Friday Night Videos

I've always loved "The Breakup Song" by the Greg Kihn Band. Probably because they don't write 'em like that anymore.



Previously on Friday Night Videos... Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine.

Now Playing: Astrud Gilberto The Best of Astrud Gilberto
Chicken Ranch Central

Frankenstein's moon

One of the cool things about my day job is that sometimes it intersects with my genre leanings in a big way. Take Frankenstein's Moon as a case in point. This is how I spent much of last week, distilling a full-blown Sky & Telescope article down to a media-release-sized writeup, balancing readability with accuracy. Not always an easy task, especially when there's a lot of research and technical nuance involved. Practice helps, though. In the past, we've worked on similar projects connecting Edvard Munch's painting The Scream with Krakatoa, settled a date conflict regarding Caesar's invasion of Britain, offered a convincing new date for the ancient battle of Marathon and solved Walt Whitman's meteor mystery, among many others. Fun stuff, that!

The current Frankenstein piece seems to be capturing popular attention as well. Already it has resulted in a nice articles in The Guardian, which as been reprinted in quite a few British newspapers. Another article written by Jim Forsythe at WOAI in San Antonio has been picked up by Reuters and shown up all over the world, including MSNBC. So yeah, we've got lots of Frankenstein to enjoy here at the end of September.

One cool bit of conflation didn't make it into the media release, but is touched upon in the full article. Allow me to slip into Jess Nevins mode for a moment (although Jess would likely scoff that this is common knowledge) to explain. During the original "ghost story" challenge mentioned below, Mary Shelley is the only participant to actually finish a written piece begun at that time. Lord Byron began one, but soon lost interest and abandoned it. John Polidori, however, took up that fragment some time later and was inspired to write The Vampyre, published in 1819. The story was an immediate success, in part, no doubt, because the publisher credited it as written by Lord Byron (Polidori and Byron fought for some years to get the attribution corrected in subsequent printings). The Vampyre was the first fiction to cast the legendary bloodsuckers as an aristocratic menace in the narrative, and spawned a popular trend of 19th century vampire fiction which culminated with Bram Stoker's enduring Dracula in 1897. Which means the two most famous horror icons of 20th century pop culture--Dracula and Frankenstein's monster--can both trace their lineage back to that 1816 gathering at Villa Diodoti overlooking Lake Geneva.

Frankenstein’s moon: Astronomers vindicate account of masterwork

Victor Frankenstein’s infamous monster led a brief, tragic existence, blazing a trail of death and destruction that prompted mobs of angry villagers to take up torches and pitchforks against him on the silver screen. Never once during his rampage, however, did the monster question the honesty of his ultimate creator, author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

That bit of horror was left to the scholars.

Now, a team of astronomers from Texas State University-San Marcos has applied its unique brand of celestial sleuthing to a long-simmering controversy surrounding the events that inspired Shelley to write her legendary novel Frankenstein. Their results shed new light on the question of whether or not Shelley’s account of the episode is merely a romantic fiction.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (played by Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (played by Gavin Gordon) listen as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (played by Elsa Lanchester) tells her tale of horror. [Bride of Frankenstein]
Texas State physics faculty members Donald Olson and Russell Doescher, English professor Marilynn S. Olson and Honors Program students Ava G. Pope and Kelly D. Schnarr publish their findings in the November 2011 edition of Sky & Telescope magazine, on newsstands now.

“Shelley gave a very detailed account of that summer in the introduction to an early edition of Frankenstein, but was she telling the truth?” Olson said. “Was she honest when she told her story of that summer and how she came up with the idea, and the sequence of events?”

A Dark and Stormy Night

The story begins, literally, in June 1816 at Villa Diodati overlooking Switzerland’s Lake Geneva. Here, on a dark and stormy night, Shelley—merely 18 at the time—attended a gathering with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, her stepsister Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron and John Polidori. To pass the time, the group read a volume of ghost stories aloud, at which point Byron posed a challenge in which each member of the group would attempt to write such a tale.

Villa Diodati sits on a steep slope overlooking Lake Geneva. Relatively clear views prevail to the west, but the view of the eastern sky is partially blocked by the hill. A rainbow greeted the Texas State researchers upon their arrival at Lake Geneva. [Photo by Russell Doescher]
“The chronology that’s in most books says Byron suggested they come up with ghost stories on June 16, and by June 17 she’s writing a scary story,” Olson said. “But Shelley has a very definite memory of several days passing where she couldn’t come up with an idea. If this chronology is correct, then she embellished and maybe fabricated her account of how it all happened.

“There’s another, different version of the chronology in which Byron makes his suggestion on June 16, and Shelley didn’t come up with her idea until June 22, which gives a gap of five or six days for conceiving a story,” he said. “But our calculations show that can’t be right, because there wouldn’t be any moonlight on the night that she says the moon was shining.”

Moonlight is the key. In Shelley’s account, she was unable to come up with a suitable idea until another late-night conversation--a philosophical discussion of the nature of life--that continued past the witching hour (midnight). When she finally went to bed, she experienced a terrifying waking dream in which a man attempted to bring life to a cadaverous figure via the engines of science. Shelley awoke from the horrific vision to find moonlight streaming in through her window, and by the next day was hard at work on her story.

Doubting Shelley

Although the original gathering and ghost story challenge issued by Byron is well-documented, academic scholars and researchers have questioned the accuracy of Mary Shelley’s version of events to the extent of labeling them outright fabrications. The traditionally accepted date for the ghost story challenge is June 16, based on an entry from Polidori’s diary, which indicates the entire party had gathered at Villa Diodati that night. In Polidori’s entry for June 17, however, he reports “The ghost-stories are begun by all but me.”

Russell Doescher and Ava Pope take measurements in the garden of Villa Diodati. [Photo by Marilynn Olson]
Critics have used those diary entries to argue Shelley didn’t agonize over her story for days before beginning it, but rather started within a span of hours. Others have suggested Shelley fabricated a romanticized version for the preface of the 1831 edition of Frankenstein solely to sell more books. Key, however, is the fact that none of Polidori’s entries make reference to Byron’s ghost story proposal.

“There is no explicit mention of a date for the ghost story suggestion in any of the primary sources–the letters, the documents, the diaries, things like that,” Olson said. “Nobody knows that date, despite the assumption that it happened on the 16th.”

Frankenstein’s moon

Surviving letters and journals establish that Byron and Polidori arrived at Villa Diodati on June 10, narrowing the possible dates for the evening of Byron’s ghost story proposition to a June 10-16 window. To further refine the dates, Shelley’s reference of moonlight on the night of her inspirational dream provided an astronomical clue for the Texas State researchers. To determine which nights in June 1816 bright moonlight could’ve shone through Shelley’s window after midnight, the team of Texas State researchers traveled in Aug. 2010 to Switzerland, where Villa Diodati still stands above Lake Geneva.

Ava Pope, Kelly Schnarr and Donald Olson on the steep slope just below Villa Diodati. [Photo by Roger Sinnott]
The research team made extensive topographic measurements of the terrain and Villa Diodati, then combed through weather records from June of 1816. The Texas State researchers then calculated that a bright, gibbous moon would have cleared the hillside to shine into Shelley’s bedroom window just before 2 a.m. on June 16. This calculated time is in agreement with Shelley’s witching hour reference. Furthermore, a Polidori diary entry backs up Shelley’s claim of a late-night philosophical “conversation about principles” of life taking place June 15.

Had there been no moonlight visible that night, the astronomical analysis would indicate fabrication on her part. Instead, evidence supports Byron’s ghost story suggestion taking place June 10-13 and Shelley’s waking dream occurring between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on June 16, 1816.

“Mary Shelley wrote about moonlight shining through her window, and for 15 years I wondered if we could recreate that night,” Olson said. “We did recreate it. We see no reason to doubt her account, based on what we see in the primary sources and using the astronomical clue.”

For additional information, visit the Sky & Telescope web gallery at www.skyandtelescope.com/Frankenstein.

Now Playing: R.E.M. Document
Chicken Ranch Central

42: Life, the universe and birthdays

So, the birthday thing. I don't always do so good with them. There's lots more gray in my hair, my driver's license says I'm not allowed to drive without my glasses, and I've got a rickety gut seemingly held together with duct tape and bailing wire. All those bones I broke decades ago have started reminding me about those misadventures and generally all the parts that make up the whole aren't quite like a well-oiled machine anymore. I don't suppose I should complain much, though, as my blood pressure's good and my blood chemistry is excellent for a guy my age and weight.

Still, I'm not down with that "aging gracefully" thing. How else to describe my culinary dance with the infamous Ghost Chili last year? When you wake up and realize there are more miles behind the cart than remain in front, and the ambition of youth has given way to the lowered expectations of middle age, it ain't so easy to maintain a chipper outlook. Be that as it may, this is one birthday that isn't going to throw me into a funk. Being the science fictional geek that I am, I embrace the 42nd anniversary of my appearance upon the Earth, and celebrate the fact that our world has yet to be demolished to make way for a hyperspatial bypass. Since my accumulation of years is now equivalent to the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything I will henceforth stride boldly into the coming year with the all the enthusiastic mayhem I can muster in good conscience. After all, 42 is the last cool-numbered birthday worthy of celebrating (with the obvious exception of 69, of course, but the breakdown of the ol' chassis leaves significant doubt as to whether I'll be able to acquit myself properly as befits such an august number).

1. Finish that damn Chicken Ranch book (okay, although this list is purposefully presented in No Particular Order, this particular elephant in the proverbial room is too big to pretend it isn't no. 1. Many, many other entries on this list depend wholly or in part in getting Dumbo to fly).
   
2. Stop dwelling so much about what other people think of me. Stop censoring and limiting and restricting and misrepresenting myself in some misguided attempt to earn their approval. This does not mean I intent to turn myself into a loudmouth oaf with delusions of assholery (beyond what certain parties may already ascribe to me, that is).
   
3. Finish my in-progress short story "A Life Less Illustrated."
   
4. Be a better father and husband.
   
5. Be a better role model for my children (and no, that's not necessarily the same as no. 4, although I agree there is overlap).
   
6. Return to work on my half-finished fantasy novel, Wetsilver.
   
7. Fill out my Farscape collection with the missing episodes from season 3 I don't have.
   
8. Watch the entire run of Farscape, in order, from the pilot episode through Peacekeeper Wars (see no. 7).
   
9. Finish converting the garage into a home photography studio.
   
10. Lose 25 pounds.
    
11. Watch Deep Throat with The Wife (see no. 2).
    
12. Finish my in-progress short story "The Shoals of Cibola."
    
13. Stop yelling so much/Keep my temper under control (probably should be two entries, but they kinda go hand in hand).
    
14. Get back to that radio script I'm supposed to be writing with Mark Finn.
    
15. Learn to scuba.
    
16. Spend a long weekend in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, photographing landscapes and wildlife.
    
17. Find a publisher for Voices of Wonder, my second collected volume of genre-themed interviews.
    
18. Read Don Quixote.
    
19. Enroll in photography courses at Texas State (I pulled a 4.0 in the photography courses I took two years back, and now circumstances may allow me to take the next round).
    
20. Pull a 4.0 for the semester (see no 19).
    
21. Put together that Apollo-Soyuz model kit I bought 20 years ago.
    
22. Surprise The Wife with a Canon EF 24-70 2.8 L lens (if you see the price, you'll know why it'd be a surprise).
    
23. Read those Hunger Games books.
    
24. Finish that Green Arrow musical thing.
    
25. Buy a new car.
    
26. Publish (or rather, find a publisher for) my short story collection.
    
27. Photograph a Division I-A football game from the sidelines.
    
28. Get back to that short story I'm supposed to be writing with Chris Nakashima-Brown.
    
29. Spend the better part of a week in New Orleans with The Wife (okay, this is a cheat, since we're already booked to go to Imaging USA).
    
30. Return to, and finish, Memory, my online serial storytelling experiment.
    
31. Visit Cape Canaveral. And the Everglades while I'm at it.
    
32. If that buffoon Rick Perry wins the GOP presidential nomination, make my first-ever political contribution to any and all candidates capable of keeping that lunatic out of the White House.
    
33. Spend a long weekend in Big Bend National Park, photographing landscapes and wildlife.
    
34. Buy my dream telescope, the Meade LXD75 SN-10AT (f/4) Schmidt-Newtonian.
    
35. Begin writing Sailing Venus, my long-delayed YA novel. My kids aren't getting any younger.
    
36. Re-unite The Kinks (hey, a guy can dream).
    
37. Write that "Airships and Apes" challenge story put forth by Joe Lansdale.
    
38. See the Blue Man Group live.
    
39. Rewrite "Where the Rubber Meets the Road."
    
40. More skyrockets in flight.
    
41. Get a Canon FD 500mm f/8 reflex lens and convert it to EF mount with an Optix V5+ focus confirmation chip with "Trap Focus" feature.
    
42. Re-read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Now Playing: John Mellencamp Human Wheels Chicken Ranch Central

42: Don't Panic!

Today I am 42. I have not been known for aging gracefully, but I am embracing this year's birthday because it is the last cool number I'm likely to encounter for quite some time. Understanding the profound significance 42 holds for geekdom, behold my birthday cake The Wife made:

It is okay to be jealous. Also, The Wife bowled me over with an early birthday present a week or so back. Behold my new Canon 7D:

Again, it's okay to be jealous. That gift, although mightily impressive, isn't entirely altruistic on her part. Since she had my Canon XTi converted to full-time infrared as an anniversary gift, we've been short enough cameras for both of us to shoot independently with emergency backup bodies. This camera fills that need, and indeed got quite a heavy workout last Saturday shooting a wedding at Chapel Dulcinea.

So yeah, I've got my towel, and am feeling like a hoopy frood. Don't panic!

Now Playing: Talking Heads Remain in Light
Chicken Ranch Central

42: Friday Night Videos

This being a profound and solemn occasion and all, for the observance of my 42nd trip around the star we call the sun, I sought to come up with a song to feature on Friday Night Videos that was worthy of such an august event. Alas, I failed miserably. But not to fear! During the wedding The Wife and I photographed last week, a song played that was so jaw-dropping in its inspired genius that I was left gobsmacked. Yes, you read that right: gobsmacked! I did a little research (as the journalist in me is wont to do) and discovered the musical masterpiece was performed by none other than Mark Jonathan Davis, the singer/songwriter who gave us "Star Wars Cantina" more than a decade ago now. Now performing as Richard Cheese with his band Lounge Against the Machine, he specializes in jazz and big band versions of well-known top 40 and rock hits. Which is all fine and dandy, but it does nothing to prepare you for the reality of a bossa nova "Baby Got Back". Consider this my gift to you.


Previously on Friday Night Videos... The Violent Femmes.

Now Playing: The Kinks Give the People What They Want
Chicken Ranch Central

42: A momentous occasion

42: The ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything. Which is a roundabout way of saying today is my birthday. Grab your towels and don't panic. It's going to be an interesting ride.


Now Playing: The Kinks Everybody's in Show-Biz
Chicken Ranch Central

First infrared wedding!

The Wife, owner and principal photographer of Lisa on Location, had an afternoon wedding today at Chapel Dulcinea, a lovely venue just outside of Buda. The whole place has a great magical realism vibe going for it, with bronze statues of Don Quixote and his love, Dulcinea, along with whimsical names for the buildings on the property, such as Wizard's Tower and the like. Which, you know, is like Pixie Sticks to my imagination, and I was ever so happy to play along. I finally, finally, finally got to use my infrared camera in a real live wedding shoot!

I'm jazzed with the results. The otherworldly lighting of infrared took great advantage of the landscaping--even though the drought had taken a huge toll on the area--the fantastic white foliage practically glowed around Jonathon and Stephanie! I know I've said it before, but the effect is otherworldly, striking and fantastically stylish. I'm just happy the bride and groom trusted me enough to play along for a few minutes after The Wife had finished the main shots. It was very hot out there, and I know the air conditioned reception hall was calling their names!

Needless to say, I can't wait for those weddings Lisa On Location has booked through October and November. There are some great venues there that I know will be eye-popping in infrared.

Now Playing: Love and Rockets Sorted!
Chicken Ranch Central