hey,

just figured id start a disscussion,

okay,

so.. the song "space oddity" seems to be influenced by ray's work.. i can't remember the exact title of the story, so bear with me; but i remember it being about a man who visits his family before taking off into space again. i think it was in r for rocket?? his name was tom this i remember, and well the lyrics of this song creep me out when i think it over.

lol, also what about the song rocket man? yeah i know its goofy, but an intresting thought.hehe.

what does ray think of star wars? im a huge fan of that, and am not here to promote or debate, just wondering.

when is sound of thunder coming out?. ive been going crazy waiting to hear some news of it. haven't had time to be on the board much, so any info would be helpful.

how much like green town is waukegen nowadays?
ive always wanted to visit, and one day when i can vacation((at this rate,years,lol)) i would like to see it.

ray was the first author i really got into as a kid, and have continued pursuing since. it is a shame, but i think ill never get to meet the man. at a book signing or whatever. i live in florida so i doubt the oppurtunity will happen anytime soon.

just wondering,

Gary:

'Rocket Man' was written by Elton John with Bradbury specifically in mind. No small secret that people like Ringo Starr are huge fans of ray Bradbury as well.

Don't know the latest on Ray's views of recent Star Wars movies. He wasn't too hot on the first one way back when. His good friend and 'teacher' Leigh Brackett wrote 'Empire Strikes Back'. Maybe he was more partial to that later one.

'A Sound of Thunder' hits the big screen this Labor Day weekend... beginning Sept 2nd, 2005.

How much is Waukegan today like Green Town, IL? Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I remember reading a poet writing in the 1800's, describing his town, and it sounded just like Ray Bradbury's Green Town, IL. I suppose you could find some philosopher-poet in the year 800 AD describing his home where he grew up, and sounding just like Green Town, IL. It's about the heart and the hopes for a grand tomorrow. I have some recent photos on my website of Waukegan, should you wish to see. Once you get on the website, click on the 'Bradbury' icon. http://www.catchaway.com

_

How old are you? Find out if anyone in your family is visiting Los Angeles any time soon, and do what you can to hitch a ride. Ray speaks even now pretty frequently around town. You may just catch up with him afterall. Stay positive.

It's kind of surprising that the home town described in "Look Homeward, Angel," by Thomas Wolfe, does not come off better, considering that Asheville, North Carolina, is supposed to be a really beautiful place.

I don't know what Jean Shepherd's real-life home town was like, but considering how nostalgic a movie "A Christmas Story" is, the rest of the book made the town sound like a real junk heap.

Bradbury's home town does have a number of beautiful points, but it's definitely "eye of the beholder" in emphasizing some above others.

All of this reminds me of the "Twilight Zone" episode called "A Stop At Willoughby"...

wel, im 22, living on my own; but do plan to visit every part of the united states i can in the future.

i may get to see waukegen in the near future as i and my fiancee plan a roadtrip up north to see some of her relatives.

do they still do the bradbury tour in waukegen?
also, hows the resoration of the library going?

and further more,((lot of ?'s,lol)), are there any bradbury based plays going on, or coming up in the future? are they enacted in several theatres, or travel, or does it tend to stick to los angles,etc.

thanks for any info you have given and can give.

Is this true about David Bowie's song? Where is this information from?

give me a day and ill look it up, i just gathered as much because of the eerie similarity between the song and the story.. hmmm, i can't remember the title of the story..darn.

his name was tom, he had a son who lived with his wife, he had to leave to go back into space. ironically enough i think he was a major,lol.

i think it was called, rocket summer?

ill post up tomorrow with whatever info i can get.
im sure its a concidence ,but if its dead on then,wow.

Yeah, I was thinking about Willoughby, too....I think about Willoughby a lot while my boss is yelling at me.... Green Town is a state of mind. Like Willoughby.

Another good "Twilight Zone" episode on that theme is "Walking Distance."

Willoughby. Maybe not walking distance but isn’t that just a hop, skip and a long jump west of Brigadoon? Boy, would I like to stop off at Willoughby. The story was expanded on and made into a CBS film in 2000 called “For All Time”, directed by Steven Schachter and staring Mark Harmon and Mary McDonnell. It was so charming you’d swear it was co-written by Ray Bradbury, Rod Searling, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont and Clifford D. Simak.

Nice place, but (the most I can say without offering a spoiler for those who haven't seen the episode) the ticket price is awfully high.

Yes, Dandelion, the ticket price was high. But that’s one of the appealing things about the expanded version, “For All Time”. They changed the rates.

You may be able to ID this Zone just from a single line spoken by one of the characters>>>

"It's a COOKBOOK!"

"To Serve Man" with Richard Kiel as the very tall alien.
You can even get a t-shirt on Amazon displaying the title and him holding the infamous book!

"To Serve Man" was based on a Richard MAtheson short, too. Matheson is a huge name is Science Fiction. Other notables by Matheson: The movies "What Dreams May Come" starring Robin Williams and "The Incredible Shrinking Man". I believe I also read somewhere he was the most adapted author for the Twilight Zone... meaning more of his shorts were turned into episodes than any other writer.

I can't seem to find anything on Borders.com to verify all this, but I believe I am correct. I also suspect he wrote "Terror at 20,000 Feet" (the infamous episode with WIlliam Shatner and the gremlin on the wing of the plane) as well as - so I think I once heard - the story that Speilberg's first flick - called "Duel" - was based on.


Good stuff.

Also, on the episode of TZ titled "Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?" the crazy old man references the writer when he says:

"This is turnin' inta a reg'lar Ray Bradbury!"

And Willoughby along with "Time Enough at Last" are my favorite episodes.

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