Canavan’s Comments (group member since May 15, 2018)

Canavan’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

“Oh Man’s Land”, Natalia Theodoridou

(view spoiler)[This rather quiet and somber story seems to be about a psychologically scarred individual reaching out to the ghosts in his past almost by proxy. This entry was well written, but I thought it might have been improved had the author more fully plumbed the narrator’s thoughts and emotions. (hide spoiler)]

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I guess you could characterize this month’s selection as kind of an odd-ball, high-concept anthology. Edited by Eric J. Guignard (and “co-edited” by the fictitious Charlaton Bardot), the book is a faux compendium of haunted locations scattered throughout the world. Longer stories (called “feature entries”) are interspersed with brief ones (referred to as “tiny tales”). I like the maps and the artwork.

Some recent listens...

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 »Pathetique« [2006 Reissue], Evgeny Mravinsky & London Philharmonic Orchestra (1961) ✭✭✭✭
A Swingin’ Safari [Remastered], Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra (1962) ✭✭✭✭
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 [1997 Reissue], Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic (1962) ✭✭✭✭
Swing Along with Floyd Cramer, Floyd Cramer (1963) ✭✭✭✭
The Way We Were [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Marvin Hamlisch (1974) ✭✭✭✭
The Dream Weaver, Gary Wright (1975) ✭✭
Taxi Driver [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [1998 Reissue], Bernard Herrmann (1976) ✭✭✭✭½
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 • Études-Tableaux, Evgeny Kissin (piano), Valery Gergiev & London Symphony Orchestra (1988) ✭✭✭✭
Dead Poets Society [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Maurice Jarre (1990) ✭✭✭½
Made in England, Elton John (1995) ✭✭½
Get Carter [Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture], Various (2000) ✭✭✭½
Take Me Home, Mare Wakefield (2006) ✭✭✭

Stuff recently watched…

Moonshine, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (1918) ✭✭✭
The Haunted House, Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton (1921) ✭✭✭½
Captain Blood, Michael Curtiz (1935) ✭✭✭✭
The Spanish Main, Frank Borzage (1945) ✭✭
Bad Day at Black Rock, John Sturges (1955) ✭✭✭
The Amazing Colossal Man, Bert I. Gordon (1957) ✭½
Fiend Without a Face, Arthur Crabtree (1958) ✭✭½
War of the Colossal Beast, Bert I. Gordon (1958) ✭
Moonbird, John Hubley (1959) ✭✭✭
Risky Business, Paul Brickman (1983) ✭✭✭✭½
Jessica Jones, Season 1 (2015) ✭✭✭✭
Jessica Jones, Season 2 (2018) ✭✭✭½
Carnival Row, Season 2 (2023) ✭✭✭
Evil Dead Rise, Lee Cronin (2023) ✭✭✭½
The Flash, Andy Muschietti (2023) ✭✭✭
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn (2023) ✭✭✭✭
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold (2023) ✭✭✭½
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan (2023) ✭✭✭✭½
Secret Invasion, Season 1 (2023) ✭✭✭
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2 (2023) ✭✭✭

J. said: Godzilla Minus One

So another reboot of this franchise?

J. said: You didn't miss much in Rebels.

Just to be clear, my problem with Rebels has little to do with whether it is a poor series either in general or, more specifically, in its treatment of Thrawn. Ahsoka continually calls back to characters and events from the animated series, but provides viewers with scant details, leaving us to wonder why we should (for just one example) care about some guy named Ezra.

I’ve been watching Disney’s new live action Star Wars property, Ahsoka. Most viewers seem receptive, but my own reaction has been more downbeat. The dialog often seems wooden and trite and the plotlines over-reliant on previously-used McGuffins. I think a big part of the problem (for me) is that the series is basically an extension of Rebels, which I haven’t seen.

Lena noted: Atari is back

Interesting. I’m not sure I really understand this kind of video game nostalgia. This strikes me as the sort of impulse purchase that would get used for a few days and then get tossed into a closet. Of course, I admit I was never that big a fan of Atari even in its heyday.

Some recent listens...

The South American Way, Carmen Miranda (1940) ✭✭½
Lady and the Tramp [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Oliver Wallace (1955) ✭✭✭
This Is Anita, Anita O’Day (1955) ✭✭✭✭
Jazz Samba, Charlie Byrd & Stan Getz (1962) ✭✭✭✭✭
Is That All There Is? [2019 Reissue], Peggy Lee (1969) ✭✭✭✭
It’s Better to Travel [Deluxe Edition], Swing Out Sister (1987) ✭✭✭✭½
Kaleidoscope World, Swing Out Sister (1989) ✭✭✭✭
Out of Time, R.E.M. (1991) ✭✭✭✭✭
Feeling Strangely Fine [20th Anniversary Edition], Sinéad O’Connor (1992) ✭✭½
Wyatt Earp [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], James Newton Howard (1994) ✭✭✭✭
All Natural Ingredients, Fattburger (1996) ✭✭✭½
Heist [Original Motion Picture Score], Theodore Shapiro (2001) ✭✭✭✭½
Lungs, Florence + the Machine (2009) ✭✭✭✭
A New Promise, Sheryl Bailey (2009) ✭✭✭½
A Meeting of Minds, Sheryl Bailey (2014) ✭✭✭½
Red Earth & Pouring Rain, Bear’s Den (2016) ✭✭✭½
Vaughn Williams: Job: A Masque for Dancing • Old King Cole • The Running Set, Andrew Manze & Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (2023) ✭✭✭✭½

Lena: The Continental!!!!

I’m not completely shutting the door on this series, but I was already growing tired of the Wickiverse by the time I watched the fourth movie, which honestly didn’t bowl me over the way it did most folks. I’m not sure I need to see more of the same. Once it starts airing, please let us know what you think, Lena.

J. noted: I can't hear Copland's Hoe-Down without getting hungry for beef. D*** you, National Beef Council!

Dang. Now I can’t get Robert Mitchum’s voice out of my head. “Beef. It's what's for dinner.”

I’ve been listening to a lot of older music these past few days (mostly stuff released and/or originally recorded in the 60s or before), in part because of the recent discussion in this thread about the use of Harry Belafonte’s music in the Beetlejuice soundtrack; but also because of the passing late last month of Tony Bennett. I saw Bennett later in his career when he was well past his prime, but it was still pretty neat to see him.

Merry Christmas [2014 Reissue], Bing Crosby (1949) ✭✭✭½
Tennessee Waltz, Patti Page (1952) ✭✭✭
Cloud 7, Tony Bennett feat. Chuck Wayne (1955) ✭✭✭✭
Calypso, Harry Belafonte (1956) ✭✭✭✭
Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, The Miles Davis Quintet (1957) ✭✭✭½
The Very Thought of You, Nat King Cole (1958) ✭✭✭
Jump Up Calypso, Harry Belafonte (1961) ✭✭✭✭
I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett (1962) ✭✭✭½
I Wanna Be Around [1995 Reissue], Tony Bennett (1963) ✭✭✭✭
This Is All I Ask, Tony Bennett (1963) ✭✭✭
Who Is Gary Burton?, Gary Burton (1963) ✭✭✭½
Something’s Coming, Gary Burton (1964) ✭✭✭
Revolver, The Beatles (1966) ✭✭✭✭
The Stranger, Billy Joel (1977) ✭✭✭✭✭
52nd Street, Billy Joel (1978) ✭✭✭✭½
Let It Be, The Replacements (1984) ✭✭✭✭
This Is Me, Emily Remler (1990) ✭✭✭✭✭
Dust My Broom [1991 Compilation], Elmore James (1991) ✭✭✭
Copland: Piano Concert • Appalachian Spring • Symphonic Ode, Lorin Hollander (piano), Gerald Schwarz & Seattle Symphonic Orchestra (1995) ✭✭✭✭½
Checkmate [Original 1960 Television Soundtrack], John Williams (2006) ✭✭✭✭
The Jazz from U.N.C.L.E., The Summit Six Sextet (2017) ✭✭✭

J. said: Day O was definitely a better choice, and it set up the song used in the denouement

I believe that the decision to use Harry Belafonte’s “Jump in the Line” for the finale followed the one to use “Day-O” for the dinner scene. The original suggestion for the finale was to have Winona Ryder lip-sync “When a Man Loves a Woman”, a fine song, but perhaps not a good fit with the celebratory feelings that the script wanted to evoke at that point.

For my money, “Jump in the Line” was the best thing Belafonte ever recorded.

J. said: The original did leave a nigh permanent addition to my dinner party mix.

Movie lore has it that one of Beetlejuice’s screenwriters had originally proposed “If I Didn’t Care” by the Inkspots as the song for the dinner sequence. (That’s the song that shows up in the opening moments of The Shawshank Redemption.) Supposedly it was Catherine O’Hara who suggested a calypso tune and they eventually settled on Belafonte’s cover of the traditional Jamaican work song, “Day-O”.

Lena said: In scary news there is Beetlejuice 2 in the making. I want to scream about this crap

I was never the huge fan of this movie that others were. It was a fun bit of fluff with some memeable moments (I always liked the waiting room scenes). Burton is slated to direct, at least some members of the original cast are back (including Keaton), and the addition of Jenna Ortega is fine by me. I liked her in Wednesday. I’m not sayin’ I’m gonna rush out to see this sequel, but unless the reviews are truly bad, I’ll probably give it a look at some point.

Lena said: And all the Oscars will go to Goulda:
Even the trailer gives me goosebumps.

A film about Golda Meir makes consideration of the current crisis instigated by the coalition of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party and its allied ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox groups all the more depressing.

Crunching numbers again over the past few days; here’s some of what I’ve been listening to:

Meet Me in St. Louis, [1995 Release of Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Various (1944/1995) ✭✭✭✭
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir [1997 Release of Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Bernard Herrmann (1947/1997) ✭✭✭✭
Johnny’s Mood, Johnny Mathis (1960) ✭✭✭
Take Ten, Paul Desmond (1963) ✭✭✭✭
Easy Living, Paul Desmond (1965) ✭✭✭½
The Monkees [2006 Rhino Deluxe Reissue], The Monkees (1966) ✭✭✭½
More of the Monkees [2006 Rhino Deluxe Reissue], The Monkees (1967) ✭✭✭
Wichita Lineman [2001 Remastered], Glenn Campbell (1968) ✭✭✭½
Crime of the Century, Supertramp (1974) ✭✭✭
Even in the Quietest Moments..., Supertramp (1977) ✭✭✭½
Breakfast in America, Supertramp (1979) ✭✭✭✭
Quadrant, Joe Pass, Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, & Mickey Roker (1979) ✭✭✭✭
American Garage, Pat Metheny Project (1980) ✭✭✭✭½
I.G.Y., Donald Fagen (1982) ✭✭✭✭✭
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue • An American in Paris, James Levine & Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1990) ✭✭✭✭½
Between the Sheets, Fourplay (1993) ✭✭✭
Move, Earl Klugh (1994) ✭✭✭✭½
Greatest Hits, The Monkees (1995) ✭✭✭✭
Sudden Burst of Energy, Earl Klugh (1996) ✭✭✭✭✭
Jet, Katell Keinig (1997) ✭✭✭
Ives: Symphony No. 4 • Symphony No. 2, José Serebrier & London Philharmonic Orchestra & the John Aldis Choir / Eugene Ormandy & the Philadelphia Orchestra (1999) ✭✭✭½
A Map of the Floating City, Thomas Dolby (2011) ✭✭✭
Esprit de Four, Fourplay (2012) ✭✭✭½
All L.A. Band, Bob Mintzer (2016) ✭✭✭✭
Dream Box, Pat Metheny (2023) ✭✭✭½

Just an FYI. This book was a nominee in the best anthology category for the World Fantasy Award (2022) and won in that category for the Shirley Jackson Award (2021).

J. wrote: Jules

E.T. meets Cocoon?

“Division by Zero”

(view spoiler)[This story asks the question, “How might a mathematician react to the knowledge that mathematics is formally an inconsistent system?” I’ve read stories that are sorta like this one, the most memorable being an amusing chess story Victor Contoski, in which someone discovers embedded within the game an “unnatural” sequence of moves which drives players mad. I remain unconvinced that a discovery, such as the one proposed by Chiang’s, would have the effect portrayed here, but the premise remains an interesting one that I enjoyed. What I didn’t like and what I thought detracted from the main theme was the plot thread involving the disintegration of the relationship between Renee and Carl. (hide spoiler)]

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