Greetings!

And welcome to my newsletter for August, 2007. Please feel free to
forward this to anyone you think would be interested in keeping up
with me! To receive these newsletters regularly, please drop me an
email or subscribe online at:
http://groups.google.com/group/Mystical_Realms . Notices of new
paintings and events are at the bottom of this email.

Epiphanies =========

The grapevines are loaded, and the fruit on our fig tree is starting
to show signs of ripening. Despite the drought, Yavanna has been busy.

We were outdoors yesterday, weeding one of the garden beds and
planting new basil plants. That may seem late for some folks, but here
in Georgia we've plenty of time for the seedlings to grow lush and
fragrant before the chill of autumn arrives; we're just now moving
into the season of riches.

Before planting the basil, we took nets off of our blueberry bushes
and moved them to the muscadines, winding them around the vine
trellises so that (we hope!) most of the fruit will be protected from
the birds and the squirrels. Dark leaves hid pale berries that will
bronze and plump over the next few weeks.

And then it will be time for the svinatura, the starting of this
year's wine.

I've been a winemaker I was a child in north Georgia. I first made
wine with the leftover syrup from canned cling peaches saved from the
elementary school where my stepfather worked. The transformation of
this liquid from something sweet to something exotic always fascinated
me, and spoke to me of the hidden workings of the universe.

Although I understood that wine was produced by yeast working on sugar
and producing alcohol and carbon dioxide, the mechanics of the process
never quite captured what was really happening. The logic seemed
circular, somehow, like the planet on which we live; if you tried to
reduce the event enough, you'd end up back where you started, back at
original definitions.

What _is_ yeast, anyway? What is sugar? Where do they come from? How
are _they_ made? You can follow this back as far as you like, and
inevitably, you end up where you started.

G. K. Chesterton helps us out of the dilemma, by reminding us that the
only proper way to look at the hard, concrete realities of life is to
view them as a fairy tale. To paraphrase him, one might say that wine
is produced through the Deep Magic of the universe. The grapes ripen
because the warm breath of Yavanna has enchanted them and made them
rich and sweet. The figs droop and form a drop of honey at their base,
reflecting the light of the evening sun. Why? Because, as living
things, they are giving praise to Eru Illuvatar, and are reflecting
His glory and majesty.

We will gather up the figs and the muscadines, will crush them, and
will set them in crocks to await the Magic. The sweet juices will be
transfigured into a draught that will cheer us and recall to us these
summer days, even when the bitter winds howl.

As a result of these mysteries, we'll huddle near crackling fires in
the dark months, sipping liquid sunshine. And that same elixir will
remind us of tales of long ago, tales that will, in turn, remind us
that the story we are living now is just as mysterious, just as noble
and just as full of grand feats and daring choices, as any we can
recall from ancient times.

And what is our role in this grand tale? Perhaps simply to be
thankful, to share good things and good times with those around us,
and to trust that, unlike our little planet, the realities of life are
not some circular construct. Rather, the mystery stretches up to the
heavens and out into the deepest cosmos, with each of our lives at its
center. And our task and our glory is simply to bear up this emblem of
mystery, giving praise to the One at all times, now and always, and
forever and ever.

    Nai Eru laitalyë (may God bless you),

                     Jef


Events =========

-I have uploaded five new images to my website at
http://www.JefMurray.com , and am in the process of changing the
layout for each of my galleries. The newest images are at the top of
each gallery page, without prices or additional info. You will need to
click on the thumbnails to bring up detailed descriptions, status of
original paintings, print availability, etc. The latest images include
the following:

    Shire Dreams -
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraystudios/tolkien/375_Shire_dre\
ams.html

    Haydee –
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraystudios/tales/376_Haydee.html

    The Garden –
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraystudios/tales/372_The_garden.\
html

    The Baptism of the Lord –
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraystudios/sacred/373_Baptism_of\
_the_lord.html

    Our Lady of Fatima –
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraystudios/sacred/371_Our_lady_o\
f_fatima.html


- In addition to new works at JefMurray.com, I've also uploaded two
new paintings to my http://www.JefMurrayWildlife.com website. These
include:

    Zebra Lionfish –
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraywildlife/water_gallery.html

    Peacock –
http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~jmurra2/jefmurraywildlife/air_gallery.html

Do let me know what you think of all of these works!


- The July/August issue of Amon Hen, the bimonthly newsletter of the
Tolkien Society, features a cover that I was honored to have been
asked to design. The cover commemorates the 70th anniversary of the
publication of The Hobbit.

- The White Tree Fund (see http://www.whitetreefund.org/ ) is now
accepting memberships and is in the process of finalizing details for
publication of "Silver Leaves", their new journal. I was honored to
have been asked to contribute several painting images and sketches for
their use in this inaugural issue of "Silver Leaves". Included in
these was the cover image, which made us of my painting of Amon Hen.

- The July/August issue of the St. Austin Review (StAR)
http://www.staustinreview.com/ ) is out at any moment. It features a
number of excellent articles on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, plus my latest
"Fenestrae Coeli" article on the paintings of Jason Jenicke. Jenicke's
work is marvelous, and it can be seen online at
http://www.jasonjenicke.com/.

_Fantasy Fiction into Film_, edited by Leslie Stratyner and James R.
Keller, is now available from McFarland Press.  It includes four essays
on the Peter Jackson _Lord of the Rings_ (including my own "Three Rings
for Hollywood" on earlier film scripts), two on the first Narnia film,
and two on _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. The remaining essays
deal with _Mary Poppins_, _Howl's Moving Castle_, _The Polar Express_,
various incarnations of _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_, _Peter Pan_, and
_Practical Magic_.



Janet Brennan Croft

Associate Professor
Head of Access Services
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Bizzell 104NW
Norman OK 73019
405-325-1918
Fax 405-325-7618
jbcroft@...
http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/
http://libraries.ou.edu/
Editor of Mythlore http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html

Editor of Oklahoma Librarian
http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the rising ape
meets the falling angel." -Terry Pratchett





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Janet:  Congratulations--I hadn't realized you had an essay in this
project as well.

I have one too--based in part on the presentation I did last year at Norman
(there, I covered the second film; the essay covers all three) on comparing
the grammar of Tolkien's nature writing with the cinematography of Jackson's
film in equivalent scenes!

I had a great Mythcon 38 and now fear I am hooked!

Robin




-----Original Message-----
From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Croft, Janet B.
Sent: Mon 8/6/2007 4:07 PM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [mythsoc] If you're interested in fantasy films...

_Fantasy Fiction into Film_, edited by Leslie Stratyner and James R.
Keller, is now available from McFarland Press.  It includes four essays
on the Peter Jackson _Lord of the Rings_ (including my own "Three Rings
for Hollywood" on earlier film scripts), two on the first Narnia film,
and two on _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. The remaining essays
deal with _Mary Poppins_, _Howl's Moving Castle_, _The Polar Express_,
various incarnations of _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_, _Peter Pan_, and
_Practical Magic_.



Janet Brennan Croft

Associate Professor
Head of Access Services
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Bizzell 104NW
Norman OK 73019
405-325-1918
Fax 405-325-7618
jbcroft@...
http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/
http://libraries.ou.edu/
Editor of Mythlore http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html

Editor of Oklahoma Librarian
http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the rising ape
meets the falling angel." -Terry Pratchett





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Robin <waves>!  And I didn't realize you were on this list or I would
have mentioned it. I'm looking forward to reading your paper. Especially
since I didn't get to go to any papers at the Norman Mythcon!



Janet

________________________________

From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mythsoc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Robin Reid
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 5:34 PM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mythsoc] If you're interested in fantasy films...



Hi Janet: Congratulations--I hadn't realized you had an essay in this
project as well.

I have one too--based in part on the presentation I did last year at
Norman
(there, I covered the second film; the essay covers all three) on
comparing
the grammar of Tolkien's nature writing with the cinematography of
Jackson's
film in equivalent scenes!

I had a great Mythcon 38 and now fear I am hooked!

Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com>  on
behalf of Croft, Janet B.
Sent: Mon 8/6/2007 4:07 PM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [mythsoc] If you're interested in fantasy films...

_Fantasy Fiction into Film_, edited by Leslie Stratyner and James R.
Keller, is now available from McFarland Press. It includes four essays
on the Peter Jackson _Lord of the Rings_ (including my own "Three Rings
for Hollywood" on earlier film scripts), two on the first Narnia film,
and two on _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. The remaining essays
deal with _Mary Poppins_, _Howl's Moving Castle_, _The Polar Express_,
various incarnations of _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_, _Peter Pan_, and
_Practical Magic_.

Janet Brennan Croft

Associate Professor
Head of Access Services
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Bizzell 104NW
Norman OK 73019
405-325-1918
Fax 405-325-7618
jbcroft@... <mailto:jbcroft%40ou.edu>
http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/
<http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/>
http://libraries.ou.edu/ <http://libraries.ou.edu/>
Editor of Mythlore http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html
<http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html>

Editor of Oklahoma Librarian
http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html
<http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html>

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the rising ape
meets the falling angel." -Terry Pratchett

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am pleased to announce that the Council of Stewards approved the bid for 2008
Mythopoeic
Conference (Mythcon 39) to be held at Central Connecticut State University in
New Britain,
Connecticut (near Hartford).  This is our first Mythcon in the Northeast.

The dates are August 15-18, 2008 and the theme is The Valkyrie and the Goddess:
The
Warrior Woman in Fantasy.

The Guests of Honor will be announced as soon as they are confirmed, so keep
checking the
mythsoc.org website to see what's new.

Membership is currently $50 for Mythopoeic Society members and $60 for
non-members; do
come join us next summer!

   -- Lynn Maudlin, Steward for Mythopoeic Conferences --

At the Recommendation of the attendees of Mythcon 38, we are creating a
Live Journal community to help with communication. Website
http://community.livejournal.com/myth_soc  Yes, you will need to Join
Live Journal in order to join this community.
This is a place to discuss fantasy, especially the works of JRR Tolkien,
CS Lewis, and Charles Williams. It is also a place to talk about he
Mythopoeic Society and to post Society News.
Like all our online presences, you do not need to be a member of the
Mythopoeic Society to join, though you are encouraged to do so.
Membership information can be found at the Mythopoeic Society Website.
Membership to this community is moderated. And Posting is limited to
Members only. This is to keep the spammers off.
If you wish to join. please e-mail me at mythsoc at sbcglobal.net with
your live journal user's name and I will add you on.
Thanks.
Lisa
PS Joan could you post this in Announcements. Thanks

Greetings and THANK YOU to Lynn, Ellie and the Council for accepting
and asking me to Chair MC 39, currently I am working on the travel
directions from various points of origin as requested by many fine
hobbits at MC 38, and will have that information and numerous lil
tidbits  regarding MC 39 that we discussed to post on the mythsoc.org
site at the members meeting. For those interested in CCSU please visit
http://www.ccsu.edu

Thanks to all and great seeing everyone again

Anthony Burdge


--- In mythsoc@yahoogroups.com, "Lynn Maudlin" <lynnmaudlin@...> wrote:
>
> I am pleased to announce that the Council of Stewards approved the
bid for 2008 Mythopoeic
> Conference (Mythcon 39) to be held at Central Connecticut State
University in New Britain,
> Connecticut (near Hartford).  This is our first Mythcon in the
Northeast.
>
> The dates are August 15-18, 2008 and the theme is The Valkyrie and
the Goddess: The
> Warrior Woman in Fantasy.
>
> The Guests of Honor will be announced as soon as they are confirmed,
so keep checking the
> mythsoc.org website to see what's new.
>
> Membership is currently $50 for Mythopoeic Society members and $60
for non-members; do
> come join us next summer!
>
>   -- Lynn Maudlin, Steward for Mythopoeic Conferences --
>

*waves back* I only joined a few months ago and have been mostly lurking
because of being too darned busy.  You guys are getting me hooked on
Mythcon.  It was fantastic this year at Berkeley!

R

   _____

From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Croft, Janet B.
Sent: Tue 8/7/2007 8:02 AM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [mythsoc] If you're interested in fantasy films...



Hi Robin <waves>! And I didn't realize you were on this list or I would
have mentioned it. I'm looking forward to reading your paper. Especially
since I didn't get to go to any papers at the Norman Mythcon!

Janet

________________________________

From: mythsoc@yahoogroups <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> .com
[mailto:mythsoc@yahoogroups <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> .com] On
Behalf
Of Robin Reid
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 5:34 PM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> .com
Subject: RE: [mythsoc] If you're interested in fantasy films...

Hi Janet: Congratulations--I hadn't realized you had an essay in this
project as well.

I have one too--based in part on the presentation I did last year at
Norman
(there, I covered the second film; the essay covers all three) on
comparing
the grammar of Tolkien's nature writing with the cinematography of
Jackson's
film in equivalent scenes!

I had a great Mythcon 38 and now fear I am hooked!

Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: mythsoc@yahoogroups <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> .com
<mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> on
behalf of Croft, Janet B.
Sent: Mon 8/6/2007 4:07 PM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> .com
<mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [mythsoc] If you're interested in fantasy films...

_Fantasy Fiction into Film_, edited by Leslie Stratyner and James R.
Keller, is now available from McFarland Press. It includes four essays
on the Peter Jackson _Lord of the Rings_ (including my own "Three Rings
for Hollywood" on earlier film scripts), two on the first Narnia film,
and two on _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. The remaining essays
deal with _Mary Poppins_, _Howl's Moving Castle_, _The Polar Express_,
various incarnations of _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_, _Peter Pan_, and
_Practical Magic_.

Janet Brennan Croft

Associate Professor
Head of Access Services
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Bizzell 104NW
Norman OK 73019
405-325-1918
Fax 405-325-7618
jbcroft@... <mailto:jbcroft%40ou.edu>  <mailto:jbcroft%40ou.edu>
http://faculty- <http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/>
staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/
<http://faculty- <http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/>
staff.ou.edu/C/Janet.B.Croft-1/>
http://libraries. <http://libraries.ou.edu/> ou.edu/ <http://libraries.
<http://libraries.ou.edu/> ou.edu/>
Editor of Mythlore http://www.mythsoc.
<http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html> org/mythlore.html
<http://www.mythsoc. <http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html>
org/mythlore.html>

Editor of Oklahoma Librarian
http://www.oklibs. <http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html>
org/oklibrarian/current/index.html
<http://www.oklibs. <http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html>
org/oklibrarian/current/index.html>

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the rising ape
meets the falling angel." -Terry Pratchett

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I found this on this month's Midwest Book Review (which allows its reviews to
be used as long as Midwest Book Review is named as the source):

The Frodo Franchise
Kristin Thompson
University of California Press
2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704-1012
9780520247741, $29.95 www.ucpress.edu 1-510-642-9737

DVDs can be stamped out in seconds, while VHS tapes are slower
to produce because they have to be recorded in real time. Time is
money, and so the movie industry's movers and shakers acted
decisively to all but eliminate the VHS format - by charging video
rental stores exorbitantly high fees for the rights to offer VHS
rentals and much lower fees for the rights to offer DVD rentals.
Author Kristin Thompson (Honorary Fellow in the Department of
Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison) traces
how this and numerous other profit-driven directives have
permanently changed the modern film industry in The Frodo
Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. Central
to The Frodo Franchise is the story of Peter Jackson's celebrated
three-film adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings", and the lasting
impact it has had on cinematic and entertainment culture. "The
Lord of the Rings" was utterly groundbreaking in that it was, from
Jackson's initial vision, a commitment to three full-length movies
to be released over a short period. Yet the success of the film itself
is virtually eclipsed by the immense profits of the franchise label -
toys, video games, movie-related books, collectibles, and countless
other Lord of the Rings licensed merchandise. The Frodo Franchise
examines this franchise phenomenon and its repercussions on
modern cinema (where the real money to be made lies in a film that
will spawn profitable sequels and merchandise, rather than
one-shot stories), with especial attention paid to the construction of
"The Lord of the Rings" trailblazer trilogy. Accessible to lay
readers and cinema scholars alike, and illustrated with numerous
black-and-white photographs as well as an inset section of color
plates, The Frodo Franchise is an utterly fascinating, completely
unbiased behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Jackson's "The
Lord of the Rings" movies and their effect on both the body of
Tolkien's famous mythology and cinema as a whole. Highly
recommended.

Thank you,  Lynn and thanks to the Council of Stewards for deciding to come back
east next year. Also - What a great theme!!!

I had to pass on this year's conference (work - related travel), but I am eager
to see news about this year's events and the plans for next year.

- Lucille Lattanzi

(an eastern Long Island hobbit)
llattan@...

If you live within reasonably close driving distance of next year's  Mythcon,
please consider getting hold of the organizers and volunteering to be  on the
organizing committee.

Wendell Wagner



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey there all, thank you Lucille and Wendell for your wonderful
thoughts, currently on the ccsu.edu site they have all the travelling
info to Bradley International Airport, and I have created a doc with
all this pertinent info that will be posted as we roll along....again
it was wonderful seeing you all again and am eager to see everyone soon!

Best,
Anthony


--- In mythsoc@yahoogroups.com, WendellWag@... wrote:
>
> If you live within reasonably close driving distance of next year's
  Mythcon,
> please consider getting hold of the organizers and volunteering to
be  on the
> organizing committee.
>
> Wendell Wagner
>
>
>
> ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the
all-new AOL at
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

I too am very excited that you will be back east. I  am also excited that
the gathering will be a little later in August since I am usually teaching
an art day camp in late July and early August and have to stay close to
home. The later date will give me some traveling time.

Although my first and only Mythcon was in Nashville a few years ago
(courtesy of Stolzi, friend from another list) I loved every moment and will
start saving and planning for the one in 2008.

Linda DeMars

On 8/8/07, L Lattanzi <llattan@...> wrote:
>
>   Thank you, Lynn and thanks to the Council of Stewards for deciding to
> come back east next year. Also - What a great theme!!!
>
> I had to pass on this year's conference (work - related travel), but I am
> eager to see news about this year's events and the plans for next year.
>
> - Lucille Lattanzi
>
> (an eastern Long Island hobbit)
> llattan@... <llattan%40earthlink.net>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is slightly off-topic, but I figure that in any group of people who
read a lot there must be a few people who collect books.

On page 114 of _Guinness World Records 2008_, the claim is made that the
largest collection of books autographed by their authors owned by anyone (I
assume they mean in a private collection, not a library collection or  a book
dealer's stock) is 722.  I have good reasons to think  this number is absurdly
low.  Can anyone here point me to some source  (a website or a person or an
association or whatever) concerned  with large private collections of
autographed
books?  Or does anyone  know someone who has much more autographed books than
that?  Before I write  the Guinness people to dispute this record, I'd like to
have some idea how far  off this number is.  I've tried Googling on
"autographed books" or "signed  books" and found nothing except links to book
dealers
who sell autographed  books.

Wendell Wagner



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

OK, those of you who attended Mythcon 38, how about some con reports for those
of us who missed it?  Don't be shy -- go into detail.

And who won the Mythopoeic Awards this year?

emerdavid

________________________________________
PeoplePC Online
A better way to Internet
http://www.peoplepc.com

The Mythopoeic Award winners this year are

Patricia A. McKillip, Solstice Wood (Ace Books)  Adult Fantasy

Catherine Fisher, Corbenic (Greenwillow)  Children's Fantasy

Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
(Houghton Mifflin, 2006)  Scholarship in Inklings

G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., Gemstone of Paradise: The Holy Grail in Wolfram’s
Parzival (Oxford University Press, 2006)  Scholarship in Myth and Fantasy

Ron Murphy was in attendance and gave us a wonderful presentation on Wolfram's
critique of the Crusades in Parzival, complete with a miniature altar such as
the ones used by the priests in the Holy Land.  The other recipients sent their
thanks to the committee and to the Mythopoeic Society for sponsoring myth and
fantasy literature and scholarship.

I'll let some of the others go into detail on the weekend, but we had several
wonderful talks and readings with our two Guests of Honor, Ellen Kushner and
Delia Sherman.  It was a very successful Mythcon, and kudos to the whole
Berkeley team and to the presenters/artists for a job well done.

David Oberhelman




-----Original Message-----
From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com on behalf of David Emerson
Sent: Thu 8/9/2007 5:04 PM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [mythsoc] Mythcon 38 reports?

OK, those of you who attended Mythcon 38, how about some con reports for those
of us who missed it?  Don't be shy -- go into detail.

And who won the Mythopoeic Awards this year?

emerdavid

________________________________________
PeoplePC Online
A better way to Internet
http://www.peoplepc.com



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

There's links to some published Mythcon reports at
http://myth_soc.livejournal.com.

Maybe we'll regroup and have more later.  Right now I think everyone's a
little stunned.  I had a glorious time, and that was with having to miss
most of the actual con!  (I think I got to about 1.5 papers and 2.1 panels,
and that includes the panel I was on.)


At 05:04 PM 8/9/2007 -0500, David Emerson wrote:

>OK, those of you who attended Mythcon 38, how about some con reports for
>those of us who missed it? Don't be shy -- go into detail.

I'm sure there will be more later - it was great fun indeed and Ellen
& Delia were delightful guests. You would have howled at Foster and
*moi*, joined by the lovely and talented Anne (Osborn) Coopersmith and
Ellen Denham, as we presented the U.S. premiere of "Lord of the
Ringos, Part Deux" - some of the same songs Mike & Ted & bro did in
Toronto last year, plus some new ones.

And the Not Ready For Mythcon Players were *spectacularly* Not Ready.

And, due to Ellen Kushner's strong love of music and wonderful skills
as a performer, there was a lot of music incorporated in the
programming, and I know how you would have enjoyed that--

You must come to Connecticut next year, okay?!

blessings,
   -- Lynn --

--- In mythsoc@yahoogroups.com, David Bratman <dbratman@...> wrote:
>
> There's links to some published Mythcon reports at
> http://myth_soc.livejournal.com.
>
> Maybe we'll regroup and have more later.  Right now I think everyone's a
> little stunned.  I had a glorious time, and that was with having to miss
> most of the actual con!  (I think I got to about 1.5 papers and 2.1
panels,
> and that includes the panel I was on.)
>
>
> At 05:04 PM 8/9/2007 -0500, David Emerson wrote:
>
> >OK, those of you who attended Mythcon 38, how about some con
reports for
> >those of us who missed it? Don't be shy -- go into detail.
>

I'm glad that a Northeast Mythcon is so appealing--

A little taste to whet your appetite:

Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New
Britain, Connecticut, 06050. The campus is 24.5 miles from Bradley
International Airport, according to Google Maps.

http://www.ccsu.edu/virtualtour/virtualtourhome.html
http://www.ccsu.edu/Things_ToDo.htm

Down toward the bottom of the rather extensive "things to do" page
there are links for transportation; it's too early to book travel
(shoot, you can only book Amtrak 11 months in advance! who knew?!) but
it's NEVER too early to start your Mythcon savings account!


I'm sure Anthony and Jessica will post on this list when they start
having meetings and I do indeed encourage local (even not-so-local)
people to get involved - conferences are much more fun when we're
really invested in the process.

   -- Lynn --

>You must come to Connecticut next year, okay?!

Already put in my request for vacation time, and I'm saving my pennies!

emerdavid

________________________________________
PeoplePC Online
A better way to Internet
http://www.peoplepc.com

Many congratulations to all the winners.
    --John R.


On Aug 9, 2007, at 8:27 PM, Oberhelman, D wrote:
> The Mythopoeic Award winners this year are
>
> Patricia A. McKillip, Solstice Wood (Ace Books)  Adult Fantasy
>
> Catherine Fisher, Corbenic (Greenwillow)  Children's Fantasy
>
> Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion
> and Guide (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)  Scholarship in Inklings
>
> G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., Gemstone of Paradise: The Holy Grail in
> Wolfram’s Parzival (Oxford University Press, 2006)  Scholarship in
> Myth and Fantasy
>
> Ron Murphy was in attendance and gave us a wonderful presentation
> on Wolfram's critique of the Crusades in Parzival, complete with a
> miniature altar such as the ones used by the priests in the Holy
> Land.  The other recipients sent their thanks to the committee and
> to the Mythopoeic Society for sponsoring myth and fantasy
> literature and scholarship.

I reported on Mythcon in my livejournal,
http://ellen-denham.livejournal.com, though it's more just gushing about
how much fun I had than a real report on the events of the weekend.

Ellen Denham

David Emerson wrote:
>
> >You must come to Connecticut next year, okay?!
>
> Already put in my request for vacation time, and I'm saving my pennies!
>
> emerdavid
>
> ________________________________________
> PeoplePC Online
> A better way to Internet
> http://www.peoplepc.com <http://www.peoplepc.com>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi folks,

I've was waiting for the Mythcon to introduce myself to this group,
but unfortunately I was felled by a wicked sore throat on Friday
evening and it kept me away the rest of the conference. I was sorely
disappointed, as you can imagine, and now I'm even more so, reading
the reports.

I am better at last  and I'm working on a project that some of you
may be able to help me with.

I'm looking for kids who love to draw fantasy scenes and figures (no,
not adults - only kids, 16 or so and under) to draw a few specific
images for possible inclusion in a map I'm making of Mythaca <http://
journeytomythaca.com>. The map will be printed on the inside covers
of the next edition and the artists acknowledged. The book began as a
collaborative with the 6th/7th/ and 8th graders in my class a few
years ago. The map project continues that work.

This week is the real push to get it done, because next week almost
all our kids and grandchildren will be here.

I have plenty of children's work, but too many of the same images, so
now I'm only looking for specific drawings. I thought, of all groups,
the members of this one would surely have kids or know kids who like
fantasy and are looking for drawing projects.

I've listed the images below. The last day for me to receive pictures
is August 14.

I've begun and will continue to posting current drafts of the map and
commentary about the process on my blog at  <http://
evesjourneytomythaca.blogspot.com>.

warm regards,
Eve Neuhaus

Journey to Mythaca can be viewed on Google Books <http://
books.google.com/books?id=hv0p5qlJ-TUC&dq=isbn:1595941010 > or
downloaded at <http://journeytomythaca.com> . Or better yet, buy a
print copy.

For more details, go to <http://journeytomythaca.com> or <http://
evesjourneytomythaca.blogspot.com>

Missing Mythaca Images

• Ivan on Magellan's back - a child's version of the cover image
would work

• Marianna and the dog under the Great Tree - look at Josephine's
drawing

• Paracelsus flying - a version of Josephine's drawing on the title page

• Icaria holding a set of wings

• Maya

• the hedge (look at the hedge hat on the last page of the book)

• any of the creatures that come out of the hedge

• any picture from the market scenes

• the Mearfaln

• the Birdwoman

• tatbirds


Send small but high resolution scanned images to
<eveneuhaus@...>


or mail black and white drawings to:

Eve Neuhaus
2031 McCollum St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405








[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I heard your name used *not* in vain by Diana Glyer at Mythcon this
weekend... wish you'd been there with us - any chance for next year?

   -- Lynn --

--- In mythsoc@yahoogroups.com, John D Rateliff <sacnoth@...> wrote:
>
> Many congratulations to all the winners.
>    --John R.
>
>
> On Aug 9, 2007, at 8:27 PM, Oberhelman, D wrote:
> > The Mythopoeic Award winners this year are
> >
> > Patricia A. McKillip, Solstice Wood (Ace Books)  Adult Fantasy
> >
> > Catherine Fisher, Corbenic (Greenwillow)  Children's Fantasy
> >
> > Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion
> > and Guide (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)  Scholarship in Inklings
> >
> > G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., Gemstone of Paradise: The Holy Grail in
> > Wolfram's Parzival (Oxford University Press, 2006)  Scholarship in
> > Myth and Fantasy
> >
> > Ron Murphy was in attendance and gave us a wonderful presentation
> > on Wolfram's critique of the Crusades in Parzival, complete with a
> > miniature altar such as the ones used by the priests in the Holy
> > Land.  The other recipients sent their thanks to the committee and
> > to the Mythopoeic Society for sponsoring myth and fantasy
> > literature and scholarship.
>

2007 Mythopoeic Award Winners

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

Patricia A. McKillip, Solstice Wood (Ace Books)

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

Catherine Fisher, Corbenic (Greenwillow)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and
Guide
(Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies

G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., Gemstone of Paradise: The Holy Grail in
Wolfram’s Parzival
(Oxford University Press, 2006)

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the
fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for
adults published during 2006 that best exemplifies “the spirit of the
Inklings”. Books are eligible for two years after publication if not
selected as a finalist during the first year of eligibility. Books from
a series are eligible if they stand on their own; otherwise, the series
becomes eligible the year its final volume appears. The Mythopoeic
Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature honors books for younger
readers (from “Young Adults” to picture books for beginning readers),
in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for
eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult Literature award.
The question of which award a borderline book is best suited for will
be decided by consensus of the committees.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given to books
on Tolkien, Lewis, and/or Williams that make significant contributions
to Inklings scholarship. For this award, books first published during
the last three years (2004–2006) are eligible, including finalists for
previous years. The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy
Studies is given to scholarly books on other specific authors in the
Inklings tradition, or to more general works on the genres of myth and
fantasy. The period of eligibility is three years, as for the Inklings
Studies award.

The winners of this year’s awards were announced at Mythcon XXXVIII in
Berkeley, California, on August 5, 2007. A complete list of Mythopoeic
Award winners is available on the Society web site:

www.mythsoc.org/awards.html

The finalists for the literature awards, text of recent acceptance
speeches, and selected book reviews are also
listed in this on-line section. For more information about the
Mythopoeic Awards, please contact the Awards Administrator: Eleanor M.
Farrell, P.O. Box 320486, San Francisco, CA 94132-0486,
awards@....

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Since David Emerson asked for one, here it is:

                                                   Mythcon Merriment

Mythcon 38 was held in beautiful downtown Burb-- er, uh -- Berkeley.  (And if
you're old
enough to get that joke, you are the age of the average Mythcon attendee.) 
Guests of honor
were the lovely and talented Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman, but you knew that.

After the giddiness that is the check-in, many Mythcon attendees crowded into
room 102 more
than half an hour early for the first book discussion: _Harry Potter and the
Deathly
Hallows_.  This was a no-holds barred, don't worry about spoilers, discussion to
get it all
out of your system right away.  And so we did.

At the dinner, we discovered what would be the main annoyance of the conference.
Since
Clark Kerr Conference Center can't boast the poor cuisine and weak coffee which
has
characterized so many other Mythcons (I still shudder at the thought of the
coffee at some
of them), it had to improvise its own handicap.  In true hippie tree-hugging
fashion,
Berkeley stepped up to the challenge.  Every table was ornamented with a Baby
Ent, an
Entling potted plant which was cleverly devised to have a large ball of foliage
set
precisely at head height, guaranteeing to block your view of others at your
table.  It was
amusing seeing how various tables dealt with this.  No fan of Tolkien would
unceremoniously
dump it off the table, but most moved it, either from place to place on a
not-quite full
table, or off to the side table with the drinks, where it would sit forlornly as
if wanting
its mama.  But I digress.  And anthropomorphize.

(Hey, speaking of digressions, the Crickhollow Mythies from Reno had great
T-shirts.  The
front said something like, "If I can't digress, I quit."  On the back it said,
"Crickhollow: a little eating group with a reading problem."  That is certainly
Khazad-dum's unwritten motto as well.)

The Procession and opening ceremonies were moved to Friday night as the GOH had
made it
clear that they were soooo not morning people.  This was fine by me.  I wore the
costume
I'd made in 1988, the last Mythcon chaired by the hubby.  As this costume
consists of about
10 pounds of fake velour (yes, fake fake velvet) with an attached cape and the
only lace I ever
tatted (or will -- I gave up tatting as too hand-cramping), I was happy to find
I would wear it in the
cool of  the evening.  Who knew that as the weekend progressed, the cool of the
evening would
extend into the afternoons as well?

The opening ceremonies featured a dramatic reading from _The Fall of the Kings_.
Ms.
Sherman narrated, Sherwood Smith read the crusty old lecturer, Chris Gilson was
one of the
young students, I think I'm forgetting someone else (Arden Smith probably), and,
in the sort of
typecasting which he revels in, David Bratman read the pedantic old fogie.  (I
type that with
love, dear.)

Papers, panels, and readings made up the rest of my Mythcon.  Others have
written of the
broad humor that was Lord of the Ringos, the Beatles' Tolkien movie.  I found it
very
funny, even though I didn't know half the songs sung by our quartet, Mike Foster
and Lynn Maudlin
on guitar with Anne Osborn (insert last name here) and Ellen Denham as back-up,
adding the
perfect touches.

I did not go in for my usual stint with Golfimbul because I was still recovering
from a
fall and thought that exerting myself would be a really bad idea.  It seemed to
be well
attended, and in closing ceremonies it was revealed that many newbies had
distinguished
themselves upon the field of valor.  (Two of Diana Glyer's students came up with
her and at
least one won a Golfimbul award.  Not bad -- they study, babysit, and are
athletic.)  Kudos
to Bonnie Callahan for providing a new orc's head since Master Hunnewell
maintains the
original in his Midwestern home as if it were his Precious.

The MFA/MSA announcement has been made so I won't repeat that.  I was charmed to
meet Susan
Palwick, whom I've long admired, and was sorry her _The Necessary Beggar_ didn't
win.  (She
has a blog, fans -- http://improbableoptimisms.blogspot.com/  a.k.a."rickety
contrivances of doing good."
She writes about her work as a volunteer hospital chaplain in addition to
writing,
teaching, and, of course, cats.)  I admit I really loved McKillip's _Solstice
Wood_ and
wanted to run away and join the fiber guild in the book, but she has enough
lions by now
that they must constitute a fairly large pride.  G. Ronald Murphy was genuinely
touched to
receive his second lion, and I really enjoyed his presentation the next morning
on "The
Holy Grail in Wolfram's _Parzival_."

I'm very excited about next year's Mythcon in Connecticut -- hey, maybe we can
be
Connecticut Mythies in King Arthur's Court.  I'm sure Jessica will come up with
a fabulous
T-shirt since her Drunken Hobbit verse was about not having a new T-shirt this
year.  Oh,
hon, it's so hard to top that one from 1995!  (But hey, no pressure or anything
-- grin!)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>Since David Emerson asked for one, here it is:


And I thank you very kindly for it.

Yes, yes, yes, I know there are reports on LiveJournal, but I seem to have
become an old fogy who finds LJ terribly confusing and inconvenient (why are
there all those links?  why doesn't anybody just say who they are?  who are all
these people who have time to write all this stuff?).  Okay, so I joined LJ just
to join the Mythsoc "community" but I doubt I will ever have any kind of online
presence there.  Some days I think I'm doing pretty good just to answer my
email.  :-)

You'd never guess that I work with computers for a living.

emerdavid

________________________________________
PeoplePC Online
A better way to Internet
http://www.peoplepc.com

I agree (about live journal). I would just express the hope that if a
contributor to LJ offers there an opinion or perspective or
information--anything of substance, originality, and (obviously) of
mythsoc interest--that he or she post this also to the regular
discussion group.  Thanks.
Sara Ciborski


David Emerson wrote:
>> Since David Emerson asked for one, here it is:
>>
>
>
> And I thank you very kindly for it.
>
> Yes, yes, yes, I know there are reports on LiveJournal, but I seem to have
become an old fogy who finds LJ terribly confusing and inconvenient (why are
there all those links?  why doesn't anybody just say who they are?  who are all
these people who have time to write all this stuff?).  Okay, so I joined LJ just
to join the Mythsoc "community" but I doubt I will ever have any kind of online
presence there.  Some days I think I'm doing pretty good just to answer my
email.  :-)
>
> You'd never guess that I work with computers for a living.
>
> emerdavid
>
> ________________________________________
> PeoplePC Online
> A better way to Internet
> http://www.peoplepc.com
>
>
> The Mythopoeic Society website http://www.mythsoc.org
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

Wow--is there a mythsoc group on LJ?  Not just individual people over there?


I'm robin_anne_reid on LJ, and would love to know where you all are!

Robin


   _____

From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Sara Ciborski
Sent: Sun 8/12/2007 9:31 AM
To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mythsoc] Mythcon 38 Report



I agree (about live journal). I would just express the hope that if a
contributor to LJ offers there an opinion or perspective or
information--anything of substance, originality, and (obviously) of
mythsoc interest--that he or she post this also to the regular
discussion group. Thanks.
Sara Ciborski

David Emerson wrote:
>> Since David Emerson asked for one, here it is:
>>
>
>
> And I thank you very kindly for it.
>
> Yes, yes, yes, I know there are reports on LiveJournal, but I seem to have
become an old fogy who finds LJ terribly confusing and inconvenient (why are
there all those links? why doesn't anybody just say who they are? who are
all these people who have time to write all this stuff?). Okay, so I joined
LJ just to join the Mythsoc "community" but I doubt I will ever have any
kind of online presence there. Some days I think I'm doing pretty good just
to answer my email. :-)
>
> You'd never guess that I work with computers for a living.
>
> emerdavid
>
> ________________________________________
> PeoplePC Online
> A better way to Internet
> http://www.peoplepc <http://www.peoplepc.com/> .com
>
>
> The Mythopoeic Society website http://www.mythsoc.
<http://www.mythsoc.org/> org
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Robin,

If you search on "mythopoeic society" in interests you will find several
of us.  And yes, there is now a group as of a few days ago.

Ellen Denham (on lj as ellen_denham)

Robin Reid wrote:
>
> Wow--is there a mythsoc group on LJ? Not just individual people over
> there?
>
> I'm robin_anne_reid on LJ, and would love to know where you all are!
>
> Robin
>
>
> _____
>
> From: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com> on
> behalf of Sara Ciborski
> Sent: Sun 8/12/2007 9:31 AM
> To: mythsoc@yahoogroups.com <mailto:mythsoc%40yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [mythsoc] Mythcon 38 Report
>
> I agree (about live journal). I would just express the hope that if a
> contributor to LJ offers there an opinion or perspective or
> information--anything of substance, originality, and (obviously) of
> mythsoc interest--that he or she post this also to the regular
> discussion group. Thanks.
> Sara Ciborski
>
> David Emerson wrote:
> >> Since David Emerson asked for one, here it is:
> >>
> >
> >
> > And I thank you very kindly for it.
> >
> > Yes, yes, yes, I know there are reports on LiveJournal, but I seem
> to have
> become an old fogy who finds LJ terribly confusing and inconvenient
> (why are
> there all those links? why doesn't anybody just say who they are? who are
> all these people who have time to write all this stuff?). Okay, so I
> joined
> LJ just to join the Mythsoc "community" but I doubt I will ever have any
> kind of online presence there. Some days I think I'm doing pretty good
> just
> to answer my email. :-)
> >
> > You'd never guess that I work with computers for a living.
> >
> > emerdavid
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > PeoplePC Online
> > A better way to Internet
> > http://www.peoplepc <http://www.peoplepc.com/
> <http://www.peoplepc.com/>> .com
> >
> >
> > The Mythopoeic Society website http://www.mythsoc.
> <http://www.mythsoc.org/ <http://www.mythsoc.org/>> org
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]