From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #575 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 Wednesday, January 16 2002 Volume 01 : Number 575 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:46:45 -0700 From: margaret young Subject: [AML] YOUNG & GRAY, _Bound for Canaan_ (1st Signing) Volume 2 in the _Standing for the Promises_ trilogy should be on the shelves sometime this week. Darius Gray and I will be doing our first presentation about it (we don't like to just sign books; we like to talk about them) at Benchmark Books on Thursday Jan 24, 5-7:00 p.m. Address: 3269 S. Main Streen, Suite 251, SLC, Utah. (Email contact: Benchmarkbooks@netzero.net). They're even going to serve refreshments. Please feel cordially invited, ya'll. It'd be a great way to celebrate Martin Luther King day. [Margaret Young] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 14:02:11 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] Life in Mormon Culture - ---Original Message From: Stephen Carter > I never felt free to seriously consider the possibility of leaving the > Church, therefore I've never known if I've loved it or not. I've always > thought that any journey I could go on (unless it was Church correlated) would > have to be a Fall. I would have to slip into sin, then repent my way back up > to the place I had occupied before. It would turn out to be a journey born of > stupidity, because of course I should have known that the truth was here all > along. Everyone has told me so. Why should I have been so stupid as to go off > somewhere else? Besides, what if I hadn't made it back? I'd have to go to the > Telestial Kingdom. > Konnie and Kathy apparently undertook a journey that brought them to the > place they needed to be (of all places Mormonism!). It's my theory that some > of us natives are afraid to take that journey because we are afraid of > damnation. Ironically, that means we're damned. I couldn't possibly disagree more. My experience correlates pretty strongly with yours, Stephen. I was raised in the church in Utah for my formative years. Yet I never had the feeling you describe of having all of the answers. In fact, my parents and teachers taught me explicitly that we did not! And I never had the feeling you describe of being afraid to explore. I took the thirteenth article of faith seriously and ranged wide in my study of ideas from philosophy, religion, history, and even new age. I know the tenets of Wicca and the true origins of Tarot (and can read a Tarot spread, though I still need the reference book :). I've brushed against serious Demonology, drug culture (though never as a participant), and intellectual sophistry (too often as a participant). I have never felt hindered by my faith in learning new things. I have never believed that you have to Fall to have a worth-while journey. The long and short of it is that I have never heard it claimed that the church has *all* truth. Or even that we have all worth-while truth. We have important eternal truths that we would be unwise to ignore, but that is hardly the same thing as having all (or even all worth-while) truth. Any Mormon who is afraid of learning new things doesn't understand their faith very well. Certainly people exist who cling fast to what they know never looking for what they don't. That's sad, but hardly universal and probably not even wide-spread in the church. If that is the message you received, then you got the wrong message. I'm saddened to hear that. But that is hardly the message we are teaching universally as a people. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 14:14:26 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: RE: [AML] Life in Mormon Culture I really agree with Stephen Carter's message, especially the following paragraph: <<>> I think that's what gets to me about the prevailing Mormon mindset, which plays out in much of our literature: the lack of real personal questing or exploration or expression, replaced instead by a mind-numbing drive to embrace conventions and authority and maintain the status quo. Yes, the kingdom has the quest to spread the gospel and withstand/conquer evil, but individuals participate in that by conforming to the standardized message and program, not by questing and exploring (once they've quested for "the truth" and joined the church, that is). Of course, I can't say I'd rather have all the certainties of Mormonism stripped out from under me. I guess this dilemma just highlights the fact that human beings simply aren't in the driver's seat. It's either angst or ennui for us, I'm afraid. I'm sure some philosophers I haven't read have already thoroughly agonized over all this stuff. All I know is I wish I were in Mormonism because I actually liked and loved it, not merely as a default position against "evil" and as insurance for the afterlife. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:28:59 -0800 (PST) From: William Morris Subject: Re: [AML] _Don Quixote_ (was: Must-Read Lists) - --- Darlene Young wrote: > > Still can't get up the energy for Don Quixote, though. > Is it worth it, anyone? > Quite a few list members have already said it's worth it. I agree. It helps if you like physical humor. I want to add some reading questions that might help you get through the episodic structure of the novel (and not to dispute what Paris said about it being the first one, but ya'll should read _Tales of Genji_ for exactly the same reason). If you are the type of person who hates reading questions then stop reading now. But if, like me, you find them (if they are the right ones) useful in keeping track of narrative and thematic threads, then read on: [But first a recommendation for those who have already read Genji and Quixote. Another book that is episodic in structure, but is also funny and tragic and is more interesting and complex than the typical medieval romance: _Simplicius Simplicissimus_ by Grimmelshausen.] What are the motives of the various characters who buy into Quixote's 'madness'? To what degree do they buy in and how do they manifest it and how ethical is their method of 'going along' with the insanity? Does Don Quixote change as a person during the novel? Does Sancho Panza? What do each of the parties involved in each of Quixote's mad-cap encounters come away with both literally and spiritually? ~~William Morris __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 14:43:32 -0700 From: "Todd Petersen" Subject: [AML] Re: Requesting Changes Without Contract Michael, I wrote: > In the literary magazine and academic world this is very common. It is > also common with literary agents. It is also happens directly with > editors, but not all that much. Your responded: >Well, again, agents are not publishers, and as far as literary or >academic periodicals--who cares? I'm talking about real publishers >producing real books that real people will buy and read and make real >authors rich (hopefully). Or maybe it's just that the science fiction >publishers, with whom I am most familiar, are more ethical than >mainstream publishers (snicker). You keep asking about publishers. The publisher is the company, not the individual. So there is really no one out there called a publisher, really. An editor, which I mentioned above, is the person you'd be dealing with in a publishing house. And they might ask for a rewrite, but most likely they wouldn't take the time unless you were already contracted. - -- Todd - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 17:52:26 EST From: OmahaMom@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Life in Mormon Culture [MOD: I'm allowing this through because it's a logical extension of the conversation, but at some point we need to come back to literature. Remember that "THE [List] TOPIC IS LITERATURE. It is not politics, pet peeves, the general authorities, or the doctrines or policies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (except as they affect how Latter-day Saints read and write)." Can we bring this back to how Mormon culture is affected by/reflected in literary terms?] One of the greatest frustrations of my life has been dealing with people who can't see the forest for the trees in the scouting program. It's a wonderful opportunity to teach the gospel in action, but so many of the scout leadres only see merit badges & Eagle scouts somewhere down the line. It's an opportunity to internalize/eternalize what they should be learning in SS & Priesthood. It's an opportunity to work together with their quorums. They could be having some high adventure priesthood experiences, instead of going through the motions. How do I know about all this? I've been on the cub scout leadership rolls, worked with the boy scout troop committees, etc. Finally gave up trying when we moved and the only thing the adults could see was something to keep the boys occupied. Why bother with busy work? They're "busy" enough. Karen Tippets - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 16:53:36 -0800 (PST) From: Tami Miller Subject: Re: [AML] Anna Karenina (was: Must-Read Lists) James Picht wrote: The pride of intellectual superiority and the justification of evil with the desire to bring about a greater good are things many of us _can_ relate to. I haven't read Crime_and_Punishment, but this phrase did bring to mind Ayn Rand's Atlas_Shrugged, which is one of my all-time favorite novels. Despite my misgivings with the overall theme of the novel, everytime I read it I get something new out of it. Sometimes I pull out my mark-uped version just to read the parts I've highlighted. Does anyone have any insights on whether or not they liked or disliked this book? I'd be interested in everyone's opinion. Especially since this book gets such a strong response from LDS readers. Atleast in my experience. I just went to find my copy, so that I could give you all an example of one of my favorite passages, it seems my two-year-old liked all the pretty colors and decided to add some of her own! I suppose it was time for a new copy anyway! I hope this doesn't go off the subject to much. Tami - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 17:20:58 -0600 From: "Kumiko" Subject: [AML] Box Office Report Jan. 4 Weekend Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of January 4, 2002 This week no new films opened worth noting (LDS or otherwise). For the most part, the national rankings of movies made by Latter-day Saints and/or featuring Latter-day Saint characters remained roughly the same. "Ocean's Eleven" dropped from 2nd to 3rd place, after a full month in release. With over $150 million in U.S. box office sales it is easily the highest-grossing film ever to feature Mormon main characters. "Behind Enemy Lines" dropped slightly from 15th to a still impressive 16th place after being on screens for 38 days. "Mulholland Drive" jumped from 38th to 25th place nationwide, getting quite a boost by appearing on more screens, award nomination lists, and on countless "Top 10" lists by movie critics. "The Other Side of Heaven" continues to do well, dipping only a little from 26th to 28th place nationwide on only 28 screens. "Heaven" has posted a total gross of nearly $660,000, and it is just getting started. The official site has already announced the new locations for January openings in Idaho, Oregon, Texas, Nevada -- in addition to the many current Utah locations. It's not film, but we'll try to sneak this in anyway... Tuesday nights have been a little lacking since Rick Schroeder left NYPD Blue. But now you might want to check out "Judging Amy" on CBS. Not only is it one of the most interesting dramas on television, it now features an exciting new cast member: BYU alum Kevin Rahm. Previously the star of two short-lived sitcoms ("Everything's Relative" and "Jesse"), Rahm plays Judge Amy's cousin "Kyle McCarty." Not only is this returned missionary the best-looking man on primetime, he's also such a good actor one is forced to wonder why he isn't being cast in numerous movies. And while we're on the subject of television, LDS actress (and Baywatch alum) Kelly Packard has joined Dean Cain as co-host of "Ripley's Believe it or Not." (Interestingly enough, hosting "Ripley's" is Marie Osmond's old job.) Now on shelves: The incomparably hip soundtrack to "The Singles Ward" has been released. The film itself premiers at the Jordan Commons on January 31st, followed by a February 1st opening across Utah, Idaho and Arizona. After you listen to the soundclips on the official site (http://www.singleswardthemovie.com) you'll have no doubt that this is going to be a very, very funny movie. (Richard Dutcher and MTV's Julie Stoffer are BOTH in it. How can you go wrong?) [If table below doesn't line up properly, try looking at them with a mono-spaced font, such as courier - Ed.] Natl Film Title Weekend Gross Rank LDS/Mormon Filmmaker or Actor Total Gross Theaters Days - ---- ------------------------------ ------- ----- ---- 3 Ocean's Eleven $11,052,578 2,770 31 LDS characters: Malloy twins 151,967,372 16 Behind Enemy Lines 1,978,884 1,079 38 David Veloz (screenwriter) 53,707,487 25 Mulholland Drive 150,920 77 91 Joyce Eliason (producer/writer) 5,780,033 28 The Other Side of Heaven 101,750 28 24 Mitch Davis (screenwriter/director) 659,552 John H. Groberg (author/character) Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) 47 Out Cold 20,773 58 47 A. J. Cook (female lead) 13,607,891 56 Galapagos 13,616 7 801 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 12,082,148 62 China: The Panda Adventure 9,176 8 164 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 1,775,028 67 Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 5,119 3 612 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 13,020,206 70 Joy Ride 4,762 10 94 Paul Walker (2nd billed star) 21,973,182 79 Island of the Sharks 2,142 3 983 Alan Williams (composer) 10,548,459 93 All Access 124 1 276 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 992,683 [Preston Hunter] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 20:09:18 -0700 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: Re: [AML] Must-Read Lists Darlene Young wondered: > Still can't get up the energy for Don Quixote, though. > Is it worth it, anyone? An absolute joy to read, IMO. Follow it up with _Cyrano de Bergerac_ for a great literary-romantic double feature. Scott Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 20:12:15 -0700 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: Re: [AML] Annual Movie Tabulation Eric R. Samuelsen wrote: >>>Okay, there was no actual Roman emporer with the unfortunate name of Commodus...<<< Actually, there was. But his history is quite different than the one presented in the film. Right time, right job. Very different situation. For what it's worth. Scott Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 14:25:39 -0700 From: Kathy Fowkes Subject: Re: [AML] Annual Movie Tabulation I hesitate to join in this conversation, mostly because I am totally lacking in my ability to give a decent review of anything. But the discussion of Mary Poppins brings to mind my all-time favorite British movie, _A Room With a View_. I love the humor, as well as the relationships; and I enjoy the protagonist's struggle as her head wars with her heart. Of course, her heart triumphs. It's not a deep movie, but I find it thoroughly delightful. And still laugh my head off at the pond scene. (My husband maintains that the only reason I love this movie so much is the naked male behinds. I do happen to find that scene especially funny, but as much because of its childlike innocence as the fact that they get caught!) I read the novel by the same title recently (finally!) and liked it just as much as the movie, which says a lot for the makers of the film. Two other all-time favorite is _Princess Bride_ and Tom Hank's sleeper (is that the right term?) _That Thing You Do_. The first is one that should not be missed. Extremely funny and a delightful romance. The latter I just like and can't even tell you why. I do know that it wouldn't work at all without Liv Tyler in the female lead role of Faye. She makes that movie. It's a musical of sorts, since it's the story of the meteroic rise of a band called the Wonders and their just as meteroic fall in the few short months of the summer of 1964. Sorry, I'm incapable of giving the kind of reviews the rest of you manage! Kathy Fowkes ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 00:23:33 -0600 From: Linda Adams Subject: RE: [AML] Annual Movie Tabulation At 04:45 PM 1/11/02, you wrote: > > Linda also hated Clueless, one of the greatest comedies ever > > made, and a wonderful LDS film. Isn't it a movie about not > > judging others? > >I *love* Clueless. It is not only one of the greatest comedies ever >made, and a wonderful LDS film. It is also one of the sharpest >adaptations of Jane Austen's "Emma" I've seen. Lovely, lovely film with >a wonderful moral, entertaining heroine, and a great adaptation of >regency (was Austen Regency? I can never remember) privileged society. > >Jacob Proffitt ??? I had to double-check with my husband that I had named the correct movie, after reading these two rebuttals. Yes, it is "Clueless." Background: I watched it for the SOLE purpose of seeing whether I could allow my 11-year old could watch it at a sleep-over. Perhaps this colored my view of it somewhat. (We always preview PG-13's before showing them to the kids. It's just our rule, until they actually ARE older.) I did let her watch it at home after we previewed it--nothing in it she doesn't already know about--then they ended up NOT watching it at the party anyway...sigh... what a waste. I didn't get any good report, lovely, or praiseworthy out of it at all. I got: Basic teen movie about How and When will I Finally Lose my Annoying Virginity. That was the theme of this movie. I didn't get any "moral" out of it at all. All through the film, the girl is waiting (making several abortive attempts, some of which admittedly _are_ funny) to find the "right" guy to do it with, which she does at the end; although the lucky fellow is not the one she supposed it would be. Thankfully she is less of a spoiled brat by the end. And there are some funny scenes (driving on the freeway, for one), but overall this was not, not, NOT about morality as any Latter-day Saint defines it. It's a teen flick about How To Get Laid. Please explain to me how THIS is an LDS-valued movie?? And this plot compares to Jane Austen? I missed that completely as well (hm, wait, now that you mention it, I can see it in the bit about not her knowing who "Mr. Right" really is until the end, even though the audience already knows all the way through). Then again, I only read Jane Austen because I was forced to in lit. classes in college, and she leaves me dry--I allow all of you Austen fans out there your undying and (very likely) deserving devotion, but she isn't to my taste and never will be. Maybe that's part of my problem with the movie, as well? (...Except of those required readings, I think I recall I disliked _Emma_ the least; I think I almost liked it.) Linda Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 23:48:39 -0600 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Voices and Stories in Our Heads Nobody else has answered this yet? I can't believe it. Fess up, people. [MOD: As you can see, there are in fact several people who had already responded to this. But the in-box is running almost a full day ahead of the out-box at this point, so none of these had been posted yet when Linda wrote this response.] Yes, Kathy, it happens all the time! Consider yourself a True Writer. Keep that book right by your bedside. Only getting it OUT of your head will let you sleep, and if you don't write it right away you honestly can and will lose the ideas, sometimes permanently. I can't answer the last question, because I suspect I teeter on the edge of insanity most of the time. I can't wait to go over it; once you're technically, officially looney, nobody questions you about having 30 cats who respond to individual names, or wearing your slippers to the supermarket with a red silk dress and bowler cap. Linda At 06:13 AM 1/11/02, you wrote: >Well, here I am with another bout of insomnia, the voices and stories >in my head refusing to go away unless I at least write down an idea or >outline. > >Does this happen to other people? I got to bed late, slept for a short >time and then kept coming to with dialogue and story ideas popping into >my head and refusing to go away. The characters wouldn't stop talking. >I finally got up and wrote some of it down in an idea book I have. I >hope it will make some sense when I look at it in daylight. Again, I >ask, in my zombie-like state, does this happen to other people? Or am >I insane? Wait, don't reply to that last part. > >Kathy Tyner, Orange County, CA > > > > >-- >AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 21:28:15 -0700 From: Thom Duncan Subject: [AML] Re: Moulin Rouge (was: Annual Movie Tabulation) Julie Kirk wrote: > So, maybe I'll see it at some point. But what did you guys think? What I > mean is, did you think the merit outweighed the sex scenes, or do you think > the 17 year olds overreacted. I just saw this video two weeks for the first time and I can't remember a single sex scene. I know they were there, but they're not staying in my mind. I keep remembering the masterful use of Beatles and Elton John songs in new ways that, oddly, sounded as if they were created for just this film. It may be that I've seen so many sex scenes over the years that these scenes skipped by me. It may also be (and I think it is) that the sex scenes were so integral and handled so non-grautitously by the director that they didn't stand out as sex scenes per se. Thom Duncan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 23:49:52 -0700 From: Melissa Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Reading Programs On Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:31:11 -0800 (PST), Darlene Young wrote: >Have any of you developed reading plans for >yourselves? How did you go about it? What time frame >did your plan cover? How did you choose which books >to read and what kinds of reading to pursue? My reading plan is geared toward staying current with books in the genres/marketing categories that interest me: fantasy, science fiction, young adult. I keep track of release dates during the coming year (Amazon.com is a good resource) and plan my schedule around those dates. = (I say "plan" as though it were some organized thing, but really it's just a general month-by-month mental list of books I should look for.) Between those times, I fill in the gaps with books in those genres I haven't read yet, but should have. Sometimes I have sub-lists centered on a related = but more specific topic, but they always arise out of books on the big list. =46or example, a few years ago I read _Locked Inside_, a YA book by Nancy Werlin, and from that I read a few other books by the same author and a bunch of YA books on the topic of computer gaming. Because my plan is so one-sided, I fill it out with spontaneous books = from other genres. A lot of these come from the stacks at the library, where they have displays with new releases and current interest topics. Last year, for example, when the movie _Pearl Harbor_ was released they had a = big display on WWII-related books. I also take side trips if I get = interested in a subject; I am still planning to follow up on a lot of the titles = about Thailand listed in Orson Scott Card's bibliography at the end of _Shadow = of the Hegemon_, but so far haven't had time. > I'd like >to hear how you balance your reading goals with your >writing goals, and also how you balance different >kinds of reading. (Do you have goals that include >books about writing, books about religion, books about >child-rearing, for example?) I'm not balanced at all. I read what I think I need to read about; with non-fiction, it's usually books about a subject I feel strongly about and want to know the other side of. I don't read anything I don't enjoy; I = have too little time. On the other hand--lest that sound too shallow--I = *enjoy* reading almost everything. My primary goal in reading is to experience = the world, especially as it's filtered through the experiences and = understanding of others. This is why I like fiction of all kinds; I want to = vicariously see what life is like for people who aren't me. That's such a broad category that there isn't much that doesn't fit the description. But the fact is, I work hard all day and I don't much enjoy working hard at = night. So no matter how important, say, _Treasure Island_ might be to my well-rounded-humanness, there's no way I'm going to try dragging through = it for a third time. On the other hand, I'm probably going to go for _Don Quixote_ again; I was too young the first time, and I've never picked it = up again, and the discussion on this list has sparked my interest. Melissa Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 14:07:27 -0600 From: "C. Lee Nunn" (by way of Jonathan Langford ) Subject: [AML] Part Time Editing Work Dear Jonathan; Would you please consider posting this position to your discussion group or forum? We are members of your organization but I have not figured out the discussion group yet :) We are looking for 10 new editors full or part time is okay, to hire and would like LDS writers who have strong English skills and and high standards to edit our wholesome books. This would be purely a telecommuting position that can be done done from any location. Computer and internet access required. A leading trade publisher based in Salt Lake City is seeking to hire additional editors for their prestigious trade book marketing list. Superior college level writing and communications skills required. English degree preferred. Ability to learn new skills in training and follow the Company “Editor's Guide” in preparing manuscripts for publication. As a telecommuting position, no relocation is required. We are willing to train motivated applicants. Please e-mail your resume to editing@american-book.com Thank you so much! - -- C. Lee Nunn Director of Operations operations@american-book.com AMERICAN BOOK PUBLISHING http://www.american-book.com PUBLISHER DIRECT BOOKSTORE http://www.pdbookstore.com I cannot live without books. - -Thomas Jefferson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #575 ******************************