February Miscellany

[eldritchhobbit]

Happy February to all!

* My latest unabridged narration for StarShipSofa, which is of Jerry Oltion's beautiful short story "In the Moment," is now available to stream or download on the newest episode of the podcast. If you listen, I hope you enjoy. (A full list of links to my unabridged dramatic readings is here.)

* I'm very pleased to say that I'll presenting my talk "Why Kendra Dumbledore? Harry Potter in His Native American Context" at the PotterWatch 2013 Conference on Harry Potter. Just a reminder: the call for papers is still open if you're interested in taking part! I hope to see some of you there.


* On the recent "new TV" front, I have two reports:

1. Ripper Street: Brilliant! I'm so pleased to see a well-written and well-researched series based on the time period. I've been flailing and referring to my books in delight after each episode, in appreciation for the dedication and craftsmanship represented by this series. Well done indeed. Beautifully written, gorgeously acted. Two thumbs up!

2. The Following: Alas, I've already kicked this show to the curb. Why on earth would one base a series on Edgar Allan Poe and then not read Poe? If the producers asked an unpaid intern to read the back flap of a Edgar Allan Poe for Dummies, it certainly doesn't show. To quote Sherlock, do your homework. Sheesh. What an insult. And what a waste of significant acting talent.

Happy belated birthday to time_shark and alitalf, and happy early birthday to mayree, infostudent, akaihyo, vonjunzt, wiredwizard, and griffith_gwyn! May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day.


For the love of Trek, here's the Super Bowl trailer. I can't wait for this film (but I will).

Comments

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope you enjoy "Ripper Street" as much as I have!

YES, thank you for bringing up the "Romantic" issue! Great point. My guess is that someone on the writing staff was fumbling toward the term "Gothic" and never found it. Poe often was writing in the Gothic tradition (among others), as were some of the Romantics (including both Shelleys), but that doesn't make Poe a Romantic.

Your point about Poe's preoccupation with death being based on others' deaths, not his/his narrator's own, is exactly what they missed by a mile. Painfully. And repeatedly. And, you know, that doesn't take reading more than a Wikipedia article to set right. (God forbid they should actually consult with someone who knows anything about this...) I really, really felt for the cast, because given a good script, they could have make something of it. There's no shortage of talent there among the actors. *sigh*