JMS SPEAKS

[absom4]

The worst thing is that I can see this thing continuing until he's lost all plot options. He definitely needs a new address and a very very short list of people with access.

[Lyta Alexander]

I believe this happened once before where the Great Maker became upset regarding story ideas sent to his e-mail account as well as general questions. When he left the original B5 newsgroup (RAST) which still exisits, and moved to the moderated board he set the guidlines down regarding when, if ever to use his personal e-mail account. He layed it on the line from day one that if the posts got out of line regarding story ideas etc. he would have to leave.

Luckily, it looks like things have cooled down a bit.

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: JMS...about being "left alone" on Spider-Man
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=red>However, how will plot threads in the sister title, Peter Parker affect you? For instance, I understand PP will be bringing back Mary Jane...surely that would be addressed in Amazing somehow, correct?</font>

What Paul and I discussed is that I'll be over here doing my thing, he'll be over there doing his thing, and if there's something that I'm doing that he wants to capitalize on, or something he's doing that I want to incorporate, we're free to do so, but otherwise we're on our own.

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: Did your audio in "ItF" also sound flat?
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=red>Did anyone else think that the audio in "Into the Fire" from 010115
sounded unusually flat, even by SFC standards? I initially thought it might have been a general signal quality issue, but the commercials sounded "normal."

I also thought the overall volume level of the program itself sounded lower than usual, but it's a little harder to be sure about that.

Anybody else have similar impressions?</font>

I think the problem is being caused by running digital sound through an analog
dolby decoder at the point of broadcast.

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: various from jms
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

A number of items here, of varying timeliness and relevance.

As some have noted, Bookface.com is now an ex-website. For those wanting to get their hands on Tribulations, the book is still available from darktales.com. There are no plans currently to put the book up anywhere else
online.

Rising Stars 12 and Midnight Nation 5 came out a few weeks ago (would've made more mention of this but it's been kinda hectic here lately on a number of fronts).

(And speaking of comics stuff, Crusade writer and B5 Reference Editor Fiona Avery wrote the script for the X-Men Annual 2000, which came out last week from Marvel. Her own series, No Honor, will debut from Top Cow late February. Folks can keep up on her stuff at www.fionaavery.com)

My first draft screenplay for the Rising Stars movie went in on Christmas day, and the studio reaction has been EXTREMELY positive. I can't say more about this at the moment, but things are looking very good for the long haul on this.

I've turned in 4 scripts for new City of Dreams episodes, but due to production
tie-ups on other projects at Seeing Ear Theater, they won't be up at www.scifi.com/cityofdreams until around the first week of February.

Finally...and you'll have to forgive the vagueness of this...B5 fans may want to keep their ears to the ground for the next few weeks. There are several things that have been simmering for a while now, which I haven't commented on because I wanted them to be realities, not possibilities, before I said anything. I think the former may finally be working out...so keep an eye on
this newsgroup for the next few weeks. There may be a number of interesting
announcements.

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: various from jms
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=yellow>Avery wrote the script for the X-Men Annual 2000, Actually, I believe she just did the dialogue.</font>

That's what the script is in comics as Marvel tends to do them. There's Plot and there's Script, the latter being the dialogue. The credit in the book says "script by."

So far today I'm two for two....

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: various from jms - writing question
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=red>But hey. The question.

Did you ever hit a period like that?</font>


Sure. Half of what writing is, is learning what needs to be thrown out...getting the thought down one way, the wrong way, so you can then figure out how to write it the *right* way.

And canceling emails before sending is sometimes the best thing one can do with them.

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Your wife's reaction? (repost)
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=red>NOTE: Original question is not available. Lyta</font>

I think she'd be open to the possibility.

As for the best of the bunch, I'd have to say it's probably the technomage trilogy, or what I've seen of it so far.

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: Att. JMS - Babylon 5 Short Stories - Please Put 'Em Together &
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=red>With the demise on Babylon 5 Magazine and Amazing Stories, wouldn't it make sense if all the Babylon 5 short stories, that were published in both magazines, could be put in ONE book, that could be sold to the fans?</font>

We've mentioned it to Del Rey, but they haven't done anything about it.

jms

[Lyta Alexander]

Subject: Re: ATTN JMS: Fourth, or Fifth? (Tribulations)
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

<font color=red>It's originally (and logically) "Fourth Estate", but in recent decades it's gotten hopelessly entangled with "Fifth Column", and tends to come out "Fifth Estate".

JMS is a smart guy and a terrific writer, but he sometimes slips up on stuff like this, by not checking on things that "everybody knows".</font>

It's not a question of not checking. The journalism profession is often referred to as the fourth estate. I actually have the quote on reference in which that phrase is first coined:

"...there were Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reporters' Gallery there sat a Fourth Estate more important than them all. It is not a figure of speech, or a witty saying; it is a literal fact. Printing...is equivalent to Democracy; invent Writing, Democracy is inevitable. Whoever can speak now to the whole nation, becomes a power, a branch of government, with inalienable weight in law-making, in all acts of authority.

Carlyle, Historian, 1905"

So much for the first part of your statement, that I don't check these things out.

The problem is that the *electronic* media have begun to be referred to as the *fifth* estate. The problem widens in that now a number of reporters, commentators, and politicians tend to refer to the fifth estate and include journalism in that category.

So in some cases, I use Fifth Estate as a catch-all for all the media, as noted above, and as used in hundreds of other publications (and TV shows, including one news series based in Canada which is called The Fifth Estate).

You can tack your apology to the front door alongside Martin Luther's theses on the way out.

jms