AdamSmith

The World Toilet Day initiative (I almost said 'movement' ) is a seriously good thing. Appalling that half of humanity lives with effectively no infrastructure of any kind.

Once more, with feeling.

Oldie but goodie...

http://www.emptykingdom.com/featured/behind-the-scenes-of-2001-a-space-odyssey/

No TV in the poopery? First class... ...or economy!

So a Yarmouth bloater is apparently a type of salted and smoked herring: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloater_(herring) ...cured without being gutted, it says. ^^ van Gogh's take on 'em.

Sorry, I posted these in the order I found them. Re: "class," in her book The Tale of the Body Thief, Anne Rice has a passage set on the QE II which is faintly hilarious in its skewering the pretensions of people (and vampires! ) who fall for the ship's tacky faux-elegance -- e.g., wood-grain Formica all over the place, even in the top-tier Queen's Grill room, etc., etc.

Ahh! First class...

Second class -- better? Hmm... ...what are Yarmouth bloaters?!

Transcript of all the episodes of 'I, Claudius.' If you liked it on TV, it reads almost as well as it performed. http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/cus/scripts/iclaudius-transcript.html

The Greatest Movie Never Made Ten books in one tell the fascinating tale of Kubrick’s unfilmed masterpiece Tucked inside of a carved-out book, all the elements from Stanley Kubrick’s archives that readers need to imagine what his unmade film about the emperor might have been like, including a facsimile of the script. This collector’s edition is limited to 1,000 numbered copies. For 40 years, Kubrick fans and film buffs have wondered about the director’s mysterious unmade film on Napoleon Bonaparte. Slated for production immediately following the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick’s "Napoleon" was to be at once a character study and a sweeping epic, replete with grandiose battle scenes featuring thousands of extras. To write his original screenplay, Kubrick embarked on two years of intensive research; with the help of dozens of assistants and an Oxford Napoleon specialist, he amassed an unparalleled trove of research and preproduction material, including approximately 15,000 location scouting photographs and 17,000 slides of Napoleonic imagery. No stone was left unturned in Kubrick’s nearly-obsessive quest to uncover every piece of information history had to offer about Napoleon. But alas, Kubrick’s movie was not destined to be: the film studios, first M.G.M. and then United Artists, decided such an undertaking was too risky at a time when historical epics were out of fashion. TASCHEN’s sumptuous, limited-edition tribute to this unmade masterpiece makes Kubrick’s valiant work on "Napoleon" available to fans for the first time. Herein, readers can peruse a selection of Kubrick’s correspondence, various costume studies, location scouting photographs, research material, script drafts, and more, each category of material in its own book. Kubrick’s final draft is reproduced in facsimile while the other texts are tidily kenneled into one volume where they dare not interfere with the visual material. All of these books are tucked inside of—or shall we say hiding in?—a carved-out reproduction of a Napoleon history book. The text book features the complete original treatment, essays examining the screenplay in historical and dramatic contexts, an essay by Jean Tulard on Napoleon in cinema, and a transcript of interviews Kubrick conducted with Oxford professor Felix Markham. The culmination of years of research and preparation, this unique publication offers readers a chance to experience the creative process of one of cinema’s greatest talents as well as a fascinating exploration of the enigmatic figure that was Napoleon Bonaparte. Includes exclusive access to searchable/downloadable online research database: Kubrick’s complete picture file of nearly 17,000 Napoleonic images. US$3000.00 http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/film_music/all/03844/facts.stanley_kubricks_napoleon.htm?utm_source=tas&utm_medium=nl&utm_campaign=2001

The making of magic How Stanley Kubrick's "2OO1: A Space Odyssey" revolutionized science fiction and the art of cinema It’s the movie that revolutionized science fiction and the art of cinema, that transformed the way we think about film with its special effects, narrative style, philosophical importance, and unusual musical choices. Now, fifty years after its conception, TASCHEN presents the most exhaustive publication ever devoted to 2oo1: A Space Odyssey. Limited to 1,500 copies, this landmark edition has been made in exclusive collaboration with both the Kubrick Estate and Warner Bros. Get closer than ever to this movie that changed the movies. Conceived by the same designers behind our instant collectible Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made, this richly illustrated four-volume set features hundreds of previously unpublished documents and photographs, as well as personal testimony from Kubrick’s co-screenwriter Arthur C. Clarke. All hardcover volumes are presented in a sleek metal slipcase inspired by the famous monolith, and come boxed with exclusive cover art from Wayne Haag. The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s 2oo1: A Space Odyssey Four volumes with a metal slipcase, all designed by M/M (Paris): Volume 1: Film stills Volume 2: Behind the scenes (including new interviews with lead actors, senior production designers, and key special-effects experts) Volume 3: Facsimile of original screenplay Volume 4: Facsimile of original 1965 production notes Plus a small comic surprise Limited to a total of 1,500 copies, all signed by Christiane Kubrick: Art Edition No 1-500 (Art Edition A and B, with a signed print by Brian Sanders) and Collector’s Edition No. 501-1,500 The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s '2001: A Space Odyssey' Piers Bizony, M/M (Paris) Monolith shaped metallic box with 4 volumes, 7.8 x 17.3 in., 1386 pages US$1500.00 Copyright © 2014 Turner Entertainment Co. 2oo1: A Space Odyssey and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Turner Entertainment Co. (s14) http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/film_music/all/03109/facts.the_making_of_stanley_kubricks_2001_a_space_odyssey.htm

50 years of deep space exploration A cinematic odyssey into the future of man, unequaled in effort and execution In the spring of 1964 Stanley Kubrick set out to make what he called “the proverbial good science fiction movie.” The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2oo1: A Space Odyssey’ marks the 50th anniversary of the moment when Stanley and his co-screen writer, noted futurist Arthur C. Clarke, first sat down to brainstorm one of the greatest landmarks in the history of cinema. Created with the collaboration of the Kubrick family and Warner Bros., this book includes unique concept artworks and behind-the-scenes photographs, many of them never previously published. The extensive text draws, also, from direct interviews with Arthur Clarke, and the principal actors, senior production designers, and key special effects experts who helped to realize Kubrick’s futuristic vision. Stanley’s brother-in-law Jan Harlan explains the genesis of the Kubrick family’s latest collaboration with TASCHEN. “Piers Bizony had published an essay on 2oo1 some years ago—a simple paperback— but it demonstrated that he is genuinely knowledgeable about this film and the thinking behind its creation. Other partners in the project were, of course, essential. From the start, in proposing this new book, and indeed, throughout the writing and production process, we worked very closely with Warner Bros.” Of course the Kubrick family has worked with TASCHEN before, as Jan explains. “The Stanley Kubrick Archives project led directly to the next book, about Stanley’s great, unrealized project. TASCHEN called it Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon. The Greatest Movie Never Made and I don’t think they exaggerated. Napoleon is not just a historical figure. His genius and folly, his charisma and poor judgment, his brilliance hampered by vanity and ego, are elements relevant for our leadership today around the globe.” In 2oo1 Kubrick suggests that intelligent machines might also become capable of expressing such Napoleonic qualities as brilliance, ego and vanity. There is very little dialogue in this epic space film. Kubrick’s ambitious philosophical speculations are conveyed by his unforgettable imagery. The destinies of prehistoric manapes are intertwined across millions of years with those of computers, humans and alien entities whose nature and intentions are thrillingly ambiguous. So many space fiction films become dated almost as soon as they are made. In contrast, 2oo1 is just as compelling as when it was first screened, especially given the fact that NASA space probes have discovered countless new planets in our galaxy. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is a very real and active science today. 2oo1’s visual effects established groundbreaking standards for excellence. Kubrick and his crew built, from scratch, special projectors, automatic animation systems and motorized camera rigs controlled by banks of electronic switches and timers. But some of the grandest effects were also the simplest. Christiane remembers working alongside her husband on early experiments back in 1964. “Stanley was messing around with paints suspended in chemicals—and I was involved in the art department, too—sometimes it was very smelly, very uncomfortable, and your eyes would run because of the fumes. And people would say, ‘This is crazy!’ But inside these little glass containers, the laws of nature applied to the liquids just as they apply to the universe as a whole. Stanley saw this, and some of the results from those first experiments are actually included, vastly magnified by the camera, as the exploding galaxies and swirls of cosmic dust in the final version of 2oo1.” Kubrick was renowned as an obsessive and relentlessly hard-working director. His legendary attention to detail certainly helps explain why 2oo1 still looks so crisp and believable today. But the typical outsider’s image of her husband as a workaholic is not one that Christiane understands. “To Stanley, and I suppose to any artist, working is more like playing, because what you do is also what you enjoy. Always there is enthusiasm, an open mind to limitless possibilities, and then you narrow it down to what will actually work.” Jan says, “This of course is what Stanley’s film is all about—limitless possibilities.” Jan and Christiane are delighted to share the story of how 2oo1: A Space Odyssey was created, both from a technical standpoint and in terms of the early scripting process. The deeper meaning of the film, however, is something that Kubrick always wanted to let his audiences explore without the guidance of mere words. As he explained in 1968, when the film was first released, 2001 was “essentially a nonverbal experience” designed “to communicate more to the subconscious than to the intellect.” This book describes, in compelling detail, how he set out to achieve this. The rest is up to you, the audience. http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/company/blog/53.how_stanley_kubrick_revolutionized_science_fiction_and_the_art_of_cinema.htm

Reading several other entries, they all could have done with some editing. Looks like it was an operation that relied very much on the kindness of contributors. How I came across it -- this morning I was reading the Wikipedia entry on Holleran's Dancer from the Dance, and chanced to notice this at the bottom of the entry: External links Post-Stonewall gay literature on glbtq.com Andrew Holleran on glbtq.com

Just came across this short (6pp) interesting bio of James Beard: http://www.glbtqarchive.com/literature/beard_j_L.pdf ...in a resource I had never heard of before: http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ This is the archive of a GLBTQ online encyclopedia project that ran from 2000 to 2015: About the glbtq Project The glbtq project was founded in 2000 by Publisher Wik Wikholm to create the world's largest encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture and history and to deliver it online. The contents of the encyclopedia were formed and overseen by General Editor Claude Summers, Copy Editor Ted-Larry Pebworth, and Assistant to the Editor Linda Rapp. After more than two years of work, the site launched in 2003. The site grew to become the largest glbtq encyclopedia ever created thanks to the work of its editors and more than 350 contributors. The website also included a variety of essays, a few interviews with contemporary figures, and, during its last few years of operation, a blog written by Claude Summers. Claude Summers' blog is archived at the ONE Institute in Los Angeles. The project also produced three books: The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts (2004); The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, and Musical Theater (2004); and The Queer Encyclopedia of Film and Television (2005), all published by Cleis Press. The website closed on August 1, 2015 because of the collapse of the online advertising business model that had supported it. http://www.glbtqarchive.com/#about In any event, the archive site looks like a treasure trove of info.