From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #854 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Tuesday, October 8 2002 Volume 01 : Number 854 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 10:38:55 -0700 From: JLTyner Subject: Re: [AML] Loving _Brigham City_ Let me add my love and admiration of this great movie. We went and saw it twice in Irvine, Ca at the one theatre it was playing at in our area. That was a frustration, it deserved a much wider distribution. We even decided to take our then twelve year old daughter and her friend. They need to know such evil exists, but also that there are good people out there and watch how they deal with it, for good or ill. And interestingly enough, my daughter would like to be a Crime Scene Investigator, she likes the idea of trying to find out the truth and deduce the facts as much as can humanly be accomplished. I talked up the film in a happy chance encounter with Mark Hamill, (aka Luke Skywalker) at ICM. He was talking about independent films and I took the opportunity to plug Brigham City and he mentioned having read the review in the Hollywood Reporter? and it sounded like something he'd really like to see, you got to see the religion without having it shoved down your throat, (his words). He was very personable and probably one of the nicest people and celebrities I have ever met. Thereafter, I took a copy of "God's Army" to ICM every time my daughter had an appointment. (Brigham City hadn't come out on video or DVD yet). Unfortunately, I haven't run into him since. But hey, I tried. I've probably told this story before on the list, but I'm still a little twitterpated by it. Recently, on a carpool trip to the LA Temple, movies came up in the conversation and I mentioned Brigham City. One of our passengers, a baby faced youngster, who's now our ward Young Men's President, told me he and his wife don't watch any PG-13 movies, but his parents owned the DVD. I told him the rating was due to the serious nature of the content and the violence, and frankly, the violence was toned down, it could have been much more gruesome or gory had the filmmaker wanted it to go in that direction. Ratings are often nebulous, it has to be judged on a case by case basis. He really didn't argue with me, and the Bishop was in our car and he really didn't say anything in opposition to what I had to say. In fact, I think he changed the subject by telling a joke. But anyone I've recommended to see the movie has told me how much they enjoyed Brigham City. I hope the word of mouth will continue to spread and somehow come back to you in ways to better help make more of that good, meaty, faithful cinema. Hang in there Richard, we're pulling for you. Kathy Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 14:22:59 -0500 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Loving _Brigham City_ Richard, I'm also a big fan of _Brigham City._ We bought our DVD from the local Hollywood Video. It didn't come close enough to Kansas City for us to see it first-run, or we'd have gone. I think marketing to Mormons *outside Utah* is key. If it weren't for AML-List, I may not have heard much about either of your films (though we did get to see God's Army in the theater). We saw commercials on TV here for "The Other Side of Heaven," which came here briefly, and it seemed everyone was talking about it. You *know* Mormons love to see themselves on TV. (Kinda like Billy Crystal's character Mike in Monsters Inc. -- "I _can't believe it!_ I'm _on TV!_" . . . even if his face is covered up!) That does get attention. My mom just watched BC last week, after finding it in their local (TX) video store & remembering I'd recommended it. She *LOVED* it!! (I can't put that in 64 point or I would.) She's raving over it and telling everyone how wonderful it was and to go see it. I believe it's the BEST movie she's seen in a long, long time. But, she didn't know how to *buy* it. (My dad's the Internet-savvy one.) She should be able to get the store she rented it from to order it, I expect. Anyway. I think exposure is SO important. Can you get the DVD listed in Deseret Book Club mailings, with a nice ad? (Maybe it is, I haven't looked lately!) There's got to be a way to reach the members outside Utah. We're starving out here for things like this. As well as the rest of the country--it's not just a good Mormon movie, it's a good *movie,* period. I really want to see you succeed. I appreciate so much what you're doing and working for, and I'm eager to see more of your films, not more of Charly. Flip burgers if you must, but please, no Singles Ward sequels. Integrity! Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo/linda - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 17:30:39 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Loving _Brigham City_ I, too, loved this movie. I thought about why I did, when usually murder mysteries and stories about serial killers leave me cold. But the genre is not the point: one reason I loved it is because of the depth and substance of the film--I consider it thematically rich--and another is because those are my people up there on the screen. The characters were not the same-old same-old druggies and sex fiends and boozers and violence freaks that Hollywood portrays as normal. They were recognizeable Mormons. That's why the story had such impact, for me at least. I can't wait until Brigham City comes out on VHS (no DVD player yet, guess I'm not cool). barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 10:48:57 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] _Charly_ (Film) (Review) The danger of works like CHARLY: when they succeed financially, publishers want more of them (and very little, if any, of anything else). In my opinion, rather than being a great blessing to LDS fiction, CHARLY and its spawn have proven themselves to be the enemy. PROFOUND, Richard. Our culture does not seem to want ART. (With the exception of our list?) They still want "tickle" and "inspiration." And I'm afraid that it's "inspiration" and "sentiment" etc. that will have to fund the other. I remember when Anita Stansfield took over the Covenant market by storm. I got discouraged, too. It is SO HARD for me to think about "Brigham City" when I concentrate on the financial gain aspect. Mormons won't want to look into the mind of a killer. But I am curious. And I'm THRILLED with the story. It's VERY INSPIRATIONAL to me. But it's also frightening. This conundrum between the artist and the market is a historical phenomenon. I guess we just have to do what we feel like we must do. Artists always have to step out in front and deal with what they must deal with, support or no. Bravo to you for doing a Brigham City, which is what I hear talked about most. It's so DEEP. Thanks for your comment! Marilyn Brown - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 11:55:15 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Sitcoms At 11:58 AM 10/1/02 -0600, you wrote: >. The one thing that's working for us is an insider/outsider >dynamic. Our leading character is a recent convert to Mormonism, who is >able to comment bemusedly on what she sees. That's been working for >us. But it's hard. That dynamic has worked for many shows -- but for a limited time. I think of Mork and Mindy, which I thought funny the first year as Mork encountered our culture. When Mindy says to him, "It's written all over your face," he says, "Shazbat! I've broken out in words!" That was so unexpected and apt that it broke me up. But then they did that stupid thing with Jonathan Winters and ruined it. The Dick Van Dyke Show was funny. The Odd Couple was funny. The humor came from well-developed and enjoyable characters. Today, we see actors standing on a set exchanging nasty put-downs. Blaugh. Maybe you could get some ideas for funny stuff about the LDS culture from the women who wrote those Hatrack River books for Scott Card. They were hilarious. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 12:46:22 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Publishing Options At 03:37 AM 10/3/02 -0600, you wrote: >I believe the public is >ready for stories that are both challenging and faithful, that embrace >conflict but still assume hope as a good thing. A kind of story that modern >Mormons are especially well-suited to offer. The only question that remains >is whether we're willing to buy that kind of story, because in the end >that's the only way to assure that more such stories will be offered. I still remember the shock I felt when someone asked this list to name the works of LDS fiction they'd bought in the year just passed, and hardly anyone had bought anything. If they did, it was for a gift, not for reading themselves. If Mormon writers can't stand Mormon writing, who can? Perhaps it's not so much that readers don't like fiction with substance as that they don't like fiction that implies a negative universe. If you've been on this list for a while, you know that I prefer escapist literature to heavy, depressing stuff. But that doesn't mean that I want only fluff. For example, I've been readying an historical novel about the British navy in which the only one on the protagonist's ship to die in a brief sea battle was a ten-year-old boy, beheaded by a cannonball. The protagonist, the ship's captain, felt horrible because he'd been harrassing the kid, trying to toughen him up for navy life. He felt that he had made the boy's last days fearful, and he could hardly read the burial service for the tears. Then they dumped the kid's body overboard with shot to weigh it down, as was standard procedure. A whole slew of seals appeared where the boy had gone down, looked at the crew, and then vanished beneath the waves. The seamen were comforted -- clearly the boy had been a selkie, and would now enjoy a life of play beneath the sea. The captain considered himself an educated, sophisticated man, yet he tried with all his might to believe in that supersitition because he needed to. It was moving because it was so human. Even escapist me could deal with that, and even enjoy crying over it, because the book as a whole does not say that life and death are meaningless or that we can't really know anything or that life's a bitch and then you die. Can you see what I'm saying? I don't like downer endings, and I'm not particularly fond of ambiguous endings, but I don't scorn a work of fiction just because it contains some tough stuff. I don't want to close a book feeling upset, or walk out of a movie feeling depressed. And no matter what people say about their logic, people make decisions based on emotion. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 12:58:52 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Narratives from LDS Medical Practitioners [MOD: This is a good general question for the list.] At 09:28 AM 10/1/02 -0600, you wrote: >I am looking for narratives of any length on the experiences of LDS medical >practitioners and how their religious perspective is an essential part of >their >work. If you know of any LDS medical practitioners working on a book about >their >experiences, I would especially like to talk to them, but I will look at >anything of any length on this topic. My son is a physical therapist. He's also a good writer. But before I approach him on this subject, I'd like to know what you plan to do with the information if people take the time to put it together for you. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 08:16:35 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] _Charly_ (Film) (Review) Very good to hear from Dorothy Peterson. I wondered about your novel, Dorothy, as I hadn't heard from you. I am so glad the list is rallying to the defense of LITERARY pieces. And thanks to Rob Lauer, also, for his comment that all is still well. Yes, if we are to take stock of the Market, it would be DISCOURAGING. I guess if we let that get us down, it's our problem. However, one must eat to produce art. The attic mentality of the French impressionist movement doesn't suit our Mormon cultural standards? No, the LITERARY pieces do not sell on the Mormon market. This is a lovely (repeated) discussion. Even the LIST doesn't buy literary pieces much because they are also poor. Life is still wonderful, though! Marilyn Brown. - ----- Original Message ----- From: dorothy > I have to add to Richard's cynicism. I have a novel that earned a second > place in Marilyn Brown's novel contest a couple of years ago that is now > with an agent who is trying to get it into the national market. [snip] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2002 09:21:32 -0500 From: "kumiko" Subject: [AML] LDS Maori Entertainer Dalvanius Prime Dies Dalvanius Prime Latter-day Saint. Died October 2002. Popular Maori singer, entertainer, producer and composer from New Zealand. In 1984 he created "Poi E" a hip hop style number (it had the right beats, tempo and swing for breakdancing but did not contain any rap) sung in Maori by the Patea Maori club. The video features Joe Moana bopping. Poi E topped the Top 50 singles chart for four weeks, spending 22 weeks in the charts. Along with the late Ngoi Pewhairangi, Prime developed the concept for "Poi-E: The Myths and Legends", an animated television series and animated feature film, beginning in 1982. Prime wrote the novel Moko, which was the subject of the same-titled motion picture and a series of three one-hour documentaries called "Mokomokai." Made a cameo appearance as himself in the New Zealand feature film "Te Rua" (1991), written and directed by Barry Barclay. Obituary from 5 October 2002 (http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=24908&c=w): Hundreds of people are paying homage to the late singing legend Dalvanius Prime. The 54-year-old entertainer died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer. His body is currently lying in an open casket at the Pari Roa Marae north of Patea. Mourners have spent the day filing past his body, with many expressing their grief in song. Tomorrow he'll be taken from the marae to the Mormon chapel in Hawera for a funeral service. Obituary (http://entertainment.nzoom.com/entertainment_detail/0,1846,136300-129-133,0 0.html): The leading Maori entertainer Dalvanius Prime has died, aged 54. He was best known for his involvement with the Patea Maori Club, and the hit song "Poi E!" Dalvanius was born in the Taranaki town of Patea and grew up in a musical family - forming Dalvanius and the Fascinations with family members in the '70s, before touring Australia and Asia for many years. In 1979, he returned to New Zealand and rediscovered his Maori culture - eventually enlisting the help of the local Patea Maori Club to sing "Poi E!" which became a number one hit. In recent years, Dalvanius has worked for the return of Maori heads from Museums around the world. The Associate Minister of Maori Affairs Tariana Turia says his death leaves a huge void in the landscape of indigenous music and entertainment. Obituary (http://www.xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,3762-1810000,00.html): The larger than life singer and entertainer Dalvanius Prime has died. He'd been suffering from cancer for some time. Attorney-General Margaret Wilson broke the news in Parliament earlier this afternoon. Dalvanius Prime was a record producer, entertainer, and writer, as well as a political activist. He first came to the attention of most New Zealanders in the early 1980s when his Patea Maori Club hit the charts with the songs E Poi E and Hei Konei Ra. The Patea Maori Club was formed after locals were made redundant following the closure of the local freezing works. The group enjoyed several years of popularity. In latter years, he headed up the Mokomokai Education Trust which fought for the return of the preserved tattooed Maori heads, known as toi moko, which were held by overseas museums for a number of years. He became involved in a bitter disagreement with the national museum, Te Papa, over the rightful long-term home for the heads. TRIBUTES Musician Ray Columbus was among the first to make a personal tribute, describing Dalvanius Prime as a catalyst, who brought Maori music to the forefront. He says taking the single Poi E to number one really made that happen. Fellow entertainer Sir Howard Morrison says Dalvanius was not only big here but he was huge in Europe and Asia. He says he only gained prominence in New Zealand much later in his life, so like Billy T James we never got enough of him. Sir Howard says Dalvanius was involved in the national music scene right up until his death. He says there aren't the words in the English language to describe how he feels about losing a great friend. MPs HAVE THEIR SAY Tributes have also been flowing in Parliament. New Green MP Metiria Turei says her most enduring memory of Dalvanius was his hit song Poi-e. She says the singer played an important part in her own development. She says the impression his music created made her feel that her culture and expression were okay. Ms Turei says it is an impression which will last with her generation forever. ACT leader Richard Prebble has also paid tribute. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2002 09:55:22 -0500 From: "kumiko" Subject: [AML] Prime's Novel Synopsis Here is a synopsis for the "Moko" movie, based on the novel by Maori Latter-day Saint Dalvanius Prime. It's not clear that the movie was actually been produced. Prime also wrote a separate book as a companion to the documentary series. So, to make things perfectly clear, there is a novel, a horror movie based on the novel (perhaps not produced), a series of 3 half-hour documentaries, and a book to accompany the documentaries. All about traditional Maori shrunken heads. But I'm not personally an expert on Dalvanius Prime and his career, so anybody who has additional info, please feel free to share it. http://www.digitalus.co.nz/mokomokai/index1.html MOKOMOKAI The Movie A SYNOPSIS FOR A FEATURE FILM FROM THE NOVEL "MOKO" BY MAUI DALVANIUS PRIME Fame, wealth and power have not, for two centuries, been able to release the Phillips family from the curse that is on them. James Phillips, young heir to the family's business interests, is fascinated by grandfather Sir Clive Phillips world-renowned ethnological collection from the South Seas which was started by the original Sir James Phillips early in the 19th century. The young James is always happy to spend part of each year with his wife, Pania, and the two children on the family's New Zealand sheep and deer ranch, "Pounamu" But his Grandfather, Sir Clive, is less than happy about this affection for "Pounamu" and has never favoured James' wife, Pania. It was in London that James met and married Pania, the mother of his two children. A part-Maori, Pania is herself a successful businesswoman-designer, haute-couture salon owner, and a leading agent for artists and models. When Pania wears a greenstone (Jade) pendant she has borrowed from Sir Clive's collection, she generates ominous vibrations that alert James to a fear that the demons of ill fortune that he thought he had dispelled by marrying Pania are still able to endanger his family.. Sir Clive dies suddenly in an accident, with head injuries not unlike those that have afflicted all of the male ancestors of the family. Inheriting the Phillips fortune and the hereditary title, James - now Sir James - recognises the resurgent strength of the curse, and decides to fight it. Only in the past can he find a clue to the mystery of his family's ill fortune; only in the present can a solution be found. For two centuries ago - merciless slaughter and greed aroused the supernatural powers of the victims. Ths spoils of that early victory now lie in the secret recesses of private and museum collections of Maori artefacts and human relics. Can Sir James help his wife, Pania, intervene with the demonic forces that carry the restlessness of sacred objects that have been treated with contempt? Is it within Pania's power over the past to quell a malignant search for revenge or establish a just reconciliation? - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Oct 2002 09:37:18 -0700 From: AML Subject: [AML] Mormon Writers Conference Fourth Annual Mormon Writers Conference ==================================================================== Join Us for the Only Conference Devoted to Mormon Writing "You Have Permission to Write" Saturday, November 2, 2002 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Gardens Visitors Center at Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, Utah Featured Speakers: Geoffrey Card Rachel Ann Nunes Margaret Blair Young Linda Paulson Adams This year's Association for Mormon Letters writers conference will feature several published LDS authors discussing why creating LDS art is an important use of time for a person with talent and desire. Our goal is to have you walk away from the conference feeling like "you have permission to write." The morning will be devoted to presentations by our featured speakers. The afternoon will consist of classes and discussions on creating LDS art in the form of fiction, creative nonfiction, film and video, theater, and music, presented by other prominent names in the LDS artistic community. In between will be a catered lunch (included in the cost of admission) where you can hobnob with fellow artists, published or aspiring. Representatives of publishers in the LDS market will give you information on getting published. The Read Leaf Bookstore from Springville, Utah, will make the publications of our speakers and presenters available for you. All this takes place Saturday, November 2, at the elegant and relaxing venue of Thanksgiving Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, conveniently located midway between Salt Lake City and Provo/Orem. Please join us for the Fourth Annual AML LDS Writers Conference, the only writers conference specifically designed for authors of LDS literature. (Please forward this announcement to anyone else who might be interested.) To register online via credit card, click here. http://click.topica.com/maaazfkaaTRpobatlYAe/ To print a snail-mail registration form, click here. http://click.topica.com/maaazfkaaTRpubatlYAe/ For the writers conference home page, click here. http://click.topica.com/maaazfkaaTRpwbatlYAe/ For more information about the nonprofit Association for Mormon Letters, click here. http://click.topica.com/maaazfkaaTRqdbatlYAe/ ==================================================================== Update your profile or unsubscribe here: http://topica.email-publisher.com/survey/?a84D2W.batlYA Delivered by Topica Email Publisher, http://topica.email-publisher.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 11:28:41 -0600 From: "Clark Goble" Subject: RE: [AML] _Charly_ (Film) (Review) ___ Dorothy ___ | . . .guess what the common tenor of their reasoning was: It | is TOO LITERARY for their readership. One Mormon publisher | used those exact words. What does that say for the Mormon | reader? ___ That their tastes in entertainment largely follow the general trends of the society they live in? Perhaps we could also turn the question around. What does this say about the ability of the "literary" style of writing to connect to the regular reader? Obviously there is a divide here. Those who like this style are complaining about how poor the publishers and readers are. Perhaps the criticism ought to be on producing something that is both challenging and accessible to the average reader? Difficult, yes. But merely grumbling that the typical reader doesn't enjoy the same kind of fiction seems a little odd. Put an other way, how many people here - even those grumbling about lack of literary tastes - willingly read _Finnegan's Wake_ or _Ulysses_ by Joyce? Yet that is one of the top novels of the last century. Can't those who are Joyce lovers say about *you* exactly what you are saying of these common readers? ___ Thom ___ | Just to ease your cynicism today, isn't this pretty much the | description of modern cinema period? Aren't most movies | pretty crappy? What are there, maybe ten movies a year that | are even worth watching? I think we pretty much reflect the | world in our appreciation of the arts. We don't appreciate | it. We prefer fluff. ___ I think this gets us back to the comments someone brought up about marketing. Don't confuse what is marketed heavily with what is available. There are, far, far, more good movies than 10 or probably even 100 per year. Many are smaller films that you may have to wait for video for. But there are a lot. Heavens, I buy far more than 10 DVDs a year - and those are only the films I really, really like. For instance a little known film that I think is one of the 10 best is _Frailty_ - a very interesting film in terms of religion as well. Sure you are probably being hyperbolic. But I think we ought to keep separate marketing from availability. Also, following the movie analogy, don't assume that just because a movie does well that everyone liked it. Also don't assume that just because a horrible film like _XXX_ sells many tickets that those tickets are all from adults. Most film marketers know that their target market are 16-25 year olds - many of whom simply haven't developed tastes able to handle more challenging fare. Put an other way, some of these discussions are akin to complaining that Dr. Seuss isn't Shakespeare. ___ Richard ___ | More than two decades after CHARLY's publication we have shelf | after shelf of market-censored mediocrity to choose from. ___ Doesn't this come down to, "why don't people like what I like?" I mean three of my favorite directors are Lynch, Kurosawa, and Kubric. Yet I know that few, if any of my friends, will enjoy their films. I don't complain about that. I enjoy reading Heidegger too, but don't fault others for enjoying Tom Clancy. And, even though I like some "fancy" books, I have to admit a certain fondness for losing myself in the fluff of a Dick Marcinko novel about his Seal exploits. The fear that there will *only* be these books is a bit misplaced. Perhaps a more accurate statement is that the Mormon market is too small too support a small genre. A small percent of a small percent may not generate the revenue needed to justify it. Getting back to Joyce, while I think few read him (certainly fewer than buy him) the fact is that he is a small percentage of a very large market. It is unfair to expect to do this in an LDS market. - -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com ----------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 23:37:54 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: RE: [AML] Sitcoms [Replying to Eric Samuelsen]: When you've got something ready to go, let us produce it the Center Stage Theatre. We could even bring in video cameras and do it in front of a live audience just like the big boys. It would be great fun. Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 10:14:20 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Strange Reaction to _Charly_ At 03:06 PM 10/3/02 -0700, you wrote: >: It >would take a bit more than a sugary-sweet Ferris wheel ride to convince >me that a girl who is spiritually unstable enough to be within inches of >marrying a nonmember would be worthy to be my wife. Haven't they stopped teaching boy missionaries to be this spiritually arrogant? A friend of mine said that an RM actually told her she wasn't beautiful enough for him to marry. He'd learned in the MTC that as an RM he was due only the best. He was clearly too immature to understand what that was supposed to mean. Sounds to me like a good basis for an LDS story. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Oct 2002 16:21:09 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] _Charly_ (Film) (Review) Fifteen Things I Like About Charly the Movie 1) Sam's Dad does own a very cool car. =20 2) I love the fact that it's basically the same movie as Moulin Rouge. 3) Okay, it's never brought up by anyone in the movie, nor is it given the = tiniest weight in the movie, but this is a love story in which Charly make = the single greatest sacrifice, for love, I have ever seen a character make = in any movie ever: She GIVES UP HER MANHATTAN APARTMENT! Unheard of, = unimaginable. (Of course, there's no reason for it. Sam does something = sort of computery for a living, which he could as easily do in New York as = in Utah. I have no idea why in the world they decide to live in Utah; = totally never explained. Still, she does it. She gives up a rent-controll= ed apartment for love. Amazing.) 4) The same actor who plays Charly's ex-boyfriend is in this local Utah ad = for an electronics firm. So at least he landed on his feet. 5) They got the pizza right. =20 6) Charly's an artist, right? And we see three of her paintings? A = not-uninteresting still life, an Anita Stansfield book cover and a Liz = Swindle. So how's this for an alternative reading of the text: a young = artist, frustrated over her career sort of stalling, goes to Utah and sees = some really bad art. She figures if she can fake a conversion, she can = break into this new market and really make some dough. So she moves to = Utah, and her career starts to take off. But God, angered at this blatant = example of muse abuse, strikes her dead. Nice cautionary tale, that, and = one the text supports. 7) I love the fact that they've got this carousel in the middle of = nowhere, with one old geezer employed full-time to run it, but with only = two customers, ever. =20 8) Charly's a Democrat! Yea! 9) How can you seriously dislike any movie that states as clearly as this = one does just how boring fishing is? 10) Love all the shots in which Salt Lake is supposed to look like New = York, especially when they get like one Asian guy in the frame, representin= g Cultural Diversity. 11) Let's face it, Heather Beers is hot. Plus I think it's great to have = this Mormon cultural icon, Charly, played by a girl named Beers. 12) Week after I saw it, BYU quarterback Bret Engeman had a good game, = for once. Charly connection: Engeman is Larry King's brother-in-law. And = Larry King's wife was the model for the first Charly book cover. 13) Really, hasn't everyone fantasized about throwing Palm Pilots into a = lake? 14) Love the fact that Charly is also the title of one of the movie = versions of Flowers For Algernon; Cliff Robertson won his Oscar playing = Charly. In that movie, a mentally handicapped man is the subject of a lab = experiment in which he becomes, briefly, a supergenius, before once again = lapsing to his previous level of intelligence. I see a parallel with = Mormon culture. Don't we, occasionally, embrace something in the LDS art = world that's actually good? Like Tim Slover's A Joyful Noise, or Margaret = and Darius' One More River To Cross? And then we go all retarded again, = and make movies like . . . I'll let that one hang right there. 15) We see Sam play quite a bit of basketball in the movie. And he can't = shoot worth a darn. Love what that says about uptight Mormon guys. Eric Samuelsen =20 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 20:32:35 -0500 (CDT) From: Rich Hammett Subject: [AML] _Blood of the Prophets_ Review at HBC I don't know what the policy is about quoting reviews, so I'll just link to this review of _Blood of the Prophets_ at the History Book Club. http://www.historybookclub.com/hbc/content/sitelets/Sitelet_Theme_2.jhtml?SID=milner_bloodoftheprophet or http://tinyurl.com/1uha I seem to recall reading a review by somebody else on this list (Jeff?). This HBC reviewer (Clyde A. Milner from Utah State) says that the murders were committed by the Mormons because they were irritated by travelers grazing their cattle on the Mormons' land. And he accepts uncritically the author's conclusion that Young ordered the attack. The page is somewhat confusing, as the first half seems to be a review of a book on the James Gang. Elsewhere on the site, it also says the reviewer is at Arkansas State, so I don't know what's accurate or current. rich - -- \ Rich Hammett http://home.hiwaay.net/~rhammett / rhammett@HiWAAY.net "Better the pride that resides / in a citizen of the world; \ than the pride that divides / when a colorful rag is unfurled." - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 21:46:26 -0400 From: "S. Malmrose" Subject: Re: [AML] My Ward >I like my ward a lot. I think there are wonderful stories here, worth >exploring, with interesting characters and personalities. They don't know >me at all, I think. I hide effectively. I watch, and I listen. But it's >here, in this community, in this tightly knit society, that we, as Mormons, >experience the world and the gospel. It's worth paying attention to. > Thanks for sharing that. But I somehow doubt you're as invisible as you think. Particularly in a ward contained in a couple of blocks. :) Susan M - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 01:49:08 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] PEARSON, _Consider the Butterfly_ (Deseret News) Included in this post is a DN feature on Carol Lynn Pearson and then a book= =20 review of her new book. Deseret News Sunday, October 6, 2002 'Synchronicities' comfort author By Dennis Lythgoe Deseret News book editor Carol Lynn Pearson is a literary and dramatic legend in the Mormon culture, having written more than 30 books and plays - - starting with a popular book of poems, "Beginnings," and culminating with a one-woman show, "Mother Wove the Morning." In between, she wrote a book of great national interest, "Goodbye, I= =20 Love You," the tragic story of Gerald, her husband and father of her four children, who "came out" as a homosexual and later died of AIDS. A 1961 graduate of Brigham Young University, Pearson received a master's degree in theater in 1962. For many years, she has lived in Walnut Creek, Calif., where she continues to write. Her latest book is "Consider the Butterfly," in which she examines the role of "synchronicity," or meaningful coincidence, in her own life. Recently, while visiting in Salt Lake City, Pearson sat down for an interview in the offices of the Deseret News. As she surveyed her diverse literary contribution, including histories of Mormon women and children's stories, she declared that there is one genre she would not tackle: "I could never successfully write a complex novel. I just don't see myself doing that. I don't feel capable of doing that." Charismatic, youthful and articulate, Pearson enthusiastically discussed the concept of "Consider the Butterfly," which she described as "acknowledging the connection of all things. There have been several books done on it, such as 'When God Winks,' by Squire Rushnell, who looked at the phenomenon by pulling together stories from all over the world - - highly unusual synchronistic experiences. I love to read those. "But the stories in my book happened to one person, just an ordinary person who is perhaps more aware than most . . . Things just come together and we say, 'Oh, that's interesting!' You invite more of these connections into your life when you pay attention. This is as close as I've come to magic in my life." While Pearson receives comfort from these little experiences, she believes "there is no way you can create a synchronicity. You only recognize it in hindsight. You go about your life, and suddenly something happens, and you realize it connects with something that happened yesterday." "The ones that mean the most to me are the ones that say, 'Don't worry =97 it's all right.' I'm blown away by the nice little comfort they provide. They assure me that it's not just a random universe." The stories in the book all come from Pearson's voluminous diary. "I'm so addicted to keeping that thing going. It has served me well since high school and been the best therapist I could ever have in my life. Based on my diary, I could have written several hundred=20 stories. Now I think I could do a second volume, and I think I will. In fact, I could be happy writing synchronicity stories for the next five years." One example of the stories she especially loves is about a man named Trevor Southey, a native of Rhodesia, who designed her first book of poetry =97 "Beginnings," in 1968. Southey called to say he had sculpted a figure of Jesus and wanted Pearson to look at it. The work had been commissioned by a group of Jesuits in Scranton, Pa. Southey was worried about the face, and Pearson noticed that it had shorter hair than other pictures of Jesus and no beard. "He's=20 very =97 human," she said. She wished for "a little more of the Godly." She was concerned about the deep furrows in his forehead, which made him look worried. "I don't like him to be worried." That comment struck the artist, who, with Pearson's help, adjusted the= =20 clay and eliminated the furrows in his brow =97 and they were both satisfied. "That's beautiful," she told Southey. "Jesus isn't worried anymore!" Then Pearson went home to worry herself, about her son's possible marriage break-up. She was sleepless. Finally, early in the morning, she had the feeling that Jesus would be satisfied that she had helped smooth the wrinkles from his face =97 now he wanted the worry lines removed from her face. She imagined him smoothing her= =20 wrinkles with a warm hand, and she felt a sense of peace. That was an especially moving coincidence for Pearson. "My habit of being a poet allows me to look at a physical thing and make a metaphor out of it. We can't use it as a compass. But as a metaphor, the meaning might be a lot more subtle. It doesn't take the place of prayer, but it's another avenue for guidance and comfort." But she is not an extremist. "One could go nutty looking for signs in their own lives. They could be paralyzed until they get guidance. Someone might have two or three things go together, and then they decide to sell their house and move to Indonesia." These stories take Pearson's anger away. "I have no sense of being a victim anywhere along the line. What has happened to me is just fine, and will continue to be fine. Peace of mind is something I= =20 value highly. I look at the unfortunate things of my life as something to give me depth of feeling and bearing a hidden gift. You have to believe that everything is leading toward the good." 'Butterfly' a look into author's life By Dennis Lythgoe Deseret News book editor CONSIDER THE BUTTERFLY, by Carol Lynn Pearson, Gibbs Smith, 160 pages, $12.95. The subheading to the latest book by the prolific Carol Lynn Pearson is "Transforming Your Life Through Meaningful Coincidence."=20 Picking up on a nationwide trend, Pearson deals with "synchronicities,"=20 those strange little coincidences that happen in all of our lives, and which seem to be giving us guidance or comfort. Pearson offers the book, she says, "with the excitement of a child who runs in from a morning at the creek, holding something in her hand. She doesn't know exactly what she has found, but she knows it is so unusual, so beautiful, that she has to say, 'Look! Look!' " To Pearson, this book is a highly personal show-and-tell, as she recounts experiences she has saved in her diary as examples of synchronicity. It was the psychologist Carl Jung who coined the word, and several writers have discussed it since. "Synchronicity!" says Pearson. "Ah, that's how I can explain that delicious evening I spent with my college boyfriend when both of our watches stopped. And running into the same man on his honeymoon in New York City twice, both of us having come there from thousands of miles away. And my daughter Katy starting her first menstrual period while I was having my very last one. And that time my computer kept switching into "underline" when I was angrily writing in my diary and practically yelling." The book is Pearson at her best =97 conversational, colloquial and personal. As I was reading it, I could hear her distinctive voice, as if she were talking from the next room. Her examples of meaningful coincidence cover a wide range - - from "Mama's Cinnamon Rolls" and "Wally's Tie" to "Mormons and Hindus" and "Emily Dickinson." Some are more substantial than others, but all are interesting. While reminiscing with her sister, Marie, about their childhood, Pearson asked Marie, "What food did mother prepare that I liked, and what food did she prepare that I did not like?" Marie said, "Well, I know what food you hated. The split- pea soup." That was correct. Then Marie remembered her sister liked - "cracklings" - pieces of baked fat straight from the oven. Pearson agreed, but then added that the food she liked the most was cinnamon rolls. The sisters went to a movie together =97 "Music of the Heart," starring Meryl Streep =97 and the first thing that happens is, Streep pulls out a pan of cinnamon rolls made by her mother. "My elbow hit my sister's elbow as we both poked an exclamation point onto this delicious synchronicity!" A second example concerns Pearson's desire to meet Mother Ammachi, a= =20 holy woman from India, at the Hindu ashram. She was visiting California for a week-long celebration with 700 followers. But when Pearson called the ashram, she learned a terrible kitchen fire had closed the place down. At the time, Pearson was rewriting "The Order is Love," her musical play about the early Mormons, which included a fire in a dining hall. Naturally, Pearson thought about the synchronicity of two religious=20 communities, a century apart, each trying to cope with the disruption of a kitchen fire. When she discovered that the Hindus might not have a place for their large meeting, she checked with two LDS stake presidents about whether the LDS buildings could be used for the Hindu conference. They all agreed, but in the end, the Hindus were able to use their own building. Finally, Pearson discovered that Mother Ammachi and Pearson shared the same birthday =97 Sept. 27th. Copyright 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company _________________________________________________________________ Join the world=92s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.=20 http://www.hotmail.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #854 ******************************