From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #150 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Tuesday, September 12 2000 Volume 01 : Number 150 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 16:10:57 -0600 From: Tom Matkin Subject: Re: [AML] Introductions: Edgar (Ed) C. Snow, Jr. [MOD: I'm going to bend the rules on submission of creative work to the List for this one... Technically, I guess, we could call it "verse commentary" on Ed's post.] Ed Snow wrote: > >Anybody got any funny Mormon > poems? No limmericks, please. Against gays, jews or others inferred It's a fact that you can't breath a word But I sense a Snow job Being done by a snob! Cutting limericks out of the herd. Sure it may be politically right To give limerick verses the blight But the Irish gave birth To this strange form of verse And this might, in them bring out the fight. And we know when the Green get their ire Up in arms, that they just never tire So I beg Ed to change His restrictions arrange To allow limericks in his choir. He can safely assure none will win In his contest for publishing "whim" If he just says each verse Must be witty and terse That eliminates lims and their kin. Or he could make a rule about smut And declare that a poem gets the butt If it comes from a style That embraces the vile And is mired in in*u*endo rut. So I guess in the end I agree With our Ed and his clever decree Be urbane and classy Not profane and brassy And let's keep Irreantum lim-free. Tom - -- Tom Matkin www.matkin.com (1 Jn. 4:8) 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 20:01:12 -0600 From: "Alan Mitchell" Subject: Re: [AML] Introductions: Alan Mitchell Jason wrote: >I don't know why, but I love it that there are so many fellow Oregonians on >this list. I have such a strong sense of pride in my Oregonian-ness, >whenever I meet another Oregonian it is not unlike the feeling of meeting >another member of the Church...there's an instant connection, respect...it's >sort of like sharing a secret. The secret of rivers and evergreens, and the >smell of wet wood and pavement. >But Alex, I have to tell you that Monmouth (where I'm calling from--or would >be, if I wasn't stuck in Vegas) is rural as well. In fact, I grew up on 21 >acres of hillside, 3 miles outside of Monmouth (pop. 5,000), and 1/2 hr. >drive from Salem (our nearest 'big' city at 100,000 people). We used to play >other rural high schools like Madras in the basketball state tournament... You must realize that Oregon has more "dry" land than rivers and evergreens. That 90 percent of the population resides in the drizzle is no excuse to neglect the pretty side of the state. And Monmouth is huge at 5000! Besides, they have culture--a teachers college! But I concur with the feeling of comradery with those who have spent months in the rain and can share Oregon rain jokes, compare white skin, tell how they went swimming in the Pacific (only as far as the ankles), and recall what the sun looked like. Alan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 23:52:35 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Galaxy Quest wins Hugo Andrew Piereder wrote: > Matrix was positively ground-breaking in every aspect. Oh, it wasn't _that_ groundbreaking. The special effects were great, but there weren't as many groundbreaking ones as I expected with all the hoopla that preceded it. As for the story itself, it was anticipated by a similar concept in the film _Dark City_. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 08:26:09 -0500 From: "Todd Robert Petersen" Subject: Re: [AML] Introductions Jason et al. > I don't know why, but I love it that there are so many fellow Oregonians on > this list. I have such a strong sense of pride in my Oregonian-ness, > whenever I meet another Oregonian it is not unlike the feeling of meeting > another member of the Church...there's an instant connection, respect...it's > sort of like sharing a secret. The secret of rivers and evergreens, and the > smell of wet wood and pavement. One more. Portland, West Hills, Jesuit High School, University of Oregon, Powell's (1970-1991). Rivers? Evergreens? I have no idea what you're talking about. The Northwest is rainy, gloomy, and the people there are unkind . Houston is much nicer . Make sure you spread the word so I can afford to move home. - -- Todd Robert Petersen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 11:12:42 -0700 From: Ruth Starkman Subject: Re: [AML] LABUTE, _Nurse Betty_ "Eric R. Samuelsen" wrote: > A few of you have turned me on to Salon magazine recently, and today's is a doozie. Charles Taylor reviews Neil Labute's Nurse Betty, and gives it as harsh and negative a review as I can ever remember any film getting ever. Wow. > > What's interesting about this review is how personal it gets. He accuses Neil of the ugliest kind of nihilism, precisely because Neil's film is so dismissive of popular culture. And that's interesting, because it seems to me that Neil is simply reflecting something of the Mormon take on pop culture. Taylor attacks Neil for what he perceives as Neil's attack on, for example, the sorts of bubble brained idiots who watch soap operas. (That's not my wording, BTW; that's Taylor paraphrasing Labute). Or the kind of bubble-brained idiots who watch television period, of which count me as one, since I'm on record as really liking TV a lot. I too reeled when I read the review, but then again, it's also standard Salon fare...a diatribe against those arid cultural elitists, who reject the "evils" of TV culture . My guess--and forgive me for speculating here, since I've not seen _Nurse Betty_ , I'm at home with an infant and small child and thus haven't the vaguest hope of seeing a film in a theater anytime soon--is that the review and its film are like ships in the night: Taylor either doesn't like or doesn't understand LaBute's dark hyperbole; and LaBute may be somewhat guilty of an all-too-easy derision of pop culture. (Is he? Has anyone seen the film??) What I can say with a little more certainty is this: Taylor's position on LaBute strikes Eric as so "personal" because it seems more an occasion to defend the virtues of TV culture (what was this about television having " better writing than films" these days?) than to critique the film. As such, the review runs the danger of becoming simply the flipside of all those arguments against TV "culture industry" as mindless and mind-controlling sop. Now, is LaBute's position against TV a culturally Mormon one? Not if it comes as an apology for high culture, which would be no less suspect than Taylor's position. Cheers, Ruth - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 09:58:55 -0600 From: "Pat Wagman" Subject: [AML] Introductions: Pat Wagman Name: Pat Wagman Age : 30s Gender: Male Family: Married to Donna. Currently 5 kids. 3 that are ours, 1 foster child that may, we pray, get to be ours and 1 rental child that we have to give back when his mom gets home from Korea. Home Town: Cartersville GA. Currently stationed in Great Falls MT. Occupation: Pay check come from the Air Force. By disposition computer, math and science geek. Connection to Mormon lit and in fact arts in general: Reader/Connoisseur. Very little active contribution. (Just ask the choir directors I've worked with :) Pat "It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 09:07:04 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] LABUTE, _Nurse Betty_ Ruth Starkman wrote: > What I can say with a little more certainty is this: Taylor's position on LaBute strikes Eric as so "personal" because it seems > more an occasion to defend the virtues of TV culture (what was this about television having " better writing than films" > these days?) An example: _The West Wing_. Hands down the best written and acted drama to come down the pike in years. Consistently good. - -- Thom Duncan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 09:04:16 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: [AML] Beaten to the Punch (was: Galaxy Quest wins Hugo) "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > > Andrew Piereder wrote: > > > Matrix was positively ground-breaking in every aspect. > > Oh, it wasn't _that_ groundbreaking. The special effects were great, but > there weren't as many groundbreaking ones as I expected with all the > hoopla that preceded it. As for the story itself, it was anticipated by > a similar concept in the film _Dark City_. Or my now-abandoned screenplay UR:TH begun in 1991 but then reluctantly set aside when I saw the same story in _The Matrix_. To date, that has happened with several of my projects: A musical on Cyrano de Bergerac A grand series of novels based on Church history and another one on the BofM A play about the trial of Joseph Smith's assassins (abandoned because Tim Slover is doing one) A play about the trial of Senator Smoot (because Eric Samuelsen's already done it) Has this happened to anyone else? You have a killer idea but just as you're starting on it, you learn that someone else more prominent than you, has already completed it? - -- Thom Duncan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 09:37:24 -0700 (MST) From: Benson Parkinson Subject: [AML] PARKINSON, _Into the Field_ cover copy In _The MTC: Set Apart,_ four elders from very different backgrounds are thrown together in the pressure cooker of the Missionary Training Center in Provo. There they struggle to learn the language, overcome themselves, and love each other, and each manages small miracles. The MTC seemed almost a mission in miniature, and the four, standing on the rainy platform waiting for the Bordeaux train, feel transformed and eager. But the stakes are higher now with their "real" missions beginning, and Elders Wilberg, Rignell, Anthon, and Jeppsen are about to learn just how complete their transformation has been. In _Into the Field,_ Benson Parkinson continues his exploration of missionary life, which since President Kimball's call for every worthy young man to serve a mission has become the defining experience for a generation. _Into the Field_ takes the reader there with rich, evocative language and vivid characterization, with special attention to the minute-by-minute of spiritual life. Parkinson, in his missionary cycle, combines the spiritual and literary in a way that readers will find uniquely satisfying. Praise for _The MTC: Set Apart:_ "[This] novel has innate appeal for anyone who ever served a mission, and it's the best thing I've encountered thus far on the subject." ---Thomas F. Rogers "[Parkinson evokes a feeling] of aesthetic richness, of characters being fully and realistically developed, [and] a sense of honesty in depicting who these young men are and where they're coming from. . . . I was hooked on them in the same way that Willa Cather hooks me on her characters." ---Robert M. Hogge _"The MTC: Set Apart_ tackles the most difficult challenge facing LDS fiction: Can spiritual experience be depicted in simplicity and power without resorting to light-minded sentimentalty? . . . Parkinson shows us quiet moments of grace . . . that ring absolutely true to every believer's testimony and experience." ---Neal W. Kramer "[This book] is a wonderful examination of young and thoughtful and spiritual missionaries undertaking their missions---the MTC as Ship of Fools, and it works. . . . [I] love _The MTC;_ it's an important book." ---Richard H. Cracroft - ----------------------------------------------------------------- *Coupon* Print and clip this and mail it to the address below to receive the AML-List discount for Benson Parkinson's _Into the Field_ (regularly price $12.99). Name: ___________________________________ Address: ________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ E-mail: _________________________________ Send $10.00 x ______ (quantity) + $1.00 shipping = __________ to: _Into the Field,_ 696 E. 4500 S., South Ogden, UT 84403-3844 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 10:22:55 -0700 From: "Christopher Bigelow" Subject: Re: [AML] LABUTE, _Nurse Betty_ I saw the movie on opening night. It didn't really work for me. Too queasy = a mix of sentimentality and violence, and not overall convincing. It = surprised me how much it tried to be a crowd pleaser. The performances = were interesting at times but did not redeem the movie for me. The plot = was about as plausible as a soap opera--which I suppose was the clever = point, but not my kind of film. Of all the several national reviews of the = film I've read so far, many surprisingly positive, I agree most with = Newsweek: "Up to a point, we happily suspend our disbelief. But the script = . . . pushes its luck too far. Kinnear's blindness to Betty's madness goes = on too long; Freeman's obsession with the woman he's chasing neatly = parallels her romantic fantasies, but it doesn't ring true. Swerving from = viciousness to whimsy to dubious feminist fable, "Nurse Betty" doesn't = jell." Chris Bigelow - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 09:33:45 -0700 (MST) From: Benson Parkinson Subject: [AML] PARKINSON, _Into the Field_ announcement AML-List Friends, I launched AML-List about the time I published my first novel, _The MTC: Set Apart_ (Aspen, 1995). The idea of the list wasn't to promote my book but to raise interest in Mormon literature in a way that would benefit all of us. For the next five years I moderated the list, edited AML-List Magazine, and worked on the sequel, _Into the Field_, which is finally available, also through Aspen. We've never wanted AML-List to be used for commercial purposes, but we've generally allowed press releases and one-time offers to list members. So with Jonathan's permission, here's mine. The first novel, _The MTC: Set Apart_, followed four young men through their conversions, decisions to go on missions, and time in the MTC. The novel is written in a realistic style with emphasis on the character's psychology, including their spiritual life. (If the novel breaks any new ground, it's probably here.) _Into the Field_, the just-released sequel, follows the same four elders through their first year in the field. Both novels are available through online outlets like Amazon.com and through LDS bookstores, though you may have to ask for them. (_The MTC: Set Apart_ is in print but most stores have sold through their stock. As with a lot of literary novels aimed at LDS readers, we've had trouble getting _Into the Field_ in stores, but they can order it through Aspen or Origin.) My contract allows me to sell _Into the Field_ to friends (and I consider all AML-List subscribers friends). The book lists for $12.95. I can let subscribers have them for $10.00 each, plus $1 shipping. I'll post the cover copy separately, and I'll include a coupon at the bottom of this message--just print it and send it in. If you'd like me to sign copies or include a note, please let me know what you'd like me to put. Thanks for 5 great years on AML-List, and many more to come! Benson Parkinson - ----------------------------------------------------------------- *Coupon* Print and clip this and mail it to the address below to receive the AML-List discount for Benson Parkinson's _Into the Field_ (regularly price $12.99). Name: ____________________________________ Address: __________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________ Send $10.00 x ______ (quantity) + $1.00 shipping = __________ to: _Into the Field,_ 696 E. 4500 S., South Ogden, UT 84403-3844 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 12:58:33 -0400 From: debbro@voyager.net Subject: [AML] _Matrix_ (was: Galaxy Quest wins Hugo) I myself was quite bored with the film, and still don't understand what all the hoopla was about. But, my husband loved it. Debbie Brown Andrew Piereder wrote: > Matrix was positively ground-breaking in every aspect. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 11:21:34 -0600 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: Re: [AML] Galaxy Quest wins Hugo Scott and Marny Parkin wrote: > > Remember that the Hugo is voted on by the attendees of WorldCon--in > other words, by science fiction fans. GQ's depiction of fans as the > good guys made it the obvious choice of fandom everywhere. > > Every award has its politics. This time, the little guys won. > > Scott Parkin So how did you vote Scott?? - -- Terry Jeffress - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 17:33:51 -0500 From: "mcnandon" (by way of Jonathan Langford ) Subject: [AML] re: LABUTE, _Nurse Betty_ Read more about _Nurse Betty_ and Neil LaBute by David Edelstein on http://slate.msn.com/MovieReview/. I found this very interesting. Nan McCulloch - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:10:59 -0600 From: Neal Kramer Subject: Re: [AML] PARKINSON, _Into the Field_ announcement As all of you read in my review of _Into the Field_ , I think this is a very fine novel, one which deserves broader advertising and a broader readership. Let me plug the book once again. For ten bucks, this novel is a steal. So "steal this book!" If this is allowable on the list, I'd encourage Benson to bring copies of both his novels to the AML Distinguished Lecture series so many of us can buy more copies there. Neal Kramer - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:12:18 -0600 (MDT) From: Ivan Angus Wolfe Subject: [AML] Introductions: Ivan Wolfe Okay - Name: Ivan Amgus Wolfe Marital Satus: married to Alexandra McKenzie Wolfe. I have one daughter - Kara Morgan Wolfe, who is 14 1/2 months old. Occupation: Graduate student at BYU. I currently teach English 115 and I am also a research assistant on the Mormon Folksongs project with Professor Jill T. Rudy. Other stuff: I play the following insruments - Guitar, Bass Guitar, Irish Bouzouki, Bodhran, Mountain Dulcimer and Ukulele. I have an Irish/American/Jewish/Celtic Folk band called ORGANIC GREENS. http://organicgreens.freyellow.com My fiddle player (Nathan Christensen) and I both write original songs, which our band occassionaly play. I have a few rejection slips for some Science Fiction short stories I've written. My hometown is Homer, Alaska. I graduated from Ricks College before finishing my undergrad work at BYU. That's about all. - --Ivan Wolfe - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 15:51:05 -0700 (MST) From: Benson Parkinson Subject: [AML] PARKINSON, _Into the Field_ (erratum) Folks, Somebody reminded me of something I left out in my offer to send list members a copy of _Into the Field_ for $11. This offer is from me, not Aspen, so make checks to me personally. Thanks, Benson Parkinson Formerly moderator, presently author and editor - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 18:21:40 EDT From: ViKimball@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Beaten to the Punch In a message dated 9/11/00 1:12:27 PM Central Daylight Time, tduncan@zfiction.com writes: << Has this happened to anyone else? You have a killer idea but just as you're starting on it, you learn that someone else more prominent than you, has already completed it? - >> Or, you propose a book to Deseret and they rave about what a great idea it is and then say "it doesn't fit our needs." Two years later you learn that someone is writing a series of books about that subject for Deseret. It happened to the Kimballs. Violet - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #150 ******************************