Aucbvax.1409 fa.sf-lovers utzoo!duke!decvax!ucbvax!JPM@MIT-AI Mon May 25 05:27:04 1981 SF-LOVERS Digest V3 #130 SF-LOVERS PM Digest Sunday, 24 May 1981 Volume 3 : Issue 130 Today's Topics: SF Fandom - Disclave Flyer, SF Books - Cyber SF, SF Movies - Outland, SF Topics - Children's TV (Galaxy Express and Rocky and Bullwinkle) & Anti-Sugar ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 21 May 1981 16:21:23-EDT From: cjh at CCA-UNIX (Chip Hitchcock) Subject: cartoon As long as we're talking about the Tin Woodman and his origins, has anyone else (besides the people \\known// to go to conventions) seen the flyer for this year's Disclave? It includes a cartoon by Alexis Gilliland (winner of last year's Fan Artist Hugo award). The Wizard (one of his stock figures, all straggly beard and warty nose) is counseling the Tin Woodman, "The First Law is for humans, Nick, and Fans are Slans." Nick, leaning on his ax, is obviously pleased. ------------------------------ Date: 24 May 1981 1616-PDT From: OR.TOVEY at SU-SCORE Subject: animal and magical robots, children's books The short story with the mechanical tiger is named "Tiger,Tiger". For some magical animal robot possibilities, see below. In answer to an old question about sentience, it is possible that the "brain-eating" robots who are controlled from a central computer in Harrison's The Pastel City fit the bill (lack individual sentience). The magically animated statue/god that Conan meets is from the story "The Bloodstained God" in Conan of Cimmeria. I need a better idea of what is wanted for magical robots. (the following suggestions, again, are due to my wife): It seems that you don't want to allow organic (android-like) magical robots, because if you do, many elves, dwarves, trolls, and zombies will fit the classification. For instance, the trolls in Lord of the Rings, magic creatures in The Warlock in Spite of Himself, etc.etc. are magically created beings. However, this distinction is not an easy one to make. For a classic example, consider the Pinocchio story (written by Collodi in 1883). Part way through the story, Pinocchio is a magically animated toy. But eventually, Pinocchio becomes a real live flesh and blood boy. So is Pinocchio a magic robot? In Pygmalion, Galatea transforms directly from statue to woman, without an intermediate stage, so there is less of a problem here. I think the problem is that the power of magic is not so well defined or categorized; if you can magically animate a statue, you can probably change it to flesh and blood, too. Here is a small list of other magically animated toys. For a good discussion of this topic, see Chapter 9 of Animal Land, by Margaret Blount (Avon Books, 1977), from which most of the following derive. The Return of the Twelves (toy soldiers). Knight's Castle by Edward Eager (toy soldiers, dolls). The Little Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson. (first story in which a doll talks back, according to Blount) The Magic City by E. Nesbit (a Toyland with dragons, lions, dachshunds, etc.) The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban (toy mice). Toytown by S.G. Hulme Beaman (wooden toys become lifelike). This message is getting too long, so I will save my remarks about Garner and Susan Cooper and LeGuin for another time. good reading, --cat ------------------------------ Date: 22 May 1981 17:40:40-PDT From: ihnss!hobs at Berkeley From: ucbvax!ihnss!hobs@BERKELEY(John Hobson) Subject: Outland "'Outland' a spaced-out western bore" by Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune, May 22,1981 Copywrite (c) Chicago Tribune The only significance to "Outland" is that it indicates just how dead the western movie really is. That's because "Outland" is a western -- in spaceman's clothing. The executives at Ladd Productions, who spent a reported $15 million on "Outland," obviously believe that for today's young moviegoing audience, chaps are out and silver nylon jumpsuits are in. "Outland" is sort of a cross between "High Noon" and "Alien." The time is the near future; the location is Con-Am 27, a huge mining operation on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. Sean Connery plays a federal marshal newly assigned to Con-Am 27, which leads all other mines in productivity -- and suicides. Connery quickly realizes that there may be a connection. This displeases Peter Boyle, who plays the gruff, sinister foreman of the mine. "They work hard and they like to play hard," Boyle says of the workers he supervises. "They like to be left alone." So does Boyle. "Outland" is longer on production design than logic. The film wants to look as good as "Alien," which was produced by the Ladd management team when they were all working at 20th Century-Fox. But "Outland" looks less weird and authentic than "Alien." It appears that some of the backgrounds are paintings. In terms of logic, the film has some crippling flaws. If all it takes is a knockout punch to destroy the film's bad guy, then how bad can he be? Also, if "two of the best hit men" in the galaxy are out to get you, you wouldn't think that they would be stupid enough to assemble their rifles in front of a videotape camera one minute after they land on Io. Only Sean Connery makes "Outland" worth watching. He's a classic movie star who can hold a film together simply through his personal onscreen magnetism. Connery's character is loosely based on the Gary Cooper character in "High Noon," but with one big difference. Connery doesn't suffer from upset stomaches. Connery's Marshal O'Niel is a flatout hero for the Reagan era. Unfortunately, Connery doesn't smile enough to make his character all that likeable. A nice surprise in "Outland" is the supporting character of a company nurse, played by Frances Sternhagen. A variation on the hard-bitten Miss Kitty from "Gunsmoke," nurse Lazarus turns out to be the film's most likeable character and, when push comes to shove, Connery's biggest ally. The Ladd Production team, the producers of such woman-oriented films as "An Unmarried Woman," "Julia," and "Norma Rae," continues to be the one Hollywood creative team that gives women a fair shake. Despite Lazarus, "Outland" is often a bore as a thriller. Its villains are obvious and stupid. The space setting is pedestrian rather than dazzling." Rating: 2 stars. ------------------------------ Date: 22 May 1981 2031-EDT From: Nessus at MIT-EECS (Doug Alan) Subject: Galaxy Express The Japanese animated movie "The Galaxy Express" (which was mentioned several issues ago) already is in the US. I saw it several monthes ago on either HBO or The Movie Channel (I can't remember which). The animation and plot are very well done, but the science is sort of flakey. Also I don't like the message it tried to present. It is sort of anti-technology, anti-machines. The story is about a kid whose mother is killed by the evil Count Mekka who is hunting humans for pleasure. The kid decides to get revenge and visit Count Mekka's Time Castle. He gets a ticket for the Galaxy Express, a space ship which is a facsimile of an antique passenger train, and adventures around the universe. During his adventures he meets a lot of "Machine People" (people who have traded in their real body for a mechanical one, so that they can be stronger, prettier, live forever, etc.). Almost all the Machine People are mean and nasty like Count Mekka. The kid comes to the conclusion that anyone who gives up his human body loses his humanity. So the kid goes on a quest to destroy all the Machine People, the factories that produce Machine bodies, and The Mechanization Center of the Universe. Enjoy or don't, Doug Alan ------------------------------ Date: 23 May 1981 1234-EDT From: JHENDLER at BBNA Subject: Rocket and the moose Well, as long as Lauren brought it up, I can't avoid mention of my favorite Rocky and Bullwinkle line: Official looking gentleman (showing identification): Military Intelligence, What do you say to that! Rocket J. Squirrel: A contradiction in terms. --- p.s. didn't the kirwood derby make people smarter, not childlike. As I remember their was a whole set of scenes of the Derby blowing onto people's heads just as they made famous discoveries. Ve must have the Moose hairs for out gun sights! -jim ------------------------------ Date: 23 May 1981 1147-PDT From: Friedland@SUMEX-AIM Subject: Rocky etc. I agree wholeheartedly about the sophisticated wonderfulness of Rocky and Bullwinkle. However, Ernie and Floyd as the aliens??!!!! As I am sure hundreds of other people are writing at this very moment, it was Gidney and Cloyd. Peter ------------------------------ Date: 22 May 1981 06:11:05-PDT From: decvax!duke!unc!smb at Berkeley Subject: Levo/dextro isomers in SF I can recall three stories in which levo/dextro reversal played a part. They are "Technical Error", by Arther Clarke, which appeared in his collection "Reach for Tomorrow"; Zelazny's "Doorways in the Sand"; and Spider Robinson's story "Mirror/rorriM off the Wall", in his recent collection "Time Traveler's Strictly Cash". (Actually, the "rorriM" is supposed to read correctly from right to left, but I don't know the escape code for "inverse video" on your terminals....) The latter two have foods with strange and wondrous tastes; all three discuss the problem of nutrition. In an afterword, Robinson acknowledges that Zelazny used the taste gimmick first, but since he claims that the stories are true, he has to conclude by wondering if Zelazny has ever owned an unusual mirror. (By the way, the mirror's behavior depends on some of the properties of thiotimoline....) Steve Bellovin University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ------------------------------ End of SF-LOVERS Digest *********************** ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.