Ansible 337 -- August 2015 [long]

[David Langford]

ANSIBLE 337
AUGUST 2015

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website
news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE,
nudged-quantum storage units or sophons.

[NET NOTE. See http://news.ansible.uk/a337.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]


IT'S A CON! Another Langford ebook from Ansible Editions: _Don't Try This
At Home: Selected Convention Reports_, an occasionally esoteric compilation
ranging from Mancon 5 in 1976 to Loncon 3 in 2014. Pounds1 goes to TAFF for
each copy sold. See <ae.ansible.uk/?t=donttrythis>.


### THE NIGHT'S PLUTONIAN SHORE ###

GEORGE LUCAS is one of those receiving 2015 lifetime honours from the John
F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The ceremony, hosted by some chap
called Obama, will be in December. (BBC, 15 July) [MPJ]

GEORGE R.R. MARTIN, as homage to his characters' gory deaths in _Game of
Thrones_, makes a cameo appearance in an already much circulated clip from
the aptly titled _Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!_ 'as a moviegoer who gets
brutally attacked by a shark that somehow jumps out of the movie screen and
into his face.' (Cnet.com, 23 July)

MICHAEL MOORCOCK's profile/interview (_New Statesman_, 24 July) had a
subhead saying he 'revolutionised science fiction with symbolism, sex and
psychoactive drugs. Now, at 75, he has invented another genre.' Also
included was the mandatory MM quotation 'I think Tolkien was a
crypto-fascist'. Mike has since issued a disclaimer: 'He was a nice bloke
and it's a generous, well-meant, piece but I'm afraid I read it saying "no
I didn't" and "I never said that" so many times that it was a relief to get
to the last, more accurate, para. My fault, maybe, for talking too fast and
modifying too frequently. I've never claimed the authority of being working
class! I'm from the class most artists come from, the hated petite
bourgeoisie, though I had a variety of relatives who didn't. I have spent
half my life saying that Jerry Cornelius is not a "secret agent". Feel like
I've just taken a turn on the same old roundabout. But I'll do a lot for
four good pork pies. / Oh, and I absolutely LOVE hobbits. I'm just looking
for the best recipe.' (www.multiverse.org, 24 July) [JL]

F.W. MURNAU, director of the classic vampire film _Nosferatu_ (1922), was
in the news again in July with reports that his skull was stolen from his
grave in Stahnsdorf cemetery near Berlin. (BBC, 15 July) [MPJ] If this were
a Tim Powers novel there would be excellent magical reasons for this theft,
and others too would lose random body parts.

CHARLES PLATT and his long-time partner Erico Narita were married on 2 July
in Arizona: 'please, no wedding presents.'

AMY SCHUMER, US comedian, annoyed the galactic overlords of _Star Wars_ by
appearing dressed as Princess Leia in a naughty _GQ_ magazine photo
feature: in bed with ardent robots C-3PO and R2-D2, in a high-kicking
chorus line with Imperial Stormtroopers, and so on. 'Lucasfilm & Disney
didn't approve, participate in or condone the inappropriate use of our
characters in this manner,' thundered the official _Star Wars_ Twitter
feed. (BBC, 17 July) [MPJ]

BENJANUN SRIDUANGKAEW, Thai author identified in 2014 as the former abusive
blogger Requires Hate or Winterfox, has been further outed by a stalker who
posted details of her 'true identity and her extremely privileged extended
family'. All online, but let's not link to it.

J.R.R. TOLKIEN is now commemorated on maps of Saturn's moon Titan, where by
IAU convention the mountains are named for those of Middle-earth and the
hills for its characters: hence Mountains of Moria (Moria Montes) and
Gandalf Hills (Gandalf Colles). [BH] Freta, straits or channels, get the
names of characters in Asimov's _Foundation_ series. The IAU has yet to
approve the _New Horizons_ team's name Cthulhu for a dark region on Pluto,
where underworld connotations predominate -- though 'Writers associated
with Pluto' could give a chance to Disney.


### CONCEPTACULUM ###

7-9 Aug [] NINE WORLDS GEEKFEST (multimedia), Heathrow. Pounds110; child
(5-15) Pounds55. Day rates Pounds47.50, Pounds23.75. Advance booking online
only at nineworlds.co.uk. _Rates rise on 1 August and at the door._

12 Aug [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, Blackett Lecture Theatre 1, Blackett
Laboratory Building, Imperial College, London -- _note venue and 2nd (not
4th) Wednesday of month_. 7pm. With Peter F. Hamilton. Free.

19-23 Aug [] SASQUAN (Worldcon), Spokane Convention Center, Spokane, WA,
USA. $210 reg; $105 YA/military; $90 child; $40 supp. _Advance registration
closes 2 August: $240 at the door._ See sasquan.org.

21 Aug - 20 Sep [] EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL: Floating Cinema films and events at
various Regent's Canal moorings, London. On board Pounds5-Pounds12;
open-air free. See floatingcinema.info/events/2015/extra-terrestrial.

21-23 Aug [] WADFEST (Discworld camp con), Wood Green, Animal Shelter,
King's Bush Farm, London Road, Godmanchester, Cambs, PE29 2NH. Campers
Pounds35, visitors Pounds17.50, _rising 1 August to Pounds40 and Pounds20_.
See www.wadfest.co.uk; contact waddy at wadfest dot co dot uk.

27-31 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (horror film festival), Glasgow Film Theatre.
Bookings: www.frightfest.co.uk or 0141 332 6535.

28-31 Aug [] THE ASYLUM (steampunk), Lincoln. Tickets Pounds35 (day
Pounds13), under-17s Pounds18 (Pounds6.50), plus fees. See
steampunk.synthasite.com.

23-25 Oct [] FANTASYCON, Orchard Hotel, Nottingham. Now Pounds75 reg;
couples Pounds130; under-16s Pounds35; under-5s free. _Rates rise 1
September._ There are discounts for BFS members: see fantasycon2015.org.

21 Nov [] SLEDGE-LIT (Edge-Lit extra), QUAD Centre, Derby. Tickets
Pounds25. Book online at www.derbyquad.co.uk/special-event/sledge-lit

RUMBLINGS. _Worldcon 2015:_ Sasquan had over 10,000 members as of 15 July.
Nearly 3,000 Hugo ballots were cast by 24 July. _Worldcon 2017:_
mailed/emailed site selection ballots (Helsinki, Nippon, Montreal or
Washington DC) must be received by 24:00 PDT on 10 August. See sasquan.org.
_Worldcon 2022:_ a bid for Doha, Qatar -- challenging the Chicago bid --
has appeared at worldcon.org/bids. No further details.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS INVOKE US. Charles Bukowski on Henry Miller: '_Star Trek_
contemplation sperm-jizz babble'. (C. Bukowski, _On Writing_, 2015)

AWARDS. _Prometheus_ (libertarian): Daniel Suarez, _Influx_.
_Rhysling_ (poetry): SHORT Marge Simon, 'Shutdown' (_Qualia Nous_ ed.
Michael Bailey). LONG F.J. Bergmann, '100 Reasons to Have Sex with an
Alien' (2014 SFPA Poetry Contest).
_SF Poetry Association Grand Master:_ Marge Simon, Steve Sneyd.
_World Fantasy Life Achievement:_ Ramsey Campbell, Sheri S. Tepper.
_Shirley Jackson_ (suspense/horror): NOVEL Jeff VanderMeer,
_Annihilation_. NOVELLA Daryl Gregory, _We Are All Completely Fine_. SHORT
Alison Littlewood, 'The Dogs Home' (_Spectral Book of Horror Stories_).
COLLECTION Helen Marshall, _Gifts for the One Who Comes After_. ANTHOLOGY
Ellen Datlow, ed., _Fearful Symmetries_.

AS WE SEE US. Stephen Baxter explains Wellsian sf in a _Guardian_
interview: 'So it's like therapy, you're telling a story because you're
frightened of the future.' (25 July)

CAREER ADVICE to fugitives from US justice: don't star in even a low-budget
horror film under your own name, as did bank robber Jason Stange in _Marla
Mae_ (forthcoming 2016). Police relentlessly noticed him in
advance-publicity photos, and pounced. (BBC, 29 July) [MPJ]

R.I.P. _Renee Alper_ (1957-2015), US filker and playwright long active in
Tolkien fandom (she founded the American Hobbit Association in 1977) and
the Mythopoeic Society, died on 27 July aged 58. [CC]
_Theodore Bikel_ (1924-2015), Austrian-born actor whose long career
included genre tv roles in _The Amazing Spider-Man_, _The Return of the
King_ (1980, as Aragorn), _Beauty and the Beast_, _Star Trek: TNG_,
_Babylon 5_ and others, died on 21 July; he was 91. [DL]
_Edward Burnham_ (1916-2015), UK actor whose credits include
_Quatermass and the Pit_ (1959), _Doctor Who_ (1968, 1974-1975), and _The
Abominable Dr. Phibes_ (1971), died on 30 June aged 98. [MPJ]
_George Coe_ (1929-2015), US actor seen in _The Stepford Wives_
(1975), _The Entity_ (1982), _Max Headroom_ (1987-1988 tv) and _Star Wars:
The Clone Wars_ (2009 tv), died on 18 July aged 86. [PDF]
_Douglas Cook_, US screenwriter best known for _The Rock_ (1996),
whose coming _Criminal_ (2016) is an sf thriller involving identity
transfer, died on 19 July; he was 56. [PDF]
_E.L. Doctorow_ (1931-2015), noted US author of historical fiction who
used fantastic themes in _Big as Life_ (1966) and the steampunkish _The
Waterworks_ (1994), died on 21 July; he was 84. [JC]
_Blaine Gibson_ (1918-2015), US animator whose Disney credits include
_Alice in Wonderland_ (1951), _Peter Pan_ (1953), _Sleeping Beauty_ (1959)
and _101 Dalmatians_ (1961), died on 5 July aged 97. As a sculptor he also
created many statues and characters for Disneyland. [PDF]
_Fred Hemmings_, UK fan active in the 1960s and 1970s, publishing the
fanzine _Mescific_ (later _Viewpoint_) and involved with the BSFA, died on
6 May; he was 71. [ME via GC]
_Steve Kennedy_ (1945-2015), US art dealer who specialized in pulp and
represented various artists (or their estates) including Hannes Bok, Rafael
DeSoto and J. Allen St. John, died on 4 July aged 70. [CP/AIP]
_Alan Kupperberg_ (1953-2015), US comics artist who worked on several
titles for Marvel (_Defenders_, _Invaders_, _Punisher_, _Spider-Man_,
_Thor_, _X-Men_ etc) and later DC (including _Justice League of America_),
died on 17 July aged 62. [PDF]
_Markus Wolfson_ (Mark McCann, 1945-2015), UK author of _The Magonia
Stone_ (2015) and a number of short stories, died of cancer on 30 June; he
was 69. [GC]
_Aubrey Morris_ (1926-2015), UK character actor whose genre credits
include _The Prisoner_ (1967 tv), _A Clockwork Orange_ (1971), _The Wicker
Man_ (1973), _Lifeforce_ (1985) and _Necessary Evil_ (2008), died on 15
July aged 89. [PDF]
_Tom Piccirilli_ (1965-2015), prolific US horror, crime and sf author
who won several Bram Stoker awards, died on 11 July; he was 50.
_Olaf Pooley_ (1914-2015), UK actor seen in _Doctor Who_ (1970),
_Doomwatch_ (1971), _Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus_ (1996) and _Star
Trek: Voyager_ (2000), died on 14 July. He was 101. [MPJ]
_Roger Rees_ (1944-2015), UK actor whose credits include _Robin Hood:
Men in Tights_ (1993), _The Scorpion King_ (2002), _The Prestige_ (2006)
and _Warehouse 13_ (2009-2013 tv), died on 10 July aged 71. [MMW]
_Jeff Rice_ (1944-2015), best known as creator of the tv series
_Kolchak: The Night Stalker_ (1974-1975), died on 1 July aged 71. The
series pilot was _The Night Stalker_ (1972), adapted by Richard Matheson
from Rice's then-unpublished novel of the same title which appeared in
1973. [F770]
_Alex Rocco_ (1936-2015), US actor whose credits include _The Entity_
(1982), _A Bug's Life_ (1998) and _The Country Bears_ (2002), died on 18
July aged 79. [MMW]
_Leonard Starr_ (1925-2015), US cartoonist who drew _Annie_ from 1979
to 2000 and developed and wrote the animated _ThunderCats_ (1985-1989) for
Rankin/Bass (but had to sue for his share of merchandise profits), died on
30 June aged 89. [PDF]
_Jerry Weintraub_ (1937-2015), US film/tv producer whose genre work
includes _Oh, God!_ (1977), _My Stepmother Is an Alien_ (1988), _The
Avengers_ (1998) and forthcoming _Tarzan_ and _Westworld_ tv series, died
on 6 July; he was 77. [MMW]
_John A. Williams_ (1925-2015), US writer and poet whose sf novels --
beginning with _The Man Who Cried I Am_ (1967) -- focused on America's
racial conflicts, died on 3 July; he was 89. [JC]
_George 'Foghorn' Winslow_ (1946-2015), erstwhile US child actor who
starred in the sf comedy _The Rocket Man_ (1954), died on 13 June aged 69.
[MPJ]

THE WEAKEST BUT VERY TOPICAL LINK. _Richard Osman:_ 'What is the title of
the third book in the _Hunger Games_ trilogy?' _Contestant:_ '_To Kill a
Mockingbird_.' (BBC2, _Two Tribes_) [PE]

AWARDS SHORTLISTS. _British Fantasy_, novels: FANTASY K.T. Davies, _Breed_;
Robert Jackson Bennett, _City of Stairs_; Frances Hardinge, _Cuckoo Song_;
Lavie Tidhar, _A Man Lies Dreaming_; Neil Williamson, _The Moon King_;
Edward Cox, _The Relic Guild_. HORROR Gary McMahon, _The End_; M.R. Carey,
_The Girl with All the Gifts_; Rich Hawkins, _The Last Plague_; Adam
Nevill, _No One Gets Out Alive_; Emily St. John Mandel, _Station Eleven_;
Alison Littlewood, _The Unquiet House_.
_Man Booker Prize_ longlist of 13: one book of sf/fantasy interest,
_The Chimes_ by Anna Smaill. [L]
_Sidewise_ (alt-history): LONG Alexander M. Grace, Sr, _Second Front:
The Allied Invasion of France, 1942-1943: An Alternative History_; Kristine
Kathryn Rusch, _The Enemy Within_; Tony Schumacher, _The Darkest Hour_;
Allen Steele, _V-S Day: A Novel of Alternate History_; Jo Walton, _My Real
Children_. SHORT Ken Liu, 'The Long Haul: From the Annals of
Transportation, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009' (11/14 _Clarkesworld_); Igor
Ljubuncic, 'The Girl with the Flaxen Hair' (_Wars to End All Wars:
Alternate Tales from the Trenches_); Robert Reed, 'The Principles' (4/14
_Asimov's_); Aaron Rosenberg, 'Let No Man Put Asunder' (_Europa Universalis
IV: What If? The Anthology of Alternate History_); Lewis Shiner, 'The Black
Sun' (Summer 2014 _Subterranean_); Harry Turtledove, 'The More It Changes'
(_Europa Universalis IV_ as above).
_World Fantasy:_ NOVEL Katherine Addison, _The Goblin Emperor_; Robert
Jackson Bennett, _City of Stairs_; David Mitchell, _The Bone Clocks_; Jeff
VanderMeer, _Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy_; Jo Walton, _My Real
Children_. For further World Fantasy categories see
worldfantasy.org/awards/2015.html.

COURT CIRCULAR. The iron jackboot of Disney came down hard on the British
'Joker's Masquerade' fancy-dress retailer, which had long used
starwars.co.uk and related domains for relevant themed costumes. Disney
duly complained to Nominet, which ruled in its favour -- 'Star Wars cannot
sensibly refer to anyone else other than the complainant' -- and described
the registration as 'abusive'. (BBC, 9 July) [MPJ]

AS OTHERS SEE US. Joshua Rothman tackles the genre rather as Julius Caesar
dealt with Gaul: 'Sci-fi stories divide roughly into three categories.
First, there are stories about regular people who just happen to live in
the future, like "Star Trek" and "Star Wars." Second, there are
transhumanist stories, such as "Dune" and "Sense8," in which human nature
is somehow altered. And third, there are robot stories, in which human
nature is, for the most part, fixed, the better to be inherited by our
technological replacements -- the Cylons in "Battlestar Galactica," say, or
Ava, the robot in Alex Garland's recent film, "Ex Machina."' (_The New
Yorker_, 14 July) [SM] That should help us pare down the interminable list
of _SF Encyclopedia_ theme entries to, say, three.

MAGAZINE SCENE. A new Edinburgh-based sf magazine, _Shoreline of Infinity_,
launched on 2 July with its Summer 2015 issue (both print and digital).
Read all about it at www.shorelineofinfinity.com.

I SAY IT'S SPINACH. 'Popeye is very, very similar to these medieval
sculptures. You have a sense of transcendence taking place here. Here with
Popeye it's transcendence of male energy. He eats that spinach and he
transcends into the strength. And I think, you know, that's the art; the
spinach is art.' (Jeff Koons in _Imagine ... Jeff Koons: Diary of a
Seducer_, BBC1, as featured in _Private Eye_'s 'Pseud's Corner', 24 July)

RANDOM FANDOM. '_Bill Burns_ is currently indisposed. There will be no
updates until further notice.' Thus Bill's efanzines.com (host site to
innumerable fanzines) in late July; he's recovering well from a bug picked
up while in hospital for a routine minor op.
_Gary Farber_ is also not having fun: 'I crushed my foot, fracturing
the calcaneus bone into at least five fragments, which will be requiring
surgery.'
_James Nicoll_ posted 'my 109th review of a book by a woman this year,
which means I can now say I have reviewed more books by women in 2015 than
Tor.com, _Romantic Times_ (spec fic only), _SFX_, _Strange Horizons_,
_Interzone_, io9, _F&SF_, _Vector_, _Analog_, _Asimov's_, _NYRSF_, _Science
Fiction Studies_, _Foundation_, _CSZ_, and _LARB_ did in 2014. / On track
to exceed _Locus_' numbers in this matter on or around the 7th of August.'
(29 July)

THE DEAD PAST. _60 Years Ago_, a touch of politics in UK fandom:
'_European_ May '55 featured a 11 page article on s-f by one Gerald Hooley;
an enthusiast's article one would never expect to see published in a
prozine, mentioning over a 100 _Astounding_ stories (man's an enthusiast)
and others, plus a fairly well-balanced survey. Only drawback is,
_European_ is the leading Fascist organ in this country. Do we want to know
Hooley or not?' (_Science Fantasy News_ 13, August 1955)
_50 Years Ago_, the second London Worldcon was imminent with Brian
Aldiss as guest of honour: 'The largest ever conclave of sf writers,
editors, readers and fans will gather this weekend, 27th-30th August, at
the Mount Royal Hotel, Marble Arch, London. Come along and join the fun.
Better early than late. Many conventioneers are already in attendance,
expectant with baited breath!' (_Skyrack_ 82, August 1965)

C.O.A. _Jordin & Mary Kay Kare_, 1567 Keesling Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125,
USA. _Ian Watson & Cristina Macia_, Avda de la Constitucion 15, 4 derecha,
33208 Gijon, Spain. _Sarah Mooring_ (nee Dibb): C/ San Ignacio de Loyola 9,
5 izda, 03013 Alicante, Spain.

FANFUNDERY. _GUFF 2016_ voting is open: Jukka Halme is contending against
Hold Over Funds. See rantalica.com/guff/guff-voting-ballot/.

MISCELLANEOUS MEDIA MINUTIAE. _Curt Siodmak Award_ (German): SF FILM
_Guardians of the Galaxy_; SF TV _Doctor Who_. [SFS]

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Pluto Revealed!_ 'Originally it revolved around
another sun, some star which was light-years away. How it tore loose from
that star we'll probably never know -- the star might have simply become
too dim, their planet might have been on a shaky orbit, an experiment of
theirs might have jarred it loose, many things could have happened.'
(Donald A. Wollheim, _The Secret of the Ninth Planet_, 1959) [JN]
_Neat Tricks._ '"Why, yes, Simon," she said, looking up at him through
her eyelashes.' (Susan Elia MacNeal, _Mr. Churchill's Secretary_, 2012)
[PB]
_Dept of Rocks and Hard Places._ 'We are between the wild thoat of
certainty and the mad zitidar of fact -- we can escape neither.' (Edgar
Rice Burroughs, _The Gods of Mars_, 1918)
_Mot Juste Dept._ 'Rugolo glanced at the greenness carpeting the
plain, which he had taken to be a variety of grass or moss, forms of
verbiage common on many worlds ...' (Barrington J. Bayley, _Eye of Terror_,
1999) [BA]
_Dept of Baleful Dessert._ '... a face pink and stern as frozen
strawberry custard.' (Ayn Rand, _Ideal_, written 1934; published 2015) [PB]

### GEEKS' CORNER ###

SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via email, send a message to:
ansible-news+subscribe [at] googlegroups.com
You will be asked to confirm by email that you want to join the group. To
resign from the Google Groups list, send email to:
ansible-news+unsubscribe [at] googlegroups.com
More details, and an ALTERNATIVE LIST subscription form for those averse to
Google, on this page (which is also where to unsubscribe from the
alternative list, hosted at ansible.uk):
http://news.ansible.uk/asubs.html
Home page -- http://news.ansible.uk/
RSS feed -- http://news.ansible.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication -- http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues -- http://news.ansible.uk/aseries2.html
Email the editor -- http://news.ansible.uk/contact.php
Books Received -- http://ansible.uk/books.php

CONVENTION AND EVENT LINKS
[] British Isles -- http://news.ansible.uk
[] London -- http://news.ansible.uk/london.html
[] Overseas -- http://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html


### ENDNOTES ###

APPARITIONS.
[] 14 August 2015, Summer Meal for the Brum Group, 7:30pm for 8pm at the
Bull, Price Street, Birmingham: Pounds5 deposit required. Contact
bhamsfgroup at yahoo co uk. Normal venue is the Briar Rose Hotel, Bennett's
Hill, Birmingham city centre. Normal meetings 7:30pm for 8pm there; Pounds4
or Pounds3 for members. Future meetings: 11 September 2015, Edward James; 9
October 2015, Justina Robson; 6 November 2015, Emma Newman; 4 December
2015, Xmas Social; 8 January 2016, AGM and Book Auction.

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

R.I.P. SUPPLEMENT. _Toby English_, British book dealer who used to sell
sf/fantasy in UK convention dealers' rooms, died from cancer on 25 July.
His shop in Wallingford had closed earlier in 2015. [BA] [] _Adrienne
Martine-Barnes_ (1942-2015), US author and costume fan who began publishing
fiction in 1982 and produced both solo novels and multiple collaborations
with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson, died on 23 July. [SFS]

THE DEAD PAST II. _30 Years Ago,_ the screen flashed Game Over: '_Imagine_
magazine bit the dust in August, the issue on the stands being
appropriately numbered 30. This is all TSR's fault: "Der Fuhrer
Amerikanisch has ordered the final solution," wailed erstwhile editor Paul
Cockburn. "You lucky sod, Langford, you're the only contributor to issue 31
who's being paid," report envious (and premature) games fans. Within hours
of the sinking, ace film reviewer Colin Greenland was scuttling aboard the
rival ship _White Dwarf_ (where his column resumes in January)....'
(_Ansible_ 44, September 1985)

FREE EBOOKS of fannish interest remain available at the TAFF site, with no
more strings attached than a gentle suggestion that if you enjoy them a
donation to TAFF would be welcome:
http://taff.org.uk/ebooks.php

ARE YOU GOING TO THE WSFS BUSINESS MEETING? It would be ever so helpful if
you could let them know:
http://kevin-standlee.livejournal.com/1480479.html

RAMSEY CAMPBELL COSPLAY HORROR! Presumably because his formal Cthulhu
outfit had been damaged by blasphemous ichor, Ramsey was reduced to
academic robes on the occasion of his Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool
John Moores University for 'outstanding contribution to literature'.
Congratulations....
http://news.ansible.co.uk/a337.html#41

THOG'S SECOND HELPING. _The Lumpy Eyes Have It._ 'Maybe it was his eyes,
like two unpolished stones.' (Paul Halter, _The Invisible Circle_, 1996;
trans John Pugmire 2014)


Ansible 337 Copyright (c) David Langford, 2015. Thanks to Brian Ameringen,
Paul Barnett, Graham Charnock, John Clute, Gary Couzens, Catherine
Crockett, File 770, Paul Di Filippo, Martin Easterbrook, Martyn P. Jackson,
Denny Lien, Jim Linwood, Locus, Scott Martin, James Nicoll, Curt Phillips,
Andrew I. Porter, Private Eye, SF Site, Martin Morse Wooster, and our Hero
Distributors: Dave Corby (BSFG), SCIS/Prophecy, Alan Stewart (Australia).

31 July 2015

--
David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/

[Jette]

On Friday, July 31, 2015 at 5:03:14 PM UTC+1, David Langford wrote:
> ANSIBLE 337
> AUGUST 2015

>
> COURT CIRCULAR. The iron jackboot of Disney came down hard on the British
> 'Joker's Masquerade' fancy-dress retailer, which had long used
> starwars.co.uk and related domains for relevant themed costumes. Disney
> duly complained to Nominet, which ruled in its favour -- 'Star Wars cannot
> sensibly refer to anyone else other than the complainant' -- and described
> the registration as 'abusive'. (BBC, 9 July) [MPJ]
>

Not sure Disney owned Star Wars when the retailer started using those domain names.

[David Langford]

On Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:03:16 +0100, David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk>
wrote:

>_Adrienne
>Martine-Barnes_ (1942-2015), US author and costume fan who began publishing
>fiction in 1982 and produced both solo novels and multiple collaborations
>with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson, died on 23 July. [SFS]

Steven H Silver sends a correction to his original SF Site obit: date of
death was 20 July not 23 July.

[Kevrob]

Disney doesn't have jackboots. The Mouse wears Iron Clownshoes,
and wields the Four Fingers of Death.

Re: Len Starr's death. I used to read his MARY PERKINS: ON STAGE strip
in the New york Daily News. Gorgeous stuff. See:

http://www.newsfromme.com/2015/06/30/leonard-starr-r-i-p/

Among other work, Starr ghosted FLASH GORDON in the mid-50s.

See: http://preview.tinyurl.com/LenStarrBails or

http://tinyurl.com/LenStarrBails which is from a Jerry Bails index:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110928130907/http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%28bvo2xq24z2afwj3x5uwubai5%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=STARR,+LEONARD

Kevin R

[T Guy]

On Friday, July 31, 2015 at 5:03:14 PM UTC+1, David Langford wrote:

> ANSIBLE 337
> AUGUST 2015
>
> From DAVID LANGFORD...
>

> ### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###



>

> AS OTHERS SEE US. Joshua Rothman tackles the genre rather as Julius Caesar
> dealt with Gaul: 'Sci-fi stories divide roughly into three categories.

Classic!

> First, there are stories about regular people who just happen to live in
> the future, like "Star Trek" and "Star Wars."

Pardon?

Second, there are
> transhumanist stories, such as "Dune" and "Sense8," in which human nature
> is somehow altered. And third, there are robot stories, in which human
> nature is, for the most part, fixed, the better to be inherited by our
> technological replacements -- the Cylons in "Battlestar Galactica," say, or
> Ava, the robot in Alex Garland's recent film, "Ex Machina."' (_The New
> Yorker_, 14 July) [SM] That should help us pare down the interminable list
> of _SF Encyclopedia_ theme entries to, say, three.

Pardon to the power of itself. This is one of those things where one just looks at it, unable to determine where to start.

> THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Pluto Revealed!_ 'Originally it revolved around
> another sun, some star which was light-years away. How it tore loose from
> that star we'll probably never know -- the star might have simply become
> too dim, their planet might have been on a shaky orbit, an experiment of
> theirs might have jarred it loose, many things could have happened.'
> (Donald A. Wollheim, _The Secret of the Ninth Planet_, 1959) [JN]

Thank you for the contribution to the Debate.

> _Neat Tricks._ '"Why, yes, Simon," she said, looking up at him through
> her eyelashes.' (Susan Elia MacNeal, _Mr. Churchill's Secretary_, 2012)
> [PB]

Thog is getting a little desperate for material, methinks. This is sort of acceptable. or at least not unadulterated rubbish.

> _Dept of Rocks and Hard Places._ 'We are between the wild thoat of
> certainty and the mad zitidar of fact -- we can escape neither.' (Edgar
> Rice Burroughs, _The Gods of Mars_, 1918)

Oh, come on! Leave poor old ERB alone!

This is probably a well-known phrase or saying upon Barsoom.

No. hang on, maybe it doesn't make sense. I'll have to look into this one.

[Tim McDaniel]

In article <mv6nra986c0mtd8aq...@4ax.com>,

David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk> wrote:
>ANSIBLE 337
>AUGUST 2015

> _50 Years Ago_, the second London Worldcon was imminent ...

>Many conventioneers are already in attendance,
>expectant with baited breath!' (_Skyrack_ 82, August 1965)

Why wasn't this cross-referenced under Thog, or was this just a typo for "bated"?

--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com

[Kevrob]

"Baited breath" is what you have after eating sashimi.

Kevin R

[Tim McDaniel]

In article <mqj7t9$r43$1...@reader1.panix.com>,

That is, was it a typo in the original (Thog), or a typo by Mr. Langford?

--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com

[David Langford]

On Fri, 14 Aug 2015 06:35:48 +0000 (UTC), tm...@panix.com (Tim McDaniel)
wrote:

It's how it's spelt in the online archive of Skyrack ...

http://gostak.co.uk/skyrack/skyrack82.htm

Whether it's a typo or OCR/spellcheck slip by Greg Pickersgill (owner of
gostak.co.uk) is one of the unknown unknowns which must remain unknown
until someone can actually check a paper copy of that issue.