Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Evelyn C. Leeper" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom Subject: MT VOID, 05/30/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 48, Whole Number 2382 Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2025 10:55:40 -0400 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 553 Message-ID: <101hple$26mno$1@dont-email.me> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2025 16:55:43 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="8be228ca494e1cbf84e84ef045d3ffb2"; logging-data="2317048"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18kzDaszLE2d0IRdVUPNGAr" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:JeJ6nihPz5C4+lHavT28OteLQv0= Content-Language: en-US THE MT VOID 05/30/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 48, Whole Number 2382 Editor: Evelyn Leeper, 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 evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com The latest issue is at . An index with links to the issues of the MT VOID since 1986 is at . Topics: Middletown (NJ) Science Fiction Discussion Group Picks for Turner Classic Movies in June (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper) Extra-Terrestrial Life--Not So Fast (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper) Twilight Zone: "Steel" (link) PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE by Michio Kaku (2008) (book review by Dale Skran) Live Toads (letters of comment by Fred Lerner, Jay Morris, and Gary McGath) A CLOSED AND COMMON ORBIT (letter of comment by Hal Heydt) THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (letter of comment by Gary McGath) AURORA, Willy Ley, WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE, Color-Blind Casting, "The Court of Tartary", Ancient Rome in the Movies, THE RETURN, and Diego Rivera (letter of comment by Taras Wolansky) This Week's Reading (POIROT AND ME) (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper) =================================================================== TOPIC: Middletown (NJ) Science Fiction Discussion Group June 5, 2025 METROPOLIS (1927) & novel by Thea Von Harbou (1925) =================================================================== TOPIC: Picks for Turner Classic Movies in June (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper) Okay, I can't pick A FACE IN THE CROWD *again*. So instead I'll recommend a film with some equally chilling and topical moments, CABARET, which sets a love triangle against the back-drop of the decadence of the Weimar Republic cabaret scene and the rise of Nazism. [CABARET, Monday, June 30, 10:15 AM] There is also BRIGHT LEAF, of which Mark wrote in the 07/30/99 issue of the MT VOID (in an article about tobacco), "BRIGHT LEAF [is] the stirring story of how a real he-man, played by Gary Cooper, builds a tobacco empire." And in the 02/11/00 issue he wrote, "I am going back and re-watching a bunch of 1950s science fiction films. And in just about every cheap one the characters stop and discuss things over a cigarette. Do you think that is coincidence? Go back and see the movie BRIGHT LEAF with Gary Cooper about the brave American heroes who founded our country's tobacco industry. In films people who fight disease are played by Edward G. Robinson types. People who sell disease to the public for good money are played by the Gary Coopers." [BRIGHT LEAF, Thursday, June 19, 7:30 AM] There is also a whole afternoon of monster SF on June 18 (I have no idea why June 18): 12:00 PM Them! (1954) 1:45 PM The Hypnotic Eye (1960) 4:45 PM The Green Slime (1969) 6:30 PM Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) Other films of interest: MONDAY, June 2 1:00 PM The Ghost Ship (1943) TUESDAY, June 3 12:00 AM Cries and Whispers (1972) 4:00 AM The Seventh Victim (1943) 10:45 AM The Boy with Green Hair (1948) THURSDAY, June 5 8:00 AM The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) 6:15 PM Forbidden Planet (1956) FRIDAY, June 6 10:00 AM Kismet (1955) 12:00 PM Brigadoon (1954) 8:00 PM A Face in the Crowd (1957) SATURDAY, June 7 8:00 PM Carnival of Souls (1962) 9:30 PM Rosemary's Baby (1968) SUNDAY, June 8 8:00 PM Apollo 13 (1995) 10:30 PM For All Mankind (1989) WEDNESDAY, June 11 11:30 AM Africa Screams (1949) 1:00 PM Tarzan and His Mate (1934) MONDAY, June 16 8:00 PM The Last Wave (1977) WEDNESDAY, June 18 4:30 AM So Long at the Fair (1950) 6:00 AM A Bucket of Blood (1959) 12:00 PM Them! (1954) 1:45 PM The Hypnotic Eye (1960) 4:45 PM The Green Slime (1969) 6:30 PM Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) THURSDAY, June 19 7:30 AM Bright Leaf (1950) THURSDAY, June 26 11:30 PM Sisters (1972) FRIDAY, June 27 3:30 AM Dead Men Walk (1943) SATURDAY, June 28 6:00 AM Black Orpheus (1959) 6:00 PM Field of Dreams (1989) SUNDAY, June 29 8:30 AM Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) MONDAY, June 30 10:15 AM Cabaret (1972) =================================================================== TOPIC: Twilight Zone: "Steel" (link) "Two humanoid robots traded punches while fans watched on, in a competition held in Hangzhou, China, on Sunday. The fight was part of the China Media Group World Robot Competition and featured robots developed by Unitree Robotics. The event included both fighting demonstrations and matches, marking a world-first combat sports event featuring humanoid robots." Thirty-seven second video at: =================================================================== TOPIC: Extra-Terrestrial Life--Not So Fast (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper) In response to Greg Frederick's comments on extra-terrestrial life in the 04/25/25 issue of the MT VOID (where he provides the link to an article claiming the "strongest evidence so far" of extra-terrestrial life), I am saddened to report: New Studies Dismiss Signs of Life on Distant Planet In April, astronomers said they had detected a possible signature of life on the exoplanet K2-18b. Now, three independent analyses discount the evidence. In April, a team of astronomers announced that they might--just might--have found signs of life on a planet over 120 light-years from Earth. The mere possibility of extraterrestrial life was enough to attract attention worldwide. It also attracted intense scrutiny from other astronomers. Over the past month, researchers have independently analyzed the data, which suggested that the planet, called K2-18b, has a molecule in its atmosphere that could have been created by living organisms. Three different analyses have all reached the same conclusion: They see no compelling evidence for life on K2-18b. ========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========