Ansible 223 [long]
David Langford
ANSIBLE 223
FEBRUARY 2006
From DAVE LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU.
http://ansible.co.uk. Fax 0705 080 1534. ISSN 0265-9816 (print) 1740-942X
(online). Available for SAE or Old Galactic plasmoids.
[NET NOTE. See http://news.ansible.co.uk/a223.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]
THE GROVES OF ACADEME. It's not often that _Ansible_ gets email like this
from a Professor of Psychology & Linguistics: `Dear Professor Langford,
Please let me know if there is any mathematical work that pertains to the
theoretical constructs for an ansible. My background includes the special
and generalized theories of relativity as well some work in transfinite
algebra.' I only wish I could help....
### THE PYRAMIDS OF FURMAT ###
JOHN BRUNNER belatedly got his due in William Safire's _New York Times
Magazine_ language column (18 December 2005): `In writing recently about
computer _malware_, I attributed the coinage of _worm_ in its modern,
destructive sense to John Dunner; wrong. The author's name is John
Brunner; his mind-stretching 1975 sci-fi novel was _The Shockwave Rider_;
and he has plenty of fans.' [MMW]
ELLEN GALFORD, feminist fantasy novelist, and her partner Ellen Kelly
took advantage of the new UK civil partnership legislation in January:
`As unapologetic 70s feminists we see Civil Partnership as preferable to
marriage.' (_Equality Network News_, January) [FN]
DIANA WYNNE JONES is overcome. `The University of Bristol have suddenly
upped and said they'll give me an honorary D.Litt. this summer! Could
have knocked me down with the proverbial. This sort of thing has to go
through Solemn Committees full of serious men who do not know fantasy
exists, so how this happened I am at a loss to know. / Oh, and did you
hear that _Howl's Moving Castle_ is nominated for an Oscar? On the
strength of it, the Japanese have sent me Sophie's walking stick and a
purple plush bag to keep it in -- plus two stone of jigsaw puzzles and
a tiny tiny ring.' (Other Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature Film
are _Corpse Bride_ and _Curse of the Were-Rabbit_.)
MAUREEN McHUGH has a problem that's shared by many fellow sf authors,
explains Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl: `The thing about Maureen McHugh
is you're going to find her shelved in the science fiction and fantasy
section. And that's unfortunate.' (NPR) [JL]
SIR PATRICK MOORE reports on exciting plans by the current owners of the
London Planetarium: `Madame Tussauds tell us that the new ten minute show
will be a "celebrity based visual experience" without any astronomy
content. "We're moving away from stars and planets and towards
celebrities," it says.' (_Daily Mail_, 1 February) [DW]
KURT VON TROJAN, Vienna-born Australian sf author best known for _The
Transing Syndrome_ (1985), was diagnosed with bone and kidney cancer on
25 January and given only months to live. Altair Australia Books will
publish his last collection of short fiction as a memorial. The author
is reportedly in good spirits, and said to doctors after the prognosis,
`Oh, I was hoping to squeeze a few more weeks in.' [RNS]
KURT VONNEGUT complains in _The Guardian_: `I became a so-called science
fiction writer when someone decreed that I was a science fiction writer.
I did not want to be classified as one, so I wondered in what way I'd
offended that I would not get credit for being a serious writer. I
decided that it was because I wrote about technology, and most fine
American writers know nothing about technology. I got classified as a
science fiction writer simply because I wrote about Schenectady, New
York. My first book, Player Piano, was about Schenectady. There are huge
factories in Schenectady and nothing else. I and my associates were
engineers, physicists, chemists, and mathematicians. And when I wrote
about the General Electric Company and Schenectady, it seemed a fantasy
of the future to critics who had never seen the place.' [PT]
### CONTRISTATION ###
13 Feb [] READING AT BORDERS, Oxford St, London. Top floor, 6:30pm. With
Pat Cadigan, Amanda Hemingway and Liz Williams
18 Feb [] PICOCON 23, Imperial College Union, London. 10am-7pm/8pm. GoH
Ian Watson, Natasha Mostert, and Mark Roberts. Pounds8 reg, Pounds6
concessions, Pounds4 ICFS members. Contact ICSF, Beit Quad, Prince
Consort Road, London, SW7 2BB.
21 Feb [] BOOK AID INTERNATIONAL charity auction, Bloomsbury Auctions,
Mayfair, London. Original handwritten material by Iain Banks, Susanna
Clarke, Eoin Colfer, J.K. Rowling.... Champagne reception 6:30pm, auction
7:30pm. Tickets Pounds75 from Madeleine.Langford-Allen (no relation) at
bookaid.org; phone 020 7733 3577. Cheapskates can view the lots 11am-4pm
on 18 or 19 Feb for Pounds10 (cost of catalogue).
22 Feb [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, The Star pub, West Halkin Mews, London, SW1.
6pm on; fans present from 5pm. With Steve Cockayne.
24-26 Feb: POSTPONED [] DISTRACTION (small sf/fun), Chequers Hotel,
Newbury. The committee apologizes for not being able to cope in 2006: `So
this year's convention is postponed until Spring 2008, when the next in
the sequence was planned. We're offering members their money [Pounds30]
back, OR you can leave it with us as an advance membership for 2008.'
Contact 379 Myrtle Rd, Sheffield, S2 3HQ.
3 Mar [] BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY open night, Devereux pub, Essex St, off
the Strand, London. 6.30pm onwards. All welcome. Future meetings: 2 June,
1 September, 8 December (last date provisional).
11-12 Mar [] P-CON III, Ashling Hotel, Dublin. Euro25 reg; Euro15 supp.
Contact Yellow Brick Rd, 8 Bachelors Walk, Dublin 1, Ireland. _New:_
there will be a charity auction to benefit the Oesophageal Cancer Fund.
20 Mar - 29 Apr [] LES EDWARDS/EDWARD MILLER art exhibition, Redbridge
Museum, Central Library, Clements Road, Ilford. 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 4pm
Sat. Admission free. Contact 020 8708 2317. [] _25 Mar tie-in events:_
Stephen Gallagher on TV sf, 2pm-4pm, Pounds8. Les Edwards, S. Gallagher,
Steve Jones & Kim Newman on cover art, 7:30pm, Pounds4.50.
13-16 Apr [] EUROCON 2006, Kiev, Ukraine. Euro35/$35 reg, Euro10/$10
supp. GoH Sergey Poyarkov, Harry Harrison. info at eurocon kiev ua.
14-17 Apr [] CONCUSSION (Eastercon), Glasgow Moat House Hotel. Pounds55
reg; supp/concessions Pounds27.50; ages 12-18 Pounds15; 5-11 Pounds5; 0-4
free. Same at door. _Day rates:_ Fri Pounds5, Sat Pounds20 (Pounds10
evening only), Sun ditto, Mon Pounds15. Contact 23 Ranelagh Rd, Bruce
Grove, London, N17 6XY.
14-15 Oct [] OCTOCON, Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Ireland. Guests TBA.
Euro30 reg, student Euro25, under-18 Euro15, supp Euro10. Contact
Octocon c/o Electric Dragon, 19a Main St, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Sterling
payments to `Dave Lally #2 A/C', 64 Richborne Tce, London, SW8 1AX.
10-12 Nov [] NOVACON 36, Walsall. _Corrected rates:_ Pounds33 reg;
Pounds36 after Eastercon; Pounds40 at door. Contact 379 Myrtle Rd,
Sheffield, S2 3HQ.
10-12 Aug 07 [] RECOMBINATION/HARMUNI II (Unicon 21/RPG/filk), New Hall,
Cambridge. Pounds20 reg; was to rise 1 Jan 2006, now held until after
Eastercon. Contact 155 Gilbert Road, Cambridge, CB4 3PA.
_Rumblings_ [] LA.CON IV (WORLDCON 2006). Hotel rooms became bookable as
of 1 January, according to the third progress report.
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS OTHERS SEE US. More about how _Battlestar Galactica_ is so very
different: `It's sci-fi, yes, but there are no aliens; there are
androids, but they look just like us and are fervently religious; and
both the best fighter pilot and the president are women. In other words,
the conventions of sci-fi are borrowed only to be subverted ...' (_Radio
Times_, 7-13 Jan) [DF] Katee Sackhoff, who plays Starbuck in the series,
seems to agree: `I'll meet people who haven't watched the show purely
because it's on Sci Fi. I'm like, you've gotta be kidding me. It's not
really science fiction. [...] they've turned it into a drama first and
a science-fiction series second.' (_Seattle Post-Intelligencer_, 19 Jan)
[LW] What a novelty.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD shortlist: Kazuo Ishiguro, _Never Let Me Go_; Ken
MacLeod, _Learning The World_; Alastair Reynolds, _Pushing Ice_; Geoff
Ryman, _Air_; Charles Stross, _Accelerando_; Liz Williams, _Banner of
Souls_. Administrator Paul Kincaid remarks: `Including Geoff Ryman, a
Canadian long resident in the UK, this is the first all-British shortlist
in the history of the Award.' Winner to be announced on 26 April.
IN CONVERSATION. _Ray Bradbury:_ `Every time a government official opens
his mouth these days, something from a 1928 issue of _Amazing Stories_
falls out.' (_Show_ interview, October 1964, in _Conversations With Ray
Bradbury_) [MMW]
_Ursula Le Guin:_ Interviewer -- `If you weren't a writer what would
you be?' Le Guin -- `Dead.' (BellaOnline, 2006) [PM]
PHILIP K. DICK AWARD shortlist: Neal Asher, _Cowl_; M.M. Buckner, _War
Surf_; Karin Lowachee, _Cagebird_; Justina Robson, _Natural History_;
Justina Robson again, _Silver Screen_; Wil McCarthy, _To Crush The Moon_.
PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. `Solaris' is to be a new sf/fantasy imprint from
BL Publishing, parent company of Games Workshop's The Black Library. It
launches in Spring 2007. Plans are for original (rather than game-
spinoff) novels and anthologies. No unsolicited submissions. Further
information from: enquiries at blpublishing dot com.
BSFA AWARDS shortlist. NOVEL Jon Courtenay Grimwood, _9Tail Fox_; Charles
Stross, _Accelerando_; Geoff Ryman, _Air_; Ken MacLeod, _Learning the
World_; Justina Robson, _Living Next Door to the God of Love_.
SHORT Michael Bishop, `Bears Discover Smut' (_SciFiction_ Oct); Nina
Allan, `Bird Songs at Eventide' (_IZ_ 199); Rudy Rucker, `Guadalupe and
Hieronymus Bosch' (_IZ_ 200); Cory Doctorow, `I, Robot' (_Infinite
Matrix_ Feb); Edward Morries, `Imagine' (_IZ_ 200); Kelly Link `Magic for
Beginners' (_F&SF_ Sep); Will McIntosh, `Soft Apocalypse' (_IZ_ 200);
Elizabeth Bear, `Two Dreams on Trains' (_Strange Horizons_ Jan).
ARTWORK (all cover art except last) Steve Rawlings, _Brass Man_ by
Neal Asher; Stephan Martiniere, _Elantris_ by Brandon Sanderson; Max
Bertolini, _F&SF_ Jan; Kenn Brown, _IZ_ 198; Pawel Lewandowski, _IZ_ 200;
Frank Quitely, ch2 pp2-3 of _We3_ (with Grant Morrison & Jamie Grant).
Short and Artwork categories have >5 nominations owing to ties. No
Nonfiction shortlist as yet; winner to be decided by a BSFA panel based
on nominations.
NO FUN. Asked what he wished people would take more notice of, TV
presenter Alex Zane said: `Science fiction as a prophetic source of
information and not a source of entertainment.' (_Independent_, 21 Jan)
R.I.P. _Cynthia McQuillan_ (1953-2003), filker and author of several
short fantasies, died on 14 January aged 52. She won a 1999 Pegasus Award
as best writer/composer. [DRR]
_Ake E.B. Jonsson_, Swedish fan and collector of film/TV sf
material, has reportedly died. [KS]
_Al Lewis_, US actor remembered as Grandpa in _The Munsters_, died
on 3 February; he was 95. [GW]
_Jan Mark_ (1943-2006), UK author of many acclaimed children's
books, died on 15 January. She was 62. Her sf novels were _The Ennead_
(1978), its sequel _Divide and Rule_ (1979), and _Aquarius_ (1982).
Maureen Kincaid Speller writes: `If Jan Mark had ever met Pollyanna, I
feel sure she would have stuffed her into a trunk and firmly locked the
lid, sparing generations of children and adults the trauma of wondering
why things never turned out the way they did in fiction. Jan Mark always
wrote about the bruising realities of life unflinchingly. She gave no
quarter and she never took prisoners. The resolutions to her novels were,
at best, bitter-sweet, and more often uncompromisingly bleak, but always
satisfying and "right". 25 years on, the ending of _The Ennead_ still
thrills and disturbs me in equal parts. When I first read its bleak
resolution, I knew that here was an author who understood exactly how the
world worked, and who would never betray her readers. I don't believe she
ever did. / Jan Mark came to Mexicon II in 1986, at my instigation I feel
sure; to be honest, I don't remember as much about the weekend as I'd
like, though I recall she was a huge success, as any Guinness-drinking
literary firebrand should be. I do remember that at one point we were
talking, and I happened to mention that, although I had almost everything
she had written, I had never been able to find a copy of _Aquarius_. Jan
Mark immediately opened her briefcase, fished out her own copy of
_Aquarius_, signed it and presented it to me, apologizing about its
battered state, because it was the one she had been using for readings.
/ I'm way behind on reading her novels; she was scarily prolific.
Catching up is going to be a melancholy business, but while real life is
still bruising, the novels will, I know, be satisfying and "right".'
_Philip Ressner_ (1922-2006), US editor and author of several
children's books including the fantasy _August Explains_ (1965), died on
27 December aged 83. [PDF]
_John Stewart._ Steve Jones writes: `British illustrator John
Stewart died of liver failure in a London hospital on January 8th. He was
in his fifties.'
AS OTHERS SEE US II. Nick Frost, star of the BBC2 sf comedy _Hyperdrive_,
explains: `The series is set in 2151 on a spaceship called HMS _Camden
Lock_. With science fiction there's always a danger that 50 percent of
the population is going to switch off immediately, so we've tried to make
it more about the relationships between the characters than the fact they
work on a spaceship.' (_Independent_, 14 Jan) [AR]
But A.A. Gill sees it differently: `The good thing about sci-fi, for
the terrestrial Tristrams who produce it, is that it attracts unarguably
the least discriminating, most tunnel-visioned yet loyal audience of any
oeuvre in any medium -- and that includes Wagnerphiles, although Wagner
could probably be seen as science fiction. People who read sci-fi read
little else. Star Wars fans are a weird closed society, bearable only to
each other. And there are still people writing me letters begging me to
use my influence to bring back Blake's 7; or could I possibly beam them
up episode 57 of Red Dwarf to complete their set? So I expect Hyperdrive
will attract a collection of smelly flotsam fantasists who will
permanently orbit it. It's a shame it doesn't seem to be prepared to be
about more than just science fiction.' (_Times_, 15 Jan) [AM]
_SFX_ STORY COMPETITION. This is for unpublished authors only, and was
launched in _SFX_ 140 with the kind of small print everyone warns new
writers not to touch with a ten-foot pole: `Upon submission of their
stories to the address set out at rule 2, entrants irrevocably assign to
Future Publishing Limited all intellectual property rights that they have
in any part of the world in their stories and waive all their moral
rights.' After protests from Gollancz, who are co-publishing the book of
winners, this was amended -- or, as Future prefer to put it, clarified
-- to something less toxic. See www.sfx.co.uk/features/get_writing! [KB]
BY ANY OTHER NAME. `If you switch to the term "speculative fiction,"
which many sci-fi writers despise, the genre seems more interesting.'
(Nancy Franklin, _The New Yorker_, Jan 23/30) [MMW]
OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Henry Gee_ of _Nature_ promises more sf: `I bear the
happy news that our "Futures" series has been granted an extension, to
the end of 2006.' (Still invitation-only.)
_N. Lee Wood_ on UK news: `Apparently, William Gibson is a convicted
child molester working as a supply teacher in Bournemouth. Poor Bill. Why
can't his namesakes find cures for cancer or save drowning puppies or
something?' Lee adds that the 2005 Richard & Judy TV competition for new
writers was won by Christine Aziz's `dystopian future ... love story'
_The Olive Readers_. `If it doesn't have talking squid, her dystopia
can't be all that bad.'
C.O.A. _Ed Meskys_, Niekas Publications, National Federation of the Blind
of NH, 322 Whittier Hwy, Moultonboro, NH 03254-3627, USA.
CRAWFORD AWARD (for new fantasy novelists) shortlist: Judith Berman,
_Bear Daughter_; Hal Duncan, _Vellum_; Francis Hardinge, _Fly by Night_;
Joe Hill, _Twentieth Century Ghosts_; Sarah Monette, _Melusine_; Holly
Phillips, _In the Palace of Repose_; Anna Tambour,_ Spotted Lily_. The
winning author (rather than novel) will be announced in mid-March.
AS OTHERS SEE US III. TV columnist Lisa de Moraes admires the ABC
programming chief's courage: `[Steve] McPherson's even brave enough to
take on one of the Scary Sci-Fi People in the room. They're the critics
in the audience of every press tour who demand to know why that _Buffy_
spinoff never happened, why _Farscape_ got canceled, etc. etc. And
they're always kind of angry.' (_Washington Post_, 22 Jan) [MMW]
RANDOM FANDOM. _David Stewart_ was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in
January and is `facing a hard slog requiring several weeks, even months
of radio- and chemotherapy followed by surgery and a convalescence period
of several weeks with possibly more chemotherapy afterwards.'
_Peter Sullivan_ had a quick and successful angioplasty in January:
`An absolutely text-book case, with no complications at all.'
_Martin Morse Wooster_, relentless supplier of news clippings,
brags: `My article about the craft beers of Scotland appeared in the
January 2006 issue of _All About Beer Magazine_. So I managed to combine
my trip to Glasgow with rigorous investigation of craft breweries.'
GROUP GROPES. _Resurgence of Trout:_ new Glasgow fan meetings on 2nd Thur
each month. Ingram Bar, Queen St, from 7pm. All welcome.
_Herts Fandom: _Keith Bridges hopes `to revive Hertsfandom using an
online format.' Contact g.armstrong-bridges at tiscali dot co dot uk.
HIDEOUS GAFFES! Yes, the _Infinite Matrix_ URL in _A222_ (initial print
run and email list only) was mistyped: it's www.infinitematrix.net.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Trompe-L'Oeil Dept._ `Nearby stood half a dozen
patched-together vehicles which, contrary to their appearances,
apparently did function.' (Gary Gibson, _Against Gravity_, 2005) [JT]
_Dept of No Matter Where You Go, There You Are._ `Rafe was in
Thendara. / That meant Kadarin and Thyra were -- somewhere. / And so was
the Sharra matrix. / And so -- all the Gods of Darkover be merciful --
so was I.' (Marion Zimmer Bradley, _Sharra's Exile_, 1981) [TMcD]
_Mutant Insect Dept._ `The sisters had found some chrysali [sic] in
the toolshed in spring, and watched over them as they became
caterpillars, then butterflies; so she regarded them as she she regarded
her chickens, almost as offspring.' (Michael Moorcock, _Mother London_,
1988) [EO'B]
_Spare Parts Dept._ `His feet slammed into Alayn's knees and knocked
them both to the floor.' (Katharine Kerr, _Snare_, 2003) [EO'B]
_Helix of Semi-Precious Stones Dept._ `On a busy European street,
the killer serpentined through a crowd ...' (Dan Brown, _Angels and
Demons_, 2000) [MN]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via e-mail, send a message
to ...
ansible-request{at}dcs.gla.ac.uk
... with a Subject line reading:
subscribe
(Message body text irrelevant.) Please send a corresponding
`unsubscribe' to resign from this list if you weary of it or plan to
change e-addresses. You can also manage your subscription details at
the following URL -- updated August 2004.
https://mr1.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ansible
RSS:
http://news.ansible.co.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues:
http://news.ansible.co.uk/
_Ansible_ Links:
http://news.ansible.co.uk/ansilink.html
Dave Langford:
http://ansible.co.uk/
CONVENTION LONGLIST
Details at http://news.ansible.co.uk/ansilink.html#cons
London meetings: http://news.ansible.co.uk/london.html
[] 2006
18 Feb 06, Picocon 23, London
21 Feb, Book Aid International charity auction, London
24-26 Feb 06, Distraction 2006, Newbury
12-13 Mar 06, P-Con III, Dublin
14-17 Apr 06, Concussion (Eastercon), Glasgow
26-30 Apr 06, Sci-Fi London film festival
4-6 Aug 06, MeCon 9, Belfast
18-20 Aug 06, Discworld Convention, Hinckley, Leics
23-27 Aug 06, L.A.con IV (Worldcon), Anaheim, California
1 Sep 06, Iain Banks conference, U of Westminster
1-3 Sep 06, Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester
20-23 Oct 06, Cult TV 2006, Great Yarmouth
10-12 Nov 06, Armadacon 18, Plymouth
10-12 Nov 06, Novacon 36, Walsall
[] 2007
??? date and venue TBA, Year of the Teledu
23-25 Feb 07, Redemption (multimedia SF), Hinckley, Leics
10-12 Aug 07, Recombination (Unicon/RPG), Cambridge
30 Aug - 3 Sep 07, Nippon 2007 (Worldcon), Yokohama, Japan
21-23 Sep 07, Eurocon 2007, Copenhagen, Denmark
[] 2008
Easter 08, Orbital (Eastercon bid)
### ENDNOTES ###
APPARITIONS. [] 10 Feb: Ian R. MacLeod talks to the Brum Group,
Britannia Hotel, New St, Birmingham. 7.45pm for 8pm. Pounds3 members,
Pounds4 non-members. Forthcoming talks: 10 Mar, Brian Stableford; 7
Apr, Les Edwards.
[] 11 Feb: Simon R. Green signs _Deathstalker Coda_ at Forbidden
Planet, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H. 1pm-2pm. 020 7420 3666.
[] 18 Mar: Tom Lloyd signs debut novel _The Stormcaller_ at Forbidden
Planet, as above. 1pm-2pm.
PAYPAL DONATION. Support _Ansible_ and keep the editor happy! Or just
buy his books ...
http://ansible.co.uk/paypal.html
http://ansible.co.uk/biblio.html
RANDOM LINKS. Jan Mark obituary in the _Guardian_.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1693225,00.html
[] _Energumen_: classic fanzine ed. Mike Glicksohn & Susan Wood, now
being republished on line.
http://efanzines.com/Energumen/
[] SFWA/Dell electronic rights agreement.
http://www.sfwa.org/news/2006/dellannouncement.htm
[] More on alien abductions.
http://www.sciencemusings.com/2006/01/abducting-truth.html
EDITORIAL. This issue should have appeared some days earlier, but
thanks to an unexpected hard drive failure I spent last weekend
reconstructing my e-mail and news archives from backups. What fun.
Ansible 223 Copyright (c) Dave Langford, 2006. Thanks to Keith Brooke,
Paul Di Filippo, David Fleming, Steve Jones, Jay Lake, Tim McDaniel,
Andrew Merritt, Petrea Mitchell, Matt Neumann, Feorag NicBhride, Emmet
O'Brien, Daniel R. Reitman, Ang Rosin, Ken Slater, Robert N.
Stephenson, John Toon, Paul Treadaway, Gordon Van Gelder, Dave Wood,
Gary Wilkinson, Lloyd Wood, Martin Morse Wooster, and our Hero
Distributors: Rog Peyton (Brum Group News), Janice Murray (N America),
SCIS, and Alan Stewart (Thyme?).
6 Feb 06
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/
Latest nonfiction: =The SEX Column and other misprints= (Cosmos, 2005)
Latest fiction: =Different Kinds of Darkness= (Cosmos, 2004)
Marcus L. Rowland
<ans...@cix.co.uk> writes
>
>SIR PATRICK MOORE reports on exciting plans by the current owners of
>the London Planetarium: `Madame Tussauds tell us that the new ten
>minute show will be a "celebrity based visual experience" without any
>astronomy content. "We're moving away from stars and planets and
>towards celebrities," it says.' (_Daily Mail_, 1 February) [DW]
My boss and some of our kids get quoted fairly extensively in the news
coverage of this, since we happen to be the nearest school to the
Planetarium. It is a remarkably stupid decision - I keep hoping that
schools will decide to boycott Tussauds completely in protest but it
doesn't seem to be happening.
--
Marcus L. Rowland http://www.forgottenfutures.com/
LJ:ffutures http://homepage.ntlworld.com/forgottenfutures/
Forgotten Futures - The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
"Life is chaos; Chaos is life; Control is an illusion." - Andromeda
Dan Goodman
> MAUREEN McHUGH has a problem that's shared by many fellow sf authors,
> explains Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl: `The thing about Maureen
> McHugh is you're going to find her shelved in the science fiction and
> fantasy section. And that's unfortunate.' (NPR) [JL]
The Minneapolis Public Library shelves Donaldson's "Gap" series in
"Literature."
--
Dan Goodman
All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), Scottish writer, physician.
Journal http://dsgood.livejournal.com
Clutterers Anonymous unofficial community
http://community.livejournal.com/clutterers_anon/
Decluttering http://decluttering.blogspot.com
Predictions and Politics http://dsgood.blogspot.com
Links http://del.icio.us/dsgood
Joe Ellis
"Dan Goodman" <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
> David Langford wrote:
>
> > MAUREEN McHUGH has a problem that's shared by many fellow sf authors,
> > explains Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl: `The thing about Maureen
> > McHugh is you're going to find her shelved in the science fiction and
> > fantasy section. And that's unfortunate.' (NPR) [JL]
>
> The Minneapolis Public Library shelves Donaldson's "Gap" series in
> "Literature."
I would have thought shelving it in "Recycling" would be more
appropriate...
--
Evaluating all GUIs by the example of Windows is like evaluating all cars
by the example of Yugos.
David Langford
wrote ... but with some typos, alas:
>10-12 Aug 07 [] RECOMBINATION/HARMUNI II (Unicon 21/RPG/filk)
Should be HarmUni III, apparently.
>R.I.P. _Cynthia McQuillan_ (1953-2003)
R.I.P. _Cynthia McQuillin_ (1953-2006)
>CRAWFORD AWARD (for new fantasy novelists) shortlist: Judith Berman,
>_Bear Daughter_; Hal Duncan, _Vellum_; Francis Hardinge, _Fly by Night_
Frances Hardinge. Someone else's typo, but I should have checked.
Dave
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/
Read Ansible at http://news.ansible.co.uk/
John Hall
Marcus L. Rowland <forgotte...@ntlworld.com> writes:
>In message <mj4fu1ts7oh3bhsim...@4ax.com>, David Langford
><ans...@cix.co.uk> writes
>>
>>SIR PATRICK MOORE reports on exciting plans by the current owners of
>>the London Planetarium: `Madame Tussauds tell us that the new ten
>>minute show will be a "celebrity based visual experience" without any
>>astronomy content. "We're moving away from stars and planets and
>>towards celebrities," it says.' (_Daily Mail_, 1 February) [DW]
>
>My boss and some of our kids get quoted fairly extensively in the news
>coverage of this, since we happen to be the nearest school to the
>Planetarium. It is a remarkably stupid decision - I keep hoping that
>schools will decide to boycott Tussauds completely in protest but it
>doesn't seem to be happening.
It's continuing a trend that must have been going on for some time. I
visited the Planetarium a couple of years ago for the first time in some
30 or 40 years, and was surprised by how little real astronomy there was
in the show that I saw.
--
John Hall
"Honest criticism is hard to take,
particularly from a relative, a friend,
an acquaintance, or a stranger." Franklin P Jones
Sion Arrowsmith
> [ ... ] `I'll meet people who haven't watched the show purely
>because it's on Sci Fi. I'm like, you've gotta be kidding me. It's not
>really science fiction. [...] they've turned it into a drama first and
>a science-fiction series second.' (_Seattle Post-Intelligencer_, 19 Jan)
Is that an example of post-intelligence?
--
\S -- si...@chiark.greenend.org.uk -- http://www.chaos.org.uk/~sion/
___ | "Frankly I have no feelings towards penguins one way or the other"
\X/ | -- Arthur C. Clarke
her nu becomeþ se bera eadward ofdun hlæddre heafdes bæce bump bump bump
David G. Bell
nospam...@jhall.co.uk "John Hall" wrote:
> In article <So$VBDX$B+5DFw$t...@00.d0.59.f5.d0.2a>,
> Marcus L. Rowland <forgotte...@ntlworld.com> writes:
> >In message <mj4fu1ts7oh3bhsim...@4ax.com>, David Langford
> ><ans...@cix.co.uk> writes
> >>
> >>SIR PATRICK MOORE reports on exciting plans by the current owners of
> >>the London Planetarium: `Madame Tussauds tell us that the new ten
> >>minute show will be a "celebrity based visual experience" without any
> >>astronomy content. "We're moving away from stars and planets and
> >>towards celebrities," it says.' (_Daily Mail_, 1 February) [DW]
> >
> >My boss and some of our kids get quoted fairly extensively in the news
> >coverage of this, since we happen to be the nearest school to the
> >Planetarium. It is a remarkably stupid decision - I keep hoping that
> >schools will decide to boycott Tussauds completely in protest but it
> >doesn't seem to be happening.
>
> It's continuing a trend that must have been going on for some time. I
> visited the Planetarium a couple of years ago for the first time in some
> 30 or 40 years, and was surprised by how little real astronomy there was
> in the show that I saw.
I don't know how different planetariums compare, and the only one I have
visited is the one at Liverpool. But the impression I was left with was
of how inadequate it was as an image of the night sky. I was used to the
view from rural England, far superior to that from the centre of a city.
I was, just, able to see Halley's Comet from my back door.
--
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
"I am Number Two," said Penfold. "You are Number Six."
John Dallman
> My boss and some of our kids get quoted fairly extensively in the news
> coverage of this, since we happen to be the nearest school to the
> Planetarium. It is a remarkably stupid decision - I keep hoping that
> schools will decide to boycott Tussauds completely in protest but it
> doesn't seem to be happening.
They seem to have been working on this for some time. They rolled
admission to the Planetarium into the general Tussauds ticket price a few
years ago, and said that since most visitors didn't go in there, it
"obviously wasn't wanted". Well, no; it's a different experience, with a
different audience. The main astronomy presenter retired recently, which
gave them a lack of internal opposition.
One hopes the projector is being preserved; that would allow revival of
proper planetarium shows if sense ever returns.
---
John Dallman, j...@cix.co.uk, HTML mail is treated as probable spam.
Cally Soukup
> On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:16:32 +0000, David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk>
> wrote ... but with some typos, alas:
> >10-12 Aug 07 [] RECOMBINATION/HARMUNI II (Unicon 21/RPG/filk)
> Should be HarmUni III, apparently.
> >R.I.P. _Cynthia McQuillan_ (1953-2003)
> R.I.P. _Cynthia McQuillin_ (1953-2006)
> >CRAWFORD AWARD (for new fantasy novelists) shortlist: Judith Berman,
> >_Bear Daughter_; Hal Duncan, _Vellum_; Francis Hardinge, _Fly by Night_
> Frances Hardinge. Someone else's typo, but I should have checked.
While we're on the subject of typos, you might want to do a search in
this latest Ansible for "she she".
--
"I disapprove of what you have to say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it." -- Beatrice Hall
Cally Soukup sou...@two14.net
David Langford
wrote:
>While we're on the subject of typos, you might want to do a search in
>this latest Ansible for "she she".
The miscreant who sent Thog that item has now grovelled and checked his
transcription: the "she she" should be just "she". (I thought it might
possibly be "she had", or even a [sic] typo in the book itself, but not.)
Dave
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/
Marcus L. Rowland
<j...@cix.co.uk> writes
The original Zeiss one went to another planetarium with less distorted
values, I think. The laser one they are currently using isn't, IMHO,
nearly as good - it always give me a headache - but is apparently much
more accurate.
Karl Johanson
"John Hall" <nospam...@jhall.co.uk> wrote in message
news:zV9RV$EtsG6...@jhall.demon.co.uk...
> In article <So$VBDX$B+5DFw$t...@00.d0.59.f5.d0.2a>,
> Marcus L. Rowland <forgotte...@ntlworld.com> writes:
>>In message <mj4fu1ts7oh3bhsim...@4ax.com>, David
>>Langford
>><ans...@cix.co.uk> writes
>>>
>>>SIR PATRICK MOORE reports on exciting plans by the current owners of
>>>the London Planetarium: `Madame Tussauds tell us that the new ten
>>>minute show will be a "celebrity based visual experience" without any
>>>astronomy content. "We're moving away from stars and planets and
>>>towards celebrities," it says.' (_Daily Mail_, 1 February) [DW]
>>
>>My boss and some of our kids get quoted fairly extensively in the news
>>coverage of this, since we happen to be the nearest school to the
>>Planetarium. It is a remarkably stupid decision - I keep hoping that
>>schools will decide to boycott Tussauds completely in protest but it
>>doesn't seem to be happening.
>
> It's continuing a trend that must have been going on for some time. I
> visited the Planetarium a couple of years ago for the first time in
> some
> 30 or 40 years, and was surprised by how little real astronomy there
> was
> in the show that I saw.
Maybe the owners think that people interested in astronomy only show up
once every 3 to 4 decades...
Karl Johanson
Kip Williams
The odds against such people attending any particular showing are
astronomical.
Kip W