Of course he's a hero of mine:
Ray Bradbury had a lifetime of amazing accomplishments but perhaps most notable was living 50+ years in LA without ever learning to drive.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:33 (twelve years ago) link
JL, I have to read Moby-Dick first.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:35 (twelve years ago) link
I remember the film version of Something Wicked really freaking me the fuck out and thinking it was awesome but y'know I was like 13 and haven't seen it since.
― retro-shittified (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:39 (twelve years ago) link
At around age 15, The October Country changed the way I read, the way Hitchcock changed the way I watch movies.
I will never forget you, Mr. Bradbury.
― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:41 (twelve years ago) link
RIP, ray. my first favorite author, not since displaced.
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:41 (twelve years ago) link
(xp to morbius)http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/12/21/1324481045307/Zelig-1983---starring-Woo-007.jpg
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:41 (twelve years ago) link
Martian Chronicles is probably my favorite book of all time.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:42 (twelve years ago) link
Great line I just stumbled across in that Electric Grandmother adaptation I linked earlier, from near the end of the film:
"I forget the difference between loving people and paying attention to them. There is a difference."
Hate to say one line sums up a life's work, but it sums up a large part of it, so well.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:46 (twelve years ago) link
No-one else liked the TV miniseries of The Martian Chronicles, but I loved it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEMWtyAKRhQ
RIP, the Golden Age writers are almost all gone now aren't they?
― A++++++ would deal to again (Matt #2), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:49 (twelve years ago) link
I think a bunch of people around here DID like it.
Pohl is still around.
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:52 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:53 (twelve years ago) link
ha i remember watching that martian chronicles miniseries as a kid and being ... disappointed. but maybe it's good!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:54 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah I remember the miniseries was shown just a few months after the fourth-grade reading I mentioned and I was very, very hyped for it; my parents let me stay up to watch it all. One of the first times I was ever disappointed that they didn't 'film the book,' but you have to learn at some point. I'm sure it comes across as clunky in parts now but I'm glad they did it, hell, I'm still surprised they did it!
I found it very interesting, when I got around to reading Rock Hudson's official biography/autobiography years later, that there's absolutely no mention of it at all in there.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:55 (twelve years ago) link
in that still, it just looks like a Martian guested on an episode of McMillan and Wife.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:58 (twelve years ago) link
Here was a recent mention: The 1970's Science Fiction Movie Poll
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:00 (twelve years ago) link
I'm thinking about the intro segments to that Ray Bradbury Theater (Ray Bradbury Presents?) anthology show from the 80s, where RB sits surrounded by all these crazy toys and pieces of art. 'I just look around and find my inspiration...'
The most memorable episode from that series for me was the one where the kid meets a scary old hobo in a rail car who talks to him about the savagery of the ol' cavemen...
― but he go's to a resturang and then die in a toilet (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:01 (twelve years ago) link
the something wicked movie is truncated and conventionalized and the two kids aren't very good but jason robards (as will's dad the fearfully aging town librarian) and jonathan pryce (as MR. DARK) are both great and the movie kinda naturally recenters on them. they have a totally great scene together when mr. dark offers will's dad his youth in exchange for betraying the kids, and offers him one less year removed for each few seconds he hesitates, it is torture porn but just w/ talking.
― a hauntingly unemployed american (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:03 (twelve years ago) link
Nobody on this thread liked the miniseries: Ray Bradbury's _The Martian Chronicles_
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:04 (twelve years ago) link
pam grier, too, in something wicked!
― a hauntingly unemployed american (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:04 (twelve years ago) link
I think it's a sign of how specific and towering Bradbury was that I was convinced 'The Ugly Little Boy' was by him until I checked just now and discovered it was Asimov. It just SEEMS like it would be a perfect Bradbury story.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:06 (twelve years ago) link
Thanks for that link to the thread there, James Redd, had almost forgotten about that. But a lot of the comments on the miniseries there are positive!
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:09 (twelve years ago) link
Something that really made me happy decades ago was reading in Arthur C. Clarke's autobiography how much he loved "The Crowd."
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:10 (twelve years ago) link
You're welcome, Ned. Sorry, but I can't read whole threads carefully anymore, I have moved down the message board life cycle chain as described by Tom in his paper.
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:12 (twelve years ago) link
I always had a special place in my heart for The Man Upstairs.
The TV version from Rad Bradbury Theater is excellent as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Mv1Lzsyus
― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:13 (twelve years ago) link
Meantime, the things I learn -- so Deadmau5's latest single is (and is inspired by)...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiUAq4aVTjY
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
Ray Bradbury meets Groucho Marx. Crazy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3B1lYtTJQI
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:35 (twelve years ago) link
He makes an interesting appearance in this book: http://howtowreckanicebeach.com/
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:37 (twelve years ago) link
man, i loved this guy. reading 'the fog horn' at 9 or whatever was one of the more mindblowing moments of my reading life. i still don't know how he made a lonely dinosaur tearing down a lighthouse seem so poetic and beautiful and sad.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:44 (twelve years ago) link
There is a mention of him in Ballard's intro to his complete short stories that is quoted in the Guardian obithttp://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jun/06/ray-bradbury
At its best, in Borges, Ray Bradbury and Edgar Allan Poe, the short story is coined from precious metal, a glint of gold that will glow for ever in the deep purse of your imagination
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 17:44 (twelve years ago) link
David Brin in Salon:
http://www.salon.com/2012/06/06/ray_bradbury_american_optimist/singleton/
It's very likely I first became aware of Bradbury by seeing him on the network moon-landing coverage.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:46 (twelve years ago) link
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius)
doing it now and easier than you think
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
somehow i'd never read 'the veldt' before. jesus, that's great.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
Great summer reading. Like curling up with a stack of comic books and Ray Bradbury. RIP.
― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Bulgarian Tourist Chamber (Mount Cleaners), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:06 (twelve years ago) link
they have a totally great scene together when mr. dark offers will's dad his youth in exchange for betraying the kids, and offers him one less year removed for each few seconds he hesitates, it is torture porn but just w/ talking.
That scene blew my mind when I was 12, and now that I'm older, it blows my mind even more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmRdHVkqS_k
― Julie Derpy (Phil D.), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:12 (twelve years ago) link
― A++++++ would deal to again (Matt #2), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:49 (2 hours ago) Permalink
― I don't know what to read so I am reading it here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 16:52 (2 hours ago) Permalink
Jack Vance is still with us as well. Even older than Bradbury.
― Guess what? They crucified him. (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
I'd put October Country up against any other scary story anthology. So great. Really, really wish all my old Bradbury paperbacks weren't in storage in another state right now.
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:26 (twelve years ago) link
Can never forget this (affectionate?) jab from The Simpsons:
Martin Prince: As your president, I would demand a science-fiction library, featuring an ABC of the genre. Asimov, Bester, Clarke.Student: What about Ray Bradbury?Martin Prince: I'm aware of his work...
― Julie Derpy (Phil D.), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago) link
I'd put October Country up against any other scary story anthology.
Oh my goodness yes. "The Man Upstairs" and "The Jar" are worth the price of admission by themselves. For some reason "The Next In Line" has always stuck in my mind. It's vague and abstract, the plot more a sketch than a drawing, and that is exactly its strength.
― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago) link
The October Country is his most surreal book, I'd say. And probably my favorite. Though you can't mess much with The Illustrated Man.
― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:44 (twelve years ago) link
Has anyone read Arkham's Dark Carnival collection (o.g. version of October Country)? How do they compare?
― Guess what? They crucified him. (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:44 (twelve years ago) link
xp (Unless you try to make a movie starring Rod Steiger out of it. No thank you, but an E for effort.)
― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:46 (twelve years ago) link
That Brin piece just reminded me of 'All Summer in a Day,' which I'd almost forgotten. I am positive that's the first Bradbury I'd ever read, back in third grade or so. Between that and a lot of Charles Schulz you got as perfect a description of child-on-child cruelty as you could imagine.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:48 (twelve years ago) link
'zero hour' scared the hell out of me when i first read it. funny how many bradbury stories seem to turn on the idea that very young children naturally resent and hate their parents.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
RIP
― monster_xero, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:24 (twelve years ago) link
his last ever article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/06/04/120604fa_fact_bradbury
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:30 (twelve years ago) link
― Chris S, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:39 (twelve years ago) link
xp I guess that's a fitting send-off. RIP
― instant coffee happening between us (a passing spacecadet), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:45 (twelve years ago) link
Back in the 1970s when Laguna Beach was still a weirdo artist beach town and not a MTV meme, there was a bookstore called Fahrenheit 451. The store carried a lot of counter-culture and beat lit along with lots of sci-fi and it always a hang-out for me. Ray Bradbury would always come by a couple times a year to read, sign books, and just yak with people - perpetually bemused that someone named a store after one of his books. I went to see him there... I was ten years old and completely in love with The Golden Apples of the Sun short stories. First time I stood in line to meet anyone - he signed my book and then said ""with a book, you'll always have a friend." Never forgot that.
Anyway, next to his writing perhaps Bradbury's most important lesson is in how to be a cranky old man and yet still be cool and enthusiastic.
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:50 (twelve years ago) link
Other great picture of him is his reaction shot on seeing the Rachel Bloom video.
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:53 (twelve years ago) link
I'd put October Country up against any other scary story anthology. So great. ― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Wednesday, June 6, 2012 12:26 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post PermalinkOh my goodness yes. "The Man Upstairs" and "The Jar" are worth the price of admission by themselves. For some reason "The Next In Line" has always stuck in my mind. It's vague and abstract, the plot more a sketch than a drawing, and that is exactly its strength....The October Country is his most surreal book, I'd say. And probably my favorite. Though you can't mess much with The Illustrated Man.― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, June 6, 2012 12:44 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Wednesday, June 6, 2012 12:26 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
...The October Country is his most surreal book, I'd say. And probably my favorite. Though you can't mess much with The Illustrated Man.
― cue "White Rabbit" (kenan), Wednesday, June 6, 2012 12:44 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:59 (twelve years ago) link