THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
07/23/10 -- Vol. 29, No. 4, Whole Number 1607
C3PO: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
R2D2: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
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Topics:
Counter-Proposal (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
History Channel (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Fritz Leiber and the Oil Spill (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Pupsicles (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Warring on Weekends--Civil War Style (comments
by Mark R. Leeper)
INCEPTION (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
PALIMPSEST by Catherynne M. Valente (book review
by Joe Karpierz)
Richard III (comments by Kip Williams)
This Week's Reading (GLOBISH and NOTHING TO ENVY)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
==================================================================
TOPIC: Counter-Proposal (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
We recently spent some time in Richmond, Virginia, going to Civil
War sites. You hear over and over again about the generous terms
that Lincoln and Grant were willing to give Lee in the Appomattox
settlement. I think they should have suggested making it two out
of three. [-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: History Channel (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
I recently looked at the History Channel listings ("Monster Quest",
"Pawn Stars", "Modern Marvels: Pyramids", "Violent Earth:
Hurricanes") and wondered, "Why do they call it the "History"
Channel?" And then I realized, perhaps because my interest in the
channel is now history. [-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Fritz Leiber and the Oil Spill (comments by Evelyn
C. Leeper)
The WALL STREET JOURNAL has an interesting article about, of all
things, Fritz Leiber and his 1964 short story "The Black
Gondolier", in which "petroleum threatens humanity not as a
mindless environmental hazard but as a sentient menace. As one
character speculates, what if man hadn't found oil, but 'oil had
found man'? What if the dark ooze 'had thrust up its vicious
feelers like some vast blind monster, and finally made contact'?"
See http://tinyurl.com/2vekk83 for the full story. [-ecl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Pupsicles (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Just in case any of you have given into despair about the financial
health of the country, I have recently seen a hopeful sign that the
economy really is expanding. The frozen dessert industry now has
expanded to making frozen confections for dogs. In fact, there are
two competing brands, Dogsters and Frosty Paws.
Frosty Paws has tempting flavors "Original" and "With Peanut
Butter." Dogsters goes with "Minte Kissably Fresh" and "Peanut
Butter and Cheese."
Now your dog can have frozen treats to go with his horsemeat. Is
this a great country or what?
http://tinyurl.com/dogsters
http://www.frostypawstreats.com/FrostyPaws/
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Warring on Weekends--Civil War Style (comments by Mark
R. Leeper)
Evelyn and I recently spent about eight days in and around
Richmond, Virginia, mostly looking at Civil War battle sites and
Civil War museums. There are several battlefields to visit in a
small area and a couple of good Civil War museums. We saw in the
process of studying the war a lot of dates.
Now some of you may know that when I was about twelve I found a
formula for computing days of the week for given dates. Not happy
to leave well enough alone I streamlined the formula to be able to
execute it in my head. Now when I see dates in history I
frequently will mentally calculate on what day of the week the date
fell. The formula can be found at http://leepers.us/pepcal.txt.
So I was hearing a lot about the Civil War history and was figuring
dates when I could. And then I started noticing an unexpected
pattern. Warring is a seven-day-a-week job. But I could not help
but notice that events kept occurring on Saturday and Sunday--what
we would call the weekend. Most dates I was computing were coming
up as either Saturdays or Sundays. The observation may not be
statistically significant, but it is at least surprising. It is
probably just coincidence, but if I look at what events took place
on Saturday or Sunday, it seems like most of the major events of
the war. If you look at the weekend events of the Civil War, you
have a most of the important dates. Though later in the war,
Wednesdays show up surprisingly often. It is difficult to collect
dates objectively and not make some dates more important because
they fit the pattern.
Here is what I have found. These are Civil War events that
happened on Saturday or Sunday. If you know something about Civil
War history you will see most of the most significant events of the
war with the exception of the Battle of Gettysburg. Here are the
events I found:
Confederate States of America formed -- February 9, 1861 [Saturday]
Fort Sumter captured --April 14, 1861 [Sunday]
Robert E. Lee resigns the US Army -- April 20, 1861 [Saturday]
First Battle of Bull Run -- July 21, 1861 [Sunday]
Battle of Monitor and Merrimac -- March 8/9, 1862 [Saturday,
Sunday]
Battle of Shiloh -- April 6/7, 1862 [Sunday, Monday]
The Battle of Seven Pines -- May 31, 1862 [Saturday]
Robert E. Lee become commander of Army of Northern Virginia -- June
1, 1862 [Sunday]
Second Battle of Bull Run -- August 29/30, 1862 [Friday, Saturday]
The Major action of the Battle of Fredericksburg -- December 13,
1862 [Saturday]
Lincoln appoints Gen. Joseph Hooker Commander of the Army of the
Potomac -- January 25, 1863 [Sunday]
The Battle of Chancellorsville -- May 1-4, 1863 [Friday-Monday]
Stonewall Jackson accidentally shot by own troops May 3, 1863
[Sunday] (It should be noted that Jackson was extremely important to
Southern strategy. While he lived he was the most important
general under Lee.)
Stonewall Jackson dies of his wounds -- May 10, 1863 [Sunday]
President Lincoln appoints Gen. George G. Meade as commander of the
Army of the Potomac -- June 28, 1863 [Sunday]
[Probably the most important battle, Gettysburg, does not fit the
pattern having gone from Wednesday to Friday.]
The besieged Vicksburg surrenders to Grant's forces -- July 4, 1863
[Saturday]
"Negro" troops attack Fort Wagner -- July 18, 1863 [Saturday]
Battle of Chickamauga -- September 19/20, 1863 [Saturday, Sunday]
With the Army withdrawn, the remaining residents of Richmond
surrender to Grant's troops -- April 2, 1865 [Sunday]
Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant, effectively
ending the Civil War -- April 9, 1865 [Sunday]
Death of Abraham Lincoln -- April 15, 1865 [Saturday]
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: INCEPTION (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: There comes a point when enough is too much. Writer and
director Christopher Nolan makes an intelligent thought-piece that
is at the same time an explosive action thriller. There is little
time to absorb the ideas. Still, where else are you going to get
so intelligent a film in mid-summer? It may be better to see it
more than once. In a world where a few people have the capability
of invading and redesigning dreams, a team induces dreams in the
heir to an industrial empire and then enters those dreams to plant
an idea. This is a long film with a lot of fiery explosions,
intelligent ideas, sputtering machine guns, and violent car
crashes. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Spoiler warning: This review may contain some minor spoilers, but
it will be a small fraction of what one learns from trailers and
phone apps ad publicity for the film.
People frequently ask science fiction authors, "Where do you get
your ideas?" Director Christopher Nolan seems to specialize in
films in which psychology and here suggests a process that might
create some ideas. The process involves car chases, big
explosions, drugs, cities folding in half, and perhaps industrial
espionage. Since Nolan directed FOLLOWING in 1998 every film he
has directed has been something of a gem. His 2006 film THE
PRESTIGE has been pretty much his crowning achievement, though his
second Batman film, THE DARK KNIGHT (2008), has brought him the
most attention. The theme of manipulating or visiting other
people's minds and dreams goes back at least to ESCAPEMENT (1958),
DREAMSCAPE (1984) and particularly THE CELL (2000). But it will be
a long time before anyone tops INCEPTION.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his associate Arthur (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt) are experts at a very particular sort of industrial
espionage. Cobb has a process, never disclosed, in which he is
able to invade people's dreams and interact with the dreamer. In
doing so he can find secrets from the unprepared minds of his
victims. And at the same time he can plant ideas in the mind of
the victim. However, he is unsuccessful in invading the mind of a
businessman named Saito (Ken Watanabe of THE LAST SAMURAI). Saito
is prepared for Cobb and defeats him, but offers Cobb a job. Saito
wants to get into the dreams of the son of a competitor and plant
an idea. He assembles a team of dream invaders who will specially
induce dreams. They will actually build the multilayered world of
dreams within dreams in the competitor's son's mind.
Nolan, who both wrote and directed, creates a complex mythology of
the world of dreams and the rules that it follows. The rules are a
little ridiculous, but in the world of the movie the viewer accepts
them as plausible enough. This is a long film, 148 minutes, with a
much more complex plot than I can describe here.
INCEPTION has a large, oddly matched, cast of good actors including
Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion
Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine, and Lukas Haas.
In a summer in which interesting ideas in films seem to be thin on
the ground, this one film more than compensates. Nolan gets very
high marks for being a man with new and engaging ideas. Usually if
he is not making a "Batman" film his works are much more idea-films
than action. Sadly, Nolan must have picked up bad habits from the
"Batman" films, BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT. A "Batman" film
needs action scenes and frankly, he is not really good at directing
them. They go by at staccato pace and frequently are hard to
follow. In a "Batman" film one can accept that. INCEPTION has
long violent sequences. He may be trying too hard to make this at
the same time an intelligent thriller and a slam-bang, high-octane
action thriller with lots of explosions. This is certainly his
least pleasant film to watch, even if it does have many of his best
ideas and images.
Nolan began THE PRESTIGE with the question, "Are you watching
closely?" This film also requires that you watch closely to
understand what is going on. Even for a film of 148 minutes, there
is a lot going on. Much of it will be needed later in the film. I
suspect this will be a better film on its second viewing. I rate
INCEPTION a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale or 8/10.
Film Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/
What others are saying:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inception/
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: PALIMPSEST by Catherynne M. Valente (copyright 2009, Bantam,
$14.00, 367pp, ISBN 978-0-553-38576-2) (book review by Joe
Karpierz)
There have been a few times in my life where, when I've finished a
book, I ask myself some variation on the following question: What
just happened here? I remember asking myself that when I read
DHALGREN by Samuel R. Delany back in about 1976 (I'm still not sure
what happened there, some thirty-four years later). I also asked
myself something like that back when I read CUSP by Robert A.
Metzger. But when I asked that question about CUSP, I thought it
could have been one of the worst books I'd ever read, or a
brilliant masterpiece that I didn't understand.
PALIMPSEST is another one of those books that prompted the
question, but for a different reason, I think.
DHALGREN was a book that not only I didn't understand, but I know I
didn't like. CUSP was a book I enjoyed reading and liked, but
wasn't sure why. PALIMPSEST? It was a difficult read without much
of a plot or conflict, about people I certainly didn't care about
in a setting using a premise that I had no interest in.
Other than that, I think it was fine. Look, PALIMPSEST is a
fantasy, but if this is fantasy please give me back wizards in
pointy hats and unicorns.
Palimpsest is a city that one can get to only through the
dreamscape that occurs after one has sex with a person who has a
particular tattoo like mark anywhere on their body. It is a
paradise for some, hell for others. The story (such as it is)
follows (if you could call it that) four people who came to
Palimpsest together and were bonded by a strange woman with a
frog's head (if I remember correctly--honestly, I don't even want
to go back and look it up). Their fortunes within Palimpsest are
bound together. What one feels, the other three feel. The
ultimate goal is to permanently go to Palimpsest, but to do that
all four of your group must find each other in the real world.
Our four protagonists are not likeable at all, although some are
more likeable then others. The writing style is more like flowing
poetry and flowery prose than a narrative. For me, it was
extremely difficult to follow. That may just be me, of course, but
there it is.
I really can't write much more about PALIMPSEST because I just
didn't get it, didn't understand it, and didn't like it. For those
of you who were hoping for something better, I apologize. I
actually don't care enough about the book to write about it.
Okay, one more to go: JULIAN COMSTOCK. [-jak]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Richard III (comments by Kip Williams)
In response to Evelyn's comments on "Richard III" in the 07/16/10
issue of the MT VOID, Kip Williams writes:
Back in the late 90s, Cathy and I went with her Mom on a Richard
III trip in England. I enjoyed being on a path that was generally
not the standard tourist itinerary, seeing locations that I'd read
about, following the steps of the classic Shakespeare villain. We
stood on Bosworth Field, and I wondered how the hell the numbers of
troops reported in the histories could have all fit in the place.
(At one point, puffs of steam rose from among thick trees in the
valley below. I speculated that it might be a Stanley Steamer.)
Almost as interesting as the trip was the company of our fellow
tour members, many of whom had very definite ideas about Richard
and the wrongs done to him by history. I tended to be a moderate
advocate, saying he was likely no better or worse than a lot of
kings, probably not guilty of everything flung at him, nor innocent
of all blame. It was a middle path most of them were willing to
consider, at least.
We went to a banquet at the end of the tour, after many interesting
bus trips and travels, and I got an idea of where some of the
certitude of my companions came from: they'd been there.
Apparently, reincarnation was all the rage, and most people who
reincarnate had very interesting past lives. Several on our trip,
therefore, had first-hand knowledge that someone like me could only
envy. [-kw]
==================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
GLOBISH: HOW THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BECAME THE WORLD'S LANGUAGE by
Robert McCrum (ISBN 978-0-393-06255-7) attempts to explain why
English is "the world's universal language". There is a very
favorable blurb on the back by Malcolm Gladwell (author of THE
TIPPING POINT), but John McWhorter's review in THE NEW REPUBLIC
(http://tinyurl.com/2c5g52a, "Is English Special Because It's
'Globish'?") does a fairly thorough job of discrediting McCrum's
theories.
Briefly, McCrum seems to believe that it is something inherent in
English that makes it suitable as a universal language rather than
just the fact of English and American culture being so pervasive
(English through the 17th to early 20th centuries, followed by
American). He says, "Language ... is intrinsically neutral, but it
is no contradiction to claim that English ... is unique." He then
spends most of the book recounting the history of English, and
England, and the United States--it's not clear that one needs dozen
pages about slavery to explain why so many Chinese speak English
today. McWhorter's review also points out many errors in fact as
well.
But McWhorter is most critical of McCrum's underlying reasoning.
McCrum attributes the popularity of English to its "being light on
conjugation suffixes ... and not having gender." But as McWhorter
notes, Russian has the opposite of these characteristics and other
complexities as well, yet is (or was) spoken by a vast number of
people as a second language. The reason is simple--Russia was the
superpower in Communist world just as the United States was in the
West. (The effect of the British Commonwealth in spreading English
should not be completely ignored either, obviously.)
McWhorter points out that McCrum also assumes that simplicity
causes universality, while (according to McWhorter) it is actually
the other way around.
The subtitle of NOTHING TO ENVY: ORDINARY LIVES IN NORTH KOREA by
Barbara Demick (ISBN 978-0-385-52390-5) is not quite accurate,
because the six people Demick writes about all have something that
set them apart from most North Koreans--they have escaped to South
Korea. However else they may be "ordinary" North Koreans, that
they had the desire and initiative to flee North Korea means that
they are not ordinary.
What made them defect? Demick gives a few examples of what tipped
the scales. One saw an American nail clipper and thought, "If
North Korea couldn't make such a fine nail clipper, how could it
compete with American weapons?" Another was someone who
accidentally heard the South Korea broadcast of a situation comedy
where two young women were fighting over a parking space. It isn't
clear which flummoxed him more: that young women could own private
cars or that there were so many cars that there weren't enough
spaces for them. But the one that rang a bell was the person who
saw a photo in the official media of oppressed South Koreans
picketing against their exploitation by the capitalist system. All
he noticed was that the oppressed workers had jackets with zippers
and ballpoint pens in their pockets--both luxury items in North
Korea. This is basically the same story as what happened in Russia
when they screened THE GRAPES OF WRATH to show how bad American
farm workers were treated: people's reaction was "You mean that in
America even the poorest families own their own car?!"
The most specific part of Demick's book, and indeed of the people's
stories, is about the Great Famine. Caused in part by factors
beyond the government's control (flooding and natural disasters),
it was exacerbated by the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and
the rise of capitalism in China, with both countries cutting back
on the economic aid they gave North Korea through subsidized prices
and other ways. (In particular, the loss of imported oil was a
major factor, affecting not only electricity production and fuel
for farm machinery, but the manufacture of fertilizer and many
other products necessary to maintain a standard of living. This is
worth remembering.) Add to these factors the unwillingness of
North Korea to admit there was a problem and to accept humanitarian
aid until the famine had gone on for several years, and you have
the reason that between one and three million North Koreans died as
a result of food shortages. (As one escapee put it, by 1998 the
worst was over, not because anything got better, but because
"everyone who was going to die was already dead.") Demick
describes how the six people she describes were affected by the
famine and how they dealt with it.
All in all, a very enlightening book. [-ecl]
==================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
The function of vice is to keep virtue within
reasonable bounds.
-- Samuel Butler