Live, from way later than the bleeping middle of Saturday night!
(1) VOTER DECEPTION? People are gathering signatures for a San Diego ballot initiative that allegedly will help keep Comic-Con in town, but the organizers of Comic-Con told Deadline.com they have nothing to do with it and it won’t affect whatever they may decide.
Will Comic-Con stay in San Diego? No word yet, but there’s a lot of confusion among fans on what’s going on with the organization’s desire to expand their annual convention in San Diego. Comic-Con International made the unusual move today of putting out a statement regarding a ballot initiative that was drawn up by a group called Citizens Plan for San Diego that seems to be at odds with their own desires for a contiguous expansion along the waterfront. Signatures are being gathered for a ballot initiative to keep Comic-Con in San Diego albeit a different spot, and those collecting signatures are actually advertising the initiative with signs stating “Keep Comic-Con in San Diego….
“There is a lot of confusion about this matter so we felt it necessary to put out a statement to let people know that we are not a party to this, have not read the initiatives and it will have no bearing on our decision of whether we stay in San Diego,” Comic-Con spokesperson David Glanzer told Deadline. He said they have been getting a lot of calls about this and just wanted to set the record straight.
(2) THERE ARE NO BAD PRINCESSES. Check out the photos of what Hampus Eckerman likes to call Disney’s newest Princess at boingboing.
Sophie’s parents tapped their friend, Megan, to turn a Chewbacca doll into a Princess Chewbacca birthday cake, using the “Barbie cake” method, and making Sophie’s third birthday just the bestest.
(3) BYERS SURGERY. SF Site News reports Chunga co-editor Randy Byers is back home after brain surgery.
Fan Randy Byers is recovering at home after undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor. Byers will receive further diagnosis of his tumors and whether or not additional treatment will be needed, in about a week.
(4) Today In History
- December 12, 1941 — On this day in 1941 The Wolf Man is unleashed in theaters. Did you know: the “wolf” that Larry Talbot fights with was Lon Chaney Jr.’s own German Shepherd.
(5) KRAMPUS. Now just hours away is a local stage performance of a Krampus-themed play.
He’s certainly not jolly, and you sure as hell had better not call him “Nick.” The St. Nicholas you’ll meet tonight is the genuine old-world artifact – the stern judge who oversaw a creaky old style of child-rearing the Germans call “gingerbread and whip.”
Of course Nicholas himself didn’t dirty his hands with whips. For that he had the Krampus. Today, every self-respecting hipster loves Krampus. But while your friends rhapsodize about the ersatz bubblegum Krampus of American comic books, TV, and monster fandom, tonight you’ll get a glimpse of the old devil in his original form – the Krampus of the ancient alpine “Nikolausspiel” or NICHOLAS PLAY, a folk theater production somewhat resembling England’s old Christmas mummers’ plays.
(6) SAFETY LAST. Great video — Samurai Smartphone Parade.
99% of people think using a smartphone while walking is dangerous.
73% of people have used a smartphone while walking.
(7) THE HUGO URGE. George R.R. Martin makes two recommendations for the Best Related Work Hugo in a new post at Not A Blog.
THE WHEEL OF TIME COMPANION was a mammoth concordance of facts about the universe and characters of the late Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series, edited and assembled by Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons. It’s a labor of love, and everything one could possibly want to know about Jordan’s universe is in there.
Also
Felicia Day’s delightful look at her life, YOU’RE NEVER WEIRD ON THE INTERNET (Almost).
(8) VERHOEVEN’S STINKER. Jason Fuesting, in “Starship Troopers: Book vs. Movie” for Mad Genius Club, takes a movie we both dislike and, by applying his powers of persuasion, still finds grounds for disagreement.
Ultimately, Verhoeven takes a message needed badly by so many today, with their safe spaces and trigger warnings, and turns it into the film equivalent of those same children’s tantrums, a film so poorly written that only Mystery Science Theater 3000 could find use for it. A better director would have used Joe Haldeman’s “Forever War,” an excellent book in its own right. Haldeman makes all the points this film bobbled in “Forever War,” but using it would have meant going without all the Nazi imagery that Verhoeven is evidently fond of and not butchering an outstanding work in the process. Verhoeven’s film is surely satire, but I do not think he realizes the joke is on his side.
(9) MST3K CAMEOS. There will be a bushel of celebrity cameos on the revived MST3K.
MST3K creator Joel Hodgson announces a celebrity-packed cameo list that includes Seinfeld, Hamill, Harris, Jack Black, Bill Hader and Joel McHale for the new series.
Fans also found out this week from Hodgson that the new MST3K writing team will include not only the cast, but also guest writers such as “Community” creator Dan Harmon and his “Rick & Morty” co-creator Justin Roiland. Others will include “The Muppet Show” writer Nell Scovell, “Ready Player One” author Ernie Cline, “The Name of the Wind” author Pat Rothfuss, musical comedy duo Paul and Storm, “Simpsons” writer Dana Gould, “The Book of Mormon” songwriter Robert Lopez and director of the next “Lego Movie” Rob Schrab.
(10) RETHINKING SUSAN PEVENSIE. E. Jade Lomax of Hark, the empty highways calling has written a set of thoughtful, heart-tugging parallax views about what happened after Narnia’s Susan returned to England.
http://ink-splotch.tumblr.com/post/69470941562/there-comes-a-point-where-susan-who-was-the
…I want to read about Susan finishing out boarding school as a grown queen reigning from a teenaged girl’s body. School bullies and peer pressure from children and teachers who treat you like you’re less than sentient wouldn’t have the same impact. C’mon, Susan of the Horn, Susan who bested the DLF at archery, and rode a lion, and won wars, sitting in a school uniform with her eyebrows rising higher and higher as some old goon at the front of the room slams his fist on the lectern.
Susan living through WW2, huddling with her siblings, a young adult (again), a fighting queen and champion marksman kept from the action, until she finally storms out against screaming parents’ wishes and volunteers as a nurse on the front. She keeps a knife or two hidden under her clothes because when it comes down to it, they called her Gentle, but sometimes loving means fighting for what you care for.
She’ll apply to a women’s college on the East Coast, because she fell in love with America when her parents took her there before the war. She goes in majoring in Literature (her ability to decipher High Diction in historical texts is uncanny), but checks out every book she can on history, philosophy, political science. She sneaks into the boys’ school across town and borrows their books too. She was once responsible for a kingdom, roads and taxes and widows and crops and war. She grew from child to woman with that mantle of duty wrapped around her shoulders. Now, tossed here on this mundane land, forever forbidden from her true kingdom, Susan finds that she can give up Narnia but she cannot give up that responsibility. She looks around and thinks I could do this better….
http://ink-splotch.tumblr.com/post/79664265175/ifallelseperished-i-was-so-tall-you-were
Can we talk about Susan Pevensie for a moment?
Let’s talk about how, when the war ends, when the Pevensie children go back to London, Susan sees a young woman standing at the train platform, weeping, waving.
First, Susan thinks civilian; and second, she thinks not much older than me.
Third, Susan thinks Mother.
They surge off the train, into their parents’ arms, laughing, embracing. Around them, the train platform is full of reunions (in her life, trains will give so much to Susan, and take so much away).
(11) NPR RECOMMENDS. NPR staff and critics have listed 260 books they loved this year – click here to see the ones in the science fiction and fantasy category.
(12) TOUGHER MEGABUCKS. Scott Mendelson at Forbes tells why he thinks “For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ Breaking The Opening Weekend Record Just Got Less Likely”.
But if The Force Awakens breaks the opening weekend record next weekend, it, like The Phantom Menace, will have to do it in a lot fewer theaters than expected. Walt Disney reported yesterday (according to the always trustworthy BoxOffice.com and Box Office Mojo) that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be opening next week on around 3,900 screens in America.
That’s only the 11th biggest theater count in 2015 and nowhere close to the biggest theater count of all time. The biggest theatrical release in 2015 was the 4,301 screen release for Minions ($115 million debut weekend). The widest release of all time was for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse which debuted on July 4th weekend of 2010 in 4,468 theaters. There have been 62 releases debuting in more than 4,000 theaters. If you presume that the figure is closer to 3,900 versus 3,999 theaters next week, that puts the Walt Disney release at merely one of the 100 biggest releases ever, about on par with Spectre and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Point being, Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t going to have anywhere closer to the widest theatrical release of all time.
(13) ‘TISN’T THE SEASON. A friend of mine *coff* *coff* wanted me to ask John Scalzi a favor, but after reading “On the Asking of Special Holiday Favors From Me” I’m going to tell my friend *coff* *coff* this is a bad time…
Folks: This week I’ve gotten no less than five requests from fans (or family/friends of fans) asking if I could do some particular special thing or another that would mean a lot to the fan for the holidays. Since there are several of these this week, and these sorts of requests are something I’ve had to juggle before, especially during the holidays, I’m posting this as a general note so people know it’s not personal. And that note is:
I really can’t….
[Thanks to Janice Gelb, John King Tarpinian, Michael J. Walsh, Martin Morse Wooster, Hampus Eckerman, and Brian Z. for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]
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Mike,
A better pointer would be to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. This link is to an interview with the founder and Cenk Uger of The Young Turks
@James Davis Nicoll: Re. the Kobo store and DRM, keep in mind that’s up to the publisher. I’ve rarely, if ever, found a publisher who uses DRM on Kobo but not at other ebookstores.* Maybe once or twice, but I’ve also found the reverse – and just as rarely. Granted, I can’t possibly survey all titles on all eplatforms, heh. But most publishers are very consistent (most major ones require DRM, sigh), so usually IMHO it’s a question of whose DRM one prefers (or “whose DRM you like to strip” if you do that 😉 ).
* Obviously excepting publishers who use DRM at ebookstores, but not selling direct (e.g., Angry Robot).
One thing I like about Kobo, though I rarely buy there, that unlike Apple and Amazon, they’re almsotthe only place to make it clear on all books whether there’s DRM. Occasionally I use this as a reality check: DRM-free on Kobo? Then it’s very likely DRM-free elsewhere. (But usually in that case, I buy form Kobo to be sure.)
BTW for a horrible search engine, try Weightless Books. They’re 100% DRM-free, but good luck finding things, because of that (many publishers don’t sell there, because the publishers require DRM) and because the search bites! Kobo’s search engine seems fine to me, but I frequently can’t figure out what the heck the Weightless Books search thinks it’s doing. 😉
Sorry to ramble! One final thing, this seems a good time to post my slightly-updated-since-last-I-posted-it list of DRM-free publishers. No guarantees – caveat emptor – but this is based on my experience, sometimes supplemented by public or e-mail clarifications from the publishers.
Angry Robot (direct only, it seems)
Baen (direct & some non-direct?)
Carina (direct; not sure elsewhere)
ChiZine Publications (direct; not sure elsewhere)
Phoenix Pick (may have DRM in iTMS??? seems DRM-free at Smashwords; not sure about direct)
Prime (at least DRM-free at Weightless & Kobo)
Ragnarok (direct; not sure elsewhere)
Saga Press (all platforms)
Subterranean Press (at least DRM-free at Kobo)
Tor (all platforms)
Wildfire Press (all platforms)
Anything sold via SmashWords, Weightless, & Closed Circle
Some Night Shade Books & Wordfire Press books are sold by Baen (DRM-free)
Prime and SubPress are examples of ones I’m only sure are DRM-free at Kobo (because it says so!). Prime is on Weightless, making me think they may be DRM-free everywhere, but for me, better safe than sorry. 😉
Sorry again to ramble. It’s a mini-obsession of mine – DRM-free, or DRM if it’s very, very cheap. Or the very, very rare exception.
Whoops, I forgot to say (and lost my edit window): The list I just posted doesn’t include some niche ebook-only (or primarily ebook) small publishers and specialty ebookstores that I’m aware of – and ones I’m not aware of, obviously. If anyone has additions/corrections/additional info (particularly for medium-to-large publishers, and even small SFF publishers), please let me know.
HE :
There’s a word for that.
@Kendall: (Kobo, publishers, and DRM)
I’m actually seeing more Smashwords books get assigned DRM at Kobo, despite the wishes of the author. The information that’s filtering back to me has something to do with Australia retailers requiring DRM – maybe Kobo can’t manage the logic of “DRM here but not there”?
Regarding Kindle books and categories, is there any way to easily manage categories from the web interface? The problem I have is that I generally purchase books from my desktop computer, and by the time I next pick up the Kindle I may not remember what category something belongs in. If I could go through and bulk-tag, that would help immensely.
@ Mike Glyer
It’s not just Southerners and Protestantism. I’m from the South, my family is mostly still in the South, many are evangelicals/fundamentalists, one is an evangelical/fundamentalist missionary. I’ve been hearing for decades about the need to ‘save the soldiers’.
There have been a number of alarming reports, complaints, scandals, etc in the last 15-20 years of growing intolerance in military academies, on bases, and in combat arenas to non-evangelicals and open proselytizing by some in the military chain-of-command, which is completely illegal and against military regulations. This frightens me because I *know* that a certain percentage of these military leaders do not hold the Constitution as the law of the land.
I tried to load several links to reports, but had technical difficulties and then remembered that it would just throw the post into moderation. So I’ll just post one link with some excerpts from the interview.
Evangelical Christianity in the Military
An interview with former chief of staff to Colin Powell and retired US Army.
“Well, one group in particular–and you can just Google them and you can see what they’re about, called the Dominionist. This is a group that believes that its mission is to take over the Armed Forces of the United States and then use them in a crusade against all those who don’t believe in Christ in the world. Mikey’s clientele now is over 32,000, some 90 percent of whom are Protestant or Catholic. So you’ve got mostly Christians who were looking to Mikey’s organization to protect them against the chain of command in their own military unit.”
The reports of some of these problems are out there in regular media. From what I understand, military personnel have a real problem being allowed to go to the press, though. That’s why they turn to organizations like the Military Religious Freedom Foundation mentioned in the link.
@Lexica kindle collections – I’ve only been able to do them:
1. Cloud
2. App
3. Kindle device
They have a ways to go to get them to truly sync and work everywhere. I was disappointed when they added family/household account that one couldn’t share collections. Not as disappointed as my husband who went from 100-200 books to 6k+ books and really wished he could use my categories even if they wouldn’t have been perfect/his way to organize books.
junego: I read the article and did what the interviewee recommended:
Google did not return a group that called itself “the Dominionist.”
The articles I found report Dominionist is an externally imposed term — see for example, Dominion Theology at the Wikipedia.
While Christian and religious websites have articles too, I will try to avoid begging the question and instead quote the beginning of Huffington Post’s 2011 post 5 Facts About Dominionism.
So as an authority, the former chief of staff to Colin Powell came off as a little bit lacking.
Returning to your original comment — “infiltrating the military leadership and rank-and-file to a worrying degree with their interpretations of what the Constitution means and where the military’s loyalties should lie” — I’m not assuming the burden of arguing you out of something you think should be worried about. Nor even saying the threat level they represent is zero — for one thing, people who meet your description can be found among the unnamed “serving officers” who write comments on some of the blogs I see while reporting for File 770. But what I hear in your reference to “alarming reports” and “frightens me because I *know* that a certain percentage of these military leaders do not hold the Constitution as the law of the land” is an expectation of a coup attempt.
E-ink is still so slow that it gives me headaches with all that refreshing of the page, blanking it out (either black or white) and flashing up the new one. Why is next page not here NOW???!* says my brain. I couldn’t get an e-reader until they finally started making them in color. LCD4LYFE. So now we have apps for tablets and that’s good.
*like a kitty who wonders why it’s taking you more than one second to dish up the noms, MAOW MAOW MAOW.
@Rev. Bob: Thanks for the info! That’s a drag, although for me as a reader, it hightlights again Kobo’s strength of being transparent about DRM. But there’s definitely something to be said for going to the source (in your example, Smashwords)! 🙂 I’ve got a few books from Smashwords.
(The Smashwords web site looks dated, but I don’t hold that against them.)
@Rev. Bob: I had to check, so I’m adding this later. A Smashwords book I got from iTunes has DRM, but no DRM at Kobo (nor, of course, at Smashwords itself). I’ve had it a while, though, so I suspect the author changed his DRM preferences (or made a mistake, or Smashwords had some hiccups 3 years ago when I bought it). But it does reinforce “buy from Smashwords if they’re the publisher” for me. 😉
/more-rambling
Mike,
It isn’t so much about a coup attempt as it is pushing the US and its military agenda in a way that suits their evangelical bent. They are actively looking for the return of Jesus and see war in the Middle East as one of the precursors his arrival. As with Isis they see the current conflicts as part of an impending holy war.
You may remember the rifles the army bought with bible verses etched into the sights. Many critics saw that not as a blunder by procurement, but as proof of the reach that the Dominionist movement had within the military.
@Kendall: “A Smashwords book I got from iTunes has DRM, but no DRM at Kobo”
I’ve been getting info on this as part of the process of getting J.B.’s content released. The new story* just came out a few hours ago, and Kobo has put DRM on it, just as they did on the first two. However, we filed a ticket on the first two and those no longer have DRM… so it looks like that’s going to be an ongoing issue. Release and correct…
*NSFW holiday story, link provided only to verify the existence of DRM.
ETA: The gap between comment count and items per page is widening. This comment is presently the second message on the last page, with a count of 214. So, um… fifth?
Rev. Bob: The gap between comment count and items per page is widening. This comment is presently the second message on the last page, with a count of 214.
This is just more evidence of that Wretched Hivemaster Glyer’s sinister campaign to suppress Puppies… all those invisible comments are Puppies who he is censoring! And even worse, sometimes he doesn’t censor what Puppies say! Sometimes he slanders them by actually printing what they say verbatim!
I’m telling you, it’s all part of a nefarious File770 plot.
@ Jim Henley
re: the draft, etc.
Would like to continue discussion, but I had to take some medication last night that leaves me more fuzzy headed than usual :-9 Should be more lucid by tonight, if I don’t have to take another dose. Apologies.
JJ: After all, Nefarious is my middle name!
Oh now, that’s kind of funny, because —
Oh, well, never mind.
Re: ebook reader
I use an iPad, and I’m very happy with it, but that’s largely down to it being my primary computing device (so a straight ebook reader wouldn’t be any good) and not wanting to spend money on a dedicated ebook reader in addition to the iPad. Still, it does work nicely, although it doesn’t have the fancy ink thing,
@JJ
I know every time I blockquote someone I mean it as a dire insult. 😉
I did a fair bit of reading on my iPhone and iPad before I got a Kindle Paperwhite (e-ink with optional illumination), and I’ve found I really like the Kindle. I like that the screen has significantly less glare than the iPad does, I like that even if I have a net connection via wifi the keyboard and experimental browser are too annoying to use at length (which helps me focus on what I’m reading instead of getting distracted), and I’m much more comfortable using it on public transit than the iPad (which would feel like having a neon “PLEASE MUG ME” sign over my head, I think).
To be fair, the Kindle app on either iPhone or iPad has a much, much better keyboard when it comes to making notes (the Paperwhite’s onscreen keyboard is TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO-GOOD VERY BAD ahem), and the app prompts you to leave a review when you finish a book (where the Kindle proper just prompts for a star rating).
What I like most is the low-glare, e-ink screen, plus the convenience. Once I get a new computer (this laptop has nine toes in the grave) I have hopes of getting organized via Calibre and some of the tips people here have posted.
I second everything @Lexica has to say about going from an iPad to Kindle Paperwhite with pros & cons. I still read occasionally on my iPad. But so much less eye strain with the e-ink. When out & about I tend to read on my iPhone so I’m not carrying anything extra unless I know I’m going to be reading for hours. I can’t wait until I upgrade to a 6 or 6S (still on 4S screen is tiny) or at the rate I’m going it will be the 7/whatever they decide to call the next model.
I do my recreational reading on my Kobo, but I edit on my iPad mini. They’re about the same size, and I can use either one for hours, but the iPad is perfect for my style of editing. Highlight the word or phrase, add a note with the comment, and take a screenshot. Proceed through the end of the chapter or book, depending on how frequent the notes are. If I’m making the changes myself, the tablet is a useful second screen for laptop editing. Otherwise, I usually retype the notes into an email to expand them into something more legible. Again, using the iPad as a second screen helps.
There are some exceptions. I use the iPad for comics, PDFs, Kobo samples, and fixed-layout EPUB 3 books. I just downloaded my first of that last class, and I really don’t like how poorly it degrades on EPUB 2 software. It’s basically done as a set of full-page images, but with the text of each page transcribed to a separate “page” that comes after it – presumably for searches. iBooks handles it fine, but my usual reader shows all the pages instead of just the pretty ones… which means I get two Page Ones, two Page Twos, and so forth. Quite annoying, much more than the “what do you mean I have to keep the iPad in landscape mode?” alternative.
I just got an iPhone 6S and now I am reading on that, mostly. What annoys me about the Kindle is the unresponsiveness of the screen. I am reading a book that I am highlighting a lot, and the Kindle is terrible to highlight on.
I’m way late to the thread, but I wanted to say the Kobo is my fave e-reader too. I borrow the beloved’s whenever I can, and turn off the light. My actual reader is an ancient Kindle with a physical keyboard and page-turn buttons (I adore the buttons, and will miss them when it finally dies), but the Kobo’s screen is great, the integration with pocket is amazing for reading long articles and short fiction from the web.
The collections problem is really easy to solve with Calibre: you can sort all your books into collections on your laptop, where it’s easier to see covers and summaries, and they’ll show up sorted in the Kobo.
The best thing about e-readers, IMO, aside from not hurting your eyes is that there are no distractions right there in the device. People often ask me if the Kindle does anything else, and I always say “No. Isn’t that great?” Just like books, only more books 🙂
@ Mike Glyer
I apologize for not responding earlier.
Google did not return a group that called itself “the Dominionist.”
The articles I found report Dominionist is an externally imposed term — see for example, Dominion Theology at the Wikipedia.
While Christian and religious websites have articles too, I will try to avoid begging the question and instead quote the beginning of Huffington Post’s 2011 post 5 Facts About Dominionism.
re: Dominionism – As mentioned in both of those articles you found via Google, the experts (some social scientists and, I’m assuming, some investigative journalists) have coined a descriptive term for a particular influence in and impetus to action on certain strains of evangelical fundamentalists. Neither article tries to refute the truth of the studies or the articles published. Both these articles mention that there is some disagreement and some push back, none of which address the actual claims of these sociologists or journalists, that I could see.
Some Christian sites/articles did (at least when I was checking on this a few years ago) lament the influence of dominionism (or one of the sects/movements that are defined as developing dominionism) in some evangelical circles.
When I read the articles by the social scientists and journalists (the studies are behind paywalls) a few years ago I accepted that their descriptions and conclusions seemed to have some basis in the facts. Some of that acceptance had basis in observations in my own family, some in observations of the growing crazy-sounding positions and statements of some politicians, and some in the accounts I read of statements/actions of some military leaders and of complaints from within the military that were just beginning to surface. YMMV.
Returning to your original comment — “infiltrating the military leadership and rank-and-file to a worrying degree with their interpretations of what the Constitution means and where the military’s loyalties should lie” — I’m not assuming the burden of arguing you out of something you think should be worried about. Nor even saying the threat level they represent is zero — for one thing, people who meet your description can be found among the unnamed “serving officers” who write comments on some of the blogs I see while reporting for File 770. But hear in your reference to “alarming reports” and “frightens me because I *know* that a certain percentage of these military leaders do not hold the Constitution as the law of the land” is an expectation of a coup attempt.
I don’t think most of the people influenced by dominionism are consciously planning any kind of coup attempt. I don’t think many or most would ever go along with an actual attempt. I don’t even think such an attempt could succeed, but it could sure cause some damage before it was stopped. I do think there are some people who would not follow the Constitution if they thought they could/should try to achieve their religious goals instead (ie, in some extreme scenarios).
What worries me more in the near term is the level of harassment of any and all who don’t subscribe to their brand of Christianity or who are anything other than Christian, that this harassment is often coming from and/or tolerated by those in command, and that intellectual/religious difference may be being stifled and driven out.
How widespread this is, I don’t know for sure, but reports from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation concern me. The fact that prominent retired and active duty military personnel from various religions and political persuasions (obviously with contacts/networks within the military) are involved in the MRFF adds credibility to their statements and indicates there is probably a real problem, especially when added to the studies and reports by those ‘experts’ mentioned up at the top.
A very insular, tribal military that is heavily influenced by an extreme form of Christianity is not healthy for our country, imho.
Again, I don’t think this is an imminent threat, I just think it’s worrisome, in much the same way the Citizen’s United decision’s repercussions, growing corporate power, climate change, etc. all worry me and induce some fear for the future. But the discussion at hand was about the US military.
The Founder of Christian Reconstruction, a.k.a. Dominionism, indeed maintains that “Dominionism” as such is an externally imposed term – maintains it in an essay titled “The Necessity of Dominion.”
@ Jim Henley
Yeah, dominionism was a term coined by some people trying to come up with a name for a movement they had identified with roots in both Christian Reconstruction and the other arm…N.A.R? ::Googling:: Ah, cool, this is new to me. Here’s an article by the people who claim to have coined the word based on years worth of discussion, reading, talking, with a history of how it happened. And most of the names are familiar to me from previous reading.
How We Coined the Term Dominionism
And the second influence was called Kingdom Now movement. I still remember something with those N.A.R initials, but it’s been several years since I read up on this.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Truman Show (1998)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
Macross: Do You Remember Love (1984)
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
THX-1138 (1971)
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
Dune (1984)
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
Battle Royale (2000)
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Children of Men (2006)
The Prestige (2006)
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
Men in Black (1997)
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
Alphaville (1965)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Jurassic Park (1993)
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
On The Beach (1959)
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Ghostbusters (2016)
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
so many abstentions, because of movies seen only partly or not at all
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
The Prestige (2006)
Children of Men has two great magic tricks, but over all I’d give it to The Prestige
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
The Jurassic Park movies leave me cold
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
and anyone who says otherwise has been drinking fluoridated water!
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Truman Show (1998)
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
4. SO IT GOES
Dune (1984)
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Children of Men (2006)
(Damn you Hampus. Tough one)
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
A vote against both.
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Macross: Do You Remember Love (1984)
My love made the cut? We are no longer feuding forever.
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
More of a vote against dune than for Slaughterhouse, Dune was awful.
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
Battle Royale (2000)
And may the odds be ever in your favor.
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Or in her favor.
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
I’m sorry J, I can’t do that.
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Alphaville (1965)
Sorry Tom, I can’t do that.
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
Sam, I’m here to help you.
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
From the heart of hell I wave my head cloth at thee.
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Ghostbusters (2016)
Uh wrong year on Ghostbusters. I’ll vote for the original not the remake.
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
How can I vote against the movie that gave us the Bechdel test?
Bracket the Second:
1. Truman Show
2. Metropolis
3. Eternal Sunshine
5. Iron Giant
7. Hunger Games: Catching Fire
8. Men in Black. (Do you have any idea how much that stings?!)
9. Brother from Another Planet. (This may have been influenced by my listening to Bootsy Collins’s Christmas album earlier today.)
10. Minority Report
11. M-O-O-N, that spells Moon. (Hey, Tom got one right!)
12. GalaxyQuest, but I maintain that this showdown was badly written!
14. KHAAAAAAAANNNNN!
15. Uh, wait. How can next year’s Ghostbusters be eligible? I’m going to vote for that in hopes that the date is wrong and it’s the original.
16. Michael Rennie was ill when I passed him by to select Alien. I guess that’ll show him where he stands…
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
The Truman Show was OK, but not quite all it could have been.
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
No contest. One of the greatest sci fi films of all time.
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
An absolutely brilliant movie. One of my favorites.
4. SO IT GOES
Pass.
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
A better Superman film than Superman was.
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Pass.
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Tie
Twelve Monkeys is going to win it, but Catching Fire is an excellent, excellent film too.
8. MEETING ALIENS
Men in Black (1997)
Men in Black was OK. 2001 was boring. It’s going to win this one, though.
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
I am hard pressed to think of what would get me to vote against Nausicaa.
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
Both great films, so I’ll vote for the prettier one.
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Pass.
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
No question. Jurassic Park was dumb fun. But Galaxy Quest OWNS dumb fun.
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
OK, if it comes down to a Brazil vs. Nausicaa matchup, there’s a chance Brazil would take it for me.
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
Tough call, but I’ll vote for the one that went deeper. It’s going to lose here, though.
15. DOOMSDAY
Tie
You can’t make me choose.
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Tie
I have strong feelings.
Sorry about the year for Ghostbusters. Dunno how that happened there.
Kyra:
On Halloween, I was hosting a party of the NSFW-kind. To get a bit more ambience, I put on Metropolis on the projector (having started with Nosferatu). Walked around a bit, talked to people, checked that everything was ok.
And when I got back, there were 10 people sitting in sofas watching Metropolis instead of doing, well, NSFW stuff. That says something about the power of that movie.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. The Truman Show (1998)
2. Metropolis (1927)
6. Children of Men (2006)
8. Men in Black (1997)
10. Minority Report (2002)
11. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
12. Galaxy Quest (1999)
14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
15. Ghostbusters (1984)
16. Alien (1979)
1. The Man Who Fell to Earth
6. The Prestige
7. Twelve Monkeys
8. 2001
10. Minority Report
11. Moon
12. Galaxy Quest
14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
15. Ghostbusters
16. Alien
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
THX-1138 (1971)
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
Battle Royale (2000)
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
The Prestige (2006)
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
8. MEETING ALIENS
Men in Black (1997)
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
Bracket!
Just skimming the list as I was pasting, and I feel I should put in a few jumbo forehhead-cloth orders!
1. The Man Who Fell to Earth
I love this movie, and not just because Bowie. Also: Bowie!
2. Metropolis
is good enough to cheat for.
3. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Owie.
4. Dune
If it were the books, it would have gone the other way (with much suffering, I do love Dune), and yes, it’s an often-ridiculous mess, but it’s got a real beating heart.
5. The Iron Giant
6. The Prestige
Is longer than it should be, but I kinda hated Children of Men. Also: Bowie!
7. Twelve Monkeys
Also a mess, but beating heart, and anti-voting the Hunger Games.
8. Men in Black
I know 2001 is the better movie, and, really, I would vote for it (even if I’m a grown up now and I can stop pretending I looove Kubrick) but I feel the need to give Tommy Lee Jones some love.
9. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Cheating. Don’t care.
10. Alphaville
Ouch.
11. Moon
Surprisingly not because Bowie (that’s gotta be hard), just because excellent.
12. Galaxy Quest
13. Brazil
14. Ghost In The Shell
Ooouuuch!
15. Dr. Strangelove
Butbutbutbut…
16. Alien
[collapses into the steaming crumpled pile of used cloths on the floor]
1. Man Who Fell to Earth. Bowie, Carey; do the maths.
2. Metropolis. It’s Lang-tastic.
3. Pass
4. Pass
5. Iron Giant. Dieselpunk? Think about it.
6. Pass
7. Twelve Monkeys.
8. 2001, Dave
9. Brother From Another Planet.
10. Pass
11. 20000 Leagues. Real tough call.
12. Galaxy Quest. Never give up! Never surrender!
13. Brazil
14. Ghost in the Shell
15. Dr Strangelove. Not just tough, a heartbreaker.
16. The Day the Earth Stood Still. Alien is great and all but…
Abstaining for quite a few of these! Usually because I’d seen neither or had only seen one and didn’t feel strongly enough about it to vote it over something I hadn’t watched.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
Bad dice! 🙁
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
This was a horrible choice. I think anime is generally running at a disadvantage though so I’ll go for that over Trek, this time.
15. DOOMSDAY
Ghostbusters
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
THX-1138 (1971)
4. SO IT GOES
Dune (1984)
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Children of Men (2006)
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
Ok, let’s see… (or see what I’ve seen, anyway….)
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Truman Show (1998)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Abstain; never saw The Man Who Fell To Earth
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
Macross: Do You Remember Love (1984)
Abstain; never seen (nor heard of) Macross
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
THX-1138 (1971)
Abstain; never seen Eternal Sunshine.
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
Dune (1984)
Abstain; never seen Slaughterhouse V
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
Battle Royale (2000)
Abstain; never saw either.
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Children of Men (2006)
The Prestige (2006)
Abstain; never saw The Prestige
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Abstain; never saw Twelve Monkeys. (This is getting ridiculous.)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
Men in Black (1997)
HAH! I’ve SEEN both of these! Um. 2001 was groundbreaking. I’ll go with that.
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
And two more I’ve never seen. Abstain.
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
Alphaville (1965)
Abstain; never seen Alphaville.
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Abstain; never seen Moon.
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Galaxy Quest was fun, but Jurassic Park was amazing.
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
On The Beach (1959)
Brazil (1985)
Read On the Beach but never saw it. Abstain.
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Abstain; never seen Ghost in the Shell.
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Ghostbusters (2016)
Um. So very, very different, it’s hard to choose. Dr. Strangelove. (I think the year you want for Ghostbusters is 1984. I’m sure I’m not the first to mention this, but I vote as soon as I see the brackets without scrolling down….)
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Um. Aliens was, I think, better than Alien, so I’m going with “Klaatu barada nikto”.
Wow. Three whole brackets I could vote in. Hampus, would it be easier for you to count if I just didn’t quoteback the ones I don’t vote in?
Cassy B: Do quoteback, doesn’t make much difference when counting. Did you want to vote for Jurassic Park?
Missed the edit window; in category 12, Jurassic Park should have been bolded. Just in case it wasn’t clear from my comment.
So that’s, what, four whole brackets I voted?
Yep!
Argh, argh, argh. These dice are Extra Evil.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Truman Show (1998)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
Macross: Do You Remember Love (1984)
Abstain
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
THX-1138 (1971)
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
Dune (1984)
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
Battle Royale (2000)
Abstain
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Children of Men (2006)
The Prestige (2006)
Argh. Children of Men has a haunting idea and that great long tracking shot. The Prestige has Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and the creepiest ending I’ve seen in a long time. And David Bowie’s hat, as opposed to pants. 😉
The Prestige
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
Men in Black (1997)
I imagine this will get stomped on, but I prefer humor to inscrutable endings.
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
Alphaville (1965)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Kirk Douglas sings!
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Argh, argh, argh. Cally! Forehead cloths!
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
On The Beach (1959)
Brazil (1985)
Abstain
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
I’ve never seen the former, but I will vote for KHAAAAAAAN over just about anything.
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Ghostbusters (2016)
2016? Are we looking ahead to the remake already?
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Ripley made the Xenomorph stand still. 🙂
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Believe it or not, in my younger days it bothered me that this wasn’t “hard science fiction.” But I watched it over and over. 11/10 would pet firmly.
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
Gonzobananas.
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
When a great movie fights a bad movie,
nobody winsthe great movie wins.6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
The Prestige (2006)
I quite liked this.
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
My family’s proxy vote.
8. MEETING ALIENS
Men in Black (1997)
This is my colleague, Mister…White.
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
I will ride this one quite a long way.
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
It was okay.
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Jurassic Park (1993)
Hated it with a passion on second viewing, but at least it had a premise. That’ll get it out of round one.
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
Brazil (1985)
One of the very greatest movies of all time.
14. PLAYING CATCH
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
I can vote against it next round.
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Not a hard choice for me.
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
This was pretty great.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND HEAT
1. CONFUSING REALITIES
The Truman Show (1998)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
2. THE HYMNS OF PRAISE
Metropolis (1927)
Macross: Do You Remember Love (1984)
3. ALTERATIONS OF THE MIND
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
THX-1138 (1971)
4. SO IT GOES
Slaughterhouse V (1972)
Dune (1984)
5. POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE
The Iron Giant (1999)
Battle Royale (2000)
6. YOU’VE GOT FAITH OVER HERE, RIGHT?
Children of Men (2006)
The Prestige (2006)
7. NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS COME BACK
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
8. MEETING ALIENS
2001 (1968)
Men in Black (1997)
9. LONGING FOR PEACE
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
10. DESTROYING THE BASIS OF THE STATE
Minority Report (2002)
Alphaville (1965)
11. NAUTILUS VS LUNAR INDUSTRIES
Moon (2009)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
12. MURDEROUS REPTILIANS
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Jurassic Park (1993)
13. WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER
On The Beach (1959)
Brazil (1985)
14. PLAYING CATCH
Ghost In The Shell (1997)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
15. DOOMSDAY
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Ghostbusters (2016)
How can I vote for a movie that hasn’t come out yet?
16. ALIENS WITH AGENDAS
Alien (1979)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Beth in MA: The year for ghostbusters is wrong. Dunno how it got there, but it is the original movie that is eligible for voting.