Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
07/30/21 -- Vol. 40, No. 5, Whole Number 2182
Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, *mleeper@optonline.net *
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, *eleeper@optonline.net *
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*http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm
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Topics:
Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
My Picks for Turner Classic Movies in August (comments
by Mark R. Leeper)
Giant Goldfish and Moonfish, As Well As Rogue Oysters
and Acid-Shooting Land Lobsters
GIRL IN THE BASEMENT (2021) (film review by Art Stadlin)
Bond Songs (letters of comment by Lax Madapaty,
Pete Rubinstein, Sam Long, and John Purcell)
Alphabetizing (letters of comment by Paul Dormer
and Lowell Gilbert)
This Week's Reading (WINTER TIDE) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
Both groups have returned to the B.C. (Before Covid) schedules, and
the films will be shown as part of the Middletown meetings.
August 5 (MTPL), 5:30PM: A SCANNER DARKLY (2006) & novel
by Philip K. Dick (1977)
movie: DVD MTPL; rent on PrimeVideo, Vudu, YouTube
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtyfjFcvSA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtyfjFcvSA*
book: *https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12325569
https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12325569*
September 23 (OBPL), 7:00PM: THE FOOD OF THE GODS by H. G. Wells
===================================================================
TOPIC: My Picks for Turner Classic Movies in August (comments by
Mark R. Leeper)
George Pal made an indelible contribution to the early science
fiction and fantasy films. His DESTINATION MOON really was the
first of the 1950s science fiction films. Then he produced WHEN
WORLDS COLLIDE, a spectacular science fiction film with scenes of
worldwide destruction. Subsequently he produced two films based on
the novels of first the classics of science fiction literature: WAR
OF THE WORLDS and THE TIME MACHINE. Those were the highlights of
his career. Sadly, though he produced several more science fiction
films and fantasy with very different styles none got the attention
it really deserved. One such failed experiment that just failed to
click was the film 7 FACES OF DR. LAO, based on THE CIRCUS OF DR
LAO by Charles G. Finney. Each of the faces is portrayed by Tony
Randall from before his "Odd Couple" days.
7 FACES OF DR. LAO is the centerpiece of Turner Classic Movies'
celebration on August 26 of the 101st anniversary of Tony Randall's
birth.
[7 FACES OF DR. LAO (1964), August 26, 8:00PM]
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Giant Goldfish and Moonfish, As Well As Rogue Oysters and
Acid-Shooting Land Lobsters
Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
*https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57816922
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57816922*
"A city in the US state of Minnesota has urged residents not to
release their unwanted pet fish into the wild after finding huge
goldfish in a lake. The common household pets can grow far bigger
in the wild and cause major disruption to ecosystems. ... Large
goldfish have been found in the UK's wild waters as well. In 2010,
a British teenager pulled a 5-lb (2.2-kg), 16-in fish from a lake
in Dorset."
Mark adds:
Did anybody notice the tie-in with 7 FACES OF DR. LAO, discussed
earlier in this issue? [-mrl]
Massive and mysterious, a 100-pound fish washed ashore
*https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2021/07/18/oregon-opah
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2021/07/18/oregon-opah*-
rare-100-pound-fish/
"Officials at Seaside Aquarium were alerted early Wednesday to a
rare scene on the sands of the northern Oregon coast: A large,
round, glistening opah weighing 100 pounds had stranded ashore."
Rogue oysters threaten to disrupt Tokyo Olympics after officials
shelled out $1 million for repairs
*https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/20/tokyo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/20/tokyo*-
olympics-oyster-repairs/
"An infestation first came to light during a trial event in 2019,
shortly after the venue was created. Equipment floating in the
water suddenly began to sink, prompting crews to investigate what
was weighing them down."
Acid-shooting 'land lobsters' live in Texas and are being spotted
more after recent rains
*https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/07/19/acid-shooting-land
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/07/19/acid-shooting-land*-
lobsters-live-in-texas-and-are-being-spotted-more-after-recent-
rains/
===================================================================
TOPIC: GIRL IN THE BASEMENT (2021) (film review by Art Stadlin)
Thrillers is a category that can be fun and, well, thrilling. So I
watched this one with excitement, anticipating something a little
different and perhaps innovative. I also like documentaries, so I
liked the note in the opening credits about this being based on
true events. [SPOILER ALERT]
Sadly, I cannot recommend this movie. While the acting was
competent, the particulars of the story just didn't seem plausible.
I'm not talking technical flaws; those were covered right down to
the intricacies of the locks on the double-door and the ventilation
system in this basement bomb shelter. What I found flawed was the
idea that a man could hold his teenage daughter captive in a
basement for *twenty* years without getting caught.
Compounding my disbelief: daughter gives birth to four of dad's
children. Two survive to themselves become teenagers growing up
their entire lives in a windowless basement, one is stillborn, and
another is moved upstairs to be raised by the wife who has no idea
what her husband does with all those hours in the basement. I would
think someone would simply snap.
Two escape attempts in twenty years both fail. And they fail in a
way that only dad knows they were attempted, so he doubles down on
his punishments. As if dad is not far enough along in his
delusional state, things are not going well for him at work and he
gets laid off, which triggers the stress of having no money and a
pending foreclosure on the house. He realizes, twenty years too
late, that he made some bad choices in life.
This may have been a made-for-Lifetime movie, based on something
that flew by in the credits. Also, there were periodic "fade-to-
black" cuts that seemed perfect for those commercial interruptions.
The made-for-TV aspect would explain why this came together for the
happiest ending possible, given the circumstances.
While this may have been based on true events, I certainly hope the
real story was not nearly as long and horrific as this movie.
[-as]
[Yes, it was a made-for-Lifetime movie. And though it may seem
implausible, it is a true story; see
*https://decider.com/2021/03/02/lifetime-girl-in-the-basement-true
https://decider.com/2021/03/02/lifetime-girl-in-the-basement-true*-
story/ for details. -ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Bond Songs (letters of comment by Lax Madapaty, Pete
Rubinstein, Sam Long, and John Purcell)
In response to Mark's comments on James Bond songs in the 07/23/21
issue of the MT VOID, Lax Madapaty writes:
The Connery Bond pictures have aged badly and the songs sound like
s**t. Horrible, horrible set of early Bond pictures. The first
legitimate Bond picture is ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and I
may be in the minority opinion that if Sean Connery was cast in it,
it'd have been a horrible misfire. Lazenby brought a wonderful
sense of vulnerability to the role and Diana Rigg truly was the
first strong Bond woman. John Barry's score to this day (leave out
that stupid Xmas song by the kids) raises goosebumps in me and it
is quite a head-spinning song by Armstrong.
The Moore films were silly but entertaining and the worst are the
Brosnan pictures trying to be and do everything to everyone.
Dalton and Craig are the *best* Bonds, the *only* true Bonds.
Every one of their pictures is astonishing. I am eagerly awaiting
Oct 7th night when I can say goodbye to Craig's Bond with tear-
filled eyes in my local IMAX theater at the Bullock Museum. [-lm]
Mark replies:
I agree about the aging. The whole plot of THUNDERBALL is driven
by luck and coincidence. One can say much the same of GOLDFINGER.
The atmosphere of the early Bond films is still fun, but the films
do not really work. But I wanted to discuss the early Bond films
more.
Re ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE: It depends on what you mean by
"legitimate". A legit James Bond could be a small mousy man who
could fade into a crowd. He would look like Hoagy Charmichael. He
could be frightened.
You say, "Dalton and Craig are the *best* Bonds the *only* true
Bonds." Agreed. Possible exception: Hoagy Carmichael [-mrl]
Evelyn notes:
Two of Ian Fleming's "James Bond" novels (CASINO RPYALE and
MOONRAKER) compare Bond's looks to those of Hoagy Carmichael.
[-ecl]
Pete Rubinstein writes:
With respect to that "unnamed" James Bond theme, I came across this
interesting bit about where it came from:
*https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v%12120272389841
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v%12120272389841*
[-pr]
Evelyn notes:
There is much discussion/controversy about who "wrote" the James
Bond theme; see
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Norman#James_Bond_Theme
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Norman#James_Bond_Theme*.
[-ecl]
Sam Long writes:
It has long been noted that the first few notes of the theme song
of the film GOLDFINGER [1964], composed by John Barry, are almost
the same as those of the song "Moon River", composed three years
earlier by Henry Mancini, with words by Johnny Mercer. The
Wikipedia article about the GOLDFINGER song states that lyricists
"Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley were asked to create the lyrics
for the song. But when its composer John Barry played them the
first three notes, Bricusse and Newley looked at each other and
sang out: "... wider than a mile," to the melody of "Moon River,"
the popular theme song from [the 1961 film] BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S.
Barry was not amused." Apparently the actor Michael Caine, a
friend of Barry's, also noted the similarity of the opening about
the same time. The GOLDFINGER song became a big hit for Shirley
Bassey, who sang it for the film.
(Here in central Illinois, we--or at least I-- tend to think of
"Moon River" (sung by Audrey Hepburn in the movie) as "Spoon River,
/ Wider than a kilometer--uh, mile...."). The "turbid" Spoon River
is a tributary of the Illinois River that was made famous by Edgar
Lee Masters in his Spoon River Anthology. [-sl]
Mark replies:
There are only so many three-note combinations to start a melody.
The question is how often should this sort of thing happen. [-mrl]
Evelyn adds:
Most songs are apparently within an octave and a third (or 16
notes, counting sharps and flats). So that would be 4096
combinations, and obviously not all of them would be used in any
case. [-ecl]
John Purcell writes:
Ah, you start this issue off by discussing Bond movie songs. I
have always liked these opening credits songs, even when many of
them totally miss the mark. Most of them serve only as an audio
backdrop for scantily-clad (at best) females that flit and float in
a murky, cloudy, or curtained background to catch the viewer's
interest. As far as this intent goes, they're okay, but I do have
some personal favorites from this series. In no particular order,
some of these include "All Time High" (from OCTOPUSSY--horrid movie
title!), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (movie of the same title), and
"Goldfinger" to me is still the standard that set the tone for
these songs.
Not much else to add here, but I have to say that the best part of
this issue were the letters and how they were edited to create an
interesting and fun narrative. Nicely done.
With that, off to finish making dinner--mostly homemade gluten free
pizza--and get onto more reading tonight while the Summer Olympics
are on the television. Either that or we will be watching the
Houston Astros baseball game. I forget who they're playing
tonight, but they are playing well this season (first place in
their division) and that makes it fun to watch. [-jp]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Alphabetizing (letters of comment by Paul Dormer and Lowell
Gilbert)
In response to Evelyn's comments on alphabetizing in the 07/23/21
issue of the MT VOID, Paul Dormer writes:
Reminds me that in the World Cinema section of the big Virgin shop
in Oxford Street in London, they had DER GOLEM in the D section and
LA DOLCE VITA in the L section. But someone on here told me that
that is standard practice for foreign titles. [-pd]
Lowell Gilbert responds:
I would expect so. You're clearly going to violate the expectations
of a fair number of customers no matter what you do. [-lg]
Evelyn answers:
All the more reason to do it right, which is that all leading
articles are ignored. [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
WINTER TIDE by Ruthanna Emrys (Tor, ISBN 978-0-7653-9090-5) is yet
another re-imagining of the Cthulhu Mythos, this time revealing how
H. P. Lovecraft got it all wrong in his depiction of all these
other races as dangerous, threatening, and malevolent. And it's a
brilliant idea, because it echoes how H. P. Lovecraft got it all
wrong in his belief that all the other (i.e., non-white) races on
Earth are dangerous, threatening, and malevolent. Seanan McGuire
compares it to Gregory Maguire's WICKED and it's an apt comparison,
though WICKED is set in a fantasy world and WINTER TIDE is set in
an alternate America with fantasy.
The plot involves the government trying to get the secret of how to
inhabit other bodies, while making sure the Russians cannot do so.
This brings several government agents into contact with the last
remaining people from Innsmouth (the rest were either killed in the
raid on Innsmouth twenty years earlier, or died in the
internment/concentration camps they were sent to). The survivors
of Innsmouth in turn are trying to recover the books that were
stolen from them in the raid and rebuild Innsmouth. Some of the
other humans are trying to learn the magical secrets of the various
other species.
Emrys does seem to hit most of the obvious diversity points. In
addition to several non-human species and human sub-species, she
has white, Black, and East Asian characters, as well as multiple
LGBTQ characters, and a Jew.
(And the Jew gives what I think is the attitude of most Jews in the
United States was in the time of the novel (the late 1940s):
"Israel is building on a myth. I'm not against myths, and I'm glad
it's there, but the home of *my* people is New York--a place that
wanted us and took us in and where we can live in safety. I'm
American, even if some people don't want to think of me that way.
Like I said, we build where we can, even it might not be safe
forever.")
This book is a sequel to "The Litany of Earth", which appeared on
tor.com (and is still available there). In turn, it has a sequel,
DEEP ROOTS. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
*mleeper@optonline.net *
Mathematics is a game played according to certain
simple rules with meaningless marks on paper.
--David Hilbert