Bonus Bradbury

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Mike Glyer

(1) 451. The Internet Engineering Steering Group has approved a new internet status code – 451, “An HTTP Status Code to Report Legal Obstacles.”

It will be the protocol displayed when a user requests an illegal resource, such as a web page censored by a government. Obviously, the number is a reference to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The IESG approved it on December 18, 2015.

The Wikipedia says 451 could be called a more descriptive variant of 403 Forbidden.

Mark Nottingham predicts some governments will suppress the use of 451:

In some jurisdictions, I suspect that censorious governments will disallow the use of 451, to hide what they’re doing. We can’t stop that (of course), but if your government does that, it sends a strong message to you as a citizen about what their intent is. That’s worth knowing about, I think.

(2) WHAT A DOLL. Debbie Ritter of UneekDollDesigns is selling a diminutive Ray Bradbury doll holding a tiny copy of Fahrenheit 451 for $51.00.

I created this collectible art figure in woolen tweed jacket, brown pants, shirt with tie, and black wired glasses. I hand painted the details of his face and, added real fiber hair, and a tiny “replica” of one of his best works too! Mr. Bradbury is a tiny 4 1/2 inches tall, (11.4 cm) and uniquely created out of wire, clay, fiber, and wood pattern free.

Bradbury doll

(3) BRACKETT AND BRADBURY. You’ll find the history of “Brackett and Bradbury: ‘Lorelei of the Red Mist’” at Adventures Fantastic.

This is a unique item. The only collaboration between two great science fiction authors, Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury. Here’s how it came about:

Both authors were living in the Los Angeles area in the 1940s, and both had been working hard to develop their craft as writers. Both were regulars in Planet Stories at the time. They were friends who had both been mentored by Henry Kuttner. They used to meet once a week to read and critique each other’s work.

Bradbury and Brackett

South Pasadena Library to Commemorate Ray Bradbury’s 95th Birthday

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Mike Glyer

The South Pasadena Public Library will host a 95th Birthday Celebration honoring Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) in Community Room on Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 p.m. The event will feature a screening of Fahrenheit 451, the scorching 1966 feature film directed by Francois Truffaut and starring Julie Christie and Oscar Werner.

Then there will be a performance of a dramatic scene from the stage version of Fahrenheit 451 by the Ray Bradbury Pandemonium Theatre Company.

Lissa and James Reynolds from the Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena will also offer a tribute to their friend and former colleague. Many Bradbury plays were performed at the Fremont Centre Theatre with the delighted author/playwright in attendance and greeting audience members.

The free program is presented by the South Pasadena Public Library, the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library, and the South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC). The Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and no tickets or reservations are necessary, but seating is limited.

Four Things That Belong Under A Trufan’s Tree

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Mike Glyer

Enevelopes postmarked at the 1978 Worldcon.

It’s not too late to spend gobs of money on that special fannish someone.

Today on eBay you can get a 3-piece set of items postmarked at the 1978 Worldcon bearing the Viking mission to Mars stamp for a mere $1,000.

Are they really worth all that? Perhaps it’s the fact that the cancellation reads “Iguanacon 1” whereas the name of the event was “IguanaCon II,” though I doubt it can be claimed the mistake makes them more valuable (like that upside-down airplane stamp) — there wouldn’t have been any cancellations with the correct name.

Besides, those collectible postmarks look like a bargain compared with the asking price for an autographed first edition of Fahrenheit 451 with the rare asbestos binding – yours for only $16,000.

More frugal fans can still delight their friends with other affordable goodies.

Hallmark is offering a Frankenstein’s Monster Christmas Ornament for $14.95:

Remember the chills and thrills of the first time Frankenstein’s Monster came to life every time you hang it from your tree.

I’m sure I will…
Or Restoration Hardware is advertising a more conventional gift, Planet Robot, for $29.95.

Nostalgic for the whiz-bang, wind-up charm of vintage tin toys, we found these spot-on reproductions, meant to call forth the child within every adult. Reminiscent of a 1950s sci-fi movie robot, this emissary from Planet Robot is at your command. Wind him up and he’ll walk gamely forward, with sparks flying behind his transparent face shield.

Walking gamely forward while sparks fly — say, don’t these sound like ready-made convention volunteers?

[Thanks to Michael J. Walsh and John King Tarpinian for the story.]

Bradbury Review Plans 451 Tribute

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Mike Glyer

“Truffaut and Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451” will be the theme of a special issue of The New Ray Bradbury Review next year, marking the 50th anniversary of Francois Truffaut’s adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s famous novel.

Guest editor Phil Nichols has put out a call for papers. He’s listed some topics he’d like to see covered:

The emergence of “cinematic” writing in Bradbury’s fiction
Fahrenheit 451 as a novel with a filmic structure
The use of the film Fahrenheit 451 in teaching the novel
Narrative analysis of the screenplay (by Truffaut and Jean-Louis Richard)
The film’s use of mise en scene, cinematography and editing
Fahrenheit 451 as a film with a delight for literature
The portrayal of relationships and intimacy in Fahrenheit 451 and the other films of Truffaut
Linguistic issues for a French director/screenwriters working in English
The reception of the film Fahrenheit 451 by critics and viewers
Other attempts to film Fahrenheit 451 (by Mel Gibson, Frank Darabont and others)
Bradbury’s theatrical play version of Fahrenheit 451 (Dramatic Publishing, 1986) as a response to Truffaut’s film

Nichols is Senior Adviser to the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies and willing to help contributors access material held by the Center, such as Bradbury’s manuscripts, the Truffaut/Richard screenplay, and various items relate to the novel and film.

Paper proposals must be submitted by August 15.

Live 451 Reading at Mystery & Imagination

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Mike Glyer

Arlene Martel.

By John King Tarpinian: There was a gathering of past members of the Ray Bradbury Pandemonium Theater company this Sunday (October 27) at Mystery and Imagination Bookshop. The reason for the gathering was to reminisce about the good times acting Ray’s stage plays. Also, to do a cover-to-cover reading of Fahrenheit 451 in commemoration of the 60^th anniversary of its publication. The true first was a paperback that first came out on October 19, 1953 while the hardback edition came out one week later, October 26, 1953.

Each reader took a turn telling how he or she first discovered Ray from books, felt honored to meet him in person and to perform for him on stage.

A couple of the actors are full-time professionals. Steven Wallenberg was the annoying neighbor in the George Lopez sitcom. Mageina Tovah has been in a couple of the Spiderman movies, and has a notable TV resume.

Mageina Tovah.

Steve Wallenberg.

Others invited to read included Arlene Martel (If you do not know the name then take out your wallet and tear up your membership in the Geek Club.) Arlene was Spock’s betrothed in the original Star Trek. She also played Consuela in the Harlan Ellison story, “Demon With A Glass Hand” on The Outer Limits with Robert Culp. Arlene took the honor of reading the opening chapter, her favorite.

The five-plus hours necessary to read the book went pretty quickly, mainly because I did not read, but mostly because everybody in the room was in one way or another affected by the book and the man that wrote it.

Robert Kerr, our host and one of Ray’s actors. He has appeared in everything from Iron Man to dozens of TV programs.

Jack, our spirit guide.

Free Bradbury

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Mike Glyer

Waukegan Public Library kicked off the Eighth Annual Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival (and 30th Ray Bradbury Short Story Contest) tonight, October 25, with a reading of banned books reports SF Site News.

The first 100 people arriving received copies of Fahrenheit 451 that were found in Bradbury’s garage after his death.

Also, Rena Morrow of the Waukegan Public Library announced that 19,300 pounds of Bradbury’s personal collection of books, manuscripts and other items from his estate, of which the library is a beneficiary, arrived October 23.

The theme of the this year’s Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival is Fahrenheit 451, highlighting banned and burned books from history.

Professional storytellers will take the stage in shared support of the freedom to express ideas with stories that have been censored or targeted with removal or restrictions from libraries and schools. Hosted by the Waukegan Public Library, the award-winning festival presents two performances every year on festival day, a scary evening show for listeners age 12 and older, and a 10:30 a.m. matinee for school kids.

[Thanks to Steven H Silver for the Bradbury scoop!]

451 at 60

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Mike Glyer

The true first edition is this paperback.

By John King Tarpinian: October 19, 1953. On this day in history one of the most read science fiction novels was published. One of the few, if not only, novels of sci-fi on the majority of middle and high school reading lists.

Fahrenheit 451 is one of three books that as a young man made me think about stuff outside of my comfortable life. The other two were Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun and Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. The three making up a trio of books that woke up my little brain.

Fahrenheit 451 was made into a movie by the French director, François Truffaut. It was his first movie in color and his only English-language film. Remember the French guy in Close Encounters of the Third Kind? That was Truffaut.

Flatscreen TVs were in this book. Bluetooth was in this book. Most people know that Ray never drove a car, remember that in the book Clarisse was killed by a speeding car. Montag was a brand of paper; Faber was a brand of pencil. Beatty was named for the lion tamer, Clyde Beatty.

Bradbury’s book rails against censorship, in any form.

Lastly, Ray’s headstone reads “Author of Fahrenheit 451.”

(Use this link to see a parade of Fahrenheit 451 book covers from over the years.)

A Bradbury Birthday Reminiscence

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Mike Glyer

Enjoy a birthday cake for Ray Bradbury, a screening of François Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451, and talk by Steven Paul Leiva, author of Searching For Ray Bradbury, at the Glendale Central Library on August 22. Had he lived, that would have been Ray’s 93^rd birthday.

After the movie, Leiva will discuss Bradbury’s life and work. He’ll also sign. Leiva, whose book contains a series of essays about the late Bradbury, led a successful effort to name the major downtown Los Angeles intersection of Fifth and Flower Ray Bradbury Square.

The event begins at 7:00 pm.

The library is currently displaying a case of Bradbury memorabilia. John King Tarpinian did a walkaround so you can see the exhibit from all four sides.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]

Remembering Ray

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Mike Glyer

Ray Bradbury died on June 5 a year ago. John King Tarpinian’s memorial pilgrimage today included several stops, including the basement of the UCLA Library where Ray typed Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter.

John says by the time he climbed all the way down there it was hard for him to hold the camera still. But it’s the thought that counts.

Meantime, an optimist on eBay is offering a copy of the newly released special 60th anniversary paperback of Fahrenheit 451 for $1,505 and the Swann Auction Galleries will soon take bids on the book’s 1953 “Johns-Manville Quinterra Asbestos Edition” worth an estimated $6,000-$9,000.

Drama By The Numbers

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Mike Glyer

New York’s Aquila Theatre is auditioning actors for its upcoming productions of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 on May 23-24. Performances will begin in September as part of a U.S. national tour.

Both productions are ensemble works and require all actors to play various roles. Looking for multi-talented actors with the ability to quickly morph into several characters who are willing to be highly physical, athletic, versatile as well as excellent Shakespeareans. Company members must be prepared to participate in workshops, master-classes and readings.

Shakespeare and Bradbury together – Ray definitely would have enjoyed that idea.