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Theodore Roosevelt through the Brazilian Wilderness

We were bitten by the hosts of fire-ants, and by the mosquitoes, which we scarcely noticed where the fire-ants were found, (Kindle Locations 1293-1294).  I know that the fire ants are a problem here in Florida, and one must choose wisely where they sit, or even stand.

Creative Meditations

Open your history of sculpture, and dwell upon those illustrations which are not the normal, reposeful statues, but the exceptional, such as have been listed for this chapter. Imagine that each dancing, galloping, or fighting figure comes down into the room life-size. Watch it against a dark curtain. Let it go through a series of gestures in harmony with the spirit of the original conception, and as rapidly as possible, not to lose nobility. If you have the necessary elasticity, imagine the figures wearing the costumes of another period, yet retaining in their motions the same essential spirit. Combine them in your mind with one or two kindred figures, enlarged till they fill the end of the room. You have now created the beginning of an Action Photoplay in your own fancy. Vachel Lindsay. The Art of the Moving Picture (Kindle Locations 1083-1088).

Teachers exploring literature can do this activity of creating statues to commemorate scenes in a novel.  Groups of students (3-4 is optimal) pose as a sculpture/sculpture.   The teacher than can take a digital picture and have a gallery of scenes.  The scenes will help students visualize the book they have been working through. 

Library Notes

One can watch a number of the silent films mentioned in Art of the Moving Picture by Vachel Lindsay; thanks to the Internet Archives.Here are the links to enable your study.   I recommend watching the movies with your favorite electronic track (e.g. something from EXFM).
D.W. Griffith's: Birth of a Nation  ; Enoch Arden
Thomas H. Ince: Grandad; The Return of Draw Egan 
Giovanni Pastrone:  Cabiria

Poetry Museum

The old lady said to the cat:— "Cat, cat, kill rat. Rat will not gnaw rope, Rope will not hang butcher, Butcher will not kill ox, Ox will not drink water, Water will not quench fire, Fire will not burn stick, Stick will not beat dog, Dog will not bite pig, Pig will not jump over the stile, And I cannot get home to-night."
The rat began to gnaw the rope, The rope began to hang the butcher, The butcher began to kill the ox, The ox began to drink the water, The water began to quench the fire, The fire began to burn the stick, The stick began to beat the dog, The dog began to bite the pig, The frightened little pig jumped over the stile, And the old lady was able to get home that night.

Vachel Lindsay. The Art of the Moving Picture (Kindle Locations 576-579).
Vachel Lindsay. The Art of the Moving Picture (Kindle Locations 571-574).

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The Art of the Moving Picture

Saloon Magazine Wrote of the book:
"This (1915)1922 book by poet and sometime cultural critic Vachel Lindsay might have been the first to treat the then-new medium of moving pictures as an art form, one that was potentially as rich, complex, mysterious as far older ones, and whose physical and aesthetic properties were only starting to be understood. The highlight of the book might be “The Motion Picture of Fairy Splendor,” which examines the relationship between film storytelling, magic, myths, legends and bedtime stories. It’s discombobulating, in a good way, to read Lindsay’s attempts to grapple with what, precisely, cinema is. Being supposedly sophisticated 21st century people, we all feel as though we know what cinema is, and don’t need to have the basics explained to us, but this is really just vanity and ignorance talking. Bottom line: You haven’t really, seriously thought about movies — what they are, and what they can and cannot do, and become — until you’ve read this book."< (Salon.com)


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One historical significance of the book is the topic of mob mentality. The people of the early twentieth century feared mob riots (we hold these fears as well). They feared that the mob would be greatly by movies as to act out against the civilized world, and take the violence portrayed on the screen into the streets.   Lindsay felt that crowds had the ability to become a wave of destructive force, and that movies could motivate that force.   Films let the emotional catalyst of the crowd. He posed the question:  Can the wave become sacred or is  it bound to hell furry?  Who will strike out when they get emotionally hypnotized by the scene portrayed on the screen.?

  A clip from Dracula by Bram Stoker gives credence to these questions:

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The Tale of the Night of the Long Knives by Fritz Leiber is a tale of men and women at the end of the world.  (The book was written in 1960 and published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories.)   The story takes place in a  world remade by Nuclear Holocaust.  
"I was one hundred miles from Nowhere—and I mean that literally—when I spotted this girl out of the corner of my eye. I'd been keeping an extra lookout because I still expected the other undead bugger left over from the murder party at Nowhere to be stalking me."
The main character, Ray Baker, is a self justified murder and survivalist in the anarchic land.   His weapon he relys on he has named "Mother." He walks in a land where only the strong will survive.   Baker's philosophy is that there is aesthetics in homicide."we talk, mostly to ourselves, about the aesthetics of homicide; we occasionally admit, but only each to himself alone, that we're just plain nuts." Fritz Leiber. The Night of the Long Knives (Kindle Locations 129-130).But then he finds a beautiful girl and the  urge for sex is driving him in new directions.
Leiber asks the reader to consider: "Is murder ever justified?" "Where is civility when the civilized institutions have been destroyed?" "Where is the higher level of self in a land gone to dandelion fluff?"






One can listen to this tale from Libri Vox (The Cast of the Production Are:)


Total running time: 3:20:23
Read by Phil Chenevert

In addition to the reader, this audio book was produced by:
Dedicated Proof-Listener: April Gonzales
Meta-Coordinator/Cataloging: Phil Chenevert

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Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1Ti 4:11-12)

Review of Four Day Planet by H. Beam Piper 3:14 of the Terro-Human Future History

The young man Walt, the only reporter on a treacherous planet tells the news on a dangerous planet.  He dreams of one day being honored with the ability to be able to hunt for monsters and the profitable wax that come from them.   He also yearns to be taken seriously by the leaders of his community, through his truthful telling of the news.   The story explores the dissemination of language; what language needs to be heard in order to maintain civilization in a cultural outpost.   The book fell flat half way through the telling.   I finished the book, just to finish it.  Four Day Planet is a shipwreck story with a wrecked narrative.  

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Omnilingual  part 2 of 13 of the Terro Human Future History by H. Beam Piper 

Scientists excavate the ruins on mars to find the key to the missing language for a martian civilization dated to be 50,000 years missing.   The story provides the reader a platform to see H. Beam Piper's questions reasoned out.  

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The Edge of the Knife part 1 of 13 of the Terro Human Future History

The Science Fiction Novella, the Edge of the Knife, written by H. Beam Piper, formulated truth is vital in a free society, especially when truth may create unrest.    Piper hid his important message in the passages of Science Fiction Publications;

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Three questions raised in Lost World Narratives are:

 

1.       Is the primitive more evolved than modern man? 

2.       Is there a place where the modern world is reshape-able, free from the cost of sin? 

3.       Can the main character reshape self free of past?

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Book Reviews The People That Time Forgot part Two of the Caspak Series: The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forgot, and Out of Time's Abyss

The present rubbed legs with the past, it set a strange milieu.  Edgar Rice Burroughs leads a tour of Caprona.  He leads us through strange lands amidst noble savages and sub-humans.   The book is a Caprona tour, but lacks action to be exciting.  It makes me wonder if he was forced to write this one.  

(I listened to this on libri vox read by  Ralph Snelson)

Caveat lector, the ideas of the early 20th century are not of our own, and may offend those with politically correct notions.  

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The Land That Time Forgot Part One of the Capak Series

The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun read, but not as good as the LOST WORLD by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.   The characters seemed flat and cartoonish.  It is difficult to feel heartedly for cartoons.   However, the overall story arch is classic adventure tale and can be a delightful journey.   Two movies are available on Netflix for your viewing.

Caveat Lector: the ideas of the early 20th century  are not of our own, and may offend those with politically correct notions.  Feminists may be offended by the seeming lack of respect paid towards women of this period. 


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