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According to Jewish legend, only the very wisest and very holiest rabbis had the power to make golems, animated servants of clay. Strictly speaking, the golem is not in the same class with Frankenstein's monster, because the golem is neither alive nor dead. He is, rather, the ancestor of all robots.
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In 1913, the noted German actor and director Paul Wegener was making a film in Prague when he heard the legend of Rabbi Loew, who created a golem to protect the inhabitants of the Prague ghetto from persecution.
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For those of you who thought F. W. Murnau's 'Nosferatu' was his greatest film, I have news for you: his 'Faust' blows it out of the water.
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If you want to see what stage comedians did to get laffs a century ago, watch the 1910 'Wizard of Oz.' I hope you have a high tolerance for pratfalls.
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Ah, Los Angeles. One disaster after another, always has been.
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'There,' Joseph said. 'There’s your answer.''It’s not an answer, little man. It’s many, many more questions.'
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The 1910 Edison film of 'Frankenstein' was itself a dead thing revived by technology.
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The Rogue Cyborg is doing serious Rogue Cyborg stuff. He’s crouched before a data terminal as though it were an ancient altar, and from the look on his face what he’s praying for is desperate and bloody revenge.
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Faith and its attendant rituals sound like a good deal, the whole eternal salvation thing, but inevitably they lead to fear, oppression, the rack and flames.
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Romantic Orientalism was fascinated by the color and excitement of a powerful culture, and nearly always approached its subject with love.
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'Edward has a purpose for us. Ruling the world, I assume.''He can’t,' says Alec, aghast. 'That’s what villains do!'
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Justice doesn’t exist! We did worse things. Nobody deserves to go to that place, Alec said. Anyway, weren’t you Christian types supposed to forgive everybody?I will shed no tears for that bastard’s damnation, said Nicholas stonily.No wonder nobody’s left that believes in your stupid religion, said Alec.
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I'm still learning my craft, and I've been writing since I was nine.
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Edward raises the pointer and places its tip against Alec’s forehead. 'What’s the use of having a library in there if you won’t open the books, boy? What’s the good of augmented intelligence if you won’t use it?'
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Let's say you need a perfectly obedient servant who never gets tired, never needs to be paid, and is virtually indestructible. If you're in a galaxy a long time ago and far, far away, you'll just fly off to the local droid auction and pick up one of those shiny gold models with lovely manners.
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I looked up at several pockmarks in the nearest wall; if they weren’t bullet holes, the place had damned big hailstones.
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Edward holds up a hand for silence. 'If you please, Captain: he’s thinking. Let us savor the exquisite rarity of the moment.'
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1925's 'The Lost World' is... really, everything a dinosaur movie should be. Like a dinosaur, this classic was once extinct too, existing as mere fragmentary footage and stills, but cinemaphile fossil-hunters have painstakingly excavated bits and pieces from obscure archives and assembled them into a nearly-complete animal.
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I had a productive day, without the distraction of conversation.
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Doubtless he was going to start bragging about being a god. It went with the profile of this sort of lunatic.
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Despite what you hear about the publishing industry being a fixed game that you can only get in if you know somebody, I'm here in person to tell you it ain't so. If your stuff is really any good, sooner or later some editor will take a chance on you.
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People who like to fume about the manner in which Disney changed beloved classics are often ignorant of history, not to mention the realities of show business.
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'When will you stop this metaphysical nonsense?' said Edward wearily. 'But I suppose you’ve no other way to look at the matter, born as you were in an age of superstitious piety.'
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Did you know what would happen next? Did you know and sit there like God, silent, remorseless, useless?