Ansible 180 [long]
David Langford
ANSIBLE 180
JULY 2002
From DAVE LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU. ISSN
0265-9816. E-mail ans...@cix.co.uk. Fax 0705 080 1534. Available for
SAE, cold cider, or a functional ban-dan-bladder-stiddle.
[NET NOTE. Please see the last section for subscribe/unsubscribe
information: such requests should NOT be sent to my personal e-mail
address. DRL]
PLOKTA.CON 2.0. `So what is there to do in Basingtoke, then?' `We were
afraid you would ask us that.' This Q&A from the _Plokta_ flyer gained
extra piquancy from news reports of a dismembered corpse in the park
adjacent to the con hotel. Further relentless entertainment included
Buffy Evening (mercifully, before I arrived), School Sports Day (I hid
in the bar after watching hapless contestants running backwards to,
around and away from an ever-retreating Sue Mason), and Bollywood Evening
(reminding me that the local `Raj' Indian restaurant's most notable menu
item was `feces of barbecued chicken or lamb'). On Monday the hotel
offered fans cut-price admission to its Jubilee party, where the main
sideshow `Hit The Target And Drop The Hotel Manager Into The Water Tank'
became strangely more popular after the twice-doused, disgruntled manager
walked out and was bravely replaced by plokta.con's very own Alison
Scott. Many, many photographs exist. All good sadistic fun, with a
gratifying number of visiting American fans.
### THE SECRET MASTERS ###
`JUDE FISHER', whose debut fantasy blockbuster _Sorcery Rising_ was
heavily promoted by Earthlight in June, turns out to be editor Jane
Johnson of HarperCollins UK. Insiders wondered whether her Earthlight
editor John Jarrold might soon receive a hefty advance for a pseudonymous
debut fantasy to be published by HarperCollins....
JOHN JARROLD, however, leaves Simon & Schuster UK in August. `I have had
a wonderful five years here, and launching the Earthlight imprint in
April 1998 was one of the great achievements of my career. However, there
are always times when moving on becomes one's best option, and that is
what I am now doing.' Mike Moorcock: `I am not prepared to deal with
another editor, so I too will be leaving Simon and Schuster. All the
staff who were there when I first joined are now gone ...' Other authors
in the Jarrold stable are likewise filled with gloom.
DIANA WYNNE JONES `had another Hospital Horror in June,' writes Chris
Bell, `when a surgeon told her she had a large tumour he thought had a
95% probability of being malignant. After a mere week of waiting, a
operation [26 June] successfully removed the tumour but left the rest of
Our Heroine pretty much intact; and after another anxious week the biopsy
results came. They said it wasn't malignant after all, and by the time
you read this she will be back home, with no more treatment in prospect,
a very sore mid-section (just don't make her laugh, it's really cruel at
the moment) and a bottle of Moet et Chandon in the fridge. I know the
last for a fact, I've just put it there.'
SAM J.LUNDWALL is deeply charmed: `I have finally been accepted by the
cultural establishment of Sweden -- I have received a "Garanterad
forfattarpenning", which is a guaranteed income for certain selected
authors. A sum sufficient to survive on (but not too much more). The idea
is that a few authors should be able to write without having to worry
about money or sales or whatever. No strings attached. This means in
effect the government is paying me a salary for doing whatever I like.
This will go on until I turn 70, after which a special author's pension
will kick in for support. [] Not bad. Who could ever have thought that
a science fiction writer should get a salary from the cultural
establishment to write this Buck Rogers stuff?' The British government,
as Terry Pratchett and J.K.Rowling know, prefers to hand out state
honours with no sordid money attached.
MIKE MOORCOCK is feeling frivolous: `For fun, I've written to Del Rey
about the new David Gemmell books -- the title of the first of three is
_The White Wolf_. Since he's already done _Ravenheart_ (`Ravenbrand' was
the title of the last Elric in _Interzone_) and _Stormrider_, I suggested
that the as yet untitled books in his series be called _Bin of the Black
Sword_ and _Weed of the White Wolf_.... He might as well go all the way.'
ALAN MOORE's graphic novel _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ may
not be entirely recognizable in the planned live-action film.
Screenwriter James Robinson grumbles that this alternate-Victorian _X-
Men_ team comprises two psychopaths (Jekyll/Hyde, the Invisible Man), a
drug addict (Allan Quatermain), and `a sort of sexually ambivalent
vampire girl' (Mina Harker from _Dracula_), leaving only Captain Nemo
(who seemed fairly psychopathic to me) to engage our sympathies.
Therefore, that nice all-American boy Tom Sawyer must be added ... while
of course the arch-villain Dr Fu Manchu gets the chop as a `potentially
volatile racial stereotype.' [BB] Any bets on the replacement bad guy
being -- in defiance of all previous Hollywood stereotyping -- British?
PETER NICHOLLS is heading for media fame, thanks to the hour-long TV
documentary _The What If Man: The Science Fictional Life of Peter
Nicholls_. Premiere 19 July in Melbourne; more screenings at Melbourne
Film Festival (July/Aug) and on Aussie national TV (SBS Network). [YR]
### CONUZEE ###
8 Jul [] READING AT BORDERS, Oxford St, London: CANCELLED, this month
only. Apologies to anyone who turned up for the 10 June event, which
(after _Ansible 179_ had appeared) was postponed to 17 June.
24 Jul [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, Rising Sun, Cloth Fair, London, EC1. 7pm on,
fans present from 5pm. Guest speaker: no word as yet.
9-11 Aug [] CONTEXXT (Unicon 20), University of Gloucestershire. Joint
event with HARMUNI 2 (filk relaxacon). #30 reg, #15 concessions, small
children #1. Contact 17 Cow Lane, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7SZ.
16-19 Aug [] 2002: A DISCWORLD ODYSSEY (DWcon 3), Hanover International
Hotel, Hinckley, Leics. Usual guests. _Reduced rates_ since 1 April: #45
reg, #30 concessions, #10 supp -- reverting to #50/#35/#15 _at end of
July_. Contact (SAE) 23 Medora Rd, Romford, Essex, RM7 7EP.
29 Aug - 2 Sep [] CONJOSE (60th Worldcon), San Jose, California. Still
$180/#125 reg until advance booking closes on 31 July; $200 at the door
($180 on Sat 31 Aug). Contact PO Box 61363, Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1363,
USA; UK agents 52 Westbourne Tce, Reading, RG30 2RP.
2-6 Sep 04 [] NOREASCON 4 (62nd Worldcon), Boston, MA. GoH T.Pratchett,
W.Tenn, J.Speer, P.Weston. $120 reg, children $85, _increasing to $140
and $105 on 1 Aug 02_. Still $35 supp. Mastercard and Visa accepted.
Contact PO Box 1010, Framingham, MA 01701, USA.
_Rumblings._ [] JAPAN IN 2007. This Worldcon bid is now accepting pre-
supporting memberships: #14, $20 or 24. UK agent A.A.Adams, 23 Ivydyne
Rd, Reading, RG30 1HT; Europe, Vince Docherty, Brugstraat 17B, Groningen
9712AA, Netherlands; NA, Elayne Pelz, 15931 Kalisher St, Granada Hills,
CA 91344-3951, USA. Cheques to `Nippon 2007'.
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS OTHERS SEE US. _The New Yorker_ (17 June) ran a merry article on the
hobby of its retired editor Gardner Botsford, who collects books so
specialized that `they have an audience of three.' These amusingly
bizarre titles include _Haikus for Jews_, _Creative Insomnia_,
_Successful Fund Raising Sermons_, _Knitting With Dog Hair_ (see _A75_)
and, alas, _The Best of Stanley G.Weinbaum_. [RL/MMW] [] A film press
pack plays the traditional `not sf' card: `_Minority Report_ is not
Science Fiction, it's Future Reality!' [GW] [] The _Daily Mail_ (21 June)
knows which damning point about a convicted murderer needs to be
mentioned first: `Science fiction fanatic Christopher Hunnisett drowned
the Rev Ronald Glazebrook in his bath before dismembering his body with
an axe and saw.' [JB]
GROUP GROPES. At the first-Thursday London fan meeting on 6 June, the
landlord of the Florence Nightingale pub lost patience with fandom's
tiresome habits of spending money on food (none available, not even
despised `bar snacks') and wanting full legal pints of beer (one chap who
asked for a top-up had his glass filled with stale dregs from the drip-
tray). After arguments and `incidents' too tedious to relate, all future
first-Thursday upstairs room bookings were cancelled. The nearby Jubilee
in York Rd welcomed a temporary move there, from the 4 July meeting
onward, until a larger pub is located. Research by Simon Bradshaw and
others suggests the Silver Cross in Whitehall as a promising choice. []
_Black Lodge_ (Brum) meetings move to _2nd Tuesday_ each month as of 9
July. 8:30pm; The Hogshead, Newhall St, Birmingham.
R.I.P. _Herman Cohen_ (1927-2002), US producer of such cult films as _I
Was a Teenage Werewolf_, _Blood of Dracula_ and _I Was a Teenage
Frankenstein_ (all 1957), died from throat cancer on 2 June. [BB/PB]
Other sources give birth year 1925, or 1928. Alas, he never plumbed the
ultimate horror of _I Was a Teenage SF Fan_. [] _Florence Russell_, old-
time Los Angeles fan long resident in Reading, England, and fondly
remembered for her Christmas Eve parties, died on 1 July. [KF] She was
the widow of Samuel J.Russell, an active US fanzine fan in the 1940s. []
_Bernard Wilkie_ (1920-2002), pioneer of TV special effects and co-
founder of the Visual Effects Workshop at the BBC (where he worked from
1948 to 1978), died on 2 May aged 82. His sf projects included _1984_
(1954), _Quatermass II_ (1955), _Quatermass and the Pit_ (1958-9), and
_Dr Who_ -- not to mention _Monty Python_ and _The Goodies_. [BB/SG] []
_DarkTales Publications_, the horror outfit, is `closing operations'.
[PB]
SCIENCE CORNER. `Hollywood has breathed new life into HG Wells's
innovative sci-fi novel _The Time Machine_. [...] While physicians
continue to find ways to time travel, others claim to have done so
unintentionally.' (Jem Maidment, `Is Time Travel Possible?', ITV1
Teletext) [DH]
FANFUNDERY. _TAFF._ Tobes `Drunken Fuckwit' Valois won the vote on both
sides of the Atlantic, and will travel to ConJose as European TAFF
delegate. Commiserations to rival candidate Chris O'Shea. Voting: Chris,
17 N.American votes + 37 European = 54; Tobes, 21+70=91; Hold Over Funds,
3+2=5; No Pref, 9+14=23. Totals 50+123=173 ballots. [SM] [] _DUFF._
Julian Warner won and will represent Australasian fandom at ConJose.
Voting: Julian 117, David Cake & Sarah Xu 34, write-in 2, HoF 4, No Pref
18. Total 175: 80 Aus, 95 N.Am. [NF]
RANDOM FANDOM. _Harry Andruschak_, through no fault of his own, is filing
for US Chapter 13 bankruptcy and expects to move house shortly. [] _KIM
Campbell_ had an unwelcome return of cancer in May. As Geri Sullivan
says, `She is determined to remain her exceptional self by beating it
again and thanks fandom for the early get-well wishes.' [] _Avedon Carol_
is namechecked in a _London Review of Books_ personal ad: a dentist
`seeks mercurial amalgam of Dinah Washington, Lucille Bogan, Audrey
Hepburn, Avedon Carol and Wendy Kaminer to revive heart shot full of
Novocaine with impacted wisdom and regular soft tissue examinations ...'
[] _Eileen Gunn_ confides: `I've been off climbing into volcanic caldera
with Carol Emshwiller. Not a metaphor.' [] _Sheila Lightsey_ announced
at the 6 June London pub meeting that she and Victor Gonzalez are now
engaged. `Showed us the ring and everything.' [RH] [] _Simo_ reports from
the Douglas Adams biographical workbench: `Have just finished first draft
of _Hitchhiker_ and it's a mere 48,000 words over my contracted
wordcount. I believe I can reduce this to an acceptable level by deleting
"actually" and "sort of" from all the Adams quotes.' [] _Justina Robson_
and her husband Richard announced the birth of their son Daniel on 26
June. [] _Marcus Rowland_ was overjoyed by the opportunity to pay the
post office 86p for his UK in 2005 Progress Report -1, mailed without
stamps. [] _D.M.Sherwood_ creatively reported that Andromeda Bookshop
(see C.o.A.) is moving to Warsaw. [] _Lucy Sussex_ has a souvenir: `Just
back from NZ sf convention (where I was a secondary GoH). Ended up with
a replica of Frodo's sword, paperknife-size. Unfortunately it does not
glow blue in the presence of bills.'
C.O.A. _Andromeda Bookshop_, 2 Selborne St, Walsall, WS1 2JN; 01922
620000. (Temporary move to warehouse unit, 4 July, for `at least a couple
of months'.) _At the Sign of the Dragon_, St Ninians, New Road, Wigtown,
Scotland, DG8 9JL (from 22 July; London bookshop closed 29 June). _Gary
Farber_, 2278 Nicholl St East, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. _Ulrika & Hal
O'Brien_, PO Box 1646, Bellevue, WA 98009-1646, USA.
ARE THEY SURE? From a _Guardian_ tourism supplement: `Many of New
Zealand's species of wildlife are unique to this planet.' [NS]
STRANGE WEB STUFF. _Richard Calder_ was disconcerted to find that the
free extract from his _Lord Soho_ on the Earthlight website bore no
resemblance to anything he recalled writing. Who was `Tristan Talisker
-- Thane of Soulis Mor'? _Ansible_ traced the offending text to the
prologue of a very different (and very Scots) fantasy, Miller Lau's _Dark
Thane_. [] _Greg Egan_ has a vital correction to his novel _Diaspora_,
whose 17th chapter laughably refers to `Poincare's rotational "pole" --
the two-dimensional sphere on the hypersurface that stayed fixed in space
as the star rotated.' The author's website warns that this is in fact an
unlikely situation in 5-dimensional space, and that it's more probable
that there would be `two single-point rotational poles, as in 3
dimensions.' [DR] Thog's Higher Mathematical Masterclass is deprived of
its prey. [] _David Pringle_ of _Interzone_ would be rather more
flattered by the discovery that early issues from 1982 are now priced at
#85 sterling, if the on-line vendor didn't describe his pride and joy as
a `Short lived English horror and fantasy magazine.' [] _Wildside
Press_'s website blurb for the Langford/Grant horror spoof _Guts_
featured this paragraph (since deleted): `RIDDLE STORIES is the American
volume, and it includes Ambrose Bierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan
Poe, Washington Irving, Charles Brockden Brown, F.Marion Crawford, and
many others.' As we sadly told Wildside, anyone who buys _Guts_ expecting
to find these authors included -- even as well-digested slurry -- will
be disappointed.
MORE AWARDS. _Bram Stoker_ (horror): NOVEL _American Gods_, Neil Gaiman;
FIRST NOVEL _Deadliest of the Species_, Michael Oliveri; LONG FICTION _In
These Final Days of Sales_, Steve Rasnic Tem; SHORT `Reconstructing Amy',
Tim Lebbon; COLLECTION _The Man with the Barbed-Wire Fists_, Norman
Partridge; ANTHOLOGY _Extremes 2_ ed. Brian A.Hopkins; NONFICTION _Jobs
in Hell_ ed. Brian Keene; ILLUSTRATED No Award; SCREENPLAY _Memento_,
Christopher & Jonathan Nolan; FOR YOUNG READERS _The Willow Files 2_,
Yvonne Navarro; POETRY COLLECTION _Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey
Ashes_, Linda Addison; ALTERNATIVE FORMS _Dark Dreamers_, Beth Gwinn &
Stanley Wiater; LIFE ACHIEVEMENT John Farris.
WE ARE EVERYWHERE. Gordon Van Gelder hears that `in his memoir _You Can't
Be Serious_, tennis star John McEnroe mentions that his son has a rare
and serious disease called Heinoch Schonlein purpura. However, McEnroe
calls the disease "Heinlein purpura". This error occurred in the bound
galley, I don't know if it's in the final book ...'
THE JAMES WHITE AWARD for short stories (2-4000 words) by new writers is
in its third year, with deadline 20 August 2002. Submissions and info
requests: 211 Blackhorse Ave, Dublin 7, Ireland. Winner to be announced
at Novacon 32 (Quality Hotel, Walsall) on 3 November. [DS]
OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Chris Bell_ is annoyed with Helicon's recommended
Jersey travel agency, not merely for insisting (although told otherwise)
that she must be male: `In spite of my having been absolutely firm that
I wanted no bumph of any kind from them or anyone else, and that my
details were not to be held on a database, guess what? I am now getting
junkmail from firms in the Channel Islands selling everything from
holiday cottages to stairlifts and double-glazing -- or rather, _I'm_
not, but "Mr. C.Bell" is. Ratfinks.' [] _Sir Arthur C.Clarke_ confesses
that his _A174_ Thog submission (`"You cad!" she hissed.') `was home-
brewed -- I had it around for years and was happy to find a home for it.'
[IZ] For shame! [] _Simon R.Green_ was slighted in some space-opera
feature that I haven't seen but apparently wrote: `I read the entire
_SFX_ Deep Space special, and Not One Word about the best-selling
Deathstalker books! I shall take umbrage. Twice daily, in water.' []
_Paul Melko_ tells me cheeringly, `You'll probably be tickled to know
that _Ansible 179_ did not reach anyone at sff.net who had their spam
filters activated. The combination of three phrases within 179 ("i am"
& "m*llion" & "tr*nsfer") activated our deflector screens. I wouldn't
have noticed if I didn't store my spam for later perusal.' I've inserted
asterisks in hope that this letter won't brand _A180_ as Nigerian-swindle
spam and deny its glories to innumerable (well, 18) sff.net subscribers.
THE DEAD PAST. _20 Years Ago._ Chris Morgan on Mythcon 1982: `The art
show was small but full of quality -- watch out for talented newcomer Sue
Mason, who won a prize for best amateur artist.' Brian Aldiss suffered
the rewards of hubris when his _Telegraph_ mag competition for `mini-
sagas' (stories of exactly 50 words) required him to judge 33,000
entries. One, about phantom horses, came from Princess Margaret and
failed through being only 49 words long. (_Ansible 27_, July 1982)
SMALL PRESS. Ben Jeapes had a sense-of-wonder moment on 27 June `in
King's Lynn, home of Biddles the printers, where I watched the pages of
_Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek_ being run off. Very exciting. [] The
process is apparently called light fusion magnetography -- the
magnetography is what makes the toner stick to the rollers and hence the
pages, and the light fusion is what seals it and stops it running. The
rep who explained it got a bit confused and called it cold fusion
magnetography, which made it sound a lot more clever than it was.'
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Dept of Microbiology._ `"... Did men have goals in
common, in your day, save to keep on breathing, eating and reproducing?"
/ I grunted. "Goals shared with the lowest bacillus."' (Stephen Baxter,
_The Time Ships_, 1995) [BR] [] `Her brother's twitching eyes and bared
buck teeth gave him the look of a gopher on pure crystal meth, capable
of anything, one way or the other.' (S.M.Stirling, _Island in the Sea of
Time_, 1998) [O] [] `When he spoke again he could barely suppress a yodel
of irritation.' (Ian McEwan, _The Innocent_, 1990) [PB] [] _Dept of
Logic, Pure:_ `After all, Roamers had disproved the impossible time and
again.' _Applied:_ `In the vacuum of space no one could see beautiful
lines or shiny hulls anyway.' (both Kevin J.Anderson, _Hidden Empire_,
2002)
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### ENDNOTES ###
APPARITIONS. _Paul McAuley_ will be reading at Borders in Islington on
17 July at 7pm. `This is _not_ a bid to outdo la Cadigan -- would I
dare? One of the staff has set up an sf group.' [] _Bryan Talbot_
talks on comics and his own techniques at the Gala Cinema, Millennium
Place, Durham: 7 July, 4pm. Tickets #5. Bookings 0191 332 4041. More
about this event (part of the Durham Literature Festival) at:
http://www.cornwell.nu/litfest/index.html
EUROCON 2003. Finland is bidding to hold next year's Eurocon and may
even have won by the time you read this. See the latest at:
FORGOTTEN FUTURES. Marcus Rowland releases the further expanded
version 4.0 of this CD-ROM at the end of July: not just a role-playing
game but a vast resource of scanned Victorian/Edwardian sf, fantasy,
scientific romance, illustrations and retro weirdness. Profits to
Cancer Research UK. Read all about it at:
http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/
GRUMBLE. Just noticed that UK overseas airmail had a sneaky price
increase this month, with the minimum 10g letter rate rising from 45p
to 47p. Fanzine editors take heed. Inland postage has also risen for
packets of 400g and over.
Ansible 180 Copyright (c) Dave Langford, 2002. Thanks to Paul Barnett,
Barbara Barrett, John Birchby, Steve Davies, Naomi Fisher, Keith
Freeman, Steve Green, Rob Hansen, David Hebblethwaite, Interzone,
Robert Legault, Omega, Sue Mason (for a whole sheet of what she calls
Tiny Bloody Illos), New Scientist, Dan Reid, Bob Rickard, Yvonne
Rousseau, David Stewart, Gary Wilkinson, Martin Morse Wooster, and our
Hero Distributors: Rog Peyton (Brum Group), Janice Murray (N.America),
SCIS, and Alan Stewart (Australia).
4 Jul 02
--
David Langford
ans...@cix.co.uk | http://www.ansible.co.uk/
Ian Sewell
wrote:
>
>### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
>
>AS OTHERS SEE US. _The New Yorker_ (17 June) ran a merry article on the
>hobby of its retired editor Gardner Botsford, who collects books so
>specialized that `they have an audience of three.' These amusingly
>bizarre titles include _Haikus for Jews_, _Creative Insomnia_,
>_Successful Fund Raising Sermons_, _Knitting With Dog Hair_ (see _A75_)
>and, alas, _The Best of Stanley G.Weinbaum_. [RL/MMW]
I claim number 2 in this audience. Fine book and author.
__________
Ian Sewell
"I'm not pretty, I'm not subltle and I piss a lot of people off. But I get the job done!"
Captain Gideon B5 Crusade
Priscilla Ballou
Was this spelling a typo, or does it explain the surreality of the
events described below?
> then?' `We were
> afraid you would ask us that.' This Q&A from the _Plokta_ flyer gained
> extra piquancy from news reports of a dismembered corpse in the park
> adjacent to the con hotel. Further relentless entertainment included
> Buffy Evening (mercifully, before I arrived), School Sports Day (I hid
> in the bar after watching hapless contestants running backwards to,
> around and away from an ever-retreating Sue Mason), and Bollywood Evening
> (reminding me that the local `Raj' Indian restaurant's most notable menu
> item was `feces of barbecued chicken or lamb'). On Monday the hotel
> offered fans cut-price admission to its Jubilee party, where the main
> sideshow `Hit The Target And Drop The Hotel Manager Into The Water Tank'
> became strangely more popular after the twice-doused, disgruntled manager
> walked out and was bravely replaced by plokta.con's very own Alison
> Scott. Many, many photographs exist. All good sadistic fun, with a
> gratifying number of visiting American fans.
Priscilla
--
"Love is not something wonderful that you feel; it is something
difficult that you do." -- Elizabeth Goudge
David Langford
wrote:
>In article <0vq8iukflr58mhfsf...@4ax.com>,
> David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk> wrote:
>> PLOKTA.CON 2.0. `So what is there to do in Basingtoke,
>
>Was this spelling a typo, or does it explain the surreality of the
>events described below?
Oh God! It is indeed a typo. I wish I could claim it was transcribed with
malicious accuracy from the plokta.con flyer, but no. Eternal shame and
ignominy are mine. I'll just go and fix the website....
Maybe just coincidence or a feeble excuse for incompetence, but I was
having a bout of migraine aura while typing up much of this =Ansible=
yesterday. I don't get the headache, just the lightshow and a sense of my
head being uncomfortably crowded, but it can't help with proofreading
accuracy.
ObSF: Bob Shaw's =The Two-Timers=, whose descriptions of scintillating
scotoma and all the rest of it helped me recognize what was going on when
it first happened to me. (After the first few minutes of total panic.)
Dave
Priscilla Ballou
SewelliN...@dircon.co.uk (Ian Sewell) wrote:
> Ian Sewell
>
> "I'm not pretty, I'm not subltle and I piss a lot of people off. But I get
> the job done!"
> Captain Gideon B5 Crusade
Speaking of typos...
Bill Longley
>On Thu, 04 Jul 2002 16:44:08 +0100, David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
>>
>>AS OTHERS SEE US. _The New Yorker_ (17 June) ran a merry article on the
>>hobby of its retired editor Gardner Botsford, who collects books so
>>specialized that `they have an audience of three.' These amusingly
>>bizarre titles include _Haikus for Jews_, _Creative Insomnia_,
>>_Successful Fund Raising Sermons_, _Knitting With Dog Hair_ (see _A75_)
>>and, alas, _The Best of Stanley G.Weinbaum_. [RL/MMW]
>
>I claim number 2 in this audience. Fine book and author.
OK, I claim number 3, and agree. Although I only have one other book of
his ("The New Adam"), so I'm not sure what "The Worst of" would contain.
--
Bill Longley
Beth Friedman
Sewell), <3d2481e5...@news.dircon.co.uk>, wrote:
>On Thu, 04 Jul 2002 16:44:08 +0100, David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>
>>### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
>>
>>AS OTHERS SEE US. _The New Yorker_ (17 June) ran a merry article on the
>>hobby of its retired editor Gardner Botsford, who collects books so
>>specialized that `they have an audience of three.' These amusingly
>>bizarre titles include _Haikus for Jews_, _Creative Insomnia_,
>>_Successful Fund Raising Sermons_, _Knitting With Dog Hair_ (see _A75_)
>>and, alas, _The Best of Stanley G.Weinbaum_. [RL/MMW]
>
>I claim number 2 in this audience. Fine book and author.
I have in fact read three out of five of these books -- haikus,
knitting, and Weinbaum (which I own). But _Haikus for Jews_ was a
holiday-time novelty book (along with such things as _Poetry for
Cats_), so I suspect it had a rather wider audience than Botsford
claims.
--
Beth Friedman
b...@wavefront.com
Marcus L. Rowland
>
>FORGOTTEN FUTURES. Marcus Rowland releases the further expanded version
>4.0 of this CD-ROM at the end of July: not just a role-playing game but
>a vast resource of scanned Victorian/Edwardian sf, fantasy, scientific
>romance, illustrations and retro weirdness. Profits to Cancer Research
>UK. Read all about it at:
>
> http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/
Actually, it's not _all_ profits to Cancer Research UK, it's 10% of the
sale price. I do get to keep a little for myself.
The FF Charity CD is the one that's sold with all profits going to
charity. The current version with the Professor Challenger stories is on
sale for another month, at the beginning of August the new one (with the
Nesbit stories and children's fantasy RPG) will replace it.
--
Marcus L. Rowland http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/
Forgotten Futures - The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
"Life is chaos; Chaos is life; Control is an illusion." - Andromeda
Dan Kimmel
"Ian Sewell" <SewelliN...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3d2481e5...@news.dircon.co.uk...
> On Thu, 04 Jul 2002 16:44:08 +0100, David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
> >
> >AS OTHERS SEE US. _The New Yorker_ (17 June) ran a merry article on the
> >hobby of its retired editor Gardner Botsford, who collects books so
> >specialized that `they have an audience of three.' These amusingly
> >bizarre titles include _Haikus for Jews_, _Creative Insomnia_,
> >_Successful Fund Raising Sermons_, _Knitting With Dog Hair_ (see _A75_)
> >and, alas, _The Best of Stanley G.Weinbaum_. [RL/MMW]
>
> I claim number 2 in this audience. Fine book and author.
I've tracked down all of the '70s Del Rey "Best of..." series, and that was
one of the ones that was consistently good throughout.
It's a shame he's slipped into further obscurity. Maybe it's time for NESFA
Press to do the definitive volume...
Priscilla Ballou
"Marcus L. Rowland" <mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <0vq8iukflr58mhfsf...@4ax.com>, David Langford
> <ans...@cix.co.uk> writes
> >
> >FORGOTTEN FUTURES. Marcus Rowland releases the further expanded version
> >4.0 of this CD-ROM at the end of July: not just a role-playing game but
> >a vast resource of scanned Victorian/Edwardian sf, fantasy, scientific
> >romance, illustrations and retro weirdness. Profits to Cancer Research
> >UK. Read all about it at:
> >
> > http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/
>
> Actually, it's not _all_ profits to Cancer Research UK, it's 10% of the
> sale price. I do get to keep a little for myself.
>
> The FF Charity CD is the one that's sold with all profits going to
> charity. The current version with the Professor Challenger stories is on
> sale for another month, at the beginning of August the new one (with the
> Nesbit stories and children's fantasy RPG) will replace it.
Hullo? Nesbit stories? E.E. Nesbit?
Omega
Priscilla Ballou <vze2...@verizon.net> writes
>In article <BHan36AO...@ffutures.demon.co.uk>,
> "Marcus L. Rowland" <mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> The FF Charity CD is the one that's sold with all profits going to
>> charity. The current version with the Professor Challenger stories is on
>> sale for another month, at the beginning of August the new one (with the
>> Nesbit stories and children's fantasy RPG) will replace it.
>
>Hullo? Nesbit stories? E.E. Nesbit?
>
--
Omega
The reason that the sun never set on the British Empire is that God doesn't
trust the British in the dark.
Del Cotter
David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk> said:
>GROUP GROPES. At the first-Thursday London fan meeting on 6 June, the
>landlord of the Florence Nightingale pub lost patience with fandom's
>tiresome habits of spending money on food (none available, not even
>despised `bar snacks') and wanting full legal pints of beer (one chap who
>asked for a top-up had his glass filled with stale dregs from the drip-
>tray). After arguments and `incidents' too tedious to relate, all future
>first-Thursday upstairs room bookings were cancelled. The nearby Jubilee
>in York Rd welcomed a temporary move there, from the 4 July meeting
>onward, until a larger pub is located. Research by Simon Bradshaw and
>others suggests the Silver Cross in Whitehall as a promising choice.
Went to the Silver Cross last night, It's very close to Charing Cross
tube: from the Bakerloo line I came out of the exit into Trafalgar
Square (part of this station used to be called Trafalgar Square before
it was merged with Charing Cross). I then took my life in my hands to
get across the road into Whitehall, but the pub is right on the northern
end of the street, on the eastern side opposite the Lord Moon of the
Mall pub and the Whitehall theatre. The ground floor was crowded and
hot and noisy with music; the basement was barriered off, but was quiet
and felt quite cool.
I found Simon Bradshaw, Mike Scott, Paul Hood and Patrick back upstairs
on the ground floor and ordered drinks and a hamburger. From where we
sat in the window, I could see not ten feet away the bus stop where I
used to wait at two o'clock in the morning after trying to sell
encyclopaedias to young suburban couples, which was my first "job" after
leaving school (never sold one).
The food was reasonable and cheap, the lager was expensive, but the ales
were less so. I would have no objection to going there regularly.
Later in the evening I walked over the river to the Jubilee, which was
deserted. Hardly any fans came in the climate of uncertainty, and there
were next to no non-fans there. I have never understood the complaints
about the Jubilee being "crowded", and it was even harder to understand
last night with so few people turning up. And the pool table has been
replaced with leather sofas and coffee tables, making even more room.
I'm afraid I'm not suited to all the angsting about the best place to
meet, as I've never really minded any of the pubs the Tun has met in
over the last fifteen or so years, not even the less-than-satisfactory
Hamilton Hall.
--
. . . . Del Cotter d...@branta.demon.co.uk . . . .
JustRead:e:TerryPratchettTheTruth:JeromeKJeromeThreeMenInABoat:WilliamGo
ldmanThePrincessBride:AlastairReynoldsRevelationSpace:GregEganQuarantine
ToRead:KimStanleyRobinsonTheYearsOfRice&Salt:BenJeapesHisMajesty'sStarsh
Marcus L. Rowland
Priscilla Ballou <vze2...@verizon.net> writes
>
>> charity. The current version with the Professor Challenger stories is on
>> sale for another month, at the beginning of August the new one (with the
>> Nesbit stories and children's fantasy RPG) will replace it.
>
>Hullo? Nesbit stories? E.E. Nesbit?
E. Nesbit, yes. The Psammead trilogy, 23 short stories, and some
autobiographical articles, plus a role-playing game based on them and
three adventures. Also some other stuff to make using a CD-ROM more
worthwhile, such as a 1906 Meccano catalogue, the novel _The Romance of
Golden Star_ by George Griffith, a 1913 atlas, and a rather nice
illustrated version of Christina Rossetti's _Goblin Market_.
It's the CD I've just shipped to registered users of my RPG, once
they've had a month to play with it I'll be selling it for charity.
Marcus L. Rowland
<om...@menageri.org.uk> writes
>>
>Any of her ghost stories on there?
'fraid not, I was concentrating on her children's fantasy.
Priscilla Ballou
"Marcus L. Rowland" <mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <Da8OQZBR...@menageri.tele2.co.uk>, Omega
> <om...@menageri.org.uk> writes
> >>
> >Any of her ghost stories on there?
>
> 'fraid not, I was concentrating on her children's fantasy.
That doesn't make Omega happy, but it does make *me* happy. Tell me
again -- when will this be available, and how?
We can go to email if you want.
Priscilla Ballou
"Marcus L. Rowland" <mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <vze23t8n-0CE647...@news.bellatlantic.net>,
> Priscilla Ballou <vze2...@verizon.net> writes
> >
> >> The FF Charity CD is the one that's sold with all profits going to
> >> charity. The current version with the Professor Challenger stories is on
> >> sale for another month, at the beginning of August the new one (with the
> >> Nesbit stories and children's fantasy RPG) will replace it.
> >
> >Hullo? Nesbit stories? E.E. Nesbit?
>
> E. Nesbit, yes. The Psammead trilogy, 23 short stories, and some
> autobiographical articles, plus a role-playing game based on them and
> three adventures. Also some other stuff to make using a CD-ROM more
> worthwhile, such as a 1906 Meccano catalogue, the novel _The Romance of
> Golden Star_ by George Griffith, a 1913 atlas, and a rather nice
> illustrated version of Christina Rossetti's _Goblin Market_.
>
> It's the CD I've just shipped to registered users of my RPG, once
> they've had a month to play with it I'll be selling it for charity.
OK. Scrap my other post requesting info. I trust you will be posting a
notice here when it's available?
Priscilla, who likes E. Nesbit (dunno where I got the second E from
above) and also charity
Michael J. Lowrey
> > >Hullo? Nesbit stories? E.E. Nesbit?
> >
> > E. Nesbit, yes. The Psammead trilogy, 23 short stories, and some
> > autobiographical articles, plus a role-playing game based on them and
> > three adventures. Also some other stuff to make using a CD-ROM more
> > worthwhile, such as a 1906 Meccano catalogue, the novel _The Romance of
> > Golden Star_ by George Griffith, a 1913 atlas, and a rather nice
> > illustrated version of Christina Rossetti's _Goblin Market_.
> >
> > It's the CD I've just shipped to registered users of my RPG, once
> > they've had a month to play with it I'll be selling it for charity.
>
> OK. Scrap my other post requesting info. I trust you will be posting a
> notice here when it's available?
>
> Priscilla, who likes E. Nesbit (dunno where I got the second E from
> above) and also charity
Obviously, you were thinking of E. E. "Doc" Nesbit, author
of FIVE CHILDREN OF THE RING AND IT!
--
Orange Mike
Michael J. Lowrey
> Priscilla, who likes E. Nesbit
Have you ever read her ""Ballads and Lyrics of socialism"?
--
Michael J. Lowrey
Priscilla Ballou
"Michael J. Lowrey" <oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
> Priscilla Ballou wrote:
>
> > Priscilla, who likes E. Nesbit
>
> Have you ever read her ""Ballads and Lyrics of socialism"?
Actually, I've limited myself to her children's literature. I did read
her biography many years ago. Until I did that I hadn't known she was a
socialist, although if I'd thought about it I might have been able to
figure it out from hints she drops here and there. Seems to me there
were some in _The Railway Children_.
Priscilla
Priscilla Ballou
"Michael J. Lowrey" <oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
or e.e. nesbit, author of _is 5 children and it_.
Priscilla
Michael J. Lowrey
>
> "Michael J. Lowrey" <oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
> > Obviously, you were thinking of E. E. "Doc" Nesbit, author
> > of FIVE CHILDREN OF THE RING AND IT!
Brainfart!
I meant, of course, FIVE CHILDREN OF THE LENS AND IT.
--
Michael J. Lowrey
orange...@clearether.com
Lucy Kemnitzer
<oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
>Priscilla Ballou wrote:
>
>> Priscilla, who likes E. Nesbit
>
>Have you ever read her ""Ballads and Lyrics of socialism"?
Smirk. _I_ have her biography, and I know Things.
Lucy Kemnitzer
Omega
<mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> writes
>In article <Da8OQZBR...@menageri.tele2.co.uk>, Omega
><om...@menageri.org.uk> writes
>>>
>>Any of her ghost stories on there?
>
>'fraid not, I was concentrating on her children's fantasy.
Fair enough, it's what most people know of her work anyway and a lot
easier to find than the ghost stories. Shame really since they're just
as good. Put me down for a copy anyway.
--
Omega
"Heavens Colin, why didn't you warn me? This is not pornography at all, this is
literature."
Caption from Literary Life by Peter van Straaten
Omega
Priscilla Ballou <vze2...@verizon.net> writes
>In article <cnAgfABl...@ffutures.demon.co.uk>,
> "Marcus L. Rowland" <mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> In article <Da8OQZBR...@menageri.tele2.co.uk>, Omega
>> <om...@menageri.org.uk> writes
>> >>
>> >Any of her ghost stories on there?
>>
>> 'fraid not, I was concentrating on her children's fantasy.
>
>That doesn't make Omega happy, but it does make *me* happy. Tell me
>again -- when will this be available, and how?
>
I've said in my other reply I'll still take a copy.
--
Omega
"I was up for a wonderful part but I was told: 'Sorry, you're the best actor for
the role but this calls for a guy-next-door type. You don't look like you've
ever lived next door to anyone.'"
Donald Sutherland Playboy October 1981
Omega
<oran...@uwm.edu> writes
--
Omega
"Coffee, which makes the politician wise,
And see through all things with his half-shut eyes."
Alexander Pope "The Rape of the Lock"
Roger Gammans
>Priscilla Ballou wrote:
>>
>> "Michael J. Lowrey" <oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
>> > Obviously, you were thinking of E. E. "Doc" Nesbit, author
>> > of FIVE CHILDREN OF THE RING AND IT!
>
>Brainfart!
>
>I meant, of course, FIVE CHILDREN OF THE LENS AND IT.
Oh gawd.
That's like one of those great parlour games. 'Great Authors from whom
we've been saved.'
eg.
CS 'Lewis' Carrol , Author of The Lion, the witch and looking glass.
and I suppose the infamous 'Hunter S Tolkien' deserves a mention.
TTFM
--
Roger.
Master of Peng Shui. (Ancient oriental art of Penguin Arranging)
Ed Dravecky III
> Michael J. Lowrey meant to write:
> > Obviously, you were thinking of E. E. "Doc" Nesbit, author
>
> Oh gawd. That's like one of those great parlour games. 'Great
> Authors from whom we've been saved.' eg. CS 'Lewis' Carrol,
> Author of The Lion, the witch and looking glass. and I suppose
> the infamous 'Hunter S Tolkien' deserves a mention.
I still think "Fear and Loathing in The Shire" is a classic novel
but casting Johnny Depp as Raoul Baggins spoiled the movie for me.
--
Ed Dravecky III - Addison, Texas
Worldcon membership for sale, e-mail for details
Kip Williams
> In article <3D260B9D...@uwm.edu>, Michael J. Lowrey wrote:
>
>>Priscilla Ballou wrote:
>>
>>> "Michael J. Lowrey" <oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Obviously, you were thinking of E. E. "Doc" Nesbit, author
>>>>of FIVE CHILDREN OF THE RING AND IT!
>>>
>>Brainfart!
>>
>>I meant, of course, FIVE CHILDREN OF THE LENS AND IT.
>
>
> Oh gawd.
> That's like one of those great parlour games. 'Great Authors from whom
> we've been saved.'
>
> eg.
> CS 'Lewis' Carrol , Author of The Lion, the witch and looking glass.
>
> and I suppose the infamous 'Hunter S Tolkien' deserves a mention.
J.R.R. Burroughs, "Tarzan of the Ents."
--
--Kip (Williams) ...at members.cox.net/kipw
"Well, it looks as though my time is up. The old clock on the wall
has melted." --Hugh "Wavy Gravy" Romney
Matt Austern
> In article <3D260B9D...@uwm.edu>, Michael J. Lowrey wrote:
> >Priscilla Ballou wrote:
> >>
> >> "Michael J. Lowrey" <oran...@uwm.edu> wrote:
> >> > Obviously, you were thinking of E. E. "Doc" Nesbit, author
> >> > of FIVE CHILDREN OF THE RING AND IT!
> >
> >Brainfart!
> >
> >I meant, of course, FIVE CHILDREN OF THE LENS AND IT.
>
> Oh gawd.
> That's like one of those great parlour games. 'Great Authors from whom
> we've been saved.'
>
> eg.
> CS 'Lewis' Carrol , Author of The Lion, the witch and looking glass.
The classic, of course, is Larry Herbert, author of _Ringworm_.
Arthur D. Hlavaty
>J.R.R. Burroughs, "Tarzan of the Ents."
Reminds me of Philip Jose Farmer's "The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod," a
collaboration between Edgar Rice and William S.
--
Arthur D.Hlavaty hla...@panix.com
Church of the SuperGenius in Wile E. we trust
E-zine available on request
Dan Goodman
news:f0etiu8su2dj45695...@4ax.com:
> On Thu, 11 Jul 2002 23:36:59 GMT, Kip Williams <ki...@cox.net> wrote:
>
>>J.R.R. Burroughs, "Tarzan of the Ents."
>
> Reminds me of Philip Jose Farmer's "The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod," a
> collaboration between Edgar Rice and William S.
My memory says it was _entirely_ by William S. Burroughs. -"If William S.
Burroughs had written the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs"-
Unfortunately, Farmer hasn't yet written the Edgar Rice Burroughs version
of _Naked Lunch_.
Marcus L. Rowland
>opportunity to pay the post office 86p for his UK in 2005 Progress
>Report -1, mailed without stamps.
Feeling a bit guilty about moaning about this now, since they've just
sent me a refund. Never mind, I shall pass it on to Cancer Research UK.