From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #704 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Wednesday, May 8 2002 Volume 01 : Number 704 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 17:52:12 -0600 From: "Steve" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art on 5/3/02 6:05 PM, Todd Petersen at petersent@suu.edu wrote: > Also, even King Benjamin worked in the fields along with his people. > What makes LDS writers think they don't need to do the same? (Okay, self; take deep breaths, count to 10 backwards, picture a very peaceful place where no one will hurt you and you won't feel the need to hurt anyone..... in, out, in, out, ....) But LDS writers DO do the same; and their writing IS their field. To make a distinction between "writing" and "real labor" is a distinction you can choose to make personally, but I don't believe it reflects reality. My music paper and piano keyboard and computer screen are my field and I work way dang totally hard for many of the same reasons and same motivations King Benjamin expressed. What I do is a real job; not ethereal or mysterious or unfairly satisfying and without draw-backs and stress like other "real jobs." >I'm not interested in making my living with the Sugar Beet, Thom. It's fun. Work sucks, the Beet is fun. If I had to worry about my success with the Beet affecting my ability to adequately provide for my family, I'd be so stinking nervous... Welcome to the world of being a writer, musician, artist, anyone self-employed at all. If work "sucks" and writing is "fun," and both are honorable, why make the puritan choice? Well, money is a possible reason and yes, I am often "...so stinking nervous..." that I have trouble sleeping at night. But wouldn't I feel the same if I'd just purchased a new "Hogi Yogi" franchise and wondered if it was going to fly? I have had occasional part-time jobs along the way since music is a crazy way to attempt a living with actual spouse, children, vehicles and consistent shelter involved. I have not begrudged the jobs (and they have not been particulary glamorous or highly skilled) since nearly all work is honorable, especially with the purpose of supporting my family. These part-time jobs (including the one I just got last month since the dentist prophecied 3 sets of braces in the next 5 years) also fulfilled my main requirement for a part-time job; they gave me time to write. God gave me a particular piece of land to plow and I'll be hanged if I don't work in that field, no matter what else I have to do to make it possible. It is always my main labor -- my "real job" -- even when I've been packing boxes or taking pictures of desserts for industrial emailings, etc. Obviously, this concept of "real work vs. writing" touched a nerve with me, but I think I am also speaking for the many folks I know well and distantly who follow their personal sense of mission into the unexplored and risky territory of trying to live as artists. I applaud those who maintain writing as a hobby or necessary release. May they create many great and wonderful (and yes, hilarious) things. I applaud those who feel to reverse that way of living and maintain themselves by the sweat of their creative brows. May they create many great and wonderful things. May they both respect and honor each other and the work -- both "writerly" and other-than -- which they both do. Thanks for letting me knee-jerk react, :-) Steve - -- skperry@mac.com http://stevenkappperry.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 13:50:39 -0600 From: "Ethan Skarstedt" Subject: RE: [AML] Frankness in Mormon Writing I served a mission in Salt Lake City, Utah. At one point I was teaching a non-member who had grown up here as a born-again-christian. As was the norm with nearly all of my interactions with born-again Christians (the non-denominational kind) she was belligerent and argumentative despite all we could do. The one and only time she felt and recognized the spirit, we were discussing our refusal to tell her what went on in the temple. She was refusing to understand the old secret vs. sacred explanation and was as belligerent as always. I received a prompting from the spirit that amazed me. I held up my hand to stop the discussion and said to her "Would you call what goes on between you and your husband in your bedroom, secret or sacred?" She hesitated a moment and said, "Sacred." I lowered my hand and said, "It is the same." The reason I say she felt the spirit is because I could tell from the look in her eye that she wanted to accuse us of performing sexual acts in the temple, etc... But she held her tongue. She suddenly understood the principle beyond her power to deny. All she could say was , "Oh, I understand." The spirit of contention was gone,... for the moment. My companion asked me later if I was crazy, pulling a stunt like that. All I could say was that I certainly wouldn't have done it on my own. =20 I guess I can tie this in here. Like Jacob and Michael have jointly pointed out, there are times when sex should be brought up, and discussed, and times when it shouldn't. I think also that not talking about it enough is as bad or worse than talking about it too much. If we seek the spirit to guide us in our writing perhaps we can help solidify our culture's perception of the line between the two cases. When, as a culture, we have a more unified perception of that line we'll be able to have healthy and fruitful discussion of the topic when appropriate instead of the tangled minefield of taboos that exists now. - -Ethan Skarstedt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 14:20:47 -0600 From: Kellene Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Disney Morals? Clark: > So when you later give the example of a marriage "that has plenty of > romance, and there's not an iota of sex in it" you really are wrong. Not is > saying that there is plenty of romance. Rather you are wrong in saying that > there isn't any sex in it. Semantics. If you're defining sex as intercourse, coitus, the actual act, which is the way Webster's defines it (along with gender and another longer definition that involved reproduction), then guess what? Their marriage doesn't have an iota of sex in it. Of course it has sexuality in it. Very few people, and very few relationships, are devoid of all sexuality. And that was my point. the original statement was that there was no clear distinction between sex and romance. Sex, as defined by Websters, and perceived by most people (I think) is the act or having to do with reproduction, which certainly involved the act of sexual intercourse. Sexuality is another thing all together. Kellene - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 13:30:50 -0700 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: Re: [AML] Church News Articles This is very interesting indeed. I will be anxious to read it when I get the issue. Is this perhaps a sign of some change from the rather ordinary reporting typical of the Church News? I hope so. Thanks for the heads-up. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 14:53:25 -0600 From: "Annette Lyon" Subject: Re: [AML] LDS Environmentalism Ronn: Many, if not most, environmentalists seem to think that the ultimate cause of all environmental problems is overpopulation. I don't remember all the details, but an article in BYU Magazine a year or two ago discussed a conference that addressed this very thing. It showed numbers that contradicted what all the frantic zero population people are saying. Basically, it said that while certain parts of the world are growing fast in population (such as the US), other areas are decreasing in population. Again, I don't remember all the details, but I at least Russia and much of Africa are losing their people faster than they are gaining them--due to things like disease, poor health care, high infant mortality, STD's and other reasons that lead to infertility, poor care of the elderly, etc. If someone remembers more about the article, please chime in. This is from what I remember. It was nice to read something to contradict all the alarmists who say I shouldn't be having more than two children to replace me and my husband. Another interesting issue I recently read (and sorry, can't remember where now--probably the newspaper) said that China is running into a problem they hadn't predicted with their one child policy: no extended family support. They now have a generation with increased problems that run the gamut from crime and drugs to poverty because no one has siblings, no one has aunts or uncles, no one has a family to fall back on for support. (Not to mention the lack of females to marry because of aborting and killing female babies and the nasty problems that is generating, like forced marriages for the man who bids highest and prositution.) Annette Lyon - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 16:06:16 -0500 From: James Picht Subject: Re: [AML] LDS Environmentalism Ronn Blankenship wrote: > Many, if not most, environmentalists seem to think that the ultimate cause of > all environmental problems is overpopulation. In particular, they say that there > are already too many humans on Earth. How do LDS environmentalists reconcile > that with the Church's emphasis on families? A non-environmentalist might say that environmentalism is religion, and we already have a religion. Or we might ask, too many humans for what? Some environmentalists consider humans a plague on the Earth, a cruel dagger in the heart of nature. My position is that nature is a human concept. All animals, humans included, interact with their environment and change it. But if we were animals without reason ("just animals," one might say), then it would hardly matter. Nature is valuable only when there's someone to value it. Otherwise life is only chemistry, and nature is ultimately nothing but physics. I find a great deal of aesthetic value in physics, and my sense of aesthetics is gratified by my knowledge that somewhere in the world there are such beasts as the koala and the dung beetle. But if we weren't here to ponder the meaning and beauty of nature, it would have neither. The ultimate cause of environmental problems isn't human overpopulation, but human population, and the problems exist because we believe that they exist. But in that case the problems aren't scientific, they're moral and religious. A human population of six or seven or twenty billion can probably be sustained indefinitely on this world. The question is, should it be? Why or why not? The answer revolves around the values we put on humans, bears in the wild, bears in a park, and why we think that a view that doesn't include human structures is or isn't intrinsically superior to one that does include them. Russian poets have found a great deal of inspiration in the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm as moved by the New York City skyline from the ocean as I am by the Rocky Mountains. I love the environments that we create. Not uniformly, but I wouldn't care for Alaskan nature if it were dragging me out of my tent as a midnight snack, and none of us uniformly loves nature's environments. Aren't we and our works also nature, also environment? Are ducks and trees better subjects for literature and art than subways and power-plants? A pine tree may be more beautiful than any poem by Emily Dickinson or a Ford F150, but any fool can grow a tree. That truck is the product of genius. It's as deserving of a poem as any tree. Jim Picht - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 17:55:05 -0400 From: Richard Johnson Subject: RE: [AML] Environmental Questionnaire At 07:40 AM 5/7/02 -0600, you wrote: >Just as an addition to the question about wild bears. Upstate New York, >specifically the Adirondack Park has a large black bear population. In the little tourist town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, they have signs all over town explaining what people should do if they meet bears in the town parking lots (and they do come down out of the mountains there). Richard B. Johnson, (djdick@PuppenRich.com) Husband, Father, Grandfather, Puppeteer, Playwright, Writer, Director, Actor, Thingmaker, Mormon, Person, Fool. I sometimes think that the last persona is the most important - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 15:39:13 -0700 From: "jana" Subject: Re: [AML] Church News Articles I don't usually read the Chruch News, but happened upon a copy on a recent Utah trip. I read the two articles mentioned by Kathy and was so moved that I planned to subscribe. Especially the article about eating disorders--it's one that every parent or teacher of teenagers should read. Jana Remy - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 17:55:39 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paris Anderson" To: Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 8:29 PM Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art > The biggest motivation for me to > > get this theatre group going with Scott Bronson is so I can finally make > > some money with all the plays I've written over the last decade or so. > > > > Thom Duncan > > > > And I sincerely wish you and Scott fabulous success. I'm sure my wife and I > will attend your theater several times--but not for my turn on earth. You should reconsider. I think you'll find our version rather refreshing. (Did > I ever tell you how taken I was with Places in the Heart--I think that was > the name of it.) _Matters of the Heart_. It's our second offering of the season. Thom Duncan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 18:01:19 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] Talent Search: Actor for Joseph Smith - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Melissa Proffitt" To: Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 11:53 AM Subject: Re: [AML] Talent Search: Actor for Joseph Smith On Fri, 03 May 2002 01:12:34 -0600, D. Michael Martindale wrote: >> The actor chosen to portray this role must be of high moral >> character in his personal life as well as on screen. > >"In his personal life" I understand, but "on screen" absolutely baffles >me. How is the actor going to lead an immoral life on screen? At least >without the director and editor being in cahoots with him. > That sounds like a very awkward way of saying the actor shouldn't have portrayed any immoral acts or characters in his previous film work. Which, by the Church's standards, leaves out just about any major actor with a respectable track record. Thom Duncan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 16:05:56 -0500 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Box Office Report May 5 2002 Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of May 5, 2002 Report compiled by: LDSFilm.com [If table below doesn't line up properly, try looking at them with a mono-spaced font, such as Courier - - Ed.] Natl Film Title Weekend Gross Rank LDS/Mormon Filmmaker/Actor Total Gross Theaters Days - --- ----------------------------- ----------- ----- ---- 4 Murder by Numbers 3,624,487 2,565 17 Ryan Gosling (actor) 23,893,720 35 The Other Side of Heaven 107,245 103 143 Mitch Davis (writer/director) 4,251,868 John H. Groberg (author/character) Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers) 73 Galapagos 10,196 7 920 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 12,664,692 75 Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 9,507 4 731 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 13,248,048 82 China: The Panda Adventure 5,515 4 283 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 2,266,198 97 Mark Twain's America 3D 2,997 1 1403 Alan Williams (composer) 2,208,017 107 Mulholland Drive 1,520 4 210 Joyce Eliason (producer/writer) 7,219,578 Alongside a record-setting performance by Spidey this weekend (did we expect anything less?) "Murder by Numbers" (starring Ryan Gosling) managed to stay in the #4 spot. "The Other Side of Heaven" saw a big drop in both its weekend gross and the number of theaters where it was showing as we move into summer blockbuster season. Traditionally, it is difficult for independent films to find a venue during the summer months, so expect this trend to continue. If you haven't caught "Heaven" yet and have intended to do so, you might end up having to wait for the video. Box office for "The Singles Ward" were coming in late for the second week in a row, but the movie is still in theaters - -- and doing well. LAST weekend the movie was in 67th place nationwide, earning $30,448, bringing its total gross to $584,607. By the time you read this, the gross will have topped $600,000 for the $425,000-budget comedy. NEXT week "The Singles Ward" is opening in about 10 theaters all over Arizona. TURK AND VIRGIL COME HOME: The box office hit "Ocean's Eleven" ($183 million in U.S. ticket sales) drops off from the box office report this week because it is no longer in theaters. The DVD/video is in stores on 7 May 2002. "Ocean's Eleven" set the record for the top-earning film ever to feature Mormon main characters (the Malloy twins, played by Scott Caan and Casey Affleck). George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and a bunch of other folks are also in it -- but who cares? The REAL stars are those safe-cracking boys from Provo. REED'S ULTIMATE X: Ads have already begun appearing on network television for "Ultimate X," the ultra-hip extreme sports IMAX documentary shot by Latter-day Saint cinematographer Reed Smoot. It opens this coming weekend (May 10). Opening this coming weekend: "The New Guy", starring Mormon actress Eliza Dushku (a.k.a. "Faith" from TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). MORMON NOMINEES AT MTV MOVIE AWARDS: The nominees for the 2002 MTV Movie Awards have been announced. The annual award ceremony is scheduled to take place June 1st. "The Fast and the Furious," starring Latter-day Saint actor Paul Walker, received 5 nominations: Best Action Sequence, Breakthrough Male Performance (Paul Walker), Best Male Performance (for Vin Diesel), Best On-Screen Team (Paul Walker and Vin Diesel) and Bset Movie. The other nominees for Best Movie were "Black Hawk Down", "Legally Blonde", "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Shrek." Shrek (which received a total of 4 nominations) was originally produced by John Garbett, a Latter-day Saint and the co-producer of "The Other Side of Heaven." Anne Hathaway was nominated for Breakthrough Female Performance for her starring role in "The Princess Diaries." Hathaway is not a Latter-day Saint, but she played one in "The Other Side of Heaven." Hathaway received the "Princess Diaries" role when she went to an audition during a layover en route to New Zealand, where she filmed "The Other Side of Heaven" -- her first feature film. "Ocean's Eleven" also was nominated for Best On-Screen Team, a nomination going to Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, Edward Jemison, Bernie Mac, Brad Pitt, Shaobo Qin and Carl Reiner. Two of the eleven characters played by these actors (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan) are Mormons. In the past, actors have won Academy Awards for playing Mormon characters, but this marks the first time an actor has been nominated for an MTV Movie Award for playing an openly Mormon character. BIG WINS AT INT'L FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL: Latter-day Saint filmmakers won major awards at the prestigious International Family Film Festival held this year in Valencia, California April 19-21 (formerly the Santa Clarita International Film Festival). The winner for Best Feature Comedy was "The Penny Promise." All of the principal filmmakers of "The Penny Promise" are Utahns and/or Latter-day Saints. The movie was co-directed by T.C. Christensen (cinematographer of numerous films such as "The Testaments" and "American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith", and director of "Bug Off!", "The Touch of the Master's Hand", etc.). The other director was Timothy J. Nelson ("Jumping for Joy", "Who Gets the House?", "No More Baths"). The producers were Jeff Miller ("Testaments", "Return to the Secret Garden", "Same River Twice", "Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West", etc.) and Don A. Judd ("The Princess and the Pea", "Rigoletto", "Seasons of the Heart", etc.). The screenwriters were Dave Trottier ("Hercules Recycled"), Tim Nelson and T.C. Christensen. The winner of the Best Feature Drama award at the Festival was "The Climb", which was helmed largely by Protestant fimmakers, but which was filmed in Utah County, and many of the crewmembers were Latter-day Saints. "The Climb" was directed by John Schmidt, produced by John Shepard, and written by Robert Pierce and Patrick Egan. The cast includes Ned Vaughn, Jason George, Dabney Coleman, Kyle Santiago, Clifton Davis, and Todd Bridges. Why did Schmidt et al make "The Climb" (budget: $2.5 million) in Utah County? Could be that the mountains were just right and the local crews are highly professional yet affordable. Or maybe they think that there's something in the water that results in successful movies like "Brigham City." BYU MAGAZINE COVERS LDS CINEMA: In the Spring 2002 BYU Magazine publishes an article about LDS Cinema: "Taking It to the Big Screen" (http://magazine.byu.edu/article.tpl?num=34-spr02), written by Charlene R. Winters, focuses on Mitch Davis and his film "The Other Side of Heaven", Richard Dutcher ("God's Army" and "Brigham City") and Academy Award-winner Kieth Merrill. There are quotes from these three filmmakers, as well brief references to their backgrounds and how they came to focus their filmmaking efforts on movies with Latter-day Saint themes and characters. An accompanying page "BYU Alumni Create LDS Films" (http://magazine.byu.edu/article.tpl?num=01-spr02) lists a number of recent or upcoming films made by BYU alumni which feature Latter-day Saint themes and characters: Scott D. Tiffany's documentary "Forgotten Voyage," Kels Goodman's upcoming epic feature film "Handcart", "Jack Weyland's Charly" directed by Adam T. Anderegg, "Out of Step" directed by Ryan Little, Rob Sibley's "The Shadow of Light", and "The Singles Ward" (Kurt C. Hales, Dave W. Hunter, John E. Moyer). This page also links directly to LDSFilm.com as a source for more information. NELEH WATCH: Wow. No two ways about it. The latest episode of "Survivor: Marquesas" was simply Neleh-rific. Neleh was really the star of this one, and her "character" experienced quite a few twists. Paschal won the reward challenge -- an incredible display of raw physicality considering he is the oldest contestant. The challenge involved racing the other competitors in diving for shells in deep water, followed by running along the bottom of the ocean carrying 40 pound stones. Paschal, the old guy, won. Neleh didn't quite come in last place -- she bet Vecipia and Sean. Paschal's reward was an opportunity to spend an evening on a cruise ship -- with showers, new clothes, and a fine meal. In a surprise twist, the host told Paschal to pick somebody to accompany him, and he unhesitantly chose Neleh, who has been inseparable from him throughout their stay on the island. On the cruise ship, Paschal and Neleh cleaned themselves up after weeks without a shower. They enjoyed a fine meal, which included escargot. Of course they both declined alcoholic beverages, something that their non-cruising fellow tribe members commented on ruefully about back on the beach: "Those are the wrong people to go do some drinking!" Paschal left the waiter a $200 tip for the $300 meal. (The show was picking up the tab, so why not?) Neleh may be the greatest survivor ever to play the game, but after she returned to the island she made a few apparent blunders. They weren't able to smuggle food back to their compatriots, but Neleh offered the five who were left behind a mint -- a single mint that she had in her mouth when she returned from the ship. The others were polite, but were NOT impressed, as they made known during later interviews with the camera. The editing showed Neleh looking generally lazy and princess-like the whole next day. Her wonderfully clean hair and gazing at her clean nails did not endear her to the others. The episode's editors made some effort to make it look like Neleh would be voted off the island. They even showed Sean and Vecipia making plans to go to Robert ("the General") and Tammy to make a new alliance that would vote Neleh off. But when the actual voting came, nobody voted for Neleh. Robert won the immunity challenge, and, predictably, Tammy got voted out. (Tammy and Robert were the only two left from the evil Power Four of John, General, Tammy and Zoe, whose eventual downfall was subtly orchestrated by Neleh.) Nobody, in fact, voted for Neleh. Robert and Tammy voted for Vecipia, which shocked pretty much everybody, and made no real sense. The next day, Tammy explained to Jane Clayson on "The Early Show" that she had voted for Vecipia because Vecipia had not pulled her weight around camp with regards to chores. And she apparently had not been aware of the extent to which Sean and Vecipia had been ready to make an alliance. Apparently Sean and Vecipia only talked about making an alliance with Tammy and Robert -- but never actually approached them about it. Will Neleh make it to the Final Four, and behond? Stay tuned. MOLEN OUTDOES HIMSELF: Just one more bit of "Other Side of Heaven" trivia. Now that "Heaven" has topped $4 million at the U.S. box office, it is no longer Jerry Molen's LEAST successful feature film. Molen's film's have been among the biggest in the world: movies like "Jurassic Park", "Last World", "Twister", "Rain Man", "Schindler's List" and "Hook." Big box office. No one expects "Heaven" to enter the rarified stratosphere of his top-earning films. But this week it surpassed his least-earning theatrical release: "The Trigger Effect" (1996), which grossed "just" $3,608,238. (Actually, Molen was was the executive producer on "The Trigger Effect," so "Heaven" remains the lowest-earning movie on which he was the above-the-line PRODUCER.) Next up for Molen: "Minority Report", opening this summer, helmed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise. Molen is the first-billed producer on "Minority Report." - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 23:11:47 EDT From: Irreantum2@cs.com Subject: [AML] New Irreantum Contents The newest issue of Irreantum, the literary quarterly of the Association for= =20 Mormon Letters, includes the following:=20 Interview:=20 Brady Udall=20 Novel Excerpt:=20 The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Brady Udall=20 Memoir:=20 My Innisfree, Camille Traveller Bell=20 Essay:=20 To Fulfill the Vision of Mormon Literature, Diana Simmons=20 Stories:=20 Companions, Darlene Young=20 Cinder-Relic, Melva Gifford=20 Who Needs Salt Lake? Bill Caudle=20 Poetry:=20 Lo volv=ED a ver, Paul Sexton=20 Shadows, Paul Sexton=20 First Psalm, Kevin Peel=20 Canyon Cliff Swallows, Patricia Gunter Karamesines=20 Diapason, Michael Collings=20 Prayer, Michael Collings=20 Reviews=20 2001 Mormon Literature in Review, Andrew Hall=20 Artistry in a Missionary Story, Dean Hughes=20 A review of Gordon Laws's My People=20 Unlikely Miracles, Katie Parker=20 A review of Anna Jones's Haven=20 A Kingly Collection, John S. Tanner=20 A review of Arthur Henry King's=20 Conversion: Poems of the Religious Life,=20 1963-1994, ed. Fred C. Pinnegar=20 Promising New Series, Andrew Hall=20 A review of Dean Hughes's The Writing on the Wall=20 Plots in Hiding, Terry Montague=20 A review of Betsy Brannon Green's Hearts in Hiding=20 Mormon Literary Scene=20 AML-List Highlights=20 Rameumptom:=20 Confessions of a Former farms Filing Clerk;=20 or The Top-10 Rejected farms Papers, Edgar C. Snow Jr.=20 For a copy of this issue, send $5 to the address below with a note requestin= g=20 the winter 2001-2002 issue. To subscribe to Irreantum, send $16 for 4 issues= .=20 To join the AML, send $25 annual dues (includes Irreantum subscription and a= =20 copy of the book-length AML Annual). AML=20 PO Box 51364=20 Provo, UT 84605-1364=20 For more info about all aspects of the AML, visit http://www.aml-online.org/. To stop receiving AML updates, reply to this message with REMOVE in the=20 subject line.=20 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 22:13:07 -0600 From: "Jana Pawlowski" Subject: [AML] Re: Mormon Environmentalism Jacob Profitt writes: "I think discussions of all kinds are useful and valuable, but I am very = impatient with debate. I'm kind of sick of people taking emotional = positions that they cannot change, particularly when they refuse to = allow discussion of things they disagree with. So, to bring it back to the original topic, you can't get away with the = bromides typical of so much Environmentalism. It just won't do. If you = are going to be Environmental, you are going to be forced to articulate = your assumptions, and then justify them." I think this "debate" or exchange of ideas in the written language (and = a very specific kind of language, btw, .....email lanuage) illustrates = how quickly communication becomes, ( I dunno, "distorted" is a buzz = word, shall we say "snarled"?) when people start talking about = controversial issues from different perspectives, experiences and frames = of reference. I don't=20 *think* that what I was writing was a bromide, or even emotional; or = that I was attempting to veto further discussion of things I disagree = with (although, I REALLY have the potential for that kind of debate, = I've been trying to reform for the list and will only use it for my = family and church callings henceforth.) Mostly, I was mentioning a = recent environmental issue that I think most people would like to = educate themselves about. I don't have time to the research for = anyone, but the resources are pretty availabe through reputable = websites, I'm sure. Try the local newspaper archives for a start. I think that Jacob was most likely writing in response to some of his = other experiences with some environmental activists in other debates, = other issues, other states. However, since I initiated the topic, I = could easily take comments like the above personally, at which point, I = would be tempted to revert to my family and church-calling tone and veto = further discussions (I'm a cub scout leader so, you know), by trading = slogans/bromides and position statements in much the way Jacob = describes. But the point is, if we really want an ongoing conversation (either here = on AML-List or anywhere), then I think it behooves us to be careful = about statements that can be seen as discussion vetos, entire position = dismissals, or blanket stereotypes of those to whom we're responding. = Deep down, I hope I would rather help heal the rifts in our community = and religious organization, academic settings, etc. than inflame them. = I'm not sure I know how yet, I hope to try. But on an intuitive level, = I would like to see the collective "borders of the tent", so to speak, = enlarged to include the more diverse backgrounds we see coming into the = church (without breaking any of the commandments, let me spell that = out....so much of what I *mean* I already assume is assumed by our = audience), and help those back who may have been offended, = misunderstood, or themselves misunderstood the intent of others. =20 Thanks=20 Jana Lee Peterson-Pawlowski http://www.geocities.com/janrand janrand@networld.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 23:16:43 -0500 From: lajackson@juno.com Subject: [AML] Re: Frankness in Mormon Writing D. Michael Martindale: She was raised with an open attitude about sex, but couldn't bring herself to utter the word in sacrament meeting. Jacob Proffitt: Couldn't? ... Sacrament meeting is a good example of a situation where it is inappropriate to discuss sex, not because the topic is dirty or shameful, but because it is simply an inappropriate setting. _______________ And may you be blessed never to be assigned to speak in sacrament meeting on the topic "The Law of Chastity," with instructions from the bishop to "be specific, because the ward really needs it." Larry Jackson ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 10:07:21 -0700 From: "Kathy Fowkes" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art > > Also, even King Benjamin worked in the fields along with his people. > > What makes LDS writers think they don't need to do the same? > > At last, the crux of the matter. And the answer to the question that > still has not been asked. Does a writer labor to produce? Apparently > not, and so is unworthy of her hire. > > scott (I've been away and so am struggling to catch up; sorry if this has already been addressed or if, given the subject heading, I'm off-topic. But then again, maybe that's my point?) Unworthy of his hire? I guess if all you are writing for is to obtain money, then yes I suppose it can be looked at this way. But I think, given the covenants made in the waters of baptism and at the temple altars, LDS artists and writers, when laboring for the kingdom of God, most certainly are hired, trained, lead, and payed. The coin one is paid in is of far greater value than mere mortal money, though. But payment for services rendered is extremely generous! :-) Kathy Fowkes kathy_f@cox.net Mesa, Arizona - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 12:24:28 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: [AML] Fake Article on Mormons 1857 Document About Mormon Church Is A Fake http://www.Beliefnet.com/story/105/story_10527_1.html >Did you guys see this? barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 15:32:06 -0500 From: James Picht Subject: Re: [AML] Environmental Questionnaire It isn't clear to me that Alan's questions are really about the environment, or that correct answers show an understanding of environmental issues. Question 1, for instance, is about astronomy. Question 8 is about hydrostatic pressure (the pressure on a dam depends on the height of the water behind it, not the length of the reservoir), an engineering question more than an environmental one. The predator-prey question (12) is an exercise in differential equations (in the simple model, the size of the populations varies sinusoidally, with predators and prey out of phase by a quarter cycle and prey leading predators, but nature is rarely so simple) that conveys some interesting insights to ecology, but those insights can be more easily obtained without the math. Question 28 is peculiar (the documented evidence was the work of humans; I don't know of any other species that document evidence, or even make shopping lists); 19 is political (think "highway appropriations), and it's not the only one. I refuse to answer 48 without the advice of my attorney. As for 50, I'm cool in any color shirt. I don't know the population density of the U.S. right off hand, but the density of the population of my ECON 2010 class is extraordinary, on the order of fruitcake (the densest known terrestrial substance). There are lots of bears in the continental U.S. (Question 18), which, of course, includes Alaska; there are also lots of bears in the _contiguous_ states (they're a pesky nuisance at my parents' place near Durango, and they upset the dog). The Big Dipper doesn't rotate (14) - the Earth does - but its apparent rotation will occur even if you _don't_ stay up all night watching it. If you stay up all night to watch its rotation here in Louisiana, you'll die of blood loss before you can tell anyone whether it rotated or not. The coyote population in the LA basin (9) depends on the stringency of border patrols and the performance of the Mexican economy. Jim Picht - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 13:43:03 -0700 From: JLTyner Subject: Re: [AML] Church News Articles There is an error I made in mentioning the blessing Mackenzie received, one of the men said he did NOT think their trial was over. One word, but it changes the whole meaning. Thanks! Kathy Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 15:45:00 -0500 (CDT) From: Rich Hammett Subject: [AML] Re: Money and Art > Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 15:12:42 -0500 > From: "Todd Petersen" (by way of Jonathan Langford ) > Subject: [AML] Re: Money and Art [various quick snips unmarked below] > So, having an naive sense of payment and value could make one laugh, > but in the long run, exposure is worth more than money in many ways. > Some writers, however, do put the money before all else, they want to > write and cash out like people in the tech industry often do, but most > good literature doesn't get produced under those terms. The writing I > like and respect isn't done, in general for the money, even when some > money comes along. It's done for its own sake. Oddly, the engineering firm I used to work for had the same idea--actually stated by a couple of mid-level managers. Sadly, they don't seem to be able to hire and keep people. The firms that pay the most seem to get the most out of their workers in this area. Why is writing different? > Maybe the root of this discussion is planted in this notion that > getting paid is a pretty good indication that what one is doing is > legitimate. We have an unpaid clergy, who seem pretty dedicated. Would > they be better dedicated if they got a little scratch, like the rest of > the Protestant world? Is that a fair comparison? I don't know, it would certainly lighten the stress that collects on bishops' families for instance. Is it really that great to take a man away from his family for several years, compared to paying him so that he also has time for his family? I think public art funding is at least as worthwhile as public education funding, as a good to society. Of course, I'm sure there are those who would debate education, as well. :) rich - -- \ Rich Hammett http://home.hiwaay.net/~rhammett / rhammett@HiWAAY.net "Better the pride that resides / in a citizen of the world; \ than the pride that divides / when a colorful rag is unfurled." - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #704 ******************************