File 770:138

FREE!

AND WORTH
EVERY PENNY

2

Keith Stokes: (photo) 10
Phyllis Eide: (photo) 22

File 770:138 is edited by Mike Art Credits File 770's "White Album"
Glyer at 705 Valley View Ave.,
Monrovia CA 91016. Alan White: Cover, 2,3, 7, 8, Is it any wonder people suspect File
11, 15, 16, 19 770 of being a hoax when I'm
File 770 is available for news, Kurt Erichsen: sending out the April issue in May?
artwork, arranged trades, or by Joe Mayhew: 7, 15, 23 But I don't want to waste Alan
subscription. Subscriptions cost $8 Brad Foster: 9 White's tremendous "April Fool"
for 5 issues, $15 for 10 issues, Ray Capella: 4 cover.
mailed first class in North America or Bill Rotsler: 2, 24, 25, 26
surface mail rates overseas. Teddy Harvia: 4, 5, 12 Another famous tannish White -
Freff: 14 (from Vanamonde 415) Ted - contributed an excerpt from
Air printed matter rate is $2.50. Julia Morgan-Scott: 6 his Cortlu report. Then, Alan White
Grant Canfield: 21, Back Cover comes back with an article
CONTACT FILE 770 describing the way he produces the
Telephone: (626) 305-1004. computerize fan art published in File
E-Mail: [email protected] 770. Each man also wrote a meaty
letters of comment, making this
truly the "White Album" issue of File

:~t,770. ' .

The People Speak: File 770, Not Frohvet, Is The Hoax!
Editorial Notes by Mike Glyer

E. B. Frohvet is his own man, whoever he is. HoTMc-- wise have never heard of, tl1en they're both
And whoever he is, he' s not Moshe Feder. right, he's not really a "hoax." (Their letters
IIIAt .1 lead ofT The Fanivore.)
My zealous effort last issue to unmask the
"Frohvet hoax" and "blame" him on Feder did Poumelle deduct his rit1es as a research ex- By then, Feder' s copy of File 770 had
not come across to everyone as the intended pense (so he always says.) reached him:
joke, though some got it: John Hertz called me
immediately after reading his copy to say that Frohvet's own letter soon followed, deny- Moshe Feder: When I got home later, I
the reference to Feder was hilarious, because ing that he' s a hoax at all. He' s sin1ply a pen found that the issue had arrived and was
he knew it was impossible. On the other hand, name. Ted White also sent an e-mail, suggest- able to read the piece myself. In context,
this thunderbolt from Feder came whizzing ing the proper comparison is to David McDan- I think the reference to me does come
through e-mail after someone asked him about iel, the pro pen-name of LASFSian Ted across as a joke, though perhaps not a
the story: Johnstone. Applying the one-fan one-fanac very funny one. (On the other hand, I'm
principal (which I just made up), I suppose if slightly pleased to be thought still in-
Moshe Feder: Greg Benford happened to Frohvet is a nom de plume of a fan we other- volved enough in fanac to have my name
call Tor for David Hartwell, and since DH used this way.)
is out sick, I answered the phone. We chat- I honestly thought the piece was funny
ted a bit and he took the opportunity to tell when I wrote it, though once I saw it in print
me that in the current issue ofFile 770 you it seemed to reek of neglected-newzine-
claim to have discovered that I've been editor-with-big-ego --therefore, probably too
maintaining a hoax persona under the much like the truth to be taken for a joke!
name Frohvet, and that apparently you Other readers pointed out my error in
base this conclusion on his sharing an old identifying Joseph T. Mayhew as someone
opinion of mine. That' s awfully flimsy who met Frohvet at Chicon 2000. Yes, that
evidence, far beneath what I thought were was a mistake - after all, I was calling Fro-
your journalistic standards. In fact, this hvet a hoax, not a ghost. (Joseph T. Major
claim is complete nonsense ... By Roscoe's met him at Chicon.)
mighty tail - first Martin Tudor libels me So, in the grand tradition of File 770, I
in his TAFF report, and now this! will spend the next several issues explaining
While Feder was talking to Benford, he en- (and probably getting the correction wrong)
lightened Greg about what I do for a living. that E. B. Frohvet is not a hoax and also is
(Talk about libel!) I wonder if Benford was not Moshe Feder. I hope you won't get so
horrified to learn that I work for the IRS - I confused you' ll have to check a photo ID
realize it's not exactly the most libertarian before you shave yourself. Especially if
entity in America.. .. But we did let Jerry you' re a woman!

April 2001 3

Corflu 2001

excerpts from a report by

Ted White

[[Ted kindly permitted File 770 to run the day. I wish I could fmd my copy of the highlight? 'You missed our Practical Time
following excerpts of a full-length reporl "program" sheet, but it seems to be mis- Travel Workshop. At 2:00AM we all joined
that will appear in Sandra Bond's fanzine placed. I found I was on the first item when hands and shifted forward an hour into the
QVASIQVOTE. Contact her via e-mail at Bob asked me to be. Since it had to do with future."' Yes, Daylight Savings Time went
sandra@}w-street.demon.co.uk]] the intersection of one' s fannish and profes- into effect during the Major Party of the con-
sional interests, I felt well suited to be on it. vention, suddenly depriving us of an hour of
Ifthe omens were to be believed, this year' s I shared the panel with Deb Geisler and Prime Party Time. This has never before
Corflu was going to be a disaster. Ominous Sharon Sbarksy, with Bob moderating and occurred at a Corflu - and I can only hope it
nunors were floating about: the hotel was Deb and I did most of the talking, as it never will again. (It won't next year, be-
terrifically overpriced, and had no amenities turned out. cause Corflu will be in February....)
(no restaurant - not even a coffee shop).
Publicity from Bob Webber, the con-chair, I missed the next item (spouses of faneds Perhaps for that reason, people turning
was conspicuously absent - no Progress Re- or somesuch) while Frank and I went out to up for the Sunday banquet at noon looked a
ports were ever published and the first on- explore the other main direction in which bit bleary-eyed and seemed subdued. The
line information was not posted to the fan- we' d heard there were restaurants. It had Sunday banquet is the best of the Corflu
nish lists wttil late last fall, after some pub- stopped raining, but was cold and windy. traditions- established at the very first Cor-
lic grumbling had made itself heard. "Is any- flu in 1984 - and is included in the member-
one going?" was a common question. Back at the convention, it was soon time ship fee. This year we had the best of both
for the fanzine auction. Dan Steffan had worlds: an in-hotel banquet catered by a lo-
But Sheila Leightsey canvassed the area given me a box of fanzines to take up to be cal restaurant - the Dixie Kitchen, a Cajun
arowtd the hotel and reported on the many auctioned for TAFF and they included some restaurant. All credit to Sheila: the food was
restaurants within walking distance, aided Real Gems, like QUANDRY #13 - the excellent, and well-catered by the Dixie
and abetted by George Flynn, and she asked QUANNISH - and bidding was occasionally Kitchen staff.
me for suggestions on consuite mwtchies. spirited.
And it was Sheila who arranged for the Swt- Then it was time for the GoH presenta-
day banquet to be catered by a local restau- Following this was to be the rehearsal- tion.
rant at the hotel. As the convention grew well, read-through- of Andy Hooper' s new
closer it began to seem more solid, more fannish play, ''HOMICIDE: The Book of the Nic Farey had been careening around the
real. Fuggheads," in which I had the part of "Ted convention all weekend in a state which con-
White, a big-name science fiction fan." vinced some people that his stint as GoH
The MidTown Hotel turned out to be would be a disaster. When queried, he' d ron
more ofa motel - only two stories high, with Andy Hooper is the Unsung Hero of mod- his eyes and act convincingly like a bad acci-
ample parking wtderneath. I drove up to em Corflus. He has more than once single- dent waiting to happen. But "crazy like a
Boston with rich brown and ended up park- handedly produced entire programs for sev- fox" is a phrase coined to describe Nic. He
ing almost directly opposite the lobby en- eral Corflus and I believe his suggestions began by saluting everyone there by first
trance, an ideal spot. The hotel was, in fact, provided most if not all of this year's pro- name, running down the list of 40-odd peo-
a close cousin to the "Tudor Nightmare Vil- gram. The play was clearly the highlight this ple (no puns needed here; by this point we
lage" hotels of several past, and fondly re- year - as his plays have been in past years. were all a bit odd) and concluding, after a
membered, Corflus - lacking only eating It' s been several years since the last new brief pause, with "and...Ian." (Much laugh-
facilities. (It did have a "coffee shop" - but play Andy presented, and I think his take on ter.) He fmished with "a brief thought,"
it served only breakfast and was open only Homicide (the TV show - recently can- which he kept to himself
wttil 11 :00 AM.) celled), ranks among his best.
As usual, we had an election of the fwa
It was at some point Friday night that Nic The party that night was genuinely past-president (for 2000). The fix was in.
Farey's name was pulled from the hat as unique. As Bob Devney described it in the This year people had been coming up to me
Corflu's Guest of Honor. It's uncanny how one-shot, "Ian Sorenson filled me in on what throughout the convention with the same
these things work out. happened after I left the party last night. The

I had gotten almost no sleep the night
before driving up, but I've learned the secret
of sleeping in con-hotels: ear-plugs. Thus
equipped, I got a decent night' s sleep - my
first in a couple of days.

The food laid out in the lower consuite
provided an adequate breakfast and I was
ready to be on the first program item of the

4 File 770:138

Views and Reviews
in PDF

0 was delighted to meet Murray Moore, for Ted White points out, "A few
example, and it was good to see fans like months ago I began doing fmz
name and I recognized the absolute rightness Ron Salomon and Ed Meskys again after reviews specifically aimed at
of that name. Indeed, I wondered in retro- many years. Although some of my favorite clubfans to pull them into
spect why he'd never been suggested be- west-coasters (like Lichtman) did not show fanzines." Currently these re-
fore - after all, he, like me, had been to every up, Letmy Bailes, Randy Byers, Andy views (600 words an installment)
Corflu to date. He was the oldest fanwriter in Hooper, Carrie Root, Catherine Crockett, are appearing in six clubzines in
the room, once a Boston native, and he surely Colin Hinz, Victor Gonzalez and Art Widner the US and Canada, including
deserved the "honor." I'm speaking of Art did. Jean Weber and Eric Lindsay were LASFS' De Profundis and The
Widner, of course. Two others were nomi- there on what amounted to the ftrst leg of WSFA Journal.
nated (before one of the plants in the audi- their GUFF trip (but Eric has been to enough
ence could move the nominations be closed), Corflus already that I almost think of him as Bill Burns is posting them on
but Art was the overwhelming choice of the a Corflu regular). Dick & Leah Smith were his eFanzines site at:
Corflu attendees, as the vote clearly indi- back for their flrst Corflu in half a decade.
cated. And we had a smaller contingent of Brits this http:/jefanzines.com/
year, but it was great to see Allison Freebairn Fanzines/
Then, fmally, the FAAN Awards. Once and Yvonne Rowse and...whatsisname?.. .Ian
again the indefatigable Andy Hooper con- again. And Linda Bushyager surprised every- Burns' site is also home to
ducted the Awards (which also meant that he one with her announcement that she and Ron downloadable Adobe PDF ver-
counted no votes for himself - which I think are moving soon to Las Vegas - although that sions of eight fanzines edited by
additionally skews the voting), and he made did not really make up for the absence of the Arnie Katz (Corflatch, Jackpot!),
his announcement of the Awards from hastily Katzes or the Formans. I was handed copies Marty Cantor (No Award), Ron
scribbled vote tallies upon which he'd still of eleven different fanzines, which I fully Clarke (The Mentor), Erika Maria
been working that morning. Here are the re- intend to read Any Day Now. Lacey (Sardine Tin Gods), Joyce
sults, as reported in the one-shot: there were Worley Katz (Smokin' Rockets),
45 ballots. Next year: Annapolis. Y' all come. Michael J. Lowrey (Vojo de Vivo),
and Bill Bowers (Xenolith).
Best New Fanzine Fan: Sheila Leightsey ++Ted White
(who handed out copies of the second issue Or eFanzines.com can link
of The Accidental Fanzine; the flrst issue was you to other sites containing An-
distributed at last year's Corflu). Best Let- sible (Langford), Bento (Levine
terhack: Robert Lichtman. Best Fan Artist: and Yule), Covert Communica-
Steve Stiles. Best Fanwriter: Victor Gon- tions From Zeta Corvi (Andrew
zalez (Nic Farey and I were tied for second Murdoch), Dynatron (Roy Tack-
place only a few points behind). Best ett), eFNAC (John Foyster), Fan-
Fanzine: Idea. The #1 Fan Face category thology '87 (Richard Brandt), Ge-
awaits Andy' s tabulation of the total votes in genschein (Eric Lindsay), Gloss
all categories, but he believed it would be (Lillian Edwards and Victor Gon-
either Victor Gonzalez or Robert Lichtman. zalez), Groggy 2000 (Eric
Actual certificates were handed out this year Mayer), It Goes on the Shelf
(and for the two previous years as well) with (Ned Brooks), Light in the Bushel
art by Stu Shiffman. I brought Steve Stiles' (Richard Brandt), Mimosa (Nicki
back with me to give to him. and Richard Lynch), Plokta
(Alison Scott, Steve Davies, Mike
So what's left to be said about this Cor- Scott), Squib (Victor Gonzalez),
flu? Although attendance was lower than that and This Here (Nic Farey).
ofall but the Panama City Corflu (and maybe .
El Paso' s), there was a good mix of fans. I "No animals

were harmed It hurts when

in the making of they don't mention
this fanzine," but~ us vegetables.

what about ,~~~
vegetables?

C> 0 c:>

April 2001 . 5

2001 Hugo Award Nominees

The Millernuum Pinicon© annow1ced Thtl Hugos artl I ittlrar~ awards. Thtl Best Dramatic
there were 495 total nominating mtldia should htll thankful Wtl con-
ballots. 178 of those ballots were dtlsctlnd to givtl thtlm tlVtln ontl rocktlt. Presentation
submitted electronically. There were
an additional29 paper ballots, and 15 (279 nominating ballots, 151
nominees):

electronic ballots that were received, What artl ~ou tr~ing to Chicken Run
that were marked ineligible for do? Win thtl award for Btlst Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
various reasons. Frank Herbert 's Dune
Dogmatic Prtlstlntation? Frequency
Best Novel X-men

(381 nominating ballots, 205

nominees): Best Professional Editor

A Storm ofSwords by George R.R. (288 nonlinating ballots, 77
Martin, (Voyager, Bantam nonlinees):

Spectra) Ellen Datlow
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer Gardner Dozois
David G. Hartwell
(Tor) Stanley Schnlidt
Harry Potter and the Goblet ofFire Gordon Van Gelder

by J.K. Rowling (Bloomsbury;
Scholastic/Levine)

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson Best Professional Artist
(Warner Aspect)

The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod (246 nominating ballots, 145 nominees):
Orbit 1999ffor 2000)
Best Short Story

(295 nominating ballots, 248 nominees): Jim Burns

Best Novella "Different Kinds of Darkness" by David Bob Eggleton
Langford (F&SF Jan 2000) Frank Kelly Freas
(229 nonlinating ballots, 50 nonlinees; Donato Giancola
six nominees due to a tie): "Kaddish for the Last Survivor" by Michael Michael Whelan

"A Roll of the Dice" by Catherine Asaro A. Burstein (Analog Nov 2000) Best Fan Writer
(Analog Jul!Aug 2000) "Moon Dogs" by Michael Swanwick (Moon
(201 nonlinating ballots, 134 nominees):
"Oracle" by Greg Egan (Asimov's Jul2000) Dogs, NESFA Press Feb 2000; Asimov 's
"Radiant Green Star" by Lucius Shepard Mar2000) BobDevney
"The Elephants on Neptune" by Mike MikeGlyer
(Asimov's Aug 2000) ' Resnick (Asimov's May 2000) Dave Langford
"Seventy-Two Letters" by Ted Chiang "The Gravity Mine" by Stephen Baxter Evelyn C. Leeper
(Asimov's Apr 2000) Steven H Silver
(Vanishing Acts: A Science Fiction
Anthology, Tor Jul2000)

"The Retrieval Artist" by Kristine Kathryn Best Related Book Best Semiprozine
Rusch (Analog Jun 2000)
(213 ballots, 86 nominees): (241 nominating ballots, 56 nominees):
"The Ultimate Earth" by Jack Williamson
(Analog Dec 2000) Concordance to Cordwainer Smith: Third Interzone edited by David Pringle
Edition by Anthony R. Lewis (NESFA Locus edited by Charles N. Brown
Best Novellette Press) New York Review ofScience Fiction edited
by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and
(237uominatiug ballots, 131 nominees): Greetings from Earth: The Art ofBob
Eggleton by Bob Eggleton, Nigel Kevin Maroney
"Agape Among the Robots" by Allen Steele Suckling (Paper Tiger) Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew
(Analog May 2000)
Putting It Together: Turning Sow's Ear I. Porter
"Generation Gap" by Stanley Schnlidt Drafts Into Silk Purse Stories by Mike Speculations edited by Denise Lee and
(Artemis Spring 2000) Resnick (Wildside Press)
Susan Fry; published by Kent Brewster
"Millernlium Babies" by Kristine Kathryn Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion
Rusch (Asimov's Jan 2000) by James Gifford (Nitrosyncretic Press) Best Fanzine
(194 nonlinating ballots, 90 nominees):
"On the Orion Line" by Stephen Baxter Terry Pratchett: Guilty ofLiterature ed. by
(Asimov's Oct/Nov 2000) Andrew M. Butler, Edward James and Challenger edited by Guy Lillian ill
Farah Mendlesohn (The Science Fiction File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
"Redchapel" by Mike Resnick (Asimov's Foundation)
Dec 2000)

6 File 770:138

Mimosa ed. by Nicki and Richard Lynch (Astounding SF Nov 1949 -Jan 1950)
Plokta edited by Alison Scott, Steve "The Dreaming Jewels" by Theodore

Davies and Mike Scott Sturgeon (Fantastic Adventures Feb
STET edited by Dick Smith and Leah 1950)
"The Last Enemy" by H Beam Piper
Zeldes Smith (Astounding SF Aug 1950)
"The Man Who Sold the Moon" by
Best Fan Artist Robert Heinlein (Shasta Publishers)
"To the Stars" by L. Ron Hubbard
(127 nominating ballots, 81 nominees): (Astounding SF Feb-Mar 1950)

Sheryl Birkhead Best NoveleUe
Brad Foster
Teddy Harvia (73 nominating ballots, 32 nominees):
Sue Mason
Taral Wayne "Dear Devil" by Eric Frank Russell
(Other Worlds May 1950)
John W. Campbell Award
"Okie" by James Blish (Astounding
(201 nominating ballots, 100 nominees): Science Fiction Apr 1950)

James L. Cambias (I st year of eligibility) "Scanners Live in Vain" by Cordwainer
Thomas Harlan (2nd year ofeligibility) Smith (Fantasy Book #6)
Douglas Smith (2nd year ofeligibility)
Kristine Smith (2nd year of eligibility) "The Helping Hand" by Poul Anderson
Jo Walton (1st year ofeligibility) (Astounding SF May 1950)

1950 Retro Hugo (Scribner's) 'The Little Black Bag" by C.M.
Award Nominees First Lensman by Edward E Smith, Ph.D. Kornbluth (AstoundingSF Jul 1950)

There were 130 total nominating ballots. 48 (Fantasy Press) Best Short Story
ballots were submitted electronically. One Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov
additional paper ballot was received that (I 00 nominating ballots, 64 nominees):
was marked invalid. (Doubleday)
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by "A Subway Named Mobius" by A.J. Deutsch
Best Novel (Astounding Science Fiction Dec 1950)
C.S. Lewis (Geoffrey Bles)
(Ill nominating ballots, 31 nominees): "Born ofMan and Woman" by Richard
Best Novella Matheson (F&SF Summer 1950)
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance (Hillman)
Farmer in the Sky by Robert A Heinlein (73 nominating ballots, 18 nominees): "Coming Attraction" by Fritz Leiber
(Galaxy Nov 50)
"And Now You Don't" by Isaac Asimov
"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out"
by Reginald Bretnor (F&SFWinter-
Spring 1950)

"To Serve Man" by Damon Knight
(Galaxy Nov 1950)

2001 Hugo Award 1950 Retro Hugo
Nominee Voting Summary Nominee Voting Summary

Category Ballots Votes Nominees Range Category Ballots Votes Nominees Range

Novel 381 1189 205 56-28 Novel 111 324 30 54-28
Novella
229 615 so 45-33 Novella 73 141 19 44-9

Novelette 237 734 131 32-21 Novelette 73 299 32 67-18

Short Story 295 864 248 31-21 Short Story 100 327 64 54-22

Related Book 213 478 86 35-25 Related Book* 9 14 10 2-1

Dramatic Pres. 279 876 151 105-46 Dramatic Pres. 88 252 30 72-18

Professional Ed. 288 786 77 129-61 Professional Editor 64 193 21 55-11

Professional Art. 246 669 145 127-30 Professional Artist 49 151 31 29-11

Semiprozine 241 537 56 88-46 Fan Writer 38 133 29 27-7

Fanzine 194 481 90 54-30 Semiprozine* 4 8 8 1-1

Fan Writer 201 498 134 41-23 Fanzine 36 98 26 19-7

Fan Artist 127 316 81 42-16 Fan Artist 30 82 20 19-4

Campbell Award 201 449 100 29- 19

Counting software developed by Jeff Copeland. *Category not on final ballot
130 total nominating ballots

April 2001 -7

Best Related Book Best Fanzine fmd it before the deadline, I had resorted to
using the number on the mailing label of an
(9 nominating ballots, 10 nominees): (36 nominating ballots, earlier MilPhil PR which I had located. It
26 nominees): turns out those numbers are not the same.
Category has been dropped due to Now I wonder if my electronic vote was
insufficient response Quandry counted by Rick and Saul?
Skyhook
Best Dramatic Presentation Spacewarp ConJose Announces Web Site
Slant Hugo
(88 nominating ballots, 30 nominees): Science Fiction
ConJose, the 2002 Worldcon, will present a
Cinderella Newsletter special Hugo Award for Best Web Site. It
Destination Moon The Fanscient will be open to any web site primarily
Han>ey related to the fields of science fiction,
Rabbit ofSeville Best Fan Artist fantasy, or fandom and will be given for
Rocketship X-M material displayed on the World Wide Web
(30 nominating ballots, during the calendar year 2001 . The Award is
Best Professional Editor 20 nominees): being added under a WSFS rule that permits
a committee to include an experimental
(64 nominating ballots, 21 nominees): Jack Gaughan Hugo category. There will be a single
Lee Hoffman category, eligibility will not be subdivided
Anthony Boucher Ray Nelson ("professional," "fan," "semipro" etc.)
John W Campbell, Jr. Bill Rotsler
Groff Conklin James White Answering the question of how to judge
H.L Gold web sites with changing contents - which,
l Francis McComas Notes from the Hugo Administrators: Ed hopefully, is most of them! - Kevin
Emshwiller received enough nominations to Standlee explained, "Just as artists often
Best Professional Artist be on the ballot in the Best Professional produce a continuous flow of artwork, web
Artist category. However, the Hugo sites quite often change over time. Just as in
(49 nominating ballots, 31 nominees): Committee has determined that his first the Best Artist category, our basic
professional work was in 1951 and therefore assumption is that Hugo voters will be
HannesBok he' s ineligible to appear on the ballot. making their decisions based on what they
Chesley Bonestell saw appear during the previous calendar
Edd Cartier Harlan Ellison received enough year. (And just like the Best Artist category,.
Virgil Finlay nominations to be on the ballot in the Best we won't quiz the voters on the specifics
Frank Kelly Freas Fan Writer category. However, the Hugo they're using.) Luckily, many web site sites
Committee has determined that he did not provide archives or ' issues' so that visitors
Best Fan Writer have any fan writing published in 1950. can examine past content. "

(38 nominating ballots, 29 nominees): Both Bjo Trimble and Dave Kyle ConJose Hugo Postscript: John Lorentz
received enough nominations to be on the has agreed to administer the 2002 Hugo
Lee Hoffman ballot in the Best Fan Artist category. Awards for ConJose. He previously co-
Bob Silverberg However, the Hugo Committee has not administered the 1998 Hugo Aw!ifds at
Robert "Bob" Wilson Tucker found any work by either in 1950. Bucconneer with his wife, Ruth Sachter.
James White Ruth, however, expects to be a little busy in
Walt Willis After discussion with Stanley Schmidt of 2002 as Vice Chair ofConJose.)
Analog, it was decided that conducting
Best Semiprozine nominations for the Campbell Award would
be inappropriate.
(4 nominating ballots, 8 nominees):
The software used for counting the
Category was dropped due to insufficient nominations was developed by Jeff
response Copeland.

Inside the File 770 Voting Booth:
Electronic Hugo voting was handicapped
when the Millennium Philcon site went
down a several of days before the March 31
deadline. Votes cast online from March 28-
31 might have been lost, so Hugo
administrators Rick Katze and Saul Jaffe
opened their mirror server and extended the
deadline four days to allow people to re-
enter votes.

Just the other day I found the special PR
from Millennium Philcon containing the
Hugo nominating ballots. The one with a
special mailing label containing my "unique
identifying number." Having been unable to

8 File 770:138

overseas adventures. "We leave on the

GUFF trip in less than a week, so we are

typically totally disorganized. Our path takes

us to the US East Coast for once, with a visit

to Corflu in Boston, before flying to London

and then the Eastercon. We do have plans to

see lots of UK fans, so I hope we don't get

too lost in making our way around the UK

seeking them out. Jean has assisted this ma-

terially, by making me get rid of my old

map, which apparently pre-dates the Nor-

man conquest."

They did get one thing started before

leaving, a new GUFF web site:

http://psiphi.serverl 0 l .com/guff/index.

htm

News of Fandom Eric adds, "In a triumph of optimism

over realism, Jean even arranged a

' donations' page there, so that, for the very

first time (we think) in a fan fund,.fans can

donate to the fund over the internet in any of

Wedding Countdown Begins "He said it was pretty interesting, moder- several different ways."
ately strong and long lasting but not espe-
Guy Lillian III and Rose-Marie Donovan cially scary." For the record, here are the GUFF voting
will be married in Cocoa, Florida, on June
30th. Guy boasts, "An Atlas-Agena is sched- Bill Warren, who also is working at Boe- statistics:
uled to be launched that very evening from ing, can be excused if he felt a little differ-
nearby Cape Canaveral. As Joe Major says, ently. Although his home in Tacoma Aus UK Other Total
a good wedding should have fireworks." emerged essentially unscathed, his work-
place in Renton did not. He told readers of Lindsay/Weber 17 22 10 49
Fandom Inc. Goes Bust Chronicles ofthe Dawn Patrol:
Warman/Woods 19 12 3 34
Bid farewell to the company fans love to "My building was trashed .. . During the
hate. Debra Streicker-Fine, CEO of Fandom quake, our seismically-designed building - CUFF
Inc., announced on April 2 that the company which I had just moved into a week earlier -
is shutting down its online operations. Crea- proceeded to do what any good seismically- "I got a laugh out of your coverage on the
tion Entertainment, acquired by Fandomjust designed building should do: it rocked back Canadian Unity Fan Fund," wrote fund ad-
four months ago, has already been sold back and forth and flexed and didn't fall down! ministrator Garth Spencer. "Actually Murray
to founders Gary Berman and Adam Malin. That's the good news. Not-so-good: the Moore didn't unilaterally declare himself
They paid a lower price to get their company building proceeded to beat itself to death on winner. I had been delegated the balloting
back than Fandom Inc. paid for it in the first the concrete supports for the [flight] simula- this year, and Murray was the only one to
place. tors. Part of that beating included breaking run as nominee - getting more than enough
the fire sprinkler system into a whole bunch nominations, in both eastern and western
Though I don't rule out the possibility of independently owned and operated fire Canada. I declared he was the delegate this
that they simply pulled it out of the dump- sprinkler systems, each of which immedi- year. In January 2001. Evidently I put every-
ster behind Fandom's officers. No question ately went into competition with each other one on my email release list except you.
that Fandom.com' s lawyers are still in it, to see which one could turn t11e largest col- Strange."
after Carol Burrell successfully fought their lection of posters, books, information hand-
efforts to take away her Fandom.tv domain outs, files, etc. to papier-mache first. Since a Check out www.v-con.org for informa-
name. Carol, left with $1,500 of unpaid le- lot of these things were on the third floor (I tion on this year's VCon, doubling as this
gal bills, hopes fans will help her out. was on the first) the upstairs got very heavy year's Canvention, where Murray should
[[Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Ansi- very fast. As a result, when we all filed out appear.
ble 165]] of the building in an orderly fashion (shh!
I'm telling this!) we found out they wouldn't DUFF
Bad Vibrations let us back in the rest of the day, so they said
'go home.' They say the 25-01 may be open DUFF got a fmancial boost from the Wild
Seattle was hit by a 6.8 magnitude earth- to Boeing folk in maybe 3 months. We got it Cards Consortium, which donated a com-
quake on February 28, but the depth of the better than the Company HQ building near plete, 15-book set of the Wild Cards (US
fault involved resulted in fewer seriously Boeing Field: our sprinkler system soaked edition) to auction at Boskone. According to
damaged area than might otherwise have our building and contents. At Corp HQ it Janice Gelb, they were signed by most of the
been the case. Bill and Joy Warren's home was the sewer system." writers of the series -- including the late
in Tacoma was essentially untouched by the Roger Zelazny.
quake. GUFF
Marc Ortlieb reported in Australian SF
Jordin Kare, from California's Bay Area, Eric Lindsay dropped a line while he and Bullsheet #166 that DUFF delegates Naomi
was there at the time doing some consulting Jean Weber were packing for their latest Fisher and Pat Molloy visited Melbourne in
with Boeing. According to Mary Kay Kare, April, "managing to get to the Nova Mob,
Friday Night Gathering and The MSFC, as
well as a visit to Healesville Wildlife Sanc-
tuary, where they weren't bitten by a wom-
bat."

April 2001 · 9

NAFF chards for agreeing to buy it without even licensed the trademark for $1 00 a month to
viewing it and, of course, Brian Robinson another company called Gothix, whose
Lucy Zinkiewicz of New South Wales and for kindly donating his collection to a good president is Gene Reynolds- Ferry's trusted
Sean-Paul Smith of Victoria are the first fannish cause. (Andy Richards' Cold Ton- friend, companion and "cosmic brother,"
winners of the National Australian Fan Fund nage Books can be contacted on 01276 according to court documents and testimony.
(NAFF). They were scheduled to attend 475388 or check http://www.coldtonnage. Reynolds is listed in Famous Monsters as
Swancon in Perth at Easter. demon.co.uk). the general manager, just below Ferry's
name on the masthead.
NAFF, announced in February, is de- Mockery ofa Sham
signed to assist fans to attend the Australian Ferry' s lawyers testified that they took
National SF Convention. Fans residing in all Famous Monsters' Ray Ferry survived an- the magazine's trademark as collateral for
states and territories outside the one where other day in court and avoided a conviction Ferry's unpaid legal bills.
the Natcon will be held are eligible to be for criminal contempt. On February 28 a
non:linated for NAFF. Preference is given to Superior Court judge in Los Angeles said Fans Want Acktion Figure
fans who have (a) not attended a Natcon Ferry' s business dealings "bear the hall-
and/or (b) have not attended a convention in marks of a contrived sham" designed to help It's not all bad news. Fans of Forry Acker-
the state/territory of the current Natcon. him avoid payment of a $500,000 judgment, man have started a petition to get noted hor-
NAFF provides the cost of airfare (or travel- but declined to hold him in criminal con- ror toy manufacturer SideShow to create an
ing expenses) and convention membership. tempt. action figure of Ackerman. Ackerman, the
creator of Vampirella and former editor of
The first NAFF winners were selected by Judge Stephen Petersen found Ray Ferry the original Famous Monsters of Film/and,
a committee consisting of Grant Watson not guilty of willfully disobeying a court is recognized as the world's foremost author-
(Western Australia) and Sue Aim Barber order to refrain from selling back issues of ity on horror and science-fiction films. Fans
(Victoria). Future NAFF races may involve Famous Monsters of Film/and. Ferry also can sign the petition online at: http://www.
voting by the fan community. was ruled not guilty of willfully refusing to Petition0nline.corn!Forry4e/
return certain items to Forry Ackerman.
The nominees had to provide a 200-word Ackerman would like to see it happen. "I
description of what they could bring to inter- Last year a jury awarded Ackerman think rve got a good chance," he
state fans and a brief description of their $724,500 in damages, which Petersen later said. "Better than 50/50."
fannish history. The winner is expected to reduced to $475,499, plus $30,000 in attor-
produce a trip report and engage in fundrais- ney fees. Ackerman has not yet collected a As of December 8, the petition had
ing to support NAFF. penny of the judgment. gained 298 signatures. And a few horror
luminaries have even made the scene. Noted
Next year's NAFF will send a fan to Con- "This just goes on and on," Ackerman comic artist and writer Dan Brereton
Vergence in Victoria- then, fans from Vic- told the Los Angeles Times. "I never (Noctumals) has signed the petition, as has
toria will be ineligible to enter. [[Source: dreamed everything could be so compli- Chaos! Comics and EternalToys head Brian
Australian SF Bullsheet #162,165]) cated, so many ways for the wrongdoer to Pulido.
avoid paying what the jury awarded me."
TAFF Hilifter
According to court records, Ferry as-
Victor Gonzalez won the TAFF race, edging signed his magazine's trademark to Eske- Ben Overkamp, son of St. Louis fan Jenny
Tom Springer in a comparatively close race. tores Systems, a corporation formed by the Overkamp, earned a spot on the U.S. Junior
But you'll have to trust me on this, I lost the law firm that represented him during his World Weightlifting team over the April21-
little piece of paper that fell out of my copy civil trial against Ackerman, which then 22 weekend at the national championships
of Ansible. Oh, wait, I found it: Victor Gon-
zalez, 56; Tom Springer, 40; No Preference,
5; Hold Over Funds, 3.

The winner traveled to the British
Eastercon.

Ancient TAFF Stuff

Martin Tudor (European TAFF administra-
tor 1996-98) has recently been made aware
of what he terms "an appalling oversight"
that occurred during his Administration. In
1997 Paul ' Skel' Skelton contacted TAFF to
offer the donation of the book and magazine
collection of his recently deceased friend
and sometime co-editor Brian Robinson. The
sale of this collection raised £1,000 which
went a long way towards paying ofT the
TAFF debts generated after Abigail Frost
had stolen the TAFF fund; but somehow
Martin failed to record his thanks in the
TAFF newsletter. So, belatedly, Martin
would like to record his thanks to Skel and
Cas Skelton for sorting out Brian's stufT,
Tony Berry for transporting it, Andy Ri-

10 File 770:138

still online. fiction fans, Bob is responsible for many of
Judy Kindell says her an- the traditions honored by thousands of sci-
ence fiction fans and writers around the
nouncement drew about 4,000 world.
comments, an unusually large
number. "Along the way he published 60 science
fiction, mystery and adventure short stories
The Alliance for Justice is a and novels.
national association of environ-
mental, civil rights, mental "Tucker received the 1970 Hugo Award
health, women's, and consumer (presented by the World Science Fiction
advocacy organizations. And the Society) for Best Fan Writer. His novel,
IRS is, well, you know.. . Year of the Quiet Sun, won the John W.
Campbell Memorial Award, a nomination
AntiFan Films for a Nebula Award, and a Hugo nomina-
tion. In 1985, First Fandom, an organization
Mark Loney has arranged to of science fiction fans that have been active
since the 1930s, presented him with their
preserve the two AntiFan mov- Hall ofFame Award.

Retro Hugo nominee and triple-banquet- ies made to promote the Aussie- "At a ceremony on the Queen Mary in
1996, Tucker was the second person hon-
honoree - Wilson "Bob" Tucker. Photo by con ('75) and Sydney in '83 World- ored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy
Writers ofAmerica as Author Emeritus.
Keith Stokes. con bids. ScreenSound Australia
"The Tucker Tribute is sponsored by the
- - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - will assimilate the AntiFan films Dawn Patrol, an international organization
of science fiction, aviation and aeronautics
in Shreveport, LA. He is the first St. Louis into their collection, make digital tape mas- enthusiasts. Attendance is open to the pub-
lifter to qualify for the team in more than 25 ter in betacam format for their own pur- lic, but will be limited to 175 people. Ban-
years. poses, and provide the donors with video quet tickets will not be available at the door.
tape copies at cost. Loney had been taking
The eight-man, seven-woman squad will reservations for copies in betacam or VHS "The cost of the event is $25. There will
compete in the Junior World Weightlifting PAL format, with an April deadline. be a hospitality suite on Friday and Satur-
Championships in Greece in mid-June. The Whether further copies can still be ordered day, but activities are currently planned for
competition is Olympic-style, which in- is not known: he can be contacted at: Saturday only. Checks made payable to Bar-
cludes the snatch and clean and jerk disci- [email protected] PO Box 181, bara Walley should be sent to Tucker Trib-
plines. Campbell ACT 2612, Australia. [[Source: ute, c/o Barbara Walley, 10202 White Ave.,
Australian SFBullsheet}} Kansas City, MO 64134. The deadline for
Ben made the Jr. World Squad in weight- registration is June 30, 2001.
lifting last year and attended the Olympic
"Rooms are available at the Ramada Inn
training center last summer. Ben is presently Triple-Ba"eled Tucker Tributes (800) 385-0000 for $59/night. Tell them that
ranked number one in his age and weight you are with the Dawn Patrol's Tucker Trib-
class. Last issue reported that Bob Tucker trimmed ute."
the list of conventions he travels to, so the
For additional details, see the web site:
Dragons Talk Back to IRS ditto 14 and FanHistoriCon 11 were beating http://www.kcsciencefiction.org/tt.htrn
the odds by staging both cons in Tucker' s
As File 770 reported last issue, when the home town -Bloomington, lL - next fall Access Denied
IRS decided to make rules about the way over the weekend of October 12-14. Sincerely, Harlan Ellison
tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations use web
sites, it asked for public comment. Because Now it's been announced that before Harlan Ellison has declared war on people
it's a small world, who else could be the October's double-barreled conventions, who post his work on tl1e Net without his
principal author of the IRS' announcement Tucker will be celebrated at an even bigger permission. His targets are part of an online
than Judy Kindell, President of the Wash- tribute event in Bloomington. subculture who feel that "information should
ington Science Fiction Association? Equally be free" and create sites to distribute copy- ·
interesting, another WSFA lawyer, John Keith Stokes explains: "I liked your righted fiction over the Net. People wanting
Pomeranz of the Alliance for Justice, was comments about the Mountain going to to read stories by Ellison story or other sf
assigned to look over the announcement for Bloomington. But Bloomington will host authors (it' s happening to many, including
items requiring comment by the Alliance. twin peaks this year. On August 4, 2001, Larry Niven and Roger Zelazny) simply
science fiction readers from around the download the entire text instead of buying
Pomeranz saw the story and responded, United States will be gathering in Blooming- the story or borrowing it from a library.
"Thanks for the mention of my employer, ton, lllinois to honor Wilson and Fern
the Alliance for Justice, in your story on the Tucker. Ellison warned some other folks who
fannish involvement in the IRS Request for were bothering him a few years ago, in a
Comments on Internet Activities by Non- "Tucker Tribute, a semiformal banquet at letter to File 770:112: "As those who re-
profits. (As a result, File 770 is now a part the Ramada Inn, 1219 Holiday Drive, will member will attest, I am more than capable
of our official press clipping files.)" celebrate Wilson's literary contributions in of traveling great distances to knock the
the science fiction and mystery fields and his block off evildoers. .. Is there anyone out
The Alliance' s comments to the IRS in- contributions to Science Fiction Fandom. there who knows me at all, who doubts that I
cluded some unusual exhibits: web sites for Fern is being celebrated for the love and would think no more about getting on a
two fictitious organizations, the 50l(cX3) support that allowed him to accomplish the
Dragon-Lovers Alliance for Research and same.
Education (www.dragonlovers.org) and the
50l(cX4) Dragon-Lovers Action Fund "Wilson Tucker, known to most science
(www.dragonaction.org). The sites contain fiction fans as Bob, has been a science fic-
lots of fantasy references. They are probably tion reader and fan for over 70 years. One of
the best known and most popular science

April 2001 11

•

plane and going to Glasgow to do such a 1929 and a servmg officer until he was for a while. I found a typing table that will

deed if I felt so moved, than I would about medically retired for tuberculosis in about work, and Eric and I spent the day comlect-

squashing between thwnb and forefmger a 1936. ing hin1 up to his internal network ... and I

roach that had gotten into my cornflakes? I What fandom doesn't know is who en- learned more about wireless (and some

sweep the crap out of my Augean stables dowed the chair, although free-lance journal- forms of wired) networking than I really

personally. I don't hire mercenaries." Or if ist Francis Harnit twice posed the question wanted to. But it is done now."

he ever did, Harlan explained, even "the to the Academy' s press relations officer.

contwnacious Norman Spinrad" would not Harnit wonders if the Donor is Virginia Robert Lichtman slipped in mud and suf-

be sufficiently explosive for the purpose. Heinlein: "In recent years, not only has fered a triple fracture of his right ankle on

SFWA's attorney, Christine Valada, ap- Heinlein continued to be one of the most February 25. [[Source: Ansible 165]]

parently is. She's been hired to handle Elli- popular authors in the world, but there have

son~s litigation. But Stephen Robertson did- been movie deals for works like Starship In early March, Kymm Kimpel's wife Joei

n't know that, or surely he would've been Troopers and The Puppet Masters which Kimpel suffered a stroke. She still has most

more careful. Last April, Robertson, a 40- have brought in quite a bit of money." of the movement in her right side, but has

year-old motel manager in Red Bluff, Calif., The Academy states that the person hired trouble talking at times. [[Source: Chroni-

was caught uploading several of Ellison's to fill the inaugural Heinlein Chair "will cles ofthe Dawn Patrol]]

short stories to a newsgroup where hundreds provide vision and direction for the USNA's

of free- and unauthorized- digitized books astronautical engineering curriculwn, its On April 11 , Marty Cantor was hospital-

and stories are posted for the taking. Ellison srnall satellite program, and its satellite ized overnight after complaining of chest
promptly nailed him with a lawsuit, which ground station.... Applicants must have a pains. X-rays revealed that his real problem

Robertson ended up settling for some strong background in designing, building, was an intestinal blockage. He was treated

$3,600. testing, launching, and operating spacecraft, and released in the morning. Contact Mr.

Ellison also targeted AOL and RemarQ, along with demonstrated research ability, a Cantor for a graphic description of what

a Usenet subscription service, for providing strong commitment to undergraduate teach- medical science proved he was full of.

access to the pirated work. And Ellison ing, and excellent communications skills. An

founded Kick Internet Piracy, a fund he earned doctorate is desirable, but applicants Lafferty Contact Point
hopes will help defray the $40,000 he's with strong industriaVlaboratory experience
spent on legal fees so far. Mark Frauenfelder will be considered." People interested in information about R. A
reported in The Industry Standard, Lafferty should check the Internet at:
"Ellison ... does have some supporters. One Medical Updates
fan conducts online stings to identifY infring- www.mulle-kyberetik.de/Ral
ers. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Larry Niven fell while attending Nor- It's based in Gernlany, and gives ad-
of America has allocated $5,000 to stop Net- wescon and had to have an operation on his dresses where Ray can get mail:
based copyright infringement." knee. R. A Lafferty, c/o Franciscan Villa
Health Care Center J-54, 17110 E. 51st
Kick Internet Piracy has received $1,300 Jerry Pournelle spent a day helping make Street, South Broken Arrow OK 74012.
in contributions from Ben Bova, Frank M. the technical accommodations Niven needs Lafferty has had a couple of strokes and
Robinson, and at least one local sf club. to keep writing. Jerry explained on his web is unable to respond properly, but is doing
Robin Bailey told Chronicles of the Dawn page: "Due to his injury he can't climb the better than some fans had feared. The Devo-
Patrol that the Kansas City Science Fic- stairs at all and he's mostly in a wheelchair tional page has a couple of postings from the
tion and Fantasy Society pledged a dona- husband of the nurse who cares for Ray.
tion of $400. In addition, they held a raf- [[Source: Robert Whitaker Sirignano]]

fle of autographed books and KC Wiz- The Road to Everywhere
ards' soccer paraphernalia, netting $254.
Bailey planned to personally deliver the Bruce and Elayne Pelz went on a 65-day
donations to Valada at the Nebula week- cruise up the coast of Africa and around
end in LA the Mediterranean, to places most of us
have only heard about in Hope and
Anyone who wishes may also send Crosby pictures. Luckily, we didn' t have
checks directly to Ms Valada. Those to wait for them to return to read about
checks should be made out to - Law the trip - Bruce has taken advantage of
Office of Christine M. Valada and the proliferation of Internet cafes around
mailed to: Kick Internet Piracy, P.O. Box the world to e-mail news from their ports-
55935, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413. of-call. All that's been missing is the tra-

Heinlein Gets the Chair ditional, "having a great time, wish you
were here." Hmm...
All of fandom has read by now that the
Aerospace Engineering Department at March 12 -Cape Town, South Africa
the United States Naval Academy is tak- March 15 - Luderitz, Namibia
ing applications for the Robert A Hein- March 27- Dakar, Senegal
lein Chair in Aerospace Engineering. April4- Valletta, Malta
Heinlein, one of the most popular science April 9 - Kusidasi, Turkey
fiction writers in the world and the first April 11 - Port Said, Egypt
to be designated a "Grand Master," was April 17 - Barcelona, Spain
also a graduate of the Naval Academy in April 19 - Casablanca, Morocco

12 File 770:138 Vancouver's •

Good eating and good shopping Unofficial SF Club
are usually worth a headline in
Bruce's e-mails, like this descrip- Garth Spencer, BCSFAz-
tion of an early stop in South Af-
rica: ine 's new editor, reports

"We've been spending most of an interesting legal fact
our port time shopping. And eat- that keeps the Vancouver
ing. (As if there weren't enough to club from registering its
eat on the ship.. . .) One of the
more interesting local foods is name: "BCSFA is only
called Bunny Chow (or just
'Bunnys'). They take a half a loaf informally organized; it
of bread, hollow out the center, doesn't exist in law, be-
and pour in some kind of curry
dish - I had a chicken Bunny in cause we can't register a
Durban. There are also sort of
mini-Bunnys which appear to be non-profit society with the
bread pockets (large) with the province with the name
curry dish inserted. Quite tasty." 'British Columbia' in the
title. (We would have to
Though contrary to what you
might think, Bruce admits, "We're advertise it to 70% of the
not the most adventurous of eat- fans in the province, and
ers." Pondering whether there was
anything worth eating locally at the prove tltat we have done
stop in Turkey, Bruce wrote, "I
suppose there's always Turkish so, and how do you prove
Delight - the real stuff, not the that?)"
Bonomo's junk....We took a break
in the Grand Bazaar and had drinks - Diet A difficult thing to
Coke, of course - and a plate of Baklava.
That the stuff we get in the states dares to prove, but impossible?
use the same name is really a crime!"
= Won't one of the tradi-
Spring weather can be fierce, even in tional solutions work?
balmy southern Italy. Storms plagued the
stop in Naples and interfered with "the Pom- Nail an issue of BCSFAz-
peii trip, which would have been great ex-
cept it rained pitchforks and hammer- ine to the door of the city
handles all day, together with a wind strong cathedral? Drape a club
enough to turn the umbrellas inside out, and
a temperature far too low for comfort, even Mr. Alborn. "Please email me all the info banner over an elephant and lead it down
in a jacket." and lll8.il your most recent edition and future Btunaby St. while someone bangs a bass
editions for review and possible write up in
Bruce ended one of his latest posts, FactSheet Five written publication... " Uh, drum? Print up bumper stickers that say,
"Elayne says I should assure everyone - and probably not. "Honk ifyou're a British Columbia SF fan"?
maybe disappoint a few - that we haven't
been turned off of cruising yet (after 6 of our The Buying Lantern Is Lit Opening The Time Capsule
9 weeks), but we have decided that we need
one of the larger ships - with a self-service Copies of Lan 's Lantern, published by the In 1990, Mike Rembert asked the members
laundry and several jacuzzis - for anything late George "Lan" Laskowski, who passed of Harry SF, a northeastern Ohio club, to
longer than a 7-day cruise." away about a year and a half ago, are still write down their predictions for life in the
available for purchase from Kathleen Las- new millenniun1. With Howard Hartzog's
They're on the way to Barbados, using kowski. She's also selling much of Lan' s sf help, these were assembled into a one-shot
the days at sea to rest their legs from shop- book collection. zine called the Time Capsule. Rather than
ping in the bazaars of Turkey and Egypt. burying the Capsule, copies were distributed
Special Author issues of Lan 's Lantern to all the members. The turn of the millen-
Five Sheets To The Wind available for postage and production costs nium was the date set for "opening" the
($4 each): Poul Anderson, Clifford D. Si- Time Capsule.
J. Michael Straczynski told us what hap- mak, Bob Tucker, Hal Clement, Theodore
pened to the first four Babylon vessels, but I Sturgeon, A E. Van Vogt, Fritz Lieber, Ar- According to Doug and Mary Piero
don't think anyone ever revealed the fate of thur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Jack William- Carey, "Old science fiction fans aren't bad at
the four zines that preceded FactSheet Five. son, and Robert A Heinlein. She also has crystal gazing." Some of Harry's predictions
Or why the number never changes although copies of "general" issues #31, #39, #40, for 2001 included:
the editor does. And it's happening again. #41 , #42, #43, #45, and others.
"FactSheet is alive and well and will soon • A new space station in orbit.
be kicking under the scrutiny of Dwayne- Contact: Kathleen Laskowski, 2466 Val- • Years of Hubble Telescope successes·
Michael D. Alborn ," says an e-lll8.il from leyviewDrive, Troy, MI 48098-5317. erase the stigma of early failure.
• Window-size satellite dishes challenge
Niekas cable TV.
• Chrysler under foreign management.
Ed Meskys had Niekas 46 available at Bo- • Increases in home schooling.
skone. The issue includes articles and col- • SF con attendance has dropped dra-
umns by Ray Nelson, John Boardman, Ben matically.
Indick, Diana Paxson, Pat Matthews, Anne • Popular music is so nihilistic that no
Braude, and others. The usual, or $4.95, or adult can bear to hear it.
4/$19. Contact: Ed Meskys, RR #2 HBox • Computer-controlled stage manage-
63, 322 Whittier Hwy, Center Harbor NH ment (lights, mikes, etc) for theaters.
03226-9708
• VCRs that can skip recording commer-
cials.

April 2001 · 13

• • Voice recognition for computer secu- This one is complained about by more than Now On Sail

rity and computing in general. just me." Indeed, the problem is more com- Hurry online and buy dozens of copies ~f

• New metallic threads used in fiber mon in fandom than you might think. I'll Eve Ackerman' s novel, Pirate's Price, wnt-
arts. leave it up to you to decide if it was written ten under her pen name of Darlene Mar-
by the president ofyour club.
• Workfare replacing welfare. shall. The humorous romance, set in 19th

• More recycling. Hint: It wasn't written by the President of century Florida, is available in e-book for-

• Electric vehicles on the roads. the Melbourne SF Association. That issue mat from Daylight Dreams, www.

• Disappearance of the middle class as was handled by Terry Frost in the August daylightdreams.com. There' s an excerpt
2000 issue of its clubzine, Ethel the Aard- from the novel on the website.
the gulf between rich and poor widens.

• Computer jobs eliminate lower class vark. Terry wrote, "I don' t care if you come "If someone asked me to describe my

jobs. straight from working in a colliery to the book in one sentence," says the Florida fan,
· • ·Little guys swallowed up by big corpo- meetings. I don't care if you tripped over in applying a Proustian definition of sentence,
the abattoir just before the end of the shift. I "rd say it's about a pirate ship crewed
rations.
• Computer shopping for food, clothing, don't care if your flatmate dumped the con- mainly by men who've been at sea with
tents of a cat-litter tray into the pockets of other menfar too long, and their captain is a
toiletries and toys. your parka... three months ago. Buy some woman pretending to be a man who has a bit

• Electronic greeting cards. roll-on Norsca and rub it over your flabby of a swish to his walk and then one day they

• Ismel becomes more militant. torso before you lumber into the building.
It' s not a sign of masculinity to be able to
• Pacific Rim market domination col- make camels retch. It' s not an effete bour- capture her estranged husband, who she's
lapses. geois thing to run water over yourself in been robbing blind, and things get interest-
months that have the letter J in them... . If ing." Eve insists, "It's a romance. Trust me
Ending on a coy note, they say, "Of this little heartfelt plea doesn' t work, I rec- on this."
course, like any Cassandra, we don't mention
the wrong predictions here!" She started Pirate 's Price in 1993, set it
aside for six years, "Then finally planted my
ommend that the committee pass a special
Fans Find Wealth by-law to increase the smelly-bloke member- butt in the chair and finished it. And sold it,
on the Internet- Their Own ship rate to around the same price as a top of which is even better."

Expect another one soon. The working
If the Internet isn't making you rich, it may the range DVD player. Membership cards title is Captain Sinister, also a pirate saga.
at least help you break even. All those TV for these special members should be printed

news stories about the state holding un- on car deodorizers." How Few Remainder
claimed money for you are a "sweeps week"
cliche but LASFSian Matthew Tepper took KaCSFFS 30th Anniversary Mike Walsh's Old Earth Books has obtained
the advice and inched closer to his next reprint rights to the works of Edgar Pang-
shopping spree at Tiffany' s. He looked up The Kansas City Science Fiction and Fan- born. Old Earth will bring out editions of
his name on the California state controller's tasy Society celebrated its 30th Anniversary West of the Sun, A Mirror for Observers,
web site and learned an insurance company with a banquet on March 24. Three honorees Wilderness of Spring, The Trial of Callista
had a $55 check waiting for him. After Joe were recognized for service to the club, one Blake, Davy, The Judgment of Eve, The
Zeff heard Tepper announce the find at a from each decade: Susan Satterfield, Becky Company ofGlory and a one- or two-volume
club meeting, he visited the controller' s site, Rickert, and Sally Osgood. The banquet was omnibus of shorter fiction.
too, and found $160 being held for him. The followed with a dance.
check is on the way. Walsh wrote online, "Each book will be
For more details check http://www. reset and published in hardcover with the
The biggest such recovery has been made kcsciencefiction.org/30th.htm usual good stuff: acid free paper and sewn
from the state of Colorado by the Denver signatures." He' s planning to release the
Area Science Fiction Association. DASFA.x World Wide Party 8 first few at Millennium Philcon.
reports the club' s building fund was found
by the State Treasurer' s department in much It may be the middle of winter where you Two other Pangborn works are not part
the same way that America was discovered. are but midsummer night is on the way. of the agreement: his first novel, A-100: A
"What? It was lost?" commented Thea Daie Speirs reminds every fan that the gth Mystery Novel, and the announced but never
Hutcheson, who has been quietly taking care Annual World Wide Party is coming again published Atlantean Nights Entertainment,
of it for years. When the DASFA gets its on June 21. At 2100 local time, "Raise a although Walsh says this may change in the
$1 ,200 back, technically they won't be any glass and toast your friends in the Papernet future.
richer than they were before, but they feel around the world. Have a party if you will,
like they are. do a one-shot zine, prepare and post a batch Focal Point Book
of mail art, or whatever else you may think
Clean Up Your Act! of" Mike Weasner has a chapter in a book
scheduled for May titled Astronomy With
The newly elected head of a well-known Benoit Girard of Quebec first suggested Small Telescopes, from Springer Verlag.
science fiction club ended his inauguml ad- the idea, and with a boost from Franz Miklis The book has chapters devoted to several
dress with this complaint: "Lastly and most of Austria it has been orbiting fandom ever types of small telescopes. Mike wrote the
sorry I am to mention it. BATHE, WASH since. Speirs explains, "The idea behind a chapter on the Meade ETX. The book is
YOUR CLOTHES! This is your responsibil- 2100 toast is to get a wave circling the edited by Stephen F. Tonkin. Weasner is not
ity. You are adults. It is embarrassing and planet celebrating zineish friends and con- the only LASFSian who contributed to the
annoying to mention this. Does the club necting everyone in the Papernet briefly by a book - Jay Freeman of the Bay Area also
have to do something to enforce cleanliness? common activity." wrote a chapter. Other contributors are
Kevin Daley, Dwight Elvey, Robert Hatch,
Dave Mitsky, and Tim Tonkin.

14 File 770:138

The book has been announced on Ama- ner a necktie of about the age of our •
zon.com. Orders through Mike's ETX site friendship, say 30 years, with no other
(http://www.weasner.com/etx) will be cred- remark than Ed Green asking, "Is that
ited to Mike. tartan?" I hope not, I said; I'm not enti-
tled to any that I know of

Short Waves hospitable local fans, able fanwriters, ~e Changes ofAddress
companions, Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund wm-
Marty Cantor will be delighted to know that ners who published their trip report, Uphft Allan D. Burrows,
The Leaky Establishment by David Lang- hosts of mystery fandom, Friends of the E-mail: [email protected]
ford was the first release from Big Engine, Great and Near Great (as Bill Rotsler put on Linda Bushyager,
Britain' s new subscription book publisher. a name badge for Larry Niven), could either E-mail: [email protected]
of them have for the occasion been sur- Connor Freff Cochram,
Juliette Woods and Damien Warman, rounded by fans of any number and celeb- E-mail: [email protected]
ruim~-up in this year' s GUFF race, seem rity. Each instead had a small family gather-
to have located a consolation prize - they're Donald & Jill Eastlake, 155 Beaver St.,
moving to Texas. Woods told Australian SF ing. . Milford, MA 01757
Bullsheet #163, "I now have a finn idea of For June's the definition was commodt- Teddy Harvia, 12341 Band Box Place,
where we're going once rve finished my the- Dallas TX 75244-7001
sis. From July we'll be in Austin, Texas. I ous. The three children of her body were Elspeth,Kovar, E-mail: [email protected]
have a postdoctoral appointment at the present, two of which, being married,
Texas Institute for Computational and Ap- brought their own families. But she has also Richard Labonte, Marlborough Farm, 166
plied Mathematics at the University ~f taken an interest in younger fans as almost Stoughton SideRoad, RR2 Calabogie,
Texas. Damien will be able to complete hts to adopt them, and some of these filially
PhD and do a bit ofTA work there. We' ll be attended. I myself owe more to June than I ON KOJ IHO, Canada
there for at least a year, depending on can easily recount Deft and encouraging, Cheryl Morgan,
whether I get an Australian fellowship or crisp, discerning, and cheerful, t?e Mary E-mail: [email protected]
not We will try and arrange to drop by and Poppins ofAPA-L, she has figured m adven- Bruce Pelz, E-mail: [email protected]
visit people in Europe and the UK en route." tures from strange steak dinners at the Pa- Elayne Pelz: E-mail: [email protected].
cific Dining Car, and hammering hazelnuts, Gene Stewart, E-mail: [email protected]
Julie Zetterberg married Greg Sardo to editing the Rick Sneary memorial fanzine, Paul Treadway, 22 York Street, Cambridge,
on January 20 in a ceremony held at the Mu- Button-Tack. Let us all rejoice in such CBl 2PY, U.K.
seum of Flight in Seattle. Many members of friends, and revel in a fandom where they Roger Wells, 8152 SW Hall Blvd. #405,
the costuming community participated. The flourish. Beaverton, OR 97008;
bridesmaids were Frances Simmons and E-mail: [email protected]
Kathy Sanders, and the Matron of Honor As a present I found at the last moment a
was Susan Taubenek Spinning another tra- 75th anniversary edition ofK. Grahame, The As soon as Roger Wells saw his COA in the
dition, the "Groomswomen" were Betty Wind in the Willows (1913), in hard covers last issue, he wrote, "Yes, my mailing ad-
Bigelow and Dr. Lynn Kingsley. with illustrations by E. H. Shepard, who dress has changed yet again. I was laid off
conferred with Grahame but alas finished from my position at New Edge Networks in
The wedding cake looked like a stack of too late for him to see the whole. Making Vancouver, just after really getting moved to
three hat boxes, with a special topper made this arrive in time (indeed, as it happened, Vancouver; about 30% of the workforce was
by Betty Bigelow. [[Source: Michael Citrak, on the very day) was a feat It proved to con- let go. Within a few weeks I had four of-
Westwind 1120011} tain drawings no edition in June' s library fers... rve accepted a position managing the
had, and with my urgent instructions fol- productization department at the Beaverton,
Karen Pender Gunn has changed her lowed it came, as protnised, with a card OR office of Wind River Systems, headquar-
first name to KRin. She is organizing a Re- HIPY PAPY BTHliTHDTH THliTHDA tered in Alameda, CA"
lay for Life team to walk the Whitehorse BTHliTHDY. In the vicissitudes of fate and
venue in November to raises money for the fashion I was able to wear to Saturday din- Richard Labonte says, "I've given up
Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, Australia. gay bookselling after 20 years and plan to
The cost is $10 per person and the idea is spend the next couple of years living on a
that the team takes it in turn to walk, with farm I've owned communally with several
the whole thing running for 48 hours. If you other college friends for 25 years now. Next
are interested, contact her at: time I read File 770 I'll be rocking on the .
front porch."
[email protected]
KRin is back working, at the Anti-Cancer Linda Bushyager says her new e-mail
Council Library. [[Source: Australian SF handle, Misscraps, "Comes from the casino
Bullsheet #166]] game of craps. I played a lot of it for a~hil~.
Actually right now my game of chotce ts
Moffatt House At 75 video poker - if you know the correct strat-
egy and on some machines you can have a
by John Hertz slight advantage over the casino." L~da and
Ron will soon move closer to the actton: they
[[Reprinted from Vanamonde 415 by per- are building a house in Las Vegas. "We ex-
mission.]] pect house to be completed and to move
around August or September, though we
Len Moffatt having happily celebrated don't know exactly when. Our current house
his 75th birthday, that June would go on to will be put up for sale in March."
hers was a consummation devoutly to be
wished, which last Friday (April20) came to
pass. These two diamonds of the ftrst water,

April 2001 · 1s

Obituaries asked how he got all these movie!" A woman came up later and said
people to show up and he his talk was "The most wonderful evening
Pat Ellington replied "People will go I've ever spent!"
Appreciation by Robert Lichtman anywhere to get an award! "
He found by giving fannish So Don didn't have to languish in the
Pat Ellington, widow of the late Dick El- losers an award as well, he hospital after his car accident, I spent a
lington and a long-time fan, passed away on could garner their complete week in his home dishing out drugs and
Thursday, April 12, 2001, at Alta Bates allegiance, and thus always emptying his bed pans.
Hospital in Berkeley, California. A long- have someone to lick the
time smoker, she'd been diagnosed with stamps, fold the flyers and He relished appearing on The Tonight
cancer about a year ago, but it was her stuff the envelopes; I was Show and other interview programs both on
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that one of them. TV and radio.
was the immediate cause of her death. Pat's He lived in his grandparent's house in
main fan activity was in the ' 50s, when she South Los Angeles forever yet was never At some point, Don knew the Society
had articles in a couple issues of "Joan W. aware of the changing surroundings. I called was decaying (if not why) and devised a
Carr's" Femizine. She assisted Dick in the him during the Watts Riots, having seen a new, more glamorous organization that
production of The Bosses ' Songbook and TV helicopter shot of the liquor store on his would only include people in the movie
had an illustration in it, and in the '60s and corner burning to the ground. He couldn't industry. He called it "The Academy of
early ' 70s was a member of FAPA jointly understand why "People are carrying televi- Horror Films, Science Fiction Films and
with Dick. She's survived by their daughter sion sets down the middle of the street!" Fantasy Films." I opted for a shorter name,
Marie, her sister Mary and her brother While he told people he was a history but he wouldn't have it. Finally, I offered to
Fred. instructor, he was actually the librarian at donate money to put the club on the map,
Woodbury College and a clerk in a law put on our first awards show and buy the
Dr. Donald Anthony Reed office specializing in draft law. On at least first award if we could shorten the name to
March 18,2001 three separate occasions he took the Bar "The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy
Appreciation by Alan White exam, but never passed. While never actu- and Horror Films." Imagine my surprise
ally receiving a degree, he adopted his fmding out the first award goes to Don
"I discovered at a young age I could never lifelong moniker "Dr." and enjoyed collect- Reed "Because I thought of it!" When Don
become a God, so I decided to become a ing honorary degrees and had stacks of discovered industry people didn't share the
judge. " - Donald Reed bogus shingles on every possible subject. same allegiance factor as fans, he opened
He also had a number of those mail order the ranks to anybody with money for a
How can one put into words the passing of ministries and offered to marry fans. membership.
Dr. Donald A Reed, a sad and spoiled anti- It was the beginning of the end when he
fan who, since 1960 has provided (one way fell in with these guys purporting to be There were many at the time who
or another) a much needed service to the Monarchs and Royal emissaries. He began thought Don an idiot and wanted to wrest
genre fans of Hollywood? It's hard to pro- the "Royal Order of Count Dracula" and the reins of power from him, but in the end,
vide epilogue for this elfish man-child, but insisted on "Knighting" everyone with this none of the usurpers had the energy or the
knowing him 25 years, I am as qualified as big Dracula Sword causing Robert Bloch wild self-aggrandizing attitude to actually
anyone. and others to drop out in disgust. do it.
He was such a character, yes, I was
I was smitten by the Count Dracula mesmerized by his ability of persuasion and Meeting Arnold Shapiro (multi-Emmy
Society in 1963. Don and Manny Weltman the potential for meeting just about anybody winner for productions such as Scared
created this odd assemblage of genre movie while in his company. Many club members Straight) was a thrill and his ability to
and literature fans, pseudo-intellectuals, were called-on for a number of odd jobs. produce our television award shows was
would-be authors and script-writers. The bi- For example, I wrote the first half of his assured. It was Arnold that commissioned
monthly meetings were a haven for fans in book, The Films of Robert Red- and produced the actual Saturn Award
the '60s and actual celebs like Ray Brad- ford, and others wrote the rest. much to the surprise of Don who wanted the
bury, Robert Bloch, AE. van Vogt, Christo- He was also paid for teaching trophy to be known as the "Dr. Donald A
pher Lee and others attended regularly. one-night adult classes at USC, Reed Award." Under Shaprio' s guidance,
Don was on to something, having an annual but convinced someone else to the show boasted absolutely everyone from
banquet presenting awards to everyone from actually teach the class for free. I
Wolfinan Jack to Rock Hudson, Bob Clam- attended his class on "Special
pett, Robert Wise or Gene Roddenberry! I Effects," only to fmd I was actu-
ally the instructor! Don had
strange powers of recovery as
well. At a USC screening of King
Kong, the projector broke before
a single frame hit the screen.
While a rep was offering to give
everybody their money back, Don
ran to the front of the theatre and
gave an hour-long dissertation on
why "King Kong is a great

16 File 770:138

Charlton Heston, George Bums to Mark Fanm~esofTheLASFS
Hammill.
Answer Man
Shapiro presented Don with an offer that
by restructuring the Academy like the Oscar Not long ago the Lasfs.org website's everyone would have doors on their roofs,
Academy, keeping books and actually having "Answer Man" received a letter written in and cities would look very different.
elections, he would ensure the success and pencil by a shaky 10-year-old hand:
longevity of our organization. This was what "As for whether magic is science fiction,
I'd been waiting for-- the legitimizing of the "Dear Science Fantasy Society: I would a very wise man named Arthur C. Clarke
Academy! Don' s reply was "I'd rather be a like to know how can a person have a fan- once said, 'Any sufficiently advanced tech-
big fish in a little pond" and "Poof1" it was tasy. Write down about that for me and write nology is indistinguishable from magic. '
essentially over. down some steps about how I can have a That means, to people long ago who never
fantasy. Then, I would like to know is magic had light bulks or cars or computers, those
. In 1989 I bowed out from sheer frustra- science fiction. Here' s an example of what I things would be mysterious and magical.
tion and he never spoke to me again. While mean. I mean like if somebody could zap
everybody has a Don Reed story, in the end, something and it would turn into something "Of course, if by ' science fiction' you
he will only be remembered for his quotes or if somebody could do a magic spell. If mean 'make believe,' then that' s a much
on the covers of bad videos. magic spells are real, please send me some. harder question. Because, you see, we're all
Love, Chris." like those people long ago. When we don't
In Passing know much, everything, even a light bulb, is
LASFS member Bret Achorn, who magic. Later, when we understand it, we
Rosemary Hickey passed away on April 26. worked on The Iron Giant with Warner say, 'That's not magic, that's electricity.'
She was in her 80s, and had been living in a Bros. and now works for Disney, therefore And then, much later, if we're lucky, we
nursing home in Houston for some time. knows a bit more about the art of illusion realize that the world isn't a simple place,
During the 1950s-1970s, she was an active than the average fan, volunteered to answer and that there' s a lot we don't understand. If
member of the University of Chicago Sci- Chris' s letter. His thoughtful reply is worth you' ve ever stood outside when it was
ence Fiction Club and a committee member repeating in these pages: snowing on a quiet day and listened to the
for ChiCon ill. Earl Kemp wrote online, "In sound of the snow and the way nothing
her own right, she was quite a hostess for sf "Dear Chris: I'm writing to answer your sounds like it usually does, or watched
affairs, a sportswoman, and a formidable foe letter to the Los Angeles Science Fantasy lightning storms on a hot, dry summer day,
with a target rifle." Society. They thought that I might be able to you might know what I mean.
answer your questions. As for what we do
Pierre Versins, writer, faneditor, critic, down here, we're pretty much like anywhere "I'm sorry to say that I don't have any
and author of the Encyclopedie Des Voyages else, except we enjoy science fiction and magic spells to send you. At least as far as
Extraordinaires, De L Vtopie Et De La fantasy stories, usually in the form of books, I've seen, magic is something each person
Science Fiction (Worldcon special commit- movies or TV. We hang out together, and has to fmd on their own. I can remember
tee award, 1973), died peacefully in his talk about lots of things, and go places writing a letter very much like the one you
sleep in April at a hospital in Avignon, together, just like any group of friends. just did, and I know that isn't the answer
France, his home town. He'd returned there you wanted. All I can say is that if you keep
after living long years in Switzerland, where "As to how a person can have a fantasy, your eyes open and look at the little things
he founded the SF museum La Maison it's mostly a matter of taking the way the that most people never notice, you' ll fmd
d'Ailleurs. In 2000, he was GoH of the world is, and imagining changing it any way that there' s a very magical world out there.
French SF Convention in neighbouring you'd like. One way to do that is to ask Sincerely, Brett Achorn."
L'isle-sur-la-Sorgue. He was 78. [[Source: 'What if?' ' What if people could fly?' is a
Joyce Scrivner}} favorite of mine. There'd be no more cars,

2000 NEBULA AWARDS

These are the winners of the 2000 Nebula Bradbury Award: 2000X - Harlan Ellison, inevitable confusion occurred: "rd mentioned
Awards, given out at the Beverly Hilton Hotel host/story editor, Yuri Rasovsky, producer/ previously that I felt the signage in the party
in Beverly Hills, CA on April 28: director; Warren Dewey, sound Engineer. room should say more than just Sponsored by
SCIFI, Inc. for fear of confusion with the Sci-
Novel: Greg Bear, Darwin's Radio These are the results of the 2001 SFWA Fi Channel in the minds of the party's at-
(Ballantine Del Rey) Officers Election: President: tendees. What I hadn't counted on is that the
Norman Spinrad; Vice President: Sharon Lee; folks who maintain the SFWA website and
Novella: Linda Nagata, "Goddesses"(Sci Secretary: Madeleine Robins; Treasurer: SFWA's e-mail announcement list would get
Fiction/Scifi.com) Chuck Rothman; Canadian Regional Director: into the act. They both announced that the
Chris Atack. Dessert Party will be sponsored by Scifi.
Novelette: Walter Jon Williams, "Daddy's com."
Wor!d"(Not ofWoman Born, Roc) Just Desserts
SCIFI, Inc., the folks who brought you L.A. Miller and Christine Valada, who coordi-
Short Story: Terry Bisson, "macs"(F&SF, con Ill, tried to kiss up to the pros attending nated the Nebulas, both caught the mistake
Oct/Nov 1999) Nebula Weekend in Los Angeles by sponsor- and prompted changes to the website and a
ing a Dessert Party. corrected e-mail message to be sent out.
Script: David Howard & Robert Gordon,
Galaxy Quest (Dream Works SKG) Craig Miller said I-told-you-so when the

Also honored at the ceremony were:
SFWA Grand Master: Philip Jose Farmer,
SFWA Author Emeritus: Robert Sheckley;

I t happened in such a short period of inexpensive and scanners are sold at horrifying robots. After, sketching a
time. The individual occupations of supermarkets for less than $100. Now it's rough of what you want the final to look
"Graphics Designer, Layout, Paste- the programs that are grossly expensive. like, crank up your program.
Up and Typesetting Artist" was going the
way of the Pinsetter. Throughout the 70s Adobe's Photoshop allows manip- Since Bryce gives you a variety of
I had designed movie advertising material ulation of art and photos to create the shapes to use, I prefer working from what
on typesetting machines, developing unreal or enhance what already exists. I determine will be the biggest geometric
reams of film that would be cut into Combined with other art programs like shape outward. Sometimes melding
gallies, waxed and pasted onto layout Corel's 3D software Bryce, new worlds shapes together, sometime, just sticking
boards. Stills were photographed with can be created by anyone with the time to them on!
huge cameras, trimmed, waxed and put in spare and the spirit of adventure.
place with T-Squares, X-Acto knives, What you are working with can
skill and patience. Fixing a minor typo With a boost from the internet, you become a tangle of wires and shapes, so I
was costly and time consuming. can now, not only create your fanzines usually make additional articles on
with all the bells and whistles of the separate pages and paste them into the
In 1984 Apple released it's personal largest design companies, but either print major piece to be attached later.
computer and a Brave New World began. them out or circulate them anywhere in Something like building a real robot.
Like a scene from Return of the Fly, the the world via the internet absolutely free.
Layout, Paste-Up, Designer and When working in a three dimensional
Typesetter all melded into one huge, One such zine I am thankful to be in world, care is taken the image is correct
multi-tasking person. Looking back, the cahoots with is Joyce Katz' Smokin' from every angle. Up, down, back and
thought of running an entire graphics and Rockets where I've been given the forth; the pieces can be moved around the
printing department on 4 megs of Ram freedom to do anything I want AND in
seems unthinkable. color. Since Mike received a letter A big (left) hand for the little robot
wondering how I created some of the
Layout programs like Quark X-Press covers for File 770, I thought I would
made it possible to quickly and easily do give a behind-the-scenes look at creating
what had taken hours to do in the past. the cover for Smokin' Rockets #3.
Fixing a mistake became instantaneous
and cost nothing. Compared with today, There are many 3D rendering
the computers, printers and scanners were programs on the market, but for only
grossly expensive. $150, Bryce is perfect for novice or pro
alike and available for both Mac and PC.
No more wrestling with stencils and Both Bryce and Photoshop are huge
corflu. At last a state-of-the-art fanzine memory hogs, so come prepared.
can be created to rival the big boys.
Today, computers are relatively GETTING STARTED
Bryce allows you to assemble any

number of wire-frame shapes to create
anything from scenic landscapes to

screen freely. A completed art piece can Here is a shot ofthe working page showing the shapes palette at the top
be viewed from any angle! and ]-dimensional movement controls along the left side. Notice the flurry ofwires

By accessing one of the many and in the background, the mountain range.
"material" pallets, you can create the Apply a material surface to each object, render your picture and voila!
metal coverings for your robot and
rocket, plus terrain material for your
landscape.

Bryce 4 now allows you to animate
your new figures and the environment
you create for them!

TO REVIEW...
You have created your wire frame

picture, covered each figure with its
respective material, chosen the proper
"camera angle", rendered your scene and
finally, saved your project. Printing out a
proof copy is a wise move too. Now it is
imported into Photoshop to make some
color adjustments and apply the rocket
smoke. The Smokin' Rockets masthead
that was made in Typestyler 3.5.8 is also
imported into Photoshop and the entire
concoction of art is squished together,
ready to be printed out or e-mailed to
anyone in the world. •

This article is meant solely to
acquaint more fans with just a tad of the
technology available to them. Yes, it's
presented as an overview of a process I
use and enjoy and has been quite
simplified. No, I'm not thumping the tub
for Adobe or Corel.

SIIIIKI Anyone who has tried drawing with a mouse
knows its limitations...

The Wacom Art Tablet allows you to draw/erase or
trace directly into your computer much as you would
with pen on paper. The thickness and quality of your
line is reflected by the pressure you apply to the tablet.
Once your art is in the computer, it is available for any
changes, clean-ups, effects and applying color.
Different pens function as either a drawing instrument
or an airbrush, giving the artist a wide variety of styles
and effects. If you are already familiar with drawing ·
and computers, the transition is easy. The tablet and
pens give you the ability to draw naturally as you
would with pen or brush.

All my covers and filler art are created on a Mac
G4/500 using Photoshop 5.5, Bryce 4, Typestyler 3.5.8,
Wacom Tablet (12x12) and Stadtler technical pens,
either singly or in any combination. For black and
white printout, artwork is sent to a HP Laserjet 5000 for
printing at 1200 dpi.

To see this cover in color and other computer art, go to: www.fansitel.com >Wow!
You can download Smokin' Rockets at: www.iPDFinc.com

April 2001 ·19

Residuals

by Tadao Tomomatsu

[[J'adao Tomomatsu will be Fan I caught it. And it's an
Guest of Honor at DemiCon in Des
Moines, lA over he May 4-6 outtake.
weekend.]]
It was two days of

work in Oxnard, CA. I

live around Burbank.

Residuals Needless to say, a rather
by Tadao Tomomatsu
long drive. Although it

was just as the SAG/

Greetings to one and all. AFTRA commercial

My Name is Tadao Tomomatsu: strike was getting

Actor, Comedian and Jack of Most underway, doing this

Trades. promo was fme with

A Japanese-American from Texas. SAG and AFTRA

Experiment# JA-355947-TX because the company

An experiment that went signed the interim

Horribly, Horribly Wrong .. .. agreement. Much to the

I've never actually written up great fmancial relief of

what's happened in my life, my the actor. Yay.

misadventures are often told in I waited for a script

person with a myriad of voices _to on Monday, with the

match the personalities. And I wnte shooting scheduled on

the way I speak, or in the Classic Tuesday. I got nothing,

"Radio ScripUV.O. (Voice Over) so I called in and

Format." So I will apologize for my checked: apparently they

spelling and grammar, for those were still writing the

you used to such things. script. Talking about

I should explain who I am first a "while the ink was still

bit and the silliness may ensue soon have a BA degree in Communications wet"isn' t even the half of it.
Broadcasting: TV, Radio and Film, with a
afterwards. • minor in Theater Arts: Acting. What does Don't get me wrong. The Co/Director
this mean? My back-up job is just as
difficult to get and fmd as my "career" is. and crew were all professionals.

I'm the very odd one in the family. A So. Relating stories about Hollywood. I'll Instead of getting a copy of a script at
be the first to admit; I'm rather biased. And
long line of Priests and a long Line .of I am telling stories out of sequence. I'm not around 6 p.m. I get it at 9 p.m. And it's
starting with the very first "Acting" job I had
Samurai before that. Dad broke away With or how I got started. That may be later, when three pages - only a paragraph or so each.
I remember.
being a Scientist. Mom used to be a Now it's a mad rush and a few hours of
The old phrase goes, "Actors are the
Translator/Director at NHK: The Japanese greatest liars." I admit that I am a comedian/ sleep to get this down. ..
storyteller and an actor. Most all of the
Version of Public TV. And I'm generally stories are true. The names are changed or And being Japanese, and usually this IS
unmentioned to protect the innocent. I will
considered the Isei/Nisei of the Family. be the first to admit these are fun stories, so I go early to the location.
and if most of what I mention ever gets out
Mom and Dad were the first to live in the U. the other phrase is "You' ll never do lunch in ' There were also three ladies with
this town again" comes to mind. So just look
S. There for Nisei . Isei because I'm the first upon these as "Stories." At least I can keep speaking parts. Now the first thing th:y
my residuals.
one born in the US. And oddly, as a Texan. were asked as a group was, "Are you afraid
Where to begin. The last thing mentioned
Yes, I had a Texas Accent. Took me about in File 770 was a bunch of "promos" for of snakes, can you handle snakes?" <?f
"Crocodile Hunter" on Animal Planet. If you
four years to get rid of it. But don'cha' ll caught me, I was flubbering words out to a course, the answer is yes. You see, m .
Green, Fuzzy, Alligator puppet. People
worry nun. Takes a whole hoot to get me thought it was great. However the odd news. Hollywood if you are asked can you fence,

back to ride' n hard and scoot'a boot. Yup. can you ride a horse, etc. you say yes. If

Ok. So an Actor. I have to admit I can' t someone asks if you are a god you say YES.

explain it myself. Oddly, I looked on it as a Well, all three ladies said yes.

challenge of sorts. It was something that no Then the pythons came out.

one else in the family was doing. And as the First thing was the tall skinny blond who

only Asian in a Midwestern, somewhat was trying to figure out what was so terrible

redneck area I had to be creative. Not to about pythons. Well if they don' t like you no

mention being a .... problem. If they really like you and they give

Ok ok.. .that' s neither here nor there. you a hug ....kiss your lower ribs goodbye..

I do have to mention that I am a Oh, no problem. I don' t have any.

"Working Actor." Oddly enough that me_ans Blink.. .blink...

that I'm not working most of the tune And it suddenly dawned on us guys.

anyway. Such is the life in Hollywood. I do We' ve heard the legends but we never

20 File 770:138

thought we'd actually meet one. Legend has remember is it was parking near the food Conservation, not restoration, is the
it that some women have their lower ribs tables. And the handler is reading a paper in objective. "All our books are intended for
removed so they can fit into tighter dresses. the truck. There is this tremendous... .uh.. reading," says the department' s Mike
It' s a Hollywood thing. well for lack of a better term "Burp." A Western. A large part of the work involves
Crocodile Burp.. .and the truck shakes ever books and manuscripts from the 20th
When they brought out the four foot so slightly.. century - modern wood-based paper
albino python, most of us were outside the degrades faster than the rag paper used in
classroom watching the "replay" monitor, Without missing a beat the Handler older, more expensive publishing. Cheap
without no sound. After the shooting was drops the paper..and does the fist thumping acid paper turns yellow in a few years.
over, the blond came straight out, started on chest bit, says, "Excuse me." Reversing or stabilizing the effect ofthe acid
a cigarette and filled us in on what was said. is the main treatment needed by modern
And goes back to reading the paper. books and prints. "We have a 300 year
On screen we saw the python on both backlog," a doleful conservator told
shoulders. She was rather stiff. She was ++ Tadao Tomomatsu Reynolds.
scared, and as soon as the python was on her
shoulders the python' s head was moving and Long, Hot Summer And the conservators appeal to book
eventually was entirely on one shoulder lovers - don't use sticky tape to fix loose
when this conversation finished. The Lord of the Rings movie premiere isn't pages! Treatment can remove the plastic
until December, but Forrest DeLanger strip and adhesive, but the staining is
Director: Okay..get ready. already got his name in the paper by being permanent.
Blond: Wait, can we do something. first in line for tickets at the Rancho Santa
Director: What Fe, CA theaters. The 46-year-old bachelor The Tolkien Society' s idea has inspired
Blond: Film me being scared.. with no life declared, "Only one person can Adopt-A-Book to appeal to other literary
Director: And then? be first in line, and it should be me." groups for funds to conserve ''their" author's
Blond: Film me being scared.. early editions.
Director: And then? Alan White clipped this article for File
Blond (Shaky) Film me being 770, and added a note warning, "This is a Adopt-A-Book' s website, www.bl.uk/
scarrredd... hoax." I guess, after Alan read what I had to adoptabook, has been named as "most
Director: Okay. Then let's do that and say about Frohvet last issue, he wasn't sure I loved" in the UK by one publication. The
we' ll add to that. Roll ' em. could tell the difference. Tolkien Society also draws visitors to its
website at www.tolkiensociety.org
• Brush Up Your Tolkien
UK Census Undercounts
As the film was rolling, the snake fell off While the world lines up to see the movie Jedi Faithful
her left shoulder and she jumped. Those of version of J.R.R. Tolkien' s The Lord of the
us watching went, "Ouch, that must hurt the Rings, Britain' s Tolkien Society is keeping The British government nearly had a Jedi
p y thon. Wait , s he looks its eye on the place where it all started - jihad on their hands. According to online
scared.. ." (Lightbulb over our heads.) Tolkien' s books. Decades after publication, news sources, Star Wars fans were taken in
copies of early editions in the circulating by an e-mail hoax suggesting that the
Now there was a brunette there also. Not collections of public libraries require forthcoming U.K. Census would recognize
to put too fme a point...she was five foot.. conservation to stay in service. "Jedi" as a religion if enough people wrote it
and exceedingly skinny. Yes she was scared. on the form. The Office of National
However, her python wanted to see what Tolkien Society Trustee Trevor Reynolds Statistics denies that they will count the
size bra she was wearing. And "his" head said, "I saw a newspaper article about the write-ins. Their representative told
started to nudge inside of her shirt. All we British Library's Adopt-A-Book scheme reporters, "There won't be any coding for
see for a few seconds is her treating it like a which explained how much of our literary Jedi. So it won't be called a religion even if
guy. Looking down and slapping its head, heritage was at risk, so I contacted them to 10,000 people do it." If the official had
saying, "Hey, get out of there!" see whether any books by Tolkien were in nothing further to say, I'm sure that was only
Just like it was a guy.. .hmm go figure. need of conservation. They told us that three because he felt the grip of an invisible hand
books needed work and that this would cost closing on his throat. [[Source: Chronicles
Now Beth, the third lady, she' s from them £1300." ofthe Dawn Patrol]]
Michigan. Beth is a self-proclaimed farm
girl. African American.. .who is doing the The Society has paid to conserve all three Coming This Summer
"Hispanic" Rosie Perez Voice. She also books: a rare UK first edition of The Hobbit, Area (19)51 SF Film Festival
speaks eight languages. She' s outgunned me an early Puffm paperback edition of The
by at least five. And she surprised me. She Hobbit, and a USA first edition paperback of Forrest J Ackerman will host the Area (19)
speaks practically perfect Japanese. Tolkien' s elegiac fairy tale Smith of Wootton 51 SF Film Festival, part of Kansas City' s
Major. A spontaneous collection among "Halfway to Hollywood" cinema celebration
She starts off fme. "You..know, you're a members during the Society' s annual mini- in June. Area (19)51 is sponsored by the
grumpy little snake." However, by the fifth conference Oxonmoot last September raised Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy
take, the python is now head level and about one-third of the money. The rest came Society, Inc. and Photoplay Inc., in
staring at her. Every take her voice was from the Society' s publications budget. association with the Fine Arts Theatre
getting shakier and shakier, and still with Group.
the Accent. The British Library invited the Tolkien
Society to send four members to visit the Seven classic SF films from 1950-1951
Ahhh, the things you do in Hollywood. Library' s conservation department and will be shown: Destination Moon, The Day
"meet" the adopted books. The places were the Earth Stood Still, The Thing From
• allocated by a draw among members who Another World, When Worlds Collide, The
had contributed to original collection.
As I mentioned in an earlier File 770, we
had the "Lubriderm" Crocodile as well as
the pythons.

A huge Ford pickup with a truck cover
holds the Croc and the pythons. All I

April 2001 · 21

Man From Planet X, Lost Continent, Flight Dragonritlers Will Take To Air maybe that's why they ' discharged'
to Mars. Five rare 35 mm episodes of the me... )"- Nic Farey, this here #8
early TV series Space Patrol will also be Having mentioned in last issue' s obituaries
screened. how Bill Donaho helped Anne McCaffrey' s "I can read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I
novelette tie for the 1968 Hugo, it' s can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal
The Area ( 19)51 festival boasts high- noteworthy that WB has ordered Pem as a education." Tallulah Bankhead, quoted in
quality 35 mm prints from the collection of a series for the fall, an hour-long SF drama this here #8
noted Kansas City area theater owner. In the based on her Dragonriders of Pem stories.
case of The Thing From Another World, the Ronald D. Moore, a veteran Star Trek and "I am the only member of the Melbourne SF
print is a pristine original vault find from Roswell writer, will produce the show, Club who has ever been officially censured
Australia with deleted scenes not available according to Variety. [[Source: ASFACTS, by the club for trying to set the Club
since the film's original release in 1951. 212001} President on fue. I take a certain pride in
During the festival, there will also be the this. It's a marvelously gonzo non-recurring
theatrical premiere of a new documentary on Clipping Service phenomenon. I wasn't really going to set ex-
the making of The Day the Earth Stood Still. President Sasquatch on ftre with the lighter
Original props, posters, and stills from these "During the "People vs. James T. Kirk" trial fluid and a Zippo. I ftgure that anyone who
films, not seen for half a century, will be on panel, panelist David Levine remarked, threatens to blow a loud whistle in a small
display at the Englewood. 'While it is true that Kirk decimated several room while I have a splitting headache
planets, the way those people dressed shows deserves a sudden jolt of mindless,
These films launched the beginning of they were begging for someone to come involuntarily farting terror. What I want to
the modern science fiction film era and along and do just that. "' - Craig see if the kind of club where threatening to
contain wonderfully entertaining insights Chrissinger, "Random Chicago Worldcon set the President on ftre is taken in the spirit
into the Atomic Age. They represent the Notes, "Asfacts 912000 in which it is intended. If I threatened to set
hopeful, innocent qualities of the era but the new President on ftre, he' d just look me
also draw attention to the fears of atomic "Of course, the other big pain is that now in the eye and say, 'If you do that, Sean-Paul
warfare, racial unrest, communism and I'll actually have to pay for printing This becomes President,' which of course would
possible life on other worlds. Here, nichevo, SingSing and the rest instead stop me dead in my tracks." - Terry Frost,
of sneaking into work at 6 a.m. and slapping Ethel the Aardvark, 8/2000
Visit the festival website (still under out the copies on that nice machine that
construction) for more information and sorted and stapled ' em for me. Pah! (Hey,
schedules:

www.halfway2hollywood.com

Spock Groks Observatory

Leonard Nimoy is doing his part to ensure
that Griffith Observatory lives long and
prospers. The actor and his wife, Susan,
have donated $1 million to refurbish the 66-
year-old Los Angeles landmark. "I think it's
of cosmic consequence," said Griffith
Observatory Director Edwin C. Krupp.
"There' s something really appealing about
Leonard Nimoy' s professional career and
being able to bring it into this space."

The donation is the first contribution by
an individual to the renovation effort, which
has acquired about two-thirds of the $63
million it needs from corporations,
foundations and public money. The face lift
is scheduled to begin next year and be
completed by late 2004.

"By observing the sky and pondering our
place in the universe, people gain a new
perspective on their daily lives," Nimoy said
in a statement. "Griffith Observatory gives
its visitors that opportunity. It is a Los
Angeles icon, one which we need to ensure
will be here for generations to come."

About 2 million people visit the
observatory a year to view the universe
through its 12-inch Zeiss refractor telescope
and planetarium. Millions more have seen
its bronze Art Deco dome in films, including
the switchblade scene in James Dean's
Rebel Without a Cause. [[Source: AP]]

22 File 770:138

. Thanks For All The Fish honor for the winner will be armounced Capclave is giving fans an incentive to join
later. Address inquiries to Feghoot Con- immediately. TI1ey will be holding a draw-
How much does a party for 300 of your test, ConJose, P.O. Box 61363, ing from the first 50 people to register for
friends in Hawaii cost? James and Kathryn Sunnyvale, CA 94088-4128, or send e- the convention and reserve a room in the con
Daugherty turned in the fmal accounting for mail to [email protected]. hotel room. Grand prize: your room free for
Conolulu, and the convention's net loss a night! Second prize: Membership reim-
(made up for by a donation from the ConJose Mailing Lists bursement and a Capclave T-shirt. Eight
Daughertys to the parent corporation, additional prizes will be given out, meaning
SFSFC) was $31 ,906. The 2000 Westercon ConJose, the 2002 Worldcon, has started that 20% of the first 50 people will win
took in $18,046 and spent $49,852. "Not two publicity Iistserves. The first will something.
that this was surprising," wrote Kevin Stan- distribute official information about the
dlee, "We've known all along that Conolulu convention. The second will foster discus- Charlotte Granted Exemption
would be almost certainly a money-losing sion of ConJose-related subjects, including
event, and the Daughertys did the bid as- travel and tourism in the BArea. Both lists Lance Oszko armounced that on February 10
suming that they would have to donate a are open to anyone and can be joined by vis- the IRS granted IRC 501(cX3) status to the
substantial amount of money to make it iting the ConJose web site and signing up: nonprofit corporation running the Charlotte
work." A tip of the hat from Westercon http://www.conjose. org/Contactlmaillists. in 2004 bid. Surprisingly, their application
members to James and Kathryn for their html. was approved within six weeks.
generosity.
A Lack of Conviction BucConeer Running
Drawing Card
If you bet that Omaha fans would inaugurate Out of Treasure? ·
What does Ferdinand Feghoot look like? their new convention before a Bugs Bunny
ConJose is looking for artists to answer this cartoon would be nominated for the Hugo - Comptroller Bob Mcintosh reported to Buc-
question. The 2002 Worldcon is running a you lost. Coneer' s corporate meeting on December 16
contest for the best visual representation of that there is a grand total of $28,800 left in
Ferdinand Feghoot, the Imaginary Guest of Conviction, plarmed for the March 31 all accounts. ChiCon expenses were ex-
Honor. weekend, was cancelled for the second con- pected to use most of remaining convention
secutive year. According to Selina Rosen, profits, with much of the rest going to fi-
Ferdinand Feghoot, created by the late fans trying to make hotel reservations were nance Student SF Writing contests through
Reginald Bretnor, was the hero of a series of told none were available. The hotel reserved ConJose.
shaggy-dog stories, each one ending with a all its function space and rooms for other
pun strong enough to cause internal hemor- users, though the committee claims it had a The committee will be looking for dona-
rhaging in the unwary reader. For example, contract. Organizer Gimlie Fee will tions to continue the contests, and may have
who can forget his famous culinary creation, try again. In the meantime, she is
the ground-glass-and-meat dish known as offering refunds. [[Source: Chroni-
silicon carne? cles ofthe Dawn Patrol]]

The press release explains, "Due to all of On the Con Patrol
his roanting through time and space - hav-
ing adventures here, saving galaxies there - Czarkon will change its name to
ConJose has no photograph, or drawing, or The Con Patrol in 2002. Organiz-
anything, ofFeghoot. But a representation of ers are moving the con to Kansas
the Imaginary Guest of Honor must appear City, focusing on the members of
in the convention publications and web site the online Dawn Patrol and adding
somewhere. All knowledge is contained in programming to make it a much
fandom... including, presumably, what Feg- different con than it used to be.
hoot looks like. Hence this competition." Guests will include Web Hero
GoH Keith Stokes, Dusk Petrol
The rules are: (1) The artwork must GoHs Carol and Demlis (The Un-
prominently feature Ferdinand Feghoot. (2) known Pfan) Doms, Dawn Patrol
The artwork must be capable of being dis- and Technology GoH Ross Hatha-
played at the convention and reproduced in way and Special Guests who are
some manner in our publications. (3) The still making up their minds.
deadline for entries is April 2, 2002. (This
may change.) For pictures of the last Czarkon:
http://www .sff.net/people/
Prizes and declarations of fame and sfreader/czarkon.htm

Join Capclave Now! Kosh goes Hawaiian, at Conolulu 2000.
Photo by Phyllis Eide. Additional photos on
How do committees get fans to join File 770 web page.
their conventions sooner? They' ve
been trying to solve this problem
for a long time, not only to pay the
pre-convention expenses, but more
importantly, to based their budgets
on accurate membership estimates.

April 2001 - 23

fotmd the first "contribution" in-house. Mi- cans and Canadians and a delegation from South Gate Again in 2010?
chael Nelson's said there had been so few this bid attended Chicon last September By Andrew Porter
submissions for the BucCaneer Memory where they created a great deal of interest
Book that they should simply put the photos and excitement. However, some people be- Another worldcon for LA, downtown instead
on the web page and give its budget to the lieve the bid may founder before 2004. A of at the airport or in Anaheim? The old bat-
Student Contests. shame if it does because a Worldcon in Ja- tle cry of "South Gate Again in 2010!" is
pan, though comparatively expensive, none- growing more viable. The 1958 worldcon
Power Play theless would be extremely exciting and was held at the Alexandria Hotel in down-
interesting.... So this group of people have town LA, which was ceded to the City of
Natural gas, electricity, gasoline - the cost decided to defer further planning of a bid to South Gate by LA for the weekend, because
of every kind of energy has gone sky-high hold a Worldcon in Australia until after Rick
this year. Corporate price manipulation is Philcon (in August 2001 )." Sneary's successful bid for that suburb didn't
suspected, and it seems convention hotel have any hotels large enough to hold a
executives hated to see the bandwagon leav- Mitchell adds, "It was never ever the worldcon.
ing without them. Doubletree employees intention of the above group of people to
told fans reserving rooms for the Portland hold this possible convention in Melbourne. The passing years have not been kind to
Westercon there would be a $3/night This is a misconception that keeps being parts of downtown LA, or to the Alexandria
"energy surcharge" added to the bill. perpetuated. There is also a bid for a World- Hotel. In the intervening decades, the Alex-
con to be held in Australia in 2008 originat- andria fell into disrepair, becoming a flop-
When Westercon's Patty Wells heard ing out of Sydney. As I understand this bid, house for down-and-out LA denizens. Now,
this, she contacted their sales manager and the intent is to stage the Worldcon in Syd- with renovation sweeping the area, as de-
got the charge eliminated. She wrote online, ney.... Melbourne has staged all of the Aus- scribed in "Swank Plans in Skid Row Los
"It's the gambit where they try it out and siecons because at the time of bidding, that Angeles" in the 1/25 New York Times, the
then deal with the groups that really object. city had (a) an appropriate venue to accom- Alexandria's revival as a commercial hotel is
What it looks like they're fmding is that any modate the numbers and (b) an active fan- growing more likely. As the Times noted,
professional group (where the room costs are dam and (c) was not as expensive as Syd- "The Alexandria Hotel, a flophouse on
being reimbursed) is fme with eating it, the ney! Just had to throw in some intercity ri- Spring and Fifth, may be the next candidate
rest of us aren't. But you can't blame them valry. for developers, with its grand ballroom with
for trying." a Tiffany stained-glass ceiling."
"All Australian cities now have (or will
Aussie Worldcon Bidding have within two years) purpose-built con- Although Rick Sneary is dead, maybe his
Across Time and Space vention centres and connecting international dream has some life in it.
flights daily. Perth has recently broken
Before Aussiecon Three ended, several fans ground for its convention centre, and it has Bubonicon
were already promoting another Worldcon one of the most active fandoms in Australia
down under in 2007. Since then, Smofs in- today." Bubonicon 33 will be held August 24-26,
side and outside Australia have discussed 200 I at the Howard Johnson East, 15 Hotel
alternative venues and so many different Sydney' s Gany P Dalrymple replied in Circle NE (I-40 and Eubank) in Albuquer-
years fans are confused whether we're talk- #164. He researched the prospects of future que, NM. GoH: Sarah Zettel. TM: S. M.
ing about the next Aussiecon or Ferdinand Australian Worldcon bids during Aussiecon Stirling. Guest Artist: Lee Seed. Auctioneer:
Feghoot! Three. "There was generous support for a Robert Vardeman. Rooms: $58 sgl-quad.
future Australian Worldcon; none of the 200 Telephone: (800) 877-4852. Memberships:
"There are rumours that Australia may people I approached rejected the idea as im- $22 til 5/28, $25 til 8/13, $28 at the door.
move to 2009," reports Bridget Wilkinson in plausible. Non-Australian respondents were Dailies sold at the door. Make payments to
Fans Across the World #108. Oh, that's the supportive of a time frame of 'more than "NMSF Conference." Contact: NMSF Con-
old rumor, Bridget, part of last year's great five, less than ten,' while Australian respon- ference, PO Box 37257, Albquerque, NM
smotTy scheme to keep non-North Americans dents were more pessimistic, supporting a 87176, E-mail: [email protected]. Web-
from bidding for three consecutive years time frame of greater than nine years. I think site: bubicon.home.att.net
(2005-2008). it is very significant that for 'Next Austra-
lian Worldcon,' Melbourne for a fourth time
Stephen Boucher left the jasmine-filled was very much a minority choice, rating not
rooms of the Hawaii Westercon with a brief much higher than Perth which was an un-
to shift the Aussie bid to 2009, but it may known city to most respondents.
have been too early to assume there was any
kind of monolithic bid able to make such a "If the ' Melbourne Worldcon Bid' people
decision. Australia's rival local fandoms all are serious about being seen as a 'Not neces-
want their say - and some are having it in sarily Melbourne' bid, I have seen no evi-
the pages of Marc Ortlieb's Australian SF dence of it, and it seems they are denying
Bullsheet. themselves a significant advantage by not
making this point clear."
Rose Mitchell wrote in #163: "Most of
the Aussie fannish community has heard of a On the other hand, said Dalrymple, "I
group of people, some of whom live in Mel- have no objection to the next Australian
bourne, who are working on a proposal to Worldcon being in Melbourne in 2007 or
bid for a Worldcon to be held somewhere in 2008, provided the Smofs behind Melbourne
Australia in either 2007 or 2009.... So far, do not drop the ball again, but instead an-
there is a declared bid for Japan (no city yet) nounce a commitment to developing the op-
in 2007. It is strongly supported by Ameri- portunities for all Aust & NZ fandom."

24 File 770:138 J

The Fanivore

E. B. Frohvet your case almost, but explained to us that 15-20 years ago he was
not quite, makes up very active in convention fandom under his
My first reaction to File 770:13 7 (other than for the fact that you real name... He used to write articles of
admiring both front and back covers) was are wrong." Life Lan 's Lantern under his real name as
that my slight influence in fanzine fandom imitates art. well."'
must be growing, if even the illustrious File
770 is doing covers in Frohvet Pink. There- Let's take that a All true.
upon I opened the ziue and discovered your piece at a time: That brings us to my note in response to
editorial. To say that I was flabbergasted is File 770:136, in which I expressed the view
an understatement. "When Frohvet that it would be gracious for someone like
first . appeared, the yourself, who has had many fannish honors,
There' s a scene in an unpublished story I grapevine promised to step aside for awhile and Jet someone else
wrote in which the students of a magic acad- he was a hoax being have a chance. From this you conclude that I
emy (the piece is several years old and pre- carried on by several must be Moshe Feder. Uhh, no. I would be
dates "Harry Potter") are offered a problem. fans ." pleased if I were anything remotely like a
It is in fact a sneaky trick problem. But one fan of Mr. Feder's BNF status, it just ain't
of the students argues intensely her solution. Although it' s true so. Among other problems, I believe Mr.
The target of the exercise says apologeti- I was, and am, using Feder resides in the New York area. Ellicott
cally, "The enthusiasm with which you make a pen name, I dis- City, Maryland, is where I actually live.
avowed being a Anyone is welcome to visit (a trifle of ad-
"hoax" from the out- vance notice would be preferred.) I am not
set. And if anyone into fannish politics, indeed that was why I
concluded that I was "burned out" of fandom, as described to
"several" fans, that Tom Feller. I wince at "late middle-aged,"
was their conclusion, depending on how one defmes the term, but
for which I accept no it's true enough.
responsibility. In short, I keep telling people over and
over, that if they heard my "real" name, 90%
" ... the deli- would go, "Who?" Not a BNF, not a hoax,
ciously paranoid just someone who wants to do a modest
evidence that Fro- fanzine.
hvet, a ubiquitous As for my expressed views on the Fan
Jetterhack, never Hugos, they reflect accurately my own opin-
tried to get a copy of ion as well as that of many others - Guy
File 770, or sent his Lillian and Tom Sadler and Nic Farey
fanzine Twink in among many have taken similar positions.
trade." (Nor did I at any point suggest you withdraw
"permanently." If you really want to know,
The adjective my position is that anyone who wins three
"paranoid" is yours. Fan Hugos in any one category should there-
However, had you after not be eligible in that category for two
asked, you might years. The present exclusionary nature of the
well have found that Fan Hugos discourages fanac and initiative;
I did not solicit trade with Fasfax, Plokta, and relying on individual restraint has pat-
Nova Express, or many other fanzines, all of ently failed.)
which turned up tmsolicited in my mailbox; Whoa. Deep breath. Have we covered
only then did I send my own zine in trade. that?
"Authors of fannish hoaxes send their [[/ can 't disagree that it 's a pleasure to
material where the intended audience - recognize good fanzines with an award,
faanish tans - will see it. They simply don't though the Hugos are not like the Winston
have the time to raise a smokescreen by Cup in auto racing -- winning is not the ulti-
writing to sercon fanzines. " mate reward for participating. Being nomi-
Ah, we're back to "hoax" and now nated for a Hugo is like the cherry on the
"smokescreen." In fact, as would be appar-
ent to anyone who has read my zine, my own sundae if it happens - good, but not the
interest has always been sercon, as evidence
by, e.g., a regular book review section. I fear main event. Then, of course, all that
that, having been blindsided by this whole "excludes" a fanzine from a Hugo nomina-
"hoax" preconception, you are trying to read tion is a lack of votes. This year, 30-54
into my involvement a whole cryptic subtext
which simply is not there.
"Tom Feller reported in SFPA, 'E.B.

April 2001 - 25

votes was enough to qualify a Best Fanzine that Lois McMaster Bujold "reworked a Star been after me for a LoC on BSFAN for quite
Trek novel" to the form of her first novel, a while, and I was pleased that I'd fmally
nominee -- if there is a "problem" couldn 't Shards of Honor. In fact, as Lois has said written him a good one. I sat back and
many times in many places, among them a waited for it to appear in print.
it be "solved" by relatively small numbers Joe in my Twink #4, that an unwritten Trek
of people nominating other good fanzines? novel was one minor source ("that old day- It never did. Steve informed me that he'd
Greater participation is the real key to di- dream") which influenced Shards, and from accidentally thrown it out with the old news-
versifying the winners. People often com- which she took chiefly the name of the cen- papers and trash. "You'll have to send me
ment about the repeat winners without con- tral character "Cordelia," her hair color, " ... another copy," he said. I told him I had no
sidering that between 1990 and 2000 five and the setting/idea (hardly new) of two ene- other copies. "You didn't copy it?'' he asked,
different fanzines won the Hugo. An even mies forced to survive together.. . All the sounding dumbstruck by my revelation. "No
first media influences were jettisoned by carbons? No xeroxes?"
higher rate of change is possible if more that time. I no longer wanted to write imita-
tion anybody; I wanted to write original Bu- "Steve," I said, "it was just a Letter of
people make a commitment to nominate. jold." The Joe was in response to an article I Comment. I don't make copies of my Letters
Wheiher the Hugo electorate is knowledge- had done in Twink #3, psychoanalyzing Ser- of Comment." He was crestfallen. "Oh," he
able about fanzines, they can only vote for geant Bothari. said.
what is on the final ballot. It isn 't enough to
merely agree with Andrew Hooper's highly P.S. Finally figured out what Grant Can- So I never had a LoC published in
insightful comment (from 1988). "The people field ' s wonderful back cover reminded me BSFAN and was not motivated to write any
[that} nominate the Hugos are a small of: Sort of a cross between the Bu-javid, the more. I don't react well when people toss
group, and the people that are on the mail- citadel of the aifi in Shejidan in Cherryh's my letters out with the trash, sublime in the
ing lists for good fanzines are a small Foreigner, with Neuscwanstein Castle in confidence that I can provide another copy.
group, but they're not the same small Bavaria. Looks as if it would be a great And perhaps it was Just As Well that letter
group." We are dealing with such small place to live, as long as one's legs were fit was never published. Ghod knows what
numbers that individual fans who take the for lots of stair-climbing. David - oops! Make that "E.B." - would
trouble to nominate can make a big differ- have thought of it then. He might never
ence.]] Ted White have reincarnated as "Frohvet."

Always entertaining to see Worldcon Did you have second thoughts about Alan [[I naturally rose to the bait -your hint
from another point of view, although it ap- White's cover? Or have to make a substitu- about his real first name, and his admission
pears your path and mine did not coincide. tion? I ask because my copy is stapled twice, that he was on the 1983 Worldcon commit-
Concerning Dr. Bob Passavoy's, "Do you with a shred of pink paper under the first tee. All I discovered is that nearly everyone
have what it takes to be a fan?" - If his ex- staple - indicating that a cover was tom off on the Constellation committee except the
amples are what it takes, then maybe not. and a new one restapled. chairman was named David.]}

Glasgow Worldcon bid: I recall saying at [[The copy shop did an awful Job on He was at the 1998 Baltimore Worldcon.
the time that the 1998 Worldcon in early Alan White's cover, so I had them run an- He seems like a decent enough chap. He has
August in Baltimore was advantageous due, other version, and replaced them myself]] no presence in fandom under his real name,
among other reasons, that it fell during however, and I now think of him as another
school holidays. lbis observation was gener- Or maybe it was a rewrite of the inside- one of those fans - like "Ted Johnstone" -
ally ignored. Worldcon is held on Labor Day cover piece - your "Editorial Notes"? Had who has a separate name in fandom. No big
weekend, because it's always held on Labor you said something far more scathing about whoop. No real "hoax" either - I think you
Day weekend. "I like Buicks because they E. B. Frohvet? Or guessed a different iden- are vaguely recalling the attempt by Hooper
are my favorite car." Oh, well ... tity for him? and Gonzalez to hoax fandom into thinking
they'd created "Frohvet"...a kinda reverse
[[In the past, Worldcons were typically I've met the man. I also had tangential hoax of sorts. I don't think anyone took them
held on Labor Day weekend because it was a dealings with him under his real name, back seriously, even then.
dead time for hotels, so "bottom-feeders" in the '80s. Under his real name (look it up
if you have a copy of the fanzine) he had an
like sf conventions could get cheaper rates. article in BSFAN, back when the Baltimore
clubzine was being edited by the Stileses. It
There's more competition for the weekend was an once interesting and wrongheaded,
now, but the Worldcon stays around Labor revealing what I think of as "typical" neo-
Day for the same reasons many other an- fannish paranoia about what he perceived to
nual conventions stick with a fixed holiday be The Powers That Be in fandom. (My
or date, because predictability it helps memory of the piece has totally faded; I'm
maintain its core of regular attendees. Run- left only with my none-too-perfect recollec-
ning the con anywhere between mid-August tion of how the piece struck me then - more
and Labor Day seems to work fine - and as than 15 years ago.)
you said, an earlier date avoids a conflict
for parents with kids in school. A date as lbis article inspired me. I wrote (on my
early in August as the U.K. bidders want to manual Underwood) a long (several pages)
hold it should work fine for them, but using letter of comment on it. I was proud of that
the same date in North America would put it letter, I thought it one of my best. I mailed it
in conflict with some smaller cons - which off to the Stileses with anticipatory pleasure.
brings us back to another advantage of I looked
keeping the Worldcon on a predictable forward to seeing it published. Steve had
weekend: fans aren 't forced to choose be-
tween two cons they want to attend.]}

Lloyd Penney repeats the common fiction

26 File 770:138

Gould at BayCon 1968 and he did not hit it
off with anyone there, seemed disappointed
that hardly anybody remembered his zine.
Maybe it's no big loss (he had become a law-
yer) but it rings in my resonant memory.

Brad Foster

Got in File 770:13 7 this week. Nifty-cool

robot cover. I can see why Alan had several

editors trying to get it. Hey, if he ever gets

into making 3-D models, I'd love one of that

guy for my toy bot collection!

Oh, and killer back cover, too, [[by

Grant Canfield]] for a totally great wrap of

art. I've always been a sucker for great fan-

tasy architecture work, and that' s a village-

sized house I'd love to live in.

Enjoyed the Chicon report, always fun to

read these, and fill in the gaps of what hap-

pened that I didn' t get to see myself. On our

own trip between hotels for the Hugo cere-

mony, Cindy lost a one-of-a-kind brooch that

we had traded an artist for at a street festi-

Alan White nerds" but today, people are only isolated by val. I spent the quarter hour before having to
choice and as for being nerds, well, that's go down to the ceremony running around
For all the noise fans make over science fic- debatable. seeing if anyone had found it. We didn' t
tion and the future, they are probably, as a hold much hope that it would be retrieved,
group, the least qualified to live in it. Gracious, what got into Dennis Lien lam- but put a notice in the daily zine asking if
basting me for not mentioning the Garden of anyone had found it, then discovered a lady
As Samet Nuhiu pointed out last issue, Allah hardback and then rambling on about had found it that very night and taken it over
the SF community is probably the last to those " squarish things" called books? to lost and found. Talk about the honesty of
take advantage of new technology in zine Frankly, while I remember them being more fans! We let her have her choice of a piece
publishing and certainly the last to recognize rectangular, I'd have been impressed if he of artwork, even though she didn' t expect
it. While they claim it' s the words that are mentioned Sheila Graham' s Garden ofAllah any reward. (Have had other similar things
important, in the end, it only refers to a tech- which was about the property we were talk- happen at previous Worldcons that keep my
nological constipation and a circling the ing about, but I guess he doesn't read as faith in general humanity from going com-
wagons mentality. I'm hard pressed thinking much as he'd like us to believe. Interestingly, pletely sour.)
ofanother awards group that as I write this, I see Amazon.com has a new
doesn't reward technical achievement and edition of the Hichens novel for $48.00; Was also fun to fmd out the day after the
advancement of the beliefs they claim to meanwhile, there are two-first editions on E- Masquerade that my shiny bald pate had
hold so dear. This is why so many talented Bay that just sold for $2 each. Go figure. been broadcast on the closed-circuit system
fans become fringe fans, leave fandom alto- into the hotel during the break before the
gether or move on to Comics Fandom where Greg Benford award s were announced. I wonder if 20
technology and innovation is applauded. I minutes of the back of my head has now
am at heartened to read there will be a spe- Good issue! I always like worldcon reports; used up my 15 minutes of TV fame?

cial Hugo for the Best Website of2001. yours and Elspeth Kovar's brought it all back James M. Taylor
If anyone doubts TruFandom is dying, quite well. Like you two, to me Worldcons

,· you have only to read File 770 obits that especially bring out my old fan joys, sen- I'm afraid the only fannish news I have to
strike closer to home with every is- sawunda and all. I seldom see any flaws, and report is undoubtedly old by this time, but I
sue. Fandom was a gift to the Baby Boomers program glitches etc. matter little compared will go ahead anyway just to waste your
that has gone to seed. Of course, our found- with seeing some of my favorite people, and time. The Formans are moving from Las
ing fathers didn't have TV and the Internet to fresh friends. Vegas. Just where isn' t clear, but some
contend with and thus, Trufandom will only where in the San Bernardino/Riverside area,
survive by changing its definition, which I approve of the retro Hugos, but geez, it since Ken' s new job is in Colton. Now you
means the SMOFs are going to get knocked is hard to assess through the haze of mem- lucky bastards will get to go to all their par-
down a peg and learn to love the word "Sci- ory, without doing major research work at ties.
Fi" or soon they won't have anything to be the UC Riverside Eaton collection to see ifl
the master of, secret or otherwise. Unless truly recall who was good back there 50 Will Las Vegas fandom survive being
you can show me groups of teenage Trufen years ago... For example, in the mid-1950s gutted? Probably more important (at least to
out there, busily cranking their mimeos, I'm one of the major frnz was, in my opinion, me), will Snaffu live on? Will I (finally)
lost to see how we're repopulating our ranks. Cliff Gould's Oblique. Nobody recalls it have to get active in fandom? Maybe if only
Marie Rengstorff rejoices in being "isolated now, but it was a legendary hot, focal point to get away from all the other problems that
frnz...for maybe 8 years, then gone. I met

April 2001 · 27

seem to have converged recently. But isn't [[That's a bizarre comment. Though J.R. Mayhew continue to delight me. If only I
relief from the more oppressive parts of real- R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams could tell them in person again.
ity an important part of fandom, even today? are the three Inklings at the center of the
Society's "bull's-eye, " its publications Julia Morgan-Scott's scratchboard art is
[[Yes. And, apparently, once fandom cover all kinds offantasy writers, not only amazing. How does one think in reversed
becomes too oppressive, people tum to TV Inklings. Sayers ' background -- as a con- black and white. I hope she has come back
wrestling for relief Where ross/in 'fans go temparary of the Inklings who had some out of the woods after her robbery to create
for relief when that passion becomes too contact with them, a Christian, and a popu- more.
intense I haven 't figured out, though I read lar writer in her own right --, simply helps
that Army recruiting was exceptionallyfruit- make her simpatico to some fans of Lewis, Dennis Caswell
ful outside the XFL games at the LA Coli- Tolkien and Williams. Everybody realizes
seum...]] she never attended any of the meetings - In the latest issue of File 770, you had an
though she was sighted at the Dead Inklings obituary for Lyon Sprague de Camp. In this,
Joseph T. Major panel during the 1998 Mythcon... . I got to you mentioned that you did not believe that
play Warren Lewis, and when someone in de Camp had won the Hugo Award. I would
Turnip Files Bankruptcy: That is an estab- the audience asked us, "What was the most like to state that de Camp did in fact win the
lished way of dodging a judgment. For ex- unexpected thing you saw when you got to Hugo Award in 1997, for his nonfiction book
ample, T. Cullen Davis, the Dallas oil mil- heaven?" my answer was: "Charles Wil- Time and Chance. The fact that it was a non-
lionaire, skipped paying a wrongful death liams. ''}} fiction work would have escaped the notice
settlement to his ex-wife by declaring bank- of a number of your readers.
ruptcy. (He had been acquitted of killing her David Bratman replies: that LOTR was
daughter and her lover and shooting her, but always published as a three-volume novel, I would like to mention that I had met L.
the wrongful-death suit came out differ- but I have two single-volume editions and a Sprague de Camp (and Catherine Crook de
ently - shades of O.J.) Perhaps Ferry can seven-volume edition. Camp) a number of times. He was that rarity
further emulate Texas gym magnate Richard among SF writers - a real gentleman. They
Minns, who is under a $60 million judgment Eric Lindsay will both be missed.
for the attempted murder of his former mis-
tress Janni Petrofsky, and ship all his assets I did like your take on the fan behind the fan Connor Freff Cochran
abroad. behind the fan behind E B Frohvet.
Thanks very much for the coverage in File
[[Maybe Ferry is one of those disap- I also like the idea of ditto 14 moving to 770. I really appreciate it, and hope some of
pointed friends of Roger Clinton 's who Tucker. Sounds a great idea, and I hope lots your readers come check out the site.
waited in vain for their names to show up on of fans attend.
I also hope to give you lots more news in
the list ofPresidential pardons.}J We also have done a bunch of flyers for the future. The "Creative Options" essays
our relaxa.con around 14-17 June 2002 in are only one of a long list of things rve been
Gordon Dickson: While I usually dislike Airlie Beach, the week after Australian Nat- working on over the years. There should
posthumous literary deals, not to mention con in Melbourne, and two weeks after the eventually be some film and music
overriding the author' s own judgment, I expected date of the New Zealand NatCon. business action to announce, too, if things
really would like to see the publication of We have spent a feverish week distributing continue to move at their current pace and
Gordy's unpublished historical novel in the them, although not nearly as widely as we direction.
Childe Cycle, The Pikeman. He had - I had hoped,
heard - actually written the book about Sir but at least some are getting out there now. BTW, I did make it into the Clown Col-
John Hawkwood but had held it back for That also has its own web page (and even a lege back in 1974. One more experience for
various reasons. If it were anything lile Dor- PDF of our flyer) at: the eclectic resume, along with being a
sai it would be pretty good. comic book writer/artist and a BBC-TV sci-
http://psiphi.serverI0 I .com/relaxa.con/ ence reporter and a few other things. It has
Win Chris Barkley's Money: Judge index.htm been quite the journey since back at LACon
Roy Bean's is "nearby" the Executive West (and yes, rm still not getting much sleep).
for some rather large values of "nearby"; Teddy Harvia
about three miles in a straight line and Dave Langford
somewhat longer if you actually drive in a I love Alan White's impish computer-
surface car instead of using your equilibri- rendered robot cover art. I can almost see it I like getting File 770 and hope you still
motor or ingravity parachute. moving. Very moving. enjoy Ansible despite its recent overlays of
gloom. Hazel and I both loved the current
The Fanivore: Harry Warner, Jr.: ArmadilloCon has again invited me to a back cover by, gosh wow, Grant Canfield.
Since the zones have been abolished, South guest. If it a ploy to get me to draw them
Gate Again in 2010 is now perfectly accept- cartoons, it worked. I accepted and am creat- In your letter columns, I couldn't work
able. They can even have Sneary as Fan ing art for their flyer featuring a monster out whether Samet Nuhiu's aside about Ansi-
Ghost ofHonor. attacking Austin. hie meant that it couldn't be found on the
web, that the web site offers only a paper
Laurraine Tutihasi: Given that the Much of Hugo voting is based on cult of issue, or that the site design fails to "satisfy
Mythopoeic Society has roped in Dorothy personality. You must be a real person who some standards." If the first was meant, the
Sayers, for her marginal association with the is bigger than life to win. If E.B. Frohvet spelling "Anisble" in that letter may offer a
Inklings, and is well-known, but has ignored continues to hide in the netherland of ano- clue to the problem. On the second point, I
E.R. Eddison, who was actually invited to nymity, that's where his nomination, how- retort that every single issue since Ansible 's
come, and is not well-known, I can see many ever well-deserved, will remain, too. launch in 1979 is archived on the web. On
good reasons not to be in the Mythopoeic
Society. The cartoons of Bill Rotsler and Joe

28 File 770:138

point number three, I will join you in plead- toons, including Robot Ballet: Rite of Sometimes, there' s fruits, and sometimes
ing Jack of time to construct colossal graph- Springs.
ics, Rea!Audio accompaniment and Flash nuts, but every so often, there's a cream...
animations -- though actually I think the text Thanks for the Chicon 2000 Worldcon
is somewhat more important. report. Isn't it wonderful to not stand in line (Beats the same old line about why Califor-
when you register! That's a great start to a
Sheryl Birkhead con. Only dry munchies in the con suite. Not nia is like granola, lun.)
even any dip? (However, I don' t think I ever
As nifty as the front cover is, I was taken by met a dry mw1chie I didn' t like.) The fan I would be happy to send fannish news to
the back cover - then an, "Ah, yes" - when I history video sounds great. I hope it gets
saw it was by Grant Canfield. I can hope passed around to other cons. Eggleton' s Jive Andrew Porter, but I haven't seen SFC in
fandom will be treated to more of his work, painting demo was another wonderful oppor-
so many fans today have never seen his su- tunity for fans. The pie toss, on the other some time. Canadian distribution was non-
perb creations. hand, is too hostile for my taste. Great par-
ties and programs. Thank you too for the existent for some time; that may have
I've written "Philadelphia Pubs" several Masquerade wimlers Jist. They rarely get the
times asking for a Greg Bear bibliography. appreciation they deserve. [[Kudos to John changed. I will double-check with Bakka
No response. Does any File 770 reader hap- Hertz,for providing the list.)]
pen to have or know of one? The one site I Books if they have been able to obtain it. I'd
found is linked to Amazon.com and is only Chris Barkley's colunm, "Win Chris
novels. And that was a long time ago. Barkley' s Money!" was interesting. I'd be interested to see what SFC looks like
never heard of that SF trivia game at cons.
File 770 just keeps getting better. Just Congratulations on your win, Chris, btw! since AP sold it to Warren Lapine.
hope the fan news stays on the positive side! And I admire you for plugging away at read-
ing the Hugo contenders before you and I checked out the Irwin Hirsh website
Henry Welch Naomi voted. (I read a few online. I much
prefer doing my reading away from the com- and besides DthUeFFN,atiGoUnaFlFAuanstdralFiaFnAFN~z'
The reports on Chicon were interesting and I puter.) there is now
have two items I'd like to clarify.
John Pomeranz Fund, or NAFF (you Britfen, settle down),
First, I've always considered Kelly
Freas' s leather jacket as more Battlestar Well you invoked my name three times in a which operates somewhat the same way
Galactica than Buck Rogers. It reminds me single issue, so I guess I'd better drop you a
very much of the jackets the fighter jocks line... CUFF does...a fan a part of Australia where
wore in that TV show.
First, a correction: At the Chicon opening the National Convention isn't gets to go to
Second, my recollection of registration ceremonies Kathi and I were engaged in
from Chicon V (I worked the first night) was animated non-verbal communication not where it is. Can a single country's fandom
that the precon material didn't arrive until with DC fan Bob Macintosh but with Aussie
that Wednesday. It was also in an unex- fan John Maizels. Unfortunately, his accent support four or more fan funds? Stay tuned
pected electronic form and so all we had to was so appalling that I'm not sure what we
go by were a number of three-ring binders. I said either - my best attempt at translation I'm not sure I've ever met Cliff Samuels
thought we processed people quite well all is: "Meet us in the Vegernite jar after the
things considered, since any worker could carpet escapes and we11 knit herrings." (I and I've never been to a Calgary convention:
handle and member. The real annoyance was gotta get a new phrase book...)
that some of the badges (program partici- but a Worldcon in Calgary might be an ex-
pants, dealers, staff, etc.) were moved to I strongly recommend holding a surprise
another place or places with no apparent wedding. We had a camera ready as we an- cellent idea. (Like I said last time, does Cal-
rhyme or reason. It took me two days to fmd nounced the event to our assembled guests
my staff badge and I'm sure it was more at our New Years Eve party. The photo of gary fandom know about this?) Should
than frustrating to attendees who waited in the looks on their faces is one that we will
line only to be told that their badge couldn't treasure forever. Dragon*Con take some fans away from
be found. Since there was no simple way to
cross reference if another worker had Lloyd Penney Worldcon on the Labor Day weekend,
handed one out or not it really ground things
to a halt. I'm glad to see that some progress I can sympathize with E.B. Frohvet on smaller cities like Calgary should be able to
is being made in this area and I hope future spreading the wealth a little when it comes
worldcons learn by the example. to Hugos, but then, the awards go to the host a smaller Worldcon, with no problems.
year's best, without consideration of who
Joy V. Smith was last year's best. Both arguments have It would be interesting to see what John
merit, but until spreading the wealth be-
Lovely cover. What's the medium? [[See comes the overwhelming choice, we11 have Mansfield has to say about this.. .I'm sure no
Alan White's article in this issue for the an- Hugos for the best of the year, and that's a
swer.)] I really liked the back cover too. better indication of SF's quality. Western Canadian Worldcon bid would go
(Exploring old houses and villages is fun.)
And I enjoyed the other artwork and car- An update to Alan White's cartoon on ahead without his blessing.
page 3... fandom is like a box of chocolates!
I should also say this now: many thanks

for all the Canadian-based articles and bits.

Always appreciated, as we don't have a

newszine of our own right now, not since

MLR shut down.

Greetings to Samet Nuhiu...who relays a

name I haven't seen in quite some time,

Krsto Mazuranic, the Mad Croat himself.

Mad bidders never desist! I hope Krsto is in

good health. Could you try to fmd him (last

living in Samobor), and pass on our good

wishes? I think Samet (and many others)

will fmd that for every fan who is progres-

sive and forwards-looking, there is another

who is nostalgic, and wishes for things as

they are, or as they were.

Update on my Jetter...Con*cept may be

considered dead, only one year past an en-

joyable con we attended. I hope Montreal

fandom will consider starting again where

they first did, with a one-day convention,

and building up again to a strong and fun

convention. Concinnity is rising again, with

another relaxicon with none other than Dave

Kyle as GoH, in Ottawa in October.

Gene Stewart can be assured that those

pesky Canadians are indeed still alive. We're

just biding our time, smiling and quietly

watching the fannish melee south of the bor-

•

April 2001 - 29

der. Every so often, we glance at one another College in Wayne, Nebraska, a farm com- across from a person who identified himself
and nod our heads knowingly. Worked for us munity a couple hours north of Omaha. as E. B. Frohvet. Apparently it was the same
in Chicago, so who knows what else we'll Writer GoH was Canadian sf writer Julie person that Joseph T Major had met at an-
do? Well, I have some ideas, but I'm not say- Czerneda and Artist GoH was Frank Wu. I other con and wondered if the next time it
ing anything...but, we will have some pro- attended as one of the pro writer guests and would be the same person. Frohvet freely
gramming in English. made a splash at the story readings when I indicated that it is not his real name. I think
went last and chose a 500 word short-short that Joseph T. Mayhew's description is accu-
To Joseph Major: Arnie Katz captured zinger. Reliefl rate. So we are still left in the dark as to his
one main fannish neurosis exactly with his real identity. There were two other people at
"five fuggheads" jape in Jackpot! Who's the I also sat on a panel discussing electronic our table and maybe they will have some-
fugghead? Is it you? Is it me? publication along with fellow Omaha Neu- thing to add. Guy H. Lillian ill did publish
AUUUGGGHH! If I recall, I simply re- tragonist Terry Hickman and Artist GoH the photo ofFrohvet in Challenger #13 (Fall
sportded by saying that this fugghead will Frank Wu. Attendance at the panel was 2000) even if it was only "the top half of his
happily take more issues. Maybe Arnie greater than expected and the weekend, face" with the lower half covered by a copy
thinks I didn't get (or see through) the joke? which ended there for me, was a success. of Twink #18. Perhaps it will be enough for
No matter, the fugghead-don't-wannabees And Julie Czerneda proved to be a gracious, someone to identify Frohvet.
are still making a fuss, and rm sure Arnie is generous GoH who made herself available
smiling. almost constantly, taught an insightful writ- It is also my opinion that persons in the
ing workshop, and attended many panels, Fan categories who have won more than one
Gene Stewart often bringing along her entourage of admir- Hugo should give someone else a chance.
ers. Frankly, I am tired of seeing the .names of
Alan White's cover makes a nice alternative Gardner Dozois and Dave Langford. Maybe
rendering of The Iron Giant. The WillyCon website is: Locus too.
h t t p :/ / w w w .w s c . e d u l s t u d e n t / a c t i vi t i e s /
On the subject of Frohvet's disappointing clubslsfclub/willycon/willy03/willycon3.htm I forgot to mention that I really like the
substantiality, if you're still craving an un- Chris Barkley's money? Where's my cut? back cover by Grant Canfield.
seen fan, may I humbly offer my own irreal- Loved the frrantic pace and present-tense
ity, if not unreality, as fandom's great invisi- narrative. You wear me out, Chris. And way Letterhacks' Addresses
ble professor of gibberish and blather ex- to go on that trivia: impressive.
traordinaire, magus calibre deluxe? Ask Elspeth's Chicon only deepens the im- Greg Benford, E-mail: [email protected]
yourself: Has anyone ever really seen Gene pression Mike's report left on me; rll work Sheryl Birkhead, 25509 Jonnie Court,
Stewart? And what's all this OLD 815 non- my way slowly up to worldcons, I think. Gaithersburg, MD 20882
sense? Allan Burrows - Unlike Ted White, I Dennis Caswell, Rt. 1, Box 459, Harpers
never have strokes for the fun of it, thanks. Ferry, WV 25425-9320
Sorry to hear 4E Ackerman is being fur- Also have no clue what you' re on about, but Connor FretT Cochran, 712 Bancroft Road
ther screwed by the criminal Ray Ferry, and if it helps, I'm sorry, okay? Please dear
I hope his shenanigans land Ferry in jail for ghods forgive a poor confused old loccer his #109, Walnut Creek, CA 94598
a good long time, perhaps sharing a cell with trespasses, and lead him not into Trufen... Tom Feller, E-mail: [email protected]
Ed Kramer, who can perhaps teach him a ad nauseum. Brad Foster, P.O. Box 165246,
thing or two about BOillCAjustice. Irving TX 75016
John Mansfield E. B. Frohvet, 4716 Dorsey Hall Dr. #506,
So boycotting Fandom, Inc. is yet another Ellicott City, MD 21042
way to shore up the ghetto wall? So even though you confirmed by email that Martin Morse Wooster, P.O. Box 8093,
I truly was the chair of ' 94 [[ConAdian]],
Hooray for ATom and alas for ATom and you still put it in the photo caption as 93. :- Silver Spring, MD 20907
KenCH: R.I.P. Ken Cheslin was good ( How soon the Americans forget. So now Teddy Harvia, 12341 Band Box Place,
enough to send me quite a load of ATom art am I not only the only person whose real
just before he died, and I can only hope he name was not used in Alternate Worldcons Dallas, TX 75244-7001
got my thank-you letter in time. but also, the one that the Americans changed Robert Ketmedy, 1779 Ciprian Ave.,
the date of. .. .
Glad to know Hour 25 stuck to its guns Camarillo, CA 93010-2451 ;
and made the move to freedom, so we can [[It must be the exchange rate - your E-mail: [email protected]
all continue to enjoy it. Worldcon came 30% sooner...}] David Langford, E-mail: [email protected]
Eric Lindsay, E-mail:
The medical updates had me cringing BTW, the small detail left out of the Pen- [email protected]
and nodding in sympathy. Heal quickly, eve- neys' trip report is the fact that the fund paid Joseph T. Major, 1409 Christy Ave.,
ryone, and may heaps of bad karma crush for both Lloyd' s & Yvonne's flights to Louisville, KY 40204-2040
the souls of the scurvy mundanes who hurt Montreal. Mind you, I see they are com- John Mansfield, E-mail: [email protected]
anyofyou. plaining that there is not enough money in Lloyd Penney, 1706-24 Eva Rd., Etobicoke,
DUFF to bring the two winners up from Oz ON M9C 2B2, Canada
Chicon 2000 strikes me, as veteran of this year. John Pomeranz, 5927 3rd St. North,
Arlington, VA 22203;
only one con, WillyCon m, with all of 25 Fandom, got to love it... Marie Rengstorff, E-mail:
[email protected]
memberships, as overwhelming. Great re- Robert Kennedy Joy V. Smith, E-mail: [email protected]
port, Mike. And by the way, from what I can Gene Stewart, E-mail: [email protected]
see in the pictures, you and I look alike. At the Chicon 2000 Fosfax dinner I sat James M. Taylor, 446 Raindance Place,
Might be fun to meet at a con one day and Handerson, NV 89014
confound everyone with a Separated At Henry L. Welch, E-mail: [email protected]
Birth? act. Well, a handshake'll do, though. Ted White, [email protected]

mWillyCon was held 26 - 27 March in

the modem, light, and airy brick and glass
student center on the campus of Wayne State

•

t:ASY' eAI,TC)~HIN~ • L,ess(!)n 12

fAAC1iCt ~Wit-!~ FAC.~ ~~IG~~ 'fe> ~e'Mlf:j [email protected].

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