From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #757 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 Friday, June 28 2002 Volume 01 : Number 757 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 14:59:00 -0600 From: Laraine Wilkins Subject: [AML] Essays on Infertility This seems related to the childbirth discussion.=20 For anyone who might be interested in telling their stories about infertility...=20 A friend in my ward is soliciting essays for a book she'd like to get published. Feel free to forward this message to anyone you think might be interested. You can contact her directly (email address below; her name is Bryn Brody).=20 - --Laraine Wilkins In an effort to reach out and support other LDS women who have had or are currently experiencing infertility, I'm putting together a collection of true, personal essays, with the hopes of publishing them. =20 To date, I have four essays. Each deals with a spiritual shift in understanding a certain gospel principle, such as faith or patience, which has come as a result of infertility. Some are witty, others more somber. Each is less than 10 typed, single-spaced pages. I'm hoping to add at least 10 more essays. =20 The focus should be uplifting, citing a specific event or lesson which has come as a result of infertility. =20 Please feel free to contact me at bigbahamamama@email.com for further information or to submit an essay.=20 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 13:18:54 -0600 From: "Gae Lyn Henderson" Subject: [AML] Mormon Teens Doing _Hamlet_ When my 17-year old son told me he and his drama friends were producing _Hamlet_ this summer I was shocked. I tried to talk them out of doing something so difficult, but rehearsals were underway. Eric "C" Heaps, an honors student at BYU wanted to direct Hamlet before leaving for his mission. They've been rehearsing in my backyard, using several levels of scaffolding to give them a set. Having 15 teens in the backyard means lots of pizza and doughnut boxes, but I've also noticed some interesting things. One, that they start their rehearsals with prayer each time. (Hopefully, they will be blessed enough to carry this off--they have no adult help on this at all.) All of them are or have been involved in productions at Lone Peak High School. These students have studied stage combat techniques from BYU grad students and have taken on themselves the challenge of blocking a lengthy sword fight between Laertes and Hamlet. This is not only difficult, but dangerous, and they seem to be pulling it off with vigor. The production has four evening performances at 7:00 p.m. They've rented the Castle Theater, 1300 E. Center, in Provo for performances on Monday, July 8th and Tuesday, July 9th. These will be preceeded by two performances in Alpine, Ut. City Hall Park, 50 E. 50 N., on the evenings of Friday, July 5th and Saturday, July 6th. Tickets will be $5.00 in advance, $6.00 at the door. Bring a blanket to sit on. If you are interested in supporting these young people in their ambitious effort, please make note of the dates. For tickets in advance you can call Eric at 787-3667. Cast: Hamlet Ben Henderson Ophelia Chelsey Richardson Claudius Carl Schmeil Gertrude Lindsey Nielsen Polonius Cameron Wilbur Laertes Alex DeBirk Horatio Tabitha Schloss Gae Lyn Henderson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 13:50:39 -0600 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: [AML] _Minority Report_ (Review) Preston Hunter wrote: > One of the best movies of > the year. A serious Oscar contender. I saw it last night and > it is a tour de force incredible, thought-provoking, > entertaining, edge-of-your-seat movie. Seriously, this may > be Tom Cruise's best movie EVER, and it is Spielberg's best > movie in a LONG, LONG time. Definitely PKD's best movie > since "Blade Runner" (which I've only seen on television). (A small warning--this post will probably contain some small spoilers for the film, though my intent is to keep the discussion at a broad conceptual level. Still, any discussion of reactions to a story must of necessity give up some details. FWIW.) I saw _Minority Report_ the day it opened and have been trying to figure out what I think of it. In general I liked it a lot, but I also left the theater feeling vaguely dissatisfied and I've been trying to figure out why. A couple of impressions... I had enormous expectations going into this film. The buzz has been very positive, and the subject matter really fascinates me--especially in a post 9-11 United States where we are now actively debating what personal liberties we're willing to give up in order to ensure our safety. It's one of the fundamental moral questions, and ties back to a number of discussions we've had on this list, including interning Japanese Americans for fear of what they might do, and driving Mormons from state to state for the same reason. I was really primed for this film. Maybe too primed. This is a very well made film. The visuals are quite spectacular and the interactions well thought out (the interaction by the precrime cops with the 3D recording interface is especially fun). There were a lot of fun cinematographic gewgaws that used color, blurred motion, slow frame rates, and other visual techniques to create a sense of otherness when dealing with the images provided by the precogs. Spielberg is learning how to treat science fiction as a legitimate medium for telling a story. The tendency in film (as in literature) is to dwell on the technically cool stuff at the expense of the surrounding story. Especially in film, the desire to richly create this alternate world can lead to boring viewer moments (anyone remember Star Dreck: The Motion Sickness with its excruciating long shots showing that space is really, really big?). Yes, this film featured some pretty spectacular world creation shots, but it mostly used effects to a purpose, rather than as the purpose. And the story was treated as a real and serious part of the total film. Good stuff. A clear improvement from his promising but overdone effort with _A.I._ A hallmark of Phillip K. Dick's fiction is a world that is substantially different than our own in many of the details, but that is still familiar in most of the broad strokes. The result is a sense that the world of the story is not so much a speculation on what our world might look like in the future as it is a fable set in a future world reminiscent of our own, but not necessarily evolved from it. Where PKD tends to draw these differences (and similarities) with a soft touch, Spielberg is much more heavy handed. Spielberg may have shown me too much of this alternate world and tied it too concretely back to my own, creating a desire to know more about how we got there from here than is really necessary for the story. I think this is the basis for my vague dissatisfaction with _Minority Report._ Civil liberties have taken a very drastic turn in this fable, and I either needed that change to be more clearly explained or else needed a greater distinction between the world of the story and my world. I admit freely that this is something I have a hard time with in a lot of science fiction, and is a criticism that I regularly make. If this is supposed to be *my* future, I want to know how we got there--especially when some fundamental social/political institutions have changed so radically. That is a purely personal reaction, and is not one that most of my friends have. I really wish the film had been shorter. At very close to two and a half hours, I would like to have seen this trimmed to be much closer to two hours. Part of the length could be reduced by ending this film about ten minutes before it actually did. In my mind, Spielberg went for a happy ending (or at least fully resolved one) that didn't quite feel right to me. A friend offered an alternate ending to the film that I think would have been quite satsifying and that is essentially opposite to the current ending, that would have left most of the primary issues resolved for the viewer, but unresolved in this future world. I wanted the Tom Cruise character to be a little darker and more desperate, and I wanted the issue to resolve a little less cleanly. Your mileage may vary. For my dime this film tried too hard to end nice, and I just didn't buy it. So... Having nitpicked a bunch of little things that are largely one person's individual biases, I have to say that this is a very good film and very much worth seeing. It raises an interesting and timely issue and tells a successful story based off that issue. I'm not sure the story was as deep as some are suggesting (not unlike _The Matrix_ which had far less depth than many people gave it credit for), but it's a darned good film and may well take over the top spot in my list of quality sf films. It is to Spielberg's credit that most of my criticisms are those of personal approach, not of basic story. I would have told the story differently, but Spielberg told it well. In the end, that's all anyone can ask. Scott Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 13:56:58 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: RE: [AML] "Smith Family" Tonight (Tuesday, June 25) I watched this show last night with keen interest because I just helped bury someone under almost identical circumstances, although he didn't infect his wife with AIDS. The show was thought provoking but not extremely compelling. It definitely makes you seriously consider the dilemma of "repenting" of one's "gay" orientation. I remain hopeful that it is possible to somehow do so, but I also think homosexuality is one of the hardest things to deal with once it has a hold on somebody, since it intertwines with so many aspects of one's identity and humanity. I personally believe that a growing number of evil spirits are homosexuality specialists, similar to the dried-up-looking female spirit my mother once witnessed besetting her daughter who had an eating disorder. Overall, I agree with the New York Times reviewer. Some excerpts from the review: A Family's Tearful Battle Against a Painful Death By NEIL GENZLINGER Given the sad subject, it's surprising that "The Smith Family," tonight's season-opening installment of the "P.O.V." series on PBS, isn't more moving. [...] It is a story full of emotion, and Ms. Oldham shows it all; "understatement" does not seem to be in her filmmaking vocabulary. There are endless scenes of family members hugging, of this member or that weeping while being interviewed. This is not to make light of the family's long and wrenching journey; only to say that the focus on the pain (and especially the drawn-out death watch for Mr. Smith) feels uncomfortably voyeuristic. Perhaps that's because relatively little time is spent on two areas that would give the film a more substantive reason for being: how the Smiths reached their reconciliation, and how their faith fitted into the picture. [...] As for the couple's Mormon faith, the film's most compelling moment is when Mr. Smith tells of how he followed church teachings about confession and repentance, initially believing that he would be cleansed of his homosexual urgings. "I spent five, six years still trying to change, believing I could," he says. "With the passage of time, I began to gradually realize that this was something I could not change." But just when it seems that the film will delve more deeply into what must have been an intense spiritual struggle, perhaps even providing some background on and input from the church, it turns back to the hugging and weeping. The effect is to leave us on the outside of this story of remarkable strength, never quite showing us how we might achieve such resilience for ourselves. Full text: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/arts/television/25GENZ.html Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 14:23:05 -0600 From: Bruce Young Subject: Re: [AML] _The Brothers Karamazov_ Translation I know of a couple of translations of The Brothers Karamazov, but I'm not very knowledgeable about their respective merits. Constance Garnety was an early translator; her translation has been criticized as not close enough to the original. I've used and enjoyed the Norton Critical Edition, edited by Ralph Matlaw, consisting of the Garnett translation revised by Ralph Matlaw. (He also provides critical and background material, including excerpts from Dostoevsky's journals and letters related to the novel.) I'm aware of another highly acclaimed translation which I've ordered but not read. It is by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky and is available from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (You can learn more about it and even see excerpts at the following site: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679729259/qid=102512089 7/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-7955907-4419111 or for a shorter URL, try the following and click on the title: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/104-7955907- 4419111 These sites list this version as being available from Vintage Classics, but that edition is out of print; the translation is now being published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. To learn about this edition, try this site and plug in "Brothers Karamzavo" under "title": http://www.fsgbooks.com/searchnn.htm ) You may also be interested in the following exchange from "The Dostoevsky Campfire" (an internet discussion forum): Posted by Terra on February 17, 192002 at 16:57:16: In Reply to: Re: Brothers Karamazov -- advise for translation posted by Mr. Hydrogen on March 22, 192001 at 01:43:10: I just finished reading Brothers K in a translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, published in 1990 by North Point Press [the one now available from another publisher as noted above]. Before beginning the book, I compared the Peaver/Volokhonsky translation with that of Constance Garnett (Signet Classic), and found the former to be more fresh and direct. In Pevear's introduction, he notes that "previous translators of The Brothers Karamazov into English have revised, 'corrected,' or smoothed over his idosyncratic prose, removing much of the humor and distinctive voicing of the novel. We have made this new translation in the belief that a truer rendering of Dostoevsky's style would restore missing dimensions to the book." - - Terra [the next apparently from "Mr. Hydrogen":] : I would completely recommend the MacAndrew translation. His are always the crispest and most lively. He did translations also of "The Possessed", "The Adolescent", "Notes from Underground" and "The Gambler." : When he's not around, I go for Constance Garnett. ***** Best wishes, Bruce Young - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 18:25:27 -0700 From: "Richard Johnson" Subject: RE: [AML] _Minority Report_ (Review) Scott wrote: "I think this is the basis for my vague dissatisfaction with _Minority Report._ Civil liberties have taken a very drastic turn in this fable, and I either needed that change to be more clearly explained or else needed a greater distinction between the world of the story and my world. I admit freely that this is something I have a hard time with in a lot of science fiction, and is a criticism that I regularly make. If this is supposed to be *my* future, I want to know how we got there--especially when some fundamental social/political institutions have changed so radically. That is a purely personal reaction, and is not one that most of my friends have." I couldn't help being struck with the manner in which this post relates to what is now going on in our nation. I am in visting mod right now, and have been with three of my four sons in the past week. One of these sons is an interrogator for Military Intelligence whose last assignement was manning a hotline in Atlanta for those who might call concerning terrorist activity, another is a computer guy for Sharp electronics who, as part of his job spends a lot of his time in Japan and India (He is also a Captain in a reserve Psi-Ops/Civil Affairs Unit in the Army.) The third is a Resource Librarian in Social Sciences at a major University. They are all politically conservative as is their daddy. The overall subject of conversation most of the time we were together was our shared concern about the "Office of Homeland Security" and the publicity of planned details in its development that seem to be major inroads into our constittutional rights. _Minority Report_ (which I have not seen but will see) as reported above and even by the Newspapers would seem to be a timely warning about the things which can happenin our future when we allow the need for a sense of safety to overwhelm our appreciation of our individual rights. Richard B Johnson (who usually as all that stuff after his name but is using a borrowed computer.) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 19:24:53 -0600 From: "Mary Jane Jones" Subject: [AML] 2002 Pearl Awards Broadcast FYI. I thought some of the list members in Utah may be interested in this = broadcast.... >2002 Pearl Awards >Sunday, June 30 >6 p.m. >KJZZ-TV > >Make plans this weekend to watch the 2002 Pearl Awards! The broadcast=20 >will air this Sunday, June 30 at 6 p.m. on KJZZ-TV. The 2001 Pearl = Awards=20 >broadcast picked up a Rocky Mountain Emmy nomination--this year's show=20 >promises to be even more spectacular. Invite your family and friends = to=20 >share in this celebration of excellence in faith centered music. > >Tune in for incredible performances from nominated artists like Cherie=20 >Call, Enoch Train, Katherine Nelson, Jericho Road, Christina England,=20 >Julie de Azevedo, David Tolk, Doug Walker and a 270-voice children's=20 >choir, in addition to appearances from Sen. Orrin Hatch, Julie Stoffer,=20= >Kenneth Cope, Dan Truman, Bret Engemann, Colors, and many, many more! Mary Jane (Jones) Ungrangsee - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 21:48:46 -0500 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Essays on Infertility This is tangential, but... I'll forward this to the LDS infertility list I know about. (My website on miscarriage was a springboard for starting it, but I no longer listen in on the discussion.) Anyone interested in joining may sign up by sending blank email to: LDS-infertility-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (Unless it's changed recently.) Very good people have been moderating it. They have also addressed miscarriage issues, and parents coping with secondary infertility are welcome. Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #757 ******************************