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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 04/21/00 -- Vol. 18, No. 43
Chair/Librarian: Mark Leeper, 732-817-5619, mleeper@lucent.com
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper, 732-332-6218, eleeper@lucent.com
Distinguished Heinlein Apologist: Rob Mitchell, robmitchell@lucent.com
HO Chair Emeritus: John Jetzt, jetzt@lucent.com
HO Librarian Emeritus: Nick Sauer, njs@lucent.com
Back issues at http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County meets on the
second Saturday of every month in Upper Saddle River; call
201-447-3652 for details. The Denver Area Science Fiction
Association meets 7:30 PM on the third Saturday of every month at
Southwest State Bank, 1380 S. Federal Blvd.
===================================================================
1. The nominations for the 2000 Hugo Awards are on-line at
http://www.chicon.org/hugos/nominees.htm. Some links to nominated
stories and people's pages are there; others will be added as
available. [-ecl]
===================================================================
2. I am going to make a suggestion on how to amend tax laws. My
suggestion will not seem like much, but I think it will make a big
difference.
Congress is right now trying to decide if a sales tax is a viable
tax for the 21st century or if in the light of changes in society
it can no longer be fairly administered. It seems the states are
having a whole bunch of problems with the introduction of the
Internet and I think I know how to fix it. The mechanism I am
suggesting to created is a real "sales tax." At this point people
think I am either out of my mind or I'm crazy. That is either I am
suggesting a new sales tax in which case I am out of my mind. Or I
do not know that sales taxes are already screwed up in which case I
am crazy.
Well, I know that you thought we already had sales taxes. But the
problem the states are having is that they really do not have a
sales tax at all. What they have a is a purchase tax. States
don't tax sales, they tax purchases. A sales tax would be faring
much better in a technological society. I am sure this is all
about as clear as mud. Bear with me as I explain.
A sales tax is a tax on sales and is paid by the seller who
presumably passes the cost on to the buyer. It is a matter of
business between a seller and his state. A purchase tax is a tax
on purchases paid by the buyer and usually collected by the seller.
They are a matter business between a buyer and his state.
For most sales we see in our lives, there really is no distinction.
You go to the department store. You buy an item. Something like
6% is added onto the price of the item. You pay it. The store
gives that money to the state. It makes no difference on whom the
tax is. All taxes in sales transactions are eventually on the
buyer.
The real problem comes with interstate purchases. Suppose I am
from Ohio and I want to purchase a dog bed from L. L. Bean of
Maine. Do I pay a tax? Probably not. The State of Maine does not
charge me tax because I am not a Maine resident. Technically
speaking I am supposed to pay sales tax to Ohio. I am supposed to
be telling Ohio that I had purchased something from out of state
and give the sales tax to Ohio. Ohio did not know I had purchased
something from out of state and they just have to take my word for
it that this is why I am giving them money. And if I forgot to
give them the tax money they would probably never know. Last year
states collected more than $6.37 in taxes from people voluntarily
reporting out of state purchases. That is why taxing purchases
does not work. If you tax sales then the money goes to the state
where the sale was made. In this example it is Maine. Ohio can
get its tax when someone from Maine buys something from Ohio. In
practice this is what is done when the person visits the store
anyway. If I visit New York I pay New York's sales tax to New
York. Technically I should be paying New Jersey New Jersey's tax
instead, but few people bother.
What I am suggesting is make the sales tax really a sales tax.
What is done informally when the person visits the store should be
done with interstate sales in general.
Now, why is this important? Well it seems Congress is getting
ootzy about the rising volume and percentage of Internet sales.
The problem is that so many sales are now interstate sales and they
get no "sales" tax. I have nothing against not having to pay sales
tax. I would love to see taxes abolished, but let us be real here
for a moment. Nothing is inevitable but death and taxes. If
Congress waived Internet sales taxes we would just be taxed some
other way and at the same time Congress would be involuntarily
subsidizing Internet sales by saying that they could continue tax-
free.
The Internet can make it even if it does charge tax. I will be the
first one to be sad when this bargain of not paying tax on Internet
sales goes away, but it will have to eventually or we will be taxed
some other way. In the meantime it is unfair to local sellers who
have no choice about adding sales tax to the cost of items. If the
state has a 6% sales tax, let the seller add it to the cost of the
item regardless of who buys it. Make it really a sales tax. [-
mrl]
===================================================================
3. AMERICAN PSYCHO (a film review by Mark R. Leeper):
Capsule: This is a sharp-edged black comedy set
in the Reagan era. In the high profit but
scruple-less, rarefied atmosphere of Wall
Street finance, one corporate vice-president
relieves the boredom with murder and sadism.
Nobody seems to notice. That one joke is done
excruciatingly well, but unfortunately that is
the only joke the film has. The soullessness
of people at the top is hammered home again and
again as they impassively commune and compete
with each other in pristine dress and
surroundings. Though Bale's acting and shifts
of mood are impressive, basically this remains
a one-joke comedy. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), +1 (-4
to +4)
It would seem that Ed Gein has inspired yet another film. The real
Ed Gein was a retired Wisconsin farmer who in November 1957 was
discovered to be a serial killer. He made a hobby of killing at
least fifteen women and eating or playing with the parts including
wearing the skin of his mother. His crimes were the inspiration
for the films PSYCHO, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and now AMERICAN
PSYCHO. To date almost all serial killers have been portrayed on
the screen as being lower class or at best lower middle class.
AMERICAN PSYCHO asks, "What if such a person were in Wall Street's
high-earning elite?" For the purpose of satire, Bret Easton
Ellis's controversial novel looked at a wealthy young financier at
a serial killer. The intent is not so much horror but as a
satirical view into the lives of the rich, successful, and vacuous.
Canadian Mary Harron, who scripted and directed I SHOT ANDY WARHOL,
has scripted and directed AMERICAN PSYCHO based on the Ellis novel.
As Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) readily admits to himself and
to the audience, he is empty. Patrick Bateman is in most senses
just "not here." Nobody greatly notices. Bateman is one of a set
of nearly identical vice-presidents of a Wall Street financial
firm. He makes a salary that is at least six figures and probably
more. He wears the perfect suits, he eats in the best restaurants,
and he comes close to having the perfect business cards, though
this is a field of great competition among the vice-presidents.
Like the other vice-presidents he does everything so perfectly that
they are really impossible to differentiate him from the others and
themselves have problems telling each other apart. Bateman's one
distinguishing characteristic is his hobby of sado-masochism and
murder. If Patrick Bateman really did inhabit his body he might
have some feelings about the killing, but as he sees himself as an
empty shell he might as well enjoy the momentary respite from total
monotonous boredom.
Much of the film is just a view into the wealthy lifestyle with
people who feel no human emotion but greed. They go to absurd
lengths to get reservations at the finest restaurants but will
return only to those whose bathrooms that have the best facilities
for snorting cocaine. Bateman takes the luxury a step further with
a home gymnasium where he can exercise to the strains of THE TEXAS
CHAINSAW MASSACRE and pornographic movies. Every once in a while
he will do in a homeless beggar or a co-worker. At work he seems
to do little real work beside tell his secretary (Chloe Sevigny,
Oscar-nominated for BOYS DON'T CRY) what to wear. He has a fiancee
(Reese Witherspoon) and a mistress (Samantha Mathis). Both are
very spacey though it is a little harder to tell with the fiancee
since her condition does not come from chemicals.
Christian Bale plays his role cool, making seamless shifts from
dapper to ripper. But he seems really to enjoy his hobby of
killing. Reese Witherspoon has just a small part, but now every
role she takes reminds me of the high school prig she played in
ELECTION. Willem Dafoe plays a police detective is the traditions
of Columbo.
It is curious how this film echoes other recent films. Bateman's
descent from the rich and stylish into his netherworld of violence
resonates with a similar descent in EYES WIDE SHUT. In this film
Bateman readily tells people that his hobby is murder, but people
just do not connect with him as we saw in GROSSE POINT BLANK and
THE SIXTH SENSE. Bateman's money seems to go into entertainment
gadgets, not unlike the people we saw in BOILER ROOM. One could
even say that Bateman's secret anti-social actions resound with THE
FIGHT CLUB.
This is a film that makes a sharp, strong, but surprisingly simple
statement. But perhaps the one statement is less than we should
expect for a feature-length film. I rate this a 6 on the 0 to 10
scale and a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. [-mrl]
===================================================================
4. KEEPING THE FAITH (a film review by Mark R. Leeper):
Capsule: Fresh, pleasant, and funny, KEEPING
THE FAITH manages to give new life to the tired
"romantic triangle comedy" by introducing a lot
of fun (and some material that is serious)
about Judaism and Catholicism. Ben Stiller
plays a rabbi and Ed Norton plays a priest,
both of whom are in love with their mutual
childhood friend who is now a stunning beauty.
Jenna Elfman has a really magnetic screen
personality. The main storyline is familiar
territory, but there is more than enough going
on in this film to keep things popping. Edward
Norton stars, co-produces, and directs.
Rating: 7 (0 to 10), 2 (-4 to +4)
It is not easy to write a film about a romantic triangle and not
cover territory that has been covered by countless other romantic
triangle films like HIS GIRL FRIDAY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.
Stuart Blumberg's script for KEEPING THE FAITH does it by filling
in what would be dull spaces with insight and comedy about Judaism
and Catholicism. Two of the three main characters are clergymen
wanting to try unconventional approaches to make their services
more enjoyable, relevant, and in general more inviting. Each has
to buck an establishment tied to more traditional approaches to
religious services. The two men's presence pits the more
conservative and generally older members of their congregations
against a younger generation more open to newer ideas. KEEPING THE
FAITH can flit back and forth from the main plotline to the
religious subplots and never get dull. On the whole the film mixes
two parts humor with one part seriousness. And one thing that sets
this film apart from so many other films is just that the jokes
really are funny. It is unusual these days to find a writer who
can be funny without sacrificing taste. Perhaps there will be
small numbers of Catholics and Jews that will be uncomfortable with
some of the "new approaches," but it is done in a much more loving
fashion than similar sorts of humor in last year's DOGMA.
Back in Junior High both Jake Schram and Brian Finn became fast
friends with cute and plucky Anna Reilly. Sadly, after a year or
so Anna had to move away. Jake and Brian both had ideas on how to
make their respective religions more fun and more relevant. Jake
(Ben Stiller) became a rabbi and Brian (Edward Norton) becomes a
priest. Each tries to modernize his religion, sometimes with
surprising and unorthodox results. Brian mixes services with
stand-up comedy. Jake mixes new forms of music into the Jewish
service. Then comes the day that Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman)
contacts Brian and tells him she is returning to New York. Anna,
who has matured into a stunning beauty is now a workaholic
repairing businesses. She is addicted to her cell phone. The
story goes back and forth between the two men's religious careers
and their attraction to the woman both love, but who is forbidden
to each of them. Jake is looking for a wife, but is only willing
to marry a Jew. Brian is Anna's religion, but the vows of his
priesthood force him to remain celibate. Like a Seinfeld episode,
for a long time nothing much happens but the characters discussing
their situation. But Anna's attraction is too great to resist
forever. Each of the men must gauge how deeply he feels about Anna
and how deeply about his religion.
It was claimed that watching just Spencer Tracy listening was more
interesting than watching other actors speak. That seems to have
been a lesson learned by Jenna Elfman. If the name is familiar,
she is married to a nephew of film composer Danny Elfman. Jenna
Elfman never just stands waiting for her next line. She is
inconstant motion and reacts to every line spoken. This is just
the sort of actor other actors hate to play opposite since she
grabs the attention of most of the audience, certainly most of the
males. Edward Norton demonstrated in PRIMAL FEAR, AMERICAN HISTORY
X, and THE FIGHT CLUB that he can do some dynamic personalities.
But in KEEPING THE FAITH he comes off just a bit bland. Ben
Stiller is more serious here than in films like SOMETHING ABOUT
MARY, but he carries the serious moments as well as the comic ones.
In addition there are some veteran actors in smaller roles
including Anne Bancroft, Ron Rifkin, and Eli Wallach. There is
even a small role for director Milos Forman.
Anastos N. Michos gives us some moderately good photography of New
York and this film gives us a counter-example to the usual wisdom
that no good film ever starts with an overhead shot of New York.
One quibble: one of the women Jake dates is a Jewish news
commentator who specializes in the Middle East and frequently is
sent to Iraq and Libya. I do not believe that Jewish women get a
lot of cooperation in the Arabic countries in the Middle East.
This is a film that beats a lot of odds to be an intelligent
romantic comedy that is constantly entertaining. While the end
seems a little strained, it is better than one might expect. I
rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
[-mrl]
Mark Leeper
HO 1K-644 732-817-5619
mleeper@lucent.com