Ansible 291 -- October 2011

[Ansible Newsletter]

ANSIBLE 291
OCTOBER 2011

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Web
news.ansible.co.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available
for SAE, sympathy or the secret of heather ale.

[NET NOTE. See http://news.ansible.co.uk/a291.html for the nice HTML
version. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below
-- please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]


SF ENCYCLOPEDIA. As _Ansible_ goes to press, the official public
launch at www.sf-encyclopedia.com is mere days away. Allegedly. While
we're waiting, you can read the hot gossip at
sfencyclopedia.wordpress.com.


### THE LIBRARY OF BABEL ###

JAMES CAMERON explains how it is that Sigourney Weaver's character in
_Avatar_, though fatally wounded in that film, will return in the
sequel: 'No one ever dies in science fiction.' (BBC, 18 September)
[MPJ]

ROALD DAHL famously wrote his books in the garden shed. When his
family started campaigning to raise Pounds500,000 to restore this
decaying hut and transfer it to the Dahl Museum, some people were so
unfeeling as to say things like 'The international model and TV star
Sophie Dahl is asking us for money to restore a shed?' (Matthew
Sweet). Others noted that the Museum accounts show it holds funds of
Pounds4.63 million and brings in Pounds478,960 a year (but somehow
spends Pounds550,900), while Dahl's books still generate hefty
royalties, leading to such comments as 'Can't the chocolate factory
pay?' (_Independent_, 14 September) [MPJ]

HARLAN ELLISON filed another of his famous copyright lawsuits on 14
September, asking to block the release of Andrew Niccol's new sf film
_In Time_ on grounds of substantial alleged borrowing from the 1965
Ellison story '"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman'. Both
feature a 'dystopian corporate future in which everyone is allotted a
specific amount of time to live', and both have enforcing authorities
called Sandmen, sorry, Timekeepers. Interestingly, at least one critic
-- Richard Roeper -- assumed after seeing the preview that _In Time_
is in fact an adaptation of '"Repent, Harlequin!" ...' The film's
release _was_ scheduled for 28 October. (_The Hollywood Reporter_, 15
September) [DKMK/JS]

CHRIS EVANS recently celebrated a significant birthday, and Gary
Kilworth sends his party speech: 'The Christopher Evanses of this
world seem to proliferate. There are TV stars, film stars and well-
known authors. My favourite Christopher Evans however, is a guy I met
some 30-odd years ago who began his writing career by producing some
exceptional science fiction novels. / I was introduced to Chris by our
mutual friend Rob Holdstock, who pointed him out in a pub and
whispered cryptically, "Beware of Welshmen wielding bunsen burners."
The warning was unnecessary. Chris turned out to be a warm and amiable
man, whose friendship I came to value highly and whose advice and
criticism regarding my work has always been invaluable to me. There is
no side to our Christopher Evans and all those other famous ones pale
to insignificance beside him when it comes to insightful and
intelligent observation on writing, ideas and indeed, life itself. /
Chris's creative judgement became evident to me when he was editing
the Other Edens anthologies with Rob Holdstock. I sent Rob and Chris
three very short stories hoping they would take one of them. Chris
suggested that I link the stories together under the generic title of
"Triptych", a set of three tales hinged together as one piece of work.
It was a brilliant idea. / Something must be said here of Chris's
Welshness, because this is a deep, inherent part of the man and the
writer. However, he doesn't wear it like a gaudy coat that shouts
"This is who I am" but more as something that quietly proclaims, "This
is where I was made". It gives him the air of a secretive, serious
creature, like a lynx or a wildcat, that has emerged and appeared
amongst us from an ancient landscape. To me, Christopher Evans the,
the strong, confident Welshman, carries in his manner this line from a
Ralph Waldo Emerson poem: _They know not well the subtle ways / I
keep, and pass, and turn again._ / He is a good and treasured friend
who I admire for his work and his ability to put a lightness in my
step whenever we meet. As Shakespeare put it in one of his plays, "As
well as impeccable integrity and loyalty, there are men on this Earth
who hath stonking good brains that rattle out brave ideas."
Christopher Evans is one of those men. / Happy 60th Birthday, Chris!'
And so say all of us.

DAVE MCKEAN received an honorary doctorate of design from the
University of Wolverhampton on 2 September. [JG]

BETSY MITCHELL editor-in-chief at Del Rey Books, is taking early
retirement in December -- a move regretted by her authors. [L]

JONATHAN MOSTOW, director of _Surrogates_, offers an interesting
insight in the DVD audio commentary: 'If you're gonna make a movie
about people staying at home operating surrogate robots, [...] you're
going to confront the issue, that you have multiple actors playing the
same character. And how does that work? And since no one's ever done
it before, we don't know.' [LA] What, _never_ ...?

TERRY PRATCHETT is suing Paul Bamborough and Camel Productions, who
had an option on film rights for his Discworld fantasy _Mort_. He
reckons the rights have now run out; one suspects he'd prefer another
Sky/Vadim Jean/The Mob production. (_Telegraph_, 2 October) [MPJ]

DAVE PROWSE of Darth Vader fame long ago 'encountered regrettable
sarcasm from co-star Sir Alec Guinness, after once approaching him
about cashing in with some signed photos. Prowse, 76, writes: "The
ones where I'd signed 'Dave Prowse is Darth Vader', he'd written 'Alec
Guinness is Alec Guinness'."' (_Independent_, 13 September) [MPJ]


### CONCLOUTMENT ###

7-9 Oct [] SCI-FI LONDON OKTOBERFEST, Odeon Camden Town (all
screenings) and other Camden Town venues. Pounds10.65/film; Pounds7.50
teens and concessions. All-nighters: anime Pounds32; _MST3K_ Pounds25;
no concessions. See http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2011/oktoberfest.

15-16 Oct [] OCTOCON, Camden Court Hotel, Camden St, Dublin 2,
Ireland. Euro30 reg; under-18s/concessions Euro20; supp Euro10;
accompanied under-12s free. Contact: Apt 56 Shalimar, Monastery Rd,
Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland; info at octocon dot com.

16-18 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Days Hotel, Sackville St,
Manchester. Pounds70 reg. Contact 95 Meadowgate Rd, Salford,
Manchester, M6 8EN; Gil at manchesterfantasticfilms dot co dot uk.

22 Oct [] BRISTOLCON, Ramada Hotel, Bristol. Several guests of honour.
Pounds20 _to 21 October_; Pounds25 at the door. Cheques to 34 Dongola
Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 9HP.

26 Oct [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, The Antelope, 22 Eaton Terrace, London,
SW1W 8EZ. 5pm for 7pm. Free. With Tanith Lee.

4-7 Nov [] IRISH DISCWORLD CONVENTION, Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, Co.
Clare. Euro45 reg; students Euro35; under-19s Euro30, under-16s
Euro15, under-8s free. See idwcon.org; irishdiscworldcon at gmail dot
com.

11-13 Nov [] ARMADACON 23, Future Inns, Plymouth. Pounds30 reg,
Pounds20 concessions. Contact 18 Wadham Road, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14
3BD.

11-13 Nov [] NOVACON 41, Park Inn, Mansfield Road, Nottingham.
Pounds40 reg. Contact 379 Myrtle Road, Sheffield, S2 3HQ.

23 Nov [] STARMAKER: THE PHILOSOPHY OF OLAF STAPLEDON, British
Interplanetary Society, 27/29 South Lambeth Rd, London, SW8 1SZ.
9am-4:30pm. 'Delegates' Pounds60; BIS members Pounds50; students
Pounds25; _rates (including coffee, lunch) rise by Pounds10 after 15
October_. Only Pounds25 for 'First Named Author', so presumably Olaf
Stapledon can come on the cheap. With Stephen Baxter, Andy Sawyer,
others. See www.bis-space.com.

29 Jun - 1 Jul 2013 [] SWORDS, SORCERY, SANDALS AND SPACE: The
Fantastika and the Classical World (SF Foundation conference),
Liverpool University. See www.sf-foundation.org/events/index.html.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS RESEARCH US. TV critic Mary McNamara marvels at a new
concept: 'People flee a polluted Earth by going back 85 million years
in executive producer Steven Spielberg's promising new drama on Fox. /
Easily the most exciting show of the fall season, Fox's "Terra Nova"
has such obvious, instant and demographically diverse appeal -- sci-fi
fans, fantasy fans, 5-year-olds, 50-year-olds, Al Gore -- that you
have to wonder why no one thought of it before.' (_LA Times_, 26
September) [DB] Mass time-travel to the deep past! If only Julian May,
Robert Silverberg or Clifford Simak could have come up with such a
notion....

MAGAZINE SCENE. Steve Davidson (who blogs as The Crotchety Old Fan)
has been granted the _Amazing Stories_ trademark -- abandoned by
previous owners Hasbro -- and plans to resurrect the magazine.
_New Worlds_: the latest announcement of the relaunch as _Michael
Moorcock's New Worlds_ says the first e-edition will appear online on
10 November. No URL given, but the originally announced domain
newworlds co uk is (though content-free) still registered to team
member Roger Gray.

SCIENCE MASTERCLASS. Sunscreen Alert Dept.'The Dog Star rises and sets
with the sun during July and August. Those are called dog days and are
the hottest part of the year, so you see the Dog Star does affect our
sunburn.' (James B. Garfield, _Follow My Leader_, 1957) [PL]

R.I.P. _Jack Adler_ (1917-2011), US comic artist, colorist, at DC
Comics from 1946 and eventually DC production manager and vice-
president 1975-1981, died on September 18; he was 94. [PDF]
_Sergio Bonelli_ (1932-2011), Italian comics writer and chairman
of Sergio Bonelli Editore -- publishers of many comics including the
paranormal-investigator title _Dylan Dog_ -- died on 26 September aged
79. [PDF]
_Eve Brent_ (1929-2011), US character actress who played Jane in
two 1958 Tarzan films and whose other genre credits include _The Green
Mile_ (1999), died on 27 August aged 81. [PDF]
_Richard Datin_ (1929-2011) US model-maker who created the first
Starship _Enterprise_ and headed the team that built the original
_Star Trek_'s eleven-foot version, died on 24 January. [SFS/SHS]
_Sara Douglass_ (Sara Mary Warneke, 1957-2011), Australian author
of several fantasy series and standalones, whose _BattleAxe_ (1995)
sold over a million copies in Australia alone, died from ovarian
cancer on 27 September. She was 54. [IN]
_Norma Eberhardt_ (1919-2011), US fashion model turned actress
whose most famous genre role was in _Return of Dracula_ (1958), died
on 16 September; she was 82. [MPJ]
_David Z Goodman_ (1930-2011), US screenwriter whose film scripts
included _Logan's Run_ (1976) solo and _Eyes of Laura Mars_ (1978) as
co-author, died on 26 September aged 81. [MPJ]
_Charles Hickson_, US shipyard worker famous for having
supposedly been abducted by aliens in 1973, died on 9 September aged
80; his story was one of those incorporated into the dire sf film
_Starship Invasions_ (1977). [SJD]
_Dan Hoey_, US fan once active in the Washington SF Association
(he chaired the 1995 Disclave convention), committed suicide on 31
August; he was 59. [RL] Dan was an occasional _Ansible_ correspondent
who helped rekey paper issues for the online archive project.
_George Kuchar_ (1942-2011), US underground film director, comics
artists and teacher who made over 200 films and videos, many of them
sf/fantasy 'creature features', died on 6 September; he was 69. His
1975 cartoon biography _H.P. Lovecraft_ had mixed reactions from HPL
fans. [BT]
_Bill Kunkel_ (1951-2011), US fan best known in fanzine circles
for his witty cartoons, died on 4 September aged 61. Arnie and Joyce
Katz write: 'A man of vast and varied talents, Bill was a professional
writer of both non-fiction and fiction, the co-founder of the world's
first video and computer game magazine (_Electronic Games_), a game
designer, a comic book writer and a cartoonist. / As a fan, Bill
Kunkel was noted for his trenchant, insurgent wit and his bitingly
satiric cartoons. He was a member of the Brooklyn Insurgents in the
1970s and the Vegrants in the 1990s and 2000s.'
_Bill Trojan_, US fan and book dealer as Escape Books, died from
a heart attack in his hotel room at the Reno Worldcon on 21 August. He
was 63. [AC]
_Mark W. Worthen_ (1962-2011), US horror author (publishing since
1993) and editor of the online magazine _Blood Rose_ 1998-2005, died
on 19 September. [SFS/SHS]

FOR THE RECORD. A chap in Doncaster called Rob Hull has made his way
into the _Guinness Book of World Records_ by amassing the world's
largest collection of Daleks: 571 in all shapes and sizes. His wife
fondly commented, 'I hate the bloody things and I've got a feeling
this is only going to encourage him.' (_Metro_, 15 September) [MPJ]

AWARDS. _BSFA:_ 2011 nominations for the 2012 presentation are now
open; see bsfa.co.uk.
_TV Choice:_ best family drama, _Doctor Who_; best actress, Karen
Gillan as Amy Pond in _Doctor Who_. [MPJ]
_Emmy Awards:_ best supporting actor, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion
Lannister in _A Game Of Thrones_. [MPJ]
_Heinlein Award_ for sf or technical nonfiction that inspires
human exploration of space: Connie Willis.

FEAR & LOATHING. Quoting Joss Whedon's _Firefly_ is verboten at the
University of Wisconsin-Stout, whose Professor Miller decorated his
office door with a poster of starship captain Mal declaring (in reply
to 'How do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?') his fair-play code:
'You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever
kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me. And you'll be armed.'
Campus police removed this in horror, threatening a charge of
'disorderly conduct'. In protest Miller substituted a joke anti-
fascism poster -- likewise removed, with further threats. The UWS
chancellor says: 'This was not an act of censorship. This was an act
of sensitivity to and care for our shared community ...' (_Huffington
Post_, 29 September) [DKMK]

OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Sam J. Lundwall:_ 'As you might know, our best
friend Harry Harrison is in rather bad shape, staying at a nursing
home outside Lewes, Sussex. I think he would appreciate visits;
however, they should be cleared through his daughter Moira, since he
is very weak.' I don't yet have permission to pass on her e-address
but have enquired.
_Robert Newman_ notes that London's riots (_A290_) did indeed
impact Croydon fans: 'The monthly Croydon pub meeting didn't take
place (on 9 August), for the first time in 22 years. The Dog and Bull
was in the heart of the rioting area and although it escaped the
Monday night looting and burning unscathed (shops both sides were
seriously damaged and looted) it was boarded up and closed on Tuesday,
as was every other pub within miles. [...] I could see House of Reeves
burning from my bedroom window. Croydon SF and comic shop A Place in
Space is just around the corner from Reeves, 30ish yards away. Most of
the block it is a part of was completely gutted by fire. The front of
the shop survived but I believe that there was damage to the rear.'

FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund._ The 2012 TAFF race begins in
earnest. North American candidates for the trip to Olympus 2012
(Eastercon) are Warren Buff, Kim Kofmel and Jacq Monahan. Contact Anne
& Brian Gray (akg.netmouse at gmail.com) or see taff.org.uk, now
linking to what John Coxon calls 'new shiny places' where you can
tweet or facebookify about TAFF. Ballot to follow soon, with an
expected December voting deadline.
_GUFF:_ nominations are open for the northbound trip to Olympus
2012. Australasian candidates need to find nominators, write a 100-
word platform, etc., by _14 October_; the voting deadline is to be 22
January. Contact Sue Ann Barber: activeim at hotmail com, or PO Box
249, Pascoe Vale South, VIC 3044, Australia.

WE ARE EVERYWHERE. The _Oxford English Dictionary_ online Word of the
Day for 24 September was 'Stepford, adj. Robotic; docile; obedient;
acquiescent; (also) uniform; attractive but lacking in individuality,
emotion, or thought.' [MPJ]
Jasper Fforde's _The Last Dragonslayer_ includes a villain named
Gordon van Gordon, leading to speculation as to whether he was
thinking of Gordon Van Gelder. [AD]

RANDOM FANDOM. _Phillip Greenaway_, fanzine editor, married Helen
Cocking on 24 September. [SG]
_Martin Lewis_, BSFA _Vector_ reviews editor, triggered an online
teacup storm with a very rude tweet -- posted as 'VectorReviews' --
about _Doctor Who_'s Steven Moffat. Mass Who-fan outrage; grovelling
BSFA apology; Moffat forgives; story over.
_Nova Awards:_ all UK and Irish fans (not just Novacon members)
can now vote provided they've read at least six qualifying fanzines,
says administrator Steve Green. The Novacon.org.uk website -- where a
online voting form is promised real soon now, deadline 7 November --
merely requires Nova voters to have _received_ the said six fanzines.

THE DEAD PAST. _70 Years Ago_ in London: 'England's biggest fan
reunion for the last year was held over the weekend, September 20/21,
when in spite of the manifold difficulties attending such a
proposition -- far in excess of anything the US fans encounter -- a
muster of some 14 was managed. At Saturday lunch time a party gathered
to welcome Maurice Hanson, ex-editor of "Novae Terrae" who had wangled
leave from Somerset. After some bookhunting in Charing X Road, the
party saw the film "Fantasia".' (_Futurian War Digest_, October 1941)
In other _FWD_ news, Ego (later Sir Arthur) Clarke had seen the film
four times.

C.O.A. _Julia Daly & Douglas Spencer_, 2 Morton Gardens, Halfway,
Sheffield, S20 8GJ.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Reliant Robin of Rhetoric Dept._ 'As he stood
there waiting for his lower brain to stop broadcasting retaliatory
lizard thoughts, it occurred to him that this was a message loaded
with semantic interference, a veritable Cadillac of cognitive
dissonance.' (Jim Young, 'Ultraviolet Night', _F&SF_, March 2004) [BA]
_Multicoloured Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'On his breast was the
representation of the sun, centred by an opal that changed color at
every laboring breath. [...] Only his two eyes lived, and they mated
the opal of the ornament.' (J. Allan Dunn, _The Treasure of Atlantis_,
1916) [BA]
_Artful Alliteration Dept._ 'They told me of the Yagas [...] in
the grim city of Yugga, on the rock Yuthla, by the river Yogh, in the
land of Yagg [...] their ruler was a black queen named
Yasmeena ...' (Robert E. Howard, _Almuric_, 1939 _Weird Tales_; 1964)
[CMG]
_Dept of Anatomy._ 'His thin mustache was neatly placed between a
peaked nose and two eyes like black marbles.' (Michael Avallone,
_Assassins Don't Die in Bed_, 1968)
_Neat Tricks Dept._ 'Every hair on my body joined those already
upright on my neck.' (Kathy Reichs, _Bones to Ashes_, 2007) [PB]

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[] Overseas -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/conlisti.html


### ENDNOTES ###

APPARITIONS.
[] 14 October 2011: Brum Group, Briar Rose Hotel, Bennett's Hill,
Birmingham city centre, 7:30pm for 8pm; Pounds4 or Pounds3 for
members. With David Wingrove. Contact bhamsfgroup at yahoo co uk or
rog.peyton at btinternet com. Further meetings: 4 November, TBA.
[] 18 October 2011: Terry Pratchett in conversation at the Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane. Pounds35-Pounds45 including his new book. See ...
http://www.seetickets.com/Tour/AN-EVENING-WITH-TERRY-PRATCHETT
[] 20 October 2011: Richard Morgan talks and reads at Waterstone's,
Broad Street, Reading, Berks. 7:30pm. 'Tickets are Pounds2 available
in store.' 0118 958 1270.

EDITORIAL. There's a certain lack of extra material down here, mainly
because formatting and editing several hundred thousand words of _SF
Encyclopedia_ text has left me (along with John Clute and many of our
hero contributors) distinctly groggy. I missed an awful lot of sleep
in recent months, and despite a couple of bouts of catching-up still
owe replies to some _Ansible_ correspondents: sorry about that.
Meanwhile Graham Sleight has been covering the Facebook, Twitter and
blog aspects of the _SFE_ launch. See in particular his post 'What is
a beta text?' Reports of _SFE_ finishedness are greatly exaggerated.
http://sfencyclopedia.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/what-is-a-beta-text/
http://sfencyclopedia.wordpress.com/
http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sf-Encyclopedia/138995776178949
http://twitter.com/#!/sfencyclopedia/

PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. Support _Ansible_, cover website costs and keep
the editor happy! Or just buy his books.
http://ansible.co.uk/paypal.html
http://ansible.co.uk/books/index.html
http://ansible.co.uk/books/starcomb.html

ROALD DAHL'S SHED II. Following the fuss described above, _Private
Eye_ (30 September) detected some rapid rewriting of history when the
museum announced 'The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is making no
public appeal for funds'. Its earlier press release of 13 September
had begun 'A fundraising campaign is officially launched today to save
and share the humble but magical hut ...' and urged prospective donors
to contact the museum director. Fancy that.

THOG'S NEAR MISSES. Sometimes a Masterclass submission doesn't make it
into the main _Ansible_ showcase (above) because the central Thoggism,
however tasty, needs too much voluminous context and/or fails to leap
out at you. This, for example: 'Brak had been prisoned beneath a
rubble-heap, badly knocked and gashed, but with no detectable damage
besides general pain and a sharper one that might indicate a shattered
bone somewhere in his left leg. He could barely support himself on
that side [...] he gained his feet again [...] Weaving on his feet,
struggling against the agony that seared his whole left side, Brak
limped to the entrance hall [...] with his good right foot, rolled the
wizard's corpse to the base of the throne ...' (John Jakes, _Storm in
a Bottle_, 1977) More shattered-leg agony follows ('The pain climbed
through his left leg and his torso to eat at his brain'). As
indefatigable researcher Brian Ameringen says, it's interesting to
speculate what Brak balanced on while using his good right foot to
roll the corpse. But Thog, whose attention span is short, had lost the
thread by then.


Ansible 290 Copyright (c) David Langford, 2011. Thanks to Brian
Ameringen, Lise Andreasen, Paul Barnett, Damien Broderick, Amy
Carpenter, Paul Di Filippo, Steven J Dunn, Alistair Durie, Christopher
M. Geeson, Joe Gordon, Steve Green, Martyn P. Jackson, David K.M.
Klaus, Locus, Pamela Love, Rich Lynch, Ian Nichols, SF Site/Steven H
Silver, Jim Steel, Bruce Townley, Hero Distributors: Dave Corby
(BSFG), SCIS, Alan Stewart (Oz).

3 October 2011