My Moby Dick

Hakugei--now it is anime too!

2012-02-11T07:36:00.002-08:00

Sometimes I just search for "Moby Dick." I search through multiple search engines. I even search through Netflix to see what movie versions I come up with.

I found an anime version of Moby Dick:

Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick from 2005

I was really pleased with this.

With Crunchyroll and Netflix through my Roku, the device that streams internet video into my TV, I have been watching a ton of anime. So it is only natural that I also watch the anime version of Moby Dick.

Taking place in the year 4699, the whale hunters are actually space wreckage salvagers. Since the wreckage, coined as "whales," moves pretty fast, they go after it like the harpooners in their little boats. That is a pretty neat update idea. And anime can show it really well.

Moby Dick is a giant robot in space, in actuality, a Federation cannon capable of destroying a planet. So now it is Death Star Moby Dick. Pretty cool.

It is very Blade Runner-esque. It's not the prettiest of space worlds and that is cool.

There is the Nantucket Nebula; the Ishmael character says "Call me Lucky" in the beginning, even soliloquizing like the Ishmael of the book; Ahab has quite a cool lead-up and entrance; Queequeg is a nice yet powerful giant already on the crew.

In Episode 3, the crew remarks that Ahab has had obsessions before: "'Another obsession begins...Oh, no, not another one.'"

It is really interesting when Ahab and Lucky are talking about the Moby Dick cannon threatening the world of Moab and Ahab going berzerk, shouting, "'Twas whiter than snow, wasn't it." He also shouts, "Just as I thought: The Great White is alive!" Then the tale of Ahab losing his left eye and leg is related.

The only thing I don't understand so far is the android character of "Dew." He had a run-in with the Moby Dick in the opening of the first episode, with the whale implanting some device into his chest. Moby Dick tells him, "You will become me and I will become you. We are now joined by a strong bond." It's okay if Dew has nothing to do with the original book but it is another intriguing aspect.

I have just watched the first disc but I really liked it. Great animation and the story is well done. Maybe this is also the power of a tale like Moby Dick. If you can bring it out of its original setting and begin again, then it is a powerful tale that truly cuts across borders. Like updating Shakespeare into different settings, this works.

Somebody else is wondering...

2012-02-11T07:36:00.001-08:00

Book Buzz: Why Read Moby-Dick?

Book Buzz: Tension City, Why Read Moby-Dick?:

I love it--it's now a book. Why Read Moby-Dick?

Nathaniel Philbrick is a great writer in his own right. I really enjoyed his book about the whaleshipEssex--it completely captivated me, and I usually don't like non-fiction at all.

The author of this article calls the book "a passionate and convincing text." There is no personal opinion on Moby Dick itself.

But check out this "argument." If I had a student write this, I would have the student express why the quote proves the point:

"but when he quotes Melville, the text soars and Melville’s prose becomes Philbrick’s best argument for reading the book: 'While gliding through these latter waters that one serene and moonlight night, when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude. ... '"

Yes, I agree, that sentence is awesome. Should we consider Moby Dick just a long, great sounding poem then? The term novel just doesn't fit then anymore, especially if you consider structure.

I love how this piece ends:

If anyone is still awaiting the arrival of The Great American Novel(s), give it up. They have already been written. The first is “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and the second is “Moby-Dick, or, The Whale.”

I just taught Huck Finn and didn't have a great experience either. But Huck Finn has a narrative structure.

'via Blog this'

Jack Aranson's stage play of Moby Dick

2012-01-28T14:31:00.001-08:00

Through Netflix of all places, I was able to rent a DVD of a taping of the 1978 stage version of actor Jack Aranson's one-man play version of Moby Dick, directed by Paul Stanley.

I just don't get it.

This is a 2003 DVD release of a 1978 stage play. We can't even get some new movies on DVD and they put this out on DVD (for instance, I have been trying to track down a copy of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World starring Leonard Nimoy from the late 1990s but it has never been released on DVD--it boggles my mind).

The first thing you see on the disc is a title screen of a whale fluke with the words: "Moby Dick--American's greatest novel"--complete with whale song.

It's a one-man play. He plays all the characters, including just switching back and forth. The lines are wonderfully delivered. If you didn't know, you'd think it was a Shakespeare play. At least that gives credence to the wonderful language aspect of the book.

The one-man play is not a genre that I'm used to.

No matter how well acted it is, I'm still bored as I watch it. No matter how well delivered, or how much I personally am into this simply to write about it, I wonder who watches this stuff, who goes to the real theater for this, or who re-releases it on DVD in 2003, twenty-five years after the original production.

Am I the uncivilized one? Is this high class art that the bourgeois watch?

I mean, at least you know that a Hamlet soliloquy is going to end and the action of the play go on.

This actor really must love this completely. That is clear. Deciphering who is who is quite easy if you pay attention. I think he did a remarkable job with the material.

But it is the material that I ponder on. Besides some Twain and Poe, what else is delivered like this?

It is just fascinating that this is even out there.

I found this quote about the whole thing at http://www.takomapark.info/library/mt/archives/002204.html

Update: Look for Jack Aranson's one-man stage play. A gem, and available on DVD.

"Years from now acting classes and scholars will be studying this film for its power in bringing the immortal words of Herman Melville to life." IMDB: Moby Dick (1978) (streaming trailer)

Book called "Why Read Moby-Dick"

2012-01-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

Book Buzz: Why Read Moby-Dick?

Book Buzz: Tension City, Why Read Moby-Dick?:

I love it--it's now a book. Why Read Moby-Dick? I am going to have to find this book.

Nathaniel Philbrick is a great writer in his own right. I really enjoyed his book about the whaleshipEssex--it completely captivated me, and I usually don't like non-fiction at all.

The author of this article calls the book "a passionate and convincing text." There is no personal opinion on Moby Dick itself.

But check out this "argument." If I had a student write this, I would have the student express why the quote proves the point:

Yes, I agree, that sentence is awesome. Should we consider Moby Dick just a long, great sounding poem then? The term novel just doesn't fit then anymore, especially if you consider structure.

I love how this piece ends:

I just taught Huck Finn and didn't have a great experience either. But Huck Finn has a narrative structure.

Jim Ingraham: Counting down the 10 best free-agent signings of the Dolan era - news-herald.com

2012-01-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

Jim Ingraham: Counting down the 10 best free-agent signings of the Dolan era - news-herald.com:

"While you're waiting for the Indians to sign a big-name, big-ticket, still-in-his-prime free agent, you might want to get comfortable and curl up with a good book. I'd suggest something along the lines of "Moby Dick," "War and Peace" or the phone book from the greater Shanghai metropolitan area."

Obviously, the author is alluding to the fact that Moby Dick is a long, arduous work.

This does not do well for Moby Dick's friendly feeling. Considering my father is extremely smart but never read a book, concentrating on newspapers and sports pages in particular, this definitely hurts anyone up for a casual book. However, I think that most view it as a tough read.

Maybe that's part of its mystique; if you can read Moby Dick you must be pretty literate. (Or pretty stupid, what with all the really good books out there.)

'via Blog this'

New Jersey Herald - Some ‘Moby Dick' pieces are pursued by collectors

2011-12-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

New Jersey Herald - Some ‘Moby Dick' pieces are pursued by collectors:

"Kent's three-volume set of "Moby Dick" was published in 1930. It was filled with Kent's haunting and dramatic black-and-white drawings and the edition sold out almost immediately. Random House issued a trade edition, also immensely popular. "Moby Dick" reportedly was a rather obscure book until the 1920s, but the new edition with Kent's illustrations helped to bring the work to the attention of the American reading public."

http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/kent1.jpg

Utterly fascinating that there are collectors of this. What is most fascinating is the understanding that the novel was "obscure," mostly until this book with illustrations that probably made it friendlier to read.

These drawings really do help the reader to see the adventure of the book. These are reminiscent of the great drawings in early additions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (See some of those here: http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/Twa2Huc.html).

You wonder if Kent had decided to illustrate Henry Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" like the article says if we would be talking more about Dana than Melville today.

'via Blog this'

Tattoos of a hard-core fan

2011-12-30T08:18:00.000-08:00

Carl Zimmer in Science Tattoo Emporium at Discover Magazine has a blog entitled The Loom, apparently from the chapter of that name in Moby Dick. In researching tattoos, he remembered the tattooed Queequeg.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2011/12/10/the-science-ink-of-moby-dick/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Loom+%28The+Loom%29

"I’m a hard-coreMoby Dick fan (this blog’s name comes from there), so it was a delight to stumble across a passage on tattoos, which I had forgotten."

Just fascinating how he calls HIMSELF a hard-core fan. Of all the things in the world to be a "hard-core" fan of, I am curious as to why Moby Dick. See, this is what I need to find more about, these individuals that consider this book just that darn good.

[Image: Rockwell Kent, Plattsburgh State Art Museum]

Moby Dick graffiti

2011-11-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but MOBY DICK is in the graffiti in this issue of Hellblazer #54.

The challenge is to read the book!

2011-11-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

http://lifehacker.com/5856601/answer-how-much-did-you-understand-when-you-first-read-moby-dick

Daniel Russell has a column called Search ReSearch where he issues challenges to find information in our tech world. He picked Moby Dick for the latest one. Catch what he says about the book as a whole first:

If you're like me, you probably read Moby Dick at some point in your life. Maybe in high school, maybe for general reading later on in life. Regardless of when you read it, you probably have a pretty good mental image of the story, right? Captain Ahab and the search for the great white whale... maybe something about the inherent qualities of mankind, some ideas about man vs. nature, madness and a bunch of characters, the likes of which would never enter a Starbucks, but would prefer their grog on the open sea.
Whenever it was that you read Moby Dick, how much of it did you understand? Let's test your level of understanding: You know what a right-whale is, you probably remember the difference between a top-sail and a stun-sail, and you remember the characters of Starbuck, Queequeg and Ishmael, right?

He then goes on to issue a challenge to find some obscure traits about the Pequod. The question and answer is here at
http://lifehacker.com/5856601/answer-how-much-did-you-understand-when-you-first-read-moby-dick
Cool. And he had to go to the real text to get an answer and then powered through it with a good old CTRL-F find method. Didn't re-read it or anything, though.
Overall, I wonder how many high schools still teach Moby Dick. I wouldn't dare for fear of mutiny. It's a very cursory factual understanding that Russell shows above and I would be interested if all that didn't come out of a quick search rather than his memory.

Celebrating 160 years of Moby Dick in a weekend

2011-11-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111103/ENTERTAIN/111030302

Published on November 3, 2011, "It's a very 'Moby' weekend" is an article by Lauren Daley for South Coast Today. She hits it right on the head several times about this strange novel pervading our culture.

"This whole thing started by asking the question: 'How do people come to know "Moby-Dick"?' Because you know 90 percent of the public hasn't read the book," said Katherine Knowles, executive director of the Zeiterion.

Yet amazingly, we still keep saying--

"Moby-Dick" (1851) is largely considered one of the greatest works in all of American literature.

Everybody knows that the whale is everywhere, but no one knows why--

"Moby-Dick," part of the American literary canon, has also become a part of 20th- and 21st-century pop culture, showing up in everything from a Led Zeppelin song to "The Simpsons" to "Star Trek."
"The fact is that 'Moby-Dick' has become iconic," Knowles said. The cartoon character "Mr. Magoo played Ahab. Tom and Jerry played out the story; 'The Simpsons' have done the story. 'Moby-Dick' is now pop culture.

So they have all kinds of activities going on to celebrate. Do they do this for The Scarlet Letter? Or Huck Finn?

Moby Dick is big

2011-09-02T03:54:00.000-07:00

From 1966, Undersea Agent #1. I think "Undersea" is actually an acronym in the title for their secret Atlantis base.

Anyway, one of the divers sees the giant object and says, "In the name of Moby Dick...will you look at that?"

The reference here is only on the size. Another name for whale. But we all understand.

I am wondering about a hundred years or so from now...will this be a reference with footnotes? Sort of like a new mythology?

We were reading a short story in class the other day, and one of the lines referenced Nikita Khruschev. There, of course, was an asterisk with an explanation. I didn't need it, but the kids sure did.

One hundred years from now, as more and more people have stopped reading this book, will it too become an asterisk, or will our collective memory still know that Moby Dick was a big whale? Many people still say Lassie for collies but it has been quite a while since the TV show.

It ain't over til the fat whale sings!

2011-08-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

Moby Dick the OPERA

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/a-performance-worth-krilling-for/story-fn6br97j-1226123217594?from=public_rss

Article focuses on the actor/singer playing Queequeg, the "moral compass of the piece."

Fine and dandy. I just think it is amazing that they created an opera out of this. I am dying to hear the songs.

Not a Bad movie...

2011-08-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

From http://www.inquisitr.com/135442/pic-moby-dick-not-a-porn/ August 21, 2011.

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All-Star Superman #5 reference

2011-08-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Probably the most obvious modern day cultural reference to Ahab and Moby Dick would be Lex Luthor's obsession with defeating the Man of Steel.

In the comic book All-Star Superman #5 (which is mimicked almost exactly in the cartoon film version of the story), Lex Luthor says,

"Did you know that Moby-Dick can be recited at a frequency so high that it becomes a sonic drill capable of carving through solid rock?"

(Quote from the subtitles of the movie version)

The reference is of course perfect. Lex Luthor, the richest man in Metropolis, and I think the planet in the DC Universe, has a lot of ego. His pride makes it impossible for him to accept Superman seemingly lording above him. His intellect always made Luthor the best. Now an alien, a metahuman, wins the love of others. He can't stand it. He must eradicate him.

This is what makes Luthor such a good idea for a villain at the best of times. The good writers use him right. John Byrne really helped by making Luthor the ruthless business man and not the idiot portrayed by Gene Hackman in the movies.

The Ahab reference fits, and the author Grant Morrison, uses it exquisitely just to drop the hint about Ahab's obsession. Brilliant.

Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica commentaries

2011-08-07T16:55:00.001-07:00

Messing with perfection is just a new interpretation

2011-08-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

This article: Why mess with perfection?

Some things, like classic movies, are best left in the past-don't try to remake them
Date published: 8/5/2011

By Cathy Dyson

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/082011/08052011/643105/index_html?page=1

While I heartily agree that most of what Hollywood is producing nowadays are simply remakes and reworkings of old movies, I don't understand her basic premise. If you agree with her, lots of plays would never get produced, or taking it the step further, books would not be made into movies at all. (If the novel is perfect, why waste a movie?) Every age can reimagine old movies. Sometimes, interpretations can thoroughly separate one movie from another. I constantly watch new versions of Hamlet just to see how they interpret the "To be or not to be" speech as a soliloquy or monologue.

Sometimes, technology can drive movies to be made better and more interesting. Sometimes, actors really can make it different. Maybe better, maybe not, but different. And isn't that what a classic is all about--new interpretations? Would the world be the same if we left the original version of The Bourne Identity alone??

I would not call the 1956 Moby Dick untouchable. From what I have seen of the new Encore one so far, I have actually enjoyed most of it. The problem of the narrative of the novel appears fixed, although I do agree with her that "Capt. Ahab was nice, almost cheerful, most of the time. Even when he was at his worst, or best, as an obsessed stalker, he didn't seem nearly as extreme as Gregory Peck did in the original."

And yes, you are simply going to fail if your only purpose is to compare Donald Sutherland's Father Mapple with the version portrayed by Orson Welles. That's a given, for any actor, and Sutherland is pretty darn good. However, you must distance yourself, as a critic, to analyze what the version you are reviewing got right and wrong. There will always be some comparison with other versions, but notice one key byline, movie critic: "Based on the book by Herman Melville." It does not say, "Based on the 1956 movie." Key distinction there. You have to see what the movie under review accomplished. Anything else is not being fair.

Let's watch a friendly Moby Dick!

2011-08-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how this ever got started. A sweet little cartoon version of the evil whale:

Apparently, the actual cartoon is still under copyright and this is someone's home movie of recording one of those old 8mm things.

I guess it is no different than later when Hannah-Barbera turned Godzilla friendly. Same exact cartoon then, really.

I just don't get the whale--is he a kid? why is he so small?

Missed second installment of Encore movie

2011-08-04T12:42:00.001-07:00

Sorry, but I missed the second installment of the Encore mini-series. I really wanted to watch it too.

But something happened at home that caused me to miss it. End of story.

Now I have to wait until Sunday night. Not too bad, I guess.

This is just the main reason why I barely watch cable TV anymore. I only watch my stuff, like Netflix, through my Roku device. What I want, when I want--and I can pause too!

Notes for part two coming soon then...

Gillian Anderson on Moby Dick

2011-08-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

Cool article here, entitled

"Goodbye Mulder, hello Ahab: Gillian Anderson talks 'Moby Dick'"

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/08/goodbye-scully-hello-ahab-gillian-anderson-talks-about-moby-dick.html

"Anderson plays Elizabeth, Ahab’s wife. As Melville sticklers will point out, Elizabeth is barely mentioned in a sprawling novel that has no real female presence."

And she is barely in any of the movie--I don't get why it had to be a famous actress...

"Anyway, there is a book out there about what might have happened to her post-Ahab’s demise. I haven’t read it but Ethan [Hawke] has because he has read everything about 'Moby Dick.'"

That intrigues me--does Ethan Hawke actually do this, read everything about Moby Dick? It is possible he was preparing for the role, albeit a kind of small role, even for him. I know Starbuck acts as the other side of the conscience but again, it is a small character, even in the movie.

"She can see his obsession starts to get stronger as he obsesses about taking revenge. It’s quite a beautiful story about God and man and fallibility and how mortals tend to think we have godlike qualities and that we are more powerful than the forces of nature. And he finds out he’s not. "

Yes, you can sort of see that she sees it coming. I just wish it had come out more in the movie. I really wish Ahab had been a bit more menacing or at least aloof to her. He is still loving and playful with her.

"When I got the job I read a good portion of the book, and one of the things I was really struck by was Ishmael, who tells the story, is constantly confounded by the fact that he can’t seem to grasp the essence of the whale …. It has been said that it’s about humans' inability to grasp God, the greater concept of God … but that’s not what you asked me! [laughs]"

So now what I want to know is if she had ever read the book before! According to the IMDB trivia page at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334573/trivia, I think it was the character of Scully who was the fan, not the actress. Also notice that she didn't read the whole thing either. And she took the job, it appears, without ever having read the book, simply knowing that it was a classic. (And the limited role in this current movie is so small I cannot help but wonder if she is hard up for jobs...)

"It’s nice at the beginning of the miniseries to see [Ahab] with his wife and child, with a tenderness that is not anywhere in the book, from what I’ve read."

I agree with her analysis here. There is tenderness in the movie that is simply not in the novel. However, this is the one flaw I saw in the movie (at least so far after part one). He clearly loves his family. I just don't buy him rushing off to do this, unless later, somewhere unless I've missed it, he says something about him saving the world by defeating the whale, saving the world for his family.

And then on another purely cynical note, I can't believe a professional actress would say this: "I don’t watch TV, I don’t watch anything. " How do you hone your craft? How can you not see what others are doing? That's like a writer never reading another's stuff, or a director never watching another's movie. You have to see good and bad acting every once in a while.

My running commentary on watching Encore's "Moby Dick"

2011-08-01T18:34:00.001-07:00

I tuned in for the world premiere--and I usually don't even watch regular TV anymore with my Roku and my Netflix. Remember, Encore just broke into this "original movie" stuff. This is their first one. This is the movie they decided to do first, to sort of lead the way for future endeavors.

Ishmael saves Pippin from a slave-beater to start it off.

Ahab looking through telescope at the Pequod getting ready--just as credits end! See--get Ahab involved faster!

Is that Ahab's son? A laughing Ahab?

He doesn't seem too menacing...an asshole, maybe, to Starbuck, but not menacing.

Son: "Are you scared of Moby Dick?"

Ahab: "He's just a whale..."

Wife: "He isn't just another whale."

Ahab: "He's old, he's angry, he doesn't get enough attention from females...something we have in common." --just to get his wife over to him. He's playful with her! Ahab is playful with his wife--you can tell he loves her--would he give this up so easily. He does refuse to go to church with her, starting an understanding of him withdrawing from the world and questioning God.

Honestly, this background gives Ahab something to live for, to keep from self-sacrifice. I really think he should have been a bit mean or at least aloof to her. And I don't think that Gillian Anderson says more than 50 words in this movie--why is she even billed as one of the main actors. I think Donald Sutherland as Father Mapple says more.

Starbuck: "you said things in your fever...about the while whale, about death."

The Father Mapple speech is set up better than the novel, about being full of pride and not accepting help. This actually seems integral with what they've done for Ahab so far.

(It actually sets up a sequel--Son of Ahab's revenge!)

I assumed Elizabeth, Ahab's wife, would say something like, "Come back to us." I would have liked to have seen Ahab's reaction to this.

Boarding the ship in slo-mo was like The Right Stuff.

Ahab puts her picture in a drawer ominously.

I admit, it's grand, like a grand adventure set up like Lord of the Rings. And at least Ahab is infused in the whole thing. Ishmael, rightfully, is basically nothing but a character to introduce the viewer to new whaling/boating things. Ishmael is not focal; Ahab is focal.

An image of Ahab with a "halo" brings up a holy avenger allusion.

The scene where Ahab gets the men on his side seems rushed...why do they agree so quickly and so happily?

Ahab smacks the shit out of Ishmael, showing his seething anger boil to the surface momentarily.

It does seem adventurous. It moves. The bits and pieces move the narrative forward--they don't detain or stall the narrative.

Moby, seemingly chasing the Pequod for a long time, hits the Pequod just as they sight their first whale herd and try to lower the boats. Is he to be interpreted as protecting them?

Moby gently and ominously turns Ahab's boat in circles. It's a great little scene. Moby then breaches and destroys several whaling boats and Ahab laughs. This makes me believe that the men get on Ahab's side for revenge a little easier and quicker.

And that's it for part one. Honestly, I am intrigued. This is adventure, infused with the anger of Ahab. Although, I still think that they could have done better with the wife and son scenes. They still make me think that even Ahab would want to come home to them, and if the movie does not show me explicitly why he would give that up, then I don't think it does its job on that score. Now, if you take those scenes out, either entirely, or added a bit, it would have been more. But overall, I really want to see the next installment. In the end, that's a good thing.

The screenwriter seemed to understand all the failings of the narrative and fixed it. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually didn't have any wife scenes and he was told to add the scenes when someone wanted to add an actress. He did his best with them, but I can almost tell he didn't really want them.

Review #1

2011-08-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Encore's new mini-series as reviewed by Mark A. Perigard

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1355480&srvc=rss

"Call me bored." --that's great!

"...takes some liberties with Melville’s classic, particularly in his decision to depict Ahab’s home life, only alluded to in the novel." These are the Gillian Anderson wife scenes. I don't mind that idea so much as some of her dialogue--

From the review:

"'He isn’t just another whale, is he?' she says of Moby, who tore off Ahab’s leg in their first encounter. 'He went for you, didn’t he? They don’t do that, do they? It isn’t natural,' she says, sounding like a jealous wife. As well she should be. "

That above is eerily reminiscent of the scene in 2010: Moby Dick where the whale stares down Ahab in the beginning/

Fascinating: "As in the novel, there are digressions into the ship’s rhythm and business that easily could have been cut to make this a shipshape 90-minute adventure."

One of the comments on the site addresses that: "Yet your idea that it could be cut if only the 'digressions' about the 'rhythm' were cut does suggest you have little grasp on the metaphysical and philosophic elements of this, perhaps the greatest novel by an American author. It was not written for the 'twitter' age, thank God."

That is fierce loyalism to this novel.

Latest reviews of the Encore Moby Dick miniseries

2011-08-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Just links--I will analyze later...(Links are courtesy of the awesome Yahoo! email alerts)

Encore cable network takes another stab at 'Moby Dick'
New Orleans Times-Picayune Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:18 AM PDT
New miniseries airs at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday (August 1 and 2) on Encore.

Top Picks
Worcester Telegram & Gazette Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:49 AM PDT
"Moby Dick" (8 p.m. on Chs. WAM and ENCR. Part 1 of 2) Herman Melville's classic novel of whaling in the 1840s follows the adventures of vengeful and obsessed Capt. Ahab (William Hurt) as he pursues the great white whale that took his leg. Charlie Cox co-stars as Ishmael. Directed by Mike Barker.

'Moby Dick' gets fitted for mini-series
The Cincinnati Enquirer Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:33 AM PDT
William Hurt and Ethan Hawke, stars of the new 'Moby Dick' mini-series, are latecomers to the novel.

âMoby Dickâ assumes viewer hasnât read book
Lawrence Journal-World Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:10 PM PDT
Some books you just have to read. Like F. Scott Fitzgeraldâs âThe Great Gatsby,â Herman Melvilleâs âMoby Dickâ has suffered any number of unsatisfying screen adaptations. A book so filled with strange ruminations and poetry just doesnât hold up when boiled down for action.

Encore's 'Moby Dick' goes off the deep end
Boston Herald Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:19 PM PDT
Call me bored. Encore's adaptation of Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," the cable network's first original miniseries,...

Television review: 'Moby Dick'
Los Angeles Times Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:10 PM PDT
William Hurt stars as Captain Ahab in the new version on Encore, but Herman Melville seems to be missing. William Hurt stars as Captain Ahab in the new version on Encore, but Herman Melville seems to be missing.

TV Highlights: âMoby Dick,â âKoran by Heartâ
Washington Post Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:20 PM PDT
âMoby Dickâ (Encore at 8 p.m.), the two-night original miniseries starring William Hurt as Captain Ahab and Ethan Hawke as Starbuck, is previewed by Hank Stuever on Page C1. Ashley and the two remaining bachelors â Ben F. and J.P. â are in Fiji to meet her family on the season finale of âThe Bacheloretteâ (ABC at 8), which causes all sorts of drama, and not only because Ashley leaves one guy ...

Encoreâs lavish new âMoby Dickâ: There whale be blood
Washington Post Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:30 PM PDT
High school English teachers, your attention please! I have wonderful and terrible news. Encore, that glorious waster of weekend afternoons on cableâs desolate seas, has finally decided to show something besides an endless loop of â Dumb and Dumber .â For its first offering, itâs bringing out âMoby Dick,â a lavish, exciting, well-acted and admirably thorough movie adaptation of Herman Melvilleâs ...

Television Review: Ahab Has a Wife and a Heart. Oh, and a Whale.
New York Times Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:06 PM PDT
Encoreâs two-night mini-series âMoby Dickâ takes liberties with the novel, including a family back story for Captain Ahab.

TV critic's picks: Ahab's losing battle
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:36 PM PDT
It's been a while since I read my Herman Melville, but I still recall the 1851 novel "Moby-Dick" as a whale of a tale thanks to the author's ability to weave powerful Shakespearean language with a sense of adventure and a hint of dread that something lurks beneath the waters a lot more intimidating than Bruce the Shark of "Jaws."

Matt Kish answers why MOBY DICK is his favorite

2011-07-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

Available at http://www.amazon.com/Moby-Dick-Pictures-Drawing-Every-Page/dp/1935639129/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310663869&sr=8-1

I corresponded with Mr. Kish about his little obsession. It's a great answer...I mean, why do I like Hamlet so much or Lowry's The Giver? However, the crux of my argument is that Moby Dick is supposed to be a classic. Mr. Kish's blog is at http://everypageofmobydick.blogspot.com/

"Hey Matt, that's a tough question to answer thoroughly in the comments section but I'll give it a try. Like you (I think), I bristle at the idea that something should be considered and revered as a classic just because a lot of other people say it is. I tend to reserve that kind of labeling for my own personal headspace rather than try and force it on others. "Moby-Dick" means so much to me for many reasons though. First, it has been an almost constant companion throughout my life, whether it was the film or an abridged version or a graphic novel or the full text. I've read it quite a few times, and at each stage of my life the book revealed more and more to me. I treasure the book so much because, in spite of its thorny and difficult language, its challenging and sometimes maddeningly inconsistent structure, and its long nonfictional asides, I truly believe the book is about everything. Honestly. Nearly everything we humans experience, grapple with, wonder about and struggle toward is in some way addressed in the book.

But honestly, its not for everyone. Some love it, some hate it. Few are indifferent. I don't make any kind of judgments about a person based on whether or not they like or don't like the book. Some of my closest friends turn green and start tuning out of any conversation where I mention the book.

But to me, it's everything."

Harold Bloom on Jonah

2011-07-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/jul/28/harold-bloom-jonah-my-favorite-book-bible/

I've read a lot of Harold Bloom through my English education. Great guy. The authority. I mean, THE authority on all things literature.

That's why this makes an even greater impact to me. He is talking of his favorite book of The Bible and the very second sentence of his little essay:

"A sly masterpiece of four brief chapters, Jonah reverberates in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, where it is the text for Father Mapple’s grand sermon."

This sentence is setting up the fact that this is how important Jonah is--it is used in one of the great novels, almost as a base. Basically, Moby Dick would not exist without Jonah.

He then needs to reference it again, as if putting it into perspective, using Moby Dick as the reference point of the perspective, as we all supposedly know Moby Dick:

"There is of course the giant fish (not, alas, a whale) who swallows up Jonah for three days but then disgorges him at God’s command. No Moby Dick, he inspires neither fear nor awe."

Again, anybody that seems to have to mention WHALE has to mention Moby Dick!

Danny Glover is Ahab...chasing dragons?

2011-07-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Danny Glover stars in Age of the Dragons, an apparently "very dull movie." It premieres tonight on SyFy channel.

(Digressing, I still think it stupid they changed the name of SciFi Channel to SyFy. Plus, all the non-science fiction they show is horrible. And I, for one, would so much rather they play old, bad scifi TV shows and movies than make these garbage movies. I mean, when you see that a movie is called Mansquito, is there really anything else you need to know? Seriously, the title alone tells you absolutely everything possible about the movie. And then SyFy is just like a new monster-movie maker: Dinocroc vs. Supergator? Why? Do these actually make money somehow? If they want original programming, stick with the TV shows they are making. They are good.)

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/jul/30/whale-tale-runs-course/

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110730/ENTERTAIN/110729903

And I just realized what else is interesting about this--I didn't even hear about this until today. I have Yahoo! News alerts come to me with anything published with "Moby Dick." I search this stuff all the time. Why was nothing published about this prior to today? It's on today...