Over $10 Million for Disney's Broadway Tarzan Pre-Sold
Disney gets ready to play "musical chairs" with some of its Broadway musicals 
Jim Hill Media ~ September 27, 2005
Sometimes, you just have to admire the chutzpah of the folks running Disney Theatrical. 
I mean, here they are. Their next musical, "Tarzan," doesn't even open at the Richard Rogers Theater 'til May 9th of next year. But these guys are already hard at work on the musical that they'll open after that. And the musical after that. And the musical after that. . . . 

Industry insiders don't know quite what to make of Disney's decision not to take "Tarzan" out-of-town for a try-out. From a financial point-of-view, it certainly makes sense. Given what it would have cost to truck all of Pichon Baldinu's flying rigs back and forth to Boston. But the only problem with doing six weeks of previews in New York is all those prying eyes. As in: Broadway insiders who will attend early performances of "Tarzan" and then go home and post their opinions of the show on www.talkinbroadway.com. This is the one aspect of staying in town that actually concerns the folks at Disney Theatrical.  That the catty crew over at All That Chat might get some bad buzz going about the show while "Tarzan" 's creative team is still working out the kinks. And should the mainstream press pick up on these rumors ... Well, that might result in "Tarzan" becoming another long running Broadway hit . . .

 One final warning about this new Disney Theatrical show: You may want to move quickly if you're looking to secure tickets for "Tarzan." Disney has already made this show available for group sales. And -- as of today -- over $10 million worth of seats for this show have already been sold.  And given that the Broadway version of "Tarzan" is allegedly costing Disney Theatrical around $10 million to produce ... Well, this may be the very first time that a show will actually in the black before it opens on Broadway. 
 

 
After a decade, dedicated mission to be sent to Venus
Sify.com India ~ November 6, 2005
Paris: Poor Venus. The twinkling planet named after the Goddess of Love. . . . For years, her beauty was the stuff of dreams. Then, when that beauty was stripped away to reveal horror, she was abandoned. Now Earth wants to reach out to her once more. If all goes well, at 03:33 GMT on Wednesday, a Russian rocket will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, taking aloft the first dedicated mission to Earth's closest neighbour in more than a decade. 

Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is often referred to as our sister. Like Earth, the third rock from the Sun, it is a solid planet. The planets are also astonishingly similar in size and density, and they were both formed at about the same time—some 4.5 billion years ago, from a thickening cluster of orbiting dust and gas. "There the similarities end," ESA notes bleakly. "Venus has no surface water, a toxic, heavy atmosphere made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide with clouds of sulphuric acid, and at the surface the atmospheric pressure is over 90 times that of Earth at sea-level. The surface of Venus is the hottest in the solar system, at a searing 477 Celsius." 
In short: temperate Earth is a paradise, a place of riotous biodiversity; Venus is quite literally a hell. It was not always seen that way. From the middle of the 17th century, astronomers began to popularise the notion that Venus—so close, so bright, and so warm—was a haven for life. A catalyst for this perception was France's Camille Flammarion (1842-1925), whose writings were a huge inspiration for science-fiction novelists of the 1930s and 40s, led by Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
Like colonial Africa, Venus was seen as a virgin world with a hot, steamy jungle climate and its inhabitants were exotic, dangerous and sexy—Venus Swamp Girl, a lurid story of the time, being a good example. All this made Venus prime choice for the first interplanetary missions of the space age. But what a shock it was, in the mid-1960s, when the pioneering Soviet and US probes sent back data showing a scorching landscape with a suffocating and poisonous atmosphere. With that, interest in Venus quickly petered out, and mission funding switched to the distant gassy giants which form the Solar System's big outer planets and to Mars, fourth planet from the Sun. The last dedicated mission to Venus, other than a flyby, was by the US probe Magellan, from 1989-94. It used high-quality radar to make detailed maps of Venus' topography, covering about 98 per cent of the surface. The probe revealed canyons, mountains, volcanoes and volcanic formations as well as craters. But there are almost no craters that are less than two kilometers in size. Smaller space rocks probably burned up by friction with the thick atmosphere before they reached the surface. This time around, the prime focus is not on terrain but on Venus' atmosphere and clouds—aerosol clusters of great complexity and variety, driven by winds that at some heights are faster than the most powerful terrestrial hurricane while at others, close to the surface, are no stronger than a slight breeze. These clouds are mainly responsible for Venus' terrible heat, and understanding how they work will shed light on an important aspect of Earth's greenhouse-gas problem. Venus clouds reflect back 80 per cent of the radiation from the sun. The clouds themselves absorb another 10 per cent, which leaves just 10 per cent to filter down to the surface. But the clouds are such an efficient insulator that the surface heat gets stored up, turning the place into a pressure cooker capable of melting metal. 
Of special interest is the mechanism that causes these very distinct zones in wind velocity and of enigmatic clouds in the high atmosphere, visible only in ultraviolet light, that somehow absorb half of the solar heat received by the planet. . . .

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ERB Wasn't the Only One. . .
CanWest News Service ~ Marc Horton ~ November 3, 2005
EDMONTON -- Arthur Conan Doyle was so sick of Sherlock Holmes, the character with whom his name will be forever linked, that in the story The Final Problem he chucked him off a cliff into Reichenbach Falls in the Swiss Alps. Conan Doyle vainly hoped he'd seen the last of Holmes, his pipe, his cocaine and his scratchy violin.  It was not to be, and fans forced Conan Doyle to bring him back to life. 

Agatha Christie wanted to strangle Hercule Poirot, the dapper five-foot-four-inch Belgian, and his endless references to the little grey cells that helped him solve crimes. Christie wanted to be rid of his glasses of sirop de cassis and his suspiciously black moustache and patent leather shoes. Her publisher wouldn't let her do it. She was stuck with Poirot. 
More . . .

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The Legacy of 'Tarzan' Brown Lives On:
 Area celebrates 30th Tarzan Brown Road Race
Shore Publishing ~ Madison, CT ~ By Erica Gradecki ~ November 4, 2005
Mystic - He has been called "boisterous," "unpredictable," and even "wild." He lives on as a legend to runners and journalists. He is Ellison Myers "Tarzan" Brown, and this Sunday he is honored at the 30th Tarzan Brown Mystic River Run. Born in 1914, Brown made a name for himself as "Tarzan" in running circles, after the hit film, "Tarzan," came out in 1932. A Narragansett Native American, Brown lived in the Alton and Ashaway areas of Rhode Island and became quite the runner in his time. More. . .

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Beyond the Farthest Star ~ Glow from first stars revealed 
By Paul Rincon ~ BBC News ~ November 3, 2005
The first stars left their mark on the cosmic infrared background.
Astronomers have detected a faint glow from the first stars to form in the Universe, Nature journal reports. This earliest group of stars, called Population III, probably formed from primordial gas less than 200 million years after the Big Bang. These objects cannot be seen by any present or planned telescopes. Nasa scientists detected the stars from the imprint they have left on the general glow of infrared radiation dispersed throughout the cosmos. . . . more. . . 

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Google posts first books online 
BBC News ~ November 3, 2005
The first works scanned and put online as part of Google's controversial print project have been unveiled. Included in this opening swathe are many 19th Century works of American literature and history. The works were chosen because they are out of copyright and unaffected by legal action that led Google to briefly halt its digitisation project. Groups representing authors and publishers say the project amounts to copyright infringement. . . . 
Despite the legal challenge this week Google re-started its scanning project to put books online. As well as legal challenges Google faces competition from a similar rival plan to scan books by the Open Content Alliance which counts Microsoft, Yahoo and the Internet Archive among its backers. 

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Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory
The Onion ~ August 17, 2005
KANSAS CITY, KS—As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held "theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling. . . . 

Proponents of Intelligent Falling assert that the different theories used by secular physicists to explain gravity are not internally consistent. Even critics of Intelligent Falling admit that Einstein's ideas about gravity are mathematically irreconcilable with quantum mechanics. This fact, Intelligent Falling proponents say, proves that gravity is a theory in crisis.  . . .

The ECFR, in conjunction with the Christian Coalition and other Christian conservative action groups, is calling for public-school curriculums to give equal time to the Intelligent Falling theory. They insist they are not asking that the theory of gravity be banned from schools, but only that students be offered both sides of the issue "so they can make an informed decision." . . .
 
 

Goodall speaks at Schweitzer conference
By Tanya Lagatella ~ Quinnipiac University Chronicle, Connecticut ~ November 2, 2005
The Albert Schweitzer Institute hosted the "Reverence for Life Revisited: Albert Schweitzer's Relevance Today," conference with internationally respected primatologist and keynote speaker Dr. Jane Goodall, who welcomed a whistling and roaring crowd with a bellowing chimpanzee greeting. . . .
"How did a little girl growing up in England before World War II get involved with studying Chimpanzees," Goodall said. She described how she became involved with primatology. 

"I owe just about everything I've done right with my life and nothing I've done wrong in my life to my mother," Goodall said. Her mother supported her passion and curiosity for all living things. She introduced Goodall to the book "Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs when she was 11 years old.

"Of course I was jealous when he married that wimpy other Jane," Goodall said. At 11 years old decided she would move to Africa and study the native animals of the undiscovered dark continent.

Goodall's mother told her to work hard, take advantage of opportunities, and never give up. "Don't let anyone laugh you out of a dream," Goodall said. She vividly remembers the skeptics who told her to pick a more achievable dream. In the summer of 1960, a 26-year old Goodall arrived on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa to study the local chimpanzee population. There was no precedent for a girl from England with no university schooling to study animals in Africa. 

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Houston, Chicago: Tale of two cities
Major League Baseball News ~ Mark Newman ~ October 21, 2005
Chicago is the third-largest city in America ~ Houston is fourth. It means that representatives of two of the four largest cities in the country will meet in a World Series . . . Read the tale of two World Series cities:
Meanwhile ERB fans will be interested in a few of the Chicago facts presented in this newsstory: 

• Chicago is the birthplace of Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
• Chicago is the Sears Tower, once the tallest building in the world. 
• Chicago is soul food, Chicago-style dogs, deep dish pizza and one of the birthplaces of the blues.. 
• Chicago is "my kind of town," according to Frank Sinatra. It was "Sweet Home Chicago" to anyone who watched the "Blues Brothers," and the group Chicago had hit after hit. 
• Chicago is the new home to Boeing, making it the area's largest company. 
• Chicago is lake-effect snow in the winter. 
• Chicago invented the zipper. 
• Chicago is the Adler Planetarium, which was the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. 
• Chicago is where a young man named Hugh Hefner started a publication called Playboy on South Harper Street in 1953. 
• Chicago is mighty Sue, the largest T-Rex skeleton to be uncovered, and well known to visitors at the Field Museum. 
• Chicago is Rush Street late at night, Michigan Avenue along the lakefront, and Western Avenue -- the longest street in the world. It's traffic on the Eisenhower or Kennedy. 
• Chicago is where Arthur Andersen once was the fifth largest of the Big Five accounting firms until it surrendered its Certified Public Accounting license in 2002 
• Chicago is another go-round on the Ferris wheel, the first of which made its debut in 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition there. 
• Chicago is usually too cold, but sometimes it is just right. 
• Chicago is the location of the world's first atomic reaction -- at the University of Chicago. 
• Chicago was the Great Fire. 

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Apes 'extinct in a generation' 
BBC News ~ Richard Black
The great apes are our kin. . . but we have not treated them with the respect they deserve - Kofi Annan
Some of the great apes - chimps, gorillas, and orangutans - could be extinct in the wild within a human generation, a new assessment concludes. Human settlement, logging, mining and disease mean that orangutans in parts of Indonesia may lose half of their habitat within five years. There are now more than 20,000 humans on the planet for every chimpanzee. . . . One critically endangered species is the Sumatran orangutan, of which around 7,300 remain in the wild. "Critically endangered means that their numbers have decreased, or will decrease, by 80% within three generations." 

The mountain gorilla of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Cross River gorilla, found on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, are also listed as critically endangered, with numbers estimated at 700 and 250 respectively. For gorillas and chimpanzees, ebola fever is emerging as a significant threat. "If we find ways to protect apes from the ebola virus, we also will protect humans," it concludes. Bushmeat hunting and habitat removal by logging are also major issues. . . .

 
When 'collector' really means 'clutter'
Metro News Toronto ~ Brenda Borenstein ~ October 20, 2005
When a client admits to me they are a "collector," I know in advance that a huge overhaul will be in order. Last week I visited a lovely couple, "Tarzan and Jane." They are collectors, and they proudly gave me the grand tour of their 3,000-sq. ft. home. From the moment I walked in I felt claustrophobic. Every inch of every wall was covered with collectible Disney plates, flags, dolphin plaques and stickers. Every piece of furniture was adorned with Barbies, Beanie Babies and super heroes. . . .
More . . .

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Picard Salutes Roddenberry in Song
http://www.bryanmc.com/video/disturbing.mpg
Gene Roddenberry's Funeral
http://www.nasonart.com/writing/roddenberry.html

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Schoonover's family and fans on hunt to track down his paintings
Associated Press ~ Randall Chase ~ October 16, 2005
WILMINGTON, Del. - . . .  Louise Schoonover Smith, granddaughter of famed illustrator Frank E. Schoonover, is heading an effort to publish a catalog documenting each of his more than 2,500 known works. . . . While Smith and her team remain on the hunt, she acknowledges some paintings might never be found. . . . Nevertheless, the retired teacher said the project is "going great guns," and that plans remain on track for publication of a two-volume catalog in 2007. . . . As of now, the fund has tracked down more than 750 original paintings and its database numbers more than 2,300 entries.

Schoonover, born in 1877, began his career at Philadelphia's Drexel Institute under the tutelage of Howard Pyle, who was a mentor for a host of other illustrators, including Maxfield Parrish, Jessie Wilcox Smith, Stanley Arthurs and N.C. Wyeth. Schoonover, who worked with Pyle before establishing his own studio in Wilmington in 1906, contributed to the illustrated magazines of the day, including The American Boy, Collier's Weekly, Country Gentleman, Harper's, Ladies Home Journal, Scribner's and The Saturday Evening Post. He also collaborated with authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Zane Grey and illustrated more than 150 books. . . . Schoonover suffered a series of debilitating strokes in the late 1960s and died in 1972 at the age of 95. 
More . . .

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Caught in our Web:
Jim Cawthorn - Longtime ERBANIA Artist 
Remembers Tarzan Adventures - Michael Moorcock - etc.
James Cawthorn interviewed by David Britton (1979)
http://www.savoy.abel.co.uk/HTML/cawth.html
 

Wild Gorillas Seen To Use Tools
BBC News ~ September 30, 2005
"What's fascinating is the similarity between what these creatures have done and what we do." Thomas Breuer 
Gorillas have been seen for the first time using simple tools to perform tasks in the wild, researchers say. Scientists observed gorillas in a remote Congolese forest using sticks to test the depth of muddy water and to cross swampy areas. Wild chimps and orangutans also use tools, suggesting that the origins of tool use may predate the evolutionary split between apes and humans. Gorillas are endangered, with some populations numbered in the hundreds. 
More. . .

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Sam's barred from playing Tarzan on Broadway ... because he's not American 
Evening Times UK ~ September 2005
A TALENTED schoolboy could be blocked from playing Tarzan in a £6million Broadway production because of union rules. Casting bosses want Sam Angell, 11, to play the starring role in the Disney show after he impressed them with his acting talents and convincing American accent at auditions in New York. But because he is not an American, the US Actors' Equity Association have banned him from playing the part of Boy Tarzan in the big-budget musical - which has a score written by Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Phil Collins - when it opens in New York in May next year. Now lawyers are looking at the case to see if anything can be done to get round the strict rules. The union states foreigners cannot appear on Broadway unless "they are an established star or can do something that an American actor can't do". 

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Asiana Airlines flies to the Windy City 
Welcome To Manila Bulletin Online ~ September 27, 2005
Discover this Midwestern American city full of vibrant museums, restaurants, historic sites, great shopping, architectural wonders, and a downtown area that most film lovers will recognize. Pierce Brosnan stole paintings from a Chicago museum in "The Thomas Crown Affair." Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman fell in love walking home in "While You Were Sleeping." Richard Gere swayed in "Shall We Dance?." And of course, in Chicago, most recently, its downtown streets became Gotham City in "Batman Begins."

Chicago offers tourist sites such as the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, the must-not-be missed Art Institute of Chicago, and the Shedd Aquarium. Other landmarks are Navy Pier, the Sears Tower Skydeck, and Lincoln Park Zoo. In the suburbs, visit places that honor some of Chicago’s well-known personalities like the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, the Ernest Hemingway Museum, and the Edgar Rice Burroughs Museum. 

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Life for South Africa lion murderer
BBC News ~ September 30, 2005
A South African man convicted of murdering a man whose remains were found in a lion enclosure has been sentenced to life in prison. White farmer Mark Scott-Crossley and an employee beat up black former worker Nelson Chisale, and threw him to lions. The court was unable to establish whether Mr Chisale was already dead when he was thrown into the enclosure, as Scott-Crossley claimed during his defence. The only remains recovered were a few bones and some shredded clothing. 

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Disney Press Release:
TARZAN: Special Edition ~ Swinging Onto DVD October 18!
The Original Adventure, With All-New Games, Music Video, and More 
Official Web Site
BURBANK, Calif., September 28, 2005 – Swing into action and adventure with Disney’s classic animated masterpiece, TARZAN®, packed with fun-filled bonus features and soaring, unforgettable music including “Trashin’ The Camp” and the Academy-Award® winning “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Best Original Song, 1999). 
This SPECIAL EDITION features the new “Terk’s Tree Surfing Challenge,” which includes three games. There is the all-new music video “Strangers Like Me” performed by Everlife; a new Disneypedia featurette on “Living In The Jungle;” plus deleted scenes including an alternate opening, filmmaker’s audio commentary, and music videos featuring Phil Collins and ‘N Sync. 

Disney’s magnificent animated adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s famous story of the legendary ape man begins deep within the jungle when baby Tarzan® is adopted by a family of gorillas. Even though he is shunned as a “hairless wonder” by their leader, Tarzan® is accepted by the gorillas and raised as one of their own. Together with his wisecracking ape buddy Terk and neurotic elephant pal Tantor, Tarzan® learns how to “surf” and swing through the trees and survive in the animal kingdom. His “two worlds” collide with the arrival of humans and the beautiful Jane, forcing Tarzan® to choose between a “civilized” life and the life he knows and loves with his gorilla family. Filled with humor, heart and hilarious fun, TARZAN®, is a timeless story of adventure. 

TARZAN® features an all-star voice cast. Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Rosie O’Donnell, Tony Goldwyn, Brian Blessed, Nigel Hawthorne, Lance Henriksen and Wayne Knight bring this classic story to life. 

DVD bonus features: 
• Terk’s Tree Surfing Challenge (NEW) 
Three separate games in one, with increased difficulty in each game. Included are “Jungle Memory,” “Banana Round Up,” and “Clayton’s Trap.” 
• Disneypedia: Living In The Jungle (NEW) 
Learn about elephants, gorillas, baboons, and leopards in this fun and educational DisneyPedia. See how the real-life animals compare to their animated counterparts. 
• “Strangers Like Me” music video performed by Everlife (NEW) 
• “You’ll Be In My Heart” music video performed by Phil Collins 
• “Strangers Like Me” music video performed by Phil Collins 
• “Trashin’ The Camp” studio session with Phil Collins and ‘N Sync
• Deleted scenes 
• Alternate opening 
• Filmmaker audio commentary 

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The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs
BBC Television

 
Paramount Mars Upheaval
Latest word on the Paramount John Carter/Princess of Mars project is that it is now without director, script or signed actors. Although the already-extended option on the property will soon expire, other major film companies are reportedly waiting in the wings.

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Mars 'more active than suspected' 
BBC News ~ September 21, 2005
New images of Mars suggest the Red Planet's surface is more active than previously thought, the US space agency (Nasa) reports.  Photographs from Nasa's orbiting spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor show recently formed craters and gullies. The agency's scientists also say that deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near the planet's south pole have shrunk for three summers in a row. They say this is evidence to suggest climate change is in progress. 
Mars rumble 
The new gullies appear in an April 2005 image of a sand-dune slope. A previous shot from July 2002 had no trace of them. The team operating the Mars Orbiter Camera on MGS has found many sites on the Red Planet with fresh-looking gullies, and checked back at more than 100 gullied sites for possible changes between imaging dates, but this is the first such find. Such gullies might have formed when frozen carbon dioxide, trapped by windblown sand during winter, vaporised rapidly in spring, releasing gas that made the sand flow as a gully-carving fluid, the team speculate. "To see new gullies and other changes in Mars' surface features on a time span of a few years presents us with a more active, dynamic planet than many suspected," said Nasa's Michael Meyer, Nasa's Mars Exploration Program chief scientist. 
Bright future 
The newly released images also show boulder tracks at another site, which were not there two years ago. Michael Malin, the principal investigator on the Mars Orbiter Camera, said it was possible strong winds or even some kind of seismic activity had caused them to roll to their new positions. But some changes may be happening slower than expected, the scientists report. Studies suggested new impact craters might appear at only about one-fifth the pace assumed previously, Dr Malin said. This had important implications, he added, because crater counts were used to estimate the ages of Martian surfaces. The Mars Global Surveyor has been orbiting the planet since 1997; Nasa expects it to carry on doing so for several years to come. "Our prime mission ended in early 2001, but many of the most important findings have come since then, and even bigger ones might lie ahead," said Tom Thorpe, project manager for Mars Global Surveyor.

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ERB LIBRARY DISPLAY IN POCATELLO
KPVI NBC News ~ September 20, 2005 
The Marshall Public Library in Pocatello is home to several displays this month. One in particular marks the 130th birthday of one of Pocatello's most famous sons. 

Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the Tarzan series, bought a stationery store downtown while residing in Pocatello. He even established a horseback newspaper route. He moved to the area in 1898 after being discharged from the Army. 

Another display showcases local troops currently serving in the military. Information on where soldiers are serving with newsletters and updates are available at the library for the public to view. 

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Cafe Metropole Correction: Paris ~ September 22, 2005
Last week (See previous ERBzine News item) there was a minor reference to a town named Tarzana here. I searched the Web for a mention of a reunion of Tarzana residents, which was related to, not much, nothing at all. Most of what I found were real estate Web sites and a tiny bit of history, which I tossed in, for the usual reasons. I even asked Metropole's Hollywood contact about Tarzana, and what Alan said wasn't promising. But with a hint from him I grabbed my atlas and discovered for the first time in my entire life that the San Fernando Valley is north of Los Angeles. It's not where I thought it was, out east. I was amazed at the discovery. All those books, and I got them all wrong.

So when Bill Hillman wrote to point out a few minor errors with my brief history of Tarzana I wasn't too surprised. With a whole new valley where I thought there were only mountains, small wonder that Tarzana is in it. Bill is the editor for the Official Edgar Rice Burroughs 'Zine, so hit the link and get the real goods – on Tarzana, on Tarzan and ERB himself.

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Interesting Site:
Turning the Pages at the British Library:

Original Alice work in 3D online 
BBC News ~ September 22, 2005
The original manuscript of what became Alice in Wonderland has been put online by the British Library using software to virtually turn the pages. Alice's Adventures Under Ground, by Lewis Carroll, is the latest 3D addition to the Library's Turning the Pages collection of books. Using Flash technology, the manuscript can be virtually "handled", while audio is played simultaneously. Fourteen rare books and manuscripts are now in the Turning Pages collection. 
Alice joins the Diamond Sutra, Jane Austen's History of England, the Leonardo Notebook, the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Mercator Atlas of Europe among others. The Lindisfarne Gospels were the first of the British Library delicate and rare manuscripts to go digital in 1998. Since then, the page-turning technology to make the books more "real" online has been refined. The technology gives the public a chance to almost touch works which would otherwise be untouchable inside glass cabinets. Actress Miriam Margolyes has provided the optional voiceover to go with the virtual Alice manuscript. 

Close ups 
The pages of the book can be browsed by the click of a mouse or by scrolling through each page individually. 
The program also means readers can enlarge text as well as see the original illustrations in the manuscript. In the original Alice manuscript, Carroll included the first sketch of Alice Liddell who provided the inspiration for Alice in his books. It was drawn in pencil from a photo of Alice aged seven but he was not satisfied with the sketch so replaced it with a photo of Alice instead.  In 1977, the pencil drawing was rediscovered hidden under the photo. The virtual 90-page virtual manuscript contains all 37 original illustrations.  The British Library Turning the Pages books are also on display . . .  in the National Library of Medicine near Washington, USA. 
 

 
Misinformation Site of the Week
Cafe Metropole Club:  The "TARZANA!" Report of the Week 
September 15, 2005
This is the name of some good old town, named thusly because Tarzan used to live there, so beloved by its current and former residents that they have a reunion there. Dates, frequency, unknown.The official history, all versions of it, is brief. Edgar Rice Burroughs settled there in 1910 and called his spread the 'Tarzana Ranch' because it was the local name. Two years later he created 'Tarzan,' but it was some years later that the book was published. In fact, Tarzana was supposed to be called 'Runnymede.' Imagine, instead of 'Tarzan of the Apes,' he wrote 'Runnymede of the Apes.' Tarzana was incorporated in 1930, but despite everything, is not a legit 'City of the Week.'

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Beyond the Farthest Planet
Hubble reveals new map of Pluto 
By Paul Rincon ~ BBC News ~ September 12, 2005
Astronomers have produced a new colour map of Pluto, the most distant planet in our Solar System, using images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The detailed map shows areas likely to be methane frost and a bright spot perhaps made of frozen carbon monoxide. . . . The latest global map was produced using data obtained by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) between July 2002 and June 2003. The telescope worked over 12 orbits and looked through two filters. Producing the map has taken two years of computer processing. The researchers, led by Marc Buie of the Lowell Observatory, have found dark areas thought to be dirty water-ice and brighter ones indicating nitrogen frost. Red areas indicate methane ice and possibly other organics (carbon-based molecules). Recent discoveries in the outer Solar System have cast doubt on Pluto's status as a planet. Some think it is simply the first historically recorded representative of a larger family of distant bodies known as Kuiper belt objects. 

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Start date announced for 'Tarzan' musical
UPI ~ Sep. 12, 2005
"Tarzan" is set to swing onto Broadway next spring, says the Disney show's producer, Thomas Schumacher. Opening night for the show, which will feature music and lyrics by six-time Grammy Award winner Phil Collins, is scheduled for May 10 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Collins has expanded his songs from Disney's 1999 animated film into a complete theatrical score. Two-time Tony Award winner Bob Crowley has signed on to direct and design the scenery and costumes for the musical, which features a book written by Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang. The show's book is adapted from the screenplay by Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker and Noni White and based on the novel, "Tarzan of the Apes," by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  More than 90 years ago, Edgar Rice Burroughs introduced the character of Tarzan to the world in the October 1912 issue of All Story Magazine.  Previews are set to begin on March 24.

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Me Jungle King, not Tarzan
By: Ketan Ranga ~ Mid-Day.com ~ September 12, 2005 
Film director V Menon, who has just directed a sci-fi version of Tarzan, is not using the jungle man’s name in his title. Instead he’s calling it, The Jungle King. The reason for the name change is that his producers would have to pay BBC a royalty of Rs 16 lakh, as they hold the rights to the name, Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ most popular fictional character. 

Druggie Tarzan: The sci-fi twist he’s added to the original story of Tarzan is that the protagonist of the movie has drugs, which makes him 20 years younger.  But everything else remains the same: he still swings between trees holding on to vines, wears a leopard-print loincloth and even cavorts with Jane. Jungle King is V Menon’s second movie on Tarzan; the first one was called, The Jungle Love. 

‘Only sci-fi story’: Says Menon, “The movie is totally different from the last one as this one is a science fiction based on Tarzan and not only a jungle story. The movie is completed and will be released by mid-October”. The film costs Rs 1.10 crore and stars Sandeep Bhosle and Priyanka Tiwari. “It’s very well-made and has an interesting plot. We have not named it Tarzan as the cost would have increased as we have to pay a royalty to BBC for the movie rights.”

Past Tarzans: But, this cost-saving method is nothing new. A 100 Hollywood movies have been made on Tarzan, but none of the directors used the name in the title. In fact, this is the third film in Bollywood that has been made on Tarzan. The first Hindi movie on Tarzan was made by director V Subhash and named Tarzan. It starred Kimi Katkar and Hemant Birje and the movie was a huge hit. Sources say that V Subhash entered into controversy when BBC sent him letters asking him to pay the royalty. Now the director says, “Yes I had made the movie, but I don’t remember anything about the royalty.” And finally for some general knowledge. Tarzan, a Greek word means man on tree or treeman. Tar means tree and Zan mean a man. 

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Tarzan Invades Hong Kong?
Disneyland meets Hong Kong challenge
Canada.com ~ September 11, 2005
HONG KONG -- Many in Hong Kong are ready to give Mickey Mouse a big hug for bringing Disneyland to them.  But eight years after the British colony was returned to China, the capitalist city is much freer than the Communist mainland, and advocacy groups are vocal.
To start with the sharks: Disneyland said it was merely trying to honor local custom by selling shark fin soup at weddings in the park that opens Monday. But environmentalists protested that shark populations are being depleted by the fishing industry, which usually hacks off the fin before tossing the fish back into the sea to die. A top-level decision was made to take the soup off the menu, said Robert Iger, president of the Walt Disney Co. Disney made more headlines when it asked dog-catchers to round up dozens of stray mutts near the park, sending many of them to a certain death. And then there were the plans for nightly fireworks displays at the park on Lantau, Hong Kong's largest island. Neighbors said they were worried about the noise and smoke, but the park stuck with its original plans.
In the months before the park's opening, the media sometimes sounded as though Disney were building a shoddy nuclear plant, rather than a cheerful amusement park with cuddly cartoon characters and a pink Sleeping Beauty Castle with a mountain backdrop. . . . But Disneyland's Iger said construction went smoothly with no major harm to the environment or public.
. . . Tsang's administration says the park will create thousands of new jobs and help turn Hong Kong into a regional tourist destination for families.
Christine Loh, a former lawmaker who runs her own think tank, Civic Exchange, said, "Hong Kong people as a whole don't hate Disney. They don't think it's the most awful thing to have a Disney theme park in Hong Kong -- unlike other parts of the world where citizens got together and said they don't want this kind of trash." . . .  © Associated Press 2005

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Tarzan's HK Treehouse
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/ep/hkong.htm
Unlike the landlocked original at Disneyland in California, Hong Kong's version of Tarzan's Treehouse occupies a lush island in the middle of a jungle river. Since Hong Kong Disneyland on opening day will not feature a Frontierland - or that land's Rivers of America - Imagineers had to create a new island getaway for kids in place of Tom Sawyer Island. They found their solution in another classic character  from American literature - Tarzan."

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In Search of Tarzan: A Lesson Plan (abridged)
Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand 
Possible learning activities
To motivate the students: Use forest or jungle noises from music or film soundtracks and read a jungle story.
Introduce an imaginative story activity by telling your students: "We're going on an adventure in search of Tarzan, King of the Jungle." Ask the students to develop and elaborate on the story using brainstorming, discussion, and movement. As the students develop the story step by step, discuss the following aspects.
What might the jungle be like? What could we see (under, over, between, through, and past things), hear (bird and animal sounds, leaves rustling, water dripping), feel (textures of the ground, slime, water, rocks, bark), and smell? How might we move through the jungle to find Tarzan (by crossing, stretching, crawling, reaching, pulling, pushing, holding, swinging, slipping, falling, sliding, tripping, marching, twisting, squeezing, dodging, jumping, running, and walking over, through, under, and around mountains, caves, rivers, treetops, rocks, and cliffs)? What will we take with us on our journey? How will we take it? Where will Tarzan be in the jungle? How can we reach him? What could we do to look after our partner when on our journey? How do we take care not to damage the jungle? The students can brainstorm a journey as a group and then physically move through their created adventure with a partner. After completing their journey, the students can describe what they did and what made this an enjoyable activity for them.