Ansible 414 - January 2022 [long]

[David Langford]

ANSIBLE(R) 414
JANUARY 2022

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,
bombast, fustian or hefty news brought to me by ruddy scouts.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a414.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a414.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list
subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below -- please don't send such
requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]

DISCON III (WORLDCON 2021). _Big Heart Award:_ Linda Deneroff.
_First Fandom Hall of Fame:_ William F. Nolan; Richard and Pat Lupoff
(posthumous).
_Moskowitz Archive Award:_ Kevin L. Cook.
_2023 Worldcon Site Selection:_ Chengdu (China) won with 2006 votes;
Winnipeg (Canada) had 807; write-ins and 75 'no preference' votes brought
the total count of valid ballots to 2915.
_Hugo Awards:_ NOVEL _Network Effect_ by Martha Wells. NOVELLA _The
Empress of Salt and Fortune_ by Nghi Vo. NOVELETTE _Two Truths and a Lie_
by Sarah Pinsker. SHORT "Metal Like Blood in the Dark" by T. Kingfisher
(_Uncanny_, 9/2020). SERIES The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. RELATED
WORK _Beowulf: A New Translation_ by Maria Dahvana Headley. GRAPHIC
_Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation_ written by Octavia
Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings. DRAMATIC --
LONG _The Old Guard_. DRAMATIC -- SHORT _The Good Place_: 'Whenever You're
Ready'. EDITOR -- SHORT Ellen Datlow. EDITOR -- LONG Diana M. Pho.
PROFESSIONAL ARTIST Rovina Cai. SEMIPROZINE _FIYAH Magazine of Black
Speculative Fiction_. FANZINE _nerds of a feather, flock together_. FANCAST
_The Coode Street Podcast_. FAN WRITER Elsa Sjunneson. FAN ARTIST Sara
Felix. VIDEO GAME _Hades_. LODESTAR (YA)* _A Wizard's Guide to Defensive
Baking_ by T. Kingfisher. ASTOUNDING (new writer)* Emily Tesh (*not a
Hugo).
_Overheard at DisCon:_ 'I thought science fiction was just rocket
stuff. But I've been looking around and it's all kinds of stuff!' [PL]
Indeed.


### SOME FICKLE CIRCUMSTANCE ###

JOHN BOORMAN and Ian Livingstone were knighted in the New Year Honours, for
services to film and online gaming respectively. Joanna Lumley and Vanessa
Redgrave, also with multiple genre credits, are now Dames. Daniel Craig
became a CMG, just like James Bond 007; Barbara Broccoli (film) and Anthony
Horowitz (literature) were made CBE.

SIMON INGS was sighted on _Christmas University Challenge_ (27 December);
although he fumbled two of a set of three questions on _Star Trek_, his
Birbeck London team trounced Portsmouth University. [SF2C]

MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL apologized unreservedly for DisCon's highly visible
Hugo ceremony sponsorship by the arms etc. company Raytheon (not listed as
sponsors in the Worldcon souvenir book), which had outraged some quarters
of fandom though not others, and sparked reminiscences of the Scientology
presence at the UK Worldcon in 1987. Sponsorship money will be passed to an
unspecified peace organization. (Full text at the Discon site.) Cheryl
Morgan commented that 'the Hugos are owned by WSFS. DisCon3 had no right to
imply that they had sold naming rights to awards they do not own.'
(Twitter, 20 December) [CF]


### CONSTANTINOPLE ###

6 Jan [] LONDON FIRST THURSDAY MEETING. The Bishop's Finger room booking
has been cancelled, though the pub should remain open. See
tinyurl.com/54j3vz8u for Zoom meeting details as on third Thursdays. Also
virtual meeting on 3 February owing to clash with paid pub booking.

POSTPONED TO 2023. 11-13 Feb [] SCI-FI BALL (media), Southampton. 2022
bookings to be transferred; 'a new hotel'. See scifiball.com.

11-13 Feb [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. GBP90 reg. See
www.scotiacon.org.uk for main and overflow hotel bookings.

POSTPONED TO 2023. 18-20 Feb [] REDEMPTION (multimedia), Royal Victoria
Hotel, Sheffield. Guests of honour Paul Magrs, Professor Elemental. _Now
expected to be held on 17-19 February or 24-26 February 2023._ Further
updates are expected at redemptioncon.org.uk.

5 Mar [] ANGELA CARTER: A RADICAL PRESCIENCE? (symposium), University of
Chichester. More details awaited at tinyurl.com/3veu5xx6.

10-13 Mar [] CHILLERCON UK (horror), Grand and Royal Hotels, Scarborough.
GBP130 reg; HWA members GBP120. Day rates GBP25 Thur or Sun, GBP35 Fri,
GBP55 Sat. See chillercon-uk.com.

10-12 Mar [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Glasgow Film Theatre. Tickets at
www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents.html from 'early January'.

7-10 Apr [] LUXCON (Eurocon), Luxembourg. Euro30 reg; payment details
(IBAN) at www.luxcon.lu. Email enquries: info at sffs dot lu.

15-18 Apr [] RECLAMATION (Eastercon), Radisson Hotel & Conference Centre,
Heathrow. GBP70 reg; GBP40 concessions; accompanied under-18s GBP25;
under-5s free; GBP35 supporting. See reclamation2022.co.uk.

ONLINE. 27-29 Apr [] GIFCON 2022 (Glasgow University conference), 'Fantasy
Across Media'. More details awaited at tinyurl.com/ybekrfay.

5-7 Aug [] TITANCON, Hilton Hotel, Belfast. _Now GBP35 reg_; GBP40 from 1
May; GBP45 from 1 July and at the door. More at titancon.com.

1-5 Sep [] CHICON 8 (80th Worldcon), Chicago, IL, USA. $190 reg; Worldcon
first-timers $110; under-25s $90; under-18s $70; under 14s $50; accompanied
under-10s free; $50 supporting. See chicon.org.

3 Sep [] WHOOVERVILLE 13 (_Doctor Who_), QUAD Centre, Derby, DE1 3AS.
Tickets GBP55; concessions GBP38; under-12s GBP10; online booking at
www.derbyquad.co.uk/Whooverville13; nothing yet at whooverville.org.

6 Oct-4 May 2023 [] SCIENCE FICTION: VOYAGE TO THE EDGE OF IMAGINATION
(exhibition), Science Museum, London. Adults GBP20; other rates at
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/science-fiction.

3 Dec [] DRAGONMEET (gaming), Novotel Hammersmith, London. 9am-11pm. Ticket
prices awaited at www.dragonmeet.co.uk.

RUMBLINGS. _UK Filk Convention_: there will be no in-person event in
February 2022 -- besides Covid Omicron concerns, the usual hotel has been
booked by the government for Afghan refugees. Any online substitute will
presumably be announced at www.contabile.org.uk. [RR]


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

'BUT THIS LOOKS GOOD ...' Rebecca Ferguson, Lady Jessica in the new _Dune_,
insists that it's untainted: 'I didn't see it as a sci-fi film ... I think
that is why I love it. I love that the spice and the supernatural entities
-- the sandworms, the superpowers -- have a resonance with other things
that we can compare to society today.' (Yahoo.com, 31 December) [SH]

MORE AWARDS. _Diagram Prize_ for the year's oddest book title: _Is Superman
Circumcised?_ by Roy Schwartz (as was predicted in _A413_).
_Sidewise_ (alt-history): 2019 LONG _The Future of Another Timeline_
by Annalee Newitz; SHORT 'Christmas Truce' by Harry Turtledove (_Asimov's_
11/2019). 2020 LONG _The Doors of Eden_ by Adrian Tchaikovsky; SHORT
'Moonshot' by Matthew Kresal (_Alternate Australias_).

AS OTHERS ARE INSPIRED. 'All my early science education came from _Dr. Who_
and _Star Trek_. They taught me that if you're smart enough, brave enough,
and have access to technology, anything's possible.' (Dr. Peter
Scott-Morgan, InputMag.com, 31 December) [PL]

R.I.P. _Chris Achilleos_ (Christos Achilleos, 1947-2021), Cyprus-born UK
artist whose many book covers include contributions to the _Doctor Who_,
_Fighting Fantasy Gamebook_ and _Star Trek_ series, died on 6 December aged
74. [JB] He also created album covers, and erotic art for _Mayfair_
magazine and others; he published several art collections beginning with
_Beauty and the Beast_ (1978).
_Andrey Balabukha_ (1947-2021), award-winning Russian sf author and
critic whose novel was _Neptunova arfa_ (1986), died on 2 December. [AM]
_Linda Boyce_, US porn actress in _Electronic Lover_ (1966), _The
Amazing Transplant_ (1970) and _Bacchanale_ (1970), has reportedly died.
[SS]
_Richard 'Rusty' Citron_, US theatrical marketer for 200+ films
including _Return of the Jedi_ (1983) and much of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe franchise -- whose marketing team he led -- died on 16 December
aged 68. [AIP]
_William G. Contento_ (1947-2021), noted US bibliographer who compiled
the extensive _Locus_ sf index (1990-2008) with Charles N. Brown (with whom
he shared a 1989 Eaton Award for the 1988 volume), the genre magazines
index (1998-2008) with Stephen T. Miller, _The Supernatural Index_ (1995)
with Mike Ashley, and the continuing online Fictionmags Index with Phil
Stephensen-Payne and many others, died on 13 December aged 74. [PS-P]
_Richard Conway_ (1942-2021), UK special/visual effects supervisor
whose many film credits include _Brazil_ (1985), _Little Shop of Horrors_
(1986), _The Adventures of Baron Munchausen_ (1988) and _Sunshine_ (2007),
died on 22 December aged 79. [PDF]
_Martha De Laurentiis_ (1954-2021), US co-founder of the Dino De
Laurentiis Company with producer credits as Martha Schumacher for the
Stephen King films _Firestarter_ (1984), _Cat's Eye_ (1985), _Silver
Bullet_ (1985) and _Maximum Overdrive_ (1986) -- also _King Kong Lives_
(1986) and _Date with an Angel_ (1987) -- died on 4 December aged 67. [SJ]
_Diana G. Gallagher_ (1946-2021), US fan, filker and author who won
the 1989 fan artist Hugo as Diana Gallagher Wu and published many tv
spinoff novels based on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, _Charmed_, _Sabrina the
Teenage Witch_, _Star Trek_ and other series, died on 2 December aged 75.
[PDF]
_Nicholas Georgiade_ (1933-2021), Greek-US actor in _Poor Devil_
(1973) and episodes of genre tv series, died on 19 December aged 88. [SJ]
_Roy Holder_ (1946-2021), UK actor in _Ace of Wands_ (1970-1972),
_Doctor Who_: 'The Caves of Androzani' (1984), _The Invisible Man_ (1984)
and others, died on 9 November aged 75. [AIP]
_Sally Ann Howes_ (1930-2021), UK-born actress whose films include
_Dead of Night_ (1945), _Brigadoon_ (1966), _Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_
(1968) and _Death Ship_ (1980), died on 19 December aged 91. [SJ]
_Keri Hulme_ (1947-2021), New Zealand author and poet whose 'Maori
magical realism' novel _The Bone People_ (1986) won the Booker Prize, died
on 27 December aged 74. [PDF]
_Andrey Izmailov_ (1953-2021), Russian author of the sf novel
_Pokrovitel_ (1996) plus 7 _X-Files_ novelizations, died on 3 December.
[AM]
_Sayaka Kanda_ (1986-2021), Japanese actress, singer and anime voice
artist whose genre credits include _Dragon Head_ (2003), _Farewell Kamen
Rider Den-O: Final Countdown_ (2008), _Frozen_ (2013; Japanese dub) and
_Star Blazers 2202_ (2017-2019), died on 18 December aged 35. [JonC]
_John M. Keshishian_ (1923-2021) Greek-US author of _Autopsy for a
Cosmonaut_ (1969, aka _Death of a Cosmonaut_) with Jacob Hay, died on 5
November aged 98. [JC]
_Eddie Mekka_ (1952-2021), US actor in various genre tv series and
singer with a soundtrack credit for _Evils of the Night_ (1985), died on 27
November aged 69. [SJ]
_Ines Morales_ (1952--2021), Spanish actress in _The Feast of Satan_
(1971), _Curse of the Devil_ (1973) and others, died on 5 December aged 69.
[SJ]
_Ian 'Smurf' Murphy_, UK fan and convention-runner long involved with
Redemption (he was treasurer of the now postponed 2022 event), died in
October. [R]
_Peggy Neal_ (1947-2021), US actress in the Japanese films _The Terror
Beneath the Sea_ (1966) and _The X From Outer Space_ (1967), died on 6
December aged 73. [SS]
_Michael Nesmith_ (1942-2021), US Monkees band member, actor,
scriptwriter and producer with genre credits for _Head_ (1968), _Timerider_
(1982) and _Repo Man_ (1984), died on 10 December aged 78. [MR]
_Keiko Nobumoto_ (1964-2021), Japanese anime scriptwriter best
remembered as co-creator and writer of most episodes of the sf _Cowboy
Bebop_ (1998-1999), died on 1 December aged 57. [JonC]
_Denis O'Brien_ (1941-2021), US producer and co-founder of HandMade
Films whose credits include _Life of Brian_ (1979) and _Time Bandits_
(1981), died on 3 December aged 80. [CH]
_Denis O'Dell_ (1923-2021), UK assistant director and producer who
headed the Beatles' Apple Films and had credits for _A Christmas Carol_
(1951), _Mother Riley Meets the Vampire_ (1952), _Juggernaut_ (1974) and
others, died on 30 December aged 98. [SJ]
_Henry Orenstein_ (1923-2021), Polish-American toymaker and
entrepreneur who persuaded Hasbro to acquire what became the Transformers
line of toys (on which he held a patent), died on 14 December aged 98.
[MMW]
_Doris Piserchia_ (1928-2021), US author whose first novels were
_Mister Justice_ (1973), _Star Rider_ (1974) and _A Billion Days of Earth_
(1976), died on 15 September aged 92. [SHS]
_Gian Filippo Pizzo_ (1951-2021), Italian sf author, critic and
anthologist active since 1974, died on 31 December aged 70. [PDF]
_Anne Rice_ (1941-2021), best-selling US author whose many novels
include the long-running Vampire Chronicles sequence opening with
_Interview with the Vampire_ (1985), died on 11 December aged 80. [CR] She
received the 1994 World Horror Grandmaster and 2004 Bram Stoker awards for
life achievement.
_Doug Robinson_ (1930-2021), UK stuntman in _An American Werewolf in
London_ (1981), _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_ (1984), _Batman_
(1989) and many more including Bond and Pink Panther films, died on 16
December aged 91. [SS]
_Jeanine Ann Roose_ (1937-2021), former US child actress in _It's a
Wonderful Life_ (1946), died on 31 December aged 84. [SJ]
_Antony Sher_ (1949-2021), South African-born RSC actor whose genre
films include _Superman II_ (1980), _Erik the Viking_ (1989), _Mr. Toad's
Wild Ride_ (1996) and _The Wolfman_ (2010), died on 3 December aged 72.
[AIP]
_Mark Taylor_, US toy designer associated with the _Masters of the
Universe_ and _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ franchises, died on 24
December aged 80. [PDF]
_Alexander Tebenkov_ (1945-2021), Russian sf author active since 1970
who published three collections and two sf novels, died on 25 December.
[AM]
_Andrew Vachss_ (1942-2021), US crime author who wrote _Batman: The
Ultimate Evil_ (1995) and _Carbon_ (2019), died on 27 December aged 79.
[LP]
_Emi Wada_ (1937-2021), Oscar-winning Japanese costume designer whose
credits include _Princess from the Moon_ (1987) and _Prospero's Books_
(1991), died on 13 November aged 84. [AIP]
_Lina Wertmuller_ (1928-2021), Italian director and screenwriter with
genre credits for _When Women Had Tails_ (1970) and _When Women Lost Their
Tails_ (1972), died on 9 December aged 93. [LP]
_Betty White_ (1922-2021), long-time US actress whose genre credits
include _Alf Loves a Mystery_ (1987), _Lake Placid_ (1999), _The Lorax_
(2012) and _Toy Story 4_ (2019), died on 31 December aged 99. [LP]
_Robin Wood_ (1944-2021), hugely prolific Australian-Paraguayan comics
scriptwriter whose many thousands of stories include sword-and-sorcery
fantasy and post-apocalyptic sf, died on 17 October aged 77. [SH]
_Masayoshi Yasugi_ (1972-2021), Japanese author of many sf/fantasy
novels and 'light novels' since 2004, and editor of the online _SF Prologue
Wave_, died on 12 December aged 49; this was apparently suicide. [JonC]

NEW YEAR THOUGHTS. '2021, and what had we to show for it?' (Doris
Piserchia, opening line of 'Pale Hands' in _Orbit 15_, 1974) [JDN]
Meanwhile the interwebs are seeing all too much of that film poster:
'It's the year 2022. / People are still the same. / They'll do anything to
get what they need. / And they need SOYLENT GREEN.' If only Harry Harrison
were still with us to share his personal and deeply felt expletives.
_James Langdell_ exulted: 'Welcome to 2022! Now everything published
in 1926 has entered the public domain in the US. At last I can legally
publish my novel where Jay Gatsby and Winnie-The-Pooh solve the murder of
Roger Ackroyd.' (Facebook, 1 January) [F770]

RANDOM FANDOM. _Brian Ameringen_ reports that his first post-Christmas book
sale was a late volume from the Family D'Alembert series by Stephen Goldin
channelling E.E. 'Doc' Smith: _The Omicron Invasion_.
_Fanzine Activity Achievement Awards_ voting is open and will close on
25 February. 'Anybody with an interest in fanzines is encouraged to vote,
no memberships or fees are required.' No website category this year. Nic
Farey's _The Incompleat Register_ undefinitively lists eligible
publications and includes the ballot: see
efanzines.com/TIR/Incompleat2021.pdf.

THE DEAD PAST. _85 Years Ago_, on 3 January 1937, the first sf convention
was held in the Theosophical Hall at Leeds; attendees included E.J. (Ted)
Carnell, Arthur C. Clarke and Eric Frank Russell. [RH] Read all about it at
fiawol.org.uk/FanStuff/THEN%20Archive/1937con.htm.
_30 Years Ago:_ 'Garry Kilworth explains that Methuen made him change
19th-century yards and gallons (in _The Drowners_) to metres and litres
because "they said kids wouldn't understand". Whatever next? "The term
'half a guinea' should be altered to '53p'. References to playing halma and
diabolo will not be understood -- please substitute 'Nintendo'
throughout."' [...] 'Michael Moorcock's latest notepaper is headed, "By
Appointment: HARLAN ELLISON'S BRITISH MOUTHPIECE."' [...] 'The sf/horror TV
series _Chimera_ was ill-received by genetic engineers. _International
Biotechnology Laboratory_ sneered, "As a piece of sf it was not exactly
Isaac Asimov or Brian Heinlein."' (_Ansible_ 54, January 1992)

FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund:_ the westbound TAFF race from Europe
to Chicon 8 (the Chicago Worldcon) next September has begun. Candidates are
Anders Holmstrom (Sweden), Fia Karlsson (Sweden), Mikolaj Kowalewski
(Poland) and Julie Faith McMurray (UK); voting is open and will continue to
18 April. See taff.org.uk.
Latest ebook in the TAFF site's Little Free Library: _Ah! Sweet
Laney!_ by Francis T. Laney -- not the notorious 1948 polemic _Ah! Sweet
Idiocy!_ but a selection of his other fanzine writing compiled by Robert
Lichtman and first published by Pat Virzi for Corflu Quire in 2007. See
taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=ASL.

MORE WORLDCON. Kevin Standlee was fired as DisCon III WSFS Business Meeting
chair (and dropped from the Winnipeg in 2023 bidding committee) after
releasing early information on site selection voting -- in particular the
huge number of ballots from China -- that could have been interpreted as a
call to drum up votes for Winnipeg. Also controversial was a Business
Meeting motion advising that ballots omitting such non-mandatory data as
postal address could be ignored, which since the Chinese apparently regard
an email address or phone number as full and sufficient ID would have
handed 2023 to Winnipeg had the site selection team followed this advice.
An oddity in the stats is that 917 'tokens' entitling the purchaser to vote
in site selection were bought but never used.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Jiggers! (Hard-Boiled Dept)._ 'Jigger thrust a
nail-file through a crack in Wang's double-decker subtleties as a reminder
that the good doctor had two strikes on him and Jigger was pitcher and
umpire both.' 'The office girl squared her breasts as Jigger zipped past
...' '... he looked like a man jumping out of his skin.' (John Roeburt,
_Jigger Moran_, 1944) [FMN]
_Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'I nodded at her and walked toward the suite
door, feeling her eyes like ice cubes sliding down my back all the way
out.' (Joseph Commings, 'The Glass Gravestone', _Saint Mystery Magazine_,
1966) [PL]
_Astronomy Dept, or Harry Lime in Space._ 'Just then the two moons
appeared from behind the breaking clouds and a third man joined them.'
(David Gemmell, _Ghost King_, 1988) [BA]


### 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):
https://news.ansible.uk/asubs.html
Home page -- https://news.ansible.uk/
RSS feed -- https://news.ansible.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication -- http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues -- https://news.ansible.uk/aseries2.html
Printable PDFs -- https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/
Email the editor -- https://news.ansible.uk/contact.php
Books Received -- https://ansible.uk/books.php

CONVENTION AND EVENT LINKS
British Isles -- https://news.ansible.uk
London -- https://news.ansible.uk/london.html
Overseas -- https://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html [no longer updated]


### ENDNOTES ###

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

VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
6 January 2022, evening: London Zoom meeting as below.
16 January 2022 (third Sunday of each month), afternoon/early evening:
Sheffield SF and Fantasy Society online meeting using Zoom. For access
details contact Fran Dowd, thesofa [at] gmail dot com.
20 January 2022, evening: London Zoom meeting, third Thursday of each
month. 'Please share this with people who you know typically come to the
Bishop's Finger, but aren't on Facebook.'
https://bohemiancoast.medium.com/first-thursday-london-sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f
3 February 2022, evening: London Zoom meeting as above.

R.I.P. II. _Miroslaw Kowalski_ (1954-2022), Polish journalist and editor
who was head of the 'Supernova' sf/fantasy publishing imprint, was reported
on 2 January as having died at age 67. [PDF]

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
_Cloud Chamber_ 165 from D. Langford
https://ansible.uk/cc/CC165.pdf
DisCon III daily newsletters
https://discon3.org/publications/
Hugo winners in full; statistics; nominations data
http://www.thehugoawards.org/2021/12/2021-hugo-awards-announced/
http://www.thehugoawards.org/content/pdf/2021HugoStatistics.pdf
http://www.thehugoawards.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-Hugos-Nominations-Report.pdf

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 174, January 2002. _Dept of Nose Jobs._
'A thick branch crashed through the tunnel, just missing Filidor's nose,
and he carefully sliced it away before resuming his slow upward progress.'
(Matthew Hughes, _Fools Errant_, 1994)
'As his eyes continued to sweep over her, he noted the lean, elegant,
body; but from the smallish hips and waist there grew a breadth of
shoulders that suggested exceptional physical strength.' (David Baldacci,
_The Winner_, 1997)
_Dept of Pop Science._ 'On this planet, the force of gravity was so
immense -- a hundred times greater than that of earth -- that a man on its
surface would have weighed ten tons and been unable to lift his eyelids.
Under these conditions, the only intelligent life form to develop consisted
of giant globular creatures, which on earth would have been called
vegetables.' (Colin Wilson, _Spider World: The Magician_, 1992)


_Ansible_(R) 414 (C) David Langford, 2022. Thanks to Brian Ameringen, BSFA,
Jonathan Clements, John Clute, Paul Di Filippo, Camestros Felapton, _File
770_, Rob Hansen, Steve Holland, Chip Hitchcock, Steve Jones, Pamela Love,
Andrey Meshavkin, Francis M. Nevins, James D. Nicoll, Lawrence Person,
Andrew I. Porter, Redemption, Christopher Rice, Roger Robinson, Marcus
Rowland, _SF2 Concatenation_, Steven H Silver, Steven Smith, Phil
Stephensen-Payne, Anne Sudworth, Martin Morse Wooster, and as always our
Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy, and
Alan Stewart (Australia).

3 January 2022
--
David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/

[John Hall]

In message <hrb6tg1vgpaud5gei...@4ax.com>, David Langford
<ans...@cix.co.uk> writes
<snip>

> _James Langdell_ exulted: 'Welcome to 2022! Now everything
>published in 1926 has entered the public domain in the US. At last I
>can legally publish my novel where Jay Gatsby and Winnie-The-Pooh solve
>the murder of Roger Ackroyd.' (Facebook, 1 January) [F770]

Brilliant!
--
John Hall
"Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)