Amy H. Sturgis's Blog, page 168
December 25, 2010
Joy to All!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Be merry, be safe, and have fun! I am grateful for each of you.
Here's a verse for the season:
"A Brumalian Wish"
by "Edward John Ambrose Bierce Theobald," a.k.a. H.P. Lovecraft
From the damnable shadows of madness,
From the corpse-ridden hollow of Weir,
Comes a horrible message of gladness,
And a ghost-guided poem of cheer -
And a gloom-spouting pupil of Poe sends the pleasantest wish of the year!
May the ghouls of the neighboring regions,
And the curséd necrophagous things,
Lay aside their dark habits in legions,
For the bliss that Brumalia brings -
And may Druids innum’rable bless thee, as they dance on the moor’s fairy-rings!
So, Galba, may pleasures attend thee
Thro’ all thy bright glorious days;
May the world and the mighty commend thee,
And the cosmos resound with thy praise -
And may all future ages be brilliant with the light of thine intellect’s rays!
PS. To all of you who have sent such lovely holiday wishes and goodies by mail and email, as well as everyone who has posted holiday greetings, thank you for your thoughtfulness!
Here's a verse for the season:
"A Brumalian Wish"
by "Edward John Ambrose Bierce Theobald," a.k.a. H.P. Lovecraft
From the damnable shadows of madness,
From the corpse-ridden hollow of Weir,
Comes a horrible message of gladness,
And a ghost-guided poem of cheer -
And a gloom-spouting pupil of Poe sends the pleasantest wish of the year!
May the ghouls of the neighboring regions,
And the curséd necrophagous things,
Lay aside their dark habits in legions,
For the bliss that Brumalia brings -
And may Druids innum’rable bless thee, as they dance on the moor’s fairy-rings!
So, Galba, may pleasures attend thee
Thro’ all thy bright glorious days;
May the world and the mighty commend thee,
And the cosmos resound with thy praise -
And may all future ages be brilliant with the light of thine intellect’s rays!
PS. To all of you who have sent such lovely holiday wishes and goodies by mail and email, as well as everyone who has posted holiday greetings, thank you for your thoughtfulness!
December 23, 2010
Sofanaut Awards, Harry Potter, and Sherlock Holmes (on Chiron Beta Prime)
* Tremendous thanks to all of you who nominated me for the 2011 Sofanaut Awards. I'm very grateful for your support! The final round of voting begins today, and I'm on the shortlist both for Best Fact Article Contributor (for my "Looking Back at Genre History" segments) and for Best Narrator. If you listen and enjoy StarShipSofa, I hope you'll take part in this final round of voting. To vote, go here and click on the "2011 Sofanaut Awards" banner on the right. No registration is necessary. Thanks for participating, and best wishes to all of the nominees!
* I thought this might be of interest to many of my friends: "The Relevance of YA for Adults: The Harry Potter Effect" by Jaym Gates at the Apex Book Company blog.
* Last but not least, 'tis the season to revisit a favorite holiday song, Jonathan Coulton's "Chiron Beta Prime":
I just love this...
"Well, I don't like it; but I suppose it must be," said I. "When do we start?"
"You are not coming."
"Then you are not going," said I. "I give you my word of honour - and I never broke it in my life - that I will take a cab straight to the police-station and give you away, unless you let me share this adventure with you."
- John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," Arthur Conan Doyle
* I thought this might be of interest to many of my friends: "The Relevance of YA for Adults: The Harry Potter Effect" by Jaym Gates at the Apex Book Company blog.
* Last but not least, 'tis the season to revisit a favorite holiday song, Jonathan Coulton's "Chiron Beta Prime":
I just love this...
"Well, I don't like it; but I suppose it must be," said I. "When do we start?"
"You are not coming."
"Then you are not going," said I. "I give you my word of honour - and I never broke it in my life - that I will take a cab straight to the police-station and give you away, unless you let me share this adventure with you."
- John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," Arthur Conan Doyle
Joy to All!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Be merry, be safe, and have fun! I am grateful for each of you.
Here's a verse for the season:
"A Brumalian Wish"
by "Edward John Ambrose Bierce Theobald," a.k.a. H.P. Lovecraft
From the damnable shadows of madness,
From the corpse-ridden hollow of Weir,
Comes a horrible message of gladness,
And a ghost-guided poem of cheer -
And a gloom-spouting pupil of Poe sends the pleasantest wish of the year!
May the ghouls of the neighboring regions,
And the curséd necrophagous things,
Lay aside their dark habits in legions,
For the bliss that Brumalia brings -
And may Druids innum'rable bless thee, as they dance on the moor's fairy-rings!
So, Galba, may pleasures attend thee
Thro' all thy bright glorious days;
May the world and the mighty commend thee,
And the cosmos resound with thy praise -
And may all future ages be brilliant with the light of thine intellect's rays!
PS. To all of you who have sent such lovely holiday wishes and goodies by mail and email, as well as everyone who has posted holiday greetings, thank you for your thoughtfulness!
Here's a verse for the season:
"A Brumalian Wish"
by "Edward John Ambrose Bierce Theobald," a.k.a. H.P. Lovecraft
From the damnable shadows of madness,
From the corpse-ridden hollow of Weir,
Comes a horrible message of gladness,
And a ghost-guided poem of cheer -
And a gloom-spouting pupil of Poe sends the pleasantest wish of the year!
May the ghouls of the neighboring regions,
And the curséd necrophagous things,
Lay aside their dark habits in legions,
For the bliss that Brumalia brings -
And may Druids innum'rable bless thee, as they dance on the moor's fairy-rings!
So, Galba, may pleasures attend thee
Thro' all thy bright glorious days;
May the world and the mighty commend thee,
And the cosmos resound with thy praise -
And may all future ages be brilliant with the light of thine intellect's rays!
PS. To all of you who have sent such lovely holiday wishes and goodies by mail and email, as well as everyone who has posted holiday greetings, thank you for your thoughtfulness!
December 20, 2010
The Stage, The Screen, and Science Fiction
As a devotee of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the Gothic tradition, and most especially early science fiction, I'm extremely excited about Nick Dear's new stage adaptation of Frankenstein, which will run next year at the National Theatre. Not only is it being directed by Danny Boyle (of 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire fame), but the play also stars Benedict Cumberbatch (from my favorite current series, Sherlock) and Jonny Lee Miller (from Dexter), who will alternate the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. Fortunately, as part of the National Theatre Live series, a live performance of Frankenstein will be shown in select movie theaters in the United States. More details are here. I'm looking forward to it!
Speaking of science fiction (and, for that matter, reanimated bodies), the terrific Fringe will be in a new time slot when it returns to the Fox Network next month. It's the dreaded Friday night slot of death, I'm sad to say. Fox has responded to fan outrage, though, with an "In Your Face, Fox-Hater!" promo that's certainly worth a watch:
Last but not least, Turner Classic Movies creates an annual video in memory of those in the film industry who died during the year. (Last year's is here.) This is "TCM Remembers 2010":
"Fine. If you end up breaking the universe, this time it's on your head."
- Walter Bishop, Fringe, "6955 kHz"
December 17, 2010
Linkity Links
The semester is over! And I have links to share...
My most recent StarShipSofa "History of the Genre" segment, which discusses Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic dystopia, We (the novel Ursula K. Le Guin called "the best single work of science fiction yet written"), is now available in the latest episode of the podcast. You can download it or listen to it here. If you listen, I hope you enjoy. (A full list of my past podcast segments, with links, is available here.)
LibriVox has some new unabridged readings that may be of special interest:
* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
* "Asteroid of Fear" by Raymond Z. Gallun
* The Skylark of Space by E.E. "Doc" Smith
The Chronicle of Higher Education has posted two recent articles on Cherokee subjects, since senior writer Lawrence Biemiller has been hanging out in Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. (These will be available to nonsubscribers for a limited time only.)
* "In Seminary Hall, a Lesson in Cherokee History"
* "Cherokee for Beginners"
The latter talks about the iTunes app for the Cherokee language (Tsalagi), which some of my students happened to use this past semester:
Happy early birthday wishes go out to![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380442897i/1319734.gif)
tuilelindowen
,
whswhs
, and
arkhamdenizen
. I hope each of you enjoy a great day and a wonderful year to come!
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
- Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle
"An ancestor of mine maintained that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
- Spock, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
My most recent StarShipSofa "History of the Genre" segment, which discusses Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic dystopia, We (the novel Ursula K. Le Guin called "the best single work of science fiction yet written"), is now available in the latest episode of the podcast. You can download it or listen to it here. If you listen, I hope you enjoy. (A full list of my past podcast segments, with links, is available here.)
LibriVox has some new unabridged readings that may be of special interest:
* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
* "Asteroid of Fear" by Raymond Z. Gallun
* The Skylark of Space by E.E. "Doc" Smith
The Chronicle of Higher Education has posted two recent articles on Cherokee subjects, since senior writer Lawrence Biemiller has been hanging out in Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. (These will be available to nonsubscribers for a limited time only.)
* "In Seminary Hall, a Lesson in Cherokee History"
* "Cherokee for Beginners"
The latter talks about the iTunes app for the Cherokee language (Tsalagi), which some of my students happened to use this past semester:
Happy early birthday wishes go out to
tuilelindowen
,
whswhs
, and
arkhamdenizen
. I hope each of you enjoy a great day and a wonderful year to come! "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
- Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle
"An ancestor of mine maintained that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
- Spock, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
December 13, 2010
Grading like a... giant grading thing
Just surfacing from my end-of-term grading to wish
gypsyjr
and
mguibord
a happy birthday. May you both enjoy many happy returns of the day!
see more Historic LOL
"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show."
- Andrew Wyeth
gypsyjr
and
mguibord
a happy birthday. May you both enjoy many happy returns of the day!
see more Historic LOL
"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show."
- Andrew Wyeth
December 10, 2010
Happy Friday!
Hi everyone! Happy Friday. It's the last week of classes, which means that a grade-a-thon lurks around the corner...
The League of Writers blog is sponsoring a giveaway contest for a copy of all five of the bloggers' forthcoming young adult dystopian novels (XVI by Julia Karr, Across the Universe by Beth Revis, Memento Nora by Angie Smibert, Possession by Elana Johnson, and The Seventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch). Check out the blog here for a chance to win before December 20.
There's a list of donation drives here at the Friends of the Pine Ridge Reservation website, including lists of books requested by schools on the reservation. (Thanks to
marthawells
.)
From The Chronicle of Higher Education (available to nonsubscribers for five days): "Harry Potter and the Deeply Appreciative Professor."
For those of you interested in 2011 reading challenges, I have more links for you since my last post:
* The 2011 Debut Author Challenge
* The 2011 Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge
* Becky's Book Reviews has a links to additional 2011 challenges
So, what do you think about the forthcoming, first-ever adaptation of Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently novels?
"The door was the way to... to... The Door was The Way. Good. Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didn't have a good answer to."
- Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
The League of Writers blog is sponsoring a giveaway contest for a copy of all five of the bloggers' forthcoming young adult dystopian novels (XVI by Julia Karr, Across the Universe by Beth Revis, Memento Nora by Angie Smibert, Possession by Elana Johnson, and The Seventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch). Check out the blog here for a chance to win before December 20.
There's a list of donation drives here at the Friends of the Pine Ridge Reservation website, including lists of books requested by schools on the reservation. (Thanks to
marthawells
.) From The Chronicle of Higher Education (available to nonsubscribers for five days): "Harry Potter and the Deeply Appreciative Professor."
For those of you interested in 2011 reading challenges, I have more links for you since my last post:
* The 2011 Debut Author Challenge
* The 2011 Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge
* Becky's Book Reviews has a links to additional 2011 challenges
So, what do you think about the forthcoming, first-ever adaptation of Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently novels?
"The door was the way to... to... The Door was The Way. Good. Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didn't have a good answer to."
- Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
December 4, 2010
Snow day!
It's snowing! Really, really snowing! The first snow of the season is one of my favorite days of the year. Oh wonderful winter, how I've missed you.
And here's another thing that makes me happy: Topless Robot's list of "The 13 Best Mystery Science Theater 3000 Songs."
I can't argue with the pick for #1.
"Oh, let's have a Patrick Swayze Christmas this year!
Or we'll tear your throat out and kick you in the ear..."
- from "A Patrick Swayze Christmas," Mystery Science Theater 3000
And here's another thing that makes me happy: Topless Robot's list of "The 13 Best Mystery Science Theater 3000 Songs."
I can't argue with the pick for #1.
"Oh, let's have a Patrick Swayze Christmas this year!
Or we'll tear your throat out and kick you in the ear..."
- from "A Patrick Swayze Christmas," Mystery Science Theater 3000
December 2, 2010
Various and Sundry
Happy Hanukkah to all of my friends who celebrate the holiday. And happy belated birthday to
tuesday_darling
. I hope your day was a special one.
I have a few quick notes...
* Last call for holiday cards! If you'd like a card from me this year, please respond here. Thanks!
* I thought one or more of these 2011 Reading Challenges might be of interest to some of my friends:
2011 Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge
2011 Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge
2011 Gothic Reading Challenge
2011 Off the Shelf Reading Challenge
* It's time again for the nomination round of the annual Sofanaut Awards, hosted by StarShipSofa ! All listeners are invited to vote once in this round (but you may vote for as many different entries in each category as you wish). I am eligible for nomination in the Best Narrator category (as Amy H. Sturgis) and the Best Fact Article Contributor (for my regular "Looking Back at Genre History" segments). Regardless of which nominees you choose to support, I do hope you'll take part. Voting is here, and no registration is necessary. Thanks so much for participating!
* I will be teaching two courses in the Spring, one undergraduate and one graduate, both on the same topic: "Stories of Worlds Gone Wrong: The Dystopian Tradition."
From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition): "dys·to·pi·a (dĭs-tō'pē-ə): 1.An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror."
Over the centuries, thinkers have used dystopias -- stories of worlds gone wrong, of worst-case scenarios -- to warn their contemporaries about what they viewed as dangerous trends in politics, economics, science, religion, and/or popular culture. This class will consider a variety of historical and current dystopias in literature, film, television, and music. Students will explore the specific conditions that inspired these dystopias, the general warnings inherent in them, and the broad trends in dystopias over time.
"The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster (1909)
Available online here
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924) (It is important to get the Natasha Randall translation.)
ISBN: 978-0812974621
The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth (1953)
ISBN: 978-0312749514
Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald (1959)
ISBN: 978-0299200640
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut (1961)
Available online here
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (1993)
ISBN: 978-0446675505
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)
ISBN: 978-0439023481
One novel and one film of each student's choice from the lists of options provided by Dr. Sturgis.
* I was right: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is even more enjoyable on the second viewing. Yay!
I'll leave you with one of the wonderfully informative and inspirational public service announcements produced by the Chickasaw Nation:
"Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."
- Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," by Arthur Conan Doyle (<-I'm almost finished reading my fourth book in the Holmesian canon in proper order of publication, and I'm loving it.)
tuesday_darling
. I hope your day was a special one.I have a few quick notes...
* Last call for holiday cards! If you'd like a card from me this year, please respond here. Thanks!
* I thought one or more of these 2011 Reading Challenges might be of interest to some of my friends:
2011 Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge
2011 Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge
2011 Gothic Reading Challenge
2011 Off the Shelf Reading Challenge
* It's time again for the nomination round of the annual Sofanaut Awards, hosted by StarShipSofa ! All listeners are invited to vote once in this round (but you may vote for as many different entries in each category as you wish). I am eligible for nomination in the Best Narrator category (as Amy H. Sturgis) and the Best Fact Article Contributor (for my regular "Looking Back at Genre History" segments). Regardless of which nominees you choose to support, I do hope you'll take part. Voting is here, and no registration is necessary. Thanks so much for participating!
* I will be teaching two courses in the Spring, one undergraduate and one graduate, both on the same topic: "Stories of Worlds Gone Wrong: The Dystopian Tradition."
From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition): "dys·to·pi·a (dĭs-tō'pē-ə): 1.An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror."
Over the centuries, thinkers have used dystopias -- stories of worlds gone wrong, of worst-case scenarios -- to warn their contemporaries about what they viewed as dangerous trends in politics, economics, science, religion, and/or popular culture. This class will consider a variety of historical and current dystopias in literature, film, television, and music. Students will explore the specific conditions that inspired these dystopias, the general warnings inherent in them, and the broad trends in dystopias over time.
"The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster (1909)
Available online here
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924) (It is important to get the Natasha Randall translation.)
ISBN: 978-0812974621
The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth (1953)
ISBN: 978-0312749514
Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald (1959)
ISBN: 978-0299200640
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut (1961)
Available online here
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (1993)
ISBN: 978-0446675505
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)
ISBN: 978-0439023481
One novel and one film of each student's choice from the lists of options provided by Dr. Sturgis.
* I was right: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is even more enjoyable on the second viewing. Yay!
I'll leave you with one of the wonderfully informative and inspirational public service announcements produced by the Chickasaw Nation:
"Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."
- Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," by Arthur Conan Doyle (<-I'm almost finished reading my fourth book in the Holmesian canon in proper order of publication, and I'm loving it.)
November 28, 2010
I'm baaack!
I'm baaack!
I have the world's most wonderful friends! Heartfelt thanks to everyone who posted, emailed, and/or snailmailed birthday wishes and gifts for me. You're the best, and I'm most grateful for your kindness! I'll be doing my best to catch up with everyone as soon as possible. (It's bizarre for me to realize that this is my last year as a thirtysomething. ;) Ah well, so it goes.)
In other news, my most recent StarShipSofa "History of the Genre" segment, which discusses Jules Verne's "lost" novel, Paris in the Twentieth Century, is now available in the latest episode of the podcast. You can download it or listen to it here. If you listen, I hope you enjoy. (A full list of my past podcast segments, with links, is available here.)
In case you haven't seen it or you'd like to catch it again, I'll leave you with a fun video that's been making the rounds: I Am Harry Potter (An Interview with Daniel Radcliffe):
I Am Harry Potter from Daniel Radcliffe
"I thought I was an actor playing a wizard, but really I'm a wizard playing an actor."
- Daniel Radcliffe, I Am Harry Potter
