The Mix : What are people talking about today?
Martha Thomases: Don’t You Know, It’s The End Of The World…
If the world doesn’t end today and I really have to write this column, the responsible thing would be to write about the horrific shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.
Here we go again.
The usual subjects are making the usual arguments. People who like guns think the killings could have been prevented if more people had guns. People who don’t like guns think the killings could have been prevented if guns were more difficult to get. People who don’t want to change the gun laws think we should concentrate on mental health services. People who don’t want to pay more in taxes for things like improved mental health services say the problem is that we took prayer out of public schools.
And everyone blames the media.
A good friend of mine, one whose values I respect, said he thought part of the problem is that first-person shooter video games are so realistic that players develop an emotional callus, so that it’s easier to make the transition and shoot a real human.
He may be right. A recent study would suggest otherwise, but I don’t think there is a single answer here. Certain kinds of mental illness may be exacerbated by the kind of stimuli contained in vividly realistic games.
It only takes one.
I don’t like violent video games, but then, I don’t much like video games at all. That said, I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of violent movies in the near future, including Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty, and I’m not prepared to say my choices in violence are better just because they’re mine.
Here’s the thing. It’s not the media that is the problem, but how we deal with it. As an adult I can separate my fantasies from my realities, and I can enjoy them as such. I know that, as an adult, I can’t shoot people who annoy me, and that knowledge contributes to my enjoyment when I watch Clint Eastwood or Sam Jackson do it.
I wouldn’t let my child watch those films if I thought said child was too young to understand. I didn’t, and we had arguments about it. However, even if I was wrong about specifics, my son knew that I valued his emotional health. He might not have known that if I had just turned him loose in the cinemaplex and let him run rampant.
There’s not a single answer to the problem of shootings like the one in Connecticut. It would help if guns were more difficult to obtain, especially the kind that let the shooter fire dozens of shots at a time. It would help if we had more empathy for those suffering from various kinds of mental illness, including run-of-the-mill teenage despair.
If you want to blame the media, blame the right one: the news media. And then consider why we have so many news-worthy, real-life situations in which we glorify killing.
And consider that even after the national outrage about what happened Friday morning, the violence didn’t take a break.
Are we stuck? Is this the human condition? Is it just dirty rotten hippies like myself who believe we can do better? Isn’t there an evolutionary imperative for the strong to dominate the weak?
No, according to some recent archeological discoveries. The evidence suggests that humans are designed to take care of each other, no matter what our individual shortcomings.
If the world hasn’t ended, and you want to help keep it that way, you still have time to make a difference, either with money or service.
Here’s to more light in the days ahead.
SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman
It’s going to be one of THOSE days…
Here’s hoping we all wake up tomorrow with a better rebooted continuity.
PRO SE PRESENTS- THE ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS SAINT PART 3 AND COVER IMAGE-FOR FREE!
Pro Se Productions releases today the third part of its serialized Holiday actioner, THE ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS SAINT! Also released today is the cover image for the serialization as well as for the novella when collected for print! The painting depicting Nicholas Saint facing grasping attackers head on was created by New Pulp artist David L. Russell and will be featured on all future installments of the Saint novella! The link to Part 3 is http://pulpmachine.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-adventures-of-nicholas-saint-day.html! Happy Two Fisted Holidays from Pro Se Productions!
Ranking the James Bond Films, Part One: Numbers 23-14
Having read through Peter Travers’ travesty of a ranking of all the James Bond films, I decided the only thing to do was to create my own, much more accurate list in response. That’s a little joke, of course, because it’s all subjective–few topics get fans more fired up than ranking any series of anything, and especially Bond movies. But I’ve been watching Bond movies for four-plus decades; I grew up on them, as is my little daughter even now. (Yesterday we finished her first viewing of “Dr. No” and she loudly demanded that we continue on into “Goldfinger!”) So here is how I see them, beginning with what I view as the TEN WORST BOND MOVIES OF ALL:
23. A View to a Kill
Simply a wretched film under any circumstances, and the worst of the Roger Moore series—which is saying something. I’ve watched it several times, and can’t get those hours of my life back, I’m afraid. There’s virtually nothing redeeming about this movie. Moore is a thousand years old. Duran Duran does the theme song. Dear lord. It’s all just dreadful.
22. Octopussy
While overall not as terrible as “A View to a Kill,” it contains the single worst moment in any of the films: James Bond, in full clown makeup, pleading for someone in a circus audience to take him seriously and believe him that an atomic bomb is counting down toward detonation. And they’re all laughing at him. YOU DON’T EVER LAUGH AT BOND. Except, y’know, when he’s making one of his little dry jokes. Just horrible.
21. License to Kill
Watching Dalton is as exciting as watching a layer of paint dry on your secret underground supervillain volcano lair, and the film looks more like a made-for-TV movie from the mid-1980s than a big-budget blockbuster. Even “Dr. No,” made for about a buck fifty, looked more “epic” than this. And a drug lord and his cartel–big in the Eighties as far as bad guys go–just seems so “yesterday” now.
20. Die Another Day
The parts are all there for a great Bond film–particularly the Korean DMZ opening, a locale we hadn’t seen before in any of the Bond films, and a very logical one for him to be seen at–but they came together in such a depressing way that this movie actually made me ready for Pierce Brosnan’s run as Bond to die thisday. And that says a lot, considering he is my favorite Bond.
19. The Man with the Golden Gun
What seemed in the mid-1970s as an amazing spectacle—the fantastic Christopher Lee as the assassin “Scaramanga,” with his literal “golden gun,” flying car, and island base complete with lasers and fake Bond in the shooting gallery—now seems supremely cheesy. Still, it did serve as sort of a backdoor pilot for “Fantasy Island,” so we’ll at least give it credit for that. “The plane! The plane!”
18. The Living Daylights
While Timothy Dalton is the dullest Bond of all (and those who say he’s like the Bond of the books must be reading different books than I have), and while there are parts of the film that induce cringes to this day (toy soldiers shooting at Bond? Really?), it’s still tons better than Dalton’s other outing in the role. Seeing Bond on the Rock of Gibraltar at the start was a nice touch. Not horrible, but a far cry from “great.”
17. The World is Not Enough
As is true to one degree or another with all four of the Brosnan films, the pieces are there, but it doesn’t quite come together. Love the villain; like the plot; don’t like the execution of any of it. Denise “Nucular” Richards gets routinely trashed for her “contributions” to this film, and rightfully so; her performance in the final reel is the cruddy cherry on top.
16. Moonraker
Another that I have a particular soft spot for. While the return of Jaws—in his new, comedic role—nearly sinks the picture, and while the plot is a virtual Xerox copy of the previous film, “The Spy Who Loved Me,” but in space rather than underwater, the deliciously understated Hugo Drax and the astronauts-with-laser-guns battle at the end save this movie for me. Sort of.
15. Quantum of Solace
Parts of this movie—Craig’s performance, the whole “Quantum” bit that seemed to be setting up a modern-day SPECTRE, the theater sequence where he talks to the baddies over their communications link—border on spectacular. Everything else (from Mr. Green to the Latin American dictator) slides over into the ridiculous. The plotline involving Green’s girlfriend makes no sense whatsoever. A huge letdown of a movie.
14. The Spy Who Loved Me
Others think very highly of this movie, but I am not the Viewer Who Loved It. Part of it is personal, based on the circumstances under which I first saw it. (It was 1977 and I wanted to see “Star Wars;” my brother wanted to see this. He won. I had to wait months longer to see “Star Wars.”) Part of it is that I’m not remotely intrigued by Barbara Bach. Part of it is that, to borrow a phrase from Queen, “Jaws was never my speed.” Hate me if you want, haters, but this one doesn’t do a lot for me. Do like the underwater Lotus, though.
Back soon with numbers 13-4! Then we’ll finish up with the three best of all.
If you loved –or hated–this list, please check out my weekly podcast, The White Rocket Podcast, where a special guest and I sit down each week for a one-on-one conversation about some topic (such as James Bond books and movies!) of interest to Pulp, comics, SF and pop culture fans in general.
You can follow me on Twitter: @VanAllenPlexico and find me on Facebook as “Van Allen Plexico.” And my main web site is www.plexico.net.
See you next time!
HONEY WEST’S GLORIA FICKLING VISITS THE BOOK CAVE
The co-creator of Honey West, Gloria Fickling entertains The Book Cave crew of Art Sippo, Ric Croxtin, and David Luhn with the history of Honey West.
You can listen to The Book Cave Episode 210: Gloria Fickling aka Honey West here.
Honey West books are available from Moonstone Books.
SALE ENDS TODAY! BLACKTHORN ORIGINAL ANTHOLOGY– 99 CENT SPECIAL!
 |
| Cover Art: James Burns |
 |
| Art: Chris Kohler |
Today is your last chance to get the Award Winning Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars anthology from White Rocket Books for just 99 cents on your Kindle!
Sorcery & science battle on future Mars!
Winner of “Best New Character of the Year” at PulpArk 2012, Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars features stories by Bobby Nash, Sean Taylor, Mark Bousquet, Ian Watson, James Palmer, Joe Crowe, and Van Allen Plexico with interior illustrations by Chris Kohler under a cover by James Burns.
ABOUT BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS:
Betrayed and left for dead on the battlefield, US Army General John Blackthorn awakens many thousands of years later to find himself trapped amidst the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Mars, his only companions a savage Mock-Man and a mysterious sorceress.
 |
| Art: Chris Kohler |
Their war to free this strange new world from oppression won’t be easy: Arrayed against them are the four tyrannical First Men–masters of magic and technology alike–the dreaded Sorcerers of Mars!
In the spirit of “Thundarr the Barbarian” and “John Carter of Mars,” Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars is action and adventure as General Blackthorn and his companions battle the tyrannical Sorcerers of Mars!
Get your $0.99 Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars ebook here.
Also available in paperback here.
A Doctor A Day – “Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel”
Using the new Doctor Who Limited Edition Gift Set, your noble author will make his way through as much of the modern series as he can before the Christmas episode,The Snowmen.
Surpassed only by the Daleks, the Cybermen are the Doctor’s greatest foes. So like the former, it was only a matter of time before we would see…
RISE OF THE CYBERMEN / THE AGE OF STEEL by Tom MacRae Directed by Graeme Harper“If you want to know what’s going on…work in the kitchen.”
The TARDIS falls out of the time vortex and crashes…in London. Well, no, not quite, it’s a parallel Earth, one where Zeppelins are an established mode of transportation, and Rose’s dad Pete is not only alive, but one of the most successful businessmen in England. The Doctor cautions her that this Pete is not her father – there may be another Jackie or even a parallel Rose in this world. He’s partly right – Pete and Jackie are married, and fighting, but there’s no Rose Tyler. With the TARDIS recharging, the trio does a bit of investigating. Pete Tyler has sold his company to John Lumic, owner of Cybus Industries, who make the earbuds that literally everyone wears, a replacement for the smartphone. Intrigued at anyone with that much influence, The Doctor gives in to Rose’s wishes, and they plan to visit Pete. Mickey, on the other hand, visits the home of his grandmother, who on their world, raised him but died five years ago, only to learn that here, she’s still alive. The Mickey, or rather the Rickey of this universe, however, is a freedom fighter against Lumic’s Cybus corporation, which has become so a part of society it makes Apple look like Onkyo. Lumic has a new process for preserving the human brain and “upgrading” human beings. when the UK President refuses to allow the procedure to be tested, Lumic takes the law into his own hands. He lures a number of forgotten men into a truck and uses them to create his new humans – Cybermen.
A solid pair of episodes, bringing a classic foe back in a new way. These are not the Cybermen from our universe – they appeared on the planet Mondas, Earth’s twin that shot out of orbit eons ago. This gives them a chance to re-introduce an old enemy without having to educate the new fans about their history. Daleks are so endemic to British culture, there was no need to re-introduce them, they could just hit the ground running… or rolling.
As more and more Cybermen appearances have stacked up, there’s been some confusion as to whether we’re still seeing the Cybermen from “Pete’s World”, or the ones from ours. The “C” logo has disappeared from the chest, suggesting we may now be looking at native Cybermen. It’s hoped that Neil Gaiman’s upcoming episode, tentatively titles “Last of the Cybermen” will address this issue.
The episode was inspired by a Big Finish audio adventure, “Spare Parts” by Marc Platt. While the final script was quite different from the original story, Davies made sure Platt was paid a fee and got a “Thanks to” credit in the episode.
Mickey’s departure is the first voluntary one for a Companion in the new series. In the old days, willing departure for The Doctor’s friends was the rule – in the new series it’s the exception. So far only Mickey and Martha Jones were the only ones to leave the TARDIS by their own choice, and in both cases they came back to help again. Noel Clarke brought Mickey to new places in the episode, finally becoming his own man, both in how he handles himself, and being able to come to terms with his relationship with Rose. Getting to play a dual role also showed off his breadth as an actor. We got to see alternate Roses and Petes as well, but not both at the same time.
This story(and an upcoming one that addresses this world again) are a classic example of the TV Tropes about parallel universes, specifically that the alternate version of a main character doesn’t really count. Rickey dies, but that’s okay, Mickey’s ready to take his place. Even the Jackie of Pete’s World dies, which sucks for Pete, but since The Doctor has spent the whole episode reminding Rose (and the audience) that “She’s not your mother”, it’s no big deal, just good for a moment of pathos. And they drive that home by making sure we see “our” Jackie at the end of the episode. Pete’s the only one we really care about, because “Our” Pete’s already dead. Besides, the other Jackie was a bitch.
They also do a good job of skewering a trope or two as well – note that when looking for the transmitter controls in the zeppelin bridge, Mickey says he doesn’t know what he’s looking for, and Jake annoyingly comments that maybe it’ll be in a big box with “transmitter control” in big red letters. Later on, they find it… in a big box with “transmitter control” written on in big red letters.
See the haunted opera “Lilith: Mother of Dreams” tonight!
There was a once-in-a-century storm that delayed the original premiere date. But Lilith will not be denied.
Join poet-violist (and ComicMix contributor) Alexandra Honigsberg, international artist composer-clarinetist Demetrius Spaneas, soprano Christina Rohm, and pianist-conductor James Siranovich at the premiere of Lilith: Mother of Dreams, a chamber opera of the iconic demon goddess. It’s debuting tonight at a historic haunted opera house, Flushing Town Hall.
The Lilith Project is conceived as a modern American suitcase opera, a chamber monodrama: intense, human, universal, compact in form and forces, accessible.
Before there was Eve, there was Lilith: Adam’s first lover, once human, made from the same dust, sensuality’s queen, bride of the Angel of Death, mother of opposing cosmic forces – strong, willful, unstoppable. She rules the storms of the skies and the heart – night owl, holy woman of power. From ancient tales of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, to Greece’s Lamiae and Daughters of Hecate, to Native American lore and Victorian Gothic Horror, Lilith looms large in the minds of men and women when the lights go out and they enter dream time. Some call her demon, vampire, child killer – others mother, lover, elder, friend. But whatever the appellations, she persists in the realms of our imaginations, from holy books and high literature to popular feminist concert series, TV shows, and Japanese anime. Child of Light? Daughter of Darkness? Both? Neither? You decide.
Composer Spaneas is a long-time professional, curator of Cornelia St. Café’s Serial Underground award-winning new music series’ 25th year, and Fullbright Specialist of the State Department’s musical diplomats. Librettist Honigsberg is a veteran violist, award-winning songwriter, long-time published poet, and this year’s winner of the Mayor’s Poetry Prize. Both Rohm and Siranovich have established opera careers all over the US and cities abroad. Long-time colleagues in many configurations over the years, Lilith marks this creative team’s debut.
There will be a talk by the artists before the performance and then time for questions and answers, afterwards, and a reception to which all are invited. Come as you are, but gala premiere attire, period dress, and other unique finery is encouraged!
The production is fiscally sponsored by Composers Collaborative, Inc. $10 suggested donation/FTH members free, all welcome.
Dennis O’Neil: The Elephant in the Punch Bowl
Dear Uncle Huff ,
Look, I know that your guns are important to you: more important than Emmy’s knitting is to her, more important than the twins’ comic book collection is to them, maybe more important than Gran’s daily mass and communion is to her.
For openers, there’s your collection, the best in town. From the nifty little .22 derringer to the awesome AK47, it’s a display of firearms you’re justly proud of. And yes, I remember sitting in your living room, cocking and dry-firing your Colt Peacemaker. Sure, guns fascinate me. I’m an American male.
But the collection is only the beginning. Guns provide a focus for your energy and enthusiasm. They give you a social life, too. I’ve seen you at the gun shows, kidding around with your pals, sharing information and opinions with them. They’re your tribe and you’re happy to have a tribe and to be part of this one. And guns give you an area of expertise – something most of us want. You stand holding the Glock in both hands and empty it downrange and the target you’re shooting at is shredded. You smile. You’re a damn good shot and you know it.
I wonder if fear isn’t part of your devotion to weapons. Some where along the line, you realized that the world is dangerous and unpredictable and having the capability to end an enemy’s life with a half-pound of pressure on a trigger give you a feeling of security.
Let us not forget your patriotism. When the “liberals” – a word you expel from your mouth like it has a bad taste – criticize guns and gun owners, you cite the Second Amendment and when the liberals suggest that our founding fathers meant for state militias to be armed and said nothing about ordinary Joes, you shrug.
Even if the founding fathers hadn’t limited their recommendation to military organizations, they lived and wrote about 236 years ago. Do you still ride to work on a horse?
I’ll ask one more question – a snide question, I admit: if you’re so star-spangled patriotic, why have you never worn a uniform? You’re strong and healthy and intelligent and, let us remember, a fine marksman; the Army would have welcomed you. Okay, like I said: snide. I have no right to judge you, or anyone else.
So instead of judging you, let me plead with you to be enormously brave. Admit that you’ve been ignoring the elephant in the punch bowl, that guns may bear some responsibility for the barbaric slaughter of innocents we are continuously witnessing. Heed facts and ignore slogans. Find the courage to abandon important elements of your life so a greater good can exist. Admit that you might be wrong.
Whenever there’s an Aurora or Virginia Tech or Gabby Gifford, the pro-gun pundits say that now is not the time to discuss gun control, let’s wait until emotions cool. Then time passes and other matters claim the national attention, and eventually, there is more cause for mourning.
At least start asking the questions. Last week, 20 school children were shot to death.
Your nephew,
Jimmy
THURSDAY: Martha Thomases
