Or Where I Learn Something About History. (Maybe.)
I’ve been reading a lot of history books lately, initially for research, but in the end because bibliographies are full of tempting titles and the detours signposted thus are obviously more inviting than the trip at hand. So, am currently lost in history books about history. Besides, like Franklin P. Jones said “Perhaps nobody has changed the course of history as much as the historians.” When you’re using Occam’s Razor for that morning shave, you can only hope it’s still sharp – unless of course Parsimony is your Principle..
And, seeing as one of the culprits in the historical Flat Earth scam (yes, distracted from that once again) was the author of Rip Van Winkle, who had no scruples about practising exactly what he preached: “For what is history, but… huge libel on human nature, to which we industriously add page after page, volume after volume, as if we were holding up a monument to the honor, rather than the infamy of our species.”; I tripped over a quote, lost my bearings and ended up wandering off into history itself. (Irving, when he wasn’t penning epigrams, indulged in a good deal of epitaphs for infamy, by the way.) John Howe’s Journal: SAMIZDAT PALIMPSEST
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The list of reasons to attend this year’s Comic-Con just keeps growing. Message board members deej and MrCere point out that both Ralph Bakshi and John Howe have recently been added to the Comic-Con 2008 Special Guest List. The 39th annual Comic-Con will be held July 24-27 at the San Diego Convention Center. It sold out last year, so be sure to get your membership soon if you plan to be there in July! Follow the Special Guest List Here.
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Stories of dragons are as old as the written word and probably a lot older. To keep things inside the J.R.R. Tolkien realm, “Beowulf”, one of the oldest written stories of Europe features not only the monstrous Grendel but his serpentine Mother. Ancient biblical writings allude to the great serpent or dragon while global mythology has oversized lizard creatures popping up so consistently that some have suggested there must be some common shared memory or primitive survival instinct built into humanity to cause us to tell our tribal stories about such a monstrosity. Continue reading “The Dragon Problem: What challenges await GDT and WETA?”
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Or Why It All Depends on How You Look at Things
Last week, I was going to pursue that Flat Earth theme, but got distracted (again). I had a visit from a friend. My high-school buddy Harold stopped over on a trek through Europe, hot on the trail of Goethe. He told me a story from back west. Here it is. Continue reading “John Howe’s Journal: COYOTE”
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Ringer Spy Elven was kind enough to transcribe the ‘To be Continued’ interview from last week where I discussed our exclusive chat with ‘Hobbit’ director Guillermo del Toro. Take a look! Continue reading “‘To be Continued’ Radio Interview Transcript”
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Zack writes: The FOTR with a live symphony and choir on April 24th in Winnipeg, Canada was amazing. They performed everything in the movie from loud themes to background music in audio scenes. This is supposedly the first of the North American tour. If anyone else is able to see this tour don’t be disappointed that sound effects are turned down (this created a few awkward moments, mostly just at the Farwell party and battle scenes) and that there are sub titles because what you hear is mostly the symphony. The Conductor, Ludwig Wicki was the first conductor to perform the FOTR music along live with the full movie just earlier this year and has worked with Howard Shore in preparation. The soloists sang very well, including a 10 year old boy singing the male soprano solos. Overall it was very well done and I hope they come out with the Two Towers soon.
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