Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice
Some critics are just off base. If its not a French indie film or made by some unknown director from Des Moines they don't want any part of it. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:01 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Interesting, USA Today thinks the Alice reimagining is both too dark, and unimaginative. I was going to start having some doubts about it--don't know why, as I'm not a big follower of USA Today's critics--but then they dissed Tin Man. The critic says it was too dark and not very good either. That makes me wonder know if Alice might be pretty good after all... * *Syfy's 'Alice': Through a looking glass, only very darkly* By Robert Biancohttp://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=541, USA TODAY All told, it might be best to keep Syfy away from looking glasses and tornadoes. Last time Syfy decided a children's classic needed to be, in the network's words, re-imagined, we got *Tin Man*, a bleak tweaking of *The Wizard of Ozhttp://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Culture/Movies/The+Wizard+of+Oz *that buried a simple, gentle story under an ugly universe-saving quest. Now we get *Alice*, which throws Lewis Carrollhttp://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Charles+Lutwidge+Dodgson's *Wonderland *and *Through the Looking Glass *adventures into the same revisionist blender and spews out something close to the same unappetizing gruel. Close, but not quite. What gives *Alice *a slight edge over its Ozian cousin is a less-heavy hand, a few brighter performances and a source better suited to a darkling outlook. Nor does it hurt that *Alice*, while still overextended, has two fewer hours than *Tin Man*. None might have been best, but less is more. Written and directed by Nick Willing (who also directed *Tin Man*), *Alice *turns Carroll's curious girl into Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone), a 20-ish martial-arts expert with commitment issues and a father fixation. When her boyfriend (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped, Alice follows his assailants to Wonderland, landing in the not-completely-trustworthy hands of Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts, *Alice*'s best asset). This is the same Wonderland the first Alice found, but time – and, apparently, an ambitious building program – have imbued it with the arid post-apocalyptic air of which Syfy is so inordinately fond. And it's ruled by an even more evil queen (a disappointing, inexplicably English-accented Kathy Bates http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Kathy+Bates), who plies her compliant subjects with emotions she drains from kidnapped humans. For an hour or so, simple pleasures suffice, such as matching old characters to new and faces to names (Tim Curryhttp://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Tim+Curry, Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stantonhttp://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Harry+Dean+Stantonand Matt Frewer among them). And some of the literary translations are clever, led by Wonderland's adoption of flamingo-shaped flying scooters. But *Alice *soon bogs down in Willing's superimposed plot, with its shifting motives and dreary lectures. And while there are times Alice fends (or punches) for herself, too often Scorsone succumbs to a drab weepiness. Willing has recast Carroll's story as a heroine's journey to enlightenment, but it's tough to see what precisely Alice learns – unless the moral is Dump the loser, and if he's really worth anything, he'll chase after you. So you're left with a woman whose main quest is unsuccessful, and a movie that's glum, long and devoid of any sense of wonder. That's two classic strikes, Syfy. For literature's sake, let that be enough. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final
Did you have a workman test the cable signal to the box? On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:26 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Trust me, I've been through all your suggestions. It's their hardware, their poor training, their bad policies, and their feeling of having people at their mercy. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 7:47:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Normally they will do a reboot while you're on the phone. I'm not sure what is going on where you are. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: And, on the occasion when I asked for a reboot from Customer Disservice, they never got around to it. I know that because, in my follow-up call to say that the reboot I'd thought was due hadn't done anything, the tech person I spoke to said that nothing had been done. Martin (dealing with his post-Comscum experience SO well) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:39:42 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final not in cases like those Martin and I have experienced. Typically it's bad hardware, or software issues requiring a reset of the box from customer service - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 6:15:02 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Sounds like there are issues going on there that is a bit freaky. Sometimes unplugging the box works as a reboot. On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 3:01 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Yep. Last two weeks we were Comcrap customers, the boxes worked for a day. I had to get up every morning, hook them all up to the three TVs we have and run through the set-up to see if they worked, then take them off if they didn't. And, even when they did work, it wasn't full-on. Lots of channels still AWOL. Until yesterday, I'd laid eyes on the History Channel *once* in the last four months. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: hellomahog...@gmail.com Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:58:08 -0800 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Why were there so many people at the same time? Is the equipment that bad where you are? On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 2:46 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Keith, I ahve a little hope for you, then. I said, yesterday or the day before, that I'd finally freed myself from the yoke of Comcrap. Yesterday, my younger sister had to go to the service center near my house to turn in our boxes, and I rode along with her. There was a line running out of the center and onto the sidewalk, all people turning in their equipment. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 01:59:33 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final it'll take a year for all the final hurdles to be cleared, but this is horrible, horrible news. I'm in the midst of a battle with Comcast now, over a cable box they gave me three years ago. It was given as a two-for-one deal, in which i'd never pay for that box. But, even though the box was hand delivered and turned on, they never recorded it.So, every single time it has a problem, they deny its existence, then give me some answer that's either start paying for it and you can keep it, or, just give it up to us and we won't charge you. The incompetence, dishonesty, and disregard of Comcast makes me sick all the time. These are the people who were blocking bit torrent traffic, the ones who were threatening to cut off users' Internet access for downloading too much data, but not telling them what the download limit was. Them gaining this much power is a bad thing. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2009 7:33:07 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Comcast now owns NBC. You may commence to screaming aloud... -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of my stories to our English teacher who, after reading it, gave the class a pop quiz, exempting me and taking me across the hall to an empty office. There, he showed me the story, begged me not to be angry with Beth for showing it to him, and then telling me to begin writing in earnest, on things NOT Trek. He also told me where to find the SF/fantasy section of the library that the city had just built. My first SF novel was Aldiss' Helliconia Winter. After that, Moorcock and Stapledon. Then I began reading the American authors, Heinlein, Asimov, Silverberg... Those were the days. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 04:39:13 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Yeah, it was heaven! From about the time I was eight, until around the age of 18 or so, I pretty much read nothing but science fiction: starting with Andre Norton (some fantasy there of course), Heinlein, Clarke, all the standards. The discovery of adult-oriented scifi was the first wondrous time for me. I discovered fantasy after seeing one of the Covenant books--The Illearth War--in a grocery store, and being intrigued. I then went home and read my brother's copy The Hobbit, was entertained, and decided to explore fantasy. Went back to find the Covenant trilogy, was hooked, then embarked on that six year journey. Eyes glazed indeed. It got to the point where if a book had
Re: [scifinoir2] Spooky similarity between Obama and Spock
My sentiments exactly. It's like they're cherry picking for reasons to criticize him. ~ Where love and magic meet ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Charles Sheehan-Miles char...@sheehanmiles.net wrote: Why am I not surprised that someone who argued for invading a country different than the one which attacked us would criticize someone for ... god forbid... actually deliberating a decision, and thinking about the consequences and the strategy, before committing troops to war? On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 1:04 PM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: Nimoy said he ran into Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign in a Los Angeles hotel: When he arrived and saw me he said, 'They told me you were here.' And gave me the split-fingered Vulcan sign. www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-obama-mr-spockdec02,0,4238139.story chicagotribune.com In Obama and Spock, fans see spooky similarity Leader's deliberative mien draws some ire but inspires Trekkies The Associated Press December 2, 2009 WASHINGTON -- He shows a fascination with science, an all-too-deliberate decision-making demeanor, an adherence to logic and some pretty, ahem, prominent ears. They all add up to a quite logical conclusion, at least for Star Trek fans: Barack Obama is Washington's Mr. Spock, the chief science officer for the ship of state. I guess it's somewhat unusual for a politician to be so precise, logical, in his thought process, actor Leonard Nimoy, who has portrayed Spock for more than 40 years, told The Associated Press via e-mail. The comparison to Spock is, in my opinion, a compliment to him and to the character. Until now. Obama's protracted decision-making on a new war strategy in Afghanistan, for example, prompted criticisms that he's too deliberate. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and other conservatives faulted Obama for dithering. But geeks insist he's gone where no nerd has gone before. In his first 10 months in office, the president made more science-oriented trips than military ones. I keep being amazed at how much attention he's spending on science policy, said science policy and journalism blogger Chris Mooney, author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future. The nerds are happy, Mooney said. They like Spock. While some science policy experts don't quite see the similarities between the president and the fictional Vulcan, Star Trek experts do. Nimoy said he ran into Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign in a Los Angeles hotel: When he arrived and saw me he said, 'They told me you were here.' And gave me the split-fingered Vulcan sign. Roberto Orci, the screenwriter and producer behind the latest Star Trek movie, said Obama has a Spocklike aura about him: calm in the face of great adversity and looking for a logical middle ground. Obama, himself a big Star Trek fan, screened the movie at the White House during its May opening weekend. We knew he was a Trekkie, Orci said in a telephone interview. He said he watches the White House regularly for insight on the Spock character. To have a case study like that on the news every night makes my job a lot easier, he said. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune -- --- Charles Sheehan-Miles 202-412-2433 | char...@sheehanmiles.net http://www.linkedin.com/in/sheehanmiles
Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice
i am with Keith on this one. think i might as well watch it. since they did not like Tin Man which i found really entertaining. Fate. --- On Sun, 12/6/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 4:05 AM Some critics are just off base. If its not a French indie film or made by some unknown director from Des Moines they don't want any part of it. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:01 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: Interesting, USA Today thinks the Alice reimagining is both too dark, and unimaginative. I was going to start having some doubts about it--don't know why, as I'm not a big follower of USA Today's critics--but then they dissed Tin Man. The critic says it was too dark and not very good either. That makes me wonder know if Alice might be pretty good after all... * * * * * * *** Syfy's 'Alice': Through a looking glass, only very darkly By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY All told, it might be best to keep Syfy away from looking glasses and tornadoes. Last time Syfy decided a children's classic needed to be, in the network's words, re-imagined, we got Tin Man, a bleak tweaking of The Wizard of Ozthat buried a simple, gentle story under an ugly universe-saving quest. Now we get Alice, which throws Lewis Carroll's Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass adventures into the same revisionist blender and spews out something close to the same unappetizing gruel. Close, but not quite. What gives Alice a slight edge over its Ozian cousin is a less-heavy hand, a few brighter performances and a source better suited to a darkling outlook. Nor does it hurt that Alice, while still overextended, has two fewer hours than Tin Man. None might have been best, but less is more. Written and directed by Nick Willing (who also directed Tin Man), Alice turns Carroll's curious girl into Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone), a 20-ish martial-arts expert with commitment issues and a father fixation. When her boyfriend (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped, Alice follows his assailants to Wonderland, landing in the not-completely- trustworthy hands of Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts, Alice's best asset). This is the same Wonderland the first Alice found, but time – and, apparently, an ambitious building program – have imbued it with the arid post-apocalyptic air of which Syfy is so inordinately fond. And it's ruled by an even more evil queen (a disappointing, inexplicably English-accented Kathy Bates), who plies her compliant subjects with emotions she drains from kidnapped humans. For an hour or so, simple pleasures suffice, such as matching old characters to new and faces to names (Tim Curry, Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stanton and Matt Frewer among them). And some of the literary translations are clever, led by Wonderland's adoption of flamingo-shaped flying scooters. But Alice soon bogs down in Willing's superimposed plot, with its shifting motives and dreary lectures. And while there are times Alice fends (or punches) for herself, too often Scorsone succumbs to a drab weepiness. Willing has recast Carroll's story as a heroine's journey to enlightenment, but it's tough to see what precisely Alice learns – unless the moral is Dump the loser, and if he's really worth anything, he'll chase after you. So you're left with a woman whose main quest is unsuccessful, and a movie that's glum, long and devoid of any sense of wonder. That's two classic strikes, Syfy. For literature's sake, let that be enough. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] East African Albinos killed for body parts
The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9195784 10,000 E. African Albinos in Hiding After Killings 10,000 East African albinos displaced, in hiding after rash of killings, report says By TOM ODULA The Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set. Mary Owido, who lacks pigment that gives color to skin, eyes and hair, says she is only comfortable when at work or at home with her husband and children. Wherever I go people start talking about me, saying that my legs and hands can fetch a fortune in Tanzania, said Owido, 36, a mother of six. This kind of talk scares me. I am afraid of going out alone. Since 2007, 44 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and 14 others have been slain in Burundi, sparking widespread fear among albinos in East Africa. At least 10,000 have been displaced or gone into hiding since the killings began, according to a report released this week by the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies. East Africa's latest albino murder happened in Tanzania's Mwanza region in late October, when albino hunters beheaded 10-year-old Gasper Elikana and chopped off his leg, the report said. The killing left Elikana's father, who tried to defend his son, seriously injured. Albinism is a hereditary condition, but occurs only when both parents have albinism genes. All six of Owido's children have normal skin color. African albinos endure insults, discrimination and segregation throughout their lives. They also have a high risk of contracting skin cancer in a region where many jobs are outdoors. Owido, a high school teacher in the western Kenyan town of Ahero, says she was forced to transfer from a better teaching job on the Kenya-Tanzania border town of Isebania in 2008 after an albino girl she knew was murdered and her body parts chopped off. The surge in the use of albino body parts as good luck charms is a result of a kind of marketing exercise by witch doctors, the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies said. The report says the market for albino parts exists mainly in Tanzania, where a complete set of body parts including all limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose can sell for $75,000. Wealthy buyers use the parts as talismans to bring them wealth and good fortune. Albinism is one of the most unfortunate vulnerabilities, said International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies Secretary General Bekele Geleta. And it needs to be addressed immediately at an international level. The chairman of the Albino Association of Kenya, Isaac Mwaura, called the murders deplorable but said the killings have given albinos a platform to raise awareness. Almost 90 percent of albinos living in the region were raised by single mothers, Mwaura said, because the fathers believed their wives were having affairs with white men. When I was born my father said his family tree doesn't have such children and left us, Mwaura said. Some African communities believe that albinos are harbingers of disaster, while others mistakenly think albinos are mentally retarded and discourage their parents from taking them to school, saying it's a waste of money, he said. Due to a lack of education, many albinos are illiterate and are forced into menial jobs, exposing them to the sun and skin cancer, he said. Those who manage to finish school face discrimination in the work place and are never considered for promotions. People are very blind to albinism but it is very visible. Now that we have this issue in Tanzania is when people have started to talk about albinism, Mwaura said. Before there was a studious silence. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures
[scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week
I liked the ending as well. I hope they are going to tie-up all these loose endings in 2010, though: the 3 crew members that went through the gate to an unknown address, that pod that disconnected from the ship, and now Rush. Considering the slow pace thus far, I wonder if they'll be able to wrap all of that up in the 10 remaining eps for the season. Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@... wrote: I liked it as well, Tracey, and that gives me a measure of hope that the show may pick up after the break. I don't think that Rush is out of the picture by any means. I expect him to fix that alien ship and show up, just when they least expect it. That'll be trouble for Colonel Young... If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com; ggs...@... From: tdli...@... Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 00:38:06 -0800 Subject: [scifinoir2] So what did you think about SGU this week I remain disappointed by this show, but I enjoyed the ending of the episode. What did you think? Keith, after the first episode, you said you worried that they were making Rush unlikeable. I think that was their intent all along Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomypost.com tra...@... Phone: 425-502-7716 _ Get gifts for them and cashback for you. Try Bing now. http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=xbox+gamesscope=cashbackform=MSHYCBpubl=WLHMTAGcrea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Shopping_Giftsforthem_cashback_1x1
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week
I expect him to come back too. After working so hard to make him a complex villain, I cannot see him going away. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@... wrote: I liked it as well, Tracey, and that gives me a measure of hope that the show may pick up after the break. I don't think that Rush is out of the picture by any means. I expect him to fix that alien ship and show up, just when they least expect it. That'll be trouble for Colonel Young... If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com; ggs...@... From: tdli...@... Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 00:38:06 -0800 Subject: [scifinoir2] So what did you think about SGU this week I remain disappointed by this show, but I enjoyed the ending of the episode. What did you think? Keith, after the first episode, you said you worried that they were making Rush unlikeable. I think that was their intent all along Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomypost.com tra...@... Phone: 425-502-7716 _ Get gifts for them and cashback for you. Try Bing now. http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=xbox+gamesscope=cashbackform=MSHYCB; publ=WLHMTAGcrea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Shopping_Giftsforthem_cashback_1x1 Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYa hoo! Groups Links
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week
I get the impression, that they are not going to tie up all those loose ends, but I hope I am wrong -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of angelababycat Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 10:37 AM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week I liked the ending as well. I hope they are going to tie-up all these loose endings in 2010, though: the 3 crew members that went through the gate to an unknown address, that pod that disconnected from the ship, and now Rush. Considering the slow pace thus far, I wonder if they'll be able to wrap all of that up in the 10 remaining eps for the season. Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@... wrote: I liked it as well, Tracey, and that gives me a measure of hope that the show may pick up after the break. I don't think that Rush is out of the picture by any means. I expect him to fix that alien ship and show up, just when they least expect it. That'll be trouble for Colonel Young... If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com; ggs...@... From: tdli...@... Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 00:38:06 -0800 Subject: [scifinoir2] So what did you think about SGU this week I remain disappointed by this show, but I enjoyed the ending of the episode. What did you think? Keith, after the first episode, you said you worried that they were making Rush unlikeable. I think that was their intent all along Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomypost.com tra...@... Phone: 425-502-7716 _ Get gifts for them and cashback for you. Try Bing now. http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=xbox+gamesscope=cashbackform=MSHYCB; publ=WLHMTAGcrea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Shopping_Giftsforthem_cashback_1x1 Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYa hoo! Groups Links
[scifinoir2] Re: SyFy'sAlice - A Review
I only made it half-way through Tin Man. Just too drawn out I suppose (as mentioned in Keith's USA Today post). I loved 10th Kingdom, though I also nodded through the last 2 parts. Sounds like Alice is going to fall somewhere in between in terms of treatment, and in fewer hours. So I'm tuning in! Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@... wrote: SyFy's http://io9.com/5418438/syfys-alice-+-warning-may-contain-your-next-british- obsession Alice - Warning: May Contain Your Next British Obsession http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/hatter.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_hatter.jpgThis weekend Syfy is taking a trip through a very modern looking glass http://io9.com/tag/lookingglass/ , complete with romance, casinos and lots of fighting. So is this Wonderland worth revisiting? Check out our spoiler free Alice review. We were sent an extremely early edit of the film, so I'm not making a final judgment on the two-day mini movie until it airs, but what I did watch I got a excited about. Here's the premise: Alice is a no-nonsense commitment-phobe and karate instructor. So yeah she kicks ass, and a lot, for better or worse. Strong armed Alice falls for one of her students who sneaks her some sort of magical ring and is promptly kidnapped. Alice follows her boytoy through the looking glass and is transported to Wonderland. But Wonderland has changed. It's now a dirty world that looks strangely like Vancouver. Alice soon learns that the Queen of Hearts is kidnapping humans and imprisoning them in her casino, siphoning off their happy emotions and selling them to the inhabitants of Wonderland. Thus making her beloved, for providing the quick fix, as well as rich. Alice meets the Hatter in one of these emotion dens and the two strike a deal to go and save her boyfriend, who has presumably been kidnapped by the Queen for emotion harvesting. If I tell you more we'll get into spoiler territory, but there are plenty more twists and turns. It also gets pretty heavy with the family issues and inner love turmoil for poor Alice. In fact it really reminded me of a shorter and less in-depth version of the TV movie The 10th Kingdom, which I adored. So even coming close to that is a good thing. http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/alice-04-tim-curry.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_alice-04-tim-curry.jpg Plus the cast is just bafflingly great. Tim Curry plays the Dodo, Kathy Bates is the Queen of Hearts, Harry Dean Stanton is the Caterpillar, and Colm Meaney is the King of Hearts. Those names alone are worth tuning in for. You won't want to miss watch Tim Curry walk around with his stomach forward, Dodo-style. Sure, I could mention that Curry really pushes the level of running and screaming that I can take from him, and that Kathy Bates seemed like she was sporting dead face for most of the movie, but they're are small issues. But the real standout was Andrew Lee Potts' Hatter. Call me a sucker for British heroes who wear funny suits and like to throw their weight around, but I couldn't rip my eyes off of the Hatter when he was on screen. Almost to the detriment of Alice. Potts is familiar with the scifi world, having starred in the BBC's Primeval, but he really hits his stride here. And while I was watching him on a version that needed copious edits and tweaks, I still really enjoyed watching him try to elevate the story and dialogue he was handed. Yes, making the Hatter a cute hipster is a little eye rolling, but he made it work. Potts really attempted to sell some of his totally implausible actions he was taken in by the script. You heard it here first: If Matt Smith the new Doctor crashes and burns, certainly wouldn't be any worse off with Potts. But that's just hopeful projecting on my part. http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/alice-02-matt-frewer.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_alice-02-matt-frewer.jp g So the bottom line: I'm tuning in. I'm anxious to see what the home of Matt Frewer's dimwitted White Knight looks like, as it's merely described as a chessboard forest kingdom. Along with the flying jetski-like flamingo sky cars, and the Queen's casino once the FX are all finished. Plus I wouldn't miss the opportunity to watch Andrew Lee Potts make me reassess my staunch views on men who wear guyliner. http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/alice-03-zak-santiago.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_alice-03-zak-santiago.j pg Even though some of the story did feel a bit pushed here and there, and the plot was in an eternal loop of running to the casino and escaping, then running back, and escaping, the characters, settings, costumes and actors make this worth your time. And for those of you worried it's a Tim Burton rip, fear not: This contemporary
[scifinoir2] Re: Are humans holding back technological development?
Part of what holds back technology is also cultural lag. See this discussion from Wikipedia: The term cultural lag refers to the notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological innovations, and that social problems and conflicts are caused by this lag. As explained by Dr. James W. Woodward, when the material conditions change, changes are occasioned in the adaptive culture, but these changes in the adaptive culture do not synchronize exactly with the change in the material culture, this delay is the culture lag. [1] The term was coined by sociologist William F. Ogburn in his 1922 work Social change with respect to culture and original nature.[2] His theory of cultural lag suggests that a period of maladjustment occurs when the non-material culture is struggling to adapt to new material conditions.[3] This resonates with ideas of technological determinism, in that it presupposes that technology has independent effects on society at large. According to Ogburn, cultural lag is a common societal phenomenon due to the tendency of material culture to evolve and change rapidly and voluminously while non-material culture tends to resist change and remain fixed for a far longer period of time. [4] Due to the opposing nature of these two aspects of culture, adaptation of new technology becomes rather difficult. This distinction between material and non-material culture is also a contribution of Ogburn's 1922 work on social change.[2] Cultural lag creates problems for a society in a multitude of ways. The issue of cultural lag tends to permeate any discussion in which the implementation of some new technology is a topic. For example, the advent of stem cell research has given rise to many new, potentially beneficial medical technologies; however these new technologies have also raised serious ethical questions about the use of stem cells in medicine. Cultural lag is seen as a critical ethical issue because failure to develop broad social consensus on appropriate applications of modern technology may lead to breakdowns in social solidarity and the rise of social conflict. [5] Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@... wrote: Human behavior seems to have a big influence on if an invention will be popular enough to exist and become ubiquitous or not. Often it is not the want for a better technology, but for what is the cheapest technology that really drives the market. For example, a few years after the incandescent light bulb was invented, the florescent light bulb was created. Although it is a better technology, it took nearly 120 years before the florescent bulbs caught on. Here is a second example. The electric hybrid car was invented in 1899 by Ferdinand Porsche. In the beginning the technology although in its early development stages proved that the technology worked, but was also reliable. Porsche's electric hybrid technology went on to be used by trucking companies in France and Germany. It took 100 years later for it to make inroads to being mainstream. We have seen it played out over and over again. For example, VHS over Beta, Coke over Pepsi, PC over Mac, Atari over Amiga on and on. Many technologies that were skipped over or forgotten in the beginning end up finding a new life many years later down the road where scientists had to make a U turn and start down a new path. Are we, the human collective, our worst enemy when it comes to our own development? -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
RE: [scifinoir2] East African Albinos killed for body parts
rave, when it comes to genus homo sapien sapien, *nothing* amazes me. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: ravena...@yahoo.com Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 18:28:35 + Subject: [scifinoir2] East African Albinos killed for body parts The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9195784 10,000 E. African Albinos in Hiding After Killings 10,000 East African albinos displaced, in hiding after rash of killings, report says By TOM ODULA The Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set. Mary Owido, who lacks pigment that gives color to skin, eyes and hair, says she is only comfortable when at work or at home with her husband and children. Wherever I go people start talking about me, saying that my legs and hands can fetch a fortune in Tanzania, said Owido, 36, a mother of six. This kind of talk scares me. I am afraid of going out alone. Since 2007, 44 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and 14 others have been slain in Burundi, sparking widespread fear among albinos in East Africa. At least 10,000 have been displaced or gone into hiding since the killings began, according to a report released this week by the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies. East Africa's latest albino murder happened in Tanzania's Mwanza region in late October, when albino hunters beheaded 10-year-old Gasper Elikana and chopped off his leg, the report said. The killing left Elikana's father, who tried to defend his son, seriously injured. Albinism is a hereditary condition, but occurs only when both parents have albinism genes. All six of Owido's children have normal skin color. African albinos endure insults, discrimination and segregation throughout their lives. They also have a high risk of contracting skin cancer in a region where many jobs are outdoors. Owido, a high school teacher in the western Kenyan town of Ahero, says she was forced to transfer from a better teaching job on the Kenya-Tanzania border town of Isebania in 2008 after an albino girl she knew was murdered and her body parts chopped off. The surge in the use of albino body parts as good luck charms is a result of a kind of marketing exercise by witch doctors, the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies said. The report says the market for albino parts exists mainly in Tanzania, where a complete set of body parts — including all limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose — can sell for $75,000. Wealthy buyers use the parts as talismans to bring them wealth and good fortune. Albinism is one of the most unfortunate vulnerabilities, said International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies Secretary General Bekele Geleta. And it needs to be addressed immediately at an international level. The chairman of the Albino Association of Kenya, Isaac Mwaura, called the murders deplorable but said the killings have given albinos a platform to raise awareness. Almost 90 percent of albinos living in the region were raised by single mothers, Mwaura said, because the fathers believed their wives were having affairs with white men. When I was born my father said his family tree doesn't have such children and left us, Mwaura said. Some African communities believe that albinos are harbingers of disaster, while others mistakenly think albinos are mentally retarded and discourage their parents from taking them to school, saying it's a waste of money, he said. Due to a lack of education, many albinos are illiterate and are forced into menial jobs, exposing them to the sun and skin cancer, he said. Those who manage to finish school face discrimination in the work place and are never considered for promotions. People are very blind to albinism but it is very visible. Now that we have this issue in Tanzania is when people have started to talk about albinism, Mwaura said. Before there was a studious silence. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures _ Windows
RE: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice
Mr Worf, your assessment there is exactly why I pay no mind to critics. Too often, IMO, they seek High Art That Moves The Soul, when as I've always looked at the purpose of movies was to forget the day's woes. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: hellomahog...@gmail.com Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 01:05:12 -0800 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice Some critics are just off base. If its not a French indie film or made by some unknown director from Des Moines they don't want any part of it. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:01 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Interesting, USA Today thinks the Alice reimagining is both too dark, and unimaginative. I was going to start having some doubts about it--don't know why, as I'm not a big follower of USA Today's critics--but then they dissed Tin Man. The critic says it was too dark and not very good either. That makes me wonder know if Alice might be pretty good after all... * Syfy's 'Alice': Through a looking glass, only very darkly By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY All told, it might be best to keep Syfy away from looking glasses and tornadoes. Last time Syfy decided a children's classic needed to be, in the network's words, re-imagined, we got Tin Man, a bleak tweaking of The Wizard of Ozthat buried a simple, gentle story under an ugly universe-saving quest. Now we get Alice, which throws Lewis Carroll's Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass adventures into the same revisionist blender and spews out something close to the same unappetizing gruel. Close, but not quite. What gives Alice a slight edge over its Ozian cousin is a less-heavy hand, a few brighter performances and a source better suited to a darkling outlook. Nor does it hurt that Alice, while still overextended, has two fewer hours than Tin Man. None might have been best, but less is more. Written and directed by Nick Willing (who also directed Tin Man), Alice turns Carroll's curious girl into Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone), a 20-ish martial-arts expert with commitment issues and a father fixation. When her boyfriend (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped, Alice follows his assailants to Wonderland, landing in the not-completely-trustworthy hands of Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts, Alice's best asset). This is the same Wonderland the first Alice found, but time – and, apparently, an ambitious building program – have imbued it with the arid post-apocalyptic air of which Syfy is so inordinately fond. And it's ruled by an even more evil queen (a disappointing, inexplicably English-accented Kathy Bates), who plies her compliant subjects with emotions she drains from kidnapped humans. For an hour or so, simple pleasures suffice, such as matching old characters to new and faces to names (Tim Curry, Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stanton and Matt Frewer among them). And some of the literary translations are clever, led by Wonderland's adoption of flamingo-shaped flying scooters. But Alice soon bogs down in Willing's superimposed plot, with its shifting motives and dreary lectures. And while there are times Alice fends (or punches) for herself, too often Scorsone succumbs to a drab weepiness. Willing has recast Carroll's story as a heroine's journey to enlightenment, but it's tough to see what precisely Alice learns – unless the moral is Dump the loser, and if he's really worth anything, he'll chase after you. So you're left with a woman whose main quest is unsuccessful, and a movie that's glum, long and devoid of any sense of wonder. That's two classic strikes, Syfy. For literature's sake, let that be enough. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ _ Chat with Messenger straight from your Hotmail inbox. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/hotmail_bl1/hotmail_bl1.aspx?ocid=PID23879::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-ww:WM_IMHM_4:092009
RE: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final
I second those words! If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 07:26:27 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Trust me, I've been through all your suggestions. It's their hardware, their poor training, their bad policies, and their feeling of having people at their mercy. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 7:47:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Normally they will do a reboot while you're on the phone. I'm not sure what is going on where you are. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: And, on the occasion when I asked for a reboot from Customer Disservice, they never got around to it. I know that because, in my follow-up call to say that the reboot I'd thought was due hadn't done anything, the tech person I spoke to said that nothing had been done. Martin (dealing with his post-Comscum experience SO well) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:39:42 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final not in cases like those Martin and I have experienced. Typically it's bad hardware, or software issues requiring a reset of the box from customer service - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 6:15:02 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Sounds like there are issues going on there that is a bit freaky. Sometimes unplugging the box works as a reboot. On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 3:01 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Yep. Last two weeks we were Comcrap customers, the boxes worked for a day. I had to get up every morning, hook them all up to the three TVs we have and run through the set-up to see if they worked, then take them off if they didn't. And, even when they did work, it wasn't full-on. Lots of channels still AWOL. Until yesterday, I'd laid eyes on the History Channel *once* in the last four months. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: hellomahog...@gmail.com Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:58:08 -0800 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Why were there so many people at the same time? Is the equipment that bad where you are? On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 2:46 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Keith, I ahve a little hope for you, then. I said, yesterday or the day before, that I'd finally freed myself from the yoke of Comcrap. Yesterday, my younger sister had to go to the service center near my house to turn in our boxes, and I rode along with her. There was a line running out of the center and onto the sidewalk, all people turning in their equipment. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 01:59:33 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final it'll take a year for all the final hurdles to be cleared, but this is horrible, horrible news. I'm in the midst of a battle with Comcast now, over a cable box they gave me three years ago. It was given as a two-for-one deal, in which i'd never pay for that box. But, even though the box was hand delivered and turned on, they never recorded it.So, every single time it has a problem, they deny its existence, then give me some answer that's either start paying for it and you can keep it, or, just give it up to us and we won't charge you. The incompetence, dishonesty, and disregard of Comcast makes me sick all the time. These are the people who were blocking bit torrent traffic, the ones who were threatening to cut off users' Internet access for downloading too much data, but not telling them what the download limit was. Them gaining this much power is a bad thing. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2009 7:33:07 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Comcast now owns NBC. You may commence to screaming aloud...
RE: [scifinoir2] FW: 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose
Watch out for this... within five years, there'll be something out of H'Wood about this. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:10:10 -0800 Subject: [scifinoir2] FW: 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose From: Chris de Morsella [mailto:cdemorse...@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 9:32 PM To: tdemorse...@multiculturaladvantage.com Subject: 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091204103747.htm 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2009) — Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum believe that carnivorous behaviour in plants is far more widespread than previously thought, with many commonly grown plants -- such as petunias -- at least part way to being meat eaters. A review paper, Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory, is published (4 December 2009) in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. Carnivorous plants have caught the imagination of humans since ancient times, and they fitted well into the Victorian interest in Gothic horrors. Accounts of man-eating plants published in 19th century works have long since been discredited, but they continue to appear in different media including films (Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors) and books (Tentacula in the Harry Potter series). Even popular Japanese cartoon Pokémon includes some characters based on carnivorous plants (Bellsprout, Weepinbell and Victreebell). Carnivorous plants fascinated Charles Darwin, and he and his friend Sir Joseph Hooker (Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew at that time) had an extensive correspondence concerning them. Darwin's book Insectivorous Plants played a critical role in the idea that plants could eat animals being generally accepted. Before this, many botanists (including Linnaeus) had refused to accept that this could be the case. Since Darwin's time, several groups have been generally recognised as carnivorous plants (including sundews, Venus flytraps and pitcher plants). Various other plants have been suggested as possible carnivores by some authors, but wide acceptance of these has failed to materialise. Defining what constitutes carnivory in plants is a challenge, and authors include or exclude groups of plants on the basis of different sets of criteria. Professor Mark Chase and co-authors from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum contend that carnivory and non-carnivory should not be treated as a black and white situation, and they view plants as being on a sliding scale between those that show no carnivorous characteristics and those that are real meat eaters such as the Venus flytrap. Plants like petunias and potatoes have sticky hairs that trap insects, and some species of campion have the common name catchfly for the same reason. However, some of the commonly accepted carnivores have not been demonstrated to have the ability to digest the insects they trap or to absorb the breakdown products. In their paper, Chase et al. review each of the groups of potential carnivores. Professor Mark Chase, Keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says, Although a man-eating tree is fictional, many commonly grown plants may turn out to be cryptic carnivores, at least by absorbing through their roots the breakdown products of the animals that they ensnare. We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think. Vaughan Southgate, President of the Linnean Society of London says, This scholarly, beautifully illustrated, review of carnivorous plants and the different levels of carnivory that exist in the plant world by botanists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum makes for fascinating reading. _ Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. Learn more. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/videos-tours.aspx?h=7secslideid=1media=aero-shake-7secondlistid=1stop=1ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_7secdemo:122009
RE: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice
Strange. I'm not getting dark from the trailers I've seen. Admittedly, they may have held back the truly grim stuff for airing, so as not to scare off viewers. And, here, I daresay that we have a case of *critics* who don't read. If memory serves, the source material isn't exactly sunshine and roses. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 07:01:29 + Subject: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice Interesting, USA Today thinks the Alice reimagining is both too dark, and unimaginative. I was going to start having some doubts about it--don't know why, as I'm not a big follower of USA Today's critics--but then they dissed Tin Man. The critic says it was too dark and not very good either. That makes me wonder know if Alice might be pretty good after all... * Syfy's 'Alice': Through a looking glass, only very darkly By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY All told, it might be best to keep Syfy away from looking glasses and tornadoes. Last time Syfy decided a children's classic needed to be, in the network's words, re-imagined, we got Tin Man, a bleak tweaking of The Wizard of Ozthat buried a simple, gentle story under an ugly universe-saving quest. Now we get Alice, which throws Lewis Carroll's Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass adventures into the same revisionist blender and spews out something close to the same unappetizing gruel. Close, but not quite. What gives Alice a slight edge over its Ozian cousin is a less-heavy hand, a few brighter performances and a source better suited to a darkling outlook. Nor does it hurt that Alice, while still overextended, has two fewer hours than Tin Man. None might have been best, but less is more. Written and directed by Nick Willing (who also directed Tin Man), Alice turns Carroll's curious girl into Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone), a 20-ish martial-arts expert with commitment issues and a father fixation. When her boyfriend (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped, Alice follows his assailants to Wonderland, landing in the not-completely-trustworthy hands of Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts, Alice's best asset). This is the same Wonderland the first Alice found, but time – and, apparently, an ambitious building program – have imbued it with the arid post-apocalyptic air of which Syfy is so inordinately fond. And it's ruled by an even more evil queen (a disappointing, inexplicably English-accented Kathy Bates), who plies her compliant subjects with emotions she drains from kidnapped humans. For an hour or so, simple pleasures suffice, such as matching old characters to new and faces to names (Tim Curry, Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stanton and Matt Frewer among them). And some of the literary translations are clever, led by Wonderland's adoption of flamingo-shaped flying scooters. But Alice soon bogs down in Willing's superimposed plot, with its shifting motives and dreary lectures. And while there are times Alice fends (or punches) for herself, too often Scorsone succumbs to a drab weepiness. Willing has recast Carroll's story as a heroine's journey to enlightenment, but it's tough to see what precisely Alice learns – unless the moral is Dump the loser, and if he's really worth anything, he'll chase after you. So you're left with a woman whose main quest is unsuccessful, and a movie that's glum, long and devoid of any sense of wonder. That's two classic strikes, Syfy. For literature's sake, let that be enough. _ Windows Live Hotmail is faster and more secure than ever. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/hotmail_bl1/hotmail_bl1.aspx?ocid=PID23879::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-ww:WM_IMHM_1:092009
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
Thanks for the memory jogs, Keith! As for Obsession, it just didn't seem to jog right with me. Something about the timing or the acting... I don't know. And I gave it every opportunity, whenever it aired. Maybe it's just me being picky. Old age does that. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 07:24:27 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of my stories to our English teacher who, after reading it, gave the class a pop quiz, exempting me and taking me across the hall to an empty office. There, he showed me the story, begged me not to be angry with Beth for showing it to him, and then telling me to begin writing in earnest, on things NOT Trek. He also told me where to find the SF/fantasy section of the library that the city had just built. My first SF novel was Aldiss' Helliconia Winter. After that, Moorcock and Stapledon. Then I began reading the American authors, Heinlein, Asimov, Silverberg... Those were the days. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 04:39:13 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Yeah, it was heaven! From about the time
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week
Tracey, I don't think they'll sum those points up either, but I think that this will be on purpose, to keep the fans who are still there hanging on, even if only peripherally, which may describe me (I'm considering watching it every other week, when it comes back with new eps). If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 10:50:50 -0800 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week I get the impression, that they are not going to tie up all those loose ends, but I hope I am wrong -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of angelababycat Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 10:37 AM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: So what did you think about SGU this week I liked the ending as well. I hope they are going to tie-up all these loose endings in 2010, though: the 3 crew members that went through the gate to an unknown address, that pod that disconnected from the ship, and now Rush. Considering the slow pace thus far, I wonder if they'll be able to wrap all of that up in the 10 remaining eps for the season. Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@... wrote: I liked it as well, Tracey, and that gives me a measure of hope that the show may pick up after the break. I don't think that Rush is out of the picture by any means. I expect him to fix that alien ship and show up, just when they least expect it. That'll be trouble for Colonel Young... If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com; ggs...@... From: tdli...@... Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 00:38:06 -0800 Subject: [scifinoir2] So what did you think about SGU this week I remain disappointed by this show, but I enjoyed the ending of the episode. What did you think? Keith, after the first episode, you said you worried that they were making Rush unlikeable. I think that was their intent all along Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomypost.com tra...@... Phone: 425-502-7716 __ Get gifts for them and cashback for you. Try Bing now. http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=xbox+gamesscope=cashbackform=MSHYCB; publ=WLHMTAGcrea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Shopping_Giftsforthem_cashback_1x1 Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYa hoo! Groups Links _ Windows Live Hotmail gives you a free,exclusive gift. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/hotmail_bl1/hotmail_bl1.aspx?ocid=PID23879::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-ww:WM_IMHM_7:092009
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
It kind of fits with the mythology of the creation of Vulcan. Their sun changed stages and burned away most of the planet's vegetation. If the same thing happened here we would probably have evolved with different kinds of eyes as well. Humans evolved differently to adapt to certain conditions to suit their environment, but I don't think that we would have developed a 2nd eyelid like an alligator. (Eskimos developed sunglasses to block out the sun's rays.) On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:24 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of my stories to our English teacher who, after reading it, gave the class a pop quiz, exempting me and taking me across the hall to an empty office. There, he showed me the story, begged me not to be angry with Beth for showing it to him, and then telling me to begin writing in earnest, on things NOT Trek. He also told me where to find the SF/fantasy section of the library that the city had just built. My first SF novel was Aldiss' Helliconia Winter. After that, Moorcock and Stapledon. Then I began reading the American authors, Heinlein, Asimov, Silverberg... Those were the days. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 04:39:13 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Yeah, it was heaven! From about the time I was eight, until around the age of 18 or so, I pretty much
Re: [scifinoir2] FW: 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose
I think they already made one about it for the syfy channel. Swamp Devil: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1105742/ On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 12:59 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.comwrote: Watch out for this... within five years, there'll be something out of H'Wood about this. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:10:10 -0800 Subject: [scifinoir2] FW: 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose *From:* Chris de Morsella [mailto:cdemorse...@yahoo.com] *Sent:* Saturday, December 05, 2009 9:32 PM *To:* tdemorse...@multiculturaladvantage.com *Subject:* 'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091204103747.htm *'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose* ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2009) — Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum believe that carnivorous behaviour in plants is far more widespread than previously thought, with many commonly grown plants -- such as petunias -- at least part way to being meat eaters. A review paper, Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory, is published (4 December 2009) in the *Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society*. Carnivorous plants have caught the imagination of humans since ancient times, and they fitted well into the Victorian interest in Gothic horrors. Accounts of man-eating plants published in 19th century works have long since been discredited, but they continue to appear in different media including films (Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors) and books (Tentacula in the Harry Potter series). Even popular Japanese cartoon Pokémon includes some characters based on carnivorous plants (Bellsprout, Weepinbell and Victreebell). Carnivorous plants fascinated Charles Darwin, and he and his friend Sir Joseph Hooker (Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew at that time) had an extensive correspondence concerning them. Darwin's book Insectivorous Plants played a critical role in the idea that plants could eat animals being generally accepted. Before this, many botanists (including Linnaeus) had refused to accept that this could be the case. Since Darwin's time, several groups have been generally recognised as carnivorous plants (including sundews, Venus flytraps and pitcher plants). Various other plants have been suggested as possible carnivores by some authors, but wide acceptance of these has failed to materialise. Defining what constitutes carnivory in plants is a challenge, and authors include or exclude groups of plants on the basis of different sets of criteria. Professor Mark Chase and co-authors from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum contend that carnivory and non-carnivory should not be treated as a black and white situation, and they view plants as being on a sliding scale between those that show no carnivorous characteristics and those that are real meat eaters such as the Venus flytrap. Plants like petunias and potatoes have sticky hairs that trap insects, and some species of campion have the common name catchfly for the same reason. However, some of the commonly accepted carnivores have not been demonstrated to have the ability to digest the insects they trap or to absorb the breakdown products. In their paper, Chase et al. review each of the groups of potential carnivores. Professor Mark Chase, Keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says, Although a man-eating tree is fictional, many commonly grown plants may turn out to be cryptic carnivores, at least by absorbing through their roots the breakdown products of the animals that they ensnare. We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think. Vaughan Southgate, President of the Linnean Society of London says, This scholarly, beautifully illustrated, review of carnivorous plants and the different levels of carnivory that exist in the plant world by botanists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum makes for fascinating reading. -- Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. Learn more.http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/videos-tours.aspx?h=7secslideid=1media=aero-shake-7secondlistid=1stop=1ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_7secdemo:122009 -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] East African Albinos killed for body parts
They did a show on this a few months ago. It is really sad, and scary how people in this day and age can hold on to such beliefs. They just had a witch trial recently too. On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 10:28 AM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9195784 10,000 E. African Albinos in Hiding After Killings 10,000 East African albinos displaced, in hiding after rash of killings, report says By TOM ODULA The Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set. Mary Owido, who lacks pigment that gives color to skin, eyes and hair, says she is only comfortable when at work or at home with her husband and children. Wherever I go people start talking about me, saying that my legs and hands can fetch a fortune in Tanzania, said Owido, 36, a mother of six. This kind of talk scares me. I am afraid of going out alone. Since 2007, 44 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and 14 others have been slain in Burundi, sparking widespread fear among albinos in East Africa. At least 10,000 have been displaced or gone into hiding since the killings began, according to a report released this week by the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies. East Africa's latest albino murder happened in Tanzania's Mwanza region in late October, when albino hunters beheaded 10-year-old Gasper Elikana and chopped off his leg, the report said. The killing left Elikana's father, who tried to defend his son, seriously injured. Albinism is a hereditary condition, but occurs only when both parents have albinism genes. All six of Owido's children have normal skin color. African albinos endure insults, discrimination and segregation throughout their lives. They also have a high risk of contracting skin cancer in a region where many jobs are outdoors. Owido, a high school teacher in the western Kenyan town of Ahero, says she was forced to transfer from a better teaching job on the Kenya-Tanzania border town of Isebania in 2008 after an albino girl she knew was murdered and her body parts chopped off. The surge in the use of albino body parts as good luck charms is a result of a kind of marketing exercise by witch doctors, the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies said. The report says the market for albino parts exists mainly in Tanzania, where a complete set of body parts — including all limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose — can sell for $75,000. Wealthy buyers use the parts as talismans to bring them wealth and good fortune. Albinism is one of the most unfortunate vulnerabilities, said International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies Secretary General Bekele Geleta. And it needs to be addressed immediately at an international level. The chairman of the Albino Association of Kenya, Isaac Mwaura, called the murders deplorable but said the killings have given albinos a platform to raise awareness. Almost 90 percent of albinos living in the region were raised by single mothers, Mwaura said, because the fathers believed their wives were having affairs with white men. When I was born my father said his family tree doesn't have such children and left us, Mwaura said. Some African communities believe that albinos are harbingers of disaster, while others mistakenly think albinos are mentally retarded and discourage their parents from taking them to school, saying it's a waste of money, he said. Due to a lack of education, many albinos are illiterate and are forced into menial jobs, exposing them to the sun and skin cancer, he said. Those who manage to finish school face discrimination in the work place and are never considered for promotions. People are very blind to albinism but it is very visible. Now that we have this issue in Tanzania is when people have started to talk about albinism, Mwaura said. Before there was a studious silence. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo! Groups Links -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Man marries video game girlfriend
Man marries video game girlfriend *Groom wore white suit. Bride dressed in red plastic case.* By Chris Gaylord | 12.02.09 YouTube Screenshot Man marries video game girlfriend: Nene Anegasaki, the virtual bride, is a character from the Japanese video game Love Plus. -- Oh, Japan. Land of techno toiletshttp://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/10/30/brief-history-of-japan%E2%80%99s-culture-of-techno-toilets/, seven-patty burgershttp://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/10/23/only-in-japan-the-burger-king-windows-7-whopper/, and where a man can marry his video game girlfriend. Mazel tov to the groom and virtual bride! Last week, a Japanese man, who goes by the name SAL9000, tied the knot with Nene Anegasaki, a character from the digital dating simulator Love Plus. The two had flirted for some time through SAL’s Nintendo DS. Clearly crazy for each other, the pair got hitched in a public ceremony in Tokyo on Sunday and streamed the whole thing over the Internet on the YouTube-like video website Nico Nico Douga. Check out a clip below. BoingBoing reportshttp://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/20/man-to-marry-his-vid.htmlthat the event included a DJ, MC, priest, and speeches from the best man and from a friend of Ms. Anegaskai’s (i.e. another character from the video game). The article quotes a letter from SAL saying that “there were over 3,000 connections and 7,000 comments made online, and the people who showed up in person at the ceremony also offered their congratulations. It was great.” The happy couple then honeymooned in Guam. They only needed one plane ticket, since SAL simply brought the Nintendo hand-held system with him. We’re guessing he also carried her over the threshold – good thing she weighs only 0.6 pounds. –– Video of him and his new bride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsikPswAYUM –– While everything looked very serious, there was an ironic wink throughout the wedding – a puckish acknowledgment missing from other tales of virtual love taken to extremes. The same Boing Boing reporter recently wrote a piece for The New York Times documentinghttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-2DLove-t.html?pagewanted=alla man’s attachment to a different video game character: Now, after three years together, they are virtually inseparable. “I’ve experienced so many amazing things because of her,” Nisan told me, rubbing Nemutan’s leg warmly. “She has really changed my life.” Nemutan doesn’t really have a leg. She’s a stuffed pillowcase — a 2-D depiction of a character, Nemu, from an X-rated version of a PC video game called Da Capo, printed on synthetic fabric. Thoughts? Concerns? Congratulations? Share them below or through Twitter. We’re @csmhorizonsblog http://twitter.com/csmhorizonsblog. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] 'Princess' star reduced to tears
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2009/12/04/12041171-sun.html 'Princess' star reduced to tears By KEVIN WILLIAMSON -- Sun Media LOS ANGELES -- Mickey Mouse may be black and white, but that doesn't make Disney's The Princess and the Frog any less of a landmark. Yes, the titular frog is green. But for a studio famed for Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, it's the identity of its newest princess that reduced its star, Anika Noni Rose, to tears. The character she voices, Tiana, is African-American. I just started crying. Even talking about it now, I'm such a wuss, says the 37-year-old actress, recalling the first time she saw her animated alter-ego projected on a big screen at a New York toy fair. It was the most amazing, awesome. I don't even know if I have real words for it ... This is something I've always dreamed of doing. Yet even while this self-described Disney geek dreamed as a child, she remained realistic. I do remember wondering to myself whether there would ever be a Chocolate Brown and not just Snow White. I mean, they named it (Snow White)! But I didn't necessarily feel deprived. When you're a child, you don't know. You're living in your world. Voicing Tiana, not surprisingly, exceeds all expectations, she says. I could have been a dandelion and I would have been really happy. So this is like when your dreams take off and become bigger than what you had imagined. In the musical comedy, which will also mark the comeback of 2D hand-drawn animation when it opens Friday, Tiana is a waitress in 1920s, jazz-fuelled New Orleans whose lifelong ambition is to open her own restaurant. But those plans -- and everything else -- are derailed when she meets a Brazilian prince (Bruno Campos) who has been transformed into a frog by a Voodoo-wielding con man. But instead of returning the prince to human form when she kisses him, she's turned into a frog as well. Together, the amphibious pair, aided by a trumpet-playing alligator and a Cajun firefly, fight to reverse the spell. For Terrence Howard, who voices Tiana's caring hard-working father, the role presents obvious parallels both to the present-day political landscape and his own personal life. When they began production on this film, the initial talks on this film, Barack Obama wasn't in the White House. So it's very apropos we have two African-American princesses at the same time this movie is coming out. It's a happy accident, a wonderful coincidence. But there's always been nobility in every culture and every race, just the same way there's geniuses in every culture and every race. It's nice to have Disney platform that. He adds, It's also one of the easiest roles I've ever done because I've got two daughters who are my princesses ... (Playing the part) came from a natural inclination to teach my own children. Still, The Princess and the Frog remains a showcase for Rose, who appeared in Dreamgirls, won a Tony for the Broadway musical, Caroline, Or Change and starred in the HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. None of those roles compare to the impact -- culturally and on her career -- The Princess and the Frog may present. And she admits she still isn't prepared to be called a role model for young girls. That's difficult. I'm honoured that people would think of me as a role model. On the other hand, I think that it's sort of dangerous to choose a person and lift them up so high -- because you know, I'm going to play a role that somebody doesn't like. At some point, they're going to be like, 'She was awful!' I think if we can separate those things and think I like how she handles her career and how she handles herself as a person, then I'm honoured. She believes the film itself will mean different things to different people, as they sit in that theatre. It will mean different things, depending on what time they grew up in. For my nephew, it will be the norm. He will think nothing of it. It will be his first princess -- period. For my mother, it will be something she's been waiting for ... And for my grandmother, it will be something she never thought would happen. Each person sitting in that theatre will have a different journey that they're bringing to the story and it will make the story different for them. So I think that's something that's really beautiful about what's being made. Disney is Americana and we have simply opened a new chapter in Americana -- something that's been here for a very long time but hasn't necessarily been shared. So in that respect, it's just another step in the completion of the story of what America is in this fantasy world. For his part, while Howard is thrilled with the new ground the movie breaks, he also observes, Disney has always covered most of the world in the films they have made because the little mermaid was a fish but every little girl could relate to that fish.
Re: [scifinoir2] Man marries video game girlfriend
Doesnt seem strange to me. c w m On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 5:05 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: Man marries video game girlfriend *Groom wore white suit. Bride dressed in red plastic case.* By Chris Gaylord | 12.02.09 YouTube Screenshot Man marries video game girlfriend: Nene Anegasaki, the virtual bride, is a character from the Japanese video game Love Plus. -- Oh, Japan. Land of techno toiletshttp://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/10/30/brief-history-of-japan%E2%80%99s-culture-of-techno-toilets/, seven-patty burgershttp://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/10/23/only-in-japan-the-burger-king-windows-7-whopper/, and where a man can marry his video game girlfriend. Mazel tov to the groom and virtual bride! Last week, a Japanese man, who goes by the name SAL9000, tied the knot with Nene Anegasaki, a character from the digital dating simulator Love Plus. The two had flirted for some time through SAL’s Nintendo DS. Clearly crazy for each other, the pair got hitched in a public ceremony in Tokyo on Sunday and streamed the whole thing over the Internet on the YouTube-like video website Nico Nico Douga. Check out a clip below. BoingBoing reportshttp://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/20/man-to-marry-his-vid.htmlthat the event included a DJ, MC, priest, and speeches from the best man and from a friend of Ms. Anegaskai’s (i.e. another character from the video game). The article quotes a letter from SAL saying that “there were over 3,000 connections and 7,000 comments made online, and the people who showed up in person at the ceremony also offered their congratulations. It was great.” The happy couple then honeymooned in Guam. They only needed one plane ticket, since SAL simply brought the Nintendo hand-held system with him. We’re guessing he also carried her over the threshold – good thing she weighs only 0.6 pounds. –– Video of him and his new bride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsikPswAYUM –– While everything looked very serious, there was an ironic wink throughout the wedding – a puckish acknowledgment missing from other tales of virtual love taken to extremes. The same Boing Boing reporter recently wrote a piece for The New York Times documentinghttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-2DLove-t.html?pagewanted=alla man’s attachment to a different video game character: Now, after three years together, they are virtually inseparable. “I’ve experienced so many amazing things because of her,” Nisan told me, rubbing Nemutan’s leg warmly. “She has really changed my life.” Nemutan doesn’t really have a leg. She’s a stuffed pillowcase — a 2-D depiction of a character, Nemu, from an X-rated version of a PC video game called Da Capo, printed on synthetic fabric. Thoughts? Concerns? Congratulations? Share them below or through Twitter. We’re @csmhorizonsblog http://twitter.com/csmhorizonsblog. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- READ MY BLOG http://centralheatingblog.blogspot.com STRING THEORY http://stringtheory.podbean.com
Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice
i think it's more they don't like to see beloved classics given the darker re-imagining. I'd also say given a more adult treatment, but as Alice in Wonderland is actually a very adult, pointed piece of critique, that element is already there. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 4:05:12 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice Some critics are just off base. If its not a French indie film or made by some unknown director from Des Moines they don't want any part of it. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:01 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Interesting, USA Today thinks the Alice reimagining is both too dark, and unimaginative. I was going to start having some doubts about it--don't know why, as I'm not a big follower of USA Today's critics--but then they dissed Tin Man. The critic says it was too dark and not very good either. That makes me wonder know if Alice might be pretty good after all... * Syfy's 'Alice': Through a looking glass, only very darkly By Robert Bianco , USA TODAY All told, it might be best to keep Syfy away from looking glasses and tornadoes. Last time Syfy decided a children's classic needed to be, in the network's words, re-imagined, we got Tin Man , a bleak tweaking of The Wizard of Oz that buried a simple, gentle story under an ugly universe-saving quest. Now we get Alice , which throws Lewis Carroll 's Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass adventures into the same revisionist blender and spews out something close to the same unappetizing gruel. Close, but not quite. What gives Alice a slight edge over its Ozian cousin is a less-heavy hand, a few brighter performances and a source better suited to a darkling outlook. Nor does it hurt that Alice , while still overextended, has two fewer hours than Tin Man . None might have been best, but less is more. Written and directed by Nick Willing (who also directed Tin Man ), Alice turns Carroll's curious girl into Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone), a 20-ish martial-arts expert with commitment issues and a father fixation. When her boyfriend (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped, Alice follows his assailants to Wonderland, landing in the not-completely-trustworthy hands of Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts, Alice 's best asset). This is the same Wonderland the first Alice found, but time – and, apparently, an ambitious building program – have imbued it with the arid post-apocalyptic air of which Syfy is so inordinately fond. And it's ruled by an even more evil queen (a disappointing, inexplicably English-accented Kathy Bates ), who plies her compliant subjects with emotions she drains from kidnapped humans. For an hour or so, simple pleasures suffice, such as matching old characters to new and faces to names ( Tim Curry , Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stanton and Matt Frewer among them). And some of the literary translations are clever, led by Wonderland's adoption of flamingo-shaped flying scooters. But Alice soon bogs down in Willing's superimposed plot, with its shifting motives and dreary lectures. And while there are times Alice fends (or punches) for herself, too often Scorsone succumbs to a drab weepiness. Willing has recast Carroll's story as a heroine's journey to enlightenment, but it's tough to see what precisely Alice learns – unless the moral is Dump the loser, and if he's really worth anything, he'll chase after you. So you're left with a woman whose main quest is unsuccessful, and a movie that's glum, long and devoid of any sense of wonder. That's two classic strikes, Syfy. For literature's sake, let that be enough. -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final
yep - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 4:06:09 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Did you have a workman test the cable signal to the box? On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:26 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Trust me, I've been through all your suggestions. It's their hardware, their poor training, their bad policies, and their feeling of having people at their mercy. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 7:47:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Normally they will do a reboot while you're on the phone. I'm not sure what is going on where you are. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: And, on the occasion when I asked for a reboot from Customer Disservice, they never got around to it. I know that because, in my follow-up call to say that the reboot I'd thought was due hadn't done anything, the tech person I spoke to said that nothing had been done. Martin (dealing with his post-Comscum experience SO well) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:39:42 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final not in cases like those Martin and I have experienced. Typically it's bad hardware, or software issues requiring a reset of the box from customer service - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 6:15:02 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Sounds like there are issues going on there that is a bit freaky. Sometimes unplugging the box works as a reboot. On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 3:01 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Yep. Last two weeks we were Comcrap customers, the boxes worked for a day. I had to get up every morning, hook them all up to the three TVs we have and run through the set-up to see if they worked, then take them off if they didn't. And, even when they did work, it wasn't full-on. Lots of channels still AWOL. Until yesterday, I'd laid eyes on the History Channel *once* in the last four months. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: hellomahog...@gmail.com Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:58:08 -0800 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Why were there so many people at the same time? Is the equipment that bad where you are? On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 2:46 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Keith, I ahve a little hope for you, then. I said, yesterday or the day before, that I'd finally freed myself from the yoke of Comcrap. Yesterday, my younger sister had to go to the service center near my house to turn in our boxes, and I rode along with her. There was a line running out of the center and onto the sidewalk, all people turning in their equipment. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 01:59:33 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final it'll take a year for all the final hurdles to be cleared, but this is horrible, horrible news. I'm in the midst of a battle with Comcast now, over a cable box they gave me three years ago. It was given as a two-for-one deal, in which i'd never pay for that box. But, even though the box was hand delivered and turned on, they never recorded it.So, every single time it has a problem, they deny its existence, then give me some answer that's either start paying for it and you can keep it, or, just give it up to us and we won't charge you. The incompetence, dishonesty, and disregard of Comcast makes me sick all the time. These are the people who were blocking bit torrent traffic, the ones who were threatening to cut off users' Internet access for downloading too much data, but not telling them what the download limit was. Them gaining this much power is a bad thing. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2009 7:33:07 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Comcast
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: SyFy'sAlice - A Review
I found tonight's segment to be a bit slow and plodding. Not bad, just a bit moribund. I didn't feel the magic of the new world they were trying to craft. I kept being too aware of CGI sets and stuff, which isn't a good sign. Hopefully tomorrow night will be better. - Original Message - From: angelababycat asrobin...@mindspring.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 1:52:19 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: SyFy'sAlice - A Review I only made it half-way through Tin Man. Just too drawn out I suppose (as mentioned in Keith's USA Today post). I loved 10th Kingdom, though I also nodded through the last 2 parts. Sounds like Alice is going to fall somewhere in between in terms of treatment, and in fewer hours. So I'm tuning in! Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Tracey de Morsella tdli...@... wrote: SyFy's http://io9.com/5418438/syfys-alice-+-warning-may-contain-your-next-british- obsession Alice - Warning: May Contain Your Next British Obsession http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/hatter.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_hatter.jpgThis weekend Syfy is taking a trip through a very modern looking glass http://io9.com/tag/lookingglass/ , complete with romance, casinos and lots of fighting. So is this Wonderland worth revisiting? Check out our spoiler free Alice review. We were sent an extremely early edit of the film, so I'm not making a final judgment on the two-day mini movie until it airs, but what I did watch I got a excited about. Here's the premise: Alice is a no-nonsense commitment-phobe and karate instructor. So yeah she kicks ass, and a lot, for better or worse. Strong armed Alice falls for one of her students who sneaks her some sort of magical ring and is promptly kidnapped. Alice follows her boytoy through the looking glass and is transported to Wonderland. But Wonderland has changed. It's now a dirty world that looks strangely like Vancouver. Alice soon learns that the Queen of Hearts is kidnapping humans and imprisoning them in her casino, siphoning off their happy emotions and selling them to the inhabitants of Wonderland. Thus making her beloved, for providing the quick fix, as well as rich. Alice meets the Hatter in one of these emotion dens and the two strike a deal to go and save her boyfriend, who has presumably been kidnapped by the Queen for emotion harvesting. If I tell you more we'll get into spoiler territory, but there are plenty more twists and turns. It also gets pretty heavy with the family issues and inner love turmoil for poor Alice. In fact it really reminded me of a shorter and less in-depth version of the TV movie The 10th Kingdom, which I adored. So even coming close to that is a good thing. http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/alice-04-tim-curry.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_alice-04-tim-curry.jpg Plus the cast is just bafflingly great. Tim Curry plays the Dodo, Kathy Bates is the Queen of Hearts, Harry Dean Stanton is the Caterpillar, and Colm Meaney is the King of Hearts. Those names alone are worth tuning in for. You won't want to miss watch Tim Curry walk around with his stomach forward, Dodo-style. Sure, I could mention that Curry really pushes the level of running and screaming that I can take from him, and that Kathy Bates seemed like she was sporting dead face for most of the movie, but they're are small issues. But the real standout was Andrew Lee Potts' Hatter. Call me a sucker for British heroes who wear funny suits and like to throw their weight around, but I couldn't rip my eyes off of the Hatter when he was on screen. Almost to the detriment of Alice. Potts is familiar with the scifi world, having starred in the BBC's Primeval, but he really hits his stride here. And while I was watching him on a version that needed copious edits and tweaks, I still really enjoyed watching him try to elevate the story and dialogue he was handed. Yes, making the Hatter a cute hipster is a little eye rolling, but he made it work. Potts really attempted to sell some of his totally implausible actions he was taken in by the script. You heard it here first: If Matt Smith the new Doctor crashes and burns, certainly wouldn't be any worse off with Potts. But that's just hopeful projecting on my part. http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/alice-02-matt-frewer.jpg http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/12/500x_alice-02-matt-frewer.jp g So the bottom line: I'm tuning in. I'm anxious to see what the home of Matt Frewer's dimwitted White Knight looks like, as it's merely described as a chessboard forest kingdom. Along with the flying jetski-like flamingo sky cars, and the Queen's casino once the FX are all finished. Plus I wouldn't miss the opportunity to
Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final
Martin, I think you and I both have fairly extensive computer/IT backgrounds. I've certainly run/tested enough network cabling over my years as a network admin to know how to help the dopes at Comcast go through the same for their system. I also have had to work with cable/DSL companies for years when I supported users at my old job when they had VPN issues from home. I have spent hours on the phone with an ISP rep and a user from my company, helping all troubleshoot their system. So I have made sure to everything that can be tested has been tested ,from hardware to software, firmware to cable quality. It's simply sub-standard equipment, processes, and training. There's a reason those I hate Comcast websites proliferate. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 3:54:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final I second those words! If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 07:26:27 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Trust me, I've been through all your suggestions. It's their hardware, their poor training, their bad policies, and their feeling of having people at their mercy. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 7:47:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Normally they will do a reboot while you're on the phone. I'm not sure what is going on where you are. On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: And, on the occasion when I asked for a reboot from Customer Disservice, they never got around to it. I know that because, in my follow-up call to say that the reboot I'd thought was due hadn't done anything, the tech person I spoke to said that nothing had been done. Martin (dealing with his post-Comscum experience SO well) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:39:42 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final not in cases like those Martin and I have experienced. Typically it's bad hardware, or software issues requiring a reset of the box from customer service - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 6:15:02 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Sounds like there are issues going on there that is a bit freaky. Sometimes unplugging the box works as a reboot. On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 3:01 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Yep. Last two weeks we were Comcrap customers, the boxes worked for a day. I had to get up every morning, hook them all up to the three TVs we have and run through the set-up to see if they worked, then take them off if they didn't. And, even when they did work, it wasn't full-on. Lots of channels still AWOL. Until yesterday, I'd laid eyes on the History Channel *once* in the last four months. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: hellomahog...@gmail.com Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:58:08 -0800 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final Why were there so many people at the same time? Is the equipment that bad where you are? On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 2:46 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: Keith, I ahve a little hope for you, then. I said, yesterday or the day before, that I'd finally freed myself from the yoke of Comcrap. Yesterday, my younger sister had to go to the service center near my house to turn in our boxes, and I rode along with her. There was a line running out of the center and onto the sidewalk, all people turning in their equipment. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 01:59:33 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] GE makes it final it'll take a year for all the final hurdles to be cleared, but this is horrible, horrible news. I'm in the midst of a battle with Comcast now, over a cable box they gave
Re: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice
Exactly, but it's darker than the average American remembers, especially those Americans who were raised on the watered-down versions from Disney or a doctored book. I recently was telling a friend how Gulliver's Travels is altered from the book to cartoons. Things such as Gulliver using the bathroom in Lilliput, and causing a flood. I also related how in Pinocchio, Pinnochio kills Jiminy Cricket early in the book 'cause his daring to advise the brat pisses him off. Or how about Peter Pan, where Peter comes back to get Wendy in part as a way to punish her mother, who refused to fly off with him when she was young? I've talked to half a dozen friends my age recently, and only one of them even knew that these classic tales were so dark, adult, subsersive, and full of satire. All they got only the watered down versions from cartoons and books as children. So I wouldn't be surprised if even this critic is simply feeling that these are valued children's tales that should remain roses and sunshines--even if they never actually were. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 3:58:29 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice Strange. I'm not getting dark from the trailers I've seen. Admittedly, they may have held back the truly grim stuff for airing, so as not to scare off viewers. And, here, I daresay that we have a case of *critics* who don't read. If memory serves, the source material isn't exactly sunshine and roses. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 07:01:29 + Subject: [scifinoir2] USA Today not Big on SyFy's Alice Interesting, USA Today thinks the Alice reimagining is both too dark, and unimaginative. I was going to start having some doubts about it--don't know why, as I'm not a big follower of USA Today's critics--but then they dissed Tin Man. The critic says it was too dark and not very good either. That makes me wonder know if Alice might be pretty good after all... * Syfy's 'Alice': Through a looking glass, only very darkly By Robert Bianco , USA TODAY All told, it might be best to keep Syfy away from looking glasses and tornadoes. Last time Syfy decided a children's classic needed to be, in the network's words, re-imagined, we got Tin Man , a bleak tweaking of The Wizard of Oz that buried a simple, gentle story under an ugly universe-saving quest. Now we get Alice , which throws Lewis Carroll 's Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass adventures into the same revisionist blender and spews out something close to the same unappetizing gruel. Close, but not quite. What gives Alice a slight edge over its Ozian cousin is a less-heavy hand, a few brighter performances and a source better suited to a darkling outlook. Nor does it hurt that Alice , while still overextended, has two fewer hours than Tin Man . None might have been best, but less is more. Written and directed by Nick Willing (who also directed Tin Man ), Alice turns Carroll's curious girl into Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone), a 20-ish martial-arts expert with commitment issues and a father fixation. When her boyfriend (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped, Alice follows his assailants to Wonderland, landing in the not-completely-trustworthy hands of Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts, Alice 's best asset). This is the same Wonderland the first Alice found, but time – and, apparently, an ambitious building program – have imbued it with the arid post-apocalyptic air of which Syfy is so inordinately fond. And it's ruled by an even more evil queen (a disappointing, inexplicably English-accented Kathy Bates ), who plies her compliant subjects with emotions she drains from kidnapped humans. For an hour or so, simple pleasures suffice, such as matching old characters to new and faces to names ( Tim Curry , Colm Meaney, Harry Dean Stanton and Matt Frewer among them). And some of the literary translations are clever, led by Wonderland's adoption of flamingo-shaped flying scooters. But Alice soon bogs down in Willing's superimposed plot, with its shifting motives and dreary lectures. And while there are times Alice fends (or punches) for herself, too often Scorsone succumbs to a drab weepiness. Willing has recast Carroll's story as a heroine's journey to enlightenment, but it's tough to see what precisely Alice learns – unless the moral is Dump the loser, and if he's really worth anything, he'll chase after you. So you're left with a woman whose main quest is unsuccessful, and a movie that's
Re: [scifinoir2] 'Princess' star reduced to tears
I'm glad for her and little black girls. I still wish I could say little black boys would have something to celebrate this weekend... Until we make and distribute our own stuff, I guess we'll keep having to deal with white folk saying no one wants to see two black people have a romance on screen... I'll go to support it, because I'm pleased to see all the young girls so excited, but I hope like hell this is a first step and Disney gets it *right*--or someone does--and gives us a black prince as well as princess next time. - Original Message - From: brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 6:23:43 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] 'Princess' star reduced to tears http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2009/12/04/12041171-sun.html 'Princess' star reduced to tears By KEVIN WILLIAMSON -- Sun Media LOS ANGELES -- Mickey Mouse may be black and white, but that doesn't make Disney's The Princess and the Frog any less of a landmark. Yes, the titular frog is green. But for a studio famed for Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, it's the identity of its newest princess that reduced its star, Anika Noni Rose, to tears. The character she voices, Tiana, is African-American. I just started crying. Even talking about it now, I'm such a wuss, says the 37-year-old actress, recalling the first time she saw her animated alter-ego projected on a big screen at a New York toy fair. It was the most amazing, awesome. I don't even know if I have real words for it ... This is something I've always dreamed of doing. Yet even while this self-described Disney geek dreamed as a child, she remained realistic. I do remember wondering to myself whether there would ever be a Chocolate Brown and not just Snow White. I mean, they named it (Snow White)! But I didn't necessarily feel deprived. When you're a child, you don't know. You're living in your world. Voicing Tiana, not surprisingly, exceeds all expectations, she says. I could have been a dandelion and I would have been really happy. So this is like when your dreams take off and become bigger than what you had imagined. In the musical comedy, which will also mark the comeback of 2D hand-drawn animation when it opens Friday, Tiana is a waitress in 1920s, jazz-fuelled New Orleans whose lifelong ambition is to open her own restaurant. But those plans -- and everything else -- are derailed when she meets a Brazilian prince (Bruno Campos) who has been transformed into a frog by a Voodoo-wielding con man. But instead of returning the prince to human form when she kisses him, she's turned into a frog as well. Together, the amphibious pair, aided by a trumpet-playing alligator and a Cajun firefly, fight to reverse the spell. For Terrence Howard, who voices Tiana's caring hard-working father, the role presents obvious parallels both to the present-day political landscape and his own personal life. When they began production on this film, the initial talks on this film, Barack Obama wasn't in the White House. So it's very apropos we have two African-American princesses at the same time this movie is coming out. It's a happy accident, a wonderful coincidence. But there's always been nobility in every culture and every race, just the same way there's geniuses in every culture and every race. It's nice to have Disney platform that. He adds, It's also one of the easiest roles I've ever done because I've got two daughters who are my princesses ... (Playing the part) came from a natural inclination to teach my own children. Still, The Princess and the Frog remains a showcase for Rose, who appeared in Dreamgirls, won a Tony for the Broadway musical, Caroline, Or Change and starred in the HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. None of those roles compare to the impact -- culturally and on her career -- The Princess and the Frog may present. And she admits she still isn't prepared to be called a role model for young girls. That's difficult. I'm honoured that people would think of me as a role model. On the other hand, I think that it's sort of dangerous to choose a person and lift them up so high -- because you know, I'm going to play a role that somebody doesn't like. At some point, they're going to be like, 'She was awful!' I think if we can separate those things and think I like how she handles her career and how she handles herself as a person, then I'm honoured. She believes the film itself will mean different things to different people, as they sit in that theatre. It will mean different things, depending on what time they grew up in. For my nephew, it will be the norm. He will think nothing of it. It will be his first princess -- period. For my mother, it will be something she's been waiting for ... And for my grandmother, it will be something she never thought would happen. Each person
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
I should amend to say the gas cloud feeds on hemoglobin... - Original Message - From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 2:24:27 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of my stories to our English teacher who, after reading it, gave the class a pop quiz, exempting me and taking me across the hall to an empty office. There, he showed me the story, begged me not to be angry with Beth for showing it to him, and then telling me to begin writing in earnest, on things NOT Trek. He also told me where to find the SF/fantasy section of the library that the city had just built. My first SF novel was Aldiss' Helliconia Winter. After that, Moorcock and Stapledon. Then I began reading the American authors, Heinlein, Asimov, Silverberg... Those were the days. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 04:39:13 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Yeah, it was heaven! From about the time I was eight, until around the age of 18 or so, I pretty much read nothing but science fiction: starting with Andre Norton (some fantasy there of course), Heinlein, Clarke, all the standards. The discovery of adult-oriented scifi was the first wondrous time for me. I discovered fantasy after
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
No, I get that, I'm just saying even an inner eyelid wouldn't protect Spock's eyes from light that was calibrated to be at the intensity encountered near their son. It'd blind him, and i doubt even his optic nerves and retinas could heal. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 5:30:49 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 It kind of fits with the mythology of the creation of Vulcan. Their sun changed stages and burned away most of the planet's vegetation. If the same thing happened here we would probably have evolved with different kinds of eyes as well. Humans evolved differently to adapt to certain conditions to suit their environment, but I don't think that we would have developed a 2nd eyelid like an alligator. (Eskimos developed sunglasses to block out the sun's rays.) On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:24 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of my stories to our English teacher who, after reading it, gave the class a pop quiz, exempting me and taking me across the hall to an empty office. There, he showed me the story, begged me not to be angry with Beth for showing it to him, and then telling me to begin writing in earnest, on things NOT Trek. He also told me where to find the SF/fantasy section of the library that the city had just built. My first SF novel was Aldiss' Helliconia Winter. After that, Moorcock and Stapledon. Then I began reading the American authors, Heinlein, Asimov, Silverberg...
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
I love Obsession, from the way the gas cloud creature was able to leave normal space--being there, but not there--due to its use of gravity, to the final explosion, when Kirk and Garavick beam up in the aftermath of that antimatter blast. Probably improbable, but still great stuff, especially McCoy in the transporter room muttering Crazy way to travel, scattering a man's atoms halfway across the galaxy, and Scotty's Got 'em--or a piece of 'em anyway, followed by Spock's cool, Cross-circuiting to Across-circuting to B. Good stuff! And as a kid, I remember going Wowww!, when they said there was a cubic inch of antimatter in that bomb, but it was more powerful than ten thousand cobalt bombs. Boggles the mind... - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 3:51:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Thanks for the memory jogs, Keith! As for Obsession, it just didn't seem to jog right with me. Something about the timing or the acting... I don't know. And I gave it every opportunity, whenever it aired. Maybe it's just me being picky. Old age does that. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 07:24:27 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
That would explain the stabbing pains in my head whenever I get on this line of discussion... If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:50:12 -0800 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 See you get the need to change things for a broader audience, but most fans do not. So, many aneurisms result. I’m not putting down the decision to make the changes, but saying that I empathize with the fans of the book From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Martin Baxter Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 5:28 PM To: SciFiNoir2 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 It's coming back now, Tracey... the protagonist of the book was a physicist who worked at CERN, dealing with the events. Another thing tha tthey had to change, because who would've gotten a physicist as the hero of a drama? Fine for The Big Bang Theory, but not when gunfire is involved. Closest thing to a physicist as a hero has come via the works of Travis S Taylor, and his representations are boring at best and overtly comical at worst. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:42:53 -0800 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 There is no way you could have liked the movie. However, Wikipedia has pretty much the synopsis of the FlashForward’s book version described and it has more focus on the science and the scifi than being a police procedural. I do not think cops are even a major feature of the book. I do not think I would like the series if I had read the book From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Martin Baxter Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 3:17 PM To: SciFiNoir2 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Again, Tracey, true. But I can't help but wonder what gave the producers the notion that Jumper could be made into escapist fare. The book itself was grim, almost from cover to cover. Davey starting out as an abused child using his ability to escape his father and relocate to Noo Yawk City, finding his mother only see her killed by a terrorist on the national news, vowing revenge on the terrorist (can't remember if he got it or not -- need to reread it) -- all makes for some dark reading. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 13:47:06 -0800 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 I think more thought was put into FlashForward ( the TV show)than in Jumper (The Movie). Jumper was pure escapism. From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Martin Baxter Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 12:40 PM To: SciFiNoir2 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Tracey, I'm not as off-put by FlashForward the series as I am Jumper the movie. Admittedly, it's been years since I read the book (1999, when it came out), and I'm not remembering all of the details of it. I tried to get it before the series began, but it's been snatched up far and wide, even at the used bookstores I frequent. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:22:58 -0800 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 The difference is you read the book. From what I read about the book, I do not see how you could like it unless you looked at the movie as entirely separate from the book. . But don’t feel bad, people who read the book that FlashForward is based on do not like the show. I was going to read the book , but after reading about the differences, I decided to wait so that it would not cause me to make comparisons From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Re: [scifinoir2] So what did you think about SGU this week
It's still a bit slow in spots. I would like to see some more of the other passengers. And I continue to be puzzled by the idea of people switching bodies, then having sex with the borrowed body. I mean, even if she didn't experience and remember it, I'd imagine a straight woman would be upset to think another woman used her body for lesbian sex. But the stuff with Rush was interesting. He's not just unlikable, he's devious and maybe even dangerous. What do you do with a guy you need, who you want to kill? I have to admit I cheered when Young went after Rush--and in the show before, when he went after Telford--but I didn't like his explanation later. I don't like that he had to lie. Be interesting to see how to resolve this. Maybe that ship can be fixed and put into space after Destiny? - Original Message - From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, ggs...@yahoo.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:38:06 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] So what did you think about SGU this week I remain disappointed by this show, but I enjoyed the ending of the episode. What did you think? Keith, after the first episode, you said you worried that they were making Rush unlikeable. I think that was their intent all along Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomypost.com tra...@greeneconomypost.com Phone: 425-502-7716
[scifinoir2] Alice and Other Dark/Adult Retellings of Fairy Tales
Watching Alice has me thinking about other fairy tales that have been retold that I like. Two come to mind. Snow White: A Tale of Terror and Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story. Do you guys know of any othera? Snow White: A Tale of Terror - It stars Sigourney Weaver,Sam Neill,Monica Keena and Gil Bellows. Based somewhat more authentically on the Grimm Brothers' story of a young woman who is unliked by her stepmother, the film includes the talking mirror, a poisoned apple, and some ruffian gold (not diamond) miners (and they aren't dwarfs or cute). It takes place at the time of the Crusades, and depicts the attitudes of the wealthy and the peasant classes toward one another. Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story - It stars Matthew Modine,Vanessa Redgrave,Mia Sara,Daryl Hannah,Jon Voight,Richard Attenborough and Honor Blackman. Jack Robinson is a wealthy business man with no time for anything but work. However, a family curse is looming over him - no man in the Robinson line ever lives past the age of thirty. With his upcoming birthday appears the remains of literally giant skeleton and a mysterious woman who claims to have once known the giant. Jack decides to go with her to another world where all is revealed to him along with the story of his ancestor, the original Jack and the Beanstalk. In order to save his own life and the world of the giants, Jack must right the wrongs of the past and return the magical harp and goose that lays the golden eggs to their rightful home. Although it is not dark I also liked Ever After Stars Drew Barrymore,Anjelica Huston, and Dougray Scott. Andy Tennant's film Ever After tells the real story of Cinderella. In this film version, Cinderella is Danielle De Barbarac, played to perfection by Drew Barrymore. Our heroine does have a wicked stepmother and stepsisters, but in no way is she in need of rescuing. Contrary to other adaptations of Cinderella, Danielle rescues herself from her horrible family and the prince from gypsies. With help from her fairy godmother Leonardo da Vinci.
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4
My question about ST is why didn't they make Jordy some new eyes? On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 8:47 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: No, I get that, I'm just saying even an inner eyelid wouldn't protect Spock's eyes from light that was calibrated to be at the intensity encountered near their son. It'd blind him, and i doubt even his optic nerves and retinas could heal. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, December 6, 2009 5:30:49 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 It kind of fits with the mythology of the creation of Vulcan. Their sun changed stages and burned away most of the planet's vegetation. If the same thing happened here we would probably have evolved with different kinds of eyes as well. Humans evolved differently to adapt to certain conditions to suit their environment, but I don't think that we would have developed a 2nd eyelid like an alligator. (Eskimos developed sunglasses to block out the sun's rays.) On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:24 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: The eps you're thinking of are Obsession about the gas cloud that feeds on iron, can change its molecular structure, and uses gravity for FTL travel ( a show I love actually, what do you dislike about it?), and Operation: Annihilate about the braincell creatures that attached themselves to people. Now that show, i get your disdain. Even as a kid I didn't get how they couldn't kill the creatures. McCoy says he and Spock tried heat, light, and radiation to kill their test subject. The answer? Ultraviolet radiation. WTF? You mean they skipped an important compenent of the spectrum?? How ?? And that foolishness about Spock's inner eyelid protecting his eye made no sense: he still went blind, and I doubt even a second lid could protect agains the brightness they were using. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:50:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 As for the Trek eps, you got them all in one swoop. Also, there's two whose titles won't come to my over-concussed brain, one about the gaseuos creature that killed people by feeding on the iron in people's blood and the one I dub The Fried-Egg Monster Ep, with the creatures that attacked people's nervous systems by latching onto their spines. As for what you haven't read, the Foundation series is, IMO, slow but epic, the kind of trip you don't regret having taken. Moorcock can, at times, be a bit too weird for your sensibilities, I suspect. At times, he openly deals with incest and other themes unabashedly. As for not reading any of Octavia's work... you may want to *duck*. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:23:39 + Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Wow, great story. What were the childish Trek eps that you didn't like? I can imagine some possibilities: And the Children Shall Lead, Spock's Brain, The Way to Eden, The Mark of Gideon, The Alternative Factor? I haven't read the Helliconia books. I tried when i was younger, but couldn't get into them. Never read any Moorcock either. And have to admit, i haven't read the Foundation series, the Dune novels, any of Octavia Butler's books, or anything from Stephen King. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 4, 2009 5:22:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4: Paul Greengrass quits Bourne 4 Oh, yes. Those were the days, falling across a Sweet cover. I bought a couple of books that weren't even bad enough to qualify as crap, but his artwork made it worth owning. My first exposure to SF was just after OS Trek began in reruns, and the childishness of some of the episodes drove me to start writing, first just for my closest friends. One of them, Beth, gave one of my stories to our English teacher who, after reading it, gave the class a pop quiz, exempting me and taking me across the hall to an empty office. There, he showed me the story, begged me not to be angry with Beth for showing it to him, and then telling me to begin writing in earnest, on things NOT Trek. He also told me where to find the SF/fantasy section of the library that the city had just built. My first SF novel was
[scifinoir2] McG Announces Two More Terminator Movies, Reality May Have Other Plans
Last night, Gizmodo's Jason Chen listened to director McG's Blu-Ray livecommentary for Terminator http://io9.com/tag/terminatorsalvation/ Salvation so that you didn't have to. You can read http://gizmodo.com/5419862/terminator-salvation-bd+live-directors-commentar y-liveblog the whole thing here, but if you're in a rush, here're the, uh, highlights. Apparently oblivious to the fact that the franchise is up for sale and no-one knows who future owners will be or what they'll want, McG announced that he'll make two more Terminator movies, the first of which will feature Sarah Connor, even though he's not sure how he's going to pull that off. We'd be more worried about future Terminator rights holders agreeing to him making two sequels to a critically-savaged movie that flopped at the box office (in comparison to expectations, at least; it's still in the top 20 movies of the year) and failed to prevent the bankruptcy of the owners of the property if we were him, but maybe there's a reason we're not successful Hollywood producer/directors and he is. He was also disappointed that Salvation wasn't the best movie in the series so far, but thinks that it was better than T3 (which he didn't really pay attention to; he also only watched one episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Feel free to start your fuming now), and tried to introduce credibility back to the franchise. And, maybe most importantly, he showed that he knows movie direction: 7:15: Here's a tip that will go down in history from one of the film greats. There's two elements that go into filmmaking. There's sound, and there's the picture. There's more in Jason's epic journey into one director's ego, including how McG feels about the Charlie's Angels movies these days, that Moon Bloodgood topless shot and the downbeat end to the franchise that was possible. Go read, if only because Jason suffered for us, and because he's right about Community. Terminator http://gizmodo.com/5419862/terminator-salvation-bd+live-directors-commentar y-liveblog Salvation BD-Live Director's Commentary Liveblog [Gizmodo] http://io9.com/5420027/mcg-announces-two-more-terminator-movies-reality-may- have-other-plans Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomypost.com tra...@greeneconomypost.com Phone: 425-502-7716
[scifinoir2] Was This The Decade Of The Reboot?
ooking back at the fictional stories that defined the last decade, you might think of things like The Dark Knight http://io9.com/tag/thedarkknight/ , Battlestar http://io9.com/tag/battlestargalactica/ Galactica, or failures like Bionic Woman http://io9.com/tag/bionicwoman/ and Speed Racer. Was this the decade we ran out of original ideas? Okay, that's obviously not completely fair; after all, this last ten years have also seen things like Lost and Twilight winning over new fans, not to mention the end of the Harry Potter book series. But there's no denying that this has been a decade of recycling ideas: James Bond, Batman and Star Trek http://io9.com/tag/startrek/ all got movie reboots (Trek also got a television one, if you count Enterprise), Star Wars http://io9.com/tag/starwars/ gained new life as a TV show, Doctor Who http://io9.com/tag/doctorwho/ and Battlestar Galactica was reborn to much acclaim, unlike fellow television reboots Bionic Woman, Knight Rider and V. We even have Tron waiting in the wings for next year, along with a new Charlie's Angels TV show. The most successful new media franchises were Transformers and Spider-Man - based on ideas that are over two decades old (You could even argue that things like Lost and Twilight are simply mashing up old ideas into relatively new forms; they're definitely standing on the shoulders of giants, at least). So what happened? It's easy to just say Well, the geeks are in charge of media now, even if it's not necessarily untrue. But that doesn't explain how they got there, and why they're not making us fall in love with all manner of new things, instead of retreads of old flames (Does Fringe count as new, or just an updated X-Files?). Personally, I think the blame is shared pretty much equally between creators and the audience. For all that we may cry YARM whenever someone talks about their dream to make the ultimate Logan's Run project, it's as much a desire to succeed as creative backwards-looking that's behind it; audiences, for the most part, tend not to support the new in numbers necessary to make it a big success. Look at the most successful movies of the last ten http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/ years: Each one is based on a concept that people grew up on. So, is it simply nostalgia? Perhaps; it's tempting to play armchair psychologist and stroke the chin, commenting on a return to childhood things following the trauma of 9/11, but it doesn't quite fit, because how does that explain the domination of 2000's The Grinch or 1999's Phantom Menace? You can see definite post-9/11 tropes throughout the pop culture that followed (A simpler morality, where good guys always won and could save us from death from above, in many cases; stories of people dealing with increasingly familiar apocalypses in others), but I don't think that the prevalence of reboots was necessarily one of them. It's not laziness, either; some reboots (Battlestar Galactica, for example) put in as much work as any original concept in terms of worldbuilding and creation. In the end, it may simply be the result of conservatism on everyone's parts: Audiences don't want to spend time or money on something they don't know will entertain them, and studios/creators don't want to spend time or money on something that they don't know will have an audience waiting for it. Movies like District 9 or Moon, web content like Dr. Horrible and the increasing use of comic books as source material for other media back this up, to an extent; the new ideas, and new voices, now have to find new - and cheaper - outlets through which to make themselves known, and become popular and proven enough for the big time. Maybe that'll have happened by the time they've been around long enough to be nostalgic about. http://io9.com/5419642/was-this-the-decade-of-the-reboot
[scifinoir2] 'Lie to Me' reunites the cast of 'The Shield'
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/12/01/lie-to-me-reunites-shield-cast/ OK, the laugh-a-minute Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm, this probably won't be. But The Ausiello Files has learned that The Shield executive producer Shawn Ryan has rounded up half a dozen members of his old show's cast to guest star on his new show, Lie to Me. Through next Tuesday, hard at work on the season's 12th episode, Pied Piper, will be Shield alumni Benito Martinez, Catherine Dent, Kenny Johnson, David Marciano, Cathy Cahlin Ryan and David Rees Snell. The hour's plot: Lie to Me's regular crimefighters, Lightman (Tim Roth) and Zoe (Jennifer Beals), wonder whether (oopsie!) they sent the wrong child murderer to prison nearly two decades earlier. So who's who? Marciano plays the Death Row killer; Ryan, his ex; Snell, his snitch of a brother; Martinez and Dent, the uncle and aunt of the ill-fated little boy; and Johnson. let's just say he becomes a person of interest in the case. So what do you think? Incredibly cool stunt-casting or the kind of cheap gimmick Lie to Me honestly doesn't need? (After all, it did just receive its back-nine pickup order.) Make your voice heard below. You'll need to speak up, though. Internet is spotty where Mike is.
