THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
06/04/21 -- Vol. 39, No. 49, Whole Number 2174

Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
Sending Address: evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com
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Topics:
Correction to Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups,
Films, Lectures, etc. (NJ)
HIGH NOON Versus UNCLE VANYA (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Mini Reviews, Part 18 (WOLFWALKERS, DOLITTLE, THE WOLF HOUSE)
(film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and Evelyn C. Leeper)
Kolchak, Las Vegas, and Forensics (comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
THE STEPFORD WIVES (letter of comment by Arthur Tansky)
Tom Swift, Jack Ryan, Grand Opera, Sexuality, and Race
(letters of comment by Scott Dorsey, Keith F. Lynch,
Paul Dormer, Tim Merrigan, Gary McGath, Jeff Urs,
and Lowell Gilbert)
This Week's Reading (Hugo Award short story finalists)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

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

TOPIC: Correction to Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups,
Films, Lectures, etc. (NJ)

According to Charles S. Harris:

At this point, everything about future meetings of [the Middletown
SF group] is tentative: date, day of the week, start & end times,
location (outdoors/indoors, CommunityRoom/CompLab/smallroom), movie
viewing, and even book/film choice. However, we hope that by July
we will have a full complement of members able to attend in person
at the MT Library. [-csh]

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

TOPIC: HIGH NOON Versus UNCLE VANYA (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

"Do not forsake me, oh my darling, on this our wedding day."

I agree; even Waffles' wife in UNCLE VANYA waited until the next
day.

[Inspired by Mark's response: "Wait at least a couple of days."]

[-ecl]

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

TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 18 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)

Here is the eighteenth batch of mini-reviews, three films of the
fantastic, using a variety of animation techniques.

WOLFWALKERS: This is an animated film that is the third of the
Cartoon Saloon's "Irish Folklore Trilogy". (The first two are THE
SECRET OF KELLS and SONG OF THE SEA.) The story has strong echoes
of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. It has a very pleasant style of
artwork, and a supernatural adventure story strongly influenced by
Disney films. Released 11/13/20; available on Apple TV+. Rating:
low +2 (-4 to +4)

DOLITTLE: This is a reboot of the 1967 and 1998 films (both titled
DOCTOR DOLITTLE, the first starring Rex Harrison, the second Eddie
Murphy) of Hugh Lofting's book. This version stars Robert Downey,
Jr., and does not have the pushmi-pullyu that appeared in the
previous two films. It demonstrates the current state of CGI,
though some have criticized the implementation. As is common these
days, various celebrities use their voices for the voices of the
animals. This is a film that starts out looking like it might be
an exciting pirate story, but eventually the excitement wears off.
Released 01/17/20; available on Amazon Prime and on DVD. Rating:
high +1 (-4 to +4)

[-mrl]

And one guest mini-review by Evelyn:

THE WOLF HOUSE: This fairy tale seems like a mash-up of the "Three
Little Pigs", "Little Red Riding Hood", and "Hansel and Gretel".
It's a combination of 2-D and 3-D (stop-motion) animation, and
works at appearing like a single continuous take with a constantly
moving camera. (It reminded me of BIRDMAN.) But since it took
five years to make, it is not likely to have been a single take.
The premise is a girl who runs away from a German colony in Chile,
and there are swastikas hidden in a few of the backgrounds.
Another touch is that at the end it simulates the scratches and
wear one sees on these sorts of educational films. This is a must-
see for students of animation techniques. Released 03/20/20;
available on Amazon Prime and on DVD. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) [-ecl]

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

TOPIC: Kolchak, Las Vegas, and Forensics (comments by Evelyn
C. Leeper)

We were recently watching THE NIGHT STALKER recently (as part of
our continuing series of Richard Matheson films, following Matthew
R. Bradley's book RICHARD MATHESON ON SCREEN). As we were seeing
Carl Kolchak visiting crime scenes in Las Vegas, taking pictures,
advising the police, and making suggestions, Mark suddenly said,
"You know, what we need is a series about crime investigation in
Las Vegas, maybe following the same team every week." I assume he
also meant one with lots of shots of downtown Las Vegas, the Strip,
and other iconic areas. I don't know--do you think he's onto
something there?

(Actually, that might be a good idea for a mash-up, with the Las
Vegas CSI investigating a crime that some obnoxious reporter
insists is supernatural. Unfortunately, Darren McGavin is dead,
but maybe he could show up the way Laurence Olivier did in SKY
CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW. Along with William Petersen and
Jorja Fox, it would be a killer movie--no pun intended.)

We are also finishing up the Great Courses/Teaching Company course
on "Trails of Evidence: How Forensic Science Works", and I found
myself concluding that the Las Vegas police as portrayed in the
1974 film were pretty sloppy. They find one body in the middle of
a large patch of sand (at least fifty fee square) which has no
footprints in it. Do they have a police photographer take any
pictures before they tromp all over the sand? No--apparently there
*is* no police photographer. Only Kolchak, the newspaper reporter,
takes photographs. [-ecl]

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

TOPIC: THE STEPFORD WIVES (letter of comment by Arthur Tansky)

In response to Evelyn's comments on THE STEPFORD WIVES in the
05/28/21 issue of the MT VOID, Arthur Tansky writes:

I know that when I read THE STEPFORD WIVES for my local book
discussion group (back in 2009), I was certain that the wives were
not brainwashed, but were replaced by robots. I've still never
seen the movie. And I didn't care enough for the book to go back
and see how we arrived at different understandings.

In case you're interested, here are the notes I made for myself
back then:

THE STEPFORD WIVES by Ira Levin

The book was written in 1972. The 1978 COMPROMISING POSITIONS was
much more explicitly sexy. Is it the six-year difference or is it
the authors? It was interesting reading this so soon after I read
CP. I'm not, and never have been, a woman, but CP's woman-to-woman
sex talk sounded genuine. SW's didn't.

It's difficult to read this book, knowing the town's secret. Even
though it has some nice bits for the re-reader (e.g. Diz's smiling
for the first time as he contradicts Joanna's comment that he
doesn't want other people to be happy).

I found that this book would be more in the Horror genre than SF.
However, it may fit better with Romances.

I was put off by some of what seemed to be gratuitous sex (although
understated by today's standards). Then I realized that this book
was written not for fen, but for bored suburban housewives. It was
supposed to look like just another sex in the 'burbs books, then
take the reader by surprise. It can't do that now, and I wonder
why it's still popular.

There are also problems with the writing that I wouldn't have
expected except in a first novel (which this isn't). I was often
confused as to who was being referred to by pronouns.

I was also unsatisfied with a lack of information at the
denouement. Was Walter converted to the dark side by propaganda
from the other men, or did he buy the house in Stepford
specifically in order to get a Stepford Wife? In a small town,
isn't one house a month turnover a little high? Especially in such
a town as this?

There's also a bit of a plot hole. If these are animatronic dolls,
Bobbie wouldn't have needed a padded bra or a girdle.

Also, I admit a surprise: I expected mind control rather than
robotic replacements. I wonder if the movie version used the
former and whatever info filtered into my brain came from talk
about that.

And if they're that far advanced in robotics, don't you think that
maids would have come before replacement wives? (Another reason I
don't think it fits in the SF genre--not enough thinking things
through.) [-at]

eleeper@optonline.net <evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com> wrote:
> [Re Jack Ryan] You can take that up with Clancy. [-sd]

Nobody mentioned Jack Ryan. We were discussing a different Clancy
character, John Kelly aka John Clark.

I'm currently re-reading _Without Remorse_, the 750-page Kelly origin
story, to remind me of how it differs from the recent movie.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.

On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 3:50:11 PM UTC-4, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> ele...@optonline.net <evelynchim...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > [Re Jack Ryan] You can take that up with Clancy. [-sd]
> Nobody mentioned Jack Ryan. We were discussing a different Clancy
> character, John Kelly aka John Clark.
>
> I'm currently re-reading _Without Remorse_, the 750-page Kelly origin
> story, to remind me of how it differs from the recent movie.
> --
>

[quote]

John Kelly was born in Indianapolis to Irish-American parents in 1944
and raised as a Catholic. His father, Timothy Kelly, served in the Navy
during World War II and was a fireman who perished from a heart attack
during a fire. John lost his mother to cancer when he was a young boy.
He attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.

[/quote] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_(Ryanverse_character)

Race-flipping an Irish-American character created by an Irish-American
author is blatant cultural appropriation: freckle-washing? :)

The author being 7 years dead, he wouldn't get a say in casting,
which may be no different than the situation living authors find
themselves in when they sell a novel to Hollywood. What was it {Heinlein?}
said about throwing the MS over the fence and skedaddling with the money?

--
Kevin R

On Sat, 12 Jun 2021 14:45:13 -0700 (PDT), Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com>
wrote:

>On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 3:50:11 PM UTC-4, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> ele...@optonline.net <evelynchim...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > [Re Jack Ryan] You can take that up with Clancy. [-sd]
>> Nobody mentioned Jack Ryan. We were discussing a different Clancy
>> character, John Kelly aka John Clark.
>>
>> I'm currently re-reading _Without Remorse_, the 750-page Kelly origin
>> story, to remind me of how it differs from the recent movie.
>> --
>>
>
>[quote]
>
>John Kelly was born in Indianapolis to Irish-American parents in 1944
>and raised as a Catholic. His father, Timothy Kelly, served in the Navy
>during World War II and was a fireman who perished from a heart attack
>during a fire. John lost his mother to cancer when he was a young boy.
>He attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.
>
>[/quote] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_(Ryanverse_character)
>
>Race-flipping an Irish-American character created by an Irish-American
>author is blatant cultural appropriation: freckle-washing? :)
>
>The author being 7 years dead, he wouldn't get a say in casting,
>which may be no different than the situation living authors find
>themselves in when they sell a novel to Hollywood. What was it {Heinlein?}
>
>said about throwing the MS over the fence and skedaddling with the money?

I don't have any problems with Irish African Americans (one of my
wife's former bosses was one). Many descendents of slaves (or, to use
the current PC term, enslaved people) have Whites in their family
tree, and some of those are Irish, and that's leaving aside post
Loving ruling marriages.
--

Qualified immuninity = vertual impunity.

Tim Merrigan

--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com

On Sunday, June 13, 2021 at 12:37:36 AM UTC-4, merri...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sat, 12 Jun 2021 14:45:13 -0700 (PDT), Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com>
> wrote:
> >On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 3:50:11 PM UTC-4, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> >> ele...@optonline.net <evelynchim...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > [Re Jack Ryan] You can take that up with Clancy. [-sd]
> >> Nobody mentioned Jack Ryan. We were discussing a different Clancy
> >> character, John Kelly aka John Clark.
> >>
> >> I'm currently re-reading _Without Remorse_, the 750-page Kelly origin
> >> story, to remind me of how it differs from the recent movie.
> >> --
> >>
> >
> >[quote]
> >
> >John Kelly was born in Indianapolis to Irish-American parents in 1944
> >and raised as a Catholic. His father, Timothy Kelly, served in the Navy
> >during World War II and was a fireman who perished from a heart attack
> >during a fire. John lost his mother to cancer when he was a young boy.
> >He attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.
> >
> >[/quote] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_(Ryanverse_character)
> >
> >Race-flipping an Irish-American character created by an Irish-American
> >author is blatant cultural appropriation: freckle-washing? :)
> >
> >The author being 7 years dead, he wouldn't get a say in casting,
> >which may be no different than the situation living authors find
> >themselves in when they sell a novel to Hollywood. What was it {Heinlein?}
> >
> >said about throwing the MS over the fence and skedaddling with the money?
> I don't have any problems with Irish African Americans (one of my
> wife's former bosses was one). Many descendents of slaves (or, to use
> the current PC term, enslaved people) have Whites in their family
> tree, and some of those are Irish, and that's leaving aside post
> Loving ruling marriages.
> --

I've known at least one "mixed race" Irish-American who would
crack, "Have you never heard of the Black Irish?"

Which isn't the same thing, at all, at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_people#TermBlackIrish

Hey, there was "Barry O'Bama," who has ancestry from the Kearneys
of Moneygall, Offaly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moneygall

--
Kevin R

On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 2:45:14 PM UTC-7, Kevrob wrote:
> On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 3:50:11 PM UTC-4, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> > ele...@optonline.net <evelynchim...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > [Re Jack Ryan] You can take that up with Clancy. [-sd]
> > Nobody mentioned Jack Ryan. We were discussing a different Clancy
> > character, John Kelly aka John Clark.
> >
> > I'm currently re-reading _Without Remorse_, the 750-page Kelly origin
> > story, to remind me of how it differs from the recent movie.
> > --
> >
> [quote]
>
> John Kelly was born in Indianapolis to Irish-American parents in 1944
> and raised as a Catholic. His father, Timothy Kelly, served in the Navy
> during World War II and was a fireman who perished from a heart attack
> during a fire. John lost his mother to cancer when he was a young boy.
> He attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.
>
> [/quote] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_(Ryanverse_character)
>
> Race-flipping an Irish-American character created by an Irish-American
> author is blatant cultural appropriation: freckle-washing? :)
>
> The author being 7 years dead, he wouldn't get a say in casting,
> which may be no different than the situation living authors find
> themselves in when they sell a novel to Hollywood. What was it {Heinlein?}
>
> said about throwing the MS over the fence and skedaddling with the money?
>
> --
> Kevin R

It's been a long, long time since I read Without Remorse and the later Ryanverse books. I gave up after Ryan became President. Did Clark's Catholicism or Irish heritage play a substantial role in any of the plots?

On 2021 Jun 20, Melita Kennedy wrote
(in article<8fcad1ff-62f6-4b30-a9a5-4a907ae749a1n@googlegroups.com>):

> On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 2:45:14 PM UTC-7, Kevrob wrote:
> > On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 3:50:11 PM UTC-4, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> > > ele...@optonline.net<evelynchim...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > [Re Jack Ryan] You can take that up with Clancy. [-sd]
> > > Nobody mentioned Jack Ryan. We were discussing a different Clancy
> > > character, John Kelly aka John Clark.
> > >
> > > I'm currently re-reading _Without Remorse_, the 750-page Kelly origin
> > > story, to remind me of how it differs from the recent movie.
> > > --
> > [quote]
> >
> > John Kelly was born in Indianapolis to Irish-American parents in 1944
> > and raised as a Catholic. His father, Timothy Kelly, served in the Navy
> > during World War II and was a fireman who perished from a heart attack
> > during a fire. John lost his mother to cancer when he was a young boy.
> > He attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.
> >
> > [/quote] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_(Ryanverse_character)
> >
> > Race-flipping an Irish-American character created by an Irish-American
> > author is blatant cultural appropriation: freckle-washing? :)
> >
> > The author being 7 years dead, he wouldn't get a say in casting,
> > which may be no different than the situation living authors find
> > themselves in when they sell a novel to Hollywood. What was it {Heinlein?}
> >
> > said about throwing the MS over the fence and skedaddling with the money?
> >
> > --
> > Kevin R
>
> It's been a long, long time since I read Without Remorse and the later
> Ryanverse books. I gave up after Ryan became President. Did Clark's
> Catholicism or Irish heritage play a substantial role in any of the plots?

One or two of them. In Rainbow Six, Clark is Very Annoyed with some IRA
gunmen. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that said
gunmen had targetted Clark’s wife and daughter. Part of the process of
talking a few of the gunmen down was to point out that both wife and daughter
were Irish Catholic, and daughter was married to Chavez, Clark’s
second-in-command, Hispanic Catholic who was a former gang-banger from East
LA who’d joined the Army for reasons of health and had been in the Great
South American Cocaine Fuckup. And, oh, daughter was nine months preggo.
Chavez was not a happy camper and let the IRA boys know it. There was at
least one other incident, in Japan, I think. It’s been too long since
I’ve read any of the books. Rainbow Six is the last one I read, unless that
was The Bear and The Dragon.

On Monday, June 21, 2021 at 11:17:42 AM UTC-4, Wolffan wrote:
> On 2021 Jun 20, Melita Kennedy wrote
> (in article<8fcad1ff-62f6-4b30...@googlegroups.com>):

[snip]

> > It's been a long, long time since I read Without Remorse and the later
> > Ryanverse books. I gave up after Ryan became President. Did Clark's
> > Catholicism or Irish heritage play a substantial role in any of the plots?

> One or two of them. In Rainbow Six, Clark is Very Annoyed with some IRA
> gunmen. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that said
> gunmen had targetted Clark’s wife and daughter. Part of the process of
> talking a few of the gunmen down was to point out that both wife and daughter
> were Irish Catholic, and daughter was married to Chavez, Clark’s
> second-in-command, Hispanic Catholic who was a former gang-banger from East
> LA who’d joined the Army for reasons of health and had been in the Great
> South American Cocaine Fuckup. And, oh, daughter was nine months preggo.
> Chavez was not a happy camper and let the IRA boys know it. There was at
> least one other incident, in Japan, I think. It’s been too long since
> I’ve read any of the books. Rainbow Six is the last one I read, unless that
> was The Bear and The Dragon.

It certainly crops up in "Patriot Games."

As a "background thing," it is certainly the case that among 20th
century Irish-Americans, an affinity for taking civil service jobs was
a real thing. Starting with the patronage hiring of the old urban political
machines in the 19th century, your Irish immigrant, perhaps soured on
farming by the Great Famine, as far more likely to take public employment
than, for example, an Italian immigrant. Much greater familiarity with the
language of the conquerors of their old country made it easier for the Irish
to get involved in politics and garner the patronage spots. The cliche of
the Irish cop or fireman was based on reality. Real world figures like J
Edgar Hoover were partial to recruiting Catholics to the FBI,* and the CIA
was so well-known for Catholics joining up and even being Director that
jokes were made about the "Catholic Intelligence Agency."

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/446954/pdf

{Review of "The FBI and the Catholic Church, 1935–1962" by Rosswurm }

https://catholicherald.co.uk/why-catholics-thrive-in-the-cia/

In my Irish, Catholic family we had the occasional doctor or lawyer,
but a lot of public school teachers and policeman, along with nurses,
some of whom worked at public hospitals, others at private ones. "The
pay isn't the best, but there's job security and good benefits" was the
advice one would hear. Pay got better as public employees were allowed
to unionize.

* Hoover and the FBI also liked to recruit LDS (Mormon) agents.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-mormons-make-great-fbi-recruits

--
Kevin R

On 2021 Jun 21, Kevrob wrote
(in article<d3257357-e813-45fe-9f5d-7262a94ac58dn@googlegroups.com>):

> On Monday, June 21, 2021 at 11:17:42 AM UTC-4, Wolffan wrote:
> > On 2021 Jun 20, Melita Kennedy wrote
> > (in article<8fcad1ff-62f6-4b30...@googlegroups.com>):
>
> [snip]
>
> > > It's been a long, long time since I read Without Remorse and the later
> > > Ryanverse books. I gave up after Ryan became President. Did Clark's
> > > Catholicism or Irish heritage play a substantial role in any of the plots?
>
> > One or two of them. In Rainbow Six, Clark is Very Annoyed with some IRA
> > gunmen. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that said
> > gunmen had targetted Clark’s wife and daughter. Part of the process of
> > talking a few of the gunmen down was to point out that both wife and
> > daughter
> > were Irish Catholic, and daughter was married to Chavez, Clark’s
> > second-in-command, Hispanic Catholic who was a former gang-banger from East
> > LA who’d joined the Army for reasons of health and had been in the Great
> > South American Cocaine Fuckup. And, oh, daughter was nine months preggo.
> > Chavez was not a happy camper and let the IRA boys know it. There was at
> > least one other incident, in Japan, I think. It’s been too long since
> > I’ve read any of the books. Rainbow Six is the last one I read, unless
> > that
> > was The Bear and The Dragon.
>
> It certainly crops up in "Patriot Games."

Patriot Games was Ryan, not Clark. I don’t think that Clark was yet a
character.
>
>
> As a "background thing," it is certainly the case that among 20th
> century Irish-Americans, an affinity for taking civil service jobs was
> a real thing. Starting with the patronage hiring of the old urban political
> machines in the 19th century, your Irish immigrant, perhaps soured on
> farming by the Great Famine, as far more likely to take public employment
> than, for example, an Italian immigrant. Much greater familiarity with the
> language of the conquerors of their old country made it easier for the Irish
> to get involved in politics and garner the patronage spots. The cliche of
> the Irish cop or fireman was based on reality. Real world figures like J
> Edgar Hoover were partial to recruiting Catholics to the FBI,* and the CIA
> was so well-known for Catholics joining up and even being Director that
> jokes were made about the "Catholic Intelligence Agency."
>
> https://muse.jhu.edu/article/446954/pdf
>
> {Review of "The FBI and the Catholic Church, 1935–1962" by Rosswurm }
>
> https://catholicherald.co.uk/why-catholics-thrive-in-the-cia/
>
> In my Irish, Catholic family we had the occasional doctor or lawyer,
> but a lot of public school teachers and policeman, along with nurses,
> some of whom worked at public hospitals, others at private ones. "The
> pay isn't the best, but there's job security and good benefits" was the
> advice one would hear. Pay got better as public employees were allowed
> to unionize.
>
> * Hoover and the FBI also liked to recruit LDS (Mormon) agents.
>
> https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-mormons-make-great-fbi-recruits

On Monday, June 21, 2021 at 5:18:25 PM UTC-4, Wolffan wrote:
> On 2021 Jun 21, Kevrob wrote
> (in article<d3257357-e813-45fe...@googlegroups.com>):

[snip]

> > It certainly crops up in "Patriot Games."
> Patriot Games was Ryan, not Clark. I don’t think that Clark was yet a
> character.
> >

Clancy shoehorned Clark/Kelly into PG via what I suppose is a retcon.

[quote]

He first enters the Jack Ryan universe in "Without Remorse," which also features
police officer Emmet Ryan and his son Jack. Although he does not appear in
"Patriot Games," it is later revealed that he was the CIA's liaison with a French
black ops unit involved in the campaign against the ULA.

[/quote]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clark_(Ryanverse_character)

--
Kevin R