From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #603 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 Thursday, February 7 2002 Volume 01 : Number 603 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 12:30:16 -0800 From: "jana" Subject: Re: [AML] News from the AML Any sisters interested in driving up to the AML Conf. from Orange County, CA? I'll probably leave Friday afternoon (before rush-hour traffic). I'm willing to drive the whole way, I'm just looking for a companion :) Jana Remy Irvine, CA > - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 13:28:00 -0700 From: "K.D. Enos" Subject: Re: [AML] Missionaries Returning Home I wish there had been more stories of disharmony between campanions before I left for my mission. In eighteen months I had thirteen companions and had problems with most of them. One put me in such of state of depression that I would have concidered leaving my mission if my Mission President hadn't, wisely, told me that he would get me out of there ASAP. I think a lot of kids go on missions thinking it will be a cake walk but spending 24 hours a day with someone else is never easy. That alone bugged all my companions to pieces. One literally threw a fit. I'm a twin, I had a hard time being alone in a room for 2 minutes. (Parenthood had finally taught me that one.) So why won't the Ensign print more honest looks at what life is like as a missionary? Some people could use the heads up. Konnie Enos - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 12:53:16 -0800 From: "Jerry Tyner" Subject: RE: [AML] Missionaries Returning Home Christopher Bigelow wrote: I think countless people--whether they lasted their whole mission term = or not--carry lifetime baggage and scars from their missionary experience. I know I do. I think this is a most telling comment. Chris, I can't tell you how = grateful I am to hear this from someone else. Having my son go through = this has been both a revelation and a comfort. Missionaries who suffer = from this condition are made to feel they are a failure - I know I was. = When I was out this condition had no name and you were looked at as not = productive, faithful, or courageous enough. The only way to describe = what I went through is "white knuckle and muscle and shear guts" in = order to endure the full two years. I did not realize it at the time but = the Lord and my mission president blessed me by not calling me to be a = senior companion until the last 5 months of my mission. I know a lot of = missionaries looked at me as a failure. I had many companions who I can = say I loved but there were several who severely tried me. My last = companion I have regrets to this day about since he had an anger = management problem and I never tried to get close to him. My internal = struggles would not let me. Now this demon I have wrestled with for over = 40 years has a name and a treatment and my family will recover together. = Along with my wife I would like to echo how much we appreciate all of = you for your kind words of encouragement and your prayers. It means more = than we can say in words. One more thought I have been kicking around since all of this came to = light with my son and I. I think it is time a book was written = (non-fiction would probably be needed) that would document this = condition so it is more widely known and how important it is to treat = these missionaries who suffer from it with care and not contempt (how = many can relate to that feeling?). It could probably even weave in = stories on how to endure and overcome. Too many Elders and Sisters are = coming home in shame and disgrace and that needs to change. Any = thoughts? Perris - I'm sorry I have not written the review on your book about the = Mormon Battalion. I've been somewhat distracted (as you can tell). It = was very good (IMHO) and thanks for including one of my ancestors in it = - - Lieutenant Hulet. It made it very enjoyable. Jerry Tyner Orange County, California - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 14:27:37 -0800 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] Responding to Critics On Wed, 30 Jan 2002 15:52:06 -0700 Terry L Jeffress , replying to Eric Samuelsen, writes: > I especially want to make sure that before I invest $30 > or more per seat for a live drama, that I will have a good > experience. I wish I had $30 per seat to invest in a live drama. I wish I had one fourth that per seat. > a review does provide a promotion opportunity, I don't think > that the reviewer has any obligation to write the review with that > goal in mind. If you want to put butts in seats, the theater needs to > run its own promotion department. The theater's press releases and > advertising should generate public interest in the production. But if newspapers ran every press release editors get they'd be PRpapers. Editors have a certain ambivalence toward press releases. They can be a great way to find news, but they're always slanted toward the group sending out the PR, so an editor may see them as free advertising, or may assign a reporter to work up a story and disregard the PR. In theater or movies, such reporters are called reviewers. > The reviewer exists to give an opinion of the work so that other > may judge weather or not they want to view the production. I'm not so sure. Sometimes people write simply because they want to celebrate what other people do. I don't like to review things I don't think I'll like. I don't see much reason reading a book or seeing a play I won't like just so I can write a negative review. I want to tell people about an interesting book I've just read, or a movie, or song. That doesn't mean I gloss over the faults, but I want my criticism to show me as a careful, sympathetic reader, so that even if I don't like something people can tell I've given it a fair reading. > (I also think that we need to keep the terms critic and reviewer > separate. To me, a cricit writes in an academic vein, with an > interest in analyzing the literary merits and functions of a work. I think that's one of the problems, keeping review and criticism separate. I want to combine them, space permitting. It's well worth a reviewer's time to be aware of how literary and dramatic conventions function in a work, and a reviewer with an awareness of those conventions can add a great deal to an audience's ability to appreciate art. My father gave me a terrific tool when he leaned over at the end of Star Wars, as Darth Vader's ship is flying away, and said that that was the film maker's way of telling us there would be a sequel. Similarly, when John Webster told our UW grad seminar on Elizabethan Rhetoric that he would be teaching an undergrad course in the popular novel next semester he gave me a most useful tool for understanding mystery novels and thrillers. The villain is a close moral double of the hero, and the hero and villain have to have a verbal showdown before the end of the story. Applying this to a novel like Anne Perry's Bethlehem Road, it's clear that the true murderer in the book isn't the person who has been killing members of Parliament, but a man who locked his wife in a room and starved her to death because she had embraced a weird American religion. Chester Himes uses these two conventions in a similar, more complex way in The Real Cool Killers, which has three solutions to the murder and several pairs of close moral doubles. In Louis Owens' _The Sharpest Sight_ Mundo Morales never uncovers the murderer, though we know who it is if we've read carefully. However, he does have a verbal showdown with Jessard Deal, and by that point it becomes clear that Deal means what he's said about embracing his evil and trying to reach his full evil potential after becoming aware of it by reading Jonathan Edwards. That novel is also full of moral doubles, both in this world and in the afterlife. Also, the action is not so much uncovering the murderer as forgiving the murder and trying to find Attis McCurtin's bones so his ghost can know some peace, even though he himself is a murderer. > > Besides, we know why we > > made the decisions we made, and why we rejected other decisions. > > And we generally think that 'most audience members' liked what we > > did, even if critics didn't. > > When you say "we" here, I think you mean "the playwrights." And I > say, who cares what the playwright thinks about the play. I want the > opinion of a supposedly unbiased observer. But reviewers have their own biases and relationships to a work of art, and it is sometimes useful to know what a playwright thinks he or she is doing. I was fascinated by the note Eric Samuelsen put in the program for Gadianton, saying that it is a serious thing to call someone a Gadianton robber, and he is not using the play to point the finger at any person but to explore a moral situation. If I read that as a serious note, and not just an attempt at damage control, I see it as an invitation to think about what the play says about corporate structure and motives, and not an invitation to see the people who laid me off as villains. > What playwrights or > directors would say that people should not come see the production. Eric Samuelsen, especially if he's talking about his production of _The Christmas Box_. Eric has been frank about his failings with that show, though I think he's a bit hard on himself. The show accomplished two very intersting things (besides a wonderful carol about the Christ Child): it injected some nordic darkness into a sentimental story that was supposed to be uplifting, and the darkness gave me something to care about. I knew Rick's marriage wasn't in danger, but I cared about how he would resolve the problems. Oh, and I also love the scene where the parents come in to buy a child's tuxedo and he tries to rent them one instead, not realizing that they're buying burial clothes. (Back in my teaching days I used to have my student's write letters of complaint, an assignment from Elouise Bell's class, and one wrote a note to Clark's Tuxedos in Provo complaining for charging the parents of a friend for the tux he was buried in.) > The reviewer needs the reader's trust, not the > playwright's trust. Although I believe that reviewers should make > their criticism in a gentle way, I don't think that they should in > any way pander to the playwrights at the expense of the public. I remember a thread where Benson Parkinson chided us for using the term _pander_ because it implies prostitution (though WP 6's Quickfinder didn't find the post among the fifteen archived months where _pander_ is used at least once). You can see Benson's objection to the word _pander_ if you invert the sentence and say, "Does that mean that reviewers should pander to the public at the expense of the playwright?" I suspect that most critics want to praise a show. I remember a class discussion of Robert Cohen's _Acting Power_ where someone commented that people don't go to a play wanting to hate it. An audience wants to like a show, and negative reactions come from disappointed expectations. [snip] > I also tend to think, why do you look at the reviewer as an > adversary and not just wonder what you could do to get > more consistently higher reviews. I'm not sure it's possible to set out to get consistently higher reviews. One rejection slip I cherish for its wrongheadedness came from BYU Studies Essay Contest judge who said, "If it's possible for a personal essay to be too personal, this one is." I sent another essay that talks about walking down a road to work one morning and stopping to pray for a man who had been dragged to death, and for his murderers, to the Mormon Arts Festival personal essay contest, and was told that the judge felt it was perhaps not quite as personal as the winning essay. So which direction do I take my work in to get higher reviews? [SNIP] > I just write the opinions that arose out of viewing the work. > If you want to hire me as your marketing writer, > then I'll write something that will sell tickets. But can you find a newspaper to publish it? :) Harlow S. Clark (who doesn't believe in smilies) ________________________________________________________________ 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, 05 Feb 2002 15:23:06 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Play at Little Brown Theater At 09:00 AM 2/5/02, you wrote: >Barbara, I haven't read the THREE MEN books by Jerome. Has anyone else? The >play is a morality play with layers. Marilyn Brown Jerome Jerome wrote a hilarious book called Three Men in a Boat. It's about three young Englishmen in the late nineteenth century who decide to take a boating vacation down the Thames, and they have all sorts of misadventures. They have with them a dog named Montmorency--it's the dog Connie Willis references in the title of her time-travel SF book, To Say Nothing of the Dog. Jerome later wrote a sequel about the same three men, years later when two of them are married, when they take a holiday to Germany together. These books were written early in the twentieth century -- eerily enough, Jerome's narrator says of the Germans that they are a wonderfully disciplined people, and that they should be all right as long as they don't get an evil ruler. Barbara R. Hume Provo, Utah - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002 15:36:49 -0700 From: Thom Duncan Subject: [AML] Depictions of Jesus (was: Dynamic Relationships with God) Jacob Proffitt wrote: > ---Original Message From: Thom Duncan > >> I'm as bothered by most Protestant (including ours) >> depictions of Christ >> as I am by the mamby-pamby Catholic versions. Ours no more >> depict what >> Christ was really like than theirs does. He was NOT a white man, six >> feet tall, light of skin with long (but not too long, mind >> you) auburn >> hair. In reality, judging from the part of the world he came >> from, he >> was probably somewhat short (around 5 feet 5) of dark >> complexion (almost >> Arabic) and probably had long scraggly very curly hair. We would >> probably call him swarthy today. > > > How do you know that? He could very well have been white, six feet tall > and all of that. Based on the part of the world he came from and the lineage he came from. He most certainly did NOT look like the Greek God we like to think of him as. Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 14:55:37 -0800 From: "Jerry Tyner" Subject: RE: [AML] Responding to Critics I want to jump on this one since I am not a critic and my wife and I = have had lots of discussions about the various critics in Southern = California. One thing I have noticed about critics in general is they seem to come = to any show (theatre or movies) with their own preconception and much = baggage. My observation is some critics should stop reviewing movies = they know they will not like. For example (no names) there are some critics in the southland here who = will never give a Sci-Fi or Fantasy movie a good review. I listen to = them and go see it to see if it fits my style. The same goes for certain = directors and actors/actresses. There are some critics that IMO are out = to get those types of movies or the actors or directors and should never = be assigned to do those reviews. That is the fault of the entertainment = editor (it could be on purpose also). Like you said, Eric, most of the time they confirm what you already knew = and sometimes they see something you missed. BTW - do you video tape the = performance to review after reading the critics review just to see if he = or she is correct (if they point out something you missed)? If they are = wrong in your opinion it is just one persons point of view and the = critic could just be in a bad mood that night. My personal opinion is if = you hear a lot of enthusiastic chatter by the audience as they leave you = have done a good job. There will always be those who won't like = something due to casting or whatever.=20 My opinion of most critics is they have a higher opinion of themselves = than they deserve. Some people believe them, many people do not. That is = why many of these junk films make millions in the first few weeks and = then nothing and the really good small films never get reviewed and do = not have a large advertising budget and do not make lots of money until = they come out on video. Such is life....Critics serve their purpose. = They use a lot of ink and paper...unless they are your personal friends = and you can trust them. Jerry Tyner Orange County, California - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 16:37:16 -0800 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: [AML] Re: Depictions of Jesus (was: Dynamic Relationships with God) Actually, the Jews didn't mix much with the Arabs, Egyptians, Canaanites or other darker nationalities in the area and it's my understanding they were very white, much closer to what we think of as Northern and Western European in appearance than what we see now in the Middle East. Remember that Abraham's and Isaac's wives were both described as very fair. The Northern Europeans are, in large measure, descendants of the lost ten tribes and you know how pale the Scandinavians are. It always surprises me that we think the appearance of people in the Middle East hasn't changed in over 2000 years. Also please note that Saul was head and shoulders taller than any of the other Israelites and his armor fit David just fine. The kings of Israel, from whom Christ descended through Mary, were very big guys! Richard Hopkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002 18:09:22 -0600 From: "Kumiko" Subject: [AML] LDS Box Office Report Feb. 1 Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of February 1, 2002 The big news this week in LDS film was the premiere of Kurt Hale's new comedy "The Singles Ward." The gala benefit premiere was on Wednesday, January 30th, after which the film opened in eleven theaters on February 1st. The budget has been reported as $425,000 or $450,000. Either way, it made over 10% of its budget back in box office ticket sales in its opening weekend, with a 3-day total of $46,649. This gave "The Singles Ward" a per-theater average of $4,241, which was enough to put it on the Top 10 list nationwide for per-theater revenue. (It was number 10.) "The Singles Ward" ranked 44th nationwide in total box office revenue, and 5th on this list of films by and/or about Latter-day Saints/Mormons. Critical reaction to "The Singles Ward" was mixed. Audiences seemed to love it, as did some of the critics. The Utah Statesman gave it an enthusiastic "A", and the Ogden Standard-Examiner gave it a favorable review and 2 1/2 stars. Eric D. Snider of the Utah County Daily Herald proved once again that he doesn't play favorites with locals, giving it a C- . The Desert News gave it 2 stars and the Salt Lake Tribune gave it 1. (Tribune critic Sean Means thought the humor might be too "inside" for people outside Utah/LDS culture to enjoy. Of course, nobody has actually watched the film with an "outsider" audience, so this seems like conjecture.) With two Mormon casino bandits, "Ocean's Eleven" is STILL the top money-maker of this list, dropping from 11th place last week to 15th this week after 59 days in release. "Behind Enemy Lines" dropped slightly from 27th to 29th place nationwide -- quite respectable considering the film has been out over two months. "The Other Side of Heaven" and "Mulholland Drive" were in 36th and 37th place nationwide for the second week in a row. "Heaven" is essentially only playing in Utah, Idaho and Austin, Texas (where one of its major investors lives). The Austin Chronicle reviewed "Heaven" favorably and gave it 2 1/2 (out of 4) stars. As the movie continues to open around the rest of the country it MIGHT become the top grossing film in the short history of modern "LDS Cinema" (movies made by AND about Latter-day Saints). But it still has a ways to go before it catches up to "God's Army." LOOKING AHEAD: We're just two weeks away from the release of "Out of Step" the Canadian-Utah-New York film about a Latter-day Saint dancer in the Big Apple. "Out of Step" was produced by Cary Derbidge, directed by Ryan Little ("The Last Good War"), and stars Jeremy Elliott ("Testaments") and Michael Buster ("Elder Kinegar" from "God's Army"). Buster also co-wrote the screenplay. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST: Latter-day Saint filmmaker McKay Daines is currently filming "Dream Catcher," a major feature film written, produced and directed by him. The executive producer (and one of the stars) of this Native American romantic comedy is Ray Tracey, the Navajo Latter-day Saint actor who, as a BYU student, was discovered by Kieth Merrill and later starred in "Joe Panther" and the documentary "Indian." The film features an all Native American cast and is being filmed on reservations near Phoenix, Arizona. [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 - ---- ------------------------------ ------- ----- ---- 15 Ocean's Eleven $2,056,615 1,541 59 LDS characters: Malloy twins 178,908,056 29 Behind Enemy Lines 252,458 409 66 David Veloz (screenwriter) 57,802,467 36 The Other Side of Heaven 91,297 35 52 Mitch Davis (writer/director) 1,292,907 John H. Groberg (author/character) Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) 37 Mulholland Drive 81,305 72 119 Joyce Eliason (producer/writer) 6,545,178 44 The Singles Ward (NEW) 46,649 11 3 Kurt Hale (writer/director) 46,649 John E. Moyer (writer) Dave Hunter (producer) Cody Hale (composer) Ryan Little (cinematographer) Actors: Will Swenson, Connie Young Daryn Tufts, Kirby Heyborne Michael Birkeland, Bob-O Swenson Lincoln Hoppe, Tarance Edwards Michelle Ainge, Gretchen Whalley Sedra Santos 51 Out Cold 30,018 88 75 A. J. Cook (female lead) 13,850,403 66 Galapagos 11,151 3 829 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 12,256,938 73 China: The Panda Adventure 6,624 5 192 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 1,897,615 80 Island of the Sharks 3,821 3 1011 Alan Williams (composer) 10,625,038 91 Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 1,215 2 640 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 13,056,971 103 Mark Twain's America in 3D 499 1 1312 Alan Williams (composer) 2,147,730 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002 19:21:13 -0500 From: "robert lauer" Subject: Re: [AML] Dynamic Relationships with God Thom Duncan wrote: >We idolize our deities and our prophets at a level that is quite >appropriate for fiction but not for reality. This is because real people (be they prophets, warriors, mothers or even the Messiah) do in fact become to a degree fictional characters--historical fiction--in the human/Divine story embraced by their followers. I might go so far as to suggest that perhaps the "fictional characters" into which the prophets are transformed by their followers are more powerful than the historical figures from which they sprung. Then again, one a personal level, I prefer the real historical figures--though I do find the path by which mere humans are transformed into demi-gods fascinating. Jesus was a Jew--a member of his particular time and culture. (This takes nothing away from his being the Messiah--in fact, in my opinion, it adds to it.) Joseph Smith was a product of the first generation USA. There is a reason that prophets are NOT accepted in their own homes, by their own people, during their lifetimes. There is a reason that, only in hind sight, does it seem clear that certain people were playing a divinly ordained role; and that is because, after the particular person is dead and gone, and time seperates us from their day, age and circumstances, we inherit the mythos surrounding that person. The mythos might very well embrace the actual truth of that person. But we who inherit the myth have a great luxury: we are not blinded by the prejudices of the time and culture in which that particular person lived. Of course, the myth is often time the PRODUCT of prejudices of believers of a later period. An interesting question might be "Who most clearly sees the truth about a perticular person--their friends and followers, or their detractors? Or do both see perhaps the very same thing?" I think if we were to run into the historical Savior or Joseph (or Moses, Elijah, Nephi or Mormon) on the street, not only would we probably not recognize them, but--once their indentity was pointed out to us--we would probably have a mighty trial of our faith. All of which, I find fascinating. ROB. LAUER _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 01:10:11 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Inteview with "Light of the World" Composers http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,370009233,00.html I'm trying to place my skepticism about this whole "Light of the World" thing on hold and give the composers the benefit of a doubt until their results demonstrate otherwise, but that became very difficult when I read the last two paragraphs of this article: - ------- "There will always be those who will come and lick their chops" in criticism, Cardon said, and "others that will come with the spirit and soul to receive it. It's a completely different agenda than some Broadway production. We're not trying to impress people, but we've done professional work." Open minds and open hearts are the key for those who see the show, Peters said, knowing each person will take away a different impression. "We can't worry" about what naysayers may think. "Those who have ears to hear, will hear." - ------- Translation: our music is inspired, so if you don't like it, you must be out of tune with God. This seems to me to be a public announcement that this officially sponsored art project is going the way of all the rest of them. I'm trying VERY hard to maintain a "wait and see" attitude in the face of such arrogance. - -- 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 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 23:07:55 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Internet: Women's Websites, Mormon Internet Index Starts: Kent Larsen 4Feb02 US NY NYC I4 Women's Websites, Mormon Internet Index Starts NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- The recent women's websites that Mormon News has noticed cover a wide variety of things, from inspirational quotes and answers to quilts to helps with primary, young women and relief society. In addition, Mormon News is starting its Mormon Internet Index this week, and the index declined slightly in its first week as a few domain named were apparently abandoned. Several of the sites for women listed this week are visually appealing and clearly designed, especially EZQuilts.com, Of-Worth.com, and Young LDS mothers. In addition to quilts, inspirational and practical help, the featured websites include clip art, caligraphy, and resources for primary, young women and relief society. The new Mormon Internet Index declined in its first week, mainly because the number of domain names that use LDS terms declined during the week -- most likely because owners abandoned some of the domains they weren't using. The index also reflects the number of Mormon web pages found by the major search engines and the number of links to Mormon domains. Mormon Internet Information: Mormon Internet Index: 98.9 - down 1.1 Mormon-related domain names: at least 3,000 Estimated web pages mentioning Mormonism: over 500,000 Newly Listed Mormon Websites (in alphabetical order): Beautiful Answers http://www.angelfire.com/country/answers/ Visitors can get answers to Real Life questions written in Calligraphy Script on paper suitable for framing. The author currently includes answers to 21 questions. Christy's Clipart http://primary_art.tripod.com/ Clip art pages that include primary, young women and relief society clip art organized in dozens of categories. Also has clip art CDs for sale and cross stitch patterns. EZQuilts.com http://www.ezquilts.com/ LDS Business that offers quilting kits, including several LDS-themed kits. Includes baby quilts, split-rail quilts and even pre-made quilts. Purchases can be made by on-line e-commerce system. Home Family and Personal Enrichment http://www.geocities.com/karielt/ Small, single-page website of links to resources for Relief Society Home, Family and Personal enrichment resources. Of-Worth.com http://www.of-worth.com/ Thoughts and inspirational writing for women organized in categories covering charity, relief society, LDS women, LDS mothers, teaching moments, angels, pioneers, teen tactics, household, humor, etc. Young LDS Mothers http://www.youngldsmothers.com/ Pleasant-looking resource covering everything that a new mother may need to know. Includes resources for teen and single mothers, resources for the mother, parenting topics from breastfeeding to potty training, a kidszone, and a chatroom and mailing list. The Young Women Connection http://www.ywconnection.com/ A site with ideas and helps for young women and their leaders. Readers contribute thoughts to the pages, which are organized in 16 categories. >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 02:32:28 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: [AML] Ken Rand Writing Seminar Here's an announcement I received that some may be interested in. I can vouch for Ken Rand's seminars as being very useful. - ----- For immediate release Contact: Ken Rand 801-568-1666 Writers' Seminar Announced A one-day writers' seminar has been set for Saturday, June 8, in Sandy. Conducted by local writer Ken Rand of West Jordan, the seminar will help new and advanced writers of fiction and nonfiction to write better, write faster, and earn more. The seminar is based on a school curriculum Rand wrote as well as on talks he makes at conventions and workshops throughout the country. Rand, author of a dozen books, 100 short stories, 200 humor columns, and countless articles and interviews, brings more than 30 years experience as a reporter for print and radio, a PR "flack," and a freelancer to his teaching. Rand says writers create in four stages: Coming up with ideas, writing, editing, and marketing. His all-day seminar explores these concepts in depth with a lecture, hand-outs, articles, references, a suggested reading list, and copies of his book The 10% Solution: Self-editing for the Modern Writer. Rand also offers attendees personal "tech support" after the seminar. The seminar will be held Saturday, June 8, at the Best Western Cottontree Inn, 10695 South Auto Mall Dr., Sandy. To register ($60), or for more information, contact Ken Rand, 1498 Bora Bora Dr., West Jordan, UT 84084. E-mail KRand27577@aol.com . Phone 801-568-1666. Details about the seminar as well as Rand's biography and bibliography are on his website at www.sfwa.org/members/Rand . Applicants must register before June 1. Space may be limited, so interested writers are urged to contact Rand soonest. Ken P.S. Watch for my short story "Tail by the Tiger, Bull by the Horn," in Oceans of the Mind (http://www.trantorpublications.com/oceans.htm) this summer. - -- 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 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 11:56:16 -0800 (PST) From: Darlene Young Subject: [AML] Critiques Wanted [MOD: Anyone who is interested in this, make sure to email Darlene directly. Replies to this email will come to AML-List, not to Darlene.] I'm looking for a few people willing to read and respond to my latest short story. It's just under seven thousand words and although it is by no means polished I consider it nearly done. I will take short gut-responses, line-by-line criticisms, whatever. It's mainstream but with Mormon characters and details, and somewhat religious in theme. Please e-mail me if you'd be willing. I am not sure this story wouldn't be better as a one-act play. I'd especially appreciate a critique from someone familiar with drama. Thanks! ===== Darlene Young Eschew obfuscation. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 10:16:59 -0600 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism Folks, Richard Hopkins' recent comment about Northern Europeans being descended from the lost ten tribes (in the thread on Depictions of Jesus) brings up the whole fascinating question of race in Mormon theology and culture. We (Andrew and Jonathan; see below) believe that this will bring up a host of discussion points which could be very intesting, but which also hold the danger of taking us into doctrinal and historical debates very far off topic, and potentially damaging the spirit of friendship we share. Although there is clear value in having a discussion about race and Mormonism, we also see the need to set some guidelines first. We'd like to see discussion of the variety of ideas Mormons have about race and the impact those ideas have had on our culture--in particular how those ideas show up in Mormon literature and have impacted our own writing. We do not, however, want an extended debate about each other's ideas. So here is what we are going to do. For a very limited time, we will open the list to a short burst of theological discussion, in order to discover the range of ideas found within a population of Mormons. Then we will close the door on the theological discussion, after which time the thread will return to a narrow focus (or focuses) on the literary implications of the variety of ideas presented. For the next three days (i.e., through next Monday, Feb. 11), we invite everyone to send a single post in which you discuss your own personal beliefs/ideas about race, how it fits into Mormon doctrine and culture, and even what you believe is standard Mormon theology about race. You can also present what other ideas you think exist within Mormon culture, and how prevelent you believe those ideas are. You may point out what you believe are misconcpetions some have about race, and speculate where those misconceptions come from. Please discuss the history of your ideas: that is, what stories about race did you hear growing up in or out of the Church, and how have those ideas changed over time. We encourage you to spend at least as much time discussing the history of your ideas as you spend defending your present positions. Some have already sent messages on this subject. It is not our plan post these messages. Rather, we ask you to submit new messages which fit under today's guidelines. After the three days are over, we will begin a second two day period, in which everyone may send a single post in which you may discuss or even critique the positions others have taken, and perhaps clarify your own ideas. Just one post to cover all of that. After the second period is over, all further debate about each other's ideas is closed. We hope, however, that the theological discussion will prompt a discussion of the literary implications of the various ideas. We now set up Andrew's given #1, which will serve as the primary guideline for discussion: "I accept and welcome the fact that anything I have to say about my ideas on race and Mormonism can (and will) face disagreement from others. I am not God or the Prophet, and I do not have the answers." Race is an unsettled area in Mormon doctrine and culture, and therefore we should not claim that we have the answers. Currently there is very little about race which can be deemed to be "orthodox" in Mormon theology, in that it is preached by Church leaders and widely believed by the Church members. There were a variety of widely-believed Mormon doctrnies about race which were based on certain scriptures (ancient and modern) and comments made by Church leaders before the 1978 revelation. The revelation, however, made many of these void, and weakened the foundation of others. Since then Church leaders have said very little about the past doctrines and ideas, including the racial backgrounds of certain ethnic groups, promises given to or withheld from certain races, or the eternal nature of race. Therefore it is unclear how many of the past doctrines and ideas could today be labeled "orthodox," or for that matter what has taken their place. This is an area in which Mormon theology is unclear, and therefore we should avoid saying that our speculations are definitive. We should not belittle each other over our speculations. You can point out racist (or liberal wishful thinking) assumptions that you think are inherent in a certain speculation, but don't call the person who made that speculation (or their ideas) racist (or liberal wishful thinking). Jonathan Langford, AML-List Moderator Andrew Hall, Assistant Moderator [P.S. from Jonathan: Thanks to Andrew for suggesting this format for the debate and drafting the above message. Voila! I leave a problem in his in-box when I go to bed, and when I download the next morning, there's a nice solution waiting for me. There could be advantages in having Andrew in Japan after all...] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #603 ******************************