From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #777 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 Monday, July 22 2002 Volume 01 : Number 777 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 10:36:21 -0500 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Some Film Notes You can finally see the poster for "Possession," the upcoming film directed by Neil Labute, starring Aaron Eckhart: http://posters.imdb.com/Covers/25/62/76.jpg - ---- A new review of "Brigham City" can be found at: http://www.greaterthings.com/Bookstore/Videos/Reviews/BrighamCity.htm - ----- New out on DVD this week: "John Q" starring Denzel Washington. It was directed by native New Yorker Nick Cassavetes. This is Cassavetes's 4th film as a director. He started his career as an actor. One of his major roles was the 3rd-billed role in Latter-day Saint director Blair Treu's "Just Like Dad" (1996), which was filmed in Utah. That year Cassavetes directed his first feature film "Unhook the Stars", also made in Utah. I don't think Cassavetes is a Utahn or Latter-day Saint, but "John Q" is an excellent movie, with incredible performances. Best of all it's really ABOUT something -- the health care crisis; it's not just a meaningless action flick. It tackles substantive issues in a concrete and informative -- yet interesting and entertaining - -- way -- issues which are very contemporary and which really not been addressed in a feature film before. webmaster, www.ldsfilm.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:32:04 -0600 From: "Marianne Hales Harding" Subject: Re: [AML] Linda ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) >I haven't read the _Left Behind_ series yet (I >keep meaning to, but there are so *many* volumes now) Linda-- Don't let the number of volumes scare you off...they are as quick a read as an adolescent novel. Marianne Hales Harding _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:30:32 -0700 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: Re: [AML] Millennial Economics Todd Petersen said, > Capitalism is a system whereby the primary economic goal is not > bettering people's lives or creating things of utility or beauty. > Instead it is to create more capital. At least that's what Marx says. > Capitalism wants to turn goods and materials into money. I hope I have > my terms right here, but the United Order seems more like a Mercantile > system. > > The United Order is an economic system designed to help people take > care of their needs and the righteous portion of their wants. > > Lots of LDS people describe the United Order as capitalistic simply > because money is involved, and that's not really what capitalism is, and > certainly not what industrial capitalism is. Capitalism requires capital, and the United Order provides it interest free. That is at least a compatibility, and in fact facilitates the creation of wealth through debt that is the keystone of capitalism. Further, capitalism rewards those who most effectively meet the needs of the people. It does this through the free market, where people are free to buy what they need or like most. Those who complain about this aspect of capitalism sometimes fail to realize that whatever they think is utilitarian or beautiful may not be what the majority of people think is utilitarian or beautiful. In other words, in a free market, that which sells is that which the majority of people find utilitarian and beautiful, even if some of us who are working hard to make things that are utilitarian and beautiful, don't share the same taste. I think if we were in a society where we had to buy the things that some people think have utility and beauty, we'd call it a totalitarian state. Money in a free market society, automatically rewards what the majority enjoys the most. If the majority is righteous, that shouldn't be a bad thing. So, I'm not sure that anything in the United Order would really change this method of taking care of people needs and righteous wants. The artistic side of me is not always pleased with that result, because I am not always able to give the public what it enjoys the most. That's skewed a little in today's society because so much of what is wanted is not good (drugs, sex, violence), but in a righteous society, the needs would change, but should the method of providing them really change? And if it doesn't change, if we retain a free market economy, are we not being capitalistic? The answer to the last question is, I think, that we will, in fact, see a somewhat different capitalism under the United Order, but not because of anything having to do with the utility or beauty of our products. Rather, the profit motive will see some modification in a society where we give back to the community all our profits (as that term is defined using generally accepted accounting principles). Basically, under the United Order, all the corporations would essentially be non-profit. Right? Richard Hopkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:32:04 -0700 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: Re: [AML] Re: Education Week Get-Together I'll go along with the majority. I have no preference as to night or place (don't even know the good places down there). I'd just like to get together. See you. Richard Hopkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:38:31 -0700 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: Re: [AML] "Choose the Rock" Eric R. Samuelsen wrote: Here's my question: what happens when we get the first generation of General Authorities who grew up liking, and kept liking, rock and roll? (snip) I make no differntiation, IOW, between Mozart and Jerry Lee Lewis. So what if that were the attitude of the Church? What if we in the Church actually took Psalm 150 seriously? Richard responds: I'm with you, Eric. I love and play classical music, but I enjoy good rock just as much. It's all music to me. Much of the best pop music has the same complexity and form in it that I enjoy in the best classics. And I know that we will see a change in Church music and the attitude of the Church toward music if Gladys Knight gets her way! (Same with Thurle Bailey.) Richard Hopkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:41:06 -0700 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: Re: [AML] Linda ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) Kim Madsen wrote: > My LDS bookgroup is reading this book (Prodigal Journey)for our "summer > reading" selection. We were looking for something engrossing that you could > get caught up in--you know...an escape. All 10 of the women reading this > book have reported to me it has been just that--something they couldn't put > down. They were all concerned at the size of the book when I announced it, > but they all say it's a fast read, since they can't make themselves stop. When Cornerstone first put it out, we told the bookstores that we had almost been forced to get FDA approval before releasing it because it was so addictive. I'm glad to see others agree with that assessment. Richard Hopkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 10:54:12 -0600 From: Russ Asplund Subject: RE: [AML] Thoughts on Art and Literature Actually, science is a system of investigation--nothing more and nothing less. Doing science may be an art, but science itself describes the system of hypothesis, experimentation, and repeatability. It has proven itself a very effective system for investigating and explaining the physical world. Writing, Philosophy, Ethics and several other endeavors do not and cannot be carried out by using the scientific method, and are therefore not sciences in any really accurate sense of the word. I think our education system leads everyone to think what we study about in Science classes is science, when really what we are learning is only the result of scientific investigation to date. I also don't believe that writing is always a search for truth. Sometimes it is just the search for a cheap laugh, an emotional connection, or a pleasent diversion. candesa Russell Asplund director of research and development 801.426.5450 russa@candesa.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:14:52 -0800 From: rjwillia@uci.edu Subject: Re: [AML] "Choose the Rock" I can still remember hearing a recorded conference (or maybe fireside) talk that my dad played one afternoon for family home evening. I was only seven or eight, but I remember vividly the speaker on the tape taking great pains to show the evils of rock music, even playing some of the more nefarious tunes backwards to reveal hidden, subliminal messages, all designed to further the great and terrible work of Satan. He was very convincing (the speaker, I mean, not Satan). Through the harsh, scraping "zzvvwwamp" of the needle on this turntable-turned-detective, I could distinctly make out a voice--the devil himself, I thought: "Smooooke Maarrraaaawaaanaaa." Something about it terrified me, perhaps the subtlety of it, the seemingly hypnotic nature of a subconscious message planted by Satan, and played over and over again somewhere in my mind, somewhere beyond my control. As I recall, I nearly started crying and my parents had to end the tape early. But what made things even worse, I remember hearing my dad that same afternoon, thinking about something else, gradually begin humming the evil tune to himself. When I confronted him, he grinned sheepishly. "Geez," he said, "it is a catchy song though." I was righteously appalled. Quickly repenting of ever enjoying rock music, I made sure that the radios in our home were programmed to more wholesome and uplifting stations. I became zealously attached to my grandfather's favorite station, something like 540 AM, literally the most innocuous, ridiculously gentle music on the planet. At this point, of course, my parents were probably worried they had made a terrible mistake. What began as a simple family home evening lesson on avoiding the "ways of the world," had turned into a fierce battle of good and evil (definitely one too large for someone my size). Something happens to us as teenagers, though. As a teenager, you could have PROVED to me with scientific evidence that listening to rock music caused leprosy, and I would have still listened to it. Sure, I tried to steer clear of the truly hard-core Satan-worshipping bands, but there were times when a good punk beat (the Ramones, the Pixies, etc.) seemed impossible to live without. And when I discovered the darker, more gloomy, melodramatic bands like the Smiths, Depeche Mode, and the Cure--well, listening to them became absolutely necessary to my well-being. I became an expert at defending these bands to my parents, even trying on occasion to get them to listen to them. This was good music, I argued. It had soul. It dramatized a part of me that even the church didn't seem to have a venue for. I even learned to play the guitar and began writing my own songs. But this new interest in "worldly" music was much harder for my parents to deal with, and on several occasions we argued about what I should, and should not, listen to. Mom finally conceded that my music probably fell under the category of "terrestrial," that is, somewhere between "telestial" music (things like AC/DC, KISS, and amateur violin recitals) and "celestial" music (things like hymns, musicals, and 540 AM). And that was good enough for me. I knew I didn't belong in hell, but I certainly had NO desire to spend eternity listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In high school and college, I joined a band, and my parents did their best to understand (I won't say "support") it. I can remember one evening when my dad, a respected lawyer in Salt Lake, came to one of our shows. He sat in the back, wearing a suit, an open briefcase on his lap, and worked on one of his cases as we shouted our ungodly racket. I don't remember him ever saying that he liked any of our songs, but occasionally there were moments when I would catch him--probably thinking about something else--humming one of our tunes. - --John Williams UC Irvine. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:03:16 -0600 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: Re: [AML] 3 LDS Lit Queries On 18 July 2002, Travis Manning wrote: > > Third, does anyone know if author John D. Fitzgerald is Mormon? > Fitzgerald is the author of the "Great Brain" children's book series > of the 1940s. He also wrote a biography/family history book about his > own father's family called _Papa Married a Mormon_, copyright 1955, by > Prentice-Hall, Inc., 298 pp. John D. Fitzgerald grew up in Price, Utah, as a Catholic. As he discribes in his book, the town didn't have enogh Catholics to merit its own Catholic church, so the met in a congregation with all the other non-Mormons in the town. In his Great Brain series, John fictionalizes his family experience, as indicated by his fictional hometown Adenville. _Papa Married a Mormon,_ although based on his father's story, also contains many fitcional elements. John left Utah for college and setteled in Florida. His brother Tom lived in Price until his death. I have reviews of the first two Great Brain books, which I will post here. Although not written by a Mormon, the books create an excellent picture of life in early 20th century rural Utah. - -- Terry L Jeffress - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:07:46 -0600 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: [AML] John D. FITZGERALD, _The Great Brain_ (Review) TITLE: The Great Brain AUTHOR: John D. Fitzgerald PUBLISHER: Yearling, 1967 ISBN: 0-440-43071-2, Trade paperback PRICE: $4.99 J.D. Fitzgerald, aged seven, tells of his adventures with his older brother Tom, alias the Great Brain. Tom, aged 10, unabashedly admits that he has the greatest brain in all of Adenville, a fictional town set in rural Utah. When Mr. Fitzgerald installs the first flushing toilet in their town, Tom devises a scheme to charge the neighborhood kids each a penny to see the "Magic Water Closet." Although Tom prefers to use his brain for profit, he will also use it to rescue boys lost in a nearby cave, make an immigrant Greek boy feel welcome, and teach a friend who lost a leg to use his new peg leg. I loved _The Great Brain_ as a kid, and I still love its charm and wit. Fitzgerald places interesting characters in a fascinating old-West setting and gives them fun adventures. We get to join J.D. in his admiration of the Great Brain, but we also get to sample life in rural 1890s Utah. For example, Abie Glassman tries to open a store in town, but he quickly goes out of business (and dies) because the Mormons (and many of the non-Mormons) will only shop at the Mormon-owned ZCMI store. You never get the impression that Fitzgerald holds a negative opinion of Mormons, he just describes his life as he lived it. - -- Terry L Jeffress - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:10:32 -0600 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: [AML] John D. FITZGERALD, _More Adventures of the Great Brain_ (Review) TITLE: More Adventures of the Great Brain AUTHOR: John D. Fitzgerald PUBLISHER: Yearling, 1969 ISBN: 0-440-45822-6, Trade paperback PRICE: $4.99 Fitzgerald continues to chronicle his adventures with his older brother Tom, the Great Brain. This volume gets a little repetitive with the opening and closing chapters both involving the boys sneaking out at night to places forbidden by their parents. In each case, Tom shames other boys into going out late at night to prove his point, either that monsters do exist or that ghosts don't. The real charm of this series lies in its accurate portrayal of the characters. Tom does always think up great schemes, but he doesn't always benefit from them. When Tom starts his own newspaper, he tries to scoop his father's paper and he prints mostly gossip that hurts his neighbors. Every kid has to learn at some point that probably everyone does know the juicy stories, but that bringing those stories out in the public eye can do great harm. Tom wanted to work for his father, but his father wisely tells Tom that Tom has only proved that he hasn't matured enough to work for the paper. But Tom has his good points too. When Old Butch, the well known and loved town mongrel dog dies, Tom arranges to give Butch a hero's funeral. Tom eulogizes Butch by praising his availability to all the kids whose parents wouldn't allow a dog in the home. Tom can use his great brain for both the best and the worst uses, and he (and hopefully we too) learn from these simple yet touching stories. - -- Terry L Jeffress - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 14:03:40 -0700 From: "Bill Willson" Subject: Re: [AML] "Choose the Rock" Eric Samuelsen wrote: >snip Here's my question: what happens when we get the first generation of General Authorities who grew up liking, and kept liking, rock and roll? >snip I'm quite sure this has already occurred. There is good and bad in everything and in everybody. I like to believe, in fact I'm sure, there is more good than bad in our general authorities of the church. As far as the good and bad of music in general and Rock and Roll in particular, isn't it like everything else? Don't we all have our own level of tolerance for what we deem entertaining. We all can control our own personal on off switch. We all can get up and walk out of a bad movie, or hit the fast forward in a good movie with offensive scenes. Every reader makes their own determination whether to turn the page or close the book. Because we won the war in heaven, we each have the right and the responsibility to govern our own entertainment material. No one has the right to choose for us. For our children whom we have responsibility there may be times when we need to exercise our parental right to choose what we feel is appropriate for them, however; at some time they will have to exercise their own agency and we can only hope they remember what we have tried to teach them, and that they will make good choices. As for the general authorities, I'm sure they have some good Rock that they have enjoyed in the past, and they may even still enjoy the best of the classic Rock and Roll. I see nothing wrong with this, and I certainly wouldn't spend any time worrying over a GA's choice of music. Regards, Bill Willson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #777 ******************************