Category Archives: Clipping Service

Texas Library Association Cancels Chuck Tingle

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Dr. Chuck Tingle told readers today that the Texas Library Association has rescinded his invitation to be a featured speaker at the organization’s annual conference, slated for April 16-19. Another invited speaker, TJ Klune, is following him out the door in protest.

Tingle has discussed the situation extensively in a post on Tumblr and as a free read on his Patreon: “THE TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION TELLS CHUCK TINGLE TO STAY HOME BUT WE PROVE LOVE ANYWAY”.

Tingle accepted the invitation and had it confirmed by the Texas Library Association several months ago. However, in December —

i get a call from my manager and agent and publisher saying ‘the TLA have rescinded their invitation.’

turns out some things had been going on behind the scenes

at some point the TLA asked chucks INCREDIBLE HEROIC BAD ASS PUBLISHER if chuck would be okay with not wearing the mask, to which tor/nightfire/macmillan said ‘what the heck are you talking about of course chuck is going to wear his mask. this is how chuck presents himself’ (NOT EXACT QUOTE)

as you all know, my pink bag way is a VERY IMPORTANT SPACE. as an autistic buckaroo it is a boundary that allows me to express myself freely and relieve my chronic pain from neurotypically masking all day. i have talked about this for years, and it is why i consider my private identity a SACRED THING. it is literally a health issue.

fortunately THE PINK BAG is never really a problem when making appearances. i have spent years going on television shows, doing interviews, speaking at other conferences and conventions, hosting book events on tour, and even MEETING WITH LAWYERS in my pink face covering. it is always respected and that is very validating to my way.

when arriving anywhere i always take precautions. i always warn buckaroos ahead of time that there is a masked man coming. i always have someone go in ahead of me JUST IN CASE. again, there has never been an issue. at a big conference where i am a special guest there is ESPECIALLY not an issue because my face and bio are printed IN THE DANG PROGRAM

PART TWO: RESCINDED

a few days ago TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION suddenly messaged my publishers and said that chuck tingle is no longer invited. my invitation was rescinded. the reason given was that people could possibly be uncomfortable with my mask

right out of the gate i would like to say this: it is absolutely the right of the texas library association to disinvite someone from their conference. it is their event, after all, and they can ban anyone they would like, for any reason.

of course, that doesnt mean other folks HEARING THIS NEWS wont have their own opinions the TLA choices. if the TLA disinvites someone, their reasoning for doing this can be discussed and analyzed. whether or not they follow their own guidelines can be questioned, and certainly their kindness and tact can be considered

As Tingle explains later in his post, the decision to revoke his invitation was made by the organization based on their unwillingness to host a masked speaker, not because of complaints from TLA members or the public (in contrast with the “disinvitations” tendered sff writers like Larry Correia and John Ringo after some members of an event where they were announced as guests of honor protested in social media.)

Tingle justifiably notes, “I just gotta say buckaroos, it is incredibly rude to invite someone to be a guest speaker at your event, have them confirm and mark off their calendar and turn down other offers, then rescind their invitation. this is maybe the simplest of the points, but it is an important one.”

He goes on to ask why his means of coping with neurodivergence would not be honored by the TLA when it is a practice he follows at every public appearance.

second, (DEEP BREATH HERE WE GO BUCKAROOS) i personally do not think of my autism as a disability very often, but i also KNOW that despite these feelings it ABSOLUTELY IS. autism is important to be listed as a recognized disability because of the help some autistic buckaroos need regarding government programs and things like that. ALSO just because my neurodivergence has helped me in some ways (hyperfocus and a unique artistic sensibility for example). i personally need to step back and remember my battle with stress and chronic pain from having to neurotypically mask all the time. for as much as i love being autistic it has made some things very difficult.

in other words, i am perfectly capable of speaking and interacting with folks without this pink bag on my head BUT WHEN I AM IN THE CHUCK TINGLE SPACE I REQUIRE IT. i can ONLY use this space while covering my face. is not a want. it is a need. holding this boundary is more important than i can ever say. i will not, and can not, let these spaces cross.

TLA not letting an autistic author wear the face cover theyve set up to express their neurodivergence in a safe, healthy way is–for lack of a better term–NOT A GOOD LOOK…

Meanwhile, Tingle wonders whether the objection to his mask is a stalking horse for objections to his queerness or political expression.

you MIGHT think chucks queerness and left leaning politics could be the issue with this organization, but they have had drag queens as past speakers (also featuring some GLORIOUS makeup and hair that covers almost all of their faces. VERY CURIOUS). regardless, the TLA do not seem like a conservative bunch.

if you are bisexual or an autistic person who is good at ‘passing’ you probably already know where this is headed, your dang spiderbuckaroo senses are tingling at FULL ALERT. i will say i do not KNOW the real reason why i was uninvited, and i do not have enough information to make any concrete statement of the real answer. there is only evidence that masks have been fine at TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION events in the past, but not much else to go on.

He also feels forced to consider another possibility:

… AGAIN, i do not know if this is the answer, but someone in my position might be VERY STRONGLY INCLINED TO THINK that a few well-meaning left leaning buckaroos think i am a joke and that this is a character, and that there is something problematic about my work because i am not really a real person.

any upstanding left leaning organization would OF COURSE allow a mask for a neurodivergent buckaroo with an unusual visual presentation, an autistic buckaroo who conquered his chronic pain ONLY by creating this important space… but what about a FAKE autistic buckaroo?

any upstanding left leaning organization would OF COURSE allow a mask for a queer LGBTQ activist standing up for gay and trans rights against a torrent of scoundrels hunting for his legal identity. its a matter of safety… but what about a FAKE queer activist?

let me be very clear for the 100th time: i am a real person. this is not a joke. i am not playing a character. i am really autistic and bisexual. tinglers are sincere and they are not ‘so bad theyre good’. they are just good. camp damascus is not ‘my first serious book’ because my queer erotica is serious. my art is important and real….

Tingle concludes:

i did not want to spend my whole family holiday worrying whether or not i should say something publicly or just lie down and shut my dang mouth. i had to consider HOW i should say it. i had to worry whether or not its worth standing up for myself in the face of the largest state library association in the country. i think buckaroos with differences are with me when i say: WE ARE SICK OF HAVING TO DO THIS WORK TO COVER FOR THE POOR BEHAVIOR OF LARGE ORGANIZATIONS WHO TREAT US BADLY

another option would just be to use kindness and common sense and happily accommodate artists with unique presentations to your conventions

Upon hearing about Tingle’s fate, sff author TJ Klune, who had also been invited to participate on a panel with Tingle at the TLA annual conference, turned down his own invitation.  

And Tingle expressed thanks for the support:

Sakinah Hofler Accepts the 2023 Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices

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Sakinah Hofler. Photo Credit: Yvel Clovis

Sakinah Hofler, winner of the 2023 Analog Award For Emerging Black Voices, made an impressive acceptance speech to the audience of the online 8th Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium this past November 30. Hofler has given permission for File 770 to publish her remarks.

I am thrilled and humbled to be selected as this year’s winner for the Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices. Growing up in an ultra-conservative Muslim community in New Jersey where the line between “RIGHT and “WRONG” was drawn with a thick black marker, I discovered complication and nuance through reading and writing. I met characters who were different races, from different backgrounds, from all around the world or different parts of the universe. I witnessed other spiritual practices. I observed how a monster could become a person and a person could become a monster. I started to see gray all around me. I questioned everything. My questioning always got me into trouble, so I spent a lot of time on punishment, banished to my room where I reread and eventually rewrote the endings of my favorite books, always asking “What if…” “What if life doesn’t have to be this way?” “What if I also lived on Fear Street and had to battle ghosts and murderers?” “What if Jim Crow had never happened? Where would we be?” I could build worlds, and no one could stop me. 

For a while, though, reality did. We have not figured out a way to live without money and, so, we have bills. I buried my questions and became practical, pursing a degree in chemical engineering. I spent years sitting in more rooms, but those rooms were filled with people dressed in uniforms and suits, making decisions about weapons while we were in the midst of two wars. Those rooms were cold. Logical. Full of statistics and devoid of empathy. Deadly. In those rooms the walls were decorated with photographs of soldiers firing mortars or howitzers or shooting M16s, the type of photos taken on bright days with expensive cameras able to capture the taut look of concentration on each soldier’s face and the billowing smoke right after the moment of fire.

I once asked my boss why we didn’t have any pictures of the weapons hitting their target. Where, I wondered, were the pictures of demolished homes, collapsed buildings, wailing children, dismembered bodies, dust?

His response: Why would anyone want to come to work and see that?

What I didn’t say at that time, but I wished I had was: because we need to see. By stripping people from their multi-faceted stories and narratives, by stripping them from their humanity, we will continue to Other. We will continue to be the protagonists in every story, lose empathy, and remain stuck in a never-ending cycle of receiving and delivering pain. We would never see what could be, how our world could different, how we could live in peace. It’s possible.

We need science fiction. We need the Octavia Butlers, the Samuel Delanys, the Ted Chiang’s, the Isaac Asimovs, the N.K. Jemisins, the Sofia Samatars, and so on. We need the Analogs, the Strange Horizons, the Lightspeeds, the FIYAHs, the Clarkesworlds, and so on to be outlets for our imaginations. I am thankful to the judges and Analog for selecting my work as this year’s winner. I’m so excited to be mentored by wonderful editors. I am thankful for all of you in this room, right here, where there’s hope and a belief in what science fiction is capable of. When it feels like the world is crumbling or, rather, stacking up dystopian nightmares (climate disaster, totalitarianism, the pandemic, income inequality, decreasing autonomy over our bodies, war, etc., etc.), it’s stories that allow us to imagine how we can shift and shape our futures, how we can interact with technology, how we can live differently, how we can change the world, by simply starting our questions with “What if…” Thank you all so much.

[Thanks to Analog editor Trevor Quachri for obtaining permission for File 770 to publish this.]

Court Exhibit Names Artists Midjourney Scraped To Train Its AI; Includes Many Hugo Winners

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Phil Foglio

Hugo-winning artist Phil Foglio told Bluesky readers today “They just dropped a list of All the artists that Midjourney admits to having scraped to train its A.I. engine. Are YOU on it? (We are) Do you have a good lawyer? (We do).”

Early in 2023 artists filed one of the many cases brought against developers of so-called generative artificial intelligence programs – which can create media based on text prompts – against Stability AI and Midjourney, with artists claiming the text-to-image generators only function by being trained on copyrighted artwork.

“Though Defendants like to describe their AI image products in lofty terms, the reality is grubbier and nastier,” the artists said. “AI image products are primarily valued as copyright-laundering devices, promising customers the benefits of art without the costs of artists.”

The plaintiffs listed thousands of artists whose styles Midjourney’s CEO claimed their service could emulate in an exhibit filed with the court on November 29, 2023. These names were publicly posted by the CEO on the Midjourney Discord:

260. In February 2022, near the release of the initial version of the Midjourney Image Product, Midjourney CEO David Holz posted messages on the Midjourney Discord server promoting the Midjourney Image Product’s ability to emulate existing artistic styles, in particular the styles of certain artists.

261. Over a series of Discord messages, Holz said “i think you’re all gonna get [your] mind blown by this style feature … we were very liberal in building out the dictionary … it has cores and punks and artist names … as much as we could dump in there … i should be clear it’s not just genres its also artist names … it’s mostly artist names … 4000 artist names.”43

262. Holz then said, “here is our style list”44 and posted a link to a spreadsheet on Google Docs called “Midjourney Style List.”45 One of the tabs on the spreadsheet was called “Artists” and listed over 4700 artist names. In other words, Holz published a list of artists who the Midjourney Image Product recognizes with the express purpose of these names being used by users and licensees of the Midjourney Image Product as terms in prompts. Holz’s comment, and the list, have remained available ever since.

The complete list is available online: Exhibit J: Midjourney Name List.

Nearly all Best Professional Artist Hugo winners are on the list: Rovina Cai, John Picacio, Charles Vess, Julie Dillon, Shaun Tan, Donato Giancola, Stephan Martinière, Jim Burns, Bob Eggleton, Michael Whelan, Don Maitz, Vincent DiFate, Rick Sternbach, Frank Kelly Freas, Leo and Diane Dillon, Jack Gaughan, John Schoenherr, Ed Emshwiller, Virgil Finlay.

So are many other famous genre artists including Chesley Bonestell, Richard M. Powers, Ray Harryhausen, and Frank Frazetta.

Artwork by Bill Rotsler.

And fans might be surprised how many fanzine artists are on the list. William Rotsler is there, as are these winners of the Rotsler Award named for him: Alexis A. Gilliland, Arthur (ATom) Thomson, Brad W. Foster, Dan Steffan, Steve Stiles, Teddy Harvia, and Tim Kirk.

Not all Rotsler Award winners names are on the list, though. (Sorry?) Missing are Alan White, Alison Scott, Dick “Ditmar” Jenssen, Grant Canfield, Harry Bell, Jeanne Gomoll, Jim Barker, Ken Fletcher, Kurt Erichsen, Marc Schirmeister, Ray Nelson, Ross Chamberlain, Sue Mason, Stu Shiffman, Taral Wayne, Terry Jeeves, and Ulrika O’Brien. I’m not sure how they will feel. They probably should be glad. However, I remember when Robert Silverberg visited eastern Germany after the Berlin Wall fell he was disappointed not to be more well-known because they hadn’t pirated much of his work there. You never know.

[Thanks to Anne Marble for the story.]

This Year Santa Is Bringing Everyone A Ray Bradbury Roundup

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(1) THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN. GameRant has opinions: “Ray Bradbury’s Novels: Best & Worst Film & TV Adaptations”. The list starts with one Ray personally downchecked.

… Not every adaptation has been perfect, of course, and even when the movie or show is a decent product other things can go wrong to make it less than successful. Bad publicity, a low budget, or disagreements between the director and studio can bring a whole production down even if the story and cast are on point. Bradbury’s work as it appears on screen can go either way depending on the viewer’s personal opinion of the original, and the author himself didn’t mince words when offering his own thoughts on the matter.

6. The Martian Chronicles (1980)

This BBC miniseries had all the marks of a successful adaptation, at least in the beginning. It had a cast with big names like Rock Hudson and Bernadette Peters, an original soundtrack with more than 30 songs, more than decent production values, and it was an adaptation of a novel of the same name by a popular author with literary clout.

However, things started to go awry when Ray Bradbury himself described the show as “boring” at a solo press conference. Although he and screenwriter Richard Matheson had worked together on the adaptation, Bradbury was disappointed with the result, which deviated significantly from his original story. Even though the show was finished in 1979, this poor marketing was enough to delay the release for a year, but fans and critics ultimately gave The Martian Chronicles a positive reception.

(2) HAVE YE READ THE GREAT WHITE WHALE. “Ray Bradbury, Moby Dick and the Irish connection” in The Irish Times.

… One part of the Bradbury story that may be less well known, however, is his Irish connection. This had its origins when in 1953 director John Huston recruited him to write the screenplay for his film of Moby Dick. Though the two men had expressed a wish to work together, Huston’s offer came to Bradbury as a bit of a shock, possibly because at the time he had yet to read Melville’s novel.

But, of course, this was an offer he couldn’t refuse. So, the night of Huston’s proposal, Bradbury – by his own account – stayed up till dawn making good his omission, a feat that smacks of Ahab’s whale-tussling or some such epic fiction. And, by morning, the account continues, Bradbury had knocked enough skelps off the thing to believe he was the man for the screenwriting job. It turned out that he’d signed up for a stormy voyage – but the money was good: $12,500 for the script, plus another $200 a week living expenses.

At the time, Huston was living in Courtown House near Kilcock, Co Kildare and intended to direct Moby Dick with this as his base. Obviously Bradbury had to be on hand as well. So in September 1953, with his wife, their two small children and a nanny, he trekked from Hollywood by land and sea (Bradbury could imagine space travel but wouldn’t board a plane for God or man) to Dublin’s Royal Hibernian Hotel on Dawson Street (where the arcade is now)….

(3) POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE. Bradley J. Birzer highly praises Jonathan R. Eller’s biography Becoming Ray Bradbury in “Ray Bradbury’s First 33 Years” at The Imaginative Conservative.

…In terms of Bradbury’s politics, he was immensely complicated. As a very young man, he embraced—to a rather shocking degree—ideas of technocracy, believing that the future of America, especially through the Great Depression, and even into World War II, resided in economic and scientific efficiency. Everything, he thought, was tied to the ideas of energy production and output. However, at a meeting of technocrats, all adorned in their matching grey suits, Bradbury suddenly realized that his affection for their policies, was akin to loving either Mussolini or Stalin. He moved toward the mainstream parties. Though a Stevenson Democrat in 1952, Bradbury found himself, again, disillusioned with the presidential candidate, especially after Stevenson refused to address directly either the Korean War or Joseph McCarthy’s scandalous witch hunts. Famously (or infamously, depending on one’s point of view), Bradbury took out a large ad in Variety, “To the Republican Party,” challenging them to disown McCarthyism as well as refrain from claiming that anyone in the Democratic Party was a Communist. In the spring of 1953, Bradbury published in The Nation one of his most famous essays, “Day After Tomorrow: Why Science Fiction,” a defense of the much maligned literary genre. Later that year, Bradbury’s masterfully anti-consumerist but deeply libertarian novel, Fahrenheit 451, appeared, perhaps solidifying the author’s anti-authoritarian reputation….

(4) FLAME ON. The opening panels from this 1984 computer game can be viewed at the Internet Archive: “Fahrenheit 451 : Byron Preiss Video Productions, Inc., Trillium Corp.”.

In a not so distant future, books have become illegal. As Fireman Guy Montag, the player’s role is not to save houses, but to burn them for the books inside. However, Guy becomes passionate about books and becomes a rebel, pursued by the authorities. With the help of the Underground, he must survive and save books from complete extinction.

The game acts a sequel to Bradbury’s novel. Following the imposition of martial law Montag finds the young woman who inspired his resistance to the established order. With her help he can now track down 34 microcassettes which hold the contents of the New York Public Library, then pass them on to underground members who will memorise the texts.

(5) CENSORING AND BOWDLERIZING 451. From the Wikipedia’s article on Fahrenheit 451.

Expurgation
Starting in January 1967, Fahrenheit 451 was subject to expurgation by its publisher, Ballantine Books with the release of the “Bal-Hi Edition” aimed at high school students.[58][59] Among the changes made by the publisher were the censorship of the words “hell”, “damn”, and “abortion”; the modification of seventy-five passages; and the changing of two incidents.[59][60]

In the first incident a drunk man was changed to a “sick man”, while the second involved cleaning fluff out of a human navel, which instead became “cleaning ears” in the other.[59][61] For a while both the censored and uncensored versions were available concurrently but by 1973 Ballantine was publishing only the censored version.[61][62] That continued until 1979, when it came to Bradbury’s attention:[61][62]

In 1979, one of Bradbury’s friends showed him an expurgated copy of the book. Bradbury demanded that Ballantine Books withdraw that version and replace it with the original, and in 1980 the original version once again became available. In this reinstated work, in the Author’s Afterword, Bradbury relates to the reader that it is not uncommon for a publisher to expurgate an author’s work, but he asserts that he himself will not tolerate the practice of manuscript “mutilation”.

The “Bal-Hi” editions are now referred to by the publisher as the “Revised Bal-Hi” editions.[63]

Then there’s this example where someone rewrote the book without permission: “Fahrenheit 451 As Childrens Book” at Slideshare.net.

(6) PRESCRIPTION 451. And yet the American Medical Association says that Bradbury book is good for what ails you: “5 fantastic novels doctors recommend for your summer reading list”.

Reading can boost your vocabulary, sharpen your reasoning, expand your intellectual horizons and improve memory. But reading for fun can also help in the battle against physician burnout.

Here, in alphabetical order by book author, are five novels that AMA members who have participated in the “Shadow Me” Specialty Series recommend reading….  

Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury

“This book speaks to teen idealism and offers a wealth of wisdom about maintaining perspective, understanding history, valuing art and literature and remembering to live life,” said Kanani Titchen, MD, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine physician.

Battling burnout… Wait, I get it!!

(7) FINGERPRINTS. “The Twilight Zone: Ray Bradbury’s Influence Is All Over Six Degrees of Freedom” — Den of Geek tells readers where to look for it.

The following contains spoilers for The Twilight Zone, “Six Degrees of Freedom.”

If the latest episode of the newly rebooted Twilight Zone — “Six Degrees of Freedom” — feels old school to you, you’re not crazy. For bookish types, the most obvious Easter egg in the episode comes pretty early; the Mars-bound spaceship central to the story is called“Bradbury Heavy,” a kind tribute to Elon Musk putting the word “heavy” after the names of rockets, but also, of course, the iconic author of The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury. And, even if the screenwriters of this Twilight Zone episode (Glen Morgan and Heather Anne Campbell) weren’t intentionally homaging Ray Bradbury’s writing, his ghost haunts this creepy episode in surprising ways…. 

(8) BRADBURY AWARD HONOREES. In 2022, The Portalist called these “The 10 Best Movies That Have Won the Ray Bradbury Award”.

Ray Bradbury was, among many other things, a celebrated screenwriter. He wrote the screenplay for John Huston’s 1956 adaptation of Moby Dick, as well as teleplays for some 59 episodes of The Ray Bradbury Theater, to name just some of his credits. And in 1992, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) inaugurated the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation in his honor.

Presented at the same time as the SFWA’s Nebula Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award was not initially considered a Nebula. It was chosen not by a vote from members of the SFWA, as the Nebulas are, but by the organization’s president. In that format, it was presented in 1992, 1999, 2001, and 2009. At the same time, there was also a Nebula Award for Best Script, which was given out in the ‘70s and brought back in the 2000s. 

After 2009, the two were rolled into one….

The list includes:

Gravity

Known for being absolutely stunning, among other things, Alfonso Cuarón’s flick about stranded astronauts played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney managed to nab a whopping seven Academy Awards, including Best Director. It was nominated for Best Picture, but lost to 12 Years a Slave. 

Gravity‘s competition for the Bradbury was less stiff, though it did still beat out Pacific Rim, the Hunger Games sequel, Spike Lee’s Her, and others….

(9) WHERE IDEAS COME FROM. In “Ray Bradbury on feeding your creativity”, Austin Kleon reminds people about Ray’s three-point plan:

(10) WICKED GOOD. Jack Butler of National Review Online has nice things to say about Somethng Wicked This Way Comes. “Halloween Explored in Literature”.

…This year, it’s Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. The book, which tells the story of a mysterious carnival’s arrival to and malevolence in a small town, is a master class in supernatural suspense:

The carnival, populated by a grotesquerie of characters against whom the boys, at first alone, contest, comes to life in vivid, unsettling descriptions. At the center of it all is Mr. Dark, “the illustration-drenched, superinfested civilization of souls.” His designs assail the boys through time-manipulating carousels, witch-piloted hot-air balloons, blood-drenched fists that drip onto boys hiding below a sewer grate, stealthy pursuits through endless stacks of books and infinite mazes of mirrors, and more. (In a 1983 adaptation, Mr. Dark is chillingly depicted by a young Jonathan Pryce.) At first, the boys alone perceive the carnival’s malevolence, as it operates through the town, preying on citizens’ desires and sins while trying to enfold the boys into its plots as a means of shutting them up. Anyone looking for an eerie and gripping Halloween read will find plenty that’s satisfying in Something Wicked This Way Comes.

But he will also find more than that, as I argue in my piece, which you can read here….

(11) CELEBRITY BRUSH. In the Season 5 opening episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel there is a fictional variety show she writes for. They announce the evening’s guests, “Angie Dickinson and the novelist Ray Bradbury.”  Best part of the episode.

(12) NEWSMAKER. Here’s a clip from Ray Bradbury’s talk at the San Diego Comic Con in 1974 hosted on CBS 8 San Diego’s YouTube channel.

August 1, 1974 Devotees of comics strips and comic books gathered in a convention today at El Cortez Hotel where one of the major attractions was the famous writer, Ray Bradbury. He is noted as one of America’s leading science fiction authors, but is also a poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, and creator of musical productions. Bradbury has been a fan of the comics since boyhood. Today I asked him (Harold Keen) if he considers comic books and newspaper comic strips genuine American art form. Bradbury said he is planning to adapt some of his short stories into a comic magazine of his own.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Andrew Porter, and Martin Morse Wooster for these stories.]

National Film Registry Adds Terminator 2, Apollo 13, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Lady and the Tramp

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SF film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Hugo-winner Apollo 13, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, and classic Disney animated film Lady and the Tramp are among the 25 movies inducted into the National Film Registry this year. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the selections today.

Films Selected for the 2023 National Film Registry

(chronological order)

  • A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921)  
  • Dinner at Eight (1933)
  • Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s)
  • Helen Keller: In Her Story (1954)
  • Lady and the Tramp (1955)
  • Edge of the City (1957)
  • We’re Alive (1974)
  • Cruisin’ J-Town (1975)
  • ¡Alambrista! (1977)
  • Passing Through (1977) 
  • Fame (1980)
  • Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
  • The Lighted Field (1987)
  • Matewan (1987)
  • Home Alone (1990)
  • Queen of Diamonds (1991)
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
  • The Wedding Banquet (1993)
  • Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)
  • Apollo 13 (1995)
  • Bamboozled (2000)
  • Love & Basketball (2000)
  • 12 Years a Slave (2013)
  • 20 Feet from Stardom (2013)

The public submitted 6,875 titles for consideration this year.

The public can submit nominations throughout the year on the Library’s web site Nominations for next year will be accepted until Aug. 15, 2024. Cast your vote at loc.gov/film.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Thursday, Dec. 14, starting at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of films named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host, film historian and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Director and President Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, to discuss the films.

Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names to the National Film Registry 25 motion pictures that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The films must be at least 10 years old. More information about the National Film Registry can be found at loc.gov/film.

Ron Howard Reflects on Apollo 13. Since his first childhood role as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show, to his later acting in Happy Days and American Graffiti, Ron Howard has been associated with mid-century American innocence.

In Apollo 13, he returned to that ideal as a director, telling the story of a 1970 failed lunar landing that turned into a heart-stopping triumph of American ingenuity in bringing the crew safely back to Earth.

“It’s a very honest, heartfelt reflection of something that was very American, which was the space program in that time and what it meant to the country and to the world,” Howard told the Library of Congress.

The technical advisor on the film was Capt. David Scott, an astronaut who went to the moon. He gave Howard a mission statement.

“He said you have a chance to tell people what it was like within the framework of a narrative that is entertaining. You have the chance to really get it right and let people know what the Apollo era was all about. We took that very seriously,” Howard said.

The crew was fanatical about getting small details right, an effort led by the film’s star, Tom Hanks.

“I was very proud of the outcome,” Howard said. “The experience remains an absolute highlight. It was one of those experiences that none of us involved in will ever forget.”

The press release’s commentary on the films named in the lede follows:

Apollo 13 (1995)

The extreme challenges involved in space travel present compelling cinema storylines, and one cannot imagine a more harrowing scenario than the near tragic Apollo 13 space mission. Director Ron Howard’s retelling is equally meticulous and emotional, a master class in enveloping the audience into a complicated technological exercise in life-and-death problem-solving. Based on the 1994 book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” by astronaut Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, “Apollo 13” blends skillful editing, crafty special effects, a James Horner score, and a well-paced script to detail the quick-thinking heroics of both the astronaut crew and NASA technicians as they improvise and work through unprecedented situations. The talented cast includes Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

This exquisitely animated love story between a spoiled cocker spaniel and a mutt was arguably the most mature animation and love story created until then by Disney Studios. It also marked a technological innovation for Disney. In addition to standard theatrical formats, Disney released the film in the wide screen CinemaScope process, in part to keep people going to the theaters following the advent of television. One of the studio’s most beloved animated works, this unlikely love story is made memorable by endearing songs, excellent voice talents (which included Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson, Verna Felton, Bob Baucom, Peggy Lee and Stan Freberg) and iconic moments including a kiss involving spaghetti.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)   

The king of dark whimsy, Tim Burton won over an even larger (and decidedly younger) crowd with this delightful stop-motion animated offering. Jack Skellington, whose giant pumpkin head rests precariously on top of his rail-thin body, is the king of Halloween Town; one year he dreams of bringing a little Christmas magic to his humble hamlet. Conceived and produced by Burton (with direction by Henry Selick), “Nightmare” features creative set design to construct an imaginary world, songs by Danny Elfman and the voice talents of Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens and Glenn Shadix. It has become both a Yuletide and Halloween tradition for adults, kids, hipsters and many Halloween fanatics.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Science fiction film sequels sometimes fail because the original reveals the stunning main secrets, thus reducing the awe and surprise factors in future installments. Not so with “Terminator 2.” Director James Cameron retained the many virtues of the original and added a deft script with more nuanced characters and plot twists, a large budget and cutting-edge special effects for an even more chilling story revealing the bleak future portended in the original. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mission changes from ending the future of humanity to ensuring its survival, from killing the mother to protecting the son from an assassin adept at quicksilver. The film also marked somewhat of a technical milestone in the transition from practical to CGI special effects.

Author Diana Paxson Attacked At Home

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On December 8, Diana Paxson and her son Ian were stabbed by extended family member Bryon DeCles after he broke through the front door of their home. Immediately after the attack was reported Berkeley police warned residents to shelter in place – a warning lifted three hours later. They are still looking for the assailant.

Diana Paxson said in a public Facebook post:

First, my son Ian and I are back from the hospital and sore but functional.

As many of you already know, on Friday evening Ian and I were both wounded when Byron DeCles, a member of our extended family, broke through the front door, slashing wildly with a small knife. Ian had 8 or 9 cuts, 5 needing sutures, requiring a few sutures. The most dangerous hit his left ear but did not touch the ear drum. I got 2 needing a few sutures, a shallow slice on my neck and one that nicked the left temporal artery, resulting in a remarkable amount of blood on the floor.I am now coming to terms with the fact that although my wounds are shallow, they were in very vulnerable places, and am very grateful for Divine Protection.

Ians shoulder was injured when Byron threw a 2×4 we had been using to brace the door at him. He then ran off. The police put out an alert and there are warrants for his arrest. Also phots from our security camera. While Ian grappled with Byron, I held a wad of paper towels to my head with my left hand I managed to dial 911 with my right. The police came quickly, and I got my first ambulance ride.

The CBS News report added:

…Police identified a suspect, Byron DeCles, who is described as a 5-foot-8, 23-year-old white male with blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a brown or red hoodie, black pants, a black hat and a large black backpack….

…Police advise anyone who sees DeCles not to approach him as he is suspected to be armed with a cutting device, and to call 911….

Diana Paxson and Jerry Pournelle at the 1993 World SF Convention, Confrancisco. Photo by © Andrew I. Porter.

UPDATE 12/12/2023: Byron DeCles was arrested by Oakland police on December 12 and charged with attempted murder. More information in item #1 here.

British Library Exhibition Explores Fantasy from Arthurian Legends to Manga

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The British Library’s Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition opens today and runs through February 25, 2024.

The exhibition explores the evolution of Fantasy from ancient folk tales and fairy stories, gothic horror and weird fiction, to live action role-playing games inspired by fantasy worlds and celebrates its enduring impact.

Visitors will discover over a hundred items – including historical manuscripts, rare first editions, drafts of iconic novels, scripts and maps, film props and costumes – and will offer unique insights into the roots and evolution of the genre. They will journey through fantastical worlds imagined by writers, artists and creators over the centuries and across continents, from authors as varied as Ursula K. Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, Mervyn Peake, N.K. Jemisin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Susanna Clarke, Angela Carter, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville and Jeannette Ng to name a few.

Highlight objects include:

  • Unique manuscripts of Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, C.S Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, The Magic City by E. Nesbit, The Owl Service by Alan Garner and The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
  • Ursula K. Le Guin’s drafts and drawings for her Earthsea novels – which are on display in the UK for the first time
  • Original sketches and outlines for Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake and Michael Palin’s notes for Monty Python And The Holy Grail
  • The costumes worn by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in the Royal Opera House’s 1968 ballet production of The Sleeping Beauty and props and costumes from The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Crystal and Wicked
  • Clips from iconic Fantasy film, television and video games including Princess Mononoke, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Pan’s Labyrinth, DARK SOULS and Skyrim
  • A playable mini-game by Failbetter Games designed especially for the exhibition, based on the Fallen London universe.

The exhibition begins by exploring the Fantasy archetypes that still fascinate us today in ‘Fairy and Folk Tales’ from The Snow Queen to The Arabian Nights and Peter Pan. Visitorswill discover how different cultures shape local legend and reflect on the conflict between destiny and choice, how frightening figures in Fantasy can both repulse and thrill us, and how transformation and metamorphosis can change not only the stories themselves, but also readers and viewers. Highlights include items from Angela Carter’s archive and costumes from the 1968 ballet production of The Sleeping Beauty.

Visitors will then enter the world of ‘Epics and Quests’, meet iconic heroes and villains from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to Xena, Warrior Princess, and explore how ancient taleshave helped to shape modern Fantasy epics. On display will be a version of Gilgamesh, the oldest known epic story, and there will be a rare chance to see items related to The Lord of the Rings, including J.R.R Tolkien’s notes for the 1955-56 BBC Radio adaption ofthe book. Visitors will also get to see Ursula K. Le Guin’s drafts and drawings for her Earthsea novels – which are on display in the UK for the first time.

The ‘Weird and Uncanny’ section focuses on iconic monsters, sinister landscapes filled with eerie edifices and the darkness at the heart of Fantasy. Visitors will discover the roots of weirder fantasies in works like Frankenstein and the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, learn how Piranesi’s Carceri etchings inspired the design of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, see how G.K. Chesterton visualised his nightmarish thriller The Man Who Was Thursday and understand how Fantasy presents twisted versions of our reality to reflect our greatest hopes and fears. They’ll also meet strangely sympathetic anti-heroes from Paradise Lost to Gormenghast.

Once they have encountered the strange creatures that haunt the genre, visitors will journey into ‘Portals and Worlds’ where they will discover the richly detailed world-building that makes Fantasy universes unique, and how the sub-genre of Portal Fantasy has shaped the history of children’s literature. On display will be a map of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, original manuscripts of Diana Wynne Jones’ The Dark Lord of Derkholm and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, and costumes and props from The Dark Crystal. The exhibition concludes with a look at the impact of fan culture. It features live action role-play costumes, an exploration of fan fiction and filmed interviews with fans exploring what Fantasy means to them, recognising the creativity and innovation that fans have brought to the genre.

Accompanying Fantasy will be a display in the Entrance Hall of the Library, The Fantastical World of Mervyn Peake: Islands and Seas (November 24 – February 25, 2024) which willshowcase the richness of the Mervyn Peake Visual Archive. The archive was acquired by the British Library in 2020 and includes works from Peake’s unpublished Moccus Book (1929), as well as images from Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor (1939), Treasure Island (1949) and The Swiss Family Robinson (c.1950).

There will also be a season of in-person and online events inspired by the exhibition, such as a Late at the Library filled with musical performances and art inspired by the electronic music duo Drexciya and the fantasy mythos they created, with a live performance by Dopplereffekt and talk from Drexciya collaborator Abdul Qadim Haqq.

The Library will also be celebrating fantasy literary classics with Neil Gaiman and Rob Wilkins marking the 40th anniversary of Terry Pratchett’s first Discworld novel The Colour of Magic and Susan Cooper in conversation with Natalie Haynes on the 50th anniversary of her best-selling novel The Dark is Rising.

There will also be events exploring world-building in fantasy and the legacy of Dungeons and Dragons which turns 50 next year, alongside in conversation events with writers including Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Susanna Clarke and R.F. Kuang and artists Alan Lee, Terri Windling and Brian and Wendy Froud. This is alongside an event series in partnership with Irenosen Okojie’s Afrofuturist festival Black to the Future, with more to be announced.

Ticket information at the link.

[Based on a press release.]

Wishful Thinking & AI: Ted Chiang and Dr. Emily M. Bender Speak on 11/10

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Clarion West presents a conversation with Ted Chiang and Dr. Emily M. Bender on Friday, November 10 at 7:30 PM at Town Hall Seattle. Purchase tickets here.

UW Professor of Linguistics Emily M. Bender talks with award-winning science fiction author Ted Chiang about the hype, realistic expectations, and who should be involved in the conversation around AI. Moderated by Jeopardy! champion and Phinney Books owner Tom Nissley.

Both speakers were recently featured in Time Magazine’s Time100 Most Influential People in AI. “This group of 100 individuals is in many ways a map of the relationships and power centers driving the development of AI. They are rivals and regulators, scientists and artists, advocates and executives—the competing and cooperating humans whose insights, desires, and flaws will shape the direction of an increasingly influential technology,” wrote Time’s Sam Jacobs on how they selected the scientists, thinkers, journalists, innovators, and artists featured in the article.

The article declares Ted Chiang as “one of the sharpest critics of AI and the corporations behind it.” In clear sentimental agreement, Dr. Bender is quoted in the article stating, “You can’t expect a machine-learning system to learn stuff that’s not in its training data. Otherwise you’re expecting magic.” On November 10, hear both speakers discuss their thoughts and concerns in-person at Town Hall Seattle or live in Zoom.

This event is a fundraiser for Clarion West, supporting emerging and underrepresented writers in speculative fiction.

About Dr. Emily M. Bender: Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Linguistics and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Computer Science and the Information School at the University of Washington, where she has been on the faculty since 2003. Her research interests include multilingual grammar engineering, computational semantics, and the societal impacts of language technology.  She is the co-author of recent influential papers such as Climbing towards NLU: On Meaning, Form, and Understanding in the Age of Data (ACL 2020), On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? (FAccT 2021), and AI and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Benchmark (NeurIPS 2021). In 2022 she was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Together with Dr. Alex Hanna, she posts Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, a podcast which skewers AI hype.

About Ted Chiang: Ted Chiang’s fiction has won four Hugo, four Nebula, and six Locus Awards, and has been reprinted in Best American Short Stories. His first collection Stories of Your Life and Others has been translated into twenty-one languages, and the title story was the basis for the Oscar-nominated film Arrival. His second collection Exhalation was chosen by The New York Times as one of the 10 Best Books of 2019.

About Tom Nissley: Tom Nissley is the owner of Phinney Books and Madison Books in Seattle. He’s the author of A Reader’s Book of Days, has a PhD in English from the University of Washington, and was an eight-time champion on Jeopardy!

[Based on a press release.]

F&SF Will Not Publish Riley Story

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Gordon Van Gelder, publisher of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, posted this statement today on social media platform X:

The statement responds to controversy that began after David A. Riley announced to readers of his blog that The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction had accepted a novelette by him for publication. Social media raised the issue of Riley’s history of having once been part of the UK’s National Front — which in 2016 led to him being taken off an HWA Bram Stoker the jury by mutual agreement.

David A. Riley has not made a direct response to the decision, however, the meme posted to his blog here may be a comment on it.