sf-lovers (06/04/82)
>From JPM@Mit-Ai Fri Jun 4 02:46:42 1982
SF-LOVERS Digest Friday, 4 Jun 1982 Volume 5 : Issue 61
Today's Topics:
Baldwin/Gulf
Star Trek - TWoK
Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Review: Star Trek II
Since we're talking about California...
Re: SF-LOVERS Digest V5 #59
Genderless Video Games
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1982 at 2016-CDT
From: hjjh at UTEXAS-11
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ANOTHER SF TEXANA ITEM ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I was re-scanning Justin Leiber's BEYOND REJECTION as a quasi-fempro
(the plot involves the Varley-like insertion of a dead person's
personality-tape into a blank-mind body, but here it's a re-used body
rather than a clone of the personality's prior one). The tricky part,
for my female protagonist criteria, is that Leiber's universe does not
have the common sex-reversals which Varley's does, and the plot
revolves around the problems arising from trying to get a fairly macho
personality to accept existence in a female body.
There's only one reference to anything recognizably Texan (a very
minor character named "Isa Pigg", which patently derives from the old
Texas Grande Dame, Ima Hogg). B-U-T, the operation takes place in
"the Norbert Wiener Research Hospital"--- in HOUSTON!
<And by the way, it's a \good/ story.>
------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1982 1447-MDT
From: William Galway <Galway at UTAH-20>
Subject: Baldwin/Gulf
Gregory "Kettle Belly" Baldwin is one of the main characters in
"Gulf". I'm almost certain that he does not appear in "The Puppet
Masters", although both stories describe the activities of
super-secret "intelligence" organizations. Baldwin is "... sort of
the executive secretary of this branch of an organization of
supermen." "Superman" turns out to mean "very intelligent". Baldwin
is also rather coy about his age--hinting that he's been around for
quite awhile. The "Gulf" of the title refers to the difference
between "homo novis" and "homo sapiens"--on their way towards becoming
separate species.
The background society for "Gulf" does not sound like the one
described in "Friday". Although there isn't a lot said about it, one
gets the impression of a fairly widespread and stable government.
One of the most fascinating things in "Gulf", in my opinion, was the
language used by this group of superpeople. "Speedtalk" is apparently
sort of like Loglan, and uses a fairly small vocabulary (like Basic
English). Given this small vocabulary of roughly 1000 words, Heinlein
then supposes that each word can be expressed as a single phoneme.
(Naturally, you have to be pretty bright to distinguish between the
phonemes while talking and listening.) So, what we would think of as
words turn out to be sentences in Speedtalk. You really gain by
thinking in Speedtalk--Heinlein supposed that to even be able to learn
the language you had to think roughly 3 times faster than an "ordinary
man", and that using the language allowed you to manipulate symbols 7
times faster than in English. So, given a lifespan of 75-80 years,
you get the equivalent of 1600 years or so by thinking in Speedtalk.
------------------------------
Date: 4 June 1982 00:39-EDT
From: James M. Turner <JMTURN at MIT-AI>
Subject: Star Trek - TWoK
Go see this movie. I don't care if a wealthy arab is offering
gigabucks for your backyard. Get out of your chair, go to the nearest
theatre, and see it.
If you get the idea this movie left an impression on me, you're right!
The gang was second time lucky, and the result was a joy to behold.
Lots of action, humor, and (thank God) less pathos than ST-TMP. It's
VERY reminiscent of the series, and the direction in which the movies
are heading leads me to believe ST-III will be a bigger win.
I refuse to give away plot, but I will say that the effects are
better, but more subdued than TMP (Hey looks guys! We're going to hit
you over the head with another effect now). Contracting out to
Industrial Light and Magic seems to have made a bug difference in
quality.
Go to the movie. Don't expect too much of a message (although the
"Kirk deals with mortality" plotline is lightly mixed in with the
rest), but expect one hell of a good time.
James
And I will take bets I know how Spock manages to return in ST-III...
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jun 82 16:21-PDT
From: mclure at SRI-UNIX
Subject: Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
''STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN'' is an improvement over the
bloodless ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture.'' This time Kirk, Spock and
company are provided with a gripping plot, spectacular special effects
and a classic villain. A galaxy removed from Mr. Nice Guy of
''Fantasy Island,'' Ricardo Montalban is superb as the demonic Khan, a
role he played in a memorable chapter of the ''Star Trek'' TV series.
Khan and his revenge-hungry followers have been marrooned on a dead
planet festering with anger against the man they believe put them
there - Admiral Kirk. Escaping from exile, Khan aims to kill Kirk,
even if the plot entails destroying the universe. Director Nicholas
Meyer handles the human factor as deftly as the space hardware. The
script provides surprises: Kirk (William Shatner) discovers a
long-lost son - and yes, Spock (sob!) dies. The entire crew of the
Starship USS Enterprise has returned, with some interesting newcomers:
Bibi Besch as a space scientist and Kirstie Alley as a half-Vulcan
trainee. Rated PG because of the excitement and one profanity.
------------------------------
Date: 3 Jun 82 14:04-PDT
From: mclure at SRI-UNIX
Subject: Review: Star Trek II
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
By RICHARD FREEDMAN
Newhouse News Service
(UNDATED) Long after the bloated ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture''
came out, devout Trekkies still were having a hard time explaining to
the unconverted the nature of their obsession.
But now, with ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,'' just about
everybody will want to clamber aboard the Starship Enterprise for an
intergalactic roller coaster ride.
As fast-moving as the original ''Star Trek'' movie was inert,
''Star Trek II'' - the only film title that sounds like a razor blade
- wisely focuses on identifiable human types instead of cold,
glistening machinery.
First, of course, there's Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner),
chafing at his desk job and feeling the full pangs of mid-life crisis.
David (Merritt Butrick), the son he had with Dr. Carol Marcus
(Bibi Besch), barely knows his eternally voyaging dad and doesn't seem
particularly fond of what he does know.
The basically old-fashioned Kirk receives for his birthday a pair
of Ben Franklin glasses, a hardbound copy of ''A Tale of Two Cities,''
and a bottle of blue booze (we're in the 23rd century, when we can
expect bourbon to look like Windex).
But what Kirk needs above all is some action. He gets plenty of
that when Starship Reliant mistakenly lands on planet Ceti Alpha V,
where 15 years ago Kirk had marooned the evil Khan (Ricardo
Montalban).
Nursing vengeance ever since his wife died on that barren outpost,
Khan has got hold of the secret Project Genesis, designed to convert
arid planets into veritable Gardens of Eden. In the wrong hands,
though, the Genesis Effect could create ecological chaos.
Just to show how wrong Khan's hands are, he injects scorpion
larvae into the ears of two of Kirk's most reliable men. The scorpions
head for the cerebral cortex, where - in a scene reminiscent of
''Alien''
- they cause untold psychic damage.
Fancying himself a futuristic Captain Ahab, Khan unfortunately
looks more like a cross between Geronimo, a Malibu Beach guru and
Leonard Bernstein after a bad rehearsal.
Nevertheless, with guns like high-tech electric shavers blasting
away, he manages to cause considerable damage to the Enterprise, even
splattering blood all over Kirk's spiffy Burger King uniform.
But because his ''pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking,'' he
is ultimately defeated by Kirk and his doughty crew: pointy-eared
First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Engineer Scotty (James Doohan),
Physician ''Bones'' McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and Lieutenant Chekov
(Walter Koenig).
The dialogue in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' is as
excruciating as ever, with people blurting out such clinkers as:
- ''They're jamming all the frequencies, Captain!''
- ''We're talking about universal Armageddon!''
- ''It never rains, but it pours.''
But perhaps the very banality of the movie constitutes its chief
charm. Directed with tongue-in-cheek amiability by Nicholas Meyer
(''Time After Time''), the latest ''Star Trek'' neither takes itself
too seriously nor cheaply camps itself up.
It's an ideal science fiction romp for the pure of heart and the
innocent of mind.
X X X
FILM CLIP:
''STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.'' Vastly superior to the first
''Star Trek'' movie, this one pits Admiral Kirk and the crew of
Starship Enterprise against the vengeance-hungry Khan, who wants to
convert Project Genesis into universal Armageddon - and nearly gets
away with it. Rated PG. Three stars.
------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1982 1649-EDT
From: Larry Seiler <SEILER at MIT-XX>
Subject: Since we're talking about California...
Since California craziness has become an SF-Lovers topic lately, I'd
like to point out something that people who haven't lived there
probably don't know (and may not believe even after I tell you).
Granted there are a lot of crazies in California. There are crazies
everywhere. But the average, ordinary people in California are also
different. Specifically, in comparison to ordinary people in the
Boston/Cambridge area (not students - most of them are from somewhere
else), Californians are a lot friendlier and a lot more cheerful.
Talking to people from cities like New York, I get the impression that
the same is true, or more so. My wife and I have lived in a wide
variety of places, so this claim is not mere parochialism. For that
matter, Californians are in general a lot less parochial that people
in Boston, and (I gather) other parts of the country as well. I have
some ideas as to why this is so, but I think I've already strayed far
enough from SF.
Larry Seiler (Seiler@MIT-XX)
PS - If you feel an urge to flame, try to do most of it to me,
personally, instead of to the list. And if you haven't ever lived in
California, I don't want to hear from you - you don't know what you're
talking about. Ditto if you have only lived in California.
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jun 1982 2340-PDT
From: Dolata at SUMEX-AIM
Subject: Re: SF-LOVERS Digest V5 #59
In response to your message sent 1 Jun 1982 1412-PDT
SEX-less pronouns? I expect much better from a group dedicated to
SF&F! What about ET's and BEM's, hmmmm??? How about Dolphins and
Intellegence boosted apes??? We are be-ing 'species-ist'. Some
suggestions;
she/he ==> it
waiter/waitress ==> waitron
chairman ==> chaircreature
manager ==> itager (not to be confused with reals or strings)
And since I am getting married soon, I won't introduce people to my
best-man but to my best-thing. And if he has an assistant I will
introduce them to the next best-thing too!
In jest.... Dolata@sumex-aim
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jun 1982 1138-PDT
From: Jwagner at OFFICE
Subject: Genderless Video Games
Q. What does Ms. PacMan say when PacMan comes home drunk?
A. PacUp.
(No more, I promise.)
------------------------------
End of SF-LOVERS Digest
***********************sf-lovers (06/04/82)
>From JPM@Mit-Ai Fri Jun 4 04:18:49 1982
SF-LOVERS Digest Friday, 4 Jun 1982 Volume 5 : Issue 61
Today's Topics:
SF Books - Beyond Rejection & "Gulf",
SF Movies - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,
Random Topics - Californians & Genderless Pronouns,
Humor - Genderless Video Games
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1982 at 2016-CDT
From: hjjh at UTEXAS-11
Subject: Another SF Texana Item
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ANOTHER SF TEXANA ITEM ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I was re-scanning Justin Leiber's BEYOND REJECTION as a quasi-fempro
(the plot involves the Varley-like insertion of a dead person's
personality-tape into a blank-mind body, but here it's a re-used body
rather than a clone of the personality's prior one). The tricky part,
for my female protagonist criteria, is that Leiber's universe does not
have the common sex-reversals which Varley's does, and the plot
revolves around the problems arising from trying to get a fairly macho
personality to accept existence in a female body.
There's only one reference to anything recognizably Texan (a very
minor character named "Isa Pigg", which patently derives from the old
Texas Grande Dame, Ima Hogg). B-U-T, the operation takes place in
"the Norbert Wiener Research Hospital"--- in HOUSTON!
<And by the way, it's a \good/ story.>
------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1982 1447-MDT
From: William Galway <Galway at UTAH-20>
Subject: Baldwin/Gulf
Gregory "Kettle Belly" Baldwin is one of the main characters in
"Gulf". I'm almost certain that he does not appear in "The Puppet
Masters", although both stories describe the activities of
super-secret "intelligence" organizations. Baldwin is "... sort of
the executive secretary of this branch of an organization of
supermen." "Superman" turns out to mean "very intelligent". Baldwin
is also rather coy about his age--hinting that he's been around for
quite awhile. The "Gulf" of the title refers to the difference
between "homo novis" and "homo sapiens"--on their way towards becoming
separate species.
The background society for "Gulf" does not sound like the one
described in "Friday". Although there isn't a lot said about it, one
gets the impression of a fairly widespread and stable government.
One of the most fascinating things in "Gulf", in my opinion, was the
language used by this group of superpeople. "Speedtalk" is apparently
sort of like Loglan, and uses a fairly small vocabulary (like Basic
English). Given this small vocabulary of roughly 1000 words, Heinlein
then supposes that each word can be expressed as a single phoneme.
(Naturally, you have to be pretty bright to distinguish between the
phonemes while talking and listening.) So, what we would think of as
words turn out to be sentences in Speedtalk. You really gain by
thinking in Speedtalk--Heinlein supposed that to even be able to learn
the language you had to think roughly 3 times faster than an "ordinary
man", and that using the language allowed you to manipulate symbols 7
times faster than in English. So, given a lifespan of 75-80 years,
you get the equivalent of 1600 years or so by thinking in Speedtalk.
------------------------------
Date: 4 June 1982 00:39-EDT
From: James M. Turner <JMTURN at MIT-AI>
Subject: Star Trek - TWoK
Go see this movie. I don't care if a wealthy arab is offering
gigabucks for your backyard. Get out of your chair, go to the nearest
theatre, and see it.
If you get the idea this movie left an impression on me, you're right!
The gang was second time lucky, and the result was a joy to behold.
Lots of action, humor, and (thank God) less pathos than ST-TMP. It's
VERY reminiscent of the series, and the direction in which the movies
are heading leads me to believe ST-III will be a bigger win.
I refuse to give away plot, but I will say that the effects are
better, but more subdued than TMP (Hey looks guys! We're going to hit
you over the head with another effect now). Contracting out to
Industrial Light and Magic seems to have made a bug difference in
quality.
Go to the movie. Don't expect too much of a message (although the
"Kirk deals with mortality" plotline is lightly mixed in with the
rest), but expect one hell of a good time.
James
And I will take bets I know how Spock manages to return in ST-III...
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jun 82 16:21-PDT
From: mclure at SRI-UNIX
Subject: Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
''STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN'' is an improvement over the
bloodless ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture.'' This time Kirk, Spock and
company are provided with a gripping plot, spectacular special effects
and a classic villain. A galaxy removed from Mr. Nice Guy of
''Fantasy Island,'' Ricardo Montalban is superb as the demonic Khan, a
role he played in a memorable chapter of the ''Star Trek'' TV series.
Khan and his revenge-hungry followers have been marrooned on a dead
planet festering with anger against the man they believe put them
there - Admiral Kirk. Escaping from exile, Khan aims to kill Kirk,
even if the plot entails destroying the universe. Director Nicholas
Meyer handles the human factor as deftly as the space hardware. The
script provides surprises: Kirk (William Shatner) discovers a
long-lost son - and yes, Spock (sob!) dies. The entire crew of the
Starship USS Enterprise has returned, with some interesting newcomers:
Bibi Besch as a space scientist and Kirstie Alley as a half-Vulcan
trainee. Rated PG because of the excitement and one profanity.
------------------------------
Date: 3 Jun 82 14:04-PDT
From: mclure at SRI-UNIX
Subject: Review: Star Trek II
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
By RICHARD FREEDMAN
Newhouse News Service
(UNDATED) Long after the bloated ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture''
came out, devout Trekkies still were having a hard time explaining to
the unconverted the nature of their obsession.
But now, with ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,'' just about
everybody will want to clamber aboard the Starship Enterprise for an
intergalactic roller coaster ride.
As fast-moving as the original ''Star Trek'' movie was inert,
''Star Trek II'' - the only film title that sounds like a razor blade
- wisely focuses on identifiable human types instead of cold,
glistening machinery.
First, of course, there's Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner),
chafing at his desk job and feeling the full pangs of mid-life crisis.
David (Merritt Butrick), the son he had with Dr. Carol Marcus
(Bibi Besch), barely knows his eternally voyaging dad and doesn't seem
particularly fond of what he does know.
The basically old-fashioned Kirk receives for his birthday a pair
of Ben Franklin glasses, a hardbound copy of ''A Tale of Two Cities,''
and a bottle of blue booze (we're in the 23rd century, when we can
expect bourbon to look like Windex).
But what Kirk needs above all is some action. He gets plenty of
that when Starship Reliant mistakenly lands on planet Ceti Alpha V,
where 15 years ago Kirk had marooned the evil Khan (Ricardo
Montalban).
Nursing vengeance ever since his wife died on that barren outpost,
Khan has got hold of the secret Project Genesis, designed to convert
arid planets into veritable Gardens of Eden. In the wrong hands,
though, the Genesis Effect could create ecological chaos.
Just to show how wrong Khan's hands are, he injects scorpion
larvae into the ears of two of Kirk's most reliable men. The scorpions
head for the cerebral cortex, where - in a scene reminiscent of
''Alien'' - they cause untold psychic damage.
Fancying himself a futuristic Captain Ahab, Khan unfortunately
looks more like a cross between Geronimo, a Malibu Beach guru and
Leonard Bernstein after a bad rehearsal.
Nevertheless, with guns like high-tech electric shavers blasting
away, he manages to cause considerable damage to the Enterprise, even
splattering blood all over Kirk's spiffy Burger King uniform.
But because his ''pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking,'' he
is ultimately defeated by Kirk and his doughty crew: pointy-eared
First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Engineer Scotty (James Doohan),
Physician ''Bones'' McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and Lieutenant Chekov
(Walter Koenig).
The dialogue in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' is as
excruciating as ever, with people blurting out such clinkers as:
- ''They're jamming all the frequencies, Captain!''
- ''We're talking about universal Armageddon!''
- ''It never rains, but it pours.''
But perhaps the very banality of the movie constitutes its chief
charm. Directed with tongue-in-cheek amiability by Nicholas Meyer
(''Time After Time''), the latest ''Star Trek'' neither takes itself
too seriously nor cheaply camps itself up.
It's an ideal science fiction romp for the pure of heart and the
innocent of mind.
X X X
FILM CLIP:
''STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.'' Vastly superior to the first
''Star Trek'' movie, this one pits Admiral Kirk and the crew of
Starship Enterprise against the vengeance-hungry Khan, who wants to
convert Project Genesis into universal Armageddon - and nearly gets
away with it. Rated PG. Three stars.
------------------------------
Date: 31 May 1982 1649-EDT
From: Larry Seiler <SEILER at MIT-XX>
Subject: Since we're talking about California...
Since California craziness has become an SF-Lovers topic lately, I'd
like to point out something that people who haven't lived there
probably don't know (and may not believe even after I tell you).
Granted there are a lot of crazies in California. There are crazies
everywhere. But the average, ordinary people in California are also
different. Specifically, in comparison to ordinary people in the
Boston/Cambridge area (not students - most of them are from somewhere
else), Californians are a lot friendlier and a lot more cheerful.
Talking to people from cities like New York, I get the impression that
the same is true, or more so. My wife and I have lived in a wide
variety of places, so this claim is not mere parochialism. For that
matter, Californians are in general a lot less parochial that people
in Boston, and (I gather) other parts of the country as well. I have
some ideas as to why this is so, but I think I've already strayed far
enough from SF.
Larry Seiler (Seiler@MIT-XX)
PS - If you feel an urge to flame, try to do most of it to me,
personally, instead of to the list. And if you haven't ever lived in
California, I don't want to hear from you - you don't know what you're
talking about. Ditto if you have only lived in California.
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jun 1982 2340-PDT
From: Dolata at SUMEX-AIM
Subject: Re: SF-LOVERS Digest V5 #59
In response to your message sent 1 Jun 1982 1412-PDT
SEX-less pronouns? I expect much better from a group dedicated to
SF&F! What about ET's and BEM's, hmmmm??? How about Dolphins and
Intellegence boosted apes??? We are be-ing 'species-ist'. Some
suggestions;
she/he ==> it
waiter/waitress ==> waitron
chairman ==> chaircreature
manager ==> itager (not to be confused with reals or strings)
And since I am getting married soon, I won't introduce people to my
best-man but to my best-thing. And if he has an assistant I will
introduce them to the next best-thing too!
In jest.... Dolata@sumex-aim
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jun 1982 1138-PDT
From: Jwagner at OFFICE
Subject: Genderless Video Games
Q. What does Ms. PacMan say when PacMan comes home drunk?
A. PacUp.
(No more, I promise.)
------------------------------
End of SF-LOVERS Digest
***********************