Pixel Scroll 11/16 Time Enough For Hedgehogs

(1) The UCLA Library’s Special Collections include the Gene Roddenberry Star Trek collection and the Robert Justman Papers.

A year ago the Special Collections’ blog posted Justman’s memo to Roddenberry about some wigs and hairpieces that had gone missing. The Captain of the Starship Enterprise was the prime suspect.

Back in the day Shatner’s denials about wearing a toupee were news, but people long ago quit keeping his secret.

That anger spilled out in 1967 when the prestigious Life magazine sent a photographer to the Star Trek set – not to profile Shatner but Nimoy, who was being photographed having his pointy Vulcan ears put on in the make-up room.

James Doohan recalled in his memoir: “Bill’s hairpiece was being applied. The top of his head was a lot of skin and a few odd tufts of hair. The mirrors on the make-up room walls were arranged so that we could all see the laying on of his rug.”

Shatner suddenly exploded angrily from his seat and ordered the photographer to leave. George Takei, aged 70, who played Sulu, recalls: “Leonard was livid. He refused to have his make-up completed until the photographer was allowed back.”

(2) In celebration of Star Trek’s 50th anniversary in 2016, publisher Simon & Schuster is bringing back the popular fan fiction writing contest, Strange New Worlds.

Ten winning selections will be published as part of an all-new official anthology, coming from Simon & Schuster in 2016.

Plus, two first prize winners will receive a free, self-publishing package from Archway Publishing!

Register for the contest here.

(3) “CBS Pulls ‘Supergirl’ Episode Due To Similarities To Paris Attack” reports ScienceFiction.com.

Out of respect for the events that happened in Paris last Friday, CBS has decided to delay the episode of ‘Supergirl’ set to air tonight, titled ‘How Does She Do It?’ Apparently the episode revolved around Supergirl dealing with a series of bombings around National City, which the network felt might be a little to similar to the tragic events that struck Paris. With all of the heartbreak and discord currently enveloping that poor city, it makes perfect sense why the network would delay the episode, especially when shows like ‘Supergirl’ should serve as an escape for people from the real world, not a twisted reflection of current tragedies.

(4) “J.K. Rowling Said THIS Is Her Favorite Harry Potter Theory” – the theoretical tweets are posted on PopSugar.

The first Harry Potter book came out 18 years ago, but not a day goes by where new theories and plot coincidences don’t shock us all (and make us want to reread the entire series). J.K. Rowling keeps up with them too and she recently answered a fan’s question about which is her favorite.

(5) This year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special will be shown in North American cinemas on December 28 and 29. Get tickets through Fathom Events

The Doctor is back on the big screen this holiday season for a special two-night event featuring an exclusive interview with Alex Kingston and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the special featuring Peter Capaldi, Stephen Moffat and more….

It’s Christmas in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveler River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to celebrate the holidays with fellow Whovians in cinemas this December.

 

(6) It seems you can’t guarantee a win by betting on Albert Einstein after all. IFL Science brings word that an “Experiment Proves Einstein Wrong”.

Scientists at the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) have proven beyond reasonable doubt that Einstein was wrong about one of the main principles of quantum mechanics and that “spooky action at a distance” is actually real.

We are now certain that entanglement, the ability of particles to affect each other regardless of distance, exists and that it’s an intrinsic property of the universe. When a pair or a group of particles are entangled, they cannot be described independently from each other. Measuring a particular property, like velocity, of a single particle affects all the other entangled particles.

Einstein and many other scientists believed that this phenomenon was paradoxical, as it would allow for information to be exchanged instantaneously across vast distances. He dubbed it “spooky action at a distance” and he believed that there was a way to reproduce this phenomenon with classical physics. He claimed that there were hidden variables – quantities that we didn’t or couldn’t know – that would make quantum mechanics perfectly predictable.

(7) Mark Lawrence seeks feedback on what really creates a sense of diversity in fiction.

JK Rowling told the world after the event that Dumbledore is gay. There was no need to mention it in the books – it didn’t come up. So … after reading seven books with gay Dumbledore and no mention of it … do gay people feel represented?

If Tolkien rose from the grave for 60 seconds to mention that, by the way, Gandalf is black … would that be delivering diversity?

Or does diversity mean seeing black people’s experience (in itself a vastly diverse thing) represented in fantasy – and the fantasy world needs real-world racism imported so the reader sees that particular aspect of black people’s experience?

In my trilogy, The Red Queen’s War, the main character is of mixed race. It’s not mentioned very often – though he does meet someone in the frozen north who mocks and intimidates him over his ‘dirty’ skin. In the trilogy I’m writing at the moment, Red Sister, the world is reduced to an equatorial corridor hemmed in by advancing ice. All races are mixed and have been for thousands of years. There are many skin tones and it’s of no more note or interest than hair and eye colour. Does a person of colour reading that feel represented – or does the failure to connect with the prejudice of the real world mean that they don’t feel represented?

I don’t know. I’m asking.

I’m not writing these books to promote diversity or represent anyone – the worlds and characters are just the way they are – just how the pieces of my imagination and logic meshed together on these particular occasions. But the question interests me.

(8) Congratulations to Jonathan Edelstein on his first professional story publication, “First Do No Harm”, at Strange Horizons.

For twenty-seven thousand years—through kingdoms and republics, through prophets and messiahs, through decay and collapse and rebirth—the city and the medical school had grown around each other. The campus stretched across districts and neighborhoods, spanning parks and rivers, but few buildings belonged to it alone: an operating theater might once have been a workshop, a classroom a factory floor. The basement room where Mutende sat in a circle of his fellow basambilila was an ancient one and had been many things: office, boiler room, refrigerator, storage for diagnostic equipment. Remnants of all its uses were in the walls, the fixtures, and most of all, in memory….

(9) At The 48th Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, The Invitation, directed by Karyn Kusama, picked up the Award for Best Feature Film in the Sitges 2015 Official Fantàstic Selection. The winners of the festival’s other awards can be found here.

(10) MousePlanet has the details about what’s going on with Star Wars at Disneyland – a long article with lots of photos —  but SPOILER WARNING.

If you don’t want to know anything about Star Wars – The Force Awakens before you see it in the theater, you should probably skip this update too. Before you go, heed this warning: If you wish to remain spoiler-free until December 18th, don’t go into the Star Wars Launch Bay, don’t see the Path of the Jedi feature in the Tomorrowland Theater, and don’t ride Star Tours. Hyperspace Mountain is spoiler-free, and a complete blast – you can enjoy that worry free, and see the rest of the additions in a month….

Star Wars Launch Bay

The lower level of the former Innoventions building – now officially known as the Tomorrowland Expo Center – is now the Star Wars Launch Bay. From the moment you step inside, you enter a spoiler-filled space packed with artwork, props and merchandise from across the Star Wars saga, including from the upcoming movie Star Wars – The Force Awakens. The Launch Bay is divided into six sections, with some smaller areas around the outer ring of the building.

Entrance and Gallery

The largest portion of the Launch Bay is devoted to case after case of props and replicas from the Star Wars Saga, including previews of people, places and things from Star Wars – The Force Awakens. Again, if you’re trying to avoid spoilers, you have no business in this exhibit.

The Light Side (Chewbacca meet-and-greet)

Enter a rebel hideout, and come face-to-face with the best co-pilot in the galaxy. To occupy you while you wait in what could be a very long line, the queue is filled with props from the Light Side, including lightsabers and helmets.

The Dark Side (Darth Vader meet-and-greet)

Like the Light Side, the queue for the Darth Vader meet-and-greet is filled with Sith props. Lord Vader isn’t much one for conversation, but he does have some prepared remarks for your encounter on the deck of a Star Destroyer. Disney PhotoPass photographers are on hand to document your meeting.

 

Star Wars Landing Bay carpet.

Star Wars Landing Bay carpet.

(11) Norbert Schürer discusses “Tolkien Criticism Today” in LA Review of Books. It takes awhile, but he finally finds something good to say.

It is perhaps no wonder, then, that the field of Tolkien studies is in a sad state. This is not to say that there aren’t excellent critics (such as Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, and Jane Chance) and outstanding scholarly venues (particularly the venerable journal Mythlore and the more recent annual Tolkien Studies). However, judging by seven recent works of Tolkien scholarship, there are various challenges in the field. Much criticism features weak, underdeveloped arguments or poor writing, and the field is overrun by niche publishers who seem to have little quality control…..

With the Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien and Tolkien: The Forest and the City (in parts), the future of Tolkien studies is perhaps not entirely bleak. The Companion in particular is a volume from a well-established publisher, which actually gives Tolkien academic cachet by including him in their Companion series. The essays in this volume and in Tolkien: The Forest and the City make well-developed, well-written, comprehensive, and compelling arguments. Thus, these books show the two requirements for good Tolkien criticism. For one, he should be treated like any other author in being discussed in seriously peer-reviewed journals and established academic presses rather than in essay collections and niche publications. Just as importantly, Tolkien should not be treated with kid gloves because he is a fan favorite with legions to be placated, but as the serious and major author he is.

(12) Jennifer M. Wood discusses “11 Famous Books That Have Proven Impossible to Film” at Mental Floss.

6. UBIK

Believe it or not, there is a Philip K. Dick novel that has yet to be made into a movie. Which isn’t to say that an adaptation of this 1969 sci-fi tale of telepathy and moon colonization (set in the then-futuristic year of 1992) hasn’t been tried. As early as 1974, filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin commissioned Dick to adapt his own work for filming. Dick finished the script in less than a month; though it was never produced, it was published in 1985 as Ubik: The Screenplay. In 2006, A Scanner Darkly producer Tommy Pallotta announced that he was readying the film for production. In 2011, it was Michel Gondry who was confirmed to be at the helm … until earlier this year, when Gondry told The Playlist that he was no longer working on it.

(13) Farnam Street Blog’s “Accidents Will Happen” is an excerpt from Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, by Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation, 2001), about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal.

command and control cover

A B-47 bomber was taxiing down the runway at a SAC base in Sidi Slimane, Morocco, on January 31, 1958. The plane was on ground alert, practicing runway maneuvers, cocked but forbidden to take off. It carried a single Mark 36 bomb. To make the drill feel as realistic as possible, a nuclear core had been placed in the bomb’s in-flight insertion mechanism. When the B-47 reached a speed of about 20 miles an hour, one of the rear tires blew out. A fire started in the wheel well and quickly spread to the fuselage. The crew escaped without injury, but the plane split in two, completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters sprayed the burning wreckage for 10 minutes—long past the time factor of the Mark 36—then withdrew. The flames reached the bomb, and the commanding general at Sidi Slimane ordered that the base be evacuated immediately. Cars full of airmen and their families sped into the Moroccan desert, fearing a nuclear disaster.

The fire lasted for two and a half hours. The high explosives in the Mark 36 burned but didn’t detonate. According to an accident report, the hydrogen bomb and parts of the B-47 bomber melted into “a slab of slag material weighing approximately 8,000 pounds, approximately 6 to 8 feet wide and 12 to 15 feet in length with a thickness of 10 to 12 inches.” A jackhammer was used to break the slag into smaller pieces. The “particularly ‘hot’ pieces” were sealed in cans, and the rest of the radioactive slag was buried next to the runway. Sidi Slimane lacked the proper equipment to measure levels of contamination, and a number of airmen got plutonium dust on their shoes, spreading it not just to their car but also to another air base.

(14) Tomorrow you can download Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft

— an anthology of short stories written by some of today’s greatest science fiction authors. These visionary stories explore prediction science, quantum computing, real-time translation, machine learning, and much more. The contributing authors were inspired by inside access to leading-edge work, including in-person visits to Microsoft’s research labs, to craft new works that predict the near-future of technology and examine its complex relationship to our core humanity.

AUTHOR ROLL CALL

Elizabeth Bear · Greg Bear · David Brin · Nancy Kress · Ann Leckie · Jack McDevitt · Seanan McGuire · Robert J. Sawyer The collection also includes a short graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, and original illustrations by Joey Camacho.

 

future_visions_sitg_th

(15) Abigail Nussbaum has “Five Comments on Hamilton”.

If you’re like me, you probably spent some portion of the last six months watching your online acquaintance slowly become consumed with (or by) something called Hamilton.  And then when you looked it up it turned to be a musical playing halfway around the world that you will probably never see.  But something strange and surprising is happening around Hamilton–a race-swapped, hip-hop musical about the short life and dramatic death of Alexander Hamilton, revolutionary soldier, founding father of the United States, co-author of The Federalist Papers, and creator of the US financial system.  Unusually for a work of pop culture that is only available to a small, even select group of people, Hamilton is becoming a fannish phenomenon, inspiring fanfic and fanart and, mostly, a hell of a lot of enthusiasm….

(16) Local Three Stooges fans will convene November 28 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. The 18th Annual Alex Film Society The Three Stooges Big Screen Event “showcases six classic Stooges shorts featuring Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp preparing, throwing and wearing food. Will high society matrons be hit in the face with cream pies? Soitenly!”

On the bill of fare — A Pain In The Pullman (1936, Preston Black), Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb (1938, Del Lord), Idiots Deluxe (1945, Jules White), Crash Goes The Hash (1944, Jules White), Sing A Song Of Six Pants (1947, Jules White), Dutiful But Dumb (1941, Del Lord).

(17) SF Site News announced this year’s ISFiC Writer’s Contest winner:

M. Aruguete won the ISFiC Writer’s Contest with her story “Catamount.” The contest is sponsored by ISFiC in conjunction with Windycon. Aruguete won a membership at Windycon, room nights, and $300. Her story was published in the con program book. This year’s contest was judged by Richard Chwedyk, Roland Green, and Elizabeth Anne Hull.

(18) Jeff Somers, in a guest post for SF Signal, argues that his stories with psionics should stay on the sf shelf at the bookstore.

As the TV Tropes page on psychic powers says, “Telepathy, clairvoyance, pyrokinesis—the powers are supernatural, but the names are scientific, which is good enough for soft Sci-Fi.” This sort of disdain is the top layer of a debate that’s been raging for decades about whether or not a story can have psychic powers and still be considered Science Fiction as opposed to Fantasy. The argument is simple: There is absolutely no evidence that supports psychic powers of any kind being possible, and without at least the real-world scientific possibility, they’re essentially magic powers. Which makes your story a Fantasy, thanks for playing, you might as well shove a bearded wizard in there and start reading Wikipedia articles about broadswords.

Anyway, I started thinking about all this recently because I’ve been writing and publishing digital-only short stories set in the Avery Cates universe, and in that universe (from the very beginning) there are psionic (er, psychic) powers…

(19) Mindy Klasky points out the varied uses of feedback, in “C is for Critique” at Book  View Café.

Critique partners offer authors valuable insight into what works and what does not work in a book. Sometimes, that criticism is directly on point—the mere statement of the problem is enough to help an author see what needs to be fixed. Other times, an author concludes that a critic is mistaken—she doesn’t understand the book, or she isn’t familiar with a particular sub-genre, or she was having a bad day as she wrote her criticism. Even in those cases, the rational writer considers the criticism as a warning that the reader was pulled off track at that particular point. Often, a critic finds fault with a particular aspect of a book (e.g., “your heroine sounds whiny when she talks to her best friend”) but an author discovers a completely different fix (e.g., the heroine shouldn’t be talking to her best friend in that scene; instead, she should be taking steps to solve her problem more directly.) Critics aren’t omniscient, but they can be good barometers of when a story succeeds.

(20) Kameron Hurley says this is “Why You Should Be Watching The Man in The High Castle:

I’m not sure when I realized that this wasn’t a story about the Nazis and Japanese Empire laying waste to the happy United States we have in our happy memories. I think it was when the Japanese Empire raids a Jewish man’s house, seemingly for no reason, and I realized it looked a lot like a swatting raid, or a raid on some innocent brown man with an Arab-sounding name, or the FBI raid on an innocent professor accused of sending sensitive material to the Chinese. And in that moment I realized the entire world I’d been presented thus in the show far wasn’t so much different from the United States in 2015, and that in fact the show was very much aware of that. If you’re brown, or black, or Muslim, or have a non-white sounding name, or you look at a TSA agent funny, or say something about supporting terrorism online (threatening to murder a woman is still OK! But I digress), get ready to get raided, detained, tortured, thrown into prison, or disappeared. I thought about our creepy no-fly lists, about police throwing students to the floor in classrooms, about minor traffic violations that end with somebody strangling you to death in prison and pretending you totally hung yourself with a plastic bag. I thought of this whole world we’ve built, post-World War II, and realized this show wasn’t saying, “Wouldn’t things be so different?” but instead, “Are things really as different as we think?”

(21) Move and groove like everyone’s favorite kaiju with Logemas Godzilla Simulator.

There’s something big coming this way… Logemas’ latest Motion Capture and VR demo!

We’re tracking 7 objects, hands, feet, hips, chest and an Oculus DK2 with Vicon Bonita cameras and streaming into the Unreal game engine for some mayhem!

Of course, we all want to know where they attach the tail-motion-generator.

[Thanks to Petréa Mitchell, Meredith, Will R., Andrew Porter, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

277 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 11/16 Time Enough For Hedgehogs

  1. It means we don’t live in a clockwork universe. Free will can exist without a bunch of complicated nonsense, and the future is fundamentally unpredictable.

    Sorry, but that is a total non sequitur. Saying that quantum uncertainty allows humans to have free will makes no more sense than saying that quantum tunneling in today’s ultra-tiny transistors allows computers to have free will.

    A computer does does exactly what its software tells its hardware to do. Humans also do exactly what their software tells their hardware to do. (I was thinking of an analogy that the “software” could be considered is the experiences you have in life, and the “hardware” is the initial structure of your brain, but that’s not quite right. Experiences become “hardware”—brains rewire themselves, however slightly, after every input, and one moment’s software becomes part of the next moment’s hardware.) We do not have free will any more than a computer does, it is just that the brain is so complex that we are not able to perfectly map out the “input a leads to output b” circuitry.

    Errors caused by quantum effects in transistors are unwanted and are a limiting factor to how small transistors can be (we are damn close to that limit with the current generation of transistors.). Scientists believe that the axions of neurons are also at the limit of how small they can be—if they were much thinner, quantum effects from single atoms could cause them to fire randomly—this is a flaw, not a feature, and axions are thick enough to avoid it. Human decisions happen on a macroscopic level involving the state of a large number of atoms (millions, billions, trillions) not on the flip of a single quantum switch.

    All the SF stories about how people could have decided things differently in alternate universes are no less fantasy than antigravity, time machines, and faster than light travel—it would take a very, very rare situation for the change in the quantum state in a single atom to be enough to tip the scales between a neuron being triggered or not triggered and that single neuron tipping the scales between a larger collection of neurons making decision a verses decision b— in the vast, vast majority of situations a single atom is going to make as much difference as a single drop of rain in a hurricane.

    (You can, of course, come up with situations where the state of a single atom does effect decisions—a radioactive atom decaying now instead of a million years from now damages a DNA molecule in a critical cancer control region, leading to a life-changing tumor, for example.) But almost always, if you could rewind the clock a hundred billion times, you would make the exact same decision a hundred billion times no matter what random quantum events happen in individual atoms in your brain. Input a will always result in output b because brains are “designed” to dampen down any quantum noise.

    And even if our brains were subject to decision-making being regularly affected by random quantum events, how on Earth could that be construed as “allowing free will?” We have no control over those random quantum events, so they can’t be represented as allowing a choice (“gee, I was going to do x, but I’m going to make sodium atom number 1,564,256,854,964,965 in neuron number 53,942,739 ionize so that I can choose to do y instead.”) At most, random quantum effects would be allowing for uncertainty, not choice. Sorry, but “free will” is still an illusion.

  2. @rcade

    There was a Horizon programme, a science documentary show, about AIDS on the BBC in 1983. It was broadcast 4 days before my 16th birthday. In the following months there were a sequence of terrible stories about ‘gay plague’ etc published in the red-top tabloids.

  3. But almost always, if you could rewind the clock a hundred billion times, you would make the exact same decision a hundred billion times no matter what random quantum events happen in individual atoms in your brain.

    I ate a burrito yesterday. I have trouble believing that if you wound the clock back a hundred billion times I’d eat a hundred billion burritos. It wasn’t that good.

  4. Free will: Like Darren, I don’t think randomness would count as free at all. The way I see it, every decision we make has to come from something: from the existing state of our brains, from competition between emotionally laden possibilities when we ponder, from experiences, momentary whims triggered by something around us… but all those things are us, so our decisions come from us; and that’s free as I see it, that we own our own decisions. If decisions were not determined by everything we are and experience, wouldn’t they be less free — who would want randomness interfering with them?

  5. @ Jonathan M.
    re: discrimination effects

    Another reaction to being disadvantaged is “camouflage” and/or “fitting in” where you take on the mannerisms, culture, attitudes of the dominant group as much as possible. As the first or among the first woman in some male dominated jobs/companies/departments, there was a tendency to downplay “female” behavior (or the stereotypes of) in order to fit in, reduce resentment, make allies, be taken somewhat seriously, try not to be judged more harshly or get fired, etc. Also, gritting your teeth and staying silent at the jokes and jibes; never, ever, ever crying or complaining; working twice as hard for less pay, and knowing it; etc. All that can cause some internal conflicts, too.

  6. @ snowcrash, @ bloodstone75
    re: God Stalk

    I concur with others that, if the book is a slog for you, you’re not required to finish. Those of us who love it are sincere, though. :-}

    OTOH, 1) The book was published in1984 and some of those tired tropes you may be seeing weren’t as tired or tropey then. In fact, some of it was pretty shiny new, and 2) This book is just the intro to a fairly unique fantasy world and story that is further developed in subsequent books. It might be worth your time to soldier on. ObsYMMV.

  7. @Darren Garrison: I spoke precisely: I did not say that an indeterministic universe implies free will, merely that it allowed it. It is not clear to me that behaviour of humans is deterministic, and I don’t believe that is firmly supported by evidence as it stands. I await citations one way or the other.

    Newton certainly shaped philosophical thought for a long time, with centuries of physicists and philosophers (and theologians) working in a deterministic framework, believing in the clockwork universe. You have to go to great lengths to get free will into such a framework; in an indeterministic framework it’s much easier. It’s also possible to not do so, as you clearly do.

    It’s also not clear that quantum effects are only flaws in human operation. As far as I’m aware, quantum effects are currently believed to be important in a few systems: photoreception by plants, magnetic navigation of birds, etc. Quantum tunnelling in computers is a flaw because it affects gate operation, quantum computers (will) rely upon it. At present, I see no evidence that quantum computation is impossible (or I wouldn’t be doing the job that I do), and also none that it’s not more powerful than a Turing machine. (As an aside, many slot machines in France now use Quantum random numbers, so a single quantum event may affect more than you might think :))

    The question of determinism vs. indeterminism in the unvierse as a whole is an important question: the Bell experiment clearly establishes indeterminism (or very strong nonloical determinism in a pretty awkward framework) is the case. Pre 1905, everyone thought that determinism was the natural framework to think in. Today, it’s pretty clear that it’s not.

  8. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  9. Bracket time again:

    1. Labyrinth
    2. Holy Grail
    4. Princess Bride
    5. Dark Crystal
    6. Stardust
    7. Excalibur
    8. LOTR – speaking of which, the extended box set for the Hobbit movies came out this week, if anyone missed the news.

    Bonus:

    4. Good Omens

  10. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  11. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    Those dice have a lot to answer for! Never go up against a rabbit when a bracket is on the line.

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    I know which one I’d rather watch. Even if it is to snigger at Lambert’s “Scottish” accent.

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    Now that’s downright nasty.

    BONUS BRACKET

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  12. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)
    Bowie still rules

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Not dead yet

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    No contest

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    Pass

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
    I’d vote against nearly anything to see this on film

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  13. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

  14. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  15. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  16. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    tie! Totally depends on my mood.

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Just cause it needs at least one vote

  17. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  18. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)

    BONUS BRACKET

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  19. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND
    1. Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
    2. Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
    4. The Princess Bride (1987)
    6. Stardust (2007)
    7. Highlander (1986)
    8. Time Bandits (1981)

    BONUS BRACKET
    1. Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
    4. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  20. Argh! Cally, one box of non-flammable forehead cloths, please.

    FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    “To the pain” indeed. TIE.

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  21. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  22. This is starting to hurt more and more.

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    Owwww.

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    Gods.Damn.It.
    (Also, side eye to the bracket title – huh?)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  23. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Tie

    Isn’t CTHD Chinese?

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Abstain

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    Abstain

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Abstain

  24. Brackets:

    You guys can have all my forehead cloths. The Fisher King is gone, and I feel nothing now.

    FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. Labyrinth
    I love how the email notifications all started with Hampus and now they start with hair, and so does the bracket.

    Don’t you people dare send Bowie off the Island. Grr. (I can still have feelings, it just takes Bowie).

    2. Monty Python and The Holy Grail

    3. Spirited Away

    4. The Princess Bride
    I FEEL NOTHING.

    5. My Neighbour Totoro
    Nope, nothing at all.

    6. Pans Labyrinth

    7. Highlander
    Not even nostalgia.

    8.Time Bandits

    BONUS BRACKET

    1.His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    Sorry Hampus, I drank it all. It didn’t work, though, I’m still asleep. And I feel nothing.

    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

    4. I dunno.

  25. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Abstain

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Abstain

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  26. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    This is where we remember that while Ladyhawke was the best its era had to offer, that is damning with faint praise. Meanwhile Holy Grail is a legit classic.

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    I love wuxia movies and Crouching Tiger is a candidate for my favorite.

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    Almost reached for the cloth, and as I started to type this up I found myself asking, “But wait! What exactly is fantastical about TPB, really?!” but a vote against Princess Bride would be like a vote against myself.

    Could this be the tournament where comedies finally beat the File 770 curse?

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    Starting to suspect I’m a sucker for Charlie Cox.

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Write-In: A cleansing, all-consuming fire.

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    This choice was a little cloth-y! The badness of Return of the King almost lost it for LOTR, but in the end I’m giving it the edge for the cultural impact.

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

  27. @snowcrash:

    (Also, side eye to the bracket title – huh?)

    On reflection, you can probably imagine more gracious ways to point out an error. Speaking from experience, it’s really hard not to make errors on these bracket titles at some point.

  28. 1. Labyrinth. Ouch.
    2. Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Double Ouch.
    3. abstain
    4. The Princess Bride
    5. The Dark Crystal
    6. Stardust; The movie wasn’t as good as the book — but while I found Pan’s Labyrinth visually amazing, I didn’t think the story was well done. I remember articulating my issues with it back then, but I don’t remember the specifics now, because it’s been so long.
    7. Highlander; had its issues, but not as many as, sadly, Excalibur.
    8. LOTR

  29. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    sign have to go with ‘rewatched most’

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    tie dangit. and it’s appalling seeing those dates. These can’t be that long ago

    4. TO THE PAIN
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    Ooh ouch I actually changed this in the editing window just before posting. Roger Rabbit for technical brilliance

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

    nanowrimo: 40356 words

  30. 1. Labyrinth
    2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
    3. Spirited Away (and, um, the other one was Chinese, not Japanese)
    4. Headcloth time… Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
    5. The Dark Crystal
    6. Pan’s Labyrinth
    7. Highlander
    8. Time Bandits

    Bonus bracket:

    1-2. Abstain
    3. Master Li and Number Ten Ox
    4. The Deed of Paksenarrion

  31. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

  32. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    (Little should have a second L. Didn’t mention it last bracket, but if it moves on, you’ll want to fix that…)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    I’m voting for the one I quote more often. (But, yes, I do say “keep to the left side of the bridge”…)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    No question CTHD did nothing for me. It was pretty and meaningless.

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    Ouch.

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    Because flawed as Stardust was, I cannot bear to watch Pan’s Labyrinth again, and I’ve watched Stardust more than once.

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    Abstain; still haven’t seen Highlander.

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    I love God Stalk. But Hero is probably more cinematic.

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    Rock and roll!

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

    ARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Good Omens.

  33. @Jim Henley, Almost reached for the cloth, and as I started to type this up I found myself asking, “But wait! What exactly is fantastical about TPB, really?!” but a vote against Princess Bride would be like a vote against myself.

    The life-sucking machine was fantastical. And Miracle Max brought Wesley back from almost-completely-dead. (Um… spoiler alert?)

  34. @Cassy B.:

    The life-sucking machine was fantastical. And Miracle Max brought Wesley back from almost-completely-dead. (Um… spoiler alert?)

    Good reminders. Thanks!

    And people start to realize I’m generally not into things for the plots…

  35. 1. Labyrinth
    2. Ladyhawke (I hate, hate, HATE Monty Python; I love, love, LOVE Ladyhawke–this matchup totally bums me out)
    3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    4. The Princess Bride
    5. The Dark Crystal
    6. Stardust
    7. Highlander
    8. Lord of the Rings

    Bonus Bracket
    1. His Majesty’s Dragon
    2. The Hero and the Crown
    3. abstain
    4. abstain

  36. Forehead Cloths! Getcher Official Bracket Forehead Cloths Here! Reports of spontaneous combustions are largely over-estimated! Now available in Fire Resistant! (Dampen well before applying to forehead. Packaged in facility that may contain nuts. Contents may settle during shipment.)

  37. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    Wow, I really hate your dice.

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    Hate them I do. Voting for Bruce Lee’s worthy successors.

    4. TO THE PAIN
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    OW. But catbus.

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    I don’t care that it clanks.

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)

    Meh. Don’t care for either, but a protest vote against LotR.

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

    eta: I’d like a case of forehead cloths, please.

  38. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    Abstain

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    Python. Dammit.

    3. EAST ASIAN BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    Abstain

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    Life IS pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
    Princess Bride

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    CATBUS.

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    Abstain

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    Ow. Can I vote for just Fellowship? No? Time Bandits, then.

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    Novic

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    God Stalk (You realize this blog has hopelessly screwed up any future searches for Hodgell’s first book, right?)

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    Um. This one’s hard. Hughart.

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

    The Antichrist.

  39. re: Errors

    The occassional error is just to see if we’re paying attention, right?

    Seriously, Hampus, you’ve done a wonderful job (as did Kyra and Jim). I’m doubly impressed since English isn’t your first language.

  40. Huh, I actually think the matchups are a little less painful this time. But that only goes to underscore how painful some of the recent matchups have been. I’m still going to need a goodly supply of headcloths, especially since I had a couple catch on fire last time! 🙂

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Oh god, this one is every bit as painful as anything we’ve seen so far. I think I’ll have to go with the snarkier of the two.

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975). Both have flaws, but Ladyhawke is merely classic; Holy Grail is legen…wait for it…dary.

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001). With some regrets, but this is my favorite Miyazaki.

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987). Again, a classic vs a legend.

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988). Ouch!

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006).

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)
    A meh vs. a haven’t-seen. Solid abstain.

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003). Ouch!

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley. This is, quite simply, a film that needs to be made.

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart. With sincere regrets. As a book, I like WftO better, and it would totally rock as a film, not to mention the great soundtrack. But! If I’m completely honest, Master Li just has too many great moments that call out to be filmed.

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Tough call. I’m a little unsure if this is as filmable as Paks, but if it worked, it would be so great!

  41. People always say it wasn’t as painful as they thought. That is before they see what choice won.

  42. I see I’m not alone in getting to the stage where I’m voting based on re-watch intensity (or potential).

    FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    You know, a much as I’ve harped on my allergy to Monty Python style humor, and as much love as I have for fantasies involving magical birds of prey, this one is burning through a lot of forehead cloths. Because when it comes down to it, MPatHG has more re-watch juice for me than LH. Um…tie!

    3. ASIAN SUPER-POWER JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL (ftfy)
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    Really close. But I’ve rewatched Princess more.

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    OK, this one’s more on the “equality of meh” side. Tie.

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    For all its flaws, LoTR is one of my go-to background videos. It may come in second only to the entire corpus of BBC Jane Austen.

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    No contest.

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell

    Wince. That one was a contest.

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    No contest.

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

    Not as strong a preference, but not difficult.

  43. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  44. 1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Ladyhawke (1985)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  45. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)
    Labyrinth (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
    Ladyhawke (1985)
    Sigh

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    The Dark Crystal (1982)
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)
    Stardust (2007)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)
    Excalibur (1981)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
    God Stalk, P. C. Hodgell
    There are NUTS in my face cloths.
    Why?

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart
    Coffee doesn’t help this at all.

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    The Deed of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

  46. FANTASY MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD ROUND

    1. BEST OF HAIR CUTS
    Big Trouble in Litte China (1986)

    2. NOW STAND ASIDE, WORTHY ADVERSARY
    Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

    3. JAPANESE BATTLE ROYAL
    Spirited Away (2001)

    4. TO THE PAIN
    The Princess Bride (1987)

    5. THERE IS SOME DARK IN EVERYTHING
    My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

    6. SURVIVING TASKS
    Pans Labyrinth (2006)

    7. YOU LACK A KNIGHT’s HUMILITY
    Highlander (1986)

    8. DID WE SAY DWARVES AS COMIC RELIEF?
    Lord of The Rings – Series (2001 – 2003)

    BONUS BRACKET

    1. NAPEOLEONIC WARFARE OR FAUSTIAN STORYTELLING
    Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny

    2. THE DETERMINATION TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED
    The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

    3. IT IS MORNING AGAIN. WHERE IS MY COFFEE?
    The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Barry Hughart

    4. A PALADIN AGAINST THE ANTICHRIST
    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

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