Talk:Ray Bradbury/Archive 1

"Controversy" section
I deleted the part of the "controversy over titles" section mentioning that Bradbury had "appropriated" the titles of numerous works by other authors. I found it ludicrous. Bradbury used those titles lovingly, as pure homage, and in fact the stories almost all involve, either by continuing or referencing, the story "appropriated" and put in the title. Moore's film did not have anything to do with Bradbury's novel, and just used the title to be cute and catchy and to give it a name people would already recognize, almost unconsciously, since everyone in this country reads the book in school. I also didn't like that the tone and placement of the section seemed to be intimating that Bradbury was in some way a hypocrite for his not wanting Moore to hi-jack his book's title to use as the title of a political propaganda film having nothing at all to do with Bradbury or his book. As I've already explained, Bradbury has never done anything like what Moore did. Would Shakespeare be pleased with having Bradbury use his words as a title to a novel? We can't know - but even if he were not, he would not be displeased for the same reasons Bradbury was displeased with Moore.

Biography
Sam Weller's biography says,
 * Although the name on his birth certificate was spelled "R-a-y," Ray said he was originally given the name "Rae" after Rae Williams, a cousin on his father's side, and that it was not until the first grade that, at a teacher's recommendation, his parents changed the spelling of his first name. The name was too feminine, and the boy would be teased.

Given that the name on his birth certificate is spelled R-a-y, and he has used that spelling since he was first able to write, I don't think the R-a-e spelling has enough claim to be mentioned in a brief biography without going into a lengthy explanation (like here). Walloon 02:25, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

Picture
I think this article needs a better picture. Patricio00 19:09, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
 * yeah it does
 * I agree --MatthewUND 22:31, Jun 24, 2005 (UTC)

I kinda like this page it really helped me on my homewoprk. So don't be hatin!!!! 12:15 August 4,2005 Uh... you spelt homework wrong, and we dont dislike the article. we just dont/didnt like the picture. 7:18 December 6, 2005 Mezzy and Leann

Uh... you spelt homework wrong, and we dont dislike the article. we just dont/didnt like the picture. 7:18 December 6, 2005
 * And you misspelled don't and didn't. — Walloon 04:42, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Awards and Honors
I don't see how this passage:

Italic textThis came shortly after Bradbury had criticised and denounced filmmaker Michael Moore for giving the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 its title based on his classic work, calling Moore a "horrible human being." Bradbury said Moore "stole my title and changed the numbers without ever asking me for permission", and that "[politics] has nothing to do with it. He copied my title; that is what happened. That has nothing to do with my political opinions." He also demanded an apology and for the film to be renamed.Italic text

...is relevent under the heading "Awards and Honors." If no one has any objection, I would like to at least move this to another section, or delete it altogether.

Regarding Bradbury's displeasure over Moore's use of the title "Fahrenheit 9/11" for his political documentary, I should mention that Bradbury used the title of a Walt Whitman poem, "I Sing the Body Electric!" for one of his short stories...

Trivia
I think a point to be made about Michael Moore's crib of Bradbury's title vs. Bradbury's crib of other authors' titles is that Bradbury didn't appropriate titles by living authors. Walloon 19:24, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Novels
Bradbury himself has called the The Martian Chronicles a "half-cousin to a novel" and "a book of stories pretending to be a novel." That having been said, I'm putting the book back under novels instead of short stories. That most of the contents of The Martian Chronicles were originally published as short stories is not important. Together with the two new stories and the bridge chapters, they form a novel. The story arc progresses from the first exploratory mission, to the final acceptance that the colonists are the new Martians. To put it another way, if you mixed up the chapters, or read the book from the last chapter to the first, much of the overall meaning of the book would be lost. And characters (Spender, Wilder, Parkhill, Hathaway) do appear in more than one chapter, or are referred to. Walloon 01:20, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Ray Bradbury's name
Is it really Ray? I've been writing a paper on him and multiple books that use him as a primary source say that his full name is Raymond.

Did you read the first section of this discussion page, above? Yes, "Ray" is the name on his birth certificate, not "Raymond". From the endnotes of Sam Weller's authorized biography:
 * Certificate of Birth, Ray Douglas Bradbury, August 22, 1920, Lake County Clerk's Record #4750.

Walloon 05:23, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Page Order
On the majority of authors' pages, a listing of their works appears at the bottom of the entry rather than at the top. Is there a reason Bradbury should be different?

No, someone change it. ccol2ax.

Removed "Simpsons" Reference
Do we really need to know that Ray Bradbury was mentioned on a television show? Does the article on tennis mention that an episode of The Simpsons featured tennis? And if it does, then there is something wrong with this world. (ccool2ax)

451 Picture
I think the picture from the Fahrenheit 451 movie is out of place. Why is it even in this article? Because one of his books became a movie, we should show everyone two actors who played in it at the top of the article? 66.82.9.82

What to add...?
I recently researched and wrote a large paper (16 pages) on Ray Bradbury. This article is quite good, so should I contribute anything that I learned through my paper, or leave as it is? Please be specific. 66.82.9.82 01:50, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
 * We haven't read your paper. — Walloon 03:37, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Oh yeah... sorry. whoops. Hmm... 66.82.9.49 01:21, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Whoa... why did my IP change? I hate sattelite internet. 66.82.9.49 01:23, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Interview with Chris Cerf, questions wanted
Got a question for Chris Cerf? Cerf worked with Bradbury at Random House during the 1960s. Post your questions before 25 April 2005. -- Zanimum 18:11, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

This really doesn't have much to do with the article.. this just has to deal with Bradbury. And how about "Why did you censor 451?" Oh wait, wrong decade never mind

Hidden Connections
Bradbury's powerful imagery makes his work a complex joy to read. Take for example Something Wicked This Way Comes: in chapter 42, he uses the word panoply to set up the whole chapter. Panoply is defined as a splendid or striking array, something that covers and protects, the complete weapons and armor of a warrior, and something made of science fiction that seems as if it is real. Bradbury shows how Mr. Dark uses his tattoos in every definition of the panoply in this chapter.

Has anyone found other chapters of stories that have hidden connection like this? I am very intrested in this for possible essays. Any passages you know of would greatly help! James O., April 7, 2006

Uh, I'd try many of his later works. But im not quite positive. -- Chris   Ccool2ax   contrib.  05:46, 23 May 2006 (UTC)
 * This discussion page is for discussing the Wikpedia article about Ray Bradbury. If you'd like to discuss aspects of Bradbury's writings, there are message boards at his official website. — Walloon 01:39, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Ray Bradbury's name (cont'd)
Also see earlier discussion on this topic in /Archive 1

"Ray Bradbury (his given name is not Raymond) was born in Waukegan, Illinois". His given name is also not "Michael" or "Joseph" or "Christine". The comments in brackets are useless. If it really is vital, include it in a trivia section or some such nonsense. Sontra 19:11, 12 September 2006 (UTC)


 * No, that's not useless. Most people called "Ray" have a full first name of "Raymond". Bradbury is an exception. Speaking of nonsense, who changed the article at 18:01, 11 September 2006 to say "Ray Bradbury (his given name is not Michael) was born in Waukegan, Illinois"? — Walloon 04:55, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, it IS useless. Unless Wikipedia is in the habit of repeating already stated information. If his name is given as "Ray Douglas Bradbury" it should be clear that his first name is Ray. Otherwise his name would be "Raymond Douglas Bradbury", no? Also, do you happen to know most people called "Ray"? Or are you just assuming that most people with the name of Ray are actually Raymond? And actually, I said it was useless. The nonsense was in relation to placing it elsewhere. I applaud your reading skills. And, as you so cleverly mention, I did indeed change the article. It made as much sense as the current revision. Sontra 19:32, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

No reponse? In that case, maybe remove the superfluous line. Sontra 23:22, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Needs fixing?
"For Bradbury, there is some blurring of categories, and the distinctions in his works of penis art. somewhat subjective, for he frequently has written stories about a set of balls or a subject,"

I think something needs to be fixed here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.58.224.75 (talk • contribs) 20:38, 13 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Vandalism was reverted by Walloon on 13 September 2006. &mdash;Quicksilver

Permalink for Wikipedia research project
Hello, editors of ! I am currently working on an essay on Wikipedia, part of which will feature a comparison of articles of Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Brittanica. To ensure that I send reviewers articles that have not been recently vandalized or have not been involved in an edit war, I would like, by December 31st, a revision of this article to be listed at User:Ccool2ax/Research-permalinks that is not vandalized and/or is generally at peak quality. Thank you! Chrisisme 20:03, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Why don't you pick one out yourself and put it there? LilDice 21:38, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Picture
Also see earlier discussion on this topic in /Archive 1

we need a better pic Jeffklib 04:17, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
 * It's not that it's a bad picture; it's just resized for some reason... it looks fine (although smaller) if you right-click on it and click "View Image." Zaita 03:00, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

More trivia
I seem to recall Ray Bradbury stating in an interview a few years ago that he didn't believe that the Earth had been visited by extraterrestrials. If someone could dig up a citatation where and when he said that, it might make an interesting addition to the article, especially in light of some of his writings, such as The Martian Chronicles. His fear of flying is a similar paradoxical aspect to his personality, having written so many stories involving spaceflight. &mdash;QuicksilverT @ 21:10, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

In the movie "Blade Runner" by Ridley Scott, Harrison Fords character exits his car in front of the "Bradbury Building". Robot designer J.F. Sebastian lives there. I know that the building is a well-known landmark not named after Ray Bradbury, but I wonder if it might be a subtle gesture anyway? — 80.136.210.78 00:45, 7 April 2007 (UTC)


 * One well known irony is that Bradbury, despite writing about spaceships and interplanetary travel and having lived in Los Angeles for most of his life, has never driven a car. He attributes this to having seen a gruesome car accident when he was young.
 * Bradbury once had a well-publicized fear of flying, and did not fly in an airplane until the age of 62. Later, he flew on the Concorde to Paris, where he worked with the Walt Disney Company on the new Disneyland being created in France. He did enjoy a ride in the Goodyear Blimp when he was 48.
 * Bradbury has helped Disney with many projects over the years, including the futuristic park EPCOT, and was also inspired to become an advocate for the proposed Los Angeles monorail system after riding and enjoying the Disneyland monorail system.
 * At the age of fifteen, Bradbury read Jack Woodford's book on writing, Trial and Error, which had a large influence on his career. He attributes his lifelong daily writing habit to the day in 1932 when a carnival entertainer, Mr. Electrico, touched him with an electrified sword, made his hair stand on end, and shouted, "Live forever!" The following day, Mr. Electrico brought Bradbury behind the scenes of the carnival and discussed philosophy with him. Bradbury said Mr. Electrico told him that Bradbury was the reincarnation of Electrico's friend who was killed in the Battle of the Ardennes in 1918.
 * Bradbury appeared in the television game show, You Bet Your Life.
 * Bradbury usually gives an annual speech in Torrance, California for "Ray Bradbury Day" (April).
 * Bradbury St. in the Konami game Silent Hill is named in his honor.
 * According to Superman #411: The Last Earth-Prime History (1985), Superman loved Ray Bradbury's books since he was a boy.
 * In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Ménage à Troi", the ship that comes to take Wesley Crusher is named the USS Bradbury.
 * Bradbury once said in an interview that he does not like using computers when writing a book. He also dislikes the internet.
 * The Canadian thrash metal band Overthrow has a song "Infection", which is inspired by his story "Fever Dream".
 * The Canadian rock power trio Rush has a song called "The Body Electric" on their 1984 album Power Windows, based on Bradbury's story "I Sing the Body Electric"
 * In the upcoming motion picture Proving Ground: From the Adventures of Captain Redlocks (2008), the title character's starship is named I.D.S. Bradbury, reflecting writer/producer Kevin M. Kraft's great affection and admiration for Bradbury.


 * If someone wishes to integrate this back into the article with reliable sources, please go right ahead, but we trivia sections such as these are highly frowned upon and should not exist in an encyclopedia, period. Burntsauce 15:52, 4 June 2007 (UTC)


 * I watched interview with Rod Serling from the original Twilight Zone mentioned he read and was inspired by Ray Bradbury books. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.95.140.176 (talk) 03:41, 25 July 2010 (UTC)