THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
11/28/14 -- Vol. 33, No. 22, Whole Number 1834
Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
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Topics:
Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
Headline Seen on News (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Can We Believe the Popular Media on Science? (comments
by Mark R. Leeper)
My Picks For Turner Classic Movies for December (comments
by Mark R. Leeper)
Why Streaming Content Is Still Not the Solution (comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein (audiobook review
by Joe Karpierz)
ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
THE IMMORTALISTS (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
Code Knocking (letter of comment by Neil Ostrove)
Dogs (letters of comment by Fred Lerner)
ARROWSMITH (letters of comment by Fred Lerner
And Gregory Benford)
Dogs, INTERSTELLAR, LOOPER, and History Books (letter
of comment by John Purcell)
This Week's Reading (WOMEN AND THE MILITARY) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
==================================================================
TOPIC: Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
December 4: THE APARTMENT (film), Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library,
6:30PM
December 11: STALKER (film) and ROADSIDE PICNIC (book) by Arkady
& Boris Strugatsky, Middletown (NJ) Public Library,
5PM **NOTE EARLIER TIME**
December 18: TBD (probably more articles from THE BEST AMERICAN
SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2012), Old Bridge (NJ) Public
Library, 7PM
January 8: MIMIC (film) and "Mimic" by Donald Wollheim (story),
Middletown (NJ) Public Library, 5:30PM
January 22: KINDRED by Octavia Butler, Old Bridge (NJ) Public
Library, 7PM
Speculative Fiction Lectures (subject to change):
January 2: TBD
Northern New Jersey events are listed at:
http://www.sfsnnj.com/news.html
==================================================================
TOPIC: Headline Seen on News (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
An America Herald ran the headline "Ice Age Infant Remains found in
Alaska." I think scientists remain determined that this time he
will stay found. [-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Can We Believe the Popular Media on Science? (comments by
Mark R. Leeper)
I have heard three statements in the popular media. I was
wondering what our readers thought of these. If I read it in
Scientific American I would be more inclined to believe them, but
it is from sources like The Daily Mail--not to put them down, but
they are not predominately science journals.
1. Black Holes cannot form and do not exist. (So what is holding
the galaxy together?)
http://tinyurl.com/void-black-holes (Daily Mail)
2. Pluto may again a planet
I think this is a question of inconsistent definition criteria
being applied to bodies inside versus outside the solar system.
http://io9.com/wait-pluto-might-be-a-planet-again-1637795741
3. Voyager has not yet left the solar system
The heliosphere extends further than we thought.
http://tinyurl.com/void-heliosphere (Telegraph)
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: My Picks For Turner Classic Movies for December (comments by
Mark R. Leeper)
This is my monthly guide to hopefully some of the lesser-known
films that are worth catching. All times listed are Eastern Time
Zone, since we are here out in the open if another Hurricane Sandy
attacks, so we deserve some special perks.
THE GREAT RUPPERT (1950) is more just a children's film than most I
would pick, but it is rare enough that fans of the great Gyorgy Pal
Marczincsak may want to catch it. You probably know him as George
Pal. In 1950 he had spent a decade making Puppetoons, three-
dimensional animated stories, mostly fairy tales. He even
collaborated with Ray Harryhausen on his 1942 animated short
"Tulips Shall Grow." Now his ambition was to make a feature film,
using animation techniques he had learned on Puppetoons.
Reportedly he wanted to make a film starring an animated mouse, but
he did not want to take on Walt Disney who might claim copyright
infringement from someone not working for him doing an animated
mouse. Pal instead chose to feature Rupert, an animated squirrel.
Irving Pichel, the actor who played Sandor, Dracula's daughter's
servant (and master) in DRACULA'S DAUGHTER, directed the film. You
have to see it knowing it is really for the under-12 crowd, but it
does show where Pal was going. And where was he going? To the
moon. The following year he made another jump. This time he had
Pichel directing again in a story of the first human trip to the
moon, DESTINATION MOON, the movie that kicked off the 1950s science
fiction film boom. [Wednesday, December 24, 9:30 AM]
Okay, THE GREAT RUPERT was a film aimed at children. If you want
one much more adult, there is UMBERTO D (1952). Vittorio De Sica
directed this film. Four years earlier he had made THE BICYLE
THIEF a story of the desperation of a father trying to feed his
family in the Italian shattered economy after the war. It was a
great classic film. UMBERTO D is in many ways a very similar
story. The title character is a retired government worker in the
same terrible economy. Umberto's pension is just almost nearly not
quite enough to let him starve to death with a little dignity. He
cannot pay his rent and his landlady is going to throw him out.
Umberto lives a lonely life, but for the love of his dog. Together
the two find themselves homeless and hungry. De Sica creates
wonderful portraits of people living lives of quiet anguish,
characters struggling to live. He is almost an Italian Victor
Hugo. De Sica would generally not choose experienced actors. Most
had never been in front of a camera before. This gives his films a
strong feeling of realism. These people had the same problems
their characters did or knew someone who had. [Monday, December 15,
7:30 AM]
Warner Brothers' forte was gangster and crime films. They rarely
went in for horror. But they regularly used Peter Lorre in films
like THE MALTESE FALCON and CASABLANCA. His final film for Warner
was a horror film, THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1946). In it once
again Lorre can play a madman, this time with a passion for
astrology. He wants to inherit a rare astrology book from a great
pianist who has suffered a stroke and will probably die soon. As
Hillary Cummins Lorre will kill to get this astrology book. The
musician dies by accident or murder. In his madness Cummins sees a
hand of the musician move around with a life of its own coming for
Lorre. Curt Siodmak, who seemed to be Hollywood's fountain of
horror and fantasy, adapted the screenplay very, very loosely (or
not at all) from the story by William Fryer Harvey. [Sunday,
December 14, 4:15 AM]
I am not going to choose a best picture for the month because I am
biased. The film I would recommend is one I assume the reader has
seen many times. It involves an expedition to an island in the
South Pacific and the misguided attempt to bring a large gorilla
back to New York City. I won't even mention the name. [Tuesday,
December 30, 2:15 PM]
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Why Streaming Content Is Still Not the Solution (comments by
Evelyn C. Leeper)
In 2011, I wrote an article about how a friend said that we should
not be buying DVDs or even Blu-rays because downloadable content is
the wave of the future. To which my response was then that I agree
with him, particularly about the "future" part. And you know, it's
still the wave of the future, and it is still in the present that
things fall apart.
What were the problems I listed?
"Most downloadable content does not seem to have subtitle or
closed-caption options." Still true. This was supposedly being
worked on, but no progress seems to have been made in the last
three years.
To which I will add:
Most downloadable content also does not have commentaries or other
extras.
"The network can be down, either short-term from some minor
failure, or long-term from some hacker attack." Still true.
"The network can be too slow." Still true. Indeed, it is more
true than ever.
"What you want to see may not be available on-line." Still true.
"What you want may be available on-line today, but not necessarily
tomorrow." Still true.
"What you want may be available on-line today, but you have to
subscribe to an inordinate (and expensive) number pf services."
Still true.
"Downloadable copies are available only as long as the vendor is in
business." Still true. (Also relies on the network unless you are
storing local files.)
"Storing local copies (to get around the problems with downloading)
ties up a lot of disc space." Still true. Also, if you are going
to save programs on external or removable media, you might as well
buy a DVD.
And this is the list of my objections three years ago. So far as I
can tell, no progress has been made on any of them.
Again, I'm not against streaming/downloadable content. We watch it
a lot for the movies and shows that are available. And I much
prefer it for shorter things (individual television episodes, short
films, and so on) that you will probably watch only once, and which
usually come bundled on DVDs with things you do not necessarily
want. But it is still not a complete replacement for actual
physical media. [-ecl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein (copyright 1951,
Del Rey Books, copyright 1998 Blackstone Audiobooks, 9 hrs 24 mins,
narrated by Tom Weiner), (excerpt from the Duel Fish Codices: an
audiobook review by Joe Karpierz)
I have this weird relationship with the works of Robert A.
Heinlein. As I've stated here in the past, I never read much, if
any, Heinlein in my formative SF years. I don't remember if that's
because my mother didn't have any Heinlein on the shelves--and
she's the one that got me started on all this stuff--or whether I
just ignored him completely.
As you know, I've started to dip my toe in the Heinleinian waters
via audiobooks. I *could* read print copies, as my wife brought a
lot of Heinlein into the marriage, but my own to-read list is
daunting enough without actually reaching on to the shelves to add
books to it. So when it came time to pick the next audiobook to
listen to, Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS caught my eye. The novel
was originally published in 1951, and while it is reflective of the
times with regard to its themes of paranoia and UFO sightings,
among other things, the novel holds up surprisingly well.
The novel takes place in the early 21st century, several years
before our current present day. Sam is an agent in The Section, a
clandestine and officially non-existent security organization
within the U.S. government. The Section is headed up by the Old
Man, a gruff authority figure whose word is not to be questioned
and will to succeed appears to be unparalleled. Sam and the Old
Man, along with Mary, another field agent within the section, head
to Des Moines, Iowa to investigate the disappearance of several
agents who had been sent to investigate a flying saucer that had
landed near Grinnell. Side note--I've been to Grinnell. There's a
terrific steakhouse just off the I-80 exit where you get to pick
out and grill your own steak. I did not notice, however, the
things that that the Old Man, Sam, and Mary discovered, which were
the gray slugs that were taking over the local population. These
gray slugs attach themselves to the backs of their victims, taking
over their bodies.
This was, of course, the beginning of an invasion of earth by the
slugs. The slugs spread by a couple of different means, one being
a manner of recruitment where unsuspecting individuals are lured to
a place where slugs are placed upon them by already "recruited"
humans. The other way, the way which is more insidious and
frightening, is that the slugs multiply by fissioning, crawling off
and latching on to unrecruited humans. Sam was taken over the by
the first method, and was able to survive his ordeal when his slug
was removed after being interrogated by the Old Man through Sam.
Other folks weren't so lucky. Of course the government was at
first reluctant to take any action, but events finally convinced
the President of the U.S. to take action in the form of making
everyone walk around almost completely naked so it could be seen
whether a person was wearing a slug or not.
The novel is something different from what Heinlein typically
wrote, and yet the reader can see the makings of what was to come
much later in his career. The novel was somewhat scandalous at the
time, given its attitudes toward sex and the fact that people
accepted walking around naked all the time. It also foreshadowed
more of what was to come with regard to later novels' attitudes
toward and about women--in particular, being tough and yet the
fairer sex, resorting to feminine charms and acting in, oh, a
stereotypical weak fashion. Mary, for example, is a tough field
agent, someone not to be messed with. Her advantage was that she
could tell if a man was under the influence of a slug if he didn't
react to her feminine charms. In fact, Mary went from being a
strong female character who could take care of herself to someone
who seemed weak and needed help and advice from Sam, whom she
married partway through the book. As an aside, she was also a
redhead, which if memory serves is a physical characteristic shared
by many of the prominent women in Heinlein's novels.
In the end, we sort of beat the slugs, and sort of don't. Heinlein
tells us we can never be completely certain that the slugs have
been eliminated, so we must always be vigilant, keeping an eye out
for the invaders. A ship is sent to Titan, a moon of Saturn, where
the slugs are from, to try to eradicate them at the source. Until
then, we must keep constant watch. Paranoia indeed, whether it be
UFOs, communists within our government, or slugs. There's always
something out to get us.
Tom Weiner does a decent enough job of narrating the story. I
don't know that his voicing of female characters is any better or
worse than any other narrator I've heard. I do know that he didn't
intrude upon the story or annoy me in any way, so that's a good
thing.
With the constant threat of privacy invasion going on even today,
some of the lessons of THE PUPPET MASTERS are still relevant. We
still need to be vigilant, now more than ever, and that's one of
the main reasons this book holds up as well as it does for me.
Hopefully it will do the same for you. [-jak]
==================================================================
TOPIC: ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: This is a film about human survival in an alien world, but
it is not science fiction. It is a documentary about the 5000 or
so real people who come to the coldest continent and particularly
about the one in seven who stay through the black winter and what
the experience does to them. It is not just about being cold and
in the dark. Strange things happen to the minds of people who face
the bitter and the black. The movie was written, directed and
filmed by New Zealander Anthony Powell who fell in love with the
icy lands taking still pictures of it ten years ago. The vistas of
white and all the sights of the icecap make for an extraordinary
and memorable film. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Anthony Powell, a satellite telecommunications engineer and still
photographer, has provided film for nature shows, exhibits, and the
BBC series "Frozen Planet." For his first feature film of his own
he decided to spend an entire year in Antarctica and record his
experience with special cameras, many of which he built for
himself. He makes extensive use of time-lapse photography to catch
the changing vistas. Time-lapse and still views of the huge vistas
are real jaw-droppers.
Powell also includes wildlife footage of seals and especially
penguins, for whom he seems to have a special fondness. However,
for once the viewer may find the people of more interest than the
animals. We would expect life to be different in Antarctica, but
it is a far stranger experience than anyone who has not been there
would probably imagine.
If one thinks of the sort of people one would find in Antarctica
what comes to mind first are the scientists, perhaps doing research
on ice melt or on the penguins. But a large proportion of the
people there are in support positions. You need cooks, clerks,
firemen, communications repair specialists, and handymen. There
was a notable absence in the film of anyone identified as a
scientist. Powell's emphasis is on what happens to ordinary people
in this extraordinary environment. The film is full of unexpected
revelations. We know penguins can be cute, but they also can be
disgusting when it comes to them living with penguin guano. With
all the recent documentaries about penguins, only this one mentions
guano problems. Apparently people who have lived with the cold and
the isolation find they suffer from serious memory loss. Still,
there is a family-like relation among the people who stay. They
combine a spirit of adventure with a special kind of insanity.
The continent of Antarctica is covered by an icecap that is 25
million cubic kilometers of ice. That is about 6 million cubic
miles. Ironically it is covered with snow and is still a desert
with less than six inches of precipitation a year. There is enough
ice there that if it would melt it would raise the sea level more
than 200 feet. Virtually anything that is needed to live on the
ice has to be brought in from outside.
In the summer time there are about 5000 people in Antarctica at any
given time. Only one in seven stays through the winter and that
requires a special breed of person. For them the yearly routine is
two months of days and nights, four months of constant sunlight,
two months of days and nights, and four months of constant dark.
The isolation of winter has a strange disorienting psychological
effect on those who stay. Some form of memory deterioration seems
common. There are storms weekly and most winters there is a
hurricane force storm. Small cracks in window frames can cover a
whole room with snow. One gets used to temperatures as warm as -40
degrees Celsius (or Fahrenheit) and as cold as -70 C under skies of
the green shimmering curtains of the Aurora.
It would be hard to imagine much of what Powell shows us. But no
other documentary I have seen shows us the strange life on the ice
cap. I rate it a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale or 8/10.
Film Credits:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361700/combined
What others are saying:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/antarctica_a_year_on_ice/
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: THE IMMORTALISTS (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: This film is a portrait of two advanced biologists working
with promising results on the problems of reversing aging. Your
mileage may vary but to me spending so much time on their
admittedly eccentric personal lives--time that could have been used
to explain more of the science and their particular theories and
approaches--was not the best choice. The film does show us
interesting views of their research environment. Rating: high +1
(-4 to +4) or 6/10
First let us talk a about the current biological model of aging.
Aging appears to be related to telomeres. What is a telomere?
Telomeres are like caps at the ends of chromosomes. The chromosome
makes a nearly identical copy of itself when the chromosome
duplicates. What is different is the telomere on the new
chromosome is a little shorter. When the telomere is too short,
the chromosome cannot duplicate properly. The resulting
dysfunctions accumulate to be aging. If the telomeres were of
sufficient length or if they replicated exactly the chromosome
duplicated the new chromosome would be just as good and the
organism would not have the effects of aging. The result would be
that the creature inside which all this was going on would not age,
and also in some cases aging would actually reverse. The telomeres
are repaired and extended by the enzyme telomerase (actually
officially called "telomerase reverse transcriptase"). It would
seem then that telomerase might be a useful tool in countering
aging, but it might also promote cancer. That occurs when cells
refuse to die--a dysfunction closely related to the aging process.
[Standard McCoy-esque Disclaimer: I am a film reviewer, not a
biologist. Any of the above should be taken with some skepticism
until verified with someone with proper training.]
There are (at least) two different approaches that are being
considered for life extension. THE IMMORTALISTS is a new
documentary looking at the scientific theories of aging and the men
who support each of the two theories. Each approach has a champion
introduced in this film. The coverage of the science is minimal
and directors David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg and writer Sussberg
more want to give the viewer an idea of what the people are like
who lead each side. William H. Andrews, Ph.D., feels that there
might exist a drug that would release telomerase. If such a drug
can be found he expects that it would extend the telomeres and help
to extend life. Andrews is also an extreme marathon runner feeling
that this sort of exercise also would extend his telomere length.
The film strays from strictly the science to tell of Andrews
running a very long very high altitude marathon that while helping
to extend his life nearly itself killed him. Documented is his
returning to the marathon after his brush with death previously.
And as an apparently reproducible result it nearly kills him a
second time. The film looks at his motivations including his
desire to prevent the death of his aging father.
The other major figure is Andrews's friend and colleague Aubrey de
Grey, Ph.D. He opposes his friend and instead advocates Strategies
for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS). This is a seven-
pronged approach to limit the amount of telomerase the chromosome
is subjected to. This should decrease the possibility of cancer,
but then using a diverse approach to pragmatically treat several
different dysfunctions resulting from short telomeres. Where
Andrews's approach is to prevent certain age-related disorders, de
Grey advocates curing the disorders individually. He sees a need
to do repairs as things break rather than looking for one single
drug. We are told he has this seven-fold approach, but we hear
only about two or three of the prongs.
Alvarado and Sussberg present too little of the science, but spend
more of their time giving us portraits of the two men and their
life styles. We follow Andrews on his marathon. We also see de
Grey's life with his wife and his two girl friends in what becomes
a polyamorous relationship. He and his wife are followed on a
nature hike that turns into a nude picnic complete with sex for the
camera. This is not the most enlightening sequence that could have
been filmed.
How is the search going? Well, in 2011 they apparently succeeded
in reversing the aging of a mouse. How many mice will need to have
their aging reversed before the same approach will be used on
humans is still a question. Dr. Andrews thinks procedures may be
possible in as little as three years. That seems very optimistic.
But one cannot predict where breakthroughs will come in science.
And funding problems are ubiquitous.
I rate THE IMMORTALISTS a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10.
Film Credits:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3267194/combined
What others are saying:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_immortalists/
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Code Knocking (letter of comment by Neil Ostrove)
In response to Kip Williams's comments on code knocking in the
11/21/14 issue of the MT VOID, Neil Ostrove writes:
Shave and a haircut (5 short), two bits (2 long). [-no]
Mark responds:
You have not defined what a "long" is and what a "short." But the
real test is for the last two knocks can you tell the differences
among long-long, long-short, short-long, and short-short? [-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Dogs (letters of comment by Fred Lerner)
In response to Mark's comments on dogs in the 11/21/14 issue of the
MT VOID, Fred Lerner writes:
I'm no dog lover, but I've noticed a trend toward the establishment
of "dog parks" in this area. These provide a safe environment for
dogs to play and interact with other dogs. If such things exist in
New Jersey perhaps one of Mark's reservations about acquiring a dog
might be alleviated. [-fl]
Mark responds:
I cannot imagine a dog (and his owner) spending a sizable fraction
of his life in a dog park. I don't see dog parks being much of a
solution for the hours a day that the dog has nothing to do.
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: ARROWSMITH (letters of comment by Fred Lerner and Gregory
Benford)
In response to Evelyn's comments on ARROWSMITH in the 11/21/14
issue of the MT VOID, Fred Lerner writes:
Whether its subject matter renders ARROWSMITH science fiction
depends upon the approach one takes toward defining SF. If "the
effects of technological change" is the major defining factor, then
a case could be made for classifying ARROWSMITH as science fiction.
If one defines science fiction as a branch of literature employing
certain narrative strategies and reading protocols, then ARROWSMITH
would probably not qualify. (If you follow Chip Delany's argument
about "subjunctivity levels", then the "alternative present or a
reconceived history" in that book would be considered too trivial a
departure from consensus reality to be worth considering.) And
lastly, if science fiction is considered as that body of literature
arising from a self-aware community of SF readers and writers--a
form of definition I find useful for historical and bibliographical
study--then ARROWSMITH is not science fiction. (I'll leave it to
Evelyn's alternate-history expertise to determine whether Lewis's
IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE is a more likely candidate to be considered
science fiction.) [-fl]
Gregory Benford writes:
The trick in double blind medical studies these days is to keep the
control group fairly small, say 20% of the treated group.
My company does this in its ongoing Alzheimer's trial, & gets clear
results. Luckily, the drug is working well. [-gb]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Dogs, INTERSTELLAR, LOOPER, and History Books (letter of
comment by John Purcell)
In response to the 11/21/14 issue of the MT VOID, John Purcell
writes:
In the few minutes I have before I head home for the Thanksgiving
weekend, here are some thoughts on your latest VOID.
As a dog owner, I can understand Mark's feelings about dogs. They
can be a bother to clean up after, but quite frankly, I can now
understand why people love Labradors. Our yellow lab, Duckie, is
the sweetest dog I have ever known. He's so gentle with our
grandson, letting Brian crawl all over him, pulling on ears, giving
the dog dental checks, and so on, all without a whimper or nip of
complaint. In fact, I think Duckie loves the attention and would
probably bite the nuts off anyone who threatens Brian. He is
definitely protective of the lad, which makes me feel good. I have
never owned a dog before - always cats - but I'm glad we have the
Duckie. He's a good boy.
We are probably going to see INTERSTELLAR at some point over this
holiday weekend. Yes, I know the crowds might be horrendous, but
we're planning on a matinee showing while the vast majority are out
shopping for Christmas gifts. Everything that I've seen and heard
about the movie sounds fantastic: a thoughtful, visual, mentally
challenging movie. Wow! A real science fiction movie. It will be
interesting to see what it's eventual box office take is going to
be.
Speaking of movies, my wife and I just watched LOOPER this past
Sunday night on FX network. An interesting movie, a little
confusing at first, but I think it was well done despite my
predicting the ending 45 minutes ahead of time. And by predicting,
I mean *exactly* what was going to happen and how. Even so, I
enjoyed it because it was so much more cerebral than what passes
for Hollywood "SF" these days.
A recent trip to the local Half-Price Bookstore resulted in 6
dollars netting five books: only one of them cost $2, Shelby
Foote's massive Civil War volume FREDERICKSBURG TO MERIDIAN. I've
dipped into it a couple times already and may just start at the
beginning and read it straight through. Foote is probably one of
the most readable historians I have ever encountered. The Durant's
THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION (all 11 volumes of it!) was excellent,
but not what I would want to read nonstop. Too much is too much.
And yes, my dad had a matching set of the Durant's tomes. They
took up an entire shelf in our home library.
Well, I think it's time to mosey off. Many thanks for the zine
again, and I look forward to this coming Friday's edition. May you
two have a Happy Thanksgiving. [-jp]
Mark responds:
I think you missed the point. Yes, a dog can be hard to clean up
after, but I was not addressing that. I was talking about the
unintentional cruelty of dog owners who have dogs but do not have a
good way to keep the dog challenged and active during most of the
day. Owners also unintentionally inflict separation anxiety on
pets when they are boarded. These are loving owners, but they
still may not be seeing the world from the dog's point of view.
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
WOMEN AND THE MILITARY by John P. Dever and Maria C. Dever (ISBN
0-89950-976-2) is almost entirely about the United States military,
with a few seemingly random additions from the rest of the world:
Deborah, Boudicea, Joan of Arc, Hannah Senesh, ... There is one
fighter pilot from the World War II era in the USSR, and no one
from any Axis countries. (Given that the Germans had women testing
jet fighters, you would think one of them would have been
included.) The whole book seems to be written at a young-adult
level, and the index merely recapitulates the table of contents.
(You would think they would at least add an entry for "Molly
Pitcher" rather than expecting you to know to look her up under
"Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley".) This is the sort of book school
libraries might want to encourage girls to look at "non-
traditional" careers and to provide material for reports for
Women's History Month, but there is not much more than that it is
useful for. [-ecl]
==================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
In a few decades of reconstruction, even the
mathematical natural sciences, the ancient
archetypes of theoretical perfection, have
changed habit completely!
--Edmund Husserl