Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: "Evelyn C. Leeper" <evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: MT VOID, 12/06/24 -- Vol. 43, No. 23, Whole Number 2357
Date: Sun, 8 Dec 2024 10:53:54 -0500
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 185
Message-ID: <vj4fei$3smr1$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Injection-Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 16:53:55 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="df68b38b4b02275fe74536f2e984a1cb";
	logging-data="4086625"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/SwCtKSVi2F3Rsdcgr35TH"
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:z+fLvm7B/ctmVb3wKFa4Q+GpA0Y=
Content-Language: en-US
Bytes: 8652

THE MT VOID
12/06/24 -- Vol. 43, No. 23, Whole Number 2357

Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
Sending Address: evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com
All material is the opinion of the author and is copyrighted by
the author unless otherwise noted.
All comments sent or posted will be assumed authorized for
inclusion unless otherwise noted.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to eleeper@optonline.net
The latest issue is at <http://www.leepers.us/mtvoid/latest.htm>.
An index with links to the issues of the MT VOID since 1986 is at
<http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm>.

Topics:
         Mini Reviews, Part 8 (SLAY, MY OLD ASS, THE VELOCIPASTOR)
                 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper
                 and Evelyn C. Leeper)
         R.I.P. Earl Holliman
         THE SECRET LIVES OF NUMBERS (book review
                 by Gregory Frederick)
         This Week's Reading (THE METAMORPHOSIS, "The Granton Star
                 Cause", "The Court of Tartary") (book comments
                 by Evelyn C. Leeper)

===================================================================

TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 8 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)

SLAY (2024):  A quartet of drag queens are accidentally booked at
the wrong bar, and end up at a biker bar fighting vampires,
There's great sequence when they are trying to determine vampire
characteristics: "Well, if this is a 'Blade: scenario, they're X,
but if it's 'Twilight', they're 'Y'."  But what if it's 'From Dusk
to Dawn'?"  And so on, although clearly these people are
unfamiliar with anything before "Interview with the Vampire".

Another great line [SPOILER]: "The Black one survived!"  [-ecl]

Released streaming 22 March 2024.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31629757/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/slay_2024>


MY OLD ASS (2024): Eighteen-year-old Elliott takes some
psychedelic mushrooms and meets her thirty-nine-year-old self
(whom Elliott nicknames "My Old Ass"), who gives her a few hints
of the future and a few suggestions about what to do.  The main
suggestion is to have nothing to do with anyone named Chad, and so
of course Elliott meets someone named Chad.

It's not a new trope--getting advice from the future, or wanting
more advice than the future wants to give, but it's reasonably
engaging, although the end is a bit heavy-handed (and possibly
reinforces a harmful myth about lesbians--sorry, I had to ding
them a bit for that).

(I suppose this is what's called a "chick flick", in case it
matters.)  [-ecl]

Released theatrically 13 September 2024.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18559464/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_old_ass>


THE VELOCIPASTOR (2018): A priest sees his parents murdered, goes
to China to forget, and is infected by a prehistoric tooth, which
makes him turn into a dinosaur when he gets angry.  The dinosaur
suit is truly the worst I have ever seen, and the whole production
is fairly amateurish.  (It grew out of a student trailer, and may
be a student film itself.)  [-ecl]

Released theatrically 13 August 2019.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843303/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_velocipastor_2019>

===================================================================

TOPIC: R.I.P. Earl Holliman

An obituary and tribute to Earl Holliman, who played the cook in
FORBIDDEN PLANET, may be found at the following unlock Washington
Post link:

<https://wapo.st/41kbxAn>

===================================================================

TOPIC: THE SECRET LIVES OF NUMBERS by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy
Revell (book review by Gregory Frederick)

THE SECRET LIVES OF NUMBERS by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell is
an engaging exploration of mathematics that blends history,
storytelling, and mathematical concepts.  The book shines a
spotlight on underrepresented figures in mathematical history,
offering a broader perspective on the field.  Readers are
introduced to the lives of notable mathematicians like Emmy
Noether and Srinivasa Ramanujan, alongside explanations of
mathematical principles such as infinity, prime numbers, the
development of calculus, and the golden ratio, all tied to their
practical and cultural significance.  The ancient Mathematics of
India, the Middle East, and China are included.

The authors' approach makes the subject accessible and captivating
for both math enthusiasts and general readers.  While it is
comparable to other popular mathematics books, its emphasis on
lesser-known contributors and historical context sets it apart.
However, some reviewers have noted that seasoned readers of
popular math might find many stories familiar.

If you enjoy learning about the interplay of mathematics with
everyday life, as well as the triumphs and challenges of the
mathematicians who shaped the field, this book is a thoughtful and
inspiring read.  [-gf]

Evelyn asks:

"underrepresented figures in mathematical history"--was that pun
intentional?  [-ecl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

Our discussion group did THE METAMORPHOSIS by Franz Kafka (Classix
Press, ISBN 978-1-557-42766-3, among many others) as the
"Halloween" book and film, albeit in November.

Even with the first sentence, the book is a puzzle.  "One morning,
when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself
transformed in his bed into a ..." what?  "Horrible vermin"?  "...
monstrous verminous bug"?  "monstrous vermin"?  "... monstrous
cockroach"?  "... beetle"? "... giant insect"?  (David Wyllie, Ian
Johnston, Stanley Corngold (and Google), Michael Hofmann, Vladimir
Nabokov, and unknown, respectively)

The original German is "ungeheuren Ungeziefer", which is no help,
because "Ungeziefer" is not a strictly defined entomological term.

Gregor sees himself as indispensable to the family.  Yet when he
is removed, they actually do better.  He was a crutch that kept
them from walking normally.  He sees everything they do--leaving
him to eat along, moving furniture out of the room and then moving
things into the room--as being done out of concern for him, yet to
an impartial observer, they appear to be unconcerned about him or
even dismissive of him.

As I mentioned before, someone compared THE METAMORPHOSIS to "The
Granton Star Cause" by Irvine Welsh.  I would say it has taken its
inspiration from BEDAZZLED (the original 1967 Peter Cook and
Dudley Moore version)--in particular, the episode in which Stanley
Moon is turned into a fly.  In "The Granton Star Cause" Boab Coyle
is turned into a fly by God (who is disgusted with what people in
general and Boab in particular have done with heir lives).  There
is also a bit of "The Court of Tartary" by T. P. Caravan (F&SF
December 1963, and THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION:
14TH SERIES).  (That I remember the story, even though its only
reprint was sixty years ago says something, though I will admit
I had to Google to find the name and author.)  [-ecl]

===================================================================

                      Mark Leeper
                      mleeper@optonline.net


========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========