The current issue of Smithsonian magazine includes Jenny Woolf’s succinct summary of current critical and popular thought around Mr. Dodgson, focusing on how perceptions are at last changing to a less sensationalized and more fact-based, historically appropriate view: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Lewis-Carrolls-Shifting-Reputation.html
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7/20 PLEASE NOTE: The contest deadline has been extended to August 15th, 2010, to allow you nonsensical writers more time to flex your imaginations. Storypods has asked that you keep your submissions to the 200 word limit. The two winners will be announced on or about August 25th. Liz and Francis also hosted a A Mad Hatter’s Lunch Party that sounds delightful.
Like Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner had a deep appreciation for serious and recreational mathematics [he wrote the famous “Mathematical Games” column in Scientific American for 25 years with more than a few touching on Carroll], a love of language and paradox, and a profound interest in religion. Like Houdini, he was keen on magic tricks and equally intolerant of paranormalists and other charlatans. Martin was always willing to help those who corresponded with him and, although some of us never had the privilege of meeting him, we all knew him and counted him both a learned guide and an always generous friend.
Even if digital readers sound horrible to you, it’s difficult to deny that this new Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland digital pop-up book for the iPad is fascinating. It looks like it successfully balances a functional reading experience with eye-popping fun. Is it any surprise the revolutionary app designers at Atomic Antelope chose Carroll’s story? (Look, their website has Tenniel illustations in its masthead!) This year has also seen the classic Alice tale tapped for the new 3D movie technology, but this is the actual Carroll text and Tenniel being used to demonstrate what a 21st Century digital interactive children’s book might start to look like. There’s a sample version for free at the iStore and the full version sells for $9. Here’s the raving from the geeks at Gizmodo:
 Alice in Slasherland, photograph by Jim Baldassare in the New York Times The Vampire Cowboys Theater Company out of Brooklyn is just finishing up a run of a play called Alice in Slasherland by Qui Nguyen at the Here Arts Center (145 Avenue of the Americas, NYC). The main characters journeying thru Horror movie parodies are named Lewis and Alice, but it’s not clear how much deeper than that the Carroll framework goes. The director Robert Ross Parker summed it up best in the New York Times review: “‘It’s like the story Alice in Wonderland,’ he says, before backtracking absurdly. ‘Which this situation actually doesn’t resemble at all. Like in any way. Not even in theme. Huh. Well, I guess that was a pretty useless observation.’” Danny Elfman’s soundtrack to Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland will be released on CD (an ancient kind of optical disc used to store digital audio) next Tuesday, March 2nd, and there’s some short clips at the Amazon store if you desire a teaser. I couldn’t help noticing the opening song – with children’s voices singing “Oh, Alice, dear where have you been?” – and I found the complete lyrics at a blog called cinemusic.net. I’ll include them with that website’s charming introduction:
I’ve never met a prickly Lewis Carroll purist, let alone a pissed-off one, but I would presume they’re easily decapitated with a vorpal sword. Or defenestrated with a defibrillator. Anyway, if you are not familiar with Mr. Elfman, he is the film composer and long-time collaborator with Mr. Burton, the man wrote the iconic music for Batman, The Simpsons theme, and those wonderful songs for The Nightmare Before Christmas. He has done less-than-stellar work for some of Mr. Burton’s more recent mediocrities. Elfman is often mocked in the classical world for basically having a team of composers do his work for him, although I sometimes feel this criticism is harsh. (After all, Renaissance painters employed whole crews of apprentices, Dale Chihuly has a studio to manifest his glass-art masterpieces, and George Gershwin didn’t do the orchestrations for Rhapsody in Blue (free round of drinks if you can name the composer who did!) Art is not always the product of an agonized solo genius, sometimes she can be more of an architectural designer, et cetera, especially in the film music world. Thus ends this parenthetical rant.)
As dear to my adolescent heart as Elfman’s music for The Nightmare Before Christmas is, there’s many cringeworthy lyrics (e.g., “I wish my cohorts weren’t so dumb / I’m not the dumb one / You’re no fun / Shut up! / Make me!”) I would pay a large sum of money to hire William Shatner to read the lyrics to “Alice’s Theme” as a beat poem accompanied by bongos and upright bass (as he did for Sarah Palin’s verbiage). In conclusion, Mr. Elfman should hire a real librettist.
This fresh vision of Lewis Carroll is by artist Steven Kenny. There is something about the blend of strangeness and comedy that seems just right. 
The 24″ by 18″ oil painting is currently on display at the Glass Garage Gallery in West Hollywood.
More of Steven Kenny’s work can be viewed on his website.
 Jett Jackson: Stuck in Wonderland Welcome to the LCSNA’s blog, where you can read regular updates about Lewis Carroll’s influence on all aspects of life. Please keep in mind that these posts are informational only; we do not endorse any link, statement or product cited below unless we specifically state that within the post. We hope you’ll visit often to review the posts and add comments. Make sure you Subscribe to our feeds so you won’t miss anything! Just click the “All Posts” and/or “Comments” links in the upper right hand corner of this site. To submit items for our blog, please e-mail us at FarFlungKnight@gmail.com. Hot off the press from the Ripon Gazette: The Old Hall next to Ripon Catherdral, the periodic home of the Reverend Charles Dodgson and his family, is on the market.
It was while staying at the Hall that Dodgson wrote “Ye Carpette Knyghte”, as well as “Legend of Scotland” for the Bishop of Ripon’s children. It is also believed that a carved misericord in Ripon Cathedral, which depicts a griffin chasing a rabbit down a rabbit hole, was one of the many inspirations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. (A misericord is a small shelf-like projection beneath a folding seat, often found in medieval churches. When the seat is folded up and the occupant is standing – for example during a six-hour sermon – the misericord may provide a welcome perch for the buttocks. They are also known as “mercy seats.” Misericord is your word of the day, should you chose to accept it.) The Old Hall is described in the estate agents particulars as “an historic Grade II listed detached townhouse dating from the 17th century, standing in delightful walled gardens in this quiet and private position within the shadows of Ripon Cathedral.” It could be yours for only £750,000 – just $1.2 million!
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