enceladus? Scientists can't decide: Two contrasting findings are leaving researchers unsure whether a distant moon has underground oceans. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090624_enceladus * Need something? Talk to my right ear!: Most of us prefer to be addressed in our right ear, and are more likely grant a request when we hear it from the right, an unusual investigation has found. http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090618_hemisphere-bias World Science homepage Don't forget to visit our homepage for Science In Images; links to top science news from other publi- cations; and other recent World Science stories! http://www.world-science.net World Science archives To new readers especially: you need not miss our ex- citing past stories, though they won't appear in future newsletters. See archives for any year by typing that year after the homepage address: for example, http://www.world-science.net/2007 Invite friends to join World Science! Click here to open an invitation email you can send friends and colleagues so they can join you in sub- scribing to World Science at no charge. Feel free to change the email text (although you might want to leave the subscription instructions unchanged.) More information This is the World Science newsletter. To cancel your subscription, please reply to this email address with cancel in the subject line. To subscribe, write to this email address with subscribe in the subject line. To change the address where you receive the newsletter, simply subscribe the new address and cancel the old one. Any World Science article may be reproduced on another website, on condition that it is reproduced along with a link to the World Science homepage, http://www.world-science.net. Linking to the page of the original article is optional. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.8/2227 - Release Date: 07/09/09 05:55:00
Re: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine.
As soon as I narrow down the location! ;-D -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Date : Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:08:24 + From : mcjennings...@yahoo.com To : SciFi2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com That's sick! When??? :o) Sent via BlackBerry by ATamp;T -Original Message- From: Martin Baxter Date: Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:34:10 To: Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Who's up for an exhumation and a kangaroo trial? -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Date : Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:36:52 - From : ravenadal To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com http://www.slate.com/id/2221392/ The King of All Formulas The incredible true story of the man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. By Paul Collins Posted Monday, July 6, 2009, at 7:02 AM ET The Proposal is formulaic. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is formulaic. Imagine That is formulaic. Even Up is progressively more formulaic. But who came up with the formula? If you want the human embodiment of Hollywood predictability, you can't do better than Wycliffe A. Hill. A profoundly obscure writer of silent five-reelers, Hill is also the unheralded inventor of something more enduring: the attempt to engineer movies that will bring the most satisfaction to the largest number of peoplethe mob, in other words. It was a notion borne of failure. After a hard-knocks apprenticeship in a Manhattan literary agency, Hill went to Hollywood in 1915, where his first movie pitch was summarily shot down by Cecil B. DeMille. The problem? No plot. A dramatic plot, DeMille's brother patiently explained to Hill, is where someone wants something, something stands in the way of his getting it, he tries to get it and either does or does not. DeMille's prodding was perfectly timed; Hill wandered into a bookshop and found the new translation of French critic Georges Polti's Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. If you've ever endured a teacher bloviating on how there are only really X number of plots in literature, blame Polti. A theatre critic, he gamely ran with the claim that Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi had once succeeded in isolating 36 tragic situations that formed the building blocks of drama. (Naturally, Gozzi then lost his list.) Polti had a recent and lesser-known work that had not yet been translated, The Art of Inventing Characters, which handily presented 36 archetypes. While Polti's books were largely descriptive, Hill hit upon a notion: What if they were combined and made prescriptive? What if together they made a formula? Hill's Ten Million Photoplay Plots: The Master Key to All Dramatic Plots, a byzantine matrix of characters and conflicts designed to create endless plot combinations, was so novel when it debuted in 1919 that the slim guide sold for an eye-popping $5. Quietly lifting from Polti, Hill created mix-and-match lists of characters, settings, and dramatic situations. (An old man wrongfully accused of a mine explosion + seeks refuge from a band of outlaws + with a woman whose house he enters for a hiding place. + ) It was the perfect instrument for the silent movies being churned out on Hollywood lots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
RE: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine.
droolgrr..LOL!!! _ From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Martin Baxter Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 3:35 PM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. As soon as I narrow down the location! ;-D -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Date : Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:08:24 + From : mcjennings...@yahoo.com To : SciFi2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com That's sick! When??? :o) Sent via BlackBerry by ATT -Original Message- From: Martin Baxter Date: Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:34:10 To: Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Who's up for an exhumation and a kangaroo trial? -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. Date : Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:36:52 - From : ravenadal To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com http://www.slate.com/id/2221392/ The King of All Formulas The incredible true story of the man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. By Paul Collins Posted Monday, July 6, 2009, at 7:02 AM ET The Proposal is formulaic. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is formulaic. Imagine That is formulaic. Even Up is progressively more formulaic. But who came up with the formula? If you want the human embodiment of Hollywood predictability, you can't do better than Wycliffe A. Hill. A profoundly obscure writer of silent five-reelers, Hill is also the unheralded inventor of something more enduring: the attempt to engineer movies that will bring the most satisfaction to the largest number of peoplethe mob, in other words. It was a notion borne of failure. After a hard-knocks apprenticeship in a Manhattan literary agency, Hill went to Hollywood in 1915, where his first movie pitch was summarily shot down by Cecil B. DeMille. The problem? No plot. A dramatic plot, DeMille's brother patiently explained to Hill, is where someone wants something, something stands in the way of his getting it, he tries to get it and either does or does not. DeMille's prodding was perfectly timed; Hill wandered into a bookshop and found the new translation of French critic Georges Polti's Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. If you've ever endured a teacher bloviating on how there are only really X number of plots in literature, blame Polti. A theatre critic, he gamely ran with the claim that Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi had once succeeded in isolating 36 tragic situations that formed the building blocks of drama. (Naturally, Gozzi then lost his list.) Polti had a recent and lesser-known work that had not yet been translated, The Art of Inventing Characters, which handily presented 36 archetypes. While Polti's books were largely descriptive, Hill hit upon a notion: What if they were combined and made prescriptive? What if together they made a formula? Hill's Ten Million Photoplay Plots: The Master Key to All Dramatic Plots, a byzantine matrix of characters and conflicts designed to create endless plot combinations, was so novel when it debuted in 1919 that the slim guide sold for an eye-popping $5. Quietly lifting from Polti, Hill created mix-and-match lists of characters, settings, and dramatic situations. (An old man wrongfully accused of a mine explosion + seeks refuge from a band of outlaws + with a woman whose house he enters for a hiding place. + ) It was the perfect instrument for the silent movies being churned out on Hollywood lots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade
Ditto - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2009 7:59:07 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Keith, I don't find those words antiquated either. Many of them find their ways into my stories, and some even into my everyday conversations. -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Date : Thu, 9 Jul 2009 03:32:17 + (UTC) From : Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Interesting. Like Howard, another guy who clung to his mother and was fearful and reclusive. I guess that's where the terror and primal fear of his tales (so I've heard, never having read them) originates. Stephen King, I recall, was said to be a very scary child. His friends used to enjoy terrifying him with ghost stories. I did find this passage from the entry interesting: His prose is somewhat antiquarian . Often he employed archaic vocabulary or spelling which had already by his time been replaced by contemporary coinages; examples including Esquimau , and Comanchian. He was given to heavy use of an esoteric lexicon including such words as eldritch , rugose , noisome , squamous , ichor , and cyclopean , and of attempts to transcribe dialect speech which have been criticized as clumsy, imprecise, and condescending. His works also featured British English (he was an admitted Anglophile ), and he sometimes made use of anachronistic spellings, such as compleat (for complete), shew (show), lanthorn (lantern), and phantasy (fantasy; also appearing as phantastic). Interesting because just about all of those words are fairly normal to me, especially words like shew, which are familiar to me from years of reading the King James Bible. And I wouldn't call eldritch, noisome, or ichor esoteric or antiquated at all, especially in the realms of scifi/fantasy/horror. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 8:53:17 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Keith, this might provide answers for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Date : Tue, 7 Jul 2009 20:38:44 + (UTC) From : Keith Johnson To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com I only know of Lovecraft through references in other works (such as, surprisingly, The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series), and, ironically, through a dude I knew back in middle school who loved him, and who was also the grandson of a Klansman. What's up with his racist views? - Original Message - From: B. Smith To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:57:03 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Lovecraft's racism have permanently soured me on his work. I know del Toro will knock it out of the park but it's a bittersweet feeling. Drood is an interesting novel but I couldn't plow through it. Dan Simmons has caught a case of the bloat. And the crazy but that's a whole different story. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Martin Baxter wrote: He's doing Lovecraft... (breaks out into the HappyHappyJoyJoy Dance) -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro Decade Date : Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:26:06 - From : ravenadal To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Del Toro co-writes vampire movie; wants to film Drood. (Check out the link for the pictures) http://oluik.notlong.com Prepare for the Guillermo del Toro decade: 'The Hobbit' director is just getting started One of the gentle souls in the movie business is Guillermo del Toro, and I always look forward to my interviews with him. This is a longer version of my latest story on Del Toro, which is scheduled to run Thursday on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Calender section. On the far side of the globe, in New Zealand, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is now in his seventh month of labor on The Hobbit, a $300-million epic that will be told over two films in 2011 and 2012. But you can also find the Guadalajara native on the shelf of your local bookstore with his just-released debut novel, The Strain, the opening installment of a vampire trilogy he already has mapped out. That's only the beginning. The 44-year-old Del Toro, who was nominated for an Oscar for the dark fairy tale Pan's Labyrinth and showed his crowd-pleasing sensibilities with the Hellboy films, also has plans to reanimate some musty and monstrous literary classics.
