THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
03/21/08 -- Vol. 26, No. 38, Whole Number 1485
El Honcho Grande: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
La Honcha Bonita: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
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Topics:
Verbing Nouns (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
My Favorite... (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
My Arthur C. Clarke Memory (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Hugo Award Nominees
AMERICAN ZOMBIE (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN (letter of comment
by Dan Kimmel)
MP3 Players (letter of comment by Charles Harris)
Literature of Discontent, iPods, and Frankenstein
(letter of comment by John Purcell)
This Week's Reading (EAT THIS, NOT THIS; THE OLD MAN IN
THE CORNER; SIDE EFFECTS; FROM TOKYO TO JERUSALEM)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Verbing Nouns (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Why is it that we can talk about "halving" something or even
"quartering" it, but not "thirding" it or "eighthing" it? [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: My Favorite... (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
At a used book store I stopped to take a look at the book MEN ARE
FROM MARS, WOMAN ARE FROM VENUS. The book is about all sorts of
relationship problems that seem to be part of other people's
relationships that I have never had to face. All I can say is,
"Thank God Evelyn is a Martian." [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: My Arthur C. Clarke Memory (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
There are probably few readers of this notice who do not know that
Sir Arthur C. Clarke died in Sri Lanka two days ago. I have seen
Heinlein die and Asimov die. Clarke was the last of the three
writers I grew up thinking of as the giants. But I felt I had a
special connection to Clarke.
I was a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts back in the
spring of 1970. Evelyn and I were members of the UMass Science
Fiction Club. In fact, our second date was to see the film 2001:
A SPACE ODYSSEY, so the film holds very fond memories for us. In
any case, this was a few months later and the Science Fiction
Club got an invitation from the school's Distinguished Visitors
Program. It seems that they were going to have Arthur C. Clarke
visit the campus and give a speech at the Student Union.
Beforehand that there was be a dinner for him. We were asked
would the club like to send some people to the dinner they asked?
Evelyn and I were among a group of five chosen to attend the
dinner.
At the dinner Clarke was polite and cordial, but perhaps not
greatly enthusiastic as he talked mostly about science and about
diving. He produced two coins he had found on the sea floor when
he dived. None of us from the science fiction club were doing
much to enter into the conversation. Eventually I decided that
it would be a missed opportunity if I did not bring up the
subject of science fiction at least temporarily. So I asked
about his science fiction; I do not remember exactly what. And
it was a lot like the sun had came out from behind a rain cloud.
Suddenly the conversation had drifted to what clearly was his
favorite subject. His talking speeded up and became much more
animated. He talked about how Isaac Asimov had said he would not
be writing any more science fiction because he did find that it
was worthwhile. He said that he, on the other hand, found
nothing but science fiction worthwhile writing about. It was
pretty much a three-way conversation with him, Evelyn, and me.
And that seemed to be just how everybody in the room liked it,
especially Clarke himself. It was great in spite of the fact
that I could not make my mouth say "CHILDHOOD'S END". I two or
three times said, "CHILDSHOOD END." Clarke pretended not to
notice.
When the dinner was over the organizer asked if I would be
willing to keep Dr. Clarke company in the preparation room while
he awaited the time of his speech. There are occasions when the
word "yes", while it conveys the idea, still seems somehow
insufficient. However, it was the word I used. We had a good
conversation in the small room with just the two of us waiting
for him to be called to the stage. In fact it is probably the
best conversation I think I have ever had with any well-known
science fiction writer. I wish I could remember what all we
talked about.
When Clarke gave his speech I had a seat behind him on the dais.
I think we still have the front page of the University of
Massachusetts the next day that had a picture of him giving the
speech with me in the background. But even then it was not over.
The University was to drive Dr. Clarke to an interview at a local
radio station and then to the airport. Again there was the
question of who could keep him company that he could talk to.
And Evelyn and I could talk about science fiction. It was the
first, last, and only time that I ever skipped a scheduled class
in college. (It was my favorite class, too. It was a problem
solving colloquium that was a preparation for the Putnam
Mathematics Exam. I got the professor's permission.) Clarke and
I talked about science fiction films. I remember I had not long
before seen QUATERMASS AND THE PIT and loved that film. I
mentioned it to Clarke and he said he had never heard of it. I
still find that strange because he was English and it seems
strange that an English science fiction fan would not know
Quatermass. Quatermass has considerably more name recognition in
England than it did in the United States. The original 1950s
broadcasts became real media events. Eventually it had to end
and the four of us--Evelyn, me, Clarke, and the driver--went to
Bradley Field Airport for Clarke's plane.
Clarke was the real thing. He was a scientist and a science
fiction writer. The synchronous satellite was his idea, so he
changed the world. His interest in science fiction lasted him
his entire life. He became the "Grand Old Man of Science
Fiction" by outliving both Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov by 20
and 16 years respectively. He had been the foundation of my most
optimistic views of the future with novels like ISLANDS IN THE
SKY, AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT, EARTHLIGHT, THE DEEP RANGE, A
FALL OF MOONDUST (a personal favorite), and RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA.
These are probably what I consider his first-rank novels. Of
them only RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA was published after I met him.
But he was always a class act.
So what did I learn from Clarke? At the dinner Clarke had
produced some coins he had found skindiving on the sea floor.
And he was showing them to others. The real joy was finding the
coins, but it was not enough to just find them, he got the
additional pleasure of sharing his exciting find with others. He
was a man who spent his life chasing wonder, finding it, and then
showing it to others so they could appreciate it--not appreciate
it at the same level he could, but there was enough spark there to
share. The pursuit of wonder may not seem to have that much
useful value. Our society values the practical and the short-term
gain. This was a man who knew the value of wonder.
I think that when we lost Clarke we lost one of the great ones.
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Hugo Award Nominees
Best Novel
THE YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION by Michael Chabon
BRASYL by Ian McDonald
ROLLBACK by Robert J. Sawyer
THE LAST COLONY by John Scalzi
HALTING STATE by Charles Stross
Best Novella
"The Fountain of Age" by Nancy Kress (Asimov's Jul 2007)
"Recovering Apollo 8" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's Feb 2007)
"Stars Seen Through Stone" by Lucius Shepard (F&SF July 2007)
"All Seated on the Ground" by Connie Willis (Asimov's Dec 2007,
Subterranean Press)
"Memorare" by Gene Wolfe (F&SF April 2007)
Best Novelette
The Cambist and Lord Iron: a Fairytale of Economics"
by Daniel Abraham (LOGORRHEA, ed. John Klima)
"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang
(F&SF Sep 2007)
"Dark Integers" by Greg Egan (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2007)
"Glory" by Greg Egan (THE NEW SPACE OPERA, ed. Gardner Dozois and
Jonathan Strahan)
"Finisterra" by David Moles (F&SF Dec 2007)
Best Short Story
"Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter (THE SOLARIS BOOK OF NEW SCIENCE
FICTION, ed. George Mann)
"Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov's June 2007)
"Who's Afraid of Wolf 359?" by Ken MacLeod (THE NEW SPACE OPERA,
ed. by Gardner Dozois, and Jonathan Strahan)
"Distant Replay" by Mike Resnick (Asimov's April/May 2007)
"A Small Room in Koboldtown" by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's
Apr/May 2007, THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW)
Best Related Book
THE COMPANY THEY KEEP: C.S. LEWIS AND J.R.R. TOLKIEN AS WRITERS IN
COMMUNITY by Diana Glyer; appendix by David Bratman
BREAKFAST IN THE RUINS: SCIENCE FICTION IN THE LAST MILLENNIUM
by Barry Malzberg
EMSHWILLER: INFINITY X TWO by Luis Ortiz, intro.
by Carol Emshwiller, fwd. by Alex Eisenstien
BRAVE NEW WORDS: THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE FICTION
by Jeff Prucher
THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
ENCHANTED
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
heroes, Season 1
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
STARDUST
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Battlestar Galactica "Razor"
Doctor Who "Blink"
Doctor Who "Human Nature" / "Family of Blood"
Star Trek New Voyages "World Enough and Time"
Torchwood "Captain Jack Harkness"
Best Professional Editor, Short Form
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams
Best Professional Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton
Phil Foglio
John Harris
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Best Semiprozine
Ansible edited by David Langford
Helix edited by William Sanders and Lawrence Watt-Evans
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong,
Liza Groen Trombi
New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer,
Kristine Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, Kevin J. Maroney
Best Fanzine
Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Challenger edited by Guy Lillian III
Drink Tank edited by Chris Garcia
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
PLOKTA edited by Alison Scott, Steve Davies, and Mike Scott
Best Fan Writer
Chris Garcia
David Langford
Cheryl Morgan
John Scalzi
Steven H Silver
Best Fan Artist
Brad Foster
Teddy Harvia
Sue Mason
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne
John W. Campbell Award
An award for the best new writer whose first work of science
fiction or fantasy appeared during 2006 or 2007 in a
professional publication. Sponsored by Dell Magazines.
Joe Abercrombie (2nd year of eligibility)
Jon Armstrong (1st year of eligibility)
David Anthony Durham (1st year of eligibility)
David Louis Edelman (2nd year of eligibility)
Mary Robinette Kowal (2nd year of eligibility)
Scott Lynch (2nd year of eligibility)
===================================================================
TOPIC: AMERICAN ZOMBIE (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: This film is badly paced, but has a rewarding last half-
hour if the viewer can wait it out. Grace Lee (THE GRACE LEE
PROJECT) looks at the lives of zombies living in the Los Angeles
area, examining them like any minority community. The film
satirizes well-intentioned socially conscious documentaries,
examining how zombies have been (or failed to be) integrated into
the general population. Rating: 0 (-4 to +4) or 4/10
A spoiler comment follows the main review.
In 2005 Grace Lee made a documentary supposedly about the high
expectation people had of her because of her name and her Asian
family background. In fact the film was more about the
difficulties that Asians have assimilating into American culture.
Ms. Lee has returned to the problems of the outsider in our
society looking at the (hopefully!) fictional community of the
Living Dead (of the George Romero variety) who are living among
us. As long as the film sticks with that conceit, it has more
misses than hits. The zombies have Zombie Pride parades chanting
"We're here. We're dead. Get used to it. We're here. We're
dead. Get used to it."
Lee is satirizing boring documentaries by exposing us to an hour
of tedious documentary. We revisit repeatedly four particular
zombies and discover they are mundanely like the supposedly
living people we probably know. Judy is a customer service
representative. Joel is a political activist and the founder of
ZAG, the Zombie Advocacy Group. Lisa is a florist who hopes
being in the documentary will help her find out who she was
before she died and lost her memory. Ivan clerks in a
convenience store. These people are tediously profiled and have
little difference from your neighbors. The Dead are the new
minority and can be only partially protected by the law.
We see a zombie sweat shop where the Asian owner exploits the
zombies who are willing to work longer hours. In fact they work
a 24/7 shift. That makes them for their employer preferable even
to hiring Mexicans. Christian missionaries feel a special duty
to recruit zombies. After all, didn't Jesus return from the
dead?
The film finally gets moving a little when the constantly
bickering documentary makers take their cameras to a zombies-only
outdoor retreat/festival, LIVE DEAD. It is here that zombies can
enjoy each other's presence. They drop their affected normality
and become themselves. They can sing zombie filk songs, bay at
the moon, and do other traditional zombie activities. Just how
traditional is what the documentary-makers want to find out. The
film picks up markedly when zombies can be candid and be
themselves.
Grace Lee wants to take a serious look at what would happen if
there really were zombies "living" (if that is the word) among
us. Unfortunately, she has a hard time being serious and her
idea of society is heavily influenced by what she sees in Los
Angeles. If the reader wants a serious look at the affects on
society of the dead returning, a better effort was directed by
Robin Campillo in the French film LES REVENANTS (a.k.a. THEY CAME
BACK).
AMERCIAN ZOMBIE's most interesting touch is an implicit and
subversive anti-assimilation message. Some of the film works.
Sadly too much does not. This one is a patience tester. But
have faith. The film gets better as it goes along. I rate it a
0 on the -4 to +4 scale or 4/10. Right now AMERICAN ZOMBIE is
playing mostly at film festivals. If one wants to see it, the
general release is probably months away. News and information on
the film can be found at http://www.americanzombiemovie.com/.
Film Credits: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0765430/
Spoiler... Spoiler... Spoiler... Spoiler...
AMERICAN ZOMBIE has some of the same strengths (or perhaps
weaknesss) as Tod Browning's 1932 film FREAKS. That fictional
film followed a community of carnival freaks, showing that they
were really very normal in spite of their various birth defects.
The last minutes of that film totally reversed all we had seen to
that point and, indeed, made the deformed characters into
monsters with horrifying mystical powers. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN (letter of comment by Dan
Kimmel)
In response to Evelyn's comments on SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN
in the 03/14/08 issue of the MT VOID, Dan Kimmel writes:
As it happens, this was the selection of "Brookline Reads" (an
annual town wide project by the library that I'm involved with) a
few years ago and so I've read it. I think Evelyn's objection to
"italicized" is correct, but nitpicky. Clearly it was a word
chosen for the western reader, not accuracy. (But then I remain
in awe of Evelyn's calculation of when Chanukah would fall
several hundred years from now for an episode of "Babylon 5.")
As for it being anti-intellectual, I have to disagree. The book
was reflecting the narrow and constricted lives of the women in
19th century China. We're not meant to endorse feeling over
thinking in dealing with facts. We're meant to note that for the
women, they have no other choice, since no one takes their lives
and histories seriously enough to study them.
It was not a book I would have picked up on my own, but I was
glad to have read it. It took me into a world as alien as
anything I've read in science fiction. :-) [-dk]
===================================================================
TOPIC: MP3 Players (letter of comment by Charles Harris)
In response to Evelyn's comments on MP3 players in the 03/14/08
issue of the MT VOID, Charles Harris asks, "What's the make and
model of your Mippps? Where'd you get it? How much did it cost?
How can I identify similar players?" [-csh]
Evelyn responds, "It is a Sakar 48091 Digital Music Player. It
cost $19.95 at Wal-Mart. It is about three inches long and a half
inch wide. I think one can identify similar players by the fact
that they are about $20 each. :-)" [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Literature of Discontent, iPods, and Frankenstein (letter
of comment by John Purcell)
In response to the 03/14/08 issue of the MT VOID, John Purcell
writes:
Your commentary about “Science Fiction as a Literature of
Discontent” rings very true in many places. For one, I have to
agree that most SF fans don’t fit into the “normal looking”
range, meaning clean-shaven, in decent physical condition, and
dress well. Yes, I would have to agree that fans tend to follow
their own drummer, especially if that drummer is setting a good
beat. (Think Yardbirds’ version of “Train Kept a-Rollin’” here.)
And I also agree that most fans are higher in intellect than your
average K-Mart shopper. Over the years, I have always enjoyed
the camaraderie of fans, finding them excellent
conversationalists who are quite knowledgeable about a wealth of
subjects.
Maybe we do like SF as a vision of the “could be” future that we
mere humans might attain if we try hard enough. Technically,
this can be seen as a means of fighting the Powers That Be in
order to achieve The Greater Good. Like you said, the popularity
of SF may lie in that peaceful oblivion that reading can provide.
Of course, good fiction can also make you think, besides being
entertainment. Many is the time my mind has been blown away by
concepts I can’t wrap my brain around, but the writer has
described beautifully. Speaking for myself, I love to be
entertained, but I also like to have my thinking challenged.
Perhaps that is one major reason why science fiction is popular:
it challenges us. And discontent does that, too, I guess, which
can lead me further astray from what I’m saying here: Good
fiction of any kind entertains and challenges the reader. ‘Nuff
said.
My son--age 12 and counting--is desiring an iPod much along the
lines of what Mark has. If I can get one for him--or,
preferably, if he saves up his lawn-mowing and chore money--he
can get one for himself at either Wal-Mart or Target for less
than $50 now. They do go on sale, you know, and the march of
progress (and miniaturization) never ceases to amaze me.
One comment about FRANKENSTEIN: A CULTURAL HISTORY is actually
quite true; I do believe that Mary Shelley is much more
culturally remembered today than her husband and the others in
that little group. This book sounds like a lot fun to read.
Thanks for the review; I will have to check it out of the Texas
A&M University circulating library. So let me thank you for the
zinewsletter again. Timely as always, and enjoyed. Take care,
and I look forward to your next effort. [-jp]
Mark responds:
I find that fans talk about ideas. They say "Small minds talk
about people. Average minds talk about things. Great minds talk
about ideas." So I take some pride in that. I didn't know if
people would take offense at the comments. I also tell myself
that if Albert Einstein walked into the hotel lobby when there
was a science fiction convention going on, just from the way he
dressed and the way he comported himself I think people would peg
him as a science fiction fan.
I am not sure that the futures we see in science fiction are
generally positive futures. In fact I cannot think of too many
positive views of the future. But perhaps we are like the woman
in the musical "Candide" who says she is homesick for any place
but here. Most of what we see in the world around us is about
now and we want to vary a steady diet of now with some bits of
another time and place.
Evelyn's pseudo-iPod cost only about $20. But it does not have
much capacity. I am still trying to figure mine out as well as
the iTunes software. Speaking of fannish interest in ideas, the
first thing I loaded on mine was a whole raft of TED talks, about
five gigabytes of them, which are free on iTunes. (I mentioned
TED talks in the VOID in November
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/2007/VOID1123.htm#ted.)
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
I looked at EAT THIS, NOT THIS: THOUSANDS OF SIMPLE FOOD SWAPS
THAT CAN SAVE YOU 10, 20, 30 POUNDS-OR MORE! by David Zinczenko
and Matt Goulding (ISBN-13 978-1-594-86854-2, ISBN-10
1-594-86854-9) in the store. It will supposedly help you pick
less fattening foods in restaurants, the supermarket, and so on.
But the problem is that all too many of their examples are
obvious, and not helpful. For example, at Outback Steakhouse the
"good" meal they show is prime rib, and the "bad" meal is a strip
steak. But the "good" meal had green beans and a sweet potato as
the sides, while the "bad" meal has sauteed mushrooms and a baked
potato *loaded* (with butter, sour cream, and bacon). Well, duh!
What would be useful is a comparison of just the prime rib to
just the steak. (The answer is that the prime rib is 480
calories, with 38 grams of fat, while the strip steak is 900
calories, with 60 grams of fat. This is almost entirely due to
the fact that the prime rib is 8 ounces, while the steak is 14
ounces. In fact, the steak has less fat per ounce; the problem
is that it is almost twice as large.) It also suggests not
ordering spicy tuna roll in a Japanese restaurant, because the
filling has mayonnaise. Seriously, now, how much actual
mayonnaise is there in a spicy tuna roll? With large, flashy
pictures, the pages have space for only a few items per
restaurant. You'd be better off getting the restaurants'
nutritional information charts and reading those. This strikes
me as a possibly interesting book to flip through, but not to
buy.
(I am reminded of Morgan Spurlock, the maker of SUPER SIZE ME,
who gained so much weight by eating only at McDonalds. The fact
that he had non-diet sodas at every meal may have contributed to
this more than he acknowledged, as well as his policy of always
accepting the super-sizing option. Yes, if you eat as stupidly
as possible, you will gain weight.)
THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER by Baroness Orczy (ISBN-13
978-0-486-44048-4, ISBN-10 0-486-44048-6) is a collection of
twelve of the stories of the man in the corner (the "old" was
added for American publication). Several of these were
dramatized on the BBC (radio) as "The Teahouse Detective". They
definitely lend themselves to easy dramatization, since they are
simply dialogues between the man in the corner, and a woman
journalist, in which the MitC solves mysterious crimes by
cogitation alone. In this regard he is a precursor of Hercule
Poirot and his "little grey cells," except that Poirot actually
does go out and talk to people as part of his detection. (In
fairness, occasionally the MitC recounts what he saw and heard in
court or elsewhere.) Baroness Orczy ran into the same problem
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did--she wrote a story which theoretically
would end the career of the MitC, but popular demand was such
that she had to bring him back. Apparently her approach was to
just ignore that terminal story and pretend it had never been
written. The Man in the Corner is as classic an early detective
as Jacques Futrelle's "Thinking Machine", and I recommend any
stories of either of them.
SIDE EFFECTS by Woody Allen (ISBN-13 978-0-345-34335-2, ISBN-10
0-345-34335-2) was this month's discussion group pick. At first
it seemed like a tough book to review, or discuss, because the
first few pieces were primarily one-liners strung together. They
were supposedly "stories", but had very little plot or
characterization. In his movies, Allen manages to have a plot,
because he does not have the other actors delivering the jokes--
he saves those for himself. So these were like taking a movie
and removing everyone except Allen from them. Even one short
story at a time could be too much of a good thing.
But then some of the later pieces were stories, and fairly
interesting ones, though often for strange reasons. For example,
"The Kugelmass Episode" could very well have been the inspiration
for Jasper Fforde's THE EYRE AFFAIR: in both, characters use a
machine to propel themselves into the world of a classic novel.
(It was a jolt, however, to realize that when Emma Bovary says to
Kugelmass, "Tell me again about O. J. Simpson," she means as a
football player and actor--the book was published in 1979.) "The
Diet" is a parody of Franz Kafka's THE TRIAL. So while some
pieces are fairly non-descript, there is also some content here.
FROM TOKYO TO JERUSALEM by Abraham Kotsuji (no ISBN, amazon.com
ASIN B000J0SFXU) is the autobiography of a descendent of
generations of Shinto priests who eventually converted to Judaism
(with an intermediate period as a Presbyterian minister!).
Written in 1964, it is a fairly simple book, covering the basics
of Kotsuji's childhood (much of which he tells in the third
person before switching to the more standard first person when he
progresses past primary school). His discovery of Judaism came
when he found a Bible in an old bookstore. Although he found the
Old Testament much more "attractive", his options in Japan were
pretty much restricted by the fact that in the 1920s there were
many more Christians (and Christian missionaries) than Jews. So
in spite of his reservations, he converted to Christianity, went
to a Christian college, and eventually became a minister. But he
always felt more connected to the Old Testament, and as he had
more and more contact with Jewish refugees during the war, he
came to the conclusion that these were his people, and eventually
converted.
And while the book is good as Kotsuji's own record of his life,
he did not check all the statements about things he has only
heard second-hand. For example, he talks about Jews getting
visas in Kovna (Kaunas), Lithuania, from the Japanese consul,
Chiune Sugihara, and then says that Sugihara had been killed by
the Nazis. Actually, Sugihara returned to Japan in disgrace for
having violated his orders, ended up as a light bulb salesman,
and was still alive when Kotsuji was writing this book. (In
fact, he was invited to Israel in 1965 and lived until 1986.)
Ironically, a few pages later Kotsuji says that one of the
refugees who wrote an autobiography said that Kotsuji had been
killed during the war by the Japanese secret service! [-ecl]
[It should be noted that Baroness Orczy is better known for
another series. Emmuska Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josepha Barbara
Orczy is the creator of that swashbuckling hero, the Scarlet
Pimpernel. It also is quite likely that her detective who solves
crimes from the comfort of a teahouse was the inspiration for Nero
Wolfe.
It is a little unfair to say that Woody Allen saves all the jokes
for himself in films. In his comedies he frequently wrote some
very funny lines for other characters also. He does keep the
lion's share for himself, however. -mrl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
A fool and his words are soon parted.
-- William Shenstone
------------------------------------