From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #657 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 Monday, March 25 2002 Volume 01 : Number 657 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:09:50 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Lessons from Bad Art Eric writes: And ultimately, our real story will prove to be more edifying than the sanitized version we're all so intent on. The story may be one thing. The privilege of working with and rubbing shoulders with others who repeat the "perhaps sanitized" dream over and over again to keep our sights high may be another. Marilyn Brown - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:30:01 -0700 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ [Original message]: In support I submit that "war violence" is something that can be committed by honorable, good people and therefore such people can be benefited by a clear knowledge of just what they might be called upon to do or experience someday. Good intelligence makes for good decisions. On the other hand I submit that "gore/torture/Hannibal Lecter violence" is not something that will ever be committed by honorable good people and therefore such people do not benefit from the gruesome details, and portraying it is not justified. >From me: A contrary view Yes, war violence can be committed by good honorable people only following orders. Hannibal Lecter violence can be committed by people that everyone else thinks are good, decent people ("He seemed so quiet and shy, that Daumer boy"). Both kinds of violence reveal the dark side of humanity, in the first how governments can chose to treat their citizens like canon fodder, in the second, how a family or society so fails individuals that they have to resort to violence to purge their inner demons. The value in Lecter-like violence (I'm not talking about slasher films) is that it shows us -- in horrifying reality -- how close we all are to giving in to the darkside. Both Hannibal movies are so well acted, written, directed, that, if you don't watch yourself, you're likely to get to the end of the movies and say, "You know, old Hannibal really has a point there." That's important to know. Evil can be very tempting. And it does often come in guises that we least expect (I suggest that it most often comes in guises we don't expect). Thom Duncan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:30:31 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ Linda Hyde: > >...just leave out the blood-and-guts-for-the-sake-of-blood-and-guts. I >truly >wonder if watching "artificial" horror - enacted on a screen, for example - >has any real benefit at all. I believe there is a line somewhere, after >which vicariously experiencing others' pain becomes mind-numbing at best, >and horror-inciting at worst. > I had this reaction while watching "Saving Private Ryan." To me, there was SO much death and violence and mayhem in that famous opening sequence, that after about 15 minutes of it, it became overkill (pardon the expression). It started to border on the absurd, because there was such a relentless over-abundance of it. And I stopped being shocked or upset by it. I became desensitized to it -- which I think is probably the opposite of the effect Spielberg was going for. Eric D. Snider _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:59:33 -0700 From: margaret young Subject: [AML] News Story: White Supremacists in Utah? I was doing research on the KKK yesterday (because one of our characters was confronted by what he termed "Night Riders" after he joined the Church around 1918--they wanted his name removed from the records because of the Plessy v Ferguson ramifications: that no black man has the right to participate in a "white" organization). I noticed that the KKK refers to "realms" rather than states, and that Utah exists in one of the "realms"--and apparently there is some KKK activity in Utah. Then I heard on the news this morning that a White Supremicist organization is seeking recognition in Utah, claiming that the LDS Church has a history of white supremicist doctrine--which the Church denies, of course. I can't remember the name of the group. Did anyone else hear this story? Can anyone give me more information on what the group is saying? [Margaret Young] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:56:40 -0700 From: "Ethan Skarstedt" Subject: RE: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ I admit to vast curiosity. I have long looked at well done literature as an opportunity to vicariously experience and therefore gain further understanding of things that I have not or will not have the opportunity to actually experience. Susan, you say that you have an understanding of what the young men Michael mentioned went through and what they sacrificed for us, and that you gained it without experiencing it yourself and without vicariously experiencing it either. What's the secret? How did you do it? - -Ethan Skarstedt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:56:54 -0700 From: Deborah Wager Subject: Re: [AML] Not in Sunday School In the same lesson Kari Heber referred, to, you can't say Eve may not have had enough perspective to know whether it was better to have eaten the fruit or not. When I tried to say this to tone down some hot-and-heavy rhetoric on how much better off we are to have all these trials to learn from (as opposed to what, I want to know), I was called on the carpet for "speculating." Go figure. Debbie Wager - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:54:23 -0800 From: "jana" Subject: Re: [AML] Neil Labute Interview > > Is it true that Gwyneth Paltrow has taken the missionary discussions and is > seriously considering joining the Church? > Gwyneth has a least one strong connection to the Church. She owns Joseph F. Smith's Los Angeles home. I saw a picture of the house/heard about this in a 'Know Your Religion' lecture by Richard Holzapfel. Jana Remy - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:57:18 -0700 From: "Marianne Hales Harding" Subject: Re: [AML] Not in Sunday School >-------------------------------------------- > >From ThomDuncan@prodigy.net Mon Mar 18 22:12:03 2002 > >You can't interpret literally the story of Noah sitting naked and drunk in >his tent. > >You can't say that Lot's daughters got their father drunk, slept with him, >had children, and yet nothing happened to them or Lot. At the same time, >no >one will have a problem with Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt. Yes, I noticed in Card's book _Sarah_ he conviently skips over the Lot's daughters episode. Guess it didn't fit with his characterization of Lot! By the way, I really liked _Sarah_ and can't wait to dig into the next one (Rebekah?) Marianne Hales Harding _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:36:34 -0500 From: "Eric D. Dixon" Subject: [AML] LABUTE, _The Wicker Man_ http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=3D0&this_cat=3DMovies&act= ion=3Dpage&type_id=3D&cat_id=3D270338&obj_id=3D33575 Cage set for WICKER MAN remake=20 Neil LaBute will direct=20 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - ------- Dateline: Thursday, March 21, 2002=20 By: CHRISTOPHER ALLAN SMITH=20 By: News Editor=20 Source: Hollywood Reporter=20 Nicolas Cage has signed on to Neil LaBute=92s remake of the creepy 1973 t= hriller THE WICKER MAN. Originally a British film, Universal Pictures is = readying the remake, which centers on a cop looking for a lost girl who f= inds himself drawn to a mysterious island that harbors a secret pagan soc= iety.=20 LaBute (IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, NURSE BETTY) will pen the script and has d= ecided to set his remake in contemporary America. No word on when shootin= g stars. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 13:44:14 -0800 From: "Rex Goode" Subject: [AML] Re-Introduction (Rex Goode) I found you!!!! I don't know how it happened. A few months ago, the messages from this = list went down to a trickle and then stopped altogether. That was right = after 9/11 and I wondered if people were just so upset by it that they = weren't thinking about Mormon literature anymore. I found myself engulfed by a mountain of things to do and didn't get = around to seeing if there was anything left of AML-List. I was a = subscriber for a long, long time, since nearly the beginning. A couple of times I looked up AML and Association for Mormon Letters on = search engines, but to no avail. Today, I was thinking about it again = and searched a different engine and finally found the list. I'm back and = I've missed it a lot. I went through March's archives just to see who was still here and what = we were talking about it. Wouldn't you know it? _Angels In America_, = those pesky Utah Mormon biases ("Not in Sunday School"), film violence, = nudity/pornography, _Saturday's Warrior_, and many other thoroughly = delightful topics. Of course, all of my favorite rascals are still here. = Wouldn't want to leave anyone out. You know who you are. For those who don't know who I am, it would be very difficult to do = myself justice in a short introduction. I'm an aspiring-to-be-published-in-print writer who writes from uncommon = points of view that are difficult to categorize. I'm equally annoyed = with conservative and liberal elements in Mormondom, and utterly love = the fine folks who fit in either category. Many think that my favorite topic is homosexuality. Oh how I wish I'd = been here during the discussion of _Angels In America_. I see that one = review I did of it has hit other places on the web. People still say the = same old things about it that they have always said. Was it about = politics? Was it about religion? Was it about gay Mormons? Was it about = drug-addicted Mormon women? Was it a casserole or a baked potato? Despite what people think, my fovorite topic is not homosexuality. My = favorite topic is me, and since I'm homosexual (after a fashion), it = only follows that I would talk a lot about homosexuality. I'm so much = more than that. I'm husband to a wife (yes, she's female), father to my = children (yes, they're biologically mine), executive secretary to my = bishop (yes, he knows I am attracted to men), and a volunteer leader of = a support group that helps Mormon men who are attracted to men be = faithful to the teachings of the Church. I write about these things. I'm a web designer and programmer. I am currently unemployed. I have a = couple of requests out there in the magazine world for rejection slips, = hoping that some day soon an editor will reject my request for a = rejection slip and give me an assignment instead. As always, the majority of my writing projects are on hold while I wear = myself out working to help people who struggle with difficult problems. = I run a mailing list for Latter-day Saints who struggle with pornography = addiction (yes, they exist). I operate a web site whose name has the = s-word in it (Latter-day Sexual Recovery or LDSR.org). I comfortably = talk about topics that make a lot of Mormons shudder and swear that = there's no need for such topics in the Church. Any questions? Rex Goode - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 17:03:30 -0500 From: "robert lauer" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons and Soldiers >From 1977-1979, from 1982-84, from 1998-2000, and now in 2002, I have been in "military wards." (Actually they are air-force and navy wards.) I have had none of the bad experiences that some have described. In fact, as Richard Johnson pointed out, things run much more smoothly when military members are called to various positions.There is no conflict between military members and civilians; there seems to be no racism. (These wards have had more black families and single black members than one usually finds in your average U.S. ward.) If there is a problem with military wards, I have failed to see it. (And as a dedicated pacifist/peace activist until 1992, I think I would have noticed.) ROB. LAUER - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 14:35:18 -0800 (PST) From: "R.W. Rasband" Subject: [AML] Neil LaBute Interview And some not-so-serious questions: When are you going to put Jack Black in one of your movies? He seems like a really cool dude. What's the deal with Calista and Gwenyth? Did *you* tell them to be so skinny? And where did they come up with those first names, anyway? Don't you just want to pinch little Renee Zellweger on her cheek? Do you think that Hollywood is waiting with baited breath to learn what the Mormons' really think of them? Have you ever met David Mamet? Does he talk like that in real life? =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D R.W. Rasband Heber City, UT rrasband@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Movies - coverage of the 74th Academy Awards=AE http://movies.yahoo.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:04:43 -0700 From: "Clark Goble" Subject: RE: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ ___ Robert ___ | As the film critic for the NEW YORK TIMES pointed out, this | speech echoes Henry's pre-battle speech in HENRY V--and | dramatically it is just as effective. ___ I'm not quite sure what you mean by "dramatically." Do you mean "dramatically" as it functions within the film? Or do you mean how it affects the audience? If the later, how do you judge the effect? For instance Henry's speech in _Henry V_ is rhetorically much more sophisticated both lyrically and also in content. While Wallace clearly followed that speech, I rather doubt people will still be quoting Wallace 400 years from now. Further, what is important is how the text functions "divorced" from the film. I can quote parts of Shakespeare and they have a power that exceeds its role in the play. It is that notion of excess that I think I was getting at. ___ Robert ___ | William Wallace's battle field speech in BRAVEHEART is great | screenwriting! (Notice how it has been lampooned--always a | compliment in today's culture--in a number of TV commercials | these past six years.) ___ Always a complement? In the words of Keanu Reeves, "Whoa!" ___ Robert ___ | As an actor and director, I find Wallace's dialogue extremely | actable and layered. ___ I notice you quote only from his best work, _Braveheart_ and not _Once Were Soliders_ or _Pearl Harbor_ or _Man in the Iron Mask_. Surely we don't want to judge only the text that you *like*. So how about the following gems: "You don't dogfight with a manual." "If I had one more night to live, I'd want to spend it with you." "It's the kind of mission where you get medals, and they send them to your relatives." I once hit a home run in a baseball game. Yet I recognize that I am not a very good baseball player. My big problem with Wallace is that he tends to put trite aphorisms in the mouths of his actors. Shakespeare did that too, of course. But only when he was making a character look bad. (Polonius anyone?) ___ Robert ___ | Wallace is also a talented story teller. He's also a | romantic--as am I. ___ Don't get me wrong. I like a lot of the structures he comes up with in some of his films. However even there a lot seems to come from other sources. (Dumas gets the credit for _Man in the Iron Mask_, and Moore the basic credit for _Once Were Soldiers_ ) I'll excuse _Pearl Harbor_ since I assume he was highly constrained in it. However other scenes. . . Well the laundry scene in _Once Were Soldiers_ had me cringing. The idea of keeping the wives back home in the film was excellent, although the implementation. . . (ugh) I'll leave out most of _Pearl Harbor_ and _Man in the Iron Mask_ for charity sake. - -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com ----------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:11:02 -0700 From: "Clark Goble" Subject: RE: [AML] Neil Labute Interview ___ R.W. ___ | Mormons can be said to have two sides to their character: an | optimistic, can-do, almost-Transcedentalist side; and a very | conservative, censorious, almost-Puritan streak. You have a | very pronounced sense of sin in your work. How do you see | yourself fitting in? ___ Doesn't _Nurse Betty_ embody both those aspects? When I first saw it I saw it as some unholy merging of Quenton Tarantino and Frank Capra. - -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com ----------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 18:18:10 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] J.C. Duffy on _Brigham City_ On Tue, 12 Mar 2002 17:37:03 -0700 "Scott Parkin" writes: > [MOD: This is the first of three sections of a post from Scott > Parkin.] > I didn't hear John-Charles' address live, but rather read the > version posted on Friday to this list ... these comments are > based on the written paper. I just want to say, first, that I agree with EVERY word that Scott said in all three posts, and I would like to add one little thing. John-Charles's paper MAY have made some valid points, but they were lost on me because I don't trust anyone who calls for a certain kind of behavior while exhibiting none of that behavior themselves. John-Charles decries Dutcher's alleged lack of charity while offering none himself in his examination of Dutcher's films. If John-Charles had simply used phrases like "It could appear that Dutcher is saying ..." and "If he doesn't want that impression to prevail, Dutcher might want to consider ..." In leaving no room for alternative interpretations John-Charles commits the very "sin" he has judged Dutcher to have made. Even though he COULD be right, I reject his opinion on the grounds that he doesn't allow me the agency to form my own opinion. J. Scott Bronson -- The Nauvoo Theatrical Society *********************************************************** "If I were placed on a cannibal island and given the task of civilizing its people, I would straightway build a theatre for the purpose." Brigham Young - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 01:51:22 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: [AML] Self-Effacement (was: _Death of a Salesman_) Nan McCulloch wrote: > > As a theater person, I have always felt guilty because I > do theater because I love doing it and I can't not do it. I am > rethinking now--and in spite of ego and love of performing, I see that > there are selfless aspects to the arts. Hopefully ego and the need for > approval and self-expression is just a small part of what we do. I hope it's a big part of what we do, because there's nothing wrong with it, and we need it. Especially as artists we need it, or we won't be able to suffer the slings and arrows of the critics, our art will die, and we won't be serving anybody with it. The most humble, service-oriented person that ever lived was not the least bit shy about his importance. From the things he said about himself, I suspect he had a very strong ego. He always sought approval, and if he had perfected his quest for approval by going to the true source for it (his Father) and we are still imperfect in that we look for it from our neighbors, still does not negate the need for approval. Humans couldn't survive emotionally without it. Self-expression he commanded of us: "Let your light shine--don't hide it under a bushel." Self-expression _is_ service, as long as we share it with others. Humility that degrades the self is not humility--it's self-effacement. We can feel good about ourselves and do things that fill our needs as long as we're also serving others and building the kingdom of God in the process. The nice thing about the Gospel is it allows for all of it--you can do it all concurrently. Seeing to our own needs and serving others are not mutually exclusive. Yuo don't have to choose between one or the other, or feel guilty for doing both. Jesus would often try to avoid crowds to see to his own and his disciples' needs, even though he knew those crowds also had needs. A person who does not replenish himself occasionally becomes useless to others. The admonishion in _Death of a Salesman_ to not waste your life doing something you don't love is a prescription for one's own happiness, but also for how to serve others. You'll never serve others as well as you could if you're doing something you dislike. Pride is refusing to be teachable and thinking you're better than other people. A healthy ego is not pride. Seeing to one's own needs is not selfishness, unless you're doing it to the exclusion of the needs of others. As Aunt Eller says in _Oklahoma_, "I won't say I'm better than anybody else, but I'll be danged if I ain't just as good." - -- 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: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 02:07:46 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ BroHam000@aol.com wrote: > > ...just leave out the blood-and-guts-for-the-sake-of-blood-and-guts. I truly > wonder if watching "artificial" horror - enacted on a screen, for example - > has any real benefit at all. I believe there is a line somewhere, after > which vicariously experiencing others' pain becomes mind-numbing at best, > and horror-inciting at worst. This is the desensitization argument. I don't believe in it. I believe desensitization occurs, but only when we witness cheap horror that affects people we don't care about. Arnold Schwarzeneggar's bazillion-per-movie body count doesn't affect me in the least, because those are not people--those are movie-prop bad guys. All those teen bimbos that get knocked off in slasher movies--who cares? It even becomes funny. But a single off-screen (barely) act of violence in Billy Bob Thornton's _Sling Blade_ has a powerful impact, evoking strong feelings and thought, because it grew out of the situation and involved people we came to care very much about. Peril that is honestly earned through good plotting and characterization will never cause desensitization, because the peril and its accompanying violence (if any) means something personal to us. So if desensitization occurs, it's really an issue of bad art, not morality. - -- 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: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 10:06:36 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] _Death of a Salesman_ Thank you so much, Nan, for your confirmation of our wonderful play! It is truly marvelous (and not just because we're a part of it--thank Arthur Miller and everyone who touches it). Eric Snider's review we thought was balanced and fair. Bill told me before he went on that he needed one more weekend of rehearsal. Boy, was I proud that he got through the lines that first weekend! The play's better now (of course). For COMMUNITY theatre to tackle this play took guts and chutzpa. Eric was fair and right about many things, and we appreciated the headline "DEATH OF A SALESMAN WORTH SEEING." I was also thrilled to see that Thom Duncan felt it was his favorite play. Every time I see it I get MORE from it. Thanks, Nan, for outlining the many themes present in the play. I am so uplifted by the quality of it that I have not been depressed one moment! Cheers! Don't miss it! Marilyn Brown - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 09:28:18 -0800 (PST) From: William Morris Subject: [AML] Chronice of Higher Ed. on Mormon Studies The Chronicle of Higher Education has published an article on the emerging field of Mormon studies: http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i28/28a01401.htm ~~William Morris __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Movies - coverage of the 74th Academy Awards=AE http://movies.yahoo.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 09:51:52 -0800 From: JLTyner Subject: [AML] Update On Our Son Since we have continued to have kind inquires and thoughts sent to us about our son I thought I should try and give something of an update since he came home. When we met him at the airport I wondered what he would look like, how would his countenance be? The young man that greeted us was happy, well dressed and sure of himself. He knew what he was about. I was pleased to see that. His therapist is incredibly pleased with his progress and has much respect for Daniel's character and intellect. He has been very supportive of his decisions and the directions he's taking with his life. The medical doctor feels the same. He ran tests and tweaked his meds and seems pleased with his progress so far. And for whatever it might mean, the therapist is active LDS, the doctor a respectful Catholic. Now to some of the down sides of this. The first night he was back I went in to put another blanket on him and he awoke with such anger in his face, it frightened me. He asked me the next morning if he had tried to hit me, I said yes, but he stopped himself. He profusely apologized and said it would never happen again, some of the other missionaries thought it great fun to jump on him when he was going to sleep on occasion, something that angered him greatly. He was right, it's never happened again. At the time, I remember thinking, "What have they done to him?" But the real clincher is him having to have dealt with a mentally ill companion for so long. I knew this young had some problems, having talked with him when I had to call the mission office for something, but I had no idea the depth of the problem. This is the third mission his companion has been in. He spent time in a mental institution for observation, and refuses to go home. He is the only member in his family as well. He drove my son nearly to the brink. He could not take my son even making a mild suggestion to him without him bursting into tears. He is also a compulsive liar. The other two missionaries in the apartment would rotate with my son when he couldn't stand it any longer and needed a break. They were guessing he's an undiagnosed bi-polar, but that's main problem, he refused to go to a doctor and get a diagnosis and get on the proper medication. My son told us if you're sick or nuts they send you to Ohio. Perhaps the biggest favor my son did for him and everyone else in the mission came right before my son left and finally had a different companion, his favorite. He saw his mentally ill companion at Zone Conference and this young man brought up something that the other missionaries had told him was a problem with him and he asked my son if that was so, and my son asked him if he wanted the truth. He said he did and my son said yes indeed, that is a problem for you. For what it's worth, this kid loves my son and accepted what he said and declared that maybe he should go to a doctor and get some medication for his condition. My son told please do that. (For everyone's sake). I guess if he helps with this, then he will indeed have accomplished something. I think back to something Levi said, Why in the world do we let anyone with mental and emotional problems go out on missions? It's not fair to them, the mission, the church and especially their companions. If we had had any indication of our son's condition we would have never sent him. The difference being though, he has sense enough to take his meds and not think he can do with- out them, as too many others do. And his is such that should he ever choose to go out again, he would be able to manage his condition, but it's his call. We have had many folks tell us horror stories concerning unbalanced companions or other missionaries they had to deal with and these people cause lots of damage and bitter feelings and I question how these people make it past the radar, or if they were sent with some supposed notion that the mission would "fix" them. It's a topic I'd like to see some honest discussion, not just a forum for ranting and bad feelings about the Church. But I think it's a worthy topic for both non-fiction, fiction, essay and article. I' m glad my son kept a journal in the mission field and continues to do so. He does have some good memories as well. He met a family that lurks on the AML list and they were very kind to him and had the missionaries over for dinner many times. We've received continued loving concern for him via e-mail. But the most precious experience for him was teaching a couple from Mainland China and being a witness at their baptism. They are grad students at Ohio State University and wonderful people, their faith so pure and undefiled. They gave my son a Chinese name which translates to mean, "Iron Man of 'Strength and Fortitude". They love to talk to us and him via e-mail and continue to care about him, ask gospel questions and grow. We feel honored he was there to part of their lives and conversion. He was told he would be an ambassador of the truth and I marveled on the choice of those words at the time, but it has a larger meaning because of these people. They are not citizens yet, but I belive they are working toward that goal and will be visiting their relatives in China from time to tiime. It will be interesting to see what happens. In the meantime, our son has taken steps to becoming an adult and will continue to so. He attends the Singles Ward and has had his records moved there and will accept a calling. He forthrightly passed on a Stake Mission. I don't think many in leadership know what to make of him, he's an enigma to them. He is not defensive or rebellious, he just knows what he's ready for and what he's not and he states it in a calm and firm manner. And the Stake President seemed okay with giving him his honorable release, he had no reason not to. Our son has not hid from anyone at church and has been friendly and kind. One of our friends, who is on the High Council said to him, "I probably shouldn't say this, but I missed you so much, and I'm so glad to have you back home!" He isn't the only one who has said something to that effect. We're glad to have him home as well, but this feels like merely turning a page in an ongoing story. Kathy Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 16:18:33 -0700 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] _Death of a Salesman_ > I was also thrilled to see that Thom Duncan felt it was his favorite play. I wanted so bad to audition for Willy Loman until I went into a blue funk when I learned that Bill was playing it. (I've played Happy in my younger days). I didn't realize how important this play was to me until I did an analysis of my own plays several years ago. I seem to prefer climactic scenes where two characters are verbally duking it out. I've several scenes like this in my own plays which I had put in subconsciously but which I now realize were influenced by Arthur Miller. Thom Duncan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 15:48:57 -0800 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] BJ ROWLEY, _16 In No Time_ (Review) What a treat to have a young person writing reviews here. Thank you! "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > > 16 IN NO TIME > by BJ Rowley > 2001, Golden Wings > Trade paperback, 236 pages > 0-9700103-7-0 > $14.95 > > Reviewed by Natalie Martindale > - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 15:52:52 -0800 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Re-Introduction (Rex Goode) We missed you -- welcome back! (From one of the rascals...) Rex Goode wrote: > > I found you!!!! > > I don't know how it happened. A few months ago, the messages from this = > list went down to a trickle and then stopped altogether. That was right = > after 9/11 and I wondered if people were just so upset by it that they = > weren't thinking about Mormon literature anymore. > - -- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 16:44:14 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Re-Introduction (Rex Goode) At 02:44 PM 3/21/02, you wrote: >Any questions? >Rex Goode Just a statement -- nice to see you back, Rex! barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 18:38:58 -0600 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Re: News Story: White Supremacists in Utah? (Comp 1) [MOD: This is a compilation post.] >From ThomDuncan@prodigy.net Fri Mar 22 16:08:53 2002 > I can't remember the name of the group. Did anyone > else hear this story? The World Church of the Creator. Can anyone give me more information on what the > group is saying? > As I understand, it is just the same old white supremacist crap, that the inferior races are the spawn of Satan, that sort of thing. Thom - ---------------------------------------- >From jeff.needle@general.com Fri Mar 22 16:49:54 2002 I didn't hear anything about it. But the World Church of the Creator has been very active in Utah. Is this the group you're thinking of? [Jeff Needle] - -------------------------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 17:48:37 -0700 From: BJ Rowley Subject: Re: [AML] BJ ROWLEY, _16 In No Time_ (Review) Jeff Needle wrote: >What a treat to have a young person writing reviews here. >Thank you! > >>16 IN NO TIME >>by BJ Rowley >> >>Reviewed by Natalie Martindale >> >I'll second that. Thank you very much, Natalie! What a pleasant surprise. At last! ... someone from my intended audience reviewing my work. (as opposed to the usual old fuddy-duddy, over-the-hill, adult-types, like Jeff and D. Michael ... hey, takes one to know one.) :) > - -BJ Rowley - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 09:21:11 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Irreantum Proofers Needed The winter 01-02 issue of Irreantum is ready to be proofed. We've had great success in the past asking for proofers on AML-List, so here we are again. If you're available to read the issue and alert us of any errors you find, please contact me ASAP. This Friday, 3/29 (Good Friday) is the deadline. I'll send you a PDF file, and you can e-mail or fax back your changes. If you want to pick up and drop off a hard copy in Orem, that's also an option. Thanks in advance. Contact me directly at chris.bigelow@unicitynetwork.com. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #657 ******************************