Saturday, October 1, 2016
THE DUKE DE L'OMELETTE (1832)
This is a generally silly "devil's bargain" spoof. The titular Duke is bearded in his home by "Baal-Zebub" himself, who wants to claim his soul. The Duke challenges the Devil to a card-game, wins, and avoids his fate. Like many of Poe's other humorous stories of his early period, this one doesn't translate well for current audiences, as it practically trips over itself trying to sound erudite.
METZGERSTEIN (1832)
This early Poe story-- in some ways a precursor to the better known "The Black Cat"-- is subtitled "A Tale in Imitation of the German," and thus owes some of its elements to the then-current vogue for Germany's stories of horror and Gothicism.
The title is the name of one of two feuding Hungarian royal families. Frederick, the decadent young lord of the Metzgerstein family apparently sets fire to the stables of the rival family, killing many of the horses. To be sure, the reader does not see Frederick do the deed. But after it happens, a mysterious horse, claimed by neither family, shows up on Metzgerstein property. Frederick becomes obsessed with the horse, and commences to ride it. Eventually the horse carries his evil master into a blazing fire, killing him, and onlookers witness the sight of a horse-like apparition in the sky.
The apparition, being seen by people who have no particular reason to think of the horse as some avenging demon, puts the story into the domain of the marvelous.
The title is the name of one of two feuding Hungarian royal families. Frederick, the decadent young lord of the Metzgerstein family apparently sets fire to the stables of the rival family, killing many of the horses. To be sure, the reader does not see Frederick do the deed. But after it happens, a mysterious horse, claimed by neither family, shows up on Metzgerstein property. Frederick becomes obsessed with the horse, and commences to ride it. Eventually the horse carries his evil master into a blazing fire, killing him, and onlookers witness the sight of a horse-like apparition in the sky.
The apparition, being seen by people who have no particular reason to think of the horse as some avenging demon, puts the story into the domain of the marvelous.
THE POE PROJECT
As if I don't have enough ongoing projects, I'm now launching The Poe Project.
In all of the entries relating to this project, I will be analyzing the prose stories-- largely though not exclusively short stories-- of Edgar Allan Poe.
Wikipedia claims that Poe seems to be one of the first, if not the first, authors who sought to make writing into a career. One might see this as forming a meaningful contrast to the older tradition of the European Romantics, some of whom belonged to the upper classes and so didn't have to worry about money quite as much as Poe did;. Poe probably wished he had been born into wealth, but if he had been, he might have concentrated principally on verse, and he might never have written nearly as much prose fiction as he did, since that was his prime source of revenue during his life-time.
Poe also seems to depart from most of the earlier writers of horror, SF and fantasy in that he was consistently writing for a popular audience; for people who read magazines rather than privately printed books. Again, though the author may not have liked this situation, as a result of his pecuniary troubles Poe seems to be the first writer to truly mine the domain of the *metaphenomenal* (my term for all fantasy-constructs) as his main focus, at least in prose.
As I've expatiated on the Archetypal Archive for several years now, I break the phenomenality of stories down into three categories, as listed here. I will not be critiquing Poe's stories on any basis except as each of them falls into one of three phenomenal categories: the naturalistic, the uncanny, or the marvelous. It's my intention to break down how many of the prose stories fall into each domain, to get a better sense of what he did, and when. In this I'll be guided by the 1983 Running Press reprint tome, THE UNABRIDGED EDGAR ALLAN POE, which purports to print all of Poe's works in chronological order.
In all of the entries relating to this project, I will be analyzing the prose stories-- largely though not exclusively short stories-- of Edgar Allan Poe.
Wikipedia claims that Poe seems to be one of the first, if not the first, authors who sought to make writing into a career. One might see this as forming a meaningful contrast to the older tradition of the European Romantics, some of whom belonged to the upper classes and so didn't have to worry about money quite as much as Poe did;. Poe probably wished he had been born into wealth, but if he had been, he might have concentrated principally on verse, and he might never have written nearly as much prose fiction as he did, since that was his prime source of revenue during his life-time.
Poe also seems to depart from most of the earlier writers of horror, SF and fantasy in that he was consistently writing for a popular audience; for people who read magazines rather than privately printed books. Again, though the author may not have liked this situation, as a result of his pecuniary troubles Poe seems to be the first writer to truly mine the domain of the *metaphenomenal* (my term for all fantasy-constructs) as his main focus, at least in prose.
As I've expatiated on the Archetypal Archive for several years now, I break the phenomenality of stories down into three categories, as listed here. I will not be critiquing Poe's stories on any basis except as each of them falls into one of three phenomenal categories: the naturalistic, the uncanny, or the marvelous. It's my intention to break down how many of the prose stories fall into each domain, to get a better sense of what he did, and when. In this I'll be guided by the 1983 Running Press reprint tome, THE UNABRIDGED EDGAR ALLAN POE, which purports to print all of Poe's works in chronological order.
Friday, September 30, 2016
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE XI
Peripheral MEAT LOAF ADAY acted in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with--
-- Primary Tim Curry, who has voiced dozens of superhero-like characters in cartoons but also did well as the sorcerous villain "Darkness" in LEGEND.
___________________
Primary DAWN ADDAMS acted in THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE.
_____________
Peripheral ISABELLE ADJANI acted in NOSFERATU THE VAMPIRE with--
Primary KLAUS KINSKI, who acted in THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU.
-- Primary Tim Curry, who has voiced dozens of superhero-like characters in cartoons but also did well as the sorcerous villain "Darkness" in LEGEND.
___________________
Primary DAWN ADDAMS acted in THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE.
_____________
Peripheral ISABELLE ADJANI acted in NOSFERATU THE VAMPIRE with--
Primary KLAUS KINSKI, who acted in THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE X
Primary MAUD ADAMS acted as the titular OCTOPUSSY, among others.
______________
Primary NICK ADAMS acted in MONSTER ZERO, among others.
________________
Primary TOM ADAMS acted in AVENGERS episode "Take-Over."
______________
Primary NICK ADAMS acted in MONSTER ZERO, among others.
________________
Primary TOM ADAMS acted in AVENGERS episode "Take-Over."
Monday, September 26, 2016
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE IX
Primary EDIE ADAMS has just one role, in an episode of A MAN CALLED SLOANE.
_______________________
Primary JANE ADAMS (born 1918) is the one wearing the gag, from the serial LOST CITY OF THE JUNGLE.
______________
Primary JOEY LAUREN ADAMS voiced the character of CAT in the series STRIPPERELLA.
_____________________
Primary JULIE ADAMS acted in an episode of THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
_______________________
Primary JANE ADAMS (born 1918) is the one wearing the gag, from the serial LOST CITY OF THE JUNGLE.
Primary JOEY LAUREN ADAMS voiced the character of CAT in the series STRIPPERELLA.
_____________________
Primary JULIE ADAMS acted in an episode of THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
SUPERHEROES ARE DAMN-NEAR EVERYWHERE VIII
Primary JOSS ACKLAND acted in A KID IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT and others.
_________________
Primary DAVID ACKROYD voiced villain "Ezekiel Rage" in REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST, and others.
________________
Primary JAY ACOVONE played support-character "Joe Maxwell" in several episodes of the 1987 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST teleseries, among others.
_________________________
Primary ACQUANETTA scored as one of Tarzan's few memorable opponents in TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN.
__________________
Peripheral DEBORAH ADAIR acted in 1990's THE RIFT (aka ENDLESS DESCENT)--
-- with Primary JACK SCALIA, who acted in 1994's T-FORCE.
______________
Primary AMY ADAMS played Lois Lane in MAN OF STEEL.
________________
Primary BEVERLY ADAMS acted as "Lovey Kravezit" in three of the four "Matt Helm" flicks, starting with THE SILENCERS.
___________________
Peripheral BROOKE ADAMS acted in 1978's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS--
With Primary LEONARD NIMOY, known far-and-wide as Mr. Spock on STAR TREK:
________
Primary DON ADAMS essayed the main hero in 1965's GET SMART, a second teleseries by the same name, and two filmic follow-ups.
_________________
Primary DAVID ACKROYD voiced villain "Ezekiel Rage" in REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST, and others.
________________
Primary JAY ACOVONE played support-character "Joe Maxwell" in several episodes of the 1987 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST teleseries, among others.
_________________________
Primary ACQUANETTA scored as one of Tarzan's few memorable opponents in TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN.
__________________
Peripheral DEBORAH ADAIR acted in 1990's THE RIFT (aka ENDLESS DESCENT)--
-- with Primary JACK SCALIA, who acted in 1994's T-FORCE.
______________
Primary AMY ADAMS played Lois Lane in MAN OF STEEL.
________________
Primary BEVERLY ADAMS acted as "Lovey Kravezit" in three of the four "Matt Helm" flicks, starting with THE SILENCERS.
___________________
Peripheral BROOKE ADAMS acted in 1978's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS--
With Primary LEONARD NIMOY, known far-and-wide as Mr. Spock on STAR TREK:
________
Primary DON ADAMS essayed the main hero in 1965's GET SMART, a second teleseries by the same name, and two filmic follow-ups.
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