James Dorr's Blog, page 147

Art and Movies on a Summer-like Afternoon, or, 1900s Science Fiction?

A lovely Sunday with a high, or so has said the Weather Channel, just hitting eighty degrees.  A precursor of summer?  But meanwhile the Indiana University Art Museum in conjunction with the IU Cinema offered “Art and a Movie,” an afternoon that began with a lecture at the museum followed by the short feature film (about 62 minutes) “Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies.”  Movies, movies.  But Picasso loved the movies, it seems, and both his and Braque’s invention of cubism, after meeting each other in Paris in 1907, were both influenced by and, in a sense, an answer to the new art form of the motion picture.

To quote the brochure:  PICASSO AND BRAQUE GO TO THE MOVIES — produced by acclaimed director and film historian Martin Scorsese and Robert Greenhut — looks at the connections between early motion pictures and the development of the revolutionary art movement known as Cubism.  Narrated by Scorsese with interviews with art and film historians and contemporary artists including Chuck Close, Julian Schnabel, Lucas Samaras, Robert Whitman, and Eric Fischl, as well as a wealth of rare film clips.  And, to continue, as a sort of bridge between lecture (including early prints in the museum’s collection) and show, [T]he documentary will be preceded by BALLET MÉCANIQUE, an early experimental art film by the Cubist artist Fernand Léger.

I have trouble describing movies like this, except I can say if you’re a lover of early cinema, this is a film you shouldn’t miss — that is, if you can find it!   (It is available on DVD with Amazon prices starting in the $12.00 range.)  The discussion in large part is on the effects of what amounted to a technological revolution, but also, of course, with the movies themselves.  While not the only ones seen by the artists a number of clips are from Georges Méliès who, with others, presented illusions much as a magician might through various editing tricks, tricks which the Cubists used in their own way in changing their, and our, perception of space and motion.  Thus a guitar is seen from a number of views at once, to imply the whole, but all in a flat plane in lieu of perspective.  Thus motion is suggested, again through multiple glances, in paintings like Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

Indeed a suggestion in the film, when viewing Cubist art, is to look at the elements in the work as if they were moving.  This even with much early Cubist work concentrating on still lifes, but again with multiple views of an object, as if one were oneself walking through the scene being depicted.  But more than that, at a time in itself being defined by change, in this case from more or less 1900 to 1914 and the advent of World War I, both art and film, as a part of this change, did their part to make the public feel it in terms of its possibility — much as science fiction, for instance, later may have done to prepare for the Space Age.

And as for the art, the change itself was a radical one not just in form, but, as one might argue, in vision itself.

For Ecological Vampires: Solar-Powering the Mausoleum Past Midnight ‘Til Dawn?

A lovely mid-April day today, the sun bright and warm after an at-best mixed spring.  And the Weather Channel says more is to come through most of next week!  But what of the vampires?  Will they be doomed to ever-shortening nights, fearful to go out in the sun by day?  Or is there a way to bring the sun’s power inside, even into one’s coffin, for power not only by day but night as well?

Enter Jarad Jones on UPWORTHY.COM with the latest in scientific prowess in “How Do You Power a Solar Panel Without Sunlight?  These Scientists Have an Awesome Answer.”  But let’s hear a bit from the horse’s own mouth:

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Yes, the cumulonimbus cloud is truly the kryptonite to the solar panel’s Superman. . . . 

For some areas of the world, the push toward clean, renewable solar energy has faced an uphill battle due largely to climate constraints and regional weather patterns.  With environmental experts predicting that solar energy could account for two-thirds of all new energy generated in the next 25 years, these areas are increasingly at risk for missing out on this largely untapped goldmine.

However,

Scientists from China just unveiled an “all weather solar cell” that could turn even gloomy weather into glorious electricity by generating energy from raindrops. . . .

And that isn’t all!  Scientists at Binghampton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York have suggested a second method of harnessing the sun, even at night, by using bacteria.  But for the rest, it’s time to read the whole article for oneself by pressing here.

Now, what will science offer to do with the moon for year-round werewolfing?

Some Italian, Some Turkish, Lots of Roger Corman: 25 “Rip-Off” Films Just for Fun

Those who know the name Roger Corman (cf. September 28 2015, et al.; also March 30 2014) probably know where this one is going.  PIRANHA, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, GALAXY OF TERROR — low-budget adaptations based in this case on, respectively, JAWS, STAR WARS, ALIENS, and many many more.  But let’s let compiler Paul J. VanTassle explain:

Anytime that a movie gets released and is popular or a huge success, some smaller studio is going to try and take advantage of that success and release its own movie that is somewhat similar.  It has happened throughout cinematic history but wasn’t more prevalent than during the drive-in, exploitation, and VHS rental craze.

Low-budget producers in the United States and around the globe were churning out their own versions of popular American films.  Some of these took just a core theme from its popular source; some marketed it with a similar sounding title and similar looking movie poster, some actually lifted footage and music from its original source, some stole licensed characters, and some were almost shot for shot from the original.

The films on this list mostly focus on the period from the 1970’s and 1980’s, when exploitation cinema and the video rental market were at its strongest.  Some are decent B-movies, some are bad, and some are awesome because of how bad they are.

VanTassle adds that this is not by any means inclusive, nor even necessarily the best — so many abound, who could even count them? — but I’ll add that I’ve marked about eight (that is, that I haven’t seen already) that seem worth checking out further.  The article:  “25 Great Cult Films that Are Rip-Offs of Popular Movies” on TASTE OF CINEMA, brought to my attention courtesy of Mike Olson via ON THE EDGE CINEMA, for which one may press here.

April’s First Sunday Prose Ends with Tiny Fairy Tale; The Experience of Death

‘Twas that time again, the first Sunday of the month and the Bloomington Writer’s Guild “First Sunday Prose Readings and Open Mic,” held in conjunction with Boxcar Books.  Featured readers were Indiana native Charles Culp with an excerpt from “a story that takes place between the Ohio and the Wabash,” BETWEEN THE LINES; Anne Cabe with a poem to recognize National Poetry Month, “Hungry Witches,” a flash prose piece, and excerpts from a longer story, “Talk to Me”; and Frida Westford with a period fantasy story, “The Third Raven,” followed by a poem about dragons.  After the break there were four walk-on readers, with me batting cleanup with a 75-word all-dialogue take on fairy tales, “As Fine As Frogs’ Hair,” originally published in MISCELLANEA:  A TRANSDIMENSIONAL LIBRARY  (see November 14 2013, et al.).

Also, briefly, while perusing my email etc. just prior to Sunday afternoon’s readings,  through luck and blunder I came upon, from BBC.COM/FUTURE, “The Seven Ways to Have a Near-Death Experience” by Rachel Nuwer.  It seems there has been some serious research on this kind of thing, with resuscitated patients reporting a variety of experiences while they were technically dead, which generally fall into seven categories, some pleasant, some fearful.  Details can be found by pressing here.

Things Received March 31 (Not April Fool’s Day): Night Lights; Contract, Proof Copy for Everywhere Stories, Vol. 2

There it was in the mailbox yesterday afternoon, a mystery package from CreateSpace.  With trembling fingers, one tore the box open and . . . yes . . . there it was!  From an original acceptance in November 2014, a little delayed, from one of three anthologies now combined into one, my science fiction story, “The Needle-Heat Gun” (see February 22 2016; November 6, 7 2014).  The anthology, to give its full title, NIGHT LIGHTS, AN ANTHOLOGY OF SHORT FICTION:  FIRST CONTACT, CONSPIRACY, AND SPACE OPERA from Geminid Press, more on which can be found by clicking here.

My story is in the “Space Opera” section for reasons apparent, I think, when one reads it, a tale no more serious than it needs to be. And it’s second from last in the anthology proper,  the last spot usually good to be in since it’s one the readers will remember but in this case taken by a shorter story that had to be there — one with greater-than-natural implications — and thus nicely positioned in its own right.

Then the second item, the edited proof  from Clifford Garstang of Press 53 for “The Wellmaster’s Daughter,” originally published in ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE in November 1991, along with the contract.  The book for this one, to give its full title, EVERYWHERE STORIES VOLUME II:  MORE SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET (cf. February 29, below), scheduled to be published in November this year.

Untreed Reads 6th Anniversary 30-Percent Off March Sale Extended through April

Yes, another month of bargains through April 30 according to Editor/Publisher Jay Hartman last evening, as reported here February 28 with update March 1.  But why not repeat the details from the latter?  [T]he Untreed Reads Publishing 30-Percent Off March Sale . . .  had its start today and will last through the whole month.  Discounts apply to all Untreed Reads-published ebooks in addition to extra savings for some print editions, and now will be displayed with the titles themselves rather than only when checking out.  Included are my electronic chapbooks PEDS, I’M DREAMNG OF A. . ., and VANITAS, which can be reached by clicking their pictures in the center column; the page you come to will display all three titles as well as the New Year’s Eve anthology YEAR’S END containing my story “Appointment in Time,” along with links to various other Untreed Reads offerings.

So now it’s extended for an extra month.  Also other specials may come up too from time to time which, if they include any of my titles, will be reported here as well.  Or as said above, you can check any time by pressing one of the three chapbooks’ pictures in the center column (all three lead to my combined Untreed Reads author page), and from which one can navigate to other Untreed Reads Publishing bargains as well.

Interior Decorators: Add Bounce to Your Bathroom With . . . Horror Shower Curtains

Usually I don’t tout commercial products on these pages — that is, with the exception of books and magazines my stuff is in — but this one seemed too much fun to pass up.  From RIOTDAILY.COM, courtesy of Scott M. Goriscak and THE HORROR SOCIETY:   “24 Horror Inspired Shower Curtains to Creep Up Your Home.”  My own faves, #14 and (especially) #18, with a tip of the classicist hat as well to #s 15 and 21.  So see for yourself by pressing here.

Then for a bonus, for the ladies with summer coming:  “Death Becomes You.  12 Skeleton Inspired Swimsuits” (or to quote from the blurb:  Whether you’re on the beach or poolside, show everyone that you have quality taste in fashion and the macabre.  When you’re wearing these swimsuits, you’ll definitely be turning a few heads . . . and possibly decapitating the rest) for which press here.

Great Tome Paper Edition Published; Mammoth Royalties Pile Up for Winter

The Great Tome of Forgotten Relics and Artifacts, volume one of The Great Tome Series, presents fifteen tales of cursed relics, ancient artifacts, magical items, and alien devices. In this volume: The Candle Room by James S. Dorr The Heart of Irelda by Jeff Sullins Her Long Hair Shining by Simon Kewin Digging for Paradise by Ian Creasey Light Bringer by Deborah Walker The Nimrod Lexicon by Taylor Harbin Life Sentence by Miranda Stewart The Shepherd by CB Droege The Rightful Owner by Linda Tyler The Head of John the Baptist by G. Miki Hayden The Binding Agent by Douglas J. Ogurek Seamus Tripp and the Golden Plates byRichard Walsh and Jon Garrett Oracle at Delphi Street by Jon Etter Special Collections by Jon Etter The Djinn at the Wheel by Kathy L. Brown.  So reads the blurb on Amazon for the print edition of THE GREAT TOME OF FORGOTTEN RELICS AND ARTIFACTS (see also March 16, et al.), available in trade paperback form for an official list price of $15.99, though slightly smaller prices may be available too.  Not overly enlightening, perhaps, but the story titles may say it all.  To see for oneself, mayhap to order one need but press here.

Meanwhile the mammoth royalties for the final 2015 winter quarter have begun to pile up.  The take this time thus far:  $2.84 as announced from two separate publishers.  Checks are in the mail.  Well, added all together they might pay for a nice hamburger, a couple of extra condiments perhaps, but every bit helps, yes?  Anyway it’s part of the life of the writer.

Killer Kudzu Flushed; Mummy, King Kong at Last Sunday Poetry

Easter brought the Bloomington Writers Guild’s “Last Sunday Poetry Reading & Open Mic” for March, presented in conjunction with the Bloomington and Monroe County Convention Center.  The featured poets were Jonathan Abraham Antelept, philosopher, poet, dreamer, and author of THE CRYSTAL IN THE BURNING GARDEN, who spoke about and read on topics related to resurrection, metamorphosis, change, rising, and overcoming; followed by Dr. Abegunde, who we’ve met before (cf. March 6, January  25, et al.), “an egungun (ancestral) priest in the Yoruba Orisa tradition, Reiki Master, and doula with a focus on the recovery of ancestral memory from the Earth and human body,” who read four poems on a recent trip she had taken to Sudan.  While the overall turnout was good  for a weekend when many would be home with their families, only three “old hands” read at the open mike session that followed, my presentation being in the middle with two recently or about-to-be published poems, both of which we’ve met before, “Plus-Size” (see February 28, et al.) and “On the Other Hand” (March 20, et al.).

But the headline event for the day for me was a new fiction sale, albeit a small one, for a story written last October called “Killer Kudzu.”  It was a silly bit, perhaps, of science fiction/biological horror, but answered the call, at 1100 words, for short humor pieces from Yard Dog Press.  The occasion is a second volume of FLUSH FICTION, the first published just ten years ago in April 2006 with a slightly shortened story of mine, “The Dragon Tattoo.”  The idea was a volume of mostly amusing flash fiction suitable to keep in the bathroom for those in need of a brief sit-down and read.  Volume 2, however, will be using slightly longer stories and with an eye for readings/performances at conventions on the editors/publishers’ circuit to help advertise the Yard Dog line (including, I might add, a five-volume series, BUBBAS OF THE APOCALYPSE, of which I have stories in the first four from 2001 to 2007, an oblique reference to which also appears below for March 17, et al., re. “Bubba Claus Conquers the Martians”).  But also for its original purpose.

The Easter Eve Movie Guide: Donnie Darko

Time travel maybe, a “slip” in time, or demonic possession, or simply a certified non-reliable narrator?  Donnie, after all, not only has problems getting along with his family, not to mention school, but is seeing a psychiatrist on a regular basis.  What’s a teen to do?  He does have a girlfriend or, rather, gets one as the film progresses, but one who has problems of her own.  And what does all that have to do with Easter?

Well, Donnie also has an imaginary friend named Frank who appears and advises him from time to time.  An ordinary fellow teenager in a way, except that Frank’s head is the head of a hideous silver bunny.

And then there’s ex-nun Roberta Sparrow’s THE PHILOSOPHY OF TIME TRAVEL which states that when a “Tangent Universe” has occurred — a temporary vortex connecting the one we live in with an alternate timeline — the first sign may be an Artifact which will be formed of metal.  But one that others will see, or even be killed by, as well, historically often attributed to Divine Intervention — examples include a legend of a Mayan killed by an arrowhead that fell from a cliff, but with no enemy around, or a medieval knight “impaled by the sword he had not yet built.”*  The extras with the DVD, by the way, include selected pages of Sparrow’s book (which Donnie has gotten a copy of too from his school’s science teacher about halfway through) which is worth looking at in trying to figure out What’s Going On?!??

But let the blurb on the DVD case attempt.  DONNIE DARKO is an edgy psychological thriller about a suburban teen coming face-to-face with his dark destiny  . . .  a delusional high school student visited by a demonic rabbit with eerie visions of the past and deadly predictions for the future.  I myself might call it surrealism, at least in part, with possible intimations of God, if there is a God, and supernatural/natural relations.  It’s well done, in my opinion, and the kind of movie that I enjoy.  The kind that is worth looking through the “extras,” and looking at itself at least a second time.

But with the understanding that, even then, the question of “What’s Going On” may still not be completely answered.

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*No mere silvery bunny-mask in this case, or even an arrow or not-yet-forged sword, the Artifact here will most definitely be noticed by practically the whole town.  Just watch the film — I guarantee it!