It's been a while since I last posted on the blog. Contrary to popular opinion, the House of Everything was not forclosed, or condemned, or battered into matchsticks by any of several polar vortexes. I was merely the victim of a vast web wing conspiracy. I think.
Whatever happened, my computer died. As many of you know, I am not a computer savvy, technically oriented person. My tech guru had to use the most basic computer lingo to explain it to me. He said that the framgombally rozenfratzed the transection of the the grnz while Saturn was on the cusp of cleopatra. Or words to that effect. I think he means that a big wad of Declan's dog hair got stuck in the tubes and pipes that make up the internet.
Now all that is in the past. The computer now functions, although it seems to insist that I make a blood sacrifice of a squirrel to it fortnightly.
And now...
(drum roll, please)
...on with the blog!
Small House of Everything
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
INCOMING
- Poul Anderson, Harvest of Stars. SF.
- David Brin, The Transparent Society. Nonfiction. Published 16 years ago, this book focuses on technology's role in the choice between privacy and freedom. The more things change...
- Wesley D. Camp, Camp's Unfamiliar Quotations from 2000 B.C. to the Present. Reference. Some of the quotations aren't that unfamiliar, but the book is good fun.
- Lee Child, Bad Luck and Trouble. A Jack Reacher thriller with not a Tom Cruise in sight.
- Don Coldsmith, Walks in the Sun. Western.
- Michael Connelly, 9 Dragons and The Scarecrow. A Harry Bosch mystery and a Jack McEvoy mystery.
- Patricia Cornwell. Black Notice, Scarpetta, and Trace. Kay Scarpetta mysteries.
- Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz, editors, American Indian Myths and Legends. Folklore.
- Linda Fairstein, The Kills. An Alexandra Cooper mystery.
- L. Ron Hubbard, Clear Body, Clear Mind. Bushwah.
- Eric Van Lustbader, Black Blade, French Kiss, The Kaisho, The Ninja, and White Ninja. Thrillers; the last three feature Nicholas Linnear.
- Todd McCaffrey, Dragonheart. SF novel in the Pern series. His second solo novel in the series, but his mother's name is still most prominent on the cover jacket.
- Todd McFarlane, Spawn, Book 1, Spawn, Book 2, and Spawn Book 3. Graphic novels.
- Doug Moench, Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. Graphic novel.
- George Pelecanos, What It Was. A Derek Strange mystery.
- Rick Reed, The Cruelest Cut. Thriller.
- John Ringo & Julie Cochrane, Honor of the Clan. SF.
- R. A. Salvatore, Canticle, In Sylvan Shadows, and Night Masks. Fantasy, the first three volumes in the Cleric Quintet.
- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, DragonLance Chronicles, Volume 1: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, DragonLance Legends, Volume 1: Time of the Twins, DragonLance Legends, Volume2: War of the Twins, and DragonLance Legends, Volume 3: Test of the Twins. Gaming [DragonLance] tie-in novels.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM F. TEMPLE
British SF writer and fan William F. Temple (1914-1989) would have been 100 years old today. A member of the legendary British Interplanetary Society and editor of their bulletin, Temple was a flatmate of fellow BPI member Arthur C, Clarke prior to World War Two. (A semi-autobiographical account of that time can be found in his 2000 collection 88 Gray's Inn Road.) He is best known for his novel (and the film based on the novel) Four-Sided Triangle. He published at least nine other science fiction novels (including three juveniles in the Martin Magus series), a detective novel, and two nonfiction books about space travel. Temple published almost 70 science fiction stories; fourteen of them are currently available in A Niche in Time and Other Stories (Ramble House, 2011). Temple is one of many forgotten writers who is worth checking out.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
JOE PALOOKA VISITS THE LOST CITY
Joe Palooka Visits the Lost City (1945)
He may be a boxing champion, but Joe Palooka is an all-American good guy, which is why this 1945 one-shot comic has him in the army. Private Palooka and his buddy Jerry Leemy find themselves in the Mid-East battling fascists. Along the way, Joe meets up with a number of friends, both old and new, among them Ibi ben Abou (Benny to his friends) and Queen Margaret Louise Francesca Maria Ursula Stephanie of Borovia (Maggie to her friends), as well as more than a few enemies. Look quickly and you might even see Knobby Walsh.
With such clean-cut, wholesome men like Joe Palooka fighting for Uncle Sam, it's no wonder that we won World War II.
Of course, Ham Fisher is credited with both writing and drawing this giant-size (164 pages!) comic book.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=16940
He may be a boxing champion, but Joe Palooka is an all-American good guy, which is why this 1945 one-shot comic has him in the army. Private Palooka and his buddy Jerry Leemy find themselves in the Mid-East battling fascists. Along the way, Joe meets up with a number of friends, both old and new, among them Ibi ben Abou (Benny to his friends) and Queen Margaret Louise Francesca Maria Ursula Stephanie of Borovia (Maggie to her friends), as well as more than a few enemies. Look quickly and you might even see Knobby Walsh.
With such clean-cut, wholesome men like Joe Palooka fighting for Uncle Sam, it's no wonder that we won World War II.
Of course, Ham Fisher is credited with both writing and drawing this giant-size (164 pages!) comic book.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=16940
Friday, March 7, 2014
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KITTY
She is the very best thing that has ever happened to me. Her beauty still takes my breath away. May this day and each following day continue to bring her love, joy, and wonder.
FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER
Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay That Became the Classic Star Trek Episode by Harlan Ellison (expanded edition, 1996)
More years ago than I like to remember, back in the Dark Ages when we would go to science fiction conventions, we would always hear at least half a dozen stories about Harlan Ellison, the enfant terrible of the science fiction world. Ellison is now 79, which is kind of old for an enfant terrible, but the reputation still follows him, in part because of a long-running feud he once had with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry -- a feud that stemmed from Ellison's screenplay of "The City on the Edge of Forever," an episode that many feel was the finest that program ever produced.
Let's get a couple of things straight from the get-go. Ellison is not, and has never been, an enfant terrible. Nor has he ever been a mean-spirited, childish brat. What Ellison is -- and always has been -- is an honest and highly principled man. Yes, he is prone to anger-- but never without cause. At times he has been a hack and a hustler, but he is also the solid professional we all hoped we could be. Ellison is a man who knows his own self-worth and the value of his writing.
Ellison is not a man you want to be pissed at you. He can be pissed at you if you are duplicitous or meretricious; if you are false-faced; or if you spread falsehoods about his professionalism. For years, Gene Roddenberry had been spreading lies about Ellison's relationship with Star Trek and with this script in particular.
This book is Ellison's response thirty years after the fact. (Actually, Ellison first responded in a Roger Elwood anthology, Six Science Fiction Plays, in 1976 with the original script for the episode -- the one that won the Writer's Guild award for best dramatic-episode teleplay of the 1967-68 season.
In 1995, a small-press edition of this book was published; a year later, White Wolf published this expanded version.
So what was all the hoopla about? If you don't already know, I suggest you read this book.
And what's in the book? Ellison's 75-page introduction, for one; Ellison's introductions are always worthwhile and this one is a doozy. Then there's Ellison's original treatment, dated 21 March 1966, and his second (revised) treatment, dated 13 May 1966. The core of the book is the original teleplay, dated 3 June 1966, followed by the prologue and act one of the second revised draft of the teleplay, dated 1 December 1966. There are also interesting afterwards by eight people closely associated with Star Trek: ST novelist Peter David, ST scripter and executive D. C. Fontana, ST scripter and writer David Gerrold, ST:TNG executive Melinda Snodgrass, and ST actors DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.
Read this is you are interested in Ellison, Star Trek, how Hollywood works, or if you just like to read a great story.
More years ago than I like to remember, back in the Dark Ages when we would go to science fiction conventions, we would always hear at least half a dozen stories about Harlan Ellison, the enfant terrible of the science fiction world. Ellison is now 79, which is kind of old for an enfant terrible, but the reputation still follows him, in part because of a long-running feud he once had with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry -- a feud that stemmed from Ellison's screenplay of "The City on the Edge of Forever," an episode that many feel was the finest that program ever produced.
Let's get a couple of things straight from the get-go. Ellison is not, and has never been, an enfant terrible. Nor has he ever been a mean-spirited, childish brat. What Ellison is -- and always has been -- is an honest and highly principled man. Yes, he is prone to anger-- but never without cause. At times he has been a hack and a hustler, but he is also the solid professional we all hoped we could be. Ellison is a man who knows his own self-worth and the value of his writing.
Ellison is not a man you want to be pissed at you. He can be pissed at you if you are duplicitous or meretricious; if you are false-faced; or if you spread falsehoods about his professionalism. For years, Gene Roddenberry had been spreading lies about Ellison's relationship with Star Trek and with this script in particular.
This book is Ellison's response thirty years after the fact. (Actually, Ellison first responded in a Roger Elwood anthology, Six Science Fiction Plays, in 1976 with the original script for the episode -- the one that won the Writer's Guild award for best dramatic-episode teleplay of the 1967-68 season.
In 1995, a small-press edition of this book was published; a year later, White Wolf published this expanded version.
So what was all the hoopla about? If you don't already know, I suggest you read this book.
And what's in the book? Ellison's 75-page introduction, for one; Ellison's introductions are always worthwhile and this one is a doozy. Then there's Ellison's original treatment, dated 21 March 1966, and his second (revised) treatment, dated 13 May 1966. The core of the book is the original teleplay, dated 3 June 1966, followed by the prologue and act one of the second revised draft of the teleplay, dated 1 December 1966. There are also interesting afterwards by eight people closely associated with Star Trek: ST novelist Peter David, ST scripter and executive D. C. Fontana, ST scripter and writer David Gerrold, ST:TNG executive Melinda Snodgrass, and ST actors DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.
Read this is you are interested in Ellison, Star Trek, how Hollywood works, or if you just like to read a great story.
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