From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #687 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Tuesday, April 23 2002 Volume 01 : Number 687 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 15:53:12 -0600 From: "Amy Chamberlain" Subject: Re: [AML] Gen. Conference - ----- Original Message ----- From: Gae Lyn Henderson To: Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 6:23 PM Subject: RE: [AML] Gen. Conference > Ah, Jeff, you have not been in Relief Society recently. (This is my best > guess because you are both male and not a member!) > > In my ward some of the women were actively PREPARING for General Conference > by praying, fasting, looking for the messages that they needed to hear. > Careful notes were taken and then goals were set for the coming 6 months. > Ah, what a lovely topic for a Sugar Beet article. Do you mind if I use it? - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 15:15:17 -0700 From: JLTyner Subject: Re: [AML] Announcing: Center Street Theater Nice going Thom! Good luck to you, Scott and Paul. We are hoping to be back in Utah in August, I hope you will be so kind as to keep the AML informed of what's currently playing at your fine establishment so that we and others may help support you new enterprise and see to it's success. Kathy Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 16:51:36 -0700 From: "Jerry Tyner" Subject: RE: [AML] Gen. Conference I like both Kathy's and Gae's comments (Gae's "competitive = righteousness" and Kathy's "ails in their spiritual coffin".=20 Anyone who did not listen closely to President Hinckley's address in = Priesthood Session (and I know a few who do not go/listen to Conference = thinking they will not be held accountable or if they and their family = do not hear they can't be called on the carpet for what is said there) = will definitely know what it means to have nails in their spiritual = coffin (or wish the mountains would fall on them). I think I understand Gae's comment on a different level. Most of my = growing up years (and many since) I have been racing myself to improve = my own personal bests (running in Jr. High and High School; weight = lifting; studying the scriptures; etc.). I was never one to establish = any school or national records of any kind. When Paul said we could all = win the victor's crown he was speaking literally. Each of us have our = own "thorn in the flesh" and will need Christ in one way or another to = make up the difference. There are some as Thom indicated who like to = hold up their light just to see if they get noticed (Publicans) for = their righteousness and not to light the darkness for others to follow. = But I think many (hopefully most) are honestly and humbly talking about = experiences they had in a particular place and not trying to brag. Many = are very sincere and don't realize others are getting uncomfortable due = to a mention of something special happening in the Temple or while = praying (unless they mention it was the tenth prayer that day), or while = studying the scriptures. I would hope many times it was the Holy Ghost = prompting them to stand and talk about this because "someone" needed to = hear of this particular experience. There are those who feel they are more righteous and as my mother always = said look side ways at you thinking you are so less than they because = you are not as righteous or holy. I just wish there was an electrical = instrument that could be held up to people like that to show them how = the needle went in the opposite direction showing spiritual darkness = rather than indicating a spiritual gain for them talking about their = experiences. Bottom line is we as individuals (brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, = husbands, wives, daughters, and sons) know what we are saying and doing = and need to be concerned about helping ourselves and our families to = become ready for Zion to be reestablished. The literary tie in is that = we need to review what was said as part of our scripture study and = encourage our home and visiting teaching families to do the same. Zion = will be built one heart, one family, one Ward, one Stake at a time until = we are ready. The time is not yet but it is very short and there is a = reason we are told to study the words of the Prophets (old and new). The = key is the humility part.=20 For my brief stay at BYU it was hard to endure those who felt they were = better than everyone else without telling them off. I came to the = conclusion that I would leave that to God and if I became friends with = them maybe I would rub off on them. Most of the time they felt they were = too good for me for one reason or another. I came to the conclusion it = was their loss and not mine. If they were truly more righteous than I = they lost out on making a good friend and helping someone to grow to = their level; if they were not as righteous as I then they lost out = (again) on making a good friend and resolving some issues they didn't = know they had.=20 This probably didn't come out the best way but what I'm trying to say is = Heavenly Father works on each of us at our individual pace and will = perfect us line upon line, step by painful step until we are where He = needs us to be. We need to listen, study, ponder, pray, and remain = humble and teachable. The Holy Ghost will do the rest as we let Him. Jerry Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 20:44:55 -0600 From: "Alan Rex Mitchell" Subject: [AML] Environmental Questionnaire (was: LDS Nature Writing) Hooray for Kim and her garden! I meant to add some gardening questions, but I'll leave it to Kim. > > I'd be interested in your 40 question quiz, Alan. I too have delayed > answering that original question about "anti-environmentalist" leanings in > the church. As a long time primary attendee (chorister for 15 years until my > recent release), where the teachings of the church are found in their most > innocent and pure form..."the prophet said to plant a garden" and "life > began within a garden". Environment Questions Alan Mitchell 18 April 2002 1. Monday is a full moon. On the following Sunday, approximately what time will the moon arise and what will it look like? 2. You want to design a house that will use solar orientation to raise heat in the winter but not in the summer. What direction should your picture windows face? 3. In the Northern hemisphere, approximately what day of the year has the most solar radiation gain? 4. El Nino, the shift in ocean currents that is linked to weather, occurs in what ocean? 5. How long has the earth's temperature begun to gradually rise? 6. At what depth is the soil darkest and why? 7. The Biosphere II project in Arizona in the 1980's put 6 people, animals, plants, water, etc., in a closed atmosphere system to test the ability of current science to live in a mostly self-sustaining environment. What was the first problem with the ecosystem that they encountered and had to corrected externally? 8. Will the pressure exerted on a 50-foot high dam be the same whether the water is backed up 100 miles or 100 feet? 9. Has coyote population decreased in the Los Angeles Basin since its growth skyrocketed this century? 10. Why do some farmers add lime (CaCO3) to their fields? 11. What types of plants have symbiotic relationships with bacteria that transform nitrogen from the air into the most need planted nutrient? 12. Because predators rely on their prey for survival, will they diminish the prey population to the point where their own population declines? 13. What single human practice could best address the largest evolutionary need of homo sapiens (to pass on cultural training) and solve the modern epidemic of STDs? 14. If you say up all night watching the Big Dipper, which direction will it rotate around the North Star, or will it rotate at all? 15. According to the complexity of systems (the Chaos butterfly effect), how far in advance can we predict weather with any confidence? 16. Which crop uses the most water to produce identical amounts of dry matter-wheat, grass, alfalfa? 17. The US produces huge quantities of corn (maize). Where does most of it go? 18. Other than in national parks, are there any wild bear in the continental USA? 19. What single 20th century endeavor has contributed the most to the proliferation of weeds worldwide? 20. Is the grazing of domestic animals sustainable over centuries? 21. Explain the problem with the ozone layer. 22. Does clear cutting of fir forests ruin them for centuries? 23. The forests in the northeast and northcentral US used to be evergreen before they were harvested over a century ago, but now they are deciduous-why were they not deciduous to begin with? 24. Irrigated land grows one-third of the world's food-what are the main factors (3) that affect the long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture? 25. Has the 20th century's experiment with central government control of land (forests, crops, grassland) improved the land? 26. Why are you more likely to have colder temperatures on March 23 than September 21-even though the solar radiation is the same? 27. In the US presidential election of 2000, what consistent demographic trend told the most about the voters' preference for candidates? 28. Documented evidence of overgrazing in Yellowstone was the work of which species? 29. Which factor most influences the health of grasslands and why-the number of animals grazing per area or the length of time the animals graze? 30. What is the best proven approach to increasing growth of a specific species in a specific location? a. find the most limiting factor and supply it. b. supply all known factors in the relative amounts needed. c. rely on the balance of nature. 31. How does a single-house septic system work to detoxify sewer? 32. Name 10 species that live in the soil. 33. Why is a biennial plant species different to manage than an annual species? 34. What does an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide do to the growth of most plants? 35. When a temperature inversion occurs, where is the highest air temperature? 36. What is the population density in the USA? (people per acre) 37. What percent of the soil is made up of voids (air and water)? 38. What percent of the biosphere's total carbon is in the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide), in the plant, in the soil? 39. Where is the destination of your local garbage? 40. How many people live on the earth? 41. Do cites have higher or lower summer temperatures than surrounding land? 42. Briefly explain the Gaia Hypothesis. 43. In the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster, how effective were the clean-up efforts? 44. How much of the US consumption of petroleum is provided by domestic sources? 45. Is plastic a part of the pollution problem-or part of the solution? 46. Did the Alaska oil pipeline increase or decrease the caribou population, and why? 47. Order the following vegetables in time of harvest: corn, beans, potatoes, peas, zuchinni 48. Name a vegetable you plant in the fall. 49. Name a breed of plowing horse. 50. To keep yourself cool, what color of shirt should you wear in the summer? - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 00:28:03 -0600 From: Laraine Wilkins Subject: Re:[AML] Money and Art I find Eric Samuelsen's argument about encouraging dissenting (potentially offensive) viewpoints through artistic expression to be infinitely compelling. I'm reminded of something Alex Caldiero said one time when somebody at the Utah Arts Festival was offended by his daughter's poem: "Be glad people can still be offended" (or sthg like that). I'd like to offer another argument in favor of government-supported art projects, namely, that it helps promote a certain kind of ambassadorship among the most elite art communities in the world. All of these arguments against government support of the arts seem to be grounded in a very American way of looking at things... namely Federal Government should be hands-off, and the people really are bright enough to have good judgment about art, and they really do have a right to complain and dissent about the way their tax dollars are spent. Eric's examples seem to draw primarily from Europe, which has a pretty strong liberal socialist tradition. I know that Germany's theater and film culture would not be the same if it were not for government subsidies; in fact, the film industry would probably only be able to boast a great porn tradition if it didn't have non-private support. The best art films from Germany are probably much better known around the world through promotion by the various Goethe Institutes than they were in Germany itself. The best artists/scientists/musicians/writers/actors/filmmakers or whatever will always look around to see who's doing what, and where. There's a real stereotype among the world's elite culture experts that the U.S. has no "real" culture. The definition of culture is one that is perhaps narrowly defined for such elites, and perhaps one could argue that the best, most original American art is really its commercial kitsch. But there is something to be said for helping U.S. artists to be included among the most innovative, cutting edge, interesting, fantastic, disturbing in the world. It helps give the U.S. a better name in the rest of civilization. - --Laraine Wilkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 22:35:53 -0600 From: "Gae Lyn Henderson" Subject: RE: [AML] LDS Activism Jacob said: > The specific tenet of activism that drives people away from the church > is "the personal is political" and the activities that leads to. In > essence, I believe that if you make the personal become political, you > are essentially increasing the importance of the political beyond what > you normally would allow. The personal becomes political when one sees that we are all connected to each other as brothers and sisters on earth. Those who become activists find that their conscience won't allow them the luxury of saying, "I don't need to worry about others, my private concerns are more important." Since there is no limit on "personal" the > temptation exists to raise your politics ever higher in importance. > Eventually, your political convictions overcome and replace your > religious convictions and you "drift" away from the church. It is vitally important for each human being, IMHO, to follow personal convictions. If political convictions come into conflict with religious convictions, then conflict ensues. I think that rather than people "drifting" away from the church, some people may make deliberate choices to honor their deepest feelings and conscience. I would not condemn anyone for leaving the church if their honest convictions prompted them to do so. Those who > you called "sophisticated" politically liberal and yet active and > committed Church members are those who have sought out their own borders > and put limits in place so that they can keep their politics from > overwhelming their membership. I think they have also chosen to honor their conscience and be activists as supports their true beliefs, rather than relying on a conservative majority mindset to direct them. It is easier to follow the crowd, especially when conservative politics seem to be bound up with perceived righteousness. The thing is, unless you privilege the Church above your own > Philosophy, your Philosophy will eventually conflict with the Church and > you'll distance yourself from the Church. I believe you must follow what your heart and conscience tells you to follow--The Church as an entity only exists to teach the individual to become a free agent who acts with moral responsibility. Obedience is not a virtue if it is practiced against one's social or moral conscience. Gae Lyn Henderson > > - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 09:25:42 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: Re: [AML] Gen. Conference I must say I'm at a loss to understand exactly what you're trying to say here. I don't consider myself as to falling into either of those categories, and neither do most of the people I know. We just go through life, trying to do the best we can, and stubbing our toes on a regular basis. Yet, there are quite a few of us that prepare in some way for conference. I find that if I listen with an open mind and actually consider the possibility that I might hear something worth hearing it usually happens. And if I approach it cynically, which is a tendancy of mine, I get very little out of it and can find fault in just about anything that's said. I have heard things in General Conference that have caused me to repent--using my definition of turning towards God. Not every talk. But usually there is at least one thing that strikes me as valuable for me. One conference, in the midst of a certain apostles talk who loves to tell stories that all begin to sound the same after a while, he made a statement about the character of Christ. That statement was worth 8hrs of listening to other stuff for to me. I don't know your "lady". Maybe she is "very dutiful". Or maybe she has truly found strength, joy, faith, and a relationship with her Heavenly Father and thus wouldn't think of going through a day without that connection. You admit you are not one of those who prepared in such a way, and yet seem to want to sneer (I say that because I could very well be misreading the wording of your post) at their efforts and portray them as either somehow contemptably good or super-prideful and thus grossly wicked in their righteousness. I listened to A Walk to Remember (before it was being made into a movie!) and that seemed to be one of the underlying themes. Jamie, I think her name was, is one of those truly good people. The reaction of those around her to her goodness is an interesting contemplation. Some dispise her. Some project their own petty motivations on her. And some reject her to assuage their own guilt at not being what they think deep inside they should be. Others, of course, love her and are touched by her life or it wouldn't be much of a story. I think---big opinion statement here (along with all of the above)---that we often see the same thing, sneering at something good, in literature, Mormon or not. If something is beyond the realm of our experience we discount it, and discredit it, on either the writing or the reading end of the project. I read Peace Like a River and almost, almost rejected it out of hand because of the miracles presented in the story. They are the types of things that have not happened in my life--walking on air, for example--and seemed just too over the top for my yes-I-believe-in-miracles-if they-are-not-too-miraculous-for-these-modern-times mentality. I caught myself and actually had one of those little mental conversations about my attitude and why I had it. Maybe no one you and Jeff knows has repented after conference. Or maybe a lot of members make changes in their lives in whatever small or large degree because of something they heard at conference and they just haven't told the world about it. Maybe some members prepare to put on a show, and maybe some think RS is a safe environment to share their hopes for the experience and love and support each other in their efforts. Tracie - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 17:46:08 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: [AML] Graffiti Art (was: Money and Art) Eric Samuelsen wrote: << If we support Art (capital A), then we need to support the IDEA of art. >> I chose, at a certain point, to stop being offended by graffiti on freight cars. I thought, "Dang it, a lot of this is somebody's passionately felt idea of art." And I had to admit that some of it looked kind of cool and interesting. I suddenly felt that the "artists" had some rights--that there was something virtuous in overpainting the ugliness of freight cars and other surfaces that no one cared enough about to make them be beautiful. Some years after that, I heard President Hinckley refer to graffiti as an "insult to art." Taxpayers aren't supporting it, and my understanding is that most of the paint is stolen, but does this post have anything to do with this thread? I'm just resonating with Eric's bold "IDEA of Art." Is there a "graffiti" art, even in various disciplines, that ought to be defended? Or that might even be useful in advancing the Kingdom? It may be about the only form left if all the bucks dry up. Marvin Payne __________________ Visit marvinpayne.com! __________________ "...come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift..." (from the last page of the Book of Mormon) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 18:07:14 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Gen. Conference RE the idea of "competitive righteousness": I attended a gathering of Mormon artists recently and heard a lot of inspiring stories and experienced some moving art. The art that moved me most was a suite of unaccompanied violin duets played by Igor and Vesna Gruppman. The story that moved me most was playwright Robert Paxton saying that he sets his alarm early to read the scriptures, then sets it at ten-minute intervals to wake him up as he reads. The story could have been told to a large audience of strangers in an attitude of smugness and been terrifying. But it was told to a small circle of playwrights Rob respects and loves in an attitude of meekness and a passionate desire to share how intensely he needs the Spirit in his life and work. And it was, for me, the high point of the gathering. I think the phrase "competitive righteousness" is a great phrase. I have this Brazilian-made replica of an 1892 Winchester rifle, authentic in every detail. The caliber is .357 Magnum, and it slices through three two-by-fours like they weren't even there. It's a great rifle. I shoot it a lot, but I'm pretty careful about where I point it. Marvin Payne __________________ Visit marvinpayne.com! __________________ "...come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift..." (from the last page of the Book of Mormon) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 18:17:30 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Announcing: Center Street Theater Thom, May you three husbands-in-law break a leg. If the bride is Christ, the marriage ought to work. Marvin Payne __________________ Visit marvinpayne.com! __________________ "...come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift..." (from the last page of the Book of Mormon) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 18:28:51 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Tone in Persuasive Writing Harlow wrote (and I agree): << I think we could have some good discussion on tone in LDS writing, and its effects on audience, particularly since we produce so much apologetic, hortatory, didactic and devotional writing. >> The other day I heard Richard Dutcher say that he thought that "Honesty will serve the aims of propaganda better than propaganda ever will." I don't know the connection, if any, between propaganda and apologetics, hortatorics, didactics, or devotics, but I thought I'd report it, because it kind of rang for me. Marvin Payne __________________ Visit marvinpayne.com! __________________ "...come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift..." (from the last page of the Book of Mormon) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 18:36:15 -0600 From: "Jana Pawlowski" Subject: [AML] Trusting Great Poets (was: Sanitized LDS History?) From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: Re: [AML] Sanitized LDS History? Ethan Skarstedt asked: "What happened at and after the 1992 Sunstone Symposium?" I title my musings in response to this question's answer, "The only = people I really trust are Great Poets" Their application to Mormon = Literature is subtle, inferred and organic to the whole. Just trust me. First of all I'm glad the question of the 1992 Sunstone Symposium came = up, because I was living in Salt Lake at the time, and remember when = this hit the papers. ( And I'm glad Scott and Margaret explained it so = well.) I was in my earlly 30's, single and working at the time and it = didn't create that much of a stir with the singles I remember. But most = of us were in high-stress jobs and thought everything not stricly = pragmatic to the cause of keeping a roof over our heads was superfluous I remember reading all the papers and just being bored with the whole = eternal conflict. I realize I'm anti-conflict and anti-academia, so I speak from a certain bias. Or maybe no one has ever = handled the "CAUSES" that demand our attention in a satisfactory manner. = I don't mean to minimize anyone's personal pain, but frankly, I was = dealing with my own pain and growth opportunities and can't even = remember the names of specific individuals involved..... It was too = removed from our own experiences and people in my social circle largely = ignored what I now understand to have been a traumatic fall-out at BYU = with Professors quitting or being fired, etc. Sooooooooo..... big leap here, stay with me......Since Jim Picht was = allowed to desecrate the province of poetry and the environmentalist, = etc, let me just say that I feel similiarly about Academia = and their institutions: they appear to my unsophisticated mind as a = false god we worship, no matter the direction of your political or = religious bent. It's not always and doesn't have to be, but it often is. = Or perhaps a more apt description is that of a "secret society", with = a special language and knowledge of certain corner cubicles of the = campus library where those in the know hang out and discuss short-cuts = to good grades and and share The Power and Knowledge with just a select = few. Or perhaps I agree with Henry Kissinger when he said, "Academia, = that herd of Independent Thinkers." I'm exaggerating of course but = having said that, let me exaggerate again by saying, the only people I = really trust are Great Poets, whether they're environmentalists or = Academecians or blue-collar workers. I was listening this week on the Research Channel to a Danz Lecture from = 1999 titled, "Kaleidoscope and the Destroyer: What Good is Poetry" by Seamus Heaney. (Nobel Prize Winner = 1995?). You can listen to it with Windows Media, etc. at the following = website. http://arttech.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=3Dhttp://www.researc= hchan nel.com/programs/uw/Danz.html%232 If I knew you'd all obediently go there and listen then I wouldn't have = to add the following paraphases and summaries to illustrate why I only = trust Great Poets. It's because they know stuff like this and they say = it beautifully and we all know or should know that True Beauty has = something to do with Truth and The Good. Heaney's subjects, the Kaleidoscope and the Destroyer, are taken from a = childhood memory. He received a kaleidoscope from an aunt for Christmas = and went next door to see what his friend had received. His friend had = received a battleship. He didn't want to be outdone, so he tried = floating his kaleidoscope as a sort of assistant vessel, but soon found = it became soggy and ruined. He likens that to the vessel or purpose of = poetry. (another leap here skipping some of his supporting details) = True poets tend to live an amphibious existence, living in the temporal = earth but having eyes to see the beatific possibilities. ( It also = reminds me of the feminine/maternal way of seeing: leaving things = open-ended until we have first-hand knowledge or allowing things to = evolve in their own time.....Jana speaking) =20 He quotes many of his favorite poets like Dylan, Yeats, Hardy, Plath, = Auden, etc....remember the Yeats poem, "Easter 1916", a good = illustration of this between-realms idea. It's not even that the = battleship and the kaleidoscope are in opposition necessarily, it just = gets rather soggy when you take a kaleidoscope from its element and use = it for "the machine" as Russian poets were supposed to in the early 20th = century. (I'm sure you can see the application to = flat/dogmatic/uninspired art as well.) In essence, a great poet's = inclination is to unapolagetically put his eye to the kaleidoscope and = like Orpheus, have the angelic capacity to exist between two elements. = Play up in the air---above the brim as Frost put it. Heaney then adds = that to have that ideology is one thing, but it is an entirely different = commitment to live that way daily. (lest you think that he means an = impotent, Hamlet approach, he doesnt. That's not what he meant, "that's = not what he meant at all." (T.S. Eliot allusion)=20 So I consider myself a feminist, an environmentalist, and an = intellectual, but I prefer the gentler, altho' more difficult and = courageous living between the two elements (now really, don't critique = me or my statements until you've heard Seamus' whole talk), instead of = strong, abrasive political stances which only polarize. It does = require individual effort, though and face to face......well...... if = not confrontation, then quiet statements of immoveable convictions when = called upon to walk through the fire for a dearly held belief. =20 Also, in summary may I also highly recommend two books by Carol Lee = Flinders, my second cousin (non-member) whom I've just become = acquainted with. She's most famous for co-authoring the vegetarian's = bible, "Laurel's Kitchen", but I'm also quite impressed by her "Enduring = Grace" (about female medeival saints, Teresa of Avila, Clare of Assisi, = Julian of Norwich, Mechthild of Madeburg, etc) and "At the Root of this = Longing: Reconciling a Spiritual Hunger and a Feminist Thirst" She got her = doctorate in Comparative Lit from Stanford and taught at Berkeley so she = knows all about poetry and causes. I think she handles the feminist issue in a way that even LDS readers would like = (partly BECAUSE she's not a member). My aunt and I have been = corresponding with her and her parents. Partly because she is the = spitting image of my maternal grandmother and partly because I love her = writing style and content, (it's "above the brim"), I take a great = personal interest in what she has to say. I would love to see her = invited to Utah for a women's forum of some kind. (that's probably not = going to happen). Jana Pawlowski http://www.geocities.com/janrand janrand@networld.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 00:52:57 -0600 From: Jennifer Vaughn Subject: [AML] Silencing the Internal Critic Hey all you writers, here are some questions to distact you from/help you procrastinate your writing: 1. As you write, how do you silence that inner critic that compels you to edit as you write? 2. Relatedly, how do you silence that inner critic that tells you that your writings are nothing more than diarreah-in-prose? 3. How do you keep yourself motivated? (I used to be an *writer*, that is, the characters in my stories lived in my head during my daily existence and I saw their lives unfold as I washed dishes, scrubbed the bathroom, and rode the bus. This all occured naturally, like breathing. And when I wrote my writings in a "crazy kind of urgency" [I think that's the quote by The Nails], they were actually pretty good. Then some other stuff happened, and I haven't written in almost two decades, and the urge is scratching to get out, but I know I can't write, or write well [enough to silence the inner critic] unless I KNOW someone will read it.) Thanks, Jennifer Breinholt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 01:51:01 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Richard Dutcher (SL Tribune) With 'Brigham City' on DVD and 'The Prophet' On Deck, Dutcher Looks at LDS Cinema Boom Salt Lake Tribune Sunday, April 21, 2002 BY SEAN P. MEANS Richard Dutcher, the Moses of LDS filmmaking, is excited, but he can't really talk about it. "We should have a talk in a couple of weeks," Dutcher said over the phone from his Utah County offices recently. Dutcher is deep into pre-production on "The Prophet," a movie biography of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith. The project has had its ups and downs -- the potential of a government strike in Canada (where he will shoot principal photography), and having to scramble to find investors after support from one Utah bigwig fell through. In the meantime, Dutcher is touting the DVD release Tuesday of his last movie, "Brigham City," and casting a fatherly eye on the explosion of LDS-themed movies that have followed in the wake of Dutcher's "Brigham City" and "God's Army." "The Other Side of Heaven" opened regionally last December, and went national a week ago (the reviews were excoriating -- Stephen Holden of The New York Times, for one, wrote that "the movie's vision of a white American zealously spreading a Puritanical brand of Christianity to South Seas islanders is one only a true believer could relish.") Two more hit Utah theaters in February: the romance "Out of Step" and the comedy "The Singles Ward." (Dutcher made a cameo in "The Singles Ward," but has requested his scene be removed from the movie's video release.) "Last month, there was one weekend . . . I opened up the paper and saw these three LDS movies playing at the same time," Dutcher said, not without some pride. "At the same time, I seriously question the wisdom of releasing them all at the same time," he said. "They're all going for the same audience." Dutcher is concerned about the quality of other LDS filmmakers' movies. "My hopes for Mormon filmmaking have changed," Dutcher said. "I had the hopes that they would all be intelligent and there would be a real depth and substance to them, and a certain level of technical quality. The reality is that those are going to be the highlights. . . . I want all of them to be 'Lawrence of Arabia' quality movies, and they're not going to be." Dutcher fears a parochialism could creep into LDS filmmaking. "I don't want Mormon cinema to be Utah cinema. I want Mormon cinema to be very diverse," he said. "Whatever the story is, if you're telling it honestly and with sincerity, even though it may have Mormon particulars and may be saturated with Mormonism, then it can become universal. It can transcend the regional specifics." He cites "Out of Step," about a Mormon girl following her dancer's dreams in New York, as an example of a good movie with crossover potential. It fared poorly in its limited February run, but Dutcher said, "I'm hoping that film will get another shot at it." Dutcher is supportive of other LDS filmmakers. "I've always had this open-door policy, as far as sitting down and sharing whatever information I have," he said. "People are very guarded about distribution information, exhibition information, how you actually get movies into theaters. . . . I'm always very open about that, and will continue to do so because I want to see these movies made." But Dutcher is learning to be more careful about letting his name be used for dubious projects. "I'm becoming wiser about this," he said. The DVD release of "Brigham City" is testing the limits of marketing an LDS-themed movie. The distributor, Spartan Home Entertainment, will have two video-box covers for the movie: One features Dutcher's sheriff character holding a gun, next to images of costars Wilford Brimley and Matthew A. Brown; the other, which Dutcher calls "the B-movie horror approach," includes a sinister eye, a gnarled hand on an ax handle, and the movie's title dripping blood. "I see the reasoning behind it from a marketing standpoint," Dutcher said of the slasher-movie art, which will be available at major national chains. (The tamer cover will be more prevalent in Utah stores.) "I do have concerns that the people who would really enjoy this movie may not rent it. . . . and the people who rent the movie based on the cover art may not enjoy it." The DVD will include a director's commentary, but Dutcher looks forward to having enough time to create deluxe DVDs of "Brigham City" and "God's Army." "I will someday, probably when they don't let me make movies anymore," he joked. "It's fun to see them continue on," he said. "Now it's interesting, just because we're having 'God's Army' about to open in Latin America in theaters, and we're watching that happen at the same time 'Brigham City' is coming out on video and DVD and making foreign sales, and being on heavy preproduction on 'The Prophet.' They don't go away. I guess they're like children -- you have to keep watching them and seeing what they go out and do in the world." Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune _________________________________________________________________ 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: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 09:58:05 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Literature Abuse I'm concerned about my fellow AML-Listers, so here's a public service announcement that I picked up from another e-mail list: LITERATURE ABUSE: AMERICA'S HIDDEN PROBLEM SELF-TEST FOR LITERATURE ABUSERS How many of these apply to you? 1. I have read fiction when I was depressed or to cheer myself up. 2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day. 3. I read rapidly, often "gulping" chapters. 4. I have sometimes read early in the morning or before work. 5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen. 6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels. 7. Sometimes I rewrite film or television dialog as the characters speak. 8. I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby. 9. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read. 10. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions that I would otherwise avoid. 11. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I have finished a novel. 12. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. 13. I have attempted to check out more library books than permitted. 14. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers. 15. I have sometimes passed out from a night of heavy reading. 16. I have suffered blackouts or memory loss from a bout of reading. 17. I have wept or become angry or irrational because of something I read. 18. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much. 19. Sometimes I think my reading is out of control. If you answered yes to three or more of these questions, you may be a literature abuser. An affirmative response to five or more indicates a serious problem. Once a relatively rare disorder, Literature Abuse, or LA, has risen to new levels due to the accessibility of higher education and increased college enrollment since the end of the Second World War. The number of literature abusers is currently at record levels. SOCIAL COSTS OF LITERARY ABUSE Abusers become withdrawn, uninterested in society or normal relationships. They fantasize, creating alternative worlds to occupy, to the neglect of friends and family. In severe cases they develop bad posture from reading in awkward positions or carrying heavy book bags. In the worst instances, they become cranky reference librarians in small towns. Excessive reading during pregnancy is perhaps the number one cause of moral deformity among the children of English professors and teachers of English and creative writing. Known as Fetal Fiction Syndrome, this disease also leaves its victims prone to a lifetime of nearsightedness, daydreaming, and emotional instability. HEREDITY Recent Harvard studies have established that heredity plays a considerable role in determining whether a person will become an abuser of literature. Most abusers have at least one parent who abused literature, often beginning at an early age and progressing into adulthood. Many spouses of an abuser become abusers themselves. OTHER PREDISPOSING FACTORS Fathers or mothers who are English teachers, professors, or heavy fiction readers; parents who do not encourage children to play games, participate in healthy sports, or watch television in the evening. PREVENTION Premarital screening and counseling, referral to adoption agencies in order to break the chain of abuse. English teachers in particular should seek partners active in other fields. Children should be encouraged to seek physical activity and to avoid isolation and morbid introspection. DECLINE AND FALL: THE ENGLISH MAJOR Within the sordid world of literature abuse, the lowest circle belongs to those sufferers who have thrown their lives and hopes away to study literature in our colleges. Parents should look for signs that their children are taking the wrong path. Don't expect your teenager to approach you and say, "I can't stop reading Spenser." By the time you visit her dorm room and find the secret stash of the Paris Review, it may already be too late. What to do if you suspect your child is becoming an English major: 1. Talk to your child in a loving way. Show your concern. Let her know you won't abandon her but that you aren't spending a hundred grand to put her through Stanford so she can clerk at Waldenbooks either. But remember that she may not be able to make a decision without help; perhaps she has just finished Madame Bovary and is dying of arsenic poisoning. 2. Face the issue. Tell her what you know, and how: "I found this book in your purse. How long has this been going on?" Ask the hard question: Who is this Count Vronsky? 3. Show her another way. Move the television set into her room. Introduce her to frat boys. 4. Do what you have to do. Tear up her library card. Make her stop signing her letters as "Emma." Force her to take a math class or minor in Spanish. Transfer her to a Florida college. You may be dealing with a life-threatening problem if one or more of the following applies: * She can tell you how and when Thomas Chatterton died. * She names one or more of her cats after a Romantic poet. * Next to her bed is a picture of Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, or any scene from the Lake District. Most importantly, remember, you are not alone. To seek help for yourself or someone you love, contact the nearest chapter of the American Literature Abuse Society, or look under ALAS in your local phone directory. Forwarded by Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #687 ******************************