Re: More on ranks, SF, etc.
Walter Amos (amos@sedl.org)
Thu, 10 Jul 1997 09:23:12 -0500 (CDT)
On Thu, 10 Jul 1997, Chi Ming Hung wrote:
> On Jul 10, 8:42am, CSUE@delphi.com wrote:
> > Subject: More on ranks, SF, etc.
> > (Aplologies in advance: I can't "quote" from Delphi mail, the silly thing)
>
> Looks like that's not the only silly thing. Notice the many funny signs
> that pop up in seemingly random places? ^_^
Actually they're not random at all. You'll note they happen after typological
errors. Apparently whatever text composition method Sue uses for email, it is
not actually deleting the undesired characters but encoding the
backspace/delete. On many systems this is represented by the ctrl-h
character. Sue can you check your software settings?
> like in LoGH, what silly army will spend most of its time on the ground?
> I mean in order to reach a planet, you'll have to travel through the vast
> sea of space first won't you? Only after that can you fight on the ground.
> But that's exactly what the marines in the navy do! So strictly speaking,
> there shouldn't be any army in LoGH ^_^
Ah, I don't remember who first explained this (probably Sue) but actually
there should be armies in LoGH, at least on the Imperial side. This relates
to the explanation of why Imperial ships can land directly on the surface of
planets while the alliance uses those transport shuttles. For a long time I
assumed that this was just because the Empire had more money and could build
fancier ships that could do this. However the real explanation is that for
most of its history before the war with the Alliance, the purpose of the
Imperial fleet was to put down rebellions on local planets, which of course
took place on the surface. So the ships needed to be able to land on the
surface to deploy troops and vehicles. Said troops and vehicles would
comprise the army, neh?
> ships ferrying the Atreides to Caladan), the movie gives one the audio/visual
> mood that even the novel can't match. Overall, Dune is one of my all-time
> favorite movies, way up there with Blade Runner, 2001, Alien(s), Empire
> Strikes Back etc. So stop trashing the Dune movie OK! ^_^
>
I agree with your basic assessment - the Dune movie has a remarkable look in
visualizing Herbert's world. The sets and costumes were beautiful. My big
problem with the movie is this: it gives almost no sense of the diabolical
genius of the Baron. In the book the Baron is the personifcation of
calculated maevolence, with more plans to accomplish his ends than you can
keep track of. In the movie he's just a fat guy who floats around and laughs
a lot - you get the feel that without his aides he'd be a powerless buffoon.
This tremendously reduces the dramatic impact, IMHO. So I'd say the movie was
flawed, but not nearly as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.
And we're getting off the subject of LoGH here aren't we... ^_^
==============================================================================
"Zu jeder Zeit, an jeder (sic) Ort, bleibt das Tun | Walter Amos
der Menschen das gleiche..." - Galactic Heroes II | amos@sedl.org